Optimizing capital and time expenditures for drilling service operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zazovskiy, F Ya; Soltysyak, T I

1980-01-01

The operational efficiency of drilling services operations management are examined. The structure of time expenditure is analyzed for repair operations according to equipment type employed by the Ivano-Frankovsk Drilling Management under the Ukrneft' enterprise during 1977. The results of this analysis are weighed against a series of service operations carried out at industrial enterprises and connected with technical disruptions. Some of the cases examined include service competion operations outside of the industrial units when technical processes are disrupted only for the change of equipment which has outlived its usefulness and is no longer in series production. First of all, time expended for repair work can be reduced to zero during the drilling of shallow wells which do not require extensive drilling time. The actual savings, both in time and money, as far as repair work is concerned, hinges on the actual time factor for total oil depetion. An equation is provided for optimal time expenditure necessary for repair work and equipment replacement. An actual example is given from the Dolinsk UBR (Drillin Management) under the Ukrneft' enterprise where time spent on actual service operations has appeared to be less than the optimal figure cited in the above material. This is possible because of increased capital expenditures.

Effect of Resident Involvement on Operative Time and Operating Room Staffing Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Robert William; Pruitt, Mark; Taaffe, Kevin M

The operating room (OR) is a major driver of hospital costs; therefore, operative time is an expensive resource. The training of surgical residents must include time spent in the OR, but that experience comes with a cost to the surgeon and hospital. The objective of this article is to determine the effect of surgical resident involvement in the OR on operative time and subsequent hospital labor costs. The Kruskal-Wallis statistical test is used to determine whether or not there is a difference in operative times between 2 groups of cases (with residents and without residents). This difference leads to an increased cost in associated hospital labor costs for the group with the longer operative time. Cases were performed at Greenville Memorial Hospital. Greenville Memorial Hospital is part of the larger healthcare system, Greenville Health System, located in Greenville, SC and is a level 1 trauma center with up to 33 staffed ORs. A total of 84,997 cases were performed at the partnering hospital between January 1st, 2011 and July 31st, 2015. Cases were only chosen for analysis if there was only one CPT code associated with the case and there were more than 5 observations for each group being studied. This article presents a comprehensive retrospective analysis of 29,134 cases covering 246 procedures. The analysis shows that 45 procedures took significantly longer with a resident present in the room. The average increase in operative time was 4.8 minutes and the cost per minute of extra operative time was determined to be $9.57 per minute. OR labor costs at the partnering hospital was found to be $2,257,433, or $492,889 per year. Knowing the affect on operative time and OR costs allows managers to make smart decisions when considering alternative educational and training techniques. In addition, knowing the connection between residents in the room and surgical duration could help provide better estimates of surgical time in the future and increase the predictability of

Comparison between local anaesthesia with remifentanil and total intravenous anaesthesia for operative hysteroscopic procedures in day surgery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Majholm, B; Bartholdy, J; Clausen, H V

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: /st>This study aimed at comparing total i.v. anaesthesia (TIVA) with monitored anaesthesia care (MAC) during day-surgery operative hysteroscopy regarding: operation time, time to mobilization and discharge, and patient satisfaction. METHODS: /st>Ninety-one healthy women were randomized...... to MAC with paracervical local anaesthesia and remifentanil or to TIVA with propofol and remifentanil. Time from arrival to leaving the operating theatre, time from arrival in the recovery room to mobilization and discharge readiness, and patient satisfaction with MAC and TIVA were observed. RESULTS: /st.......003). CONCLUSIONS: /st>Paracervical local anaesthesia combined with remifentanil is suitable for operative hysteroscopy in day surgery....

An Analysis of Operational Total Lightning Data During Long-Track Tornadoes

Science.gov (United States)

Carcione, Brian C.; Stano, Geoffrey T.

2012-01-01

The 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak brought three distinct waves of tornadic thunderstorms to portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, striking the Tennessee Valley of north Alabama and southern Tennessee particularly hard. A total of 42 tornado paths were surveyed across the fourteen county area covered by the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast office in Huntsville, Alabama. Ten of these tornadoes were on the ground for at least 20 miles, two had total path lengths over 130 miles, and six tornadoes were classified as violent (EF-4 or EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale). Many of these tornadoes occurred within the domain of the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA), a ground-based total lightning detection network owned and operated by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Since 2003, the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center has supplied data from NALMA in real time to NWS forecast offices in Huntsville, Knoxville/Tri-Cities, Birmingham, and Nashville. Previous research has documented the utility of total lightning information in predicting tornadogenesis, particularly when combined with other remote sensing tools. Basic warning decision-making during events such as 27 April is not the most difficult part of the process; instead, the focus of warning meteorologists shifts to looking for changes in intensity or possible particularly dangerous situations, since doppler radar velocity data often cannot distinguish between weak and strong tornadoes. To that end, this research attempts to determine if any correlation exists between flash densities of the longest-tracked tornadoes over time, and the surveyed wind speeds of the tornadoes. The long-track EF-5 tornado which struck the Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, and Tanner communities in north Alabama was the primary focus of this research due to its intensity and extended life cycle. However, not all tornadoes were available for total lightning analysis due to widespread

Total output operation chart optimization of cascade reservoirs and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Zhiqiang; Ji, Changming; Sun, Ping; Wang, Liping; Zhang, Yanke

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a new double nested model for cascade reservoirs operation optimization. • We use two methods to extract the output distribution ratio. • The adopted two methods perform better than the widely used methods at present. • Stepwise regression method performs better than mean value method on the whole. - Abstract: With the rapid development of cascade hydropower stations in recent decades, the cascade system composed of multiple reservoirs needs unified operation and management. However, the output distribution problem has not yet been solved reasonably when the total output of cascade system obtained, which makes the full utilization of hydropower resources in cascade reservoirs very difficult. Discriminant criterion method is a traditional and common method to solve the output distribution problem at present, but some shortcomings cannot be ignored in the practical application. In response to the above concern, this paper proposes a new total output operation chart optimization model and a new optimal output distribution model, the two models constitute to a double nested model with the goal of maximizing power generation. This paper takes the cascade reservoirs of Li Xianjiang River in China as an instance to obtain the optimal total output operation chart by the proposed double nested model and the 43 years historical runoff data, progressive searching method and progressive optimality algorithm are used in solving the model. In order to take the obtained total output operation chart into practical operation, mean value method and stepwise regression method are adopted to extract the output distribution ratios on the basis of the optimal simulation intermediate data. By comparing with discriminant criterion method and conventional method, the combined utilization of total output operation chart and output distribution ratios presents better performance in terms of power generation and assurance rate, which proves it is an effective

Factorizing the time evolution operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Quijas, P C; Arevalo Aguilar, L M

2007-01-01

There is a widespread belief in the quantum physical community, and textbooks used to teach quantum mechanics, that it is a difficult task to apply the time evolution operator e itH-hat/h on an initial wavefunction. Because the Hamiltonian operator is, generally, the sum of two operators, then it is not possible to apply the time evolution operator on an initial wavefunction ψ(x, 0), for it implies using terms like (a-hat + b-hat). A possible solution is to factorize the time evolution operator and then apply successively the individual exponential operator on the initial wavefunction. However, the exponential operator does not directly factorize, i.e. e a-hat+b-hat ≠ e a-hat e b-hat . In this study we present a useful procedure for factorizing the time evolution operator when the argument of the exponential is a sum of two operators, which obey specific commutation relations. Then, we apply the exponential operator as an evolution operator for the case of elementary unidimensional potentials, like a particle subject to a constant force and a harmonic oscillator. Also, we discuss an apparent paradox concerning the time evolution operator and non-spreading wave packets addressed previously in the literature

Financial, operating results, assets total down for OGJ300

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

Financial and operating results of the Oil and Gas Journal 300 dropped again in 1992. It was the second consecutive set of declines for OGJ's list of the largest publicly traded, oil and gas producing companies in the U.S. Totals fell from 1991 results in almost all categories for financial and operating performance. Group net income fell sharply in 1992. Large, integrated companies reported sharp earnings declines, many of them related to special charges for restructuring and mandatory accounting changes. In addition, revenues were suppressed by lower crude and product prices below levels of 1991 and a decline in total crude production. This was partially offset by higher prices and demand for natural gas and by increased demand for petroleum products. The paper discusses the economic situation in the petroleum and natural gas industries then gives extensive data on the following: total assets, total income, net income, stockholders' equity, capital spending, worldwide and US liquids production, worldwide and US natural gas production, worldwide and US liquids reserves, worldwide and US natural gas reserves, and US net wells drilled

Modeling operators' emergency response time for chemical processing operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Susan L; Harputlu, Emrah; Mentzer, Ray A; Mannan, M Sam

2014-01-01

Operators have a crucial role during emergencies at a variety of facilities such as chemical processing plants. When an abnormality occurs in the production process, the operator often has limited time to either take corrective actions or evacuate before the situation becomes deadly. It is crucial that system designers and safety professionals can estimate the time required for a response before procedures and facilities are designed and operations are initiated. There are existing industrial engineering techniques to establish time standards for tasks performed at a normal working pace. However, it is reasonable to expect the time required to take action in emergency situations will be different than working at a normal production pace. It is possible that in an emergency, operators will act faster compared to a normal pace. It would be useful for system designers to be able to establish a time range for operators' response times for emergency situations. This article develops a modeling approach to estimate the time standard range for operators taking corrective actions or following evacuation procedures in emergency situations. This will aid engineers and managers in establishing time requirements for operators in emergency situations. The methodology used for this study combines a well-established industrial engineering technique for determining time requirements (predetermined time standard system) and adjustment coefficients for emergency situations developed by the authors. Numerous videos of workers performing well-established tasks at a maximum pace were studied. As an example, one of the tasks analyzed was pit crew workers changing tires as quickly as they could during a race. The operations in these videos were decomposed into basic, fundamental motions (such as walking, reaching for a tool, and bending over) by studying the videos frame by frame. A comparison analysis was then performed between the emergency pace and the normal working pace operations

High-frequency Total Focusing Method (TFM) imaging in strongly attenuating materials with the decomposition of the time reversal operator associated with orthogonal coded excitations

Science.gov (United States)

Villaverde, Eduardo Lopez; Robert, Sébastien; Prada, Claire

2017-02-01

In the present work, the Total Focusing Method (TFM) is used to image defects in a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. The viscoelastic attenuation of this material corrupts the images with a high electronic noise. In order to improve the image quality, the Decomposition of the Time Reversal Operator (DORT) filtering is combined with spatial Walsh-Hadamard coded transmissions before calculating the images. Experiments on a complex HDPE joint demonstrate that this method improves the signal-to-noise ratio by more than 40 dB in comparison with the conventional TFM.

An Estimation of Operator's Diagnostic Time for Feed-And-Bleed Operation under Various Scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon [Khalifa University of Science, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2015-10-15

In order to assess realistic safety of plant, effects of interactions between components, operator, and plant condition are needed to be considered in the PSA model. One of the important issues to estimate the CDF is the estimation of human error probability (HEP). When an accident occurs, operators follow the emergency operating procedure and check various alarm, parameters, and signals. In the conventional Korean PSA model, the Korean standard HRA (K-HRA) method is used. In this method, the HEP is the sum of diagnosis error probability and execution error probability. A diagnosis error probability is expressed by the available time for diagnosis and adjusting performance shaping factors, and an execution error probability is a function of task type and stress level. Available time for diagnosis is very important factor of HEP. If the available time for diagnosis is short, the HEP becomes high. In order to obtain the realistic risk assessment results, we first focus on the estimation of HEP considering the plant dynamics under various scenarios. Target operation and scenarios are feed-and bleed operation (F and B operation) and total loss of feedwater (TLOFW) accident with/without loss of coolant accident (LOCA). One of the highest HEP is HEP of FnB operation. In additional, Scenarios, which are related to combination secondary heat removal failure and primary heat removal failure, are most critical core damage scenario of the combined accident except scenarios related to station black out (SBO). In these scenarios, the FnB operation is last resort to prevent core damage. To estimate available operator diagnosis time, we identify the relationship between accidents, mitigation function, and plant condition. Distribution of available time of diagnosis was estimated using the MOSAIQUE. The variables are break size, break timing, trip timing of RCP, and availability of high pressure safety injection (HPSI) pump under the TLOFW accident with LOCA. For Type 1 accident

Timing the total reflection of light

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvat, Dominique; Bonnet, Christophe; Dunseath, Kevin; Emile, Olivier; Le Floch, Albert

2005-01-01

We have identified for the first time the absolute delay at total reflection, envisioned by Newton. We show that there are in fact two divergent Wigner delays, depending on the polarisation of the incident light. These measurements give a new insight on the passage from total reflection to refraction

SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL BANKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radoica Luburić

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on two very important and current approaches to management: Total Quality Management (TQM and Operational Risk Management (ORM. As a paradigm of business success, TQM provides the key assumptions for survival, development and success of an organisation, regardless of any limitations whatsoever. ORM, on the other hand, is predetermined to be an irreplaceable managerial tool that enables organisations to survive in any environment. In times of accelerated political, economic and technological changes, frequent natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other external events, a successful risk management has been gaining importance and becomes one of the key competitive advantages of an organisation. The ultimate objective is to make TQM and ORM, as two rather compatible and complementary approaches to risk management, harmonized, efficient and functional in order to get their synergistic effects in an organisation in full swing and practice. Various organisations, and thus central banks as conservative institutions, have an innovative opportunity to timely minimize their operational risk through preventive, comprehensive and synergistic operation of TQM and ORM and thus significantly contribute to improving their business performance.

Applicable value of real time interventional ultrasound guidance in family planning reproduction operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Guoping; Zou Dongfang; Sun Jian; Dong Weihua

2007-01-01

Objective: To determine the clinical value of real time interventional ultrasound guidance in family planning reproduction operation. Methods: Under the guidance of ultrasound monitoring, 522 cases with high risk and difficult uterine operation were undertaken in our department. Results: The abdominal endoscopic contraceptive uterine operation under real time ultrasound monitoring was carried out for 522 cases in 4 years, with successful rates for high risk pregnancy as 287/289 cases, high risk troublesome withdrawal of contraceptive ring as 129/130 cases and puzzling uterine operation as 103/103 cases. The total successful rate reached 99.42%, without uterine rupture and other complications. Conclusion: The former complex, blind and difficult uterine operations turn to be simple, safe and reliable under the guidance of real time ultrasound. (authors)

Operative Start Time Does Not Affect Post-Operative Infection Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Guidry, Christopher A; Davies, Stephen W; Willis, Rhett N; Dietch, Zachary C; Shah, Puja M; Sawyer, Robert G

2016-10-01

Surgical care is delivered 24 h a day at most institutions. Alarmingly, some authors have found that certain operative start times are associated with greater morbidity and mortality rates. This effect has been noted in both the public and private sector. Although some of these differences may be related to process, they may also be caused by the human circadian rhythm and corresponding changes in host defenses. We hypothesized that the time of day of an operation would impact the frequency of certain post-operative outcomes significantly. Cases at a single tertiary-care center reported to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program over a 10-year period were identified. Operative start times were divided into six-hour blocks, with 6 am to noon serving as the reference. Standard univariable techniques were applied. Multivariable logistic regression with mixed effects modeling then was used to determine the relation between operative start times and infectious outcomes, controlling for surgeon clustering. Statistical significance was set at p operative infectious complication. Seventy percent of these infections (n = 1,506) were surgical site infections. On univariable analysis considering all cases, nighttime and evening operations had higher rates of post-operative infections than those in performed during the day (9.1% from 6 am to noon; 9.7% from noon to 6 pm; 14.8% from 6 pm to midnight; and 14.4% from midnight to 6 am; p operative start time was not associated with the risk of post-operative infection, even when emergency cases were considered independently. Our data suggest that operative start times have no correlation with post-operative infectious complications. Further work is required to identify the source of the time-dependent outcome variability observed in previous studies.

Assessment and validation of CT scanogram to compare per-operative and post-operative mechanical axis after navigated total knee replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Sunil

2008-01-01

Our objective was to assess and validate low-dose computed tomography (CT) scanogram as a post-operative imaging modality to measure the mechanical axis after navigated total knee replacement. A prospective study was performed to compare intra-operative and post-operative mechanical axis after navigated total knee replacements. All consecutive patients who underwent navigated total knee replacement between May and December 2006 were included. The intra-operative final axis was recorded, and post-operatively a CT scanogram of lower limbs was performed. The mechanical axis was measured and compared against the intra-operative measurement. There were 15 patients ranging in age from 57 to 80 (average 70) years. The average final intra-operative axis was 0.56° varus (4° varus to 1.5° valgus) and post-operative CT scanogram axis was 0.52° varus (3.1° varus to 1.8° valgus). The average deviation from final axes to CT scanogram axes was 0.12° valgus with a correlation coefficient of 0.9. Our study suggests that CT scanogram is an imaging modality with reasonable accuracy for measuring mechanical axis despite significantly low radiation. It also confirms a high level of correlation between intra-operative and post-operative mechanical axis after navigated total knee replacement. PMID:18696064

Family of commuting operators for the totally asymmetric exclusion process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golinelli, O; Mallick, K

2007-01-01

The algebraic structure underlying the totally asymmetric exclusion process is studied by using the Bethe Ansatz technique. From the properties of the algebra generated by the local jump operators, we explicitly construct the hierarchy of operators (called generalized Hamiltonians) that commute with the Markov operator. The transfer matrix, which is the generating function of these operators, is shown to represent a discrete Markov process with long-range jumps. We give a general combinatorial formula for the connected Hamiltonians obtained by taking the logarithm of the transfer matrix. This formula is proved using a symbolic calculation program for the first ten connected operators

Improving the Prediction of Total Surgical Procedure Time Using Linear Regression Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric R. Edelman

2017-06-01

Full Text Available For efficient utilization of operating rooms (ORs, accurate schedules of assigned block time and sequences of patient cases need to be made. The quality of these planning tools is dependent on the accurate prediction of total procedure time (TPT per case. In this paper, we attempt to improve the accuracy of TPT predictions by using linear regression models based on estimated surgeon-controlled time (eSCT and other variables relevant to TPT. We extracted data from a Dutch benchmarking database of all surgeries performed in six academic hospitals in The Netherlands from 2012 till 2016. The final dataset consisted of 79,983 records, describing 199,772 h of total OR time. Potential predictors of TPT that were included in the subsequent analysis were eSCT, patient age, type of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA physical status classification, and type of anesthesia used. First, we computed the predicted TPT based on a previously described fixed ratio model for each record, multiplying eSCT by 1.33. This number is based on the research performed by van Veen-Berkx et al., which showed that 33% of SCT is generally a good approximation of anesthesia-controlled time (ACT. We then systematically tested all possible linear regression models to predict TPT using eSCT in combination with the other available independent variables. In addition, all regression models were again tested without eSCT as a predictor to predict ACT separately (which leads to TPT by adding SCT. TPT was most accurately predicted using a linear regression model based on the independent variables eSCT, type of operation, ASA classification, and type of anesthesia. This model performed significantly better than the fixed ratio model and the method of predicting ACT separately. Making use of these more accurate predictions in planning and sequencing algorithms may enable an increase in utilization of ORs, leading to significant financial and productivity related

Improving the Prediction of Total Surgical Procedure Time Using Linear Regression Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Edelman, Eric R; van Kuijk, Sander M J; Hamaekers, Ankie E W; de Korte, Marcel J M; van Merode, Godefridus G; Buhre, Wolfgang F F A

2017-01-01

For efficient utilization of operating rooms (ORs), accurate schedules of assigned block time and sequences of patient cases need to be made. The quality of these planning tools is dependent on the accurate prediction of total procedure time (TPT) per case. In this paper, we attempt to improve the accuracy of TPT predictions by using linear regression models based on estimated surgeon-controlled time (eSCT) and other variables relevant to TPT. We extracted data from a Dutch benchmarking database of all surgeries performed in six academic hospitals in The Netherlands from 2012 till 2016. The final dataset consisted of 79,983 records, describing 199,772 h of total OR time. Potential predictors of TPT that were included in the subsequent analysis were eSCT, patient age, type of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification, and type of anesthesia used. First, we computed the predicted TPT based on a previously described fixed ratio model for each record, multiplying eSCT by 1.33. This number is based on the research performed by van Veen-Berkx et al., which showed that 33% of SCT is generally a good approximation of anesthesia-controlled time (ACT). We then systematically tested all possible linear regression models to predict TPT using eSCT in combination with the other available independent variables. In addition, all regression models were again tested without eSCT as a predictor to predict ACT separately (which leads to TPT by adding SCT). TPT was most accurately predicted using a linear regression model based on the independent variables eSCT, type of operation, ASA classification, and type of anesthesia. This model performed significantly better than the fixed ratio model and the method of predicting ACT separately. Making use of these more accurate predictions in planning and sequencing algorithms may enable an increase in utilization of ORs, leading to significant financial and productivity related benefits.

Extending the maximum operation time of the MNSR reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawahra, S; Khattab, K; Saba, G

2016-09-01

An effective modification to extend the maximum operation time of the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) to enhance the utilization of the reactor has been tested using the MCNP4C code. This modification consisted of inserting manually in each of the reactor inner irradiation tube a chain of three polyethylene-connected containers filled of water. The total height of the chain was 11.5cm. The replacement of the actual cadmium absorber with B(10) absorber was needed as well. The rest of the core structure materials and dimensions remained unchanged. A 3-D neutronic model with the new modifications was developed to compare the neutronic parameters of the old and modified cores. The results of the old and modified core excess reactivities (ρex) were: 3.954, 6.241 mk respectively. The maximum reactor operation times were: 428, 1025min and the safety reactivity factors were: 1.654 and 1.595 respectively. Therefore, a 139% increase in the maximum reactor operation time was noticed for the modified core. This increase enhanced the utilization of the MNSR reactor to conduct a long time irradiation of the unknown samples using the NAA technique and increase the amount of radioisotope production in the reactor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time Management in the Operating Room: An Analysis of the Dedicated Minimally Invasive Surgery Suite

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Kenneth C.; Machaidze, Zurab

2004-01-01

Background: Dedicated minimally invasive surgery suites are available that contain specialized equipment to facilitate endoscopic surgery. Laparoscopy performed in a general operating room is hampered by the multitude of additional equipment that must be transported into the room. The objective of this study was to compare the preparation times between procedures performed in traditional operating rooms versus dedicated minimally invasive surgery suites to see whether operating room efficiency is improved in the specialized room. Methods: The records of 50 patients who underwent laparoscopic procedures between September 2000 and April 2002 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-three patients underwent surgery in a general operating room and 18 patients in an minimally invasive surgery suite. Nine patients were excluded because of cystoscopic procedures undergone prior to laparoscopy. Various time points were recorded from which various time intervals were derived, such as preanesthesia time, anesthesia induction time, and total preparation time. A 2-tailed, unpaired Student t test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean preanesthesia time was significantly faster in the minimally invasive surgery suite (12.2 minutes) compared with that in the traditional operating room (17.8 minutes) (P=0.013). Mean anesthesia induction time in the minimally invasive surgery suite (47.5 minutes) was similar to time in the traditional operating room (45.7 minutes) (P=0.734). The average total preparation time for the minimally invasive surgery suite (59.6 minutes) was not significantly faster than that in the general operating room (63.5 minutes) (P=0.481). Conclusion: The amount of time that elapses between the patient entering the room and anesthesia induction is statically shorter in a dedicated minimally invasive surgery suite. Laparoscopic surgery is performed more efficiently in a dedicated minimally invasive surgery suite versus a traditional operating room. PMID

Blood management and transfusion strategies in 600 patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty: an analysis of pre-operative autologous blood donation.

Science.gov (United States)

Perazzo, Paolo; Viganò, Marco; De Girolamo, Laura; Verde, Francesco; Vinci, Anna; Banfi, Giuseppe; Romagnoli, Sergio

2013-07-01

Blood loss during total joint arthroplasty strongly influences the time to recover after surgery and the quality of the recovery. Blood conservation strategies such as pre-operative autologous blood donation and post-operative cell salvage are intended to avoid allogeneic blood transfusions and their associated risks. Although widely investigated, the real effectiveness of these alternative transfusion practices remains controversial. The surgery reports of 600 patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (312 hip and 288 knee replacements) were retrospectively reviewed to assess transfusion needs and related blood management at our institute. Evaluation parameters included post-operative blood loss, haemoglobin concentration measured at different time points, ASA score, and blood transfusion strategies. Autologous blood donation increased the odds of receiving a red blood cell transfusion. Reinfusion by a cell salvage system of post-operative shed blood was found to limit adverse effects in cases of severe post-operative blood loss. The peri-operative net decrease in haemoglobin concentration was higher in patients who had predeposited autologous blood than in those who had not. The strengths of this study are the high number of cases and the standardised procedures, all operations having been performed by a single orthopaedic surgeon and a single anaesthesiologist. Our data suggest that a pre-operative autologous donation programme may often be useless, if not harmful. Conversely, the use of a cell salvage system may be effective in reducing the impact of blood transfusion on a patient's physiological status. Basal haemoglobin concentration emerged as a useful indicator of transfusion probability in total joint replacement procedures.

Time-driven activity based costing of total knee replacement surgery at a London teaching hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Alvin; Sabharwal, Sanjeeve; Akhtar, Kashif; Makaram, Navnit; Gupte, Chinmay M

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to conduct a time-driven activity based costing (TDABC) analysis of the clinical pathway for total knee replacement (TKR) and to determine where the major cost drivers lay. The in-patient pathway was prospectively mapped utilising a TDABC model, following 20 TKRs. The mean age for these patients was 73.4 years. All patients were ASA grade I or II and their mean BMI was 30.4. The 14 varus knees had a mean deformity of 5.32° and the six valgus knee had a mean deformity of 10.83°. Timings were prospectively collected as each patient was followed through the TKR pathway. Pre-operative costs including pre-assessment and joint school were £ 163. Total staff costs for admission and the operating theatre were £ 658. Consumables cost for the operating theatre were £ 1862. The average length of stay was 5.25 days at a total cost of £ 910. Trust overheads contributed £ 1651. The overall institutional cost of a 'noncomplex' TKR in patients without substantial medical co-morbidities was estimated to be £ 5422, representing a profit of £ 1065 based on a best practice tariff of £ 6487. The major cost drivers in the TKR pathway were determined to be theatre consumables, corporate overheads, overall ward cost and operating theatre staffing costs. Appropriate discounting of implant costs, reduction in length of stay by adopting an enhanced recovery programme and control of corporate overheads through the use of elective orthopaedic treatment centres are proposed approaches for reducing the overall cost of treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Near-real-time Estimation and Forecast of Total Precipitable Water in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Bartholy, J.; Kern, A.; Barcza, Z.; Pongracz, R.; Ihasz, I.; Kovacs, R.; Ferencz, C.

2013-12-01

Information about the amount and spatial distribution of atmospheric water vapor (or total precipitable water) is essential for understanding weather and the environment including the greenhouse effect, the climate system with its feedbacks and the hydrological cycle. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models need accurate estimations of water vapor content to provide realistic forecasts including representation of clouds and precipitation. In the present study we introduce our research activity for the estimation and forecast of atmospheric water vapor in Central Europe using both observations and models. The Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) operates a polar orbiting satellite receiving station in Budapest since 2002. This station receives Earth observation data from polar orbiting satellites including MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Direct Broadcast (DB) data stream from satellites Terra and Aqua. The received DB MODIS data are automatically processed using freely distributed software packages. Using the IMAPP Level2 software total precipitable water is calculated operationally using two different methods. Quality of the TPW estimations is a crucial question for further application of the results, thus validation of the remotely sensed total precipitable water fields is presented using radiosonde data. In a current research project in Hungary we aim to compare different estimations of atmospheric water vapor content. Within the frame of the project we use a NWP model (DBCRAS; Direct Broadcast CIMSS Regional Assimilation System numerical weather prediction software developed by the University of Wisconsin, Madison) to forecast TPW. DBCRAS uses near real time Level2 products from the MODIS data processing chain. From the wide range of the derived Level2 products the MODIS TPW parameter found within the so-called mod07 results (Atmospheric Profiles Product) and the cloud top pressure and cloud effective emissivity parameters from the so

Patient-specific instrumentation for total knee arthroplasty does not match the pre-operative plan as assessed by intra-operative computer-assisted navigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholes, Corey; Sahni, Varun; Lustig, Sebastien; Parker, David A; Coolican, Myles R J

2014-03-01

The introduction of patient-specific instruments (PSI) for guiding bone cuts could increase the incidence of malalignment in primary total knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between one type of patient-specific instrumentation (Zimmer PSI) and the pre-operative plan with respect to bone cuts and component alignment during TKR using imageless computer navigation. A consecutive series of 30 femoral and tibial guides were assessed in-theatre by the same surgeon using computer navigation. Following surgical exposure, the PSI cutting guides were placed on the joint surface and alignment assessed using the navigation tracker. The difference between in-theatre data and the pre-operative plan was recorded and analysed. The error between in-theatre measurements and pre-operative plan for the femoral and tibial components exceeded 3° for 3 and 17% of the sample, respectively, while the error for total coronal alignment exceeded 3° for 27% of the sample. The present results indicate that alignment with Zimmer PSI cutting blocks, assessed by imageless navigation, does not match the pre-operative plan in a proportion of cases. To prevent unnecessary increases in the incidence of malalignment in primary TKR, it is recommended that these devices should not be used without objective verification of alignment, either in real-time or with post-operative imaging. Further work is required to identify the source of discrepancies and validate these devices prior to routine use. II.

Operational quantum theory without predefined time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oreshkov, Ognyan; Cerf, Nicolas J

2016-01-01

The standard formulation of quantum theory assumes a predefined notion of time. This is a major obstacle in the search for a quantum theory of gravity, where the causal structure of space-time is expected to be dynamical and fundamentally probabilistic in character. Here, we propose a generalized formulation of quantum theory without predefined time or causal structure, building upon a recently introduced operationally time-symmetric approach to quantum theory. The key idea is a novel isomorphism between transformations and states which depends on the symmetry transformation of time reversal. This allows us to express the time-symmetric formulation in a time-neutral form with a clear physical interpretation, and ultimately drop the assumption of time. In the resultant generalized formulation, operations are associated with regions that can be connected in networks with no directionality assumed for the connections, generalizing the standard circuit framework and the process matrix framework for operations without global causal order. The possible events in a given region are described by positive semidefinite operators on a Hilbert space at the boundary, while the connections between regions are described by entangled states that encode a nontrivial symmetry and could be tested in principle. We discuss how the causal structure of space-time could be understood as emergent from properties of the operators on the boundaries of compact space-time regions. The framework is compatible with indefinite causal order, timelike loops, and other acausal structures. (paper)

Intra-operative reliability of ShapeMatch cutting guide placement in total knee arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Gavin; Leong, Anthony; McEwen, Peter; Steele, Robert; Tran, Ton; Trivett, Adrian

2013-01-01

Custom cutting guides based on pre-operative imaging have been introduced for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of this prospective cohort study was to assess the reliability of repeated placement of custom cutting guides by multiple surgeons in a group of patients undergoing TKA. Custom cutting guides (ShapeMatch®, Stryker Orthopaedics) were designed from pre-operative MRI scans. The treating surgeon placed each guide on the femur and tibia of each patient three times without pinning the block. The three-dimensional position and orientation of the guide was measured for each repetition using a computer navigation system. The surgeon was blinded to the navigation system display. Data from 24 patients and 6 surgeons were analyzed. Intraclass correlation coefficients for all measurement parameters were in the range 0.889-0.997 (excellent), and all comparisons were statistically significant (p reliable.

On the time evolution operator for time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonians

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, F.M.

1989-01-01

The Schroedinger equation with a time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonian is investigated. The time-evolution operator is written as a product of exponential operators determined by the Heisenberg equations of motion. This product operator is shown to be global in the occupation number representation when the Hamiltonian is Hermitian. The success of some physical applications of the product-form representation is explained

Decision of Lead-Time Compression and Stable Operation of Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Songtao Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A cost optimization strategy and a robust control strategy were studied to realize the low-cost robust operation of the supply chain with lead times. Firstly, for the multiple production lead times which existed in the supply chain, a corresponding inventory state model and a supply chain cost model were constructed based on the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy control system. Then, by considering the actual inventory level, the lead-time compression cost, and the stock-out cost, a cost optimization strategy was proposed. Furthermore, a fuzzy robust control strategy was proposed to realize the flexible switching among the models. Finally, the simulation results show that the total cost of the supply chain could be reduced effectively by the cost optimization strategy, and the stable operation of the supply chain could be realized by the proposed fuzzy robust control strategy.

Time-critical multirate scheduling using contemporary real-time operating system services

Science.gov (United States)

Eckhardt, D. E., Jr.

1983-01-01

Although real-time operating systems provide many of the task control services necessary to process time-critical applications (i.e., applications with fixed, invariant deadlines), it may still be necessary to provide a scheduling algorithm at a level above the operating system in order to coordinate a set of synchronized, time-critical tasks executing at different cyclic rates. The scheduling requirements for such applications and develops scheduling algorithms using services provided by contemporary real-time operating systems.

"Knife to skin" time is a poor marker of operating room utilization and efficiency in cardiac surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Luthra, Suvitesh; Ramady, Omar; Monge, Mary; Fitzsimons, Michael G; Kaleta, Terry R; Sundt, Thoralf M

2015-06-01

Markers of operation room (OR) efficiency in cardiac surgery are focused on "knife to skin" and "start time tardiness." These do not evaluate the middle and later parts of the cardiac surgical pathway. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate knife to skin time as an efficiency marker in cardiac surgery. We looked at knife to skin time, procedure time, and transfer times in the cardiac operational pathway for their correlation with predefined indices of operational efficiency (Index of Operation Efficiency - InOE, Surgical Index of Operational Efficiency - sInOE). A regression analysis was performed to test the goodness of fit of the regression curves estimated for InOE relative to the times on the operational pathway. The mean knife to skin time was 90.6 ± 13 minutes (23% of total OR time). The mean procedure time was 282 ± 123 minutes (71% of total OR time). Utilization efficiencies were highest for aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting and least for complex aortic procedures. There were no significant procedure-specific or team-specific differences for standard procedures. Procedure times correlated the strongest with InOE (r = -0.98, p knife to skin is not as strong an indicator of efficiency. A statistically significant linear dependence on InOE was observed with "procedure times" only. Procedure times are a better marker of OR efficiency than knife to skin in cardiac cases. Strategies to increase OR utilization and efficiency should address procedure times in addition to knife to skin times. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Operative and Immediate Postoperative Differences Between Traditional Multiport and Reduced Port Laparoscopic Total Splenectomy in Pediatric Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Seims, Aaron D; VanHouwelingen, Lisa; Mead, Jessica; Mao, Shenghua; Loh, Amos; Sandoval, John A; Davidoff, Andrew M; Wu, Jianrong; Wang, Winfred C; Fernandez-Pineda, Israel

2017-02-01

Laparoscopy offers many benefits to splenectomy, such as reduced incisional pain and shortened hospital duration. The purpose of this study is to evaluate procedural and outcome differences between multiport (MP) and reduced port (RP) splenectomy when utilized to treat children. An institutional review board approved retrospective analysis of all consecutive laparoscopic total splenectomies performed at a single institution between January 2010 and October 2015 was conducted. We evaluated demographics, surgical technique, instance of conversion, operative duration, estimated blood loss, need for intraoperative blood transfusion, postoperative length of stay, time to full feeds, complications, and follow-up duration. Over a 5-year period, 66 patients less than 20 years of age underwent laparoscopic total splenectomy. RP splenectomy was attempted in 14 patients. The remaining 52 were MP operations. Populations were comparable with regard to demographics. Preoperative splenic volumes (mL) were greater in the RP population (median [IQR]: 1377 [747-1508] versus 452 [242-710], P = .039). RP splenectomy demonstrated no difference compared to MP splenectomy in operative time (153 versus 138 minutes, P = .360), estimated blood loss (120 versus 154 mL, P = .634), or percent of cases requiring intraoperative blood transfusion (14 versus 23, P = .716). By the first postoperative day, 57% of RP and 17% of MP patients could be discharged (P = .005). Thirty-day readmission rates were similar, at 7% for RP and 8% for MP operations. Fever was the indication for all readmissions. Mean duration of follow-up is 28 months for MP and 13 months for RP cases. A reduced number of ports can be safely utilized for total splenectomy in pediatric patients without increasing procedural duration or need for intraoperative blood transfusion. In addition, rate of discharge on the first postoperative day was significantly higher in the RP splenectomy group.

Use of an operating microscope during spine surgery is associated with minor increases in operating room times and no increased risk of infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Basques, Bryce A; Golinvaux, Nicholas S; Bohl, Daniel D; Yacob, Alem; Toy, Jason O; Varthi, Arya G; Grauer, Jonathan N

2014-10-15

Retrospective database review. To evaluate whether microscope use during spine procedures is associated with increased operating room times or increased risk of infection. Operating microscopes are commonly used in spine procedures. It is debated whether the use of an operating microscope increases operating room time or confers increased risk of infection. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, which includes data from more than 370 participating hospitals, was used to identify patients undergoing elective spinal procedures with and without the use of an operating microscope for the years 2011 and 2012. Bivariate and multivariate linear regressions were used to test the association between microscope use and operating room times. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were similarly conducted to test the association between microscope use and infection occurrence within 30 days of surgery. A total of 23,670 elective spine procedures were identified, of which 2226 (9.4%) used an operating microscope. The average patient age was 55.1±14.4 years. The average operative time (incision to closure) was 125.7±82.0 minutes.Microscope use was associated with minor increases in preoperative room time (+2.9 min, P=0.013), operative time (+13.2 min, Pmicroscope and nonmicroscope groups for occurrence of any infection, superficial surgical site infection, deep surgical site infection, organ space infection, or sepsis/septic shock, regardless of surgery type. We did not find operating room times or infection risk to be significant deterrents for use of an operating microscope during spine surgery. 3.

Simulation of worst-case operating conditions for integrated circuits operating in a total dose environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhuva, B.L.

1987-01-01

Degradations in the circuit performance created by the radiation exposure of integrated circuits are so unique and abnormal that thorough simulation and testing of VLSI circuits is almost impossible, and new ways to estimate the operating performance in a radiation environment must be developed. The principal goal of this work was the development of simulation techniques for radiation effects on semiconductor devices. The mixed-mode simulation approach proved to be the most promising. The switch-level approach is used to identify the failure mechanisms and critical subcircuits responsible for operational failure along with worst-case operating conditions during and after irradiation. For precise simulations of critical subcircuits, SPICE is used. The identification of failure mechanisms enables the circuit designer to improve the circuit's performance and failure-exposure level. Identification of worst-case operating conditions during and after irradiation reduces the complexity of testing VLSI circuits for radiation environments. The results of test circuits for failure simulations using a conventional simulator and the new simulator showed significant time savings using the new simulator. The savings in simulation time proved to be circuit topology-dependent. However, for large circuits, the simulation time proved to be orders of magnitude smaller than simulation time for conventional simulators

Time Operator in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Khorasani, Sina

2017-07-01

It is first shown that the Dirac’s equation in a relativistic frame could be modified to allow discrete time, in agreement to a recently published upper bound. Next, an exact self-adjoint 4 × 4 relativistic time operator for spin-1/2 particles is found and the time eigenstates for the non-relativistic case are obtained and discussed. Results confirm the quantum mechanical speculation that particles can indeed occupy negative energy levels with vanishingly small but non-zero probablity, contrary to the general expectation from classical physics. Hence, Wolfgang Pauli’s objection regarding the existence of a self-adjoint time operator is fully resolved. It is shown that using the time operator, a bosonic field referred here to as energons may be created, whose number state representations in non-relativistic momentum space can be explicitly found.

Total Hip Arthroplasty – over 100 years of operative history

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Richard Knight

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Total hip arthroplasty (THA has completely revolutionised the nature in which the arthritic hip is treated, and is considered to be one of the most successful orthopaedic interventions of its generation (1. With over 100 years of operative history, this review examines the progression of the operation from its origins, together with highlighting the materials and techniques that have contributed to its development. Knowledge of its history contributes to a greater understanding of THA, such as the reasons behind selection of prosthetic materials in certain patient groups, while demonstrating the importance of critically analyzing research to continually determine best operative practice. Finally, we describe current areas of research being undertaken to further advance techniques and improve outcomes.

A real-time control framework for urban water reservoirs operation

Science.gov (United States)

Galelli, S.; Goedbloed, A.; Schwanenberg, D.

2012-04-01

Drinking water demand in urban areas is growing parallel to the worldwide urban population, and it is acquiring an increasing part of the total water consumption. Since the delivery of sufficient water volumes in urban areas represents a difficult logistic and economical problem, different metropolitan areas are evaluating the opportunity of constructing relatively small reservoirs within urban areas. Singapore, for example, is developing the so-called 'Four National Taps Strategies', which detects the maximization of water yields from local, urban catchments as one of the most important water sources. However, the peculiar location of these reservoirs can provide a certain advantage from the logistical point of view, but it can pose serious difficulties in their daily management. Urban catchments are indeed characterized by large impervious areas: this results in a change of the hydrological cycle, with decreased infiltration and groundwater recharge, and increased patterns of surface and river discharges, with higher peak flows, volumes and concentration time. Moreover, the high concentrations of nutrients and sediments characterizing urban discharges can cause further water quality problems. In this critical hydrological context, the effective operation of urban water reservoirs must rely on real-time control techniques, which can exploit hydro-meteorological information available in real-time from hydrological and nowcasting models. This work proposes a novel framework for the real-time control of combined water quality and quantity objectives in urban reservoirs. The core of this framework is a non-linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme, which employs the current state of the system, the future discharges furnished by a predictive model and a further model describing the internal dynamics of the controlled sub-system to determine an optimal control sequence over a finite prediction horizon. The main advantage of this scheme stands in its reduced

[Bentall operation combined with total arch replacement and stented elephant trunk implantation for serious Debakey I aortic dissecting aneurysm].

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Tian-Xiang; Wang, Chun; Zhang, Yu-Hai

2008-12-01

To summarize the clinical experience of Bentall operation combined with total arch replacement and stented elephant trunk implantation for serious Debakey I aortic dissecting aneurysm. Twelve patients with serious Debakey I aortic dissecting aneurysm underwent surgical treatment from January 2005 to December 2007. There were 10 male and 2 female with the mean age of (40.1 +/- 9.5) years old. There were acute aortic dissection in 9 cases, chronic aortic dissection in 3 cases. The inner diameter of aorta was (5.3 +/- 1.8) cm. There were Marfan syndrome in 4 cases, aortic regurgitation in all cases, severely persistent chest pain in 9 cases, acute left heart failure in 8 cases, and cardiac tamponade in 4 cases. Bentall operations combined with total arch replacement and stented elephant trunk implantation were performed by using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and antegrade selective cerebral perfusion in all cases. Urgent surgery underwent in 9 cases. The mean interval between the onset of aortic dissection and the accomplishment of surgery was (41.0 +/- 15.9) hours. Cardiopulmonary bypass time was (191 +/- 26) min, average cross clamp time was (134 +/- 31) min, and average deep hypothermic circulatory arrest time was (50.0 +/- 14.5) min. One patient died in hospital. The time stayed in ICU was 3 to 27 d. Mental disorder in 6 cases, hemi-paralysis in 1 case, amputation in 1 case, hemorrhage of anastomosis in 1 case, hemorrhage of alimentary tract in 1 case, and pleural effusion in 4 cases were recorded. Eleven cases were followed-up for 8 weeks to 36 months. There were no bending of the stents and no obstruction in the vascular prosthesis.No re-operation was needed. One case died 6 months postoperatively. Bentall operation combined with total arch replacement and stented elephant trunk implantation is safe and effective for serious Debakey I aortic dissecting aneurysm, while good organs protection and consummate cardiopulmonary bypass were taken.

Incidence of Early Post Operative Infection after Primary Total Knee ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Incidence of Early Post Operative Infection after. Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty at an East African. Centre. Kigera JWM1, Kimpiatu P2. 1. School of Medicine, University of Nairobi. 2. PCEA Kikuyu Hospital. Correspondence to: Dr James Kigera, P.O Box 30197 – 00100 Nairobi. Email: jameskigera@yahoo.co.uk. Abstract.

