Terminal Location Research Articles

Reliability analysis for k-out-of-[formula omitted]: G star configuration multi-state systems with performance sharing

This paper addresses the reliability analysis problem for a k-out-of-(n+1): G multi-state system (MSS) with performance sharing mechanism. This MSS consists of two categories of units connected into a star topology configuration. The first category of unit is a main unit of the system which occupies the central location of the star configuration, and the second category of units are reserve units distributed at the terminal locations. All reserve units are connected to the main unit in a point-to-point manner through the intermediate transmitters with limited performance transmission capacities. Both the performance and the demand of each unit are random variables. The surplus performance of any reserve unit can be transmitted to the main unit through the transmitter between them, and then the excess performance of the main unit can be further transmitted to other reserve units which are experiencing performance deficiency. The system is reliable if and only if the demands of the main unit and at least k-1 reserve units are satisfied after performance redistribution. An algorithm based on the universal generating function (UGF) technique is developed to calculate the reliability of the proposed MSS with performance sharing. An analytical and a numerical example are presented to illustrate the advantages and applications of the proposed method.

Development and Application of an Empirical Dune Growth Model for Evaluating Barrier Island Recovery from Storms

Coastal zone managers require models that predict barrier island change on decadal time scales to estimate coastal vulnerability, and plan habitat restoration and coastal protection projects. To meet these needs, methods must be available for predicting dune recovery as well as dune erosion. In the present study, an empirical dune growth model (EDGR) was developed to predict the evolution of the primary foredune of a barrier island. Within EDGR, an island is represented as a sum of Gaussian shape functions representing dunes, berms, and the underlying island form. The model evolves the foredune based on estimated terminal dune height and location inputs. EDGR was assessed against observed dune evolution along the western end of Dauphin Island, Alabama over the 10 years following Hurricane Katrina (2005). The root mean square error with EDGR (ranging from 0.18 to 0.74 m over the model domain) was reduced compared to an alternate no-change model (0.69–0.96 m). Hindcasting with EDGR also supports the study of dune evolution processes. At Dauphin Island, results suggest that a low-lying portion of the site was dominated by overwash for ~5 years after Katrina, before approaching their terminal height and becoming growth-limited after 2010. EDGR’s computational efficiency allows dune evolution to be rapidly predicted and enables ensemble predictions to constrain the uncertainty that may result if terminal dune characteristics are unknown. In addition, EDGR can be coupled with an external model for estimating dune erosion and/or the long-term evolution of other subaerial features to allow decadal-scale prediction of barrier island evolution.

Экономическое сравнение вариантов организации контрейлерного терминала на сортировочной станции

Objective: To carry out an economic comparison of alternative options for a piggyback terminal layout solution in a marshalling yard. Methods: Modern logistics, customer focus approach, synchromodality, system analysis, comparison of options, forecasting, project and situational management methods were used. Results: Scenario forecasting allowed us to assess the possible dynamic patterns of traffic volumes for three options. The position of the yard in the hub is characterized. The technical and technology design of a piggyback terminal are briefly discussed. The terminal location options based on the yard infrastructure are indicated. Schematic solutions with different terminal-yard junctions through turnout track N 22 (option 1) and N 16 of the Transfer Park (option 2) are proposed. We have analyzed benefits and drawbacks, calculated the cost of the marshalling yard development for each developed option at 2014 values. In particular, the itemized capital investments and operating costs of the marshalling yard stepwise development are calculated and presented in a tabular form. Practical importance: The comparative analysis results for a set of technical and economic indicators are presented. Using the method of comparing options for different indicators, option 1 was selected as the most rational in terms of the minimum cumulative costs

Assessment of atmospheric pollutant emissions with maritime energy strategies using bayesian simulations and time series forecasting

