Task allocation in a distributed computing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seward, Walter D.

1987-01-01

A conceptual framework is examined for task allocation in distributed systems. Application and computing system parameters critical to task allocation decision processes are discussed. Task allocation techniques are addressed which focus on achieving a balance in the load distribution among the system's processors. Equalization of computing load among the processing elements is the goal. Examples of system performance are presented for specific applications. Both static and dynamic allocation of tasks are considered and system performance is evaluated using different task allocation methodologies.

DCS (Defense Communications System) Technical Control Engineering Criteria. Revision 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-05-01

Switched Network 5-9-14 5.9.6(g) Application of Principle of Time-Slot Interchange for Alt-Routing 5-9-15 5.9.6(h) Digital Interface (typical...is an approximate chart and does not take into account signal degradations which may be caused by frame cross-connects, patch jacks, or splices...Manual, TSEC/KG-30/30A/33A/34/34A Volume I - Description, Installation, and Principles of Operation KAM-238/TSEC Maintenance Maliual TSEC/KG-30/30A/33/33A

Distributed processor allocation for launching applications in a massively connected processors complex

DOEpatents

Pedretti, Kevin

2008-11-18

A compute processor allocator architecture for allocating compute processors to run applications in a multiple processor computing apparatus is distributed among a subset of processors within the computing apparatus. Each processor of the subset includes a compute processor allocator. The compute processor allocators can share a common database of information pertinent to compute processor allocation. A communication path permits retrieval of information from the database independently of the compute processor allocators.

Parallel Processing of Broad-Band PPM Signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Andrew; Kang, Edward; Lay, Norman; Vilnrotter, Victor; Srinivasan, Meera; Lee, Clement

2010-01-01

A parallel-processing algorithm and a hardware architecture to implement the algorithm have been devised for timeslot synchronization in the reception of pulse-position-modulated (PPM) optical or radio signals. As in the cases of some prior algorithms and architectures for parallel, discrete-time, digital processing of signals other than PPM, an incoming broadband signal is divided into multiple parallel narrower-band signals by means of sub-sampling and filtering. The number of parallel streams is chosen so that the frequency content of the narrower-band signals is low enough to enable processing by relatively-low speed complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronic circuitry. The algorithm and architecture are intended to satisfy requirements for time-varying time-slot synchronization and post-detection filtering, with correction of timing errors independent of estimation of timing errors. They are also intended to afford flexibility for dynamic reconfiguration and upgrading. The architecture is implemented in a reconfigurable CMOS processor in the form of a field-programmable gate array. The algorithm and its hardware implementation incorporate three separate time-varying filter banks for three distinct functions: correction of sub-sample timing errors, post-detection filtering, and post-detection estimation of timing errors. The design of the filter bank for correction of timing errors, the method of estimating timing errors, and the design of a feedback-loop filter are governed by a host of parameters, the most critical one, with regard to processing very broadband signals with CMOS hardware, being the number of parallel streams (equivalently, the rate-reduction parameter).

Equalizing Matching Grants and the Allocative and Distributive Objectives of Public School Financing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatti, James F.; Tashman, Leonard J.

1976-01-01

Argues that typical Equalizing Matching Grant (EMG) systems for distributing state school aid cannot be expected to achieve the allocative and distributive goals of school finance. Derives a generalized EMG system and specific school aid formula that satisfy the allocative and distributive criteria. Available from: NTA-TIA, 21 East State Street,…

Standardized Low-Power Wireless Communication Technologies for Distributed Sensing Applications

PubMed Central

Vilajosana, Xavier; Tuset-Peiro, Pere; Vazquez-Gallego, Francisco; Alonso-Zarate, Jesus; Alonso, Luis

2014-01-01

Recent standardization efforts on low-power wireless communication technologies, including time-slotted channel hopping (TSCH) and DASH7 Alliance Mode (D7AM), are starting to change industrial sensing applications, enabling networks to scale up to thousands of nodes whilst achieving high reliability. Past technologies, such as ZigBee, rooted in IEEE 802.15.4, and ISO 18000-7, rooted in frame-slotted ALOHA (FSA), are based on contention medium access control (MAC) layers and have very poor performance in dense networks, thus preventing the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm from really taking off. Industrial sensing applications, such as those being deployed in oil refineries, have stringent requirements on data reliability and are being built using new standards. Despite the benefits of these new technologies, industrial shifts are not happening due to the enormous technology development and adoption costs and the fact that new standards are not well-known and completely understood. In this article, we provide a deep analysis of TSCH and D7AM, outlining operational and implementation details with the aim of facilitating the adoption of these technologies to sensor application developers. PMID:24518893

Standardized low-power wireless communication technologies for distributed sensing applications.

PubMed

Vilajosana, Xavier; Tuset-Peiro, Pere; Vazquez-Gallego, Francisco; Alonso-Zarate, Jesus; Alonso, Luis

2014-02-10

Recent standardization efforts on low-power wireless communication technologies, including time-slotted channel hopping (TSCH) and DASH7 Alliance Mode (D7AM), are starting to change industrial sensing applications, enabling networks to scale up to thousands of nodes whilst achieving high reliability. Past technologies, such as ZigBee, rooted in IEEE 802.15.4, and ISO 18000-7, rooted in frame-slotted ALOHA (FSA), are based on contention medium access control (MAC) layers and have very poor performance in dense networks, thus preventing the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm from really taking off. Industrial sensing applications, such as those being deployed in oil refineries, have stringent requirements on data reliability and are being built using new standards. Despite the benefits of these new technologies, industrial shifts are not happening due to the enormous technology development and adoption costs and the fact that new standards are not well-known and completely understood. In this article, we provide a deep analysis of TSCH and D7AM, outlining operational and implementation details with the aim of facilitating the adoption of these technologies to sensor application developers.

Cross-cultural differences in distributive justice: a comparison of Turkey and the U.S.

PubMed

Murphy-Berman, Virginia A; Berman, John J; Cukur, Cem Safak

2012-01-01

When allocators make decisions about distributing resources, they face a dilemma if the expectations for consequences that will flow from particular choices are incongruent with each other. For example, a certain allocation choice might be expected to make an allocator appear warm and likable but unfair. Previous research has found that culture can shape these perceptions and, thus, their congruence or incongruence. The present study further investigated these ideas. Differences between Turkish and U.S. students' perceptions of allocators who distributed resources on the basis of merit vs. need were investigated. Results revealed an allocation dilemma among the U.S. but not among the Turkish students. Specifically, the U.S. students perceived greater incongruence among allocation consequences for both merit and need choices than did the students from Turkey for whom perceptions of allocator's fairness were more aligned with perceptions of allocator's warmth.

[Equity of Health Resources Allocation in Minority Regions of Sichuan Province].

PubMed

Chen, Nan; Tang, Wen; Liang, Zhi; Zou, Bo; Li, Xiao-song

2016-03-01

To determine equity of health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province from 2009 to 2013. Health resources distribution equity among populations and across geographic catchments were measured using coefficients of Inter-Individual differences and Individual-Mean differences. Health resources, especially human resources, in minority regions increased slowly over the years. Poorer allocation equity was found in nursing resources compared with doctors and hospital beds. Better distribution equity was found among populations than across geographic catchments. High levels of equity in resource distributions among populations and across geographic catchments were found in Aba. In Liangshan, more equitable distributions were found in doctors and hospital beds compared with nurses. The rest of minority regions had poor absolute allocation equity in doctors and hospital beds among populations. Appropriate allocation of health resources can promote health development. Health resources allocation in minority regions of Sichuan province is unreasonable. The government and relevant departments should take actions to optimize health resources allocations.

26 CFR 1.652(b)-2 - Allocation of income items.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Trusts Which Distribute Current Income Only § 1.652(b)-2 Allocation of income items... distributable net income of the trust (as defined in section 643(a)) as the total of each class bears to such distributable net income, unless the terms of the trust specifically allocate different classes of income to...

A data-driven allocation tool for in-kind resources distributed by a state health department.

PubMed

Peterson, Cora; Kegler, Scott R; Parker, Wende R; Sullivan, David

2016-10-02

The objective of this study was to leverage a state health department's operational data to allocate in-kind resources (children's car seats) to counties, with the proposition that need-based allocation could ultimately improve public health outcomes. This study used a retrospective analysis of administrative data on car seats distributed to counties statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health and development of a need-based allocation tool (presented as interactive supplemental digital content, adaptable to other types of in-kind public health resources) that relies on current county-level injury and sociodemographic data. Car seat allocation using public health data and a need-based formula resulted in substantially different recommended allocations to individual counties compared to historic distribution. Results indicate that making an in-kind public health resource like car seats universally available results in a less equitable distribution of that resource compared to deliberate allocation according to public health need. Public health agencies can use local data to allocate in-kind resources consistent with health objectives; that is, in a manner offering the greatest potential health impact. Future analysis can determine whether the change to a more equitable allocation of resources is also more efficient, resulting in measurably improved public health outcomes.

FOR Allocation to Distribution Systems based on Credible Improvement Potential (CIP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwary, Aditya; Arya, L. D.; Arya, Rajesh; Choube, S. C.

2017-02-01

This paper describes an algorithm for forced outage rate (FOR) allocation to each section of an electrical distribution system subject to satisfaction of reliability constraints at each load point. These constraints include threshold values of basic reliability indices, for example, failure rate, interruption duration and interruption duration per year at load points. Component improvement potential measure has been used for FOR allocation. Component with greatest magnitude of credible improvement potential (CIP) measure is selected for improving reliability performance. The approach adopted is a monovariable method where one component is selected for FOR allocation and in the next iteration another component is selected for FOR allocation based on the magnitude of CIP. The developed algorithm is implemented on sample radial distribution system.

A group-based tasks allocation algorithm for the optimization of long leave opportunities in academic departments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eyono Obono, S. D.; Basak, Sujit Kumar

2011-12-01

The general formulation of the assignment problem consists in the optimal allocation of a given set of tasks to a workforce. This problem is covered by existing literature for different domains such as distributed databases, distributed systems, transportation, packets radio networks, IT outsourcing, and teaching allocation. This paper presents a new version of the assignment problem for the allocation of academic tasks to staff members in departments with long leave opportunities. It presents the description of a workload allocation scheme and its algorithm, for the allocation of an equitable number of tasks in academic departments where long leaves are necessary.

An Optimization Framework for Dynamic, Distributed Real-Time Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckert, Klaus; Juedes, David; Welch, Lonnie; Chelberg, David; Bruggerman, Carl; Drews, Frank; Fleeman, David; Parrott, David; Pfarr, Barbara

2003-01-01

Abstract. This paper presents a model that is useful for developing resource allocation algorithms for distributed real-time systems .that operate in dynamic environments. Interesting aspects of the model include dynamic environments, utility and service levels, which provide a means for graceful degradation in resource-constrained situations and support optimization of the allocation of resources. The paper also provides an allocation algorithm that illustrates how to use the model for producing feasible, optimal resource allocations.

Adaptive allocation for binary outcomes using decreasingly informative priors.

PubMed

Sabo, Roy T

2014-01-01

A method of outcome-adaptive allocation is presented using Bayes methods, where a natural lead-in is incorporated through the use of informative yet skeptical prior distributions for each treatment group. These prior distributions are modeled on unobserved data in such a way that their influence on the allocation scheme decreases as the trial progresses. Simulation studies show this method to behave comparably to the Bayesian adaptive allocation method described by Thall and Wathen (2007), who incorporate a natural lead-in through sample-size-based exponents.

Distributed Multi-Cell Resource Allocation with Price Based ICI Coordination in Downlink OFDMA Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Gangming; Zhu, Shihua; Hui, Hui

Multi-cell resource allocation under minimum rate request for each user in OFDMA networks is addressed in this paper. Based on Lagrange dual decomposition theory, the joint multi-cell resource allocation problem is decomposed and modeled as a limited-cooperative game, and a distributed multi-cell resource allocation algorithm is thus proposed. Analysis and simulation results show that, compared with non-cooperative iterative water-filling algorithm, the proposed algorithm can remarkably reduce the ICI level and improve overall system performances.

24 CFR 791.404 - Field Office allocation planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Field Office allocation planning... Allocation of Budget Authority for Housing Assistance § 791.404 Field Office allocation planning. (a) General objective. The allocation planning process should provide for the equitable distribution of available budget...

Equity in the allocation of public sector financial resources in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Anselmi, Laura; Lagarde, Mylene; Hanson, Kara

2015-05-01

This review aims to identify, assess and analyse the evidence on equity in the distribution of public health sector expenditure in low- and middle-income countries. Four bibliographic databases and five websites were searched to identify quantitative studies examining equity in the distribution of public health funding in individual countries or groups of countries. Two different types of studies were identified: benefit incidence analysis (BIA) and resource allocation comparison (RAC) studies. Quality appraisal and data synthesis were tailored to each study type to reflect differences in the methods used and in the information provided. We identified 39 studies focusing on African, Asian and Latin American countries. Of these, 31 were BIA studies that described the distribution, typically across socio-economic status, of individual monetary benefit derived from service utilization. The remaining eight were RAC studies that compared the actual expenditure across geographic areas to an ideal need-based distribution. Overall, the quality of the evidence from both types of study was relatively weak. Looking across studies, the evidence confirms that resource allocation formulae can enhance equity in resource allocation across geographic areas and that the poor benefits proportionally more from primary health care than from hospital expenditure. The lack of information on the distribution of benefit from utilization in RAC studies and on the countries' approaches to resource allocation in BIA studies prevents further policy analysis. Additional research that relates the type of resource allocation mechanism to service provision and to the benefit distribution is required for a better understanding of equity-enhancing resource allocation policies. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

On Channel-Discontinuity-Constraint Routing in Wireless Networks☆

PubMed Central

Sankararaman, Swaminathan; Efrat, Alon; Ramasubramanian, Srinivasan; Agarwal, Pankaj K.

2011-01-01

Multi-channel wireless networks are increasingly deployed as infrastructure networks, e.g. in metro areas. Network nodes frequently employ directional antennas to improve spatial throughput. In such networks, between two nodes, it is of interest to compute a path with a channel assignment for the links such that the path and link bandwidths are the same. This is achieved when any two consecutive links are assigned different channels, termed as “Channel-Discontinuity-Constraint” (CDC). CDC-paths are also useful in TDMA systems, where, preferably, consecutive links are assigned different time-slots. In the first part of this paper, we develop a t-spanner for CDC-paths using spatial properties; a sub-network containing O(n/θ) links, for any θ > 0, such that CDC-paths increase in cost by at most a factor t = (1−2 sin (θ/2))−2. We propose a novel distributed algorithm to compute the spanner using an expected number of O(n log n) fixed-size messages. In the second part, we present a distributed algorithm to find minimum-cost CDC-paths between two nodes using O(n2) fixed-size messages, by developing an extension of Edmonds’ algorithm for minimum-cost perfect matching. In a centralized implementation, our algorithm runs in O(n2) time improving the previous best algorithm which requires O(n3) running time. Moreover, this running time improves to O(n/θ) when used in conjunction with the spanner developed. PMID:24443646

7 CFR 761.205 - Computing the formula allocation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SPECIAL PROGRAMS GENERAL PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION Allocation of Farm Loan Programs... held in the National Office reserve and distributed by base and administrative allocation, multiplied... allocation−national reserve−base allocation−administrative allocation) × State Factor (b) To calculate the...

Research on the Rural Express Alliance based on ANP improved profit Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yufeng; Zhang, Bin

2018-01-01

Online shopping platform in rural distribution difficulties, leading to rural online shopping market and logistics market development is slow. At present, China Post and other private courier companies are not possible to do. So we need to build distribution alliances. Reasonable profit allocation mechanism is the key to the stable development of this distribution alliance. So we proposed the Shapley Value Method and the ANP Improved Model to allocate profits. Finally, the rationality of the method is proved by numerical analysis before and after using the corrected Shapley Value.

Task allocation model for minimization of completion time in distributed computer systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jai-Ping; Steidley, Carl W.

1993-08-01

A task in a distributed computing system consists of a set of related modules. Each of the modules will execute on one of the processors of the system and communicate with some other modules. In addition, precedence relationships may exist among the modules. Task allocation is an essential activity in distributed-software design. This activity is of importance to all phases of the development of a distributed system. This paper establishes task completion-time models and task allocation models for minimizing task completion time. Current work in this area is either at the experimental level or without the consideration of precedence relationships among modules. The development of mathematical models for the computation of task completion time and task allocation will benefit many real-time computer applications such as radar systems, navigation systems, industrial process control systems, image processing systems, and artificial intelligence oriented systems.

24 CFR 982.101 - Allocation of funding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... law; (ii) funding incapable of geographic formula allocation (e.g., for renewal of expiring funding increments); or (iii) funding allocated by an objective fair share formula. Funding allocated by fair share formula is distributed by a competitive process. (c) Competitive process. For budget authority that is...

24 CFR 982.101 - Allocation of funding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... law; (ii) funding incapable of geographic formula allocation (e.g., for renewal of expiring funding increments); or (iii) funding allocated by an objective fair share formula. Funding allocated by fair share formula is distributed by a competitive process. (c) Competitive process. For budget authority that is...

24 CFR 982.101 - Allocation of funding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... law; (ii) funding incapable of geographic formula allocation (e.g., for renewal of expiring funding increments); or (iii) funding allocated by an objective fair share formula. Funding allocated by fair share formula is distributed by a competitive process. (c) Competitive process. For budget authority that is...

Protecting resources for primary health care under fiscal federalism: options for resource allocation.

PubMed

Okorafor, Okore A; Thomas, Stephen

2007-11-01

The introduction of fiscal federalism or decentralization of functions to lower levels of government is a reform not done primarily with health sector concerns. A major concern for the health sector is that devolution of expenditure responsibilities to sub-national levels of government can adversely affect the equitable distribution of financial resources across local jurisdictions. Since the adoption of fiscal federalism in South Africa, progress towards achieving a more equitable distribution of public sector health resources (financial) has slowed down considerably. This study attempts to identify appropriate resource allocation mechanisms under the current South African fiscal federal system that could be employed to promote equity in primary health care (PHC) allocations across provinces and districts. The study uses data from interviews with government officials involved in the budgeting and resource allocation process for PHC, literature on fiscal federalism and literature on international experience to inform analysis and recommendations. The results from the study identify historical incremental budgeting, weak managerial capacity at lower levels of government, poor accounting of PHC expenditure, and lack of protection for PHC funds as constraints to the realization of a more equitable distribution of PHC allocations. Based on interview data, no one resource allocation mechanism received unanimous support from stakeholders. However, the study highlights the particularly high level of autonomy enjoyed by provincial governments with regards to decision making for allocations to health and PHC services as the major constraint to achieving a more equitable distribution of PHC resources. The national government needs to have more involvement in decision making for resource allocation to PHC services if significant progress towards equity is to be achieved.

e-EVN radio detection of Aql X-1 in outburst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tudose, V.; Paragi, Z.; Yang, J.; Miller-Jones, J. C. A.; Fender, R.; Garrett, M.; Rushton, A.; Spencer, R.

2013-06-01

The neutron star X-ray binary Aql X-1 is currently in outburst (ATel #5114, #5117, #5129, #5136, #5148). Using the European VLBI Network (e-EVN) we observed Aql X-1 at 5 GHz in two time-slots: 2013 June 18 between 19:48 - 20:36 UT (MJD 56461.825 - 56461.858), and 2013 June 19 between 02:53 - 05:54 UT (MJD 56462.120 - 56462.246). The two datasets were combined together and then calibrated. The participating radio telescopes were: Effelsberg (Germany), Jodrell Bank Mk2 (UK), Medicina (Italy), Noto (Italy), Onsala 25m (Sweden), Torun (Poland), Yebes (Spain), Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (Netherlands), Shanghai (China), Hartebeesthoek (South Africa).

Task allocation among multiple intelligent robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasser, L.; Bekey, G.

1987-01-01

Researchers describe the design of a decentralized mechanism for allocating assembly tasks in a multiple robot assembly workstation. Currently, the approach focuses on distributed allocation to explore its feasibility and its potential for adaptability to changing circumstances, rather than for optimizing throughput. Individual greedy robots make their own local allocation decisions using both dynamic allocation policies which propagate through a network of allocation goals, and local static and dynamic constraints describing which robots are elibible for which assembly tasks. Global coherence is achieved by proper weighting of allocation pressures propagating through the assembly plan. Deadlock avoidance and synchronization is achieved using periodic reassessments of local allocation decisions, ageing of allocation goals, and short-term allocation locks on goals.

20 CFR 1001.151 - Other funding criteria.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... allocation will be available for distribution based on Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workload and other exigencies. (b) Funding for TAP workshops will be allocated on a per workshop basis. Funding to the States... for TAP workshops, will be allocated based on need. ...

Children's Allocation of Resources in Social Dominance Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charafeddine, Rawan; Mercier, Hugo; Clément, Fabrice; Kaufmann, Laurence; Reboul, Anne; Van der Henst, Jean-Baptiste

2016-01-01

Two experiments with preschoolers (36 to 78 months) and 8-year-old children (Experiment 1, N = 173; Experiment 2, N = 132) investigated the development of children's resource distribution in dominance contexts. On the basis of the distributive justice literature, 2 opposite predictions were tested. Children could match resource allocation with the…

77 FR 50903 - Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Administrative Funding Allocations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-23

... such entity. Because FNS Regional Offices received funding without regard to the effect of cost drivers... contains regulatory documents #0;having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed #0... Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Administrative Funding Allocations AGENCY: Food and Nutrition...

45 CFR 153.235 - Allocation and distribution of reinsurance contributions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Allocation and distribution of reinsurance contributions 153.235 Section 153.235 Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS STANDARDS RELATED TO REINSURANCE, RISK CORRIDORS, AND RISK ADJUSTMENT UNDER...

45 CFR 153.235 - Allocation and distribution of reinsurance contributions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Allocation and distribution of reinsurance contributions 153.235 Section 153.235 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS STANDARDS RELATED TO REINSURANCE, RISK CORRIDORS, AND RISK ADJUSTMENT UNDER...

The geographic distribution of HMOF and TTF revenues and allocations in Virginia : FY 93 update.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-01-01

This report is an update of the report, The Geographic Distribution of HMOF and TTF Revenues and Allocations in Virginia From FY 88 through FY 92. As such, it describes the current structure of transportation finance in the Commonwealth. The financia...

Distributed Optimal Consensus Over Resource Allocation Network and Its Application to Dynamical Economic Dispatch.

PubMed

Li, Chaojie; Yu, Xinghuo; Huang, Tingwen; He, Xing; Chaojie Li; Xinghuo Yu; Tingwen Huang; Xing He; Li, Chaojie; Huang, Tingwen; He, Xing; Yu, Xinghuo

2018-06-01

The resource allocation problem is studied and reformulated by a distributed interior point method via a -logarithmic barrier. By the facilitation of the graph Laplacian, a fully distributed continuous-time multiagent system is developed for solving the problem. Specifically, to avoid high singularity of the -logarithmic barrier at boundary, an adaptive parameter switching strategy is introduced into this dynamical multiagent system. The convergence rate of the distributed algorithm is obtained. Moreover, a novel distributed primal-dual dynamical multiagent system is designed in a smart grid scenario to seek the saddle point of dynamical economic dispatch, which coincides with the optimal solution. The dual decomposition technique is applied to transform the optimization problem into easily solvable resource allocation subproblems with local inequality constraints. The good performance of the new dynamical systems is, respectively, verified by a numerical example and the IEEE six-bus test system-based simulations.

26 CFR 1.514(c)-2 - Permitted allocations under section 514(c)(9)(E).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

.... (ii) Limitation on chargebacks of partial allocations. (3) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to nonrecourse deductions. (4) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to distribution of nonrecourse debt proceeds. (i) Chargebacks disregarded until allocations made. (ii) Certain minimum gain chargebacks related to...

26 CFR 1.514(c)-2 - Permitted allocations under section 514(c)(9)(E).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... (ii) Limitation on chargebacks of partial allocations. (3) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to nonrecourse deductions. (4) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to distribution of nonrecourse debt proceeds. (i) Chargebacks disregarded until allocations made. (ii) Certain minimum gain chargebacks related to...

26 CFR 1.514(c)-2 - Permitted allocations under section 514(c)(9)(E).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

.... (ii) Limitation on chargebacks of partial allocations. (3) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to nonrecourse deductions. (4) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to distribution of nonrecourse debt proceeds. (i) Chargebacks disregarded until allocations made. (ii) Certain minimum gain chargebacks related to...

26 CFR 1.514(c)-2 - Permitted allocations under section 514(c)(9)(E).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

.... (ii) Limitation on chargebacks of partial allocations. (3) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to nonrecourse deductions. (4) Minimum gain chargebacks attributable to distribution of nonrecourse debt proceeds. (i) Chargebacks disregarded until allocations made. (ii) Certain minimum gain chargebacks related to...

Research on air and missile defense task allocation based on extended contract net protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunzhi; Wang, Gang

2017-10-01

Based on the background of air and missile defense distributed element corporative engagement, the interception task allocation problem of multiple weapon units with multiple targets under network condition is analyzed. Firstly, a mathematical model of task allocation is established by combat task decomposition. Secondly, the initialization assignment based on auction contract and the adjustment allocation scheme based on swap contract were introduced to the task allocation. Finally, through the simulation calculation of typical situation, the model can be used to solve the task allocation problem in complex combat environment.

The Allocation of Federal Expenditures Among States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Maw Lin

1967-01-01

This study explores factors associated with the allocation offederal expenditures by states and examines the implications of theseexpenditures on the state by state distribution of incomes. Theallocation of federal expenditures is functionally oriented toward theobjectives for which various government programs are set up. Thegeographical distribution of federal expenditures, therefore, washistorically considered to be a problem incidental to governmentactivity. Because of this, relatively little attention was given tothe question of why some states receive more federal allocation thanothers. In addition, the implications of this pattern of allocationamong the several states have not been intensively investigated.

Metro-access integrated network based on optical OFDMA with dynamic sub-carrier allocation and power distribution.

PubMed

Zhang, Chongfu; Zhang, Qiongli; Chen, Chen; Jiang, Ning; Liu, Deming; Qiu, Kun; Liu, Shuang; Wu, Baojian

2013-01-28

We propose and demonstrate a novel optical orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)-based metro-access integrated network with dynamic resource allocation. It consists of a single fiber OFDMA ring and many single fiber OFDMA trees, which transparently integrates metropolitan area networks with optical access networks. The single fiber OFDMA ring connects the core network and the central nodes (CNs), the CNs are on demand reconfigurable and use multiple orthogonal sub-carriers to realize parallel data transmission and dynamic resource allocation, meanwhile, they can also implement flexible power distribution. The remote nodes (RNs) distributed in the user side are connected by the single fiber OFDMA trees with the corresponding CN. The obtained results indicate that our proposed metro-access integrated network is feasible and the power distribution is agile.

Cost Allocation Issues in Interlibrary Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Ernest R.

1985-01-01

In comparing methods of allocating service transaction costs among member libraries of interlibrary systems, questions of how costs are to be estimated, and what cost elements are to be included are critical. Different approaches of estimation yield varying results. Actual distribution of units accounts for greatest variance in allocations. (CDD)

Bringing the Budget Back into Academic Work Allocation Models: A Management Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Michael; Germov, John

2015-01-01

Issues surrounding increasingly constrained resources and reducing levels of sector-based funding require consideration of a different Academic Work Allocation Model (AWAM) approach. Evidence from the literature indicates that an effective work allocation model is founded on the principles of equity and transparency in the distribution and…

Maximizing donor potential: evolving organ procurement organization metrics and optimizing organ distribution and allocation in the United States.

PubMed

Washburn, Kenneth

2012-11-01

1. Comprehend the basis for liver allocation and distribution in the United States. 2. Understand potential solutions to organ inequalities in the United States. 3. Understand the metrics used to assess the performance of organ procurement organizations. Copyright © 2012 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Parallel Logic Programming Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

Section 3.1. 3.1. A STATIC ALLOCATION SCHEME (SAS) Methods that have been used for decomposing distributed problems in artificial intelligence...multiple agents, knowledge organization and allocation, and cooperative parallel execution. These difficulties are common to distributed artificial ...for the following reasons. First, intellegent backtracking requires much more bookkeeping and is therefore more costly during consult-time and during

From Districts to Schools: The Distribution of Resources across Schools in Big City School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubenstein, Ross; Schwartz, Amy Ellen; Stiefel, Leanna; Amor, Hella Bel Hadj

2007-01-01

While the distribution of resources across school districts is well studied, relatively little attention has been paid to how resources are allocated to individual schools inside those districts. This paper explores the determinants of resource allocation across schools in large districts based on factors that reflect differential school costs or…

Distributed Power Allocation for Wireless Sensor Network Localization: A Potential Game Approach.

PubMed

Ke, Mingxing; Li, Ding; Tian, Shiwei; Zhang, Yuli; Tong, Kaixiang; Xu, Yuhua

2018-05-08

The problem of distributed power allocation in wireless sensor network (WSN) localization systems is investigated in this paper, using the game theoretic approach. Existing research focuses on the minimization of the localization errors of individual agent nodes over all anchor nodes subject to power budgets. When the service area and the distribution of target nodes are considered, finding the optimal trade-off between localization accuracy and power consumption is a new critical task. To cope with this issue, we propose a power allocation game where each anchor node minimizes the square position error bound (SPEB) of the service area penalized by its individual power. Meanwhile, it is proven that the power allocation game is an exact potential game which has one pure Nash equilibrium (NE) at least. In addition, we also prove the existence of an ϵ -equilibrium point, which is a refinement of NE and the better response dynamic approach can reach the end solution. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate that: (i) when prior distribution information is available, the proposed strategies have better localization accuracy than the uniform strategies; (ii) when prior distribution information is unknown, the performance of the proposed strategies outperforms power management strategies based on the second-order cone program (SOCP) for particular agent nodes after obtaining the estimated distribution of agent nodes. In addition, proposed strategies also provide an instructional trade-off between power consumption and localization accuracy.

TASK ALLOCATION IN GEO-DISTRIBUTED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aggarwal, Rachit; Smidts, Carol

This paper studies the task allocation algorithm for a distributed test facility (DTF), which aims to assemble geo-distributed cyber (software) and physical (hardware in the loop components into a prototype cyber-physical system (CPS). This allows low cost testing on an early conceptual prototype (ECP) of the ultimate CPS (UCPS) to be developed. The DTF provides an instrumentation interface for carrying out reliability experiments remotely such as fault propagation analysis and in-situ testing of hardware and software components in a simulated environment. Unfortunately, the geo-distribution introduces an overhead that is not inherent to the UCPS, i.e. a significant time delay inmore » communication that threatens the stability of the ECP and is not an appropriate representation of the behavior of the UCPS. This can be mitigated by implementing a task allocation algorithm to find a suitable configuration and assign the software components to appropriate computational locations, dynamically. This would allow the ECP to operate more efficiently with less probability of being unstable due to the delays introduced by geo-distribution. The task allocation algorithm proposed in this work uses a Monte Carlo approach along with Dynamic Programming to identify the optimal network configuration to keep the time delays to a minimum.« less

A Decision Model for Supporting Task Allocation Processes in Global Software Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamersdorf, Ansgar; Münch, Jürgen; Rombach, Dieter

Today, software-intensive systems are increasingly being developed in a globally distributed way. However, besides its benefit, global development also bears a set of risks and problems. One critical factor for successful project management of distributed software development is the allocation of tasks to sites, as this is assumed to have a major influence on the benefits and risks. We introduce a model that aims at improving management processes in globally distributed projects by giving decision support for task allocation that systematically regards multiple criteria. The criteria and causal relationships were identified in a literature study and refined in a qualitative interview study. The model uses existing approaches from distributed systems and statistical modeling. The article gives an overview of the problem and related work, introduces the empirical and theoretical foundations of the model, and shows the use of the model in an example scenario.

The distribution of individual cabinet positions in coalition governments: A sequential approach

PubMed Central

Meyer, Thomas M.; Müller, Wolfgang C.

2015-01-01

Abstract Multiparty government in parliamentary democracies entails bargaining over the payoffs of government participation, in particular the allocation of cabinet positions. While most of the literature deals with the numerical distribution of cabinet seats among government parties, this article explores the distribution of individual portfolios. It argues that coalition negotiations are sequential choice processes that begin with the allocation of those portfolios most important to the bargaining parties. This induces conditionality in the bargaining process as choices of individual cabinet positions are not independent of each other. Linking this sequential logic with party preferences for individual cabinet positions, the authors of the article study the allocation of individual portfolios for 146 coalition governments in Western and Central Eastern Europe. The results suggest that a sequential logic in the bargaining process results in better predictions than assuming mutual independence in the distribution of individual portfolios. PMID:27546952

Funding Education: Developing a Method of Allocation for Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BenDavid-Hadar, Iris

2018-01-01

Purpose: Resource allocation is a key policy instrument that affects the educational achievement distribution (EAD). The literature on methods of allocation is focused mainly on equity issues. The purpose of this paper is to develop a composite funding formula, which adds to the equity-based element (i.e. a needs-based element compensating for…

Minority Threat, Crime Control, and Police Resource Allocation in the Southwestern United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Malcolm D.; Smith, Brad W.; Freng, Adrienne B.; Munoz, Ed A.

2008-01-01

Numerous studies have examined political influences on communities' allocations of fiscal and personnel resources to policing. Rational choice theory maintains that these resources are distributed in accordance with the need for crime control, whereas conflict theory argues that they are allocated with the aim of controlling racial and ethnic…

24 CFR 203.421 - Allocation of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund income or loss.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Mortgage Insurance Fund and Distributive Shares § 203.421 Allocation of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund... of the entire Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, such net income or such loss to the General Surplus... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Allocation of Mutual Mortgage...

Children’s Reasoning about Distributive and Retributive Justice across Development

PubMed Central

Smith, Craig E.; Warneken, Felix

2016-01-01

Research on distributive justice indicates that preschool-age children take issues of equity and merit into account when distributing desirable items, but that they often prefer to see desirable items allocated equally in third-party tasks. By contrast, less is known about the development of retributive justice. In a study with 4–10-year-old children (n = 123) and adults (n = 93), we directly compared the development of reasoning about distributive and retributive justice. We measured the amount of rewards or punishments that participants allocated to recipients who differed in the amount of good or bad things they had done. We also measured judgements about collective rewards and punishments. We found that the developmental trajectory of thinking about retributive justice parallels that of distributive justice. The 4–5-year-olds were the most likely to prefer equal distributions of both rewarding and aversive consequences; older children and adults preferred deservingness-based allocations. The 4–5-year-olds were also most likely to judge collective rewards and punishments as fair; this tendency declined with increasing age. Our results also highlight the extent to which the notion of desert influences thinking about distributive and retributive justice; desert was considered equally when participants allocated reward and punishments, but in judgments about collective discipline, participants focused more on desert in cases of punishment compared to reward. We discuss our results in relation to theories about preferences for equality vs. equity, theories about how desert is differentially weighed across distributive and retributive justice, and in relation to the literature on moral development and fairness. PMID:26845506

26 CFR 1.959-3 - Allocation of distributions to earnings and profits of foreign corporations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... profits of foreign corporations. 1.959-3 Section 1.959-3 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... Corporations § 1.959-3 Allocation of distributions to earnings and profits of foreign corporations. (a) In general. For purposes of §§ 1.959-1 and 1.959-2, the source of the earnings and profits from which...

Development of water allocation Model Based on ET-Control and Its Application in Haihe River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Jinjun; Gan, Hong; Gan, Zhiguo; Wang, Lin

2010-05-01

Traditionally, water allocation is to distribute water to different regions and sectors, without enough consideration on amount of water consumed after water distribution. Water allocation based on ET (evaporation and Transpiration) control changes this idea and emphasizes the absolute amount of evaporation and transpiration in specific area. With this ideology, the amount of ET involved the water allocation includes not only water consumed from the sectors, but the natural ET. Therefore, the water allocation consist of two steps, the first step is to estimate reasonable ET quantum in regions, then allocate water to more detailed regions and various sectors with the ET quantum according with the operational rules. To make qualified ET distribution and water allocation in various regions, a framework is put forward in this paper, in which two models are applied to analyze the different scenarios with predefined economic growth and ecological objective. The first model figures out rational ET objective with multi-objective analysis for compromised solution in economic growth and ecological maintenance. Food security and environmental protection are also taken as constraints in the optimization in the first model. The second one provides hydraulic simulation and water balance to allocate the ET objective to corresponding regions under operational rules. These two models are combined into an integrated ET-Control water allocation. Scenario analysis through the ET-Control Model could discover the relations between economy and ecology, farther to give suggestion on measures to control water use with condition of changing socio-economic growth and ecological objectives. To confirm the methodology, Haihe River is taken as a case to study. Rational water allocation is important branch of decision making on water planning and management in Haihe River Basin since water scarcity and deteriorating environment fights for water in this basin dramatically and reasonable water allocation between economy and ecology is a focus. Considering condition of water scarcity in Haihe River Basin, ET quota is taken as objective for water allocation in provinces to realize the requirement of water inflow into the Bohai Sea. Scenario analysis provides the results of water evaporation from natural water cycle and artificial use. A trade-off curve based on fulfilment of ecological and economic objectives in different scenarios discovers the competitive relation between human activities and nature.

Distributed Channel Allocation and Time Slot Optimization for Green Internet of Things.

PubMed

Ding, Kaiqi; Zhao, Haitao; Hu, Xiping; Wei, Jibo

2017-10-28

In sustainable smart cities, power saving is a severe challenge in the energy-constrained Internet of Things (IoT). Efficient utilization of limited multiple non-overlap channels and time resources is a promising solution to reduce the network interference and save energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a joint channel allocation and time slot optimization solution for IoT. First, we propose a channel ranking algorithm which enables each node to rank its available channels based on the channel properties. Then, we propose a distributed channel allocation algorithm so that each node can choose a proper channel based on the channel ranking and its own residual energy. Finally, the sleeping duration and spectrum sensing duration are jointly optimized to maximize the normalized throughput and satisfy energy consumption constraints simultaneously. Different from the former approaches, our proposed solution requires no central coordination or any global information that each node can operate based on its own local information in a total distributed manner. Also, theoretical analysis and extensive simulations have validated that when applying our solution in the network of IoT: (i) each node can be allocated to a proper channel based on the residual energy to balance the lifetime; (ii) the network can rapidly converge to a collision-free transmission through each node's learning ability in the process of the distributed channel allocation; and (iii) the network throughput is further improved via the dynamic time slot optimization.

Trends in E&G Expenditure Allocations: Indicators of Recession or Increased Productivity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minter, John

1992-01-01

Findings of a survey of 300 financial officers at public and independent 4-year and 2-year institutions of higher education concerning budget allocation trends since 1987 are presented in narrative and 24 charts. The survey documents changes in growth rates in allocations by various categories and distribution of expenditures by institution type.…

Using Fiscal Data to Inform a State's Part C Allocation Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greer, Maureen; Kilpatrick, Jamie; McCullough, Katy; Reid, Kellen

2016-01-01

This 2016 document is designed to provide state Part C staff with guidance on using fiscal data to analyze and revise their allocation methodology. Allocation methodology is the process -- including practices, strategies, procedures, and policies -- used by Part C state staff to equitably distribute funds to meet the needs of the system, including…

Carbon allocation to root and shoot systems of woody plants

Treesearch

Mark D. Coleman; J.G. Isebrands

1994-01-01

Carbon allocation to roots is of widespread and increasing interest due to a growing appreciation of the importance of root processes to whole-plant physiology and plant productivity. Carbon (C) allocation commonly refers to the distribution of C among plant organs (e.g., leaves, stems, roots); however, the term also applies to functional categories within organs such...

The geographic distribution of highway maintenance and operations fund and transportation trust fund revenues and allocations in Virginia : FY 94 and FY 95 update.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-01-01

This report is intended to serve as an update to The Geographic Distribution of HMOF and TTF Revenues and Allocations in Virginia from FY 88 through FY 92 (Report Number VTRC 93-TAR5) and its 1993 update (VTRC 94-TAR3). The reader is encouraged to re...

Carbon allocation and accumulation in conifers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gower, S.T.; Isebrands, J.G.; Sheriff, D.W.

1995-07-01

Forests cover approximately 33% of the land surface of the earth, yet they are responsible for 65% of the annual carbon (C) accumulated by all terrestrial biomes. In general, total C content and net primary production rates are greater for forests than for other biomes, but C budgets differ greatly among forests. Despite several decades of research on forest C budgets, there is still an incomplete understanding of the factors controlling C allocation. Yet, if we are to understand how changing global events such as land use, climate change, atmospheric N deposition, ozone, and elevated atmospheric CO{sub 2} affect themore » global C budget, a mechanistic understanding of C assimilation, partitioning, and allocation is necessary. The objective of this chapter is to review the major factors that influence C allocation and accumulation in conifer trees and forests. In keeping with the theme of this book, we will focus primarily on evergreen conifers. However, even among evergreen conifers, leaf, canopy, and stand-level C and nutrient allocation patterns differ, often as a function of leaf development and longevity. The terminology related to C allocation literature is often inconsistent, confusing and inadequate for understanding and integrating past and current research. For example, terms often used synonymously to describe C flow or movement include translocation, transport, distribution, allocation, partitioning, apportionment, and biomass allocation. A common terminology is needed because different terms have different meanings to readers. In this paper we use C allocation, partitioning, and accumulation according to the definitions of Dickson and Isebrands (1993). Partitioning is the process of C flow into and among different chemical, storage, and transport pools. Allocation is the distribution of C to different plant parts within the plant (i.e., source to sink). Accumulation is the end product of the process of C allocation.« less

Method for spatially distributing a population

DOEpatents

Bright, Edward A [Knoxville, TN; Bhaduri, Budhendra L [Knoxville, TN; Coleman, Phillip R [Knoxville, TN; Dobson, Jerome E [Lawrence, KS

2007-07-24

A process for spatially distributing a population count within a geographically defined area can include the steps of logically correlating land usages apparent from a geographically defined area to geospatial features in the geographically defined area and allocating portions of the population count to regions of the geographically defined area having the land usages, according to the logical correlation. The process can also include weighing the logical correlation for determining the allocation of portions of the population count and storing the allocated portions within a searchable data store. The logically correlating step can include the step of logically correlating time-based land usages to geospatial features of the geographically defined area. The process can also include obtaining a population count for the geographically defined area, organizing the geographically defined area into a plurality of sectors, and verifying the allocated portions according to direct observation.

Rawlsian maximin rule operates as a common cognitive anchor in distributive justice and risky decisions

PubMed Central

Kameda, Tatsuya; Inukai, Keigo; Higuchi, Satomi; Ogawa, Akitoshi; Kim, Hackjin; Matsuda, Tetsuya; Sakagami, Masamichi

2016-01-01

Distributive justice concerns the moral principles by which we seek to allocate resources fairly among diverse members of a society. Although the concept of fair allocation is one of the fundamental building blocks for societies, there is no clear consensus on how to achieve “socially just” allocations. Here, we examine neurocognitive commonalities of distributive judgments and risky decisions. We explore the hypothesis that people’s allocation decisions for others are closely related to economic decisions for oneself at behavioral, cognitive, and neural levels, via a concern about the minimum, worst-off position. In a series of experiments using attention-monitoring and brain-imaging techniques, we investigated this “maximin” concern (maximizing the minimum possible payoff) via responses in two seemingly disparate tasks: third-party distribution of rewards for others, and choosing gambles for self. The experiments revealed three robust results: (i) participants’ distributive choices closely matched their risk preferences—“Rawlsians,” who maximized the worst-off position in distributions for others, avoided riskier gambles for themselves, whereas “utilitarians,” who favored the largest-total distributions, preferred riskier but more profitable gambles; (ii) across such individual choice preferences, however, participants generally showed the greatest spontaneous attention to information about the worst possible outcomes in both tasks; and (iii) this robust concern about the minimum outcomes was correlated with activation of the right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ), the region associated with perspective taking. The results provide convergent evidence that social distribution for others is psychologically linked to risky decision making for self, drawing on common cognitive–neural processes with spontaneous perspective taking of the worst-off position. PMID:27688764

A Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm for Multi-Sensor Task Allocation.

PubMed

Tkach, Itshak; Jevtić, Aleksandar; Nof, Shimon Y; Edan, Yael

2018-03-02

Multi-sensor systems can play an important role in monitoring tasks and detecting targets. However, real-time allocation of heterogeneous sensors to dynamic targets/tasks that are unknown a priori in their locations and priorities is a challenge. This paper presents a Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm (MDBA) that is developed to allocate stationary heterogeneous sensors to upcoming unknown tasks using a decentralized, swarm intelligence approach to minimize the task detection times. Sensors are allocated to tasks based on sensors' performance, tasks' priorities, and the distances of the sensors from the locations where the tasks are being executed. The algorithm was compared to a Distributed Bees Algorithm (DBA), a Bees System, and two common multi-sensor algorithms, market-based and greedy-based algorithms, which were fitted for the specific task. Simulation analyses revealed that MDBA achieved statistically significant improved performance by 7% with respect to DBA as the second-best algorithm, and by 19% with respect to Greedy algorithm, which was the worst, thus indicating its fitness to provide solutions for heterogeneous multi-sensor systems.

A Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm for Multi-Sensor Task Allocation †

PubMed Central

Nof, Shimon Y.; Edan, Yael

2018-01-01

Multi-sensor systems can play an important role in monitoring tasks and detecting targets. However, real-time allocation of heterogeneous sensors to dynamic targets/tasks that are unknown a priori in their locations and priorities is a challenge. This paper presents a Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm (MDBA) that is developed to allocate stationary heterogeneous sensors to upcoming unknown tasks using a decentralized, swarm intelligence approach to minimize the task detection times. Sensors are allocated to tasks based on sensors’ performance, tasks’ priorities, and the distances of the sensors from the locations where the tasks are being executed. The algorithm was compared to a Distributed Bees Algorithm (DBA), a Bees System, and two common multi-sensor algorithms, market-based and greedy-based algorithms, which were fitted for the specific task. Simulation analyses revealed that MDBA achieved statistically significant improved performance by 7% with respect to DBA as the second-best algorithm, and by 19% with respect to Greedy algorithm, which was the worst, thus indicating its fitness to provide solutions for heterogeneous multi-sensor systems. PMID:29498683

Research on strategy and optimization method of PRT empty vehicles resource allocation based on traffic demand forecast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Yu; Tao, Cheng

2018-05-01

During the operation of the personal rapid transit system(PRT), the empty vehicle resources is distributed unevenly because of different passenger demand. In order to maintain the balance between supply and demand, and to meet the passenger needs of the ride, PRT empty vehicle resource allocation model is constructed based on the future demand forecasted by historical demand in this paper. The improved genetic algorithm is implied in distribution of the empty vehicle which can reduce the customers waiting time and improve the operation efficiency of the PRT system so that all passengers can take the PRT vehicles in the shortest time. The experimental result shows that the improved genetic algorithm can allocate the empty vehicle from the system level optimally, and realize the distribution of the empty vehicle resources reasonably in the system.

Resource allocation. The cost of care: two troublesome cases in health care ethics.

PubMed

Armstrong, C R; Whitlock, R

1998-01-01

With the cost of health care rising rapidly, both physicians and administrators regularly face resource allocation decisions. Under these conditions of relative scarcity, the equitable and appropriate distribution of limited resources becomes an ethical as well as a financial issue. Through ethical analysis, physician executives can assist their physician colleagues and fellow administrators to find rationally defensible answers to questions regarding the distribution of limited resources. Six criteria are frequently "weighted in the balance" by ethicists when analyzing whether justice is served in the distribution of a limited resource: need, equality, contribution, ability to pay, effort, and merit. The authors argue that, from an ethical standpoint, the best single criterion upon which one can base an allocation decision is that of merit, defined as the potential to benefit from the investment of additional resources.

Road maintenance and rehabilitation : funding and allocation strategies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-01-24

With ageing road infrastructure and sustained traffic growth, the maintenance and rehabilitation of road and motorway networks require increased funding. Adequate allocation and distribution of available resources are therefore a key policy issue. Th...

Liver allocation and distribution: time for a change.

PubMed

Deshpande, Ranjit; Hirose, Ryutaro; Mulligan, David

2017-04-01

Liver allograft allocation has been a topic of hot debate for over a decade. New redistricting changes have been proposed by the Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee to the existing United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver allocation policy. The basis of this new proposal is similar to the old one with an aim to distribute organs in a fair, efficient and equitable fashion. In this review, we plan to look in depth at the redistribution proposals thus far, their merits and how they may help patients who do not have adequate access to livers. Many authors have criticized the proposed changes to organ distribution to reduce geographic disparity in access to liver transplantation. Our focus in this article is to bring forth the most recent literature and proposed changes in the current distribution system. We will also mention two other possible methods that have been proposed to redesign distribution using concentric circles and neighborhoods. In this article, we also look at the economics of the redistricting proposal and its effects on transplant centers. The UNOS Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee has recommended a proposal using the eight-district model with proximity circles and three additional Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) points with initial sharing MELD threshold of 25 as a starting point to reduce disparity in patient access to deceased donor livers for transplantation. This proposal has met with significant resistance because of concerns of cost, logistics and impact on existing transplant centers. Other methodologies have also been proposed that have the potential to significantly improve our current disparity of access to life-saving organs. Variation in the supply of donor organs vs. the demand or need for liver transplant by geography and the current defined areas of distribution drive this disparity. Cost benefits to the healthcare system in caring for patients with advanced stages of liver disease may outweigh increased costs of transportation and transplantation. The current allocation boundaries are not optimal for liver distribution, as modeled by all suggested solutions thus far. The need to identify a more optimal and equitable allocation/distribution system is paramount.

Simulating smoke transport from wildland fires with a regional-scale air quality model: sensitivity to spatiotemporal allocation of fire emissions.

PubMed

Garcia-Menendez, Fernando; Hu, Yongtao; Odman, Mehmet T

2014-09-15

Air quality forecasts generated with chemical transport models can provide valuable information about the potential impacts of fires on pollutant levels. However, significant uncertainties are associated with fire-related emission estimates as well as their distribution on gridded modeling domains. In this study, we explore the sensitivity of fine particulate matter concentrations predicted by a regional-scale air quality model to the spatial and temporal allocation of fire emissions. The assessment was completed by simulating a fire-related smoke episode in which air quality throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area was affected on February 28, 2007. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to evaluate the significance of emission distribution among the model's vertical layers, along the horizontal plane, and into hourly inputs. Predicted PM2.5 concentrations were highly sensitive to emission injection altitude relative to planetary boundary layer height. Simulations were also responsive to the horizontal allocation of fire emissions and their distribution into single or multiple grid cells. Additionally, modeled concentrations were greatly sensitive to the temporal distribution of fire-related emissions. The analyses demonstrate that, in addition to adequate estimates of emitted mass, successfully modeling the impacts of fires on air quality depends on an accurate spatiotemporal allocation of emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distributed Multiple Access Control for the Wireless Mesh Personal Area Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Moo Sung; Lee, Byungjoo; Rhee, Seung Hyong

Mesh networking technologies for both high-rate and low-rate wireless personal area networks (WPANs) are under development by several standardization bodies. They are considering to adopt distributed TDMA MAC protocols to provide seamless user mobility as well as a good peer-to-peer QoS in WPAN mesh. It has been, however, pointed out that the absence of a central controller in the wireless TDMA MAC may cause a severe performance degradation: e. g., fair allocation, service differentiation, and admission control may be hard to achieve or can not be provided. In this paper, we suggest a new framework of resource allocation for the distributed MAC protocols in WPANs. Simulation results show that our algorithm achieves both a fair resource allocation and flexible service differentiations in a fully distributed way for mesh WPANs where the devices have high mobility and various requirements. We also provide an analytical modeling to discuss about its unique equilibrium and to compute the lengths of reserved time slots at the stable point.

Sleeping arrangements and mass distribution of bed nets in six districts in central and northern Mozambique.

