Worst Value Research Articles

Evaluation value of the levels of peripheral blood CD20+ CD24hi CD38hi regulatory B cells on the prognosis of elderly patients with sepsis

To explore the predicting value of peripheral blood CD20+ CD24hi CD38hi regulatory B cells (Bregs) on the prognosis of elderly patients with sepsis. A prospective study was conducted. Septic patients aged > 65 years old, compliance with diagnostic criteria for Sepsis-3, admitted to emergency and emergency intensive care unit (ICU) of Shanghai East Hospital of Tongji University from April 2016 to February 2017 were enrolled. Procalcitonin (PCT), C-reaction protein (CRP) and lactate (Lac) were routinely measured. According to the worst clinical index value within 24 hours, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score were recorded. The concentrations of peripheral blood CD20+ CD24hi CD38hi Bregs were measured by flow cytometry at 1, 3 and 7 days after diagnosed in elderly patients. All patients with sepsis were followed up for 28 days and then divided into death group and survival group according to 28-day outcome. The difference of clinic data and Bregs were compared between the two groups. The significant different factors of elderly sepsis patients were analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. The correlation between Bregs level and other indicators was analyzed by Spearman correlation. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the prognosis value of Bregs in elderly patients with sepsis. Fifty-eight patients were enrolled in the study, with 38 male and 20 female; age of (79.91±7.97) years; 32 in sepsis group, 26 in septic shock group; 35 deaths, 28-day mortality rate was 60.3%. APACHE II score and SOFA score in death group exhibited much higher than that in survival group (APACHE II: 18.14±4.52 vs. 14.91±3.56, SOFA: 8.80±4.56 vs. 6.35±3.00, both P < 0.05), the Bregs was significantly decreased at 1, 3 and 7 days in death group [cells/μL: 0.70 (0.20, 1.40) vs. 1.50 (0.70, 2.20), 0.54 (0.20, 1.00) vs. 1.42 (1.10, 2.12), 0.25 (0.10, 0.50) vs. 0.80 (0.50, 1.00), all P < 0.05]. Correlation analysis showed that the concentrations of peripheral blood Bregs at 1 day in elderly patients with sepsis was negatively correlated with APACHE II score (r = -0.351, P = 0.007), and it was not correlated with PCT, CRP, Lac or SOFA score. It was shown by binary logistic regression that Bregs [odds ratio (OR) = 1.865, P = 0.028] and APACHE II score (OR = 0.853, P = 0.026) were independent risk factors for elderly sepsis outcome. It was shown by ROC curve analysis that the prognostic value of the levels of Bregs at 1, 3, 7 days and APACHE II score were higher in the elderly patients with sepsis, and the area under ROC curve (AUC) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were 0.842 (0.647-0.954), 0.770 (0.564-0.911), 0.888 (0.703-0.977), 0.855 (0.661-0.961), respectively, all P < 0.01. The 7-day Bregs was most powerful to predict outcome, when the cut-off value was 0.50 cells/μL, the sensitivity was 72.73% and specificity was 86.67%. The level of peripheral blood CD20+ CD24hi CD38hi Bregs could predict the clinical outcome of elderly patients with sepsis.

Effect of collimator angles on the dosimetric results of volumetric modulated arc therapy planning for patients with a locally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

In volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning, usually the collimator is rotated to minimize interleaf leakage and the tongue-and-groove effect. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of collimator angle on the dosimetric results of VMAT plans for patients with a locally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). VMAT treatment planning sets were generated using the same planning parameters, but with different collimator angles for 11 LA-NPC patients. Each set was composed of 10 plans with collimator angles at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 40, and 45 degrees. Dosimetric parameters, such as target coverage, organs at risk (OAR), and dose conformity, were analyzed at various collimator angles. With increasing collimator angles, the absorbed doses to the optic apparatus were increased by up to 35% comparing to that at a collimator angle of 0°. The best value of the conformity index (CI) was 0.971 ± 0.023 at collimator angles of 20° and 30°. The worst value of CI was 0.917 ± 0.051 at a collimator angle of 0°. The homogeneity index (HI)95 and HI98 had the best values of 0.106 ± 0.040 and 0.079 ± 0.031, respectively, at a collimator angle of 25°. The worst values of HI95 and HI98 were 0.136 ± 0.039 and 0.105 ± 0.032, respectively, at a collimator angle of of 0°. The maximum doses for some OARs (body, ear, parotid gland, mandible, and brainstem) and the HI did not show any statistically significant differences. However, the mean doses had positive correlations (r = 0.449 ~ 0.773, p<0.001) with the irradiated volume. The CI had a weak positive correlation (r = 0.316, p<0.001) with the irradiated volume. Other comparison parameters were evaluated as functions of the collimator angle. These findings will give useful information for choosing the collimator angle in VMAT plans for patients with a LA-NPC.

Predictive value of four different scoring systems for septic patient's outcome: a retrospective analysis with 311 patients

To study the predicting value of four different scoring systems such as the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, quick SOFA (qSOFA) score and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score for the prognosis of septic patients. A retrospective analysis were conducted. Septic patients in intensive care unit (ICU) of the First People's Hospital of Chenzhou form July 1st, 2012 to June 30th, 2016 were enrolled. Patients were divided into survival group and death group according to 28-day outcome. The difference of clinic data, the worst clinical index value within 24 hours, whether mechanical ventilation performed on first day, length of stay in ICU, APACHE II score, SOFA score, qSOFA score and SIRS score were compared between the two groups. The significant different factors of sepsis outcome in univariate analysis were analyzed by multiple logistic regression, and the ability of four scoring systems was tested by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. 311 patients were enrolled in this study (221 survivals, 90 deaths, 28-day mortality rate 28.9%). Univariate analysis showed age, mechanical ventilation ratio, urine output, length of stay in ICU and the fastest heart beat rate (HR), the lowest systolic blood pressure (SBP), the lowest mean arterial pressure (MAP), HCO3-, minimum arterial blood oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), minimum oxygenation index (PaO2/FiO2), the maximum fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), Na+, the highest concentration of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), the highest concentration of serum creatinine (SCr), minimum concentration of plasma albumin (Alb), Glasgow coma score (GCS) score, APACHE II score, SOFA score, qSOFA score, within 24 hours after diagnosis were significantly different between two groups (all P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.388, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.074-1.794, P = 0.012], PaO2/FiO2 (OR = 0.459, 95%CI = 0.259-0.812, P = 0.007), concentration of plasma Alb (OR = 0.523, 95%CI = 0.303-0.903, P = 0.020), GCS score (OR = 0.541, 95%CI = 0.303-0.967, P = 0.038) and SOFA scores (OR = 3.189, 95%CI = 1.813-5.610, P = 0.000) were independent risk factors for sepsis outcome. ROC curve test showed the APACHE II score, SOFA score and qSOFA score had the ability to predict the outcome in critical ill patients with sepsis, the SOFA score of the most powerful, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.700, when the cut-off value was 7.5 points, the sensitivity was 73.3% and specificity was 58.8%. APACHE II score, SOFA score and qSOFA score have the predictive properties for septic patients. SOFA score is an independent prognostic risk factor of sepsis, while qSOFA score can be widely used in clinical practice as the advantage of quick evaluating.

A vendor-managed inventory system considering the redundancy allocation problem and carbon emissions

This paper presents a novel and practical multi-product Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) system reliability in a green supply chain including a single manufacturer and multiple retailers operating in distinct markets without any conflicts of interest. The manufacturer produces several products and dispatches them to the retailers at different wholesale prices under a common replenishment cycle policy. In contrast, the retailers sell the purchased products to customers at different retail prices. On the other hand, the manufacture encounters a Redundancy Allocation Problem (RAP), which is a useful method of enhancing system production reliability. Furthermore, to emphasize global warming and human health concerns as well as to create a green supply chain, this paper considers the tax cost of industrial carbon emissions of all products produced and a limitation on total carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the manufacturer desires to maximize the total production system reliability by adding machines to the production system regarding constraints such as available budget, space and the total tax cost. Therefore, the manufacturer desires to maximize the total net profit as well as the mean time to failure of its production system using a redundancy allocation problem. With this aim, the max–min approach by utilizing GAMS/BARON software is utilized to maximize the minimum (the worst) value of the objective functions. Finally, numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology. Sensitivity analysis on the green approach is conducted to provide more insights as well.

