Abstract: The need to increase the efficiency of health care
systems is becoming an obligation, and one of area of improvement
is the discharge process. The objective of this work is to minimize
the patients discharge time (for insured patients) to be less than 50
minutes by using six sigma approach, this improvement will also:
lead to an increase in customer satisfaction, increase the number of
admissions and turnover on the rooms, increase hospital
profitability.Three different departments were considered in this
study: Female, Male, and Paediatrics. Six Sigma approach coupled
with simulation has been applied to reduce the patients discharge
time for pediatrics, female, and male departments at hospital. Upon
applying these recommendations at hospital: 60%, 80%, and 22% of
insured female, male, and pediatrics patients respectively will have
discharge time less than the upper specification time i.e. 50 min.
Abstract: In many cases, there are some time lag between the consumption of inputs and the production of outputs. This time lag effect should be considered in evaluating the performance of organizations. Recently, a couple of DEA models were developed for considering time lag effect in efficiency evaluation of research activities. Multi-periods input(MpI) and Multi-periods output(MpO) models are integrate models to calculate simple efficiency considering time lag effect. However, these models can’t discriminate efficient DMUs because of the nature of basic DEA model in which efficiency scores are limited to ‘1’. That is, efficient DMUs can’t be discriminated because their efficiency scores are same. Thus, this paper suggests a super-efficiency model for efficiency evaluation under the consideration of time lag effect based on the MpO model. A case example using a long term research project is given to compare the suggested model with the MpO model.
Abstract: We seek exact solutions of the coupled Klein-Gordon-Schrödinger equation with variable coefficients with the aid of Lie classical approach. By using the Lie classical method, we are able to derive symmetries that are used for reducing the coupled system of partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. From reduced differential equations we have derived some new exact solutions of coupled Klein-Gordon-Schrödinger equations involving some special functions such as Airy wave functions, Bessel functions, Mathieu functions etc.
Abstract: Experiments were conducted to characterize fire
properties of wood exposed to the certain external heat flux and
under variety of wood moisture content. Six kinds of Indonesian
wood: keruing, sono, cemara, kamper, pinus, and mahoni were
exposed to radiant heat from a conical heater, result in appearance of
a stable flame on the wood surface caused by spontaneous ignition. A
thermocouple K-type was used to measure the wood surface
temperature. Temperature histories were recorded throughout each
experiment at 1 s intervals using a TC-08. Data of first ignition time
and temperature, end ignition time and temperature, and charring rate
have been successfully collected. It was found that the ignition
temperature and charring rate depend on moisture content of wood.
Abstract: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a new worldwide public
health problem. A diagnosis of this disease using creatinine is still a
problem in clinical practice. Therefore, a measurement of biomarkers
responsible for AKI has received much attention in the past couple
years. Cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) was reported as one of the
early biomarkers for AKI. The most commonly used method to
detect this biomarker is an immunoassay. This study used a planar
platform to perform an immunoassay using fluorescence for
detection. In this study, anti-IL-18 antibody was immobilized onto a
microscope slide using a covalent binding method. Make-up samples
were diluted at the concentration between 10 to 1000 pg/ml to create
a calibration curve. The precision of the system was determined
using a coefficient of variability (CV), which was found to be less
than 10%. The performance of this immunoassay system was
compared with the measurement from ELISA.
Abstract: The transient thermoelastic response of thick hollow cylinder made of functionally graded material under thermal loading is studied. The generalized coupled thermoelasticity based on the Green-Lindsay model is used. The thermal and mechanical properties of the functionally graded material are assumed to be varied in the radial direction according to a power law variation as a function of the volume fractions of the constituents. The thermal and elastic governing equations are solved by using Galerkin finite element method. All the finite element calculations were done by using commercial finite element program FlexPDE. The transient temperature, radial displacement, and thermal stresses distribution through the radial direction of the cylinder are plotted.
Abstract: Vibrations of circular cylindrical shells made of
layered composite materials are considered. The shells are weakened
by circumferential cracks. The influence of circumferential cracks
with constant depth on the vibration of the shell is prescribed with the
aid of a matrix of local flexibility coupled with the coefficient of the
stress intensity known in the linear elastic fracture mechanics.
Numerical results are presented for the case of the shell with one
circular crack.
Abstract: Long term rainfall analysis and prediction is a
challenging task especially in the modern world where the impact of
global warming is creating complications in environmental issues.
These factors which are data intensive require high performance
computational modeling for accurate prediction. This research paper
describes a prototype which is designed and developed on grid
environment using a number of coupled software infrastructural
building blocks. This grid enabled system provides the demanding
computational power, efficiency, resources, user-friendly interface,
secured job submission and high throughput. The results obtained
using sequential execution and grid enabled execution shows that
computational performance has enhanced among 36% to 75%, for
decade of climate parameters. Large variation in performance can be
attributed to varying degree of computational resources available for
job execution.
Grid Computing enables the dynamic runtime selection, sharing
and aggregation of distributed and autonomous resources which plays
an important role not only in business, but also in scientific
implications and social surroundings. This research paper attempts to
explore the grid enabled computing capabilities on weather indices
from HOAPS data for climate impact modeling and change
detection.