PubMed

Plucinski, M M; Chicuecue, S; Macete, E; Chambe, G A; Muguande, O; Matsinhe, G; Colborn, J; Yoon, S S; Doyle, T J; Kachur, S P; Aide, P; Alonso, P L; Guinovart, C; Morgan, J

2015-12-01

Universal coverage with insecticide-treated bed nets is a cornerstone of modern malaria control. Mozambique has developed a novel bed net allocation strategy, where the number of bed nets allocated per household is calculated on the basis of household composition and assumptions about who sleeps with whom. We set out to evaluate the performance of the novel allocation strategy. A total of 1994 households were visited during household surveys following two universal coverage bed net distribution campaigns in Sofala and Nampula provinces in 2010-2013. Each sleeping space was observed for the presence of a bed net, and the sleeping patterns for each household were recorded. The observed coverage and efficiency were compared to a simulated coverage and efficiency had conventional allocation strategies been used. A composite indicator, the product of coverage and efficiency, was calculated. Observed sleeping patterns were compared with the sleeping pattern assumptions. In households reached by the campaign, 93% (95% CI: 93-94%) of sleeping spaces in Sofala and 84% (82-86%) in Nampula were covered by campaign bed nets. The achieved efficiency was high, with 92% (91-93%) of distributed bed nets in Sofala and 93% (91-95%) in Nampula covering a sleeping space. Using the composite indicator, the novel allocation strategy outperformed all conventional strategies in Sofala and was tied for best in Nampula. The sleeping pattern assumptions were completely satisfied in 66% of households in Sofala and 56% of households in Nampula. The most common violation of the sleeping pattern assumptions was that male children 3-10 years of age tended not to share sleeping spaces with female children 3-10 or 10-16 years of age. The sleeping pattern assumptions underlying the novel bed net allocation strategy are generally valid, and net allocation using these assumptions can achieve high coverage and compare favourably with conventional allocation strategies. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of two scores for allocating resources to doctors in deprived areas.

PubMed

Hutchinson, A; Foy, C; Sandhu, B

1989-11-04

Current proposals in the general practitioner contract include additional payments to doctors working among deprived populations. The underprivileged area score will be used to identify local authority wards with the greatest levels of deprivation, thus acting as the basis for distributing considerable resources. Two methods of identifying deprived populations--the underprivileged area score and the material deprivation score--were compared to determine whether they result in similar allocation of resources to regions. Financial allocations to regions based on figures derived from the contract differed considerably if the material deprivation score was used instead of the underprivileged area score: Northern and Mersey regions gained over 50% of their allocation whereas East Anglia, Oxford, and South West Thames regions lost more than 30% of theirs. Such differences have considerable implications for doctors working among deprived populations as up to 60m pounds each year might be distributed by these payments.

Rational selective exploitation and distress: employee reactions to performance-based and mobility-based reward allocations.

PubMed

Rusbult, C E; Campbell, M A; Price, M E

1990-09-01

Prior research has demonstrated that allocators frequently distribute greater rewards to persons with high professional and geographic mobility than to persons with constrained mobility, especially among the very competent. This phenomenon has been termed rational selective exploitation. Do the recipients of such allocations actually experience this distribution rule as unjust and distressing, or is it a misnomer to refer to this phenomenon as exploitation? Two studies were conducted to explore this question. Study 1 was a laboratory experiment in which we manipulated relative performance level, relative mobility level, and allocation standard: performance based versus mobility based. Study 2 was a cross-sectional survey of actual employees in which subjects reported the degree to which performance and mobility were the basis for pay decisions at their places of employment, as well as the degree to which they perceived each standard to be fair. Both studies demonstrated that people regard mobility-based allocations as less fair and more distressing than performance-based allocations. Furthermore, the degree of distress resulting from mobility-based allocations is greater among persons who are disadvantaged by that standard: among people with constrained mobility, especially those who perform at high levels. These findings provide good support for the assertion that so-called rational selective exploitation is indeed distressing to employees. Reactions to this form of distress are also explored, and the implications of these findings for the allocation process are discussed.

The veil of ignorance and health resource allocation.

PubMed

Soto, Carlos

2012-08-01

Some authors view the veil of ignorance as a preferred method for allocating resources because it imposes impartiality by stripping deliberators of knowledge of their personal identity. Using some prominent examples of such reasoning in the health care sector, I will argue for the following claims. First, choice behind a veil of ignorance often fails to provide clear guidance regarding resource allocation. Second, regardless of whether definite results could be derived from the veil, these results do not in themselves have important moral standing. This is partly because the veil does not determine which features are morally relevant for a given distributive problem. Third, even when we have settled the question of what features to count, choice behind a veil of ignorance arguably fails to take persons seriously. Ultimately, we do not need the veil to solve distributive problems, and we have good reason to appeal to some other distributive model.

Incentives for Optimal Multi-level Allocation of HIV Prevention Resources

PubMed Central

Malvankar, Monali M.; Zaric, Gregory S.

2013-01-01

HIV/AIDS prevention funds are often allocated at multiple levels of decision-making. Optimal allocation of HIV prevention funds maximizes the number of HIV infections averted. However, decision makers often allocate using simple heuristics such as proportional allocation. We evaluate the impact of using incentives to encourage optimal allocation in a two-level decision-making process. We model an incentive based decision-making process consisting of an upper-level decision maker allocating funds to a single lower-level decision maker who then distributes funds to local programs. We assume that the lower-level utility function is linear in the amount of the budget received from the upper-level, the fraction of funds reserved for proportional allocation, and the number of infections averted. We assume that the upper level objective is to maximize the number of infections averted. We illustrate with an example using data from California, U.S. PMID:23766551

Robust allocation of a defensive budget considering an attacker's private information.

PubMed

Nikoofal, Mohammad E; Zhuang, Jun

2012-05-01

Attackers' private information is one of the main issues in defensive resource allocation games in homeland security. The outcome of a defense resource allocation decision critically depends on the accuracy of estimations about the attacker's attributes. However, terrorists' goals may be unknown to the defender, necessitating robust decisions by the defender. This article develops a robust-optimization game-theoretical model for identifying optimal defense resource allocation strategies for a rational defender facing a strategic attacker while the attacker's valuation of targets, being the most critical attribute of the attacker, is unknown but belongs to bounded distribution-free intervals. To our best knowledge, no previous research has applied robust optimization in homeland security resource allocation when uncertainty is defined in bounded distribution-free intervals. The key features of our model include (1) modeling uncertainty in attackers' attributes, where uncertainty is characterized by bounded intervals; (2) finding the robust-optimization equilibrium for the defender using concepts dealing with budget of uncertainty and price of robustness; and (3) applying the proposed model to real data. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

How to allocate limited healthcare resources: Lessons from the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in rural Mozambique

PubMed Central

Dodson, Zan M.; Agadjanian, Victor; Driessen, Julia

2016-01-01

Proper allocation of limited healthcare resources is a challenging task for policymakers in developing countries. Allocation of and access to these resources typically varies based on how need is defined, thus determining how individuals access and acquire healthcare. Using the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in southern Mozambique as an example, we examine alternative definitions of need for rural populations and how they might impact the allocation of this vital health service. Our results show that how need is defined matters when allocating limited healthcare resources and the use of need-based metrics can help ensure more optimal distribution of services. PMID:28596630

Estimating benefit equity of government health subsidy in healthcare Services in Shandong Province, China: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Qin, Wenzhe; Xu, Lingzhong; Li, Jiajia; Sun, Long; Ding, Gan; Shao, Hui; Xu, Ningze

2018-05-18

Government health subsidy (GHS) is an effective tool to improve population health in China. Ensuring an equitable allocation of GHS, particularly among the poorer socio-economic groups, is a major goal of China's healthcare reform. The paper aims to explore how GHS was allocated across different socioeconomic groups, and how well the overall health system was performing in terms of the allocation of subsidy for different types of health services. Data from China's National Health Services Survey (NHSS) in 2013 were used. Benefit incidence analysis (BIA) was applied to examine if GHS was equally distributed across income quintile. Benefit incidence was presented as each quintile's percentage share of total benefits, and the concentration index (CI) and Kakwani index (KI) were calculated. Health benefits from three types of healthcare services (primary health care, outpatient and inpatient services) were analyzed, separated into urban and rural populations. In addition, the distribution of benefits was compared to the distribution of healthcare need (measured by self-reported illness and chronic disease) across income quintiles. In urban populations, the CI value of GHS for primary care was negative. (- 0.14), implying an allocation tendency toward poor region; the CI values of outpatient and inpatient services were both positive (0.174 and 0.194), indicating allocation tendencies toward rich region. Similar allocation pattern was observed in rural population, with pro-poor tendency of primary care service (CI = - 0.082), and pro-rich tendencies of outpatient (CI = 0.153) and inpatient services (CI = 0.203). All the KI values of three health services in urban and rural populations were negative (- 0.4991,-0.1851 and - 0.1651; - 0.482, - 0.247and - 0.197), indicating that government health subsidy was progressive and contributed to the narrowing of economic gap between the poor and rich. The inequitable distribution of GHS in China exited in different healthcare services; however, the GHS benefit is generally progressive. Future healthcare reforms in China should not only focus on expanding the coverage, but also on improving the equity of distribution of healthcare benefits.

Research on allocation efficiency of the daisy chain allocation algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jingping; Zhang, Weiguo

2013-03-01

With the improvement of the aircraft performance in reliability, maneuverability and survivability, the number of the control effectors increases a lot. How to distribute the three-axis moments into the control surfaces reasonably becomes an important problem. Daisy chain method is simple and easy to be carried out in the design of the allocation system. But it can not solve the allocation problem for entire attainable moment subset. For the lateral-directional allocation problem, the allocation efficiency of the daisy chain can be directly measured by the area of its subset of attainable moments. Because of the non-linear allocation characteristic, the subset of attainable moments of daisy-chain method is a complex non-convex polygon, and it is difficult to solve directly. By analyzing the two-dimensional allocation problems with a "micro-element" idea, a numerical calculation algorithm is proposed to compute the area of the non-convex polygon. In order to improve the allocation efficiency of the algorithm, a genetic algorithm with the allocation efficiency chosen as the fitness function is proposed to find the best pseudo-inverse matrix.

S4HARA: System for HIV/AIDS resource allocation.

PubMed

Lasry, Arielle; Carter, Michael W; Zaric, Gregory S

2008-03-26

HIV/AIDS resource allocation decisions are influenced by political, social, ethical and other factors that are difficult to quantify. Consequently, quantitative models of HIV/AIDS resource allocation have had limited impact on actual spending decisions. We propose a decision-support System for HIV/AIDS Resource Allocation (S4HARA) that takes into consideration both principles of efficient resource allocation and the role of non-quantifiable influences on the decision-making process for resource allocation. S4HARA is a four-step spreadsheet-based model. The first step serves to identify the factors currently influencing HIV/AIDS allocation decisions. The second step consists of prioritizing HIV/AIDS interventions. The third step involves allocating the budget to the HIV/AIDS interventions using a rational approach. Decision-makers can select from several rational models of resource allocation depending on availability of data and level of complexity. The last step combines the results of the first and third steps to highlight the influencing factors that act as barriers or facilitators to the results suggested by the rational resource allocation approach. Actionable recommendations are then made to improve the allocation. We illustrate S4HARA in the context of a primary healthcare clinic in South Africa. The clinic offers six types of HIV/AIDS interventions and spends US$750,000 annually on these programs. Current allocation decisions are influenced by donors, NGOs and the government as well as by ethical and religious factors. Without additional funding, an optimal allocation of the total budget suggests that the portion allotted to condom distribution be increased from 1% to 15% and the portion allotted to prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections be increased from 43% to 71%, while allocation to other interventions should decrease. Condom uptake at the clinic should be increased by changing the condom distribution policy from a pull system to a push system. NGOs and donors promoting antiretroviral programs at the clinic should be sensitized to the results of the model and urged to invest in wellness programs aimed at the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections. S4HARA differentiates itself from other decision support tools by providing rational HIV/AIDS resource allocation capabilities as well as consideration of the realities facing authorities in their decision-making process.

Rice distribution planning for “the poor people” in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutarman; Hidayat, Endang

2017-12-01

Bandung is one of the big and developed cities in Indonesia. The high economic growth in this city has an impact on increasing the prosperity of its citizens. However, the prosperity has not spread evenly. In fact, many residents of the city are still lack of rice. The party in charge of distributing rice to the poor is a state company called Bulog. Bulog has several warehouses with limited capacity to supply the poor. Three of them are Cisaranten Kidul, Main Warehouse and Citeureup warehouse. Bulog supplies rice to poor villages spread over 30 districts in Bandung. The allocation of rice for all districts needs to be improved so that the needs of the poor can be fulfilled with minimum allocation cost. Distribution planning conducted in this research was used Linear Programming method. Through this method, the optimization of rice allocation for the poor in Bandung can be obtained. Based on the finding, Linear programming method can be recommended as rice distribution pattern for poor people in Bandung with minimal logistics cost.

Distributed Bees Algorithm Parameters Optimization for a Cost Efficient Target Allocation in Swarms of Robots

PubMed Central

Jevtić, Aleksandar; Gutiérrez, Álvaro

2011-01-01

Swarms of robots can use their sensing abilities to explore unknown environments and deploy on sites of interest. In this task, a large number of robots is more effective than a single unit because of their ability to quickly cover the area. However, the coordination of large teams of robots is not an easy problem, especially when the resources for the deployment are limited. In this paper, the Distributed Bees Algorithm (DBA), previously proposed by the authors, is optimized and applied to distributed target allocation in swarms of robots. Improved target allocation in terms of deployment cost efficiency is achieved through optimization of the DBA’s control parameters by means of a Genetic Algorithm. Experimental results show that with the optimized set of parameters, the deployment cost measured as the average distance traveled by the robots is reduced. The cost-efficient deployment is in some cases achieved at the expense of increased robots’ distribution error. Nevertheless, the proposed approach allows the swarm to adapt to the operating conditions when available resources are scarce. PMID:22346677

Marginal Contribution-Based Distributed Subchannel Allocation in Small Cell Networks.

PubMed

Shah, Shashi; Kittipiyakul, Somsak; Lim, Yuto; Tan, Yasuo

2018-05-10

The paper presents a game theoretic solution for distributed subchannel allocation problem in small cell networks (SCNs) analyzed under the physical interference model. The objective is to find a distributed solution that maximizes the welfare of the SCNs, defined as the total system capacity. Although the problem can be addressed through best-response (BR) dynamics, the existence of a steady-state solution, i.e., a pure strategy Nash equilibrium (NE), cannot be guaranteed. Potential games (PGs) ensure convergence to a pure strategy NE when players rationally play according to some specified learning rules. However, such a performance guarantee comes at the expense of complete knowledge of the SCNs. To overcome such requirements, properties of PGs are exploited for scalable implementations, where we utilize the concept of marginal contribution (MC) as a tool to design learning rules of players’ utility and propose the marginal contribution-based best-response (MCBR) algorithm of low computational complexity for the distributed subchannel allocation problem. Finally, we validate and evaluate the proposed scheme through simulations for various performance metrics.

Assessing and Improving Performance: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Priority Setting and Resource Allocation in a Canadian Health Region.

PubMed

Hall, William; Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Urquhart, Bonnie; Bryan, Stirling

2017-08-22

In order to meet the challenges presented by increasing demand and scarcity of resources, healthcare organizations are faced with difficult decisions related to resource allocation. Tools to facilitate evaluation and improvement of these processes could enable greater transparency and more optimal distribution of resources. The Resource Allocation Performance Assessment Tool (RAPAT) was implemented in a healthcare organization in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for improvement were delivered, and a follow up evaluation exercise was conducted to assess the trajectory of the organization's priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) process 2 years post the original evaluation. Implementation of RAPAT in the pilot organization identified strengths and weaknesses of the organization's PSRA process at the time of the original evaluation. Strengths included the use of criteria and evidence, an ability to reallocate resources, and the involvement of frontline staff in the process. Weaknesses included training, communication, and lack of program budgeting. Although the follow up revealed a regression from a more formal PSRA process, a legacy of explicit resource allocation was reported to be providing ongoing benefit for the organization. While past studies have taken a cross-sectional approach, this paper introduces the first longitudinal evaluation of PSRA in a healthcare organization. By including the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of one organization's journey, the authors' intend that this paper will assist other healthcare leaders in meeting the challenges of allocating scarce resources. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Mitigating energy loss on distribution lines through the allocation of reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, T. M.; Romero, F.; Meffe, A.; Castilho Neto, J.; Abe, L. F. T.; Corradi, F. E.

2018-03-01

This paper presents a methodology for automatic reactors allocation on medium voltage distribution lines to reduce energy loss. In Brazil, some feeders are distinguished by their long lengths and very low load, which results in a high influence of the capacitance of the line on the circuit’s performance, requiring compensation through the installation of reactors. The automatic allocation is accomplished using an optimization meta-heuristic called Global Neighbourhood Algorithm. Given a set of reactor models and a circuit, it outputs an optimal solution in terms of reduction of energy loss. The algorithm is also able to verify if the voltage limits determined by the user are not being violated, besides checking for energy quality. The methodology was implemented in a software tool, which can also show the allocation graphically. A simulation with four real feeders is presented in the paper. The obtained results were able to reduce the energy loss significantly, from 50.56%, in the worst case, to 93.10%, in the best case.

Suggestions to ameliorate the inequity in urban/rural allocation of healthcare resources in China.

PubMed

Chen, Yiyi; Yin, Zhou; Xie, Qiong

2014-05-01

The imbalance in the allocation in healthcare resources between urban and rural areas has become a main focus of the recent medical reforms adopted in China. However, systematic analysis has identified wide differences in the allocation of healthcare resources between urban and rural areas, including healthcare expenditures and the number of healthcare facilities, available beds, and personnel. Therefore, the aim of this report was to identify ethical considerations in current governmental policies to rectify existing problems in the distribution of healthcare resources. Our findings indicate that the inequality in the distribution of healthcare resources does not adhere to ethical standards and the policies are flawed because they give rise to differences in the availability of medical care to urban and rural communities. To optimize the allocation of medical healthcare resources, countermeasures are proposed to formulate policies to urge the flow of public healthcare resources to rural areas, strengthen the responsibilities of both governmental and public financial investments, increase the construction of public healthcare facilities in rural areas, promote the quality of healthcare resources, adjust resource allocations to rural public healthcare facilities, and improve resource utilization efficiency by establishing two-way referral mechanisms.

A distributed scheduling algorithm for heterogeneous real-time systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeineldine, Osman; El-Toweissy, Mohamed; Mukkamala, Ravi

1991-01-01

Much of the previous work on load balancing and scheduling in distributed environments was concerned with homogeneous systems and homogeneous loads. Several of the results indicated that random policies are as effective as other more complex load allocation policies. The effects of heterogeneity on scheduling algorithms for hard real time systems is examined. A distributed scheduler specifically to handle heterogeneities in both nodes and node traffic is proposed. The performance of the algorithm is measured in terms of the percentage of jobs discarded. While a random task allocation is very sensitive to heterogeneities, the algorithm is shown to be robust to such non-uniformities in system components and load.

Multi-heuristic dynamic task allocation using genetic algorithms in a heterogeneous distributed system

PubMed Central

Page, Andrew J.; Keane, Thomas M.; Naughton, Thomas J.

2010-01-01

We present a multi-heuristic evolutionary task allocation algorithm to dynamically map tasks to processors in a heterogeneous distributed system. It utilizes a genetic algorithm, combined with eight common heuristics, in an effort to minimize the total execution time. It operates on batches of unmapped tasks and can preemptively remap tasks to processors. The algorithm has been implemented on a Java distributed system and evaluated with a set of six problems from the areas of bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, computer science and cryptography. Experiments using up to 150 heterogeneous processors show that the algorithm achieves better efficiency than other state-of-the-art heuristic algorithms. PMID:20862190

Resource Management for Distributed Parallel Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neuman, B. Clifford; Rao, Santosh

1993-01-01

Multiprocessor systems should exist in the the larger context of distributed systems, allowing multiprocessor resources to be shared by those that need them. Unfortunately, typical multiprocessor resource management techniques do not scale to large networks. The Prospero Resource Manager (PRM) is a scalable resource allocation system that supports the allocation of processing resources in large networks and multiprocessor systems. To manage resources in such distributed parallel systems, PRM employs three types of managers: system managers, job managers, and node managers. There exist multiple independent instances of each type of manager, reducing bottlenecks. The complexity of each manager is further reduced because each is designed to utilize information at an appropriate level of abstraction.

48 CFR 31.201-4 - Determining allocability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Determining allocability. 31.201-4 Section 31.201-4 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION... for the contract; (b) Benefits both the contract and other work, and can be distributed to them in...

50 CFR 600.325 - National Standard 4-Allocations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... distribution of the opportunity to participate in a fishery among identifiable, discrete user groups or... legitimate FMP objective. Inherent in an allocation is the advantaging of one group to the detriment of... the FMP; otherwise, the disadvantaged user groups or individuals would suffer without cause. For...

Resource Allocation in High Schools. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, William T.

This study investigated the resource allocation process--how school administrators obtain the proper resources to operate their schools, distribute the available resources among the various school programs appropriately, and manage resources for effective educational results--in four high schools during the 1984-85 school year. Information was…

The geographic distribution of HMOF and TTF revenues and allocations in Virginia from FY 88 through FY 92.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-01-01

This paper describes the current structure of transportation finance in the Commonwealth. The financial structure is made up of estimated revenues and recommended allocations. We present comparisons of the shares of state and federal transportation r...

Data distribution method of workflow in the cloud environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yong; Wu, Junjuan; Wang, Ying

2017-08-01

Cloud computing for workflow applications provides the required high efficiency calculation and large storage capacity and it also brings challenges to the protection of trade secrets and other privacy data. Because of privacy data will cause the increase of the data transmission time, this paper presents a new data allocation algorithm based on data collaborative damage degree, to improve the existing data allocation strategy? Safety and public cloud computer algorithm depends on the private cloud; the static allocation method in the initial stage only to the non-confidential data division to improve the original data, in the operational phase will continue to generate data to dynamically adjust the data distribution scheme. The experimental results show that the improved method is effective in reducing the data transmission time.

The Evolution of Organ Allocation for Liver Transplantation: Tackling Geographic Disparity Through Broader Sharing.

PubMed

Axelrod, David A; Vagefi, Parsia A; Roberts, John P

2015-08-01

The liver transplant allocation system has evolved to a ranking system of “sickest-first” system based on objective criteria. Yet, organs continue to be distributed first within OPOs and regions that are largely based on historical practice patterns related to kidney transplantation and were never designed to minimize waitlist death or equalize opportunity for liver transplant. The current proposal is a move to enhance survival though the application of modern mathematical techniques to optimize liver distribution. Like MELDbased allocation, it will never be perfect and should be continually evaluated and revised. However, the disparity in access, which favors those residing in or able to travel to privileged areas, to the detriment of the patients dying on the list in underserved areas, is simply not defensible in 2015.

Spatial Preference Modelling for equitable infrastructure provision: an application of Sen's Capability Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wismadi, Arif; Zuidgeest, Mark; Brussel, Mark; van Maarseveen, Martin

2014-01-01

To determine whether the inclusion of spatial neighbourhood comparison factors in Preference Modelling allows spatial decision support systems (SDSSs) to better address spatial equity, we introduce Spatial Preference Modelling (SPM). To evaluate the effectiveness of this model in addressing equity, various standardisation functions in both Non-Spatial Preference Modelling and SPM are compared. The evaluation involves applying the model to a resource location-allocation problem for transport infrastructure in the Special Province of Yogyakarta in Indonesia. We apply Amartya Sen's Capability Approach to define opportunity to mobility as a non-income indicator. Using the extended Moran's I interpretation for spatial equity, we evaluate the distribution output regarding, first, `the spatial distribution patterns of priority targeting for allocation' (SPT) and, second, `the effect of new distribution patterns after location-allocation' (ELA). The Moran's I index of the initial map and its comparison with six patterns for SPT as well as ELA consistently indicates that the SPM is more effective for addressing spatial equity. We conclude that the inclusion of spatial neighbourhood comparison factors in Preference Modelling improves the capability of SDSS to address spatial equity. This study thus proposes a new formal method for SDSS with specific attention on resource location-allocation to address spatial equity.

Sample allocation balancing overall representativeness and stratum precision.

PubMed

Diaz-Quijano, Fredi Alexander

2018-05-07

In large-scale surveys, it is often necessary to distribute a preset sample size among a number of strata. Researchers must make a decision between prioritizing overall representativeness or precision of stratum estimates. Hence, I evaluated different sample allocation strategies based on stratum size. The strategies evaluated herein included allocation proportional to stratum population; equal sample for all strata; and proportional to the natural logarithm, cubic root, and square root of the stratum population. This study considered the fact that, from a preset sample size, the dispersion index of stratum sampling fractions is correlated with the population estimator error and the dispersion index of stratum-specific sampling errors would measure the inequality in precision distribution. Identification of a balanced and efficient strategy was based on comparing those both dispersion indices. Balance and efficiency of the strategies changed depending on overall sample size. As the sample to be distributed increased, the most efficient allocation strategies were equal sample for each stratum; proportional to the logarithm, to the cubic root, to square root; and that proportional to the stratum population, respectively. Depending on sample size, each of the strategies evaluated could be considered in optimizing the sample to keep both overall representativeness and stratum-specific precision. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Power-efficient distributed resource allocation under goodput QoS constraints for heterogeneous networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreotti, Riccardo; Del Fiorentino, Paolo; Giannetti, Filippo; Lottici, Vincenzo

2016-12-01

This work proposes a distributed resource allocation (RA) algorithm for packet bit-interleaved coded OFDM transmissions in the uplink of heterogeneous networks (HetNets), characterized by small cells deployed over a macrocell area and sharing the same band. Every user allocates its transmission resources, i.e., bits per active subcarrier, coding rate, and power per subcarrier, to minimize the power consumption while both guaranteeing a target quality of service (QoS) and accounting for the interference inflicted by other users transmitting over the same band. The QoS consists of the number of information bits delivered in error-free packets per unit of time, or goodput (GP), estimated at the transmitter by resorting to an efficient effective SNR mapping technique. First, the RA problem is solved in the point-to-point case, thus deriving an approximate yet accurate closed-form expression for the power allocation (PA). Then, the interference-limited HetNet case is examined, where the RA problem is described as a non-cooperative game, providing a solution in terms of generalized Nash equilibrium. Thanks to the closed-form of the PA, the solution analysis is based on the best response concept. Hence, sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of the solution are analytically derived, along with a distributed algorithm capable of reaching the game equilibrium.

Distribution of Health Resource Allocation in the Fars Province Using the Scalogram Analysis Technique in 2011.

PubMed

Hatam, Nahid; Kafashi, Shahnaz; Kavosi, Zahra

2015-07-01

The importance of health indicators in the recent years has created challenges in resource allocation. Balanced and fair distribution of health resources is one of the main principles in achieving equity. The goal of this cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 2010, was to classify health structural indicators in the Fars province using the scalogram technique. Health structural indicators were selected and classified in three categories; namely institutional, human resources, and rural health. The data were obtained from the statistical yearbook of Iran and was analyzed according to the scalogram technique. The distribution map of the Fars province was drawn using ArcGIS (geographic information system). The results showed an interesting health structural indicator map across the province. Our findings revealed that the city of Mohr with 85 and Zarindasht with 36 had the highest and the lowest scores, respectively. This information is valuable to provincial health policymakers to plan appropriately based on factual data and minimize chaos in allocating health resources. Based on such data and reflecting on the local needs, one could develop equity based resource allocation policies and prevent inequality. It is concluded that, as top priority, the provincial policymakers should place dedicated deprivation programs for Farashband, Eghlid and Zaindasht regions.

Experimental investigation of all-optical packet-level time slot assignment using two optical buffers cascaded.

PubMed

Sheng, Xinzhi; Feng, Zhen; Li, Bing

2013-04-20

We proposed and experimentally demonstrated all-optical packet-level time slot assignment scheme with two optical buffers cascaded. The function of time-slot interchange (TSI) was successfully implemented on two and three optical packets at a data rate of 10 Gb/s. Therefore, the functions of TSI on N packets should be implemented easily by the use of N-1 stage optical buffer. On the basis of the above experiment, we carried out the TSI experiment on four packets with the same two-stage experimental setup. Furthermore, packets compression on three optical packets was also carried out with the same experimental setup. The shortest guard time of the packets compression can reach to 13 ns due to the limit of FPGA's control accuracy. Due to the use of the same optical buffer, the proposed scheme has the advantages of simple and scalable configuration, modularization, and easy integration.

49 CFR 350.313 - How are MCSAP funds allocated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... may be distributed for safety audits of New Entrant motor carriers under the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program at the discretion of the Administrator. (3) The remaining funds will be allocated among... able to use government employees to conduct New Entrant motor carrier audits, the Administrator may use...

Market-Based Coordination and Auditing Mechanisms for Self-Interested Multi-Robot Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ham, MyungJoo

2009-01-01

We propose market-based coordinated task allocation mechanisms, which allocate complex tasks that require synchronized and collaborated services of multiple robot agents to robot agents, and an auditing mechanism, which ensures proper behaviors of robot agents by verifying inter-agent activities, for self-interested, fully-distributed, and…

Domestic Supply, Job-Specialization and Sex-Differences in Pay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polavieja, Javier G.

2009-01-01

This article proposes an explanation of sex-differences in job-allocation and pay in different institutional contexts. Job-allocation calculations are considered to be related to (1) the distribution of housework and (2) the skill-specialization requirements of jobs. In a context of uncertainty and imperfect information, housework and…

Understanding the New A-21 Allocation and Documentation Standard.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sellers, William

1994-01-01

New federal regulations concerning direct cost accounting for college and university research projects are explained. It is concluded that the new standard allows institutions to reduce the signatures required on cost transfers and use reasonable cost allocation methods to simplify distribution of direct costs when research is supported by…

Allocation of Students in Public Schools: Theory and New Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen-Zada, Danny; Gradstein, Mark; Reuven, Ehud

2013-01-01

The allocation of educational resources to students of different socio-economic backgrounds has important policy implications since it affects individual educational outcomes as well as the future distribution of human capital. In this paper, we present a theoretical model showing that local school administrators have an incentive to allocate…

Power Allocation and Outage Probability Analysis for SDN-based Radio Access Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yongxu; Chen, Yueyun; Mai, Zhiyuan

2018-01-01

In this paper, performance of Access network Architecture based SDN (Software Defined Network) is analyzed with respect to the power allocation issue. A power allocation scheme PSO-PA (Particle Swarm Optimization-power allocation) algorithm is proposed, the proposed scheme is subjected to constant total power with the objective of minimizing system outage probability. The entire access network resource configuration is controlled by the SDN controller, then it sends the optimized power distribution factor to the base station source node (SN) and the relay node (RN). Simulation results show that the proposed scheme reduces the system outage probability at a low complexity.

Efficient Allocation of Resources for Defense of Spatially Distributed Networks Using Agent-Based Simulation.

PubMed

Kroshl, William M; Sarkani, Shahram; Mazzuchi, Thomas A

2015-09-01

This article presents ongoing research that focuses on efficient allocation of defense resources to minimize the damage inflicted on a spatially distributed physical network such as a pipeline, water system, or power distribution system from an attack by an active adversary, recognizing the fundamental difference between preparing for natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or even accidental systems failures and the problem of allocating resources to defend against an opponent who is aware of, and anticipating, the defender's efforts to mitigate the threat. Our approach is to utilize a combination of integer programming and agent-based modeling to allocate the defensive resources. We conceptualize the problem as a Stackelberg "leader follower" game where the defender first places his assets to defend key areas of the network, and the attacker then seeks to inflict the maximum damage possible within the constraints of resources and network structure. The criticality of arcs in the network is estimated by a deterministic network interdiction formulation, which then informs an evolutionary agent-based simulation. The evolutionary agent-based simulation is used to determine the allocation of resources for attackers and defenders that results in evolutionary stable strategies, where actions by either side alone cannot increase its share of victories. We demonstrate these techniques on an example network, comparing the evolutionary agent-based results to a more traditional, probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) approach. Our results show that the agent-based approach results in a greater percentage of defender victories than does the PRA-based approach. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Asset allocation using option-implied moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahaludin, H.; Abdullah, M. H.; Tolos, S. M.

2017-09-01

This study uses an option-implied distribution as the input in asset allocation. The computation of risk-neutral densities (RND) are based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index option and its constituents. Since the RNDs estimation does not incorporate risk premium, the conversion of RND into risk-world density (RWD) is required. The RWD is obtained through parametric calibration using the beta distributions. The mean, volatility, and covariance are then calculated to construct the portfolio. The performance of the portfolio is evaluated by using portfolio volatility and Sharpe ratio.

Medium of exchange matters: what's fair for goods is unfair for money.

PubMed

DeVoe, Sanford E; Iyengar, Sheena S

2010-02-01

Organized groups face a fundamental problem of how to distribute resources fairly. We found people view it as less fair to distribute resources equally when the allocated resource invokes the market by being a medium of exchange than when the allocated resource is a good that holds value in use. These differences in fairness can be attributed to being a medium of exchange, and not to other essential properties of money (i.e., being a unit of account or a store of value). These findings suggest that egalitarian outcomes have a greater likelihood of being accepted as fair when the resources being distributed take the form of in-kind goods rather than of cash transfers.

Plants adapted to nutrient limitation allocate less biomass into stems in an arid-hot grassland.

PubMed

Yan, Bangguo; Ji, Zhonghua; Fan, Bo; Wang, Xuemei; He, Guangxiong; Shi, Liangtao; Liu, Gangcai

2016-09-01

Biomass allocation can exert a great influence on plant resource acquisition and nutrient use. However, the role of biomass allocation strategies in shaping plant community composition under nutrient limitations remains poorly addressed. We hypothesized that species-specific allocation strategies can affect plant adaptation to nutrient limitations, resulting in species turnover and changes in community-level biomass allocations across nutrient gradients. In this study, we measured species abundance and the concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves and soil nutrients in an arid-hot grassland. We quantified species-specific allocation parameters for stems vs leaves based on allometric scaling relationships. Species-specific stem vs leaf allocation parameters were weighted with species abundances to calculate the community-weighted means driven by species turnover. We found that the community-weighted means of biomass allocation parameters were significantly related to the soil nutrient gradient as well as to leaf stoichiometry, indicating that species-specific allocation strategies can affect plant adaptation to nutrient limitations in the studied grassland. Species that allocate less to stems than leaves tend to dominate nutrient-limited environments. The results support the hypothesis that species-specific allocations affect plant adaptation to nutrient limitations. The allocation trade-off between stems and leaves has the potential to greatly affect plant distribution across nutrient gradients. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

The Influence of Procedural and Distributive Justice on Organizational Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Sheldon; Ruderman, Marion

Research on justice in organizational behavior has emphasized distributive rather than procedural justice. Distributive justice focuses on the fairness of rewards, while procedural justice focuses on the fairness of the procedures used in allocating rewards. To examine the procedural-distributive justice distinction as it relates to organizatonal…

SoilSCAPE in-Situ Observations of Soil Moisture for SMAP Validation: Pushing the Envelopes of Spatial Coverage and Energy Efficiency in Sparse Wireless Sensor Networks (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moghaddam, M.; Silva, A.; Clewley, D.; Akbar, R.; Entekhabi, D.

2013-12-01

Soil Moisture Sensing Controller and oPtimal Estimator (SoilSCAPE) is a wireless in-situ sensor network technology, developed under the support of NASA ESTO/AIST program, for multi-scale validation of soil moisture retrievals from the Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission. The SMAP sensor suite is expected to produce soil moisture retrievals at 3 km scale from the radar instrument, at 36 km from the radiometer, and at 10 km from the combination of the two sensors. To validate the retrieved soil moisture maps at any of these scales, it is necessary to perform in-situ observations at multiple scales (ten, hundreds, and thousands of meters), representative of the true spatial variability of soil moisture fields. The most recent SoilSCAPE network, deployed in the California central valley, has been designed, built, and deployed to accomplish this goal, and is expected to become a core validation site for SMAP. The network consists of up to 150 sensor nodes, each comprised of 3-4 soil moisture sensors at various depths, deployed over a spatial extent of 36 km by 36 km. The network contains multiple sub-networks, each having up to 30 nodes, whose location is selected in part based on maximizing the land cover diversity within the 36 km cell. The network has achieved unprecedented energy efficiency, longevity, and spatial coverage using custom-designed hardware and software protocols. The network architecture utilizes a nested strategy, where a number of end devices (EDs) communicate to a local coordinator (LC) using our recently developed hardware with ultra-efficient circuitry and best-effort-timeslot allocation communication protocol. The LCs in turn communicates with the base station (BS) via text messages and a new compression scheme. The hardware and software technologies required to implement this latest deployment of the SoilSCAPE network will be presented in this paper, and several data sets resulting from the measurements will be shown. The data are available publicly in near-real-time from the project web site, and are also available and searchable via an extensive set of metadata fields through the ORNL-DAAC.

Liver Sharing and Organ Procurement Organization Performance under Redistricted Allocation

PubMed Central

Gentry, Sommer E.; Chow, Eric KH.; Massie, Allan; Luo, Xun; Shteyn, Eugene; Pyke, Joshua; Zaun, David; Snyder, Jon J.; Israni, Ajay K.; Kasiske, Bert; Segev, Dorry L.

2015-01-01

Concerns have been raised that optimized redistricting of liver allocation areas might have the unintended result of shifting livers from better-performing to poorer-performing OPOs. We used the Liver Simulated Allocation Model to simulate a 5-year period of liver sharing within either 4 or 8 optimized districts. We investigated whether each OPO’s net liver import under redistricting would be correlated with two OPO performance metrics (observed to expected liver yield and liver donor conversion ratio), along with two other potential correlates (eligible deaths and incident listings above MELD 15). We found no evidence that livers would flow from better-performing OPOs to poorer-performing OPOs in either redistricting scenario. Instead, under these optimized redistricting plans, our simulations suggest that livers would flow from OPOs with more-than-expected eligible deaths toward those with fewer-than-expected eligible deaths, and that livers would flow from OPOs with fewer-than-expected incident listings to those with more-than-expected incident listings, the latter a pattern already established in the current allocation system. Redistricting liver distribution to reduce geographic inequity is expected to align liver allocation across the country with the distribution of supply and demand, rather than transferring livers from better-performing OPOs to poorer-performing OPOs. PMID:25990089

[Effects of clipping on nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth of Leymus chinensis under saline-alkali conditions].

PubMed

Zheng, Cong Cong; Wang, Yong Jing; Sun, Hao; Wang, Xin Yu; Gao, Ying Zhi

2017-07-18

Soil salinization and overgrazing are two main factors limiting animal husbandry in the Songnen Grassland. Leymus chinensis is a dominant rhizome grass, resistant to grazing as well as to-lerant to salt stress. Foliar labeled with 15 N-urea was used to study the nitrogen allocation strategy and compensatory growth response to clipping under saline-alkali conditions. The results showed that the total absorbed 15 N allocated to the aboveground part was more than 60%. Compared with the control treatment (no saline-alkali, no clipping), saline-alkali increased the distribution of 15 N by 5.1% in root; the 15 N distribution into aboveground in the moderate clipping and saline-alkali treatment was 11.6% higher than that of the control, exhibiting over-compensatory growth of aboveground biomass and total biomass, however, 15 N allocated to stem base was significantly increased by 9.5% under severe clipping level and saline-alkali addition, showing under-compensatory growth of shoot, root and total biomass. These results suggested that L. chinensis adapted to mode-rate clipping by over-compensatory growth under salt-alkali stress condition. However, L. chinensis would take a relatively conservative growth strategy through the enhanced N allocation to stem base for storage under severe saline-alkali and clipping conditions.

Modeling and simulation of dynamic ant colony's labor division for task allocation of UAV swarm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Husheng; Li, Hao; Xiao, Renbin; Liu, Jie

2018-02-01

The problem of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) task allocation not only has the intrinsic attribute of complexity, such as highly nonlinear, dynamic, highly adversarial and multi-modal, but also has a better practicability in various multi-agent systems, which makes it more and more attractive recently. In this paper, based on the classic fixed response threshold model (FRTM), under the idea of "problem centered + evolutionary solution" and by a bottom-up way, the new dynamic environmental stimulus, response threshold and transition probability are designed, and a dynamic ant colony's labor division (DACLD) model is proposed. DACLD allows a swarm of agents with a relatively low-level of intelligence to perform complex tasks, and has the characteristic of distributed framework, multi-tasks with execution order, multi-state, adaptive response threshold and multi-individual response. With the proposed model, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the effectiveness of the distributed task allocation scheme in two situations of UAV swarm combat (dynamic task allocation with a certain number of enemy targets and task re-allocation due to unexpected threats). Results show that our model can get both the heterogeneous UAVs' real-time positions and states at the same time, and has high degree of self-organization, flexibility and real-time response to dynamic environments.

Equalizing access to pandemic influenza vaccines through optimal allocation to public health distribution points.

PubMed

Huang, Hsin-Chan; Singh, Bismark; Morton, David P; Johnson, Gregory P; Clements, Bruce; Meyers, Lauren Ancel

2017-01-01

Vaccines are arguably the most important means of pandemic influenza mitigation. However, as during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, mass immunization with an effective vaccine may not begin until a pandemic is well underway. In the U.S., state-level public health agencies are responsible for quickly and fairly allocating vaccines as they become available to populations prioritized to receive vaccines. Allocation decisions can be ethically and logistically complex, given several vaccine types in limited and uncertain supply and given competing priority groups with distinct risk profiles and vaccine acceptabilities. We introduce a model for optimizing statewide allocation of multiple vaccine types to multiple priority groups, maximizing equal access. We assume a large fraction of available vaccines are distributed to healthcare providers based on their requests, and then optimize county-level allocation of the remaining doses to achieve equity. We have applied the model to the state of Texas, and incorporated it in a Web-based decision-support tool for the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Based on vaccine quantities delivered to registered healthcare providers in response to their requests during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, we find that a relatively small cache of discretionary doses (DSHS reserved 6.8% in 2009) suffices to achieve equity across all counties in Texas.

Correlation estimation and performance optimization for distributed image compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhihai; Cao, Lei; Cheng, Hui

2006-01-01

Correlation estimation plays a critical role in resource allocation and rate control for distributed data compression. A Wyner-Ziv encoder for distributed image compression is often considered as a lossy source encoder followed by a lossless Slepian-Wolf encoder. The source encoder consists of spatial transform, quantization, and bit plane extraction. In this work, we find that Gray code, which has been extensively used in digital modulation, is able to significantly improve the correlation between the source data and its side information. Theoretically, we analyze the behavior of Gray code within the context of distributed image compression. Using this theoretical model, we are able to efficiently allocate the bit budget and determine the code rate of the Slepian-Wolf encoder. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Gray code, coupled with accurate correlation estimation and rate control, significantly improves the picture quality, by up to 4 dB, over the existing methods for distributed image compression.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965: Allocation Methods. CRS Report for Congress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irwin, Paul M.

The Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 authorizes 39 programs that are administered by the United States Department of Education and account for $8.6 billion in FY 1993. ESEA funds are distributed through three allocation methods: formulas, discretionary grants, and specifically designated recipients. Almost half of ESEA programs…

Distributive Decisions in Education: Goals, Trade-Offs, and Feasibility Constraints

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shores, Kenneth; Loeb, Susanna

2016-01-01

Educators, policymakers, and citizens face questions of how to allocate scarce resources in the pursuit of competing goals for children and youth. Our goal in this article is to provide decision-makers with a framework for considering allocative problems in education, explicitly highlighting the implications of relevant feasibility constraints. We…

Success in Investing: Integrating Spending Policy into Asset Allocation Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrell, Louis R.

1996-01-01

Successful college and university investments hinge on an asset allocation strategy capable of meeting the institution's needs for income and growth in principal at the lowest possible risk. Periodic adjustments must be made when there is a shift in the institution's risk tolerance, modification in need for income distribution, and changes in…

Portraits of Principal Practice: Time Allocation and School Principal Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sebastian, James; Camburn, Eric M.; Spillane, James P.

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how school principals in urban settings distributed their time working on critical school functions. We also examined who principals worked with and how their time allocation patterns varied by school contextual characteristics. Research Method/Approach: The study was conducted in an urban school…

75 FR 54530 - Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Administrative Funding Allocations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-08

... could this description be more helpful in making the rule easier to understand? II. Procedural Matters... rational basis for allocating funds to the Regional Offices. FDPIR State agencies expressed concern that... participants served by each State agency. The decision to pilot a new funding methodology in fiscal year 2008...

Resource Allocation Procedure at Queensland University: A Dynamic Modelling Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbraith, Peter L.; Carss, Brian W.

A structural reorganization of the University of Queensland, Australia, was undertaken to promote efficient resource management, and a resource allocation model was developed to aid in policy evaluation and planning. The operation of the restructured system was based on creating five resource groups to manage the distribution of academic resources…

Legal briefing: organ donation and allocation.

PubMed

Pope, Thaddeus Mason

2010-01-01

This issue's "Legal Briefing" column covers legal developments pertaining to organ donation and allocation. This topic has been the subject of recent articles in JCE. Organ donation and allocation have also recently been the subjects of significant public policy attention. In the past several months, legislatures and regulatory agencies across the United States and across the world have changed, or considered changing, the methods for procuring and distributing human organs for transplantation. Currently, in the U.S., more than 100,000 persons are waiting for organ transplantation. In China, more than 1.5 million people are waiting. Given the chronic shortage of available organs (especially kidneys and livers) relative to demand, the primary focus of most legal developments has been on increasing the rate of donation. These and related developments are usefully divided into the following 12 topical categories: 1. Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. 2. Presumed Consent and Opt-Out. 3. Mandated Choice. 4. Donation after Cardiac Death. 5. Payment and Compensation. 6. Donation by Prisoners. 7. Donor Registries. 8. Public Education. 9. Other Procurement Initiatives. 10. Lawsuits and Liability. 11. Trafficking and Tourism. 12. Allocation and Distribution.

Effect of the lung allocation score on lung transplantation in the United States.

PubMed

Egan, Thomas M; Edwards, Leah B

2016-04-01

On May 4, 2005, the system for allocation of deceased donor lungs for transplant in the United States changed from allocation based on waiting time to allocation based on the lung allocation score (LAS). We sought to determine the effect of the LAS on lung transplantation in the United States. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data on listed and transplanted patients were analyzed for 5 calendar years before implementation of the LAS (2000-2004), and compared with data from 6 calendar years after implementation (2006-2011). Counts were compared between eras using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The rates of transplant increase within each era were compared using an F-test. Survival rates computed using the Kaplan-Meier method were compared using the log-rank test. After introduction of the LAS, waitlist deaths decreased significantly, from 500/year to 300/year; the number of lung transplants increased, with double the annual increase in rate of lung transplants, despite no increase in donors; the distribution of recipient diagnoses changed dramatically, with significantly more patients with fibrotic lung disease receiving transplants; age of recipients increased significantly; and 1-year survival had a small but significant increase. Allocating lungs for transplant based on urgency and benefit instead of waiting time was associated with fewer waitlist deaths, more transplants performed, and a change in distribution of recipient diagnoses to patients more likely to die on the waiting list. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.

Water Market-scale Agricultural Planning: Promoting Competing Water Resource Use Efficiency Through Agro-Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delorit, J. D.; Block, P. J.

2017-12-01

Where strong water rights law and corresponding markets exist as a coupled econo-legal mechanism, water rights holders are permitted to trade allocations to promote economic water resource use efficiency. In locations where hydrologic uncertainty drives the assignment of annual per-water right allocation values by water resource managers, collaborative water resource decision making by water rights holders, specifically those involved in agricultural production, can result in both resource and economic Pareto efficiency. Such is the case in semi-arid North Chile, where interactions between representative farmer groups, treated as competitive bilateral monopolies, and modeled at water market-scale, can provide both price and water right allocation distribution signals for unregulated, temporary water right leasing markets. For the range of feasible per-water right allocation values, a coupled agricultural-economic model is developed to describe the equilibrium distribution of water, the corresponding market price of water rights and the net surplus generated by collaboration between competing agricultural uses. Further, this research describes a per-water right inflection point for allocations where economic efficiency is not possible, and where price negotiation among competing agricultural uses is required. An investigation of the effects of water right supply and demand inequality at the market-scale is completed to characterize optimal market performance under existing water rights law. The broader insights of this research suggest that water rights holders engaged in agriculture can achieve economic benefits from forming crop-type cooperatives and by accurately assessing the economic value of allocation.

Prey risk allocation in a grazing ecosystem.

PubMed

Gude, Justin A; Garrott, Robert A; Borkowski, John J; King, Fred

2006-02-01

Understanding the behaviorally mediated indirect effects of predators in ecosystems requires knowledge of predator-prey behavioral interactions. In predator-ungulate-plant systems, empirical research quantifying how predators affect ungulate group sizes and distribution, in the context of other influential variables, is particularly needed. The risk allocation hypothesis proposes that prey behavioral responses to predation risk depend on background frequencies of exposure to risk, and it can be used to make predictions about predator-ungulate-plant interactions. We determined non-predation variables that affect elk (Cervus elaphus) group sizes and distribution on a winter range in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) using logistic and log-linear regression on surveys of 513 1-km2 areas conducted over two years. Employing model selection techniques, we evaluated risk allocation and other a priori hypotheses of elk group size and distributional responses to wolf (Canis lupus) predation risk while accounting for influential non-wolf-predation variables. We found little evidence that wolves affect elk group sizes, which were strongly influenced by habitat type and hunting by humans. Following predictions from the risk allocation hypothesis, wolves likely created a more dynamic elk distribution in areas that they frequently hunted, as elk tended to move following wolf encounters in those areas. This response should dilute elk foraging pressure on plant communities in areas where they are frequently hunted by wolves. We predict that this should decrease the spatial heterogeneity of elk impacts on grasslands in areas that wolves frequently hunt. We also predict that this should decrease browsing pressure on heavily browsed woody plant stands in certain areas, which is supported by recent research in the GYE.

Factors influencing resource allocation decisions and equity in the health system of Ghana.

PubMed

Asante, A D; Zwi, A B

2009-05-01

Allocation of financial resources in the health sector is often seen as a formula-driven activity. However, the decision to allocate a certain amount of resources to a particular health jurisdiction or facility may be based on a broader range of factors, sometimes not reflected in the existing resource allocation formula. This study explores the 'other' factors that influence the equity of resource allocation in the health system of Ghana. The extent to which these factors are, or can be, accounted for in the resource allocation process is analysed. An exploratory design focusing on different levels of the health system and diverse stakeholders. Data were gathered through semi-structured qualitative interviews with health authorities at national, regional and district levels, and with donor representatives and local government officials in 2003 and 2004. The availability of human resources for health, local capacity to utilize funds, donor involvement in the health sector, and commitment to promote equity have considerable influence on resource allocation decisions and affect the equity of funding allocations. However, these factors are not accounted for adequately in the resource allocation process. This study highlights the need for a more transparent resource allocation system in Ghana based on needs, and takes into account key issues such as capacity constraints, the inequitable human resource distribution and donor-earmarked funding.

Physicians as gatekeepers: illness certification as a rationing device.

PubMed

Stone, D A

1979-01-01

Illness or disability is often used as an eligibility criterion by public programs that distribute money, services, privileges, and exemptions. Physicians then play a central role in the allocation process. But physicians are caught between a large pool of applicants who want some benefit, on the one hand, and an organization with limited resources to distribute, on the other hand. Three conflicts are engendered in this gatekeeping role: the tension between trusting and mistrusting information provided by the patient, the tension between erring on the false positive side and the false negative side in diagnostic decision-making, and the tension between doing everything possible for each patient and allocating limited resources among several needy clients. Several non-medical factors influence the ultimate outcome of this allocation process, which, in theory, rests on clinical decision-making: the specificity and restrictiveness of the formal definitions of illness and disability used by a program; the structure of the determination process; the overall policy of the organization on distribution of benefits; and the ability of the organization to use administrative review, direct incentives, and written standards to control the certifying behavior of physicians.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hao, He; Sun, Yannan; Carroll, Thomas E.

We propose a coordination algorithm for cooperative power allocation among a collection of commercial buildings within a campus. We introduced thermal and power models of a typical commercial building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, and utilize model predictive control to characterize their power flexibility. The power allocation problem is formulated as a cooperative game using the Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) concept, in which buildings collectively maximize the product of their utilities subject to their local flexibility constraints and a total power limit set by the campus coordinator. To solve the optimal allocation problem, a distributed protocol is designedmore » using dual decomposition of the Nash bargaining problem. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed allocation method« less

28 CFR 48.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... following: Printing; time, method, and field of publication; allocation of production facilities; distribution; advertising solicitation; circulation solicitation; business department; establishment of advertising rates; establishment of circulation rates and revenue distribution: Provided, That there is no...

