Longest Processing Time Research Articles

Immersive Anatomy Atlas-Empirical Study Investigating the Usability of a Virtual Reality Environment as a Learning Tool for Anatomy.

We developed a prototype of a virtual, immersive, and interactive anatomy atlas for surgical anatomical training. The aim of this study was to test the usability of the VR anatomy atlas and to measure differences in knowledge acquirement between an immersive content delivery medium and conventional learning (OB). Twenty-eight students of the 11th grade of two german high schools randomly divided into two groups. One group used conventional anatomy books and charts whereas the other group used the VR Anatomy Atlas to answer nine anatomy questions. Error rate, duration for answering the individual questions, satisfaction with the teaching unit, and existence of a medical career wish were evaluated as a function of the learning method. The error rate was the same for both schools and between both teaching aids (VR: 34.2%; OB: 34.1%). The answering speed for correctly answered questions in the OB group was approx. twice as high as for the VR group (mean value OB: 98 s, range: 2–410 s; VR: 50 s, 1–290 s). There was a significant difference between the students of the two schools based on a longer processing time in the OB condition in School B (mean OB in School A: 158 s; OB in School B: 77 s). The subjective survey on the learning methods showed a significantly better satisfaction for VR (p = 0.012). Medical career aspirations have been strengthened with VR, while interest of the OB group in such a career tended to decline. The immersive anatomy atlas helped to actively and intuitively perform targeted actions that led to correct answers in a shorter amount of time, even without prior knowledge of VR and anatomy. With the OB method, orientation difficulties and/or the technical effort in the handling of the topographical anatomy atlas seem to lead to a significantly longer response time, especially if the students are not specially trained in literature research in books or texts. This seems to indicate that the VR environment in the sense of constructivist learning might be a more intuitive and effective way to acquire knowledge than from books.

Minimizing The Number of Tardy Jobs in Hybrid Flow Shops with Non-Identical Multiple Processors

Two-stage hybrid flow shops (a.k.a., flow shops with multiple processors (FSMPs)) are studied wherein the multiple processors at a stage are non-identical, but related (a.k.a., uniform) in their processing speeds. The impact of ten different dispatching procedures on a due-date based criterion (specifically, the number of tardy jobs) is analyzed over a set of 1,800 problems of varying configurations wherein the number of jobs per problem is between 20 and 100 and their due dates are randomly assigned. Results indicate that the modified due date (MDD), earliest due date (EDD), slack (SLK), shortest processing time (SPT), and least work remaining (LWR) rules are statistically inseparable but yield superior performance to the other rules included in this study. The longest processing time (LPT) and most work remaining (MWR) rules provide the poorest performance.

Activation of a Raw Clay by Mechanochemical Process-Effects of Various Parameters on the Process Efficiency and Cementitious Properties.

The efficiency of the mechanochemical activation (MCA) is influenced by various process parameters as well as by the properties of the treated material. The main objective of this research was to optimize the MCA process, gaining enhancement of the chemical reactivity of a Swedish raw clay, which is going to be used as an alkali-activated cementitious binder. The effects of the amount of water, the filling ratio, the rotation speed, and the grinding duration on the amorphization degree were evaluated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Generally, wet and dry processes showed an extensive amorphization of both kaolinite and muscovite minerals present in the studied clay. On the contrary, quartz was amorphized mainly by the wet grinding process. The efficiency of both dry and wet grinding processes was enhanced by the increased number of grinding media versus the amount of the activated material. However, longer processing times caused significant agglomeration while a higher rotational speed enhanced the amorphization. Preliminary tests have shown that alkali activation of the processed clays produced hardened samples. Furthermore, the increased amorphization corresponded to the increased compressive strength values.