Using wide area differential GPS to improve total system error for precision flight operations

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, Keith Warren

Total System Error (TSE) refers to an aircraft's total deviation from the desired flight path. TSE can be divided into Navigational System Error (NSE), the error attributable to the aircraft's navigation system, and Flight Technical Error (FTE), the error attributable to pilot or autopilot control. Improvement in either NSE or FTE reduces TSE and leads to the capability to fly more precise flight trajectories. The Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) became operational for non-safety critical applications in 2000 and will become operational for safety critical applications in 2002. This navigation service will provide precise 3-D positioning (demonstrated to better than 5 meters horizontal and vertical accuracy) for civil aircraft in the United States. Perhaps more importantly, this navigation system, which provides continuous operation across large regions, enables new flight instrumentation concepts which allow pilots to fly aircraft significantly more precisely, both for straight and curved flight paths. This research investigates the capabilities of some of these new concepts, including the Highway-In-The Sky (HITS) display, which not only improves FTE but also reduces pilot workload when compared to conventional flight instrumentation. Augmentation to the HITS display, including perspective terrain and terrain alerting, improves pilot situational awareness. Flight test results from demonstrations in Juneau, AK, and Lake Tahoe, CA, provide evidence of the overall feasibility of integrated, low-cost flight navigation systems based on these concepts. These systems, requiring no more computational power than current-generation low-end desktop computers, have immediate applicability to general aviation flight from Cessnas to business jets and can support safer and ultimately more economical flight operations. Commercial airlines may also, over time, benefit from these new technologies.

Some Operational Aspects Relating to Quality Management and Total Quality Management

OpenAIRE

Sorin GRESOI; Aurelian DIACONU

2013-01-01

The work pass in review a few basic concepts found in quality management focusing on operational aspects of quality assurance in production activity and continue with issues regarding total quality strategy, the vector of competitiveness on the market.

The application of total quality management principles to spacecraft mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

Sweetin, Maury

1993-03-01

By now, the philosophies of Total Quality Management have had an impact on every aspect of American industrial life. The trail-blazing work of Deming, Juran, and Crosby, first implemented in Japan, has 're-migrated' across the Pacific and now plays a growing role in America's management culture. While initially considered suited only for a manufacturing environment, TQM has moved rapidly into the 'service' areas of offices, sales forces, and even fast-food restaurants. The next logical step has also been taken - TQM has found its way into virtually all departments of the Federal Government, including NASA. Because of this widespread success, it seems fair to ask whether this new discipline is directly applicable to the profession of spacecraft operations. The results of quality emphasis on OAO Corporation's contract at JPL provide strong support for Total Quality Management as a useful tool in spacecraft operations.

The application of total quality management principles to spacecraft mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

Sweetin, Maury

1993-01-01

By now, the philosophies of Total Quality Management have had an impact on every aspect of American industrial life. The trail-blazing work of Deming, Juran, and Crosby, first implemented in Japan, has 're-migrated' across the Pacific and now plays a growing role in America's management culture. While initially considered suited only for a manufacturing environment, TQM has moved rapidly into the 'service' areas of offices, sales forces, and even fast-food restaurants. The next logical step has also been taken - TQM has found its way into virtually all departments of the Federal Government, including NASA. Because of this widespread success, it seems fair to ask whether this new discipline is directly applicable to the profession of spacecraft operations. The results of quality emphasis on OAO Corporation's contract at JPL provide strong support for Total Quality Management as a useful tool in spacecraft operations.

Guidance concepts for time-based flight operations

Science.gov (United States)

Vicroy, Dan D.

1990-01-01

Airport congestion and the associated delays are severe in today's airspace system and are expected to increase. NASA and the FAA is investigating various methods of alleviating this problem through new technology and operational procedures. One concept for improving airspace productivity is time-based control of aircraft. Research to date has focused primarily on the development of time-based flight management systems and Air Traffic Control operational procedures. Flight operations may, however, require special onboard guidance in order to satisfy the Air Traffic Control imposed time constraints. The results are presented of a simulation study aimed at evaluating several time-based guidance concepts in terms of tracking performance, pilot workload, and subjective preference. The guidance concepts tested varied in complexity from simple digital time-error feedback to an advanced time-referenced-energy guidance scheme.

Motor operated valve stroke timing; is there value?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, K.; Rosch, F. Jr.; Neckowicz, T.

1990-01-01

Both ASME Section XI, Subsection IWV and ASME/ANSI OMa-1988, Part 10 require stroke timing of certain power operated valves. This requirement is intended to detect valve degradation and subsequent maintenance, repair or replacement needs. However, the adequacy of stroke timing, especially for motor operated valves, has met much skepticism in the industry. This paper will demonstrate that stroke timing for ac motor operated valves is inadequate and provide a non-intrusive testing alternative. It will also discuss the value of stroke timing for dc motor operated valves

Improved operative efficiency using a real-time MRI-guided stereotactic platform for laser amygdalohippocampotomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Allen L; Sussman, Eric S; Pendharkar, Arjun V; Le, Scheherazade; Mantovani, Alessandra; Keebaugh, Alaine C; Drover, David R; Grant, Gerald A; Wintermark, Max; Halpern, Casey H

2018-04-01

OBJECTIVE MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) is a minimally invasive method for thermal destruction of benign or malignant tissue that has been used for selective amygdalohippocampal ablation for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. The authors report their initial experience adopting a real-time MRI-guided stereotactic platform that allows for completion of the entire procedure in the MRI suite. METHODS Between October 2014 and May 2016, 17 patients with mesial temporal sclerosis were selected by a multidisciplinary epilepsy board to undergo a selective amygdalohippocampal ablation for temporal lobe epilepsy using MRgLITT. The first 9 patients underwent standard laser ablation in 2 phases (operating room [OR] and MRI suite), whereas the next 8 patients underwent laser ablation entirely in the MRI suite with the ClearPoint platform. A checklist specific to the real-time MRI-guided laser amydalohippocampal ablation was developed and used for each case. For both cohorts, clinical and operative information, including average case times and accuracy data, was collected and analyzed. RESULTS There was a learning curve associated with using this real-time MRI-guided system. However, operative times decreased in a linear fashion, as did total anesthesia time. In fact, the total mean patient procedure time was less in the MRI cohort (362.8 ± 86.6 minutes) than in the OR cohort (456.9 ± 80.7 minutes). The mean anesthesia time was significantly shorter in the MRI cohort (327.2 ± 79.9 minutes) than in the OR cohort (435.8 ± 78.4 minutes, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS The real-time MRI platform for MRgLITT can be adopted in an expedient manner. Completion of MRgLITT entirely in the MRI suite may lead to significant advantages in procedural times.

Risk factors for post-operative periprosthetic fractures following primary total hip arthroplasty with a proximally coated double-tapered cementless femoral component

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gromov, K; Bersang, A; Nielsen, C S

2017-01-01

ratio were recorded post-operatively. Periprosthetic fractures were identified and classified according to the Vancouver classification. Regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for early periprosthetic fracture. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 713 days (1 to 2058). A total of 48......AIMS: The aim of this study was to identify patient- and surgery-related risk factors for sustaining an early periprosthetic fracture following primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) performed using a double-tapered cementless femoral component (Bi-Metric femoral stem; Biomet Inc., Warsaw, Indiana...... periprosthetic fractures (3.0%) were identified during the follow-up and median time until fracture was 16 days, (interquartile range 10 to 31.5). Patients with femoral Dorr type C had a 5.2 times increased risk of post-operative periprosthetic fracture compared with type B, while female patients had a near...

Real-time multi-task operators support system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang He; Peng Minjun; Wang Hao; Cheng Shouyu

2005-01-01

The development in computer software and hardware technology and information processing as well as the accumulation in the design and feedback from Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operation created a good opportunity to develop an integrated Operator Support System. The Real-time Multi-task Operator Support System (RMOSS) has been built to support the operator's decision making process during normal and abnormal operations. RMOSS consists of five system subtasks such as Data Collection and Validation Task (DCVT), Operation Monitoring Task (OMT), Fault Diagnostic Task (FDT), Operation Guideline Task (OGT) and Human Machine Interface Task (HMIT). RMOSS uses rule-based expert system and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The rule-based expert system is used to identify the predefined events in static conditions and track the operation guideline through data processing. In dynamic status, Back-Propagation Neural Network is adopted for fault diagnosis, which is trained with the Genetic Algorithm. Embedded real-time operation system VxWorks and its integrated environment Tornado II are used as the RMOSS software cross-development. VxGUI is used to design HMI. All of the task programs are designed in C language. The task tests and function evaluation of RMOSS have been done in one real-time full scope simulator. Evaluation results show that each task of RMOSS is capable of accomplishing its functions. (authors)

Real-time analysis of total, elemental, and total speciated mercury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlager, R.J.; Wilson, K.G.; Sappey, A.D.

1995-01-01

ADA Technologies, Inc., is developing a continuous emissions monitoring system that measures the concentrations of mercury in flue gas. Mercury is emitted as an air pollutant from a number of industrial processes. The largest contributors of these emissions are coal and oil combustion, municipal waste combustion, medical waste combustion, and the thermal treatment of hazardous materials. It is difficult, time consuming, and expensive to measure mercury emissions using current testing methods. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that mercury is emitted from sources in several different forms, such as elemental mercury and mercuric chloride. The ADA analyzer measures these emissions in real time, thus providing a number of advantages over existing test methods: (1) it will provide a real-time measure of emission rates, (2) it will assure facility operators, regulators, and the public that emissions control systems are working at peak efficiency, and (3) it will provide information as to the nature of the emitted mercury (elemental mercury or speciated compounds). This update presents an overview of the CEM and describes features of key components of the monitoring system--the mercury detector, a mercury species converter, and the analyzer calibration system

Real-time analysis of total, elemental, and total speciated mercury

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlager, R.J.; Wilson, K.G.; Sappey, A.D. [ADA Technologies, Inc., Englewood, CO (United States)

1995-11-01

ADA Technologies, Inc., is developing a continuous emissions monitoring system that measures the concentrations of mercury in flue gas. Mercury is emitted as an air pollutant from a number of industrial processes. The largest contributors of these emissions are coal and oil combustion, municipal waste combustion, medical waste combustion, and the thermal treatment of hazardous materials. It is difficult, time consuming, and expensive to measure mercury emissions using current testing methods. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that mercury is emitted from sources in several different forms, such as elemental mercury and mercuric chloride. The ADA analyzer measures these emissions in real time, thus providing a number of advantages over existing test methods: (1) it will provide a real-time measure of emission rates, (2) it will assure facility operators, regulators, and the public that emissions control systems are working at peak efficiency, and (3) it will provide information as to the nature of the emitted mercury (elemental mercury or speciated compounds). This update presents an overview of the CEM and describes features of key components of the monitoring system--the mercury detector, a mercury species converter, and the analyzer calibration system.

[Operative treatment strategies for multiple trauma patients : early total care versus damage control].

Science.gov (United States)

Klüter, T; Lippross, S; Oestern, S; Weuster, M; Seekamp, A

2013-09-01

The treatment of multiple trauma patients is a great challenge for an interdisciplinary team. After preclinical care and subsequent treatment in the emergency room the order of the interventions is prioritized depending of the individual risk stratification. For planning the surgery management it is essential to distinguish between absolutely essential operations to prevent life-threatening situations for the patient and interventions with shiftable indications, depending on the general condition of the patient. All interventions need to be done without causing significant secondary damage to prohibit hyperinflammation and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. The challenge consists in determination of the appropriate treatment at the right point in time. In general the early primary intervention, early total care, is differentiated from the damage control concept.

IMU-based Real-time Pose Measurement system for Anterior Pelvic Plane in Total Hip Replacement Surgeries.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhe Cao; Shaojie Su; Hao Tang; Yixin Zhou; Zhihua Wang; Hong Chen

2017-07-01

With the aging of population, the number of Total Hip Replacement Surgeries (THR) increased year by year. In THR, inaccurate position of the implanted prosthesis may lead to the failure of the operation. In order to reduce the failure rate and acquire the real-time pose of Anterior Pelvic Plane (APP), we propose a measurement system in this paper. The measurement system includes two parts: Initial Pose Measurement Instrument (IPMI) and Real-time Pose Measurement Instrument (RPMI). IPMI is used to acquire the initial pose of the APP, and RPMI is used to estimate the real-time pose of the APP. Both are composed of an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and magnetometer sensors. To estimate the attitude of the measurement system, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is adopted in this paper. The real-time pose of the APP could be acquired together with the algorithm designed in the paper. The experiment results show that the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is within 1.6 degrees, which meets the requirement of THR operations.

Real-time operating system timing jitter and its impact on motor control

Science.gov (United States)

Proctor, Frederick M.; Shackleford, William P.

2001-12-01

General-purpose microprocessors are increasingly being used for control applications due to their widespread availability and software support for non-control functions like networking and operator interfaces. Two classes of real-time operating systems (RTOS) exist for these systems. The traditional RTOS serves as the sole operating system, and provides all OS services. Examples include ETS, LynxOS, QNX, Windows CE and VxWorks. RTOS extensions add real-time scheduling capabilities to non-real-time OSes, and provide minimal services needed for the time-critical portions of an application. Examples include RTAI and RTL for Linux, and HyperKernel, OnTime and RTX for Windows NT. Timing jitter is an issue in these systems, due to hardware effects such as bus locking, caches and pipelines, and software effects from mutual exclusion resource locks, non-preemtible critical sections, disabled interrupts, and multiple code paths in the scheduler. Jitter is typically on the order of a microsecond to a few tens of microseconds for hard real-time operating systems, and ranges from milliseconds to seconds in the worst case for soft real-time operating systems. The question of its significance on the performance of a controller arises. Naturally, the smaller the scheduling period required for a control task, the more significant is the impact of timing jitter. Aside from this intuitive relationship is the greater significance of timing on open-loop control, such as for stepper motors, than for closed-loop control, such as for servo motors. Techniques for measuring timing jitter are discussed, and comparisons between various platforms are presented. Techniques to reduce jitter or mitigate its effects are presented. The impact of jitter on stepper motor control is analyzed.

The Effect of Patient-Specific Instrumentation Incorporating an Extramedullary Tibial Guide on Operative Efficiency for Total Knee Arthroplasty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oh-Ryong Kwon

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This retrospective study was to determine if patient-specific instrumentation (PSI for total knee arthroplasty (TKA leads to shortened surgical time through increased operating room efficiency according to different tibial PSI designs. 166 patients underwent primary TKA and were categorized into three groups as follows: PSI without extramedullary (EM tibial guide (group 1, n=48, PSI with EM tibial guide (group 2, n=68, and conventional instrumentation (CI group (group 3, n=50. Four factors were compared between groups, namely, operative room time, thickness of bone resection, tibial slope, and rotation of the component. The mean surgical time was significantly shorter in the PSI with EM tibial guide group (group 2, 63.9±13.6 min compared to the CI group (group 3, 82.8±24.9 min (P<0.001. However, there was no significant difference in the PSI without EM tibial guide group (group 1, 75.3±18.8 min. This study suggests that PSI incorporating an EM tibial guide may lead to high operative efficiency in TKA compared to CI. This trial is registered with KCT0002384.

Reusable single-port access device shortens operative time and reduces operative costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shussman, Noam; Kedar, Asaf; Elazary, Ram; Abu Gazala, Mahmoud; Rivkind, Avraham I; Mintz, Yoav

2014-06-01

In recent years, single-port laparoscopy (SPL) has become an attractive approach for performing surgical procedures. The pitfalls of this approach are technical and financial. Financial concerns are due to the increased cost of dedicated devices and prolonged operating room time. Our aim was to calculate the cost of SPL using a reusable port and instruments in order to evaluate the cost difference between this approach to SPL using the available disposable ports and standard laparoscopy. We performed 22 laparoscopic procedures via the SPL approach using a reusable single-port access system and reusable laparoscopic instruments. These included 17 cholecystectomies and five other procedures. Operative time, postoperative length of stay (LOS) and complications were prospectively recorded and were compared with similar data from our SPL database. Student's t test was used for statistical analysis. SPL was successfully performed in all cases. Mean operative time for cholecystectomy was 72 min (range 40-116). Postoperative LOS was not changed from our standard protocols and was 1.1 days for cholecystectomy. The postoperative course was within normal limits for all patients and perioperative morbidity was recorded. Both operative time and length of hospital stay were shorter for the 17 patients who underwent cholecystectomy using a reusable port than for the matched previous 17 SPL cholecystectomies we performed (p cost difference. Operating with a reusable port ended up with an average cost savings of US$388 compared with using disposable ports, and US$240 compared with standard laparoscopy. Single-port laparoscopic surgery is a technically challenging and expensive surgical approach. Financial concerns among others have been advocated against this approach; however, we demonstrate herein that using a reusable port and instruments reduces operative time and overall operative costs, even beyond the cost of standard laparoscopy.

Mammography in Norway: Image quality and total performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsen, J.B.; Skretting, A.; Widmark, A.

1997-04-01

This report describes a method for assessing the total performance in mammography based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. In the time period from December 1993 to March 1994 the method was applied to assess the total performance of all the 45 Norwegian mammography laboratories operative at that time. Image quality characteristics in each laboratory was established by use of well-known phantoms

Operator of Time and Generalized Schrödinger Equation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slobodan Prvanović

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The equation describing the change of the state of the quantum system with respect to energy is introduced within the framework of the self-adjoint operator of time in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. In this proposal, the operator of time appears to be the generator of the change of the energy, while the operator of energy that is conjugate to the operator of time generates the time evolution. Two examples, one with discrete time and the other with continuous one, are given and the generalization of Schrödinger equation is proposed.

Quantum arrival times and operator normalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hegerfeldt, Gerhard C.; Seidel, Dirk; Gonzalo Muga, J.

2003-01-01

A recent approach to arrival times used the fluorescence of an atom entering a laser illuminated region, and the resulting arrival-time distribution was close to the axiomatic distribution of Kijowski, but not exactly equal, neither in limiting cases nor after compensation of reflection losses by normalization on the level of expectation values. In this paper we employ a normalization on the level of operators, recently proposed in a slightly different context. We show that in this case the axiomatic arrival-time distribution of Kijowski is recovered as a limiting case. In addition, it is shown that Allcock's complex potential model is also a limit of the physically motivated fluorescence approach and connected to Kijowski's distribution through operator normalization

Bentall operation, total aortic replacement and mitral valve replacement for a young adult with Marfan syndrome: a case of three-staged operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Inui, K; Shimazaki, Y; Watanabe, T; Kuraoka, S; Minowa, T; Miura, M; Oshikiri, S; Toyama, H

1998-08-01

In Marfan syndrome, the most common cardiovascular abnormalities are dilatation of the aorta and aortic valve regurgitation in adult patients. Mitral valve dysfunction is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and children with Marfan syndrome, and is not frequently operated on in adult Marfan patients who undergo surgery for diseases of the aortic root and total aorta. This report describes a successfully three-staged operation for a 24 year-old man with Marfan syndrome who underwent an emergent Bentall operation and aortic arch replacement, total aortic replacement and mitral valve replacement over 2 years. Mitral valve regurgitation was mild but increased after the second operation. The graft was tightly adhesive and invasive to the sternum. Endoscopic view was helpful to avoid graft damage at resternotomy. The postoperative course was uneventful in each operation. Microscopic examination of the mitral valve leaflets showed abnormal increase of mucopolysaccharides, and disruption and fragmentation of elastic fibers.

Determination of operation time function for activimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousa, C.H.S.; Peixoto, J.G.P.; Araujo, G.; Padilha, L.G.

2016-01-01

Radiation detectors must pass periodically recommended quality control tests and standardized to certify the quality of measurements, however, many studies have shown that several parameters can influence the results, however, some instrument components that can not be adjusted during calibrations may have significant importance in measurement results over the operating time. This study sought to determine the influence of the use of time in the activity measurements. The results show a trend of decreased activity measured for equipment with detectors with more operating time. (author)

Operational and real-time Business Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Ioana SANDU

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A key component of a company’s IT framework is a business intelligence (BI system. BI enables business users to report on, analyze and optimize business operations to reduce costs and increase revenues. Organizations use BI for strategic and tactical decision making where the decision-making cycle may span a time period of several weeks (e.g., campaign management or months (e.g., improving customer satisfaction.Competitive pressures coming from a very dynamic business environment are forcing companies to react faster to changing business conditions and customer requirements. As a result, there is now a need to use BI to help drive and optimize business operations on a daily basis, and, in some cases, even for intraday decision making. This type of BI is usually called operational business intelligence and real-time business intelligence.

Mixed-mode Operating System for Real-time Performance

OpenAIRE

M.M. Hasan; S. Sultana; C.K. Foo

2017-01-01

The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface (GUI) operating system which is typically nonreal-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time...

Mixed - mode Operating System for Real - time Performance

OpenAIRE

Hasan M. M.; Sultana S.; Foo C.K.

2017-01-01

The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface(GUI)operating system which is typicallynon-real-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time e...

On the definition of time operator in quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowicki, A.A.

1974-01-01

Different approaches to the quantum-mechanical definition of time operator T are briefly discussed. In particular we define the analytic continuation of the time operator and show that one can construct its exact eigenstates. We consider also the case of a relativistic free scalar particle and discuss the notion of proper time operator S. (author)

Performance analysis and kernel size study of the Lynx real-time operating system

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuan-Kwei; Gibson, James S.; Fernquist, Alan R.

1993-01-01

This paper analyzes the Lynx real-time operating system (LynxOS), which has been selected as the operating system for the Space Station Freedom Data Management System (DMS). The features of LynxOS are compared to other Unix-based operating system (OS). The tools for measuring the performance of LynxOS, which include a high-speed digital timer/counter board, a device driver program, and an application program, are analyzed. The timings for interrupt response, process creation and deletion, threads, semaphores, shared memory, and signals are measured. The memory size of the DMS Embedded Data Processor (EDP) is limited. Besides, virtual memory is not suitable for real-time applications because page swap timing may not be deterministic. Therefore, the DMS software, including LynxOS, has to fit in the main memory of an EDP. To reduce the LynxOS kernel size, the following steps are taken: analyzing the factors that influence the kernel size; identifying the modules of LynxOS that may not be needed in an EDP; adjusting the system parameters of LynxOS; reconfiguring the device drivers used in the LynxOS; and analyzing the symbol table. The reductions in kernel disk size, kernel memory size and total kernel size reduction from each step mentioned above are listed and analyzed.

Adiabatic theorem for the time-dependent wave operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viennot, David; Jolicard, Georges; Killingbeck, John P.; Perrin, Marie-Yvonne

2005-01-01

The application of time-dependent wave operator theory to the development of a quantum adiabatic perturbation theory is treated both theoretically and numerically, with emphasis on the description of field-matter interactions which involve short laser pulses. It is first shown that the adiabatic limit of the time-dependent wave operator corresponds to a succession of instantaneous static Bloch wave operators. Wave operator theory is then shown to be compatible with the two-time Floquet theory of light-matter interaction, thus allowing the application of Floquet theory to cases which require the use of a degenerate active space. A numerical study of some problems shows that the perturbation strength associated with nonadiabatic processes can be reduced by using multidimensional active spaces and illustrates the capacity of the wave operator approach to produce a quasiadiabatic treatment of a nominally nonadiabatic Floquet dynamical system

Total sitting time, leisure time physical activity and risk of hospitalization due to low back pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balling, Mie; Holmberg, Teresa; Petersen, Christina B

2018-01-01

AIMS: This study aimed to test the hypotheses that a high total sitting time and vigorous physical activity in leisure time increase the risk of low back pain and herniated lumbar disc disease. METHODS: A total of 76,438 adults answered questions regarding their total sitting time and physical...... activity during leisure time in the Danish Health Examination Survey 2007-2008. Information on low back pain diagnoses up to 10 September 2015 was obtained from The National Patient Register. The mean follow-up time was 7.4 years. Data were analysed using Cox regression analysis with adjustment...... disc disease. However, moderate or vigorous physical activity, as compared to light physical activity, was associated with increased risk of low back pain (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.30 and HR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.15-1.83). Moderate, but not vigorous physical activity was associated with increased risk...

Online total organic carbon (TOC) monitoring for water and wastewater treatment plants processes and operations optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Assmann, Céline; Scott, Amanda; Biller, Dondra

2017-08-01

Organic measurements, such as biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were developed decades ago in order to measure organics in water. Today, these time-consuming measurements are still used as parameters to check the water treatment quality; however, the time required to generate a result, ranging from hours to days, does not allow COD or BOD to be useful process control parameters - see (1) Standard Method 5210 B; 5-day BOD Test, 1997, and (2) ASTM D1252; COD Test, 2012. Online organic carbon monitoring allows for effective process control because results are generated every few minutes. Though it does not replace BOD or COD measurements still required for compliance reporting, it allows for smart, data-driven and rapid decision-making to improve process control and optimization or meet compliances. Thanks to the smart interpretation of generated data and the capability to now take real-time actions, municipal drinking water and wastewater treatment facility operators can positively impact their OPEX (operational expenditure) efficiencies and their capabilities to meet regulatory requirements. This paper describes how three municipal wastewater and drinking water plants gained process insights, and determined optimization opportunities thanks to the implementation of online total organic carbon (TOC) monitoring.

Obesity Increases Operative Time in Children Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Pandian, T K; Ubl, Daniel S; Habermann, Elizabeth B; Moir, Christopher R; Ishitani, Michael B

2017-03-01

Few studies have assessed the impact of obesity on laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in pediatric patients. Children who underwent LC were identified from the 2012 to 2013 American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatrics data. Patient characteristics, operative details, and outcomes were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to identify predictors of increased operative time (OT) and duration of anesthesia (DOAn). In total, 1757 patients were identified. Due to low rates of obesity in children obese). Among obese children, 80.6% were girls. A higher proportion of obese patients had diabetes (3.0% versus 1.0%, P obesity was an independent predictor of OT >90 (odds ratio [OR] 2.02; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.55-2.63), and DOAn >140 minutes (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.42-2.43). Obesity is an independent risk factor for increased OT in children undergoing LC. Pediatric surgeons and anesthesiologists should be prepared for the technical and physiological challenges that obesity may pose in this patient population.

Impact of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) on the operative experience of surgery residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopmans, Cornelis J; den Hoed, Pieter T; van der Laan, Lijckle; van der Harst, Erwin; van der Elst, Maarten; Mannaerts, Guido H H; Dawson, Imro; Timman, Reinier; Wijnhoven, Bas P L; IJzermans, Jan N M

2015-04-01

In Europe and the United States, work hour restrictions are considered to be particularly burdensome for residents in surgery specialties. The aim of this study was to examine whether reduction of the work week to 48 hours resulting from the implementation of the European Working Time Directive has affected the operative experience of surgery residents. This study was conducted in a general surgery training region in the Netherlands, consisting of 1 university hospital and 6 district training hospitals. Operating records summarizing the surgical procedures performed as "primary surgeon" in the operating theater for different grades of surgeons were retrospectively analyzed for the period 2005-2012 by the use of linear regression models. Operative procedures performed by residents were considered the main outcome measure. In total, 235,357 operative procedures were performed, including 47,458 (20.2%) in the university hospital and 187,899 (79.8%) in the district training hospitals (n = 5). For residents in the university hospital, the mean number of operative procedures performed per 1.0 full-time equivalent increased from 128 operations in 2005 to 204 operations in 2012 (P = .001), whereas for residents in district training hospitals, no substantial differences were found over time. The mean (±SD) operative caseload of 64 residents who completed the 6-year training program between 2005 and 2012 was 1,391 ± 226 (range, 768-1856). A comparison of the operative caseload according to year of board-certification showed no difference. Implementation of the European Working Time Directive has not affected adversely the number of surgical procedures performed by residents within a general surgical training region in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of operational cycle time length on nitrogen removal in an alternating oxidation ditch system.

Science.gov (United States)

Mantziaras, I D; Stamou, A; Katsiri, A

2011-06-01

This paper refers to nitrogen removal optimization of an alternating oxidation ditch system through the use of a mathematical model and pilot testing. The pilot system where measurements have been made has a total volume of 120 m(3) and consists of two ditches operating in four phases during one cycle and performs carbon oxidation, nitrification, denitrification and settling. The mathematical model consists of one-dimensional mass balance (convection-dispersion) equations based on the IAWPRC ASM 1 model. After the calibration and verification of the model, simulation system performance was made. Optimization is achieved by testing operational cycles and phases with different time lengths. The limits of EU directive 91/271 for nitrogen removal have been used for comparison. The findings show that operational cycles with smaller time lengths can achieve higher nitrogen removals and that an "equilibrium" between phase time percentages in the whole cycle, for a given inflow, must be achieved.

Mission reliability of semi-Markov systems under generalized operational time requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Xiaoyue; Hillston, Jane

2015-01-01

Mission reliability of a system depends on specific criteria for mission success. To evaluate the mission reliability of some mission systems that do not need to work normally for the whole mission time, two types of mission reliability for such systems are studied. The first type corresponds to the mission requirement that the system must remain operational continuously for a minimum time within the given mission time interval, while the second corresponds to the mission requirement that the total operational time of the system within the mission time window must be greater than a given value. Based on Markov renewal properties, matrix integral equations are derived for semi-Markov systems. Numerical algorithms and a simulation procedure are provided for both types of mission reliability. Two examples are used for illustration purposes. One is a one-unit repairable Markov system, and the other is a cold standby semi-Markov system consisting of two components. By the proposed approaches, the mission reliability of systems with time redundancy can be more precisely estimated to avoid possible unnecessary redundancy of system resources. - Highlights: • Two types of mission reliability under generalized requirements are defined. • Equations for both types of reliability are derived for semi-Markov systems. • Numerical methods are given for solving both types of reliability. • Simulation procedure is given for estimating both types of reliability. • Verification of the numerical methods is given by the results of simulation

Reduced survival for uncemented compared to cemented total hip arthroplasty after operatively treated acetabular fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke-Jenssen, John; Westberg, Marianne; Røise, Olav; Storeggen, Stein Arne Øvre; Bere, Tone; Silberg, Ingunn; Madsen, Jan Erik

2017-11-01

Post traumatic arthritis and avascular necrosis of the femoral head are common complications after operatively treated acetabular fractures. This may cause severe disabilities for the patient, necessitating a total hip arthroplasty. Even though an arthroplasty may provide good symptomatic relief, the long-term results are more uncertain and no consensus exists according to preferred prosthetic designs. With this cohort study, we aimed to investigate the medium to long term arthroplasty survival and clinical results of total hip arthroplasty after operatively treated acetabular fractures. We included 52 patients treated with a secondary total hip arthroplasty at a median of 2.4 (0.1-14.1) years after an operatively treated acetabular fracture. The median age was 54 (11-82) years. Cemented arthroplasty was used for 33 patients, 10 patients had an uncemented arthroplasty and 9 patients received a hybrid arthroplasty. Average follow up was 8.0 (SD 5.0) years. Ten-year revision free arthroplasty survival was 79%. Uncemented arthroplasties had a significantly worse 10-year survival of 57%. Arthroplasties performed at a centre without a pelvic fracture service also had a significantly worse 10-years survival of 51%. Cox regression showed similar results with an 8-fold increase in risk of revision for both uncemented arthroplasties and operations performed at a non-pelvic trauma centre. Total hip arthroplasty secondary to an operatively treated acetabular fracture provides good symptomatic relief. These patients are, however, complex cases and are probably best treated at specialist centres with both pelvic trauma surgeons and arthroplasty surgeons proficient in complex revisions present. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organizational Culture Influence On Total Productive Maintenance (TPM and Operational Performance Using RASCH Model Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Norhasni Mohd Asaad

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Market globalization, competitive product and services, high economic crises are the most critical factors that influence the success of the manufacturing companies in global market. Therefore it is critical to the manufacturing companies to be efficient in production and lean tool may used to achieve that.  The most frequently used is the Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM, even though there are many studies have been conducted in relation to the TPM but there is limited research in investigating the effects of the TPM on operational performance. However, the result of the studies was not consistent, where TPM practice may have positive and negative impact on operational performance. Among the reason is the culture of the organization that influenced the implementation of TPM and operational performance. Due to that this study attempts to investigate the influence of organizational culture on the TPM implementation and operational performance.  Rasch model is used in this study due to its ability in interpreting and analyzing the ability of respondents in performing the difficult items. The online questionnaires were distributed to 63 randomly selected automotive companies located at Northern Region of Malaysia.  Results of the study revealed that the organizational culture has influenced on the successful implementation of TPM and operational performance. Therefore by the implementation of TPM in outstanding organizational culture can improve operational performance.   Keyword: Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM, Lean manufacturing, Operational performance, Organizational culture, Rasch modeldoi:10.12695/ajtm.2013.6.2.2How to cite this article:Mohd Asaad, M.N and Yusoff, R.Z. (2013. Organizational Culture Influence On Total Productive Maintenance (TPM and Operational Performance Using RASCH Model Analysis . The Asian Journal of Technology Management 6 (2: 72-81. Print ISSN: 1978-6956; Online ISSN: 2089-791X.  doi:10.12695/ajtm

Single-Use Energy Sources and Operating Room Time for Laparoscopic Hysterectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Holloran-Schwartz, M Brigid; Gavard, Jeffrey A; Martin, Jared C; Blaskiewicz, Robert J; Yeung, Patrick P

2016-01-01

To compare the intraoperative direct costs of a single-use energy device with reusable energy devices during laparoscopic hysterectomy. A randomized controlled trial (Canadian Task Force Classification I). An academic hospital. Forty-six women who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy from March 2013 to September 2013. Each patient served as her own control. One side of the uterine attachments was desiccated and transected with the single-use device (Ligasure 5-mm Blunt Tip LF1537 with the Force Triad generator). The other side was desiccated and transected with reusable bipolar forceps (RoBi 5 mm), and transected with monopolar scissors using the same Covidien Force Triad generator. The instrument approach used was randomized to the attending physician who was always on the patient's left side. Resident physicians always operated on the patient's right side and used the converse instruments of the attending physician. Start time was recorded at the utero-ovarian pedicle and end time was recorded after transection of the uterine artery on the same side. Costs included the single-use device; amortized costs of the generator, reusable instruments, and cords; cleaning and packaging of reusable instruments; and disposal of the single-use device. Operating room time was $94.14/min. We estimated that our single use-device cost $630.14 and had a total time savings of 6.7 min per case, or 3.35 min per side, which could justify the expense of the device. The single-use energy device had significant median time savings (-4.7 min per side, p energy device that both desiccates and cuts significantly reduced operating room time to justify its own cost, and it also reduced total intraoperative direct costs during laparoscopic hysterectomy in our institution. Operating room cost per minute varies between institutions and must be considered before generalizing our results. Copyright © 2016 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Start time delays in operating room: Different perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babita Gupta

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Healthcare expenditure is a serious concern, with escalating costs failing to meet the expectations of quality care. The treatment capacities are limited in a hospital setting and the operating rooms (ORs. Their optimal utilization is vital in efficient hospital management. Starting late means considerable wait time for staff, patients and waste of resources. We planned an audit to assess different perspectives of the residents in surgical specialities and anesthesia and OR staff nurses so as to know the causative factors of operative delay. This can help develop a practical model to decrease start time delays in operating room (ORs. Aims: An audit to assess different perspectives of the Operating room (OR staff with respect to the varied causative factors of operative delay in the OR. To aid in the development of a practical model to decrease start time delays in ORs and facilitate on-time starts at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma centre (JPNATC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, New Delhi. Methods: We prepared a questionnaire seeking the five main reasons of delay as per their perspective. Results: The available data was analysed. Analysis of the data demonstrated the common causative factors in start time operative delays as: a lack of proper planning, deficiencies in team work, communication gap and limited availability of trained supporting staff. Conclusions: The preparation of the equipment and required material for the OR cases must be done well in advance. Utilization of newer technology enables timely booking and scheduling of cases. Improved inter-departmental coordination and compliance with preanesthetic instructions needs to be ensured. It is essential that the anesthesiologists perform their work promptly, well in time . and supervise the proceedings as the OR manager. This audit is a step forward in defining the need of effective OR planning for continuous quality improvement.

Real-time Testing of Operating Systems on Raspberry Pi

OpenAIRE

Murstad, Amund

2016-01-01

A subset of operating systems are called ``real time'' operating systems. While a general operating system like Windows or OSX can make no guarantee when a process gets to run, a real time one has the ability to do so. They are used for systems where the quality of the results from the operating system is not only defined by their correctness, but also by when they arrive. These kinds of systems are called Real-time Systems and can be divided into soft, hard and firm. If a deadline is missed ...

Comparison of laparoscopic and open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, T.; Saleem, M.R.; Aziz, O.B.; Arshad, A.

2014-01-01

To compare laparoscopic and conventional open appendectomy in terms of operative time, hospital stay and frequency of surgical site infection (SSI). Patient and Methods: A total of 417 patients underwent appendectomy during this period. 137 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy (group A) while 280 patient had open appendectomy (group B). The samples include all patients who were operated open between the time span of june 2010 to september 2011. A chi square-test was performed to compare the data for statistical significance. Result: Mean operative time for group A was 79.21+-23.42 minitues where as in group B, the mean operative time was 41.49+-20.86 minitues. Group A patients had a shorter hospital 1 stay (3.6+-1 day) but in group B it was (5.2+-3 days). Seven patients (5.1 %) developed surgical site infection (SSI) in group A and 34 patients (12.14 %)developed postoperative SSI in group B. Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy is superior to open appendectomy because of shorter hospital stay and laser-operative SSI, but requires longer operative time. (author)

A Time-Composable Operating System for the Patmos Processor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ziccardi, Marco; Schoeberl, Martin; Vardanega, Tullio

2015-01-01

-composable operating system, on top of a time-composable processor, facilitates incremental development, which is highly desirable for industry. This paper makes a twofold contribution. First, we present enhancements to the Patmos processor to allow achieving time composability at the operating system level. Second......, we extend an existing time-composable operating system, TiCOS, to make best use of advanced Patmos hardware features in the pursuit of time composability.......In the last couple of decades we have witnessed a steady growth in the complexity and widespread of real-time systems. In order to master the rising complexity in the timing behaviour of those systems, rightful attention has been given to the development of time-predictable computer architectures...

Time Warp Operating System, Version 2.5.1

Science.gov (United States)

Bellenot, Steven F.; Gieselman, John S.; Hawley, Lawrence R.; Peterson, Judy; Presley, Matthew T.; Reiher, Peter L.; Springer, Paul L.; Tupman, John R.; Wedel, John J., Jr.; Wieland, Frederick P.;

An Evaluation of Intra‑ and Post‑operative Blood Loss in Total Hip ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-05-18

May 18, 2017 ... Results: The mean intra‑ and post‑operative blood losses were 1222.7 ... To evaluate blood loss after total hip replacement. 2. To evaluate the .... 12.3. 4.2. 0.1. Median. 400.0. 150.0. 20.0. 3.0. Mode. 400.0. 100.0. 0.0. 3.0. SD.

Intra-operative monitoring of the common peroneal nerve during total knee replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Unwin, A J; Thomas, M

1994-01-01

We present a method allowing intra-operative monitoring of the common peroneal nerve during total knee arthroplasty using a magnetic stimulator. Previous reports have shown no pre-operative method successful in selecting those patients prone to develop a post-operative palsy. The device, placed beneath the lumbar spine, stimulates the cauda equina; common peroneal nerve function is assessed via the response in extensor digitorum brevis. There is a loss of signal from the nerve with the use of a tourniquet 25 min following its application. The protocol therefore requires that a tourniquet is used at least only for fixation of the prosthetic components. The method is quick, safe, non-invasive and reproducible, and is of use both in at-risk patients and in research work. Images Figure 6. PMID:7837197

Assessment of operative times of multiple surgical specialties in a public university hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Altair da Silva

2017-01-01

To evaluate the indicators duration of anesthesia, operative time and time patients stay in the operating rooms of different surgical specialties at a public university hospital. It was done by a descriptive cross-sectional study based on the operating room database. The following stages were measured: duration of anesthesia, procedure time and patient length of stay in the room of the various specialties. We included surgeries carried out in sequence in the same room, between 7:00 a.m. and 5 p.m., either elective or emergency. We calculated the 80th percentile of the stages, where 80% of procedures were below this value. The study measured 8,337 operations of 12 surgical specialties performed within one year. The overall mean duration of anesthesia of all specialties was 178.12±110.46 minutes, and the 80th percentile was 252 minutes. The mean operative time was 130.45±97.23 minutes, and the 80th percentile was 195 minutes. The mean total time of the patient in the operating room was 197.30±113.71 minutes, and the 80th percentile was 285 minutes. Thus, the variation of the overall mean compared to the 80th percentile was 41% for anesthesia, 49% for surgeries and 44% for operating room time. In average, anesthesia took up 88% of the operating room period, and surgery, 61%. This study identified patterns in the duration of surgery stages. The mean values of the specialties can assist with operating room planning and reduce delays. Avaliar os indicadores de tempo da anestesia, da operação e da permanência do paciente em sala de diversas especialidades do centro cirúrgico de um hospital universitário. Foi realizado em estudo descritivo transversal a partir da base de dados do centro cirúrgico e mensuradas as seguintes etapas: duração de anestesia, tempo do procedimento e tempo de permanência do paciente em sala das diversas especialidades. Foram incluídas as operações realizadas em sequência na mesma sala, das 7h às 17h, eletivas ou de urg

Intra-operative digital imaging: assuring the alignment of components when undertaking total hip arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Hambright, D; Hellman, M; Barrack, R

2018-01-01

The aims of this study were to examine the rate at which the positioning of the acetabular component, leg length discrepancy and femoral offset are outside an acceptable range in total hip arthroplasties (THAs) which either do or do not involve the use of intra-operative digital imaging. A retrospective case-control study was undertaken with 50 patients before and 50 patients after the integration of an intra-operative digital imaging system in THA. The demographics of the two groups were comparable for body mass index, age, laterality and the indication for surgery. The digital imaging group had more men than the group without. Surgical data and radiographic parameters, including the inclination and anteversion of the acetabular component, leg length discrepancy, and the difference in femoral offset compared with the contralateral hip were collected and compared, as well as the incidence of altering the position of a component based on the intra-operative image. Digital imaging took a mean of five minutes (2.3 to 14.6) to perform. Intra-operative changes with the use of digital imaging were made for 43 patients (86%), most commonly to adjust leg length and femoral offset. There was a decrease in the incidence of outliers when using intra-operative imaging compared with not using it in regard to leg length discrepancy (20% versus 52%, p = 0.001) and femoral offset inequality (18% versus 44%, p = 0.004). There was also a difference in the incidence of outliers in acetabular inclination (0% versus 7%, p = 0.023) and version (0% versus 4%, p = 0.114) compared with historical results of a high-volume surgeon at the same centre. The use of intra-operative digital imaging in THA improves the accuracy of the positioning of the components at THA without adding a substantial amount of time to the operation. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100B(1 Supple A):36-43. ©2018 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Smooth time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve estimators.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Camblor, Pablo; Pardo-Fernández, Juan Carlos

2018-03-01

The receiver operating characteristic curve is a popular graphical method often used to study the diagnostic capacity of continuous (bio)markers. When the considered outcome is a time-dependent variable, two main extensions have been proposed: the cumulative/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curve and the incident/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curve. In both cases, the main problem for developing appropriate estimators is the estimation of the joint distribution of the variables time-to-event and marker. As usual, different approximations lead to different estimators. In this article, the authors explore the use of a bivariate kernel density estimator which accounts for censored observations in the sample and produces smooth estimators of the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves. The performance of the resulting cumulative/dynamic and incident/dynamic receiver operating characteristic curves is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, the influence of the choice of the required smoothing parameters is explored. Finally, two real-applications are considered. An R package is also provided as a complement to this article.

Feasibility study of a real-time operating system for a multichannel MPEG-4 encoder

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Lehtoranta, Olli; Hamalainen, Timo D.

2005-03-01

Feasibility of DSP/BIOS real-time operating system for a multi-channel MPEG-4 encoder is studied. Performances of two MPEG-4 encoder implementations with and without the operating system are compared in terms of encoding frame rate and memory requirements. The effects of task switching frequency and number of parallel video channels to the encoding frame rate are measured. The research is carried out on a 200 MHz TMS320C6201 fixed point DSP using QCIF (176x144 pixels) video format. Compared to a traditional DSP implementation without an operating system, inclusion of DSP/BIOS reduces total system throughput only by 1 QCIF frames/s. The operating system has 6 KB data memory overhead and program memory requirement of 15.7 KB. Hence, the overhead is considered low enough for resource critical mobile video applications.

Single machine total completion time minimization scheduling with a time-dependent learning effect and deteriorating jobs

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ji-Bo; Wang, Ming-Zheng; Ji, Ping

2012-05-01

In this article, we consider a single machine scheduling problem with a time-dependent learning effect and deteriorating jobs. By the effects of time-dependent learning and deterioration, we mean that the job processing time is defined by a function of its starting time and total normal processing time of jobs in front of it in the sequence. The objective is to determine an optimal schedule so as to minimize the total completion time. This problem remains open for the case of -1 < a < 0, where a denotes the learning index; we show that an optimal schedule of the problem is V-shaped with respect to job normal processing times. Three heuristic algorithms utilising the V-shaped property are proposed, and computational experiments show that the last heuristic algorithm performs effectively and efficiently in obtaining near-optimal solutions.