Fund allocation using capacitated vehicle routing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamat, Nur Jumaadzan Zaleha; Jaaman, Saiful Hafizah; Ahmad, Rokiah Rozita; Darus, Maslina

2014-09-01

In investment fund allocation, it is unwise for an investor to distribute his fund into several assets simultaneously due to economic reasons. One solution is to allocate the fund into a particular asset at a time in a sequence that will either maximize returns or minimize risks depending on the investor's objective. The vehicle routing problem (VRP) provides an avenue to this issue. VRP answers the question on how to efficiently use the available fleet of vehicles to meet a given service demand, subjected to a set of operational requirements. This paper proposes an idea of using capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) to optimize investment fund allocation by employing data of selected stocks in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia. Results suggest that CRVP can be applied to solve the issue of investment fund allocation and increase the investor's profit.

How resource allocation decisions are made in the health care market.

PubMed

Vogel, W B

2000-10-01

This paper describes how economists view resource allocation decisions in health care markets. The basic economic decisions that must be made in any economic system and the resource allocation decisions in a perfectly competitive market are described. An idealized market can achieve an efficient allocation of resources and is contrasted with a more realistic description of the numerous ways in which health care markets depart from the perfectly competitive ideal. The implications of these departures for health care policy are discussed, along with key controversies concerning reliance upon markets for resource allocation in health care. In particular, the failure of competitive markets to achieve what many consider an equitable distribution of health care is emphasized. The paper concludes with some practical observations on how pharmacists can use the increasing emphasis on economic efficiency to the advantage of their profession.

[Changing the internal cost allocation (ICA) on DRG shares : Example of computed tomography in a university radiology setting].

PubMed

Wirth, K; Zielinski, P; Trinter, T; Stahl, R; Mück, F; Reiser, M; Wirth, S

2016-08-01

In hospitals, the radiological services provided to non-privately insured in-house patients are mostly distributed to requesting disciplines through internal cost allocation (ICA). In many institutions, computed tomography (CT) is the modality with the largest amount of allocation credits. The aim of this work is to compare the ICA to respective DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups) shares for diagnostic CT services in a university hospital setting. The data from four CT scanners in a large university hospital were processed for the 2012 fiscal year. For each of the 50 DRG groups with the most case-mix points, all diagnostic CT services were documented including their respective amount of GOÄ allocation credits and invoiced ICA value. As the German Institute for Reimbursement of Hospitals (InEK) database groups the radiation disciplines (radiology, nuclear medicine and radiation therapy) together and also lacks any modality differentiation, the determination of the diagnostic CT component was based on the existing institutional distribution of ICA allocations. Within the included 24,854 cases, 63,062,060 GOÄ-based performance credits were counted. The ICA relieved these diagnostic CT services by € 819,029 (single credit value of 1.30 Eurocent), whereas accounting by using DRG shares would have resulted in € 1,127,591 (single credit value of 1.79 Eurocent). The GOÄ single credit value is 5.62 Eurocent. The diagnostic CT service was basically rendered as relatively inexpensive. In addition to a better financial result, changing the current ICA to DRG shares might also mean a chance for real revenues. However, the attractiveness considerably depends on how the DRG shares are distributed to the different radiation disciplines of one institution.

76 FR 37763 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-28

...-AY53 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of Alaska... the uncertainty regarding the distribution of Pacific cod catch, enhance stability among the sectors... available for public review and comment. The groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the Gulf...

76 FR 79177 - Policy Statement Concerning Adjustments to the Insurance Premiums and Policy Statement on the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-21

... Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation (FAC) stockholders; allocate any excess balances above the... between zero and the statutory rate of 20 basis points. The Board will not reduce the 10 basis points...; allocate any excess balances above the SBA to these AIRAs; and make partial distributions of the excess...

Determining Optimal Allocation of Naval Obstetric Resources with Linear Programming

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT DETERMINING OPTIMAL ALLOCATION OF NAVAL OBSTETRIC RESOURCES...Davis Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved...OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for

The impact of the lung allocation score on short-term transplantation outcomes: a multicenter study.

PubMed

Kozower, Benjamin D; Meyers, Bryan F; Smith, Michael A; De Oliveira, Nilto C; Cassivi, Stephen D; Guthrie, Tracey J; Wang, Honkung; Ryan, Beverly J; Shen, K Robert; Daniel, Thomas M; Jones, David R

2008-01-01

The lung allocation score restructured the distribution of scarce donor lungs for transplantation. The algorithm ranks waiting list patients according to medical urgency and expected benefit after transplantation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the lung allocation score on short-term outcomes after lung transplantation. A multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed with data from 5 academic medical centers. Results of patients undergoing transplantation on the basis of the lung allocation score (May 4, 2005 to May 3, 2006) were compared with those of patients receiving transplants the preceding year before the lung allocation score was implemented (May 4, 2004, to May 3, 2005). The study reports on 341 patients (170 before the lung allocation score and 171 after). Waiting time decreased from 680.9 +/- 528.3 days to 445.6 +/- 516.9 days (P < .001). Recipient diagnoses changed with an increase in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and a decrease in emphysema and cystic fibrosis (P = .002). Postoperatively, primary graft dysfunction increased from 14.1% (24/170) to 22.9% (39/171) (P = .04) and intensive care unit length of stay increased from 5.7 +/- 6.7 days to 7.8 +/- 9.6 days (P = .04). Hospital mortality and 1-year survival were the same between groups (5.3% vs 5.3% and 90% vs 89%, respectively; P > .6) This multicenter retrospective review of short-term outcomes supports the fact that the lung allocation score is achieving its objectives. The lung allocation score reduced waiting time and altered the distribution of lung diseases for which transplantation was done on the basis of medical necessity. After transplantation, recipients have significantly higher rates of primary graft dysfunction and intensive care unit lengths of stay. However, hospital mortality and 1-year survival have not been adversely affected.

[Energy accumulation and allocation of main plant populations in Aneurolepidium chinense grassland in Songnen Plain].

PubMed

Qu, Guohui; Wen, Mingzhang; Guo, Jixun

2003-05-01

The calorific value of plants is dependent on their biological characteristics and energy-containing materials. The allocation of calorific value in different organs of Aneurolepidium chinese, Calamagrostic epigejos, Puccinellia tenuiflora and Chloris virgata was inflorescence > leaf > stem > dead standing. The seasonal dynamics of standing crop energy of aboveground part of four plant populations showed single-peak curve, and the energy production was Aneurolepidium chinense > Calamagrostic epigejos > Chloris virgata > Puccinellia tenuiflora. Energy increasing rate showed double-peak curve, with the first peak at heading stage and the second peak at maturing stage of seeds. Energy increasing rate was negative at the final stage of growth. The horizontal distribution of energy of aboveground part was that the allocation ratio of different organs at different growth stages was different. There existed a similar trend for vertical distribution of energy among four plant populations, i.e., was the vertical distribution of energy of aboveground part showed a tower shape, with the maximum value in 10-30 cm height. The vertical distribution of energy of underground part showed an inverted tower shape from soil surface to deeper layer, with the maximum value in 0-10 cm depth. The standing crop energy of underground part was about 3-4 times than that of aboveground part.

77 FR 76380 - Partner's Distributive Share

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-28

...'s Distributive Share AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Final regulations... partnership's allocations are substantial. However, this commenter also explained that many partnerships are... partnership. This commenter further explained that, provided the partnership's assumptions are reasonable...

25 CFR 170.202 - Does the Relative Need Distribution Factor allocate funding among tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... self-governance tribes that negotiate IRR construction projects into their AFA, and distributed to BIA... a construction project, the project must be included in an FHWA-approved Transportation Improvement...

25 CFR 170.202 - Does the Relative Need Distribution Factor allocate funding among tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... self-governance tribes that negotiate IRR construction projects into their AFA, and distributed to BIA... a construction project, the project must be included in an FHWA-approved Transportation Improvement...

25 CFR 170.202 - Does the Relative Need Distribution Factor allocate funding among tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... self-governance tribes that negotiate IRR construction projects into their AFA, and distributed to BIA... a construction project, the project must be included in an FHWA-approved Transportation Improvement...

25 CFR 170.202 - Does the Relative Need Distribution Factor allocate funding among tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... self-governance tribes that negotiate IRR construction projects into their AFA, and distributed to BIA... a construction project, the project must be included in an FHWA-approved Transportation Improvement...

25 CFR 170.202 - Does the Relative Need Distribution Factor allocate funding among tribes?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... self-governance tribes that negotiate IRR construction projects into their AFA, and distributed to BIA... a construction project, the project must be included in an FHWA-approved Transportation Improvement...

Children’s Recognition of Fairness and Others’ Welfare in a Resource Allocation Task: Age Related Changes

PubMed Central

Rizzo, Michael T.; Elenbaas, Laura; Cooley, Shelby; Killen, Melanie

2016-01-01

The present study investigated age-related changes regarding children’s (N = 136) conceptions of fairness and others’ welfare in a merit-based resource allocation paradigm. To test whether children at 3- to 5-years-old and 6- to 8-years-old took others’ welfare into account when dividing resources, in addition to merit and equality concerns, children were asked to allocate, judge, and reason about allocations of necessary (needed to avoid harm) and luxury (enjoyable to have) resources to a hardworking and a lazy character. While 3- to 5-year-olds did not differentiate between distributing luxury and necessary resources, 6- to 8-year-olds allocated luxury resources more meritoriously than necessary resources. Further, children based their allocations of necessary resources on concerns for others’ welfare, rather than merit, even when one character was described as working harder. The findings revealed that, with age, children incorporated the concerns for others’ welfare and merit into their conceptions of fairness in a resource allocation context, and prioritized these concerns differently depending on whether they were allocating luxury or necessary resources. Further, with age, children weighed multiple moral concerns including equality, merit, and others’ welfare, when determining the fair allocation of resources. PMID:27455189

Seasonal photosynthate allocation and leaf chemistry in relation to herbivory in the coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mauffette, Y.

1987-01-01

The coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia Nee) is an evergreen tree species distributed along the coastal range of California. The seasonal photosynthate allocation and leaf chemistry were studied on fifteen oak trees from spring 1982 to spring 1984. Branches of Q. agrifolia were labeled with /sup 14/CO/sub 2/ at monthly intervals, to determine photosynthate allocation to growth and to defensive compounds throughout the year. Labeled leaves were chemically analyzed to determine the activity present in various metabolic fractions (sugar, lipid, starch, phenolic, tannin, protein, organic and amino acid, and cell wall material). The utilization of photosynthate for the different chemicalmore » fractions varied during the seasons. New leaves allocated a significant proportion of carbon to phenolics early in the growing season, whereas later in the season more carbon was allocated to cell wall material. Old leaves maintained more consistent allocation patterns throughout seasons, and a large proportion of carbon was devoted to storage products.« less

Autonomous Mission Operations Roadmap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, Jeremy David

2014-01-01

As light time delays increase, the number of such situations in which crew autonomy is the best way to conduct the mission is expected to increase. However, there are significant open questions regarding which functions to allocate to ground and crew as the time delays increase. In situations where the ideal solution is to allocate responsibility to the crew and the vehicle, a second question arises: should the activity be the responsibility of the crew or an automated vehicle function? More specifically, we must answer the following questions: What aspects of mission operation responsibilities (Plan, Train, Fly) should be allocated to ground based or vehicle based planning, monitoring, and control in the presence of significant light-time delay between the vehicle and the Earth?How should the allocated ground based planning, monitoring, and control be distributed across the flight control team and ground system automation? How should the allocated vehicle based planning, monitoring, and control be distributed between the flight crew and onboard system automation?When during the mission should responsibility shift from flight control team to crew or from crew to vehicle, and what should the process of shifting responsibility be as the mission progresses? NASA is developing a roadmap of capabilities for Autonomous Mission Operations for human spaceflight. This presentation will describe the current state of development of this roadmap, with specific attention to in-space inspection tasks that crews might perform with minimum assistance from the ground.

Non-egalitarian allocations among preschool peers in a face-to-face bargaining task.

PubMed

Melis, Alicia P; Floedl, Anja; Tomasello, Michael

2015-01-01

In face-to-face bargaining tasks human adults almost always agree on an equal split of resources. This is due to mutually recognized fairness and equality norms. Early developmental studies on sharing and equality norms found that egalitarian allocations of resources are not common before children are 5 or 6 years old. However, recent studies have shown that in some face-to face collaborative situations, or when recipients express their desires, children at much younger ages choose equal allocations. We investigated the ability of 3.5 and 5-year-olds to negotiate face-to-face, whether to collaborate to obtain an equal or an unequal distribution of rewards. We hypothesized that the face-to-face interaction and interdependency between partners would facilitate egalitarian outcomes at both ages. In the first experiment we found that 5-year-olds were more egalitarian than 3.5-year-olds, but neither of the age classes shared equally. In the second experiment, in which we increased the magnitude of the inequality, we found that children at both ages mostly agreed on the unequal distribution. These results show that communication and face-to-face interactions are not sufficient to guarantee equal allocations at 3-5 years of age. These results add to previous findings suggesting that in the context of non-collaboratively produced resources it is only after 5 years of age that children use equality norms to allocate resources.

Exploiting geo-distributed clouds for a e-health monitoring system with minimum service delay and privacy preservation.

PubMed

Shen, Qinghua; Liang, Xiaohui; Shen, Xuemin; Lin, Xiaodong; Luo, Henry Y

2014-03-01

In this paper, we propose an e-health monitoring system with minimum service delay and privacy preservation by exploiting geo-distributed clouds. In the system, the resource allocation scheme enables the distributed cloud servers to cooperatively assign the servers to the requested users under the load balance condition. Thus, the service delay for users is minimized. In addition, a traffic-shaping algorithm is proposed. The traffic-shaping algorithm converts the user health data traffic to the nonhealth data traffic such that the capability of traffic analysis attacks is largely reduced. Through the numerical analysis, we show the efficiency of the proposed traffic-shaping algorithm in terms of service delay and privacy preservation. Furthermore, through the simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed resource allocation scheme significantly reduces the service delay compared to two other alternatives using jointly the short queue and distributed control law.

Control allocation for gimballed/fixed thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Servidia, Pablo A.

2010-02-01

Some overactuated control systems use a control distribution law between the controller and the set of actuators, usually called control allocator. Beyond the control allocator, the configuration of actuators may be designed to be able to operate after a single point of failure, for system optimization and/or decentralization objectives. For some type of actuators, a control allocation is used even without redundancy, being a good example the design and operation of thruster configurations. In fact, as the thruster mass flow direction and magnitude only can be changed under certain limits, this must be considered in the feedback implementation. In this work, the thruster configuration design is considered in the fixed (F), single-gimbal (SG) and double-gimbal (DG) thruster cases. The minimum number of thrusters for each case is obtained and for the resulting configurations a specific control allocation is proposed using a nonlinear programming algorithm, under nominal and single-point of failure conditions.

26 CFR 1.409(p)-1 - Prohibited allocation of securities in an S corporation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...) of this chapter) that, for the nonallocation year, would have been added to the account of the...)(2), is treated as distributed on the date of the prohibited allocation. Thus, the fair market value... the 1,000 outstanding shares of stock of Corporation M, with a fair market value of $30 per share, are...

26 CFR 1.409(p)-1 - Prohibited allocation of securities in an S corporation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) of this chapter) that, for the nonallocation year, would have been added to the account of the...)(2), is treated as distributed on the date of the prohibited allocation. Thus, the fair market value... the 1,000 outstanding shares of stock of Corporation M, with a fair market value of $30 per share, are...

26 CFR 1.666(a)-1 - Amount allocated.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...,000 in 1958, none in 1957, $1,000 in 1956. Example 3. A trust is created in 1952 under the laws of...) INCOME TAXES Treatment of Excess Distributions of Trusts Applicable to Taxable Years Beginning Before January 1, 1969 § 1.666(a)-1 Amount allocated. (a)(1) If a trust other than a foreign trust created by a U...

Educational Resource Allocation at the Elementary Level: A Case Study of One Elementary School District in California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Dominic

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the dispersion of human capital resources within one school district in southern California and compare the use of personnel at each school to the desired allocation informed by the district's strategies and staffing formula. The district's resource distribution was also compared to that of the Evidence…

Nonprofit Decision Making and Resource Allocation: The Importance of Membership Preferences, Community Needs, and Interorganizational Ties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markham, William T.; Johnson, Margaret A.; Bonjean, Charles M.

1999-01-01

Results of a study of community service organizations (n=12) and their communities indicate that distribution of volunteer funds and time was unrelated to community needs as measured by objective indicators. The most important determinants of resource allocation are members' perceptions of the severity of problems and their willingness to work in…

Modeling the effects of forest harvesting on landscape structure and the spatial distribution of cowbird brood parasitism

Treesearch

Eric J. Gustafson; Thomas R. Crow

1994-01-01

Timber harvesting affects both composition and structure of the landscape and has important consequences for organisms using forest habitats. A timber harvest allocation model was constructed that allows the input of specific rules to allocate forest stands for clearcutting to generate landscape patterns reflecting the "look and feel" of managed landscapes....

Fair sharing of resources in a supply network with constraints.

PubMed

Carvalho, Rui; Buzna, Lubos; Just, Wolfram; Helbing, Dirk; Arrowsmith, David K

2012-04-01

This paper investigates the effect of network topology on the fair allocation of network resources among a set of agents, an all-important issue for the efficiency of transportation networks all around us. We analyze a generic mechanism that distributes network capacity fairly among existing flow demands. The problem can be solved by semianalytical methods on a nearest-neighbor graph with one source and sink pair, when transport occurs over shortest paths. For this setup, we uncover a broad range of patterns of intersecting shortest paths as a function of the distance between the source and the sink. When the number of intersections is the maximum and the distance between the source and the sink is large, we find that a fair allocation implies a decrease of at least 50% from the maximum throughput. We also find that the histogram of the flow allocations assigned to the agents decays as a power law with exponent -1. Our semianalytical framework suggests possible explanations for the well-known reduction of the throughput in fair allocations. It also suggests that the combination of network topology and routing rules can lead to highly uneven (but fair) distributions of resources, a remark of caution to network designers.

Fair sharing of resources in a supply network with constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carvalho, Rui; Buzna, Lubos; Just, Wolfram; Helbing, Dirk; Arrowsmith, David K.

2012-04-01

This paper investigates the effect of network topology on the fair allocation of network resources among a set of agents, an all-important issue for the efficiency of transportation networks all around us. We analyze a generic mechanism that distributes network capacity fairly among existing flow demands. The problem can be solved by semianalytical methods on a nearest-neighbor graph with one source and sink pair, when transport occurs over shortest paths. For this setup, we uncover a broad range of patterns of intersecting shortest paths as a function of the distance between the source and the sink. When the number of intersections is the maximum and the distance between the source and the sink is large, we find that a fair allocation implies a decrease of at least 50% from the maximum throughput. We also find that the histogram of the flow allocations assigned to the agents decays as a power law with exponent -1. Our semianalytical framework suggests possible explanations for the well-known reduction of the throughput in fair allocations. It also suggests that the combination of network topology and routing rules can lead to highly uneven (but fair) distributions of resources, a remark of caution to network designers.

Modified allocation capacitated planning model in blood supply chain management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansur, A.; Vanany, I.; Arvitrida, N. I.

2018-04-01

Blood supply chain management (BSCM) is a complex process management that involves many cooperating stakeholders. BSCM involves four echelon processes, which are blood collection or procurement, production, inventory, and distribution. This research develops an optimization model of blood distribution planning. The efficiency of decentralization and centralization policies in a blood distribution chain are compared, by optimizing the amount of blood delivered from a blood center to a blood bank. This model is developed based on allocation problem of capacitated planning model. At the first stage, the capacity and the cost of transportation are considered to create an initial capacitated planning model. Then, the inventory holding and shortage costs are added to the model. These additional parameters of inventory costs lead the model to be more realistic and accurate.

Nash Social Welfare in Multiagent Resource Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramezani, Sara; Endriss, Ulle

We study different aspects of the multiagent resource allocation problem when the objective is to find an allocation that maximizes Nash social welfare, the product of the utilities of the individual agents. The Nash solution is an important welfare criterion that combines efficiency and fairness considerations. We show that the problem of finding an optimal outcome is NP-hard for a number of different languages for representing agent preferences; we establish new results regarding convergence to Nash-optimal outcomes in a distributed negotiation framework; and we design and test algorithms similar to those applied in combinatorial auctions for computing such an outcome directly.

Distributive justice and the introduction of generic medicines.

PubMed

Rego, Guilhermina; Brandão, Cristina; Melo, Helena; Nunes, Rui

2002-01-01

All countries face the issue of choice in healthcare. Allocation of healthcare resources is clearly associated with the concept of distributive justice and to the existence of a right to healthcare. Nevertheless, there is still the question of whether this right should include all types of healthcare services or if it should be limited to selected types. It follows that choices must be made, priorities must be set and that efficiency of healthcare services should be maximum. Distributive justice aims at ensuring that everyone has access to necessary care based on the substantive ethical principles of equity and solidarity. Resource allocation is paramount in public policy particularly with regards pharmacoeconomics. The objective of this study is to determine the leading issues regarding the marketing and trade of generic medicines analysing the reasons why there are huge disparities between European countries with regards generic drugs acceptance by practitioners. Distributive justice aims at ensuring that everyone has access to reasonable care based on the ethical principles of equity and solidarity. However, universality implies always choice in access and efficiency in delivery. It follows that resource allocation is instrumental in public policy particularly with regards pharmacoeconomics. The acceptance of distributive justice as a new ethical paradigm for professional ethics implies that as long as the best interest of the patient is not at stake physicians should regard the use of generic drugs as a valid instrument to promote the efficiency of the system and therefore as a way to facilitate citizen's global access to healthcare.

DAISY-DAMP: A distributed AI system for the dynamic allocation and management of power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Steven B.; Ohler, Peter C.

1988-01-01

One of the critical parameters that must be addressed when designing a loosely coupled Distributed AI SYstem (DAISY) has to do with the degree to which authority is centralized or decentralized. The decision to implement the Dynamic Allocation and Management of Power (DAMP) system as a network of cooperating agents mandated this study. The DAISY-DAMP problem is described; the component agents of the system are characterized; and the communication protocols system elucidated. The motivations and advantages in designing the system with authority decentralized is discussed. Progress in the area of Speech Act theory is proposed as playing a role in constructing decentralized systems.

Apparent plasticity in functional traits determining competitive ability and spatial distribution: a case from desert.

PubMed

Xie, Jiang-Bo; Xu, Gui-Qing; Jenerette, G Darrel; Bai, Yong-fei; Wang, Zhong-Yuan; Li, Yan

2015-07-20

Species competitive abilities and their distributions are closely related to functional traits such as biomass allocation patterns. When we consider how nutrient supply affects competitive abilities, quantifying the apparent and true plasticity in functional traits is important because the allometric relationships among traits are universal in plants. We propose to integrate the notion of allometry and the classical reaction norm into a composite theoretical framework that quantifies the apparent and true plasticity. Combining the framework with a meta-analysis, a series of field surveys and a competition experiment, we aimed to determine the causes of the dune/interdune distribution patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert. We found that (1) the biomass allocation patterns of both Haloxylon species in responses to environmental conditions were apparent rather than true plasticity and (2) the allometric allocation patterns affected the plants' competition for soil nutrient supply. A key implication of our results is that the apparent plasticity in functional traits of plants determines their response to environmental change. Without identifying the apparent and true plasticity, we would substantially overestimate the magnitude, duration and even the direction of plant responses in functional traits to climate change.

Apparent plasticity in functional traits determining competitive ability and spatial distribution: a case from desert

PubMed Central

Xie, Jiang-Bo; Xu, Gui-Qing; Jenerette, G. Darrel; Bai, Yong-fei; Wang, Zhong-Yuan; Li, Yan

2015-01-01

Species competitive abilities and their distributions are closely related to functional traits such as biomass allocation patterns. When we consider how nutrient supply affects competitive abilities, quantifying the apparent and true plasticity in functional traits is important because the allometric relationships among traits are universal in plants. We propose to integrate the notion of allometry and the classical reaction norm into a composite theoretical framework that quantifies the apparent and true plasticity. Combining the framework with a meta-analysis, a series of field surveys and a competition experiment, we aimed to determine the causes of the dune/interdune distribution patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert. We found that (1) the biomass allocation patterns of both Haloxylon species in responses to environmental conditions were apparent rather than true plasticity and (2) the allometric allocation patterns affected the plants’ competition for soil nutrient supply. A key implication of our results is that the apparent plasticity in functional traits of plants determines their response to environmental change. Without identifying the apparent and true plasticity, we would substantially overestimate the magnitude, duration and even the direction of plant responses in functional traits to climate change. PMID:26190745

Effects of plant sex on range distributions and allocation to reproduction.

PubMed

Johnson, Marc T J; Smith, Stacey D; Rausher, Mark D

2010-05-01

Despite an abundance of theory, few empirical studies have explored the ecological and evolutionary consequences of sex. We used a comparative phylogenetic approach to examine whether transitions between sexual and asexual reproduction are associated with changes in the size and distribution of species' geographical ranges, and their investment in reproduction. Here, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the genus Oenothera sections Oenothera and Calylophus (Onagraceae), which contain 35 sexual and 30 functionally asexual species. From each species, we collected data on the geographical distribution and variation in plant traits related to reproduction. Functionally asexual species occurred at higher latitudes, but did not differ in range size, compared with sexual species. Transitions to asexuality were associated with decreased investment in floral structures, including the length of petals, floral tubes and styles. Decreased anther size and increased seed size within asexual species also suggest altered allocation to male and female fitness. The observed range shifts are consistent with superior colonization of environments by asexual species following glaciation, and the observed changes in reproductive allocation support predictions made by models relating to the evolution of selfing. Our results suggest that the evolutionary consequences of asexual reproduction might be less restrictive than previously thought.

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis

PubMed Central

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-01-01

Background The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Methods Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Results Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. Conclusion To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care. PMID:17391533

Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis.

PubMed

Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

2007-03-29

The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care.

Health care capacity and allocations among South Africa's provinces: infrastructure-inequality traps after the end of apartheid.

PubMed

Stuckler, David; Basu, Sanjay; McKee, Martin

2011-01-01

We assessed the determinants of health care funding allocations among South Africa's provinces and their effects on health care from 1996 through 2007. We performed multivariate regression of funding allocation data against measures of disease burden and health system infrastructure by province. Disease burden was increasingly negatively correlated with funding allocations and explained less than one quarter of the variation in allocations among provinces. Nearly three quarters of the variation in allocations was explained by preexisting hospital infrastructure and health care workers. The density of private hospitals in the preceding year was associated with greater government allocations (b(private) = 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.08, 0.15), but public hospital density in the preceding year was not (b(public) = 0.05; 95% CI = -0.02, 0.11). Greater allocations were associated with a higher number of doctors (b = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.34, 0.75) but fewer nurses (b = -0.37; 95% CI = -0.72,-0.25) in the same year. Regions with a greater capacity to spend funds received more funding and created more infrastructure than those with greater health needs. Historical infrastructure inequalities may have created an infrastructure-inequality trap, in which the distribution of funds to those with greater "absorptive capacity" exacerbates inequalities.

Wood Residue Distribution Simulator (WORDS)

Treesearch

Douglas A. Eza; James W. McMinn; Peter E. Dress

1984-01-01

Successful development of woody biomass for energy will depend on the distribution of local supply and demand within subregions, rather than on the total inventory of residues. The Wood Residue Distribution Simulator (WORDS) attempts to find a least-cost allocation of residues from local sources of supply to local sources of demand, given the cost of the materials,...

26 CFR 1.307-1 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... TAXES Effects on Recipients § 1.307-1 General. (a) If a shareholder receives stock or stock rights as a... the distribution was made shall be allocated between the old and new stocks or rights in proportion to... rights as a distribution on stock previously held and pursuant to section 305 part of the distribution is...

26 CFR 1.731-2 - Partnership distributions of marketable securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... allocated to Security X under section 732(a) plus $25 gain recognized under section 737). (k) Effective date... the excess, if any, of— (i) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any...; over (ii) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any, which is attributable...

26 CFR 1.731-2 - Partnership distributions of marketable securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... allocated to Security X under section 732(a) plus $25 gain recognized under section 737). (k) Effective date... the excess, if any, of— (i) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any...; over (ii) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any, which is attributable...

26 CFR 1.731-2 - Partnership distributions of marketable securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... allocated to Security X under section 732(a) plus $25 gain recognized under section 737). (k) Effective date... the excess, if any, of— (i) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any...; over (ii) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any, which is attributable...

26 CFR 1.731-2 - Partnership distributions of marketable securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... allocated to Security X under section 732(a) plus $25 gain recognized under section 737). (k) Effective date... the excess, if any, of— (i) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any...; over (ii) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any, which is attributable...

26 CFR 1.731-2 - Partnership distributions of marketable securities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... allocated to Security X under section 732(a) plus $25 gain recognized under section 737). (k) Effective date... the excess, if any, of— (i) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any...; over (ii) The distributee partner's distributive share of the net gain, if any, which is attributable...

Rethinking Traffic Management: Design of Optimizable Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

Though this paper used optimization theory to design and analyze DaVinci , op- timization theory is one of many possible tools to enable a grounded...dynamically allocate bandwidth shares. The distributed protocols can be implemented using DaVinci : Dynamically Adaptive VIrtual Networks for a Customized...Internet. In DaVinci , each virtual network runs traffic-management protocols optimized for a traffic class, and link bandwidth is dynamically allocated

Multi-Objective Optimization for Trustworthy Tactical Networks: A Survey and Insights

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed , and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding...problems: using repeated cooperative games [12], hedonic games [25], and nontransferable utility cooperative games [27]. It should be noted that trust...examined an optimal task allocation problem in a distributed computing system where program modules need to be allocated to different processors to

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hussain, Hameed; Malik, Saif Ur Rehman; Hameed, Abdul

An efficient resource allocation is a fundamental requirement in high performance computing (HPC) systems. Many projects are dedicated to large-scale distributed computing systems that have designed and developed resource allocation mechanisms with a variety of architectures and services. In our study, through analysis, a comprehensive survey for describing resource allocation in various HPCs is reported. The aim of the work is to aggregate under a joint framework, the existing solutions for HPC to provide a thorough analysis and characteristics of the resource management and allocation strategies. Resource allocation mechanisms and strategies play a vital role towards the performance improvement ofmore » all the HPCs classifications. Therefore, a comprehensive discussion of widely used resource allocation strategies deployed in HPC environment is required, which is one of the motivations of this survey. Moreover, we have classified the HPC systems into three broad categories, namely: (a) cluster, (b) grid, and (c) cloud systems and define the characteristics of each class by extracting sets of common attributes. All of the aforementioned systems are cataloged into pure software and hybrid/hardware solutions. The system classification is used to identify approaches followed by the implementation of existing resource allocation strategies that are widely presented in the literature.« less

Allocating responsibility for environmental risks: A comparative analysis of examples from water governance.

PubMed

Doorn, Neelke

2017-03-01

The focus of the present study is on the allocation of responsibilities for addressing environmental risks in transboundary water governance. Effective environmental management in transboundary situations requires coordinated and cooperative action among diverse individuals and organizations. Currently, little insight exists on how to foster collective action such that individuals and organizations take the responsibility to address transboundary environmental risks. On the basis of 4 cases of transboundary water governance, it will be shown how certain allocation principles are more likely to encourage cooperative action. The main lesson from these case studies is that the allocation of responsibilities should be seen as a risk distribution problem, including considerations of effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:371-375. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Combination of graph heuristics in producing initial solution of curriculum based course timetabling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahid, Juliana; Hussin, Naimah Mohd

2016-08-01

The construction of population of initial solution is a crucial task in population-based metaheuristic approach for solving curriculum-based university course timetabling problem because it can affect the convergence speed and also the quality of the final solution. This paper presents an exploration on combination of graph heuristics in construction approach in curriculum based course timetabling problem to produce a population of initial solutions. The graph heuristics were set as single and combination of two heuristics. In addition, several ways of assigning courses into room and timeslot are implemented. All settings of heuristics are then tested on the same curriculum based course timetabling problem instances and are compared with each other in terms of number of population produced. The result shows that combination of saturation degree followed by largest degree heuristic produce the highest number of population of initial solutions. The results from this study can be used in the improvement phase of algorithm that uses population of initial solutions.

Channel and Timeslot Co-Scheduling with Minimal Channel Switching for Data Aggregation in MWSNs

PubMed Central

Yeoum, Sanggil; Kang, Byungseok; Lee, Jinkyu; Choo, Hyunseung

2017-01-01

Collision-free transmission and efficient data transfer between nodes can be achieved through a set of channels in multichannel wireless sensor networks (MWSNs). While using multiple channels, we have to carefully consider channel interference, channel and time slot (resources) optimization, channel switching delay, and energy consumption. Since sensor nodes operate on low battery power, the energy consumed in channel switching becomes an important challenge. In this paper, we propose channel and time slot scheduling for minimal channel switching in MWSNs, while achieving efficient and collision-free transmission between nodes. The proposed scheme constructs a duty-cycled tree while reducing the amount of channel switching. As a next step, collision-free time slots are assigned to every node based on the minimal data collection delay. The experimental results demonstrate that the validity of our scheme reduces the amount of channel switching by 17.5%, reduces energy consumption for channel switching by 28%, and reduces the schedule length by 46%, as compared to the existing schemes. PMID:28471416

Application of convolve-multiply-convolve SAW processor for satellite communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lie, Y. S.; Ching, M.

1991-01-01

There is a need for a satellite communications receiver than can perform simultaneous multi-channel processing of single channel per carrier (SCPC) signals originating from various small (mobile or fixed) earth stations. The number of ground users can be as many as 1000. Conventional techniques of simultaneously processing these signals is by employing as many RF-bandpass filters as the number of channels. Consequently, such an approach would result in a bulky receiver, which becomes impractical for satellite applications. A unique approach utilizing a realtime surface acoustic wave (SAW) chirp transform processor is presented. The application of a Convolve-Multiply-Convolve (CMC) chirp transform processor is described. The CMC processor transforms each input channel into a unique timeslot, while preserving its modulation content (in this case QPSK). Subsequently, each channel is individually demodulated without the need of input channel filters. Circuit complexity is significantly reduced, because the output frequency of the CMC processor is common for all input channel frequencies. The results of theoretical analysis and experimental results are in good agreement.

Channel and Timeslot Co-Scheduling with Minimal Channel Switching for Data Aggregation in MWSNs.

PubMed

Yeoum, Sanggil; Kang, Byungseok; Lee, Jinkyu; Choo, Hyunseung

2017-05-04

Collision-free transmission and efficient data transfer between nodes can be achieved through a set of channels in multichannel wireless sensor networks (MWSNs). While using multiple channels, we have to carefully consider channel interference, channel and time slot (resources) optimization, channel switching delay, and energy consumption. Since sensor nodes operate on low battery power, the energy consumed in channel switching becomes an important challenge. In this paper, we propose channel and time slot scheduling for minimal channel switching in MWSNs, while achieving efficient and collision-free transmission between nodes. The proposed scheme constructs a duty-cycled tree while reducing the amount of channel switching. As a next step, collision-free time slots are assigned to every node based on the minimal data collection delay. The experimental results demonstrate that the validity of our scheme reduces the amount of channel switching by 17.5%, reduces energy consumption for channel switching by 28%, and reduces the schedule length by 46%, as compared to the existing schemes.

Inherent and environmental patterns in biomass allocation and allometry among higher plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poorter, Hendrik

2017-04-01

It is well-known that plants may adjust the distribution of biomass over leaves, stems and roots depending on environmental conditions. It is also clear that size is an important factor as well. However, good quantitative insights are lacking. In this talk I analyse biomass allocation patterns to leaves, stems and roots of herbs and woody species. A database was compiled with 11.000 records of leaf, stem and root biomass for 1200 species. First, I'll derive general dose-response curves that describe the relationship between biomass allocation and the 12 most important a-biotic environmental factors and compare them with the changes in leaf, stem and root morphology. Second, I'll focus on allometric relationships between the various organs and test to what extent they comply with models like that for Metabolic Scaling Theory, where the slope of the log-log relationship between leaf and root biomass is expected to have a value of ¾. Third, I analyse how leaf, stem and root mass fractions change as a function of total plant size. This offers a great opportunity to test to what extent there are systematic differences in allocation patterns related to phylogeny (e.g. Gymnosperms vs. Angiosperms, grasses vs. herbaceous dicots) and functional group (e.g. deciduous vs. evergreens). Poorter et al. (2012) Biomass allocation to leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control. New Phytol. 193: 30-50. Poorter & Sack (2012) Pitfalls and possibilities in the analysis of biomass allocation patterns in plants. Front. Plant Sci. 3: 259. Poorter et al. (2015) How does biomass distribution change with size and differ among species? New Phytol. 208: 736-749

Non-Egalitarian Allocations among Preschool Peers in a Face-to-Face Bargaining Task

PubMed Central

Melis, Alicia P.; Floedl, Anja; Tomasello, Michael

2015-01-01

In face-to-face bargaining tasks human adults almost always agree on an equal split of resources. This is due to mutually recognized fairness and equality norms. Early developmental studies on sharing and equality norms found that egalitarian allocations of resources are not common before children are 5 or 6 years old. However, recent studies have shown that in some face-to face collaborative situations, or when recipients express their desires, children at much younger ages choose equal allocations. We investigated the ability of 3.5 and 5-year-olds to negotiate face-to-face, whether to collaborate to obtain an equal or an unequal distribution of rewards. We hypothesized that the face-to-face interaction and interdependency between partners would facilitate egalitarian outcomes at both ages. In the first experiment we found that 5-year-olds were more egalitarian than 3.5-year-olds, but neither of the age classes shared equally. In the second experiment, in which we increased the magnitude of the inequality, we found that children at both ages mostly agreed on the unequal distribution. These results show that communication and face-to-face interactions are not sufficient to guarantee equal allocations at 3–5 years of age. These results add to previous findings suggesting that in the context of non-collaboratively produced resources it is only after 5 years of age that children use equality norms to allocate resources. PMID:25786250

Waste management: how reducing partiality can promote efficient resource allocation.

PubMed

Choshen-Hillel, Shoham; Shaw, Alex; Caruso, Eugene M

2015-08-01

Two central principles that guide resource-allocation decisions are equity (providing equal pay for equal work) and efficiency (not wasting resources). When these two principles conflict with one another, people will often waste resources to avoid inequity. We suggest that people wish to avoid inequity not because they find it inherently unfair, but because they want to avoid the appearance of partiality associated with it. We explore one way to reduce waste by reducing the perceived partiality of inequitable allocations. Specifically, we hypothesize that people will be more likely to favor an efficient (albeit inequitable) allocation if it puts them in a disadvantaged position than if it puts others in a disadvantaged position. To test this hypothesis, we asked participants to choose between giving some extra resource to one person (thereby creating inequity between this person and equally deserving others) and not giving the resource to anyone (thereby wasting the resource). Six studies, using realistic scenarios and behavioral paradigms, provide robust evidence for a self-disadvantaging effect: Allocators were consistently more likely to create inequity to avoid wasting resources when the resulting inequity would put them at a relative disadvantage than when it would put others at a relative disadvantage. We further find that this self-disadvantaging effect is a direct result of people's concern about appearing partial. Our findings suggest the importance of impartiality even in distributive justice, thereby bridging a gap between the distributive and procedural justice literatures. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Optimal time--energy allocation and the evolution of colony demography among eusocial insects. [Polistes fuscatus, Vespa orientalis, ants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macevicz, S.C.

1979-05-09

This thesis attempts to explain the evolution of certain features of social insect colony population structure by the use of optimization models. Two areas are examined in detail. First, the optimal reproductive strategies of annual eusocial insects are considered. A model is constructed for the growth of workers and reproductives as a function of the resources allocated to each. Next the allocation schedule is computed which yields the maximum number of reproductives by season's end. The results indicate that if there is constant return to scale for allocated resources the optimal strategy is to invest in colony growth until approximatelymore » one generation before season's end, whereupon worker production ceases and reproductive effort is switched entirely to producing queens and males. Furthermore, the results indicate that if there is decreasing return to scale for allocated resources then simultaneous production of workers and reproductives is possible. The model is used to explain the colony demography of two species of wasp, Polistes fuscatus and Vespa orientalis. Colonies of these insects undergo a sudden switch from the production of workers to the production of reproductives. The second area examined concerns optimal forager size distributions for monomorphic ant colonies. A model is constructed that describes the colony's energetic profit as a function which depends on the size distribution of food resources as well as forager efficiency, metabolic costs, and manufacturing costs.« less

Reactive Power Pricing Model Considering the Randomness of Wind Power Output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Zhong; Wu, Zhou

2018-01-01

With the increase of wind power capacity integrated into grid, the influence of the randomness of wind power output on the reactive power distribution of grid is gradually highlighted. Meanwhile, the power market reform puts forward higher requirements for reasonable pricing of reactive power service. Based on it, the article combined the optimal power flow model considering wind power randomness with integrated cost allocation method to price reactive power. Meanwhile, considering the advantages and disadvantages of the present cost allocation method and marginal cost pricing, an integrated cost allocation method based on optimal power flow tracing is proposed. The model realized the optimal power flow distribution of reactive power with the minimal integrated cost and wind power integration, under the premise of guaranteeing the balance of reactive power pricing. Finally, through the analysis of multi-scenario calculation examples and the stochastic simulation of wind power outputs, the article compared the results of the model pricing and the marginal cost pricing, which proved that the model is accurate and effective.

Ethics of the allocation of highly advanced medical technologies.

PubMed

Sass, H M

1998-03-01

The disproportionate distribution of financial, educational, social, and medical resources between some rich countries of the northern hemisphere and less fortunate societies creates a moral challenge of global dimension. The development of new forms of highly advanced medical technologies, including neoorgans and xenografts, as well as the promotion of health literacy and predictive and preventive medical services might reduce some problems in allocational justice. Most governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) reject financial and other rewards for living organ donors thus indirectly contributing to the development of black markets. A societal gratuity model supporting and safeguarding a highly regulated market between providers and recipients of organs might provide for better protection of those who provide organs not solely based on altruistic reasons. The moral assessment of global issues in allocation and justice in the distribution of medical technologies must be increased and will have to be based on the principles of self determination and responsibility, solidarity and subsidiarity, and respect for individual values and cultural traditions.

Evaluation on equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China.

PubMed

Sun, Jian; Luo, Hongye

2017-07-14

China is faced with a daunting challenge to equality and efficiency in health resources allocation and health services utilization in the context of rapid economic growth. This study sought to evaluate the equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China. Demographic, economic, and geographic area data was sourced from China Statistical Yearbook 2012-2016. Data related to health resources and health services was obtained from China Health Statistics Yearbook 2012-2016. Furthermore, we evaluated the equality of health resources allocation based on Gini coefficient. Concentration index was used to measure the equality in utilization of health services. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed to assess the efficiency of health resources allocation. From 2011 to 2015, the Gini coefficients for health resources by population ranged between 0.0644 and 0.1879, while the Gini coefficients for the resources by geographic area ranged from 0.6136 to 0.6568. Meanwhile, the concentration index values for health services utilization ranged from -0.0392 to 0.2110. Moreover, in 2015, 10 provinces (32.26%) were relatively efficient in terms of health resources allocation, while 7 provinces (22.58%) and 14 provinces (45.16%) were weakly efficient and inefficient, respectively. There exist distinct regional disparities in the distribution of health resources in China, which are mainly reflected in the geographic distribution of health resources. Furthermore, the people living in the eastern developed areas are more likely to use outpatient care, while the people living in western underdeveloped areas are more likely to use inpatient care. Moreover, the efficiency of health resources allocation in 21 provinces (67.74%) of China was low and needs to be improved. Thus, the government should pay more attention to the equality based on geographic area, guide patients to choose medical treatment rationally, and optimize the resource investments for different provinces.

[Effects of ridge-cultivation and plastic film mulching on root distribution and yield of spring maize in hilly area of central Sichuan basin, China.

PubMed

Zha, Li; Xie, Meng Lin; Zhu, Min; Dou, Pan; Cheng, Qiu Bo; Wang, Xing Long; Yuan, Ji Chao; Kong, Fan Lei

2016-03-01

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of planting pattern (ridge culture, flatten culture, furrow culture) and film mulching on the distribution of spring maize root system and their influence on the yield of spring maize in the hilly area of central Sichuan basin. The results showed that ridge and film mulching had great influence on root morphology and root distribution of maize. The root length, root surface area and root volume of film mulching was 42.3%, 50.0%, 57.4% higher than those of no film mulching at jointing stage. The film mulching significantly increased the dry mass of root in vertical and horizontal distribution, and increased the root allocation ratio in deeper soil layer (20-40 cm) and the allocation ratio of wide row (0-20 cm) in horizontal direction. The effects of planting pattern on root growth and root distribution differed by film mulching. With film mulching, the ridge culture significantly increased the root dry mass in each soil layer and enlarged the distribution percentage of wide row (20-40 cm) in horizontal direction, as well as the dry mass of root in horizontal distribution and the root allocation ratio of wide row. The root mass under film mulching was in the order of ridge culture>flatten culture>furrow culture. Without film mulching, the furrow culture significantly increased root dry mass of narrow row (0-40 cm), and the root mass under no film mulching was in the order of furrow culture > ridge culture >flatten culture. As for the spike characteristics and maize yield, the filming mulching mea-sures reduced the corn bald length while increased the spike length, grain number, 1000-grain mass and yield. The yield under film mulching was in the order of ridge culture>flatten culture> furrow culture, while it was furrow culture > flatten culture > ridge culture under no film mulching. The reason for yield increase under ridge culture with film mulching was that it increased root weight especially in deep soil, and promoted the root allocation ratio in deeper soil and wide row (20-40 cm) in horizontal direction. The ridge-furrow culture without film mulching was helpful to root growth and increased the maize yield.

Children's Reasoning about Distributive and Retributive Justice across Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Craig E.; Warneken, Felix

2016-01-01

Research on distributive justice indicates that preschool-age children take issues of equity and merit into account when distributing desirable items, but that they often prefer to see desirable items allocated equally in third-party tasks. By contrast, less is known about the development of retributive justice. In a study with 4- to 10-year-old…

Patterns, Entropy, and Predictability of Human Mobility and Life

PubMed Central

Qin, Shao-Meng; Verkasalo, Hannu; Mohtaschemi, Mikael; Hartonen, Tuomo; Alava, Mikko

2012-01-01

Cellular phones are now offering an ubiquitous means for scientists to observe life: how people act, move and respond to external influences. They can be utilized as measurement devices of individual persons and for groups of people of the social context and the related interactions. The picture of human life that emerges shows complexity, which is manifested in such data in properties of the spatiotemporal tracks of individuals. We extract from smartphone-based data for a set of persons important locations such as “home”, “work” and so forth over fixed length time-slots covering the days in the data-set (see also [1], [2]). This set of typical places is heavy-tailed, a power-law distribution with an exponent close to −1.7. To analyze the regularities and stochastic features present, the days are classified for each person into regular, personal patterns. To this are superimposed fluctuations for each day. This randomness is measured by “life” entropy, computed both before and after finding the clustering so as to subtract the contribution of a number of patterns. The main issue that we then address is how predictable individuals are in their mobility. The patterns and entropy are reflected in the predictability of the mobility of the life both individually and on average. We explore the simple approaches to guess the location from the typical behavior, and of exploiting the transition probabilities with time from location or activity A to B. The patterns allow an enhanced predictability, at least up to a few hours into the future from the current location. Such fixed habits are most clearly visible in the working-day length. PMID:23300542

Load allocation of power plant using multi echelon economic dispatch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahyuda, Santosa, Budi; Rusdiansyah, Ahmad

2017-11-01

In this paper, the allocation of power plant load which is usually done with a single echelon as in the load flow calculation, is expanded into a multi echelon. A plant load allocation model based on the integration of economic dispatch and multi-echelon problem is proposed. The resulting model is called as Single Objective Multi Echelon Economic Dispatch (SOME ED). This model allows the distribution of electrical power in more detail in the transmission and distribution substations along the existing network. Considering the interconnection system where the distance between the plant and the load center is usually far away, therefore the loss in this model is seen as a function of distance. The advantages of this model is its capability of allocating electrical loads properly, as well as economic dispatch information with the flexibility of electric power system as a result of using multi-echelon. In this model, the flexibility can be viewed from two sides, namely the supply and demand sides, so that the security of the power system is maintained. The model was tested on a small artificial data. The results demonstrated a good performance. It is still very open to further develop the model considering the integration with renewable energy, multi-objective with environmental issues and applied to the case with a larger scale.

Multicriterion problem of allocation of resources in the heterogeneous distributed information processing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antamoshkin, O. A.; Kilochitskaya, T. R.; Ontuzheva, G. A.; Stupina, A. A.; Tynchenko, V. S.

2018-05-01

This study reviews the problem of allocation of resources in the heterogeneous distributed information processing systems, which may be formalized in the form of a multicriterion multi-index problem with the linear constraints of the transport type. The algorithms for solution of this problem suggest a search for the entire set of Pareto-optimal solutions. For some classes of hierarchical systems, it is possible to significantly speed up the procedure of verification of a system of linear algebraic inequalities for consistency due to the reducibility of them to the stream models or the application of other solution schemes (for strongly connected structures) that take into account the specifics of the hierarchies under consideration.

[The distribution of health resources: a hybrid model of equality and maximization].

PubMed

Farmer, Yanick

2012-01-01

In the allocation of resources for health care, it is generally acknowledged that models based exclusively either on efficiency and maximizing the cost/benefit ratio of interventions, or on equity and justice through the notion of "maximin," are unsatisfactory when taken separately. To fill this gap, this commentary suggests a hybrid model of resource allocation that integrates the idea of a random distribution of resources using a lottery. The general aim of this model is to safeguard the notions of justice and equal access to resources to the maximum extent possible in a climate where budget restrictions and the economic downturn may lead to future reductions in services.

Model for the design of distributed data bases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ram, S.

This research focuses on developing a model to solve the File Allocation Problem (FAP). The model integrates two major design issues, namely Concurrently Control and Data Distribution. The central node locking mechanism is incorporated in developing a nonlinear integer programming model. Two solution algorithms are proposed, one of which was implemented in FORTRAN.V. The allocation of data bases and programs are examined using this heuristic. Several decision rules were also formulated based on the results of the heuristic. A second more comprehensive heuristic was proposed, based on the knapsack problem. The development and implementation of this algorithm has been leftmore » as a topic for future research.« less

A centre-free approach for resource allocation with lower bounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obando, Germán; Quijano, Nicanor; Rakoto-Ravalontsalama, Naly

2017-09-01

Since complexity and scale of systems are continuously increasing, there is a growing interest in developing distributed algorithms that are capable to address information constraints, specially for solving optimisation and decision-making problems. In this paper, we propose a novel method to solve distributed resource allocation problems that include lower bound constraints. The optimisation process is carried out by a set of agents that use a communication network to coordinate their decisions. Convergence and optimality of the method are guaranteed under some mild assumptions related to the convexity of the problem and the connectivity of the underlying graph. Finally, we compare our approach with other techniques reported in the literature, and we present some engineering applications.

Kidney, Pancreas and Liver Allocation and Distribution in the United States

PubMed Central

Smith, J. M.; Biggins, S. W.; Haselby, D. G.; Kim, W. R.; Wedd, J.; Lamb, K.; Thompson, B.; Segev, D. L.; Gustafson, S.; Kandaswamy, R.; Stock, P. G.; Matas, A. J.; Samana, C. J.; Sleeman, E. F.; Stewart, D.; Harper, A.; Edwards, E.; Snyder, J. J.; Kasiske, B. L.; Israni, A. K.

