Stochastic Programming and Distributionally Robust Optimization Approaches for Location and Inventory Prepositioning of Disaster Relief Supplies

In this paper, we study the problem of disaster relief inventory prepositioning under uncertainty. Specifically, we aim to determine where to open warehouses and how much relief item inventory to preposition in each, pre-disaster. During the post-disaster phase, prepositioned items are distributed to demand nodes, and additional items are procured and distributed as needed. There is uncertainty in the (1) disaster level, (2) locations of affected areas, (3) demand of relief items, (4) usable fraction of prepositioned items post-disaster, (5) procurement quantity, and (6) arc capacity. We propose and analyze two-stage stochastic programming (SP) and distributionally robust optimization (DRO) models, assuming known and unknown uncertainty distributions, respectively. The first and second stages correspond to pre- and post-disaster phases, respectively. We propose a Monte Carlo Optimization procedure to solve the SP and a decomposition algorithm to solve the DRO model. To illustrate potential applications of our approaches, we conduct extensive experiments using a hurricane season and an earthquake as case studies. Our results demonstrate the (1) the robustness and superior post-disaster operational performance of the DRO decisions under various distributions compared to SP decisions, especially under misspecified distributions and high variability, (2) the trade-off between considering distributional ambiguity and following distributional belief, and (3) computational efficiency of our approaches

The effect of temperature on the elastic precursor decay in shock loaded FCC aluminium and BCC iron

EPSRC under Established Career Fellowship grant EP/N025954/1. Trinity College Cambridge Institute of Shock Physics Research Board and the Faculty of Engineering Dean’s office at the American University of Beiru

A preliminary assessment of the effects of ATI-2042 in subjects with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using implanted pacemaker methodology

Aims ATI-2042 (budiodarone) is a chemical analogue of amiodarone with a half life of 7 h. It is electrophysiologically similar to amiodarone, but may not have metabolic and interaction side effects. The sophisticated electrocardiograph logs of advanced DDDRP pacemakers were used to monitor the efficacy of ATI-2042. The aim of this study was to determine the preliminary efficacy and safety of ATI-2042 in patients with paroxsymal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and pacemakers. Methods and results Six women with AF burden (AFB) between 1 and 50% underwent six sequential 2-week study periods. Patients received 200 mg bid of ATI-2042 during Period 2 (p2), 400 mg bid during p3, 600 mg bid during p4, 800 mg bid during p5, and no drug during baseline and washout (p1 and p6). Pacemaker data for the primary outcome measure AFB were downloaded during each period. Mean AFB decreased between baseline and all doses: AFB at baseline (SD) was 20.3 ± 14.6% and mean AFB at 200 mg bid was 5.2 ± 4.2%, at 400 mg bid 5.2 ± 5.2%, at 600 mg bid 2.8 ± 3.4%, and at 800 mg bid 1.5 ± 0.5%. The mean reductions in AFB at all doses of ATI-2042 were statistically significant (P < 0.005). Atrial fibrillation burden increased in washout. Atrial fibrillation episodes tended to increase with ATI-2042, but this was offset by substantial decreases in episode duration. ATI-2042 was generally well tolerated. Conclusion ATI-2042 effectively reduced AFB over all doses studied by reducing mean episode duration. A large-scale study will be required to confirm this effect

Rethinking justice beyond human rights. Anti-colonialism and intersectionality in the politics of the Palestinian Youth Movement

This article discusses the politics of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) – a contemporary social movement operating across a number of Arab and western countries. Unlike analysis on the Arab Uprisings which focused on the national dimension of youth activism, we explore how the PYM politics fosters and upholds an explicitly transnational anti-colonial and intersectional solidarity framework, which foregrounds a radical critique of conventional notions of self-determination based on state-framed human rights discourses and international law paradigms. The struggle becomes instead framed as an issue of justice, freedom and liberation from interlocking forms and hierarchies of oppression. KEYWORDS: Palestine, transnational social movements, intersectionality, human rights, anti-colonialis

Establishing glycaemic control with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: experience of the PedPump Study in 17 countries

