Solve scheduling problems with a fuzzy approach

Scheduling is a complex problem which occurs often in a manufacturing environment. Most of the available schedulers are based on a simulation approach using dispatching rules. These rules are often dedicated to the satisfaction of a single performance criterion, and are used whatever the characteristics of the system or the type of jobs, though scheduling is a multi-criteria problem. In this paper the scheduling problems are addressed using a non-classical approach supported by fuzzy control theory. The ability to deal with multi-variables makes fuzzy control a good alternative for the scheduling problems because it can easily make compromises among multi-criteria by properly combining elementary dispatching rules. These compromises can easily be adjusted in accordance with the objectives of the system and the characteristics of the jobs. The proposed method has been implemented and tested in a discrete event simulation environment. The results are presented in this pape

Dislocation of the Elbow: A Retrospective Multicentre Study of 86 Patients

The objective of this retrospective multicentre cohort study was to prospectively assess the long-term functional outcomes of simple and complex elbow dislocations.We analysed the hospital and outpatient records of 86 patients between 01.03.1999 and 25.02.2009 with an elbow dislocation. After a mean follow-up of 3.3 years, all patients were re-examined at the outpatient clinic for measurement of different outcomes.The mean range of motion was ROM 135.5 degrees . The Mayo elbow performance index (MEPI) scored an average of 91.9 (87.5% of the patients were rated excellent or good). The average Quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Quick- DASH) score was 9.7, the sports/music score 11.5 and work score 6.1. The Oxford function score was 75.7, Oxford pain score 75.2 and Oxford social-psychological score 73.9.Elbow dislocation is a mild disease and generally, the outcome is excellent. Functional results might improve with early active movements

Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes

In many species, the offspring of related parents suffer reduced reproductive success, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. In humans, the importance of this effect has remained unclear, partly because reproduction between close relatives is both rare and frequently associated with confounding social factors. Here, using genomic inbreeding coefficients (F-ROH) for >1.4 million individuals, we show that F-ROH is significantly associated (p <0.0005) with apparently deleterious changes in 32 out of 100 traits analysed. These changes are associated with runs of homozygosity (ROH), but not with common variant homozygosity, suggesting that genetic variants associated with inbreeding depression are predominantly rare. The effect on fertility is striking: F-ROH equivalent to the offspring of first cousins is associated with a 55% decrease [95% CI 44-66%] in the odds of having children. Finally, the effects of F-ROH are confirmed within full-sibling pairs, where the variation in F-ROH is independent of all environmental confounding.Peer reviewe

Measurement of Z0 decays to hadrons, and a precise determination of the number of neutrino species

We have made a precise measurement of the cross section for e+e---&gt;Z0--&gt;hadrons with the L3 detector at LEP, covering the range from 88.28 to 95.04 GeV. From a fit to the Z0 mass, total width, and the hadronic cross section to be MZ0=91.160 +/- 0.024 (experiment) +/-0.030(LEP) GeV, [Gamma]Z0=2.539+/-0.054 GeV, and [sigma]h(MZ0)=29.5+/-0.7 nb. We also used the fit to the Z0 peak cross section and the width todetermine [Gamma]invisible=0.548+/-0.029 GeV, which corresponds to 3.29+/-0.17 species of light neutrinos. The possibility of four or more neutrino flavors is thus ruled out at the 4[sigma] confidence level.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28683/3/0000500.pd

The trans-ancestral genomic architecture of glycemic traits

Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here we aggregated genome-wide association studies comprising up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) for whom fasting glucose, 2-h glucose after an oral glucose challenge, glycated hemoglobin and fasting insulin data were available. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P < 5 x 10(-8)), 80% of which had no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to individuals of European ancestry with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared with single-ancestry analyses, equivalent-sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic-feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by using trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution.A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

A measurement of the Z0 leptonic partial widths and the vector and axial vector coupling constants

We have measured the partial widths of the Z0 into lepton pairs, and the forward-backward charge asymmetry for the process e+e---&gt;[mu]+[mu]- using the L3 detector at LEP. We obtain an average [Gamma]ll of 83.0+/-2.1+/-1.1 MeV.From this result and the asymmetry measurement, we extract the values of the vector and axial vector couplings of the Z0 to leptons: grmv=-0.066-0.027+0.046 and grmA= -0.495-0.007+0.007.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28666/3/0000483.pd