A parallel-machine scheduling problem with periodic maintenance under uncertainty

A parallel-machine scheduling problem with preventive maintenance is studied in the paper. Because of the existence of indeterminacy phenomenon, the processing and maintenance time are assume to be uncertain variables. To address these uncertain parameters, two pessimistic value mathematical programming models are developed and the equivalence is proved. The worst-case bound of longest processing time (LPT) rule for the problem under an uncertain environment is obtained. To solve this problem effectively, an improved LPT rule is proposed according to the result of the theoretical analysis. Finally, numerical experiments show that the improved LPT outperforms the LPT in improving the quality of the optimal value and has a less relative error than that of the LPT.

PREDICTION BASED WORKLOAD PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT SPATIAL DATABASE

Abstract. This paper discusses a prediction based workload performance evaluation implementation during Disaster Management, especially at the response phase, to handle large spatial data in the event of an eruption of the Merapi volcano in Indonesia. Complexity associated with a large spatial database are not the same with the conventional database. This implies that in coming complex work loads are difficult to be handled by human from which needs longer processing time and may lead to failure and undernourishment. Based on incoming workload, this study is intended to predict the associated workload into OLTP and DSS workload performance types. From the SQL statements, it is clear that the DBMS can obtain and record the process, measure the analysed performances and the workload classifier in the form of DBMS snapshots. The Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) optimised with Hash Search Technique has been adopted in this study to evaluate and predict the workload performance of PostgreSQL. It has been proven that the proposed CBR using Hash Search technique has resulted in acceptable prediction of the accuracy measurement than other machine learning algorithm like Neural Network and Support Vector Machine. Besides, the results of the evaluation using confusion matrix has resulted in very good accuracy as well as improvement in execution time. Additionally, the results of the study indicated that the prediction model for workload performance evaluation using CBR which is optimised by Hash Search technique for determining workload data on shortest path analysis via the employment of Dijkstra algorithm. It could be useful for the prediction of the incoming workload based on the status of the predetermined DBMS parameters. In this way, information is delivered to DBMS hence ensuring incoming workload information that is very crucial to determine the smooth works of PostgreSQL.

An improved cuckoo search algorithm for scheduling jobs on identical parallel machines

Abstract In this paper, we propose an improved cuckoo search algorithm (ICSA) to minimize makespan for the identical parallel-machine scheduling problem. Starting with an initial population of schedules generated by using the longest processing time (LPT) rule and the job-interchange mechanism, we select the best schedule from this population and then execute the proposed ICSA. For the ICSA, we first propose a heuristic approach using a modulus operator to transform a continuous position in CSA into discrete schedule of jobs for generating a new cuckoo by Levy flights. Next, we present a heuristic procedure based on the pairwise exchange neighborhood to produce smart cuckoos in the proposed ICSA. We then conduct exhaustive computational experimentation on a large number of randomly generated well-known benchmark problems to show that the proposed ICSA produces better solutions than the six state-of-the-art existing algorithms.

Thin layer films of copper hexacyanoferrate: Structure identification and analytical applications

Thin films of copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) have been reproducibly electrodeposited on conductive substrates according to two different potentiostatic methods, here denoted as A and B. For both methods two consecutive steps are involved, the first being the electrodeposition of a thin Cu layer, the second its partial dissolution and formation of CuHCF in presence of hexacyanoferrate anion, giving as result a two layers film (CuHCF on Cu metal). The main difference, instead, consists in the applied potential values and their application times, featuring Method A lower potentials but longer processing times. Structural insights have been achieved by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) measurements, from which we can deduce the presence of Prussian blue (PB) impurities in Method A, while Method B leads to a pure CuHCF phase. Two analytical applications have been considered, ion exchange and H2O2 sensing. Ion exchange has been first assayed and, although CuHCF-A shows a higher stability towards multivalent cations, CuHCF-B is suitable for small hydrated ions. PB impurities in CuHCF-A boost its sensing towards H2O2, making it more adapted to this employment.