2013-01-01

Kidney transplant and liver transplant are the treatments of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease and end-stage liver disease, respectively. Pancreas transplant is most commonly performed along with kidney transplant in diabetic end-stage renal disease patients. Despite a steady increase in the numbers of kidney and liver transplants performed each year in the United States, a significant shortage of kidneys and livers available for transplant remains. Organ allocation is the process the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) uses to determine which candidates are offered which deceased donor organs. OPTN is charged with ensuring the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of organ sharing in the national system of organ allocation. The policy has changed incrementally over time in efforts to optimize allocation to meet these often competing goals. This review describes the history, current status and future direction of policies regarding the allocation of abdominal organs for transplant, namely the kidney, liver and pancreas, in the United States. PMID:23157207

29 CFR 4044.4 - Violations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) Distributions in anticipation of termination. A distribution, transfer, or allocation of assets to a participant or to an insurance company for the benefit of a participant, made in anticipation of plan termination... anticipation of plan termination PBGC will consider all of the facts and circumstances including— (1) Any...

Calculation and application of energy transaction allocation factors in electric power transmission systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fradi, Aniss

The ability to allocate the active power (MW) loading on transmission lines and transformers, is the basis of the "flow based" transmission allocation system developed by the North American Electric Reliability Council. In such a system, the active power flows must be allocated to each line or transformer in proportion to the active power being transmitted by each transaction imposed on the system. Currently, this is accomplished through the use of the linear Power Transfer Distribution Factors (PTDFs). Unfortunately, no linear allocation models exist for other energy transmission quantities, such as MW and MVAR losses, MVAR and MVA flows, etc. Early allocation schemes were developed to allocate MW losses due to transactions to branches in a transmission system, however they exhibited diminished accuracy, since most of them are based on linear power flow modeling of the transmission system. This thesis presents a new methodology to calculate Energy Transaction Allocation factors (ETA factors, or eta factors), using the well-known process of integration of a first derivative function, as well as consistent and well-established mathematical and AC power flow models. The factors give a highly accurate allocation of any non-linear system quantity to transactions placed on the transmission system. The thesis also extends the new ETA factors calculation procedure to restructure a new economic dispatch scheme where multiple sets of generators are economically dispatched to meet their corresponding load and their share of the losses.

Zinc allocation and re-allocation in rice.

PubMed

Stomph, Tjeerd Jan; Jiang, Wen; Van Der Putten, Peter E L; Struik, Paul C

2014-01-01

Agronomy and breeding actively search for options to enhance cereal grain Zn density. Quantifying internal (re-)allocation of Zn as affected by soil and crop management or genotype is crucial. We present experiments supporting the development of a conceptual model of whole plant Zn allocation and re-allocation in rice. Two solution culture experiments using (70)Zn applications at different times during crop development and an experiment on within-grain distribution of Zn are reported. In addition, results from two earlier published experiments are re-analyzed and re-interpreted. A budget analysis showed that plant zinc accumulation during grain filling was larger than zinc allocation to the grains. Isotope data showed that zinc taken up during grain filling was only partly transported directly to the grains and partly allocated to the leaves. Zinc taken up during grain filling and allocated to the leaves replaced zinc re-allocated from leaves to grains. Within the grains, no major transport barrier was observed between vascular tissue and endosperm. At low tissue Zn concentrations, rice plants maintained concentrations of about 20 mg Zn kg(-1) dry matter in leaf blades and reproductive tissues, but let Zn concentrations in stems, sheath, and roots drop below this level. When plant zinc concentrations increased, Zn levels in leaf blades and reproductive tissues only showed a moderate increase while Zn levels in stems, roots, and sheaths increased much more and in that order. In rice, the major barrier to enhanced zinc allocation towards grains is between stem and reproductive tissues. Enhancing root to shoot transfer will not contribute proportionally to grain zinc enhancement.

Zinc allocation and re-allocation in rice

PubMed Central

Stomph, Tjeerd Jan; Jiang, Wen; Van Der Putten, Peter E. L.; Struik, Paul C.

2014-01-01

Aims: Agronomy and breeding actively search for options to enhance cereal grain Zn density. Quantifying internal (re-)allocation of Zn as affected by soil and crop management or genotype is crucial. We present experiments supporting the development of a conceptual model of whole plant Zn allocation and re-allocation in rice. Methods: Two solution culture experiments using 70Zn applications at different times during crop development and an experiment on within-grain distribution of Zn are reported. In addition, results from two earlier published experiments are re-analyzed and re-interpreted. Results: A budget analysis showed that plant zinc accumulation during grain filling was larger than zinc allocation to the grains. Isotope data showed that zinc taken up during grain filling was only partly transported directly to the grains and partly allocated to the leaves. Zinc taken up during grain filling and allocated to the leaves replaced zinc re-allocated from leaves to grains. Within the grains, no major transport barrier was observed between vascular tissue and endosperm. At low tissue Zn concentrations, rice plants maintained concentrations of about 20 mg Zn kg−1 dry matter in leaf blades and reproductive tissues, but let Zn concentrations in stems, sheath, and roots drop below this level. When plant zinc concentrations increased, Zn levels in leaf blades and reproductive tissues only showed a moderate increase while Zn levels in stems, roots, and sheaths increased much more and in that order. Conclusions: In rice, the major barrier to enhanced zinc allocation towards grains is between stem and reproductive tissues. Enhancing root to shoot transfer will not contribute proportionally to grain zinc enhancement. PMID:24478788

Health Care Capacity and Allocations Among South Africa's Provinces: Infrastructure–Inequality Traps After the End of Apartheid

PubMed Central

Basu, Sanjay; McKee, Martin

2011-01-01

Objectives. We assessed the determinants of health care funding allocations among South Africa's provinces and their effects on health care from 1996 through 2007. Methods. We performed multivariate regression of funding allocation data against measures of disease burden and health system infrastructure by province. Results. Disease burden was increasingly negatively correlated with funding allocations and explained less than one quarter of the variation in allocations among provinces. Nearly three quarters of the variation in allocations was explained by preexisting hospital infrastructure and health care workers. The density of private hospitals in the preceding year was associated with greater government allocations (bprivate = 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.08, 0.15), but public hospital density in the preceding year was not (bpublic = 0.05; 95% CI = −0.02, 0.11). Greater allocations were associated with a higher number of doctors (b = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.34, 0.75) but fewer nurses (b = −0.37; 95% CI = −0.72,−0.25) in the same year. Conclusions. Regions with a greater capacity to spend funds received more funding and created more infrastructure than those with greater health needs. Historical infrastructure inequalities may have created an infrastructure–inequality trap, in which the distribution of funds to those with greater “absorptive capacity” exacerbates inequalities. PMID:21148716

Procedural justice in children: Preschoolers accept unequal resource distributions if the procedure provides equal opportunities.

PubMed

Grocke, Patricia; Rossano, Federico; Tomasello, Michael

2015-12-01

When it is not possible to distribute resources equitably to everyone, people look for an equitable or just procedure. In the current study, we investigated young children's sense of procedural justice. We tested 32 triads of 5-year-olds in a new resource allocation game. Triads were confronted with three unequal reward packages and then agreed on a procedure to allocate them among themselves. To allocate the rewards, they needed to use a "wheel of fortune." Half of the groups played with a fair wheel (where each child had an equal chance of obtaining each reward package), and the other half played with an unfair wheel. We analyzed children's interactions when using the wheel and conducted an interview with each child after the game was over. Children using the unfair wheel often decided to change the rules of the game, and they also rated it as an unfair procedure in the interview. In contrast, children who played with the fair wheel were mostly accepting of both the outcome and the procedure. Overall, we found that children as young as preschool age are already sensitive not only to distributive justice but to procedural justice as well. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energy Technology Allocation for Distributed Energy Resources: A Technology-Policy Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallikarjun, Sreekanth

Distributed energy resources (DER) are emerging rapidly. New engineering technologies, materials, and designs improve the performance and extend the range of locations for DER. In contrast, constructing new or modernizing existing high voltage transmission lines for centralized generation are expensive and challenging. In addition, customer demand for reliability has increased and concerns about climate change have created a pull for swift renewable energy penetration. In this context, DER policy makers, developers, and users are interested in determining which energy technologies to use to accommodate different end-use energy demands. We present a two-stage multi-objective strategic technology-policy framework for determining the optimal energy technology allocation for DER. The framework simultaneously considers economic, technical, and environmental objectives. The first stage utilizes a Data Envelopment Analysis model for each end-use to evaluate the performance of each energy technology based on the three objectives. The second stage incorporates factor efficiencies determined in the first stage, capacity limitations, dispatchability, and renewable penetration for each technology, and demand for each end-use into a bottleneck multi-criteria decision model which provides the Pareto-optimal energy resource allocation. We conduct several case studies to understand the roles of various distributed energy technologies in different scenarios. We construct some policy implications based on the model results of set of case studies.

Developing new scenarios for water allocation negotiations: a case study of the Euphrates River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarkeh, Mohammad Reza; Mianabadi, Ameneh; Mianabadi, Hojjat

2016-10-01

Mismanagement and uneven distribution of water may lead to or increase conflict among countries. Allocation of water among trans-boundary river neighbours is a key issue in utilization of shared water resources. The bankruptcy theory is a cooperative Game Theory method which is used when the amount of demand of riparian states is larger than total available water. In this study, we survey the application of seven methods of Classical Bankruptcy Rules (CBRs) including Proportional (CBR-PRO), Adjusted Proportional (CBR-AP), Constrained Equal Awards (CBR-CEA), Constrained Equal Losses (CBR-CEL), Piniles (CBR-Piniles), Minimal Overlap (CBR-MO), Talmud (CBR-Talmud) and four Sequential Sharing Rules (SSRs) including Proportional (SSR-PRO), Constrained Equal Awards (SSR-CEA), Constrained Equal Losses (SSR-CEL) and Talmud (SSR-Talmud) methods in allocation of the Euphrates River among three riparian countries: Turkey, Syria and Iraq. However, there is not a certain documented method to find more equitable allocation rule. Therefore, in this paper, a new method is established for choosing the most appropriate allocating rule which seems to be more equitable than other allocation rules to satisfy the stakeholders. The results reveal that, based on the new propose model, the CBR-AP seems to be more equitable to allocate the Euphrates River water among Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Linear Quadratic Tracking Design for a Generic Transport Aircraft with Structural Load Constraints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.; Frost, Susan A.; Taylor, Brian R.

2011-01-01

When designing control laws for systems with constraints added to the tracking performance, control allocation methods can be utilized. Control allocations methods are used when there are more command inputs than controlled variables. Constraints that require allocators are such task as; surface saturation limits, structural load limits, drag reduction constraints or actuator failures. Most transport aircraft have many actuated surfaces compared to the three controlled variables (such as angle of attack, roll rate & angle of side slip). To distribute the control effort among the redundant set of actuators a fixed mixer approach can be utilized or online control allocation techniques. The benefit of an online allocator is that constraints can be considered in the design whereas the fixed mixer cannot. However, an online control allocator mixer has a disadvantage of not guaranteeing a surface schedule, which can then produce ill defined loads on the aircraft. The load uncertainty and complexity has prevented some controller designs from using advanced allocation techniques. This paper considers actuator redundancy management for a class of over actuated systems with real-time structural load limits using linear quadratic tracking applied to the generic transport model. A roll maneuver example of an artificial load limit constraint is shown and compared to the same no load limitation maneuver.

A Multiple-player-game Approach to Agricultural Water Use in Regions of Seasonal Drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Z.

2013-12-01

In the wide distributed regions of seasonal drought, conflicts of water allocation between multiple stakeholders (which means water consumers and policy makers) are frequent and severe problems. These conflicts become extremely serious in the dry seasons, and are ultimately caused by an intensive disparity between the lack of natural resource and the great demand of social development. Meanwhile, these stakeholders are often both competitors and cooperators in water saving problems, because water is a type of public resource. Conflicts often occur due to lack of appropriate water allocation scheme. Among the many uses of water, the need of agricultural irrigation water is highly elastic, but this factor has not yet been made full use to free up water from agriculture use. The primary goal of this work is to design an optimal distribution scheme of water resource for dry seasons to maximize benefits from precious water resources, considering the high elasticity of agriculture water demand due to the dynamic of soil moisture affected by the uncertainty of precipitation and other factors like canopy interception. A dynamic programming model will be used to figure out an appropriate allocation of water resources among agricultural irrigation and other purposes like drinking water, industry, and hydropower, etc. In this dynamic programming model, we analytically quantify the dynamic of soil moisture in the agricultural fields by describing the interception with marked Poisson process and describing the rainfall depth with exponential distribution. Then, we figure out a water-saving irrigation scheme, which regulates the timetable and volumes of water in irrigation, in order to minimize irrigation water requirement under the premise of necessary crop yield (as a constraint condition). And then, in turn, we provide a scheme of water resource distribution/allocation among agriculture and other purposes, taking aim at maximizing benefits from precious water resources, or in other words, make best use of limited water resource.

5 CFR 1600.32 - Methods for transferring eligible rollover distribution to TSP.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Methods for transferring eligible... INVESTMENT BOARD EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION ELECTIONS AND CONTRIBUTION ALLOCATIONS Transfers From Other Qualified Retirement Plans § 1600.32 Methods for transferring eligible rollover distribution to TSP. (a) Trustee-to...

Experimental evaluation of dynamic data allocation strategies in a distributed database with changing workloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brunstrom, Anna; Leutenegger, Scott T.; Simha, Rahul

1995-01-01

Traditionally, allocation of data in distributed database management systems has been determined by off-line analysis and optimization. This technique works well for static database access patterns, but is often inadequate for frequently changing workloads. In this paper we address how to dynamically reallocate data for partionable distributed databases with changing access patterns. Rather than complicated and expensive optimization algorithms, a simple heuristic is presented and shown, via an implementation study, to improve system throughput by 30 percent in a local area network based system. Based on artificial wide area network delays, we show that dynamic reallocation can improve system throughput by a factor of two and a half for wide area networks. We also show that individual site load must be taken into consideration when reallocating data, and provide a simple policy that incorporates load in the reallocation decision.

Optimal allocation of testing resources for statistical simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quintana, Carolina; Millwater, Harry R.; Singh, Gulshan; Golden, Patrick

2015-07-01

Statistical estimates from simulation involve uncertainty caused by the variability in the input random variables due to limited data. Allocating resources to obtain more experimental data of the input variables to better characterize their probability distributions can reduce the variance of statistical estimates. The methodology proposed determines the optimal number of additional experiments required to minimize the variance of the output moments given single or multiple constraints. The method uses multivariate t-distribution and Wishart distribution to generate realizations of the population mean and covariance of the input variables, respectively, given an amount of available data. This method handles independent and correlated random variables. A particle swarm method is used for the optimization. The optimal number of additional experiments per variable depends on the number and variance of the initial data, the influence of the variable in the output function and the cost of each additional experiment. The methodology is demonstrated using a fretting fatigue example.

Optimized oral cholera vaccine distribution strategies to minimize disease incidence: A mixed integer programming model and analysis of a Bangladesh scenario.

PubMed

Smalley, Hannah K; Keskinocak, Pinar; Swann, Julie; Hinman, Alan

2015-11-17

In addition to improved sanitation, hygiene, and better access to safe water, oral cholera vaccines can help to control the spread of cholera in the short term. However, there is currently no systematic method for determining the best allocation of oral cholera vaccines to minimize disease incidence in a population where the disease is endemic and resources are limited. We present a mathematical model for optimally allocating vaccines in a region under varying levels of demographic and incidence data availability. The model addresses the questions of where, when, and how many doses of vaccines to send. Considering vaccine efficacies (which may vary based on age and the number of years since vaccination), we analyze distribution strategies which allocate vaccines over multiple years. Results indicate that, given appropriate surveillance data, targeting age groups and regions with the highest disease incidence should be the first priority, followed by other groups primarily in order of disease incidence, as this approach is the most life-saving and cost-effective. A lack of detailed incidence data results in distribution strategies which are not cost-effective and can lead to thousands more deaths from the disease. The mathematical model allows for what-if analysis for various vaccine distribution strategies by providing the ability to easily vary parameters such as numbers and sizes of regions and age groups, risk levels, vaccine price, vaccine efficacy, production capacity and budget. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Replication and Reconfiguration in a Distributed Mail Repository.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-01

a single machine and sees no improvement in availability over the old repository. Further, the static allocation of users to particular machines means...Reconfiguration Good old Wateon! You are the one fixed point in a changing universel -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle How can I be sure In a world that’s constantly...automatic storage allocation , and the Argus debugger. Then I discuss the drawbacks involved in using Argus: deadlocks, the awkwardness of retrying actions

Design of a compact microfludic device for controllable cell distribution.

PubMed

Li, Jing-Liang; Day, Daniel; Gu, Min

2010-11-21

A compact microfluidic device with 96 microchambers allocated within four circular units was designed and examined for cell distribution. In each unit, cells were distributed to the surrounding chambers radially from the center. The circular arrangement of the chambers makes the design simple and compact. A controllable and quantitative cell distribution is achievable in this device. This design is significant to the microfluidic applications where controllable distribution of cells in multipule microchambers is demanded.

Considering a Cadre Augmented Army

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

S ) 12. DISTRIBUTION /AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT...ACMaxD i ACDep t S AC D i t = = ∑ The force allocation datasheet will include the default initial conditions for the distribution of...This document and trademark( s ) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic

Distribution network design under demand uncertainty using genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation approach: a case study in pharmaceutical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izadi, Arman; Kimiagari, Ali mohammad

2014-01-01

Distribution network design as a strategic decision has long-term effect on tactical and operational supply chain management. In this research, the location-allocation problem is studied under demand uncertainty. The purposes of this study were to specify the optimal number and location of distribution centers and to determine the allocation of customer demands to distribution centers. The main feature of this research is solving the model with unknown demand function which is suitable with the real-world problems. To consider the uncertainty, a set of possible scenarios for customer demands is created based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The coefficient of variation of costs is mentioned as a measure of risk and the most stable structure for firm's distribution network is defined based on the concept of robust optimization. The best structure is identified using genetic algorithms and 14% reduction in total supply chain costs is the outcome. Moreover, it imposes the least cost variation created by fluctuation in customer demands (such as epidemic diseases outbreak in some areas of the country) to the logistical system. It is noteworthy that this research is done in one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution firms in Iran.

Distribution network design under demand uncertainty using genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation approach: a case study in pharmaceutical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izadi, Arman; Kimiagari, Ali Mohammad

2014-05-01

Distribution network design as a strategic decision has long-term effect on tactical and operational supply chain management. In this research, the location-allocation problem is studied under demand uncertainty. The purposes of this study were to specify the optimal number and location of distribution centers and to determine the allocation of customer demands to distribution centers. The main feature of this research is solving the model with unknown demand function which is suitable with the real-world problems. To consider the uncertainty, a set of possible scenarios for customer demands is created based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The coefficient of variation of costs is mentioned as a measure of risk and the most stable structure for firm's distribution network is defined based on the concept of robust optimization. The best structure is identified using genetic algorithms and 14 % reduction in total supply chain costs is the outcome. Moreover, it imposes the least cost variation created by fluctuation in customer demands (such as epidemic diseases outbreak in some areas of the country) to the logistical system. It is noteworthy that this research is done in one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution firms in Iran.

A tyre slip-based integrated chassis control of front/rear traction distribution and four-wheel independent brake from moderate driving to limit handling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joa, Eunhyek; Park, Kwanwoo; Koh, Youngil; Yi, Kyongsu; Kim, Kilsoo

2018-04-01

This paper presents a tyre slip-based integrated chassis control of front/rear traction distribution and four-wheel braking for enhanced performance from moderate driving to limit handling. The proposed algorithm adopted hierarchical structure: supervisor - desired motion tracking controller - optimisation-based control allocation. In the supervisor, by considering transient cornering characteristics, desired vehicle motion is calculated. In the desired motion tracking controller, in order to track desired vehicle motion, virtual control input is determined in the manner of sliding mode control. In the control allocation, virtual control input is allocated to minimise cost function. The cost function consists of two major parts. First part is a slip-based tyre friction utilisation quantification, which does not need a tyre force estimation. Second part is an allocation guideline, which guides optimally allocated inputs to predefined solution. The proposed algorithm has been investigated via simulation from moderate driving to limit handling scenario. Compared to Base and direct yaw moment control system, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce tyre dissipation energy in the moderate driving situation. Moreover, the proposed algorithm enhances limit handling performance compared to Base and direct yaw moment control system. In addition to comparison with Base and direct yaw moment control, comparison the proposed algorithm with the control algorithm based on the known tyre force information has been conducted. The results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is similar with that of the control algorithm with the known tyre force information.

Territory Quality and Plumage Morph Predict Offspring Sex Ratio Variation in a Raptor

PubMed Central

Chakarov, Nayden; Pauli, Martina; Mueller, Anna-Katharina; Potiek, Astrid; Grünkorn, Thomas; Dijkstra, Cor; Krüger, Oliver

2015-01-01

Parents may adapt their offspring sex ratio in response to their own phenotype and environmental conditions. The most significant causes for adaptive sex-ratio variation might express themselves as different distributions of fitness components between sexes along a given variable. Several causes for differential sex allocation in raptors with reversed sexual size dimorphism have been suggested. We search for correlates of fledgling sex in an extensive dataset on common buzzards Buteo buteo, a long-lived bird of prey. Larger female offspring could be more resource-demanding and starvation-prone and thus the costly sex. Prominent factors such as brood size and laying date did not predict nestling sex. Nonetheless, lifetime sex ratio (LSR, potentially indicative of individual sex allocation constraints) and overall nestling sex were explained by territory quality with more females being produced in better territories. Additionally, parental plumage morphs and the interaction of morph and prey abundance tended to explain LSR and nestling sex, indicating local adaptation of sex allocation However, in a limited census of nestling mortality, not females but males tended to die more frequently in prey-rich years. Also, although females could have potentially longer reproductive careers, a subset of our data encompassing full individual life histories showed that longevity and lifetime reproductive success were similarly distributed between the sexes. Thus, a basis for adaptive sex allocation in this population remains elusive. Overall, in common buzzards most major determinants of reproductive success appeared to have no effect on sex ratio but sex allocation may be adapted to local conditions in morph-specific patterns. PMID:26445010

Towards an understanding of the molecular regulation of carbon allocation in diatoms: the interaction of energy and carbon allocation.

PubMed

Wagner, Heiko; Jakob, Torsten; Fanesi, Andrea; Wilhelm, Christian

2017-09-05

In microalgae, the photosynthesis-driven CO 2 assimilation delivers cell building blocks that are used in different biosynthetic pathways. Little is known about how the cell regulates the subsequent carbon allocation to, for example, cell growth or for storage. However, knowledge about these regulatory mechanisms is of high biotechnological and ecological importance. In diatoms, the situation becomes even more complex because, as a consequence of their secondary endosymbiotic origin, the compartmentation of the pathways for the primary metabolic routes is different from green algae. Therefore, the mechanisms to manipulate the carbon allocation pattern cannot be adopted from the green lineage. This review describes the general pathways of cellular energy distribution from light absorption towards the final allocation of carbon into macromolecules and summarizes the current knowledge of diatom-specific allocation patterns. We further describe the (limited) knowledge of regulatory mechanisms of carbon partitioning between lipids, carbohydrates and proteins in diatoms. We present solutions to overcome the problems that hinder the identification of regulatory elements of carbon metabolism.This article is part of the themed issue 'The peculiar carbon metabolism in diatoms'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Optimal allocation model of construction land based on two-level system optimization theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Min; Liu, Yanfang; Xia, Yuping; Lei, Qihong

2007-06-01

The allocation of construction land is an important task in land-use planning. Whether implementation of planning decisions is a success or not, usually depends on a reasonable and scientific distribution method. Considering the constitution of land-use planning system and planning process in China, multiple levels and multiple objective decision problems is its essence. Also, planning quantity decomposition is a two-level system optimization problem and an optimal resource allocation decision problem between a decision-maker in the topper and a number of parallel decision-makers in the lower. According the characteristics of the decision-making process of two-level decision-making system, this paper develops an optimal allocation model of construction land based on two-level linear planning. In order to verify the rationality and the validity of our model, Baoan district of Shenzhen City has been taken as a test case. Under the assistance of the allocation model, construction land is allocated to ten townships of Baoan district. The result obtained from our model is compared to that of traditional method, and results show that our model is reasonable and usable. In the end, the paper points out the shortcomings of the model and further research directions.

Population-based funding formulae cultural coefficients: seeking a more equitable distribution of health dollars in New Zealand.

PubMed

Mellsop, Graham; McClintock, Kahu; Dutu, Gaelle

2007-03-23

Evidence and argument for the allocation of funds to forensic psychiatric services to take account of the ethnic disparities in the use of the Justice System is presented. This would reflect the reality of the distribution of Service demand.

26 CFR 1.336-0 - Table of contents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 355(d)(2) or (e)(2). (i) Old target—deemed asset disposition. (A) In general. (B) Gains and losses. (1) Gains. (2) Losses. (i) In general. (ii) Stock distributions. (iii) Amount and allocation of disallowed.... (2) Exception. (B) Gains and losses. (1) Gains. (2) Losses. (i) In general. (ii) Stock distributions...

OxMaR: open source free software for online minimization and randomization for clinical trials.

PubMed

O'Callaghan, Christopher A

2014-01-01

Minimization is a valuable method for allocating participants between the control and experimental arms of clinical studies. The use of minimization reduces differences that might arise by chance between the study arms in the distribution of patient characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and age. However, unlike randomization, minimization requires real time assessment of each new participant with respect to the preceding distribution of relevant participant characteristics within the different arms of the study. For multi-site studies, this necessitates centralized computational analysis that is shared between all study locations. Unfortunately, there is no suitable freely available open source or free software that can be used for this purpose. OxMaR was developed to enable researchers in any location to use minimization for patient allocation and to access the minimization algorithm using any device that can connect to the internet such as a desktop computer, tablet or mobile phone. The software is complete in itself and requires no special packages or libraries to be installed. It is simple to set up and run over the internet using online facilities which are very low cost or even free to the user. Importantly, it provides real time information on allocation to the study lead or administrator and generates real time distributed backups with each allocation. OxMaR can readily be modified and customised and can also be used for standard randomization. It has been extensively tested and has been used successfully in a low budget multi-centre study. Hitherto, the logistical difficulties involved in minimization have precluded its use in many small studies and this software should allow more widespread use of minimization which should lead to studies with better matched control and experimental arms. OxMaR should be particularly valuable in low resource settings.

[Investigation of the allocation of equipment among the major research agencies for occupational health and medicine].

PubMed

Zhang, Lin; Wu, Zhi-Jun; Zhang, Shuang; Qin, Jian; Zhang, Xing

2011-08-01

To understand the allocation of instruments and equipment in major research institutions for occupational health and medicine in China. Questionnaire was designed for collecting the information of the equipment used in occupational health and medicine research. Questionnaires were distributed to 78 research agencies to investigate the situation of allocation of instrument and equipment. There was a great diversity of allocation in investigated agencies. The features in three kinds of agencies are different. The occupational health agencies in universities fit out the biological equipment in laboratories. The occupational health laboratories in CDCs were equipped with the chemical analytical devices. The institutes of occupational medicine were equipped with the clinical inspection instruments. The protocol of sharing resource and predominance complementation should be established among research institutions for occupational health and medicine in the same region or neighboring provinces.

Models of resource allocation optimization when solving the control problems in organizational systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menshikh, V.; Samorokovskiy, A.; Avsentev, O.

2018-03-01

The mathematical model of optimizing the allocation of resources to reduce the time for management decisions and algorithms to solve the general problem of resource allocation. The optimization problem of choice of resources in organizational systems in order to reduce the total execution time of a job is solved. This problem is a complex three-level combinatorial problem, for the solving of which it is necessary to implement the solution to several specific problems: to estimate the duration of performing each action, depending on the number of performers within the group that performs this action; to estimate the total execution time of all actions depending on the quantitative composition of groups of performers; to find such a distribution of the existing resource of performers in groups to minimize the total execution time of all actions. In addition, algorithms to solve the general problem of resource allocation are proposed.

Two‐phase designs for joint quantitative‐trait‐dependent and genotype‐dependent sampling in post‐GWAS regional sequencing

PubMed Central

Espin‐Garcia, Osvaldo; Craiu, Radu V.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT We evaluate two‐phase designs to follow‐up findings from genome‐wide association study (GWAS) when the cost of regional sequencing in the entire cohort is prohibitive. We develop novel expectation‐maximization‐based inference under a semiparametric maximum likelihood formulation tailored for post‐GWAS inference. A GWAS‐SNP (where SNP is single nucleotide polymorphism) serves as a surrogate covariate in inferring association between a sequence variant and a normally distributed quantitative trait (QT). We assess test validity and quantify efficiency and power of joint QT‐SNP‐dependent sampling and analysis under alternative sample allocations by simulations. Joint allocation balanced on SNP genotype and extreme‐QT strata yields significant power improvements compared to marginal QT‐ or SNP‐based allocations. We illustrate the proposed method and evaluate the sensitivity of sample allocation to sampling variation using data from a sequencing study of systolic blood pressure. PMID:29239496

Computer software tool REALM for sustainable water allocation and management.

PubMed

Perera, B J C; James, B; Kularathna, M D U

2005-12-01

REALM (REsource ALlocation Model) is a generalised computer simulation package that models harvesting and bulk distribution of water resources within a water supply system. It is a modeling tool, which can be applied to develop specific water allocation models. Like other water resource simulation software tools, REALM uses mass-balance accounting at nodes, while the movement of water within carriers is subject to capacity constraints. It uses a fast network linear programming algorithm to optimise the water allocation within the network during each simulation time step, in accordance with user-defined operating rules. This paper describes the main features of REALM and provides potential users with an appreciation of its capabilities. In particular, it describes two case studies covering major urban and rural water supply systems. These case studies illustrate REALM's capabilities in the use of stochastically generated data in water supply planning and management, modelling of environmental flows, and assessing security of supply issues.

From honeybees to Internet servers: biomimicry for distributed management of Internet hosting centers.

PubMed

Nakrani, Sunil; Tovey, Craig

2007-12-01

An Internet hosting center hosts services on its server ensemble. The center must allocate servers dynamically amongst services to maximize revenue earned from hosting fees. The finite server ensemble, unpredictable request arrival behavior and server reallocation cost make server allocation optimization difficult. Server allocation closely resembles honeybee forager allocation amongst flower patches to optimize nectar influx. The resemblance inspires a honeybee biomimetic algorithm. This paper describes details of the honeybee self-organizing model in terms of information flow and feedback, analyzes the homology between the two problems and derives the resulting biomimetic algorithm for hosting centers. The algorithm is assessed for effectiveness and adaptiveness by comparative testing against benchmark and conventional algorithms. Computational results indicate that the new algorithm is highly adaptive to widely varying external environments and quite competitive against benchmark assessment algorithms. Other swarm intelligence applications are briefly surveyed, and some general speculations are offered regarding their various degrees of success.

Incorporating location, routing, and inventory decisions in a bi-objective supply chain design problem with risk-pooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Reza; Forouzanfar, Fateme; Ebrahimnejad, Sadoullah

2013-07-01

This paper considers a single-sourcing network design problem for a three-level supply chain. For the first time, a novel mathematical model is presented considering risk-pooling, the inventory existence at distribution centers (DCs) under demand uncertainty, the existence of several alternatives to transport the product between facilities, and routing of vehicles from distribution centers to customer in a stochastic supply chain system, simultaneously. This problem is formulated as a bi-objective stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear programming model. The aim of this model is to determine the number of located distribution centers, their locations, and capacity levels, and allocating customers to distribution centers and distribution centers to suppliers. It also determines the inventory control decisions on the amount of ordered products and the amount of safety stocks at each opened DC, selecting a type of vehicle for transportation. Moreover, it determines routing decisions, such as determination of vehicles' routes starting from an opened distribution center to serve its allocated customers and returning to that distribution center. All are done in a way that the total system cost and the total transportation time are minimized. The Lingo software is used to solve the presented model. The computational results are illustrated in this paper.

Complex Genetic Effects on Early Vegetative Development Shape Resource Allocation Differences Between Arabidopsis lyrata Populations

PubMed Central

Remington, David L.; Leinonen, Päivi H.; Leppälä, Johanna; Savolainen, Outi

2013-01-01

Costs of reproduction due to resource allocation trade-offs have long been recognized as key forces in life history evolution, but little is known about their functional or genetic basis. Arabidopsis lyrata, a perennial relative of the annual model plant A. thaliana with a wide climatic distribution, has populations that are strongly diverged in resource allocation. In this study, we evaluated the genetic and functional basis for variation in resource allocation in a reciprocal transplant experiment, using four A. lyrata populations and F2 progeny from a cross between North Carolina (NC) and Norway parents, which had the most divergent resource allocation patterns. Local alleles at quantitative trait loci (QTL) at a North Carolina field site increased reproductive output while reducing vegetative growth. These QTL had little overlap with flowering date QTL. Structural equation models incorporating QTL genotypes and traits indicated that resource allocation differences result primarily from QTL effects on early vegetative growth patterns, with cascading effects on later vegetative and reproductive development. At a Norway field site, North Carolina alleles at some of the same QTL regions reduced survival and reproductive output components, but these effects were not associated with resource allocation trade-offs in the Norway environment. Our results indicate that resource allocation in perennial plants may involve important adaptive mechanisms largely independent of flowering time. Moreover, the contributions of resource allocation QTL to local adaptation appear to result from their effects on developmental timing and its interaction with environmental constraints, and not from simple models of reproductive costs. PMID:23979581

Four-year-olds' strategic allocation of resources: attempts to elicit reciprocation correlate negatively with spontaneous helping.

PubMed

Kenward, Ben; Hellmer, Kahl; Winter, Lina Söderström; Eriksson, Malin

2015-03-01

Behaviour benefitting others (prosocial behaviour) can be motivated by self-interested strategic concerns as well as by genuine concern for others. Even in very young children such behaviour can be motivated by concern for others, but whether it can be strategically motivated by self-interest is currently less clear. Here, children had to distribute resources in a game in which a rich but not a poor recipient could reciprocate. From four years of age participants strategically favoured the rich recipient, but only when recipients had stated an intention to reciprocate. Six- and eight-year-olds distributed more equally. Children allocating strategically to the rich recipient were less likely to help when an adult needed assistance but was not in a position to immediately reciprocate, demonstrating consistent cross-task individual differences in the extent to which social behaviour is self- versus other-oriented even in early childhood. By four years of age children are capable of strategically allocating resources to others as a tool to advance their own self-interest. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Societal preferences for distributive justice in the allocation of health care resources: a latent class discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Skedgel, Chris; Wailoo, Allan; Akehurst, Ron

2015-01-01

Economic theory suggests that resources should be allocated in a way that produces the greatest outputs, on the grounds that maximizing output allows for a redistribution that could benefit everyone. In health care, this is known as QALY (quality-adjusted life-year) maximization. This justification for QALY maximization may not hold, though, as it is difficult to reallocate health. Therefore, the allocation of health care should be seen as a matter of distributive justice as well as efficiency. A discrete choice experiment was undertaken to test consistency with the principles of QALY maximization and to quantify the willingness to trade life-year gains for distributive justice. An empirical ethics process was used to identify attributes that appeared relevant and ethically justified: patient age, severity (decomposed into initial quality and life expectancy), final health state, duration of benefit, and distributional concerns. Only 3% of respondents maximized QALYs with every choice, but scenarios with larger aggregate QALY gains were chosen more often and a majority of respondents maximized QALYs in a majority of their choices. However, respondents also appeared willing to prioritize smaller gains to preferred groups over larger gains to less preferred groups. Marginal analyses found a statistically significant preference for younger patients and a wider distribution of gains, as well as an aversion to patients with the shortest life expectancy or a poor final health state. These results support the existence of an equity-efficiency tradeoff and suggest that well-being could be enhanced by giving priority to programs that best satisfy societal preferences. Societal preferences could be incorporated through the use of explicit equity weights, although more research is required before such weights can be used in priority setting. © The Author(s) 2014.

Self-Coexistence among IEEE 802.22 Networks: Distributed Allocation of Power and Channel

PubMed Central

Sakin, Sayef Azad; Alamri, Atif; Tran, Nguyen H.

2017-01-01

Ensuring self-coexistence among IEEE 802.22 networks is a challenging problem owing to opportunistic access of incumbent-free radio resources by users in co-located networks. In this study, we propose a fully-distributed non-cooperative approach to ensure self-coexistence in downlink channels of IEEE 802.22 networks. We formulate the self-coexistence problem as a mixed-integer non-linear optimization problem for maximizing the network data rate, which is an NP-hard one. This work explores a sub-optimal solution by dividing the optimization problem into downlink channel allocation and power assignment sub-problems. Considering fairness, quality of service and minimum interference for customer-premises-equipment, we also develop a greedy algorithm for channel allocation and a non-cooperative game-theoretic framework for near-optimal power allocation. The base stations of networks are treated as players in a game, where they try to increase spectrum utilization by controlling power and reaching a Nash equilibrium point. We further develop a utility function for the game to increase the data rate by minimizing the transmission power and, subsequently, the interference from neighboring networks. A theoretical proof of the uniqueness and existence of the Nash equilibrium has been presented. Performance improvements in terms of data-rate with a degree of fairness compared to a cooperative branch-and-bound-based algorithm and a non-cooperative greedy approach have been shown through simulation studies. PMID:29215591

Self-Coexistence among IEEE 802.22 Networks: Distributed Allocation of Power and Channel.

PubMed

Sakin, Sayef Azad; Razzaque, Md Abdur; Hassan, Mohammad Mehedi; Alamri, Atif; Tran, Nguyen H; Fortino, Giancarlo

2017-12-07

Ensuring self-coexistence among IEEE 802.22 networks is a challenging problem owing to opportunistic access of incumbent-free radio resources by users in co-located networks. In this study, we propose a fully-distributed non-cooperative approach to ensure self-coexistence in downlink channels of IEEE 802.22 networks. We formulate the self-coexistence problem as a mixed-integer non-linear optimization problem for maximizing the network data rate, which is an NP-hard one. This work explores a sub-optimal solution by dividing the optimization problem into downlink channel allocation and power assignment sub-problems. Considering fairness, quality of service and minimum interference for customer-premises-equipment, we also develop a greedy algorithm for channel allocation and a non-cooperative game-theoretic framework for near-optimal power allocation. The base stations of networks are treated as players in a game, where they try to increase spectrum utilization by controlling power and reaching a Nash equilibrium point. We further develop a utility function for the game to increase the data rate by minimizing the transmission power and, subsequently, the interference from neighboring networks. A theoretical proof of the uniqueness and existence of the Nash equilibrium has been presented. Performance improvements in terms of data-rate with a degree of fairness compared to a cooperative branch-and-bound-based algorithm and a non-cooperative greedy approach have been shown through simulation studies.

Threshold considerations in fair allocation of health resources: justice beyond scarcity.

PubMed

Alvarez, Allen Andrew A

2007-10-01

Application of egalitarian and prioritarian accounts of health resource allocation in low-income countries have both been criticized for implying distribution outcomes that allow decreasing/undermining health gains and for tolerating unacceptable standards of health care and health status that result from such allocation schemes. Insufficient health care and severe deprivation of health resources are difficult to accept even when justified by aggregative efficiency or legitimized by fair deliberative process in pursuing equality and priority oriented outcomes. I affirm the sufficientarian argument that, given extreme scarcity of public health resources in low-income countries, neither health status equality between populations nor priority for the worse off is normatively adequate. Nevertheless, the threshold norm alone need not be the sole consideration when a country's total health budget is extremely scarce. Threshold considerations are necessary in developing a theory of fair distribution of health resources that is sensitive to the lexically prior norm of sufficiency. Based on the intuition that shares must not be taken away from those who barely achieve a minimal level of health, I argue that assessments based on standards of minimal physical/mental health must be developed to evaluate the sufficiency of the total resources of health systems in low-income countries prior to pursuing equality, priority, and efficiency based resource allocation. I also begin to examine how threshold sensitive health resource assessment could be used in the Philippines.

The relationship between annual survival rate and migration distance in mallards: an examination of the time-allocation hypothesis for the evolution of migration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hestbeck, J.B.; Nichols, J.D.; Hines, J.E.

1992-01-01

Predictions of the time-allocation hypothesis were tested with several a posteriori analyses of banding data for the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). The time-allocation hypothesis states that the critical difference between resident and migrant birds is their allocation of time to reproduction on the breeding grounds and survival on the nonbreeding grounds. Residents have higher reproduction and migrants have higher survival. Survival and recovery rates were estimated by standard band-recovery methods for banding reference areas in the central United States and central Canada. A production-rate index was computed for each reference area with data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service May Breeding Population Survey and July Production Survey. An analysis of covariance was used to test for the effects of migration distance and time period (decade) on survival, recovery, and production rates. Differences in migration chronology were tested by comparing direct-recovery distributions for different populations during the fall migration. Differences in winter locations were tested by comparing distributions of direct recoveries reported during December and January. A strong positive relationship was found between survival rate, and migration distance for 3 of the 4 age and sex classes. A weak negative relationship was found between recovery rate and migration distance. No relationship was found between production rate and migration distance. During the fall migration, birds from the northern breeding populations were located north of birds from the southern breeding populations. No pattern could be found in the relative locations of breeding and wintering areas. Although our finding that survival rate increased with migration distance was consistent with the time-allocation hypothesis, our results on migration chronology and location of wintering areas were not consistent with the mechanism underlying the time-allocation hypothesis. Neither this analysis nor other recent studies of life-history characteristics of migratory and resident birds supported the timeallocation hypothesis.

Studying the effect on system preference by varying coproduct allocation in creating life-cycle inventory.

PubMed

Curran, Mary Ann

2007-10-15

How one models the input and output data for a life-cycle assessment (LCA) can greatly affect the results. Although much attention has been paid to allocation methodology by researchers in the field, specific guidance is still lacking: Earlier research focused on the effects of applying various allocation schemes to industrial processes when creating life-cycle inventories. To determine the impact of different allocation approaches upon product choice, this study evaluated the gas- and water-phase emissions during the production, distribution, and use of three hypothetical fuel systems (data that represent conventional gasoline and gasoline with 8.7 and 85% ethanol were used as the basis for modeling). This paper presents an explanation of the allocation issue and the results from testing various allocation schemes (weight, volume, market value, energy, and demand-based) when viewed across the entire system. Impact indicators for global warming, ozone depletion, and human health noncancer (water impact) were lower for the ethanol-containing fuels, while impact indicators for acidification, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, human health criteria, and photochemical smog were lower for conventional gasoline (impacts for the water-related human health cancer category showed mixed results). The relative ranking of conventional gasoline in relation to the ethanol-containing fuels was consistent in all instances, suggesting that, in this case study, the choice of allocation methodology had no impact on indicating which fuel has lower environmental impacts.

Characteristics of the distribution of doctors in the Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program in the states of Brazil's Northeast.

PubMed

Nogueira, Priscila Tamar Alves; Bezerra, Adriana Falangola Benjamin; Leite, Antonio Flaudiano Bem; Carvalho, Islândia Maria de Sousa; Gonçalves, Rogério Fabiano; Brito-Silva, Keila Silene de

2016-09-01

Inequalities in access to health, reflecting shortages and inadequate geographical distribution of health professionals, have been indicated as a challenge for Brazil. This paper analyzes the geographical distribution of professionals of the Mais Médicos Program allocated in the Northeastern Region of Brazil, through a descriptive cross-sectional study. Secondary data provided by the Health Ministry were used, and thematic maps of distribution of doctors in the Region were prepared. Data on 4,716 doctors who became members of health teams in 1,294 municipalities in six Indigenous Health Districts in the years 2013 and 2014 were analyzed. The greater part of the municipalities of the Region received between one and five doctors. The municipalities most benefited had, at least, 20% of their population in extreme poverty. 99.9% of the doctors were allocated in a Health Center or Primary Healthcare Unit. The majority were women (57%), predominantly of the 45-49 age group (24%). In spite of the advances achieved by the Program - such as distribution of the doctors in locations with greater vulnerability - some States continue to have significant shortages of healthcare.

Evaluating sample allocation and effort in detecting population differentiation for discrete and continuously distributed individuals

Treesearch

Erin L. Landguth; Michael K. Schwartz

2014-01-01

One of the most pressing issues in spatial genetics concerns sampling. Traditionally, substructure and gene flow are estimated for individuals sampled within discrete populations. Because many species may be continuously distributed across a landscape without discrete boundaries, understanding sampling issues becomes paramount. Given large-scale, geographically broad...

Educational Expenditures in Thailand: Development, Trends, and Distribution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sagarik, Danuvas

2014-01-01

This article aims to investigate the trends of education expenditure policy during the past few decades, as well as the recent allocation and distribution of education expenditure in Thailand. It also focuses on the development of the substance of education policy in Thailand. Political connection with the education expenditure policy is also…

Teacher Allocation Policies and the Unbalanced Distribution of Novice and Senior Teachers across Regions in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Özoglu, Murat; Beyazit, Yildirim

2015-01-01

Policies toward fostering a more balanced distribution of teacher quality have garnered considerable attention from researchers and policymakers around the world. This attention has been motivated largely by the widely acknowledged educational goal of providing quality education for all children. Equipped with similar policy concerns, this study…

Distributive Justice and Higher Education Resource Allocation: Perceptions of Fairness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hnat, Hope Bradley; Mahony, Daniel; Fitzgerald, Shawn; Crawford, Fashaad

2015-01-01

Although the organizational justice theoretical framework has been used frequently across a wide variety of settings, its use in examining higher education institutions has been limited. The purpose of the study reported here was to begin the process of applying this framework to higher education by identifying the distributive justice…

Use of artificial neural networks in applying methodology for allocating health resources.

PubMed

Rosas, Marina Araújo; Bezerra, Adriana Falangola Benjamin; Duarte-Neto, Paulo José

2013-02-01

To describe the construction of a factor of allocation of financial resources, based on the population's health needs. Quantitative study with data collected from public databases referring to the state of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil, between 2000 and 2010. Variables which reflected epidemiological, demographic, socio-economic and educational processes were selected in order to create a factor of allocation which highlighted the health needs of the population. The data sources were: SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System) Department of Computer Science, Atlas of Human Development in Brazil, IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), Information System on Public Health Budgets, National Treasury and data from the Pernambuco Health Secretariat between 2000 and 2010. Pearson's coefficient was used to assess linear correlation and the factor of allocation was calculated using analysis by artificial neural networks. The quartiles of the municipalities were defined according to their health needs. The distribution shown here highlights that all the coastal region, a good part of the Mata Norte and Mata Sul regions and the Agreste Setentrional and Agreste Central regions are in Quartile 1, that which has the largest number of municipalities. The Agreste Meridional region had municipalities in all of the quartiles. In the Pajeú/Moxotó region, many of the municipalities were in Quartile 1. Similar distribution was verified in the Sertão Central region. In the Araripe region, the majority of the municipalities were in Quartiles 3 or 4 and the São Francisco region was divided between Quartiles 1, 2 and 3. The factor of allocation grouped together municipalities of Pernambuco according to variables related to public health needs and separated those with extreme needs, requiring greater financial support, from those with lesser needs.

7 CFR 250.24 - Distributing agency performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... commodity assistance levels; (4) Ordering and allocating donated food based on participation data for those... directly into their warehouses; (2) Solicit information and recommendations regarding the individual...

7 CFR 250.24 - Distributing agency performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... commodity assistance levels; (4) Ordering and allocating donated food based on participation data for those... directly into their warehouses; (2) Solicit information and recommendations regarding the individual...

Fault and the allocation of spare organs.

PubMed Central

Smart, B

1994-01-01

This paper argues that rectificatory justice should supplement distributive justice in allocating priority of access to scarce medical resources. Where a patient is at fault for the scarcity of healthy organs a principle of restitution requires that she should give priority to the faultless. Such restitution is non-punitive, and is akin to reparation in civil law, not criminal law. However, it is doubtful whether such a principle can be fairly applied within the present culture of governmental complicity in cigarette advertising. PMID:8035435

Allocation and Routing of CRAF MD80 Aircraft

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

8217I0P N2 COF Allocation and Routing of CRAF MD80 Aircraft William B. Carter Captain, USAF AFIT/GST/ENS/90M-4 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A D0TE4 I C...posture. My experience as an airlift pilot drew me to this topic dealing with a very special part of our airlift forces, aeromedical evacuation. This...thesis attempts to make a "first cut" in the analysis of how the new Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) aeromedical evacuation mission should operate. My

Fairness and dynamic pricing: comments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hogan, William W.

2010-07-15

In ''The Ethics of Dynamic Pricing,'' Ahmad Faruqui lays out a case for improved efficiency in using dynamic prices for retail electricity tariffs and addresses various issues about the distributional effects of alternative pricing mechanisms. The principal contrast is between flat or nearly constant energy prices and time-varying prices that reflect more closely the marginal costs of energy and capacity. The related issues of fairness criteria, contracts, risk allocation, cost allocation, means testing, real-time pricing, and ethical policies of electricity market design also must be considered. (author)

Research on the applications of space technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Communication satellites and technology transfer are discussed in seven individual reports. Topics cover: (1) NASA'S technological alternatives assuming that the orbit-spectrum resource will continue to be allocated to communication satellite service providers at zero price; (2) the economic aspects of orbit-spectrum allocation; (3) the cost structure of local distribution systems for satellite communication; (4) the economic basis for national science and technology policy; (5) the economics of the household economy; (6) government patent policy; and (7) screening and evaluation in information dissemination.

Graph theoretical stable allocation as a tool for reproduction of control by human operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Nooijen, Ronald; Ertsen, Maurits; Kolechkina, Alla

2016-04-01

During the design of central control algorithms for existing water resource systems under manual control it is important to consider the interaction with parts of the system that remain under manual control and to compare the proposed new system with the existing manual methods. In graph theory the "stable allocation" problem has good solution algorithms and allows for formulation of flow distribution problems in terms of priorities. As a test case for the use of this approach we used the algorithm to derive water allocation rules for the Gezira Scheme, an irrigation system located between the Blue and White Niles south of Khartoum. In 1925, Gezira started with 300,000 acres; currently it covers close to two million acres.

A distributed multichannel demand-adaptive P2P VoD system with optimized caching and neighbor-selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hao; Chen, Minghua; Parekh, Abhay; Ramchandran, Kannan

2011-09-01

We design a distributed multi-channel P2P Video-on-Demand (VoD) system using "plug-and-play" helpers. Helpers are heterogenous "micro-servers" with limited storage, bandwidth and number of users they can serve simultaneously. Our proposed system has the following salient features: (1) it jointly optimizes over helper-user connection topology, video storage distribution and transmission bandwidth allocation; (2) it minimizes server load, and is adaptable to varying supply and demand patterns across multiple video channels irrespective of video popularity; and (3) it is fully distributed and requires little or no maintenance overhead. The combinatorial nature of the problem and the system demand for distributed algorithms makes the problem uniquely challenging. By utilizing Lagrangian decomposition and Markov chain approximation based arguments, we address this challenge by designing two distributed algorithms running in tandem: a primal-dual storage and bandwidth allocation algorithm and a "soft-worst-neighbor-choking" topology-building algorithm. Our scheme provably converges to a near-optimal solution, and is easy to implement in practice. Packet-level simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves minimum sever load under highly heterogeneous combinations of supply and demand patterns, and is robust to system dynamics of user/helper churn, user/helper asynchrony, and random delays in the network.

Stochastic Optimization For Water Resources Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamout, G.; Hatfield, K.

2003-12-01

For more than 40 years, water resources allocation problems have been addressed using deterministic mathematical optimization. When data uncertainties exist, these methods could lead to solutions that are sub-optimal or even infeasible. While optimization models have been proposed for water resources decision-making under uncertainty, no attempts have been made to address the uncertainties in water allocation problems in an integrated approach. This paper presents an Integrated Dynamic, Multi-stage, Feedback-controlled, Linear, Stochastic, and Distributed parameter optimization approach to solve a problem of water resources allocation. It attempts to capture (1) the conflict caused by competing objectives, (2) environmental degradation produced by resource consumption, and finally (3) the uncertainty and risk generated by the inherently random nature of state and decision parameters involved in such a problem. A theoretical system is defined throughout its different elements. These elements consisting mainly of water resource components and end-users are described in terms of quantity, quality, and present and future associated risks and uncertainties. Models are identified, modified, and interfaced together to constitute an integrated water allocation optimization framework. This effort is a novel approach to confront the water allocation optimization problem while accounting for uncertainties associated with all its elements; thus resulting in a solution that correctly reflects the physical problem in hand.