With increasingly stringent regulations on emission criteria and environment pollution concerns, marine fuel oils (particularly heavy fuel oils) that are commonly used today for powering ships will no longer be allowed in the future. Various maritime energy strategies are now needed for the long-term upgrade that might span decades, and quantitative predictions are necessary to assess the outcomes of their implementation for decision support purpose. To address the technical need, a novel approach is developed in this study that can incorporate the strategic implementation of fuel choices and quantify their adequacy in meeting future environmental pollution legislations for ship emissions. The core algorithm in this approach is based on probabilistic simulations with a large sample size of ship movement in the designated port area, derived using a Bayesian ship traffic generator from existing real activity data. Its usefulness with scenario modelling is demonstrated with application examples at five major ports, namely the Ports of Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Long Beach, and Hamburg, for assessment at Years 2020, 2030, and 2050 with three economic scenarios. The included fuel choices in the application examples are comprehensive, including heavy fuel oils, distillates, low sulphur fuel oils, ultra-low sulphur fuel oils, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biofuel, methanol, and electricity (battery). Various features are fine-tuned to reflect micro-level changes on the fuel choices, terminal location, and/or ship technology. Future atmospheric pollutant emissions with various maritime energy strategies implemented at these ports are then discussed comprehensively in details to demonstrate the usefulness of the approach.

Abstract 222: Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Care of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Detroit

Introduction: March 10 th , 2020 marked the first positive case of SARS-CoV-2 in Detroit. EMS protocol changes were implemented by March 25 th , 2020 in response to the virus. These modifications restricted intubation and allowed medical control to terminate resuscitation in cases of suspected COVID-19 after 10 minutes of CPR without ROSC. Due to global changes in pre-hospital cardiac arrest care caused by COVID-19, we conducted an analysis to determine OHCA characteristics of patients and fatality rates in the COVID-19 era. Methods: CARES data was analyzed between March 10 th , 2019 - April 30 th , 2019 and March 10 th , 2020 - April 30 th, 2020 for comparison before and during the pandemic. Patient demographics, location of arrest, initial rhythms, bystander CPR, EMS interventions and field termination were compared between the two time points. No major factors occurred in 2019 that would potentially skew that data. Descriptive statistics were utilized. Results: A total of 475 CARES patients were included during the study period. Total arrests surged in the COVID-19 era from 180 to 295. OHCA for individuals greater than 50 increased from 130 to 243. An initial rhythm of PEA tripled (10 to 30) during COVID-19, possibly due to hypoxia. The percentage of patients with a shockable rhythm declined (7.8 to 5.1). Bystander CPR decreased from 28.9% (52) to 18.3% (54), secondary to an increase of arrests being in non-public places and concern about disease transmission. Nursing home cardiac arrests increased during COVID from 19 to 73, from the previous year. Placement of an endotracheal tube or supraglottic airway by a basic or advanced unit decreased from 68.3% (123) in pre-COVID-19 era to 37.0% (109) in the current state of the pandemic. Termination of resuscitation in the field occurred over 3-fold from the previous year, an absolute increase from 64 to 204. Conclusion: There was a 61% increase in cardiac arrests during COVID-19 in Detroit. The pandemic and subsequent protocol changes greatly altered practice. COVID-19 has likely directly and indirectly, due to fear of going to the hospital, affected the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Additional review is being conducted to further delineate arrest etiologies.

Consequences of logistics sprawl: Order or chaos? - the case of a parcel service company in Paris metropolitan area

Logistics sprawl is the phenomenon driving warehouses and freight terminals further and further away from city centers, for reasons that are mostly dependent on urban planning, field price and economies of scale. In the past, studies have already described logistics sprawl in Paris Metropolitan area. These studies have concluded that logistic facilities far from Paris city center increased the distance travelled, and by extension, CO2 emissions. This study does not question logistics sprawl in Paris metropolitan area but questions its consequences.This study presents a point of view on the location of cross-docking terminals. One main parcel service carrier was studied through a database strong of 600,000 inputs including pick-ups and deliveries for two months in the Paris metropolitan area. This study is not intended to be representative of all merchandise flows but makes it possible to understand the running of one significant actor. This project aims at determining the optimum terminals location according to two criteria: minimization of the total distance as calculated by the Euclidean distance (as the crow flies) between terminals and points of pick-up/ delivery, and the number of authorized terminals. The number of terminals is modified to study its relationship with the spatial distribution of its clients.Interestingly, we found that optimized locations for this parcel service carrier are located outside of Paris city center. Those locations minimize the total distance to the clients, and thus, are the best places to limit pollution. The reason is that the carrier manages this perimeter through a polycentric organization. Paris Metropolitan area is viewed as several sectors and not as a whole for this carrier. It is therefore unknown how the carrier's performance has evolved over time, but its current organization is close to the optimal situation.

