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This article proposes a novel method for scheduling residential building loads, including thermal and EV (Electric Vehicle) loads, to maximize demand response potential in smart home environment. In this approach, a load scheduling solution based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has been proposed. A policy search method based on Home Energy Management with Noise-Adaptive Proximal Policy Optimization (HEN-PPO) has been used to train the network. HEN-PPO can mitigate the influence of noise on temperature and solar radiation sensor data. The modification of the reward function for the system has been taken into account to address the distinct human behavior of randomly distributed cases of EV anxiety about range and time in conjunction with the optimal utilization of photovoltaic (PV) generation. This approach effectively manages both discrete and continuous activities of electrical loads at the same time, categorized as shiftable and regulatable, throughout the entire building model. Additionally, to replicate human behavior, real switching data from different household appliances has been used to determine the parameters for the probability distribution of residential load usage. Dynamic and unpredictable factors such as user behavior, ambient conditions, and real-time electricity pricing challenge scheduling residential building loads which are efficiently managed in this approach. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, simulation tests were carried out using real-time data distribution of household loads and surrounding temperature. The simulation results demonstrate promising energy savings, achieving 24%–29% reductions with the proposed approach.

With its position as the capital, Hanoi is the political center as well as the second largest economic center of the country. Therefore, the city is always allocated a large budget in construction investment to create material facilities for political tasks and economic and social development. During the implementation of construction projects, a number of difficulties and limitations have appeared. In which, projects are delayed in construction and disbursement, reducing investment efficiency and not meeting the expectations of the government and people. From this fact, the authors have conducted a study to evaluate the causes affecting the time schedule of construction projects in Hanoi. The method F-APH (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) was used to analyze data objectively and accurately about the causes affecting the time schedule. From there, these causes are classified into groups of subjective causes (from within the project) and groups of objective causes (from outside the project). The results show that subjective causes, originating from project participants, have a stronger influence than objective causes. A number of specific proposals to the actors involved in construction projects are made to eliminate or limit the impact of the causes of construction progress.

Abstract Efficient utilization of available computing resources in Cloud computing is one of the most challenging problems for cloud providers. This requires the design of an efficient and optimal task-scheduling strategy that can play a vital role in the functioning and overall performance of the cloud computing system. Optimal Schedules are specifically needed for scheduling virtual machines in fluctuating & unpredictable dynamic cloud scenario. Although there exist numerous approaches for enhancing task scheduling in the cloud environment, it is still an open issue. The paper focuses on an improved & enhanced ordinal optimization technique to reduce the large search space for optimal scheduling in the minimum time to achieve the goal of minimum makespan. To meet the current requirement of optimal schedule for minimum makespan, ordinal optimization that uses horse race conditions for selection rules is applied in an enhanced reiterative manner to achieve low overhead by smartly allocating the load to the most promising schedule. This proposed ordinal optimization technique and linear regression generate optimal schedules that help achieve minimum makespan. Furthermore, the proposed mathematical equation, derived using linear regression, predicts any future dynamic workload for a minimum makespan period target.

Introduction: As per the World Health Organization's mental health report for 2022, nearly a billion people have mental health issues, and 82% of them are in low and middle-income countries where mental health services are largely absent. For the successful integration of mental health into primary health care, proper training and education of primary care professionals are mandatory. Primary care nurses are in an excellent position to screen, identify, dual collaboration for treatment planning/referral, and follow-up of persons with mental illness (PMI), but they often lack the confidence and competence to tackle mental health problems. The study aimed to develop and validate the clinical schedule for primary care psychiatric nursing (CSP-N). Materials and Methods: It is conducted in two phases: the development and validation phases. An extensive literature search has been conducted, and the ten themes derived from the two-focused group discussions and three-direct one-to-one interviews and input from mental health experts were used to design the CSP-N. The CSP-N was checked for content validity by a panel of 17 experts using the item-level content validity index (I-CVI) and the scale-level content validity index (S-CVI). Results: The draft version 1 of the CSP-N showed high content validity for individual items (I-CVI range: 0.82 to 1.00) and high overall content validity (S-CVI = 0.95), and suggestions from the experts were incorporated. The CSP-N was developed in four modules. The single-measure two-way mixed absolute agreement ICC value was calculated (for 32 subjects) for the reliability test, and the ICC value was 0.97 with a 95% CI (0.94, 0.99). Conclusions: Using an iterative approach, the development and validation of the CSP-N demonstrated high I-CVI and S-CVI for screening and identification, dual collaboration for the treatment plan, referral, and follow-up of a person with mental illness by the nurses in the community.