On Real-Time Operating Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-04-01

1Ri2 193 ONREAL-TIME OPERATING SYS EMS(U MAYLAN UN V COLLG PARK DEPT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE S LEVI ET AL APR 87 CS-TR-1838 NOSO14-87-K-9124 UNCLASSIFIED...and processes. In each instance the abstraction takes the form of some non- physical resource and benefits both the system and the user. ...The...service, which is important as an inter-process service (for physical synchronization) as well as an internal service for a process. A time service in a

Whole blood coagulation time, haematocrit, haemoglobin and total ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study was carried out to determine the values of whole blood coagulation time (WBCT), haematocrit (HM), haemaglobin (HB) and total protein (TP) of one hundred and eighteen apparently healthy turkeys reared under an extensive management system in Zaria. The mean values for WBCT, HM, HB and TP were 1.12 ...

Real-Time Operating Systems for Multicore Embedded Systems

OpenAIRE

Tomiyama, Hiroyuki; Honda, Shinya; Takada, Hiroaki

2008-01-01

Multicore systems-on-chip have become popular inthe design of embedded systems in order to simultaneously achieve high performance and low power consumption. On the software side, real-time operating systems are necessary in orderto handle growing complexity of embedded software. This paper describes requirements, design principles and implementation techniques for real-time operating systems to be used inasymmetric multicore systems.

Does pre-operative psychological distress affect patient satisfaction after primary total hip arthroplasty?

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Nolan John

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are concerns that pre-operative psychological distress might be associated with reduced patient satisfaction after total hip replacement (THR. Methods We investigated this in a multi-centre prospective study between January 1999 and January 2002. We dichotomised the patients into the mentally distressed (MHS ≤ 56 and the not mentally distressed (MHS > 56 groups based on their pre-operative Mental Health Score (MHS of SF36. Results 448 patients (340 not distressed and 108 distressed completed the patient satisfaction survey. Patient satisfaction rate at five year was 96.66% (415/448. There was no difference in patient satisfaction or willingness to have the surgery between the two groups. None of pre-operative variables predicted five year patient satisfaction in logistic regression. Conclusions Patient satisfaction after surgery may not be adversely affected by pre-operative psychological distress.

Overview of real-time operating systems on microprocessor platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luong, T.T.

1994-01-01

This paper attempts to overview the real-time operating systems on microprocessor platforms in the field of experimental physics facility controls. The key issues regarding operating systems as well as standards and development environment are discussed. As an illustration, some current industrial products are indicated. Also, real-time systems operating in some institutes of the EPS/EPCS inter divisional group are reviewed. (author). 3 refs., 4 figs

A distributed real-time operating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuynman, F.; Hertzberger, L.O.

1984-07-01

A distributed real-time operating system, Fados, has been developed for an embedded multi-processor system. The operating system is based on a host target approach and provides for communication between arbitrary processes on host and target machine. The facilities offered are, apart from process communication, access to the file system on the host by programs on the target machine and monitoring and debugging of programs on the target machine from the host. The process communication has been designed in such a way that the possibilities are the same as those offered by the Ada programming language. The operating system is implemented on a MC 68000 based multiprocessor system in combination with a Unix host. (orig.)

Minimizing the Total Service Time of Discrete Dynamic Berth Allocation Problem by an Iterated Greedy Heuristic

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Berth allocation is the forefront operation performed when ships arrive at a port and is a critical task in container port optimization. Minimizing the time ships spend at berths constitutes an important objective of berth allocation problems. This study focuses on the discrete dynamic berth allocation problem (discrete DBAP), which aims to minimize total service time, and proposes an iterated greedy (IG) algorithm to solve it. The proposed IG algorithm is tested on three benchmark problem sets. Experimental results show that the proposed IG algorithm can obtain optimal solutions for all test instances of the first and second problem sets and outperforms the best-known solutions for 35 out of 90 test instances of the third problem set. PMID:25295295

Minimizing the Total Service Time of Discrete Dynamic Berth Allocation Problem by an Iterated Greedy Heuristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shih-Wei Lin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Berth allocation is the forefront operation performed when ships arrive at a port and is a critical task in container port optimization. Minimizing the time ships spend at berths constitutes an important objective of berth allocation problems. This study focuses on the discrete dynamic berth allocation problem (discrete DBAP, which aims to minimize total service time, and proposes an iterated greedy (IG algorithm to solve it. The proposed IG algorithm is tested on three benchmark problem sets. Experimental results show that the proposed IG algorithm can obtain optimal solutions for all test instances of the first and second problem sets and outperforms the best-known solutions for 35 out of 90 test instances of the third problem set.

Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings

Science.gov (United States)

van Dommelen, Paula; Coffeng, Jennifer K.; van der Ploeg, Hidde P.; van der Beek, Allard J.; Boot, Cécile R. L.; Hendriksen, Ingrid J. M.

2016-01-01

Background Sedentary behaviour increases the risk for morbidity. Our primary aim is to determine the proportion and factors associated with objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings. Secondary aim is to study the proportion of physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts. Methods Data were obtained using ActiGraph accelerometers from employees of: 1) a financial service provider (n = 49 men, 31 women), 2) two research institutes (n = 30 men, 57 women), and 3) a construction company (n = 38 men). Total (over the whole day) and occupational sedentary time, physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts (lasting ≥30 minutes) were calculated by work setting. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine general, health and work-related factors associated with sedentary time. Results The employees of the financial service provider and the research institutes spent 76–80% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 18–20% in light intensity physical activity and 3–5% in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Occupational time in prolonged sedentary bouts was 27–30%. Total time was less sedentary (64–70%), and had more light intensity physical activity (26–33%). The employees of the construction company spent 44% of their occupational time in sedentary behaviour, 49% in light, and 7% in moderate intensity physical activity, and spent 7% in sedentary bouts. Total time spent in sedentary behavior was 56%, 40% in light, and 4% in moderate intensity physical behaviour, and 12% in sedentary bouts. For women, low to intermediate education was the only factor that was negatively associated with occupational sedentary time. Conclusions Sedentary behaviour is high among white-collar employees, especially in highly educated women. A relatively small proportion of sedentary time was accrued in sedentary bouts. It is recommended that worksite health promotion efforts should focus on reducing sedentary

Research and application of embedded real-time operating system

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo

2013-03-01

In this paper, based on the analysis of existing embedded real-time operating system, the architecture of an operating system is designed and implemented. The experimental results show that the design fully complies with the requirements of embedded real-time operating system, can achieve the purposes of reducing the complexity of embedded software design and improving the maintainability, reliability, flexibility. Therefore, this design program has high practical value.

Total Work, Gender and Social Norms in EU and US Time Use

OpenAIRE

Burda , Michael C; Hamermesh , Daniel S; Weil , Philippe

2008-01-01

Using time-diary data from 27 countries, we demonstrate a negative relationship between real GDP per capita and the female-male difference in total work time--the sum of work for pay and work at home. We also show that in rich non-Catholic countries on four continents men and women do the same amount of total work on average. Our survey results demonstrate that labor economists, macroeconomists, sociologists and the general public consistently believe that women perform more total work. The f...

Embedded and real-time operating systems

CERN Document Server

Wang, K C

2017-01-01

This book covers the basic concepts and principles of operating systems, showing how to apply them to the design and implementation of complete operating systems for embedded and real-time systems. It includes all the foundational and background information on ARM architecture, ARM instructions and programming, toolchain for developing programs, virtual machines for software implementation and testing, program execution image, function call conventions, run-time stack usage and link C programs with assembly code. It describes the design and implementation of a complete OS for embedded systems in incremental steps, explaining the design principles and implementation techniques. For Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) embedded systems, the author examines the ARM MPcore processors, which include the SCU and GIC for interrupts routing and interprocessor communication and synchronization by Software Generated Interrupts (SGIs). Throughout the book, complete working sample systems demonstrate the design principles and...

PROCESS INNOVATION: HOLISTIC SCENARIOS TO REDUCE TOTAL LEAD TIME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alin POSTEUCĂ

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The globalization of markets requires continuous development of business holistic scenarios to ensure acceptable flexibility to satisfy customers. Continuous improvement of supply chain supposes continuous improvement of materials and products lead time and flow, material stocks and finished products stocks and increasing the number of suppliers close by as possible. The contribution of our study is to present holistic scenarios of total lead time improvement and innovation by implementing supply chain policy.

Advanced Hard Real-Time Operating System, the Maruti Project. Part 2.

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

Real - Time Operating System , The Maruti Project DASG-60-92-C-0055 5b. Program Element # 62301E 6. Author(s...The maruti hard real - time " operating system . A CM SIGOPS, Operating Systems Review. 23:90-106, July 1989. 254 !1 110) C. L. Liu and J. Layland...February 14, 1995 Abstract The Maruti Real - Time Operating System was developed for applications that must meet hard real-time constraints. In order

Natural world physical, brain operational, and mind phenomenal space-time

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Fingelkurts, Andrew A.; Fingelkurts, Alexander A.; Neves, Carlos F. H.

2010-06-01

Concepts of space and time are widely developed in physics. However, there is a considerable lack of biologically plausible theoretical frameworks that can demonstrate how space and time dimensions are implemented in the activity of the most complex life-system - the brain with a mind. Brain activity is organized both temporally and spatially, thus representing space-time in the brain. Critical analysis of recent research on the space-time organization of the brain's activity pointed to the existence of so-called operational space-time in the brain. This space-time is limited to the execution of brain operations of differing complexity. During each such brain operation a particular short-term spatio-temporal pattern of integrated activity of different brain areas emerges within related operational space-time. At the same time, to have a fully functional human brain one needs to have a subjective mental experience. Current research on the subjective mental experience offers detailed analysis of space-time organization of the mind. According to this research, subjective mental experience (subjective virtual world) has definitive spatial and temporal properties similar to many physical phenomena. Based on systematic review of the propositions and tenets of brain and mind space-time descriptions, our aim in this review essay is to explore the relations between the two. To be precise, we would like to discuss the hypothesis that via the brain operational space-time the mind subjective space-time is connected to otherwise distant physical space-time reality.

Real time operation of a multiple gamma measurement installation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippot, J.C.; Lefevre, J.

1980-01-01

This paper describes a multiple measurement channel facility for fine gamma spectrometry, its real time operation, and the new possibilities which it offers. The installation is presented in its twofold electronic and processing aspects, by considering its architecture, its hard and software, and its data processing package. Real time operation requires customized general organization, perfect instantaneous knowledge of the status of all the units, and a sound hierarchy between the various participants, operators as well as requestors. The care inherent in the installation itself and in the definition of its operation explains its new possibilities. (Auth.)

Timing of urinary catheter removal after uncomplicated total abdominal hysterectomy: a prospective randomized trial.

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Ahmed, Magdy R; Sayed Ahmed, Waleed A; Atwa, Khaled A; Metwally, Lobna

2014-05-01

To assess whether immediate (0h), intermediate (after 6h) or delayed (after 24h) removal of an indwelling urinary catheter after uncomplicated abdominal hysterectomy can affect the rate of re-catheterization due to urinary retention, rate of urinary tract infection, ambulation time and length of hospital stay. Prospective randomized controlled trial conducted at Suez Canal University Hospital, Egypt. Two hundred and twenty-one women underwent total abdominal hysterectomy for benign gynecological diseases and were randomly allocated into three groups. Women in group A (73 patients) had their urinary catheter removed immediately after surgery. Group B (81 patients) had the catheter removed 6h post-operatively while in group C (67 patients) the catheter was removed after 24h. The main outcome measures were the frequency of urinary retention, urinary tract infections, ambulation time and length of hospital stay. There was a significantly higher number of urinary retention episodes requiring re-catheterization in the immediate removal group compared to the intermediate and delayed removal groups (16.4% versus 2.5% and 0% respectively). Delayed urinary catheter removal was associated with a higher incidence of urinary tract infections (15%), delayed ambulation time (10.3h) and longer hospital stay (5.6 days) compared to the early (1.4%, 4.1h and 3.2 days respectively) and intermediate (3.7%, 6.8h and 3.4 days respectively) removal groups. Removal of the urinary catheter 6h postoperatively appears to be more advantageous than early or late removal in cases of uncomplicated total abdominal hysterectomy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Total and domain-specific sitting time among employees in desk-based work settings in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennie, Jason A; Pedisic, Zeljko; Timperio, Anna; Crawford, David; Dunstan, David; Bauman, Adrian; van Uffelen, Jannique; Salmon, Jo

2015-06-01

To describe the total and domain-specific daily sitting time among a sample of Australian office-based employees. In April 2010, paper-based surveys were provided to desk-based employees (n=801) in Victoria, Australia. Total daily and domain-specific (work, leisure-time and transport-related) sitting time (minutes/day) were assessed by validated questionnaires. Differences in sitting time were examined across socio-demographic (age, sex, occupational status) and lifestyle characteristics (physical activity levels, body mass index [BMI]) using multiple linear regression analyses. The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) of total daily sitting time was 540 (531-557) minutes/day. Insufficiently active adults (median=578 minutes/day, [95%CI: 564-602]), younger adults aged 18-29 years (median=561 minutes/day, [95%CI: 540-577]) reported the highest total daily sitting times. Occupational sitting time accounted for almost 60% of total daily sitting time. In multivariate analyses, total daily sitting time was negatively associated with age (unstandardised regression coefficient [B]=-1.58, pphysical activity (minutes/week) (B=-0.03, pemployees reported that more than half of their total daily sitting time was accrued in the work setting. Given the high contribution of occupational sitting to total daily sitting time among desk-based employees, interventions should focus on the work setting. © 2014 Public Health Association of Australia.

Simultaneous bilateral stereotactic procedure for deep brain stimulation implants: a significant step for reducing operation time.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonoff, Erich Talamoni; Azevedo, Angelo; Angelos, Jairo Silva Dos; Martinez, Raquel Chacon Ruiz; Navarro, Jessie; Reis, Paul Rodrigo; Sepulveda, Miguel Ernesto San Martin; Cury, Rubens Gisbert; Ghilardi, Maria Gabriela Dos Santos; Teixeira, Manoel Jacobsen; Lopez, William Omar Contreras

2016-07-01

OBJECT Currently, bilateral procedures involve 2 sequential implants in each of the hemispheres. The present report demonstrates the feasibility of simultaneous bilateral procedures during the implantation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) leads. METHODS Fifty-seven patients with movement disorders underwent bilateral DBS implantation in the same study period. The authors compared the time required for the surgical implantation of deep brain electrodes in 2 randomly assigned groups. One group of 28 patients underwent traditional sequential electrode implantation, and the other 29 patients underwent simultaneous bilateral implantation. Clinical outcomes of the patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who had undergone DBS implantation of the subthalamic nucleus using either of the 2 techniques were compared. RESULTS Overall, a reduction of 38.51% in total operating time for the simultaneous bilateral group (136.4 ± 20.93 minutes) as compared with that for the traditional consecutive approach (220.3 ± 27.58 minutes) was observed. Regarding clinical outcomes in the PD patients who underwent subthalamic nucleus DBS implantation, comparing the preoperative off-medication condition with the off-medication/on-stimulation condition 1 year after the surgery in both procedure groups, there was a mean 47.8% ± 9.5% improvement in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS-III) score in the simultaneous group, while the sequential group experienced 47.5% ± 15.8% improvement (p = 0.96). Moreover, a marked reduction in the levodopa-equivalent dose from preoperatively to postoperatively was similar in these 2 groups. The simultaneous bilateral procedure presented major advantages over the traditional sequential approach, with a shorter total operating time. CONCLUSIONS A simultaneous stereotactic approach significantly reduces the operation time in bilateral DBS procedures, resulting in decreased microrecording time, contributing to the optimization of functional

The efficiency of a dedicated staff on operating room turnover time in hand surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Avery, Daniel M; Matullo, Kristofer S

2014-01-01

To evaluate the effect of orthopedic and nonorthopedic operating room (OR) staff on the efficiency of turnover time in a hand surgery practice. A total of 621 sequential hand surgery cases were retrospectively reviewed. Turnover times for sequential cases were calculated and analyzed with regard to the characteristics of the OR staff being primarily orthopedic or nonorthopedic. A total of 227 turnover times were analyzed. The average turnover time with all nonorthopedic staff was 31 minutes, for having only an orthopedic surgical technician was 32 minutes, for having only an orthopedic circulator was 25 minutes, and for having both an orthopedic surgical technician and a circulator was 20 minutes. Statistical significance was seen when comparing only an orthopedic surgical technician versus both an orthopedic circulator and a surgical technician and when comparing both nonorthopedic staff versus both an orthopedic circulator and a surgical technician. OR efficiency is being increasingly evaluated for its effect on hospital revenue and OR staff costs. Reducing turnover time is one aspect of a multifaceted solution in increasing efficiency. Our study showed that, for hand surgery, orthopedic-specific staff can reduce turnover time. Economic/Decision Analysis III. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Novel Ant Colony Algorithm for the Single-Machine Total Weighted Tardiness Problem with Sequence Dependent Setup Times

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Fardin Ahmadizar

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the NP-hard single-machine total weighted tardiness problem with sequence dependent setup times. Incorporating fuzzy sets and genetic operators, a novel ant colony optimization algorithm is developed for the problem. In the proposed algorithm, artificial ants construct solutions as orders of jobs based on the heuristic information as well as pheromone trails. To calculate the heuristic information, three well-known priority rules are adopted as fuzzy sets and then aggregated. When all artificial ants have terminated their constructions, genetic operators such as crossover and mutation are applied to generate new regions of the solution space. A local search is then performed to improve the performance quality of some of the solutions found. Moreover, at run-time the pheromone trails are locally as well as globally updated, and limited between lower and upper bounds. The proposed algorithm is experimented on a set of benchmark problems from the literature and compared with other metaheuristics.

Applying cost accounting to operating room staffing in otolaryngology: time-driven activity-based costing and outpatient adenotonsillectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Balakrishnan, Karthik; Goico, Brian; Arjmand, Ellis M

2015-04-01

(1) To describe the application of a detailed cost-accounting method (time-driven activity-cased costing) to operating room personnel costs, avoiding the proxy use of hospital and provider charges. (2) To model potential cost efficiencies using different staffing models with the case study of outpatient adenotonsillectomy. Prospective cost analysis case study. Tertiary pediatric hospital. All otolaryngology providers and otolaryngology operating room staff at our institution. Time-driven activity-based costing demonstrated precise per-case and per-minute calculation of personnel costs. We identified several areas of unused personnel capacity in a basic staffing model. Per-case personnel costs decreased by 23.2% by allowing a surgeon to run 2 operating rooms, despite doubling all other staff. Further cost reductions up to a total of 26.4% were predicted with additional staffing rearrangements. Time-driven activity-based costing allows detailed understanding of not only personnel costs but also how personnel time is used. This in turn allows testing of alternative staffing models to decrease unused personnel capacity and increase efficiency. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

Mixed-mode Operating System for Real-time Performance

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M.M. Hasan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface (GUI operating system which is typically nonreal-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time events. In this research an i8751 microcontroller-based hardware was used to measure the performance of the system in real-time-only as well as non-real-time-only configurations. The real-time portion is an 486DX-40 IBM PC system running under DOS-based realtime kernel and the non-real-time portion is a Pentium III based system running under Windows NT. It was found that mixed-mode systems performed as good as a typical realtime system and in fact, gave many additional benefits such as simplified/modular programming and load tolerance.

Prolonged operative time increases infection rate in tibial plateau fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Colman, Matthew; Wright, Adam; Gruen, Gary; Siska, Peter; Pape, Hans-Christoph; Tarkin, Ivan

2013-02-01

Fractures of the tibial plateau present a treatment challenge and are susceptible to both prolonged operative times and high postoperative infection rates. For those fractures treated with open plating, we sought to identify the relationship between surgical site infection and prolonged operative time as well as to identify other surgical risk factors. We performed a retrospective controlled analysis of 309 consecutive unicondylar and bicondylar tibial plateau fractures treated with open plate osteosynthesis at our institution's level I trauma centre during a recent 5-year period. We recorded operative times, injury characteristics, surgical treatment, and need for operative debridement due to infection. Operative times of infected cases were compared to uncomplicated surgical cases. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for postoperative infection. Mean operative time in the infection group was 2.8h vs. 2.2h in the non-infected group (p=0.005). 15 fractures (4.9%) underwent four compartment fasciotomies as part of their treatment, with a significantly higher infection rate than those not undergoing fasciotomy (26.7% vs. 6.8%, p=0.01). Open fracture grade was also significantly related to infection rate (closed fractures: 5.3%, grade 1: 14.3%, grade 2: 40%, grade 3: 50%, pinfection rates (13.9% vs. 8.7%, p=0.36). Multivariable logistic regression analysis of the entire study group identified longer operative times (OR 1.78, p=0.013) and open fractures (OR 7.02, psite infection. Operative times approaching 3h and open fractures are related to an increased overall risk for surgical site infection after open plating of the tibial plateau. Dual incision approaches with bicolumnar plating do not appear to expose the patient to increased risk compared to single incision approaches. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

REAL TIME SYSTEM OPERATIONS 2006-2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eto, Joseph H.; Parashar, Manu; Lewis, Nancy Jo

2008-08-15

The Real Time System Operations (RTSO) 2006-2007 project focused on two parallel technical tasks: (1) Real-Time Applications of Phasors for Monitoring, Alarming and Control; and (2) Real-Time Voltage Security Assessment (RTVSA) Prototype Tool. The overall goal of the phasor applications project was to accelerate adoption and foster greater use of new, more accurate, time-synchronized phasor measurements by conducting research and prototyping applications on California ISO's phasor platform - Real-Time Dynamics Monitoring System (RTDMS) -- that provide previously unavailable information on the dynamic stability of the grid. Feasibility assessment studies were conducted on potential application of this technology for small-signal stability monitoring, validating/improving existing stability nomograms, conducting frequency response analysis, and obtaining real-time sensitivity information on key metrics to assess grid stress. Based on study findings, prototype applications for real-time visualization and alarming, small-signal stability monitoring, measurement based sensitivity analysis and frequency response assessment were developed, factory- and field-tested at the California ISO and at BPA. The goal of the RTVSA project was to provide California ISO with a prototype voltage security assessment tool that runs in real time within California ISO?s new reliability and congestion management system. CERTS conducted a technical assessment of appropriate algorithms, developed a prototype incorporating state-of-art algorithms (such as the continuation power flow, direct method, boundary orbiting method, and hyperplanes) into a framework most suitable for an operations environment. Based on study findings, a functional specification was prepared, which the California ISO has since used to procure a production-quality tool that is now a part of a suite of advanced computational tools that is used by California ISO for reliability and congestion management.

Operating room management and operating room productivity: the case of Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Maresi; Berry-Stölzle, Thomas; Schleppers, Alexander

2008-09-01

We examine operating room productivity on the example of hospitals in Germany with independent anesthesiology departments. Linked to anesthesiology group literature, we use the ln(Total Surgical Time/Total Anesthesiologists Salary) as a proxy for operating room productivity. We test the association between operating room productivity and different structural, organizational and management characteristics based on survey data from 87 hospitals. Our empirical analysis links improved operating room productivity to greater operating room capacity, appropriate scheduling behavior and management methods to realign interests. From this analysis, the enforcing jurisdiction and avoiding advance over-scheduling appear to be the implementable tools for improving operating room productivity.

Revision of failed hip resurfacing to total hip arthroplasty rapidly relieves pain and improves function in the early post operative period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muirhead-Allwood Sarah K

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract We reviewed the results of 25 consecutive patients who underwent revision of a hip resurfacing prosthesis to a total hip replacement. Revisions were performed for recurrent pain and effusion, infection and proximal femoral fractures. Both components were revised in 20 cases. There were 12 male and 13 female patients with average time to revision of 34.4 and 26.4 months respectively. The mean follow up period was 12.7 months (3 to 31. All patients reported relief of pain and excellent satisfaction scores. Two patients experienced stiffness up to three months post operatively. Pre operative Oxford, Harris and WOMAC hip scores were 39.1, 36.4 and 52.2 respectively. Mean post operative scores at last follow up were 17.4, 89.8 and 6.1 respectively (p

Relationship between laparoscopic cholecystectomy operative time and carbonyl hemoglobin content

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Qi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available ObjectiveTo investigate whether operative time of laparoscopic cholecystectomy impacts the carbonyl hemoglobin (COHb concentration in peripheral blood. MethodsForty patients with gallstones and indications for laparoscopic cholecystectomy were enrolled in the study. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected at the beginning and end of the operative procedure. COHb concentration was measured by UV spectroscopy. The significance of changes in COHb concentration in relation to time of the operative procedure (rounded to the nearest minute was assessed by statistical correlation coefficient test. ResultsThe laparoscopic procedure was completed in 38 cases, and two patients required conversion to laparotomy. The content of COHb in peripheral venous blood had significantly increased during the laparoscopic operation (operation beginning: 11.07%±1.18% vs. operation end: 1.44%±0.26%, P＜0.05. The change was positively correlated with operation time (r=0.85. ConclusionCarbon monoxide produced during the laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure can lead to an increase in peripheral venous blood COHb. The longer the operation lasts, the greater the increase in COHb.

Effect of Streamflow Forecast Uncertainty on Real-Time Reservoir Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, T.; Cai, X.; Yang, D.

2010-12-01

Various hydrological forecast products have been applied to real-time reservoir operation, including deterministic streamflow forecast (DSF), DSF-based probabilistic streamflow forecast (DPSF), and ensemble streamflow forecast (ESF), which represent forecast uncertainty in the form of deterministic forecast error, deterministic forecast error-based uncertainty distribution, and ensemble forecast errors, respectively. Compared to previous studies that treat these forecast products as ad hoc inputs for reservoir operation models, this paper attempts to model the uncertainties involved in the various forecast products and explores their effect on real-time reservoir operation decisions. In hydrology, there are various indices reflecting the magnitude of streamflow forecast uncertainty; meanwhile, few models illustrate the forecast uncertainty evolution process. This research introduces Martingale Model of Forecast Evolution (MMFE) from supply chain management and justifies its assumptions for quantifying the evolution of uncertainty in streamflow forecast as time progresses. Based on MMFE, this research simulates the evolution of forecast uncertainty in DSF, DPSF, and ESF, and applies the reservoir operation models (dynamic programming, DP; stochastic dynamic programming, SDP; and standard operation policy, SOP) to assess the effect of different forms of forecast uncertainty on real-time reservoir operation. Through a hypothetical single-objective real-time reservoir operation model, the results illustrate that forecast uncertainty exerts significant effects. Reservoir operation efficiency, as measured by a utility function, decreases as the forecast uncertainty increases. Meanwhile, these effects also depend on the type of forecast product being used. In general, the utility of reservoir operation with ESF is nearly as high as the utility obtained with a perfect forecast; the utilities of DSF and DPSF are similar to each other but not as efficient as ESF. Moreover

Choice reaction time in patients with post-operative cognitive dysfunction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steinmetz, J.; Rasmussen, L.S.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is detected by administration of a neuropsychological test battery. Reaction time testing is at present not included as a standard test. Choice reaction time (CRT) data from the first International Study of Post-operative Cognitive Dysfunction...... in nine countries. CRT was measured 52 times using the four boxes test. Patients performed the test before surgery (n=1083), at 1 week (n=926) and at 3 months (n=852) post-operatively. CRT for the individual patient was determined as the median time of correct responses. The usefulness of the CRT...... had a significantly longer CRT. ROC curves revealed that a reaction time of 813 ms was the most appropriate cut-off at 1 week and 762 ms at 3 months but the positive predictive value for POCD was low: 34.4% and 14.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Post-operative cognitive dysfunction is associated...

Hanaro operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Ji Bok; Jeon, Byung Jin; Kwack, Byung Ho

1997-01-01

HANARO was configurated its first operating core in 1995. Long term operation test was conducted up to 3-1 cycle during 1996, in order to investigate the reactor characteristics due to fuel depletion and additional fuel loading. Now HANARO has accumulated 168.4 days of total operation time and 2,687.5 MWD of total thermal output. Reactor analysis, producing operation datum and its validation with test, periodic inspection and maintenance of the facility are continuously conducted for safe operation of the HANARO. Conducted the verification tests for installed utilization facilities, and successfully performed the radiation emergency drill. The shutdown report of TRIGA Mark II and III was submitted to MOST, and decommissioning will be started from 1997. (author). 70 tabs., 50 figs., 27 refs

Timing system for multi-bunch/multi-train operation at ATF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, T.; Hayano, H.; Urakawa, J.; Imai, T.

2000-01-01

A timing system has been constructed for multi-bunch/multi-train operation at KEK-ATF. The linac accelerates 20 bunches of multi-bunch with 2.8 ns spacing. The Damping Ring stores up to 5 trains of multi-bunch. The timing system is required to provide flexible operation mode and bucket selection. A personal computer is used for manipulating the timing. The performance of kicker magnets at the injection/extruction is key issue for multi-train operation. The hardware and the test results are presented. (author)

Total neutron-counting plutonium inventory measurement systems (PIMS) and their potential application to near real time materials accountancy (NRTMA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Driscall, I.; Fox, G.H.; Orr, C.H.; Whitehouse, K.R.

1988-01-01

A radiometric method of determining the inventory of an operating plutonium plant is described. An array of total neutron counters distributed across the plant is used to estimate hold-up at each plant item. Corrections for the sensitivity of detectors to plutonium in adjacent plant items are achieved through a matrix approach. This paper describes our experience in design, calibration and operation of a Plutonium Inventory Measurement System (PIMS) on an oxalate precipitation plutonium finishing line. Data from a recent trial of Near-Real-Time Materials Accounting (NRTMA) using the PIMS are presented and used to illustrate its present performance and problem areas. The reader is asked to consider what role PIMS might have in future accountancy systems

Prediction of the time-dependent failure rate for normally operating components taking into account the operational history

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrbanic, I.; Simic, Z.; Sljivac, D.

2008-01-01

The prediction of the time-dependent failure rate has been studied, taking into account the operational history of a component used in applications such as system modeling in a probabilistic safety analysis in order to evaluate the impact of equipment aging and maintenance strategies on the risk measures considered. We have selected a time-dependent model for the failure rate which is based on the Weibull distribution and the principles of proportional age reduction by equipment overhauls. Estimation of the parameters that determine the failure rate is considered, including the definition of the operational history model and likelihood function for the Bayesian analysis of parameters for normally operating repairable components. The operational history is provided as a time axis with defined times of overhauls and failures. An example for demonstration is described with prediction of the future behavior for seven different operational histories. (orig.)

Television viewing, computer use and total screen time in Canadian youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Mark, Amy E; Boyce, William F; Janssen, Ian

2006-11-01

Research has linked excessive television viewing and computer use in children and adolescents to a variety of health and social problems. Current recommendations are that screen time in children and adolescents should be limited to no more than 2 h per day. To determine the percentage of Canadian youth meeting the screen time guideline recommendations. The representative study sample consisted of 6942 Canadian youth in grades 6 to 10 who participated in the 2001/2002 World Health Organization Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey. Only 41% of girls and 34% of boys in grades 6 to 10 watched 2 h or less of television per day. Once the time of leisure computer use was included and total daily screen time was examined, only 18% of girls and 14% of boys met the guidelines. The prevalence of those meeting the screen time guidelines was higher in girls than boys. Fewer than 20% of Canadian youth in grades 6 to 10 met the total screen time guidelines, suggesting that increased public health interventions are needed to reduce the number of leisure time hours that Canadian youth spend watching television and using the computer.

A Real-Time Simulation Platform for Power System Operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cha, Seung-Tae; Østergaard, Jacob; Wu, Qiuwei

2010-01-01

This paper describes the real-time digital simulation platform that can be used for power system operation, analysis, and power system modeling. This particular platform gives grid operators, planners and researchers the opportunity to observe how a power system behaves and can be used...... in real time. Various phenomena commonly encountered when dealing with the two-area system is studied. Despite its small size, it mimics very closely the behavior of typical systems in actual operation. The electromagnetic transient type of simulation made in RSCAD enables the study of fast and detailed...... phenomena like single-phase faults in the two-area network and to observe their effects on a larger time scale. Also, the case study of 11 bus system with 5 generators has been also used and the results are presented....

Timing of Re-Transfusion Drain Removal Following Total Knee Replacement

Science.gov (United States)

Leeman, MF; Costa, ML; Costello, E; Edwards, D

2006-01-01

INTRODUCTION The use of postoperative drains following total knee replacement (TKR) has recently been modified by the use of re-transfusion drains. The aim of our study was to investigate the optimal time for removal of re-transfusion drains following TKR. PATIENTS AND METHODS The medical records of 66 patients who had a TKR performed between October 2003 and October 2004 were reviewed; blood drained before 6 h and the total volume of blood drained was recorded. RESULTS A total of 56 patients had complete records of postoperative drainage. The mean volume of blood collected in the drain in the first 6 h was 442 ml. The mean total volume of blood in the drain was 595 ml. Therefore, of the blood drained, 78% was available for transfusion. CONCLUSION Re-transfusion drains should be removed after 6 h, when no further re-transfusion is permissible. PMID:16551400

Total Quality Management. A Selected Bibliography

Science.gov (United States)

1994-03-01

and Publow, Mark. "Understanding and Managing Authority Relationships : Guidelines for Supervisors and Sub- ordinates." QUALITY PROGRESS, Vol. 25...NEXT OPERATION AS CUSTOMER (NOAC): HOW TO IMPROVE QUALITY, COST AND CYCLE TIME IN SERVICE OPERATIONS. New York: American Management Association, 1991...Keith. HORIZONTAL MANAGEMENT : BEYOND TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. New York: Lexington Books, 1991. 211pp. (HD66 D45 1991) Donnelly, James H., Jr. CLOSE

Total sleep time severely drops during adolescence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damien Leger

Full Text Available UNLABELLED: Restricted sleep duration among young adults and adolescents has been shown to increase the risk of morbidities such as obesity, diabetes or accidents. However there are few epidemiological studies on normal total sleep time (TST in representative groups of teen-agers which allow to get normative data. PURPOSE: To explore perceived total sleep time on schooldays (TSTS and non schooldays (TSTN and the prevalence of sleep initiating insomnia among a nationally representative sample of teenagers. METHODS: Data from 9,251 children aged 11 to 15 years-old, 50.7% of which were boys, as part of the cross-national study 2011 HBSC were analyzed. Self-completion questionnaires were administered in classrooms. An estimate of TSTS and TSTN (week-ends and vacations was calculated based on specifically designed sleep habits report. Sleep deprivation was estimated by a TSTN - TSTS difference >2 hours. Sleep initiating nsomnia was assessed according to International classification of sleep disorders (ICSD 2. Children who reported sleeping 7 hours or less per night were considered as short sleepers. RESULTS: A serious drop of TST was observed between 11 yo and 15 yo, both during the schooldays (9 hours 26 minutes vs. 7 h 55 min.; p<0.001 and at a lesser extent during week-ends (10 h 17 min. vs. 9 h 44 min.; p<0.001. Sleep deprivation concerned 16.0% of chidren aged of 11 yo vs. 40.5% of those of 15 yo (p<0.001. Too short sleep was reported by 2.6% of the 11 yo vs. 24.6% of the 15 yo (p<0.001. CONCLUSION: Despite the obvious need for sleep in adolescence, TST drastically decreases with age among children from 11 to 15 yo which creates significant sleep debt increasing with age.

Total-variation based velocity inversion with Bregmanized operator splitting algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zand, Toktam; Gholami, Ali

2018-04-01

Many problems in applied geophysics can be formulated as a linear inverse problem. The associated problems, however, are large-scale and ill-conditioned. Therefore, regularization techniques are needed to be employed for solving them and generating a stable and acceptable solution. We consider numerical methods for solving such problems in this paper. In order to tackle the ill-conditioning of the problem we use blockiness as a prior information of the subsurface parameters and formulate the problem as a constrained total variation (TV) regularization. The Bregmanized operator splitting (BOS) algorithm as a combination of the Bregman iteration and the proximal forward backward operator splitting method is developed to solve the arranged problem. Two main advantages of this new algorithm are that no matrix inversion is required and that a discrepancy stopping criterion is used to stop the iterations, which allow efficient solution of large-scale problems. The high performance of the proposed TV regularization method is demonstrated using two different experiments: 1) velocity inversion from (synthetic) seismic data which is based on Born approximation, 2) computing interval velocities from RMS velocities via Dix formula. Numerical examples are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed method for high-resolution velocity inversion.

Time warp operating system version 2.7 internals manual

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

The Time Warp Operating System (TWOS) is an implementation of the Time Warp synchronization method proposed by David Jefferson. In addition, it serves as an actual platform for running discrete event simulations. The code comprising TWOS can be divided into several different sections. TWOS typically relies on an existing operating system to furnish some very basic services. This existing operating system is referred to as the Base OS. The existing operating system varies depending on the hardware TWOS is running on. It is Unix on the Sun workstations, Chrysalis or Mach on the Butterfly, and Mercury on the Mark 3 Hypercube. The base OS could be an entirely new operating system, written to meet the special needs of TWOS, but, to this point, existing systems have been used instead. The base OS's used for TWOS on various platforms are not discussed in detail in this manual, as they are well covered in their own manuals. Appendix G discusses the interface between one such OS, Mach, and TWOS.

Monitoring total endotoxin and (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan at the air exhaust of concentrated animal feeding operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xufei; Wang, Xinlei; Zhang, Yuanhui; Lee, Jongmin; Su, Jingwei; Gates, Richard S

2013-10-01

Mitigation of bioaerosol emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) demands knowledge of bioaerosol concentrations feeding into an end-of-pipe air treatment process. The aim of this preliminary study was to measure total endotoxin and (1 --> 3)-beta-glucan concentrations at the air exhaust of 18 commercial CAFOs and to examine their variability with animal operation type (swine farrowing, swine gestation, swine weaning, swine finishing, manure belt laying hen, and tom turkey) and season (cold, mild, and hot). The measured airborne concentrations of total endotoxin ranged from 98 to 23,157 endotoxin units (EU)/m3, and the airborne concentrations of total (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan ranged from 2.4 to 537.9 ng/m3. Animal operation type in this study had a significant effect on airborne concentrations of total endotoxin and (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan but no significant effect on their concentrations in total suspended particulate (TSP). Both endotoxin and (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan attained their highest airborne concentrations in visited tom turkey buildings. Comparatively, season had no significant effect on airborne concentrations of total endotoxin or (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan. Endotoxin and (1 --> 3)-beta-glucan concentrations in TSP dust appeared to increase as the weather became warmer, and this seasonal effect was significant in swine buildings. Elevated indoor temperatures in the hot season were considered to facilitate the growth and propagation of bacteria and fungi, thus leading to higher biocomponent concentrations in TSP.

Correlation between the CT manifestations and post-operative survival time in patients with thymic epithelial tumor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Juan; Tan Ye; Wang Xiangyang; Du Jun; Pan Jishu; Wei Jiahu

2011-01-01

Objective: To describe the CT manifestations of thymic epithelial tumor and explore the correlation between CT findings and post-operative tumor-related survival time. Methods: Ninety-one patients who underwent CT scan before operation were reviewed retrospectively. All cases had operation and were classified according to the WHO classification. The size, contour, shape, density and enhancement of the tumors on CT were assessed. Presence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy, great vessel invasion, metastasis to the lung or plural, myasthenia gravis (MG) were also analyzed. The survival rate was obtained using, the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox model was applied to determine the factors affecting the tumor-related survivals. Chi square test was used to analyze the relationship between CT findings and WHO classification. Results: Two patients were excluded because of dying of myocardial infarction and colon cancer. The total 5-year survival rate was 84.3% (n=75). Eighty-nine patients had total 91 tumors. Tumors with diameter larger than 5 cm, lobular contour, heterogenous density, and presence of great vessel invasion, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and metastasis were adverse factors which could significantly affect the survival time. Five-year survival rates of these factors were 72.7%, 77.3%, 76.7%, 73.8%, 30.0%, and 68.8%, respectively. Presence of MG was a favorable factor which also significantly affected the survival time (P 0.05). The result of the Cox multivariate analysis was consistent with that of the Log-rank test. For different WHO classification, there were significant different among the size or contour of the tumors, presence of great vessel invasion, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and metastasis (χ 2 value were 6.598, 5.737, 18.307, 8.465, and 15.608, respectively P<0.05). Conclusions: CT findings may be served as predictors of clinical prognosis of the thymic epithelial tumors. Adverse factors for survival time are the size of the tumors and presence of

Effect of pre-operative methylprednisolone on orthostatic hypotension during early mobilization after total hip arthroplasty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindberg-Larsen, V; Petersen, P B; Jans, Ø

2018-01-01

a standardized mobilization protocol pre-operatively, 6, and 24 h after surgery. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressure and heart rate were measured non-invasively (Nexfin® ). The systemic inflammation was monitored by the C-reactive protein (CRP) response. RESULTS: At 6 h post-operatively, 11 (38%) versus 11......BACKGROUND: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) and intolerance (OI) are common after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and may delay early mobilization. The pathology of OH and OI includes a dysregulated post-operative vasopressor response, by a hitherto unknown mechanism. We hypothesized that OI could...... be related to the inflammatory stress response which is inhibited by steroid administration. Consequently, this study evaluated the effect of a pre-operative high-dose methylprednisolone on OH and OI early after THA. METHODS: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 59 patients undergoing...

Working time intervals and total work time on nursing positions in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danuta Kunecka

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: For the last few years a topic of overwork on nursing posts has given rise to strong discussions. The author has set herself a goal of answering the question if it is a result of real overwork of this particular profession or rather commonly assumed frustration of this professional group. The aim of this paper is to conduct the analysis of working time on chosen nursing positions in relation to measures of time being used as intervals in the course of conducting standard professional activities during one working day. Material and Methods: Research material consisted of documentation of work time on chosen nursing workplaces, compiled between 2007–2012 within the framework of a nursing course at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. As a method of measurement a photograph of a working day has been used. Measurements were performed in institutions located in 6 voivodeships in Poland. Results: Results suggest that only 6.5% of total of surveyed representatives of nurse profession spends proper amount of time (meaning: a time set by the applicable standards on work intervals during a working day. Conclusions: The scale of the phenomenon indicates excessive workload for nursing positions, which along with a longer period of time, longer working hours may cause decrease in efficiency of work and cause a drop in quality of provided services. Med Pr 2015;66,(2:165–172

Operation Cost Minimization of Droop-Controlled DC Microgrids Based on Real-Time Pricing and Optimal Power Flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; de Bosio, Federico; Chaudhary, Sanjay Kumar

2015-01-01

In this paper, an optimal power flow problem is formulated in order to minimize the total operation cost by considering real-time pricing in DC microgrids. Each generation resource in the system, including the utility grid, is modeled in terms of operation cost, which combines the cost...... problem is solved in a heuristic way by using genetic algorithms. In order to test the proposed algorithm, a six-bus droop-controlled DC microgrid is used as a case-study. The obtained simulation results show that under variable renewable generation, load, and electricity prices, the proposed method can...

Embedded real-time operating system micro kernel design

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xiao-hui; Li, Ming-qiang; Wang, Xin-zheng

2005-12-01

Embedded systems usually require a real-time character. Base on an 8051 microcontroller, an embedded real-time operating system micro kernel is proposed consisting of six parts, including a critical section process, task scheduling, interruption handle, semaphore and message mailbox communication, clock managent and memory managent. Distributed CPU and other resources are among tasks rationally according to the importance and urgency. The design proposed here provides the position, definition, function and principle of micro kernel. The kernel runs on the platform of an ATMEL AT89C51 microcontroller. Simulation results prove that the designed micro kernel is stable and reliable and has quick response while operating in an application system.

The Older of Two Trees: Young Children's Development of Operational Time

Science.gov (United States)

Kamii, Constance; Russell, Kelly A.

2010-01-01

Piaget (1971) made a distinction between intuitive (preoperational) time and operational (logico-mathematical) time. According to Piaget, operational time develops around 7-8 years of age and is characterized by children's ability to deduce, for example, that if A was born before B, A will always be older than B. When time is still intuitive,…

Advanced Hard Real-Time Operating System, The Maruti Project. Part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

REAL - TIME OPERATING SYSTEM , THE MARUTI PROJECT Part 1 of 2 Ashok K. Agrawala Satish K. Tripathi Department of Computer Science University of Maryland...Hard Real - Time Operating System , The Maruti Project DASG-60-92-C-0055 5b. Program Element # 62301E 6. Author(s) 5c. Project # DRPB Ashok K. Agrawala...SdSA94), a real - time operating system developed at the I3nversity of Maryland, and conducted extensive experiments under various task

Online Synthesis for Operation Execution Time Variability on Digital Microfluidic Biochips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alistar, Mirela; Pop, Paul

2014-01-01

have assumed that each biochemical operation in an application is characterized by a worst-case execution time (wcet). However, during the execution of the application, due to variability and randomness in biochemical reactions, operations may finish earlier than their wcets. In this paper we propose...... an online synthesis strategy that re-synthesizes the application at runtime when operations experience variability in their execution time, obtaining thus shorter application execution times. The proposed strategy has been evaluated using several benchmarks....

