Procurement model for copper and polymer electrical products

Procurement model for copper and polymer electrical products. Electrical cable structure (wire, insulation, filling and mantle) is in accordance with the technical specifications of individual cable components in terms of the incorporated materials. Materials used in cable manufacture are copper, aluminum, rubber and polyvinyl chloride. One of the key issues in managing the flow of goods pertains to the timing of procurement. The combination of the two concepts can take advantage of individual strengths of fuzzy logic and neural networks in hybrid systems of homogeneous structure. The model has high practical significance, as, with minor modifications, it can be applied in any enterprise responsible for managing the goods flows

Procurement model for copper and polymer electrical products

Procurement model for copper and polymer electrical products. Electrical cable structure (wire, insulation, filling and mantle) is in accordance with the technical specifications of individual cable components in terms of the incorporated materials. Materials used in cable manufacture are copper, aluminum, rubber and polyvinyl chloride. One of the key issues in managing the flow of goods pertains to the timing of procurement. The combination of the two concepts can take advantage of individual strengths of fuzzy logic and neural networks in hybrid systems of homogeneous structure. The model has high practical significance, as, with minor modifications, it can be applied in any enterprise responsible for managing the goods flows

Application of the HDM-4 model on local road network: case study of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The World Bank Highway Development and Management (HDM-4) tool has been used extensively for the management of road networks, particularly in developing countries. The paper describes the application of HDM-4 model for local roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC). The HDM-4 study was performed with the aim to define road works program and investment priorities by analyzing impacts of different budgets on future network condition. The 396 km-long HNC road network consists of 13 roads that are either graveled or paved. A large part of these roads do not have sufficient pavement width. This road network is in relatively poor condition due to its age (the average age is over 30 years) and limited spending on maintenance in the past. Only a small percentage of the network has been reconstructed in recent years. The Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) has a wide range, and varies from 27 to 12735 vpd. The major challenge in the study was to obtain HDM-4 input data with limited resources, since usually this task requires extensive investigations. In addition to inventory data, it is necessary to define the condition of the road network, traffic volume, traffic data, etc. Road geometry data were obtained from previous studies and project documentations. The IRI data were taken from the earlier surveys or estimated where no data were available. Other parameters were obtained by field tests. Traffic data were available from regular network traffic counts. After analyzing the parameters, the network was divided into 65 homogeneous sections, based on the AADT and road condition (IRI and other parameters) classes. HDM-4 program analysis was performed for a period of 30 years. Due to very low traffic loading and relatively large investment needed for improvement, for majority of sections a negative NPV and IRR were obtained for maintenance alternatives other than routine maintenance, and for significant number of sections they were on the verge. Out of 65 homogeneous sections, only 29 sections proved cost-effective (NPV/CAP ratio is positive). The implementation of developed road work programs would result in a substantial improvement of the overall network condition. The IRI of paved road network would change from current value of 4.5 m/km to 4.0 m/km and 3.7 m/km for budget levels of 2.0 and 3.0 mill. BAM after five years. The better road network condition would also result in improved traffic safety, social and economic impacts, since many of these roads are crucial links in the HNC

Multifunctional Cotton Impregnated with Multilayer Chitosan/Lignin Nanocoating and Ag Nanoparticles

he demand for clothes with antimicrobial and UV protective properties is continually growing. In an attempt to develop a simple and efficient treatment for cotton fabrics, layer-by-layer deposition of chitosan and magnesium lignosulfonate followed by in situ synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) was performed. Magnesium lignosulfonate acts as a stabilizing agent and UV blocker while NaBH4 is applied as a reducing agent. The influence of the number of bilayers (4 and 12) and the initial concentration of AgNO3 solution (10 mM and 20 mM) on UV protection factor (UPF) and antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Grampositive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and yeast Candida albicans was studied. The presence of nanocoating on the surface of cotton fabric is confirmed by FTIR and XPS analyses. XPS and FESEM analyses reveal a successful synthesis of Ag NPs on the surface of cotton fibers with an average dimension of 35 nm. A four bilayer coating is sufficient to reach maximum 50+ UV protection. Maximum reduction of all investigated microorganisms is achieved with 12 bilayers and application of 20 mM AgNO3 solution

Comparison between Carotid Artery Wall Thickness Measured by Multidetector Row Computed Tomography Angiography and Intimae-Media Thickness Measured by Sonography