Social Influences on Inequity Aversion in Children

PubMed Central

McAuliffe, Katherine; Blake, Peter R.; Kim, Grace; Wrangham, Richard W.; Warneken, Felix

2013-01-01

Adults and children are willing to sacrifice personal gain to avoid both disadvantageous and advantageous inequity. These two forms of inequity aversion follow different developmental trajectories, with disadvantageous inequity aversion emerging around 4 years and advantageous inequity aversion emerging around 8 years. Although inequity aversion is assumed to be specific to situations where resources are distributed among individuals, the role of social context has not been tested in children. Here, we investigated the influence of two aspects of social context on inequity aversion in 4- to 9-year-old children: (1) the role of the experimenter distributing rewards and (2) the presence of a peer with whom rewards could be shared. Experiment 1 showed that children rejected inequity at the same rate, regardless of whether the experimenter had control over reward allocations. This indicates that children’s decisions are based upon reward allocations between themselves and a peer and are not attempts to elicit more favorable distributions from the experimenter. Experiment 2 compared rejections of unequal reward allocations in children interacting with or without a peer partner. When faced with a disadvantageous distribution, children frequently rejected a smaller reward when a larger reward was visible, even if no partner would obtain the larger reward. This suggests that nonsocial factors partly explain disadvantageous inequity rejections. However, rejections of disadvantageous distributions were higher when the larger amount would go to a peer, indicating that social context enhances disadvantageous inequity aversion. By contrast, children rejected advantageous distributions almost exclusively in the social context. Therefore, advantageous inequity aversion appears to be genuinely social, highlighting its potential relevance for the development of fairness concerns. By comparing social and nonsocial factors, this study provides a detailed picture of the expression of inequity aversion in human ontogeny and raises questions about the function and evolution of inequity aversion in humans. PMID:24312509

Funding formulas for public health allocations: federal and state strategies.

PubMed

Ogden, Lydia L; Sellers, Katie; Sammartino, Cara; Buehler, James W; Bernet, Patrick M

2012-01-01

Public health funding formulas have received less scrutiny than those used in other government sectors, particularly health services and public health insurance. We surveyed states about their use of funding formulas for specific public health activities; sources of funding; formula attributes; formula development; and assessments of political and policy considerations. Results show that the use of funding formulas is positively correlated with the number of local health departments and with the percentage of public health funding provided by the federal government. States use a variety of allocative strategies but most commonly employ a "base-plus" distribution. Resulting distributions are more disproportionate than per capita or per-person-in-poverty allotments, an effect that increases as the proportion of total funding dedicated to equal minimum allotments increases.

University course timetabling and the requirements: Survey in several universities in the east-coast of Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Nurul Liyana Abdul; Aizam, Nur Aidya Hanum

2017-08-01

Course timetabling problem receives the highlight at the beginning of every semester. The problem is mainly on assigning courses to timeslot, rooms and lecturers which involving a set of rules and policies constraints. Generally, researchers present different features to signify their own universities' timetable according to the structure and behavior of their institution. However, the gap between theory and real-world applications that can be seen in the resulted timetable is the lacking of acknowledging human preferences. As to overcome this, it is very important to consider all the demands and preferences from timetabling community. This research therefore tries to accommodate the problem by investigating through surveys to several universities in the east coast of Malaysia the demands and preferences of individuals involved directly. Results from the questionnaires will be analyzed by using SPSS and all current issues regarding the demands will be included into our existing general university course timetabling mathematical model. The new university course timetabling mathematical model could best represent universities and be useful, especially in universities in Malaysia.

Long-Term Evolution Electromagnetic Fields Exposure Modulates the Resting State EEG on Alpha and Beta Bands.

PubMed

Yang, Lei; Chen, Qinghua; Lv, Bin; Wu, Tongning

2017-05-01

Long-term evolution (LTE) wireless telecommunication systems are widely used globally, which has raised a concern that exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from LTE devices can change human neural function. To date, few studies have been conducted on the effect of exposure to LTE EMF. Here, we evaluated the changes in electroencephalogram (EEG) due to LTE EMF exposure. An LTE EMF exposure system with a stable power emission, which was equivalent to the maximum emission from an LTE mobile phone, was used to radiate the subjects. Numerical simulations were conducted to ensure that the specific absorption rate in the subject's head was below the safety limits. Exposure to LTE EMF reduced the spectral power and the interhemispheric coherence in the alpha and beta bands of the frontal and temporal brain regions. No significant change was observed in the spectral power and the inter-hemispheric coherence in different timeslots during and after the exposure. These findings also corroborated those of our previous study using functional magnetic resonant imaging.

On the Study of Cognitive Bidirectional Relaying with Asymmetric Traffic Demands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Xiaodong

2015-05-01

In this paper, we consider a cognitive radio network scenario, where two primary users want to exchange information with each other and meanwhile, one secondary node wishes to send messages to a cognitive base station. To meet the target quality of service (QoS) of the primary users and raise the communication opportunity of the secondary nodes, a cognitive bidirectional relaying (BDR) scheme is examined. First, system outage probabilities of conventional direct transmission and BDR schemes are presented. Next, a new system parameter called operating region is defined and calculated, which indicates in which position a secondary node can be a cognitive relay to assist the primary users. Then, a cognitive BDR scheme is proposed, giving a transmission protocol along with a time-slot splitting algorithm between the primary and secondary transmissions. Information-theoretic metric of ergodic capacity is studied for the cognitive BDR scheme to evaluate its performance. Simulation results show that with the proposed scheme, the target QoS of the primary users can be guaranteed, while increasing the communication opportunity for the secondary nodes.

MIMO transmit scheme based on morphological perceptron with competitive learning.

PubMed

Valente, Raul Ambrozio; Abrão, Taufik

2016-08-01

This paper proposes a new multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmit scheme aided by artificial neural network (ANN). The morphological perceptron with competitive learning (MP/CL) concept is deployed as a decision rule in the MIMO detection stage. The proposed MIMO transmission scheme is able to achieve double spectral efficiency; hence, in each time-slot the receiver decodes two symbols at a time instead one as Alamouti scheme. Other advantage of the proposed transmit scheme with MP/CL-aided detector is its polynomial complexity according to modulation order, while it becomes linear when the data stream length is greater than modulation order. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared to the traditional MIMO schemes, namely Alamouti scheme and maximum-likelihood MIMO (ML-MIMO) detector. Also, the proposed scheme is evaluated in a scenario with variable channel information along the frame. Numerical results have shown that the diversity gain under space-time coding Alamouti scheme is partially lost, which slightly reduces the bit-error rate (BER) performance of the proposed MP/CL-NN MIMO scheme. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dealing with equality and benefit for water allocation in a lake watershed: A Gini-coefficient based stochastic optimization approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, C.; Qin, X. S.; Chen, Y.; Guo, H. C.

2018-06-01

A Gini-coefficient based stochastic optimization (GBSO) model was developed by integrating the hydrological model, water balance model, Gini coefficient and chance-constrained programming (CCP) into a general multi-objective optimization modeling framework for supporting water resources allocation at a watershed scale. The framework was advantageous in reflecting the conflicting equity and benefit objectives for water allocation, maintaining the water balance of watershed, and dealing with system uncertainties. GBSO was solved by the non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithms-II (NSGA-II), after the parameter uncertainties of the hydrological model have been quantified into the probability distribution of runoff as the inputs of CCP model, and the chance constraints were converted to the corresponding deterministic versions. The proposed model was applied to identify the Pareto optimal water allocation schemes in the Lake Dianchi watershed, China. The optimal Pareto-front results reflected the tradeoff between system benefit (αSB) and Gini coefficient (αG) under different significance levels (i.e. q) and different drought scenarios, which reveals the conflicting nature of equity and efficiency in water allocation problems. A lower q generally implies a lower risk of violating the system constraints and a worse drought intensity scenario corresponds to less available water resources, both of which would lead to a decreased system benefit and a less equitable water allocation scheme. Thus, the proposed modeling framework could help obtain the Pareto optimal schemes under complexity and ensure that the proposed water allocation solutions are effective for coping with drought conditions, with a proper tradeoff between system benefit and water allocation equity.

Fiscal transfers based on inputs or outcomes? Lessons from the Twelfth and Thirteenth Finance Commission in India

PubMed Central

Iyer, Smriti; Kapur, Avani; Mahbub, Rifaiyat; Mukherjee, Anit

2017-01-01

Summary Background There is limited empirical evidence about the efficacy of fiscal transfers for a specific purpose, including for health which represents an important source of funds for the delivery of public services especially in large populous countries such as India. Objective To examine two distinct methodologies for allocating specific‐purpose centre‐to‐state transfers, one using an input‐based formula focused on equity and the other using an outcome‐based formula focused on performance. Materials and Methods We examine the Twelfth Finance Commission (12FC)'s use of Equalization Grants for Health (EGH) as an input‐based formula and the Thirteenth Finance Commission (13FC)'s use of Incentive Grants for Health (IGH) as an outcome‐based formula. We simulate and replicate the allocation of these two transfer methodologies and examine the consequences of these fiscal transfer mechanisms. Results The EGH placed conditions for releasing funds, but states varied in their ability to meet those conditions, and hence their allocations varied, eg, Madhya Pradesh received 100% and Odisha 67% of its expected allocation. Due to the design of the IGH formula, IGH allocations were unequally distributed and highly concentrated in 4 states (Manipur, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland), which received over half the national IGH allocation. Discussion The EGH had limited impact in achieving equalization, whereas the IGH rewards were concentrated in states which were already doing better. Greater transparency and accountability of centre‐to‐state allocations and specifically their methodologies are needed to ensure that allocation objectives are aligned to performance. PMID:28857284

Optimization Model for cooperative water allocation and valuation in large river basins regarding environmental constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pournazeri, S.

2011-12-01

A comprehensive optimization model named Cooperative Water Allocation Model (CWAM) is developed for equitable and efficient water allocation and valuation of Zab river basin in order to solve the draught problems of Orumieh Lake in North West of Iran. The model's methodology consists of three phases. The first represents an initial water rights allocation among competing users. The second comprises the water reallocation process for complete usage by consumers. The third phase performs an allocation of the net benefit of the stakeholders participating in a coalition by applying cooperative game theory. The environmental constraints are accounted for in the water allocation model by entering probable environmental damage in a target function, and inputting the minimum water requirement of users. The potential of underground water usage is evaluated in order to compensate for the variation in the amount of surface water. This is conducted by applying an integrated economic- hydrologic river basin model. A node-link river basin network is utilized in CWAM which consists of two major blocks. The first indicates the internal water rights allocation and the second is associated to water and net benefit reallocation. System control, loss in links by evaporation or seepage, modification of inflow into the node, loss in nodes and loss in outflow are considered in this model. Water valuation is calculated for environmental, industrial, municipal and agricultural usage by net benefit function. It can be seen that the water rights are allocated efficiently and incomes are distributed appropriately based on quality and quantity limitations.

Fiscal transfers based on inputs or outcomes? Lessons from the Twelfth and Thirteenth Finance Commission in India.

PubMed

Fan, Victoria Y; Iyer, Smriti; Kapur, Avani; Mahbub, Rifaiyat; Mukherjee, Anit

2018-01-01

There is limited empirical evidence about the efficacy of fiscal transfers for a specific purpose, including for health which represents an important source of funds for the delivery of public services especially in large populous countries such as India. To examine two distinct methodologies for allocating specific-purpose centre-to-state transfers, one using an input-based formula focused on equity and the other using an outcome-based formula focused on performance. We examine the Twelfth Finance Commission (12FC)'s use of Equalization Grants for Health (EGH) as an input-based formula and the Thirteenth Finance Commission (13FC)'s use of Incentive Grants for Health (IGH) as an outcome-based formula. We simulate and replicate the allocation of these two transfer methodologies and examine the consequences of these fiscal transfer mechanisms. The EGH placed conditions for releasing funds, but states varied in their ability to meet those conditions, and hence their allocations varied, eg, Madhya Pradesh received 100% and Odisha 67% of its expected allocation. Due to the design of the IGH formula, IGH allocations were unequally distributed and highly concentrated in 4 states (Manipur, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland), which received over half the national IGH allocation. The EGH had limited impact in achieving equalization, whereas the IGH rewards were concentrated in states which were already doing better. Greater transparency and accountability of centre-to-state allocations and specifically their methodologies are needed to ensure that allocation objectives are aligned to performance. © 2017 The Authors. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A transaction assessment method for allocation of transmission services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banunarayanan, Venkatasubramaniam

The purpose of this research is to develop transaction assessment methods for allocating transmission services that are provided by an area/utility to power transactions. Transmission services are the services needed to deliver, or provide the capacity to deliver, real and reactive power from one or more supply points to one or more delivery points. As the number of transactions increase rapidly in the emerging deregulated environment, accurate quantification of the transmission services an area/utility provides to accommodate a transaction is becoming important, because then appropriate pricing schemes can be developed to compensate for the parties that provide these services. The Allocation methods developed are based on the "Fair Resource Allocation Principle" and they determine for each transaction the following: the flowpath of the transaction (both real and reactive power components), generator reactive power support from each area/utility, real power loss support from each area/utility. Further, allocation methods for distributing the cost of relieving congestion on transmission lines caused by transactions are also developed. The main feature of the proposed methods is representation of actual usage of the transmission services by the transactions. The proposed method is tested extensively on a variety of systems. The allocation methods developed in this thesis for allocation of transmission services to transactions is not only useful in studying the impact of transactions on a transmission system in a multi-transaction case, but they are indeed necessary to meet the criteria set forth by FERC with regard to pricing based on actual usage. The "consistency" of the proposed allocation methods has also been investigated and tested.

Inverse Statistics and Asset Allocation Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolgorian, Meysam

In this paper using inverse statistics analysis, the effect of investment horizon on the efficiency of portfolio selection is examined. Inverse statistics analysis is a general tool also known as probability distribution of exit time that is used for detecting the distribution of the time in which a stochastic process exits from a zone. This analysis was used in Refs. 1 and 2 for studying the financial returns time series. This distribution provides an optimal investment horizon which determines the most likely horizon for gaining a specific return. Using samples of stocks from Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) as an emerging market and S&P 500 as a developed market, effect of optimal investment horizon in asset allocation is assessed. It is found that taking into account the optimal investment horizon in TSE leads to more efficiency for large size portfolios while for stocks selected from S&P 500, regardless of portfolio size, this strategy does not only not produce more efficient portfolios, but also longer investment horizons provides more efficiency.

Microwave Driven Actuators Power Allocation and Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forbes, Timothy; Song, Kyo D.

2000-01-01

Design, fabrication and test of a power allocation and distribution (PAD) network for microwave driven actuators is presented in this paper. Development of a circuit that would collect power from a rectenna array amplify and distribute the power to actuators was designed and fabricated for space application in an actuator array driven by a microwave. A P-SPICE model was constructed initially for data reduction purposes, and was followed by a working real-world model. A voltage up - converter (VUC) is used to amplify the voltage from the individual rectenna. The testing yielded a 26:1 voltage amplification ratio with input voltage at 9 volts and a measured output voltage 230VDC. Future work includes the miniaturization of the circuitry, the use of microwave remote control, and voltage amplification technology for each voltage source. The objective of this work is to develop a model system that will collect DC voltage from an array of rectenna and propagate the voltage to an array of actuators.

Efficiency measurement and the operationalization of hospital production.

PubMed

Magnussen, J

1996-04-01

To discuss the usefulness of efficiency measures as instruments of monitoring and resource allocation by analyzing their invariance to changes in the operationalization of hospital production. Norwegian hospitals over the three-year period 1989-1991. Efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The distribution of efficiency and the ranking of hospitals is compared across models using various distribution-free tests. Input and output data are collected by the Norwegian Central Bureau of Statistics. The distribution of efficiency is found to be unaffected by changes in the specification of hospital output. Both the ranking of hospitals and the scale properties of the technology, however, are found to depend on the choice of output specification. Extreme care should be taken before resource allocation is based on DEA-type efficiency measures alone. Both the identification of efficient and inefficient hospitals and the cardinal measure of inefficiency will depend on the specification of output. Since the scale properties of the technology also vary with the specification of output, the search for an optimal hospital size may be futile.

Estimation Accuracy on Execution Time of Run-Time Tasks in a Heterogeneous Distributed Environment.

PubMed

Liu, Qi; Cai, Weidong; Jin, Dandan; Shen, Jian; Fu, Zhangjie; Liu, Xiaodong; Linge, Nigel

2016-08-30

Distributed Computing has achieved tremendous development since cloud computing was proposed in 2006, and played a vital role promoting rapid growth of data collecting and analysis models, e.g., Internet of things, Cyber-Physical Systems, Big Data Analytics, etc. Hadoop has become a data convergence platform for sensor networks. As one of the core components, MapReduce facilitates allocating, processing and mining of collected large-scale data, where speculative execution strategies help solve straggler problems. However, there is still no efficient solution for accurate estimation on execution time of run-time tasks, which can affect task allocation and distribution in MapReduce. In this paper, task execution data have been collected and employed for the estimation. A two-phase regression (TPR) method is proposed to predict the finishing time of each task accurately. Detailed data of each task have drawn interests with detailed analysis report being made. According to the results, the prediction accuracy of concurrent tasks' execution time can be improved, in particular for some regular jobs.

How selection structures species abundance distributions

PubMed Central

Magurran, Anne E.; Henderson, Peter A.

2012-01-01

How do species divide resources to produce the characteristic species abundance distributions seen in nature? One way to resolve this problem is to examine how the biomass (or capacity) of the spatial guilds that combine to produce an abundance distribution is allocated among species. Here we argue that selection on body size varies across guilds occupying spatially distinct habitats. Using an exceptionally well-characterized estuarine fish community, we show that biomass is concentrated in large bodied species in guilds where habitat structure provides protection from predators, but not in those guilds associated with open habitats and where safety in numbers is a mechanism for reducing predation risk. We further demonstrate that while there is temporal turnover in the abundances and identities of species that comprise these guilds, guild rank order is conserved across our 30-year time series. These results demonstrate that ecological communities are not randomly assembled but can be decomposed into guilds where capacity is predictably allocated among species. PMID:22787020

Architecture-Centric Development in Globally Distributed Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauer, Joachim

In this chapter architecture-centric development is proposed as a means to strengthen the cohesion of distributed teams and to tackle challenges due to geographical and temporal distances and the clash of different cultures. A shared software architecture serves as blueprint for all activities in the development process and ties them together. Architecture-centric development thus provides a plan for task allocation, facilitates the cooperation of globally distributed developers, and enables continuous integration reaching across distributed teams. Advice is also provided for software architects who work with distributed teams in an agile manner.

Ensuring the Reliable Operation of the Power Grid: State-Based and Distributed Approaches to Scheduling Energy and Contingency Reserves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prada, Jose Fernando

Keeping a contingency reserve in power systems is necessary to preserve the security of real-time operations. This work studies two different approaches to the optimal allocation of energy and reserves in the day-ahead generation scheduling process. Part I presents a stochastic security-constrained unit commitment model to co-optimize energy and the locational reserves required to respond to a set of uncertain generation contingencies, using a novel state-based formulation. The model is applied in an offer-based electricity market to allocate contingency reserves throughout the power grid, in order to comply with the N-1 security criterion under transmission congestion. The objective is to minimize expected dispatch and reserve costs, together with post contingency corrective redispatch costs, modeling the probability of generation failure and associated post contingency states. The characteristics of the scheduling problem are exploited to formulate a computationally efficient method, consistent with established operational practices. We simulated the distribution of locational contingency reserves on the IEEE RTS96 system and compared the results with the conventional deterministic method. We found that assigning locational spinning reserves can guarantee an N-1 secure dispatch accounting for transmission congestion at a reasonable extra cost. The simulations also showed little value of allocating downward reserves but sizable operating savings from co-optimizing locational nonspinning reserves. Overall, the results indicate the computational tractability of the proposed method. Part II presents a distributed generation scheduling model to optimally allocate energy and spinning reserves among competing generators in a day-ahead market. The model is based on the coordination between individual generators and a market entity. The proposed method uses forecasting, augmented pricing and locational signals to induce efficient commitment of generators based on firm posted prices. It is price-based but does not rely on multiple iterations, minimizes information exchange and simplifies the market clearing process. Simulations of the distributed method performed on a six-bus test system showed that, using an appropriate set of prices, it is possible to emulate the results of a conventional centralized solution, without need of providing make-whole payments to generators. Likewise, they showed that the distributed method can accommodate transactions with different products and complex security constraints.

10 CFR 217.52 - Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market. 217.52 Section 217.52 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL ENERGY PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS... a written finding that: (1) Such material is a scarce and critical material essential to the...

10 CFR 217.52 - Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market. 217.52 Section 217.52 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL ENERGY PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS... a written finding that: (1) Such material is a scarce and critical material essential to the...

10 CFR 217.52 - Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Controlling the general distribution of a material in the civilian market. 217.52 Section 217.52 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OIL ENERGY PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS... a written finding that: (1) Such material is a scarce and critical material essential to the...

26 CFR 1.959-3 - Allocation of distributions to earnings and profits of foreign corporations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... of ownership described in section 958(a)(2) shall be reduced by any income, war profits, or excess... allowable under section 901 in a case in which distributions are made by a second-tier corporation or a... and profits for such taxable year of the second-tier corporation shall be considered first...

An optimized approach for simultaneous horizontal data fragmentation and allocation in Distributed Database Systems (DDBSs).

PubMed

Amer, Ali A; Sewisy, Adel A; Elgendy, Taha M A

2017-12-01

With the substantial ever-upgrading advancement in data and information management field, Distributed Database System (DDBS) is still proven to be the most growingly-demanded tool to handle the accompanied constantly-piled volumes of data. However, the efficiency and adequacy of DDBS is profoundly correlated with the reliability and precision of the process in which DDBS is set to be designed. As for DDBS design, thus, several strategies have been developed, in literature, to be used in purpose of promoting DDBS performance. Off these strategies, data fragmentation, data allocation and replication, and sites clustering are the most immensely-used efficacious techniques that otherwise DDBS design and rendering would be prohibitively expensive. On one hand, an accurate well-architected data fragmentation and allocation is bound to incredibly increase data locality and promote the overall DDBS throughputs. On the other hand, finding a practical sites clustering process is set to contribute remarkably in reducing the overall Transmission Costs (TC). Consequently, consolidating all these strategies into one single work is going to undoubtedly satisfy a massive growth in DDBS influence. In this paper, therefore, an optimized heuristic horizontal fragmentation and allocation approach is meticulously developed. All the drawn-above strategies are elegantly combined into a single effective approach so as to an influential solution for DDBS productivity promotion is set to be markedly fulfilled. Most importantly, an internal and external evaluations are extensively illustrated. Obviously, findings of conducted experiments have maximally been recorded to be in favor of DDBS performance betterment.

Societal values in the allocation of healthcare resources: is it all about the health gain?

PubMed

Stafinski, Tania; Menon, Devidas; Marshall, Deborah; Caulfield, Timothy

2011-01-01

Over the past decade, public distrust in unavoidable value-laden decisions on the allocation of resources to new health technologies has grown. In response, healthcare organizations have made considerable efforts to improve their acceptability by increasing transparency in decision-making processes. However, the social value judgments (distributive preferences of the public) embedded in them have yet to be defined. While the need to explicate such judgments has become widely recognized, the most appropriate approach to accomplishing this remains unclear. The aims of this review were to identify factors around which distributive preferences of the public have been sought, create a list of social values proposed or used in current resource allocation decision-making processes for new health technologies, and review approaches to eliciting such values from the general public. Social values proposed or used in making resource allocation decisions for new health technologies were identified through three approaches: (i) a comprehensive review of published, peer-reviewed, empirical studies of public preferences for the distribution of healthcare; (ii) an analysis of non-technical factors or social value statements considered by technology funding decision-making processes in Canada and abroad; and (iii) a review of appeals to funding decisions on grounds in part related to social value judgments. A total of 34 empirical studies, 10 technology funding decision-making processes, and 12 appeals to decisions were identified and reviewed. The key factors/patient characteristics addressed through policy statements and around which distributive preferences of the public have been sought included severity of illness, immediate need, age (and its relationship to lifetime health), health gain (amount and final outcome/health state), personal responsibility for illness, caregiving responsibilities, and number of patients who could benefit (rarity). Empirical studies typically examined the importance of these factors in isolation. Therefore, the extent to which preferences around one factor may be modified in the presence of others is still unclear. Research that seeks to clarify interactions among factors by asking the public to weigh several of them at once is needed to ensure the relevance of elicited preferences to real-world technology funding decisions.

Back pressure based multicast scheduling for fair bandwidth allocation.

PubMed

Sarkar, Saswati; Tassiulas, Leandros

2005-09-01

We study the fair allocation of bandwidth in multicast networks with multirate capabilities. In multirate transmission, each source encodes its signal in layers. The lowest layer contains the most important information and all receivers of a session should receive it. If a receiver's data path has additional bandwidth, it receives higher layers which leads to a better quality of reception. The bandwidth allocation objective is to distribute the layers fairly. We present a computationally simple, decentralized scheduling policy that attains the maxmin fair rates without using any knowledge of traffic statistics and layer bandwidths. This policy learns the congestion level from the queue lengths at the nodes, and adapts the packet transmissions accordingly. When the network is congested, packets are dropped from the higher layers; therefore, the more important lower layers suffer negligible packet loss. We present analytical and simulation results that guarantee the maxmin fairness of the resulting rate allocation, and upper bound the packet loss rates for different layers.

The organ transplantation act and recent trends in Korea.

PubMed

Joo, Ho No

2013-03-01

The Organ Transplantation Act, including transplantation of organs from brain-dead donors, entered into force in Korea on February 9, 2000. This article introduces the Organ Transplantation Act, focusing on scope of the Act, determination of brain death, removal of organs from brain-dead or deceased donors, removal from living donors, organ allocation, and prohibition of trade in human organs. Especially, some primary ethical dilemmas surrounding organ allocation arise from the shortage of available organs. The primary ethical problems surrounding organ allocation are as follows. A key purpose of the organ donation incentive system is to increase the number of organ transplants from brain-dead donors. In particular, the priority for kidney patient was allowed in consideration of doctor's strong desire to increase the brain-dead donors. Also, the organ allocation criteria based on the organ donation incentive system appear unfair, especially for the kidney patient, because the criteria do not fit the principles of distributive justice. In the future, the organ donation incentive system itself may need to be reexamined.

Memory Allocation: Mechanisms and Function.

PubMed

Josselyn, Sheena A; Frankland, Paul W

2018-04-25

Memories for events are thought to be represented in sparse, distributed neuronal ensembles (or engrams). In this article, we review how neurons are chosen to become part of a particular engram, via a process of neuronal allocation. Experiments in rodents indicate that eligible neurons compete for allocation to a given engram, with more excitable neurons winning this competition. Moreover, fluctuations in neuronal excitability determine how engrams interact, promoting either memory integration (via coallocation to overlapping engrams) or separation (via disallocation to nonoverlapping engrams). In parallel with rodent studies, recent findings in humans verify the importance of this memory integration process for linking memories that occur close in time or share related content. A deeper understanding of allocation promises to provide insights into the logic underlying how knowledge is normally organized in the brain and the disorders in which this process has gone awry. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience Volume 41 is July 8, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Informing the Gestalt: An Ethical Framework for Allocating Scarce Federal Public Health and Medical Resources to States During Disasters

PubMed Central

Knebel, Ann R.; Sharpe, Virginia A.; Danis, Marion; Toomey, Lauren M.; Knickerbocker, Deborah K.

2017-01-01

During catastrophic disasters, government leaders must decide how to efficiently and effectively allocate scarce public health and medical resources. The literature about triage decision making at the individual patient level is substantial, and the National Response Framework provides guidance about the distribution of responsibilities between federal and state governments. However, little has been written about the decision-making process of federal leaders in disaster situations when resources are not sufficient to meet the needs of several states simultaneously. We offer an ethical framework and logic model for decision making in such circumstances. We adapted medical triage and the federalism principle to the decision-making process for allocating scarce federal public health and medical resources. We believe that the logic model provides a values-based framework that can inform the gestalt during the iterative decision process used by federal leaders as they allocate scarce resources to states during catastrophic disasters. PMID:24612854

Two-phase designs for joint quantitative-trait-dependent and genotype-dependent sampling in post-GWAS regional sequencing.

PubMed

Espin-Garcia, Osvaldo; Craiu, Radu V; Bull, Shelley B

2018-02-01

We evaluate two-phase designs to follow-up findings from genome-wide association study (GWAS) when the cost of regional sequencing in the entire cohort is prohibitive. We develop novel expectation-maximization-based inference under a semiparametric maximum likelihood formulation tailored for post-GWAS inference. A GWAS-SNP (where SNP is single nucleotide polymorphism) serves as a surrogate covariate in inferring association between a sequence variant and a normally distributed quantitative trait (QT). We assess test validity and quantify efficiency and power of joint QT-SNP-dependent sampling and analysis under alternative sample allocations by simulations. Joint allocation balanced on SNP genotype and extreme-QT strata yields significant power improvements compared to marginal QT- or SNP-based allocations. We illustrate the proposed method and evaluate the sensitivity of sample allocation to sampling variation using data from a sequencing study of systolic blood pressure. © 2017 The Authors. Genetic Epidemiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cislan-2 extension final document by University of Twente (Netherlands)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niemegeers, Ignas; Baumann, Frank; Beuwer, Wim; Jordense, Marcel; Pras, Aiko; Schutte, Leon; Tracey, Ian

1992-01-01

Results of worked performed under the so called Cislan extension contract are presented. The adaptation of the Cislan 2 prototype design to an environment of interconnected Local Area Networks (LAN's) instead of a single 802.5 token ring LAN is considered. In order to extend the network architecture, the Interconnection Function (IF) protocol layer was subdivided into two protocol layers: a new IF layer, and below the Medium Enhancement (ME) protocol layer. Some small enhancements to the distributed bandwidth allocation protocol were developed, which in fact are also applicable to the 'normal' Cislan 2 system. The new services and protocols are described together with some scenarios and requirements for the new internetting Cislan 2 system. How to overcome the degradation of the quality of speech due to packet loss on the LAN subsystem was studied. Experiments were planned in order to measure this speech quality degradation. Simulations were performed of two Cislan subsystems, the bandwidth allocation protocol and the clock synchronization mechanism. Results on both simulations, performed on SUN workstations using QNAP as a simulation tool, are given. Results of the simulations of the clock synchronization mechanism, and results of the simulation of the distributed bandwidth allocation protocol are given.

A multi-assets artificial stock market with zero-intelligence traders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponta, L.; Raberto, M.; Cincotti, S.

2011-01-01

In this paper, a multi-assets artificial financial market populated by zero-intelligence traders with finite financial resources is presented. The market is characterized by different types of stocks representing firms operating in different sectors of the economy. Zero-intelligence traders follow a random allocation strategy which is constrained by finite resources, past market volatility and allocation universe. Within this framework, stock price processes exhibit volatility clustering, fat-tailed distribution of returns and reversion to the mean. Moreover, the cross-correlations between returns of different stocks are studied using methods of random matrix theory. The probability distribution of eigenvalues of the cross-correlation matrix shows the presence of outliers, similar to those recently observed on real data for business sectors. It is worth noting that business sectors have been recovered in our framework without dividends as only consequence of random restrictions on the allocation universe of zero-intelligence traders. Furthermore, in the presence of dividend-paying stocks and in the case of cash inflow added to the market, the artificial stock market points out the same structural results obtained in the simulation without dividends. These results suggest a significative structural influence on statistical properties of multi-assets stock market.

New paradigms for organ allocation and distribution in liver transplantation.

PubMed

Kalra, Avash; Biggins, Scott W

2018-05-01

The 'Final Rule,' issued by the Health Resources and Service Administration in 2000, mandated that liver allocation policy should be based on disease severity and probability of death, and - among other factors - should be independent of a candidate's residence or listing. As a result, the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has explored policy changes addressing geographic disparities without compromising outcomes. Major paradigm shifts are underway in U.S. liver allocation policy. New hepatocellular carcinoma exception policy incorporates tumor characteristics associated with posttransplantation outcomes, whereas a National Liver Review Board will promote a standardized process for awarding exception points. Meanwhile, following extensive debate, new allocation policy aims to reduce geographic disparity by broadening sharing to the UNOS region and 150-mile circle around the donor hospital for liver transplant candidates with a calculated model for end-stage liver disease score at least 32. Unnecessary organ travel will be reduced by granting 3 'proximity points' to candidates within the same donation service area (DSA) as a liver donor or within 150 nautical miles of the donor hospital, regardless of DSA or UNOS region. This review provides an evaluation of major policy changes in liver allocation from 2016 to 2018.

Three-level global resource allocation model for hiv control: A hierarchical decision system approach.

PubMed

Kassa, Semu Mitiku

2018-02-01

Funds from various global organizations, such as, The Global Fund, The World Bank, etc. are not directly distributed to the targeted risk groups. Especially in the so-called third-world-countries, the major part of the fund in HIV prevention programs comes from these global funding organizations. The allocations of these funds usually pass through several levels of decision making bodies that have their own specific parameters to control and specific objectives to achieve. However, these decisions are made mostly in a heuristic manner and this may lead to a non-optimal allocation of the scarce resources. In this paper, a hierarchical mathematical optimization model is proposed to solve such a problem. Combining existing epidemiological models with the kind of interventions being on practice, a 3-level hierarchical decision making model in optimally allocating such resources has been developed and analyzed. When the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is included in the model, it has been shown that the objective function of the lower level decision making structure is a non-convex minimization problem in the allocation variables even if all the production functions for the intervention programs are assumed to be linear.

The Differential Effects of Reward on Space- and Object-Based Attentional Allocation

PubMed Central

Shomstein, Sarah

2013-01-01

Estimating reward contingencies and allocating attentional resources to a subset of relevant information are the most important contributors to increasing adaptability of an organism. Although recent evidence suggests that reward- and attention-based guidance recruits overlapping cortical regions and has similar effects on sensory responses, the exact nature of the relationship between the two remains elusive. Here, using event-related fMRI on human participants, we contrasted the effects of reward on space- and object-based selection in the same experimental setting. Reward was either distributed randomly or biased a particular object. Behavioral and neuroimaging results show that space- and object-based attention is influenced by reward differentially. Space-based attentional allocation is mandatory, integrating reward information over time, whereas object-based attentional allocation is a default setting that is completely replaced by the reward signal. Nonadditivity of the effects of reward and object-based attention was observed consistently at multiple levels of analysis in early visual areas as well as in control regions. These results provide strong evidence that space- and object-based allocation are two independent attentional mechanisms, and suggest that reward serves to constrain attentional selection. PMID:23804086

Tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission planning in care processes.

PubMed

Hulshof, Peter J H; Boucherie, Richard J; Hans, Erwin W; Hurink, Johann L

2013-06-01

Tactical planning of resources in hospitals concerns elective patient admission planning and the intermediate term allocation of resource capacities. Its main objectives are to achieve equitable access for patients, to meet production targets/to serve the strategically agreed number of patients, and to use resources efficiently. This paper proposes a method to develop a tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission plan. These tactical plans allocate available resources to various care processes and determine the selection of patients to be served that are at a particular stage of their care process. Our method is developed in a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework and copes with multiple resources, multiple time periods and multiple patient groups with various uncertain treatment paths through the hospital, thereby integrating decision making for a chain of hospital resources. Computational results indicate that our method leads to a more equitable distribution of resources and provides control of patient access times, the number of patients served and the fraction of allocated resource capacity. Our approach is generic, as the base MILP and the solution approach allow for including various extensions to both the objective criteria and the constraints. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable in various settings of tactical hospital management.

Ethics and geographical equity in health care

PubMed Central

Rice, N.; Smith, P.

2001-01-01

Important variations in access to health care and health outcomes are associated with geography, giving rise to profound ethical concerns. This paper discusses the consequences of such concerns for the allocation of health care finance to geographical regions. Specifically, it examines the ethical drivers underlying capitation systems, which have become the principal method of allocating health care finance to regions in most countries. Although most capitation systems are based on empirical models of health care expenditure, there is much debate about which needs factors to include in (or exclude from) such models. This concern with legitimate and illegitimate drivers of health care expenditure reflects the ethical concerns underlying the geographical distribution of health care finance. Key Words: Health economics • resource allocation • ethics of regional health care finance • capitation systems PMID:11479357

To give or not to give: children's and adolescents' sharing and moral negotiations in economic decision situations.

PubMed

Gummerum, Michaela; Keller, Monika; Takezawa, Masanori; Mata, Jutta

2008-01-01

This study interconnects developmental psychology of fair and moral behavior with economic game theory. One hundred eighty-nine 9- to 17-year-old students shared a sum of money as individuals and groups with another anonymous group (dictator game). Individual allocations did not differ by age but did by gender and were predicted by participants' preferences for fair allocations. Group decision making followed a majority process. Level of moral reasoning did not predict individual offers, but group members with a higher moral reasoning ability were more influential during group negotiations and in influencing group outcomes. The youngest participants justified offers more frequently by referring to simple distribution principles. Older participants employed more complex reasons to justify deviations from allocation principles.

Accelerating Dust Storm Simulation by Balancing Task Allocation in Parallel Computing Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui, Z.; Yang, C.; XIA, J.; Huang, Q.; YU, M.

2013-12-01

Dust storm has serious negative impacts on environment, human health, and assets. The continuing global climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of dust storm in the past decades. To better understand and predict the distribution, intensity and structure of dust storm, a series of dust storm models have been developed, such as Dust Regional Atmospheric Model (DREAM), the NMM meteorological module (NMM-dust) and Chinese Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment for Dust (CUACE/Dust). The developments and applications of these models have contributed significantly to both scientific research and our daily life. However, dust storm simulation is a data and computing intensive process. Normally, a simulation for a single dust storm event may take several days or hours to run. It seriously impacts the timeliness of prediction and potential applications. To speed up the process, high performance computing is widely adopted. By partitioning a large study area into small subdomains according to their geographic location and executing them on different computing nodes in a parallel fashion, the computing performance can be significantly improved. Since spatiotemporal correlations exist in the geophysical process of dust storm simulation, each subdomain allocated to a node need to communicate with other geographically adjacent subdomains to exchange data. Inappropriate allocations may introduce imbalance task loads and unnecessary communications among computing nodes. Therefore, task allocation method is the key factor, which may impact the feasibility of the paralleling. The allocation algorithm needs to carefully leverage the computing cost and communication cost for each computing node to minimize total execution time and reduce overall communication cost for the entire system. This presentation introduces two algorithms for such allocation and compares them with evenly distributed allocation method. Specifically, 1) In order to get optimized solutions, a quadratic programming based modeling method is proposed. This algorithm performs well with small amount of computing tasks. However, its efficiency decreases significantly as the subdomain number and computing node number increase. 2) To compensate performance decreasing for large scale tasks, a K-Means clustering based algorithm is introduced. Instead of dedicating to get optimized solutions, this method can get relatively good feasible solutions within acceptable time. However, it may introduce imbalance communication for nodes or node-isolated subdomains. This research shows both two algorithms have their own strength and weakness for task allocation. A combination of the two algorithms is under study to obtain a better performance. Keywords: Scheduling; Parallel Computing; Load Balance; Optimization; Cost Model

Budget Allocation in a Competitive Communication Spectrum Economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Ming-Hua; Tsai, Jung-Fa; Ye, Yinyu

2009-12-01

This study discusses how to adjust "monetary budget" to meet each user's physical power demand, or balance all individual utilities in a competitive "spectrum market" of a communication system. In the market, multiple users share a common frequency or tone band and each of them uses the budget to purchase its own transmit power spectra (taking others as given) in maximizing its Shannon utility or pay-off function that includes the effect of interferences. A market equilibrium is a budget allocation, price spectrum, and tone power distribution that independently and simultaneously maximizes each user's utility. The equilibrium conditions of the market are formulated and analyzed, and the existence of an equilibrium is proved. Computational results and comparisons between the competitive equilibrium and Nash equilibrium solutions are also presented, which show that the competitive market equilibrium solution often provides more efficient power distribution.

MASM: a market architecture for sensor management in distributed sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanath, Avasarala; Mullen, Tracy; Hall, David; Garga, Amulya

2005-03-01

Rapid developments in sensor technology and its applications have energized research efforts towards devising a firm theoretical foundation for sensor management. Ubiquitous sensing, wide bandwidth communications and distributed processing provide both opportunities and challenges for sensor and process control and optimization. Traditional optimization techniques do not have the ability to simultaneously consider the wildly non-commensurate measures involved in sensor management in a single optimization routine. Market-oriented programming provides a valuable and principled paradigm to designing systems to solve this dynamic and distributed resource allocation problem. We have modeled the sensor management scenario as a competitive market, wherein the sensor manager holds a combinatorial auction to sell the various items produced by the sensors and the communication channels. However, standard auction mechanisms have been found not to be directly applicable to the sensor management domain. For this purpose, we have developed a specialized market architecture MASM (Market architecture for Sensor Management). In MASM, the mission manager is responsible for deciding task allocations to the consumers and their corresponding budgets and the sensor manager is responsible for resource allocation to the various consumers. In addition to having a modified combinatorial winner determination algorithm, MASM has specialized sensor network modules that address commensurability issues between consumers and producers in the sensor network domain. A preliminary multi-sensor, multi-target simulation environment has been implemented to test the performance of the proposed system. MASM outperformed the information theoretic sensor manager in meeting the mission objectives in the simulation experiments.

Temporal Uncoupling between Energy Acquisition and Allocation to Reproduction in a Herbivorous-Detritivorous Fish.

PubMed

Villamarín, Francisco; Magnusson, William E; Jardine, Timothy D; Valdez, Dominic; Woods, Ryan; Bunn, Stuart E

2016-01-01

Although considerable knowledge has been gathered regarding the role of fish in cycling and translocation of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, little information is available on how the energy obtained from different ecosystems is temporally allocated in fish bodies. Although in theory, limitations on energy budgets promote the existence of a trade-off between energy allocated to reproduction and somatic growth, this trade-off has rarely been found under natural conditions. Combining information on RNA:DNA ratios and carbon and nitrogen stable-isotope analyses we were able to achieve novel insights into the reproductive allocation of diamond mullet (Liza alata), a catadromous, widely distributed herbivorous-detritivorous fish. Although diamond mullet were in better condition during the wet season, most reproductive allocation occurred during the dry season when resources are limited and fish have poorer body condition. We found a strong trade-off between reproductive and somatic investment. Values of δ13C from reproductive and somatic tissues were correlated, probably because δ13C in food resources between dry and wet seasons do not differ markedly. On the other hand, data for δ15N showed that gonads are more correlated to muscle, a slow turnover tissue, suggesting long term synthesis of reproductive tissues. In combination, these lines of evidence suggest that L. alata is a capital breeder which shows temporal uncoupling of resource ingestion, energy storage and later allocation to reproduction.

Temporal Uncoupling between Energy Acquisition and Allocation to Reproduction in a Herbivorous-Detritivorous Fish

PubMed Central

Villamarín, Francisco; Magnusson, William E.; Jardine, Timothy D.; Valdez, Dominic; Woods, Ryan; Bunn, Stuart E.

2016-01-01

Although considerable knowledge has been gathered regarding the role of fish in cycling and translocation of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, little information is available on how the energy obtained from different ecosystems is temporally allocated in fish bodies. Although in theory, limitations on energy budgets promote the existence of a trade-off between energy allocated to reproduction and somatic growth, this trade-off has rarely been found under natural conditions. Combining information on RNA:DNA ratios and carbon and nitrogen stable-isotope analyses we were able to achieve novel insights into the reproductive allocation of diamond mullet (Liza alata), a catadromous, widely distributed herbivorous-detritivorous fish. Although diamond mullet were in better condition during the wet season, most reproductive allocation occurred during the dry season when resources are limited and fish have poorer body condition. We found a strong trade-off between reproductive and somatic investment. Values of δ13C from reproductive and somatic tissues were correlated, probably because δ13C in food resources between dry and wet seasons do not differ markedly. On the other hand, data for δ15N showed that gonads are more correlated to muscle, a slow turnover tissue, suggesting long term synthesis of reproductive tissues. In combination, these lines of evidence suggest that L. alata is a capital breeder which shows temporal uncoupling of resource ingestion, energy storage and later allocation to reproduction. PMID:26938216

Carbon partitioning in Arabidopsis thaliana is a dynamic process controlled by the plants metabolic status and its circadian clock.

PubMed

Kölling, Katharina; Thalmann, Matthias; Müller, Antonia; Jenny, Camilla; Zeeman, Samuel C

2015-10-01

Plant growth involves the coordinated distribution of carbon resources both towards structural components and towards storage compounds that assure a steady carbon supply over the complete diurnal cycle. We used (14) CO2 labelling to track assimilated carbon in both source and sink tissues. Source tissues exhibit large variations in carbon allocation throughout the light period. The most prominent change was detected in partitioning towards starch, being low in the morning and more than double later in the day. Export into sink tissues showed reciprocal changes. Fewer and smaller changes in carbon allocation occurred in sink tissues where, in most respects, carbon was partitioned similarly, whether the sink leaf assimilated it through photosynthesis or imported it from source leaves. Mutants deficient in the production or remobilization of leaf starch exhibited major alterations in carbon allocation. Low-starch mutants that suffer from carbon starvation at night allocated much more carbon into neutral sugars and had higher rates of export than the wild type, partly because of the reduced allocation into starch, but also because of reduced allocation into structural components. Moreover, mutants deficient in the plant's circadian system showed considerable changes in their carbon partitioning pattern suggesting control by the circadian clock. © 2015 The Authors. Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A decision-theoretic approach to identifying future high-cost patients.

PubMed

Pietz, Kenneth; Byrne, Margaret M; Petersen, Laura A

2006-09-01

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a method of allocating funding for very-high-cost (VHC) patients among hospitals. Diagnostic cost groups (DCGs) were used for risk adjustment. The patient population consisted of 253,013 veterans who used Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care services in fiscal year (FY) 2003 (October 1, 2002-September 30, 2003) in a network of 8 VA hospitals. We defined VHC as greater than 75,000 dollars (0.81%). The upper fifth percentile was also used for comparison. A Bayesian decision rule for classifying patients as VHC/not VHC using DCGs was developed and evaluated. The method uses FY 2003 DCGs to allocate VHC funds for FY 2004. We also used FY 2002 DCGs to allocate VHC funds for FY 2003 for comparison. The resulting allocation was compared with using the allocation of VHC patients among the hospitals in the previous year. The decision rule identified DCG 17 as the optimal cutoff for identifying VHC patients for the next year. The previous year's allocation came closest to the actual distribution of VHC patients. The decision-theoretic approach may provide insight into the economic consequences of classifying a patient as VHC or not VHC. More research is needed into methods of identifying future VHC patients so that capitation plans can fairly reimburse healthcare systems for appropriately treating these patients.

Why does primary angioplasty not work in registries? Quantifying the susceptibility of real-world comparative effectiveness data to allocation bias.

PubMed

Sen, Sayan; Davies, Justin E; Malik, Iqbal S; Foale, Rodney A; Mikhail, Ghada W; Hadjiloizou, Nearchos; Hughes, Alun; Mayet, Jamil; Francis, Darrel P

2012-11-01

Meta-analysis of registries (comparative effectiveness research) shows that primary angioplasty and fibrinolysis have equivalent real-world survival. Yet, randomized, controlled trials consistently find primary angioplasty superior. Can unequal allocation of higher-risk patients in registries have masked primary angioplasty benefit? First, we constructed a model to demonstrate the potential effect of allocation bias. We then analyzed published registries (55022 patients) for allocation of higher-risk patients (Killip class ≥1) to determine whether the choice of reperfusion therapy was affected by the risk level of the patient. Meta-regression was used to examine the relationship between differences in allocation of high-risk patient to primary angioplasty or fibrinolysis and mortality. Initial modeling suggested that registry outcomes are sensitive to allocation bias of high-risk patients. Across the registries, the therapy receiving excess high-risk patients had worse mortality. Unequal distribution of high-risk status accounted for most of the between-registry variance (adjusted R(2)(meta)=83.1%). Accounting for differential allocation of higher-risk patients, primary angioplasty gave 22% lower mortality (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.97; P=0.029). We derive a formula, called the number needed to abolish, highlighting situations in which comparative effectiveness studies are particularly vulnerable to this bias. In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, clinicians' preference for management of a few high-risk patients can shift mortality substantially. Comparative effectiveness research in any disease is vulnerable to this, especially diseases with an immediately identifiable high-risk subgroup that clinicians prefer to allocate to 1 therapy. For this reason, preliminary indications from registry-based comparative effectiveness research should be definitively tested by randomized, controlled trials.

Developing Subdomain Allocation Algorithms Based on Spatial and Communicational Constraints to Accelerate Dust Storm Simulation

PubMed Central

Gui, Zhipeng; Yu, Manzhu; Yang, Chaowei; Jiang, Yunfeng; Chen, Songqing; Xia, Jizhe; Huang, Qunying; Liu, Kai; Li, Zhenlong; Hassan, Mohammed Anowarul; Jin, Baoxuan

2016-01-01

Dust storm has serious disastrous impacts on environment, human health, and assets. The developments and applications of dust storm models have contributed significantly to better understand and predict the distribution, intensity and structure of dust storms. However, dust storm simulation is a data and computing intensive process. To improve the computing performance, high performance computing has been widely adopted by dividing the entire study area into multiple subdomains and allocating each subdomain on different computing nodes in a parallel fashion. Inappropriate allocation may introduce imbalanced task loads and unnecessary communications among computing nodes. Therefore, allocation is a key factor that may impact the efficiency of parallel process. An allocation algorithm is expected to consider the computing cost and communication cost for each computing node to minimize total execution time and reduce overall communication cost for the entire simulation. This research introduces three algorithms to optimize the allocation by considering the spatial and communicational constraints: 1) an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) based algorithm from combinational optimization perspective; 2) a K-Means and Kernighan-Lin combined heuristic algorithm (K&K) integrating geometric and coordinate-free methods by merging local and global partitioning; 3) an automatic seeded region growing based geometric and local partitioning algorithm (ASRG). The performance and effectiveness of the three algorithms are compared based on different factors. Further, we adopt the K&K algorithm as the demonstrated algorithm for the experiment of dust model simulation with the non-hydrostatic mesoscale model (NMM-dust) and compared the performance with the MPI default sequential allocation. The results demonstrate that K&K method significantly improves the simulation performance with better subdomain allocation. This method can also be adopted for other relevant atmospheric and numerical modeling. PMID:27044039

Extreme gender flexibility: using a phylogenetic framework to infer the evolution of variation in sex allocation, phylogeography, and speciation in a genus of bidirectional sex changing fishes(Lythrypnus, Gobiidae).

PubMed

Maxfield, Jessica M; Van Tassell, James L; St Mary, Colette M; Joyeux, Jean-Christophe; Crow, Karen D

2012-09-01

The genus Lythrypnus is a group of marine gobies that exhibit extreme gender flexibility as bidirectional sex changers. The genus consists of 20 described species and several undescribed species that are distributed in the Americas. Five species have been characterized with respect to sex allocation and gonad morphology. The hormonal, morphological, and behavioral aspects of sex change have been studied extensively for one species, L. dalli. These data, however, have not been interpreted in an evolutionary context because a phylogenetic hypothesis has not previously been proposed for the genus Lythrypnus. We propose the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus based on molecular data from three mitochondrial genes (12s, ND2, and Cytb), one nuclear gene (Rag1) and one nuclear intron (S7). We also include three previously undescribed Lythrypnus species. Our results support the monophyly of the genus with L. heterochroma, an Atlantic species, as the basal taxon. After the divergence of L. heterochroma, there are two main clades, one comprised of species distributed in the Atlantic, the other comprised of species distributed in the Pacific. These data indicate an Atlantic origin for the genus, followed by divergence after the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. Our data also support the monophyly of three previously described species complexes, the L. rhizophora complex and L. dalli complex in the Pacific, and the L. mowbrayi complex in the Atlantic. We mapped patterns of sex allocation within this genus onto the fully resolved and supported topology, and found that sexual plasticity and gender flexibility is likely a synapomorphy for the genus. Overall our results create a well-supported framework to understand the phylogeography of the genus, and to interpret the evolution of sex allocation in Lythrypnus gobies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distribution and biomass allocation in relation to depth of flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus) in the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Detroit Lakes chain of lakes consists of five basins in northwest Minnesota, adjacent to the town of Detroit Lakes. Flowering rush has been established in these basins since the 1960’s. We evaluated the distribution of flowering rush in the five basins using a point intercept method, with 830 ...