An ecological estimation of surface-water quality of the Tsyr river in accordance of categories

The deterioration of the ecological status of small river basins, and in this regard, and the quality of water in the rivers of the Pripyat basin is due to large-scale hydrotechnical reclamation, deforestation and increase of areas of cultivated land, recreation, soil erosion, radionuclide contamination of the territories as a result of the Chornobyl catastrophe, industrial development , Pollution by municipal wastewater and more.Purpose.. Study of the ecological state of the Tsyr river, analysis of hydro-chemical, tropho-saprobiological descriptions and content of specific substances of toxic action, determination of class and category of water quality. Methods. Field researches, Analytical methods. Results. The modern approaches for the groups of factors of river pools anthropogenic transformation are considered. The tests of the Tsyr river water are selected and analysed of three blocks of substances: salt composition, tropho-saprobiological block and block of specific substances of toxic action. A class and category of water quality are certained for every block. It is set that on the indexes of hydro-chemical block quality of water in the Tsyr river belongs to the I class and to the I category – excellent water. In the second block of substances the best value has a pH-value in obedience to that water of the river belong to the I class and to I category – excellent water. The worst value has an index of content of phosphates, where the water quality of the river belongs to V of class – very bad and VII category – very dirty. In the third block there are the best indexes quality of water, which belongs to the I class and the 1 category and it is estimated as excellent. The worst indexes belongs to the IV of class – bad and VI category – dirty. Conclusions. The nutrients content and the potassium content determines the state of the small river Cir as very bad, dirty. It is recommended to monitor the dynamics of water quality changes in the river Tsir.

高層建築物の外装材に作用する風力に対する外圧および内圧の影響

The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of the external pressures and internal pressures on the wind loads to use in wind-resistant design for the cladding of high-rise buildings. In order to measure the external pressures acting on the assumed high-rise building, a wind tunnel experiment using the reduced scale model of 1/250 was conducted. This assumed building is a high-rise building with an eaves-height of 45m having a rectangular plane width of 40m and a depth of 25m. The wind tunnel facility used in the experiment was the closed-circuit type boundary-layer wind tunnel having a testing section length of 20m, height of 2.5m and width of 3.6m. The characteristics of the boundary-layer flow used in the experiment were to match the nominal flow of the flat terrain of neutral stability conditions. The external pressures on the scale model of the assumed high-rise building were measured using the multi channel simultaneous measuring system (MCSMS). Details of the wind tunnel experiment are discussed in Chapter 2. The numerical simulation used both a leakage flow model and the external pressure was conducted to estimate the internal pressures in the assumed building induced by the wind. The leakage flow model has been constructed by applying Poiseuille's law. Details of the numerical simulation are discussed in Chapter 3. The net pressure was evaluated by subtracting the internal pressure from the external pressure. In Chapter 4 the properties of the net pressure coefficient, the external pressure coefficient, the internal pressure coefficient, and the power spectrum density distribution and probability density distribution are discussed. In Chapter 5 the correlation properties of between the external pressures and the internal pressures are discussed. In Chapter 6 the properties of the peak values (maximum and minimum) of the essential net pressure coefficients to the wind-resistant design of the cladding are discussed. Both of the largest peak net pressure coefficients and the largest peak external pressure coefficients (worst value in any wind direction) are compared with the recommendations values (2015) of AIJ in this Chapter. In Chapter 7 the method of approximating the peak net pressure using the mean internal pressure and the peak external pressure is discussed. Furthermore, in this Chapter the method approximating the peak net pressure using the peak external pressure and the peak internal pressure is also discussed. From the above results, the following findings were obtained. 1) The effects on the net pressure fluctuations of the external pressure fluctuations are more dominant than the internal pressure fluctuations. 2) The effects on the net pressures of the partitions are remarkable in case of a low airtight. 3) The probability distribution of the net pressure can be approximated by a Gamma distribution or Gauss distribution based on the skewness, the same as external and internal pressure. 4) The correlation coefficients between the external pressures and internal pressures on the cladding are almost positive values. 5) The largest (worst) maximum net pressure coefficient for any wind direction on the cladding of the assumed high-rise building of a high airtight almost agreed with the recommendation values (2015) of AIJ. 6) The tightness effects on the largest minimum net pressure coefficient are small. 7) In case of the building with a high airtight, the peak net pressure on the cladding can be approximated using the mean internal pressure and the peak external pressure. 8) The peak net pressure on the cladding obtained from the peak value of the external pressure and internal pressure is evaluated on the safety side, in case of independent.

