Use of Data Mining to Predict the Influx of Patients to Primary Healthcare Centres and Construction of an Expert System

In any productive sector, predictive tools are crucial for optimal management and decision-making. In the health sector, it is especially important to have information available in advance, as this not only means optimizing resources, but also improving patient care. This work focuses on the management of healthcare resources in primary care centres. The main objective of this work is to develop a model capable of predicting the number of patients who will demand health care in a primary care centre on a daily basis. This model is integrated into a decision support system that is accessible and easy to use by the manager through a web application. In this case, data from a primary care centre in the city of Jaén, Spain, were used. The model was estimated using spatial-temporal training data, the daily health demand data in that centre for five years, and a series of meteorological data. Different regression algorithms have been employed. The workflow requires selecting the parameters that influence the health demand prediction and discarding those that distort the model. The main contribution of this research is the daily prediction of the number of patients attending the health centre with absolute errors better than 3%, which is crucial for decision-making on the sizing of health resources in a primary care health centre

Binaries with total eclipses in the LMC: potential targets for spectroscopy

35 Eclipsing binaries presenting unambiguous total eclipses were selected from a subsample of the list of Wyrzykowski et al. (2003). The photometric elements are given for the I curve in DiA photometry, as well as approximate Teff and masses of the components. The interest of these systems is stressed in view of future spectroscopic observations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; poster presented at the conference "Close binaries in the 21st Century: new opportunities and challenges", Syros, 27-30 June 200

Gardner's deformations as generators of new integrable systems

We re-address the problem of construction of new infinite-dimensional completely integrable systems on the basis of known ones, and we reveal a working mechanism for such transitions. By splitting the problem's solution in two steps, we explain how the classical technique of Gardner's deformations facilitates -- in a regular way -- making the first, nontrivial move, in the course of which the drafts of new systems are created (often, of hydrodynamic type). The other step then amounts to higher differential order extensions of symbols in the intermediate hierarchies (e.g., by using the techniques of Dubrovin et al. [1,2] and Ferapontov et al. [3,4]).Comment: Accepted to Proc. Int. workshop 'Physics and Mathematics of Nonlinear Phenomena' (June 22-29, 2013; Gallipoli (LE), Italy), 6 page

Upgrading the field-imaging far-infrared line spectrometer for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) with KIDs: enabling large sample (extragalactic) surveys

We present the initial design, performance improvements and science opportunities for an upgrade to the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI-LS). FIFI-LS efficiently measures fine structure cooling lines, delivering critical constraints of the interstellar medium and starforming environments. SOFIA provides the only FIR observational capability in the world, making FIFI-LS a workhorse for FIR lines, combining optimal spectral resolution and a wide velocity range. Its continuous coverage from 51-203 microns makes FIFI-LS a versatile tool to investigate a multitude of diagnostic lines within our galaxy and in extragalactic environments. The sensitivity and field-of-view (FOV) of FIFI-LS are limited by its 90s-era photoconductor arrays. These limits can be overcome by upgrading the instrument using the latest developments in Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs). KIDs provide sensitivity gains in excess of 1.4 and allow larger arrays, enabling an increase in pixel count by an order of magnitude. This increase allows a wider FOV and instantaneous velocity coverage. The upgrade provides gains in point source observation speed by a factor <2 and in mapping speed by a factor <3.5, enabled by the improved sensitivity and pixel count. This upgrade has been proposed to NASA in response to the 2018 SOFIA Next Generation Instrumentation call

Is the QCD ghost dressing function finite at zero momentum ?

We show that a finite non-vanishing ghost dressing function at zero momentum satisfies the scaling properties of the ghost propagator Schwinger-Dyson equation. This kind of Schwinger-Dyson solutions may well agree with lattice data and provides an interesting alternative to the widely spread claim that the gluon dressing function behaves like the inverse squared ghost dressing function, a claim which is at odds with lattice data. We demonstrate that, if the ghost dressing function is less singular than any power of $p$, it must be finite non-vanishing at zero momentum: any logarithmic behaviour is for instance excluded. We add some remarks about coupled Schwinger-Dyson analyses.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Simulation And Continuance Of Operation For The Use Of Transit (lynx) To Be Used In Emergency Evacuation Incidents

The evacuation planning has become an important issue addressed by many research studies and publications aiming to improve the security of the daily life for our public inside the United States of America. The main objective of this research was to address the growing need for evacuation planning using traffic simulation. With increased interests and awareness in emergency evacuation and first responder access to emergencies in public locations (airports, transit stations, ports or stadiums), the traffic simulation can be helpful in orchestrating the traffic flow during emergencies. Related to this issue, Federal Transit Administration has issued a large number of publications and guidelines concerning emergency preparedness and incident management. These guidelines are used to develop a simulation-based activity to evaluate the current plan and alternative plans for the deployment of transit during an emergency situation. A major task for this project is to study the effect of evacuation on the surrounding traffic network and help the local transit company (LYNX) to evaluate their evacuation plan and consider different possibilities without the risk and cost of actual evacuation drills. A set of different scenarios and alternatives for each scenario were simulated and studied to reach the best possible evacuation strategy. The main findings were evacuation as pedestrians have less impact on traffic network and rerouting decreases the congestion resulting from the evacuation process

New results for virial coefficients of hard spheres in D dimensions

We present new results for the virial coefficients B_k with k <= 10 for hard spheres in dimensions D=2,...,8.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, to appear in conference proceedings of STATPHYS 2004 in Pramana - Journal of Physic

Do new delivery systems improve extension access? Evidence from rural Uganda

The literature has long identified lack of rural diversification and low intensity of input use as two key constraints to sustainable and pro-poor growth in Uganda. We use data from a large nationally representative survey to demonstrate that broader access to agricultural extension could increase diversification and input use and that a surprisingly high level of farmers (more than are actually reached) would be willing to pay for such services. Although willingness to pay increases with wealth, illustrative simulations suggest that, due to knowledge spillovers, policies to respond more effectively to the demand for extension services would also benefit the poor.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,