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: To assess the use of paediatric continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSII) under real-life conditions by analysing data recorded for up to 90 days and relating them to outcome. METHODS: Pump programming data from patients aged 0-18 years treated with CSII in 30 centres from 16 European countries and Israel were recorded during routine clinical visits. HbA(1c) was measured centrally. RESULTS: A total of 1,041 patients (age: 11.8 +/- 4.2 years; diabetes duration: 6.0 +/- 3.6 years; average CSII duration: 2.0 +/- 1.3 years; HbA(1c): 8.0 +/- 1.3% [means +/- SD]) participated. Glycaemic control was better in preschool (n = 142; 7.5 +/- 0.9%) and pre-adolescent (6-11 years, n = 321; 7.7 +/- 1.0%) children than in adolescent patients (12-18 years, n = 578; 8.3 +/- 1.4%). There was a significant negative correlation between HbA(1c) and daily bolus number, but not between HbA(1c) and total daily insulin dose. The use of 7.5%. The incidence of severe hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis was 6.63 and 6.26 events per 100 patient-years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This large paediatric survey of CSII shows that glycaemic targets can be frequently achieved, particularly in young children, and the incidence of acute complications is low. Adequate substitution of basal and prandial insulin is associated with a better HbA(1c)

RAGE and Modulation of Ischemic Injury in the Diabetic Myocardium

OBJECTIVE—Subjects with diabetes experience an increased risk of myocardial infarction and cardiac failure compared with nondiabetic age-matched individuals. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is upregulated in diabetic tissues. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that RAGE affected ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in the diabetic myocardium. In diabetic rat hearts, expression of RAGE and its ligands was enhanced and localized particularly to both endothelial cells and mononuclear phagocytes

Towards a modular language curriculum for using tasks

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) and task-supported language teaching (TSLT) are often seen as incompatible as they draw on different theories of language learning and language teaching. The position adopted in this article, however, is that both approaches are needed especially in instructional contexts where ‘pure’ task-based teaching may be problematic for various reasons. The article makes a case for a modular curriculum consisting of separate (i.e. non-integrated) task-based and structure-based components. Different curriculum models are considered in the light of what is known about how a second language is learned. The model that is proposed assumes the importance of developing fluency first. It consists of a primary task-based module implemented with focus-on-form (Long, 1991) and, once a basic fluency has been achieved, supported by a secondary structural module to provide for explicit accuracy-oriented work to counteract learned selective attention (N. Ellis, 2006): one of the main sources of persistent error. The article also addresses the content and grading of the task-based and structural modules. It considers the factors that need to be considered in the vertical and horizontal grading of tasks but also points out that, for the time being, syllabus designers will have to draw on their experience and intuition as much as on research to make decisions about how to sequence tasks. An argument is presented for treating the structural component as a checklist rather than as a syllabus so as to allow teachers to address selectively those features that are found to be problematic for their students when they perform tasks

Evaluating the SERCA2 and VEGF mRNAs as Potential Molecular Biomarkers of the Onset and Progression in Huntington's Disease

Abnormalities of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and signalling as well as the down-regulation of neurotrophic factors in several areas of the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues are hallmarks of Huntington\u2019s disease (HD). As there is no therapy for this hereditary, neurodegenerative fatal disease, further effort should be made to slow the progression of neurodegeneration in patients through the definition of early therapeutic interventions. For this purpose, molecular biomarker(s) for monitoring disease onset and/or progression and response to treatment need to be identified. In the attempt to contribute to the research of peripheral candidate biomarkers in HD, we adopted a multiplex real-time PCR approach to analyse the mRNA level of targeted genes involved in the control of cellular calcium homeostasis and in neuroprotection. For this purpose we recruited a total of 110 subjects possessing the HD mutation at different clinical stages of the disease and 54 sex- and agematched controls. This study provides evidence of reduced transcript levels of sarco-endoplasmic reticulum-associated ATP2A2 calcium pump (SERCA2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of manifest and premanifest HD subjects. Our results provide a potentially new candidate molecular biomarker for monitoring the progression of this disease and contribute to understanding some early events that might have a role in triggering cellular dysfunctions in HD