operational criteria
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2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Ighravwe ◽  
Daniel AIkhuele ◽  
Ojo Sunday Isaac Fayomi ◽  
Anayo Dike Anayo Dike Basil

In recent times, there have been developments in the maritime industry that underscore the need to optimise operations to yield maximum productivity. Apart from this, stakeholders in this industry have also advocated improvements in seaport operations' critical areas. However, there is no known study in which the relationship between performance criteria and seaport operation measures is investigated. This study proposes a framework for selecting operation measures for the maritime industry. It uses stakeholders' expectations for operational criteria and fuzzy logic to design the framework. Nine criteria were considered in the framework, while Fuzzy VIKOR (VIsekriterijumska optimizacija I KOmpromisno Resenje) and fuzzy Shannon entropy were incorporated into it. The framework's applicability was tested using information that was obtained from Tin can port, Lagos, Nigeria. During this process, hinterland traffic diversion (A1), congestion pricing (A2), off-dock container yards (A3), Fast rail shuttles (A4), expanded rail connections (A5) were considered as alternatives for seaport operational measures. When the developed framework was used to analyse the collected information from Tin Can port, Lagos, Nigeria, the fuzzy VIKOR index ranked the alternatives as A1 » A2 » A3 » A5 » A4. Therefore, this study's insights show that mathematical models can be used to make informed seaports decisions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-341
Author(s):  
Ludovico Mineo ◽  
Alessandro Rodolico ◽  
Carmen Concerto ◽  
Antimo Natale ◽  
Manuela Pennisi ◽  
...  

Background: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (5th edition) introduced the specifier “with Mixed Features” to the diagnosis of Major Depressive Episode to designate the presence of (hypo) manic symptoms as part of the clinical presentation. This change has led to renewed attention on the operational definition, diagnosis, and treatment of Mixed Depression. Objective: To investigate the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches towards Mixed Depression among a representative sample of Italian psychiatrists. Methods: Between March and April 2021, 342 psychiatrists working in Italian adult mental health services were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey comprising 32 questions designed to investigate clinical and psychopathological approaches regarding the management of mixed depression in daily psychiatric practice. Results: 83.74% of participants reported having performed a diagnosis of mixed depression in the last five years, with the majority of respondents affirming that they had not used any diagnostic tool. Only 7,5% of the surveyed psychiatrists considered the DSM-5 criteria to be fully adequate in the description of this clinical entity. The most used pharmacological approach was combined therapy, in particular antipsychotics plus mood stabilizers. For monotherapy, the preferred drugs were Valproate and Quetiapine. Regarding the conceptualization of mood disorders, 199 of the participants chose the Kraepelinian unitary spectrum view; meanwhile, 101 expressed their preference for the binary model. Conclusion: Our results suggest a prominent position of mixed depression in the context of mood disorders. Univocal operational criteria and additional research on pharmacological treatment are also needed to ensure the correct recognition and management of mixed depression.


Author(s):  
Luca Sforzini ◽  
Courtney Worrell ◽  
Melisa Kose ◽  
Ian M. Anderson ◽  
Bruno Aouizerate ◽  
...  

AbstractCriteria for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and partially responsive depression (PRD) as subtypes of major depressive disorder (MDD) are not unequivocally defined. In the present document we used a Delphi-method-based consensus approach to define TRD and PRD and to serve as operational criteria for future clinical studies, especially if conducted for regulatory purposes. We reviewed the literature and brought together a group of international experts (including clinicians, academics, researchers, employees of pharmaceutical companies, regulatory bodies representatives, and one person with lived experience) to evaluate the state-of-the-art and main controversies regarding the current classification. We then provided recommendations on how to design clinical trials, and on how to guide research in unmet needs and knowledge gaps. This report will feed into one of the main objectives of the EUropean Patient-cEntric clinicAl tRial pLatforms, Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU-PEARL, IMI) MDD project, to design a protocol for platform trials of new medications for TRD/PRD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 41-42
Author(s):  
Martin Navarro ◽  
Ingo Kock ◽  
Gerd Frieling ◽  
Thomas Beuth

