Evaluating the applicability of multi-agent software for implementing distributed industrial data management approaches

Distributed approaches to industrial control or information management problems are often tackled using Multi-agent methods. Multi-Agent systems – solutions resulting from taking a Multi-agent based approaches - often come with a certain amount of “overhead” such as communication systems, but can provide a helpful tool with the design and implementation. In this paper, a distributed data management problem is addressed with both a bespoke approach developed specifically for this problem and a more general Multi-agent approach. The two approaches are compared using architecture and software metrics. The software metric results show similar results, although overall the bespoke approach was more appropriate for the particular application examined. The architectural analysis indicates that the main reason for this difference is the communication and computation overhead associated with the agent-based system. It was not within the scope of this study to compare the two approaches under multiple application scenarios.BoeingThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15159-5_1

A Survey of Best Monotone Degree Conditions for Graph Properties

We survey sufficient degree conditions, for a variety of graph properties, that are best possible in the same sense that Chvatal's well-known degree condition for hamiltonicity is best possible.Comment: 25 page

Is the `Finite Bias Anomaly' in planar GaAs-Superconductor junctons caused by point-contact like structures?

We correlate transmission electron microscope (TEM) pictures of superconducting In contacts to an AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction with differential conductance spectroscopy performed on the same heterojunction. Metals deposited onto a (100) AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure do not form planar contacts but, during thermal annealing, grow down into the heterostructure along crystallographic planes in pyramid-like `point contacts'. Random surface nucleation and growth gives rise to a different interface transmission for each superconducting point contact. Samples annealed for different times, and therefore having different contact geometry, show variations in $dI/dV$ characteristic of ballistic transport of Cooper pairs, wave interference between different point emitters, and different types of weak localization corrections to Giaever tunneling. We give a possible mechanism whereby the `finite bias anomaly' of Poirier et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 79}, 2105 (1997)), also observed in these samples, can arise by adding the conductance of independent superconducting point emitters in parallel

Overcoming limited dataset availability when working with industrial organisations

Increasing data security and privacy requirements combined with the need for additional data management research leads to a conflict for industrial companies. In order to solve their industrial data management problems companies need to share some of their data, but their internal confidentiality rules sometimes hamper this sharing process. Existing techniques for sharing data without releasing company secrets often loose some of the problems/characteristics within the data. This paper therefore presents a qualitative process to overcome this problem of industrial data sharing while still enabling external researchers to develop relevant solutions to organizational problems. It is based on initial trials with two industrial case studies and showed some promising results.BoeingThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/INDIN.2015.728184

New directions for warehousing data management research: Extensions to an existing review: Special session on 'Emerging technologies in logistics'

Existing research has conducted reviews of warehousing research and has suggested potential important areas for future work. In this paper we focus on warehousing data management-related issues and augment the findings from a recent review of warehousing research to suggest new areas of future work. To determine these potential areas we visited a large, national warehousing organisation and observed their warehouses, operations, and information systems. We compared our findings against the recommendations from an academic review, and identified five new areas of important future research.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/INDIN.2015.728180

The ‘Year of Care’ in Leeds: implications for primary care practice

There is a growing policy discourse and empirical evidence which suggests a need for a shift in the way that care is delivered for people with long-term conditions – moving from an expert-driven consultation to one based on collaboration and partnership. Year of Care is an approach to managing long-term conditions, focused on personalised care planning whereby patients work together with the clinician using a collaborative process of shared decision-making to agree goals, identify support needs, develop and implement action plans, and monitor progress. This paper reports the learning from implementing Year of Care in Leeds where nine ‘early adopter’ sites rolled-out the programme. Process and delivery issues are highlighted in the paper, including the challenge of navigating cultural change in General Practice and training and support issues. It is anticipated that this learning and insight will have utility beyond Leeds to other areas adopting greater patient centred care models

The significance of 'the visit' in an English category-B prison: Views from prisoners, prisoners' families and prison staff

A number of claims have been made regarding the importance of prisoners staying in touch with their family through prison visits, firstly from a humanitarian perspective of enabling family members to see each other, but also regarding the impact of maintaining family ties for successful rehabilitation, reintegration into society and reduced re-offending. This growing evidence base has resulted in increased support by the Prison Service for encouraging the family unit to remain intact during a prisoner’s incarceration. Despite its importance however, there has been a distinct lack of research examining the dynamics of families visiting relatives in prison. This paper explores perceptions of the same event – the visit – from the families’, prisoners’ and prison staffs' viewpoints in a category-B local prison in England. Qualitative data was collected with 30 prisoners’ families, 16 prisoners and 14 prison staff, as part of a broader evaluation of the visitors’ centre. The findings suggest that the three parties frame their perspective of visiting very differently. Prisoners’ families often see visits as an emotional minefield fraught with practical difficulties. Prisoners can view the visit as the highlight of their time in prison and often have many complaints about how visits are handled. Finally, prison staff see visits as potential security breaches and a major organisational operation. The paper addresses the current gap in our understanding of the prison visit and has implications for the Prison Service and wider social policy

Local lung responses following endobronchial elastase and lipopolysaccharide instillation in sheep

Chronic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure may contribute to the pathogenesis of a number of lung diseases including COPD and emphysema. We sought to develop a large- animal model of emphysema using repeated LPS administration into sheep lung segments. An experimental protocol was designed to facilitate comparisons with elastase-treated and control segments within the same lung of individual sheep. Histopathologic evaluation of segments treated with LPS demonstrated low-grade inflammation characterized by an increase in the number of intra-alveolar macrophages and lymphocytes. Treated segments demonstrated a significant reduction in airspace surface area (ASA), an increase in percent disrupted alveolar attachments and the distance between normal alveolar attachments, and a reduction in the number of normal alveolar attachments surrounding nonrespiratory bronchioles. Coefficient of variation of individual ASA measurements in elastase-treated segments was indicative of a heterogeneous parenchymal response, in contrast to that associated with chronic LPS treatment. Our results demonstrate that chronic LPS treatment of individual lung segments in sheep induces microscopic emphysema qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with both accepted pathologic definitions of this condition and with that produced by airway instillation of elastolytic enzymes. Development of this phenotype is associated with evidence of downregulated activation of transforming growth factor beta