This conceptual study aims to produce rough analysis methods and visualizations for production data (formatted in time, location, and work) that can be collected from construction sites that utilize takt production. The scope is on creating methods for evaluating the soundness of the takt plan and its execution. Relevant production literature regarding takt production management and data collection are utilized in the production of the methods and visualizations. However, only imaginary production data are utilized in this study to keep the indicators as simplified and clear as possible. A total of seven indicators with varying levels of novelty are provided in the study. The proposed indicators emphasize punctual adherence to the takt schedule, homogenous production pace, avoiding trade overlapping in locations, steady work in process, and coherent short and long-term production targets. Both as-planned and as-built perspectives are considered. The proposed indicators are argued to be valuable for production management and research and development processes since they provide status information and document the progression of the production for later indicators purposes. This study also acts as a foundation for further empirical studies regarding takt production data utilization.

A new vaccination schedule with one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) followed by three doses of bivalent oral attenuated live polio vaccine (bOPV) was introduced in China in 2016. Both Sabin IPV (sIPV) and Salk IPV (wIPV) sequentially with bOPV were accepted in the Chinese routine vaccination schedule. We intended to assess the immunogenicity of the current primary schedule (s/wIPV-bOPV-bOPV) and the schedule in the early stage of the switch (tOPV-bOPV-bOPV), and compare immunogenicity between the groups with different polio virus strains. Healthy infants aged 60–89 days were recruited in hospitals in Chongqing. Infants were assigned to one of three treatments (tOPV-bOPV-bOPV, sIPV-bOPV-bOPV or wIPV-bOPV-bOPV) by enrollment time. Polio neutralizing antibody (NA) assays were conducted to assess immunity. 1027 eligible infants were enrolled. Over 95% seroprotection rates against type I poliovirus (PV1) and type III poliovirus (PV3) were observed in all groups. Infants who received tOPV-bOPV-bOPV had higher antibody titers against type II poliovirus (PV2) than did the IPV-bOPV-bOPV. The geometric mean titers (GMTs) of PV2 were only ~20 in the IPV-bOPV-bOPV. GMTs of PV1 were higher than PV3 in s/wIPV-bOPV-bOPV. The primary schedule of s/wIPV-bOPV-bOPV is insufficient to protect children against PV2, and the NA titer to PV3 is lower. Higher antibody responses were induced in sIPV-bOPV-bOPV than that in wIPV-bOPV-bOPV. Supplementary vaccination with one dose of IPV is necessary for children who had no tOPV immune history or had only one IPV to induce higher levels of immunity against PV2 and PV3.

For manufacturing companies, reliable production planning and scheduling not only is the basis for efficient order processing but at the same time is an essential prerequisite for the integration and coordination of all participants along the entire supply chain. At the same time, the increasing delegation of planning activities to dynamic software solutions leads to increasing intransparency regarding the planning behavior. It thus becomes increasingly difficult to identify and address inefficiencies or problems caused by the planning processes within industrial supply chains. This paper presents an easy-to-use method for describing, visualizing and analyzing scheduling behavior in manufacturing companies requiring only very few data. In addition, an overview of key planning quality indicators (KPQIs) to be considered in the evaluation of the planning quality is given and structured along the assessment dimensions of plan stability and planning accuracy. The specific application at a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider for complex capital goods demonstrates the benefits and insights to be gained from the model’s application, especially in highly dynamic market environments. Using machine learning, characteristic planning patterns can also be statistically determined with the developed description logic and KPQI system.