The Input-Output Relation of Primary Nociceptive Neurons is Determined by the Morphology of the Peripheral Nociceptive Terminals.

The output from the peripheral terminals of primary nociceptive neurons, which detect and encode the information regarding noxious stimuli, is crucial in determining pain sensation. The nociceptive terminal endings are morphologically complex structures assembled from multiple branches of different geometry, which converge in a variety of forms to create the terminal tree. The output of a single terminal is defined by the properties of the transducer channels producing the generation potentials and voltage-gated channels, translating the generation potentials into action potential (AP) firing. However, in the majority of cases, noxious stimuli activate multiple terminals; thus, the output of the nociceptive neuron is defined by the integration and computation of the inputs of the individual terminals. Here, we used a computational model of nociceptive terminal tree to study how the architecture of the terminal tree affects the input-output relation of the primary nociceptive neurons. We show that the input-output properties of the nociceptive neurons depend on the length, the axial resistance (Ra), and location of individual terminals. Moreover, we show that activation of multiple terminals by a capsaicin-like current allows summation of the responses from individual terminals, thus leading to increased nociceptive output. Stimulation of the terminals in simulated models of inflammatory or neuropathic hyperexcitability led to a change in the temporal pattern of AP firing, emphasizing the role of temporal code in conveying key information about changes in nociceptive output in pathologic conditions, leading to pain hypersensitivity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Noxious stimuli are detected by terminal endings of primary nociceptive neurons, which are organized into morphologically complex terminal trees. The information from multiple terminals is integrated along the terminal tree, computing the neuronal output, which propagates toward the CNS, thus shaping the pain sensation. Here, we revealed that the structure of the nociceptive terminal tree determines the output of nociceptive neurons. We show that the integration of noxious information depends on the morphology of the terminal trees and how this integration and, consequently, the neuronal output change under pathologic conditions. Our findings help to predict how nociceptive neurons encode noxious stimuli and how this encoding changes in pathologic conditions, leading to pain.

Evolutionary dynamics of rDNA clusters on chromosomes of buthid scorpions (Chelicerata: Arachnida)

Abstract We examined the distribution of genes for major ribosomal RNAs (rDNA) on holokinetic chromosomes of 74 species belonging to 19 genera of scorpions from the family Buthidae using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Our analysis revealed differences between the two main evolutionary lineages within the family. The genera belonging to the ‘Buthus group’, with a proposed Laurasian origin, possess one pair of rDNA mainly in an interstitial position, with the only exceptions being the terminal location found in some Hottentotta and Buthacus species, possibly as a result of chromosome fissions. All the remaining buthid ‘groups’ possess rDNA found strictly in a terminal position. However, the number of signals may increase from an ancestral state of one pair of rDNA loci to up to seven signals in Reddyanus ceylonensis Kovařík et al., 2016. Despite the differences in evolutionary dynamics of the rDNA clusters between the ‘Buthus group’ and other lineages investigated, we found a high incidence of reciprocal translocations and presence of multivalent associations during meiosis in the majority of the genera studied. These phenomena seem to be typical for the whole family Buthidae.