Abstract. In the course of the German site selection procedure, repository potential sites will be rejected if it becomes apparent that they will probably not meet the regulatory safety requirements (EndlSichAnfV). It is therefore likely that the remaining sites of the final selection phase (which is specified by paragraph 19 of the StandAG) will meet the safety requirements and are therefore capable of being approved. Under these circumstances, finding the site with the highest possible level of safety (as required by the StandAG) calls for a further differentiation of safety above the level of safety that is prescribed by the safety requirements. Based on this differentiation, operational criteria have to be developed for a safety-oriented comparison of repository sites and systems; however, finding suitable criteria is not a trivial task if the repository systems that are available for selection make use of different host rocks and therefore differ with respect to the internal structure and safety concept. Between 2007 and 2010, criteria and associated evaluation methods for a safety-oriented comparison of approvable repository sites were developed by project 3607R02589 of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) within the joint project VerSi. The robustness of the repository system was proposed as a central criterion for site comparison. In the years to follow, criteria and evaluation methods were tested and refined by BfE/BMU projects 05504/2 and 4719E03250, which finally showed a substantial need for further research and development. The presentation outlines the results of these three projects and discusses the questions that are still open.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Fatou Gómez ◽  
Pejman Shoeibi Omrani ◽  
Stefan Philip Christian Belfroid

Abstract In gas wells, decreased/unstable production can occur due to difficult-to-predict dynamic effects resulted from late-life phenomena, such as liquid loading and flooding. To minimize the negative impact of these effects, maximize production and extend the wells’ lifetime, wells are often operated in an intermittent production regime. The goal of this work is to find the optimum production and shut-in cycles to maximize intermittent gas production as a decision support to operators. A framework suitable for single and multiple wells was developed by coupling a Deep Learning forward model trained on historical data with a population-based global optimizer, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The forward model predicts the production rates and wellhead pressure during production and shut-in conditions, respectively. The PSO algorithm optimizes the operational criteria given operational and environmental objectives, such as maximizing production, minimizing start-up/shut-in actions, penalizing emissions under several constraints such as planned maintenances and meeting a contract production value. The accuracy of the Deep Learning models was tested on synthetic and field data. On synthetic data, mature wells were tested under different reservoir conditions such as initial water saturation, permeability and flow regimes. The relative errors in the predicted total cumulative production ranged between 0.5 and 4.6% for synthetic data and 0.9% for field data. The mean errors for pressure prediction were of 2-3 bar. The optimization framework was benchmarked for production optimization and contract value matching for a single-well (on field data) and a cluster of wells (synthetic data). Single-well production optimization of a North Sea well achieved a 3% production increase, including planned maintenances. Production optimization for six wells resulted in a 21% production increase for a horizon of 30 days, while contract value matching yielded 29/30 values within 3% of the target. The most optimum, repeatable and computationally efficient results were obtained using critical pressure/gas flowrates as operational criteria. This could enable real-time gas production optimization and operational decision-making in a wide range of well conditions and operational requirements.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
K. Zobeidi ◽  
M. Ganjeh-Ghazvini ◽  
V. Hematfar

Summary During the years 2017–2020, when Iran faced restrictions on the sale of oil and gas condensate and due to the need for domestic consumption and gas sales commitments, it was inevitable to produce gas at full capacity. This coercion has led to significant production of gas condensates. Some of these condensates were sold, some were converted into products such as gasoline in domestic refineries, and some of these condensates needed to be stored, but the storage capacity was limited. For the purpose of underground condensate storage, a heavy oil reservoir was selected based on some technical and operational criteria. A feasibility study was conducted to evaluate the potential risks of condensate injection into the reservoir. The results of tests on asphaltene precipitation, as the most important risk, indicated no severe precipitation would occur even if high concentration of condensate mixed with the reservoir heavy oil. The recovery of condensate and the production performance of the reservoir were simulated in three different injection-production scenarios. The results showed a positive effect of condensate injection on production rate of the reservoir. Moreover, satisfactory volume of condensate could be recovered in a reasonable period of time.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gayathri ◽  
V. Kamala ◽  
M.S. Gajanand ◽  
S. Yamini