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Comparison between Extended Daily Hemodialysis and Continuous Veno-venous Hemodialysis in Patients of Acute Kidney Injury with Septic Shock.

Aim of Study:Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in patients of septic shock. There is sparse data comparing sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in patients with septic shock.Materials and Methods:This is a prospective randomized study in a 12-bedded medical intensive care unit. After clearance from institute's ethics committee and obtaining informed consent from the relatives, sixty adult patients with septic shock who were to undergo dialysis for AKI were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to SLED or CRRT group. Hemodynamic instability was defined as in terms of vasopressor dependency (VD). The worst value of VD during the dialysis session was taken into consideration. The primary objective was look at hemodynamic changes and secondarily into the efficacy.Results:The demographic data were comparable between the sixty patients randomized to thirty in each group. Delta VD and delta vasopressor index (DVI) were similar in SLED group compared to the CRRT group. CRRT group had better efficacy in terms of both equivalent renal urea clearance though fluid balance was not significantly better in CRRT group.Conclusion:SLED is a viable modality of renal replacement therapy in patients with septic shock as the hemodynamic effects are similar to CRRT.

Emotion and Techniques of Propaganda in YouTube Videos

Objectives: This study aims to comprehend relationships between YouTube video elements—the techniques of propaganda and people’s emotions, and simultaneously discover influences of video elements in each emotion. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Kansei Engineering has been established as being compatible to be applied for the purpose of understanding human emotions and psychology, thus this study employs this approach by using 30 Kansei Words, adopted from PANAS-X emotional descriptors. 10 YouTube videos were selected as stimulus, and Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis was executed to identify those relationships. Findings: From the results obtained, it is evident that the techniques of propaganda element in YouTube videos conjure people’s emotion that could affect unity. Firstly, in order to analyse design requirements, PLS was executed to identify relationships between emotion and video elements that could affect people’s unity. It is also used to discover the influence of video elements in each emotion, the best and worst value for each video element, and the kind of emotion elicited by each specimen, so as to counter such propaganda video. Secondly, the PLS Range of each emotion was calculated to determine the influence of video elements to emotion. The calculation of Range allows the identification of element/design influence, the good element, as well as the bad element. Finally, the result from the PLS scores are used to compose the propaganda element/design requirement. The propaganda element/design elements included in the guideline are the components that have high influence (for each ‘Category’) in eliciting each Kansei/emotion. Application/ Improvements: The result provides insights to people’s emotional response towards propaganda videos and how the techniques affect the emotional responses. This could then be used as a guide to designing counter-propaganda videos that embed targeted responses by the people.Keywords: Emotion, Kansei, Techniques of Propaganda, Unity, YouTube

