BUSINESS TO BUSINESS ANOTHER BLOOD BATH?

HE world-wide recession has entered into its third year. Though the worldwide phenomena was that the Clearly, companies and consumers are discovering that global networking and other technological innovations are powerful assets if used as competitive weapons in their day-to-day activities. These activities also permeate organisations where increased demands of the efficient collection, dissemination, and processing of information are evident because of various economic factors -global competition and other market forces -and consumer demands for high service and improved quality. These demands are forcing companies to integrate previously isolated "islands of automation" into coherent weapons

A foreign body in the urinary bladder leads to bladder stone and vesicorectal fistula: A case report

The case in this study was presented, the features in the diagnosis and treatment of rare complications such as bladder stone and vesicorectal fistula caused by the injection needle, which is a foreign body in the bladder. A 1-year-old male child came to our outpatient department with chief complaints of straining during micturition, dribbling of urine and history of high-grade fever, chills & rigor. A kidney, ureter, and bladder (KUB) X-ray revealed an approximately 1.5 cm bladder stone with radiopaque linear foreign body. On diagnostic cystoscopy anterior, posterior urethra was normal, fecal debris, stone and a needle was seen coming out through posterior wall of bladder. Open anterior cystolithotomy was done to remove 1.5-cm stone and a foreign body described as injection needle 24 gauge surrounded with fecal debris coming out through posterior wall was also removed. Fistulous tract was present and probed with 5 Fr feeding tube. A diversion colostomy was done. Patient discharged with colostomy and in follow up after 1 month micturating cystourethrogram (MCU) and distal loopogram of colon were normal; no fistulous communication present. Colostomy was closed after 3 months. There has been many cases reported in literature about insertion of different foreign bodies in bladder but foreign body ( injection needle) leading to bladder stone and vesicorectal fistula  is first of its kind as far as our knowledge is concerned

QMCPACK: Advances in the development, efficiency, and application of auxiliary field and real-space variational and diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo

We review recent advances in the capabilities of the open source ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) package QMCPACK and the workflow tool Nexus used for greater efficiency and reproducibility. The auxiliary field QMC (AFQMC) implementation has been greatly expanded to include k-point symmetries, tensor-hypercontraction, and accelerated graphical processing unit (GPU) support. These scaling and memory reductions greatly increase the number of orbitals that can practically be included in AFQMC calculations, increasing accuracy. Advances in real space methods include techniques for accurate computation of band gaps and for systematically improving the nodal surface of ground state wavefunctions. Results of these calculations can be used to validate application of more approximate electronic structure methods including GW and density functional based techniques. To provide an improved foundation for these calculations we utilize a new set of correlation-consistent effective core potentials (pseudopotentials) that are more accurate than previous sets; these can also be applied in quantum-chemical and other many-body applications, not only QMC. These advances increase the efficiency, accuracy, and range of properties that can be studied in both molecules and materials with QMC and QMCPACK

Theoretical Treatment of Weakly Bound Fermions to Atoms, Molecules, and Clusters

Certain atoms, molecules, and clusters can bind an excess electron or positron in a diffuse orbital. Given the weak binding energy of these states, usually on the order of tens to hundreds of millielectron volts, the computed binding energies are sensitive to the correlations between fermions in the system. In order to quantitatively describe these systems, one must use computational methods that capture these correlation effects. In this work, we describe several nonvalence anions and diffuse positron bound states, and in the process we gain insight into the nature of correlation. First, a series of dipole bound anions are treated using stochastic quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. It is found that quantum Monte Carlo methods can accurately describe dipole bound anions in both a first-quantized basis using diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) and a second-quantized basis using auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC). Additionally, the use of correlated sampling is shown to increase the efficiency of QMC calculations to resolve the small electron binding energies. We use the insight gained to develop a strategy for treating nonvalence correlation bound anions. In a follow-up study, a nonvalence anion model (H2O)4 cluster is treated using QMC methods. The development of an accurate, compact, and relatively computationally inexpensive ansatz for the anionic system is presented, which when used as a trial wave function for DMC calculations performs similarly to more expensive configuration interaction expansions. The importance of higher order correlation effects is explored in both equation of motion coupled cluster calculations and in QMC calculations. The lessons learned in this work about electron correlation and about the interpretability of correlation effects in changes in the electron density assist in the treatment of the chemisorption of a hydrogen atom on a graphene surface. The weak binding energy of the hydrogen to the graphene sheet poses a theoretical challenge as the energy difference is sensitive to the electron correlation recovered. For example, by changing the functional is used in density functional theory (DFT) calculations can change the predicted binding energy by an order of magnitude. Using DMC calculations, we can resolve this discrepancy and provides a benchmark value of the binding energy. The issues with certain DFT functionals is explored in the context of shifts in the electron density. In the final portion of this work, the treatment of positronic systems using QMC is explored. Correlation bound positron states are analogues of nonvalence correlation bound (NVCB) anions, and the importance of electron-positron correlation turns out to be even more important in the former case than electron-electron correlation in the NVCB case. This is due to the absence of coulombic repulsion and exchange effects in the positronic case. Using the insight gained with NVCB anions, we develop a similar compact, correlated ansatz for positronic systems, which performs extremely well. The results presented agree extremely well with previous reference values from the literature. In this work, small energy differences that are extremely sensitive to the treatment of correlations in an accurate and balanced way are described using quantum Monte Carlo methods. The ideas developed here work well for the systems studied and will also scale favorably to larger systems

Simulation and optimization approach for uncertainty-based short-term planning in open pit mines

Accuracy in predictions leads to better planning with a minimum of opportunity lost. In open pit mining, the complexity of operations, coupled with a highly uncertain and dynamic production environment, limit the accuracy of predictions and force a reactive planning approach to mitigate deviations from original plans. A simulation optimization framework/tool is presented in this paper to account for uncertainties in mining operations for robust short-term production planning and proactive decision making. This framework/tool uses a discrete event simulation model of mine operations, which interacts with a goal-programming based mine operational optimization tool to develop an uncertainty based short-term schedule. Using scenario analysis, this framework allows the planner to make proactive decisions to achieve the mine’s operational and long-term objectives. This paper details the development of simulation and optimization models and presents the implementation of the framework on an iron ore mine case study for verification through scenario analysis. Keywords: Scheduling, Simulation optimization, Short-term planning, Mine operational planning, Truck-shovel allocatio

A nested multiple objective fleet management system for open-pit mines

Fleet management system (FMS) plays a vital role in truck and shovel open-pit mining operations. The list of expectations from fleet management systems in open-pit mines range from second-by-second data recording to making dynamic operational decisions. In this paper, we propose a nested fleet management system (N-FMS) for open-pit mining operations. The primary contribution of the proposed system is that in contrast to currently available systems, it connects strategic plans to equipment and removes human intervention by incorporating shovel allocation and plant feed optimization in its decision-making models. Another contribution of the proposed N-FMS is that it simultaneously optimizes the utilization of shovel fleet and truck fleet. The proposed system makes decisions using two nested multiple objective mixed-integer linear goal programming models. Results of implementation of the developed N-FMS in a metal mining case study show that compared to locked-in operation, the mine experienced a 14.6% improvement in its required truck fleet capacity to meet the production target