Dry Port Terminal Location Selection by Applying the Hybrid Grey MCDM Model

Globalization and decentralization of production generate the intensive growth of goods and transport flows, mostly performed by the maritime transport. Ports, as the main nodes in the global logistics networks, are becoming congested, space for their expansion limited, and traffic in their hinterland congested. As a solution to these and many other hinterland-transport-related problems stands out the development of dry port (DP) terminals. Selection of their location is one of the most important strategic decisions on which depends their competitiveness in the market and the functionality of the logistics network. Accordingly, the evaluation and selection of locations for the development of the DP in accordance with the requirements of various stakeholders is performed in this paper, as a prerequisite for the establishment of an ecological, economic, and socially sustainable logistics network in the observed area. To solve this problem, a new hybrid model of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) that combines Delphi, AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process), and CODAS (Combinative Distance-based Assessment) methods in a grey environment is developed. The main contributions of this paper are the defined model, the problem-solving approach based on finding a compromise solution, simultaneous consideration of the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the DP concept and its implementation in the regional international markets. The applicability of the approach and the defined MCDM model is demonstrated by solving a real-life case study of ranking the potential DP locations in the Western Balkans region. Based on the obtained results, it is concluded that in the current market conditions, it would be most realistic to open three DP terminals, in Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Belgrade.

Building multi-subtopic Bi-level network for micro-blog hot topic based on feature Co-Occurrence and semantic community division

The multi-subtopic is challenging to be understood timely and comprehensively due to micro-blog characteristics, such as low-value density, and fast update speed. For such an issue, this paper proposes a Multi-Subtopic Bi-level Network (MSBN) for micro-blog hot topics based on feature co-occurrence and semantic community division to support users understanding better the subject. First, the highlighted words are extracted by combining two coefficients including the micro-blog importance (e.g., the number of comments and the number of praises) and the time decay. The compound co-occurrence rates (i.e., global and local co-occurrence rates) are used to measure the correlation strength between any two highlighted words, while the global semantic of a micro-blog hot topic can be shown as a complex network whose nodes are the extracted feature words and edges are relations between any two feature words. Next, an improved weighted modularity function is proposed as a criterion for the community division. The complex network of a topic is divided into some semantic communities, where each is regarded as a subtopic of the given micro-blog topic. Subsequently, the genetic algorithm is used to calculate the maximum of weighted modularity and achieve community division of complex networks, so finally, the terminal location of each micro-blog in a different semantic community is obtained to draw regional location map and analyze the supporting propensity of each region to the micro-blog hot topic. Experimental results show that the proposed model can accurately and effectively represent the multi-subtopic of a micro-blog hot topic in the current time that supports users to discover and understand the micro-blog hot topic, allowing users to identify and understand the concerned differences among different regions for the same micro-blog hot topic.

Variability among Ethiopian durum wheat genotypes grown under different climatic conditions of Tigray for some agronomic and grain-quality traits

ABSTRACT The lack of adaptable varieties is the major problem for durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var. durum) production in Ethiopia. The variability in 36 durum wheat genotypes was studied for key traits across locations to select genotypes possessing optimal grain quality and high grain yield for production in northern Ethiopia, using a simple lattice design. Variation attributable to genotypes (G), locations (L) and G × L interaction was significant for the studied traits (p < 0.001). Mean grain protein content (GPC) among genotypes ranged from 9.4% to 12.9%. Genotypes 208312 (G17) and 208168 (G22) had mean GPC of 12.9% and 12.8%, respectively. Grain with high GPC (12.7%–21.3%) was harvested from Beati-Maymesanu (BMM), a terminal drought-affected location, whereas the lowest GPC range (5.5%–10.5%) was recorded at Agarba. This implied that water stress during the reproductive growth stage of durum wheat could increase GPC. Similarly, high gluten index (GI) (68%–95%) was obtained at BMM, whereas the frequency of genotypes with low GI (<60%) was high (n = 14) at Agarba. Genotypes with higher GPC and GI tended to have lower grain yield (GY). This negative association constrains breeding efforts to combine high GY with high GPC and GI. However, some genotypes, mainly farmers' varieties (FVs), had combined high GY with the modest value of GPC and GI. FVs SSD2, 248478, 222426, and 208873 and the improved varieties Asassa and Quamy were suitable as parents for making crosses to generate new genotypes with high GY, GPC, and GI.