Assessment the Effect of Drought on Vegetation in Desert Area using Landsat Data

Drought phenomenon is one kind of a disaster that can significantly affect the density of vegetation in any area especially dry regions. This study tries to express the effect of drought on vegetation cover in Yazd-Ardakan plain, central Iran. At first, annual average for SPI index was calculated from 1996 to 2015, and then NDVI was calculated for May in 1998, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015. Afterwards, NDVI maps were classified into three groups including no vegetation, poor vegetation (pastures), and dense vegetation (farmlands and gardens). Based on the results the worst value of drought was −1.92 in year 1999. Besides, the annual SPI of 1996 with value of 2.4 was considered as the wettest year during study period (1996–2015). The highest percentage of dense vegetation and poor vegetation were related to 2010 and 1998 respectively, and the lowest percentage for both classes was related to 2000. There was correlation among the area of poor vegetation class in middle of spring and previous annual SPI at the significant level of 95%. In contract, no correlation was found between dense vegetation class areas in middle spring and previous amount of annual SPI. The study of the correlation between the SPI average and the percentage of vegetation classes indicated that pastures were highly sensitive to SPI changes; however, farming lands showed less sensitivity in short term due to using deep wells.

Optimization of HSDPA Network in Malang City Area Using Drive Test

With the influence of customer growth and environmental influences from an HSDPA network in the form of nodeB which stands in the Malang City area, it can experience integration. This causes measurements to be carried out continuously and periodically to provide the latest radio environmental information. The vendor as the network operator performs optimization in order to provide customers with the best quality service. One of them is in the form of network performance which aims to ensure that network resources are used efficiently. The method in achieving network optimization that is still used by vendors in Indonesia is by measuring network performance, then analyzing the results of measuring network performance and finally network tuning. For measuring network performance using a test drive. Of the 13 nodeB in Lowokwaru District, Malang City, it is necessary to optimize the HSDPA network with the suggestion of a downtilt antenna on the Ketawanggede nodeB sector 3, which is 2º The results of the calculation of the path loss parameters from each of the 13 nodeBs obtained the highest value of 125.31 dB at nodeB Ketawanggede and the lowest 114.29 dB at nodeB Vinolia Malang sector 3. The results of the RSCP parameter calculation at 13 nodeB obtained the best value at nodeB Vinolia Malang sector 3 with RSCP of -69.29dBm. While the worst value at nodeB Ketawanggede with RSCP is -80.31dBm.

Off-Axis Characteristics of CPV Modules Result From Lens-Cell Misalignment—Measurement and Monte Carlo Simulation

Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) requires accuracy in optical alignment. Optical misalignment in the module was measured and analyzed. Such information was useful to identify assembly problems and improved module performance. A Monte Carlo simulation was developed to analyze the impact of alignment errors by assembly errors. The simulation result implied that the key statistical parameters for module performance were not averaged errors but the standard deviation and the worst value. “Cutting above certain level” was effective, including the introduction of jigs that keep misalignment at a certain level. The standard deviation of misalignment should be controlled to less than 20% of the designed acceptance half angle.

Peritoneal sampling and histological assessment of therapeutic response in peritoneal metastasis: proposal of the Peritoneal Regression Grading Score (PRGS).

Background: Multimodal therapeutic strategies have improved the outcome of peritoneal metastases (PM). However, objective assessment of therapy response remains difficult in PM, since radiological studies have a poor accuracy for low-volumetric disease. There is an obvious need for a histological gold standard allowing assessment of tumor response to treatment in PM. Content: We propose to perform peritoneal punch biopsies with a diameter of 3 to 5 mm in all four abdominal quadrants. We propose a four-tier Peritoneal Regression Grading Score (PRGS), defined as Grade 1: complete response (absence of tumor cells), Grade 2: major response (major regression features, few residual tumor cells), Grade 3: minor response (some regressive features but predominance of residual tumor cells), Grade 4: no response (tumor cells without any regressive features). Acellular mucin and infarct-like necrosis should be regarded as regression features. We recommend reporting the mean and the worst value of the regression grades obtained. When complete tumor response is suspected intraoperatively, a peritoneal cytology should be sampled. Summary: A generic, unique score for the assessment of histological tumor response to chemotherapy in PM makes sense because of the clinical impact of histological response to therapy and because the organ of metastasis (peritoneum) is the same. By adopting PRGS, different centers will be able to use a uniform terminology and grading that will allow meaningful comparison of their results. Outlook: PRGS has now to be validated in several gastrointestinal and gynecological cancer types and may be useful both in clinical and research settings.