Operating system for a real-time multiprocessor propulsion system simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, G. L.

1984-01-01

The success of the Real Time Multiprocessor Operating System (RTMPOS) in the development and evaluation of experimental hardware and software systems for real time interactive simulation of air breathing propulsion systems was evaluated. The Real Time Multiprocessor Operating System (RTMPOS) provides the user with a versatile, interactive means for loading, running, debugging and obtaining results from a multiprocessor based simulator. A front end processor (FEP) serves as the simulator controller and interface between the user and the simulator. These functions are facilitated by the RTMPOS which resides on the FEP. The RTMPOS acts in conjunction with the FEP's manufacturer supplied disk operating system that provides typical utilities like an assembler, linkage editor, text editor, file handling services, etc. Once a simulation is formulated, the RTMPOS provides for engineering level, run time operations such as loading, modifying and specifying computation flow of programs, simulator mode control, data handling and run time monitoring. Run time monitoring is a powerful feature of RTMPOS that allows the user to record all actions taken during a simulation session and to receive advisories from the simulator via the FEP. The RTMPOS is programmed mainly in PASCAL along with some assembly language routines. The RTMPOS software is easily modified to be applicable to hardware from different manufacturers.

Brake response time before and after total knee arthroplasty: a prospective cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niederseer David

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although the numbers of total knee arthroplasty (TKA are increasing, there is only a small number of studies investigating driving safety after TKA. The parameter 'Brake Response Time (BRT' is one of the most important criteria for driving safety and was therefore chosen for investigation. The present study was conducted to test the hypotheses that patients with right- or left-sided TKA show a significant increase in BRT from pre-operative (pre-op, 1 day before surgery to post-operative (post-op, 2 weeks post surgery, and a significant decrease in BRT from post-op to the follow-up investigation (FU, 8 weeks post surgery. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the BRT of patients after TKA is significantly higher than that of healthy controls. Methods 31 of 70 consecutive patients (mean age 65.7 +/- 10.2 years receiving TKA were tested for their BRT pre-op, post-op and at FU. BRT was assessed using a custom-made driving simulator. We used normative BRT data from 31 healthy controls for comparison. Results There were no significant increases between pre-op and post-op BRT values for patients who had undergone left- or right-sided TKA. Even the proportion of patients above a BRT threshold of 700 ms was not significantly increased postop. Controls had a BRT which was significantly better than the BRT of patients with right- or left-sided TKA at all three time points. Conclusion The present study showed a small and insignificant postoperative increase in the BRT of patients who had undergone right- or left-sided TKA. Therefore, we believe it is not justified to impair the patient's quality of social and occupational life post-surgery by imposing restrictions on driving motor vehicles beyond an interval of two weeks after surgery.

A two-stage method of quantitative flood risk analysis for reservoir real-time operation using ensemble-based hydrologic forecasts

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, P.

2013-12-01

Quantitative analysis of the risk for reservoir real-time operation is a hard task owing to the difficulty of accurate description of inflow uncertainties. The ensemble-based hydrologic forecasts directly depict the inflows not only the marginal distributions but also their persistence via scenarios. This motivates us to analyze the reservoir real-time operating risk with ensemble-based hydrologic forecasts as inputs. A method is developed by using the forecast horizon point to divide the future time into two stages, the forecast lead-time and the unpredicted time. The risk within the forecast lead-time is computed based on counting the failure number of forecast scenarios, and the risk in the unpredicted time is estimated using reservoir routing with the design floods and the reservoir water levels of forecast horizon point. As a result, a two-stage risk analysis method is set up to quantify the entire flood risks by defining the ratio of the number of scenarios that excessive the critical value to the total number of scenarios. The China's Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is selected as a case study, where the parameter and precipitation uncertainties are implemented to produce ensemble-based hydrologic forecasts. The Bayesian inference, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, is used to account for the parameter uncertainty. Two reservoir operation schemes, the real operated and scenario optimization, are evaluated for the flood risks and hydropower profits analysis. With the 2010 flood, it is found that the improvement of the hydrologic forecast accuracy is unnecessary to decrease the reservoir real-time operation risk, and most risks are from the forecast lead-time. It is therefore valuable to decrease the avarice of ensemble-based hydrologic forecasts with less bias for a reservoir operational purpose.

[Determination of total and segmental colonic transit time in constipated children].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shu-cheng; Wang, Wei-lin; Bai, Yu-zuo; Yuan, Zheng-wei; Wang, Wei

2003-03-01

To determine the total and segmental colonic transit time of normal Chinese children and to explore its value in constipation in children. The subjects involved in this study were divided into 2 groups. One group was control, which had 33 healthy children (21 males and 12 females) aged 2 - 13 years (mean 5 years). The other was constipation group, which had 25 patients (15 males and 10 females) aged 3 - 14 years (mean 7 years) with constipation according to Benninga's criteria. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of each subject. In this study the simplified method of radio opaque markers was used to determine the total gastrointestinal transit time and segmental colonic transit time of the normal and constipated children, and in part of these patients X-ray defecography was also used. The total gastrointestinal transit time (TGITT), right colonic transit time (RCTT), left colonic transit time (LCTT) and rectosigmoid colonic transit time (RSTT) of the normal children were 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, 7.5 +/- 3.2 h, 6.5 +/- 3.8 h and 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, respectively. In the constipated children, the TGITT, LCTT and RSTT were significantly longer than those in controls (92.2 +/- 55.5 h vs 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, P < 0.001; 16.9 +/- 12.6 h vs 6.5 +/- 3.8 h, P < 0.01; 61.5 +/- 29.0 h vs 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, P < 0.001), while the RCTT had no significant difference. X-ray defecography demonstrated one rectocele, one perineal descent syndrome and one puborectal muscle syndrome, respectively. The TGITT, RCTT, LCTT and RSTT of the normal children were 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, 7.5 +/- 3.2 h, 6.5 +/- 3.8 h and 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, respectively. With the segmental colonic transit time, constipation can be divided into four types: slow-transit constipation, outlet obstruction, mixed type and normal transit constipation. X-ray defecography can demonstrate the anatomical or dynamic abnormalities within the anorectal area, with which constipation can be further divided into different subtypes, and

Response times of operators in a control room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Platz, O.; Rasmussen, J.; Skanborg, P.Z.

1982-12-01

A statistical analysis was made of operator response times recorded in the control room of a research reactor during the years 1972-1974. A homogeneity test revealed that the data consist of a mixture of populations. A small but statistically significant difference is found between day and night response times. Lognormal distributions are found to provide the best fit of the day and the night response times. (author)

Minimizing total weighted completion time in a proportionate flow shop

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shakhlevich, N.V.; Hoogeveen, J.A.; Pinedo, M.L.

1998-01-01

We study the special case of the m machine flow shop problem in which the processing time of each operation of job j is equal to pj; this variant of the flow shop problem is known as the proportionate flow shop problem. We show that for any number of machines and for any regular performance

Novel crystal timing calibration method based on total variation

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xingjian; Isobe, Takashi; Watanabe, Mitsuo; Liu, Huafeng

2016-11-01

A novel crystal timing calibration method based on total variation (TV), abbreviated as ‘TV merge’, has been developed for a high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) system. The proposed method was developed for a system with a large number of crystals, it can provide timing calibration at the crystal level. In the proposed method, the timing calibration process was formulated as a linear problem. To robustly optimize the timing resolution, a TV constraint was added to the linear equation. Moreover, to solve the computer memory problem associated with the calculation of the timing calibration factors for systems with a large number of crystals, the merge component was used for obtaining the crystal level timing calibration values. Compared with other conventional methods, the data measured from a standard cylindrical phantom filled with a radioisotope solution was sufficient for performing a high-precision crystal-level timing calibration. In this paper, both simulation and experimental studies were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the TV merge method. We compare the timing resolutions of a 22Na point source, which was located in the field of view (FOV) of the brain PET system, with various calibration techniques. After implementing the TV merge method, the timing resolution improved from 3.34 ns at full width at half maximum (FWHM) to 2.31 ns FWHM.

Mammography in Norway: Image quality and total performance; Mammografivirksomhet i Norge: Bildekvalitet og totalytelse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olsen, J.B.; Skretting, A. [Norske Radiumhospital, Oslo (Norway); Widmark, A. [Statens Straalevern, Oesteraas (Norway)

1997-04-01

This report describes a method for assessing the total performance in mammography based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. In the time period from December 1993 to March 1994 the method was applied to assess the total performance of all the 45 Norwegian mammography laboratories operative at that time. Image quality characteristics in each laboratory was established by use of well-known phantoms.

Reducing Operating Room Costs Through Real-Time Cost Information Feedback: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabib, Christian H; Bahler, Clinton D; Hardacker, Thomas J; Ball, Kevin M; Sundaram, Chandru P

2015-08-01

To create a protocol for providing real-time operating room (OR) cost feedback to surgeons. We hypothesize that this protocol will reduce costs in a responsible way without sacrificing quality of care. All OR costs were obtained and recorded for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Before the beginning of this project, costs pertaining to the 20 most recent cases were analyzed. Items were identified from previous cases as modifiable for replacement or omission. Timely feedback of total OR costs and cost of each item used was provided to the surgeon after each case, and costs were analyzed. A cost analysis of the robot-assisted partial nephrectomy before the washout period indicates expenditures of $5243.04 per case. Ten recommended modifiable items were found to have an average per case cost of $1229.33 representing 23.4% of the total cost. A postwashout period cost analysis found the total OR cost decreased by $899.67 (17.2%) because of changes directly related to the modifiable items. Therefore, 73.2% of the possible identified savings was realized. The same stepwise approach was applied to laparoscopic donor nephrectomies. The average total cost per case before the washout period was $3530.05 with $457.54 attributed to modifiable items. After the washout period, modifiable items costs were reduced by $289.73 (8.0%). No complications occurred in the donor nephrectomy cases while one postoperative complication occurred in the partial nephrectomy group. Providing surgeons with feedback related to OR costs may lead to a change in surgeon behavior and decreased overall costs. Further studies are needed to show equivalence in patient outcomes.

Rapid intra-operative diagnosis of kidney cancer by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy of tissue smears.

Science.gov (United States)

Pucetaite, Milda; Velicka, Martynas; Urboniene, Vidita; Ceponkus, Justinas; Bandzeviciute, Rimante; Jankevicius, Feliksas; Zelvys, Arunas; Sablinskas, Valdas; Steiner, Gerald

2018-01-09

Herein, a technique to analyze air-dried kidney tissue impression smears by means of attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy is presented. Spectral tumor markers-absorption bands of glycogen-are identified in the ATR-IR spectra of the kidney tissue smear samples. Thin kidney tissue cryo-sections currently used for IR spectroscopic analysis lack such spectral markers as the sample preparation causes irreversible molecular changes in the tissue. In particular, freeze-thaw cycle results in degradation of the glycogen and reduction or complete dissolution of its content. Supervised spectral classification was applied to the recorded spectra of the smears and the test spectra were classified with a high accuracy of 92% for normal tissue and 94% for tumor tissue, respectively. For further development, we propose that combination of the method with optical fiber ATR probes could potentially be used for rapid real-time intra-operative tissue analysis without interfering with either the established protocols of pathological examination or the ordinary workflow of operating surgeon. Such approach could ensure easier transition of the method to clinical applications where it may complement the results of gold standard histopathology examination and aid in more precise resection of kidney tumors. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Real-time embedded systems open-source operating systems perspective

CERN Document Server

Bertolotti, Ivan Cibrario

2012-01-01

From the Foreword: "!the presentation of real-time scheduling is probably the best in terms of clarity I have ever read in the professional literature. Easy to understand, which is important for busy professionals keen to acquire (or refresh) new knowledge without being bogged down in a convoluted narrative and an excessive detail overload. The authors managed to largely avoid theoretical-only presentation of the subject, which frequently affects books on operating systems. ! an indispensable [resource] to gain a thorough understanding of the real-time systems from the operating systems p

The energy-momentum operator in curved space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, M.R.; Ottewill, A.C.

1983-01-01

It is argued that the only meaningful geometrical measure of the energy-momentum of states of matter described by a free quantum field theory in a general curved space-time is that provided by a normal ordered energy-momentum operator. The finite expectation values of this operator are contrasted with the conventional renormalized expectation values and it is further argued that the use of renormalization theory is inappropriate in this context. (author)

Operative time, blood loss, hemoglobin drop, blood transfusion, and hospital stay in orthognathic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Salma, Ra'ed Ghaleb; Al-Shammari, Fahad Mohammed; Al-Garni, Bishi Abdullah; Al-Qarzaee, Mohammed Abdullah

2017-06-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the operative time, blood loss, hemoglobin drop, blood transfusion, and length of hospital stay in orthognathic surgery. A 10-year retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (with or without genioplasty), Le Fort I osteotomy (with or without genioplasty), or any combination of these procedures. A total of 271 patients were included. The age range was 17 to 49 years, with a mean age of 24.13 ± 4.51 years. Approximately 62% of patients underwent double-jaw surgery. The most common procedure was bilateral sagittal split with Le Fort I (37%). The average operative time was 3.96 ± 1.25 h. The mean estimated blood loss was 345.2 ± 149.74 mL. Approximately 9% of patients received intraoperative blood transfusion. The mean hemoglobin drop in the non-transfusion cases was 2.38 ± 0.89 g/dL. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 1.85 ± 0.83 days. Only one patient was admitted to the ICU for one night. In orthognathic surgery, blood loss is relatively minor, blood transfusion is frequent, and ICU admission is unlikely. Operative time, blood loss, blood transfusion, and the complexity of the surgical procedure can significantly increase the length of hospital stay. Males may bleed more than females in orthognathic surgery. Hemoglobin drop can be overestimated due to hemodilution in orthognathic surgery, which may influence the decision to use blood transfusion.

Cost of post-operative intravenous iron therapy in total lower limb arthroplasty: a retrospective, matched cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Manuel; Gómez-Ramírez, Susana; Martín-Montañez, Elisa; Naveira, Enrique; Seara, Javier; Pavía, José

2014-01-01

Background Requirements for allogeneic red cell transfusion after total lower limb arthroplasty are still high (20–50%), and post-operative intravenous iron has been shown to reduce transfusion requirements for this surgery. We performed a cost analysis to ascertain whether this alternative is also likely to be cost-effective. Materials and methods Data from 182 matched-pairs of total lower limb arthroplasty patients, managed with a restrictive transfusion protocol and without (control group) or with post-operative intravenous iron (iron group), were retrospectively reviewed. Acquisition and administration costs of iron (iron sucrose or ferric carboxymaltose) and allogeneic red cell concentrates, haemoglobin measurements, and prolonged stay in hospital were used for blood management cost analysis. Results Patients in the iron group received 600 mg intravenous iron, without clinically relevant incidents, and had a lower allogeneic transfusion rate (11.5% vs 26.4% for the iron and control groups, respectively; p=0.001). The reduction in transfusion rate was more pronounced in anaemic patients (17% vs 40%; p=0.015) than in non-anaemic ones (9.6% vs 21.2%; p=0.011). There were no differences with respect to post-operative infection rate. Patients receiving allogeneic transfusion stayed in hospital longer (+1.9 days [95% CI: 1.2–2.6]). As intravenous iron reduces the allogeneic transfusion rate, both iron formulations were cost-neutral in the different cost scenarios (−25.5 to 62.1 €/patient for iron sucrose, and −51.1 to 64.4 €/patient for ferric carboxymaltose). Discussion In patients presenting with or without pre-operative anaemia, post-operative intravenous iron after total lower limb arthroplasty seems to be safe and is associated with reduced transfusion rates, without incremental costs. For anaemic patients, its efficacy could be increased by associating some other blood-saving method. PMID:24120595

Welded repair joints of boiler steels following operation in creep conditions exceeding the design time of operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobrzanski, J.; Paszkowska, H.; Zielinski, A. [Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy, Gliwice (Poland)

2010-07-01

The assessment of suitability for further operation for materials and welded repair joints of thick-walled main steam pipeline components, made of steel 14MoV63, as well as steam superheater outlet headers made of steel X20CrMoV121 following operation in creep conditions in time periods considerably longer than the specified calculated time of operation. Strength properties, impact strength and transition temperature into brittle condition, as well as structure condition have been evaluated. On the basis of shortened creep tests, the residual life and disposable residual life of materials and welded joints have been determined. Material properties following operation and those of fabricated circumferential welded repair joints have been compared. The condition of examined components and suitability of the fabricated welded repair joints for further operation have been assessed. (orig.)

Exact and Heuristic Solutions to Minimize Total Waiting Time in the Blood Products Distribution Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Salehipour

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel application of operations research to support decision making in blood distribution management. The rapid and dynamic increasing demand, criticality of the product, storage, handling, and distribution requirements, and the different geographical locations of hospitals and medical centers have made blood distribution a complex and important problem. In this study, a real blood distribution problem containing 24 hospitals was tackled by the authors, and an exact approach was presented. The objective of the problem is to distribute blood and its products among hospitals and medical centers such that the total waiting time of those requiring the product is minimized. Following the exact solution, a hybrid heuristic algorithm is proposed. Computational experiments showed the optimal solutions could be obtained for medium size instances, while for larger instances the proposed hybrid heuristic is very competitive.

A battery-operated pilot balloon time-signal generator

Science.gov (United States)

Ralph H. Moltzau

1966-01-01

Describes the design and construction of a 1-pound, battery-operated, time-signal transmitter, which is usable with portable radio or field telephone circuits for synchronizing multi-theodolite observation of pilot balloons.

Determination operation Time Risk of Box Spinning Components-oe Spinning Machine

OpenAIRE

Slobodan Stefanovic

2013-01-01

Based on the constructed dependency diagram reliability of the exploitation operation time of each constituent components of the analyzed frame in the case of selected statistical distributions, areas of the operation exploitation and repair intervals are determined. This is done by determining the first inflection points. Based on these points analysis to determine the time of safety operation of frame components with allowable risk to the segmental linear function of the intensity of failur...

Succinct Dynamic Cardinal Trees with Constant Time Operations for Small Alphabet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davoodi, Pooya; Satti, Srinivasa Rao

2011-01-01

) bits and performs the following operations in O(1) time: parent, child(i), label-child(alpha), degree, subtree-size, preorder, is-ancestor(x), insert-leaf (alpha), delete-leaf(alpha). The update times are amortized. The space is close to the information theoretic lower bound. The operations...

Comparison of the effect of pre- and post-operative physical therapy versus post-operative physical therapy alone on pain and recovery of function after total knee arthroplasty

OpenAIRE

Alghadir, Ahmad; Iqbal, Zaheen Ahmed; Anwer, Shahnawaz

2016-01-01

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of pre-operative and post-operative physical therapy versus post-operative physical therapy alone on pain and recovery of function after total knee arthroplasty. [Subjects and Methods] Fifty patients (18 males and 32 females) ranging in age from 48 to 80?years (mean 63.28, SD 9.44) participated in a 6-week two-arm randomized rater-blinded trial. One group received pre- and post-operative physical therapy whereas the other group ...

Total Particle Number Emissions from Modern Diesel, Natural Gas, and Hybrid Heavy-Duty Vehicles During On-Road Operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tianyang; Quiros, David C; Thiruvengadam, Arvind; Pradhan, Saroj; Hu, Shaohua; Huai, Tao; Lee, Eon S; Zhu, Yifang

2017-06-20

Particle emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) have significant environmental and public health impacts. This study measured total particle number emission factors (PNEFs) from six newly certified HDVs powered by diesel and compressed natural gas totaling over 6800 miles of on-road operation in California. Distance-, fuel- and work-based PNEFs were calculated for each vehicle. Distance-based PNEFs of vehicles equipped with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in this study have decreased by 355-3200 times compared to a previous retrofit DPF dynamometer study. Fuel-based PNEFs were consistent with previous studies measuring plume exhaust in the ambient air. Meanwhile, on-road PNEF shows route and technology dependence. For vehicles with OEM DPFs and Selective Catalytic Reduction Systems, PNEFs under highway driving (i.e., 3.34 × 10 12 to 2.29 × 10 13 particles/mile) were larger than those measured on urban and drayage routes (i.e., 5.06 × 10 11 to 1.31 × 10 13 particles/mile). This is likely because a significant amount of nucleation mode volatile particles were formed when the DPF outlet temperature reached a critical value, usually over 310 °C, which was commonly achieved when vehicle speed sustained over 45 mph. A model year 2013 diesel HDV produced approximately 10 times higher PNEFs during DPF active regeneration events than nonactive regeneration.

MINIX4RT: a real-time operating system based on MINIX

OpenAIRE

Pessolani, Pablo Andrés

2006-01-01

Tanenbaum's MINIX Operating System was extended with a Real-Time microkernel and services to conform MINIX4RT, a Real-Time Operating System for academic uses that includes more flexible Interprocess Communications facilities supporting basic priority inheritance protocol, a fixed priority scheduler, timer and event driven interrupt management, statistics and Real-Time metrics gathering keeping backward compatibility with standard MINIX versions. Facultad de Informática

Koopman Operator Framework for Time Series Modeling and Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Surana, Amit

2018-01-01

We propose an interdisciplinary framework for time series classification, forecasting, and anomaly detection by combining concepts from Koopman operator theory, machine learning, and linear systems and control theory. At the core of this framework is nonlinear dynamic generative modeling of time series using the Koopman operator which is an infinite-dimensional but linear operator. Rather than working with the underlying nonlinear model, we propose two simpler linear representations or model forms based on Koopman spectral properties. We show that these model forms are invariants of the generative model and can be readily identified directly from data using techniques for computing Koopman spectral properties without requiring the explicit knowledge of the generative model. We also introduce different notions of distances on the space of such model forms which is essential for model comparison/clustering. We employ the space of Koopman model forms equipped with distance in conjunction with classical machine learning techniques to develop a framework for automatic feature generation for time series classification. The forecasting/anomaly detection framework is based on using Koopman model forms along with classical linear systems and control approaches. We demonstrate the proposed framework for human activity classification, and for time series forecasting/anomaly detection in power grid application.

The HAL 9000 Space Operating System Real-Time Planning Engine Design and Operations Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Stetson, Howard; Watson, Michael D.; Shaughnessy, Ray

2012-01-01

In support of future deep space manned missions, an autonomous/automated vehicle, providing crew autonomy and an autonomous response planning system, will be required due to the light time delays in communication. Vehicle capabilities as a whole must provide for tactical response to vehicle system failures and space environmental effects induced failures, for risk mitigation of permanent loss of communication with Earth, and for assured crew return capabilities. The complexity of human rated space systems and the limited crew sizes and crew skills mix drive the need for a robust autonomous capability on-board the vehicle. The HAL 9000 Space Operating System[2] designed for such missions and space craft includes the first distributed real-time planning / re-planning system. This paper will detail the software architecture of the multiple planning engine system, and the interface design for plan changes, approval and implementation that is performed autonomously. Operations scenarios will be defined for analysis of the planning engines operations and its requirements for nominal / off nominal activities. An assessment of the distributed realtime re-planning system, in the defined operations environment, will be provided as well as findings as it pertains to the vehicle, crew, and mission control requirements needed for implementation.

Intraoperative Radiation for Breast Cancer with Intrabeam™: Factors Associated with Decreased Operative Times in Patients Having IORT for Breast Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie A. Valente

2017-10-01

Full Text Available IntroductionIntraoperative radiation with Intrabeam™ (IORT for breast cancer is a newer technology recently implemented into the operating room (OR. This procedure requires time and coordination between the surgeon and radiation oncologist, who both perform their treatments in a single operative setting. We evaluated the surgeons at our center, who perform IORT and their OR times to examine changes in OR times following implementation of this new surgical procedure. We hypothesized that IORT is a technique for which timing could be improved with the increasing number of cases performed.MethodsA prospectively maintained IRB approved database was queried for OR times (incision and close in patients who underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS, sentinel lymph node biopsy with and without IORT using the Intrabeam™ system at our institution from 2011 to 2015. The total OR times were compared for each surgeon individually and over time. Next, the OR times of each surgeon were compared to each other. Continuous variables were summarized and then a prediction model was created using IORT time, OR time, surgeon, and number of cases performed.ResultsThere were five surgeons performing IORT at our institution during this time period with a total of 96 cases performed. There was a significant difference observed in baseline surgeon-specific OR time for BSC (p = 0.03 as well as for BCS with IORT (p < 0.05, attributable to surgeon experience. The average BCS times were faster than the BCS plus IORT procedure times for all surgeons. The overall mean OR time for the entire combined surgical and radiation procedure was 135.5 min. The most common applicator sizes used were the 3.5 and 4 cm, yielding an average 21 min IORT time. Applicator choice did not differ over time (p = 0.189. After adjusting for IORT time and surgeon, the prediction model estimated that surgeons decreased the total BCS plus IORT OR time at a rate of −4.5 min per

Review of the total system related to operation of nuclear-powered ship

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takamasa, Tomoji; Miyashita, Kunio

2000-01-01

It is essential to establish a marine reactor having excellent safety and reliability, which is capable of competing economically with conventional ships, and which can be accepted by international society, in order to be prepared for practical application of future nuclear-powered ships. For this purpose, it is important not only to demonstrate a marine reactor using a model or test device to simulate actual operation, but also to establish the environmental requirements for operation of a nuclear-powered ship, such as safety standards that are operationally and internationally common for ships, and to establish a repair base for nuclear-powered ships. Systems research for the practical application of nuclear-powered ships was conducted for five years, fiscal years 1992 through 1996, by a group in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), under the project title 'Review of the total system related to operation of nuclear-powered ships.' The project sought to summarize requirements for the practical application of nuclear-powered ships from the standpoint of the need side, e.g., what nuclear-powered ships will be requested, and what functions will be provided under the expected future social environment; to show a complete system concept for the operation of nuclear-powered ships; and to clarify the situations creating demand for nuclear-powered ships, as well as the system and environmental conditions to be established for operation of practical nuclear-powered ships. Study considerations included the size of the operation system for a nuclear-powered ship, a scenario for introducing a nuclear-powered container ship, and economic evolution from the effects on the whole shipping system, based on container ships, of introducing a nuclear-powered ship. The results of these considerations were made the framework for constructing an entire system and evaluating its economy. The treatment and disposal of radioactive waste from a nuclear-powered ship, and the

Objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dommelen, P. van; Coffeng, J. K.; Ploeg, H.P. van der; Beek, A.J. van der; Boot, C.R.; Hendriksen, I.J.

2016-01-01

Background. Sedentary behaviour increases the risk for morbidity. Our primary aim is to determine the proportion and factors associated with objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings. Secondary aim is to study the proportion of physical activity and prolonged

Relative blood loss and operative time can predict length of stay following orthognathic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, K; Thastum, M; Nørholt, S E; Blomlöf, J

2016-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the length of stay (LOS) following orthognathic surgery and thereby to establish a benchmark. The secondary aim was to identify predictors of postoperative LOS following orthognathic surgery. Patients were treated consecutively during the period 2010 to 2012. Inclusion criteria were (1) patient age ≥18 years, and (2) surgery involving a three-piece Le Fort I osteotomy, or a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO), or bimaxillary surgery. A total of 335 patients were included. The following data were recorded: height, weight, body mass index (BMI), age, sex, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and type of surgery. LOS was defined as the duration of time from date of surgery to date of discharge. The average LOS was 1.3 days following Le Fort I osteotomy, 1.3 days following BSSO, and 1.8 days following bimaxillary surgery. In the multivariate regression model (R(2)=0.11), predictors of a prolonged LOS were operative time (P<0.001) and relative blood loss (P=0.002). No significant effect of age, BMI, sex, or treatment on LOS was observed. The short duration of LOS found in this study supports the possibility of increasing outpatient pathways for selected patients. Copyright © 2016 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feynman's operational calculus and beyond noncommutativity and time-ordering

CERN Document Server

Johnson, George W; Nielsen, Lance

2015-01-01

This book is aimed at providing a coherent, essentially self-contained, rigorous and comprehensive abstract theory of Feynman's operational calculus for noncommuting operators. Although it is inspired by Feynman's original heuristic suggestions and time-ordering rules in his seminal 1951 paper An operator calculus having applications in quantum electrodynamics, as will be made abundantly clear in the introduction (Chapter 1) and elsewhere in the text, the theory developed in this book also goes well beyond them in a number of directions which were not anticipated in Feynman's work. Hence, the second part of the main title of this book. The basic properties of the operational calculus are developed and certain algebraic and analytic properties of the operational calculus are explored. Also, the operational calculus will be seen to possess some pleasant stability properties. Furthermore, an evolution equation and a generalized integral equation obeyed by the operational calculus are discussed and connections wi...

Alpha: A real-time decentralized operating system for mission-oriented system integration and operation

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, E. Douglas

1988-01-01

Alpha is a new kind of operating system that is unique in two highly significant ways. First, it is decentralized transparently providing reliable resource management across physically dispersed nodes, so that distributed applications programming can be done largely as though it were centralized. And second, it provides comprehensive, high technology support for real-time system integration and operation, an application area which consists predominately of aperiodic activities having critical time constraints such as deadlines. Alpha is extremely adaptable so that it can be easily optimized for a wide range of problem-specific functionality, performance, and cost. Alpha is the first systems effort of the Archons Project, and the prototype was created at Carnegie-Mellon University directly on modified Sun multiprocessor workstation hardware. It has been demonstrated with a real-time C(sup 2) application. Continuing research is leading to a series of enhanced follow-ons to Alpha; these are portable but initially hosted on Concurrent's MASSCOMP line of multiprocessor products.

Evaluating the Learning Curve for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy under Total Ultrasound Guidance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Song

Full Text Available To investigate the learning curve of percutaneous nephrolithotomy under total ultrasound guidance.One hundred and twenty consecutive PCNL operations under total ultrasound guidance performed by a novice surgeon in a tertiary referral center were studied. Operations were analyzed in cohorts of 15 to determine when a plateau was reached for the variables such as operation duration, ultrasound screening time, tract dilation time, stone-free rate and complication rate. Comparison was made with the results of a surgeon who had performed more than 1000 PCNLs. Fluoroscopy was not used at all during procedure.The mean operation time dropped from 82.5 min for the first 15 patients to a mean of 64.7 min for cases 46 through 60(P = 0.047. The ultrasound screening time was a peak of 6.4 min in the first 15 cases, whereas it dropped to a mean of 3.9 min for cases 46 through 60(P = 0.01. The tract dilation time dropped from 4.9 min for the first 15 patients to a mean of 3.8 min for cases 46 through 60(P = 0.036. The senior surgeon had a mean operating time, screening time and tract dilation time equivalent to those of the novice surgeon after 60 cases. There was no significant difference in stone free rate and complication rate.The competence of ultrasound guided PCNL is reached after 60 cases with good stone free rate and without major complications.

Total 2004 results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-02-01

This document presents the 2004 results of Total Group: consolidated account, special items, number of shares, market environment, adjustment for amortization of Sanofi-Aventis merger-related intangibles, 4. quarter 2004 results (operating and net incomes, cash flow), upstream (results, production, reserves, recent highlights), downstream (results, refinery throughput, recent highlights), chemicals (results, recent highlights), Total's full year 2004 results (operating and net income, cash flow), 2005 sensitivities, Total SA parent company accounts and proposed dividend, adoption of IFRS accounting, summary and outlook, main operating information by segment for the 4. quarter and full year 2004: upstream (combined liquids and gas production by region, liquids production by region, gas production by region), downstream (refined product sales by region, chemicals), Total financial statements: consolidated statement of income, consolidated balance sheet (assets, liabilities and shareholder's equity), consolidated statements of cash flows, business segments information. (J.S.)

Real-Time Plasma Control Tools for Advanced Tokamak Operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varandas, C. A. F.; Sousa, J.; Rodrigues, A. P.; Carvalho, B. B.; Fernandes, H.; Batista, A. J.; Cruz, N.; Combo, A.; Pereira, R. C.

2006-01-01

Real-time control will play an important role in the operation and scientific exploitation of the new generation fusion devices. This paper summarizes the real-time systems and diagnostics developed by the Portuguese Fusion Euratom Association based on digital signal processors and field programmable gate arrays

A Parallel Priority Queue with Constant Time Operations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodal, Gerth Stølting; Träff, Jesper Larsson; Zaroliagis, Christos D.

1998-01-01

We present a parallel priority queue that supports the following operations in constant time:parallel insertionof a sequence of elements ordered according to key,parallel decrease keyfor a sequence of elements ordered according to key,deletion of the minimum key element, anddeletion of an arbitrary...... application is a parallel implementation of Dijkstra's algorithm for the single-source shortest path problem, which runs inO(n) time andO(mlogn) work on a CREW PRAM on graphs withnvertices andmedges. This is a logarithmic factor improvement in the running time compared with previous approaches....

Drainage after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Tahsin COLAK; Tamer AKCA; Ozgur TURKMENOGLU; Hakan CANBAZ; Bora USTUNSOY; Arzu KANIK; Suha AYDI

2008-01-01

Objective: This prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the necessity of drainage after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders. Methods: A total of 116 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders were randomly allocated to be drained or not. Operative and postoperative outcomes including operating time, postoperative pain assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS), total amount of intramuscular analgesic administration, hospital stay, complications, necessity for re-operation and satisfaction of patients were all assessed. Results: The mean operating time was similar between two groups (the drained and non-drained groups). The mean VAS score was found to be significantly low in the non-drained group patients in postoperative day (POD) 0 and POD 1. The mean amount of intramuscular analgesic requirement was significantly less in the non-drained group. One case of hematoma, two cases of seroma and three cases of transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in the non-drained group, whereas one case of hematoma, two cases of seroma, two cases of wound infections and two cases of transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in the drained group. No patient needed re-operation for any complication. The mean hospital stay was significantly shorter and the satisfaction of patients was superior in the non-drained group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that postoperative complications cannot be prevented by using drains after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroid disorders. Furthermore, the use of drains may increase postoperative pain and the analgesic requirement, and prolong the hospital stay. In the light of these findings, the routine use of drains might not be necessary after thyroid surgery for benign disorders.

Total 2004 results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-02-01

This document presents the 2004 results of Total Group: consolidated account, special items, number of shares, market environment, adjustment for amortization of Sanofi-Aventis merger-related intangibles, 4. quarter 2004 results (operating and net incomes, cash flow), upstream (results, production, reserves, recent highlights), downstream (results, refinery throughput, recent highlights), chemicals (results, recent highlights), Total's full year 2004 results (operating and net income, cash flow), 2005 sensitivities, Total SA parent company accounts and proposed dividend, adoption of IFRS accounting, summary and outlook, main operating information by segment for the 4. quarter and full year 2004: upstream (combined liquids and gas production by region, liquids production by region, gas production by region), downstream (refined product sales by region, chemicals), Total financial statements: consolidated statement of income, consolidated balance sheet (assets, liabilities and shareholder's equity), consolidated statements of cash flows, business segments information. (J.S.)

A real-time monitoring and assessment method for calculation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted in subway stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, TaeSeok; Kim, MinJeong; Lim, JungJin; Kang, OnYu; Shetty, K Vidya; SankaraRao, B; Yoo, ChangKyoo; Park, Jae Hyung; Kim, Jeong Tai

2012-05-01

Subway systems are considered as main public transportation facility in developed countries. Time spent by people in indoors, such as underground spaces, subway stations, and indoor buildings, has gradually increased in the recent past. Especially, operators or old persons who stay in indoor environments more than 15 hr per day usually influenced a greater extent by indoor air pollutants. Hence, regulations on indoor air pollutants are needed to ensure good health of people. Therefore, in this study, a new cumulative calculation method for the estimation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted inside the subway station is proposed by taking cumulative amounts of indoor air pollutants based on integration concept. Minimum concentration of individual air pollutants which naturally exist in indoor space is referred as base concentration of air pollutants and can be found from the data collected. After subtracting the value of base concentration from data point of each data set of indoor air pollutant, the primary quantity of emitted air pollutant is calculated. After integration is carried out with these values, adding the base concentration to the integration quantity gives the total amount of indoor air pollutant emitted. Moreover the values of new index for cumulative indoor air quality obtained for 1 day are calculated using the values of cumulative air quality index (CAI). Cumulative comprehensive indoor air quality index (CCIAI) is also proposed to compare the values of cumulative concentrations of indoor air pollutants. From the results, it is clear that the cumulative assessment approach of indoor air quality (IAQ) is useful for monitoring the values of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted, in case of exposure to indoor air pollutants for a long time. Also, the values of CCIAI are influenced more by the values of concentration of NO2, which is released due to the use of air conditioners and combustion of the fuel. The results obtained in

Can the pre-operative Western Ontario and McMaster score predict patient satisfaction following total hip arthroplasty?

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, B A; Alolabi, B; Carrothers, A D; Kreder, H J; Jenkinson, R J

2015-02-01

In this study we evaluated whether pre-operative Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis scores can predict satisfaction following total hip arthroplasty (THA). Prospective data for a cohort of patients undergoing THA from two large academic centres were collected, and pre-operative and one-year post-operative WOMAC scores and a 25-point satisfaction questionnaire were obtained for 446 patients. Satisfaction scores were dichotomised into either improvement or deterioration. Scatter plots and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used to describe the association between pre-operative WOMAC and one-year post-operative WOMAC scores and patient satisfaction. Satisfaction was compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis against pre-operative, post-operative and δ WOMAC scores. We found no relationship between pre-operative WOMAC scores and one-year post-operative WOMAC or satisfaction scores, with Spearman's rank correlation coefficients of 0.16 and -0.05, respectively. The ROC analysis showed areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.54 (pre-operative WOMAC), 0.67 (post-operative WOMAC) and 0.43 (δ WOMAC), respectively, for an improvement in satisfaction. We conclude that the pre-operative WOMAC score does not predict the post-operative WOMAC score or patient satisfaction after THA, and that WOMAC scores can therefore not be used to prioritise patient care. ©2015 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Nonunitary similarity transformation of conservative to dissipative evolutions: Intertwining without time operator

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Fernando

2007-04-01

Reversible evolutions are usually expressed in terms of unitary groups on separable Hilbert spaces, whereas irreversible ones are described by contraction semigroups. In the theory of nonunitary similarity transformations intertwining unitary groups and contraction semigroups, proposed initially in the context of statistical mechanics as part of an exact theory of irreversibility, the unitary groups with such intertwining property have been qualified by the existence of an internal time operator. This work tackles the question of existence of internal time operators for unitary groups with the intertwining property. Equivalent conditions to the existence of internal time operators for such unitary groups are given on the basis of the Sz.-Nagy-Foiaş [Harmonic Analysis of Operators on Hilbert Spaces (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1970)] dilation theory and the theory of shift invariant subspaces. These conditions permit us to solve the inverse intertwining problem in the negative: there are unitary groups with the intertwining property which do not admit internal time operator. A representative family of such unitary groups is given.

Intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy after totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy: A single-center 7-year experience

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ke; Pan, Yu; Cai, Jia-Qin; Xu, Xiao-Wu; Wu, Di; Yan, Jia-Fei; Chen, Rong-Gao; He, Yang; Mou, Yi-Ping

2016-01-01

AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy in patients undergoing laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG) for gastric cancer. METHODS: A retrospective review of 81 consecutive patients who underwent LTG with the same surgical team between November 2007 and July 2014 was performed. Four types of intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy using staplers or hand-sewn suturing were performed after LTG. Data on clinicopatholgoical characteristics, occurrence of complications, postoperative recovery, anastomotic time, and operation time among the surgical groups were obtained through medical records. RESULTS: The average operation time was 288.7 min, the average anastomotic time was 54.3 min, and the average estimated blood loss was 82.7 mL. There were no cases of conversion to open surgery. The first flatus was observed around 3.7 d, while the liquid diet was started, on average, from 4.9 d. The average postoperative hospital stay was 10.1 d. Postoperative complications occurred in 14 patients, nearly 17.3%. However, there were no cases of postoperative death. CONCLUSION: LTG performed with intracorporeal esophagojejunostomy using laparoscopic staplers or hand-sewn suturing is feasible and safe. The surgical results were acceptable from the perspective of minimal invasiveness. PMID:27022225

Supravaginal eller total hysterektomi?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edvardsen, L; Madsen, E M

1994-01-01

There has been a decline in the rate of hysterectomies in Denmark in general over the last thirteen years, together with a rise in the number of supravaginal operations over the last two years. The literature concerning the relative merits of the supravaginal and the total abdominal operation is ...... indicate a reduced frequency of orgasm after the total hysterectomy compared with the supravaginal operation. When there are technical problems peroperatively with an increased urologic risk the supravaginal operation is recommended....

Wait time management strategies for total joint replacement surgery: sustainability and unintended consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Pomey, Marie-Pascale; Clavel, Nathalie; Amar, Claudia; Sabogale-Olarte, Juan Carlos; Sanmartin, Claudia; De Coster, Carolyn; Noseworthy, Tom

2017-09-07

In Canada, long waiting times for core specialized services have consistently been identified as a key barrier to access. Governments and organizations have responded with strategies for better access management, notably for total joint replacement (TJR) of the hip and knee. While wait time management strategies (WTMS) are promising, the factors which influence their sustainable implementation at the organizational level are understudied. Consequently, this study examined organizational and systemic factors that made it possible to sustain waiting times for TJR within federally established limits and for at least 18 months or more. The research design is a multiple case study of WTMS implementation. Five cases were selected across five Canadian provinces. Three success levels were pre-defined: 1) the WTMS maintained compliance with requirements for more than 18 months; 2) the WTMS met requirements for 18 months but could not sustain the level thereafter; 3) the WTMS never met requirements. For each case, we collected documents and interviewed key informants. We analyzed systemic and organizational factors, with particular attention to governance and leadership, culture, resources, methods, and tools. We found that successful organizations had specific characteristics: 1) management of the whole care continuum, 2) strong clinical leadership; 3) dedicated committees to coordinate and sustain strategy; 4) a culture based on trust and innovation. All strategies led to relatively similar unintended consequences. The main negative consequence was an initial increase in waiting times for TJR and the main positive consequence was operational enhancement of other areas of specialization based on the TJR model. This study highlights important differences in factors which help to achieve and sustain waiting times. To be sustainable, a WTMS needs to generate greater synergies between contextual-level strategy (provincial or regional) and organizational objectives and

Diversity and dynamics of dominant and rare bacterial taxa in replicate sequencing batch reactors operated under different solids retention time

KAUST Repository

Bagchi, Samik

2014-10-19

In this study, 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was applied in order to provide a better insight on the diversity and dynamics of total, dominant, and rare bacterial taxa in replicate lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) operated at different solids retention time (SRT). Rank-abundance curves showed few dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and a long tail of rare OTUs in all reactors. Results revealed that there was no detectable effect of SRT (2 vs. 10 days) on Shannon diversity index and OTU richness of both dominant and rare taxa. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis showed that the total, dominant, and rare bacterial taxa were highly dynamic during the entire period of stable reactor performance. Also, the rare taxa were more dynamic than the dominant taxa despite expected low invasion rates because of the use of sterile synthetic media.

Real-time solar magnetograph operation system software design and user's guide

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C.

1984-01-01

The Real Time Solar Magnetograph (RTSM) Operation system software design on PDP11/23+ is presented along with the User's Guide. The RTSM operation software is for real time instrumentation control, data collection and data management. The data is used for vector analysis, plotting or graphics display. The processed data is then easily compared with solar data from other sources, such as the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM).

Total sleep time, alcohol consumption, and the duration and severity of alcohol hangover

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Schrojenstein Lantman, Marith; Mackus, Marlou; Roth, Thomas; Verster, Joris C|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/241442702

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: An evening of alcohol consumption often occurs at the expense of sleep time. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between total sleep time and the duration and severity of the alcohol hangover. METHODS: A survey was conducted among Dutch University students to

Preliminary Investigation of Time Remaining Display on the Computer-based Emergency Operating Procedure

Science.gov (United States)

Suryono, T. J.; Gofuku, A.