The increased thickness of the carotid wall >1 mm is a significant predictor of coronary and cerebrovascular diseases. The purpose of our study was to assess the agreement between multidetector row computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) in measuring carotid artery wall thickness (CAWT) and color Doppler ultrasound (CD-US) in measuring intimae-media thickness (IMT). Eighty-nine patients (aged 35–81) were prospectively analyzed using a 64-detector MDCTA and a CD-US scanner. Continuous data were described as the mean value ± standard deviation, and were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test. A p value <0.05 was considered significant. Bland–Altman statistics were employed to measure the agreement between MDCTA and CD-US. CAWT ranged from 0.62 to 1.60 mm, with a mean value of 1.09 mm. IMT ranged from 0.60 to 1.55 mm, with a mean value of 1.06 mm. We observed an excellent agreement between CD-US and MDCTA in the evaluation of the common carotid artery thickness, with a bias between methods of 0.029 mm (which is a highly statistically important difference of absolute values [t = 43.289; p < 0.01] obtained by paired T test), and limits of agreement from 0.04 to 0.104. Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.9997 (95% CI 0.9996–0.9998; p < 0.01). We conclude that there is an excellent correlation between CAWT and IMT measurements obtained with the MDCTA and CD-US

Fitting censored quantile regression by variable neighborhood search

Quantile regression is an increasingly important topic in statistical analysis. However, fitting censored quantile regression is hard to solve numerically because the objective function to be minimized is not convex nor concave in regressors. Performance of standard methods is not satisfactory, particularly if a high degree of censoring is present. The usual approach is to simplify (linearize) estimator function, and to show theoretically that such approximation converges to optimal values. In this paper, we suggest a new approach, to solve optimization problem (nonlinear, nonconvex, and nondifferentiable) directly. Our method is based on variable neighborhood search approach, a recent successful technique for solving global optimization problems. The presented results indicate that our method can improve quality of censored quantizing regressors estimator considerably

The Incremental Cooperative Design of Preventive Healthcare Networks

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Soheil Davari, 'The incremental cooperative design of preventive healthcare networks', Annals of Operations Research, first published online 27 June 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 27 June 2018. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-017-2569-1.In the Preventive Healthcare Network Design Problem (PHNDP), one seeks to locate facilities in a way that the uptake of services is maximised given certain constraints such as congestion considerations. We introduce the incremental and cooperative version of the problem, IC-PHNDP for short, in which facilities are added incrementally to the network (one at a time), contributing to the service levels. We first develop a general non-linear model of this problem and then present a method to make it linear. As the problem is of a combinatorial nature, an efficient Variable Neighbourhood Search (VNS) algorithm is proposed to solve it. In order to gain insight into the problem, the computational studies were performed with randomly generated instances of different settings. Results clearly show that VNS performs well in solving IC-PHNDP with errors not more than 1.54%.Peer reviewe

Ownership and control in a competitive industry

We study a differentiated product market in which an investor initially owns a controlling stake in one of two competing firms and may acquire a non-controlling or a controlling stake in a competitor, either directly using her own assets, or indirectly via the controlled firm. While industry profits are maximized within a symmetric two product monopoly, the investor attains this only in exceptional cases. Instead, she sometimes acquires a noncontrolling stake. Or she invests asymmetrically rather than pursuing a full takeover if she acquires a controlling one. Generally, she invests indirectly if she only wants to affect the product market outcome, and directly if acquiring shares is profitable per se. --differentiated products,separation of ownership and control,private benefits of control

Efficient GRASP+VND and GRASP+VNS metaheuristics for the traveling repairman problem

The traveling repairman problem is a customer-centric routing problem, in which the total waiting time of the customers is minimized, rather than the total travel time of a vehicle. To date, research on this problem has focused on exact algorithms and approximation methods. This paper presents the first metaheuristic approach for the traveling repairman problem

A Social Sciences and Humanities research agenda for transport and mobility in Europe: key themes and 100 research questions

Transport and mobility systems need to be transformed to meet climate change goals and reduce negative environmental and social effects. Despite EU policies having targeted such problems for more than three decades, transitions have been slow and geographically uneven. For effective change to happen, transport and mobility research needs fresh perspectives and better integration of knowledge from the Social Sciences and Humanities. Based on a Horizon Scanning approach, which allowed for a great deal of openness and variety in scholarly viewpoints, this paper presents a novel research agenda consisting of 8 themes and 100 research questions that may contribute to achieving environmentally sustainable mobility transitions within Europe. This research agenda highlights the need to not only support technological solutions for low-carbon mobility, but the importance of transformative policies that include new processes of knowledge production, civic participation and epistemic justice. We contend that the agenda points to the need for further research on the dynamics of science-society interactions