Modified Agglomerative Clustering by Klassen Disparities for Identification Hierarchical Cluster of Regional Developing Countries

Inequality of regional development is a global problem and faced by many countries, including Indonesia. Various attempts were made to reduce inequality in the region, one of them is by analyzing the imbalance with appropriate methods that can be used as a basis for policy making prioritization of future development. Klassen methods typically used to analyze the inequality of the region according to the indicators Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). However, the division of the region inequality using Klassen deemed too rigid, given the existence of a possible relationship between the regions and in each of the groups formed by Klassen. This research aims to develop a new approach that can be used to analyze the inequality of development of the region. Aggromerative cluster hierarchical cluster technique modified with Klassen named Modified Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering with Klassen (MHACK). The results shows that the use of algorithms MHACK, besides being able to classify the area into four main clusters, are also capable of forming the new group hierarchy for each region in each of the main cluster. Cophenet distance coefficient showed that MHACK algorithm has 0.9950 for Quadrant I, and 0.9154 for Quadrant II. In addition, the city of Magelang is indicated as an advanced and rapidly growing region with a poor value of GRDP, while Cilacap, Kudus, Boyolali, Brebes and Wonogiri indicated as a potential and growing region but has the worst value of GRDP.

Radar absorbing properties of carbon nanotubes/polymer composites in the V-band

This research is devoted to the study of radar absorbing properties of the composites, based on the epoxy binder and carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the frequency range of 52–73 GHz. Three species of unmodified multi-walled CNT differing in length and diameter were investigated as fillers. The reflection coefficients (K refl) at the radar absorbing material (RAM)–air interface and the electro-magnetic radiation (EMR) absorption coefficients (K abs) in the materials with the different content of nanotubes were measured (K refl and K abs were calculated using the highest (the worst) value of the voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) in the frequency range of 52–73 GHz). It was established that the increase in nanotubes aspect ratio (a ratio of CNT length to its diameter) leads to K abs rising for polymer composites. Also, CNT diameter decrease leads to K refl reduction. CNT of 8–15 nm in diameter and more than 2 μm in length are the most effective from all investigated fillers. The reflection loss values were calculated and CNT optimal concentrations were obtained at different thickness of RAMs.

Performance evaluation of two PV technologies (c-Si and CIS) for building integrated photovoltaic based on tropical climate condition: A case study in Malaysia

This paper presents two grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems (monocrystalline silicon, c-Si; copper–indium–diselenide; CIS) situated on the rooftop of the solar lab building in the National University of Malaysia, southwestern Malaysia. Various parameters were used to analyze the system performance; including array yield, final yield, capacity factor, and performance ratio. The recordings were noted down under the actual climatic conditions for an entire year. The variables of energy cost and payback period were also considered to calculate the economic feasibility of the system. Variations in the final yield of CIS were as low as 2.98h/day in July to the highest value of 4.31h/day in March. The final yield for c-Si power plant ranged from 2.92h/day in July to 4.14h/day in March. The calculated capacity factors for CIS and c-Si power plants were 15.6% and 14.4%, respectively, in July as the worst value, and 21.12% and 20.2%, respectively, in March as the best value. In the case of CIS power plant, the performance ratio ranges from 63.8 in July to 84.12 in March, and for c-Si power plant, it ranges from 59.92 in July to 79.14 in March. The energy cost and the payback period of the suggested system were evaluated as 0.045 USD/kWh and 28.44 years, respectively. Finally, this study provides valuable information for those who are interested in PV system installation in the tropical zones.