Deletion of DJ-1 in rats affects protein abundance and mitochondrial function at the synapse

DJ-1 is a multifunctional protein affecting different biological and cellular processes. In addition, DJ-1 has roles in regulating mitochondrial function. Loss-of-function mutations in DJ-1 were found to cause an autosomal recessive form of Parkinson’s disease. One of the main pathological features of PD is loss of dopamine neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. DJ-1 knockout (KO) rats exhibit progressive nigral neurodegeneration with about 50% dopaminergic cell loss at 8 months of age. In order to assess the effects of DJ-1 deficiency on neuronal mitochondria prior to neuron loss, we performed proteomic analysis of synaptic mitochondria isolated from the striatum, the location of nigrostriatal pathway nerve terminals, of 3-month-old DJ-1 KO rats. In total, 371 mitochondrial proteins were quantified, and of these 76 were differentially expressed in DJ-1 KO rats. Proteins perturbed by the loss of DJ-1 were involved in several mitochondrial functional pathways, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle and electron transport chain. Thus, synaptic mitochondrial respiration was measured and showed a significant change due to DJ-1 deficiency. The dataset generated here highlights the role of synaptic mitochondria in PD associated with DJ-1. This study improves our understanding of DJ-1 effects in a complex tissue environment and the synaptic mitochondrial changes that accompany its loss.

РЕШЕНИЕ ЗАДАЧИ НАИЛУЧШЕГО РАСПОЛОЖЕНИЯ ТРАНСПОРТНОГО ТЕРМИНАЛА С ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕМ ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКИХ КООРДИНАТ

In a modern market economy, enterprises have to compete at the regional and international levels. To carry out activities on a global scale, an appropriate system is required to determine the optimal location of the transport terminal in the supply chain. This study is dedicated to achieving several goals: determining the location of facilities that are major shippers; determining the optimal location of transport terminals. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use linear programming and the algorithm for determining the transport terminal with geographical coordinates. The results show that the algorithm makes it possible to efficiently solve problems of various sizes within a reasonable time.

Reconsidering Reciprocal Length Patterns of the Anteromedial and Posterolateral Bundles of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament During In Vivo Gait

Background: Some cadaveric studies have indicated that the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) consists of anteromedial and posterolateral bundles that display reciprocal function with regard to knee flexion. However, several in vivo imaging studies have suggested that these bundles elongate in parallel with regard to flexion. Furthermore, the most appropriate description of the functional anatomy of the ACL is still debated, with the ACL being described as consisting of 2 or 3 bundles or as a continuum of fibers. Hypothesis: As long as their origination and termination locations are defined within the ACL attachment site footprints, ACL bundles elongate in parallel with knee extension during gait. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: High-speed biplanar radiographs of the right knee joint were obtained during gait in 6 healthy male participants (mean ± SD: body mass index, 25.5 ± 1.2 kg/m2; age, 29.2 ± 3.8 years) with no history of lower extremity injury or surgery. Three-dimensional models of the right femur, tibia, and ACL attachment sites were created from magnetic resonance images. The bone models were registered to the biplanar radiographs, thereby reproducing the in vivo positions of the knee joint. For each knee position, the distances between the centroids of the ACL attachment sites were used to represent ACL length. The lengths of 1000 virtual bundles were measured for each participant by randomly sampling locations on the attachment site surfaces and measuring the distances between each pair of locations. Spearman rho rank correlations were performed between the virtual bundle lengths and ACL length. Results: The virtual bundle lengths were highly correlated with the length of the ACL, defined as the distance between the centroids of the attachment sites (rho = 0.91 ± 0.1, across participants; P < 5 × 10-5). The lengths of the bundles that originated and terminated in the anterior and medial aspects of the ACL were positively correlated (rho = 0.81 ± 0.1; P < 5 × 10-5) with the lengths of the bundles that originated and terminated in the posterior and lateral aspects of the ACL. Conclusion: As long as their origination and termination points are specified within the footprint of the attachment sites, ACL bundles elongate in parallel as the knee is extended. Clinical Relevance: These data elucidate ACL functional anatomy and may help guide ACL reconstruction techniques.

