Search

This second edition offers updated and revised information on vessel health and preservation (VHP). It presents a model of care and systematic application of vascular access and administration of intravenous treatment to show how establishing and maintaining a route to the bloodstream with optimal methods is essential for patients in acute care today. This model concept was first published in poster form in 2008 and in JVA in 2012, which has received a great deal of attention, especially in the US, UK and Australia. Until now, little thought has been given to an intentional process to guide selection, insertion and management of vascular access devices (VADs) and by default actions are based on crisis management when a quickly selected VAD fails. The book details how VHP establishes a framework or pathway model for each step of the patient experience, intentionally guiding, improving and eliminating risk when possible. The evidence points to the fact that reducing fragmentation, establishing a pathway, and teaching the process to all stakeholders reduces complications with intravenous therapy, improves efficiency and diminishes cost. As such this book has become a strong point of reference appealing to vascular access specialists, bedside nurses, physicians and other health professionals. Few authoritative guides provide the depth and descriptive evidence included in this VHP model of care, suitable for hospital administrators, directors, educators and others to apply within their services.

Written by over seventy scientists and clinicians worldwide from China, USA, Germany, Canada, Japan and other countries, this monograph, with nearly 450 figures and tables, covers a wide range of advanced progress in acupuncture research, from experimental research to clinical applications. In addition to exploring the histopathological basis for acupuncture and mathematical simulation of acupoint response to stimulation, initiation and transduction of acupuncture signals and cellular mechanisms during acupuncture effects as well as chemical and physical characteristics of moxibustion on acupoints are broadly discussed. The topics also include novel data on acupuncture effect with advanced imaging techniques, a unique understanding of meridian-viscera correlation, specific interactions between meridians and neurosensory organs within the system of homeostatic regulation and the acupuncture-induced influences on autonomic function. Several chapters introduce specific approaches with dryneedling, silver needling and stainless needling for certain diseases, such as myofascitis, supportive care for breast cancer and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy as well as perioperative care of surgical patients. Moreover, this book discusses recent research on acupuncture therapy and potential mechanisms for a number of severe and refractory neurological disorders, including hyperactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, orofacial pain, chronic pain, itch, multiple sclerosis, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, depressive disorders, Alzheimer's disease and ischemic brain injury. The vast amount of information offered in this book provides a comprehensive perspective on advanced acupuncture research to not only acupuncturists, but also to neuroscientists, neurologists, and other clinicians. For medical students and graduate and undergraduate students majoring in biology, physiology and neuroscience, this book offers an advanced course in learning about the mechanism-driven advances in alternative and complementary medicine.

This book gathers selected papers that were submitted to the 2021 International Conference on Digital Science (DSIC 2021) that aims to make available the discussion and the publication of papers on all aspects of single and multidisciplinary research on conference topics. DSIC 2021 was held on October 15–17, 2021. An important characteristic feature of conference is the short publication time and worldwide distribution. Written by respected researchers, the book covers a range of innovative topics related to: digital economics; digital education; digital engineering; digital environmental sciences; digital finance, business and banking; digital health care, hospitals and rehabilitation; digital media; digital medicine, pharma and public health; digital public administration; digital technology and applied sciences. This book may be used for private and professional non-commercial research and classroom use (e.g., sharing the contribution by mail or in hard copy form with research colleagues for their professional non-commercial research and classroom use); for use in presentations or handouts for any level students, researchers, etc.; for the further development of authors'scientific career (e.g., by citing, and attaching contributions to job or grant application).

This book gathers selected papers that were submitted to the 2021 International Conference on Advances in Digital Science (ICADS 2021) that aims to make available the discussion and the publication of papers on all aspects of single and multi-disciplinary research on Conference topics (https://ics.events/icads-2021/). ICADS 2021 was held on February 19–21, 2021. An important characteristic feature of Conference is the short publication time and world-wide distribution. Written by respected researchers, the book covers a range of innovative topics related to: Advances in Digital Agriculture & Food Technology, Advances in Digital Economics, Advances in Digital Education, Advances in Public Health Care, Hospitals & Rehabilitation, Advances in Digital Social Media, Advances in Digital Technology & Applied Sciences, Advances in E-Information Systems, and Advances in Public Administration.This book is useful for private and professional non-commercial researchand classroom use (e.g. sharing the contribution by mail or in hard copy form with research colleagues for their professional non-commercial research and classroom use); for use in presentations or handouts for any level students, researchers, etc.; for the further development of authors'scientific career (e.g. by citing, and attaching contributions to job or grant application).