PurposePorts handle a significant portion of international cargo, so the performance of ports plays a major role in the economic development of a country. This paper aims to study how port performance depends on various interdependent factors and how it requires a holistic approach, which accounts for all the necessary criteria that contribute to the overall efficiency and performance.Design/methodology/approachAn integrated fuzzy DEMATEL-TOPSIS approach with an objective to evaluate the operational capability and financial performance of the ports is proposed. A case study is presented with an analysis of the major South Indian ports to assess port operational performance and evaluate various financial ratios to assess financial performance.FindingsThrough a review of the literature and based on the inputs from experts, six criteria affecting the operational performance and six financial criteria were identified. The debt coverage ratios turned out to be the most important, while the liquidity ratios were the least important. The six operational criteria have almost similar importance. The final results indicate a consistent overall performance by the Ennore Port, except during one financial year.Practical implicationsThe proposed solution approach helps to identify and concentrate on the criteria that affect port performance. It will also help to evaluate and understand the dynamics involved in the performance of ports.Originality/valueThis work highlights the key measurable operational and financial criteria that affect the efficiency of ports. The integrated fuzzy DEMATEL-TOPSIS approach provides a better way to evaluate and benchmark port performance.


Author(s):  
Ahmet Kaya ◽  
Veysi Başhan ◽  
Yasin Ust

Ships have to maintain many auxiliary machineries with high power consumption, and these machineries generally run continuously for long hours. One of the auxiliary machineries that consume a lot of power in ships is the air compressor. These air compressors are especially important as they are used at the start of the main engine and generator diesel engines. Therefore, a suitable selection of these compressors is vital, in terms of technical requirement, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness. The main focus of this study is to decide the optimum compressor in terms of all technical and operational criteria. In this context, using the fuzzy VIKOR method, five different and worldwide known compressor brands are listed in terms of selection by evaluating seven different and important criteria. These criteria were evaluated by five experts working as technical directors in shipping companies without being informed of each other. Briefly, this study aims to assist shipping companies in choosing the optimal compressor to suit their primary operating goals, considering the navigating routes and conditions of commercial ships. We believe that it is possible to close this gap in the literature and to select the optimum compressor according to the technical and operational needs.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e044449
Author(s):  
Claire Falandry ◽  
Amélie Malapert ◽  
Mélanie Roche ◽  
Fabien Subtil ◽  
Julien Berthiller ◽  
...  

IntroductionWith the spread of COVID-19 epidemic, health plans must be adapted continuously. There is an urgent need to define the best care courses of patients with COVID-19, especially in intensive care units (ICUs), according to their individualised benefit/risk ratio. Since older age is associated with poorer short-term and long-term outcomes, prediction models are needed, that may assist clinicians in their ICU admission decision. Senior-COVID-Rea was designed to evaluate, in patients over 60 years old admitted in ICU for severe COVID-19 disease, the impact of age and geriatric and paraclinical parameters on their mortality 30 days after ICU admission.Methods and analysisThis is a multicentre survey protocol to be conducted in seven hospitals of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France. All patients over 60 years old admitted in ICU for severe COVID-19 infection (or their legally acceptable representative) will be proposed to enter the study and to fill in a questionnaire regarding their functional and nutritional parameters 1 month before COVID-19 infection. Paraclinical parameters at ICU admission will be collected: lymphocytes and neutrophils counts, high-fluorescent lymphoid cells and immature granulocytes percentages (Sysmex data), D-dimers, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatinine, CT scan for lung extension rate as well as clinical resuscitation scores, and the delay between the first signs of infection and ICU admission. The primary outcome will be the overall survival at day 30 post-ICU admission. The analysis of factors predicting mortality at day 30 will be carried out using univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Multivariate logistic regression will consider up to 15 factors.The ambition of this trial, which takes into account the different approaches of geriatric vulnerability, is to define the respective abilities of different operational criteria of frailty to predict patients’ outcomes.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol was ethically approved. The results of the primary and secondary objectives will be published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberNCT04422340.


