Six Sigma based Risk Identification and Mitigation Framework for Projects Execution

Six Sigma being a project management methodology is used in the industries and corporate sectors to substantiate goal of near perfection in process implementation and execution. It is based on the impetus of Plan-Do-Check-Act and has myriads of applications in numerous organizational and business processes to attain significant performance improvement in different industrial and corporate sectors including the IT sector. Despite realization of profuse maturity in many business processes, Six Sigma still lacks across-theboard framework for effective risk management because root cause analysis (RCA) is still the primary and principal technique used for handling risks in this methodology. In this paper, we have attempted to put forward a risk identification framework in order to improve quality and productivity of Six Sigma projects, particularly the IT development projects. The study also encompasses an abridged overview of the current methods being practiced for risk identification in Six Sigma. Our proposed model enlist a number of hypotheses for validation purposes and is duly evaluated and analyzed viz-à-viz DMAIC and DMADV approaches to make it compatible with QFD, FMEA and PMBOK requirements

An Insight into Risk Identification, Quality and Productivity Enhancement using Six Sigma

Six Sigma, with a myriad of its applications in numerous organizational and business processes, offers a project management methodology that supports achieving a goal of near perfection in process performance. Six Sigma is based on the impetus of Plan-Do-Check-Act can help industries, businesses and organizations to achieve significant performance improvement as most of the Fortune 500 companies have adopted Six Sigma (DeFeo & William, 2004). Six Sigma initiatives primarily entail DMAIC and DMADV methods for attaining a high standard of quality. In this paper we provide a critical analysis of the various Six Sigma applications, techniques and tools that can be used for improving quality and productivity of the organizations. The study also provides an insight into the methods used for risk identification in Six Sigma. The proposed techniques are evaluated and analyzed viz-a-viz DMAIC and DMADV approaches. The objective of this research is to summarize the existing level of research in the field of Six Sigma and highlighting the need for intensive academic research in this area. The study comparatively analyzes Six Sigma with Lean, QFD, PSP/TSP, FMEA, TPRM, AHP/ISS and PMBOK requirements. The study also highlights the prospective areas of future/further research in this discipline. The critical analysis of various techniques studied as part of this research reveals that Six Sigma is primarily beneficial for process improvement, risk identification and management etc. The critical analysis of this study is reported herein

Parallel Sampling-Pipeline for Indefinite Stream of Heterogeneous Graphs using OpenCL for FPGAs

In the field of data science, a huge amount of data, generally represented as graphs, needs to be processed and analyzed. It is of utmost importance that this data be processed swiftly and efficiently to save time and energy. The volume and velocity of data, along with irregular access patterns in graph data structures, pose challenges in terms of analysis and processing. Further, a big chunk of time and energy is spent on analyzing these graphs on large compute clusters and/or data-centers. Filtering and refining of data using graph sampling techniques are one of the most effective ways to speed up the analysis. Efficient accelerators, such as FPGAs, have proven to significantly lower the energy cost of running an algorithm. To this end, we present the design and implementation of a parallel graph sampling technique, for a large number of input graphs streaming into a FPGA. A parallel approach using OpenCL for FPGAs was adopted to come up with a solution that is both time- and energyefficient. We introduce a novel graph data structure, suitable for streaming graphs on FPGAs, that allows time- and memory-efficient representation of graphs. Our experiments show that our proposed technique is 3x faster and 2x more energy efficient as compared to serial CPU version of the algorithm

Low grade mullerian adenosarcoma of pouch of douglas recurring as bilateral ovarian high grade mullerian adenosarcoma with rhabdomyosarcomatous overgrowth after 11 years

Mullerian adenosarcoma (MA) of ovary with sarcomatous (rhabdomyoblastic) overgrowth is an extremely rare malignant type of female genital tract neoplasm. These tumours are highly aggressive and presence of heterologous elements is associated with worse prognosis. A 44 year old female presented with lower abdominal pain and distension. She had history of removal of tumour from pouch of Douglas in 2006 for which she did not receive any additional treatment nor did she keep continuous follow up. Current preoperative radiological examination revealed bilateral ovarian masses. She underwent abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy. Microscopic examination revealed biphasic tumours exhibiting sarcomatous overgrowth with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. Review of the previous biopsy revealed low grade Mullerian adenosarcoma without sarcomatous overgrowth. Hence the current tumour was considered recurrent. This report highlights the aggressive nature of MA even with low grade morphological features and emphasizes the importance of continuous follow up and additional treatmen

A Novel Color Image Encryption Scheme Based on Arnold’s Cat Map and 16-Byte S-box

The presented work sets out to subsidize to the general body of knowledge in the field of cryptography application by evolving color image encryption and decryption scheme based on the amalgamation of pixel shuffling and efficient substitution. Arnold’s cat map is applied to snap off the correlation in pixels of image and the shuffled image is encrypted by 16-byte S-box substitution. Computer simulations with a standard test image and the outcome is presented to scrutinize the competence of the projected system. Several image-quality measures and security analyses have been made out for the encrypted image to estimate the statistical and differential strength of the scheme. A comparison is presented by following out the scheme with 256-byte S-box and 16-nibble S-box to support for sturdiness of the idea. It is concluded from the results of analyses that the proposed scheme with 16-byte S-box can resist exhaustive attacks and is apt for practical applications