Abstract Background Herd protection through interruption of transmission has contributed greatly to the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and may enable the use of cost-saving reduced dose schedules. To aid PCV age targeting to achieve herd protection, we estimated which population age groups contribute most to vaccine serotype (VT) pneumococcal transmission. Methods We used transmission dynamic models to mirror pre-PCV epidemiology in England and Wales, Finland, Kilifi in Kenya and Nha Trang in Vietnam where data on carriage prevalence in infants, pre-school and school-aged children and adults as well as social contact patterns was available. We used Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to fit the models and then extracted the per capita and population-based contribution of different age groups to VT transmission. Results We estimated that in all settings,

This document presents the modeling of load profile consumption for Low-and-Moderate-Income (LMI) communities in the Caribbean Islands, as well as an assessment of the solar-rooftop energy potential. In this work, real data, together with synthetic and electricity bill data, were collected to validate and improve the load profile models. The solar-rooftop energy potential was obtained through a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) software called the PVWatts calculator, and mathematical analysis. The analysis of rooftop solar energy potential was conducted to enable the minimum size of solar power systems to fit the energy demand in the community. The results obtained allow estimation of the capacity of the energy system for each house or an entire community.

Objectives: To audit colposcopy waiting time for first-diagnosed abnormal cervical cytology patients at Hatyai Hospital following the standard requirements of the National Health Service Cervical Screening Program (NHSCSP) 2016. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out for 123 first-diagnosed abnormal cervical cytology patients who attended the colposcopy clinic at Hatyai Hospital, Thailand between October 2017 and May 2018. Statistical analyses were performed.Results: Median colposcopy waiting time at Hatyai Hospital was 11.87 days (interquartile range: 0, 14 days) which achieved the minimum requirements of NHSCSP 2016. However, 94.59% of patients with low grade lesion obtained colposcopy within 6 weeks (minimum requirement ≥ 99%) and 77.55% with high grade lesion obtained colposcopy within 2 weeks (minimum requirement ≥ 93%). The significant factor associated with below standard requirements of waiting time for colposcopy was the default rate.Conclusion: Median colposcopy waiting time at Hatyai Hospital met the standard requirements of NHSCSP 2016 but the proportion of patients who obtained colposcopy within time failed to meet the standard requirements. Improvement in the colposcopy appointment system is essential to rectify this defect.

The shortage and maldistribution of pediatricians affected after-hours pediatric services, especially in rural areas. Our study aimed to examine the urban-rural disparity in geographical and temporal availability of the pediatrician workforce in Taiwan by analyzing opening time schedules of all pediatric clinics throughout the country. Methods: The opening time schedules of nonhospital pediatric clinics were downloaded from the website of the National Health Insurance Administration in Taiwan for analysis. The geographical and temporal availability of pediatric clinics was calculated and stratified by urbanization level and opening time, which was divided into daytime and evening sessions over 1 week. Each of 368 towns in Taiwan was also regarded as a unit of measurement to estimate the local availability of at least one pediatric clinic open in after-hours sessions. Results: Among 1483 nonhospital pediatric clinics in Taiwan, the overwhelming majority were situated in urban (65.8%) and suburban (30.6%) areas. On average, a pediatric clinic provided 16.3 (standard deviation = 3.04) sessions of services per week. One-third (34.7%, n = 50) of 144 suburban towns and over three-fourths (77.4%, n = 120) of 155 rural towns had no pediatric clinic. Most pediatric clinics remained open on weekday evenings (91.1%) and during Saturday daytime (91.8%). The percentage of open clinics gradually decreased over the weekend: Saturday evening (58.1%), Sunday daytime (33.4%), and Sunday evening (19.4%). Rural pediatric clinics remained closed mostly on weekends. On Sunday evenings, pediatric clinics were open only in 5.2% of rural towns, with a decline of 77.1%, whereas they were open in 78.3% of urban towns, with a decline of 18.2%. Conclusion: Pediatric clinics in Taiwan were unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. The disparity of pediatric services became more obvious at weekends. The consequences of undersupplied rural pediatric care deserve further investigation.