Geo-Localization of Target in 3-Dimensional Coordinate Using SRTM Data

This paper deals with Estimation of 3-Dimensional Geo-Location Coordinate (Latitude, Longitude and Elevation) of a given target location using the image of a Target captured from a Gimballed Camera mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The 2-Dimensional Geo-Location Coordinate (Latitude and Longitude) is estimated by the application of Geo-Location Algorithm based on the knowledge of target pixel location in the image. The Target Elevation is estimated by Elevation Estimation Algorithm using the 2-Dimensional Geo-Location Coordinate of target and Elevation Database such as NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Database, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) SRTM Database and Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model Version 2. This paper illustrates the Target Geo-Location Coordinate Estimation for two different experimental setup: UAV Simulation Setup and a Real Time Setup. The Geo-Location Estimation result obtained from the Simulation Setup is found to have localization error around 0.3 m, while the estimates from the Real Time Setup are found to have a higher localization error of around 2.3 m. The elevation result obtained using Elevation Estimation Algorithm for SRTM 1-Arc Second database is proved to be more accurate but this comes with a downside of having longer processing time when compared with other databases. NGA 3-Arc Second database provides the result with the shortest computation period.

Sustainability of compressive residual stress on the processing time of water jet peening using ultrasonic power

Water jet peening (WJP) is used as a stress improvement method and a countermeasure against stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the internal structures of reactors in nuclear power plants. However, when residual stress is converted to compressive stress and applied to the specimen surface as a countermeasure against SCC, voids and cracks can easily form inside the specimen because of the increase in the pressure applied to the surface during WJP processing. Recently, multifunction cavitation (MFC), which is WJP using ultrasonic power, has been developed as an alternative to WJP. In MFC-processed low-alloy steel, when the residual stress is converted to compressive stress as an SCC countermeasure, voids and cracks do not form inside the specimen. In this study, to further improve current MFC techniques, the surface modification of low-alloy steel (Cr–Mo steel) was further investigated using 1200 W ultrasonic power. In MFC using 1200 W ultrasonic power, the corrosion resistance, compressive residual stress, and strength of the specimens were improved when the processing time was 10 min; however, decarburization occurred at longer processing times, causing these characteristics to worsen. The decarburization that occurs at high ultrasonic outputs may be caused by an increase in the water temperature and of the heating of the specimen surface. The evaluation of the surfaces of specimens processed for 30 min at ultrasonic powers of up to 1200 W revealed that decarburization does not occur on the specimen surface as long as the power does not exceed 720 W.

BEOL Post-Etch Clean Robustness Improvement with Ultra-Diluted Hf for 28nm Node

For 28 nm and beyond, severe specifications in terms of dimensions and materials integrity still drive further cleaning process improvements. As the global “HF budget” drastically decreases with interconnections dimensions, HF solution dilution and process time both decreased stepwise. However, very short recipes with process time shorter than 15s start to suffer from lack of robustness, in particular for the monitoring of inline parameters such as flow-rates and temperature. In this paper, we highlighted that a first matching of silicon oxide consumption was usefull to select temperature and concentration range for the diluted HF solution. High dilution ratio, and “room temperature” (20 °C) were then selected. Variations in cleaning efficiency were analyzed as regard with electrical defects density at three metals levels, then the use of 0.025 %wt. HF, 20 °C, 40 s. was pointed out as the more promising solution for process of record replacement. Process robustness, i.e. inline monitoring data collection and uniformity on wafer should thus be improved thanks to this longer process time and a lower process temperature.

An approximation algorithm for multi-agent scheduling on two uniform parallel machines

This paper considers a multi-agent scheduling problem, in which each agent has a set of non-preemptive jobs, and all jobs are to be processed on two uniform parallel machines with the objective to minimize the makespan of each agent. Given an instance of the multi-agent scheduling problem, we first devise a measure on the optimal makespan of the single-agent instance for each agent. Then an approximation algorithm is proposed for the multi-agent scheduling problem, in which agents are scheduled in the non-decreasing order of the measure values, and all jobs of each agent are scheduled generally subject to the longest processing time first (LPT) rule. In the obtained schedule, we prove the makespan of the ith completed agent is at most $$i+ \frac{\sqrt{17}-3}{4}$$ times its optimal makespan, in which $$\frac{\sqrt{17}-3}{4}$$ is the relative error of the LPT rule for the single-agent problem $$Q2||C_{\max }$$ . Furthermore, an example is introduced to show the tightness of the performance analysis.

