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This paper analyzes efficiency and productivity changes in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn care (EmONC) in regional public hospitals in India. A novel approach of Weighted Russell Directional Distance Function Model (WRDDFM) has been employed. This model considers all the radial and non-radial slacks associated with good outputs as well as the undesirable outcomes while estimating inefficiency and helps to identify the source of the inefficiency. The empirical results based on a sample of 46 regional public hospitals from 2006–07 to 2013–14 show on average overall inefficiency of 24% and much of these are due to inefficiencies associated with undesirable outcome of stillbirths and intra-uterine deaths. Further, on an average the sampled hospitals have experienced marginal productivity decline over the reform period. The study indicates that there is a greater scope for efficiency and productivity gains in public hospitals, particularly if the undesirable outcome of still birth is minimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, unsupervised, graph-based ranking algorithms have been successfully applied to keyphrase extraction tasks. These methods have the advantage of taking into account global information, such as text structure and relations between words, phrases, and sentences, rather than relying solely on local, vertex-specific information. Graph-based approaches for keyphrase extraction, however, have a particular drawback, which comes from their frequency-based analysis methods. The weakness is that many common, less relevant terms may get a higher ranking, particularly in short articles. The converse situation also occurs, where less common (and possibly more relevant) terms obtain lower rankings. We propose an unsupervised method—RankUp—that enhances graph-based keyphrase extraction approaches by applying an error-feedback mechanism similar to the concept of backpropagation. Experiments have been performed on almost 3,300 short texts from a variety of domains. Our experiments show that error-feedback propagation can boost the quality of keyphrases in graph-based keyphrase extraction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on data of 99 nations during 1991-2003, the Malmquist index and its composition of technical change and efficiency change are estimated. In particular, the hypothesis of neutral technology is released to divide technology into the magnitude of the shift in the world production frontier and input-biased technology, and to show that in order to gain more benefit or not to lose so much benefit from technology change, it is important for countries to coordinate their choice of input mix with the directions of technology bias if their technical changes are biased. The results indicate that both OECD and non-OECD countries tend to show capital-using/labor-saving, capital-using/energy-saving and energy-using/labor-saving technical change bias over the entire period. The production pattern of a majority of countries is shown to have been able to take advantage of their technological innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recently, computer vision technique becomes a popular tool in flume experiment. The accuracy of computer vision method relies on the exactness of camera calibration, quality of the image and effectiveness of the image processing technique. Camera calibration is a delicate and difficult task to carry out in field work. However, the features on flume window are planar. This research adopted an idea called modified plane-based camera calibration to develop a method suitable for flume experiments. The calibration is simplified as map projection, and the associated time and efforts are reduced. Therefore, cameras can be installed at any location to meet the observation needs. The performance of the calibration is studied by comparing the measurements with the theoretical values of a known curve which mimics a beach slope. The robustness was examined by comparing the results acquired under two conditions: The camera was mounted on a secure fixture and on a mobile tripod. Overall measurement results are studied by comparing seabed profiles and surface waveforms obtained by our method and capacitance wave gauges. With inexpensive web cameras as the imaging devices, the RMS error was smaller than one millimeter when the target feature was measured 70cm away. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study proposes the use of multi-activity network data envelopment analysis to appraise how incineration plants in Taiwan perform. Sample data from 2006 is used to examine the trade-offs between efficiency enhancement and pollution abatement. The respective efficiencies of the waste treatment and electricity generation are also assessed in a unified framework. The empirical results indicate that it is more important to improve the efficiency of waste treatment activity than of electricity generation activity in order to enhance the overall performance of Taiwan’s incinerators. Since ownership, location and length of operations do not in general affect their performance, any improvement has to come from the careful monitoring of each process of the waste treatment operations. Furthermore, given that the policy in Taiwan has moved away from incineration to recycling, the problem of an over-supply of incinerators may become apparent in the near future. Our results indicate that the availability of capacity size may be an important factor when policy-makers consider whether to close down some existing incinerators. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study focuses on developing and evaluating the broadband ocean bottom seismometer (Yardbird-BB OBS) in Taiwan. The Yardbird-BB OBS is a crucial instrument for recording seismic signals in deep-sea environments. Rigorous testing ensures optimal performance and data recording capabilities. Following assembly, the Yardbird-BB OBS undergoes a 3–6 month deployment test in the deep sea, capturing seismic signals worldwide. Data from 2016 and 2017 deployments in the Okinawa Trough analyze significant seismic events, including a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in New Zealand and a magnitude 6.3 earthquake from a North Korean nuclear test. Waveform analysis, focusing on tele-seismic events and waveform quality, assesses the OBS's performance, highlighting successful automatic leveling adjustment. These high-quality recordings benefit research, aiding the study of plate tectonics, crustal age estimation, seafloor ambient noise determination, and earthquake location accuracy improvement. The study also details methods for verifying instrumental self-noise, dynamic range, digitization sensitivity, linearity error, clock drift, and data logger power consumption. Calibration procedures and evaluation methods provide insights into Yardbird-BB OBS performance characteristics, contributing to its understanding and enhancement for effective long-term underwater data recording and valuable scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first stage of field experiments involving the design and construction of a low-power consumption ocean bottom electro-magnetometer (OBEM) has been completed, which can be deployed for more than 180 d on the seafloor with a time drift of less than 0.95 ppm. To improve the performance of the OBEM, we rigorously evaluated each of its units, e.g., the data loggers, acoustic parts, internal wirings, and magnetic and electric sensors, to eliminate unwanted events such as unrecovered or incomplete data. The first offshore deployment of the OBEM together with ocean bottom seismographs (OBSs) was performed in NE Taiwan, where the water depth is approximately 1400 m. The total intensity of the magnetic field (TMF) measured by the OBEM varied in the range of 44 100–44 150 nT, which corresponded to the proton magnetometer measurements. The daily variations in the magnetic field were recorded using the two horizontal components of the OBEM magnetic sensor. We found that the inclinations and magnetic data of the OBEM varied with two observed earthquakes when compared to the OBS data. The potential fields of the OBEM were slightly, but not obviously, affected by the earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Intraslab events recorded by ocean-bottom seismometers in the Okinawa trough provide an extended depiction of shear wave splitting in the southwest section of the Ryukyu subduction zone. At 100–200km from the western edge of the subduction system, we observed trench-normal fast polarization direction in the back arc compatible with 2D slab- or rifting-driven corner flow. Towards the edge, the fast directions are sub-parallel to the trench in the arc—back arc region, and rotate to trench-normal within 50km of the edge. Splitting constrained by land stations with paths mostly in the mantle wedge exhibits similar trench-normal fast directions in the subduction edge zone. Further inland, the dominant component of fast directions becomes roughly parallel to the Taiwan orogenic fabric. Splitting of P-to-S phases converted at the Moho of the Okinawa trough and of S phases from shallow events suggest that crustal anisotropy may affect the measured splitting, but the observed pattern reflects predominantly mantle anisotropy. The variation in splitting along the Okinawa trough cannot be explained by a B-type–A-type olivine fabric transition in the mantle wedge. It may indicate the presence of an along-arc flow in the mantle wedge towards the edge where it is blocked and deflected by the Eurasian lithosphere. This scenario bolsters previous studies suggesting a significant impact of Eurasian lithosphere on the dynamics of the Ryukyu subduction system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]