Analysis of scheduling in a diagnostic imaging department: A simulation study

In this thesis we present an Agent-Based Modelling Tool (ABMT) for use in the investigation of the impact that operational level changes have on diagnostic imaging scheduling and patient wait times. This tool represents a novel application of agent-based modelling in the outpatient scheduling/simulation fields. The ABMT is a decision support tool with a user friendly graphical user interface that is capable of modelling a wide array of outpatient scheduling scenarios. The tool was verified and validated using data and expertise from Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The ABMT represents a technological advancement in the modelling of multi-server, multi-priority class customer queueing systems with deterministic service times and uneven distribution of server up-time

Design of a micro-power control system for the RSVP Program

A micro-power control system has been developed for the RSVP program. RSVP is an acronym for Removal of Ship\u27s personnel by Virtual Presence Program that involves replacing personnel by data-acquisition modules. Consisting of two ASICs and a re-configurable test board, the control system provides a regulated 3.3-volt supply as well as provides an optional 9-volt supply. It is capable of monitoring three input sources of scavenged power, then converting that power via a Buck converter into a useful regulator supply. In the case when no scavenge-able power is available, an on-board battery provides the regulator supply. In this first generation design, the digital control logic is implemented via a programmable logic device. The logic controls the monitoring of the input sources, operation of the converter, and control of the regulator. An off-chip clock oscillator provides a 32.786 kHz clocking frequency. Unique compared to most Buck converter systems is the control system. A system of comparators and digital logic maintain converter operation via a fixed duty cycle clock

Compliance and Concordance: Prevalence and Predictors of Breastfeeding in Survivors of Childhood Abuse.

Breastfeeding is a complex relational act within the context of women’s lives and histories, which can include childhood maltreatment trauma (CMT) and its sequelae, including PTSD. There is little known about how a history of abuse and/or PTSD affects breastfeeding outcomes. In this study, I consider breastfeeding outcomes using public health and woman-centered outcome measures, and a trauma-informed theoretical approach to history of CMT and PTSD. This was a secondary analysis of 519 women, with data collected three times in the perinatal year, from a larger study conducted from 2006-2008. In addition to comparing breastfeeding rates at 6 weeks postpartum, I developed a woman-centered adjunct outcome measurement of breastfeeding success, called concordance, referring to the degree to which a woman’s intended feeding method matches her actual feeding method. Concordance centers the woman and her optimal approach to feeding her infant. Positive concordance was defined as whether the woman breastfed at least as much as intended. In this study, women with a history of CMT (with and without PTSD) are more likely to intend to breastfeed than those without. Women with a history of CMT who did not have PTSD are more likely to breastfeed their infants than were other women. There were no significant differences in the woman-centered outcome between groups. However, most women did not have concordant outcomes, suggesting there are issues between intent and outcome for most women. Women with a history of both CMT and PTSD are significantly less likely to be breastfeeding their infants at 6 weeks, even though they are equally likely to intend to breastfeed when compared to other women. Women with a history of only CMT and not PTSD are more likely to be breastfeeding their infants, which suggests that PTSD, not abuse itself, is the salient factor. This finding supports the development of trauma-informed breastfeeding education and policies for perinatal care.PhDNursingUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111601/1/eagen_1.pd

Zero Knowledge Proofs of Elliptic Curve Inner Products from Principal Divisors and Weil Reciprocity

Zero Knowledge proofs of Elliptic Curve Inner Products (ECIPs) and elliptic curve operations more generally are an increasingly important part of zero knowledge protocols and a significant bottle neck in recursive proof composition over amicable cycles of elliptic curves. To prove ECIPs more efficiently, I represent a collection of points that sum to zero using a polynomial element of the function field and evaluate this function at a random principal divisor. By Weil reciprocity, this is equal to the function interpolating the random divisor evaluated at the original points. Taking the logarithmic derivative of both expressions allows the prover to use a similar technique to the Bulletproofs++ permutation argument and take linear combinations logarithmic derivatives of divisor witnesses and collect terms for the same basis point by adding the multiplicities. The linear combination can be random or can be structured to cancel intermediate points in computing the sum. Since the multiplicities are field elements, this system can prove ECIP relations in zero knowledge with respect to the linear combination, the curve points, or both. Compared to existing techniques, the witness size is reduced by up to a factor of 10 and the number of multiplications by a factor of about 100 with significantly more flexibility in the organization of the protocol. The specific improvement will depend on the instantiating proof system, number of curve points, and which information is zero knowledge. This technique also works, with small modification, for proving multiexponentiations in the multiplicative group of the field

The Articulation of Cultural Identity through Psalm Motets, Augsburg 1540–1585

In this dissertation, I analyze the social and religious climate in Augsburg from 1540–1585 through the lens of psalm motets. The period between the initial shockwave of the Reformation and the sociocultural upheavals that ultimately produced the Thirty Years War may be characterized as one of intense negotiations regarding religious freedoms. The environment encouraged and even necessitated the development of materials oriented toward specific confessional groups. At the same time, residents of biconfessional cities such as Augsburg needed to find subtle or nonconfrontative ways to express their views. Despite both nascent and deep-seated differences, Catholics and Protestants of diverse sects all used the Psalter. This study interprets selections and centonizations of musically set psalm texts as indicators of multireligious communal identities. Source materials consulted for this project include over one hundred prints and manuscripts of motets held at the Augsburg State and City Library and at the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The makeup of this repertory is defined by Augsburg’s close connection to the Habsburg dynasty: composers represented in these volumes were active almost exclusively within the bounds of the Holy Roman Empire, and many composed for imperial courts. Preliminary findings showed that certain psalm texts were set with far greater frequency than others across a variety of contexts (liturgical and nonliturgical books; Latin, German, and polylingual sources; etc.). I argue that settings of the most frequently-used psalms speak to shared experiences. Central themes of these texts include exile and ostracization; personal suffering that results from earthly injustice; and the explanation and elucidation of religious doctrine. All of these relate to the struggle of living in a biconfessional city at a time of significant political and religious change. I hold that a majority of psalm motets in sources produced or acquired for use in mid-sixteenth-century Augsburg present materials that cut across confessional lines. The psalms that come into prominence through this music do not offer fully-formed religious instruction, like sermons given in a confessionally-stable landscape, but instead highlight topics for contemplation and reflection. Moreover, the conversations opened by these works are relevant to individuals of diverse beliefs, with some apparently resisting confessional demarcation.Doctor of Philosoph

In situ testing of a satellite or other object prior to development

A method and system for testing a test object, such as a satellite, is disclosed. High energy acoustic testing is performed on the object by assembling an acoustical system about the test object rather than transporting the test object to a specially configured acoustic chamber. The acoustic system of the present invention preferably provides and directs acoustic energy directly to the surfaces of the test object rather than providing the test object in a high energy acoustic environment where a substantial amount of the acoustic energy is randomly directed within a chamber having the test object. Additionally, the present invention further provides for mechanical vibration tests concurrently or serially with acoustic testing, wherein the object is not required to be transported