2018-02-01

One of the important thing in the mitigation of accidents in nuclear power plant accidents is time management. The accidents should be resolved as soon as possible in order to prevent the core melting and the release of radioactive material to the environment. In this case, operators should follow the emergency operating procedure related with the accident, in step by step order and in allowable time. Nowadays, the advanced main control rooms are equipped with computer-based procedures (CBPs) which is make it easier for operators to do their tasks of monitoring and controlling the reactor. However, most of the CBPs do not include the time remaining display feature which informs operators of time available for them to execute procedure steps and warns them if the they reach the time limit. Furthermore, the feature will increase the awareness of operators about their current situation in the procedure. This paper investigates this issue. The simplified of emergency operating procedure (EOP) of steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident of PWR plant is applied. In addition, the sequence of actions on each step of the procedure is modelled using multilevel flow modelling (MFM) and influenced propagation rule. The prediction of action time on each step is acquired based on similar case accidents and the Support Vector Regression. The derived time will be processed and then displayed on a CBP user interface.

A Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem with Controllable Processing Times to Optimize Total Cost of Delay and Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Mokhtari

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the flexible job shop scheduling problem with machine flexibility and controllable process times is studied. The main idea is that the processing times of operations may be controlled by consumptions of additional resources. The purpose of this paper to find the best trade-off between processing cost and delay cost in order to minimize the total costs. The proposed model, flexible job shop scheduling with controllable processing times (FJCPT, is formulated as an integer non-linear programming (INLP model and then it is converted into an integer linear programming (ILP model. Due to NP-hardness of FJCPT, conventional analytic optimization methods are not efficient. Hence, in order to solve the problem, a Scatter Search (SS, as an efficient metaheuristic method, is developed. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, numerical experiments are conducted. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is compared with that of a genetic algorithm (GA available in the literature for solving FJSP problem. The results showed that the proposed SS provide better solutions than the existing GA.

MID-VASTUS VS MEDIAL PARA-PATELLAR APPROACH IN TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT—TIME TO DISCHARGE

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, P.; Press, J.; Hockings, M.

2009-01-01

Background It has been shown before that when compared with the medial para-patellar approach, the mid-vastus approach for TKR results in less post-operative pain for patients and more rapid recovery of straight leg raise. As far as we are aware the post-operative length of stay of the two groups of patients has not been compared. We postulated that the reduced pain and more rapid recovery of straight leg raise would translate into an earlier, safe, discharge home for the mid-vastus patients compared with those who underwent a traditional medial para-patellar approach. Methods Twenty patients operated on by each of five established knee arthroplasty surgeons were evaluated prospectively with regard to their pre and post-operative range of movement, time to achieve straight leg raise post-operatively and length of post-operative hospital stay. Only one of the surgeons performed the mid-vastus approach, and the measurements were recorded by physiotherapists who were blinded as to the approach used on each patient. Results The results were analysed using a standard statistical software package, and although the mean length of stay was lower for the mid-vastus patients, the difference did not reach a level of significance (p = 0.13). The time taken to achieve straight leg raise post-operatively was significantly less in the mid-vastus group (p<0.001). Conclusion Although this study confirms previous findings that the mid-vastus approach reduces the time taken for patients to achieve straight leg raise, when compared with the medial para-patellar approach, on its own it does not translate into a significantly shorter length of hospital stay. In order to reduce the length of post-operative hospital stay with an accelerated rehabilitation program for TKR, a multi-disciplinary approach is required. Patient expectations, GP support, physiotherapists and nursing staff all have a role to play and the mid-vastus approach, in permitting earlier straight leg raising

The position of a standard optical computer mouse affects cardiorespiratory responses during the operation of a computer under time constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Sako, Shunji; Sugiura, Hiromichi; Tanoue, Hironori; Kojima, Makoto; Kono, Mitsunobu; Inaba, Ryoichi

2014-08-01

This study investigated the association between task-induced stress and fatigue by examining the cardiovascular responses of subjects using different mouse positions while operating a computer under time constraints. The study was participated by 16 young, healthy men and examined the use of optical mouse devices affixed to laptop computers. Two mouse positions were investigated: (1) the distal position (DP), in which the subjects place their forearms on the desk accompanied by the abduction and flexion of their shoulder joints, and (2) the proximal position (PP), in which the subjects place only their wrists on the desk without using an armrest. The subjects continued each task for 16 min. We assessed differences in several characteristics according to mouse position, including expired gas values, autonomic nerve activities (based on cardiorespiratory responses), operating efficiencies (based on word counts), and fatigue levels (based on the visual analog scale - VAS). Oxygen consumption (VO(2)), the ratio of inspiration time to respiration time (T(i)/T(total)), respiratory rate (RR), minute ventilation (VE), and the ratio of expiration to inspiration (Te/T(i)) were significantly lower when the participants were performing the task in the DP than those obtained in the PP. Tidal volume (VT), carbon dioxide output rates (VCO(2)/VE), and oxygen extraction fractions (VO(2)/VE) were significantly higher for the DP than they were for the PP. No significant difference in VAS was observed between the positions; however, as the task progressed, autonomic nerve activities were lower and operating efficiencies were significantly higher for the DP than they were for the PP. Our results suggest that the DP has fewer effects on cardiorespiratory functions, causes lower levels of sympathetic nerve activity and mental stress, and produces a higher total workload than the PP. This suggests that the DP is preferable to the PP when operating a computer.

Technology strategy for integrated operations and real time reservoir management; Technology Target Areas; TTA5 - Integrated operations and RTRM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2007-07-01

In Norway Integrated Operations (IO) is a concept which in the first phase (G1) has been used to describe how to integrate processes and people onshore and offshore using ICT solutions and facilities that improve onshore's ability to support offshore operationally. The second generation (G2) Integrated Operations aims to help operators utilize vendors' core competencies and services more efficiently. Utilizing digital services and vendor products, operators will be able to update reservoir models, drilling targets and well trajectories as wells are drilled, manage well completions remotely, optimize production from reservoir to export lines, and implement condition-based maintenance concepts. The total impact on production, recovery rates, costs and safety will be profound. When the international petroleum business moves to the Arctic region the setting is very different from what is the case on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and new challenges will arise. The Norwegian Ministry of Environment has recently issued an Integrated Management Plan for the Barents Sea where one focus is on 'Monitoring of the Marine Environment in the North'. The Government aims to establish a new and more coordinated system for monitoring the marine ecosystems in the north. A representative group consisting of the major Operators, the Service Industry, Academia and the Authorities have developed the enclosed strategy for the OG21 Integrated Operations and Real Time Reservoir Management (IO and RTRM) Technology Target Area (TTA). Major technology and work process research and development gaps have been identified in several areas: Bandwidth down-hole to surface; Sensor development including Nano-technology; Cross discipline use of Visualisation, Simulation and model development particularly in Drilling and Reservoir management areas; Software development in terms of data handling, model updating and calculation speed; Enabling reliable and robust communications particularly for

Technology strategy for integrated operations and real time reservoir management; Technology Target Areas; TTA5 - Integrated operations and RTRM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2007-07-01

In Norway Integrated Operations (IO) is a concept which in the first phase (G1) has been used to describe how to integrate processes and people onshore and offshore using ICT solutions and facilities that improve onshore's ability to support offshore operationally. The second generation (G2) Integrated Operations aims to help operators utilize vendors' core competencies and services more efficiently. Utilizing digital services and vendor products, operators will be able to update reservoir models, drilling targets and well trajectories as wells are drilled, manage well completions remotely, optimize production from reservoir to export lines, and implement condition-based maintenance concepts. The total impact on production, recovery rates, costs and safety will be profound. When the international petroleum business moves to the Arctic region the setting is very different from what is the case on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and new challenges will arise. The Norwegian Ministry of Environment has recently issued an Integrated Management Plan for the Barents Sea where one focus is on 'Monitoring of the Marine Environment in the North'. The Government aims to establish a new and more coordinated system for monitoring the marine ecosystems in the north. A representative group consisting of the major Operators, the Service Industry, Academia and the Authorities have developed the enclosed strategy for the OG21 Integrated Operations and Real Time Reservoir Management (IO and RTRM) Technology Target Area (TTA). Major technology and work process research and development gaps have been identified in several areas: Bandwidth down-hole to surface; Sensor development including Nano-technology; Cross discipline use of Visualisation, Simulation and model development particularly in Drilling and Reservoir management areas; Software development in terms of data handling, model updating and calculation speed; Enabling reliable and robust communications

Predictors of shoulder dystocia at the time of operative vaginal delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Palatnik, Anna; Grobman, William A; Hellendag, Madeline G; Janetos, Timothy M; Gossett, Dana R; Miller, Emily S

2016-11-01

It remains uncertain whether clinical factors known prior to delivery can predict which women are more likely to experience shoulder dystocia in the setting of operative vaginal delivery. We sought to identify whether shoulder dystocia can be accurately predicted among women undergoing an operative vaginal delivery. This was a case-control study of women undergoing a low or outlet operative vaginal delivery from 2005 through 2014 in a single tertiary care center. Cases were defined as women who experienced a shoulder dystocia at the time of operative vaginal delivery. Controls consisted of women without a shoulder dystocia at the time of operative vaginal delivery. Variables previously identified to be associated with shoulder dystocia that could be known prior to delivery were abstracted from the medical records. Bivariable analyses and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify factors independently associated with shoulder dystocia. A receiver operating characteristic curve was created to evaluate the predictive value of the model for shoulder dystocia. Of the 4080 women who met inclusion criteria, shoulder dystocia occurred in 162 (4.0%) women. In bivariable analysis, maternal age, parity, body mass index, diabetes, chorioamnionitis, arrest disorder as an indication for an operative vaginal delivery, vacuum use, and estimated fetal weight >4 kg were significantly associated with shoulder dystocia. In multivariable analysis, parity, diabetes, chorioamnionitis, arrest disorder as an indication for operative vaginal delivery, vacuum use, and estimated fetal weight >4 kg remained independently associated with shoulder dystocia. The area under the curve for the generated receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.73 (95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.77), demonstrating only a modest ability to predict shoulder dystocia before performing an operative vaginal delivery. While risk factors for shoulder dystocia at the time of operative vaginal delivery

Preemptive analgesia by using celecoxib combined with tramadol/APAP alleviates post-operative pain of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhongwei; Zhang, Hua; Luo, Jiao; Zhou, Aiguo; Zhang, Jian

2017-09-01

This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of preemptive analgesia (PA) by using celecoxib combined with low-dose tramadol/acetaminophen (tramadol/APAP) in treating post-operative pain of patients undergoing unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A total of 132 patients scheduled for TKA were included in this study. Three-day pre-operative medication was administrated in PA group with subsequent effective intra- and post-operative multimodal analgesia, while control patients received multimodal analgesia without PA. Visual analog scale (VAS) was utilized to assess the pain intensity at rest and during movement. VAS scores of participants were recorded 3 days before surgery, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. Moreover, the length of hospital stay, expense of hospitalization, C-reactive protein (CRP) values during hospitalization, and complications during medication were also recorded. PA showed superiority over control at 3 weeks (P = 0.013) and 6 weeks (P = 0.046) in resting pain, and 1 week (P = 0.015), 3 weeks (P = 0.003), 6 weeks (P = 0.003) and 3 months (P = 0.012) postoperatively in movement pain. There was no statistically significant difference in the length of hospital stay, total expense, CRP values, as well as complications. Based on satisfactory intra- and post-operative analgesia, PA by 3-day administration of celecoxib and low-dose tramadol/APAP might be an effective and safe therapy regarding patients undergoing TKA in terms of alleviating post-operative pain.

Real time operating system for a nuclear power plant computer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alger, L.S.; Lala, J.H.

1986-01-01

A quadruply redundant synchronous fault tolerant processor (FTP) is now under fabrication at the C.S. Draper Laboratory to be used initially as a trip monitor for the Experimental Breeder Reactor EBR-II operated by the Argonne National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The real time operating system for this processor is described

ASPECTS REGARDING THE SETTING OF TIME STANDARDS FOR THE PRODUCTION AND SEWING OPERATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SECAN Cristina

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the technological process of manufacture of a shoe for women in IL system in order to establish the time and the production norm in the processing-sewing procedure. The sequence of operations is presented in a case study that analyzed how can be obtained the upper assembly of a footwear product that later becomes integral part into the finished product. Drawing up the technological process is done considering both the manual operations and the manual-mechanical operations for processing and assembling the parts that make the whole upper assembly by gluing the parts, by seaming and securing the joints. The type of equipment chosen to carry out operations is influencing through its productivity the necessary material calculated and hence the labour force required. The amount of time consists of time needed for preparation-finishing time, operative time, time of working place service and time of regulated interruptions. These periods of times were determined basically by timing assistance of the manufacturing process throughout its development. Production norm is calculated on the basis of the standard time, taking into account that it represents the amount of products manufactured in a work shift In order to improve the process by reducing the time of production and the number of workers engaged we are considering the automation of the manufacturing process by using modern methods using laser cutting or cutting under running water, automatic sewing machines, strip conveyor belts with pace imposed etc.

Asymptotic behavior of total times For jobs that must start over if a failure occurs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, Søren; Fiorini, Pierre; Lipsky, Lester

the ready queue, or it may restart the task. The behavior of systems under the first two scenarios is well documented, but the third (RESTART) has resisted detailed analysis. In this paper we derive tight asymptotic relations between the distribution of task times without failures to the total time when...... including failures, for any failure distribution. In particular, we show that if the task time distribution has an unbounded support then the total time distribution H is always heavy-tailed. Asymptotic expressions are given for the tail of H in various scenarios. The key ingredients of the analysis...

Asymptotic behaviour of total times for jobs that must start over if a failure occurs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asmussen, Søren; Fiorini, Pierre; Lipsky, Lester

2008-01-01

the ready queue, or it may restart the task. The behavior of systems under the first two scenarios is well documented, but the third (RESTART) has resisted detailed analysis. In this paper we derive tight asymptotic relations between the distribution of task times without failures and the total time when...... including failures, for any failure distribution. In particular, we show that if the task-time distribution has an unbounded support, then the total-time distribution H is always heavy tailed. Asymptotic expressions are given for the tail of H in various scenarios. The key ingredients of the analysis...

Effect of adductor-canal-blockade on established, severe post-operative pain after total knee arthroplasty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jaeger, P; Grevstad, Ulrik; Henningsen, Maja

2012-01-01

In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the effect of the predominantly sensory adductor-canal-blockade on established pain in the early post-operative period after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We hypothesised that the adductor-canal-blockade would reduce pain during flexion of the knee...... (primary end point) and at rest, as well as reducing morphine consumption and morphine-related side effects (secondary outcomes) compared with placebo....

A HARDWARE SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM KERNEL FOR EMBEDDED HARD REAL-TIME APPLICATIONS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

COLNARIC, M; HALANG, WA; TOL, RM

1994-01-01

The concept of the kernel, i.e. the time critical part of a real-time operating system, and its dedicated co-processor, especially tailored for embedded applications, are presented. The co-processor acts as a system controller and operates in conjunction with one or more conventional processors in

Response Times of Operators in a Control Room

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Platz, O.; Rasmussen, Jens; Skanborg, Preben Zacho

A statistical analysis was made of operator response times recorded in the control room of a research reactor during the years 1972-1974. A homogeneity test revealed that the data consist of a mixture of populations. A small but statistically significant difference is found between day and night...

Real-Time Integrated Re-scheduling for Tramway Operations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cheung, Kam-Fung; Kuo, Yong-Hong; Lai, S.W.; Leung, Janny M.Y.

2018-01-01

Our work aims to develop practical solution approaches for real-time dispatch of crews and vehicles for disruption management. The practical motivation for our research arose from the operations of a public tramway system in Hong Kong. The tram system shares the road with other vehicular traffic in

Mixed - mode Operating System for Real - time Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hasan M. M.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface(GUIoperating system which is typicallynon-real-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time events. In this research an i8751 microcontroller-based hardware was used to measure the performance of the system in real-time-only as well as non-real-time-only configurations. The real-time portion is an 486DX-40 IBM PC system running under DOS-based real-time kernel and the non-real-time portion is a Pentium IIIbased system running under Windows NT. It was found that mixed-mode systems performed as good as a typical real-time system and in fact, gave many additional benefits such as simplified/modular programming and load tolerance.

Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning: Optimal Operational Control for Two-Time-Scale Industrial Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinna; Kiumarsi, Bahare; Chai, Tianyou; Lewis, Frank L; Fan, Jialu

2017-12-01

Industrial flow lines are composed of unit processes operating on a fast time scale and performance measurements known as operational indices measured at a slower time scale. This paper presents a model-free optimal solution to a class of two time-scale industrial processes using off-policy reinforcement learning (RL). First, the lower-layer unit process control loop with a fast sampling period and the upper-layer operational index dynamics at a slow time scale are modeled. Second, a general optimal operational control problem is formulated to optimally prescribe the set-points for the unit industrial process. Then, a zero-sum game off-policy RL algorithm is developed to find the optimal set-points by using data measured in real-time. Finally, a simulation experiment is employed for an industrial flotation process to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Blood Conservation Strategies in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Peri-operative blood management is one of a number of components important for successful patient care in total joint arthroplasty and surgeons should be proactive in its application. The aims of blood conservation are to reduce the risks of blood transfusion whilst at the same time maximizing haemaglobin in the post-operative period, thereby leading to a positive effect on early and long term outcomes and costs. An individualized strategy based on patient specific risk factors, anticipated blood loss and co-morbidities is useful in achieving this aim. Multiple blood conservation strategies are available in the pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative periods and can be utilised either individually or in combination. Recent literature has highlighted the importance of identifying and correcting pre-operative anaemia, salvaging peri-operative red cells and the use of tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss. Given total hip and knee arthroplasty is an elective procedure, a zero allogenic blood transfusion rate should be the aim and an achievable goal.

TWOS - TIME WARP OPERATING SYSTEM, VERSION 2.5.1

Science.gov (United States)

Bellenot, S. F.

1994-01-01

The Time Warp Operating System (TWOS) is a special-purpose operating system designed to support parallel discrete-event simulation. TWOS is a complete implementation of the Time Warp mechanism, a distributed protocol for virtual time synchronization based on process rollback and message annihilation. Version 2.5.1 supports simulations and other computations using both virtual time and dynamic load balancing; it does not support general time-sharing or multi-process jobs using conventional message synchronization and communication. The program utilizes the underlying operating system's resources. TWOS runs a single simulation at a time, executing it concurrently on as many processors of a distributed system as are allocated. The simulation needs only to be decomposed into objects (logical processes) that interact through time-stamped messages. TWOS provides transparent synchronization. The user does not have to add any more special logic to aid in synchronization, nor give any synchronization advice, nor even understand much about how the Time Warp mechanism works. The Time Warp Simulator (TWSIM) subdirectory contains a sequential simulation engine that is interface compatible with TWOS. This means that an application designer and programmer who wish to use TWOS can prototype code on TWSIM on a single processor and/or workstation before having to deal with the complexity of working on a distributed system. TWSIM also provides statistics about the application which may be helpful for determining the correctness of an application and for achieving good performance on TWOS. Version 2.5.1 has an updated interface that is not compatible with 2.0. The program's user manual assists the simulation programmer in the design, coding, and implementation of discrete-event simulations running on TWOS. The manual also includes a practical user's guide to the TWOS application benchmark, Colliding Pucks. TWOS supports simulations written in the C programming language. It is designed

Tunneling time through a barrier using the tempus operator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kobe, Donald H.; Aguilera-Navarro, Valdir C. [North Texas Univ., Denton, TX (United States). Dept. of Physics

1996-11-01

The time a particle spends in a classically forbidden region of a potential barrier is expressed as an expectation value of the time operator in that region. Classically, time is canonically conjugate to the energy and is equal to the time a conservative system. The tunneling time is calculated by this approach for a rectangular barrier, which gives a complex time. The imaginary part of the time is non negative, so it is interpreted as a tunneling time. The real part gives a negative value for some values of the parameters, and is therefore rejected because it violates causality. This tunneling time is compared with other tunneling times that have been suggested by also calculating them for the rectangular barrier. 58 refs., 7 figs.

Tunneling time through a barrier using the tempus operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobe, Donald H.; Aguilera-Navarro, Valdir C.

1996-11-01

The time a particle spends in a classically forbidden region of a potential barrier is expressed as an expectation value of the time operator in that region. Classically, time is canonically conjugate to the energy and is equal to the time a conservative system. The tunneling time is calculated by this approach for a rectangular barrier, which gives a complex time. The imaginary part of the time is non negative, so it is interpreted as a tunneling time. The real part gives a negative value for some values of the parameters, and is therefore rejected because it violates causality. This tunneling time is compared with other tunneling times that have been suggested by also calculating them for the rectangular barrier. 58 refs., 7 figs

Total donor ischemic time: relationship to early hemodynamics and intensive care morbidity in pediatric cardiac transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Warren; Carr, Michelle; Ridout, Deborah; Carter, Katherine; Hulme, Sara Louise; Simmonds, Jacob; Elliott, Martin; Hoskote, Aparna; Burch, Michael; Brown, Kate L

2011-11-01

Single-center studies have failed to link modest increases in total donor ischemic time to mortality after pediatric orthotopic heart transplant. We aimed to investigate whether prolonged total donor ischemic time is linked to pediatric intensive care morbidity after orthotopic heart transplant. Retrospective cohort review. Tertiary pediatric transplant center in the United Kingdom. Ninety-three pediatric orthotopic heart transplants between 2002 and 2006. Total donor ischemic time was investigated for association with early post-orthotopic heart transplant hemodynamics and intensive care unit morbidities. Of 43 males and 50 females with median age 7.2 (interquartile range 2.2, 13.0) yrs, 62 (68%) had dilated cardiomyopathy, 20 (22%) had congenital heart disease, and nine (10%) had restrictive cardiomyopathy. The mean total donor ischemic time was 225.9 (sd 65.6) mins. In the first 24 hrs after orthotopic heart transplant, age-adjusted mean arterial blood pressure increased (p total donor ischemic time was significantly associated with lower mean arterial blood pressure (p care unit (p = .004), and longer post-orthotopic heart transplant stay in hospital (p = .02). Total donor ischemic time was not related to levels of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (p = .62), left atrial pressure (p = .38), or central venous pressure (p = .76) early after orthotopic heart transplant. Prolonged total donor ischemic time has an adverse effect on the donor organ, contributing to lower mean arterial blood pressure, as well as more prolonged ventilation and intensive care unit and hospital stays post-orthotopic heart transplant, reflecting increased morbidity.

A new continuous-time formulation for scheduling crude oil operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, P. Chandra Prakash; Karimi, I.A.; Srinivasan, R.

2004-01-01

In today's competitive business climate characterized by uncertain oil markets, responding effectively and speedily to market forces, while maintaining reliable operations, is crucial to a refinery's bottom line. Optimal crude oil scheduling enables cost reduction by using cheaper crudes intelligently, minimizing crude changeovers, and avoiding ship demurrage. So far, only discrete-time formulations have stood up to the challenge of this important, nonlinear problem. A continuous-time formulation would portend numerous advantages, however, existing work in this area has just begun to scratch the surface. In this paper, we present the first complete continuous-time mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for the short-term scheduling of operations in a refinery that receives crude from very large crude carriers via a high-volume single buoy mooring pipeline. This novel formulation accounts for real-world operational practices. We use an iterative algorithm to eliminate the crude composition discrepancy that has proven to be the Achilles heel for existing formulations. While it does not guarantee global optimality, the algorithm needs only MILP solutions and obtains excellent maximum-profit schedules for industrial problems with up to 7 days of scheduling horizon. We also report the first comparison of discrete- vs. continuous-time formulations for this complex problem. (Author)

Time parallelization of advanced operation scenario simulations of ITER plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samaddar, D; Casper, T A; Kim, S H; Houlberg, W A; Berry, L A; Elwasif, W R; Batchelor, D

2013-01-01

This work demonstrates that simulations of advanced burning plasma operation scenarios can be successfully parallelized in time using the parareal algorithm. CORSICA -an advanced operation scenario code for tokamak plasmas is used as a test case. This is a unique application since the parareal algorithm has so far been applied to relatively much simpler systems except for the case of turbulence. In the present application, a computational gain of an order of magnitude has been achieved which is extremely promising. A successful implementation of the Parareal algorithm to codes like CORSICA ushers in the possibility of time efficient simulations of ITER plasmas.

Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin; Li, Yongbin; Cai, Yunqiang; Liu, Xubao; Peng, Bing

2017-01-01

Abstract Rationale: Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy is a complicated surgical procedure and rarely been reported. This study was conducted to investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic total pancreatectomy. Patients and Methods: Three patients underwent laparoscopic total pancreatectomy between May 2014 and August 2015. We reviewed their general demographic data, perioperative details, and short-term outcomes. General morbidity was assessed using Clavien–Dindo classification and delayed gastric emptying (DGE) was evaluated by International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) definition. Diagnosis and Outcomes: The indications for laparoscopic total pancreatectomy were intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) (n = 2) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) (n = 1). All patients underwent laparoscopic pylorus and spleen-preserving total pancreatectomy, the mean operative time was 490 minutes (range 450–540 minutes), the mean estimated blood loss was 266 mL (range 100–400 minutes); 2 patients suffered from postoperative complication. All the patients recovered uneventfully with conservative treatment and discharged with a mean hospital stay 18 days (range 8–24 days). The short-term (from 108 to 600 days) follow up demonstrated 3 patients had normal and consistent glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level with acceptable quality of life. Lessons: Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy is feasible and safe in selected patients and pylorus and spleen preserving technique should be considered. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to obtain a comprehensive understanding the role of laparoscopic technique in total pancreatectomy. PMID:28099344

Inguinal hernia repair: totally preperitoneal laparoscopic approach versus Stoppa operation: randomized trial of 100 cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Champault, G G; Rizk, N; Catheline, J M; Turner, R; Boutelier, P

1997-12-01

In a prospective randomized trial comparing the totally preperitoneal (TPP) laparoscopic approach and the Stoppa procedure (open), 100 patients with inguinal hernias (Nyhus IIIA, IIIB, IV) were followed over a 3-year period. Both groups were epidemiologically comparable. In the laparoscopic group, operating time was significantly longer (p = 0.01), but hospital stay (3.2 vs. 7.3 days) and delay in return to work (17 vs. 35 days) were significantly reduced (p = 0.01). Postoperative comfort (less pain) was better (p = 0.001) after laparoscopy. In this group, morbidity was also reduced (4 vs. 20%; p = 0.02). The mean follow-up was 605 days, and 93% of the patients were reviewed at 3 years. There were three (6%) recurrences after TPP, especially at the beginning of the surgeon's learning curve, versus one for the Stoppa procedure (NS). For bilateral hernias, the authors suggest the use of a large prosthesis rather than two small ones to minimize the likelihood of recurrence. In the conditions described, the laparoscopic (TPP) approach to inguinal hernia treatment appears to have the same long-term recurrence rate as the open (Stoppa) procedure but a real advantage in the early postoperative period.

Impact of a Disposable Sterile Radiation Shield on Operator Radiation Exposure During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shorrock, Deborah; Christopoulos, Georgios; Wosik, Jedrek; Kotsia, Anna; Rangan, Bavana; Abdullah, Shuaib; Cipher, Daisha; Banerjee, Subhash; Brilakis, Emmanouil S

2015-07-01

Daily radiation exposure over many years can adversely impact the health of medical professionals. Operator radiation exposure was recorded for 124 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) performed at our institution between August 2011 and May 2013: 69 were chronic total occlusion (CTO)-PCIs and 55 were non-CTO PCIs. A disposable radiation protection sterile drape (Radpad; Worldwide Innovations & Technologies, Inc) was used in all CTO-PCI cases vs none of the non-CTO PCI cases. Operator radiation exposure was compared between CTO and non-CTO PCIs. Mean age was 64.6 ± 6.2 years and 99.2% of the patients were men. Compared with non-CTO PCI, patients undergoing CTO-PCI were more likely to have congestive heart failure, to be current smokers, and to have longer lesions, and less likely to have prior PCI and a saphenous vein graft target lesion. CTO-PCI cases had longer procedural time (median: 123 minutes [IQR, 85-192 minutes] vs 27 minutes [IQR, 20-44 minutes]; P<.001), fluoroscopy time (35 minutes [IQR, 19-54 minutes] vs 8 minutes [IQR, 5-16 minutes]; P<.001), number of stents placed (2.4 ± 1.5 vs 1.7 ± 0.9; P<.001), and patient air kerma radiation exposure (3.92 Gray [IQR, 2.48-5.86 Gray] vs 1.22 Gray [IQR, 0.74-1.90 Gray]; P<.001), as well as dose area product (267 Gray•cm² [IQR, 163-4.25 Gray•cm²] vs 84 Gray•cm² [IQR, 48-138 Gray•cm²]; P<.001). In spite of higher patient radiation exposure, operator radiation exposure was similar between the two groups (20 μSv [IQR, 9.5-31 μSv] vs 15 μSv [IQR, 7-23 μSv]; P=.07). Operator radiation exposure during CTO-PCI can be reduced to levels similar to less complicated cases with the use of a disposable sterile radiation protection shield.

Operator-normalized quantum arrival times in the presence of interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hegerfeldt, G.C.; Seidel, D.; Muga, J.G.; Navarro, B.

2004-01-01

We model ideal arrival-time measurements for free quantum particles and for particles subject to an external interaction by means of a narrow and weak absorbing potential. This approach is related to the operational approach of measuring the first photon emitted from a two-level atom illuminated by a laser. By operator normalizing the resulting time-of-arrival distribution, a distribution is obtained which for freely moving particles not only recovers the axiomatically derived distribution of Kijowski for states with purely positive momenta but is also applicable to general momentum components. For particles interacting with a square barrier the mean arrival time and corresponding 'tunneling time' obtained at the transmission side of the barrier become independent of the barrier width (Hartman effect) for arbitrarily wide barriers, i.e., without the transition to the ultraopaque, classical-like regime dominated by wave packet components above the barrier

Informed consent: do information pamphlets improve post-operative risk-recall in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy: prospective randomized control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsaffar, Hussain; Wilson, Lindsay; Kamdar, Dev P; Sultanov, Faizullo; Enepekides, Danny; Higgins, Kevin M

2016-02-13

Informed consent consists of basic five elements: voluntarism, capacity, disclosure, understanding, and ultimate decision-making. Physician disclosure, patient understanding, and information retention are all essential in the doctor-patient relationship. This is inclusive of helping patients make and manage their decisions and expectations better and also to deal with any consequences and/or complications that arise. This study investigates whether giving patients procedure-specific handouts pre-operatively as part of the established informed consent process significantly improves overall risk-recall following surgery. These handouts outline the anticipated peri-operative risks and complications associated with total thyroidectomy, as well as the corrective measures to address complications. In addition, the influence of potential confounders affecting risk-recall, such as anxiety and pre-existing memory disturbance, are also examined. Consecutive adult (≥18 years old) patients undergoing total thyroidectomy at a single academic tertiary care referral centre are included. Participants are randomly assigned into either the experimental group (with pamphlets) or the control group by a computerized randomization system (Clinstat). All participants filled out a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and they are tested by the physician for short-term memory loss using the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS) exam. All patients are evaluated at one week post-operatively. The written recall questionnaire test is also administered during this clinical encounter. Forty-nine patients are included--25 of them receive verbal consent only, while another 24 patients received both verbal consent and patient education information pamphlets. The overall average of correct answers for each group was 83% and 80% in the control and intervention groups, respectively, with no statistically significant differences. There are also no statistically significant differences between the

Developing infrared array controller with software real time operating system

Science.gov (United States)

Sako, Shigeyuki; Miyata, Takashi; Nakamura, Tomohiko; Motohara, Kentaro; Uchimoto, Yuka Katsuno; Onaka, Takashi; Kataza, Hirokazu

2008-07-01

Real-time capabilities are required for a controller of a large format array to reduce a dead-time attributed by readout and data transfer. The real-time processing has been achieved by dedicated processors including DSP, CPLD, and FPGA devices. However, the dedicated processors have problems with memory resources, inflexibility, and high cost. Meanwhile, a recent PC has sufficient resources of CPUs and memories to control the infrared array and to process a large amount of frame data in real-time. In this study, we have developed an infrared array controller with a software real-time operating system (RTOS) instead of the dedicated processors. A Linux PC equipped with a RTAI extension and a dual-core CPU is used as a main computer, and one of the CPU cores is allocated to the real-time processing. A digital I/O board with DMA functions is used for an I/O interface. The signal-processing cores are integrated in the OS kernel as a real-time driver module, which is composed of two virtual devices of the clock processor and the frame processor tasks. The array controller with the RTOS realizes complicated operations easily, flexibly, and at a low cost.

Complexities of the storm-time characteristics of ionospheric total electron content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, R.P.

1982-01-01

The complexities of the storm-time variations of the ionospheric total electron content are briefly reviewed. It is suggested that large variations from storm to storm may be due to irregular flows from the auroral region towards equator. A proper study of such flows needs an elaborate network of TEC measuring instruments. The need of planning and organizing such a network is emphasized

Design of real-time operating system software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stafford, D.L.; Hulbert, A.J.

1976-01-01

Design of real-time data collection and control systems is complicated by problems not found in common sequential programming projects. Timing and synchronization are critical; data collection equipment is often completely foreign to mainframe programming facilities; operating system response to real-time events may be far too slow or too cumbersome. The philosophy at the Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI) is to allow the investigators to do as much of their own programming as possible. Inasmuch as programming is not their primary responsibility or area of training, it is unreasonable to assume that they are familiar with the subtleties involved. The problem, therefore, has been to develop a system whereby investigators are able, with minimal consultation, to write, modify and otherwise maintain their own data collection and control programs and to do so with a minimum of destructive interaction with other data collection and control tasks

Operation and utilization of the FR2 in 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluemle, J.

1977-04-01

The heavy-water moderated FR2 research and material testing reactor was operated according to schedule in 1976 at 44 MW nominal power. The percentage of time the reactor was operating at full load, related to the scheduled operating time at full load, was about 89%. Noticeable disturbances having effects on the reactor operation did not occur within the period of reporting. The utilization by experiments continued to be good. The isotope production of 2627 irradiated capsules attained its maximum. Besides, silicium specimens (production of semi-conductors) with a total specimen length of 163 running meters were irradiated. To produce fission product moybdenum from U-235, a separate heavy-water cooled reactor insert was commissioned. At the 12 beams tube outlets, which can be reasonably used, up to 18 beam tube experiments were conducted in parallel. The number of instrumented fuel capsule test rigs slightly decreased; up to 9 rigs in total had been inserted at the same time. In addition, three rigs for pr-irradiations had been installed. Of the four large-scale loop experiments three were operated the whole year, the fourth was operated several times for one or two days each, depending on the test program. The operation of the thermionic converter and of the γ-irradiation device was according to schedule. A total of 85 pictures were taken with the neutron radiography system. (orig.) [de

The Time Course of Knee Swelling Post Total Knee Arthroplasty and Its Associations with Quadriceps Strength and Gait Speed.

Science.gov (United States)

Pua, Yong-Hao

2015-07-01

This study examines the time course of knee swelling post total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and its associations with quadriceps strength and gait speed. Eighty-five patients with unilateral TKA participated. Preoperatively and on post-operative days (PODs) 1, 4, 14, and 90, knee swelling was measured using bioimpedance spectrometry. Preoperatively and on PODs 14 and 90, quadriceps strength was measured using isokinetic dynamometry while fast gait speed was measured using the timed 10-meter walk. On POD1, knee swelling increased ~35% from preoperative levels after which, knee swelling reduced but remained at ~11% above preoperative levels on POD90. In longitudinal, multivariable analyses, knee swelling was associated with quadriceps weakness (P<0.01) and slower gait speed (P=0.03). Interventions to reduce post-TKA knee swelling may be indicated to improve quadriceps strength and gait speed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identification of human operator performance models utilizing time series analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, F. M.; Shinners, S. M.

1973-01-01

The results of an effort performed by Sperry Systems Management Division for AMRL in applying time series analysis as a tool for modeling the human operator are presented. This technique is utilized for determining the variation of the human transfer function under various levels of stress. The human operator's model is determined based on actual input and output data from a tracking experiment.

The cost of post-operative shed blood salvage after total knee arthroplasty: an analysis of 1,093 consecutive procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Manuel; Ariza, Daniel; Campos, Arturo; Martín-Montañez, Elisa; Pavía, José

2013-01-01

Background Requirements for allogeneic red cell transfusion after total knee arthroplasty are still high (20–50%), and salvage and reinfusion of unwashed, filtered post-operative shed blood is an established method for reducing transfusion requirements following this operation. We performed a cost analysis to ascertain whether this alternative is likely to be cost-effective. Materials and methods Data from 1,093 consecutive primary total knee arthroplasties, managed with (reinfusion group, n=763) or without reinfusion of unwashed salvaged blood (control group, n=330), were retrospectively reviewed. The costs of low-vacuum drains, shed blood collection canisters (Bellovac ABT®, Wellspect HealthCare and ConstaVac CBC II®, Stryker), shed blood reinfusion, acquisition and transfusion of allogeneic red cell concentrate, haemoglobin measurements, and prolonged length of hospital stay were used for the blood management cost analysis. Results Patients in the reinfusion group received 152±64 mL of red blood cells from postoperatively salvaged blood, without clinically relevant incidents, and showed a lower allogeneic transfusion rate (24.5% vs 8.5%, for the control and reinfusion groups, respectively; p =0.001). There were no differences in post-operative infection rates. Patients receiving allogeneic transfusions stayed in hospital longer (+1.9 days [95% CI: 1.2 to 2.6]). As reinfusion of unwashed salvaged blood reduced the allogeneic transfusion rate, both reinfusion systems may provide net savings in different cost scenarios (€ 4.6 to € 106/patient for Bellovac ABT, and € −51.9 to € 49.9/patient for ConstaVac CBCII). Discussion Return of unwashed salvaged blood after total knee arthroplasty seems to save costs in patients with pre-operative haemoglobin between 12 and 15 g/dL. It is not cost-saving in patients with a pre-operative haemoglobin >15 g/dL, whereas in those with a pre-operative haemoglobin cost-saving, its efficacy could be increased by

Effect of Individual Surgeons and Anesthesiologists on Operating Room Time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eijk, Ruben P A; van Veen-Berkx, Elizabeth; Kazemier, Geert; Eijkemans, Marinus J C

BACKGROUND:: Variability in operating room (OR) time causes overutilization and underutilization of the available ORs. There is evidence that for a given type of procedure, the surgeon is the major source of variability in OR time. The primary aim was to quantify the variability between surgeons and

Ignition and time-dependent fractional power operation of tokamak reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vold, E.L.; Mau, T.K.; Conn, R.W.

1986-01-01

The eventual utilization of a tokamak fusion reactor for commercial power necessitates a thorough understanding of the operational requirements at full and fractional power levels and during transitions from one operating level to another. In this study we examine the role of burn control in maintaining the reactor plasma at equilibrium to avoid thermal runaway during fractional power operation. Because these requirements rely so heavily on the assumptions that govern the plasma transport, this study focuses on time-dependent analyses and a comparison of ignition requirements using a range of energy confinement

Total sitting time, leisure time physical activity and risk of hospitalization due to low back pain: The Danish Health Examination Survey cohort 2007-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Balling, Mie; Holmberg, Teresa; Petersen, Christina B; Aadahl, Mette; Meyrowitsch, Dan W; Tolstrup, Janne S

2018-02-01

This study aimed to test the hypotheses that a high total sitting time and vigorous physical activity in leisure time increase the risk of low back pain and herniated lumbar disc disease. A total of 76,438 adults answered questions regarding their total sitting time and physical activity during leisure time in the Danish Health Examination Survey 2007-2008. Information on low back pain diagnoses up to 10 September 2015 was obtained from The National Patient Register. The mean follow-up time was 7.4 years. Data were analysed using Cox regression analysis with adjustment for potential confounders. Multiple imputations were performed for missing values. During the follow-up period, 1796 individuals were diagnosed with low back pain, of whom 479 were diagnosed with herniated lumbar disc disease. Total sitting time was not associated with low back pain or herniated lumbar disc disease. However, moderate or vigorous physical activity, as compared to light physical activity, was associated with increased risk of low back pain (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.30 and HR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.15-1.83). Moderate, but not vigorous physical activity was associated with increased risk of herniated lumbar disc disease. The results suggest that total sitting time is not associated with low back pain, but moderate and vigorous physical activity is associated with increased risk of low back pain compared with light physical activity.

Real-time operations intelligence from the user perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kharbat, Fayez [Saudi Aramco, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

2004-07-01

Running a refinery or a chemical plant is a complex business. Planning and scheduling, process control and maintenance require dedicated, multifaceted solutions necessitating highly trained and experienced users. The inevitable system and user specialization results in the proliferation of disparate data sources, incoherent information, inconsistent decisions and the failure to realize corporate objectives - until today. IndX Software Corporation is the de facto market-leading provider of operations intelligence solutions. IndX's XHQ{sup TM} Real-time Operations Intelligence solutions have been selected by many of the world's major corporations in their quest for Operational Excellence and IndX is currently engaged in more than 50 maximizedROI{sup TM} deployments around the world. This paper describes the thinking and technology behind XHQ and the implementation methodology typically employed in deploying an XHQ solution enterprise-wide. This paper will also provide examples of the benefits that users have realized from their implementation of XHQ. (author)

Lot-Order Assignment Applying Priority Rules for the Single-Machine Total Tardiness Scheduling with Nonnegative Time-Dependent Processing Times

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Gon Kim

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Lot-order assignment is to assign items in lots being processed to orders to fulfill the orders. It is usually performed periodically for meeting the due dates of orders especially in a manufacturing industry with a long production cycle time such as the semiconductor manufacturing industry. In this paper, we consider the lot-order assignment problem (LOAP with the objective of minimizing the total tardiness of the orders with distinct due dates. We show that we can solve the LOAP optimally by finding an optimal sequence for the single-machine total tardiness scheduling problem with nonnegative time-dependent processing times (SMTTSP-NNTDPT. Also, we address how the priority rules for the SMTTSP can be modified to those for the SMTTSP-NNTDPT to solve the LOAP. In computational experiments, we discuss the performances of the suggested priority rules and show the result of the proposed approach outperforms that of the commercial optimization software package.

Using mean duration and variation of procedure times to plan a list of surgical operations to fit into the scheduled list time.

Science.gov (United States)

Pandit, Jaideep J; Tavare, Aniket

2011-07-01

It is important that a surgical list is planned to utilise as much of the scheduled time as possible while not over-running, because this can lead to cancellation of operations. We wished to assess whether, theoretically, the known duration of individual operations could be used quantitatively to predict the likely duration of the operating list. In a university hospital setting, we first assessed the extent to which the current ad-hoc method of operating list planning was able to match the scheduled operating list times for 153 consecutive historical lists. Using receiver operating curve analysis, we assessed the ability of an alternative method to predict operating list duration for the same operating lists. This method uses a simple formula: the sum of individual operation times and a pooled standard deviation of these times. We used the operating list duration estimated from this formula to generate a probability that the operating list would finish within its scheduled time. Finally, we applied the simple formula prospectively to 150 operating lists, 'shadowing' the current ad-hoc method, to confirm the predictive ability of the formula. The ad-hoc method was very poor at planning: 50% of historical operating lists were under-booked and 37% over-booked. In contrast, the simple formula predicted the correct outcome (under-run or over-run) for 76% of these operating lists. The calculated probability that a planned series of operations will over-run or under-run was found useful in developing an algorithm to adjust the planned cases optimally. In the prospective series, 65% of operating lists were over-booked and 10% were under-booked. The formula predicted the correct outcome for 84% of operating lists. A simple quantitative method of estimating operating list duration for a series of operations leads to an algorithm (readily created on an Excel spreadsheet, http://links.lww.com/EJA/A19) that can potentially improve operating list planning.

Volume totalizers analysis of pipelines operated by TRANSPETRO National Operational Control Center; Analise de totalizadores de volume em oleodutos operados pelo Centro Nacional de Controle e Operacao da TRANSPETRO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aramaki, Thiago Lessa; Montalvao, Antonio Filipe Falcao [Petrobras Transporte S.A. (TRANSPETRO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Marques, Thais Carrijo [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil)

2012-07-01

This paper aims to present the results and methodology in the analysis of differences in volume totals used in systems such as batch tracking and leak detection of pipelines operated by the National Center for Operational Control (CNCO) at TRANSPETRO. In order to optimize this type of analysis, software was developed to acquisition and processing of historical data using the methodology developed. The methodology developed takes into account the particularities encountered in systems operated by TRANSPETRO, more specifically, by CNCO. (author)

Real-time operation without a real-time operating system for instrument control and data acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Randolf; Poglitsch, Albrecht; Fumi, Fabio; Geis, Norbert; Hamidouche, Murad; Hoenle, Rainer; Looney, Leslie; Raab, Walfried; Viehhauser, Werner

2004-09-01

We are building the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI LS) for the US-German airborne observatory SOFIA. The detector read-out system is driven by a clock signal at a certain frequency. This signal has to be provided and all other sub-systems have to work synchronously to this clock. The data generated by the instrument has to be received by a computer in a timely manner. Usually these requirements are met with a real-time operating system (RTOS). In this presentation we want to show how we meet these demands differently avoiding the stiffness of an RTOS. Digital I/O-cards with a large buffer separate the asynchronous working computers and the synchronous working instrument. The advantage is that the data processing computers do not need to process the data in real-time. It is sufficient that the computer can process the incoming data stream on average. But since the data is read-in synchronously, problems of relating commands and responses (data) have to be solved: The data is arriving at a fixed rate. The receiving I/O-card buffers the data in its buffer until the computer can access it. To relate the data to commands sent previously, the data is tagged by counters in the read-out electronics. These counters count the system's heartbeat and signals derived from that. The heartbeat and control signals synchronous with the heartbeat are sent by an I/O-card working as pattern generator. Its buffer gets continously programmed with a pattern which is clocked out on the control lines. A counter in the I/O-card keeps track of the amount of pattern words clocked out. By reading this counter, the computer knows the state of the instrument or knows the meaning of the data that will arrive with a certain time-tag.