Greenhouse gas calculator at farm level addressed to the growers

When assessing agricultural products using life cycle assessment (LCA), the farmers play a key role as they have first-hand information to understanding the activities involved in the assessed systems. However, the compilation of these data can be tiresome and complicated. To engage farmers in the LCA, a web tool (eFoodPrint Env®) was designed to facilitate their tasks as much as possible, seeking the trade-off between comprehensiveness and time consumption without affecting the quality. The model relies on primary data for the specific parcel and growing season; it starts with the ancillary materials extraction and ends with the transport of products to the corresponding cooperative. The model excludes the infrastructure except in the cases of protected crops including greenhouses. To build the inventory, the web tool guides the user through a questionnaire divided in cultivation, machinery, fertilization, plant treatment, and transport. Carbon footprint is computed with global warming potentials of the International Panel of Climate Change following the norm PAS2050. The calculations behind the web tool have the following modules: (1) farming input and output flows; (2) database and default data; (3) greenhouse infrastructure; (4) impact assessment; (5) uncertainty analysis, and (6) results module. The web tool is already in use and can be applied to most of agricultural facilities. Examples of estates of corn, nectarine, grape, and tomato are herein showed. The application displays the results distributed in the different stages considered in each product system, and the scores include error bars derived from the uncertainty analysis. Corn production showed the highest carbon footprint per kilogram of product, with a high contribution due to fertilizer production and application. The carbon footprint of tomato production in low-tunnel greenhouse showed nearly 30 % of impact related only to the greenhouse structure. Regarding uncertainty, the worst value is also associated to the corn production for which the most uncertain activities have more influence (fertilizer and transport). The design of the tool has the objective of meeting the requirements of data quality and comprehensiveness with the reality of the farms. The tool is generic enough to be applied to different cropping systems, enabling the generation of simple reports with the results of the analysis. The modular structures of both data entry and model calculation allow the identification of potential sources of uncertainty and hotspots within the studied life cycle stages.

Efficiency ranking method using DEA and TOPSIS (ERM-DT): case of an Indian bank

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a tie-breaking procedure for computing performance efficiencies to improve benchmarking and performance evaluation process in a business situation. Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a unified approach based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), to overcome the difficulty of unique ranking in the prevalent benchmarking and performance evaluation processes such as DEA, Super efficiency DEA model, etc., under constant return to scale (CRS) assumption. This model is called as efficiency ranking method using DEA and TOPSIS (ERM-DT). In order to check the consistency of the approach, various input-output combinations (to calculate the efficiencies) have been illustrated. Further, the authors present a case of an Indian Bank to illustrate an application of the proposed approach. Findings – The proposed approach, ERM-DT enables assign a unique rank to decision making units and provides a tie breaking procedure. Results obtained using the proposed approach are statistically compared with those obtained from the CRS DEA approach and super efficiency DEA approach using Friedman’s test. Practical implications – The proposed model provides an efficiency ranking method based on a score obtained by considering the minimum distance from the best value and maximum distance from the worst value. The proposed methodology is capable of handling negative data and undesirable output variables. This approach is unit invariant and makes the calculations simple. The authors present an application to compute the efficiency of various branches of an Indian bank. The authors hope the proposed method can enhance the decision-making ability of the management in complex situations. Originality/value – The authors propose an integrated DEA and TOPSIS framework for better benchmarking and performance evaluation. This approach provides a tie-breaking procedure for the efficiencies computed using CRS DEA approach. Ranks are assigned based on score obtained by considering the distance from the worst and the best solution. The proposed approach can be used with non-positive data points and undesirable output variables.

Pareto-Optimal Evaluation of Ultimate Limit States in Offshore Wind Turbine Structural Analysis

The ultimate capacity of support structures is checked with extreme loads. This is straightforward when the limit state equations depend on a single load component, and it has become common to report maxima for each load component. However, if more than one load component is influential, e.g., both axial force and bending moments, it is not straightforward how to define an extreme load. The combination of univariate maxima can be too conservative, and many different combinations of load components can result in the worst value of the limit state equations. The use of contemporaneous load vectors is typically non-conservative. Therefore, in practice, limit state checks are done for each possible load vector, from each time step of a simulation. This is not feasible when performing reliability assessments and structural optimization, where additional, time-consuming computations are involved for each load vector. We therefore propose to use Pareto-optimal loads, which are a small set of loads that together represent all possible worst case scenarios. Simulations with two reference wind turbines show that this approach can be very useful for jacket structures, whereas the design of monopiles is often governed by the bending moment only. Even in this case, the approach might be useful when approaching the structural limits during optimization.