Acute Extradural Hematoma in Pediatric Age Group: Factors Affecting The Outcome

Objective:  To identify the factors affecting the outcome of acute extradural haematoma in pediatric age group. Subjects and Methods:  This was a descriptive study carried out at the Department of neurosurgery, PGMI Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar from January 2007 to December 2007 on 50 consecutive patients of acute extradural hematoma operated and post-operative outcome including good recovery, moderate disability, severe disability, persistent vegetative state, and death recorded. Results:  Out of 50 cases, 80% were males and 20% females. Majority (48%) cases were in the age range of 6-10 years, 36% in age group of 11-15 years, 16% in the age range of 1-5 years. In 60% patients fall, in 26% road traffic accident (RTA) and in 14% physical assault was the mode of injury. Interval between injury and surgery of > 8 hours recorded in 78% cases, 4-8 hours in 20% patients, < 4 hour in 2% cases. On CT scan, parietal site was commonest in 40% cases, frontal site in 26% cases. In 80% cases craniotomy and in 20% cases craniectomy performed. Post-operative outcome, good recovery noted in 80% cases, moderate disability in 10% cases, death in 6% cases, and severe disability recorded in 4% cases. Conclusion:  Extradural hematoma is a common manifestation of head injury, affecting male children age range of 6-10 years and early surgical intervention is life saving

Human Factors Quality Control in Air Traffic

Every living person, from infants to older people, gets affected by internal and external factors. There are numerous researches and writings related to humans and these various factors. Human factors are recognized since the start of the human race. The awareness of the impacts of our environment is not new to humans. The focus in this chapter is upon those factors which can create an impact on aircraft mechanisms and air traffic controllers. These factors include human, psychological, work conditions, training, health conditions, environment, societal, and training. These factors must be quality controlled to minimize the errors in the critical domain of air traffic. A reduction in the number of errors will allow the performance to be higher and lowers the chances of fatal accidents

A study on tuberculosis in buffaloes: some epidemiological aspects, along with haematological and serum protein changes

The study was conducted to ascertain the epidemiology, together with effects of bovine tuberculosis, on certain haematological parameters and serum proteins at two Livestock Experiment Stations in Pakistan. The results on prevalence of tuberculosis in buffaloes on the basis of comparative intradermal tuberculin test revealed it to be from as high as 8.48% (14/165) to as low as 2.45% (4/163) on the basis of positive reaction to bovine PPD. However, a doubtful reaction was observed in 8.58% (14/163) of buffaloes at farm 2 with low prevalence. It was also observed that the reaction to bovine or avian PPD was much stronger in buffaloes compared with indigenous cattle. The result on certain epidemiological factors studies revealed higher positive reactors of greater than 6 years of age and the majority were between 6-8 years old (P = 0.03). Results also revealed that a significantly higher number of animals had a body mass of less than 550 kg (P = 0.005), had less than three parturitions (P = 0.001) and milk production of 5-7 litres. The number of animals present at the farm, number of species, the nearby village, etc., played a significant role in the prevalence of the disease, rather than the condition of the farm. The results on haematological studies revealed a considerable decrease in RBC, while the decrease in ESR in a significantly (P = 0.05) greater number of buffaloes showed a positive or doubtful reaction to mammalian PPD. Total leukocyte count and lymphocyte percentages were higher in a considerably greater number of buffaloes. However, while changes in monocyte and eosinophil count were less significant, combined monocyte count in both positive and doubtful reactors was higher in a considerable number of buffaloes. While the results on serum proteins revealed an increase in serum total proteins and globulins in a significantly greater number of buffaloes, they had a positive reaction to mammalian PPD. A significant, positive relationship of serum total proteins with globulins in positive (r = 0.918; P = 0.0001) and doubtful reactors (r = 0.691; P = 0.0015)

Breast imaging chameleon: Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia presenting as breast malignancy

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) is a benign mesenchymal proliferative lesion of the breast, often an incidental finding on breast biopsy specimens and rarely presents as a palpable lump. The case being reported is interesting as a lactating female presented with gross left breast enlargement due to a huge firm mass with skin thickening and palpable left axillary lymph nodes. A provisional diagnosis of left breast malignancy was made and the patient extensively worked up with ultrasound, CT scan, bone scan and core biopsy. The histopathology, however, revealed PASH of the breast. There was no invasive or in situ malignancy. The patient was successfully managed conservatively

Pleural effusion as a manifestation of multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a clonal B-cell malignancy, characterised by proliferation of plasma cells and secretion of paraproteins. These plasma cells accumulate predominantly in the bone marrow; rarely, they invade other areas, especially the thorax. Myeloma presenting with a pleural effusion is rare and reported in only 6% of patients with myeloma. Such patients generally present late and have a poor prognosis. Here, we describe a patient presenting with a lung mass, renal failure and a massive unilateral pleural effusion due to multiple myeloma who was treated successfully