(ES) El Colegio “Agustín Zancajo Osorio” constituye un modelo de la enseñanza instituida por el Estado en Cantabria en el periodo 1940-1977. En base al testimonio obtenido de un grupo de exalumnas y profesorado, se analiza su emplazamiento en el edificio del antiguo Hotel-Balneario de Alceda, la organización del centro, los horarios, las clases, el régimen de internado, la formación profesional impartida, las actividades extraescolares, fiestas y fines de curso, el espíritu reinante, la reacción despertada por el ideario franquista. // (EN) The ‘Agustín Zancajo Osorio’ school was a representative standard of the national teaching instruction in Spain during the period 1940-1977. Based on the testimony provided by a group of pupils and teachers, this article focuses on its location: the ‘Gran Hotel ‘, a termal resort building in Alceda, and also on other aspects such as: school organization, school schedule, extracurricula activities, etc. Besides, it overlooks its daily life atmosphere and the reaction to the ideology of Franco regime.

El Colegio “Agustín Zancajo Osorio” constituye un modelo de la enseñanza instituida por el Estado en Cantabria en el periodo 1940-1977. En base al testimonio obtenido de un grupo de exalumnas y profesorado, se analiza su emplazamiento en el edificio del antiguo Hotel-Balneario de Alceda, la organización del centro, los horarios, las clases, el régimen de internado, la formación profesional impartida, las actividades extraescolares, fiestas y fines de curso, el espíritu reinante, la reacción despertada por el ideario franquista.

Worldwide, pharmacists, who are the most accessible health-care providers, are playing an ever increasing role in travel medicine, assisting travelers in taking the necessary precautions to ensure safe and healthy travel. This article looks at the situation in South Africa, and how pharmacists are performing these functions within the legal constraints of the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965, which prevents pharmacists from prescribing many of the travel vaccines and medications. The scope of practice in community pharmacies increased since the successful down-scheduling of some of the antimalarials, allowing pharmacists to supply the many travelers who frequently travel to neighboring countries. As in many other countries, travel medicine in South Africa is currently thwart with products that are out of stock, and a number of temporary guidelines were put in place to deal with these. Ways to facilitate expanding the role of pharmacists in travel medicine in South Africa need to be further explored.

Se estudió el secado artificial de los híbridos de álamo I-488 e I-63/51 (Programas de secado en Tabla 1 y 2), el cual fue subdividido en dos partes. En el primero, tablas de 25 mm x 100 mm del híbrido I-488, fueron secadas desde verde a 12% de contenido de humedad. La calidad del secado fue evaluada de acuerdo al tipo e intensidad de los defectos generados por éste. La segunda parte del estudio compara el comportamiento del secado de la madera procedente de la última troza aserrable de los árboles de ambos híbridos. Los resultados muestran que madera aserrada secada procedente de ambos híbridos es adecuada para la fabricación de productos compuestos y muebles de bajo costoA study was conducted on the kiln drying of hybrid poplars I-488 and I-63/51(drying schedules in Tables 1 and 2), subdivided in two parts. In the first one, boards 25 by 100 mm of the hybrid I-488, were dried from green to 12% M.C. Drying quality was assessed according to the type and intensity of defects after drying. The second part of the study compares the drying behaviour of lumber from top logs of hybrids poplars I-488 and I-63/51. The results show that dry lumber from both hybrids is suitable for composite and non expensive furniture production

Se estudió el secado artificial de los híbridos de álamo 1-488 e 1-6315 1 (Programas de secado en Tabla 1 y 2), el cual fue subdividido en dos partes. En el primero, tablas de 25 mm x 100 mm del híbrido 1-488, fueron secadas desde verde a 12% de contenido de humedad. La calidad del secado fue evaluada de acuerdo al tipo e intensidad de los defectos generados por éste. La segunda parte del estudio compara el comportamiento del secado de la madera procedente de la última troza aserrable de los árboles de ambos híbridos. Los resultados muestran que madera aserrada secada procedente de ambos híbridos es adecuada para la fabricación de productos compuestos y muebles de bajo costo. Abstract A study was conducted on the kiln drying of hybrid poplars 1-488 and 1-6315 1 (drying schedules in Tables I and 2), subdivided in two parts. In the first one, boards 25 by 100 mm of the hybrid 1-488, were dried from green to 12% M.C. Drying quality was assessed according to the type and intensity of defects after drying. The second part of the study compares the drying behaviour of lumber from top logs of hybrids poplars 1-488 and 1-6315 1. The results show that dry lumber from both hybrids is suitable for composite and non expensive furniture production.