Schroedinger operators - geometric estimates in terms of the occupation time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demuth, M.; Kirsch, W.; McGillivray, I.

1995-01-01

The difference of Schroedinger and Dirichlet semigroups is expressed in terms of the Laplace transform of the Brownian motion occupation time. This implies quantitative upper and lower bounds for the operator norms of the corresponding resolvent differences. One spectral theoretical consequence is an estimate for the eigenfunction for a Schroedinger operator in a ball where the potential is given as a cone indicator function. 12 refs

On the Laws of Total Local Times for -Paths and Bridges of Symmetric Lévy Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masafumi Hayashi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The joint law of the total local times at two levels for -paths of symmetric Lévy processes is shown to admit an explicit representation in terms of the laws of the squared Bessel processes of dimensions two and zero. The law of the total local time at a single level for bridges is also discussed.

Revitalizing Space Operations through Total Quality Management

Science.gov (United States)

Baylis, William T.

1995-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to show the reader what total quality management (TQM) is and how to apply TQM in the space systems and management arena. TQM is easily understood, can be implemented in any type of business organization, and works.

A virtual reality-based method of decreasing transmission time of visual feedback for a tele-operative robotic catheter operating system.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jin; Guo, Shuxiang; Tamiya, Takashi; Hirata, Hideyuki; Ishihara, Hidenori

2016-03-01

An Internet-based tele-operative robotic catheter operating system was designed for vascular interventional surgery, to afford unskilled surgeons the opportunity to learn basic catheter/guidewire skills, while allowing experienced physicians to perform surgeries cooperatively. Remote surgical procedures, limited by variable transmission times for visual feedback, have been associated with deterioration in operability and vascular wall damage during surgery. At the patient's location, the catheter shape/position was detected in real time and converted into three-dimensional coordinates in a world coordinate system. At the operation location, the catheter shape was reconstructed in a virtual-reality environment, based on the coordinates received. The data volume reduction significantly reduced visual feedback transmission times. Remote transmission experiments, conducted over inter-country distances, demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed prototype. The maximum error for the catheter shape reconstruction was 0.93 mm and the transmission time was reduced considerably. The results were positive and demonstrate the feasibility of remote surgery using conventional network infrastructures. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reporting surgical site infections following total hip and knee arthroplasty: impact of limiting surveillance to the operative hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoe, Deborah S; Avery, Taliser R; Platt, Richard; Huang, Susan S

2013-11-01

Public reporting of surgical site infections (SSIs) by hospitals is largely limited to infections detected during surgical hospitalizations or readmissions to the same facility. SSI rates may be underestimated if patients with SSIs are readmitted to other hospitals. We assessed the impact of readmissions to other facilities on hospitals' SSI rates following primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who underwent primary THA or TKA at California hospitals between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2009. SSIs were identified using ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes predictive of SSI assigned at any California hospital within 365 days of surgery using a statewide repository of hospital data that allowed tracking of patients between facilities. We used statewide data to estimate the fraction of each hospital's THA and TKA SSIs identified at the operative hospital versus other hospitals. A total of 91 121 THA and 121 640 TKA procedures were identified. Based on diagnosis codes, SSIs developed following 2214 (2.3%) THAs and 2465 (2.0%) TKAs. Seventeen percent of SSIs would have been missed by operative hospital surveillance alone. The proportion of hospitals' SSIs detected at nonoperative hospitals ranged from 0% to 100%. Including SSIs detected at nonoperative hospitals resulted in better relative ranking for 61% of THA hospitals and 61% of TKA hospitals. Limiting SSI surveillance to the operative hospital caused varying degrees of SSI underestimation and substantially impacted hospitals' relative rankings, suggesting that alternative methods for comprehensive postdischarge surveillance are needed for accurate benchmarking.

ISS Operations Cost Reductions Through Automation of Real-Time Planning Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Timothy A.

2011-01-01

In 2008 the Johnson Space Center s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) management team challenged their organization to find ways to reduce the costs of International Space station (ISS) console operations in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Each MOD organization was asked to identify projects that would help them attain a goal of a 30% reduction in operating costs by 2012. The MOD Operations and Planning organization responded to this challenge by launching several software automation projects that would allow them to greatly improve ISS console operations and reduce staffing and operating costs. These projects to date have allowed the MOD Operations organization to remove one full time (7 x 24 x 365) ISS console position in 2010; with the plan of eliminating two full time ISS console support positions by 2012. This will account for an overall 10 EP reduction in staffing for the Operations and Planning organization. These automation projects focused on utilizing software to automate many administrative and often repetitive tasks involved with processing ISS planning and daily operations information. This information was exchanged between the ground flight control teams in Houston and around the globe, as well as with the ISS astronaut crew. These tasks ranged from managing mission plan changes from around the globe, to uploading and downloading information to and from the ISS crew, to even more complex tasks that required multiple decision points to process the data, track approvals and deliver it to the correct recipient across network and security boundaries. The software solutions leveraged several different technologies including customized web applications and implementation of industry standard web services architecture between several planning tools; as well as a engaging a previously research level technology (TRL 2-3) developed by Ames Research Center (ARC) that utilized an intelligent agent based system to manage and automate file traffic flow

Real-time risk assessment of operational events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perryman, L.J.; Foster, N.A.S.; Nicholls, D.R.; Grobbelaar, J.F.

1996-01-01

Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has always been fundamental to the licensing process of Koeberg nuclear power station. Furthermore, over the past 8 years PRA has assisted in many areas of operation. One of these areas is the real-time assessment of abnormal operating events. Over the years, considerable experience has been gained in using PRA to improve plant safety and performance. This paper presents some of the insights obtained in using PRA in such a dynamic role and demonstrates that, by developing and using the plant-specific 'living' PRA, considerable safety and financial gains can be obtained. These insights specifically concern the prerequisites before optimal use of a plant-specific 'living' PRA can be made. Finally, examples are presented of occurrences when PRA was used to improve plant safety and performance. These examples serve to demonstrate the advantages that can be obtained if sufficient resources are placed at the disposal of the PRA team. (orig.)

A Time Scheduling Model of Logistics Service Supply Chain Based on the Customer Order Decoupling Point: A Perspective from the Constant Service Operation Time

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yi; Xu, Haitao; Liu, Xiaoyan; Wang, Yijia; Liang, Zhicheng

2014-01-01

In mass customization logistics service, reasonable scheduling of the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), especially time scheduling, is benefit to increase its competitiveness. Therefore, the effect of a customer order decoupling point (CODP) on the time scheduling performance should be considered. To minimize the total order operation cost of the LSSC, minimize the difference between the expected and actual time of completing the service orders, and maximize the satisfaction of functional logistics service providers, this study establishes an LSSC time scheduling model based on the CODP. Matlab 7.8 software is used in the numerical analysis for a specific example. Results show that the order completion time of the LSSC can be delayed or be ahead of schedule but cannot be infinitely advanced or infinitely delayed. Obtaining the optimal comprehensive performance can be effective if the expected order completion time is appropriately delayed. The increase in supply chain comprehensive performance caused by the increase in the relationship coefficient of logistics service integrator (LSI) is limited. The relative concern degree of LSI on cost and service delivery punctuality leads to not only changes in CODP but also to those in the scheduling performance of the LSSC. PMID:24715818

A time scheduling model of logistics service supply chain based on the customer order decoupling point: a perspective from the constant service operation time.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Weihua; Yang, Yi; Xu, Haitao; Liu, Xiaoyan; Wang, Yijia; Liang, Zhicheng

2014-01-01

In mass customization logistics service, reasonable scheduling of the logistics service supply chain (LSSC), especially time scheduling, is benefit to increase its competitiveness. Therefore, the effect of a customer order decoupling point (CODP) on the time scheduling performance should be considered. To minimize the total order operation cost of the LSSC, minimize the difference between the expected and actual time of completing the service orders, and maximize the satisfaction of functional logistics service providers, this study establishes an LSSC time scheduling model based on the CODP. Matlab 7.8 software is used in the numerical analysis for a specific example. Results show that the order completion time of the LSSC can be delayed or be ahead of schedule but cannot be infinitely advanced or infinitely delayed. Obtaining the optimal comprehensive performance can be effective if the expected order completion time is appropriately delayed. The increase in supply chain comprehensive performance caused by the increase in the relationship coefficient of logistics service integrator (LSI) is limited. The relative concern degree of LSI on cost and service delivery punctuality leads to not only changes in CODP but also to those in the scheduling performance of the LSSC.

Finite-element time evolution operator for the anharmonic oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

Milton, Kimball A.

1995-01-01

The finite-element approach to lattice field theory is both highly accurate (relative errors approximately 1/N(exp 2), where N is the number of lattice points) and exactly unitary (in the sense that canonical commutation relations are exactly preserved at the lattice sites). In this talk I construct matrix elements for dynamical variables and for the time evolution operator for the anharmonic oscillator, for which the continuum Hamiltonian is H = p(exp 2)/2 + lambda q(exp 4)/4. Construction of such matrix elements does not require solving the implicit equations of motion. Low order approximations turn out to be extremely accurate. For example, the matrix element of the time evolution operator in the harmonic oscillator ground state gives a results for the anharmonic oscillator ground state energy accurate to better than 1 percent, while a two-state approximation reduces the error to less than 0.1 percent.

PFP total process throughput calculation and basis of estimate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SINCLAIR, J.C.

1999-01-01

The PFP Process Throughput Calculation and Basis of Estimate document provides the calculated value and basis of estimate for process throughput associated with material stabilization operations conducted in 234-52 Building. The process throughput data provided reflects the best estimates of material processing rates consistent with experience at the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The rates shown reflect demonstrated capacity during ''full'' operation. They do not reflect impacts of building down time. Therefore, these throughput rates need to have a Total Operating Efficiency (TOE) factor applied

Synthesis of Biochemical Applications on Digital Microfluidic Biochips with Operation Execution Time Variability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alistar, Mirela; Pop, Paul

2015-01-01

that each biochemical operation in an application is characterized by a worst-case execution time (wcet). However, during the execution of the application, due to variability and randomness in biochemical reactions, operations may finish earlier than their wcetswcets, resulting in unexploited slack...... in the schedule. In this paper, we first propose an online synthesis strategy that re-synthesizes the application at runtime when operations experience variability in their execution time, exploiting thus the slack to obtain shorter application completion times. We also propose a quasi-static synthesis strategy...... approaches have been proposed for the synthesis of digital microfluidic biochips, which, starting from a biochemical application and a given biochip architecture, determine the allocation, resource binding, scheduling, placement and routing of the operations in the application. Researchers have assumed...

Correlates of occupational, leisure and total sitting time in working adults: results from the Singapore multi-ethnic cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Uijtdewilligen, Léonie; Yin, Jason Dean-Chen; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk

2017-12-13

Evidence on the health risks of sitting is accumulating. However, research identifying factors influencing sitting time in adults is limited, especially in Asian populations. This study aimed to identify socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates of occupational, leisure and total sitting time in a sample of Singapore working adults. Data were collected between 2004 and 2010 from participants of the Singapore Multi Ethnic Cohort (MEC). Medical exclusion criteria for cohort participation were cancer, heart disease, stroke, renal failure and serious mental illness. Participants who were not working over the past 12 months and without data on sitting time were excluded from the analyses. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine cross-sectional associations of self-reported age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education, smoking, caloric intake and moderate-to-vigorous leisure time physical activity (LTPA) with self-reported occupational, leisure and total sitting time. Correlates were also studied separately for Chinese, Malays and Indians. The final sample comprised 9384 participants (54.8% male): 50.5% were Chinese, 24.0% Malay, and 25.5% Indian. For the total sample, mean occupational sitting time was 2.71 h/day, mean leisure sitting time was 2.77 h/day and mean total sitting time was 5.48 h/day. Sitting time in all domains was highest among Chinese. Age, gender, education, and caloric intake were associated with higher occupational sitting time, while ethnicity, marital status and smoking were associated with lower occupational sitting time. Marital status, smoking, caloric intake and LTPA were associated with higher leisure sitting time, while age, gender and ethnicity were associated with lower leisure sitting time. Gender, marital status, education, caloric intake and LTPA were associated with higher total sitting time, while ethnicity was associated with lower total sitting time. Stratified analyses revealed different associations within

Numerical Solution of Time-Dependent Problems with a Fractional-Power Elliptic Operator

Science.gov (United States)

Vabishchevich, P. N.

2018-03-01

A time-dependent problem in a bounded domain for a fractional diffusion equation is considered. The first-order evolution equation involves a fractional-power second-order elliptic operator with Robin boundary conditions. A finite-element spatial approximation with an additive approximation of the operator of the problem is used. The time approximation is based on a vector scheme. The transition to a new time level is ensured by solving a sequence of standard elliptic boundary value problems. Numerical results obtained for a two-dimensional model problem are presented.

Allograft versus autograft in cervical and lumbar spinal fusions: an examination of operative time, length of stay, surgical site infection, and blood transfusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Meghan E; McCutcheon, Brandon A; Grauberger, Jennifer; Shepherd, Daniel; Maloney, Patrick R; Rinaldo, Lorenzo; Kerezoudis, Panagiotis; Fogelson, Jeremy L; Nassr, Ahmad; Bydon, Mohamad

2016-11-23

Autograft harvesting for spine arthrodesis has been associated with longer operative times and increased blood loss. Allograft compared to autograft in spinal fusions has not been studied in a multicenter cohort. Patients enrolled in the ACS-NSQIP registry between 2012 and 2013 who underwent cervical or lumbar spinal fusion with either allograft or autograft through a separate incision were included for analysis. The primary outcomes of interest were operative time, length of stay, blood transfusion, and surgical site infection (SSI). A total of 6,790 and 6,718 patients received a cervical or lumbar spinal fusion, respectively. On unadjusted analysis in both cervical and lumbar cohorts, autograft was associated with increased rates of blood transfusion (cervical: 2.9% vs 1.0%, poperative time (cervical: 167 vs 128 minutes, poperative times (cervical: 27.8 minutes, 95% CI 20.7-35.0; and lumbar: 25.4 minutes, 95% CI 17.7-33.1) relative to allograft. Autograft was not associated with either length of stay or SSI. In a multicenter cohort of patients undergoing cervical or lumbar spinal fusion, autograft was associated with increased rates of blood transfusion and increased operative time relative to allograft.

Minimizing Total Completion Time For Preemptive Scheduling With Release Dates And Deadline Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Cheng

2014-02-01

Full Text Available It is known that the single machine preemptive scheduling problem of minimizing total completion time with release date and deadline constraints is NP- hard. Du and Leung solved some special cases by the generalized Baker's algorithm and the generalized Smith's algorithm in O(n2 time. In this paper we give an O(n2 algorithm for the special case where the processing times and deadlines are agreeable. Moreover, for the case where the processing times and deadlines are disagreeable, we present two properties which could enable us to reduce the range of the enumeration algorithm

Real-Time Science Operations to Support a Lunar Polar Volatiles Rover Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Heldmann, Jennifer L.; Colaprete, Anthony; Elphic, Richard C.; Mattes, Greg; Ennico, Kimberly; Fritzler, Erin; Marinova, Margarita M.; McMurray, Robert; Morse, Stephanie; Roush, Ted L.;

Controlled time of arrival windows for already initiated energy-neutral continuous descent operations

OpenAIRE

Dalmau Codina, Ramon; Prats Menéndez, Xavier

2017-01-01

Continuous descent operations with controlled times of arrival at one or several metering fixes could enable environmentally friendly procedures without compromising terminal airspace capacity. This paper focuses on controlled time of arrival updates once the descent has been already initiated, assessing the feasible time window (and associated fuel consumption) of continuous descent operations requiring neither thrust nor speed-brake usage along the whole descent (i.e. only elevator control ...

Army Secure Operating System: Information Security for Real Time Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Anderson, Eric

1984-01-01

The Army Secure Operating System (ASOS) project, under the management of the U.S. Army CECOM organization, will provide real time systems software necessary for fielding modern Battlefield Automation Systems...

Objectively Measured Total and Occupational Sedentary Time in Three Work Settings

OpenAIRE

van Dommelen, Paula; Coffeng, Jennifer K.; van der Ploeg, Hidde P.; van der Beek, Allard J.; Boot, C?cile R. L.; Hendriksen, Ingrid J. M.

2016-01-01

Background. Sedentary behaviour increases the risk for morbidity. Our primary aim is to determine the proportion and factors associated with objectively measured total and occupational sedentary time in three work settings. Secondary aim is to study the proportion of physical activity and prolonged sedentary bouts. Methods. Data were obtained using ActiGraph accelerometers from employees of: 1) a financial service provider (n = 49 men, 31 women), 2) two research institutes (n = 30 men, 57 wom...

Expert system of real time for support of operators of atomic power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bashlykov, A.A.; Davidenko, N.N.; Dumshev, V.G.; Kislov, G.I.; Pavlova, E.V.; Prozorovskij, E.D.; Bashlykov, A.A.

1994-01-01

The problems of construction and introdution of an intellectual system for information support of operators at nuclear power plants are discussed. This system is used for operator assisstance during real time decision making for NPP operational regime control

Fuzzy operation and real time surveillance of a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Si-Fodil, M.; Guely, F.; Siarry, P.; Tyran, J.L.

1997-01-01

The operating power of nuclear power plants needs to be modulated according to the thin evolutions of electric power demand. Two parameters are concerned by load following operations: the power axial disequilibrium and the position of control rods. This paper deals with the automation of the control of power axial disequilibrium using boration-dilution. An automatic system based on fuzzy logic is proposed which can be substituted to the expert operator who is in charge of this fastidious manual task. The management of water and boron flow rates are studied in details. A Graphic interface was designed for the real-time surveillance of the reactor. (J.S.)

A polynomial time algorithm for checking regularity of totally normed process algebra

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, F.; Huang, H.

2015-01-01

A polynomial algorithm for the regularity problem of weak and branching bisimilarity on totally normed process algebra (PA) processes is given. Its time complexity is O(n 3 +mn) O(n3+mn), where n is the number of transition rules and m is the maximal length of the rules. The algorithm works for

Real-Time Assessment and Diagnosis of Process Operating Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shabnam Sedghi

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Over time, the performance of processes may deviate from the initial design due to process variations and uncertainties, making it necessary to develop systematic methods for online optimality assessment based on routine operating process data. Some processes have multiple operating modes caused by the set point change of the critical process variables to achieve different product specifications. On the other hand, the operating region in each operating mode can alter, due to uncertainties. In this paper, we will establish an optimality assessment framework for processes that typically have multi-mode, multi-region operations, as well as transitions between different modes. The kernel density approach for mode detection is adopted and improved for operating mode detection. For online mode detection, the model-based clustering discriminant analysis (MclustDA approach is incorporated with some a priori knowledge of the system. In addition, multi-modal behavior of steady-state modes is tackled utilizing the mixture probabilistic principal component regression (MPPCR method, and dynamic principal component regression (DPCR is used to investigate transitions between different modes. Moreover, a probabilistic causality detection method based on the sequential forward floating search (SFFS method is introduced for diagnosing poor or non-optimum behavior. Finally, the proposed method is tested on the Tennessee Eastman (TE benchmark simulation process in order to evaluate its performance.

Retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy: the effect of the learning curve, and concentrating expertise, on operating times.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Adrian; Maoate, Kiki; Beasley, Spencer

2010-05-01

Laparoscopic nephrectomy is an accepted alternative to open nephrectomy. We analyzed our first 80 procedures of laparoscopic nephrectomy to evaluate the effect of experience and configuration of service on operative times. A retrospective review of 80 consecutive children who underwent retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy or heminephrectomy during an 11-year period from 1997 at Christchurch Hospital (Christchurch, New Zealand) was conducted. Operative times, in relation to the experience of the surgeon for this procedure, were analyzed. Four surgeons, assisted by an annually rotating trainee registrar, performed the procedure in 26 girls and 54 boys (range, 8 months to 15 years). Operating times ranged from 38 to 225 minutes (mean, 104). The average operative time fell from 105 to 90 minutes. One surgeon performed 40% of the procedures and assisted with a further 55%. The operative times for all surgeons showed a tendency to reduce, but this was not marked. Most procedures were performed by two surgeons working together, although one surgeon was involved in the majority of cases. The lead surgeon is often assisted by a fellow consultant colleague. Operative times were influenced by experience, but not markedly so. The shorter operative times and minimal "learning curve," compared with other reported series, may, in part, be due to the involvement of two surgeons experienced in laparoscopy for the majority of cases.

Integrated real-time information to use in commercial, logistics and operational activities provide by the national control center operation of Transpetro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aniceto, Hello A. R. [National Control Center Operation Transpetro, Rio de Janeiro, (Brazil)

2010-07-01

TRANSPETRO needed real time computational tools to manage its commercial, logistics and operational activities more efficiently. TRANSPETRO's National Control Center Operation developed an information site that provides information in real time on the process plans involved in each operation, using a Plant Information Management System (PIMS). SCADA systems were introduced during 2009 and 2010. This paper reports on the global introduction of the site and its basic architecture. Every screen displays the overall data in real time on movement in volume in pipeline operated by TRANSPETRO. The products transported are tracked for each infrastructure and are shown on dynamic geographic maps. Applications have been developed to improve the quality of information available to customers. It was found that the development of this site using PIMS technology brought gains in support to decision-making at the strategic and tactical levels for TRANSPETRO.

Direct cost comparison of totally endoscopic versus open ear surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, N; Mohammadi, A; Jufas, N

2018-02-01

Totally endoscopic ear surgery is a relatively new method for managing chronic ear disease. This study aimed to test the null hypothesis that open and endoscopic approaches have similar direct costs for the management of attic cholesteatoma, from an Australian private hospital setting. A retrospective direct cost comparison of totally endoscopic ear surgery and traditional canal wall up mastoidectomy for the management of attic cholesteatoma in a private tertiary setting was undertaken. Indirect and future costs were excluded. A direct cost comparison of anaesthetic setup and resources, operative setup and resources, and surgical time was performed between the two techniques. Totally endoscopic ear surgery has a mean direct cost reduction of AUD$2978.89 per operation from the hospital perspective, when compared to canal wall up mastoidectomy. Totally endoscopic ear surgery is more cost-effective, from an Australian private hospital perspective, than canal wall up mastoidectomy for attic cholesteatoma.

Just In Time Value Chain Total Quality Management Part Of Technical Strategic Management Accounting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lesi Hertati

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article aims to determine Just In Time Value Chain Total Quality Management tqm as a technique in management accounting stategis.Tujuan Just In Time value chain or value chain Total Quality Management TQM is strategic for customer satisfaction in the long term obtained from the information. Quality information is the way to continuous improvement in order to increase the companys financial performance in the long term to increase competitive advantage. Strategic Management Accounting process gather competitor information explore opportunities to reduce costs integrate accounting with emphasis on the strategic position of the competition is a great plan. An overall strategic plan interrelated and serves as the basis for achieving targets or goals ahead.

Special features of total knee replacement in hemophilia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Merchan, Emerito Carlos

2013-12-01

Total knee replacement is an operation frequently needed by hemophilia patients, which greatly improves their quality of life. This operation, however, carries a higher risk of bleeding and infection for hemophiliacs than it does for osteoarthritis sufferers. It is advisable to implant prosthetic components using antibiotic-loaded cement. It is essential to maintain a level of 100% of the replacement clotting factor for 2 weeks. Hematological treatment must be established, depending on the patient's factor levels and other pharmacokinetic parameters such as recovery and half-life, optimal doses and treatment time. It is preferable to use general anesthesia due to the risk of spinal bleeding. The lifespan of total knee replacement in hemophilic patients is shorter than in patients with osteoarthritis because of the increased risk of infection.

Evaluation of the Influence of the Logistic Operations Reliability on the Total Costs of a Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukinskiy Valery

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays in logistics integral processes between the material and related flows in supply chains are getting developed more and more. However, in spite of increasing volume of statistical data which reflect the integral processes, the influence evaluation issues of the logistic operations reliability indexes on the total logistics costs remain open and require the corresponding researches implementation.

First passage times in homogeneous nucleation: Dependence on the total number of particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yvinec, Romain; Bernard, Samuel; Pujo-Menjouet, Laurent; Hingant, Erwan

2016-01-01

Motivated by nucleation and molecular aggregation in physical, chemical, and biological settings, we present an extension to a thorough analysis of the stochastic self-assembly of a fixed number of identical particles in a finite volume. We study the statistics of times required for maximal clusters to be completed, starting from a pure-monomeric particle configuration. For finite volumes, we extend previous analytical approaches to the case of arbitrary size-dependent aggregation and fragmentation kinetic rates. For larger volumes, we develop a scaling framework to study the first assembly time behavior as a function of the total quantity of particles. We find that the mean time to first completion of a maximum-sized cluster may have a surprisingly weak dependence on the total number of particles. We highlight how higher statistics (variance, distribution) of the first passage time may nevertheless help to infer key parameters, such as the size of the maximum cluster. Finally, we present a framework to quantify formation of macroscopic sized clusters, which are (asymptotically) very unlikely and occur as a large deviation phenomenon from the mean-field limit. We argue that this framework is suitable to describe phase transition phenomena, as inherent infrequent stochastic processes, in contrast to classical nucleation theory

Effectiveness Analysis of a Part-Time Rapid Response System During Operation Versus Nonoperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Youlim; Lee, Dong Seon; Min, Hyunju; Choi, Yun Young; Lee, Eun Young; Song, Inae; Park, Jong Sun; Cho, Young-Jae; Jo, You Hwan; Yoon, Ho Il; Lee, Jae Ho; Lee, Choon-Taek; Do, Sang Hwan; Lee, Yeon Joo

2017-06-01

To evaluate the effect of a part-time rapid response system on the occurrence rate of cardiopulmonary arrest by comparing the times of rapid response system operation versus nonoperation. Retrospective cohort study. A 1,360-bed tertiary care hospital. Adult patients admitted to the general ward were screened. Data were collected over 36 months from rapid response system implementation (October 2012 to September 2015) and more than 45 months before rapid response system implementation (January 2009 to September 2012). None. The rapid response system operates from 7 AM to 10 PM on weekdays and from 7 AM to 12 PM on Saturdays. Primary outcomes were the difference of cardiopulmonary arrest incidence between pre-rapid response system and post-rapid response system periods and whether the rapid response system operating time affects the cardiopulmonary arrest incidence. The overall cardiopulmonary arrest incidence (per 1,000 admissions) was 1.43. Although the number of admissions per month and case-mix index were increased (3,555.18 vs 4,564.72, p times (0.82 vs 0.49/1,000 admissions; p = 0.001) but remained similar during rapid response system nonoperating times (0.77 vs 0.73/1,000 admissions; p = 0.729). The implementation of a part-time rapid response system reduced the cardiopulmonary arrest incidence based on the reduction of cardiopulmonary arrest during rapid response system operating times. Further analysis of the cost effectiveness of part-time rapid response system is needed.

A computer-based time study system for timber harvesting operations

Science.gov (United States)

Jingxin Wang; Joe McNeel; John Baumgras

2003-01-01

A computer-based time study system was developed for timber harvesting operations. Object-oriented techniques were used to model and design the system. The front-end of the time study system resides on the MS Windows CE and the back-end is supported by MS Access. The system consists of three major components: a handheld system, data transfer interface, and data storage...

Batch Scheduling for Hybrid Assembly Differentiation Flow Shop to Minimize Total Actual Flow Time

Science.gov (United States)

Maulidya, R.; Suprayogi; Wangsaputra, R.; Halim, A. H.

2018-03-01

A hybrid assembly differentiation flow shop is a three-stage flow shop consisting of Machining, Assembly and Differentiation Stages and producing different types of products. In the machining stage, parts are processed in batches on different (unrelated) machines. In the assembly stage, each part of the different parts is assembled into an assembly product. Finally, the assembled products will further be processed into different types of final products in the differentiation stage. In this paper, we develop a batch scheduling model for a hybrid assembly differentiation flow shop to minimize the total actual flow time defined as the total times part spent in the shop floor from the arrival times until its due date. We also proposed a heuristic algorithm for solving the problems. The proposed algorithm is tested using a set of hypothetic data. The solution shows that the algorithm can solve the problems effectively.

A cost and time analysis of laryngology procedures in the endoscopy suite versus the operating room.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillel, Alexander T; Ochsner, Matthew C; Johns, Michael M; Klein, Adam M

2016-06-01

To assess the costs, charges, reimbursement, and efficiency of performing awake laryngology procedures in an endoscopy suite (ES) compared with like procedures performed in the operating room (OR). Retrospective review of billing records. Cost, charges, and reimbursements for the hospital, surgeon, and anesthesiologist were compared between ES injection laryngoplasty and laser excision procedures and matched case controls in the OR. Time spent in 1) the preoperative unit, 2) the operating or endoscopy suite, and 3) recovery unit were compared between OR and ES procedures. Hospital expenses were significantly less for ES procedures when compared to OR procedures. Reimbursement was similar for ES and OR injection laryngoplasty, though greater for OR laser excisions. Net balance (reimbursement-expenses) was greater for ES procedures. A predictive model of payer costs over a 3-year period showed similar costs for ES and OR laser procedures and reduced costs for ES compared to OR injection laryngoplasty. Times spent preoperatively and the procedure were significantly less for ES procedures. For individual laryngology procedures, the ES reduces time and costs compared to the OR, increasing otolaryngologist and hospital efficiency. This reveals cost and time savings of ES injection laryngoplasty, which occurs at a similar frequency as OR injection laryngoplasty. Given the increased frequency for ES laser procedures, total costs are similar for ES and OR laser excision of papilloma, which usually require repeated procedures. When regulated office space is unavailable, endoscopy rooms represent an alternative setting for unsedated laryngology procedures. NA Laryngoscope, 126:1385-1389, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Evaluation of Frequency and Restoration time for Loss of Offsite Power events based on domestic operation experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jin-Hee; Han, Sang-Hoon; Lee, Ho Joong

2006-01-01

It is recognized that the availability of AC power to nuclear power plants is essential for safe operation and shutdown and accident recovery of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). Unavailability of AC power can be a important adverse impact on a plant's ability to recover accident sequences and maintain safe shutdown. The probabilistic safety assessment (PSA or PRA) performed for Korea NPPs also indicated that a loss of offsite power (LOOP) event and a station blackout (SBO) event can be a important contributors to total risk at nuclear power plant, contributing from 30% to 70% of the total risk at some NPPs in Korea. But, up to now, the LOOP and subsequent restoration time are important inputs to plant probabilistic risk assessment have relied upon foreign data. Therefore, in this paper, the actual LOOP events that have occurred from 1978 to 2004 at commercial nuclear power plants in Korea are collected. A statistical analysis for LOOP frequency and restoration time are performed to apply NPPs's specific and realistic risk model in Korea. Additionally, an engineering analysis is also performed to obtain the insights about the LOOP events

A Systematic Approach for Real-Time Operator Functional State Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guangfan; Wang, Wei; Pepe, Aaron; Xu, Roger; Schnell, Thomas; Anderson, Nick; Heitkamp, Dean; Li, Jiang; Li, Feng; McKenzie, Frederick

2012-01-01

A task overload condition often leads to high stress for an operator, causing performance degradation and possibly disastrous consequences. Just as dangerous, with automated flight systems, an operator may experience a task underload condition (during the en-route flight phase, for example), becoming easily bored and finding it difficult to maintain sustained attention. When an unexpected event occurs, either internal or external to the automated system, the disengaged operator may neglect, misunderstand, or respond slowly/inappropriately to the situation. In this paper, we discuss an approach for Operator Functional State (OFS) monitoring in a typical aviation environment. A systematic ground truth finding procedure has been designed based on subjective evaluations, performance measures, and strong physiological indicators. The derived OFS ground truth is continuous in time compared to a very sparse estimation of OFS based on an expert review or subjective evaluations. It can capture the variations of OFS during a mission to better guide through the training process of the OFS assessment model. Furthermore, an OFS assessment model framework based on advanced machine learning techniques was designed and the systematic approach was then verified and validated with experimental data collected in a high fidelity Boeing 737 simulator. Preliminary results show highly accurate engagement/disengagement detection making it suitable for real-time applications to assess pilot engagement.

Physiological Indices of Stress Prior to and Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Predict the Occurrence of Severe Post-Operative Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Cremeans-Smith, Julie K; Greene, Kenneth; Delahanty, Douglas L

2016-05-01

The severe pain and disability associated with osteoarthritis often motivate individuals to undergo arthroplastic surgery. However, a significant number of surgical patients continue to experience pain following surgery. Prior research has implicated both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in the sensitization of pain receptors and chronic pain conditions. This study uses a prospective, observational, cohort design to examine whether physiological stress responses before and after surgery could predict post-operative pain severity. Participants included 110 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. Physiological indices of stress included the measurement of catecholamine and cortisol levels in 15-hour urine samples collected prior to and 1 month following surgery, as well as in-hospital heart rate and blood pressure (before and after surgery), which were abstracted from medical records. Patients completed the pain subscale of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) [Bellamy et al., J Orthop Rheumatol 1: , 95 (1988)] 2.5 weeks prior to surgery and at a 3-month follow-up. Contrary to expectations, lower stress hormone levels at baseline were related to more severe post-operative pain. Data at later time points, however, supported our hypothesis: cardiovascular tone shortly before surgery and urinary levels of epinephrine 1 month following surgery were positively related to pain severity 3 months later. Results suggest that the occurrence of post-operative pain can be predicted on the basis of stress physiology prior to and following arthroplastic surgery. © 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Performance of a GM tube based environmental dose rate monitor operating in the Time-To-Count mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zickefoose, J.; Kulkarni, T.; Martinson, T.; Phillips, K.; Voelker, M. [Canberra Industries Inc. (United States)

2015-07-01

The events at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in the aftermath of a natural disaster underline the importance of a large array of networked environmental monitors to cover areas around nuclear power plants. These monitors should meet a few basic criteria: have a uniform response over a wide range of gamma energies, have a uniform response over a wide range of incident angles, and have a large dynamic range. Many of these criteria are met if the probe is qualified to the international standard IEC 60532 (Radiation protection instrumentation - Installed dose rate meters, warning assemblies and monitors - X and gamma radiation of energy between 50 keV and 7 MeV), which specifically deals with energy response, angle of incidence, dynamic range, response time, and a number of environmental characteristics. EcoGamma is a dual GM tube environmental gamma radiation monitor designed specifically to meet the requirements of IEC 60532 and operate in the most extreme conditions. EcoGamma utilizes two energy compensated GM tubes operating with a Time-To-Count (TTC) collection algorithm. The TTC algorithm extends the lifetime and range of a GM tube significantly and allows the dual GM tube probe to achieve linearity over approximately 10 decades of gamma dose rate (from the Sv/hr range to 100 Sv/hr). In the TTC mode of operation, the GM tube is not maintained in a biased condition continuously. This is different from a traditional counting system where the GM tube is held at a constant bias continuously and the total number of strikes that the tube registers are counted. The traditional approach allows for good sensitivity, but does not lend itself to a long lifetime of the tube and is susceptible to linearity issues at high count rates. TTC on the other hand only biases the tube for short periods of time and in effect measures the time between events, which is statistically representative of the total strike rate. Since the tube is not continually biased, the life of the tube

Performance of a GM tube based environmental dose rate monitor operating in the Time-To-Count mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zickefoose, J.; Kulkarni, T.; Martinson, T.; Phillips, K.; Voelker, M.

2015-01-01

The events at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in the aftermath of a natural disaster underline the importance of a large array of networked environmental monitors to cover areas around nuclear power plants. These monitors should meet a few basic criteria: have a uniform response over a wide range of gamma energies, have a uniform response over a wide range of incident angles, and have a large dynamic range. Many of these criteria are met if the probe is qualified to the international standard IEC 60532 (Radiation protection instrumentation - Installed dose rate meters, warning assemblies and monitors - X and gamma radiation of energy between 50 keV and 7 MeV), which specifically deals with energy response, angle of incidence, dynamic range, response time, and a number of environmental characteristics. EcoGamma is a dual GM tube environmental gamma radiation monitor designed specifically to meet the requirements of IEC 60532 and operate in the most extreme conditions. EcoGamma utilizes two energy compensated GM tubes operating with a Time-To-Count (TTC) collection algorithm. The TTC algorithm extends the lifetime and range of a GM tube significantly and allows the dual GM tube probe to achieve linearity over approximately 10 decades of gamma dose rate (from the Sv/hr range to 100 Sv/hr). In the TTC mode of operation, the GM tube is not maintained in a biased condition continuously. This is different from a traditional counting system where the GM tube is held at a constant bias continuously and the total number of strikes that the tube registers are counted. The traditional approach allows for good sensitivity, but does not lend itself to a long lifetime of the tube and is susceptible to linearity issues at high count rates. TTC on the other hand only biases the tube for short periods of time and in effect measures the time between events, which is statistically representative of the total strike rate. Since the tube is not continually biased, the life of the tube

Effects of operator time pressure and noise on manual ultrasonic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, O.

2002-01-01

In earlier studies of manual ultrasonic testing, great variations have been found in operator performance, often attributed to operator fatigue. However, no conclusive findings have been reported. In the present study, twenty operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of six test-pieces with manufactured flaws. The operators performed the inspections under stress (high arousal - time pressure and noise) and no-stress conditions; one condition the first day and the other the second and last day. According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law there is an optimal arousal level where performance is highest. It was hypothesised that the stress condition led to a level of arousal so high that it would affect the results negatively. However, contrary to the hypotheses it was found that the manipulation increased operator performance. Operators with the stress condition day 1 performed better than the other operators (under the no-stress condition). This was interpreted as the 'stress first' (group 1) operators had established efficient performance patterns the first day - affecting also the second day. Operators beginning with stress condition also tended to be more motivated. It was concluded that operator performance is affected by arousal. (author)

Time-dependent reliability analysis of nuclear reactor operators using probabilistic network models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Y.; Miyata, K.; Kodaira, H.; Murakami, S.; Kondo, S.; Togo, Y.

1987-01-01

Human factors are very important for the reliability of a nuclear power plant. Human behavior has essentially a time-dependent nature. The details of thinking and decision making processes are important for detailed analysis of human reliability. They have, however, not been well considered by the conventional methods of human reliability analysis. The present paper describes the models for the time-dependent and detailed human reliability analysis. Recovery by an operator is taken into account and two-operators models are also presented

Estimation of total bacteria by real-time PCR in patients with periodontal disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Brajović, Gavrilo; Popović, Branka; Puletić, Miljan; Kostić, Marija; Milasin, Jelena

2016-01-01

Periodontal diseases are associated with the presence of elevated levels of bacteria within the gingival crevice. The aim of this study was to evaluate a total amount of bacteria in subgingival plaque samples in patients with a periodontal disease. A quantitative evaluation of total bacteria amount using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed on 20 samples of patients with ulceronecrotic periodontitis and on 10 samples of healthy subjects. The estimation of total bacterial amount was based on gene copy number for 16S rRNA that was determined by comparing to Ct values/gene copy number of the standard curve. A statistically significant difference between average gene copy number of total bacteria in periodontal patients (2.55 x 10⁷) and healthy control (2.37 x 10⁶) was found (p = 0.01). Also, a trend of higher numbers of the gene copy in deeper periodontal lesions (> 7 mm) was confirmed by a positive value of coefficient of correlation (r = 0.073). The quantitative estimation of total bacteria based on gene copy number could be an important additional tool in diagnosing periodontitis.

Realization of a unique time evolution unitary operator in Klein Gordon theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balasubramanian, T.S.; Bhatia, S.Kr.

1986-01-01

The scattering theory for the Klein Gordon equation, with time-dependent potential and in a non-static space-time, is considered. Using the Klein Gordon equation formulated in the Hilbert space L 2 (R 3 ) and the Einstein's relativistic equation in the space L 2 (R 3 ,dx) and establishing the equivalence of the vacuum states of their linearized forms in the Hilbert space L 2 (R 3 ) with the help of unique symmetric symplectic operator, the time evolution unitary operator U(t) has been fixed for the Klein Gordon eqution, incorporating either the positive or negative frequencies, in the infinite dimensional Hilbert space L 2 (R 3 ). (author)

Associations of Total and Domain-Specific Sedentary Time With Type 2 Diabetes in Taiwanese Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Chun Hsueh

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in older adults has become a public health concern. We investigated the associations of total and domain-specific sedentary time with risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults. Methods: The sample comprised 1046 older people (aged ≥65 years. Analyses were performed using crosssectional data collected via computer-assisted telephone-based interviews in 2014. Data on six self-reported domains of sedentary time (Measure of Older Adults’ Sedentary Time, type 2 diabetes status, and sociodemographic variables were included in the study. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs for total and individual sedentary behavior components and likelihood of type 2 diabetes. Results: A total of 17.5% of the participants reported type 2 diabetes. No significant associations were found between total sitting time and risk of type 2 diabetes, after controlling for confounding factors. After total sedentary behavior was stratified into six domains, only watching television for more than 2 hours per day was associated with higher odds of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.56; 95% CI, 1.10–2.21, but no significant associations were found between other domains of sedentary behavior (computer use, reading, socializing, transport, and hobbies and risk of type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: These findings suggest that, among domain-specific sedentary behavior, excessive television viewing might increase the risk of type 2 diabetes among older adults more than other forms of sedentary behavior.

What are the important manoeuvres for beginners to minimize surgical time in primary total knee arthroplasty?

Science.gov (United States)

Harato, Kengo; Maeno, Shinichi; Tanikawa, Hidenori; Kaneda, Kazuya; Morishige, Yutaro; Nomoto, So; Niki, Yasuo

2016-08-01

It was hypothesized that surgical time of beginners would be much longer than that of experts. Our purpose was to investigate and clarify the important manoeuvres for beginners to minimize surgical time in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) as a multicentre study. A total of 300 knees in 248 patients (averaged 74.6 years) were enrolled. All TKAs were done using the same instruments and the same measured resection technique at 14 facilities by 25 orthopaedic surgeons. Surgeons were divided into three surgeon groups (four experts, nine medium-volume surgeons and 12 beginners). The surgical technique was divided into five phases. Detailed surgical time and ratio of the time in each phase to overall surgical time were recorded and compared among the groups in each phase. A total of 62, 119, and 119 TKAs were done by beginners, medium-volume surgeons, and experts, respectively. Significant differences in surgical time among the groups were seen in each phase. Concerning the ratio of the time, experts and medium-volume surgeons seemed cautious in fixation of the permanent component compared to other phases. Interestingly, even in ratio, beginners and medium-volume surgeons took more time in exposure of soft tissue compared to experts. (0.14 in beginners, 0.13 in medium-volume surgeons, 0.11 in experts, P time in exposure and closure of soft tissue compared to experts. Improvement in basic technique is essential to minimize surgical time among beginners. First of all, surgical instructors should teach basic techniques in primary TKA for beginners. Therapeutic studies, Level IV.

Predictive factors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving sorafenib therapy using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishikawa, Hiroki; Nishijima, Norihiro; Enomoto, Hirayuki; Sakamoto, Azusa; Nasu, Akihiro; Komekado, Hideyuki; Nishimura, Takashi; Kita, Ryuichi; Kimura, Toru; Iijima, Hiroko; Nishiguchi, Shuhei; Osaki, Yukio

2017-01-01

To investigate variables before sorafenib therapy on the clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients receiving sorafenib and to further assess and compare the predictive performance of continuous parameters using time-dependent receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. A total of 225 HCC patients were analyzed. We retrospectively examined factors related to overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) using univariate and multivariate analyses. Subsequently, we performed time-dependent ROC analysis of continuous parameters which were significant in the multivariate analysis in terms of OS and PFS. Total sum of area under the ROC in all time points (defined as TAAT score) in each case was calculated. Our cohort included 175 male and 50 female patients (median age, 72 years) and included 158 Child-Pugh A and 67 Child-Pugh B patients. The median OS time was 0.68 years, while the median PFS time was 0.24 years. On multivariate analysis, gender, body mass index (BMI), Child-Pugh classification, extrahepatic metastases, tumor burden, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were identified as significant predictors of OS and ECOG-performance status, Child-Pugh classification and extrahepatic metastases were identified as significant predictors of PFS. Among three continuous variables (i.e., BMI, AST and AFP), AFP had the highest TAAT score for the entire cohort. In subgroup analyses, AFP had the highest TAAT score except for Child-Pugh B and female among three continuous variables. In continuous variables, AFP could have higher predictive accuracy for survival in HCC patients undergoing sorafenib therapy.