Formula Funding and Decentralized Management of Schools--Has It Improved Resource Allocation in Schools in Sri Lanka?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arunatilake, Nisha; Jayawardena, Priyanka

2010-01-01

Using the experience of the Educational Quality Inputs (EQI) Scheme in Sri Lanka the paper examines the distributional aspects of formula-based funding and efficiency of decentralized management of education funds in a developing country setting. The study finds that the EQI fund distribution is largely pro-poor. However, results show that to…

Resource allocation within the National AIDS Control Program of Pakistan: a qualitative assessment of decision maker's opinions.

PubMed

Husain, Sara; Kadir, Masood; Fatmi, Zafar

2007-01-23

Limited resources, whether public or private, demand prioritisation among competing needs to maximise productivity. With a substantial increase in the number of reported HIV cases, little work has been done to understand how resources have been distributed and what factors may have influenced allocation within the newly introduced Enhanced National AIDS Control Program of Pakistan. The objective of this study was to identify perceptions of decision makers about the process of resource allocation within Pakistan's Enhanced National AIDS Control Program. A qualitative study was undertaken and in-depth interviews of decision makers at provincial and federal levels responsible to allocate resources within the program were conducted. HIV was not considered a priority issue by all study participants and external funding for the program was thought to have been accepted because of poor foreign currency reserves and donor agency influence rather than local need. Political influences from the federal government and donor agencies were thought to manipulate distribution of funds within the program. These influences were thought to occur despite the existence of a well-laid out procedure to determine allocation of public resources. Lack of collaboration among departments involved in decision making, a pervasive lack of technical expertise, paucity of information and an atmosphere of ad hoc decision making were thought to reduce resistance to external pressures. Development of a unified program vision through a consultative process and advocacy is necessary to understand goals to be achieved, to enhance program ownership and develop consensus about how money and effort should be directed. Enhancing public sector expertise in planning and budgeting is essential not just for the program, but also to reduce reliance on external agencies for technical support. Strengthening available databases for effective decision making is required to make financial allocations based on real, rather than perceived needs. With a large part of HIV program funding dedicated to public-private partnerships, it becomes imperative to develop public sector capacity to administer contracts, coordinate and monitor activities of the non-governmental sector.

Resource allocation within the National AIDS Control Program of Pakistan: a qualitative assessment of decision maker's opinions

PubMed Central

Husain, Sara; Kadir, Masood; Fatmi, Zafar

2007-01-01

Background Limited resources, whether public or private, demand prioritisation among competing needs to maximise productivity. With a substantial increase in the number of reported HIV cases, little work has been done to understand how resources have been distributed and what factors may have influenced allocation within the newly introduced Enhanced National AIDS Control Program of Pakistan. The objective of this study was to identify perceptions of decision makers about the process of resource allocation within Pakistan's Enhanced National AIDS Control Program. Methods A qualitative study was undertaken and in-depth interviews of decision makers at provincial and federal levels responsible to allocate resources within the program were conducted. Results HIV was not considered a priority issue by all study participants and external funding for the program was thought to have been accepted because of poor foreign currency reserves and donor agency influence rather than local need. Political influences from the federal government and donor agencies were thought to manipulate distribution of funds within the program. These influences were thought to occur despite the existence of a well-laid out procedure to determine allocation of public resources. Lack of collaboration among departments involved in decision making, a pervasive lack of technical expertise, paucity of information and an atmosphere of ad hoc decision making were thought to reduce resistance to external pressures. Conclusion Development of a unified program vision through a consultative process and advocacy is necessary to understand goals to be achieved, to enhance program ownership and develop consensus about how money and effort should be directed. Enhancing public sector expertise in planning and budgeting is essential not just for the program, but also to reduce reliance on external agencies for technical support. Strengthening available databases for effective decision making is required to make financial allocations based on real, rather than perceived needs. With a large part of HIV program funding dedicated to public-private partnerships, it becomes imperative to develop public sector capacity to administer contracts, coordinate and monitor activities of the non-governmental sector. PMID:17244371

Two-dimensional priority-based dynamic resource allocation algorithm for QoS in WDM/TDM PON networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yixin; Liu, Bo; Zhang, Lijia; Xin, Xiangjun; Zhang, Qi; Rao, Lan

2018-01-01

Wavelength division multiplexing/time division multiplexing (WDM/TDM) passive optical networks (PON) is being viewed as a promising solution for delivering multiple services and applications. The hybrid WDM / TDM PON uses the wavelength and bandwidth allocation strategy to control the distribution of the wavelength channels in the uplink direction, so that it can ensure the high bandwidth requirements of multiple Optical Network Units (ONUs) while improving the wavelength resource utilization. Through the investigation of the presented dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, these algorithms can't satisfy the requirements of different levels of service very well while adapting to the structural characteristics of mixed WDM / TDM PON system. This paper introduces a novel wavelength and bandwidth allocation algorithm to efficiently utilize the bandwidth and support QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees in WDM/TDM PON. Two priority based polling subcycles are introduced in order to increase system efficiency and improve system performance. The fixed priority polling subcycle and dynamic priority polling subcycle follow different principles to implement wavelength and bandwidth allocation according to the priority of different levels of service. A simulation was conducted to study the performance of the priority based polling in dynamic resource allocation algorithm in WDM/TDM PON. The results show that the performance of delay-sensitive services is greatly improved without degrading QoS guarantees for other services. Compared with the traditional dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, this algorithm can meet bandwidth needs of different priority traffic class, achieve low loss rate performance, and ensure real-time of high priority traffic class in terms of overall traffic on the network.

Optimal allocation of HIV prevention funds for state health departments.

PubMed

Yaylali, Emine; Farnham, Paul G; Cohen, Stacy; Purcell, David W; Hauck, Heather; Sansom, Stephanie L

2018-01-01

To estimate the optimal allocation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV prevention funds for health departments in 52 jurisdictions, incorporating Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds, to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum and prevent infections. Using surveillance data from 2010 to 2012 and budgetary data from 2012, we divided the 52 health departments into 5 groups varying by number of persons living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH), median annual CDC HIV prevention budget, and median annual HRSA expenditures supporting linkage to care, retention in care, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Using an optimization and a Bernoulli process model, we solved for the optimal CDC prevention budget allocation for each health department group. The optimal allocation distributed the funds across prevention interventions and populations at risk for HIV to prevent the greatest number of new HIV cases annually. Both the HIV prevention interventions funded by the optimal allocation of CDC HIV prevention funds and the proportions of the budget allocated were similar across health department groups, particularly those representing the large majority of PLWDH. Consistently funded interventions included testing, partner services and linkage to care and interventions for men who have sex with men (MSM). Sensitivity analyses showed that the optimal allocation shifted when there were differences in transmission category proportions and progress along the HIV care continuum. The robustness of the results suggests that most health departments can use these analyses to guide the investment of CDC HIV prevention funds into strategies to prevent the most new cases of HIV.

Optimal allocation of HIV prevention funds for state health departments

PubMed Central

Farnham, Paul G.; Cohen, Stacy; Purcell, David W.; Hauck, Heather; Sansom, Stephanie L.

2018-01-01

Objective To estimate the optimal allocation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV prevention funds for health departments in 52 jurisdictions, incorporating Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds, to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum and prevent infections. Methods Using surveillance data from 2010 to 2012 and budgetary data from 2012, we divided the 52 health departments into 5 groups varying by number of persons living with diagnosed HIV (PLWDH), median annual CDC HIV prevention budget, and median annual HRSA expenditures supporting linkage to care, retention in care, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Using an optimization and a Bernoulli process model, we solved for the optimal CDC prevention budget allocation for each health department group. The optimal allocation distributed the funds across prevention interventions and populations at risk for HIV to prevent the greatest number of new HIV cases annually. Results Both the HIV prevention interventions funded by the optimal allocation of CDC HIV prevention funds and the proportions of the budget allocated were similar across health department groups, particularly those representing the large majority of PLWDH. Consistently funded interventions included testing, partner services and linkage to care and interventions for men who have sex with men (MSM). Sensitivity analyses showed that the optimal allocation shifted when there were differences in transmission category proportions and progress along the HIV care continuum. Conclusion The robustness of the results suggests that most health departments can use these analyses to guide the investment of CDC HIV prevention funds into strategies to prevent the most new cases of HIV. PMID:29768489

The Cost of Distribution System Upgrades to Accommodate Increasing Penetrations of Distributed Photovoltaic Systems on Real Feeders in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horowitz, Kelsey A; Ding, Fei; Mather, Barry A

The increasing deployment of distributed photovoltaic systems (DPV) can impact operations at the distribution level and the transmission level of the electric grid. It is important to develop and implement forward-looking approaches for calculating distribution upgrade costs that can be used to inform system planning, market and tariff design, cost allocation, and other policymaking as penetration levels of DPV increase. Using a bottom-up approach that involves iterative hosting capacity analysis, this report calculates distribution upgrade costs as a function of DPV penetration on three real feeders - two in California and one in the Northeastern United States.

Optimality versus stability in water resource allocation.

PubMed

Read, Laura; Madani, Kaveh; Inanloo, Bahareh

2014-01-15

Water allocation is a growing concern in a developing world where limited resources like fresh water are in greater demand by more parties. Negotiations over allocations often involve multiple groups with disparate social, economic, and political status and needs, who are seeking a management solution for a wide range of demands. Optimization techniques for identifying the Pareto-optimal (social planner solution) to multi-criteria multi-participant problems are commonly implemented, although often reaching agreement for this solution is difficult. In negotiations with multiple-decision makers, parties who base decisions on individual rationality may find the social planner solution to be unfair, thus creating a need to evaluate the willingness to cooperate and practicality of a cooperative allocation solution, i.e., the solution's stability. This paper suggests seeking solutions for multi-participant resource allocation problems through an economics-based power index allocation method. This method can inform on allocation schemes that quantify a party's willingness to participate in a negotiation rather than opt for no agreement. Through comparison of the suggested method with a range of distance-based multi-criteria decision making rules, namely, least squares, MAXIMIN, MINIMAX, and compromise programming, this paper shows that optimality and stability can produce different allocation solutions. The mismatch between the socially-optimal alternative and the most stable alternative can potentially result in parties leaving the negotiation as they may be too dissatisfied with their resource share. This finding has important policy implications as it justifies why stakeholders may not accept the socially optimal solution in practice, and underlies the necessity of considering stability where it may be more appropriate to give up an unstable Pareto-optimal solution for an inferior stable one. Authors suggest assessing the stability of an allocation solution as an additional component to an analysis that seeks to distribute water in a negotiated process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward allocative efficiency in the prescription drug industry.

PubMed

Guell, R C; Fischbaum, M

1995-01-01

Traditionally, monopoly power in the pharmaceutical industry has been measured by profits. An alternative method estimates the deadweight loss of consumer surplus associated with the exercise of monopoly power. Although upper and lower bound estimates for this inefficiency are far apart, they at least suggest a dramatically greater welfare loss than measures of industry profitability would imply. A proposed system would have the U.S. government employing its power of eminent domain to "take" and distribute pharmaceutical patents, providing as "just compensation" the present value of the patent's expected future monopoly profits. Given the allocative inefficiency of raising taxes to pay for the program, the impact of the proposal on allocative efficiency would be at least as good at our lower bound estimate of monopoly costs while substantially improving efficiency at or near our upper bound estimate.

Paying more for faster care? Individuals' attitude toward price-based priority access in health care.

PubMed

Benning, Tim M; Dellaert, Benedict G C

2013-05-01

Increased competition in the health care sector has led hospitals and other health care institutions to experiment with new access allocation policies that move away from traditional expert based allocation of care to price-based priority access (i.e., the option to pay more for faster care). To date, little is known about individuals' attitude toward price-based priority access and the evaluation process underlying this attitude. This paper addresses the role of individuals' evaluations of collective health outcomes as an important driver of their attitude toward (price-based) allocation policies in health care. The authors investigate how individuals evaluate price-based priority access by means of scenario-based survey data collected in a representative sample from the Dutch population (N = 1464). They find that (a) offering individuals the opportunity to pay for faster care negatively affects their evaluations of both the total and distributional collective health outcome achieved, (b) however, when health care supply is not restricted (i.e., when treatment can be offered outside versus within the regular working hours of the hospital) offering price-based priority access affects total collective health outcome evaluations positively instead of negatively, but it does not change distributional collective health outcome evaluations. Furthermore, (c) the type of health care treatment (i.e., life saving liver transplantation treatment vs. life improving cosmetic ear correction treatment - priced at the same level to the individual) moderates the effect of collective health outcome evaluations on individuals' attitude toward allocation policies. For policy makers and hospital managers the results presented in this article are helpful because they provide a better understanding of what drives individuals' preferences for health care allocation policies. In particular, the results show that policies based on the "paying more for faster care" principle are more attractive to the general public when treatment takes place outside the regular working hours of a hospital. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karve, Abhijit A.; Alexoff, David; Kim, Dohyun

Although important aspects of whole-plant carbon allocation in crop plants (e.g., to grain) occur late in development when the plants are large, techniques to study carbon transport and allocation processes have not been adapted for large plants. Positron emission tomography (PET), developed for dynamic imaging in medicine, has been applied in plant studies to measure the transport and allocation patterns of carbohydrates, nutrients, and phytohormones labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes. However, the cost of PET and its limitation to smaller plants has restricted its use in plant biology. Here we describe the adaptation and optimization of a commercial clinical PET scannermore » to measure transport dynamics and allocation patterns of 11C-photoassimilates in large crops. Based on measurements of a phantom, we optimized instrument settings, including use of 3-D mode and attenuation correction to maximize the accuracy of measurements. To demonstrate the utility of PET, we measured 11C-photoassimilate transport and allocation in Sorghum bicolor, an important staple crop, at vegetative and reproductive stages (40 and 70 days after planting; DAP). The 11C-photoassimilate transport speed did not change over the two developmental stages. However, within a stem, transport speeds were reduced across nodes, likely due to higher 11C-photoassimilate unloading in the nodes. Photosynthesis in leaves and the amount of 11C that was exported to the rest of the plant decreased as plants matured. In young plants, exported 11C was allocated mostly (88 %) to the roots and stem, but in flowering plants (70 DAP) the majority of the exported 11C (64 %) was allocated to the apex. Our results show that commercial PET scanners can be used reliably to measure whole-plant C-allocation in large plants nondestructively including, importantly, allocation to roots in soil. This capability revealed extreme changes in carbon allocation in sorghum plants, as they advanced to maturity. Further, our results suggest that nodes may be important control points for photoassimilate distribution in crops of the family Poaceae. In conclusion, quantifying real-time carbon allocation and photoassimilate transport dynamics, as demonstrated here, will be important for functional genomic studies to unravel the mechanisms controlling phloem transport in large crop plants, which will provide crucial insights for improving yields.« less

In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner

DOE PAGES

Karve, Abhijit A.; Alexoff, David; Kim, Dohyun; ...

2015-11-09

Although important aspects of whole-plant carbon allocation in crop plants (e.g., to grain) occur late in development when the plants are large, techniques to study carbon transport and allocation processes have not been adapted for large plants. Positron emission tomography (PET), developed for dynamic imaging in medicine, has been applied in plant studies to measure the transport and allocation patterns of carbohydrates, nutrients, and phytohormones labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes. However, the cost of PET and its limitation to smaller plants has restricted its use in plant biology. Here we describe the adaptation and optimization of a commercial clinical PET scannermore » to measure transport dynamics and allocation patterns of 11C-photoassimilates in large crops. Based on measurements of a phantom, we optimized instrument settings, including use of 3-D mode and attenuation correction to maximize the accuracy of measurements. To demonstrate the utility of PET, we measured 11C-photoassimilate transport and allocation in Sorghum bicolor, an important staple crop, at vegetative and reproductive stages (40 and 70 days after planting; DAP). The 11C-photoassimilate transport speed did not change over the two developmental stages. However, within a stem, transport speeds were reduced across nodes, likely due to higher 11C-photoassimilate unloading in the nodes. Photosynthesis in leaves and the amount of 11C that was exported to the rest of the plant decreased as plants matured. In young plants, exported 11C was allocated mostly (88 %) to the roots and stem, but in flowering plants (70 DAP) the majority of the exported 11C (64 %) was allocated to the apex. Our results show that commercial PET scanners can be used reliably to measure whole-plant C-allocation in large plants nondestructively including, importantly, allocation to roots in soil. This capability revealed extreme changes in carbon allocation in sorghum plants, as they advanced to maturity. Further, our results suggest that nodes may be important control points for photoassimilate distribution in crops of the family Poaceae. In conclusion, quantifying real-time carbon allocation and photoassimilate transport dynamics, as demonstrated here, will be important for functional genomic studies to unravel the mechanisms controlling phloem transport in large crop plants, which will provide crucial insights for improving yields.« less

How fair is an equitable distribution?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramírez Barrios, Elena; Díaz Ochoa, Juan G.; Schneider, Johannes J.

2007-01-01

Envy is a rather complex and irrational emotion. In general, it is very difficult to obtain a measure of this feeling, but in an economical context envy becomes an observable which can be measured. When various individuals compare their possessions, envy arises due to the inequality of their different allocations of commodities and different preferences. In this paper, we show that an equitable distribution of goods does not guarantee a state of fairness between agents and in general that envy cannot be controlled by tuning the distribution of goods.

Geometric Distribution-Based Readers Scheduling Optimization Algorithm Using Artificial Immune System.

PubMed

Duan, Litian; Wang, Zizhong John; Duan, Fu

2016-11-16

In the multiple-reader environment (MRE) of radio frequency identification (RFID) system, multiple readers are often scheduled to interrogate the randomized tags via operating at different time slots or frequency channels to decrease the signal interferences. Based on this, a Geometric Distribution-based Multiple-reader Scheduling Optimization Algorithm using Artificial Immune System (GD-MRSOA-AIS) is proposed to fairly and optimally schedule the readers operating from the viewpoint of resource allocations. GD-MRSOA-AIS is composed of two parts, where a geometric distribution function combined with the fairness consideration is first introduced to generate the feasible scheduling schemes for reader operation. After that, artificial immune system (including immune clone, immune mutation and immune suppression) quickly optimize these feasible ones as the optimal scheduling scheme to ensure that readers are fairly operating with larger effective interrogation range and lower interferences. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm, the simulation results indicate that GD-MRSOA-AIS could efficiently schedules the multiple readers operating with a fairer resource allocation scheme, performing in larger effective interrogation range.

Geometric Distribution-Based Readers Scheduling Optimization Algorithm Using Artificial Immune System

PubMed Central

Duan, Litian; Wang, Zizhong John; Duan, Fu

2016-01-01

In the multiple-reader environment (MRE) of radio frequency identification (RFID) system, multiple readers are often scheduled to interrogate the randomized tags via operating at different time slots or frequency channels to decrease the signal interferences. Based on this, a Geometric Distribution-based Multiple-reader Scheduling Optimization Algorithm using Artificial Immune System (GD-MRSOA-AIS) is proposed to fairly and optimally schedule the readers operating from the viewpoint of resource allocations. GD-MRSOA-AIS is composed of two parts, where a geometric distribution function combined with the fairness consideration is first introduced to generate the feasible scheduling schemes for reader operation. After that, artificial immune system (including immune clone, immune mutation and immune suppression) quickly optimize these feasible ones as the optimal scheduling scheme to ensure that readers are fairly operating with larger effective interrogation range and lower interferences. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm, the simulation results indicate that GD-MRSOA-AIS could efficiently schedules the multiple readers operating with a fairer resource allocation scheme, performing in larger effective interrogation range. PMID:27854342

Efficiency measurement and the operationalization of hospital production.

PubMed Central

Magnussen, J

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE. To discuss the usefulness of efficiency measures as instruments of monitoring and resource allocation by analyzing their invariance to changes in the operationalization of hospital production. STUDY SETTING. Norwegian hospitals over the three-year period 1989-1991. STUDY DESIGN. Efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The distribution of efficiency and the ranking of hospitals is compared across models using various distribution-free tests. DATA COLLECTION. Input and output data are collected by the Norwegian Central Bureau of Statistics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. The distribution of efficiency is found to be unaffected by changes in the specification of hospital output. Both the ranking of hospitals and the scale properties of the technology, however, are found to depend on the choice of output specification. CONCLUSION. Extreme care should be taken before resource allocation is based on DEA-type efficiency measures alone. Both the identification of efficient and inefficient hospitals and the cardinal measure of inefficiency will depend on the specification of output. Since the scale properties of the technology also vary with the specification of output, the search for an optimal hospital size may be futile. PMID:8617607

Estimation Accuracy on Execution Time of Run-Time Tasks in a Heterogeneous Distributed Environment

PubMed Central

Liu, Qi; Cai, Weidong; Jin, Dandan; Shen, Jian; Fu, Zhangjie; Liu, Xiaodong; Linge, Nigel

2016-01-01

Distributed Computing has achieved tremendous development since cloud computing was proposed in 2006, and played a vital role promoting rapid growth of data collecting and analysis models, e.g., Internet of things, Cyber-Physical Systems, Big Data Analytics, etc. Hadoop has become a data convergence platform for sensor networks. As one of the core components, MapReduce facilitates allocating, processing and mining of collected large-scale data, where speculative execution strategies help solve straggler problems. However, there is still no efficient solution for accurate estimation on execution time of run-time tasks, which can affect task allocation and distribution in MapReduce. In this paper, task execution data have been collected and employed for the estimation. A two-phase regression (TPR) method is proposed to predict the finishing time of each task accurately. Detailed data of each task have drawn interests with detailed analysis report being made. According to the results, the prediction accuracy of concurrent tasks’ execution time can be improved, in particular for some regular jobs. PMID:27589753

A New Approach for Assessing the Needs of Service Members and Their Families

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

ADDRESS(ES) 10 . SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public... 10 Resource Allocation Data... 10 Quasi-Experimental Evaluations of Programs

Applied Joint-Space Torque and Stiffness Control of Tendon-Driven Fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdallah, Muhammad E.; Platt, Robert, Jr.; Wampler, Charles W.; Hargrave, Brian

2010-01-01

Existing tendon-driven fingers have applied force control through independent tension controllers on each tendon, i.e. in the tendon-space. The coupled kinematics of the tendons, however, cause such controllers to exhibit a transient coupling in their response. This problem can be resolved by alternatively framing the controllers in the joint-space of the manipulator. This work presents a joint-space torque control law that demonstrates both a decoupled and significantly faster response than an equivalent tendon-space formulation. The law also demonstrates greater speed and robustness than comparable PI controllers. In addition, a tension distribution algorithm is presented here to allocate forces from the joints to the tendons. It allocates the tensions so that they satisfy both an upper and lower bound, and it does so without requiring linear programming or open-ended iterations. The control law and tension distribution algorithm are implemented on the robotic hand of Robonaut-2.

Laser Diffraction Techniques Replace Sieving for Lunar Soil Particle Size Distribution Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, Bonnie L.; Gonzalez, C. P.; McKay, D. S.; Fruland, R. L.

2012-01-01

Sieving was used extensively until 1999 to determine the particle size distribution of lunar samples. This method is time-consuming, and requires more than a gram of material in order to obtain a result in which one may have confidence. This is demonstrated by the difference in geometric mean and median for samples measured by [1], in which a 14-gram sample produced a geometric mean of approx.52 micrometers, whereas two other samples of 1.5 grams resulted in gave means of approx.63 and approx.69 micrometers. Sample allocations for sieving are typically much smaller than a gram, and many of the sample allocations received by our lab are 0.5 to 0.25 grams in mass. Basu [2] has described how the finest fraction of the soil is easily lost in the sieving process, and this effect is compounded when sample sizes are small.

[Location selection for Shenyang urban parks based on GIS and multi-objective location allocation model].

PubMed

Zhou, Yuan; Shi, Tie-Mao; Hu, Yuan-Man; Gao, Chang; Liu, Miao; Song, Lin-Qi

2011-12-01

Based on geographic information system (GIS) technology and multi-objective location-allocation (LA) model, and in considering of four relatively independent objective factors (population density level, air pollution level, urban heat island effect level, and urban land use pattern), an optimized location selection for the urban parks within the Third Ring of Shenyang was conducted, and the selection results were compared with the spatial distribution of existing parks, aimed to evaluate the rationality of the spatial distribution of urban green spaces. In the location selection of urban green spaces in the study area, the factor air pollution was most important, and, compared with single objective factor, the weighted analysis results of multi-objective factors could provide optimized spatial location selection of new urban green spaces. The combination of GIS technology with LA model would be a new approach for the spatial optimizing of urban green spaces.

Distributed Generators Allocation in Radial Distribution Systems with Load Growth using Loss Sensitivity Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Ashwani; Vijay Babu, P.; Murty, V. V. S. N.

2017-06-01

Rapidly increasing electricity demands and capacity shortage of transmission and distribution facilities are the main driving forces for the growth of distributed generation (DG) integration in power grids. One of the reasons for choosing a DG is its ability to support voltage in a distribution system. Selection of effective DG characteristics and DG parameters is a significant concern of distribution system planners to obtain maximum potential benefits from the DG unit. The objective of the paper is to reduce the power losses and improve the voltage profile of the radial distribution system with optimal allocation of the multiple DG in the system. The main contribution in this paper is (i) combined power loss sensitivity (CPLS) based method for multiple DG locations, (ii) determination of optimal sizes for multiple DG units at unity and lagging power factor, (iii) impact of DG installed at optimal, that is, combined load power factor on the system performance, (iv) impact of load growth on optimal DG planning, (v) Impact of DG integration in distribution systems on voltage stability index, (vi) Economic and technical Impact of DG integration in the distribution systems. The load growth factor has been considered in the study which is essential for planning and expansion of the existing systems. The technical and economic aspects are investigated in terms of improvement in voltage profile, reduction in total power losses, cost of energy loss, cost of power obtained from DG, cost of power intake from the substation, and savings in cost of energy loss. The results are obtained on IEEE 69-bus radial distribution systems and also compared with other existing methods.

Cost of equity in homeland security resource allocation in the face of a strategic attacker.

PubMed

Shan, Xiaojun; Zhuang, Jun

2013-06-01

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in homeland security since September 11, 2001. Many mathematical models have been developed to study strategic interactions between governments (defenders) and terrorists (attackers). However, few studies have considered the tradeoff between equity and efficiency in homeland security resource allocation. In this article, we fill this gap by developing a novel model in which a government allocates defensive resources among multiple potential targets, while reserving a portion of defensive resources (represented by the equity coefficient) for equal distribution (according to geographical areas, population, density, etc.). Such a way to model equity is one of many alternatives, but was directly inspired by homeland security resource allocation practice. The government is faced with a strategic terrorist (adaptive adversary) whose attack probabilities are endogenously determined in the model. We study the effect of the equity coefficient on the optimal defensive resource allocations and the corresponding expected loss. We find that the cost of equity (in terms of increased expected loss) increases convexly in the equity coefficient. Furthermore, such cost is lower when: (a) government uses per-valuation equity; (b) the cost-effectiveness coefficient of defense increases; and (c) the total defense budget increases. Our model, results, and insights could be used to assist policy making. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Power allocation for target detection in radar networks based on low probability of intercept: A cooperative game theoretical strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Chenguang; Salous, Sana; Wang, Fei; Zhou, Jianjiang

2017-08-01

Distributed radar network systems have been shown to have many unique features. Due to their advantage of signal and spatial diversities, radar networks are attractive for target detection. In practice, the netted radars in radar networks are supposed to maximize their transmit power to achieve better detection performance, which may be in contradiction with low probability of intercept (LPI). Therefore, this paper investigates the problem of adaptive power allocation for radar networks in a cooperative game-theoretic framework such that the LPI performance can be improved. Taking into consideration both the transmit power constraints and the minimum signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) requirement of each radar, a cooperative Nash bargaining power allocation game based on LPI is formulated, whose objective is to minimize the total transmit power by optimizing the power allocation in radar networks. First, a novel SINR-based network utility function is defined and utilized as a metric to evaluate power allocation. Then, with the well-designed network utility function, the existence and uniqueness of the Nash bargaining solution are proved analytically. Finally, an iterative Nash bargaining algorithm is developed that converges quickly to a Pareto optimal equilibrium for the cooperative game. Numerical simulations and theoretic analysis are provided to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Report from a forum on US heart allocation policy.

PubMed

Kobashigawa, J A; Johnson, M; Rogers, J; Vega, J D; Colvin-Adams, M; Edwards, L; Meyer, D; Luu, M; Reinsmoen, N; Dipchand, A I; Feldman, D; Kormos, R; Mancini, D; Webber, S

2015-01-01

Since the latest revision in US heart allocation policy (2006), the landscape and volume of transplant waitlists have changed considerably. Advances in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) prolong survival, but Status 1A mortality remains high. Several patient subgroups may be disadvantaged by current listing criteria and geographical disparity remains in waitlist time. This forum on US heart allocation policy was organized to discuss these issues and highlight concepts for consideration in the policy development process. A 25-question survey on heart allocation policy was conducted. Among attendees/respondents were 84 participants with clinical/published experience in heart transplant representing 51 US transplant centers, and OPTN/UNOS and SRTR representatives. The survey results and forum discussions demonstrated very strong interest in change to a further-tiered system, accounting for disadvantaged subgroups and lowering use of exceptions. However, a heart allocation score is not yet viable due to the long-term viability of variables (used in the score) in an ever-developing field. There is strong interest in more refined prioritization of patients with MCS complications, highly sensitized patients and those with severe arrhythmias or restrictive physiology. There is also strong interest in distribution by geographic boundaries modified according to population. Differences of opinion exist between small and large centers.

Biogeographical patterns of biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China's forests.

PubMed

Zhang, Hao; Wang, Kelin; Xu, Xianli; Song, Tongqing; Xu, Yanfang; Zeng, Fuping

2015-11-03

To test whether there are general patterns in biomass partitioning in relation to environmental variation when stand biomass is considered, we investigated biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China's forests using both the national forest inventory data (2004-2008) and our field measurements (2011-2012). Distribution patterns of leaf, stem, and root biomass showed significantly different trends according to latitude, longitude, and altitude, and were positively and significantly correlated with stand age and mean annual precipitation. Trade-offs among leaves, stems, and roots varied with forest type and origin and were mainly explained by stand biomass. Based on the constraints of stand biomass, biomass allocation was also influenced by forest type, origin, stand age, stand density, mean annual temperature, precipitation, and maximum temperature in the growing season. Therefore, after stand biomass was accounted for, the residual variation in biomass allocation could be partially explained by stand characteristics and environmental factors, which may aid in quantifying carbon cycling in forest ecosystems and assessing the impacts of climate change on forest carbon dynamics in China.

A heuristic method for consumable resource allocation in multi-class dynamic PERT networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaghoubi, Saeed; Noori, Siamak; Mazdeh, Mohammad Mahdavi

2013-06-01

This investigation presents a heuristic method for consumable resource allocation problem in multi-class dynamic Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) networks, where new projects from different classes (types) arrive to system according to independent Poisson processes with different arrival rates. Each activity of any project is operated at a devoted service station located in a node of the network with exponential distribution according to its class. Indeed, each project arrives to the first service station and continues its routing according to precedence network of its class. Such system can be represented as a queuing network, while the discipline of queues is first come, first served. On the basis of presented method, a multi-class system is decomposed into several single-class dynamic PERT networks, whereas each class is considered separately as a minisystem. In modeling of single-class dynamic PERT network, we use Markov process and a multi-objective model investigated by Azaron and Tavakkoli-Moghaddam in 2007. Then, after obtaining the resources allocated to service stations in every minisystem, the final resources allocated to activities are calculated by the proposed method.

Sample size allocation for food item radiation monitoring and safety inspection.

PubMed

Seto, Mayumi; Uriu, Koichiro

2015-03-01

The objective of this study is to identify a procedure for determining sample size allocation for food radiation inspections of more than one food item to minimize the potential risk to consumers of internal radiation exposure. We consider a simplified case of food radiation monitoring and safety inspection in which a risk manager is required to monitor two food items, milk and spinach, in a contaminated area. Three protocols for food radiation monitoring with different sample size allocations were assessed by simulating random sampling and inspections of milk and spinach in a conceptual monitoring site. Distributions of (131)I and radiocesium concentrations were determined in reference to (131)I and radiocesium concentrations detected in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, for March and April 2011. The results of the simulations suggested that a protocol that allocates sample size to milk and spinach based on the estimation of (131)I and radiocesium concentrations using the apparent decay rate constants sequentially calculated from past monitoring data can most effectively minimize the potential risks of internal radiation exposure. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Justice and the allocation of healthcare resources: should indirect, non-health effects count?

PubMed

Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper; Lauridsen, Sigurd

2010-08-01

Alternative allocations of a fixed bundle of healthcare resources often involve significantly different indirect, non-health effects. The question arises whether these effects must figure in accounts of the conditions under which a distribution of healthcare resources is morally justifiable. In this article we defend a Scanlonian, affirmative answer to this question: healthcare resource managers should sometimes select an allocation which has worse direct, health-related effects but better indirect, nonhealth effects; they should do this when the interests served by such a policy are more urgent than the healthcare interests better served by an alternative allocation. We note that there is a prima facie case for the claim that such benefits (and costs) are relevant--i.e. they are real benefits, and in other contexts our decisions can permissibly be guided by them. We then proceed to rebut three lines of argument that might be thought to defeat this prima facie case: they appeal to fairness, the Kantian Formula of Humanity as an End in Itself, and the equal moral worth of persons, respectively.

Biogeographical patterns of biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China’s forests

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hao; Wang, Kelin; Xu, Xianli; Song, Tongqing; Xu, Yanfang; Zeng, Fuping

2015-01-01

To test whether there are general patterns in biomass partitioning in relation to environmental variation when stand biomass is considered, we investigated biomass allocation in leaves, stems, and roots in China’s forests using both the national forest inventory data (2004–2008) and our field measurements (2011–2012). Distribution patterns of leaf, stem, and root biomass showed significantly different trends according to latitude, longitude, and altitude, and were positively and significantly correlated with stand age and mean annual precipitation. Trade-offs among leaves, stems, and roots varied with forest type and origin and were mainly explained by stand biomass. Based on the constraints of stand biomass, biomass allocation was also influenced by forest type, origin, stand age, stand density, mean annual temperature, precipitation, and maximum temperature in the growing season. Therefore, after stand biomass was accounted for, the residual variation in biomass allocation could be partially explained by stand characteristics and environmental factors, which may aid in quantifying carbon cycling in forest ecosystems and assessing the impacts of climate change on forest carbon dynamics in China. PMID:26525117

Designing for multiple global user populations: increasing resource allocation efficiency for greater sustainability.

PubMed

Nadadur, G; Parkinson, M B

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a method to identify opportunities for increasing the efficiency of raw material allocation decisions for products that are simultaneously targeted at multiple user populations around the world. The values of 24 body measures at certain key percentiles were used to estimate the best-fitting anthropometric distributions for female and male adults in nine national populations, which were selected to represent the diverse target markets multinational companies must design for. These distributions were then used to synthesize body measure data for combined populations with a 1:1 female:male ratio. An anthropometric range metric (ARM) was proposed for assessing the variation of these body measures across the populations. At any percentile, ARM values were calculated as the percentage difference between the highest and lowest anthropometric values across the considered user populations. Based on their magnitudes, plots of ARM values computed between the 1st and 99 th percentiles for each body measure were grouped into low, medium, and high categories. This classification of body measures was proposed as a means of selecting the most suitable strategies for designing raw material-efficient products. The findings in this study and the contributions of subsequent work along these lines are expected to help achieve greater efficiencies in resource allocation in global product development.

Improved water allocation utilizing probabilistic climate forecasts: Short-term water contracts in a risk management framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sankarasubramanian, A.; Lall, Upmanu; Souza Filho, Francisco Assis; Sharma, Ashish

2009-11-01

Probabilistic, seasonal to interannual streamflow forecasts are becoming increasingly available as the ability to model climate teleconnections is improving. However, water managers and practitioners have been slow to adopt such products, citing concerns with forecast skill. Essentially, a management risk is perceived in "gambling" with operations using a probabilistic forecast, while a system failure upon following existing operating policies is "protected" by the official rules or guidebook. In the presence of a prescribed system of prior allocation of releases under different storage or water availability conditions, the manager has little incentive to change. Innovation in allocation and operation is hence key to improved risk management using such forecasts. A participatory water allocation process that can effectively use probabilistic forecasts as part of an adaptive management strategy is introduced here. Users can express their demand for water through statements that cover the quantity needed at a particular reliability, the temporal distribution of the "allocation," the associated willingness to pay, and compensation in the event of contract nonperformance. The water manager then assesses feasible allocations using the probabilistic forecast that try to meet these criteria across all users. An iterative process between users and water manager could be used to formalize a set of short-term contracts that represent the resulting prioritized water allocation strategy over the operating period for which the forecast was issued. These contracts can be used to allocate water each year/season beyond long-term contracts that may have precedence. Thus, integrated supply and demand management can be achieved. In this paper, a single period multiuser optimization model that can support such an allocation process is presented. The application of this conceptual model is explored using data for the Jaguaribe Metropolitan Hydro System in Ceara, Brazil. The performance relative to the current allocation process is assessed in the context of whether such a model could support the proposed short-term contract based participatory process. A synthetic forecasting example is also used to explore the relative roles of forecast skill and reservoir storage in this framework.

Assessing and Improving Performance: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Priority Setting and Resource Allocation in a Canadian Health Region

PubMed Central

Hall, William; Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Urquhart, Bonnie; Bryan, Stirling

2018-01-01

Background: In order to meet the challenges presented by increasing demand and scarcity of resources, healthcare organizations are faced with difficult decisions related to resource allocation. Tools to facilitate evaluation and improvement of these processes could enable greater transparency and more optimal distribution of resources. Methods: The Resource Allocation Performance Assessment Tool (RAPAT) was implemented in a healthcare organization in British Columbia, Canada. Recommendations for improvement were delivered, and a follow up evaluation exercise was conducted to assess the trajectory of the organization’s priority setting and resource allocation (PSRA) process 2 years post the original evaluation. Results: Implementation of RAPAT in the pilot organization identified strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s PSRA process at the time of the original evaluation. Strengths included the use of criteria and evidence, an ability to reallocate resources, and the involvement of frontline staff in the process. Weaknesses included training, communication, and lack of program budgeting. Although the follow up revealed a regression from a more formal PSRA process, a legacy of explicit resource allocation was reported to be providing ongoing benefit for the organization. Conclusion: While past studies have taken a cross-sectional approach, this paper introduces the first longitudinal evaluation of PSRA in a healthcare organization. By including the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of one organization’s journey, the authors’ intend that this paper will assist other healthcare leaders in meeting the challenges of allocating scarce resources. PMID:29626400

ECS: efficient communication scheduling for underwater sensor networks.

PubMed

Hong, Lu; Hong, Feng; Guo, Zhongwen; Li, Zhengbao

2011-01-01

TDMA protocols have attracted a lot of attention for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWSNs), because of the unique characteristics of acoustic signal propagation such as great energy consumption in transmission, long propagation delay and long communication range. Previous TDMA protocols all allocated transmission time to nodes based on discrete time slots. This paper proposes an efficient continuous time scheduling TDMA protocol (ECS) for UWSNs, including the continuous time based and sender oriented conflict analysis model, the transmission moment allocation algorithm and the distributed topology maintenance algorithm. Simulation results confirm that ECS improves network throughput by 20% on average, compared to existing MAC protocols.

Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, Volume 8, Number 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Requests for samples are welcomed from research scientists of all countries, regardless of their current state of funding for meteorite studies. All sample requests will be reviewed by the Meteorite Working Group (MWG), a peer-review committee that guides the collection, curation, allocation, and distribution of the U.S. Antarctic meteorites. Issurance of samples does not imply a commitment by any agency to fund the proposed research. Requests for financial support must be submitted separately to the appropriate funding agencies. As a matter of policy, U.S. Antarctic meteorites are the property of the National Science Foundation and all allocations are subject to recall.

Analysis of tasks for dynamic man/machine load balancing in advanced helicopters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jorgensen, C.C.

1987-10-01

This report considers task allocation requirements imposed by advanced helicopter designs incorporating mixes of human pilots and intelligent machines. Specifically, it develops an analogy between load balancing using distributed non-homogeneous multiprocessors and human team functions. A taxonomy is presented which can be used to identify task combinations likely to cause overload for dynamic scheduling and process allocation mechanisms. Designer criteria are given for function decomposition, separation of control from data, and communication handling for dynamic tasks. Possible effects of n-p complete scheduling problems are noted and a class of combinatorial optimization methods are examined.

Third degree waiting time discrimination: optimal allocation of a public sector healthcare treatment under rationing by waiting.

PubMed

Gravelle, Hugh; Siciliani, Luigi

2009-08-01

In many public healthcare systems treatments are rationed by waiting time. We examine the optimal allocation of a fixed supply of a given treatment between different groups of patients. Even in the absence of any distributional aims, welfare is increased by third degree waiting time discrimination: setting different waiting times for different groups waiting for the same treatment. Because waiting time imposes dead weight losses on patients, lower waiting times should be offered to groups with higher marginal waiting time costs and with less elastic demand for the treatment.

20 CFR 669.650 - How are MSFW youth funds allocated to section 167 youth grantees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT.... However, we may include criteria in the SGA that promote a geographical distribution of funds and that...

20 CFR 669.650 - How are MSFW youth funds allocated to section 167 youth grantees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT.... However, we may include criteria in the SGA that promote a geographical distribution of funds and that...

20 CFR 669.650 - How are MSFW youth funds allocated to section 167 youth grantees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT.... However, we may include criteria in the SGA that promote a geographical distribution of funds and that...

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems.

PubMed

Radeva, Tsvetomira; Dornhaus, Anna; Lynch, Nancy; Nagpal, Radhika; Su, Hsin-Hao

2017-12-01

Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1) Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2) Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3) what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to complete all tasks improve task allocation performance. This provides a potential explanation for the phenomenon that social insect colonies commonly contain inactive workers: these may be a 'surplus' set of workers that improves colony function by speeding up optimal allocation of workers to tasks. Overall our study shows how limitations at the individual level can affect group level outcomes, and suggests new hypotheses that can be explored empirically.

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems

PubMed Central

Dornhaus, Anna; Su, Hsin-Hao

2017-01-01

Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1) Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2) Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3) what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to complete all tasks improve task allocation performance. This provides a potential explanation for the phenomenon that social insect colonies commonly contain inactive workers: these may be a ‘surplus’ set of workers that improves colony function by speeding up optimal allocation of workers to tasks. Overall our study shows how limitations at the individual level can affect group level outcomes, and suggests new hypotheses that can be explored empirically. PMID:29240763

Assessing the effects of adaptation measures on optimal water resources allocation under varied water availability conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dedi; Guo, Shenglian; Shao, Quanxi; Liu, Pan; Xiong, Lihua; Wang, Le; Hong, Xingjun; Xu, Yao; Wang, Zhaoli

2018-01-01

Human activities and climate change have altered the spatial and temporal distribution of water availability which is a principal prerequisite for allocation of different water resources. In order to quantify the impacts of climate change and human activities on water availability and optimal allocation of water resources, hydrological models and optimal water resource allocation models should be integrated. Given that increasing human water demand and varying water availability conditions necessitate adaptation measures, we propose a framework to assess the effects of these measures on optimal allocation of water resources. The proposed model and framework were applied to a case study of the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin in China. Two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP4.5) were employed to project future climate, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model was used to simulate the variability of flows under historical (1956-2011) and future (2012-2099) conditions. The water availability determined by simulating flow with the VIC hydrological model was used to establish the optimal water resources allocation model. The allocation results were derived under an extremely dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 95%), a very dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 90%), a dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 75%), and a normal year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 50%) during historical and future periods. The results show that the total available water resources in the study area and the inflow of the Danjiangkou Reservoir will increase in the future. However, the uneven distribution of water availability will cause water shortage problems, especially in the boundary areas. The effects of adaptation measures, including water saving, and dynamic control of flood limiting water levels (FLWLs) for reservoir operation, were assessed and implemented to alleviate water shortages. The negative impacts from the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (Middle Route) in the mid-lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin can be avoided through the dynamic control of FLWLs in Danjiangkou Reservoir, under the historical and future RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 scenarios. However, the effects of adaptation measures are limited due to their own constraints, such as the characteristics of the reservoirs influencing the FLWLs. The utilization of storm water appears necessary to meet future water demand. Overall, the results indicate that the framework for assessing the effects of adaptation measures on water resources allocation might aid water resources management, not only in the study area but also in other places where water availability conditions vary due to climate change and human activities.

Evaluation of health resource utilization efficiency in community health centers of Jiangsu Province, China.

PubMed

Xu, Xinglong; Zhou, Lulin; Antwi, Henry Asante; Chen, Xi

2018-02-20

While the demand for health services keep escalating at the grass roots or rural areas of China, a substantial portion of healthcare resources remain stagnant in the more developed cities and this has entrenched health inequity in many parts of China. At its conception, China's Deepen Medical Reform started in 2012 was intended to flush out possible disparities and promote a more equitable and efficient distribution of healthcare resources. Nearly half a decade of this reform, there are uncertainties as to whether the attainment of the objectives of the reform is in sight. Using a hybrid of panel data analysis and an augmented data envelopment analysis (DEA), we model human resources, material, finance to determine their technical and scale efficiency to comprehensively evaluate the transverse and longitudinal allocation efficiency of community health resources in Jiangsu Province. We observed that the Deepen Medical Reform in China has led to an increase concern to ensure efficient allocation of community health resources by health policy makers in the province. This has led to greater efficiency in health resource allocation in Jiangsu in general but serious regional or municipal disparities still exist. Using the DEA model, we note that the output from the Community Health Centers does not commensurate with the substantial resources (human resources, materials, and financial) invested in them. We further observe that the case is worst in less-developed Northern parts of Jiangsu Province. The government of Jiangsu Province could improve the efficiency of health resource allocation by improving the community health service system, rationalizing the allocation of health personnel, optimizing the allocation of material resources, and enhancing the level of health of financial resource allocation.

Function Allocation in a Robust Distributed Real-Time Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

fundamental characteristic of a distributed system is its ability to map individual logical functions of an application program onto many physical nodes... how much of a node’s processor time is scheduled for function processing. IMC is the function- to -function communication required to facilitate...indicator of how much excess processor time a node has. The reconfiguration algorithms use these variables to determine the most appropriate node(s) to

The Distribution of Federal Elementary-Secondary Education Grants among the States. Final Report on the Study Mandated by Congress in P.L. 100-297, Section 6207.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barro, Stephen M.

In the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to conduct a study of methods used to allocate federal elementary and secondary education grants among the states. This document, the final report on that study, assesses grant distribution funding…

Tragic choices and moral compromise: the ethics of allocating kidneys for transplantation.

PubMed

Hoffmaster, Barry; Hooker, Cliff

2013-09-01

For almost a decade, the Kidney Transplantation Committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing has been striving to revise its approach to allocating kidneys from deceased donors for transplantation. Two fundamental values, equality and efficiency, are central to distributing this scarce resource. The prevailing approach gives primacy to equality in the temporal form of first-come, first-served, whereas the motivation for a new approach is to redeem efficiency by increasing the length of survival of transplanted kidneys and their recipients. But decision making about a better way of allocating kidneys flounders because it is constrained by the amorphous notion of "balancing" values. This article develops a more fitting, productive approach to resolving the conflict between equality and efficiency by embedding the notion of compromise in the analysis of a tragic choice provided by Guido Calabresi and Philip Bobbitt. For Calabresi and Bobbitt, the goals of public policy with respect to tragic choices are to limit tragedy and to deal with the irreducible minimum of tragedy in the least offensive way. Satisfying the value of efficiency limits tragedy, and satisfying the value of equality deals with the irreducible minimum of tragedy in the least offensive way. But both values cannot be completely satisfied simultaneously. Compromise is occasioned when not all the several obligations that exist in a situation can be met and when neglecting some obligations entirely in order to fulfill others entirely is improper. Compromise is amalgamated with the notion of a tragic choice and then used to assess proposals for revising the allocation of kidneys considered by the Kidney Transplantation Committee. Compromise takes two forms in allocating kidneys: it occurs within particular approaches to allocating kidneys because neither equality nor efficiency can be fully satisfied, and it occurs over the course of sequential approaches to allocating kidneys that cycle between preferring equality and efficiency. Ross and colleagues' Equal Opportunity Supplemented by Fair Innings proposal for allocating kidneys best exemplifies the rationality of compromise as a way of achieving the goals of making a tragic choice. The attempt to design a policy for allocating kidneys from deceased donors for transplantation by balancing the values of equality and efficiency is misguided and unhelpful. Instead policymaking should both incorporate compromise into discrete approaches to allocating kidneys and extend compromise over sequential approaches to allocating kidneys. © 2013 Milbank Memorial Fund.

PPM Receiver Implemented in Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Andrew; Kang, Edward; Lay, Norman; Vilnrotter, Victor; Srinivasan, Meera; Lee, Clement

2010-01-01

A computer program has been written as a tool for developing optical pulse-position- modulation (PPM) receivers in which photodetector outputs are fed to analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and all subsequent signal processing is performed digitally. The program can be used, for example, to simulate an all-digital version of the PPM receiver described in Parallel Processing of Broad-Band PPM Signals (NPO-40711), which appears elsewhere in this issue of NASA Tech Briefs. The program can also be translated into a design for digital PPM receiver hardware. The most notable innovation embodied in the software and the underlying PPM-reception concept is a digital processing subsystem that performs synchronization of PPM time slots, even though the digital processing is, itself, asynchronous in the sense that no attempt is made to synchronize it with the incoming optical signal a priori and there is no feedback to analog signal processing subsystems or ADCs. Functions performed by the software receiver include time-slot synchronization, symbol synchronization, coding preprocessing, and diagnostic functions. The program is written in the MATLAB and Simulink software system. The software receiver is highly parameterized and, hence, programmable: for example, slot- and symbol-synchronization filters have programmable bandwidths.

Multichannel-Sensing Scheduling and Transmission-Energy Optimizing in Cognitive Radio Networks with Energy Harvesting.

PubMed

Hoan, Tran-Nhut-Khai; Hiep, Vu-Van; Koo, In-Soo

2016-03-31

This paper considers cognitive radio networks (CRNs) utilizing multiple time-slotted primary channels in which cognitive users (CUs) are powered by energy harvesters. The CUs are under the consideration that hardware constraints on radio devices only allow them to sense and transmit on one channel at a time. For a scenario where the arrival of harvested energy packets and the battery capacity are finite, we propose a scheme to optimize (i) the channel-sensing schedule (consisting of finding the optimal action (silent or active) and sensing order of channels) and (ii) the optimal transmission energy set corresponding to the channels in the sensing order for the operation of the CU in order to maximize the expected throughput of the CRN over multiple time slots. Frequency-switching delay, energy-switching cost, correlation in spectrum occupancy across time and frequency and errors in spectrum sensing are also considered in this work. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated via simulation. The simulation results show that the throughput of the proposed scheme is greatly improved, in comparison to related schemes in the literature. The collision ratio on the primary channels is also investigated.

20 CFR 669.650 - How are MSFW youth funds allocated to section 167 youth grantees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT The MSFW... include criteria in the SGA that promote a geographical distribution of funds and that encourages both...

20 CFR 669.650 - How are MSFW youth funds allocated to section 167 youth grantees?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT The MSFW... include criteria in the SGA that promote a geographical distribution of funds and that encourages both...

Optimization in Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cody, Martin L.

1974-01-01

Discusses the optimality of natural selection, ways of testing for optimum solutions to problems of time - or energy-allocation in nature, optimum patterns in spatial distribution and diet breadth, and how best to travel over a feeding area so that food intake is maximized. (JR)

Prosocial Personality Traits Differentially Predict Egalitarianism, Generosity, and Reciprocity in Economic Games

PubMed Central

Zhao, Kun; Ferguson, Eamonn; Smillie, Luke D.

