Optimization of ATM filling-in with cash

This report presents an approach for modeling daily cash demand for all ATMs in the Credit Agricole Bank network in Serbia. The approach is based on time series and regression methods for forecasting an optimal amount of money that should be placed daily in the ATMs in order to meet customers’ demands and mimimize costs of the bank. Three different types of costs were considered: cash freezing costs, transportation costs and insurance costs. The performance of the resulting forecasts were compared with results of the application that bank uses for prediciton of the time and the amount of filling-in for each ATM based on historical data

Optimizing Bus Routes in Nicosia

In this report the conclusions by the team of experts that took the ”Trans- portation Organization of the Nicosia District (OSEL)” challenge are provided. The challenge was to identify ways to improve efficiency of the bus network and increase the utilization of the network by the public. A thorough analysis of the various factors that affect bus route planning is provided. Moreover, a demonstration of a simplified route planning problem is described in order to motivate further work on this topic. Recommendations are provided to the company on the way to move forward towards solving the problem of creating a bus network with increased efficiency and grater appeal to the public. Specific recommendations include the collection of a larger amounts of data that can be used to generate models used in simulation analysis. Data include demographic data on bus usage and bus usage preferences by the public. In addition, data is required on bus travel times, walking distance to the nearest bus stop by the commuter, and traffic data

Proteomics to improve phenotyping in obese patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

AIMS: Recent evidence points towards a distinct obese phenotype among patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We aimed to identify differentially expressed circulating biomarkers in obese HFpEF patients and link them to disease severity and outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: From the LIFE-Heart study, 999 patients with HFpEF and 999 patients without heart failure (no-HF) were selected and 92 circulating serum biomarkers were measured using a proximity extension assay. Elevation of identified biomarkers was validated in 220 patients from the Aldo-DHF trial with diagnosed HFpEF. HFpEF patients were older and had more comorbidities including coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes as compared to no-HF patients (p<0.05 for all). After adjusting for covariates, Adrenomedullin (ADM), Galectin-9 (Gal-9), Thrombospondin-2 (THBS-2), CD4, and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) were significantly higher in obese HFpEF (BMI≥30 kg/m2 , n=464) patients as compared to lean HFpEF (BMI<30 kg/m2 , n=535) and obese no-HF patients (BMI≥30 kg/m2 , n=387) (p<0.001 for both), those findings were verified in the Aldo-DHF validation cohort (p<0.001). Except for CD4 these proteins were associated with increased estimates of left atrial pressure in a linear fashion. Importantly, ADM, TRAIL-R2 and CD4 were associated with increased mortality in obese HFpEF patients after adjusting for covariates. CONCLUSION: Obese HFpEF patients exhibit higher circulating biomarkers of volume expansion (ADM), myocardial fibrosis (THBS-2) and systemic inflammation (Gal-9, CD4) compared to obese non-HFpEF or lean HFpEF. These findings support the clinical definition of a distinct obese HFpEF phenotype and might merit further investigation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Comparing the effects of thermal and non-thermal technologies on pomegranate juice quality: A review

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