Transcriptome analysis of abscisic acid induced 20E regulation in suspension Ajuga lobata cells.

Ajuga lobata D. Don is a medicinal plant rich in 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), alkaloids, and other active substances. In this study, the cell suspension was incubated for 7days, followed by the analysis on the effects of abscisic acid (ABA) on the regulation of 20E synthesis. Then A. lobata suspension cells treated with 0.15mg/l ABA were used as material, with the Illumina technology applied for transcriptome sequencing. Digital analysis on the gene expression profile was carried out on ABA treated and control samples, respectively. Finally, transcriptomics was applied to assess the molecular response of A. lobata induced by ABA through applying transcriptomics by evaluating differentially expressed genes. The results suggested that ABA promoted 20E accumulation, while longer processing time caused cell browning. A total of 154 genes were significantly regulated after ABA treatment, with 99 up-regulated and 55 down-regulated, respectively. In addition to 20E-related pathways, the genes belonged to the ko00900 (terpenoid backbone biosynthesis) pathway (six differentially expressed genes [DEGs]), ko00100 (steroid biosynthesis) pathway (four DEGs), and ko00140 (steroid hormone biosynthesis) pathway (six DEGs). Providing a better understanding of the 20E biosynthetic pathway and its regulation, in particular in plants, this study is necessary.

Symbiotic organisms search algorithm for the unrelated parallel machines scheduling with sequence-dependent setup times.

This paper addresses the problem of makespan minimization on unrelated parallel machines with sequence dependent setup times. The symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm is a new and popular global optimization technique that has received wide acceptance in recent years from researchers in continuous and discrete optimization domains. An improved SOS algorithm is developed to solve the parallel machine scheduling problem. Since the standard SOS algorithm was originally developed to solve continuous optimization problems, a new solution representation and decoding procedure is designed to make the SOS algorithm suitable for the unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem (UPMSP). Similarly, to enhance the solution quality of the SOS algorithm, an iterated local search strategy based on combining variable numbers of insertion and swap moves is incorporated into the SOS algorithm. More so, to further improve the SOS optimization speed and performance, the longest processing time first (LPT) rule is used to design a machine assignment heuristic that assigns processing machines to jobs based on the machine dynamic load-balancing mechanism. Subsequently, the machine assignment scheme is incorporated into SOS algorithms and used to solve the UPMSP. The performances of the proposed methods are evaluated by comparing their solutions with other existing techniques from the literature. A number of statistical tests were also conducted to determine the variations in performance for each of the techniques. The experimental results showed that the SOS with LPT (SOS-LPT) heuristic has the best performance compared to other tested method, which is closely followed by SOS algorithm, indicating that the two proposed algorithms’ solution approaches are reasonable and effective for solving large-scale UPMSPs.

Comparison of three-dimensional surface scanning techniques for capturing the external ear