Factors impacting arthroscopic rotator cuff repair operational throughput time at an ambulatory care center

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily J. Curry

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Identifying patient factors influencing operational throughput time is becoming more imperative due to an increasing focus on value and cost savings in healthcare. The primary objective of this study was to determine patient factors influencing throughput time for primary rotator cuff repairs. Demographic information, medical history and operative reports of 318 patients from one ambulatory care center were retrospectively reviewed. Operating room set up, incision to closure and recovery room time were collected from anesthesia records. Univariate analysis was performed for both continuous and categorical variables. A stepwise, multivariable regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with operating room time (incision to closure and recovery room time. Of the 318 patients, the mean age was 54.4±10.0 and 197 (61% were male. Male patients had a significantly longer OR time than females (115.5 vs. 100.8 minutes; P<0.001. Furthermore, patients set up in the beach chair position had a significantly longer OR time than patients positioned lateral decubitus (115.8 vs. 89.6 mins, P<0.0001. Number of tendons involved, and inclusion of distal clavicle excision, biceps tenodesis and labral debridement also added significant OR time. Type and number of support staff present also significantly affected OR time. Recovery room time was significantly longer patients who had surgery in the beach chair position (+9.61 minutes and for those who had a cardiac-related medical comorbidity (+11.7 minutes. Our study found that patients positioned in a beach chair spent significantly more time in the operating and recovery rooms. While ease of set up has been a stated advantage ofbeach chair position, we found the perceived ease of set up does not result in more efficient OR throughput.

The costs and quality of operative training for residents in tympanoplasty type I.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mao-Che; Yu, Eric Chen-Hua; Shiao, An-Suey; Liao, Wen-Huei; Liu, Chia-Yu

2009-05-01

A teaching hospital would incur more operation room costs on training surgical residents. To evaluate the increased operation time and the increased operation room costs of operations performed by surgical residents. As a model we used a very common surgical otology procedure -- tympanoplasty type I. From January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004, we included in this study 100 patients who received tympanoplasty type I in Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Fifty-six procedures were performed by a single board-certified surgeon and 44 procedures were performed by residents. We analyzed the operation time and surgical outcomes in these two groups of patients. The operation room cost per minute was obtained by dividing the total operation room expenses by total operation time in the year 2004. The average operation time of residents was 116.47 min, which was significantly longer (pcost USD $40.36 more for each operation performed by residents in terms of operation room costs. The surgical success rate of residents was 81.82%, which was significantly lower (p=0.016) than that of the board-certified surgeon (96.43%).

Real-time observations of stressful events in the operating room

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AlNassar Sami

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: To identify and quantify factors causing stress in the operating room (OR and evaluate the relationship between these factors and surgeons′ stress level. Methods: This is a prospective observational study from 32 elective surgical procedures conducted in the OR of King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Before each operation, each surgeon was asked of stressors. Two interns observed 16 surgeries each, separately. The interns watched and took notes during the entire surgical procedure. During each operation, the observer recorded anxiety-inducing activities and events that occurred in real time by means of a checklist of 8 potential stressors: technical, patient problems, teamwork problems, time and management issues, distractions and interruptions, equipment problems, personal problems, and teaching. After each operation, surgeons were asked to answer the validated State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire and self-report on their stress level from the 8 sources using a scale of 1-8 (1: stress free, 8: extremely stressful. The observer also recorded perceived stress levels experienced by the surgeons during the operation. Results: One hundred ten stressors were identified. Technical problems most frequently caused stress (16.4% and personal issues the least often (6.4%. Frequently encountered stressors (teaching and distractions/interruptions caused less stress to the surgeons. Technical factors, teamwork, and equipment problems occurred frequently and were also a major contributor to OR stress. All patients were discharged in good health and within 1 week of surgery. Conclusion: Certain stressful factors do occur among surgeons in the OR and can increase the potential for errors. Further research is required to determine the impact of stress on performance and the outcome of surgery.

Kajian dan Implementasi Real TIME Operating System pada Single Board Computer Berbasis Arm

OpenAIRE

A, Wiedjaja; M, Handi; L, Jonathan; Christian, Benyamin; Kristofel, Luis

2014-01-01

Operating System is an important software in computer system. For personal and office use the operating system is sufficient. However, to critical mission applications such as nuclear power plants and braking system on the car (auto braking system) which need a high level of reliability, it requires operating system which operates in real time. The study aims to assess the implementation of the Linux-based operating system on a Single Board Computer (SBC) ARM-based, namely Pandaboard ES with ...

Possible effects of mobilisation on acute post-operative pain and nociceptive function after total knee arthroplasty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lunn, T H; Kristensen, B B; Gaarn-Larsen, L

2012-01-01

anaesthesia and analgesia underwent an exercise (mobilisation) strategy on the first post-operative morning consisting of 25-m walking twice, with a 20-min interval. Pain was assessed at rest and during passive hip and knee flexion before, and 5 and 20 min after walk, as well as during walk. Nociceptive......BACKGROUND: Experimental studies in animals, healthy volunteers, and patients with chronic pain suggest exercise to provide analgesia in several types of pain conditions and after various nociceptive stimuli. To our knowledge, there is no data on the effects of exercise on pain and nociceptive...... function in surgical patients despite early mobilisation being an important factor to enhance recovery. We therefore investigated possible effects of mobilisation on post-operative pain and nociceptive function after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Thirty patients undergoing TKA under standardised...

Physiotherapy Exercise After Fast-Track Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Time for Reconsideration?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bandholm, Thomas; Kehlet, Henrik

2012-01-01

Bandholm T, Kehlet H. Physiotherapy exercise after fast-track total hip and knee arthroplasty: time for reconsideration? Major surgery, including total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), is followed by a convalescence period, during which the loss of muscle strength......-track methodology or enhanced recovery programs. It is the nature of this methodology to systematically and scientifically optimize all perioperative care components, with the overall goal of enhancing recovery. This is also the case for the care component "physiotherapy exercise" after THA and TKA. The 2 latest...... meta-analyses on the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercise after THA and TKA generally conclude that physiotherapy exercise after THA and TKA either does not work or is not very effective. The reason for this may be that the "pill" of physiotherapy exercise typically offered after THA and TKA does...

Research on Control Method Based on Real-Time Operational Reliability Evaluation for Space Manipulator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yifan Wang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A control method based on real-time operational reliability evaluation for space manipulator is presented for improving the success rate of a manipulator during the execution of a task. In this paper, a method for quantitative analysis of operational reliability is given when manipulator is executing a specified task; then a control model which could control the quantitative operational reliability is built. First, the control process is described by using a state space equation. Second, process parameters are estimated in real time using Bayesian method. Third, the expression of the system's real-time operational reliability is deduced based on the state space equation and process parameters which are estimated using Bayesian method. Finally, a control variable regulation strategy which considers the cost of control is given based on the Theory of Statistical Process Control. It is shown via simulations that this method effectively improves the operational reliability of space manipulator control system.

Joint association of physical activity in leisure and total sitting time with metabolic syndrome amongst 15,235 Danish adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Christina Bjørk; Nielsen, Asser Jon; Bauman, Adrian

2014-01-01

and total daily sitting time were assessed by self-report in 15,235 men and women in the Danish Health Examination Survey 2007-2008. Associations between leisure time physical activity, total sitting time and metabolic syndrome were investigated in logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Adjusted odds ratios......BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that physical inactivity as well as sitting time are associated with metabolic syndrome. Our aim was to examine joint associations of leisure time physical activity and total daily sitting time with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Leisure time physical activity...... (OR) for metabolic syndrome were 2.14 (95% CI: 1.88-2.43) amongst participants who were inactive in leisure time compared to the most active, and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.26-1.61) amongst those who sat for ≥10h/day compared to physical activity, sitting time...

Development of a processor embedded timing unit for the synchronized operation in KSTAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Woongryol, E-mail: wrlee@nfri.re.kr; Lee, Taegu; Hong, Jaesic

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Timing board for the synchronized tokamak operation. • Processor embedded distributed control system. • Single clock source and multiple trigger signal for the plasma diagnostics. • Delay compensation among the distributed timing boards. - Abstract: The Local Timing Unit (LTU) in KSTAR provides a single clock source and multiple trigger signals with flexible configuration. Over the past seven years, the LTU had a mechanical redesign and several firmware updates for the purpose of provision of a robust operation and precision timing signal. Now we have developed a third version of a local timing unit which has a standalone operation capability. The LTU is built in a cabinet mountable 1U PIZZA box and provides twelve signal output ports, a packet mirroring interface, and an LCD interface panel. The core functions of the LTU are implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) which has an internal hardcore processor. The internal processor allows the use of Linux Operating System (OS) and the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). All user level application functions are controllable through the EPICS, however the time critical internal functions are performed by the FPGA logic blocks same as the previous version. The new LTU provides pluggable output module so that we can easily extend the signal output port. The easy installation and effective replacement reduce the efforts of maintenance. This paper describes design, development, and commissioning results of the new KSTAR LTU.

Development of a processor embedded timing unit for the synchronized operation in KSTAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Woongryol; Lee, Taegu; Hong, Jaesic

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Timing board for the synchronized tokamak operation. • Processor embedded distributed control system. • Single clock source and multiple trigger signal for the plasma diagnostics. • Delay compensation among the distributed timing boards. - Abstract: The Local Timing Unit (LTU) in KSTAR provides a single clock source and multiple trigger signals with flexible configuration. Over the past seven years, the LTU had a mechanical redesign and several firmware updates for the purpose of provision of a robust operation and precision timing signal. Now we have developed a third version of a local timing unit which has a standalone operation capability. The LTU is built in a cabinet mountable 1U PIZZA box and provides twelve signal output ports, a packet mirroring interface, and an LCD interface panel. The core functions of the LTU are implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) which has an internal hardcore processor. The internal processor allows the use of Linux Operating System (OS) and the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). All user level application functions are controllable through the EPICS, however the time critical internal functions are performed by the FPGA logic blocks same as the previous version. The new LTU provides pluggable output module so that we can easily extend the signal output port. The easy installation and effective replacement reduce the efforts of maintenance. This paper describes design, development, and commissioning results of the new KSTAR LTU.

Real time evolution at finite temperatures with operator space matrix product states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pižorn, Iztok; Troyer, Matthias; Eisler, Viktor; Andergassen, Sabine

2014-01-01

We propose a method to simulate the real time evolution of one-dimensional quantum many-body systems at finite temperature by expressing both the density matrices and the observables as matrix product states. This allows the calculation of expectation values and correlation functions as scalar products in operator space. The simulations of density matrices in inverse temperature and the local operators in the Heisenberg picture are independent and result in a grid of expectation values for all intermediate temperatures and times. Simulations can be performed using real arithmetics with only polynomial growth of computational resources in inverse temperature and time for integrable systems. The method is illustrated for the XXZ model and the single impurity Anderson model. (paper)

Real time evolution at finite temperatures with operator space matrix product states

Science.gov (United States)

Pižorn, Iztok; Eisler, Viktor; Andergassen, Sabine; Troyer, Matthias

2014-07-01

We propose a method to simulate the real time evolution of one-dimensional quantum many-body systems at finite temperature by expressing both the density matrices and the observables as matrix product states. This allows the calculation of expectation values and correlation functions as scalar products in operator space. The simulations of density matrices in inverse temperature and the local operators in the Heisenberg picture are independent and result in a grid of expectation values for all intermediate temperatures and times. Simulations can be performed using real arithmetics with only polynomial growth of computational resources in inverse temperature and time for integrable systems. The method is illustrated for the XXZ model and the single impurity Anderson model.

Integrated Data Fusion and Mining Techniques for Monitoring Total Organic Carbon Concentrations in a Lake

Science.gov (United States)

Total organic carbon (TOC) in surface waters, markedly of seasonal variations, is a known precursor of disinfection byproducts such as Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) in drinking water treatment. Real-time knowledge of TOC distribution in source water can help treatment operation to...

Determination of total solutes in synfuel wastewaters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallace, J.R.; Bonomo, F.S.

1984-03-01

Efforts to investigate both lyophilization and the measurement of colligative properties as an indication of total solute content are described. The objective of the work described is to develop a method for measuring total dissolved material in retort wastewaters which is simple and rugged enough to be performed in a field laboratory in support of pollution control tests. The analysis should also be rapid enough to provide timely and pertinent data to the pollution control plant operator. To be of most value, the technique developed also should be applicable to other synfuel wastewaters, most of which contain similar major components as oil shale retort waters. 4 references, 1 table.

Impact of an electronic health record operating room management system in ophthalmology on documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, David S; Read-Brown, Sarah; Tu, Daniel C; Lambert, William E; Choi, Dongseok; Almario, Bella M; Yackel, Thomas R; Brown, Anna S; Chiang, Michael F

2014-05-01

Although electronic health record (EHR) systems have potential benefits, such as improved safety and quality of care, most ophthalmology practices in the United States have not adopted these systems. Concerns persist regarding potential negative impacts on clinical workflow. In particular, the impact of EHR operating room (OR) management systems on clinical efficiency in the ophthalmic surgery setting is unknown. To determine the impact of an EHR OR management system on intraoperative nursing documentation time, surgical volume, and staffing requirements. For documentation time and circulating nurses per procedure, a prospective cohort design was used between January 10, 2012, and January 10, 2013. For surgical volume and overall staffing requirements, a case series design was used between January 29, 2011, and January 28, 2013. This study involved ophthalmic OR nurses (n = 13) and surgeons (n = 25) at an academic medical center. Electronic health record OR management system implementation. (1) Documentation time (percentage of operating time documenting [POTD], absolute documentation time in minutes), (2) surgical volume (procedures/time), and (3) staffing requirements (full-time equivalents, circulating nurses/procedure). Outcomes were measured during a baseline period when paper documentation was used and during the early (first 3 months) and late (4-12 months) periods after EHR implementation. There was a worsening in total POTD in the early EHR period (83%) vs paper baseline (41%) (P system implementation was associated with worsening of intraoperative nursing documentation time especially in shorter procedures. However, it is possible to implement an EHR OR management system without serious negative impacts on surgical volume and staffing requirements.

DETERMINATION OF THE RESIDUAL OPERATING TIME OF UNRESTORABLE ELEMENT OF THE ELECTRIC POWER OBJECT AT THE WAYBALL DISTRIBUTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namgaladze, D.; Gurgenidze, D.

2007-01-01

In practice, it is often essential to determinethe residual operating time for an unrestorable element of the electric power object which has operated without failure for a certain time. The density of probability distribution of operating time can be determined from the initial probability distribution of operating time. In this work, the relations for determination of the function of residual operating time of the unrestorable element at the exponential and Wayball distributions are analytically derived. (author)

Cross-sectional associations of total sitting and leisure screen time with cardiometabolic risk in adults. Results from the HUNT Study, Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Chau, Josephine Y; Grunseit, Anne; Midthjell, Kristian; Holmen, Jostein; Holmen, Turid L; Bauman, Adrian E; van der Ploeg, Hidde P

2014-01-01

To examine associations of total sitting time, TV-viewing and leisure-time computer use with cardiometabolic risk biomarkers in adults. Population based cross-sectional study. Waist circumference, BMI, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, non-fasting glucose, gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) and triglycerides were measured in 48,882 adults aged 20 years or older from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 2006-2008 (HUNT3). Adjusted multiple regression models were used to test for associations between these biomarkers and self-reported total sitting time, TV-viewing and leisure-time computer use in the whole sample and by cardiometabolic disease status sub-groups. In the whole sample, reporting total sitting time ≥10 h/day was associated with poorer BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, non-fasting glucose, GGT and triglyceride levels compared to those reporting total sitting time Leisure-time computer use ≥1 h/day was associated with poorer BMI, total cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, GGT and triglycerides compared with those reporting no leisure-time computing. Sub-group analyses by cardiometabolic disease status showed similar patterns in participants free of cardiometabolic disease, while similar albeit non-significant patterns were observed in those with cardiometabolic disease. Total sitting time, TV-viewing and leisure-time computer use are associated with poorer cardiometabolic risk profiles in adults. Reducing sedentary behaviour throughout the day and limiting TV-viewing and leisure-time computer use may have health benefits. Copyright © 2013 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can a surgery-first orthognathic approach reduce the total treatment time?

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Woo Shik; Choi, Jong Woo; Kim, Do Yeon; Lee, Jang Yeol; Kwon, Soon Man

2017-04-01

Although pre-surgical orthodontic treatment has been accepted as a necessary process for stable orthognathic correction in the traditional orthognathic approach, recent advances in the application of miniscrews and in the pre-surgical simulation of orthodontic management using dental models have shown that it is possible to perform a surgery-first orthognathic approach without pre-surgical orthodontic treatment. This prospective study investigated the surgical outcomes of patients with diagnosed skeletal class III dentofacial deformities who underwent orthognathic surgery between December 2007 and December 2014. Cephalometric landmark data for patients undergoing the surgery-first approach were analyzed in terms of postoperative changes in vertical and horizontal skeletal pattern, dental pattern, and soft tissue profile. Forty-five consecutive Asian patients with skeletal class III dentofacial deformities who underwent surgery-first orthognathic surgery and 52 patients who underwent conventional two-jaw orthognathic surgery were included. The analysis revealed that the total treatment period for the surgery-first approach averaged 14.6 months, compared with 22.0 months for the orthodontics-first approach. Comparisons between the immediate postoperative and preoperative and between the postoperative and immediate postoperative cephalometric data revealed factors that correlated with the total treatment duration. The surgery-first orthognathic approach can dramatically reduce the total treatment time, with no major complications. Copyright © 2016 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimizing Ship Speed to Minimize Total Fuel Consumption with Multiple Time Windows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Gon Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We study the ship speed optimization problem with the objective of minimizing the total fuel consumption. We consider multiple time windows for each port call as constraints and formulate the problem as a nonlinear mixed integer program. We derive intrinsic properties of the problem and develop an exact algorithm based on the properties. Computational experiments show that the suggested algorithm is very efficient in finding an optimal solution.

Influence of dimension box differences and time differences during operations of red box for motorcycles at signalized intersection

Science.gov (United States)

Mulyadi, Agah Muhammad

2017-11-01

Performance of signalized intersection has declined due to a large number of motorcycles. The number of motorcycles reached 98.2 million units and the composition of motorcycles has reached around 81.7% of the total composition of vehicles in Indonesia (AISI, 2017). To solve that problem, the red box for motorcycles are provided at the signalized intersection. Red box for the motorcycle at signalized intersections was developed from the concept of Advance Stop Line (ASL) for bicycles. The Red Box was developed to split the queue between motorcycles and other vehicles when waiting at red light. This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the red box dimension and red time operation differences. The survey was conducted as many as 30 cycles of traffic signals per day. The data were analyzed using software IBM SPSS Statistics 20 by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to obtain p-value (significant). The analysis shows that there are insignificant influences between the occupancy rates to the dimension of Red Box. Furthermore, that there is a significant difference that shows the dependency of only motorcycles in the Red Box Area towards red time operation.

Study on the ELDRS of bipolar linear operational amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Hui; Liu Yanfang; Chen Yu; Bai Hua; Zhang Dong

2011-01-01

Bipolar linear devices laboratory irradiation testing results are significantly different from the actual in flight exposure to the radiation. In this paper the total dose irradiation of operational amplifiers, and analysis upon the total dose response of these bipolar circuits under the different test conditions were investigated in the same experiment. Total dose tests of bipolar linear operational amplifiers show susceptible to dose rate, bias and room temperature annealing during exposure. The critical sensitive parameters of operational amplifier are input bias current, input offset current, input offset voltage, and open loop gain, which exhibits both bias and dose rate dependence. With calculating the change of each electrical parameter (Δpara) for each sample at 300 Gy radiation level, it has been found that ratio of the Δpara at low dose rate to the Δpara at high dose rate exceeds 2.46 times for any of the parameters. So these parts are considered to be ELDRS susceptible. After room temperature annealing, the main parameters have time dependence effect at low dose rate and without time dependent effect at high dose rate. (authors)

Evaluation of Real-time operating systems for FGC controls

CERN Document Server

Chalas, Konstantinos

2015-01-01

Power Converter Control for various experiments at CERN, is con- ducted using a machine called Function Generator Controller. The cur- rent generation of FGCs being deployed is FGC3. A certain number of FGCs require very fast and precise control, and for these systems, there is uncertainty of whether the existing hardware will be able to provide the level of determinism required. I have worked in the CCS section as a summer student on a project to study the potential of ARM-based CPUs to provide a real time behaviour fit for a future high-performance FGC4. In this paper, i will present the results of my research into real-time vari- ants of Linux and other real-time operating systems on two different ARM CPUs.

How Predictable Is the Operative Time of Laparoscopic Surgery for Ovarian Endometrioma?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietro Gambadauro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Endometriosis is a tricky albeit common disease whose management largely relies on laparoscopy. We have studied the operative times of laparoscopic endometrioma surgery in order to assess their predictability and possible predictors. One hundred forty-eight laparoscopies were included, with a median operative time of 70 minutes (mean 75.14; 95% CI: 70.03–80.24. Half of the cases had a duration within 15–20 minutes above or below the median (IQR: 55–93.75, but the whole dataset ranged from 20 to 180 minutes, and the standard deviation was relatively large (31.4. Surgical times were significantly related to technical (number and size of the cysts and nontechnical factors (age, parity, dysmenorrhea, and family history. At multiple logistic regression, after adjusting for number and size of the cysts, surgical times below the first quartile were associated with older age (>30 years old: aOR: 3.590; 95% CI: 1.417–9.091 and parity (≥1 delivery: aOR: 3.409; 95% CI: 1.343–8.651. Longer times, above the third quartile, were instead predicted by a familial anamnesis of endometriosis (aOR: 3.639; 95% CI: 1.246–10.627. Our findings indicate highly variable surgical times, which are predicted by unexpected nontechnical factors. This is consistent with the complexity of endometriosis and its treatment. Productivity and efficiency in endometriosis surgery should focus on the quality of healthcare outcomes rather than on the time spent in the operating theatres.

Distributed Resource Energy Analysis and Management System (DREAMS) Development for Real-time Grid Operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakafuji, Dora [Hawaiian Electric Company, Honululu, HI (United States); Gouveia, Lauren [Hawaiian Electric Company, Honululu, HI (United States)

2016-10-24

This project supports development of the next generation, integrated energy management infrastructure (EMS) able to incorporate advance visualization of behind-the-meter distributed resource information and probabilistic renewable energy generation forecasts to inform real-time operational decisions. The project involves end-users and active feedback from an Utility Advisory Team (UAT) to help inform how information can be used to enhance operational functions (e.g. unit commitment, load forecasting, Automatic Generation Control (AGC) reserve monitoring, ramp alerts) within two major EMS platforms. Objectives include: Engaging utility operations personnel to develop user input on displays, set expectations, test and review; Developing ease of use and timeliness metrics for measuring enhancements; Developing prototype integrated capabilities within two operational EMS environments; Demonstrating an integrated decision analysis platform with real-time wind and solar forecasting information and timely distributed resource information; Seamlessly integrating new 4-dimensional information into operations without increasing workload and complexities; Developing sufficient analytics to inform and confidently transform and adopt new operating practices and procedures; Disseminating project lessons learned through industry sponsored workshops and conferences;Building on collaborative utility-vendor partnership and industry capabilities

Efficacy and safety of totally tubeless standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy in patients with kidney stones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cemil Aydın

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL is the first- line treatment for large and complex renal calculi. In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of the totally tubeless PNL versus the standard PNL. Methods:Between January 2012 and July 2013, 73 selected patients were treated standard or totally tubeless PNL, nephrostomy tube and ureteral stent was not placed at the end of the operation in 35 (39.7% (Group 1 of them and 38 (43.1% (Group 2 patient underwent standard PNL. Stone disintegration was performed with a pneumatic lithotripter. We retrospectively compared patient and stone characteristics, operation time, duration of hospitalization, analgesia requirements, stone-free rate, operative findings, blood loss, and perioperative complications between two groups. Results:The mean operation time, excluding the preparation course, was 38,3±15,4 minutes vs 51,2±12,9 minutes and mean fluoroscopy time was 4,5±2,4 minutes vs 4,8±2,1 minutes, respectively. No significant intraoperative complication or indication additional access or second-look PNL due to residual stones was observed. In both groups none of the patients demonstrated a urinoma, hemorrhage or residual stones in postoperative ultrasonography and plain radiograph. Blood transfusion was needed only in a patient vs two patients for group 1 and 2, respectively. There were no significant differences in preoperative patient characteristics, postoperative complications between two groups, but the totally tubeless PNL group showed a shorter hospitalization and a lesser analgesic requirement compared with other group. Conclusion: Absence of the nephrostomy tube and ureteral stent may help in keeping the patient comfortable after the operation and reduction in the analgesia requirement and length of hospital stay. We believe totally tubeless PNL is safe and effective management option in properly selected cases.

Independent and combined associations of total sedentary time and television viewing time with food intake patterns of 9- to 11-year-old Canadian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Borghese, Michael M; Tremblay, Mark S; Leduc, Genevieve; Boyer, Charles; Bélanger, Priscilla; LeBlanc, Allana G; Francis, Claire; Chaput, Jean-Philippe

2014-08-01

The relationships among sedentary time, television viewing time, and dietary patterns in children are not fully understood. The aim of this paper was to determine which of self-reported television viewing time or objectively measured sedentary time is a better correlate of the frequency of consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 9- to 11-year-old children (n = 523; 57.1% female) from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Accelerometers were used to determine total sedentary time, and questionnaires were used to determine the number of hours of television watching and the frequency of consumption of foods per week. Television viewing was negatively associated with the frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, and green vegetables, and positively associated with the frequency of consumption of sweets, soft drinks, diet soft drinks, pastries, potato chips, French fries, fruit juices, ice cream, fried foods, and fast food. Except for diet soft drinks and fruit juices, these associations were independent of covariates, including sedentary time. Total sedentary time was negatively associated with the frequency of consumption of sports drinks, independent of covariates, including television viewing. In combined sedentary time and television viewing analyses, children watching >2 h of television per day consumed several unhealthy food items more frequently than did children watching ≤2 h of television, regardless of sedentary time. In conclusion, this paper provides evidence to suggest that television viewing time is more strongly associated with unhealthy dietary patterns than is total sedentary time. Future research should focus on reducing television viewing time, as a means of improving dietary patterns and potentially reducing childhood obesity.

Application of total quality tools in the operational process modernization and optimization of large hydroelectric power plants; Aplicacao de ferramentas da qualidade total na modernizacao e otimizacao de processos operacionais de grandes usinas hidreletricas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potenza, Luiz Frederico; Kassem, Faisal Ali; Medlo, Gerson Ricardo; Santos, Valdemir Chalito dos [Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), Capitao Leonidas Marques, PR (Brazil). Superintendencia de Gerencia da Manutencao. Area de Operacao e Manutencao Salto Caxias]. E-mail: potenza@mail.copel.br

1998-07-01

This work highlights a practical example of Total Quality tools application, and as the institutional changes advances, the necessity of being better and more competitive becomes evident. By using Total Quality Control tools in the modernization and optimization of operational processes for large hydroelectric power plants of the COPEL-Brazil this work contributes for the continuous increasing of the customers satisfaction and the profitability of the company.

DCOS, a Real-Time Light-weight Data Centric Operating System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofmeijer, T.J.; Dulman, S.O.; Jansen, P.G.; Havinga, Paul J.M.; Sahni, S.

2004-01-01

DCOS is a Data Centric lightweight Operating System for embedded devices. Despite limited energy and hardware resources, it supports a data driven architecture with provisions for dynamic loadable Modules. It combines these with Real-Time provisions based on Earliest Deadline First with a simple but

DCOS, a real-time light-weight Data Centric Operating System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofmeijer, T.J.; Dulman, S.O.; Jansen, P.G.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2004-01-01

DCOS is a Data Centric lightweight Operating System for embedded devices. Despite limited energy and hardware resources, it supports a data driven architecture with provisions for dynamic loadable Modules. It combines these with Real-Time provisions based on Earliest Deadline First with a simple but

Time cycle calculation procedure for the special crew during the mining mobile machine complex operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shmurygin, V; Lukyanov, V; Maslovsky, A

2015-01-01

The relevance of the research is specified by the necessity to optimize the delft mobile tunneling equipment operation. Target of the research is tunneling time cycle justification for the special crew during the mining mobile machine complex operation. Methods of the research included the consideration of operation organization schemes in the drifting face and effective use of the mobile equipment during mine exploratory working operations. Time cycle calculation procedures for major processes have been considered. This has been done for the special crew during the mobile machine complex operations for several working faces and various organization schemes

ISS Operations Cost Reductions Through Automation of Real-Time Planning Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Timothy A.; Clancey, William J.; McDonald, Aaron; Toschlog, Jason; Tucker, Tyson; Khan, Ahmed; Madrid, Steven (Eric)

2011-01-01

In 2007 the Johnson Space Center s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) management team challenged their organizations to find ways to reduce the cost of operations for supporting the International Space Station (ISS) in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Each MOD organization was asked to define and execute projects that would help them attain cost reductions by 2012. The MOD Operations Division Flight Planning Branch responded to this challenge by launching several software automation projects that would allow them to greatly improve console operations and reduce ISS console staffing and intern reduce operating costs. These tasks ranged from improving the management and integration mission plan changes, to automating the uploading and downloading of information to and from the ISS and the associated ground complex tasks that required multiple decision points. The software solutions leveraged several different technologies including customized web applications and implementation of industry standard web services architecture; as well as engaging a previously TRL 4-5 technology developed by Ames Research Center (ARC) that utilized an intelligent agent-based system to manage and automate file traffic flow, archive data, and generate console logs. These projects to date have allowed the MOD Operations organization to remove one full time (7 x 24 x 365) ISS console position in 2010; with the goal of eliminating a second full time ISS console support position by 2012. The team will also reduce one long range planning console position by 2014. When complete, these Flight Planning Branch projects will account for the elimination of 3 console positions and a reduction in staffing of 11 engineering personnel (EP) for ISS.

A Study of Time Response for Safety-Related Operator Actions in Non-LOCA Safety Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Min Seok; Lee, Sang Seob; Park, Min Soo; Lee, Gyu Cheon; Kim, Shin Whan [KEPCO E and C Company, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The classification of initiating events for safety analysis report (SAR) chapter 15 is categorized into moderate frequency events (MF), infrequent events (IF), and limiting faults (LF) depending on the frequency of its occurrence. For the non-LOCA safety analysis with the purpose to get construction or operation license, however, it is assumed that the operator response action to mitigate the events starts at 30 minutes after the initiation of the transient regardless of the event categorization. Such an assumption of corresponding operator response time may have over conservatism with the MF and IF events and results in a decrease in the safety margin compared to its acceptance criteria. In this paper, the plant conditions (PC) are categorized with the definitions in SAR 15 and ANS 51.1. Then, the consequence of response for safety-related operator action time is determined based on the PC in ANSI 58.8. The operator response time for safety analysis regarding PC are reviewed and suggested. The clarifying alarm response procedure would be required for the guideline to reduce the operator response time when the alarms indicate the occurrence of the transient.

A Systematic Multi-Time Scale Solution for Regional Power Grid Operation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, W. J.; Liu, Z. G.; Cheng, T.; Hu, B. Q.; Liu, X. Z.; Zhou, Y. F.

2017-10-01

Many aspects need to be taken into consideration in a regional grid while making schedule plans. In this paper, a systematic multi-time scale solution for regional power grid operation considering large scale renewable energy integration and Ultra High Voltage (UHV) power transmission is proposed. In the time scale aspect, we discuss the problem from month, week, day-ahead, within-day to day-behind, and the system also contains multiple generator types including thermal units, hydro-plants, wind turbines and pumped storage stations. The 9 subsystems of the scheduling system are described, and their functions and relationships are elaborated. The proposed system has been constructed in a provincial power grid in Central China, and the operation results further verified the effectiveness of the system.

Reducing Operating Room Turnover Time for Robotic Surgery Using a Motor Racing Pit Stop Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Souders, Colby P; Catchpole, Ken R; Wood, Lauren N; Solnik, Jonathon M; Avenido, Raymund M; Strauss, Paul L; Eilber, Karyn S; Anger, Jennifer T

2017-08-01

Operating room (OR) turnover time, time taken between one patient leaving the OR and the next entering, is an important determinant of OR utilization, a key value metric for hospital administrators. Surgical robots have increased the complexity and number of tasks required during an OR turnover, resulting in highly variable OR turnover times. We sought to streamline the turnover process and decrease robotic OR turnover times and increase efficiency. Direct observation of 45 pre-intervention robotic OR turnovers was performed. Following a previously successful model for handoffs, we employed concepts from motor racing pit stops, including briefings, leadership, role definition, task allocation and task sequencing. Turnover task cards for staff were developed, and card assignments were distributed for each turnover. Forty-one cases were observed post-intervention. Average total OR turnover time was 99.2 min (95% CI 88.0-110.3) pre-intervention and 53.2 min (95% CI 48.0-58.5) at 3 months post-intervention. Average room ready time from when the patient exited the OR until the surgical technician was ready to receive the next patient was 42.2 min (95% CI 36.7-47.7) before the intervention, which reduced to 27.2 min at 3 months (95% CI 24.7-29.7) post-intervention (p system changes are needed to capitalize on that result. Pit stop and other high-risk industry models may inform approaches to the management of tasks and teams.

Optimum pressure for total-reflux operated thermal diffusion column for isotope separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Ichiro; Makino, Hitoshi; Kanagawa, Akira

1990-01-01

A formula for prediction of the optimum operating pressure P opt of the thermal diffusion columns at total reflux is derived based on the approximate formulae for the column constants which can be evaluated analytically. The formula is expressed explicitly in terms of (1) physical properties of gases to be separated, (2) ratio of radii between hot wire and cold wall of the column, and (3) the ratio of the temperature difference to the cold wall temperature. The result is compared with experimental data; (1) binary monatomic gas systems, (2) multicomponent monatomic gas systems, (3) isotopically substituted polyatomic systems, (4) systems of low atomic or molecular weight, and (5) mixtures of unlike gases; mainly obtained by Rutherford and coworkers. Although the formula is based on the rather rough approximation for the column constants, the optimum pressures predicted by the present formula are in successfully good agreement with the experimental data even for the systems of low atomic or molecular weight and that of mixtures of unlike gases. (author)

The impact of pre-operative weight loss on incidence of surgical site infection and readmission rates after total joint arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Inacio, Maria C S; Kritz-Silverstein, Donna; Raman, Rema; Macera, Caroline A; Nichols, Jeanne F; Shaffer, Richard A; Fithian, Donald C

2014-03-01

This study characterized a cohort of obese total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients (1/1/2008-12/31/2010) and evaluated whether a clinically significant amount of pre-operative weight loss (5% decrease in body weight) is associated with a decreased risk of surgical site infections (SSI) and readmissions post-surgery. 10,718 TKAs and 4066 THAs were identified. During the one year pre-TKA 7.6% of patients gained weight, 12.4% lost weight, and 79.9% remained the same. In the one year pre-THA, 6.3% of patients gained weight, 18.0% lost weight, and 75.7% remained the same. In TKAs and THAs, after adjusting for covariates, the risk of SSI and readmission was not significantly different in the patients who gained or lost weight pre-operatively compared to those who remained the same. © 2013.

From dynamical systems with time-varying delay to circle maps and Koopman operators

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, David; Otto, Andreas; Radons, Günter

2017-06-01

In this paper, we investigate the influence of the retarded access by a time-varying delay on the dynamics of delay systems. We show that there are two universality classes of delays, which lead to fundamental differences in dynamical quantities such as the Lyapunov spectrum. Therefore, we introduce an operator theoretic framework, where the solution operator of the delay system is decomposed into the Koopman operator describing the delay access and an operator similar to the solution operator known from systems with constant delay. The Koopman operator corresponds to an iterated map, called access map, which is defined by the iteration of the delayed argument of the delay equation. The dynamics of this one-dimensional iterated map determines the universality classes of the infinite-dimensional state dynamics governed by the delay differential equation. In this way, we connect the theory of time-delay systems with the theory of circle maps and the framework of the Koopman operator. In this paper, we extend our previous work [A. Otto, D. Müller, and G. Radons, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 044104 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.044104] by elaborating the mathematical details and presenting further results also on the Lyapunov vectors.

Regulatory Approach to Safety of Long Time Operating Research Reactors in Russia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sapozhnikov, Alexander [Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2013-07-01

In the Russian Federation more than 60% of operating Nuclear Research Facilities (NRFs) are of age over 30 years old or their usage exceeds originally conceived continuous operation. In this regard, important areas of regulatory body activity are: 1) a systematic assessment of the actual state of structures, systems and components (SSCs) important to safety, 2) control of implementation of organizational and technical measures to mitigate ageing impact on the basis of programmes to manage reliability (service life) of SSCs, and 3) issues of facility modification/reconstruction in line with up-to-day safety requirements. The practice of licensing NRFs with long operating times shows that the national regulations are generally in compliance with IAEA recommendations for ageing management of research reactors. In operating organizations, the ageing management is being effectively provided as a part of the integrated management system for NRFs, including the monitoring of the reliability of SSCs, a methodology to detect their ageing, reporting and investigation of events, analysis of their root causes, and measures to prevent and mitigate ageing effects to safety. The report outlines a good practice of safety regulation of NRFs with long operating times and based on lessons learned from experience, including challenges for future improvement of ageing management.

Regulatory Approach to Safety of Long Time Operating Research Reactors in Russia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sapozhnikov, Alexander

2013-01-01

In the Russian Federation more than 60% of operating Nuclear Research Facilities (NRFs) are of age over 30 years old or their usage exceeds originally conceived continuous operation. In this regard, important areas of regulatory body activity are: 1) a systematic assessment of the actual state of structures, systems and components (SSCs) important to safety, 2) control of implementation of organizational and technical measures to mitigate ageing impact on the basis of programmes to manage reliability (service life) of SSCs, and 3) issues of facility modification/reconstruction in line with up-to-day safety requirements. The practice of licensing NRFs with long operating times shows that the national regulations are generally in compliance with IAEA recommendations for ageing management of research reactors. In operating organizations, the ageing management is being effectively provided as a part of the integrated management system for NRFs, including the monitoring of the reliability of SSCs, a methodology to detect their ageing, reporting and investigation of events, analysis of their root causes, and measures to prevent and mitigate ageing effects to safety. The report outlines a good practice of safety regulation of NRFs with long operating times and based on lessons learned from experience, including challenges for future improvement of ageing management

On the definition of the time evolution operator for time-independent Hamiltonians in non-relativistic quantum mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Amaku, Marcos; Coutinho, Francisco A. B.; Masafumi Toyama, F.

2017-09-01

The usual definition of the time evolution operator e-i H t /ℏ=∑n=0∞1/n ! (-i/ℏHt ) n , where H is the Hamiltonian of the system, as given in almost every book on quantum mechanics, causes problems in some situations. The operators that appear in quantum mechanics are either bounded or unbounded. Unbounded operators are not defined for all the vectors (wave functions) of the Hilbert space of the system; when applied to some states, they give a non-normalizable state. Therefore, if H is an unbounded operator, the definition in terms of the power series expansion does not make sense because it may diverge or result in a non-normalizable wave function. In this article, we explain why this is so and suggest, as an alternative, another definition used by mathematicians.

Intelligent control for modeling of real-time reservoir operation, part II: artificial neural network with operating rule curves

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ya-Ting; Chang, Li-Chiu; Chang, Fi-John

2005-04-01

To bridge the gap between academic research and actual operation, we propose an intelligent control system for reservoir operation. The methodology includes two major processes, the knowledge acquired and implemented, and the inference system. In this study, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a fuzzy rule base (FRB) are used to extract knowledge based on the historical inflow data with a design objective function and on the operating rule curves respectively. The adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is then used to implement the knowledge, to create the fuzzy inference system, and then to estimate the optimal reservoir operation. To investigate its applicability and practicability, the Shihmen reservoir, Taiwan, is used as a case study. For the purpose of comparison, a simulation of the currently used M-5 operating rule curve is also performed. The results demonstrate that (1) the GA is an efficient way to search the optimal input-output patterns, (2) the FRB can extract the knowledge from the operating rule curves, and (3) the ANFIS models built on different types of knowledge can produce much better performance than the traditional M-5 curves in real-time reservoir operation. Moreover, we show that the model can be more intelligent for reservoir operation if more information (or knowledge) is involved.

Time-based analysis of total cost of patient episodes: a case study of hip replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltokorpi, Antti; Kujala, Jaakko

2006-01-01

Healthcare in the public and private sectors is facing increasing pressure to become more cost-effective. Time-based competition and work-in-progress have been used successfully to measure and improve the efficiency of industrial manufacturing. Seeks to address this issue. Presents a framework for time based management of the total cost of a patient episode and apply it to the six sigma DMAIC-process development approach. The framework is used to analyse hip replacement patient episodes in Päijät-Häme Hospital District in Finland, which has a catchment area of 210,000 inhabitants and performs an average of 230 hip replacements per year. The work-in-progress concept is applicable to healthcare--notably that the DMAIC-process development approach can be used to analyse the total cost of patient episodes. Concludes that a framework, which combines the patient-in-process and the DMAIC development approach, can be used not only to analyse the total cost of patient episode but also to improve patient process efficiency. Presents a framework that combines patient-in-process and DMAIC-process development approaches, which can be used to analyse the total cost of a patient episode in order to improve patient process efficiency.

Anticipation of lead time performance in supply chain operations planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, M.M.; Kok, de A.G.; Fransoo, J.C.

2009-01-01

Whilst being predominantly used in practice, linear and mixed integer programming models for Supply Chain Operations Planning (SCOP) are not well suited for modeling the relationship between the release of work to a production unit and its output over time. In this paper we propose an approach where

Ureteral catheters for colorectal surgery: Influence on operative times and complication outcomes: An observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio T. Chong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Placement of pre-operative ureteral catheters for colorectal surgery can aid in the identification of ureteral injuries. This study investigates whether simultaneous ureteral catheterization with surgery skin preparation can minimize operating room times without increasing post-operative complications. Materials and Methods: Patients undergoing simultaneous colorectal surgery skin preparation and placement of pre-operative ureteral catheters (n=21 were compared to those who underwent these events sequentially (n=28. Operative time-points of anesthesia ready (AR, surgery procedure start (PS, dorsal lithotomy and catheter insertion (CI times were compared to assess for differences between groups. Complications were compared between groups. Results: There were no differences in age, gender, body mass index (BMI, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA, comorbidities, current procedure terminology (CPT or International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision (ICD-9 codes between groups. Simultaneous catheterization saved 11.82 minutes of operative time between CI to PS (p=0.005, t-test. There was a significant difference in mean time between CI to PS (11.82 minutes, p=0.008 between simultaneous and sequential ureteral catheterization groups in a linear regression multivariate analysis controlling for age, BMI, CPT and ICD-9 codes. There were 4 complications in the simultaneous (19% and 3 in the sequential group (11% (p=0.68. Conclusions: Ureteral catheterization and colorectal surgery skin preparation in a simultaneous fashion decreases the time between CI and PS without significant increase in complications. Mean time saved with simultaneous ureteral catheterization was 11.82 minutes per case. Simultaneous ureteral catheterization may be an option in colorectal surgery and may result in cost savings without additional complications.

Time-dependent density functional theory description of total photoabsorption cross sections

Science.gov (United States)

Tenorio, Bruno Nunes Cabral; Nascimento, Marco Antonio Chaer; Rocha, Alexandre Braga

2018-02-01

The time-dependent version of the density functional theory (TDDFT) has been used to calculate the total photoabsorption cross section of a number of molecules, namely, benzene, pyridine, furan, pyrrole, thiophene, phenol, naphthalene, and anthracene. The discrete electronic pseudo-spectra, obtained in a L2 basis set calculation were used in an analytic continuation procedure to obtain the photoabsorption cross sections. The ammonia molecule was chosen as a model system to compare the results obtained with TDDFT to those obtained with the linear response coupled cluster approach in order to make a link with our previous work and establish benchmarks.