2016-01-01

Recent research has highlighted the role of prosocial personality traits—agreeableness and honesty-humility—in egalitarian distributions of wealth in the dictator game. Expanding on these findings, we ran two studies to examine individual differences in two other forms of prosociality—generosity and reciprocity—with respect to two major models of personality, the Big Five and the HEXACO. Participants (combined N = 560) completed a series of economic games in which allocations in the dictator game were compared with those in the generosity game, a non-constant-sum wealth distribution task where proposers with fixed payoffs selected the size of their partner’s payoff (“generosity”). We further examined positive and negative reciprocity by manipulating a partner’s previous move (“reciprocity”). Results showed clear evidence of both generosity and positive reciprocity in social preferences, with allocations to a partner greater in the generosity game than in the dictator game, and greater still when a player had been previously assisted by their partner. There was also a consistent interaction with gender, whereby men were more generous when this was costless and women were more egalitarian overall. Furthermore, these distinct forms of prosociality were differentially predicted by personality traits, in line with the core features of these traits and the theoretical distinctions between them. HEXACO honesty-humility predicted dictator, but not generosity allocations, while traits capturing tendencies toward irritability and anger predicted lower generosity, but not dictator allocations. In contrast, the politeness—but not compassion—aspect of Big Five agreeableness was uniquely and broadly associated with prosociality across all games. These findings support the discriminant validity between related prosocial constructs, and have important implications for understanding the motives and mechanisms taking place within economic games. PMID:27555824

An algorithm for calculating exam quality as a basis for performance-based allocation of funds at medical schools.

PubMed

Kirschstein, Timo; Wolters, Alexander; Lenz, Jan-Hendrik; Fröhlich, Susanne; Hakenberg, Oliver; Kundt, Günther; Darmüntzel, Martin; Hecker, Michael; Altiner, Attila; Müller-Hilke, Brigitte

2016-01-01

The amendment of the Medical Licensing Act (ÄAppO) in Germany in 2002 led to the introduction of graded assessments in the clinical part of medical studies. This, in turn, lent new weight to the importance of written tests, even though the minimum requirements for exam quality are sometimes difficult to reach. Introducing exam quality as a criterion for the award of performance-based allocation of funds is expected to steer the attention of faculty members towards more quality and perpetuate higher standards. However, at present there is a lack of suitable algorithms for calculating exam quality. In the spring of 2014, the students' dean commissioned the "core group" for curricular improvement at the University Medical Center in Rostock to revise the criteria for the allocation of performance-based funds for teaching. In a first approach, we developed an algorithm that was based on the results of the most common type of exam in medical education, multiple choice tests. It included item difficulty and discrimination, reliability as well as the distribution of grades achieved. This algorithm quantitatively describes exam quality of multiple choice exams. However, it can also be applied to exams involving short assay questions and the OSCE. It thus allows for the quantitation of exam quality in the various subjects and - in analogy to impact factors and third party grants - a ranking among faculty. Our algorithm can be applied to all test formats in which item difficulty, the discriminatory power of the individual items, reliability of the exam and the distribution of grades are measured. Even though the content validity of an exam is not considered here, we believe that our algorithm is suitable as a general basis for performance-based allocation of funds.

Prosocial Personality Traits Differentially Predict Egalitarianism, Generosity, and Reciprocity in Economic Games.

PubMed

Zhao, Kun; Ferguson, Eamonn; Smillie, Luke D

2016-01-01

Recent research has highlighted the role of prosocial personality traits-agreeableness and honesty-humility-in egalitarian distributions of wealth in the dictator game. Expanding on these findings, we ran two studies to examine individual differences in two other forms of prosociality-generosity and reciprocity-with respect to two major models of personality, the Big Five and the HEXACO. Participants (combined N = 560) completed a series of economic games in which allocations in the dictator game were compared with those in the generosity game, a non-constant-sum wealth distribution task where proposers with fixed payoffs selected the size of their partner's payoff ("generosity"). We further examined positive and negative reciprocity by manipulating a partner's previous move ("reciprocity"). Results showed clear evidence of both generosity and positive reciprocity in social preferences, with allocations to a partner greater in the generosity game than in the dictator game, and greater still when a player had been previously assisted by their partner. There was also a consistent interaction with gender, whereby men were more generous when this was costless and women were more egalitarian overall. Furthermore, these distinct forms of prosociality were differentially predicted by personality traits, in line with the core features of these traits and the theoretical distinctions between them. HEXACO honesty-humility predicted dictator, but not generosity allocations, while traits capturing tendencies toward irritability and anger predicted lower generosity, but not dictator allocations. In contrast, the politeness-but not compassion-aspect of Big Five agreeableness was uniquely and broadly associated with prosociality across all games. These findings support the discriminant validity between related prosocial constructs, and have important implications for understanding the motives and mechanisms taking place within economic games.

Iron allocation in leaves of Fe-deficient cucumber plants fed with natural Fe complexes.

PubMed

Zanin, Laura; Tomasi, Nicola; Rizzardo, Cecilia; Gottardi, Stefano; Terzano, Roberto; Alfeld, Matthias; Janssens, Koen; De Nobili, Maria; Mimmo, Tanja; Cesco, Stefano

2015-05-01

Iron (Fe) sources available for plants in the rhizospheric solution are mainly a mixture of complexes between Fe and organic ligands, including phytosiderophores (PS) and water-extractable humic substances (WEHS). In comparison with the other Fe sources, Fe-WEHS are more efficiently used by plants, and experimental evidences show that Fe translocation contributes to this better response. On the other hand, very little is known on the mechanisms involved in Fe allocation in leaves. In this work, physiological and molecular processes involved in Fe distribution in leaves of Fe-deficient Cucumis sativus supplied with Fe-PS or Fe-WEHS up to 5 days were studied combining different techniques, such as radiochemical experiments, synchrotron micro X-ray fluorescence, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization. In Fe-WEHS-fed plants, Fe was rapidly (1 day) allocated into the leaf veins, and after 5 days, Fe was completely transferred into interveinal cells; moreover, the amount of accumulated Fe was much higher than with Fe-PS. This redistribution in Fe-WEHS plants was associated with an upregulation of genes encoding a ferric(III) -chelate reductase (FRO), a Fe(2+) transporter (IRT1) and a natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP). The localization of FRO and IRT1 transcripts next to the midveins, beside that of NRAMP in the interveinal area, may suggest a rapid and efficient response induced by the presence of Fe-WEHS in the extra-radical solution for the allocation in leaves of high amounts of Fe. In conclusion, Fe is more efficiently used when chelated to WEHS than PS and seems to involve Fe distribution and gene regulation of Fe acquisition mechanisms operating in leaves. © 2014 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

On System Engineering a Barter-Based Re-allocation of Space System Key Development Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosmann, William J.

NASA has had a decades-long problem with cost growth during the development of space science missions. Numerous agency-sponsored studies have produced average mission level development cost growths ranging from 23 to 77%. A new study of 26 historical NASA science instrument set developments using expert judgment to re-allocate key development resources has an average cost growth of 73.77%. Twice in history, during the Cassini and EOS-Terra science instrument developments, a barter-based mechanism has been used to re-allocate key development resources. The mean instrument set development cost growth was -1.55%. Performing a bivariate inference on the means of these two distributions, there is statistical evidence to support the claim that using a barter-based mechanism to re-allocate key instrument development resources will result in a lower expected cost growth than using the expert judgment approach. Agent-based discrete event simulation is the natural way to model a trade environment. A NetLogo agent-based barter-based simulation of science instrument development was created. The agent-based model was validated against the Cassini historical example, as the starting and ending instrument development conditions are available. The resulting validated agent-based barter-based science instrument resource re-allocation simulation was used to perform 300 instrument development simulations, using barter to re-allocate development resources. The mean cost growth was -3.365%. A bivariate inference on the means was performed to determine that additional significant statistical evidence exists to support a claim that using barter-based resource re-allocation will result in lower expected cost growth, with respect to the historical expert judgment approach. Barter-based key development resource re-allocation should work on science spacecraft development as well as it has worked on science instrument development. A new study of 28 historical NASA science spacecraft developments has an average cost growth of 46.04%. As barter-based key development resource re-allocation has never been tried in a spacecraft development, no historical results exist, and an inference on the means test is not possible. A simulation of using barter-based resource re-allocation should be developed. The NetLogo instrument development simulation should be modified to account for spacecraft development market participant differences. The resulting agent-based barter-based spacecraft resource re-allocation simulation would then be used to determine if significant statistical evidence exists to prove a claim that using barter-based resource re-allocation will result in lower expected cost growth.

Priority setting and the ethics of resource allocation within VA healthcare facilities: results of a survey.

PubMed

Foglia, Mary Beth; Pearlman, Robert A; Bottrell, Melissa M; Altemose, Jane A; Fox, Ellen

2008-01-01

Setting priorities and the subsequent allocation of resources is a major ethical issue facing healthcare facilities, including the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated healthcare delivery network in the United States. Yet despite the importance of priority setting and its impact on those who receive and those who provide care, we know relatively little about how clinicians and managers view allocation processes within their facilities. The purpose of this secondary analysis of survey data was to characterize staff members' perceptions regarding the fairness of healthcare ethics practices related to resource allocation in Veterans Administration (VA) facilities. The specific aim of the study was to compare the responses of clinicians, clinician managers, and non-clinician managers with respect to these survey items. We utilized a paper and web-based survey and a cross-sectional design of VHA clinicians and managers. Our sample consisted of a purposive stratified sample of 109 managers and a stratified random sample of 269 clinicians employed 20 or more hours per week in one of four VA medical centers. The four medical centers were participating as field sites selected to test the logistics of administering and reporting results of the Integrated Ethics Staff Survey, an assessment tool aimed at characterizing a broad range of ethical practices within a healthcare organization. In general, clinicians were more critical than clinician managers or non-clinician managers of the institutions' allocation processes and of the impact of resource decisions on patient care. Clinicians commonly reported that they did not (a) understand their facility's decision-making processes, (b) receive explanations from management regarding the reasons behind important allocation decisions, or (b) perceive that they were influential in allocation decisions. In addition, clinicians and managers both perceived that education related to the ethics of resource allocation was insufficient and that their facilities could increase their effectiveness in identifying and resolving ethical problems related to resource allocation. How well a healthcare facility ensures fairness in the way it allocates its resources across programs and services depends on multiple factors, including awareness by decision makers that setting priorities and allocating resources is a moral enterprise (moral awareness), the availability of a consistent process that includes important stakeholder groups (procedural justice), and concurrence by stakeholders that decisions represent outcomes that fairly balance competing interests and have a positive net effect on the quality of care (distributive justice). In this study, clinicians and managers alike identified the need for improvement in healthcare ethics practices related to resource allocation.

The Warwick system of prospective workload allocation in cellular pathology—an aid to subspecialisation: a comparison with the Royal College of Pathologists' system

PubMed Central

Carr, R A; Sanders, D S A; Stores, O P; Smew, F A; Parkes, M E; Ross‐Gilbertson, V; Chachlani, N; Simon, J

2006-01-01

Background Guidelines on staffing and workload for histopathology and cytopathology departments was published by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) in July 2003. In this document, a system is provided whereby the workload of a cellular pathology department and individual pathologists can be assessed with a scoring system based on specialty and complexity of the specimens. A similar, but simplified, system of scoring specimens by specialty was developed in the Warwick District General Hospital. The system was based on the specimen type and suggested clinical diagnosis, so that specimens could be allocated prospectively by the laboratory technical staff to even out workload and support subspecialisation in a department staffed by 4.6 whole‐time equivalent consultant pathologists. Methods The pathologists were asked to indicate their reporting preferences to determine specialist reporting teams. The workload was allocated according to the “prospective” Warwick system (based on specimen type and suggested clinical diagnosis, not affected by final diagnosis or individual pathologist variation in reference to numbers of blocks, sections and special stains examined) for October 2003. The cumulative Warwick score was compared with the “retrospective” RCPath scoring system for each pathologist and between specialties. Four pathologists recorded their time for cut‐up and reporting for the month audited. Results The equitable distribution of work between pathologists was ensured by the Warwick allocation and workload system, hence facilitating specialist reporting. Less variation was observed in points reported per hour by the Warwick system (6.3 (range 5.5–6.9)) than by the RCPath system (11.5 (range 9.3–15)). Conclusions The RCPath system of scoring is inherently complex, is applied retrospectively and is not consistent across subspecialities. The Warwick system is simpler, prospective and can be run by technical staff; it facilitates even workload distribution throughout the day. Subspecialisation within a small‐sized or medium‐sized department with fair distribution of work between pathologists is also allowed for by this system. Reporting times among pathologists were shown by time and motion studies to be more consistent with Warwick points per hour than with RCPath points per hour. PMID:16524963

Land Resources Allocation Strategies in an Urban Area Involving Uncertainty: A Case Study of Suzhou, in the Yangtze River Delta of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shasha; Guan, Xingliang; Zhou, Min; Wang, Yang

2014-05-01

A large number of mathematical models have been developed to support land resource allocation decisions and land management needs; however, few of them can address various uncertainties that exist in relation to many factors presented in such decisions (e.g., land resource availabilities, land demands, land-use patterns, and social demands, as well as ecological requirements). In this study, a multi-objective interval-stochastic land resource allocation model (MOISLAM) was developed for tackling uncertainty that presents as discrete intervals and/or probability distributions. The developed model improves upon the existing multi-objective programming and inexact optimization approaches. The MOISLAM not only considers economic factors, but also involves food security and eco-environmental constraints; it can, therefore, effectively reflect various interrelations among different aspects in a land resource management system. Moreover, the model can also help examine the reliability of satisfying (or the risk of violating) system constraints under uncertainty. In this study, the MOISLAM was applied to a real case of long-term urban land resource allocation planning in Suzhou, in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Interval solutions associated with different risk levels of constraint violation were obtained. The results are considered useful for generating a range of decision alternatives under various system conditions, and thus helping decision makers to identify a desirable land resource allocation strategy under uncertainty.

A unified framework of unsupervised subjective optimized bit allocation for multiple video object coding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhenzhong; Han, Junwei; Ngan, King Ngi

2005-10-01

MPEG-4 treats a scene as a composition of several objects or so-called video object planes (VOPs) that are separately encoded and decoded. Such a flexible video coding framework makes it possible to code different video object with different distortion scale. It is necessary to analyze the priority of the video objects according to its semantic importance, intrinsic properties and psycho-visual characteristics such that the bit budget can be distributed properly to video objects to improve the perceptual quality of the compressed video. This paper aims to provide an automatic video object priority definition method based on object-level visual attention model and further propose an optimization framework for video object bit allocation. One significant contribution of this work is that the human visual system characteristics are incorporated into the video coding optimization process. Another advantage is that the priority of the video object can be obtained automatically instead of fixing weighting factors before encoding or relying on the user interactivity. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, we compare it with traditional verification model bit allocation and the optimal multiple video object bit allocation algorithms. Comparing with traditional bit allocation algorithms, the objective quality of the object with higher priority is significantly improved under this framework. These results demonstrate the usefulness of this unsupervised subjective quality lifting framework.

Design for Warehouse with Product Flow Type Allocation using Linear Programming: A Case Study in a Textile Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khannan, M. S. A.; Nafisah, L.; Palupi, D. L.

2018-03-01

Sari Warna Co. Ltd, a company engaged in the textile industry, is experiencing problems in the allocation and placement of goods in the warehouse. During this time the company has not implemented the product flow type allocation and product placement to the respective products resulting in a high total material handling cost. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the allocation and placement of goods in the warehouse corresponding to product flow type with minimal total material handling cost. This research is a quantitative research based on the theory of storage and warehouse that uses a mathematical model of optimization problem solving using mathematical optimization model approach belongs to Heragu (2005), aided by software LINGO 11.0 in the calculation of the optimization model. Results obtained from this study is the proportion of the distribution for each functional area is the area of cross-docking at 0.0734, the reserve area at 0.1894, and the forward area at 0.7372. The allocation of product flow type 1 is 5 products, the product flow type 2 is 9 products, the product flow type 3 is 2 products, and the product flow type 4 is 6 products. The optimal total material handling cost by using this mathematical model equal to Rp43.079.510 while it is equal to Rp 49.869.728 by using the company’s existing method. It saves Rp6.790.218 for the total material handling cost. Thus, all of the products can be allocated in accordance with the product flow type with minimal total material handling cost.

Watershed Management Tool for Selection and Spacial Allocation of Non-Point Source Pollution Control Practices

EPA Science Inventory

Distributed-parameter watershed models are often utilized for evaluating the effectiveness of sediment and nutrient abatement strategies through the traditional {calibrate→ validate→ predict} approach. The applicability of the method is limited due to modeling approximations. In ...

Transforming the Air Traffic Management System -- Why Is It So Hard?

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-08

Aircraft Systems Integration The Equity Concept Chocolate Cake Problem: How can I distribute this cake equitably among each of the students sitting...net-centric system. – Timely, common information will be available to all (humans and machines ) to help them make their decisions. – While any change...prioritization done when scarce resources must be allocated? (Remember how hard it was to distribute the chocolate cake!) ADS-B In-Trail Procedures

Subregional resource allocations in the National Health Service.

PubMed Central

Snaith, A H

1978-01-01

The Resource Allocation Working Party in its report Sharing Resources for Health in England proposes a formula for the identification of both regional and district financial targets (Department of Health and Social Security, 1976). In this paper it is argued that the national formula is not a valid instrument for the latter purpose. Furthermore, research into medical needs and outcomes will not be adequate to bring about real changes in resource distribution at local levels unless it is recognised that the health authorities can meet needs in different ways and that a change in resource management from institutional to service budgeting is required. PMID:262582

Bandwidth auction for SVC streaming in dynamic multi-overlay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Yanting; Zou, Junni; Xiong, Hongkai

2010-07-01

In this paper, we study the optimal bandwidth allocation for scalable video coding (SVC) streaming in multiple overlays. We model the whole bandwidth request and distribution process as a set of decentralized auction games between the competing peers. For the upstream peer, a bandwidth allocation mechanism is introduced to maximize the aggregate revenue. For the downstream peer, a dynamic bidding strategy is proposed. It achieves maximum utility and efficient resource usage by collaborating with a content-aware layer dropping/adding strategy. Also, the convergence of the proposed auction games is theoretically proved. Experimental results show that the auction strategies can adapt to dynamic join of competing peers and video layers.

Allocating resources during a crisis: you can't always get what you want.

PubMed

Hick, John L; DeVries, Aaron S; Fink-Kocken, Paula; Braun, Jane E; Marchetti, Judy

2012-04-01

During a disaster or disease outbreak, health care providers may have to make difficult decisions about how to allocate scarce resources. A committee convened by the Minnesota Department of Health has recently focused on this issue as part of statewide disaster preparedness planning. This article presents the group's recommendation that health care facilities need to plan for shortages and introduces resources and strategies that can be used in planning. It also discusses ethical considerations that must be taken into account when shortages occur and decisions must be made about how to distribute equipment, supplies, or medications in short supply.

Social class, gender and intrahousehold food allocations to children in South Asia.

PubMed

Miller, B D

1997-06-01

In the 1980s research on gender-biased food distribution to children within the household in South Asia yielded important findings. Many studies report evidence of substantial discrimination against daughters, but others do not. This paper reviews research of the 1980s with attention to social differentiation in gender bias. My hypothesis is that different results concerning gender bias in intrahousehold allocations are expectable, given variations in gender hierarchy throughout South Asia. Results of the review indicate that seemingly "contradictory" results are often accurate reflections of social status differences within South Asia that create varying female health and nutritional outcomes.

ECS: Efficient Communication Scheduling for Underwater Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Hong, Lu; Hong, Feng; Guo, Zhongwen; Li, Zhengbao

2011-01-01

TDMA protocols have attracted a lot of attention for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWSNs), because of the unique characteristics of acoustic signal propagation such as great energy consumption in transmission, long propagation delay and long communication range. Previous TDMA protocols all allocated transmission time to nodes based on discrete time slots. This paper proposes an efficient continuous time scheduling TDMA protocol (ECS) for UWSNs, including the continuous time based and sender oriented conflict analysis model, the transmission moment allocation algorithm and the distributed topology maintenance algorithm. Simulation results confirm that ECS improves network throughput by 20% on average, compared to existing MAC protocols. PMID:22163775

Gender Systematics in Telescope Time Allocation at ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patat, F.

2016-09-01

The results of a comprehensive statistical analysis of gender systematics in the time allocation process at ESO are presented. The sample on which the study is based includes more than 13 000 Normal and Short proposals, submitted by about 3000 principal investigators (PI) over eight years. The genders of PIs, and of the panel members of the Observing Programmes Committee (OPC), were used, together with their career level, to analyse the grade distributions and the proposal success rates. Proposals submitted by female PIs show a significantly lower probability of being allocated time. The proposal success rates (defined as number of top ranked runs over requested runs) are 16.0 ± 0.6% and 22.0 ± 0.4% for females and males, respectively. To a significant extent the disparity is related to different input distributions in terms of career level. The seniority of male PIs is significantly higher than that of female PIs, with only 34% of the female PIs being professionally employed astronomers (compared to 53% for male PIs). A small, but statistically significant, gender-dependent behaviour is measured for the OPC referees: both genders show the same systematics, but they are larger for males than females. The PI female/male fraction is very close to 30/70; although far from parity, the fraction is higher than that observed, for instance, among IAU membership.

Dry matter and energy partitioning in plants under climatic stress

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bolhar-Nordenkampf, H.R.; Postl, W.F.; Meister, M.H.

1996-12-31

During ontogenesis plants distribute assimilates quite differently among their organs depending on the environmental conditions. In case of high sink capacity energetically cheap storing compounds such as carbohydrates and/or organic acids are formed, whereas during periods with low demand proteins and lipids may be accumulated. Besides ontogenesis, drought and increased CO{sub 2} are able to modify sink capacity and by this transients in the partitioning pattern of carbon are induced. Plants, well adapted to several dry seasons during the year are able to allocate carbon predominantly to below ground organs. During this period many leaves become senescent. In any casemore » stems and remaining green leaves will loose dry matter and energy. With 80% of plants under investigation CO{sub 2} enrichment was shown to induce an enforced allocation of carbon to below ground organs. Roots and Rhizomes, beets and tubers act as a sink for the additionally fixed carbon. It was demonstrated that sink capacity is controlling photosynthetic activity. With respect to agricultural production, to ecosystems and to single plants, climatic change will modify productivity and plants distribution pattern as a consequence of quite different metabolic changes. These responses are depending on the effect of natural and anthropogenic stress factors on the use of enhanced CO{sub 2} and on the allocation of additionally formed assimilates.« less

A tangent-ring optical TWDM-MAN enabling three-level transregional reconfigurations and shared protections by multipoint distributed control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gou, Kaiyu; Gan, Chaoqin; Zhang, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Yuchao

2018-03-01

An optical time-and-wavelength-division-multiplexing metro-access network (TWDM-MAN) is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. By the reuse of tangent-ring optical distribution network and the design of distributed control mechanism, ONUs needing to communicate with each other can be flexibly accessed to successfully make up three kinds of reconfigurable networks. By the nature advantage of ring topology in protection, three-level comprehensive protections covering both feeder and distribution fibers are also achieved. Besides, a distributed wavelength allocation (DWA) is designed to support efficient parallel upstream transmission. The analyses including capacity, congestion and transmission simulation show that this network has a great performance.

A performance analysis method for distributed real-time robotic systems: A case study of remote teleoperation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lefebvre, D. R.; Sanderson, A. C.

1994-01-01

Robot coordination and control systems for remote teleoperation applications are by necessity implemented on distributed computers. Modeling and performance analysis of these distributed robotic systems is difficult, but important for economic system design. Performance analysis methods originally developed for conventional distributed computer systems are often unsatisfactory for evaluating real-time systems. The paper introduces a formal model of distributed robotic control systems; and a performance analysis method, based on scheduling theory, which can handle concurrent hard-real-time response specifications. Use of the method is illustrated by a case of remote teleoperation which assesses the effect of communication delays and the allocation of robot control functions on control system hardware requirements.

C3R2 - Complete Calibration of the Color-Redshift Relation: Keck spectroscopy to train photometric redshifts for Euclid and WFIRST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, Daniel; C3R2 Team

2017-01-01

A primary objective of both WFIRST and Euclid is to provide a 3D map of the distribution of matter across a significant fraction of the universe from the weak lensing shear field, but to do so requires robust distances to billions of galaxies. I will report on a multi-semester program, expected to total approximately 40 nights with Keck over the next two years. This program, supporting both the NASA PCOS and COR science goals, will obtain the necessary galaxy spectroscopy to calibrate the color-redshift relation for the Euclid mission, and make significant progress towards the WFIRST requirements. The program, called C3R2 or Complete Calibration of the Color-Redshift Relation, already encompasses 10 allocated nights of NASA Keck Key Strategic Mission Support (PI D. Stern), 12 allocated nights from Caltech (PI J. Cohen), 3 allocated nights from the University of Hawaii (PI D. Sanders), and 1.5 allocated nights from UC-Riverside (PI B. Mobasher). We are also pursuing opportunities at additional 8- to 10-meter class telescopes, including Magellan, VLT and GCT. I will present the motivation for this program, the plans, and current results.

Adjacency Matrix-Based Transmit Power Allocation Strategies in Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Consolini, Luca; Medagliani, Paolo; Ferrari, Gianluigi

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present an innovative transmit power control scheme, based on optimization theory, for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) which use carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision avoidance (CA) as medium access control (MAC) protocol. In particular, we focus on schemes where several remote nodes send data directly to a common access point (AP). Under the assumption of finite overall network transmit power and low traffic load, we derive the optimal transmit power allocation strategy that minimizes the packet error rate (PER) at the AP. This approach is based on modeling the CSMA/CA MAC protocol through a finite state machine and takes into account the network adjacency matrix, depending on the transmit power distribution and determining the network connectivity. It will be then shown that the transmit power allocation problem reduces to a convex constrained minimization problem. Our results show that, under the assumption of low traffic load, the power allocation strategy, which guarantees minimal delay, requires the maximization of network connectivity, which can be equivalently interpreted as the maximization of the number of non-zero entries of the adjacency matrix. The obtained theoretical results are confirmed by simulations for unslotted Zigbee WSNs. PMID:22346705

Drinking in the last chance saloon: luck egalitarianism, alcohol consumption, and the organ transplant waiting list.

PubMed

Albertsen, Andreas

2016-06-01

The scarcity of livers available for transplants forces tough choices upon us. Lives for those not receiving a transplant are likely to be short. One large group of potential recipients needs a new liver because of alcohol consumption, while others suffer for reasons unrelated to their own behaviour. Should the former group receive lower priority when scarce livers are allocated? This discussion connects with one of the most pertinent issues in contemporary political philosophy; the role of personal responsibility in distributive justice. One prominent theory of distributive justice, luck egalitarianism, assesses distributions as just if, and only if, people's relative positions reflect their exercises of responsibility. There is a principled luck egalitarian case for giving lower priority to those who are responsible for their need. Compared to the existing literature favouring such differentiation, luck egalitarianism provides a clearer rationale of fairness, acknowledges the need for individual assessments of responsibility, and requires initiatives both inside and outside of the allocation systems aimed at mitigating the influence from social circumstances. Furthermore, the concrete policies that luck egalitarians can recommend are neither too harsh on those who make imprudent choices nor excessively intrusive towards those whose exercises of responsibility are assessed.

Microwave-Driven Multifunctional Capability of Membrane Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Sang H.; Chu, Sang-Hyong; Song, Kyo D.; King, Glen C.

2002-01-01

A large, ultra lightweight space structure, such as solar sails and Gossamer spacecrafts, requires a distributed power source to alleviate wire networks, unlike the localized on-board power infrastructures typically found in most small spacecrafts. The concept of microwave-driven multifunctional capability for membrane structures is envisioned as the best option to alleviate the complexity associated with hard-wired control circuitry and on-board power infrastructures. A rectenna array based on a patch configuration for high voltage output was developed to drive membrane actuators, sensors, probes, or other devices. Networked patch rectenna array receives and converts microwave power into a DC power for an array of smart actuators. To use microwave power effectively, the concept of a power allocation and distribution (PAD) circuit is adopted for networking a rectenna/actuator patch array. The use of patch rectennas adds a significant amount of rigidity to membrane flexibility and they are relatively heavy. A dipole rectenna array (DRA) appears to be ideal for thin-film membrane structures, since DRA is flexible and light. Preliminary design and fabrication of PAD circuitry that consists of a few nodal elements were made for laboratory testing. The networked actuators were tested to correlate the network coupling effect, power allocation and distribution, and response time.

Electronic Tool for Distribution and Allocation of Heart on Donation and Transplantation in Mexico.

PubMed

Maqueda Tenorio, S E; Meixueiro Daza, L A; Maqueda Estrada, S

2016-03-01

In Mexico and globally, organs and/or tissues donated from deceased people are insufficient to cover the demand for transplants. In 2014, a rate of 3.6 organ donors per million in habitants was recorded; this is reflected in the transplants performed, including heart transplantation, with a rate of 0.4 per million population. According to the legal framework of Mexico, the National Transplant Center is responsible for coordinating National Subsystem of donation and transplantation, and one of its functions is to integrate and backup information regarding donation and transplantation through the National Transplant Registry System. In July 2015, 45 people were registered in the database of patients waiting for a heart transplant, of which 34.61% were female recipients and 65.39% male. Distribution and allocation processes are a key element to provide a fair distribution for those patients waiting for that organ; thus the creation of an electronic tool is proposed, one that aims to support the decision of the donation and/or transplants coordination committee by providing the necessary elements to make this process more efficient. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial analysis of malaria in Anhui province, China

PubMed Central

Zhang, Wenyi; Wang, Liping; Fang, Liqun; Ma, Jiaqi; Xu, Youfu; Jiang, Jiafu; Hui, Fengming; Wang, Jianjun; Liang, Song; Yang, Hong; Cao, Wuchun

2008-01-01

Background Malaria has re-emerged in Anhui Province, China, and this province was the most seriously affected by malaria during 2005–2006. It is necessary to understand the spatial distribution of malaria cases and to identify highly endemic areas for future public health planning and resource allocation in Anhui Province. Methods The annual average incidence at the county level was calculated using malaria cases reported between 2000 and 2006 in Anhui Province. GIS-based spatial analyses were conducted to detect spatial distribution and clustering of malaria incidence at the county level. Results The spatial distribution of malaria cases in Anhui Province from 2000 to 2006 was mapped at the county level to show crude incidence, excess hazard and spatial smoothed incidence. Spatial cluster analysis suggested 10 and 24 counties were at increased risk for malaria (P < 0.001) with the maximum spatial cluster sizes at < 50% and < 25% of the total population, respectively. Conclusion The application of GIS, together with spatial statistical techniques, provide a means to quantify explicit malaria risks and to further identify environmental factors responsible for the re-emerged malaria risks. Future public health planning and resource allocation in Anhui Province should be focused on the maximum spatial cluster region. PMID:18847489

Allocative and implementation efficiency in HIV prevention and treatment for people who inject drugs.

PubMed

Benedikt, Clemens; Kelly, Sherrie L; Wilson, David; Wilson, David P

2016-12-01

Estimated global new HIV infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) remained stable over the 2010-2015 period and the target of a 50% reduction over this period was missed. To achieve the 2020 UNAIDS target of reducing adult HIV infections by 75% compared to 2010, accelerated action in scaling up HIV programs for PWID is required. In a context of diminishing external support to HIV programs in countries where most HIV-affected PWID live, it is essential that available resources are allocated and used as efficiently as possible. Allocative and implementation efficiency analysis methods were applied. Optima, a dynamic, population-based HIV model with an integrated program and economic analysis framework was applied in eight countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Mathematical analyses established optimized allocations of resources. An implementation efficiency analysis focused on examining technical efficiency, unit costs, and heterogeneity of service delivery models and practices. Findings from the latest reported data revealed that countries allocated between 4% (Bulgaria) and 40% (Georgia) of total HIV resources to programs targeting PWID - with a median of 13% for the eight countries. When distributing the same amount of HIV funding optimally, between 9% and 25% of available HIV resources would be allocated to PWID programs with a median allocation of 16% and, in addition, antiretroviral therapy would be scaled up including for PWID. As a result of optimized allocations, new HIV infections are projected to decline by 3-28% and AIDS-related deaths by 7-53% in the eight countries. Implementation efficiencies identified involve potential reductions in drug procurement costs, service delivery models, and practices and scale of service delivery influencing cost and outcome. A high level of implementation efficiency was associated with high volumes of PWID clients accessing a drug harm reduction facility. A combination of optimized allocation of resources, improved implementation efficiency and increased investment of non-HIV resources is required to enhance coverage and improve outcomes of programs for PWID. Increasing efficiency of HIV programs for PWID is a key step towards avoiding implicit rationing and ensuring transparent allocation of resources where and how they would have the largest impact on the health of PWID, and thereby ensuring that funding spent on PWID becomes a global best buy in public health. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

42 CFR 486.324 - Condition: Administration and governing body.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area. (2) Individuals who... to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution... syndrome (AIDS). (5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs. (6) A system for allocation of organs among...

42 CFR 486.324 - Condition: Administration and governing body.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area. (2) Individuals who... to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution... syndrome (AIDS). (5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs. (6) A system for allocation of organs among...

42 CFR 486.324 - Condition: Administration and governing body.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area. (2) Individuals who... to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution... syndrome (AIDS). (5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs. (6) A system for allocation of organs among...

42 CFR 486.324 - Condition: Administration and governing body.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area. (2) Individuals who... to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution... syndrome (AIDS). (5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs. (6) A system for allocation of organs among...

42 CFR 486.324 - Condition: Administration and governing body.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... personnel, tissue banks, and voluntary health associations in the OPO's service area. (2) Individuals who... to cooperate with tissue banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage, and distribution... syndrome (AIDS). (5) Appropriate tissue typing of organs. (6) A system for allocation of organs among...

Cultural Collectivism and Distributive Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Kwok; Iwawaki, Saburo

1988-01-01

The degree to which 484 Japanese, Korean, and American subjects sacrificed their self-gain to benefit in-group members in allocating a group reward was tested. Results indicated that although the effects involving culture were not significant, students in general were more individualistic than adults. (Author/BJV)

Facilities Planning Guide for the Community College System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massachusetts Advisory Council on Education, Boston.

These guidelines include definitions pertaining to educational criteria and planning criteria, and guidelines regarding--(1) administrative ratios, (2) space allocation in assignable square feet, (3) area conversion factors, (4) gross building area distribution, (5) curriculum balance development, (6) project performance schedule, and (7) project…

Dynamic Factorization in Large-Scale Optimization

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

and variable production charges, distribution via multiple modes, taxes, duties and duty draw- back, and inventory charges. See Harrison, Arntzen and...34 Capital allocation and project selection via decomposition:’ presented at CORS/TIMS/ORSA meeting. Vancouver. Be ( 1989). T.P. Harrison. B.C. Arntzen and

76 FR 45576 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Title: ACF-535 LIHEAP Quarterly Allocation Estimates. OMB No.: 0970-0037... for the LIHEAP program. This is the only method used to request anticipated distributions of the...

Task set induces dynamic reallocation of resources in visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Sheremata, Summer L; Shomstein, Sarah

2017-08-01

Successful interaction with the environment requires the ability to flexibly allocate resources to different locations in the visual field. Recent evidence suggests that visual short-term memory (VSTM) resources are distributed asymmetrically across the visual field based upon task demands. Here, we propose that context, rather than the stimulus itself, determines asymmetrical distribution of VSTM resources. To test whether context modulates the reallocation of resources to the right visual field, task set, defined by memory-load, was manipulated to influence visual short-term memory performance. Performance was measured for single-feature objects embedded within predominantly single- or two-feature memory blocks. Therefore, context was varied to determine whether task set directly predicts changes in visual field biases. In accord with the dynamic reallocation of resources hypothesis, task set, rather than aspects of the physical stimulus, drove improvements in performance in the right- visual field. Our results show, for the first time, that preparation for upcoming memory demands directly determines how resources are allocated across the visual field.

Networked Rectenna Array for Smart Material Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Sang H.; Golembiewski, Walter T.; Song, Kyo D.

2000-01-01

The concept of microwave-driven smart material actuators is envisioned as the best option to alleviate the complexity associated with hard-wired control circuitry. Networked rectenna patch array receives and converts microwave power into a DC power for an array of smart actuators. To use microwave power effectively, the concept of a power allocation and distribution (PAD) circuit is adopted for networking a rectenna/actuator patch array. The PAD circuit is imbedded into a single embodiment of rectenna and actuator array. The thin-film microcircuit embodiment of PAD circuit adds insignificant amount of rigidity to membrane flexibility. Preliminary design and fabrication of PAD circuitry that consists of a few nodal elements were made for laboratory testing. The networked actuators were tested to correlate the network coupling effect, power allocation and distribution, and response time. The features of preliminary design are 16-channel computer control of actuators by a PCI board and the compensator for a power failure or leakage of one or more rectennas.

What Factors Do Allied Health Take Into Account When Making Resource Allocation Decisions?

PubMed

Lane, Haylee; Sturgess, Tamica; Philip, Kathleen; Markham, Donna; Martin, Jennifer; Walsh, Jill; Hubbard, Wendy; Haines, Terry

2017-09-12

Allied health comprises multiple professional groups including dietetics, medical radiation practitioners, occupational therapists, optometrists and psychologists. Different to medical and nursing, Allied health are often organized in discipline specific departments and allocate budgets within these to provide services to a range of clinical areas. Little is known of how managers of allied health go about allocating these resources, the factors they consider when making these decisions, and the sources of information they rely upon. The purpose of this study was to identify the key factors that allied health consider when making resource allocation decisions and the sources of information they are based upon. Four forums were conducted each consisting of case studies, a large group discussion and two hypothetical scenarios to elicit data. A thematic content analysis commenced during post-forum discussions of key factors by forum facilitators. These factors were then presented to an expert working party for further discussion and refinement. Transcripts were generated of all data recordings and a detailed thematic analysis was undertaken by one author to ensure coded data matched the initial thematic analysis. Twelve factors affecting the decision-making of allied health managers and clinicians were identified. One of these factors was disendorsed by the expert working party. The 11 remaining factors can be considered to be key decision-making principles that should be consistently applied to resource allocation. These principles were clustered into three overarching themes of readiness, impact and appropriateness. Understanding these principles now means further research can be completed to more effectively integrate research evidence into health policy and service delivery, create partnerships among policy-makers, managers, service providers and researchers, and to provide support to answer difficult questions that policy-makers, managers and service providers face. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[Downscaling research of spatial distribution of incidence of hand foot and mouth disease based on area-to-area Poisson Kriging method].

PubMed

Wang, J X; Hu, M G; Yu, S C; Xiao, G X

2017-09-10

Objective: To understand the spatial distribution of incidence of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) at scale of township and provide evidence for the better prevention and control of HFMD and allocation of medical resources. Methods: The incidence data of HFMD in 108 counties (district) in Shandong province in 2010 were collected. Downscaling interpolation was conducted by using area-to-area Poisson Kriging method. The interpolation results were visualized by using geographic information system (GIS). The county (district) incidence was interpolated into township incidence to get the distribution of spatial distribution of incidence of township. Results: In the downscaling interpolation, the range of the fitting semi-variance equation was 20.38 km. Within the range, the incidence had correlation with each other. The fitting function of scatter diagram of estimated and actual incidence of HFMD at country level was y =1.053 1 x , R (2)=0.99. The incidences at different scale were consistent. Conclusions: The incidence of HFMD had spatial autocorrelation within 20.38 km. When HFMD occurs in one place, it is necessary to strengthen the surveillance and allocation of medical resource in the surrounding area within 20.38 km. Area to area Poisson Kriging method based downscaling research can be used in spatial visualization of HFMD incidence.

The Political Economy of Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnoy, Martin

1985-01-01

The political economy of education treats education as a factor shaped by the power relations between different economic, political, and social groups. Specific topics discussed include the economic value of education, education as an allocator of economic roles, education and social class, education and income distribution, and education and…

Estimating the Classification Efficiency of a Test Battery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Corte, Wilfried

2000-01-01

Shows how a theorem proven by H. Brogden (1951, 1959) can be used to estimate the allocation average (a predictor based classification of a test battery) assuming that the predictor intercorrelations and validities are known and that the predictor variables have a joint multivariate normal distribution. (SLD)

Land use allocation model considering climate change impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, D. K.; Yoon, E. J.; Song, Y. I.

2017-12-01

In Korea, climate change adaptation plans are being developed for each administrative district based on impact assessments constructed in various fields. This climate change impact assessments are superimposed on the actual space, which causes problems in land use allocation because the spatial distribution of individual impacts may be different each other. This implies that trade-offs between climate change impacts can occur depending on the composition of land use. Moreover, the actual space is complexly intertwined with various factors such as required area, legal regulations, and socioeconomic values, so land use allocation in consideration of climate change can be very difficult problem to solve (Liu et al. 2012; Porta et al. 2013).Optimization techniques can generate a sufficiently good alternatives for land use allocation at the strategic level if only the fitness function of relationship between impact and land use composition are derived. It has also been noted that land use optimization model is more effective than the scenario-based prediction model in achieving the objectives for problem solving (Zhang et al. 2014). Therefore in this study, we developed a quantitative tool, MOGA (Multi Objective Genetic Algorithm), which can generate a comprehensive land use allocations considering various climate change impacts, and apply it to the Gangwon-do in Korea. Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are the most popular optimization technique to address multi-objective in land use allocation. Also, it allows for immediate feedback to stake holders because it can run a number of experiments with different parameter values. And it is expected that land use decision makers and planners can formulate a detailed spatial plan or perform additional analysis based on the result of optimization model. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as "Climate Change Correspondence Program (Project number: 2014001310006)"

Kidney Transplant Candidates’ Views of the Transplant Allocation System

PubMed Central

Louis, Okiki N; Sankar, Pamela; Ubel, Peter A

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE The point system used to distribute scarce transplantable kidneys places great emphasis on antigen matching. This contributes to increased waiting times for African Americans, who have a disproportionate share of rare antigens. We conducted a pilot study to explore the understanding and attitudes of kidney transplant candidates toward the way the transplant allocation system trades off between antigen matching and waiting time. MEASUREMENTS MAIN RESULTS We performed semi-structured interviews of a convenience sample of 33 patients awaiting transplants in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. Patients had a number of misconceptions about the transplant allocation system. Many incorrectly thought, for example, that quality of life and financial status influence which patients on the waiting list receive available organs. Despite these and other misconceptions, the majority of patients thought the allocation system was fair. However, many African Americans thought the system was biased against them because of their race. After hearing about how the transplant system factors antigen matching and waiting time into organ allocation, the majority of subjects still felt the system was fair. After hearing that the emphasis on antigen matching causes African Americans to wait twice as long as whites, a larger number of subjects thought the system was unfair. Nevertheless, few thought the system should be changed. Even African American patients who felt the system was unfair still approved of the emphasis on antigen matching out of a desire to have a successful kidney transplant. CONCLUSIONS We found that most of the interviewed patients awaiting kidney transplant thought the system should continue to emphasize antigen matching. Although attitudes toward the allocation system differed by race, with African American patients more suspicious of the system, the importance patients placed on antigen matching did not appear to differ by race. PMID:9276653

Preventing conflicts among bid curves used with transactive controllers in a market-based resource allocation system

DOEpatents

Fuller, Jason C.; Chassin, David P.; Pratt, Robert G.; Hauer, Matthew; Tuffner, Francis K.

2017-03-07

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for distributing a resource (such as electricity) using a resource allocation system. One of the disclosed embodiments is a method for operating a transactive thermostatic controller configured to submit bids to a market-based resource allocation system. According to the exemplary method, a first bid curve is determined, the first bid curve indicating a first set of bid prices for corresponding temperatures and being associated with a cooling mode of operation for a heating and cooling system. A second bid curve is also determined, the second bid curve indicating a second set of bid prices for corresponding temperatures and being associated with a heating mode of operation for a heating and cooling system. In this embodiment, the first bid curve, the second bid curve, or both the first bid curve and the second bid curve are modified to prevent overlap of any portion of the first bid curve and the second bid curve.

Congestion Pricing for Aircraft Pushback Slot Allocation.

PubMed

Liu, Lihua; Zhang, Yaping; Liu, Lan; Xing, Zhiwei

2017-01-01

In order to optimize aircraft pushback management during rush hour, aircraft pushback slot allocation based on congestion pricing is explored while considering monetary compensation based on the quality of the surface operations. First, the concept of the "external cost of surface congestion" is proposed, and a quantitative study on the external cost is performed. Then, an aircraft pushback slot allocation model for minimizing the total surface cost is established. An improved discrete differential evolution algorithm is also designed. Finally, a simulation is performed on Xinzheng International Airport using the proposed model. By comparing the pushback slot control strategy based on congestion pricing with other strategies, the advantages of the proposed model and algorithm are highlighted. In addition to reducing delays and optimizing the delay distribution, the model and algorithm are better suited for use for actual aircraft pushback management during rush hour. Further, it is also observed they do not result in significant increases in the surface cost. These results confirm the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed model and algorithm.

Grid accounting service: state and future development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levshina, T.; Sehgal, C.; Bockelman, B.; Weitzel, D.; Guru, A.

2014-06-01

During the last decade, large-scale federated distributed infrastructures have been continually developed and expanded. One of the crucial components of a cyber-infrastructure is an accounting service that collects data related to resource utilization and identity of users using resources. The accounting service is important for verifying pledged resource allocation per particular groups and users, providing reports for funding agencies and resource providers, and understanding hardware provisioning requirements. It can also be used for end-to-end troubleshooting as well as billing purposes. In this work we describe Gratia, a federated accounting service jointly developed at Fermilab and Holland Computing Center at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Open Science Grid, Fermilab, HCC, and several other institutions have used Gratia in production for several years. The current development activities include expanding Virtual Machines provisioning information, XSEDE allocation usage accounting, and Campus Grids resource utilization. We also identify the direction of future work: improvement and expansion of Cloud accounting, persistent and elastic storage space allocation, and the incorporation of WAN and LAN network metrics.

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing.

PubMed

Reda, Naglaa M; Tawfik, A; Marzok, Mohamed A; Khamis, Soheir M

2015-11-01

Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan.

Congestion Pricing for Aircraft Pushback Slot Allocation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yaping

2017-01-01

In order to optimize aircraft pushback management during rush hour, aircraft pushback slot allocation based on congestion pricing is explored while considering monetary compensation based on the quality of the surface operations. First, the concept of the “external cost of surface congestion” is proposed, and a quantitative study on the external cost is performed. Then, an aircraft pushback slot allocation model for minimizing the total surface cost is established. An improved discrete differential evolution algorithm is also designed. Finally, a simulation is performed on Xinzheng International Airport using the proposed model. By comparing the pushback slot control strategy based on congestion pricing with other strategies, the advantages of the proposed model and algorithm are highlighted. In addition to reducing delays and optimizing the delay distribution, the model and algorithm are better suited for use for actual aircraft pushback management during rush hour. Further, it is also observed they do not result in significant increases in the surface cost. These results confirm the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed model and algorithm. PMID:28114429

Design and implementation of flexible TWDM-PON with PtP WDM overlay based on WSS for next-generation optical access networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Bin; Yin, Hongxi; Qin, Jie; Liu, Chang; Liu, Anliang; Shao, Qi; Xu, Xiaoguang

2016-09-01

Aiming at the increasing demand of the diversification services and flexible bandwidth allocation of the future access networks, a flexible passive optical network (PON) scheme combining time and wavelength division multiplexing (TWDM) with point-to-point wavelength division multiplexing (PtP WDM) overlay is proposed for the next-generation optical access networks in this paper. A novel software-defined optical distribution network (ODN) structure is designed based on wavelength selective switches (WSS), which can implement wavelength and bandwidth dynamical allocations and suits for the bursty traffic. The experimental results reveal that the TWDM-PON can provide 40 Gb/s downstream and 10 Gb/s upstream data transmission, while the PtP WDM-PON can support 10 GHz point-to-point dedicated bandwidth as the overlay complement system. The wavelengths of the TWDM-PON and PtP WDM-PON are allocated dynamically based on WSS, which verifies the feasibility of the proposed structure.

Sort-Mid tasks scheduling algorithm in grid computing

PubMed Central

Reda, Naglaa M.; Tawfik, A.; Marzok, Mohamed A.; Khamis, Soheir M.

2014-01-01

Scheduling tasks on heterogeneous resources distributed over a grid computing system is an NP-complete problem. The main aim for several researchers is to develop variant scheduling algorithms for achieving optimality, and they have shown a good performance for tasks scheduling regarding resources selection. However, using of the full power of resources is still a challenge. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm called Sort-Mid is proposed. It aims to maximizing the utilization and minimizing the makespan. The new strategy of Sort-Mid algorithm is to find appropriate resources. The base step is to get the average value via sorting list of completion time of each task. Then, the maximum average is obtained. Finally, the task has the maximum average is allocated to the machine that has the minimum completion time. The allocated task is deleted and then, these steps are repeated until all tasks are allocated. Experimental tests show that the proposed algorithm outperforms almost other algorithms in terms of resources utilization and makespan. PMID:26644937

On the Fair Division of Multiple Stochastic Pies to Multiple Agents within the Nash Bargaining Solution

PubMed Central

Karmperis, Athanasios C.; Aravossis, Konstantinos; Tatsiopoulos, Ilias P.; Sotirchos, Anastasios

2012-01-01

The fair division of a surplus is one of the most widely examined problems. This paper focuses on bargaining problems with fixed disagreement payoffs where risk-neutral agents have reached an agreement that is the Nash-bargaining solution (NBS). We consider a stochastic environment, in which the overall return consists of multiple pies with uncertain sizes and we examine how these pies can be allocated with fairness among agents. Specifically, fairness is based on the Aristotle’s maxim: “equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally, in proportion to the relevant inequality”. In this context, fairness is achieved when all the individual stochastic surplus shares which are allocated to agents are distributed in proportion to the NBS. We introduce a novel algorithm, which can be used to compute the ratio of each pie that should be allocated to each agent, in order to ensure fairness within a symmetric or asymmetric NBS. PMID:23024752

Impact of water allocation strategies to manage groundwater resources in Western Australia: Equity and efficiency considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iftekhar, Md Sayed; Fogarty, James

2017-05-01

In many parts of the world groundwater is being depleting at an alarming rate. Where groundwater extraction is licenced, regulators often respond to resource depletion by reducing all individual licences by a fixed proportion. This approach can be effective in achieving a reduction in the volume of water extracted, but the approach is not efficient. In water resource management the issue of the equity-efficiency trade-off has been explored in a number of contexts, but not in the context of allocation from a groundwater system. To contribute to this knowledge gap we conduct an empirical case study for Western Australia's most important groundwater system: the Gnangara Groundwater System (GGS). Resource depletion is a serious issue for the GGS, and substantial reductions in groundwater extraction are required to stabilise the system. Using an individual-based farm optimization model we study both the overall impact and the distributional impact of a fixed percentage water allocation cut to horticulture sector licence holders. The model is parameterised using water licence specific data on farm area and water allocation. The modelling shows that much of the impact of water allocation reductions can be mitigated through changing the cropping mix and the irrigation technology used. The modelling also shows that the scope for gains through the aggregation of holdings into larger farms is much greater than the potential losses due to water allocation reductions. The impact of water allocation cuts is also shown to impact large farms more than small farms. For example, the expected loss in net revenue per ha for a 10-ha farm is around three times the expected loss per ha for a 1-ha farm; and the expected loss per ha for a 25-ha farm is around five times the expected loss per ha for a 1-ha farm.

Resources for health promotion: rhetoric, research and reality.

