Unit-of-Use Versus Traditional Bulk Packaging

Background: The choice between unit-of-use versus traditional bulk packaging in the US has long been a continuous debate for drug manufacturers and pharmacies in order to have the most efficient and safest practices. Understanding the benefits of using unit-of-use packaging over bulk packaging by US drug manufacturers in terms of workflow efficiency, economical costs and medication safety in the pharmacy is sometimes challenging.Methods: A time-saving study comparing the time saved using unit-of-use packaging versus bulk packaging, was examined. Prices between unit-of-use versus bulk packages were compared by using the Red Book: Pharmacy’s Fundamental Reference. Other articles were reviewed on the topics of counterfeiting, safe labeling, and implementation of unit-of-use packaging. Lastly, a cost-saving study was reviewed showing how medication adherence, due to improved packaging, could be cost-effective for patients.Results: When examining time, costs, medication adherence, and counterfeiting arguments, unit-of-use packaging proved to be beneficial for patients in all these terms

Evaluating a holistic energy benchmarking parameter of lift systems by using computer simulation

At present, there are benchmarking parameters to assess the energy performance of lifts, e.g. one in Germany adopted by VDI (4707-1/2), one internationally published by ISO (BS EN ISO 25745-2:2015), and the other in Hong Kong adopted by The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. These parameters are mainly checking the energy consumed by a lift drive without considering real time passenger demands and traffic conditions; the one in Hong Kong pinpointing a fully loaded up-journey under rated speed and the two in Europe pinpointing a round trip, bottom floor to top floor and return with an empty car, though including energy consumed by lighting, displays, ventilation etc. A holistic normalization method by Lam et al [1] was developed a number of years ago by one of the co-authors of this article, which can assess both drive efficiency and traffic control, termed J/kg-m, which is now adopted by the HKSAR Government as a good practice, but not specified in the mandatory code. In Europe, the energy unit of Wh has been used but here, Joule (J), i.e. Ws, is adopted to discriminate the difference between the two concepts. In this article, this parameter is evaluated under different lift traffic scenarios using computer simulation techniques, with an aim of arriving at a reasonable figure for benchmarking an energy efficient lift system with both an efficient drive as well as an efficient supervisory traffic control

Computer Simulation Aided Study of a Real-time Energy Benchmarking Parameter for Lift Systems under different Traffic Control Schemes

At present, there are benchmarking procedures to assess the energy performance of lifts, e.g. VDI (4707-1/2) adopted in Germany as a pioneer, then replaced by ISO (BS EN ISO 25745-1:2012 and 25745-2:2015) in Europe, and the other in Hong Kong adopted by The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. The Hong Kong procedure focuses on the design performance of lift drives. The ISO standard further estimates the annual energy. To facilitate real time monitoring of energy performance of lift systems, a holistic normalization method (So et al 2005, Lam et al 2006) was developed more than ten years ago, which can simultaneously assess both drive efficiency and traffic control performance on a real-time basis, termed which is the name of the parameter measured in unit, J/kgm, and is now adopted by the HKSAR Government as a good practice in the Technical Guidelines of the Energy Code, but not yet enforced in the mandatory code. Values, not just the procedures, for benchmarking are demanded. In this article, such a parameter is evaluated under different drives and lift traffic control scenarios by using computer simulations, with the aim of arriving at a reasonable figure for benchmarking an energy efficient lift system with both an efficient drive as well as an efficient supervisory traffic control. This parameter could also be used to compare the performance of different types of intelligent car dispatchers. The simulation suggested a value of 50 J/kgm as acceptable while 40 J/kgm as good

A Mathematical Method to Assess the Yin-Yang Balance of Commercial Complexes’ Entrances