Irriga ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-397
Author(s):  
Karoline Maso dos Reis ◽  
Luiz Fabiano Palaretti ◽  
Antônio Carlos Barreto ◽  
José Renato Zanini

IRRIGAÇÃO POR GOTEJAMENTO SUBSUPERFICIAL E FERTIRRIGAÇÃO DA CULTURA BRÓCOLIS*     KAROLINE MASO DOS REIS1; LUIZ FABIANO PALARETTI2; ANTÔNIO CARLOS BARRETO1 E JOSÉ RENATO ZANINI2   *Artigo extraído da tese da primeira autora 1 Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Triângulo Mineiro, Rua João Batista Ribeiro, 4000 Distrito Industrial II 38064-790, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brasil. E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]. 2Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected];  [email protected].     1 RESUMO   A irrigação eleva a produtividade e protege os cultivos da sazonalidade das chuvas, porém, sua aplicação deve estar embasada em critérios técnicos e operacionais. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho hidráulico de tubo gotejadores e o desenvolvimento da cultura brócolis submetida à irrigação por gotejamento em superfície e subsuperfície, com e sem fertirrigação. O experimento foi montado no esquema fatorial 3x2 em blocos casualizados (DBC), com quantro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos da posição do tubo gotejador nas profundidades 0,00; 0,10 e 0,20 m; e a aplicação de fertilizantes, que foi realizada via fertirrigação e adubação manual. Em relação ao tubo gotejador, avaliou-se: vazão, coeficiente de variação de vazão (CVq), coeficiente de uniformidade de Christiansen (CUC), coeficiente de uniformidade de distribuição (CUD) e grau de entupimento (GE); em relação à resposta da cultura avaliou-se: diâmetro do pedúnculo floral, diâmetro da inflorescência, diâmetro perpendicular da inflorescência, altura da inflorescência, massa fresca da inflorescência, dias do transplante até a colheita e a produtividade da água. Não foram observadas alterações significativas nas características avaliadas do tubo gotejador e na produção da cultura brócolis quanto à profundidade do tubo e a forma de aplicação dos fertilizantes.   Palavras-chave: Brassica oleracea var. itálica, irrigação localizada, produtividade da água     REIS, K. M.; PALARETTI , L. F.; BARRETO, A. C.; ZANINI, J. R. IRRIGATION AND FERTIGATION FOR SUBSUPERFICIAL AND SUPERFICIAL DRIP IN BROCCOLI CROP     2 ABSTRACT   The use of irrigation increases yields and protects crops from the seasonality of precipitation; however, its application must be based on technical and operational criteria. This work aimed to evaluate the hydraulic performance of drip emitters and the development of the broccoli crop submitted to drip irrigation on surface and subsurface, with and without fertigation. The experiment was designed in randomized blocks (RBD), with four replications. The treatments were constituted of the positions of drip emitter at depths of 0.00; 0.10 and 0.20 m; and the application of fertilizers, that was made by fertigation and manual fertilizing. In relation to drip emitter, flow, flow variation coefficient (Cv), Christiansen uniformity coefficient (CU), distribution uniformity coefficient (DU) and degree of clogging of the emitter (Ec) were evaluated; regarding the crop response, the diameter of the flower stalk, the diameter of the inflorescence, the diameter of the inflorescence (perpendicular), height of the inflorescence, fresh mass of the inflorescence, days of transplantation until harvest and water productivity was analyzed. There were no significant changes in the characteristics evaluated of the drip emitter and in the production of broccoli crop in terms of the depth of the emitter and the way of application of the fertilizers.   Keywords: Brassica oleracea var. itálica, localized irrigation, water productivity


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