Abstract 3434: An evaluation of laboratory data at admission for predicting mortality among critically ill patients with cancer

Abstract BACKGROUND: Accurately estimating the life expectancy of patients with metastatic or advanced cancer is a crucial step to planning appropriate palliative or supportive care. We analyzed laboratory test results within 2 days of hospital admission for their value in predicting the likelihood of mortality at 14-day hospital admission. METHODS: We retrospectively selected patients 18 years of age or older who had a diagnosis of cancer and were defined as critically ill by their admission to medical ICU, surgical ICU, and palliative or supportive care services in our hospital. We extracted the highest and lowest values of each laboratory test result within 2 days of admission, and the worst value was kept. We used the median and quartiles of results as cutoff points to create dummy variables for estimating odds ratio (OR) at the logistic regression model. We analyzed the following independent variables for their predictive value: age, gender, and the results of the 7 laboratory tests most commonly ordered, including serum creatinine, BUN, total serum albumin, serum LDH, hematocrit, WBC count, and platelet count. The endpoint is death within 14 days after admission, whether in hospital or out of hospital. RESULTS: Of 901 patients identified in development cohort, 573 had solid tumor (84% with metastatic); 328 had hematologic malignancy (37% with relapse); and 44% died within 14 days (ICU vs. supportive care: 49% vs. 40%, P&amp;lt;0.01). Of 424 patients in the validation cohort, 267 had solid tumor (83% with metastatic); 157 had hematologic malignancy (41% with relapse); and 48% died within 14 days (ICU vs. supportive care: 49% vs. 44%, P&amp;gt;0.1). There was no difference in mortality between patients with metastatic and/or relapsed disease compared to the rest of the group for both cohorts (Ps&amp;gt;0.5). The risk of death within 14 days of follow up after admission was associated with age, LDH, WBC count, albumin, and platelet count. In the patients with age ≥ 65 years had an OR of death 1.52 (P&amp;lt;0.01) compared with the patients younger than 55 years old. In the group of patients in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles of LDH levels had an OR 2.69 (P&amp;lt;0.01), 2.69 (P&amp;lt;0.01), 4.86 (P&amp;lt;0.01)) compared with the lowest quartile. In the patients in the lowest 1st quartile of albumin had an OR 1.86 (P&amp;lt;0.01) compared with the highest quartile . In the patients in the lowest 1st quartile of platelet count had an OR of death of 1.90 (P&amp;lt;0.01) compared with the highest quartile. In the patients in the 3rd and 4th quartiles of WBC count had an OR of 1.67 (P&amp;lt;0.01), 2.03 (P&amp;lt;0.01) compared with the 2nd quartile. The c-statistics for development and validation cohorts were 0.74 (P&amp;lt;0.01) and 0.70 (P&amp;lt;0.01), respectively. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that laboratory test results within the first 2 days from admission are valuable factors in predicting short-term mortality for patients with metastatic or advanced cancer and who are at significant risk of dying. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Lee Cheng, Yvette DeJesus, Alma M. Rodriguez. An evaluation of laboratory data at admission for predicting mortality among critically ill patients with cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3434. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3434

Monte Carlo Simulation for Computing the Worst Value of the Objective Function in the Interval Linear Programming

In this paper, we consider the interval linear programming (ILP) with equality constraints. Computing the best value of the objective function is easy, but obtaining the worst value of the objective function is much more complicated. Firstly, we determine range of optimal values of the objective function. Secondly, by considering some distribution functions, we use Monte Carlo simulation to explore the solutions for the ILP model, and then we compare the results obtained through the simulations.