Shopping malls are important landmarks of modern and sustainable cities as they are substantial business and investment by themselves, and as they also facilitate the social activities of communities. Entrances to shopping malls provide a first impression to customers, thus affecting the business performance of the malls. This paper presents a method to assess the entrances of modern shopping malls by applying traditionally qualitative Feng shui practices quantitatively with an innovative mathematical model. The assessment is based on the manipulation of the yin-and-yang concept applied to the layout of Ming tang (bright court) as the focus of consideration. By applying this novel approach to three shopping malls in Guangzhou, China as a pilot study to match their commercial performance, our hypothesis appears workable. The ideology of balancing yin and yang may be practically meaningful to urban planning and the successful measurement of such balance could shed light on future studies

Parental depression and child well-being: Young children's self-reports helped addressing biases in parent reports

Objectives Effects of maternal and paternal depression on child development are typically evaluated using parental reports of child problems. Yet, parental reports may be biased. Methods In a population-based cohort, parents reported lifetime depression (N = 3,178) and depressive symptoms (N = 3,131). Child emotional and behavioral problems were assessed at age 6 years by child self-report using the Berkeley Puppet Interview, by mother report using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and at age 3 years by father and mother reported CBCLs. Results Both maternal and paternal depression was associated with more child problems. Associations were of similar strength if child problems were obtained by self-reports. However, if parents reported about their own depression or depressive symptoms and about their child's problems, estimates were generally stronger for associations with the reporting parent's depression as the determinant. For instance, if mothers reported child emotional problems, associations were stronger for maternal (B = 0.27; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.19, 0.35) than for paternal lifetime depression (B = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.02, 0.21; P-value for difference = 0.02). Conclusion Depression of mothers and fathers affects young children's well-being. However, if parents reported about their own depression and about child problems, associations were inflated. To accurately estimate effects of parental depression, multiple-source data including young children's perspectives must be considered

Thermally driven spin injection from a ferromagnet into a non-magnetic metal

Creating, manipulating and detecting spin polarized carriers are the key elements of spin based electronics. Most practical devices use a perpendicular geometry in which the spin currents, describing the transport of spin angular momentum, are accompanied by charge currents. In recent years, new sources of pure spin currents, i.e., without charge currents, have been demonstrated and applied. In this paper, we demonstrate a conceptually new source of pure spin current driven by the flow of heat across a ferromagnetic/non-magnetic metal (FM/NM) interface. This spin current is generated because the Seebeck coefficient, which describes the generation of a voltage as a result of a temperature gradient, is spin dependent in a ferromagnet. For a detailed study of this new source of spins, it is measured in a non-local lateral geometry. We developed a 3D model that describes the heat, charge and spin transport in this geometry which allows us to quantify this process. We obtain a spin Seebeck coefficient for Permalloy of -3.8 microvolt/Kelvin demonstrating that thermally driven spin injection is a feasible alternative for electrical spin injection in, for example, spin transfer torque experiments

Investigating the topology of interacting networks - Theory and application to coupled climate subnetworks

Network theory provides various tools for investigating the structural or functional topology of many complex systems found in nature, technology and society. Nevertheless, it has recently been realised that a considerable number of systems of interest should be treated, more appropriately, as interacting networks or networks of networks. Here we introduce a novel graph-theoretical framework for studying the interaction structure between subnetworks embedded within a complex network of networks. This framework allows us to quantify the structural role of single vertices or whole subnetworks with respect to the interaction of a pair of subnetworks on local, mesoscopic and global topological scales. Climate networks have recently been shown to be a powerful tool for the analysis of climatological data. Applying the general framework for studying interacting networks, we introduce coupled climate subnetworks to represent and investigate the topology of statistical relationships between the fields of distinct climatological variables. Using coupled climate subnetworks to investigate the terrestrial atmosphere's three-dimensional geopotential height field uncovers known as well as interesting novel features of the atmosphere's vertical stratification and general circulation. Specifically, the new measure "cross-betweenness" identifies regions which are particularly important for mediating vertical wind field interactions. The promising results obtained by following the coupled climate subnetwork approach present a first step towards an improved understanding of the Earth system and its complex interacting components from a network perspective