Abstract: This paper considers the effect of heat generation
proportional l to (T - T∞ )p , where T is the local temperature and T∞
is the ambient temperature, in unsteady free convection flow near the
stagnation point region of a three-dimensional body. The fluid is
considered in an ambient fluid under the assumption of a step change
in the surface temperature of the body. The non-linear coupled partial
differential equations governing the free convection flow are solved
numerically using an implicit finite-difference method for different
values of the governing parameters entering these equations. The
results for the flow and heat characteristics when p ≤ 2 show that
the transition from the initial unsteady-state flow to the final steadystate
flow takes place smoothly. The behavior of the flow is seen
strongly depend on the exponent p.
Abstract: In this paper, the dynamics of a system of two van der Pol oscillators with delayed position and velocity is studied. We provide an approximate solution for this system using parameterexpansion method. Also, we obtain approximate values for frequencies of the system. The parameter-expansion method is more efficient than the perturbation method for this system because the method is independent of perturbation parameter assumption.
Abstract: Despite the recent surge of research in control of
worm propagation, currently, there is no effective defense system
against such cyber attacks. We first design a distributed detection
architecture called Detection via Distributed Blackholes (DDBH).
Our novel detection mechanism could be implemented via virtual
honeypots or honeynets. Simulation results show that a worm can be
detected with virtual honeypots on only 3% of the nodes. Moreover,
the worm is detected when less than 1.5% of the nodes are infected.
We then develop two control strategies: (1) optimal dynamic trafficblocking,
for which we determine the condition that guarantees
minimum number of removed nodes when the worm is contained and
(2) predictive dynamic traffic-blocking–a realistic deployment of
the optimal strategy on scale-free graphs. The predictive dynamic
traffic-blocking, coupled with the DDBH, ensures that more than
40% of the network is unaffected by the propagation at the time
when the worm is contained.
Abstract: The use of hard and brittle material has become
increasingly more extensive in recent years. Therefore processing of
these materials for the parts fabrication has become a challenging
problem. However, it is time-consuming to machine the hard brittle
materials with the traditional metal-cutting technique that uses
abrasive wheels. In addition, the tool would suffer excessive wear as
well. However, if ultrasonic energy is applied to the machining
process and coupled with the use of hard abrasive grits, hard and
brittle materials can be effectively machined. Ultrasonic machining
process is mostly used for the brittle materials. The present research
work has developed models using finite element approach to predict
the mechanical stresses sand strains produced in the tool during
ultrasonic machining process. Also the flow behavior of abrasive
slurry coming out of the nozzle has been studied for simulation using
ANSYS CFX module. The different abrasives of different grit sizes
have been used for the experimentation work.
Abstract: We propose the use of magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) to realize single-qubit quantum gates. We consider longitudinal and polar MOKE in reflection geometry in which the magnetic field is parallel to both the plane of incidence and surface of the film. MOKE couples incident TE and TM polarized photons and the Hamiltonian that represents this interaction is isomorphic to that of a canonical two-level quantum system. By varying the phase and amplitude of the magnetic field, we can realize Hadamard, NOT, and arbitrary phase-shift single-qubit quantum gates. The principal advantage is operation with magnetically non-transparent materials.
Abstract: Traditionally, terror groups have been formed by ideologically aligned actors who perceive a lack of options for achieving political or social change. However, terrorist attacks have been increasingly carried out by small groups of actors or lone individuals who may be only ideologically affiliated with larger, formal terrorist organizations. The formation of these groups represents the inverse of traditional organizational growth, whereby structural de-evolution within issue-based organizations leads to the formation of small, independent terror cells. Ideological franchising – the bypassing of formal affiliation to the “parent" organization – represents the de-evolution of traditional concepts of organizational structure in favor of an organic, independent, and focused unit. Traditional definitions of dark networks that are issue-based include focus on an identified goal, commitment to achieving this goal through unrestrained actions, and selection of symbolic targets. The next step in the de-evolution of small dark networks is the miniorganization, consisting of only a handful of actors working toward a common, violent goal. Information-sharing through social media platforms, coupled with civil liberties of democratic nations, provide the communication systems, access to information, and freedom of movement necessary for small dark networks to flourish without the aid of a parent organization. As attacks such as the 7/7 bombings demonstrate the effectiveness of small dark networks, terrorist actors will feel increasingly comfortable aligning with an ideology only, without formally organizing. The natural result of this de-evolving organization is the single actor event, where an individual seems to subscribe to a larger organization-s violent ideology with little or no formal ties.