ABSTRACTCongenital facial anomalies, such as microtia (malformation of the external ear), lead to significant psychosocial effects starting from early childhood. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and advanced manufacturing are being investigated as a cheaper and more personalised method of fabricating reconstructive treatments for patients compared to traditional approaches. To date, most case studies have used expensive 3D scanners, yet, there is potential for low-cost devices to provide comparable results. This study aimed to investigate these different approaches. Both ears of 16 adult participants were scanned with three devices: Artec Spider (Artec Group), Intel® RealSense™ (Intel), and the Apple iPhone® 7 (Apple Inc.) combined with photogrammetry using 90, 60 and 30 photographs. The scanning time, processing time, accuracy, completeness, resolution and repeatability of each technique were assessed using the Artec Spider as a reference scanner. Our results show that the iPhone had the longest processing time however, this decreased nine-fold when reducing the number of photos from 90 to 30. There was no significant difference in the accuracy, completeness or repeatability of the iPhone scans with 90 photographs (1.4 ± 0.6 mm, 79.9%, 1.0 ± 0.1 mm), 60 photographs (1.2 ± 0.2, 79.3%, 0.9 ± 0.2 mm) or 30 photographs (1.2 ± 0.3 mm, 74.3%, 1.0 ± 0.2 mm). The Intel RealSesne performed significantly worse in each parameter (1.8 ± 03 mm; 46.6%, 1.4 ± 0.5). Additionally, the RealSense had significantly lower resolution with not enough detail captured for the application. These results demonstrate that the ear can be accurately 3D scanned using iPhone photographs. We would recommend capturing between 30 and 60 photographs of the ear to create a scan that is accurate but without the downfall of long processing time. Using these methods we aim to provide a more comfortable setting for the patient and a lower-cost and more personalised ear prosthesis.

Algoritma LPT-Branch and Bound Pada Penjadwalan Flexible Flowshop untuk Meminimasi Makespan

This article discussed the problem of flow shop scheduling to minimize the makespan. The purpose of this article is to develop the LPT and Branch And Bound (LPT-Branch And Bound) algorithms to minimize the makespan. The proposed method is Longest Processing Time (LPT) and Branch And Bound. Stage settlement is divided into 3 parts. To proved the proposed algorithm, a numerical experiment was conducted by comparing the LPT-LN algorithm. The result of the numerical experiment shows that LPT-Branch And Bound's proposed algorithm is more efficient than the LPT-LN algorithm.

A note on posterior tight worst-case bounds for longest processing time schedules

This note proposes and analyzes a posterior tight worst-case bound for the longest processing time (LPT) heuristic for scheduling independent jobs on identical parallel machines with the objective of minimizing the makespan. It makes natural remarks on the well-known posterior worst-case bounds, and shows that the proposed bound can complement the well-known posterior bounds to synergistically achieve a better posterior worst-case bound for the LPT heuristic. Moreover, it gives some insight on LPT asymptotical optimality.

Issues in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Data Collection of Complex Forest Environments

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offer users the ability to capture large amounts of imagery at unprecedented spatial resolutions due to their flexible designs, low costs, automated workflows, and minimal technical knowledge barriers. Their rapid extension into new disciplines promotes the necessity to question and understand the implications of data capture and processing parameter decisions on the respective output completeness. This research provides a culmination of quantitative insight using an eBee Plus, fixed-wing UAS for collecting robust data on complex forest environments. These analyses differentiate from measures of accuracy, which were derived from positional comparison to other data sources, to instead guide applications of comprehensive coverage. Our results demonstrated the impacts of flying height on Structure from Motion (SfM) processing completeness, discrepancies in outputs based on software package choice, and the effects caused by processing parameter settings. For flying heights of 50 m, 100 m, and 120 m above the forest canopy, key quality indicators within the software demonstrated the superior performance of the 100-m flying height. These indicators included, among others, image alignment success, the average number of tie points per image, and planimetric model ground sampling distance. We also compared the output results of two leading SfM software packages: Agisoft PhotoScan and Pix4D Mapper Pro. Agisoft PhotoScan maintained an 11.8% greater image alignment success and a 9.91% finer planimetric model resolution. Lastly, we compared the “high” and “medium” resolution processing workflows in Agisoft PhotoScan. The high-resolution processing setting achieved a 371% increase in point cloud density, with a 3.1% coarser planimetric model resolution, over a considerably longer processing time. As UAS continue to expand their sphere of influence and develop technologically, best-use practices based on aerial photogrammetry principles must remain apparent to achieve optimal results.

Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation of High-Strength Aluminium Alloys—Substrate Effect on Wear and Corrosion Performance

With the progress in materials science and production technology and the establishment of light-weight design in many fields of the industry, the application of light metals no longer requires only mechanical strength, but also a significant protection of the material against wear and corrosion. Hard and wear-resistant oxide coatings on aluminium are produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). During PEO, a conversion of the aluminium substrate to a ceramic oxide takes place. While the role of strength-giving alloying elements like Cu, Mg/Si, Zn, and Zn/Cu on the PEO process has selectively been subject of investigation in the past, the significance of the alloy composition for the service properties of the coatings is still unknown. Therefore, the performance of PEO coatings produced on the widely used commercial high-strength alloys AlCu4Mg1 (EN AW-2024), AlMgSi1 (EN AW-6082), and AlZn5.5MgCu (EN AW-7075) is examined with regard to their behaviour in the rubber-wheel test according to ASTM G65 and the current density-potential behaviour of the substrates with undamaged and worn coatings in dilute NaCl solution. To give a reference to the unalloyed material the testings were carried out also on Al 99.5 (EN AW-1050) which was treated in an adjusted PEO process. Although differences in the conversion of intermetallic phases during PEO and the phase composition of the coatings on the various substrates are determined, the service properties are hardly depending on the alloying elements of the investigated aluminium materials. The wear rates in the rubber-wheel test are low for all the alloyed samples. The current density-potential curves show a decrease of the corrosion current density by approximately one order of magnitude compared to the bare substrate. Eventually, previous wear of the coatings does not deteriorate the corrosion behaviour. PEO layers on technically pure aluminum can resist the testing regimes if they are prepared in an electrolyte with an elevated silicate content and without additional hydroxide ions, during a longer process time.

Scheduling and Optimisation Using in Flexible Manufacturing System Using Petrinet to Increase Utilisation of Resource System

Adaptable Manufacturing System (FMS) is an automated gathering structure which has the work shop flexibility and stream shop efficiency. One of the genuine stresses in FMS is reserving of occupations to the machines with the objective of extending machine utilize. A Petri net is a graphical logical showing instrument proper to various systems and this is a promising gadget for depicting and thinking about information taking care of structures that are portrayed as being synchronous, non- simultaneous scattered, parallel, nondeterministic and stochastic. The Petrinet thought is proposed to deal with booking issues. Scatter Search figuring is masses based met heuristic that used to join its answers and grow new game plans. This strategy makes a masses of courses of action. The dispatching rules estimation has accepted a vital part in the passage of occupation to the machine according to the need of given decided parameter. Dispatching Rules look like Shortest Processing Time (SPT), Longest Processing Time (LPT), Least Operation Remaining (LOR), Most Work Remaining (MWR), Most Operation Remaining (MOR) and Least Work Remaining (LWR). This paper oversees exhibiting and booking of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) using various Meta Heuristics computations like Petrinet, Dispatching Rules and Scatter Search. The results are considered for three particular relevant examinations and it is watched that the Petrinet gives a better result when differentiated and diverse figurings, for instance, Dispatching Rules and Scatter Search estimation concerning machine use.

The processing of blend words in naming and sentence reading.

Research exploring the processing of morphologically complex words, such as compound words, has found that they are decomposed into their constituent parts during processing. Although much is known about the processing of compound words, very little is known about the processing of lexicalised blend words, which are created from parts of two words, often with phoneme overlap (e.g., brunch). In the current study, blends were matched with non-blend words on a variety of lexical characteristics, and blend processing was examined using two tasks: a naming task and an eye-tracking task that recorded eye movements during reading. Results showed that blend words were processed more slowly than non-blend control words in both tasks. Blend words led to longer reaction times in naming and longer processing times on several eye movement measures compared to non-blend words. This was especially true for blends that were long, rated low in word familiarity, but were easily recognisable as blends.