Fault Model and Travelling Wave Matching Based Single Terminal Fault Location Algorithm for T-Connection Transmission Line: A Yunnan Power Grid Study

Due to the complex structure of the T-connection transmission lines, it is extremely difficult to identify the reflected travelling wave from the fault point and that from the connection point by the measurement from only one terminal. According to the characteristics of the structure of the T-connection transmission line, the reflection of the travelling wave within the line after the failure of different sections in T-connection transmission line are analyzed. Based on the lattice diagram of the travelling wave, the sequence of travelling waves detected at the measuring terminal varies with the fault distance and the faulty section. Moreover, the sequence of travelling waves detected in one terminal is unique at each faulty section. This article calculates the arrival time of travelling waves of fault points at different locations in different sections to form the collection of the travelling wave arrival time sequence. Then the sequence of travelling waves of the new added fault waveforms is extracted to compare with the sequences in the collection for the faulty section identification and fault location. This proposed method can accurately locate the fault with different fault types, fault resistances and system impedances by only single-terminal fault data. Both Power Systems Computer Aided Design/ Electromagnetic Transients including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC) and actual measurement data are implemented to verify the effectiveness of this method.

Terminal location method with NLOS exclusion based on unsupervised learning in 5G‐LEO satellite communication systems

SummaryWe investigate the terminal location method in 5G‐Low Earth Orbit (5G‐LEO) satellite communication systems. To overcome the dependence on the external Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), we propose to use a single LEO satellite in 5G‐LEO satellite communication systems for terminal location and utilize the downlink synchronization detection for pseudorange differential measurement. Then, a data clustering method of unsupervised machine learning is proposed to classify the measured data into line‐of‐sight (LOS) and non‐line‐of‐sight (NLOS) signals. Furthermore, the NLOS data are excluded, and the Taylor series expansion iteration method is used to calculate the terminal coordinates. Simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the influence of NLOS error on measurement results and improve the accuracy of terminal location. In simulated urban scenario, the average location accuracy is improved from 10 km by traditional methods to 0.7 km and the convergence time is reduced from 400 to 250s.

α2δ-2 Protein Controls Structure and Function at the Cerebellar Climbing Fiber Synapse.

α2δ proteins (Cacna2d1-4) are auxiliary subunits of voltage-dependent calcium channels that also drive synapse formation and maturation. Because cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) predominantly, if not exclusively, express one isoform of this family, α2δ-2 (Cacna2d2), we used PCs as a model system to examine roles of α2δ in excitatory synaptic function in male and female Cacna2d2 knock-out (KO) mice. Whole-cell recordings of PCs from acute cerebellar slices revealed altered climbing fiber (CF)-evoked complex spike generation, as well as increased amplitude and faster decay of CF-evoked EPSCs. CF terminals in the KO were localized more proximally on PC dendrites, as indicated by VGLUT2+ immunoreactive puncta, and computational modeling demonstrated that the increased EPSC amplitude can be partly attributed to the more proximal location of CF terminals. In addition, CFs in KO mice exhibited increased multivesicular transmission, corresponding to greater sustained responses during repetitive stimulation, despite a reduction in the measured probability of release. Electron microscopy demonstrated that mutant CF terminals had twice as many vesicle release sites, providing a morphologic explanation for the enhanced glutamate release. Though KO CFs evoked larger amplitude EPSCs, the charge transfer was the same as wild-type as a result of increased glutamate reuptake, producing faster decay kinetics. Together, the larger, faster EPSCs in the KO explain the altered complex spike responses, which degrade information transfer from PCs and likely contribute to ataxia in Cacna2d2 KO mice. Our results also illustrate the multidimensional synaptic roles of α2δ proteins.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT α2δ proteins (Cacna2d1-4) regulate synaptic transmission and synaptogenesis, but coexpression of multiple α2δ isoforms has obscured a clear understanding of how various α2δ proteins control synaptic function. We focused on roles of the α2δ-2 protein (Cacna2d2), the deletion of which causes cerebellar ataxia and epilepsy in mice and humans. Because cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) only express this single isoform, we studied excitatory climbing fiber synaptic function onto PCs in Cacna2d2 KO mice. Using optical and electrophysiological analysis, we provide a detailed description of the changes in PCs lacking α2δ-2, and provide a comprehensive mechanistic explanation for how functional synaptic phenotypes contribute to the altered cerebellar output.