PubMed

Minke, Sharlene Wolbeck; Raine, Kim D; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Anderson, Donna; Khalema, Ernest; Smith, Cynthia

2007-01-01

Canadian political discourse supports the importance of health promotion and advocates the allocation of health resources to health promotion. Furthermore, the current literature frequently identifies financial and human resources as important elements of organizational capacity for health promotion. In the Alberta Heart Health Project (AHHP), we sought to learn if the allocation of health resources in a regionalized health system was congruent with the espoused support for health promotion in Alberta, Canada. The AHHP used a mixed method approach in a time series design. Participants were drawn from multiple organizational levels (i.e., service providers, managers, board members) across all Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). Data were triangulated through multiple collection methods, primarily an organizational capacity survey, analysis of organizational documents, focus groups, and personal interviews. Analysis techniques were drawn from quantitative (i.e., frequency distributions, ANOVAs) and qualitative (i.e., content and thematic analysis) approaches. In most cases, small amounts (<5%) of financial resources were allocated to health promotion in RHAs' core budgets. Respondents reported seeking multiple sources of public health financing to support their health promotion initiatives. Human resources for health promotion were characterized by fragmented responsibilities and short-term work. Furthermore, valuable human resources were consumed in ongoing searches for funding that typically covered short time periods. Resource allocations to health promotion in Alberta RHAs are inconsistent with the current emphasis on health promotion as an organizational priority. Inadequate and unstable funding erodes the RHAs' capacity for health promotion. Sustainable health promotion calls for the assured allocation of adequate, sustainable financial resources.

Leadership and Strategic Management: Keys to Institutional Priorities and Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, James S.; de Lourdes Machado, Maria; Peterson, Marvin W.

2008-01-01

Allocating and managing resources have always been important cornerstones of institutional leadership. Institutional resources include financial, physical and human components. Even in the best of times, it is a challenge to do this effectively. In times of diminished and shrinking resources, distributing these precious commodities across the…

CETA: Is It Equitable for Women? A Rand Note.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berryman, Sue E.; And Others

A study assessed whether the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) equitably allocates its training, employment, occupational, and wage benefits by sex. To analyze the sex equity of CETA's resource distribution, researchers used data from the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey (CLMS) for fiscal 1976, 1977, and 1978 CETA enrollees.…

76 FR 38389 - Policy Statement Concerning Adjustments to the Insurance Premiums and Policy Statement on the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-30

...; allocate any excess balances above the SBA to these AIRAs; and make partial distributions of the excess... average outstanding insured obligations will be set between zero and the statutory rate of 20 basis points. The Board will not [[Page 38391

School Inequality and the Welfare State.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, John D.

This book begins with an examination of school inequality in the United States. The discussion focuses successively on the issues of: the paradox of unequal schools in a welfare state, the distribution of educational resources in American cities: some new empirical evidence, inequalities in the allocation of educational resources among cities and…

Spatial partitioning by mule deer and elk in relation to traffic.

Treesearch

Michael J. Wisdom; Norman J. Cimon; Bruce K. Johnson; Edward O. Garton; Jack Ward. Thomas

2004-01-01

Elk (Cervus elaphus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) have overlapping ranges on millions of acres of forests and rangelands in western North America. Accurate prediction of their spatial distributions within these ranges is essential to effective land-use planning, stocking allocation and population management (Wisdom and...

Funding of Medical Research in Australia by the National Health & Medical Research Council.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCloskey, Ian

1994-01-01

The role of Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, an independent statutory body, in distribution of funds for research projects, programs, units, and major institutes. The agency's evaluation system, resource allocation practices, and training and career support system are described briefly. (MSE)

Brown and the Distribution of School Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, William M.; Colton, David L.

1982-01-01

The case of Brown v Topeka has had important consequences affecting the availability and allocation of funds for public schooling. Research to more accurately identify and explain these financial effects will be hampered by such problems as lack of standardized accounting systems, distortions of desegregation costs, and ambiguities of policy.…

In Situ Carbon Stable Isotope Tracer Experiments Elucidate Carbon Translocation Rates and Allocation Patterns in Zostera marina L. (eelgrass)

EPA Science Inventory

The intertidal seagrass Zostera marina is an important species that provides critical habitat for a number of estuarine species. Despite its widespread distribution, there is limited information on seasonal patterns of carbon dynamics of plants growing in situ, particularly esti...

Justice and Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, John

2004-01-01

Conceptual problems about justice and disability relate directly to practice. Current thinking tends (1) to consider only distributive justice (the allocation of resources); (2) to assume that educators have the right to impose their own values on the disabled; and (3) to classify people as disabled, and treat those people, in accordance with a…

26 CFR 1.482-1 - Allocation of income and deductions among taxpayers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... section sets forth general principles and guidelines to be followed under section 482. Section 1.482-2... practices, economic principles, or statistical analyses. The extent and reliability of any adjustments will..., extraction, and assembly; (E) Purchasing and materials management; (F) Marketing and distribution functions...

The Campus-Based Formula. NASFAA Task Force Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, 2014

2014-01-01

The primary purpose of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Campus-Based Aid Allocation Task Force was to examine the formula by which congressional appropriations for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Perkins Loan programs are distributed to schools,…

State Education Finance and Governance Profile: Alabama

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Key, Logan

2010-01-01

This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Alabama. The state is home to 1,538 public schools distributed across 67 county school systems and 64 city school systems. State spending is allocated via two separate budgets, "the general fund" for all noneducation related expenditures and the Education Trust…

Fair Access to Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mountford-Zimdars, Anna; Sabbagh, Daniel

2013-01-01

This special issue introduces a set of article addressing the question of what "fairness" means with respect to the distribution of access to higher education. Articles herein address the criteria that "should" be used to allocate funding, offers of admission at selective institutions, and conceiving and assessing …

Two-phase simulation-based location-allocation optimization of biomass storage distribution

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study presents a two-phase simulation-based framework for finding the optimal locations of biomass storage facilities that is a very critical link on the biomass supply chain, which can help to solve biorefinery concerns (e.g. steady supply, uniform feedstock properties, stable feedstock costs,...

Transforming School Funding: A Guide to Implementing Student-Based Budgeting (SBB)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenberg, David; Gordon, Jeff; Hsu, Betty

2014-01-01

Student-Based Budgeting (sometimes called Weighted Student Funding, or Fair Student Funding, depending on the district) differs fundamentally from the traditional funding model, which distributes resources to schools in the form of staff and dollars designated for specific purposes. Student-Based Budgeting (SBB) allocates dollars to schools based…

Self-powered information measuring wireless networks using the distribution of tasks within multicore processors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuravska, Iryna M.; Koretska, Oleksandra O.; Musiyenko, Maksym P.; Surtel, Wojciech; Assembay, Azat; Kovalev, Vladimir; Tleshova, Akmaral

2017-08-01

The article contains basic approaches to develop the self-powered information measuring wireless networks (SPIM-WN) using the distribution of tasks within multicore processors critical applying based on the interaction of movable components - as in the direction of data transmission as wireless transfer of energy coming from polymetric sensors. Base mathematic model of scheduling tasks within multiprocessor systems was modernized to schedule and allocate tasks between cores of one-crystal computer (SoC) to increase energy efficiency SPIM-WN objects.

Asymptotic Normality Through Factorial Cumulants and Partition Identities

PubMed Central

Bobecka, Konstancja; Hitczenko, Paweł; López-Blázquez, Fernando; Rempała, Grzegorz; Wesołowski, Jacek

2013-01-01

In the paper we develop an approach to asymptotic normality through factorial cumulants. Factorial cumulants arise in the same manner from factorial moments as do (ordinary) cumulants from (ordinary) moments. Another tool we exploit is a new identity for ‘moments’ of partitions of numbers. The general limiting result is then used to (re-)derive asymptotic normality for several models including classical discrete distributions, occupancy problems in some generalized allocation schemes and two models related to negative multinomial distribution. PMID:24591773

Interprocess Communication in Highly Distributed Systems - A Workshop Report - 20 to 22, November 1978.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

Links between processes can be aLlocated strictLy to controL functions. In fact, the degree of separation of control and data is an important research is...delays or Loss of control messages. Cognoscienti agree that message-passing IPC schemes are equivalent in "power" to schemes which employ shared...THEORETICAL WORK Page 55 SECTION 6 THEORETICAL WORK 6.1 WORKING GRUP JIM REP.OR STRUCTURE of Discussion: Distributed system without central (or any) control

Multi-objective possibilistic model for portfolio selection with transaction cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jana, P.; Roy, T. K.; Mazumder, S. K.

2009-06-01

In this paper, we introduce the possibilistic mean value and variance of continuous distribution, rather than probability distributions. We propose a multi-objective Portfolio based model and added another entropy objective function to generate a well diversified asset portfolio within optimal asset allocation. For quantifying any potential return and risk, portfolio liquidity is taken into account and a multi-objective non-linear programming model for portfolio rebalancing with transaction cost is proposed. The models are illustrated with numerical examples.

Phylogenetic perspectives on the evolution of functional hermaphroditism in teleost fishes.

PubMed

Erisman, Brad E; Petersen, Christopher W; Hastings, Philip A; Warner, Robert R

2013-10-01

Hermaphroditism is taxonomically widespread among teleost fishes and takes on many forms including simultaneous, protogynous, and protandrous hermaphroditism, bidirectional sex change, and androdioecy. The proximate mechanisms that influence the timing, incidence, and forms of hermaphroditism in fishes are supported by numerous theoretical and empirical studies on their mating systems and sexual patterns, but few have examined aspects of sex-allocation theory or the evolution of hermaphroditism for this group within a strict phylogenetic context. Fortunately, species-level phylogenetic reconstructions of the evolutionary history of many lineages of fishes have emerged, providing opportunities for understanding fine-scale evolutionary pathways and transformations of sex allocation. Examinations of several families of fishes with adequate data on phylogeny, patterns of sex allocation, mating systems, and with some form of hermaphroditism reveal that the evolution and expression of protogyny and other forms of sex allocation show little evidence of phylogenetic inertia within specific lineages but rather are associated with particular mating systems in accordance with prevalent theories about sex allocation. Transformations from protogyny to gonochorism in groupers (Epinephelidae), seabasses (Serranidae), and wrasses and parrotfishes (Labridae) are associated with equivalent transformations in the structure of mating groups from spawning of pairs to group spawning and related increases in sperm competition. Similarly, patterns of protandry, androdioecy, simultaneous hermaphroditism, and bidirectional sex change in other lineages (Aulopiformes, Gobiidae, and Pomacentridae) match well with particular mating systems in accordance with sex-allocation theory. Unlike other animals and plants, we did not find evidence that transitions between hermaphroditism and gonochorism required functional intermediates. Two instances in which our general conclusions might not hold include the expression of protandry in the Sparidae and the distribution of simultaneous hermaphroditism. In the Sparidae, the association of hypothesized mating systems and patterns of sex allocation were not always consistent with the size-advantage model (SAM), in that certain protandric sparids show evidence of intense sperm competition that should favor the expression of gonochorism. In the other case, simultaneous hermaphroditism does not occur in some groups of monogamous fishes, which are similar in ecology to the hermaphroditic serranines, suggesting that this form of sex allocation may be more limited by phylogenetic inertia. Overall, this work strongly supports sexual lability within teleost fishes and confirms evolutionary theories of sex allocation in this group of vertebrates.

Quid pro quo: a mechanism for fair collaboration in networked systems.

PubMed

Santos, Agustín; Fernández Anta, Antonio; López Fernández, Luis

2013-01-01

Collaboration may be understood as the execution of coordinated tasks (in the most general sense) by groups of users, who cooperate for achieving a common goal. Collaboration is a fundamental assumption and requirement for the correct operation of many communication systems. The main challenge when creating collaborative systems in a decentralized manner is dealing with the fact that users may behave in selfish ways, trying to obtain the benefits of the tasks but without participating in their execution. In this context, Game Theory has been instrumental to model collaborative systems and the task allocation problem, and to design mechanisms for optimal allocation of tasks. In this paper, we revise the classical assumptions of these models and propose a new approach to this problem. First, we establish a system model based on heterogenous nodes (users, players), and propose a basic distributed mechanism so that, when a new task appears, it is assigned to the most suitable node. The classical technique for compensating a node that executes a task is the use of payments (which in most networks are hard or impossible to implement). Instead, we propose a distributed mechanism for the optimal allocation of tasks without payments. We prove this mechanism to be robust evenevent in the presence of independent selfish or rationally limited players. Additionally, our model is based on very weak assumptions, which makes the proposed mechanisms susceptible to be implemented in networked systems (e.g., the Internet).

Brain Activity in Fairness Consideration during Asset Distribution: Does the Initial Ownership Play a Role?

PubMed Central

Wu, Yin; Hu, Jie; van Dijk, Eric; Leliveld, Marijke C.; Zhou, Xiaolin

2012-01-01

Previous behavioral studies have shown that initial ownership influences individuals’ fairness consideration and other-regarding behavior. However, it is not entirely clear whether initial ownership influences the brain activity when a recipient evaluates the fairness of asset distribution. In this study, we randomly assigned the bargaining property (monetary reward) to either the allocator or the recipient in the ultimatum game and let participants of the study, acting as recipients, receive either disadvantageous unequal, equal, or advantageous unequal offers from allocators while the event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Behavioral results showed that participants were more likely to reject disadvantageous unequal and equal offers when they initially owned the property as compared to when they did not. The two types of unequal offers evoked more negative going ERPs (the MFN) than the equal offers in an early time window and the differences were not modulated by the initial ownership. In a late time window, however, the P300 responses to division schemes were affected not only by the type of unequal offers but also by whom the property was initially assigned to. These findings suggest that while the MFN may function as a general mechanism that evaluates whether the offer is consistent or inconsistent with the equity rule, the P300 is sensitive to top-down controlled processes, into which factors related to the allocation of attentional resources, including initial ownership and personal interests, come to play. PMID:22761850

Severity and presence of atherosclerosis signs within the segments of internal carotid artery: CBCT's contribution.

PubMed

Damaskos, Spyros; da Silveira, Heraldo L D; Berkhout, Erwin W R

2016-07-01

This study aims to assess with cone-beam computed tomography the distribution and interrelation of the presence of calcifications along the course of the internal carotid artery and to associate their severity with their allocation within the segments of internal carotid artery, gender, and age. Using a documented visual scale, 161 cone-beam computed tomography scans were evaluated on the allocation and severity of intracranial calcifications within the segments of the internal carotid artery. Calcifications were detected along the petrous (C2: 11.8%), lacerum (C3: 23.6%), cavernous (C4: 92.5%), and ophthalmic-clinoid (C5/C6: 65.8%) segments. The Friedman test showed significant differences in severity distribution among these segments; the highest degree was found in the C4 segment (P < .05). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed no significant differences between calcifications on the right or left side or between severities within the C1 (extracranial) and C5/C6 segments. The Chi-square test showed that the severity and allocation of calcifications are not influenced by gender; it also showed that their severity increases with age (P < .05). In the cohort studied, the incidence of calcifications increased throughout the C1, C5/C6, and C4 segments. More severe calcifications were found at the C4, C1, and C5/C6 segments in decreasing order but increased with age, regardless of gender. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resource allocation in academic health centers: creating common metrics.

PubMed

Joiner, Keith A; Castellanos, Nathan; Wartman, Steven A

2011-09-01

Optimizing resource allocation is essential for effective academic health center (AHC) management, yet guidelines and principles for doing so in the research and educational arenas remain limited. To address this issue, the authors analyzed responses to the 2007-2008 Association of Academic Health Centers census using ratio analysis. The concept was to normalize data from an individual institution to that same institution, by creating a ratio of two separate values from the institution (e.g., total faculty FTEs/total FTEs). The ratios were then compared across institutions. Generally, this strategy minimizes the effect of institution size on the responses, size being the predominant limitation of using absolute values for developing meaningful metrics. In so doing, ratio analysis provides a range of responses that can be displayed in graphical form to determine the range and distribution of values. The data can then be readily scrutinized to determine where any given institution falls within the distribution. Staffing ratios and operating ratios from up to 54 institutions are reported. For ratios including faculty numbers in the numerator or denominator, the range of values is wide and minimally discriminatory, reflecting heterogeneity across institutions in faculty definitions. Values for financial ratios, in particular total payroll expense/total operating expense, are more tightly clustered, reflecting in part the use of units with a uniform definition (i.e., dollars), and emphasizing the utility of such ratios in decision guidelines. The authors describe how to apply these insights to develop metrics for resource allocation in the research and educational arenas.

Design of safety-oriented control allocation strategies for overactuated electric vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Castro, Ricardo; Tanelli, Mara; Esteves Araújo, Rui; Savaresi, Sergio M.

2014-08-01

The new vehicle platforms for electric vehicles (EVs) that are becoming available are characterised by actuator redundancy, which makes it possible to jointly optimise different aspects of the vehicle motion. To do this, high-level control objectives are first specified and solved with appropriate control strategies. Then, the resulting virtual control action must be translated into actual actuator commands by a control allocation layer that takes care of computing the forces to be applied at the wheels. This step, in general, is quite demanding as far as computational complexity is considered. In this work, a safety-oriented approach to this problem is proposed. Specifically, a four-wheel steer EV with four in-wheel motors is considered, and the high-level motion controller is designed within a sliding mode framework with conditional integrators. For distributing the forces among the tyres, two control allocation approaches are investigated. The first, based on the extension of the cascading generalised inverse method, is computationally efficient but shows some limitations in dealing with unfeasible force values. To solve the problem, a second allocation algorithm is proposed, which relies on the linearisation of the tyre-road friction constraints. Extensive tests, carried out in the CarSim simulation environment, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Holding-time-aware asymmetric spectrum allocation in virtual optical networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Chunjian; Li, Hui; Liu, Yuze; Ji, Yuefeng

2017-10-01

Virtual optical networks (VONs) have been considered as a promising solution to support current high-capacity dynamic traffic and achieve rapid applications deployment. Since most of the network services (e.g., high-definition video service, cloud computing, distributed storage) in VONs are provisioned by dedicated data centers, needing different amount of bandwidth resources in both directions, the network traffic is mostly asymmetric. The common strategy, symmetric provisioning of traffic in optical networks, leads to a waste of spectrum resources in such traffic patterns. In this paper, we design a holding-time-aware asymmetric spectrum allocation module based on SDON architecture and an asymmetric spectrum allocation algorithm based on the module is proposed. For the purpose of reducing spectrum resources' waste, the algorithm attempts to reallocate the idle unidirectional spectrum slots in VONs, which are generated due to the asymmetry of services' bidirectional bandwidth. This part of resources can be exploited by other requests, such as short-time non-VON requests. We also introduce a two-dimensional asymmetric resource model for maintaining idle spectrum resources information of VON in spectrum and time domains. Moreover, a simulation is designed to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, and results show that our proposed asymmetric spectrum allocation algorithm can improve the resource waste and reduce blocking probability.

Heterogeneity of allocation promotes cooperation in public goods games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Chuang; Wu, Te; Jia, Jian-Yuan; Cong, Rui; Wang, Long

2010-11-01

We investigate the effects of heterogeneous investment and distribution on the evolution of cooperation in the context of the public goods games. To do this, we develop a simple model in which each individual allocates differing funds to his direct neighbors based upon their difference in connectivity, because of the heterogeneity of real social ties. This difference is characterized by the weight of the link between paired individuals, with an adjustable parameter precisely controlling the heterogeneous level of ties. By numerical simulations, it is found that allocating both too much and too little funds to diverse neighbors can remarkably improve the cooperation level. However, there exists a worst mode of funds allocation leading to the most unfavorable cooperation induced by the moderate values of the parameter. In order to better reveal the potential causes behind these nontrivial phenomena we probe the microscopic characteristics including the average payoff and the cooperator density for individuals of different degrees. It demonstrates rather different dynamical behaviors between the modes of these two types of cooperation promoter. Besides, we also investigate the total link weights of individuals numerically and theoretically for negative values of the parameter, and conclude that the payoff magnitude of middle-degree nodes plays a crucial role in determining the cooperators’ fate.

Inventory slack routing application in emergency logistics and relief distributions.

PubMed

Yang, Xianfeng; Hao, Wei; Lu, Yang

2018-01-01

Various natural and manmade disasters during last decades have highlighted the need of further improving on governmental preparedness to emergency events, and a relief supplies distribution problem named Inventory Slack Routing Problem (ISRP) has received increasing attentions. In an ISRP, inventory slack is defined as the duration between reliefs arriving time and estimated inventory stock-out time. Hence, a larger inventory slack could grant more responsive time in facing of various factors (e.g., traffic congestion) that may lead to delivery lateness. In this study, the relief distribution problem is formulated as an optimization model that maximize the minimum slack among all dispensing sites. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a two-stage approach to tackle the vehicle routing and relief allocation sub-problems. By analyzing the inter-relations between these two sub-problems, a new objective function considering both delivery durations and dispensing rates of demand sites is applied in the first stage to design the vehicle routes. A hierarchical routing approach and a sweep approach are also proposed in this stage. Given the vehicle routing plan, the relief allocation could be easily solved in the second stage. Numerical experiment with a comparison of multi-vehicle Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) has demonstrated the need of ISRP and the capability of the proposed solution approaches.

Inventory slack routing application in emergency logistics and relief distributions

PubMed Central

Yang, Xianfeng; Lu, Yang

2018-01-01

Various natural and manmade disasters during last decades have highlighted the need of further improving on governmental preparedness to emergency events, and a relief supplies distribution problem named Inventory Slack Routing Problem (ISRP) has received increasing attentions. In an ISRP, inventory slack is defined as the duration between reliefs arriving time and estimated inventory stock-out time. Hence, a larger inventory slack could grant more responsive time in facing of various factors (e.g., traffic congestion) that may lead to delivery lateness. In this study, the relief distribution problem is formulated as an optimization model that maximize the minimum slack among all dispensing sites. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a two-stage approach to tackle the vehicle routing and relief allocation sub-problems. By analyzing the inter-relations between these two sub-problems, a new objective function considering both delivery durations and dispensing rates of demand sites is applied in the first stage to design the vehicle routes. A hierarchical routing approach and a sweep approach are also proposed in this stage. Given the vehicle routing plan, the relief allocation could be easily solved in the second stage. Numerical experiment with a comparison of multi-vehicle Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) has demonstrated the need of ISRP and the capability of the proposed solution approaches. PMID:29902196

Mechanisms and Control of Phloem Transport in Trees: Fast and Slow - Sink and Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gessler, Arthur; Hagedorn, Frank; Galiano, Lucia; Schaub, Marcus; Joseph, Jobin; Arend, Matthias; Hommel, Robert; Kayler, Zachary

2017-04-01

Trees are large global stores of carbon that will be affected by increased carbon dioxide levels and climate change in the future. However, at present we cannot properly predict the carbon balance of forests as we lack knowledge on how plant physiological processes and especially the transport of carbon within the plant interact with environmental drivers and ecosystem-scale processes. The central conveyor belt for C allocation and distribution within the tree is the phloem and its functionality under environmental stress (esp. drought) is important for the avoidance of C starvation. This paper addresses the distribution of new assimilates within the plant, and sheds light on phloem transport mechanisms and transport control using 13C pulse labelling techniques. We provide experimental evidence that at least two mechanisms are employed to couple C sink processes to assimilation. We observed a fast increase of belowground respiration with the onset of photosynthesis, which we assume is induced by pressure concentration waves travelling through the phloem. A second, much later occurring peak in respiration is fueled by new 13C labeled assimilates. Moreover, we relate phloem transport velocity and intensity of labelled 13C assimilates to drought stress intensity and give indication how sink rather than source control might affect phloem transport in trees. During drought, net photosynthesis, soil respiration and the allocation of recent assimilates below ground were reduced. Carbohydrates accumulated in metabolically resting roots but not in leaves, indicating sink control of the tree carbon balance. After drought release, soil respiration recovered faster than assimilation and CO2 fluxes exceeded those in continuously watered trees for months. This stimulation was related to greater assimilate allocation to and metabolization in the rhizosphere. These findings show that trees prioritize the investment of assimilates below ground, probably to regain root functions after drought and indicate that sink activity governs carbon allocation not only during drought stress but also after stress release.

A simultaneous deep micromachining and surface passivation method suitable for silicon-based devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaei, E.; Gharooni, M.; Mohajerzadeh, S.; Soleimani, E. A.

2018-07-01

Three novel methods for simultaneous micromachining and surface passivation of silicon are reported. A thin passivation layer is achieved using continuous and sequential plasma processes based on SF6, H2 and O2 gases. Reducing the recombination by surface passivation is crucial for the realization of high-performance nanosized optoelectronic devices. The passivation of the surface as an important step, is feasible by plasma processing based on hydrogen pulses in proper time-slots or using a mixture of H2 and O2, and SF6 gases. The passivation layer which is formed in situ during the micromachining process obviates a separate passivation step needed in conventional methods. By adjusting the plasma parameters such as power, duration, and flows of gases, the process can be controlled for the best results and acceptable under-etching at the same time. Moreover, the pseudo-oxide layer which is formed during the micromachining processes will also improve the electrical characteristics of the surface, which can be used as an add-on for micro and nanowire applications. To quantify the effect of surface passivation in our method, ellipsometry, lifetime measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements and solar cell testing have been employed.

Accurate Energy Consumption Modeling of IEEE 802.15.4e TSCH Using Dual-BandOpenMote Hardware.

PubMed

Daneels, Glenn; Municio, Esteban; Van de Velde, Bruno; Ergeerts, Glenn; Weyn, Maarten; Latré, Steven; Famaey, Jeroen

2018-02-02

The Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of the IEEE 802.15.4e amendment aims to improve reliability and energy efficiency in industrial and other challenging Internet-of-Things (IoT) environments. This paper presents an accurate and up-to-date energy consumption model for devices using this IEEE 802.15.4e TSCH mode. The model identifies all network-related CPU and radio state changes, thus providing a precise representation of the device behavior and an accurate prediction of its energy consumption. Moreover, energy measurements were performed with a dual-band OpenMote device, running the OpenWSN firmware. This allows the model to be used for devices using 2.4 GHz, as well as 868 MHz. Using these measurements, several network simulations were conducted to observe the TSCH energy consumption effects in end-to-end communication for both frequency bands. Experimental verification of the model shows that it accurately models the consumption for all possible packet sizes and that the calculated consumption on average differs less than 3% from the measured consumption. This deviation includes measurement inaccuracies and the variations of the guard time. As such, the proposed model is very suitable for accurate energy consumption modeling of TSCH networks.

Accurate Energy Consumption Modeling of IEEE 802.15.4e TSCH Using Dual-BandOpenMote Hardware

PubMed Central

Municio, Esteban; Van de Velde, Bruno; Latré, Steven

2018-01-01

The Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of the IEEE 802.15.4e amendment aims to improve reliability and energy efficiency in industrial and other challenging Internet-of-Things (IoT) environments. This paper presents an accurate and up-to-date energy consumption model for devices using this IEEE 802.15.4e TSCH mode. The model identifies all network-related CPU and radio state changes, thus providing a precise representation of the device behavior and an accurate prediction of its energy consumption. Moreover, energy measurements were performed with a dual-band OpenMote device, running the OpenWSN firmware. This allows the model to be used for devices using 2.4 GHz, as well as 868 MHz. Using these measurements, several network simulations were conducted to observe the TSCH energy consumption effects in end-to-end communication for both frequency bands. Experimental verification of the model shows that it accurately models the consumption for all possible packet sizes and that the calculated consumption on average differs less than 3% from the measured consumption. This deviation includes measurement inaccuracies and the variations of the guard time. As such, the proposed model is very suitable for accurate energy consumption modeling of TSCH networks. PMID:29393900

Multigranular integrated services optical network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Oliver; Yin, Leping; Xu, Huan; Liao, Ming

2006-12-01

Based on all-optical switches without requiring fiber delay lines and optical-electrical-optical interfaces, the multigranular optical switching (MGOS) network integrates three transport services via unified core control to efficiently support bursty and stream traffic of subwavelength to multiwavelength bandwidth. Adaptive robust optical burst switching (AR-OBS) aggregates subwavelength burst traffic into asynchronous light-rate bursts, transported via slotted-time light paths established by fast two-way reservation with robust blocking recovery control. Multiwavelength optical switching (MW-OS) decomposes multiwavelength stream traffic into a group of timing-related light-rate streams, transported via a light-path group to meet end-to-end delay-variation requirements. Optical circuit switching (OCS) simply converts wavelength stream traffic from an electrical-rate into a light-rate stream. The MGOS network employs decoupled routing, wavelength, and time-slot assignment (RWTA) and novel group routing and wavelength assignment (GRWA) to select slotted-time light paths and light-path groups, respectively. The selected resources are reserved by the unified multigranular robust fast optical reservation protocol (MG-RFORP). Simulation results show that elastic traffic is efficiently supported via AR-OBS in terms of loss rate and wavelength utilization, while connection-oriented wavelength traffic is efficiently supported via wavelength-routed OCS in terms of connection blocking and wavelength utilization. The GRWA-tuning result for MW-OS is also shown.

Ages and transit times as important diagnostics of model performance for predicting carbon dynamics in terrestrial vegetation models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceballos-Núñez, Verónika; Richardson, Andrew D.; Sierra, Carlos A.

2018-03-01

The global carbon cycle is strongly controlled by the source/sink strength of vegetation as well as the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to retain this carbon. These dynamics, as well as processes such as the mixing of old and newly fixed carbon, have been studied using ecosystem models, but different assumptions regarding the carbon allocation strategies and other model structures may result in highly divergent model predictions. We assessed the influence of three different carbon allocation schemes on the C cycling in vegetation. First, we described each model with a set of ordinary differential equations. Second, we used published measurements of ecosystem C compartments from the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site to find suitable parameters for the different model structures. And third, we calculated C stocks, release fluxes, radiocarbon values (based on the bomb spike), ages, and transit times. We obtained model simulations in accordance with the available data, but the time series of C in foliage and wood need to be complemented with other ecosystem compartments in order to reduce the high parameter collinearity that we observed, and reduce model equifinality. Although the simulated C stocks in ecosystem compartments were similar, the different model structures resulted in very different predictions of age and transit time distributions. In particular, the inclusion of two storage compartments resulted in the prediction of a system mean age that was 12-20 years older than in the models with one or no storage compartments. The age of carbon in the wood compartment of this model was also distributed towards older ages, whereas fast cycling compartments had an age distribution that did not exceed 5 years. As expected, models with C distributed towards older ages also had longer transit times. These results suggest that ages and transit times, which can be indirectly measured using isotope tracers, serve as important diagnostics of model structure and could largely help to reduce uncertainties in model predictions. Furthermore, by considering age and transit times of C in vegetation compartments as distributions, not only their mean values, we obtain additional insights into the temporal dynamics of carbon use, storage, and allocation to plant parts, which not only depends on the rate at which this C is transferred in and out of the compartments but also on the stochastic nature of the process itself.

Adaptive Management of Computing and Network Resources for Spacecraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pfarr, Barbara; Welch, Lonnie R.; Detter, Ryan; Tjaden, Brett; Huh, Eui-Nam; Szczur, Martha R. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

It is likely that NASA's future spacecraft systems will consist of distributed processes which will handle dynamically varying workloads in response to perceived scientific events, the spacecraft environment, spacecraft anomalies and user commands. Since all situations and possible uses of sensors cannot be anticipated during pre-deployment phases, an approach for dynamically adapting the allocation of distributed computational and communication resources is needed. To address this, we are evolving the DeSiDeRaTa adaptive resource management approach to enable reconfigurable ground and space information systems. The DeSiDeRaTa approach embodies a set of middleware mechanisms for adapting resource allocations, and a framework for reasoning about the real-time performance of distributed application systems. The framework and middleware will be extended to accommodate (1) the dynamic aspects of intra-constellation network topologies, and (2) the complete real-time path from the instrument to the user. We are developing a ground-based testbed that will enable NASA to perform early evaluation of adaptive resource management techniques without the expense of first deploying them in space. The benefits of the proposed effort are numerous, including the ability to use sensors in new ways not anticipated at design time; the production of information technology that ties the sensor web together; the accommodation of greater numbers of missions with fewer resources; and the opportunity to leverage the DeSiDeRaTa project's expertise, infrastructure and models for adaptive resource management for distributed real-time systems.

34 CFR 403.113 - How does a State allocate funds under the Secondary School Vocational Education Program to area...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... School Vocational Education Program to area vocational education schools and intermediate educational... TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM What Kinds of Activities Does the Secretary Assist Under the Basic Programs... intermediate educational agencies? (a) A State shall distribute funds reserved under § 403.112(a) directly to...

Unequal Distribution of Resources for K-12 Science Instruction: Data from the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, P. Sean; Nelson, Michele M.; Trygstad, Peggy J.; Banilower, Eric R.

2013-01-01

Equitable science education opportunities are shaped by factors originating inside and outside schools. Resources for science instruction--for example, laboratory equipment and course offerings--have historically been allocated unequally across schools serving different student communities. This paper addresses the equity of instructional resource…

A Fair Slice of the Cake? Distributing the 'Capped' Further Education Pool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cane, Brian; Seavor, Ken

1980-01-01

In Great Britain the Advanced Further Education Pool supports polytechnics and colleges. Although the "pool" of expenditure has been "capped," allocations for 1980/81 were dependent on the size of claims made by individual authorities. It is suggested that these claims bear no consistent relationship to past expenditure or…

Menstruation and Education in Nepal. NBER Working Paper No. 14853

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oster, Emily; Thornton, Rebecca

2009-01-01

This paper presents the results from a randomized evaluation that distributed menstrual cups (menstrual sanitary products) to adolescent girls in rural Nepal. Girls in the study were randomly allocated a menstrual cup for use during their monthly period and were followed for fifteen months to measure the effects of having modern sanitary products…

26 CFR 1.996-7 - Carryover of DISC tax attributes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... allocated. (iii) Any assets of the distributing DISC whose status as qualified export assets is limited by its accumulated DISC income (e.g., producer's loans described in § 1.993-4, Export-Import Bank and... constitutes accumulated DISC income. The unpaid balance of P's producer's loans is $80,000 all of which is...

Shorebird and boater impact management planning

Treesearch

Robert D. Deblinger; Jerry J. Vaske; Maureen P. Donnelly; Russ Hopping

1992-01-01

This paper integrates social and ecological impact data from a barrier beach to demonstrate the value of an inter-disciplinary approach to resource allocation and visitor management. The ecological data included observations of shorebird distributions and causes of human disturbance. The social data were obtained from on-site surveys of boaters and pedestrian visitors...

Depth gradients in food web processes linking habitats in large lakes: Lake Superior as an exemplar ecosystem

EPA Science Inventory

In large lakes around the world, water depth is often associated with shifts in ecological communities. Depth-based changes in the abundance and distribution of invertebrate and fish species suggest that there may be concomitant changes in patterns of resource allocation. Using L...

State Strategies for Financing Career and Technical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Laura Rasmussen; Klein, Steve; Elliott, Barbara

2014-01-01

The "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV" or "Act") authorizes federal funding for career and technical education (CTE) and specifies a formula for distributing those funds. Allocations at the secondary level are based on the number of youths ages 5-17 who reside within a local…

Previous land use alters plant allocation and growth in forest herbs

Treesearch

Jennifer M. Fraterrigo; Monica G. Turner; Scott M. Pearson

2006-01-01

Former human practices can persistently influence forest ecosystems, particularly by altering the distribution and abundance of vegetation. Previous research has focused on the role of colonization success in governing plant community patterns in abandoned forests, but few studies have explored how changes in the performance of adult plants may contribute to...

Concepts and Principles for State-Level Higher Education Budgeting. ASHE 1984 Annual Meeting Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Dennis P.

Basic concepts concerning state-level resource allocation to higher education are discussed. Attention is directed to principles of budgeting regardless of context, the pluralistic nature of higher education, characteristics of higher education production functions, and the typical form of the budget. In addition to the distribution of resources,…

Algorithmic Coordination in Robotic Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-29

appropriate performance, robustness and scalability properties for various task allocation , surveillance, and information gathering applications is...networking, we envision designing and analyzing algorithms with appropriate performance, robustness and scalability properties for various task ...distributed algorithms for target assignments; based on the classic auction algorithms in static networks, we intend to design efficient algorithms in worst

77 FR 2225 - Allocation and Apportionment of Interest Expense

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-17

... for Services and Enforcement. Approved: December 6, 2011. Emily S. McMahon, Acting Assistant Secretary... 44 U.S.C. 1510. #0; #0;The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. #0... partner's distributive share of interest expense incurred by the partnership. Section 1.861-9T(e)(1...

Principals' and Teachers' Reports of Instructional Time Allocations in Third Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heafner, Tina L.; Fitchett, Paul G.

2015-01-01

Using a paired national cross-section of third grade teacher and principal Schools and Staffing Survey data from 2007 to 2008, comparisons were made regarding teachers' and elementary principals' reports of instructional time distributions for English Language Arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and reading in third grade during a full…

26 CFR 1.732-2 - Special partnership basis of distributed property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...). The basis of the unrealized receivables in C's hands would be $100 (zero plus $100, one-half of C's...,300 for the inventory items ($500 plus $800) and $200 for the unrealized receivables (zero plus $200... basis adjustments, plus $500 common partnership basis, the amount allocated to inventory items and...

75 FR 8322 - EPIC Merchant Energy NJ/PA, LP, SESCO Enterprises, LLC, Coaltrain Energy, LP, Complainants, v...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-24

... Respondent is improperly allocating physical transmission line losses to virtual transactions and also distributing over-collected transmission line losses in a manner that discriminates against virtual Market... , using the ``eLibrary'' link and is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room in...

Physician Manpower and Distribution in Florida, 1976.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penrod, Kenneth E.

This study, requested by the Community Hospital Education Council, was undertaken to provide guidance in the allocation of state resources in support of internship and residency programs. An attempt is made to establish goals of physician manpower in each of the major specialty groups and to indicate the excess or deficit now extant in Florida.…

Dynamic resource allocation scheme for distributed heterogeneous computer systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Howard T. (Inventor); Silvester, John A. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

This invention relates to a resource allocation in computer systems, and more particularly, to a method and associated apparatus for shortening response time and improving efficiency of a heterogeneous distributed networked computer system by reallocating the jobs queued up for busy nodes to idle, or less-busy nodes. In accordance with the algorithm (SIDA for short), the load-sharing is initiated by the server device in a manner such that extra overhead in not imposed on the system during heavily-loaded conditions. The algorithm employed in the present invention uses a dual-mode, server-initiated approach. Jobs are transferred from heavily burdened nodes (i.e., over a high threshold limit) to low burdened nodes at the initiation of the receiving node when: (1) a job finishes at a node which is burdened below a pre-established threshold level, or (2) a node is idle for a period of time as established by a wakeup timer at the node. The invention uses a combination of the local queue length and the local service rate ratio at each node as the workload indicator.

Groundwater pumping by heterogeneous users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saak, Alexander E.; Peterson, Jeffrey M.

2012-08-01

Farm size is a significant determinant of both groundwater-irrigated farm acreage and groundwater-irrigation-application rates per unit land area. This paper analyzes the patterns of groundwater exploitation when resource users in the area overlying a common aquifer are heterogeneous. In the presence of user heterogeneity, the common resource problem consists of inefficient dynamic and spatial allocation of groundwater because it impacts income distribution not only across periods but also across farmers. Under competitive allocation, smaller farmers pump groundwater faster if farmers have a constant marginal periodic utility of income. However, it is possible that larger farmers pump faster if the Arrow-Pratt coefficient of relative risk-aversion is sufficiently decreasing in income. A greater farm-size inequality may either moderate or amplify income inequality among farmers. Its effect on welfare depends on the curvature properties of the agricultural output function and the farmer utility of income. Also, it is shown that a flat-rate quota policy that limits the quantity of groundwater extraction per unit land area may have unintended consequences for the income distribution among farmers.

A Web-based graphical user interface for evidence-based decision making for health care allocations in rural areas

PubMed Central

Schuurman, Nadine; Leight, Margo; Berube, Myriam

2008-01-01

Background The creation of successful health policy and location of resources increasingly relies on evidence-based decision-making. The development of intuitive, accessible tools to analyse, display and disseminate spatial data potentially provides the basis for sound policy and resource allocation decisions. As health services are rationalized, the development of tools such graphical user interfaces (GUIs) is especially valuable at they assist decision makers in allocating resources such that the maximum number of people are served. GIS can used to develop GUIs that enable spatial decision making. Results We have created a Web-based GUI (wGUI) to assist health policy makers and administrators in the Canadian province of British Columbia make well-informed decisions about the location and allocation of time-sensitive service capacities in rural regions of the province. This tool integrates datasets for existing hospitals and services, regional populations and road networks to allow users to ascertain the percentage of population in any given service catchment who are served by a specific health service, or baskets of linked services. The wGUI allows policy makers to map trauma and obstetric services against rural populations within pre-specified travel distances, illustrating service capacity by region. Conclusion The wGUI can be used by health policy makers and administrators with little or no formal GIS training to visualize multiple health resource allocation scenarios. The GUI is poised to become a critical decision-making tool especially as evidence is increasingly required for distribution of health services. PMID:18793428

A Highly Flexible and Efficient Passive Optical Network Employing Dynamic Wavelength Allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsueh, Yu-Li; Rogge, Matthew S.; Yamamoto, Shu; Kazovsky, Leonid G.

2005-01-01

A novel and high-performance passive optical network (PON), the SUCCESS-DWA PON, employs dynamic wavelength allocation to provide bandwidth sharing across multiple physical PONs. In the downstream, tunable lasers, an arrayed waveguide grating, and coarse/fine filtering combine to create a flexible new optical access solution. In the upstream, several distributed and centralized schemes are proposed and investigated. The network performance is compared to conventional TDM-PONs under different traffic models, including the self-similar traffic model and the transaction-oriented model. Broadcast support and deployment issues are addressed. The network's excellent scalability can bridge the gap between conventional TDM-PONs and WDM-PONs. The powerful architecture is a promising candidate for next generation optical access networks.

The Stimulus Movement Effect: Allocation of Attention or Artifact?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washburn, David A.

1993-01-01

In previous reports, including one by the author, learning has been shown to benefit by having discriminanda move rather than remain stationary. This stimulus movement effect might be attributed to several theoretical mechanisms, including attention, topological memory, and exposure duration. The series of experiments reported in this article was designed to Contrast these potential explanatory factors. Ten rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were tested on a variety of computerized tasks in which the stimuli remained stationary, flashed, or moved at systematically varied speeds. Performance was significantly best when the sample stimulus moved quickly and was poorest when the stimulus remained stationary. Further analysis of these data and other previously published data revealed that the distribution of the stimulus movement effect across trials supported an attention allocation interpretation.

Strategic planning for disaster recovery with stochastic last mile distribution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bent, Russell Whitford; Van Hentenryck, Pascal; Coffrin, Carleton

2010-01-01

This paper considers the single commodity allocation problem (SCAP) for disaster recovery, a fundamental problem faced by all populated areas. SCAPs are complex stochastic optimization problems that combine resource allocation, warehouse routing, and parallel fleet routing. Moreover, these problems must be solved under tight runtime constraints to be practical in real-world disaster situations. This paper formalizes the specification of SCAPs and introduces a novel multi-stage hybrid-optimization algorithm that utilizes the strengths of mixed integer programming, constraint programming, and large neighborhood search. The algorithm was validated on hurricane disaster scenarios generated by Los Alamos National Laboratory using state-of-the-art disaster simulation toolsmore » and is deployed to aid federal organizations in the US.« less

Regulation of distribution network business

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roman, J.; Gomez, T.; Munoz, A.

1999-04-01

The traditional distribution function actually comprises two separate activities: distribution network and retailing. Retailing, which is also termed supply, consists of trading electricity at the wholesale level and selling it to the end users. The distribution network business, or merely distribution, is a natural monopoly and it must be regulated. Increasing attention is presently being paid to the regulation of distribution pricing. Distribution pricing, comprises two major tasks: global remuneration of the distribution utility and tariff setting by allocation of the total costs among all the users of the network services. In this paper, the basic concepts for establishing themore » global remuneration of a distribution utility are presented. A remuneration scheme which recognizes adequate investment and operation costs, promotes losses reduction and incentivates the control of the quality of service level is proposed. Efficient investment and operation costs are calculated by using different types of strategic planning and regression analysis models. Application examples that have been used during the distribution regulation process in Spain are also presented.« less

Regional disparities in the distribution of healthcare workers: evidence from Iran, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.

PubMed

Ezati Asar, Mohamad; Varehzardi, Ramin; Rajabi Vasokolaei, Ghasem; Haghi, Mehdi; Fazelipor, Morteza

2015-02-09

A health care service is a prerequisite for sustainable development. This requires access to balanced health workers in different geographic areas. The first step is to identify inequality in access to health workers in different areas. This study is a descriptive study was carried out on the cities in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. TOPSIS technique was used to rank the cities in terms of regional disparities in the distribution of health workers. The findings revealed that distinct disparities in the distribution of healthcare workers across Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Shahrekord and Ardal cities were classified as 1st and 7th respectively. Policy makers should consider priority (regional planning, budget and resources allocation) according to the distribution of healthcare workers.

Production, depreciation and the size distribution of firms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Qi; Chen, Yongwang; Tong, Hui; Di, Zengru

2008-05-01

Many empirical researches indicate that firm size distributions in different industries or countries exhibit some similar characters. Among them the fact that many firm size distributions obey power-law especially for the upper end has been mostly discussed. Here we present an agent-based model to describe the evolution of manufacturing firms. Some basic economic behaviors are taken into account, which are production with decreasing marginal returns, preferential allocation of investments, and stochastic depreciation. The model gives a steady size distribution of firms which obey power-law. The effect of parameters on the power exponent is analyzed. The theoretical results are given based on both the Fokker-Planck equation and the Kesten process. They are well consistent with the numerical results.

Unequal Recovery? Federal Resource Distribution after a Midwest Flood Disaster

PubMed Central

Muñoz, Cristina E.; Tate, Eric

2016-01-01

Following severe flooding in 2008, three Iowa communities acquired over 1000 damaged properties to support disaster recovery and mitigation. This research applies a distributive justice framework to analyze the distribution of disaster recovery funds for property acquisition. Two research questions drive the analysis: (1) how does recovery vary by acquisition funding source; and (2) what is the relationship between recovery and vulnerable populations? Through spatial econometric modeling, relative recovery is compared between two federal programs that funded the acquisitions, and across socially vulnerable populations. The results indicate both distributive and temporal inequalities in the allocation of federal recovery funds. In particular, Latino and elderly populations were associated with lower recovery rates. Recommendations for future research in flood recovery and acquisitions are provided. PMID:27196921

Unequal Recovery? Federal Resource Distribution after a Midwest Flood Disaster.

PubMed

Muñoz, Cristina E; Tate, Eric

2016-05-17

Following severe flooding in 2008, three Iowa communities acquired over 1000 damaged properties to support disaster recovery and mitigation. This research applies a distributive justice framework to analyze the distribution of disaster recovery funds for property acquisition. Two research questions drive the analysis: (1) how does recovery vary by acquisition funding source; and (2) what is the relationship between recovery and vulnerable populations? Through spatial econometric modeling, relative recovery is compared between two federal programs that funded the acquisitions, and across socially vulnerable populations. The results indicate both distributive and temporal inequalities in the allocation of federal recovery funds. In particular, Latino and elderly populations were associated with lower recovery rates. Recommendations for future research in flood recovery and acquisitions are provided.

Incorporating uncertainty of management costs in sensitivity analyses of matrix population models.

PubMed

Salomon, Yacov; McCarthy, Michael A; Taylor, Peter; Wintle, Brendan A

2013-02-01

The importance of accounting for economic costs when making environmental-management decisions subject to resource constraints has been increasingly recognized in recent years. In contrast, uncertainty associated with such costs has often been ignored. We developed a method, on the basis of economic theory, that accounts for the uncertainty in population-management decisions. We considered the case where, rather than taking fixed values, model parameters are random variables that represent the situation when parameters are not precisely known. Hence, the outcome is not precisely known either. Instead of maximizing the expected outcome, we maximized the probability of obtaining an outcome above a threshold of acceptability. We derived explicit analytical expressions for the optimal allocation and its associated probability, as a function of the threshold of acceptability, where the model parameters were distributed according to normal and uniform distributions. To illustrate our approach we revisited a previous study that incorporated cost-efficiency analyses in management decisions that were based on perturbation analyses of matrix population models. Incorporating derivations from this study into our framework, we extended the model to address potential uncertainties. We then applied these results to 2 case studies: management of a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population and conservation of an olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) population. For low aspirations, that is, when the threshold of acceptability is relatively low, the optimal strategy was obtained by diversifying the allocation of funds. Conversely, for high aspirations, the budget was directed toward management actions with the highest potential effect on the population. The exact optimal allocation was sensitive to the choice of uncertainty model. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for uncertainty when making decisions and suggest that more effort should be placed on understanding the distributional characteristics of such uncertainty. Our approach provides a tool to improve decision making. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Ages and transit times as important diagnostics of model performance for predicting C allocation in ecosystem models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceballos-Núñez, Verónika; Richardson, Andrew; Sierra, Carlos

2017-04-01

The global carbon cycle is strongly controlled by the source/sink strength of vegetation as well as the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to retain this carbon. However, it is uncertain how some vegetation dynamics such as the allocation of carbon to different ecosystem compartments should be represented in models. The assumptions behind model structures may result in highly divergent model predictions. Here, we asses model performance by calculating the age of the carbon in the system and in each compartment, and the overall transit time of C in the system. We used these diagnostics to assess the influence of three different carbon allocation schemes on the rates of C cycling in vegetation. First, we used published measurements of ecosystem C compartments from the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site to find the best set of parameters for the different model structures. Second, we calculated C stocks, respiration fluxes, radiocarbon values, ages, and transit times. We found a good fit of the three model structures to the available data, but the time series of C in foliage and wood need to be complemented with other ecosystem compartments in order to reduce the high parameter collinearity that we observed and reduce model equifinality. Differences in model structures had a small impact on predicting ecosystem C compartments, but overall they resulted in very different predictions of age and transit time distributions. In particular, the inclusion of a storage compartment had an important impact on predicting system ages and transit times. In the case of the models with 1 or 2 storage compartments, the age of carbon in the system and in each of the compartments was distributed more towards younger ages than in the model that had no storage; the mean system age of these two models with storage was 80 years younger than in the model without storage. As expected from these age distributions, the mean transit time for the two models with storage compartments was 50 years faster than for the model without storage. These results suggest that ages and transit times, which can be indirectly measured using isotope tracers, serve as important diagnostics of model structure and could largely help to reduce uncertainties in model predictions. Furthermore, by considering age and transit times of C in vegetation compartments as distributions, not only their mean values, we obtain additional insights on the temporal dynamics of carbon use, storage, and allocation to plant parts, which not only depends on the rate at which this C is transferred in and out of the compartments, but also on the stochastic nature of the process itself.

Flexible power and bandwidth allocation in mobile satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyes, L. A.

The introduction of L-band mobile communication services by spot beam satellites creates a payload design challenge due to uncertainty in the location and size of the new market to be served. A combination of payload technologies that allow a flexible allocation of power and bandwidth to any portion of the coverage area is described. Power flexibility is achieved by a novel combination of a low-level beam-forming network and a matrix power module which ensures equal sharing of power among individual amplifiers. This eliminates the loss of efficiency and increased mass when an amplifier associated with a beam must be over-designed to meet uncertainties in power distribution between beams. Flexibility in allocation of bandwidth to beams is achieved by intermediate frequency subdivision of the L-band service categories defined by ITU. These spectral subdivisions are assigned to beams by an IF interconnect matrix having beam ports and filter ports as inputs and outputs, respectively. Two such filter switch matrices are required, one for the inbound L-band to feeder link transponder, and one for the outbound feeder link to L-band transponder.

Fuzzy-logic based Q-Learning interference management algorithms in two-tier networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Qiang; Xu, Zezhong; Li, Li; Zheng, Yan

2017-10-01

Unloading from macrocell network and enhancing coverage can be realized by deploying femtocells in the indoor scenario. However, the system performance of the two-tier network could be impaired by the co-tier and cross-tier interference. In this paper, a distributed resource allocation scheme is studied when each femtocell base station is self-governed and the resource cannot be assigned centrally through the gateway. A novel Q-Learning interference management scheme is proposed, that is divided into cooperative and independent part. In the cooperative algorithm, the interference information is exchanged between the cell-edge users which are classified by the fuzzy logic in the same cell. Meanwhile, we allocate the orthogonal subchannels to the high-rate cell-edge users to disperse the interference power when the data rate requirement is satisfied. The resource is assigned directly according to the minimum power principle in the independent algorithm. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the significant performance improvements in terms of the average data rate, interference power and energy efficiency over the cutting-edge resource allocation algorithms.