Radiation dose to the operator during fluoroscopically guided spine procedures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roccatagliata, Luca; Pravata, Emanuele; Cianfoni, Alessandro [Department of Neuroradiology, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Ospedale Regionale di Lugano, Lugano (Switzerland); Presilla, Stefano [Unita di Fisica Medica, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Bellinzona (Switzerland)

2017-09-15

Fluoroscopy is widely used to guide diagnostic and therapeutic spine procedures. The purpose of this study was to quantify radiation incident on the operator (operator Air Kerma) during a wide range of fluoroscopy-guided spine procedures and its correlation with the amount of radiation incident on the patient (Kerma Area Product - KAP). We retrospectively included 57 consecutive fluoroscopically guided spine procedures. KAP [Gy cm{sup 2}] and total fluoroscopy time were recorded for each procedure. An electronic dosimeter recorded the operator Air Kerma [μGy] for each procedure. Operator Air Kerma for each procedure, correlation between KAP and operator Air Kerma, and between KAP and fluoroscopy time was obtained. Operator Air Kerma was widely variable across procedures, with median value of 6.4 μGy per procedure. Median fluoroscopy time and median KAP per procedure were 2.6 min and 4.7 Gy cm{sup 2}, respectively. There was correlation between operator Air Kerma and KAP (r{sup 2} = 0.60), with a slope of 1.6 μGy Air Kerma per unit Gy cm{sup 2} KAP incident on the patient and between fluoroscopy time and KAP (r{sup 2} = 0.63). Operator Air Kerma during individual fluoroscopy-guided spine procedures can be approximated from the commonly and readily available information of the total amount of radiation incident on the patient, measured as KAP. (orig.)

Real Time Space Weather Support for Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, S. L.; Miller, S.; Minow, J. I.; Wolk, S.; Aldcroft, T. L.; Spitzbart, B. D.; Swartz, D. A.

2012-12-01

NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory in July 1999. Soon after first light in August 1999, however, degradation in the energy resolution and charge transfer efficiency of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) x-ray detectors was observed. The source of the degradation was quickly identified as radiation damage in the charge-transfer channel of the front-illuminated CCDs, by weakly penetrating ("soft", 100-500 keV) protons as Chandra passed through the Earth's radiation belts and ring currents. As soft protons were not considered a risk to spacecraft health before launch, the only on-board radiation monitoring system is the Electron, Proton, and Helium Instrument (EPHIN) which was included on Chandra with the primary purpose of monitoring energetic solar particle events. Further damage to the ACIS detector has been successfully mitigated through a combination of careful mission planning, autonomous on-board radiation protection, and manual intervention based upon real-time monitoring of the soft-proton environment. The AE-8 and AP-8 trapped radiation models and Chandra Radiation Models are used to schedule science operations in regions of low proton flux. EPHIN has been used as the primary autonomous in-situ radiation trigger; but, it is not sensitive to the soft protons that damage the front-illuminated CCDs. Monitoring of near-real-time space weather data sources provides critical information on the proton environment outside the Earth's magnetosphere due to solar proton events and other phenomena. The operations team uses data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to provide near-real-time monitoring of the proton environment; however, these data do not give a representative measure of the soft-proton (real-time data provided by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. This presentation will discuss radiation mitigation against proton damage, including models and real-time data sources used to protect the ACIS detector

An Analysis of Effect of Break-up Timing on the Necessity of a Feed-and-Bleed Operation in the case of TLOFW with Local

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kim, Sang Ho; Kang, Hyun Gook; Yoon, Ho Joon

2014-01-01

A Feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation is a process to cool the reactor by the primary side directly. If adequate residual heat removal through the secondary side is not available, the heat can be removed from the RCS by F and B operation. A total loss of feedwater (TLOFW) accident is used to represent an accident involving the failure of cooling by the secondary cooling system. Even if the secondary cooling system fails, the RCS can be cooled by F and B transients when a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) with a TLOFW accident occurs. During an F and B transient, the RCS has a residual heat removal mechanism. If the break size is large, an F and B transient continuously occurs if the SIS is available. If the break size is small to sufficiently decrease the RCS pressure, the SIS cannot inject the coolant, causing the F and B transient to terminate. After the termination of the F and B transient, the residual heat cannot be removed, and the necessity of an F and B operation increases. The operators may hesitate to initiate F and B operation if a clear cue is not provided, since its initiation implies the radioactive coolant releases into the containment. Therefore, the necessity of F and B operation is needed to be identified. The factors affected the necessity of F and B operation are the availability of the safety injection system and safety depressurization system, water inventory in the primary and secondary cooling systems, break size in a loss-of-coolant accident, and time of accident occurrence. The necessity of F and B operation can be changed according to different timing of break-up despite same break size. Moreover, different timing of break-up makes the operators more complicated. To identify effect of timing of break-up, a thermohydraulic analysis was performed using the MARS code. This study is expected to provide a useful guideline to identify the necessity of an F and B operation under combined accident

Role of 99MTc-DTPA renal scintigraphy using gates protocol with extended acquisition time in evaluation of the function of pre-operative donor kidneys and post-operative remaining kidney

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trinh Thi Minh Chau; Nguyen Xuan Canlh; Le Huu tam; Truong Quang Xuan

2004-01-01

Introduction: Radionuclide Methods have been extensively used in kidney transplantation. This non-invasive technique provides quantitative analysis of total and individual renal function as well as assessment of urinary outflow tract. Aim of this study was to evaluate renal function of potential kidney-donors and follow up post-nephrectomy kidney-donors by 99mTc-DTPA renal scintigraphy using Gates protocol with extended acquisition. MATERIALS AND Methods: This study included 72 living kidney donors. In addition to routine laboratory and radiological evaluations, a 99mTc-DTPA dynamic renal scintigraphy was acquired 15 second per frame for 30 minutes. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated based on Gates protocol. Urinary outflow tract was assayed by renogram generated and consecutive dynamic renal images of up to 30 minute. Renal scintigraphy was also performed in follow-up of 37 post-nephrectomy kidney donors. Results 6 of 72 (8.3%) living related donors were excluded from nephrectomy due to reduced GFR of either total or individual kidney. One of 6 excluded donors had one non-functional kidney. No donors have shown urinary tract obstruction. In 66 kidney donors who were indicated nephrectomy, pre-nephrectomy mean total GFR, calculated by Gates method, was 108 mi/minute that was significantly higher than GFR result of 94 mi/minute by Cockcroft and Gault prediction equation (p 0.05). These results are not significant, indicative of functional compensation occuring after unilateral nephrectomy. Conclusion: Tc-99m DTPA dynamic renal scintigraphy using Gates protocol with extended acquisition time is a valuable simple radionuclide technique which is able to assess total and individual renal function and urinary outflow tract. This technique should be used as an integral part of the pre-operative evaluation contributing to the choice of nephrectomy side in potential kidney donors and as follow-up of post-operative remaining kidney. (authors)

Evolving from Planning and Scheduling to Real-Time Operations Support: Design Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Marquez, Jessica J.; Ludowise, Melissa; McCurdy, Michael; Li, Jack

2010-01-01

Versions of Scheduling and Planning Interface for Exploration (SPIFe) have supported a variety of mission operations across NASA. This software tool has evolved and matured over several years, assisting planners who develop intricate schedules. While initially conceived for surface Mars missions, SPIFe has been deployed in other domains, where people rather than robotic explorers, execute plans. As a result, a diverse set of end-users has compelled growth in a new direction: supporting real-time operations. This paper describes the new needs and challenges that accompany this development. Among the key features that have been built for SPIFe are current time indicators integrated into the interface and timeline, as well as other plan attributes that enable execution of scheduled activities. Field tests include mission support for the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) and Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) campaigns.

Operation Modes and Control Schemes for Internet-Based Teleoperation System with Time Delay

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

曾庆军; 宋爱国

2003-01-01

Teleoperation system plays an important role in executing task under hazard environment. As the computer networks such as the Internet are being used as the communication channel of teleoperation system, varying time delay causes the overall system unstable and reduces the performance of transparency. This paper proposed twelve operation modes with different control schemes for teleoperation on the Internet with time delay. And an optimal operation mode with control scheme was specified for teleoperation with time delay, based on the tradeoff between passivity and transparency properties. It experimentally confirmed the validity of the proposed optimal mode and control scheme by using a simple one DOF master-slave manipulator system.

Total variation regularization for a backward time-fractional diffusion problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Liyan; Liu, Jijun

2013-01-01

Consider a two-dimensional backward problem for a time-fractional diffusion process, which can be considered as image de-blurring where the blurring process is assumed to be slow diffusion. In order to avoid the over-smoothing effect for object image with edges and to construct a fast reconstruction scheme, the total variation regularizing term and the data residual error in the frequency domain are coupled to construct the cost functional. The well posedness of this optimization problem is studied. The minimizer is sought approximately using the iteration process for a series of optimization problems with Bregman distance as a penalty term. This iteration reconstruction scheme is essentially a new regularizing scheme with coupling parameter in the cost functional and the iteration stopping times as two regularizing parameters. We give the choice strategy for the regularizing parameters in terms of the noise level of measurement data, which yields the optimal error estimate on the iterative solution. The series optimization problems are solved by alternative iteration with explicit exact solution and therefore the amount of computation is much weakened. Numerical implementations are given to support our theoretical analysis on the convergence rate and to show the significant reconstruction improvements. (paper)

Total performance measurement and management: TPM2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheather, G. [University of Technology, Sydney, NSW (Australia)

1996-10-01

As the rate of incremental improvement activities and business process re-engineering programs increase, product development times reduce, collaborative endeavours between OEMs and out-sourcing suppliers increase, as agile manufacturing responds to the demands of a global marketplace, the `virtual` organisation is becoming a reality. In this context, customers, partners, suppliers and manufacturers are increasingly separated by field geography, time zone, and availability, but linked by distributed information systems. Measuring and monitoring business performance in this environment requires a entirely different framework and set of key performance indicators (KPIs) usually associated with traditional financial accounting approaches. These approaches are critiqued, then the paper introduces a new concept `Total Performance Measurement Management` (TPM2), to distinguish it from the conventional TPM (Total Productive Management). A model for combining both financial and non-financial KPIs relevant to real-time performance measures stretching across strategic, business unit and operational levels, is presented. The results of the model confirm the hypothesis that it is feasible to develop a TPM2 framework for achieving enterprise wide strategic objectives. (author). 6 tabs., 18 figs., refs.

Does the brake response time of the right leg change after left total knee arthroplasty? A prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Carlos J; Barreiros, João; Cabri, Jan; Carita, Ana I; Friesecke, Christian; Loehr, Jochen F

2008-08-01

Patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty often ask when they can safely resume car driving. There is little evidence available on which physicians can rely when advising patients on this issue. In a prospective study we assessed the brake response time of 24 patients admitted to the clinic for left total knee arthroplasty preoperatively and then 10 days after surgery. On each measurement day the patients performed two tasks, a simple and a complex brake response time task in a car simulator. Ten days after left TKA the brake response time for the simple task had decreased by 3.6% (p=0.24), the reaction time by 3.1% (p=0.34) and the movement time by 6.6% (p=0.07). However, the performance improvement was not statistically significant. Task complexity increased brake response time at both time points. A 5.8% increase was significant (p=0.01) at 10 days after surgery. Based on our results, we suggest that patients who have undergone left total knee arthroplasty may resume car driving 10 days after surgery as long as they drive a car with automatic transmission.

A time-dependent event tree technique for modelling recovery operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohut, P.; Fitzpatrick, R.

1991-01-01

The development of a simplified time dependent event tree methodology is presented. The technique is especially applicable to describe recovery operations in nuclear reactor accident scenarios initiated by support system failures. The event tree logic is constructed using time dependent top events combined with a damage function that contains information about the final state time behavior of the reactor core. Both the failure and the success states may be utilized for the analysis. The method is illustrated by modeling the loss of service water function with special emphasis on the RCP [reactor coolant pump] seal LOCA [loss of coolant accident] scenario. 5 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Entering 'A NEW REALM' of KIBO Payload Operations - Continuous efforts for microgravity experiment environment and lessons learned from real time experiment operations in KIBO -

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakagami, K; Goto, M; Matsumoto, S; Ohkuma, H

2011-01-01

On January 22nd, 2011(JST), KOUNOTORI2 (H-II Transfer Vehicle: HTV2) was successfully launched from Tanegashima Space Center toward the International Space Station (ISS) and two new JAXA payload racks, Kobairo rack and MSPR (Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack) were transferred to ISS/KIBO (Japanese Experiment Module: JEM). In addition to Saibo rack and Ryutai rack which are already in operation in KIBO, in total 4 Japanese experiment payload racks start operations in KIBO. Then KIBO payload operations embark on a new realm, full utilization phase. While the number and variety of microgravity experiments become increasing, simultaneous operation constraints should be considered to achieve multitask payload operations in ISS/KIBO and ever more complicated cooperative operations between crewmember and flight control team/science team are required. Especially for g-jitter improvement in ISS/KIBO, we have greatly advanced cooperative operations with crewmember in the recent increment based on the microgravity data analysis results. In this paper, newly operating Japanese experiment payloads characteristics and some methods to improve g-jitter environment are introduced from the front line of KIBO payload operations.

Qualità totale e mobilità totale Total Quality and Total Mobility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Trieste

2010-05-01

Full Text Available FIABA ONLUS (Italian Fund for Elimination of Architectural Barriers was founded in 2000 with the aim of promoting a culture of equal opportunities and, above all, it has as its main goal to involve public and private institutions to create a really accessible and usable environment for everyone. Total accessibility, Total usability and Total mobility are key indicators to define quality of life within cities. A supportive environment that is free of architectural, cultural and psychological barriers allows everyone to live with ease and universality. In fact, people who access to goods and services in the urban context can use to their advantage time and space, so they can do their activities and can maintain relationships that are deemed significant for their social life. The main aim of urban accessibility is to raise the comfort of space for citizens, eliminating all barriers that discriminate people, and prevent from an equality of opportunity. “FIABA FUND - City of ... for the removal of architectural barriers” is an idea of FIABA that has already affected many regions of Italy as Lazio, Lombardy, Campania, Abruzzi and Calabria. It is a National project which provides for opening a bank account in the cities of referring, in which for the first time, all together, individuals and private and public institutions can make a donation to fund initiatives for the removal of architectural barriers within its own territory for a real and effective total accessibility. Last February the fund was launched in Rome with the aim of achieving a Capital without barriers and a Town European model of accessibility and usability. Urban mobility is a prerequisite to access to goods and services, and to organize activities related to daily life. FIABA promotes the concept of sustainable mobility for all, supported by the European Commission’s White Paper. We need a cultural change in management and organization of public means, which might focus on

Study of time-critical diagnostic method for emergency operation of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gofuku, A.; Yoshikawa, H.; Itoh, K.; Wakabayashi, J.

1986-01-01

In order to support the emergency operation of nuclear power plant, the method of time-critical diagnostic plant analyzer has been investigated. The conception of the emergency operation support center is proposed and two types of plant analyzer may be installed in this center. One analyzer is a real-time tracking simulation code using the observed signals and another is a fast trend-prediction code. A real-time tracking code, TOKRAC, has been developed for analyzing the PWR primary loop thermo-hydraulics at SBLOCA, and the applicability of this code was examined by the numerical experiments for the initial phase transient of both TMI-2 accident and 6% coldleg SBLOCA of a Westinghouse-type PWR plant. The results showed that fairly good tracking was carried out by TOKRAC. The CPU time of TOKRAC was about 12-14 percent of real-time

On Lambda and Time Operators: the Inverse Intertwining Problem Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Cubillo, F.; Suchanecki, Z.; Villullas, S.

2011-07-01

An exact theory of irreversibility was proposed by Misra, Prigogine and Courbage, based on non-unitary similarity transformations Λ that intertwine reversible dynamics and irreversible ones. This would advocate the idea that irreversible behavior would originate at the microscopic level. Reversible evolution with an internal time operator have the intertwining property. Recently the inverse intertwining problem has been answered in the negative, that is, not every unitary evolution allowing such Λ-transformation has an internal time. This work contributes new results in this direction.

Empirical forecast of quiet time ionospheric Total Electron Content maps over Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Badeke, Ronny; Borries, Claudia; Hoque, Mainul M.; Minkwitz, David

2018-06-01

An accurate forecast of the atmospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) is helpful to investigate space weather influences on the ionosphere and technical applications like satellite-receiver radio links. The purpose of this work is to compare four empirical methods for a 24-h forecast of vertical TEC maps over Europe under geomagnetically quiet conditions. TEC map data are obtained from the Space Weather Application Center Ionosphere (SWACI) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). The time-series methods Standard Persistence Model (SPM), a 27 day median model (MediMod) and a Fourier Series Expansion are compared to maps for the entire year of 2015. As a representative of the climatological coefficient models the forecast performance of the Global Neustrelitz TEC model (NTCM-GL) is also investigated. Time periods of magnetic storms, which are identified with the Dst index, are excluded from the validation. By calculating the TEC values with the most recent maps, the time-series methods perform slightly better than the coefficient model NTCM-GL. The benefit of NTCM-GL is its independence on observational TEC data. Amongst the time-series methods mentioned, MediMod delivers the best overall performance regarding accuracy and data gap handling. Quiet-time SWACI maps can be forecasted accurately and in real-time by the MediMod time-series approach.

Assessment of resident operative performance using a real-time mobile Web system: preparing for the milestone age.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Justin P; Chen, David C; Donahue, Timothy R; Quach, Chi; Hines, O Joe; Hiatt, Jonathan R; Tillou, Areti

2014-01-01

To satisfy trainees' operative competency requirements while improving feedback validity and timeliness using a mobile Web-based platform. The Southern Illinois University Operative Performance Rating Scale (OPRS) was embedded into a website formatted for mobile devices. From March 2013 to February 2014, faculty members were instructed to complete the OPRS form while providing verbal feedback to the operating resident at the conclusion of each procedure. Submitted data were compiled automatically within a secure Web-based spreadsheet. Conventional end-of-rotation performance (CERP) evaluations filed 2006 to 2013 and OPRS performance scores were compared by year of training using serial and independent-samples t tests. The mean CERP scores and OPRS overall resident operative performance scores were directly compared using a linear regression model. OPRS mobile site analytics were reviewed using a Web-based reporting program. Large university-based general surgery residency program. General Surgery faculty used the mobile Web OPRS system to rate resident performance. Residents and the program director reviewed evaluations semiannually. Over the study period, 18 faculty members and 37 residents logged 176 operations using the mobile OPRS system. There were 334 total OPRS website visits. Median time to complete an evaluation was 45 minutes from the end of the operation, and faculty spent an average of 134 seconds on the site to enter 1 assessment. In the 38,506 CERP evaluations reviewed, mean performance scores showed a positive linear trend of 2% change per year of training (p = 0.001). OPRS overall resident operative performance scores showed a significant linear (p = 0.001), quadratic (p = 0.001), and cubic (p = 0.003) trend of change per year of clinical training, reflecting the resident operative experience in our training program. Differences between postgraduate year-1 and postgraduate year-5 overall performance scores were greater with the OPRS (mean = 0.96, CI

Measuring quality indicators in the operating room: cleaning and turnover time.

Science.gov (United States)

Jericó, Marli de Carvalho; Perroca, Márcia Galan; da Penha, Vivian Colombo

2011-01-01

This exploratory-descriptive study was carried out in the Surgical Center Unit of a university hospital aiming to measure time spent with concurrent cleaning performed by the cleaning service and turnover time and also investigated potential associations between cleaning time and the surgery's magnitude and specialty, period of the day and the room's size. The sample consisted of 101 surgeries, computing cleaning time and 60 surgeries, computing turnover time. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze time and Pearson's correlation to study potential correlations. The time spent in concurrent cleaning was 7.1 minutes and turnover time was 35.6 minutes. No association between cleaning time and the other variables was found. These findings can support nurses in the efficient use of resources thereby speeding up the work process in the operating room.

Total 2004 annual report; TOTAL 2004 rapport annuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This annual report of the Group Total brings information and economic data on the following topics, for the year 2004: the corporate governance, the corporate social responsibility, the shareholder notebook, the management report, the activities, the upstream (exploration and production) and downstream (refining and marketing) operating, chemicals and other matters. (A.L.B.)

Assessments of Total Lightning Data Utility in Weather Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

Buechler, Dennis E.; Goodman, Steve; LaCasse, Katherine; Blakeslee, Richard; Darden, Chris

2005-01-01

National Weather Service forecasters in Huntsville, Alabama have had access to total lightning data from the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) since 2003. Forecasters can monitor real-time total lightning observations on their AWIPS (Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) workstations. The lightning data is used to supplement other observations such as radar and satellite data. The lightning data is updated every 2 min, providing more timely evidence of storm growth or decay than is available from 5 min radar scans. Total lightning observations have been used to positively impact warning decisions in a number of instances. A number of approaches are being pursued to assess the usefulness of total lightning measurements to the operational forecasting community in the warning decision process. These approaches, which include both qualitative and quantitative assessment methods, will be discussed. submitted to the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Conference on Meteorological Applications of Lightning Data to be held in San Diego, CA January 9-13,2005. This will be a presentation and an extended abstract will be published on a CD available from the AMS.

Time-gated scintillator imaging for real-time optical surface dosimetry in total skin electron therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Bruza, Petr; Gollub, Sarah L.; Andreozzi, Jacqueline M.; Tendler, Irwin I.; Williams, Benjamin B.; Jarvis, Lesley A.; Gladstone, David J.; Pogue, Brian W.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to measure surface dose by remote time-gated imaging of plastic scintillators. A novel technique for time-gated, intensified camera imaging of scintillator emission was demonstrated, and key parameters influencing the signal were analyzed, including distance, angle and thickness. A set of scintillator samples was calibrated by using thermo-luminescence detector response as reference. Examples of use in total skin electron therapy are described. The data showed excellent room light rejection (signal-to-noise ratio of scintillation SNR  ≈  470), ideal scintillation dose response linearity, and 2% dose rate error. Individual sample scintillation response varied by 7% due to sample preparation. Inverse square distance dependence correction and lens throughput error (8% per meter) correction were needed. At scintillator-to-source angle and observation angle  <50°, the radiant energy fluence error was smaller than 1%. The achieved standard error of the scintillator cumulative dose measurement compared to the TLD dose was 5%. The results from this proof-of-concept study documented the first use of small scintillator targets for remote surface dosimetry in ambient room lighting. The measured dose accuracy renders our method to be comparable to thermo-luminescent detector dosimetry, with the ultimate realization of accuracy likely to be better than shown here. Once optimized, this approach to remote dosimetry may substantially reduce the time and effort required for surface dosimetry.

Total body photography for skin cancer screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Dengel, Lynn T; Petroni, Gina R; Judge, Joshua; Chen, David; Acton, Scott T; Schroen, Anneke T; Slingluff, Craig L

2015-11-01

Total body photography may aid in melanoma screening but is not widely applied due to time and cost. We hypothesized that a near-simultaneous automated skin photo-acquisition system would be acceptable to patients and could rapidly obtain total body images that enable visualization of pigmented skin lesions. From February to May 2009, a study of 20 volunteers was performed at the University of Virginia to test a prototype 16-camera imaging booth built by the research team and to guide development of special purpose software. For each participant, images were obtained before and after marking 10 lesions (five "easy" and five "difficult"), and images were evaluated to estimate visualization rates. Imaging logistical challenges were scored by the operator, and participant opinion was assessed by questionnaire. Average time for image capture was three minutes (range 2-5). All 55 "easy" lesions were visualized (sensitivity 100%, 90% CI 95-100%), and 54/55 "difficult" lesions were visualized (sensitivity 98%, 90% CI 92-100%). Operators and patients graded the imaging process favorably, with challenges identified regarding lighting and positioning. Rapid-acquisition automated skin photography is feasible with a low-cost system, with excellent lesion visualization and participant acceptance. These data provide a basis for employing this method in clinical melanoma screening. © 2014 The International Society of Dermatology.

The Calculation Of Total Radioactivity Of Kartini Reactor Fuel Element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budisantoso, Edi Trijono; Sardjono, Y.

1996-01-01

The total radioactivity of Kartini reactor fuel element has been calculated by using ORIGEN2. In this case, the total radioactivity is the sum of alpha, beta, and gamma radioactivity from activation products nuclides, actinide nuclides and fission products nuclides in the fuel element. The calculation was based on irradiation history of fuel in the reactor core. The fuel element no 3203 has location history at D, E, and F core zone. The result is expressed in graphics form of total radioactivity and photon radiations as function of irradiation time and decay time. It can be concluded that the Kartini reactor fuel element in zone D, E, and F has total radioactivity range from 10 Curie to 3000 Curie. This range is for radioactivity after decaying for 84 days and that after reactor shut down. This radioactivity is happened in the fuel element for every reactor operation and decayed until the fuel burn up reach 39.31 MWh. The total radioactivity emitted photon at the power of 0.02 Watt until 10 Watt

Mobile laminar air flow screen for additional operating room ventilation: reduction of intraoperative bacterial contamination during total knee arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Sossai, D; Dagnino, G; Sanguineti, F; Franchin, F

2011-12-01

Surgical site infections are important complications in orthopedic surgery. A mobile laminar air flow (LAF) screen could represent a useful addition to an operating room (OR) with conventional turbulent air ventilation (12.5 air changes/h), as it could decrease the bacterial count near the operating field. The purpose of this study was to evaluate LAF efficacy at reducing bacterial contamination in the surgical area during 34 total knee arthroplasties (TKAs). The additional unit was used in 17 operations; the LAF was positioned beside the operating table between two of the surgeons, with the air flow directed towards the surgical area (wound). The whole team wore conventional OR clothing and the correct hygiene procedures and rituals were used. Bacterial air contamination (CFU/m(3)) was evaluated in the wound area in 17 operations with the LAF unit and 17 without the LAF unit. The LAF unit reduced the mean bacterial count in the wound area from 23.5 CFU/m(3) without the LAF to 3.5 CFU/m(3) with the LAF (P contamination of the wound area significantly decreased to below the accepted level for an ultraclean OR, preventing SSI infections.

Totally tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy is feasible in morbidly obese patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghamir, Seyed Mohammad Kazem; Mohseni, Mohammad Ghasem; Hosseini, Seyed Reza; Salavati, Alborz; Ganjali, Hossein; Fallah, Mohammad Ali; Rezaei, Hamed; Modaresi, Seyed Saeed

2017-06-01

Regarding technical difficulties that obese body habitus might impose to percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL) success and higher risk of peri-operative complications in this group of patients, we decided to retrospectively gather data from our patients during past 8 years to determine the stone free and complication rates. Between January 2007-December 2015, seventy-eight obese patients with body mass index over 35 who had indication for PNL including stones larger than 2 cm in pelvi-calyceal system or smaller extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) resistant stones or who were not a fit candidate for ESWL due to increased skin to target distance, with no contraindication of PNL (including bleeding diathesis, inability to be positioned in prone) were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to group 1 (standard PNL with nephrostomy and ureteral stent) or group 2 (totally tubeless PNL with no ureteral stent and no nephrostomy). The outcomes were compared. The transfusion rate, operation time, and the hemoglobin drop were same across the groups (p>0.05). Total analgesic use was equivalent of 33.8 vs. 14.7 mgs of morphine sulfate (18-77 mg) and was significantly lower in total tubeless group (p=0.001). Return to normal activity was described as total number of in-patient and outpatient days from time of admission to the point which the patients returns to normal life activity such as going to job or school and was 19.4 vs. 9.3 days (6-30 days, p=0.001). Totally tubeless PNL in obese subjects would have lower analgesic use and return to normal activity versus standard PNL. Totally tubeless PNL is recommended for obese patients.

Nurses' responsibilities in postoperative pain management following total hip arthroplasty

OpenAIRE

Dumolard, Pierre; Gök, Mustafa; Le, Ngoc

2017-01-01

Total hip arthroplasty is the replacement of a hip joint that has been severely damaged. The operation is recommended if other treatments have not responded adequately. As the nurses are the professionals who spend the most time with patients after the surgery, they play an important role in the patient’s pain management. The aim of the thesis is to define the nurse’s responsibilities in the care of total hip arthroplasty. The purpose of the thesis is to analyze existing research, which may s...

Towards Sustainability: Effective Operations Strategies, Quality Management and Operational Excellence in Banking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesna Tornjanski

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper sets out to extend and deepen the understanding the ways toward economic sustainability through efficient and effective growth operations strategies, quality management and operational excellence in banking. In this study we define new quality management practices based on developed conceptual architecture of digital platform for operations function in banking. Additionally, we employ decision making framework consisted of two parts: introduction of new operations services using Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency (TURF statistical analysis and segregation of core from actual and augmented operations services utilizing Analytic Network Process (ANP method based on BOCR model. Proposed quality management practices were used for the first time in this paper for particular purposes and have the high potential to impact the excellence in banking business. The study can contribute to operations management, quality management, innovation management, IT management, business process management and decision making in service organizations.

Tecnatom's operation system interfaces and their evolution in time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trueba, Pedro

1998-01-01

The author comments the evolution of operation system interfaces produced by the Tecnatom Company, notably for the support in the construction of the Spanish nuclear power plants. A system can typically be divided into a data acquisition system, a central processing system, and a graphical system. The author discusses and comments the main functional applications which are: real time data displays, data analysis functions, and other utilities (file management, data storing, file reloading)

APPLICATION OF TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY FOR PERFORMANCE ORIENTED OPERATIONAL PLANNING OF EXPRESSWAYS

Science.gov (United States)

Mehran, Babak; Nakamura, Hideki

Evaluation of impacts of congestion improvement scheme s on travel time reliability is very significant for road authorities since travel time reliability repr esents operational performance of expressway segments. In this paper, a methodology is presented to estimate travel tim e reliability prior to implementation of congestion relief schemes based on travel time variation modeling as a function of demand, capacity, weather conditions and road accident s. For subject expressway segmen ts, traffic conditions are modeled over a whole year considering demand and capacity as random variables. Patterns of demand and capacity are generated for each five minute interval by appl ying Monte-Carlo simulation technique, and accidents are randomly generated based on a model that links acci dent rate to traffic conditions. A whole year analysis is performed by comparing de mand and available capacity for each scenario and queue length is estimated through shockwave analysis for each time in terval. Travel times are estimated from refined speed-flow relationships developed for intercity expressways and buffer time index is estimated consequently as a measure of travel time reliability. For validation, estimated reliability indices are compared with measured values from empirical data, and it is shown that the proposed method is suitable for operational evaluation and planning purposes.

Development and operation of a real-time simulation at the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Christopher; Sheppard, Shirin; Chetelat, Monique

1993-01-01

The Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) facility at the NASA Ames Research Center combines the largest vertical motion capability in the world with a flexible real-time operating system allowing research to be conducted quickly and effectively. Due to the diverse nature of the aircraft simulated and the large number of simulations conducted annually, the challenge for the simulation engineer is to develop an accurate real-time simulation in a timely, efficient manner. The SimLab facility and the software tools necessary for an operating simulation will be discussed. Subsequent sections will describe the development process through operation of the simulation; this includes acceptance of the model, validation, integration and production phases.

Tokamak power reactor ignition and time dependent fractional power operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vold, E.L.; Mau, T.K.; Conn, R.W.

1986-06-01

A flexible time-dependent and zero-dimensional plasma burn code with radial profiles was developed and employed to study the fractional power operation and the thermal burn control options for an INTOR-sized tokamak reactor. The code includes alpha thermalization and a time-dependent transport loss which can be represented by any one of several currently popular scaling laws for energy confinement time. Ignition parameters were found to vary widely in density-temperature (n-T) space for the range of scaling laws examined. Critical ignition issues were found to include the extent of confinement time degradation by alpha heating, the ratio of ion to electron transport power loss, and effect of auxiliary heating on confinement. Feedback control of the auxiliary power and ion fuel sources are shown to provide thermal stability near the ignition curve

Overcoming misconceptions in quantum mechanics with the time evolution operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Quijas, P C; Arevalo Aguilar, L M

2007-01-01

Recently, there have been many efforts to use the research techniques developed in the field of physics education research to improve the teaching and learning of quantum mechanics. In particular, part of this research is focusing on misconceptions held by students. For instance, a set of misconceptions is associated with the concept of stationary states. In this paper, we argue that a possible way to remove these is to solve the Schroedinger equation using the evolution operator method (EOM), and stress the fact that to find stationary states is only the first step in solving that equation. The EOM consists in solving the Schroedinger equation by direct integration, i.e. Ψ(x, t) = U(t)Ψ(x, 0), where U(t)=e -itH-hat/h is the time evolution operator, and Ψ(x, 0) is the initial state. We apply the evolution operator method in the case of the harmonic oscillator

Tennessee Valley Total and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Climatology Comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Buechler, Dennis; Blakeslee, R. J.; Hall, J. M.; McCaul, E. W.

2008-01-01

The North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA) has been in operation since 2001 and consists often VHF receivers deployed across northern Alabama. The NALMA locates sources of impulsive VHF radio signals from total lightning by accurately measuring the time that the signals arrive at the different receiving stations. The sources detected are then clustered into flashes by applying spatially and temporally constraints. This study examines the total lightning climatology of the region derived from NALMA and compares it to the cloud-to-ground (CG) climatology derived from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) The presentation compares the total and CG lightning trends for monthly, daily, and hourly periods.

Different but Equal: Total Work, Gender and Social Norms in EU and US Time Use

OpenAIRE

Daniel S Hamermesh; Michael C Burda; Philippe Weil

2008-01-01

Using time-diary data from 27 countries, we demonstrate a negative relationship between real GDP per capita and the female-male difference in total work time—the sum of work for pay and work at home. We also show that in rich non-Catholic countries on four continents men and women do the same amount of total work on average. Our survey results demonstrate that labor economists, macroeconomists, sociologists and the general public consistently believe that women perform more tot...

Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate Splenectomy in Total Gastrectomy for Proximal Gastric Carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Sano, Takeshi; Sasako, Mitsuru; Mizusawa, Junki; Yamamoto, Seiichiro; Katai, Hitoshi; Yoshikawa, Takaki; Nashimoto, Atsushi; Ito, Seiji; Kaji, Masahide; Imamura, Hiroshi; Fukushima, Norimasa; Fujitani, Kazumasa

2017-02-01

To clarify the role of splenectomy in total gastrectomy for proximal gastric cancer. Splenectomy in total gastrectomy is associated with increased operative morbidity and mortality, but its survival benefit is unclear. Previous randomized controlled trials were underpowered and inconclusive. We conducted a multiinstitutional randomized controlled trial. Proximal gastric adenocarcinoma of T2-4/N0-2/M0 not invading the greater curvature was eligible. During the operation, surgeons confirmed that R0 resection was possible with negative lavage cytology, and patients were randomly assigned to either splenectomy or spleen preservation. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and the secondary endpoints were relapse-free survival, operative morbidity, operation time, and blood loss. The trial was designed to confirm noninferiority of spleen preservation to splenectomy in OS with a noninferiority margin of the hazard ratio as 1.21 and 1-sided alpha of 5%. Between June 2002 and March 2009, 505 patients (254 splenectomy, 251 spleen preservation) were enrolled from 36 institutions. Splenectomy was associated with higher morbidity and larger blood loss, but the operation time was similar. The 5-year survivals were 75.1% and 76.4% in the splenectomy and spleen preservation groups, respectively. The hazard ratio was 0.88 (90.7%, confidence interval 0.67-1.16) (splenectomy should be avoided as it increases operative morbidity without improving survival.

Impact of total laryngectomy on return to work.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Jose Miguel; López, Montserrat; García, Jacinto; León, Xavier; Quer, Miquel

Total laryngectomy is one of the most mutilating oncological operations. There are no specific studies evaluating return to work after this surgery. A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 116 laryngectomized patients who were disease- free and had a minimum follow-up of 2 years from total laryngectomy. A survey was conducted to find out their employment situation before and after surgery. At the time of surgery, 62 (53%) were working, 40 (35%) were retired and 14 (12%) were in a disability situation. 60% had professions with low qualification requirements, the largest group being construction workers. Of the 62 patients active at the time of total laryngectomy, 29 became inactive and 33 (53%) maintained their work activity. The most important factors in maintaining work activity were the level of professional qualification and the method of vocal rehabilitation. Eighty percent of the patients with high-intermediate qualification maintained their jobs, compared to 35% of those with low professional qualifications (Pde Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello. All rights reserved.

MOPITT Near Real-Time Data for LANCE: Automatic Quality Assurance and Comparison to Operational Products

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez-Alonso, S.; Deeter, M. N.; Worden, H. M.; Ziskin, D.

2017-12-01

Terra-MOPITT (the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere instrument) near real-time (NRT) carbon monoxide (CO) products have been selected for distribution through NASA's LANCE (the Land, Atmosphere Near Real-Time Capability for EOS). MOPITT version 7 NRT data will be made publicly available within 3 hours from observation. The retrieval process is the same for both MOPITT NRT and operational products, albeit for the former it is constrained to use ancillary data available within the latency time. Among other requirements, LANCE NRT products must be examined for quality assurance (QA) purposes and relative errors between NRT and operational products must be quantified. Here we present an algorithm for automatic MOPITT NRT QA aimed to identify artifacts and separate those from anomalously high but real CO values. The algorithm is based on a comparison to the statistics of MOPITT operational products. We discuss the algorithm's performance when tested by applying it to three MOPITT datasets: a known (and corrected) artifact in version 4 operational data, anomalously high CO values in operational data during the 2015 Indonesia fires, and actual NRT data. Last, we describe results from a quantitative comparison between MOPITT NRT data and their operational counterparts.

Extending an open-source real-time operating system with hierarchical scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holenderski, M.J.; Cools, W.A.; Bril, R.J.; Lukkien, J.J.

2010-01-01

Hierarchical scheduling frameworks (HSFs) have been devised to support the integration of independently developed and analyzed subsystems. This paper presents an efficient, modular and extendible design for enhancing a real-time operating system with periodic tasks, two-level fixed-priority HSF

Preoperative information provided to Swedish and immigrant patients before total hip replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Krupic, Ferid; Määttä, Sylvia; Garellick, Göran; Lyckhage, Elisabeth Dahlborg; Kärrholm, Johan

2012-01-01

Total hip replacement is an operation that usually leads to pain relief and improved health related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of information about upcoming surgery. Therefore, it was of interest to study how both immigrants, whose first language was not Swedish, and Swedish patients described pre-operative information. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 immigrants and 10 Swedish participants. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The study was carried out in western Sweden from March to November 2010. The findings revealed that pre-operative information for all patients undergoing elective total hip replacement was limited. Patients from both groups expressed concern about inadequate preoperative information pertaining to the surgery, implant selection, pain relief, choice of anaesthesia, no or too short a time to put questions to the surgeon and an overall stressful situation. Adequate preoperative information is important for optimising pain relief and shortening the hospital stay. The fact that the patients overwhelmingly rated the preoperative information as inadequate may be due to several reasons. Mental distress and the two-week interval between the time when the patient received the information and the operation might have contributed to the low degree of retention.

STUDY OF METABOLIC ACIDOSIS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING SURGERIES OF OPERATIVE TIME GREATER THAN 2 HOURS DURATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sathu T. S

2018-02-01

. RESULTS Duration of surgery was significantly related to incidence of both intraoperative and postoperative metabolic acidosis. When cross tabulation was done between operative duration and intra operative metabolic acidosis, it was found that 14(87.5% subjects of total 16 who had duration of greater than 5 hrs had metabolic acidosis. 10 (62.5% individuals of operative duration 2.01-3 hrs., 28 (73.7% individuals from 3.01-4 hrs. group and 37 (94.9% individuals from 4.01-5 hrs duration group were found to have intra operative metabolic acidosis. On doing an independent t test for calculating the significance of each of total crystalloid, normal saline and ringer lactate it was found that ringer lactate had a significant relationship with postoperative metabolic acidosis, indicated by a p value of 0.030, while normal saline had no significant relation to postoperative metabolic acidosis. Still it is interesting to note that total crystalloid administered had a significant relation to postoperative metabolic acidosis indicated by a p value of 0.047. Colloid administration was also found to have a positive relationship with both intra operative (p value of 0.019 and postoperative metabolic acidosis (p value of 0.009. CONCLUSION This study stresses the need of doing an intra operative blood gas analysis, in all prolonged surgeries, to analyse and begin corrective measures intra operatively itself, such that patient has least postoperative morbidity and speedy recovery.

[Advantage investigation of totally laparoscopic modified Roux-en-Y reconstruction].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tianzhou; Ma, Zhiming; Sun, Pengda; Li, Jinlong; Fang, Xuedong; Tong, Ti; Zhu, Jiaming

2016-01-01

To investigate the clinical advantage of the application of modified Roux-en-Y reconstruction after totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy. Clinical data of 36 patients who underwent totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction by one medical team for gastric adenocarcinoma between January 2014 and December 2014 in the Second Hospital of Jilin University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into classic Roux-en-Y group (CRY, 16 cases) and modified Roux-en-Y group (MRY, 20 cases) according to reconstructive methods. The data concerning the intraoperative and postoperative situation in two groups were compared. Operation was successfully completed in all the cases without conversion to laparotomy. Compared to CRY group, MRY group had shorter mean operative time [(260.9 ± 21.2) min vs. (287.9 ± 19.0) min, P=0.000], shorter mean reconstruction duration [(32.4 ± 9.2] min vs. (45.4 ± 13.2) min, P=0.001] and less intraoperative bleeding [(50.9 ± 23.5) ml vs. (67.0 ± 20.5) ml, P=0.000]. Jejunum mesentery dissection and jejunum resection were not necessary in MRY group. However, there were no significant differences in lymph nodes harvested, time to flatus, hospital stay and postoperative complications between two groups. As compared to classic Roux-en-Y reconstruction, the modified Roux-en-Y reconstruction can simplify the surgical procedures and achieve similar efficacy. It is feasible and safe, and worth further promotion in clinical practice.

Time related total lactic acid bacteria population diversity and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The total lactic acid bacterial community involved in the spontaneous fermentation of malted cowpea fortified cereal weaning food was investigated by phenotypically and cultivation independent method. A total of 74 out of the isolated 178 strains were Lactobacillus plantarum, 32 were Pediococcus acidilactici and over 60% ...

On $L^p$ Estimates for the Time-Dependent Schrodinger Operator on $L^2$

CERN Document Server

Mortad, M H

2006-01-01

Let L denote the time-dependent Schrodinger operator in n space variables. We consider a variety of Lebesgue norms for functions u on R^{n+1}, and prove or disprove estimates for such norms of u in terms of the L^2-norms of u and Lu. The results have implications for self-adjo intness of operators of the form L+V where V is a multiplication operator. The proofs are based mainly on the Strichartz-type inequalities.

Development of a prototype real-time automated filter for operational deep space navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Masters, W. C.; Pollmeier, V. M.

1994-01-01

Operational deep space navigation has been in the past, and is currently, performed using systems whose architecture requires constant human supervision and intervention. A prototype for a system which allows relatively automated processing of radio metric data received in near real-time from NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) without any redesign of the existing operational data flow has been developed. This system can allow for more rapid response as well as much reduced staffing to support mission navigation operations.

Operating system for a real-time multiprocessor propulsion system simulator. User's manual

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, G. L.

1985-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center is developing and evaluating experimental hardware and software systems to help meet future needs for real-time, high-fidelity simulations of air-breathing propulsion systems. Specifically, the real-time multiprocessor simulator project focuses on the use of multiple microprocessors to achieve the required computing speed and accuracy at relatively low cost. Operating systems for such hardware configurations are generally not available. A real time multiprocessor operating system (RTMPOS) that supports a variety of multiprocessor configurations was developed at Lewis. With some modification, RTMPOS can also support various microprocessors. RTMPOS, by means of menus and prompts, provides the user with a versatile, user-friendly environment for interactively loading, running, and obtaining results from a multiprocessor-based simulator. The menu functions are described and an example simulation session is included to demonstrate the steps required to go from the simulation loading phase to the execution phase.

Total 2003 Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

This document presents the 2003 results of Total Group: consolidated account, special items, number of shares, market environment, 4. quarter 2003 results, full year 2003 results, upstream (key figures, proved reserves), downstream key figures, chemicals key figures, parent company accounts and proposed dividends, 2004 sensitivities, summary and outlook, operating information by segment for the 4. quarter and full year 2003: upstream (combined liquids and gas production by region, liquids production by region, gas production by region), downstream (refinery throughput by region, refined product sales by region, chemicals), impact of allocating contribution of Cepsa to net operating income by business segment: equity in income (loss) and affiliates and other items, Total financial statements: consolidated statement of income, consolidated balance sheet (assets, liabilities and shareholder's equity), consolidated statements of cash flows, business segments information. (J.S.)