Factors Affecting Decisions Regarding Terminal Care Locations of Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is generally incurable, but patients can survive longer than those with other cancer types. Treatment strategies for MBC are complex, and it is difficult to establish evidence of efficacy since symptoms and patient backgrounds vary markedly. Some patients struggle to decide where to receive end-of-life care, despite palliative care intervention, and some die in unexpected places. With the aim of ascertaining the best way to intervene on behalf of patients with end-stage breast cancer, we retrospectively examined interventions provided by our palliative care team. We investigated factors influencing the decision-making processes of patients with MBC regarding end-of-life care locations and where patients actually died. Clinical records of 44 patients with MBC, all Japanese women, who received palliative care interventions at our hospital, were retrospectively investigated. We examined factors, such as age, possibly impacting decision-making processes regarding the final location and actual place of death. Thirty-five (80%) patients were able to decide where to receive end-of-life care, while the others were not. For these 35 patients, desired locations were the palliative care unit (77%), home palliative care (14%), and the hospital (9%). Age and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were factors influencing patients' decision-making processes (P = .030 and .044, respectively). Of the 35 patients, 25 (71%) were able to receive end-of-life care at their desired locations. Young patients and those with short RFS struggled with making decisions regarding where to receive end-of-life care. Such patients might benefit from prompt introduction of advanced care planning.

Optimization of production and transport infrastructure based on cluster analysis methods

In order to solve the problems of optimizing production and transportation systems, a clustering procedure for objects is suggested. The procedure is a universal methodology for dividing a set of objects into subsets with their centers possessing optimal properties. At the same time, the use of point proximity metrics used in cluster analysis models the minimization of distances during transportation. If the volume of produced/extracted containerisable products of a production point is considered as the “weight” of each point, than the problem of minimizing transportation costs can be solved as a problem of optimizing clusters and their centers. A set of analytical models has been developed to describe and optimize the choice of location and number of container terminals (CT) at the first level and container storage and distribution centers (СSDC) at the second level of a two-level terminal model and logistics infrastructure of the container transport system (CTS). New clustering algorithms are suggested to determine the locations of CT and СSDC based on the condition of minimizing transportation costs and creating a terminal and logistics infrastructure, taking into account given or random number of clusters.

A New Indoor Location Algorithm Based on Radio Frequency Fingerprint Matching

Indoor positioning technology plays an important role in the production and life of today's society. Modern people's clothing, food, housing, and transportation are increasingly closely related to Location Based Service. In this paper, an indoor location algorithm based on the radio frequency fingerprint matching is offered. In the offline phase, by deploying a small number of radio signal intensity location regions, the location selection mechanism is used to predict the location of mobile terminals, which can avoid the instability of radio frequency signals caused by time-lapse and the impact of changes in Access Point (AP) facilities. In the online stage, the location engine receives real-time Radio Frequency fingerprints and updates the fingerprint location by mapping time and equipment. Finally, several main localization algorithms are simulated and compared to the aspect of location accuracy. The proposed new method reduces the location error, improves the location accuracy by 1 to 2 meters, and achieves 100% within 2.5 meters.