INTRODUCTION Medical care provided by medical specialists is one of the scarcest resources in the public system. It is costly and difficult to access for the general population. Availability and accessibility of specialized care is related to economic, social and cultural aspects that vary among geographical areas. An aggravating factor for this situation is patients’ failure to appear on the date of their appointment, which is defined as the nonattendance of patients to medical specialist appointments without notice. OBJECTIVES To measure and analyze the phenomenon of nonattendance of patients to medical appointments with specialists in the public healthcare system of Chile and its relationship with environmental and socioeconomic regional indicators. METHODS Ecological design study, using medical care records in the public system and environmental and socioeconomic regional indicators potentially related to the absence of patients, between the years 2005-2010. Poisson regression models with random components were used for assessing associations. RESULTS There is 16.5% of nonattendance of patients, with a range between regions from 8.8 to 20.2%. Nonattendance is higher in the specialties of dermatology, geriatrics and nutrition (20.0%), in children (3.1% more than in adults), in areas with highest indigenous population (RR=1.3), in areas with low diversity of specialties (RR=1.1) and in the months of February, July, November and December (RR>1.1). CONCLUSIONS In Chile, socioeconomic factors and the management of healthcare resources have greater influence on the nonattendance of patients to medical specialists’ appointments than environmental factors; therefore, this phenomenon may be avoidable.

This article sheds light on the construction and uses of timetables in public administrations. Comparing two compatible examples of fieldwork – a survey in an applied school for middle ranking civil servants and a survey in a one-stop shop for job seekers – the paper shows the extent to which collective work schedules are devices whereby human resources are made to fit material resources over time. Agendas reveal what managers are aiming at, and how major administrative shifts – like new public management-oriented initiatives – tend to modify everyday life in public workplaces. On the other hand, as street level bureaucrats become more and more aware of the importance of quantitative benchmarks in their managers’ annual evaluations, schedules become objects of conflict and bargaining.

Employment rates of ageing workforce have become a major concern, in particular for international organisms. In this article we analyze the links between work constraints and employment of elderly, by comparing various European countries. Ergonomic and demographic methodologies are being called on. Local studies and statistical approaches actually emphasize difficulties, especially perceived by elderly workers, in relation with four main types of constraints : painful positions, shift work, high time pressure, and fast paced changes in techniques or organisation. For each of these characteristics, we first recap why it is tricky for elderly, then we study its relations with seniors’ employment rate in 25 countries, using the ESWC data (European Survey on Working Conditions). Our results suggest that « high performance » countries in terms of senior employment have, better than others, mastered or adapted these characteristics, in particular by lowering physical efforts, and by promoting lifelong learning.

This article uses a broader concept of working time than mere duration (time availability at work encompassing the volume of hours worked but also the scheduling and predictability of those hours), to examine the gender gap concerning temporal constraints. Women seem to dispose of fewer possibilities to make themselves available at work than men but, more importantly, this gap does not involve the same aspects of time. The temporal constraints experienced mainly by women are less socially visible and hence undervalued by their employers.

The reduction of the legal working week in France has come at a time when the active population as a whole is ageing. While the reduction, of itself, provides an opportunity for cutting back the workload, it often involves other modifications to the organization of work, such as an increase in shiftwork and night work, greater time pressure, and fewer possibilities for preparing and anticipating changes in the job situation. The available knowledge of work and ageing in the fields of ergonomics and work psychology allow us to question the consequences of these modifications for elderly workers.

Twee skeduleringsalgoritmes vir multimodelvervaardiging op 'n gegangde produksielyn word voorgestel. Die eerste skeduleringsalgoritme het as besluitbasis die aantal eenhede wat van elke modeltipe in voorraad is op bepaalde tydstippe gedurende die vervaardigingsperiode. Die tydstippe is aan die einde van die vervaardiging van elke produksielot. Die tweede skeduleringsalgoritme is geskoei op Samuel Eilon se teorie waar die skedule sodanig opgestel word dat dear altyd voorraad op hande is van elke modeltipe wat vervaardig word. 'n Aanvaarbare produksieveldwydte vir die lotgrootte van elke modeltipe word voorgeskryf. 'n Vergelyking tussen die twee skeduleringsalgoritmes word getref.