Abstract: The malfunction of thermal protection system (TPS) caused by aerodynamic heating is a latent trouble to aircraft structure safety. Accurately predicting the structure temperature field is quite important for the TPS design of hypersonic vehicle. Since Thornton’s work in 1988, the coupled method of aerodynamic heating and heat transfer has developed rapidly. However, little attention has been paid to the influence of structural deformation on aerodynamic heating and structural temperature field. In the flight, especially the long-endurance flight, the structural deformation, caused by the aerodynamic heating and temperature rise, has a direct impact on the aerodynamic heating and structural temperature field. Thus, the coupled interaction cannot be neglected. In this paper, based on the method of static aero-thermo-elasticity, considering the influence of aero-thermo-elasticity deformation, the aerodynamic heating and heat transfer coupled results of hypersonic vehicle wing model were calculated. The results show that, for the low-curvature region, such as fuselage or center-section wing, structure deformation has little effect on temperature field. However, for the stagnation region with high curvature, the coupled effect is not negligible. Thus, it is quite important for the structure temperature prediction to take into account the effect of elastic deformation. This work has laid a solid foundation for improving the prediction accuracy of the temperature distribution of aircraft structures and the evaluation capacity of structural performance.
Abstract: The practical implementation of audio-video coupled speech recognition systems is mainly limited by the hardware complexity to integrate two radically different information capturing devices with good temporal synchronisation. In this paper, we propose a solution based on a smart CMOS image sensor in order to simplify the hardware integration difficulties. By using on-chip image processing, this smart sensor can calculate in real time the X/Y projections of the captured image. This on-chip projection reduces considerably the volume of the output data. This data-volume reduction permits a transmission of the condensed visual information via the same audio channel by using a stereophonic input available on most of the standard computation devices such as PC, PDA and mobile phones. A prototype called VMIKE (Visio-Microphone) has been designed and realised by using standard 0.35um CMOS technology. A preliminary experiment gives encouraged results. Its efficiency will be further investigated in a large variety of applications such as biometrics, speech recognition in noisy environments, and vocal control for military or disabled persons, etc.
Abstract: This paper presents a model for the evaluation of
energy performance and aerodynamic forces acting on a three-bladed
small vertical axis Darrieus wind turbine depending on blade chord
curvature with respect to rotor axis.
The adopted survey methodology is based on an analytical code
coupled to a solid modeling software, capable of generating the
desired blade geometry depending on the blade design geometric
parameters, which is linked to a finite volume CFD code for the
calculation of rotor performance.
After describing and validating the model with experimental data,
the results of numerical simulations are proposed on the bases of two
different blade profile architectures, which are respectively
characterized by a straight chord and by a curved one, having a chord
radius equal to rotor external circumference. A CFD campaign of
analysis is completed for three blade-candidate airfoil sections, that is
the recently-developed DU 06-W-200 cambered blade profile, a
classical symmetrical NACA 0021 and its derived cambered airfoil,
characterized by a curved chord, having a chord radius equal to rotor
external circumference.
The effects of blade chord curvature on angle of attack, blade
tangential and normal forces are first investigated and then the
overall rotor torque and power are analyzed as a function of blade
azimuthal position, achieving a numerical quantification of the
influence of blade camber on overall rotor performance.
Abstract: The mixed oxide nuclear fuel (MOX) of U and Pu contains several percent of fission products and minor actinides, such as neptunium, americium and curium. It is important to determine accurately the decay heat from Curium isotopes as they contribute significantly in the MOX fuel. This heat generation can cause samples to melt very quickly if excessive quantities of curium are present. In the present paper, we introduce a new approach that can predict the decay heat from curium isotopes. This work is a part of the project funded by King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KASCT), Long-Term Comprehensive National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovations, and take place in King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Saudi Arabia. The approach is based on the numerical solution of coupled linear differential equations that describe decays and buildups of many nuclides to calculate the decay heat produced after shutdown. Results show the consistency and reliability of the approach applied.
Abstract: For over a decade, the Pulse Coupled Neural Network
(PCNN) based algorithms have been successfully used in image
interpretation applications including image segmentation. There are
several versions of the PCNN based image segmentation methods,
and the segmentation accuracy of all of them is very sensitive to the
values of the network parameters. Most methods treat PCNN
parameters like linking coefficient and primary firing threshold as
global parameters, and determine them by trial-and-error. The
automatic determination of appropriate values for linking coefficient,
and primary firing threshold is a challenging problem and deserves
further research. This paper presents a method for obtaining global as
well as local values for the linking coefficient and the primary firing
threshold for neurons directly from the image statistics. Extensive
simulation results show that the proposed approach achieves
excellent segmentation accuracy comparable to the best accuracy
obtainable by trial-and-error for a variety of images.
Abstract: Simplified coupled engine block-crankshaft models
based on beam theory provide an efficient substitute to engine
simulation in the design process. These models require accurate
definition of the main bearing stiffness. In this paper, an investigation
of this stiffness is presented. The clearance effect is studied using a
smooth bearing model. It is manifested for low shaft displacement.
The hydrodynamic assessment model shows that the oil film has no
stiffness for low loads and it is infinitely rigid for important loads.
The deformation stiffness is determined using a suitable finite
elements model based on real CADs. As a result, a main bearing
behaviour law is proposed. This behaviour law takes into account the
clearance, the hydrodynamic sustention and the deformation stiffness.
It ensures properly the transition from the configuration low rigidity
to the configuration high rigidity.