This Open access book offers updated and revised information on vessel health and preservation (VHP), a model concept first published in poster form in 2008 and in JVA in 2012, which has received a great deal of attention, especially in the US, UK and Australia. The book presents a model and a new way of thinking applied to vascular access and administration of intravenous treatment, and shows how establishing and maintaining a route of access to the bloodstream is essential for patients in acute care today. Until now, little thought has been given to an intentional process to guide selection, insertion and management of vascular access devices (VADs) and by default actions are based on crisis management when a quickly selected VAD fails. The book details how VHP establishes a framework or pathway model for each step of the patient experience, intentionally guiding, improving and eliminating risk when possible. The evidence points to the fact that reducing fragmentation, establishing a pathway, and teaching the process to all stakeholders reduces complications with intravenous therapy, improves efficiency and diminishes cost. As such this book appeals to bedside nurses, physicians and other health professionals.

This volume reviews the latest global research results in computer applications. The book contains a selection of papers presented at the Fifth International Conference on Computer Applications in Production and Engineering, arranged by the International Federation for Information Processing and held in Beijing, China in May 1995.

New market trends and the emergence of the so-called Internet-based `new economy'are leading companies to new forms of organization, mostly relying on privileged cooperation links. Nowadays, most manufacturing processes are not carried out by single enterprises. Rather, organizations feel the need to focus on their core competencies and join efforts with others, in order to fulfill the requirements of new products/services demanded by the global market. In a cooperative networked organization, every enterprise is just a node that adds some value to the process; namely, a step in the manufacturing/supply chain. Furthermore, manufacturing companies increasingly encompass what has typically been regarded as the domain of the service sector. They try to establish long-term relationships with their customers, in order to service their needs around a manufactured product. For these reasons, the area of virtual organizations and industrial virtual enterprises is attracting growing interest in terms of research and development, and implementation approaches for new business practices. The main emphasis of this book is on virtual enterprises and other networked organizations, with special focus on: supporting infrastructures and management of distributed business processes, intelligent multi-agent systems, knowledge management, human interfaces, and socio-economical aspects. Also included in the book are related topics on automation, both in manufacturing and transportation. Special attention is assigned to the fact that advances in information technology and new organizational paradigms will be used not only to induce new economic structures, but also to help a sustainable migration of existing systems towards the new economy. When electronic business initiatives attract such widespread attention, it is important to conciliate the `old'and `new'economies under a balanced perspective. Advances in Networked Enterprises isessential reading for researchers and engineering students in production engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial sociology, and transportation, as well as for engineers and practitioners in manufacturing and transportation systems organization and planning.

Business process re-engineering tools offer techniques to model the enterprise and identify opportunities to make change. This book examines the approaches, tools and techniques which support redesign of the enterprise to achieve world class performance.

This book explains how in moving towards Cleaner Production, the Lean Production Philosophy can be applied to reduce carbon emissions in prefabrication - one major source of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions which contribute to global climate change. This book examines theories and principles in the Lean Production Philosophy to develop situation-based carbon reduction strategies for precast concrete manufacturers and contractors in terms of Site layout, Supply Chain, Production, Stocks and Installation Management. It presents the empirical findings of surveys and case studies with managers and professionals working for precasters and contractors in Singapore, findings which provide good practical guidance for precast concrete manufacturers and contractors to achieve low carbon emissions and to perform better in many sustainability-based rating systems, such as the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Scheme.

This book presents the latest research on Software Engineering Frameworks for the Cloud Computing Paradigm, drawn from an international selection of researchers and practitioners. The book offers both a discussion of relevant software engineering approaches and practical guidance on enterprise-wide software deployment in the cloud environment, together with real-world case studies. Features: presents the state of the art in software engineering approaches for developing cloud-suitable applications; discusses the impact of the cloud computing paradigm on software engineering; offers guidance and best practices for students and practitioners; examines the stages of the software development lifecycle, with a focus on the requirements engineering and testing of cloud-based applications; reviews the efficiency and performance of cloud-based applications; explores feature-driven and cloud-aided software design; provides relevant theoretical frameworks, practical approaches and future research directions.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Workshop on E-Business (WEB 2011), held in Shanghai, China, on December 4, 2011.The 40 papers, which were selected from 88 submissions to the workshop, touch on topics that are diverse yet highly relevant to the challenges faced by today's e-business researchers and practitioners. They are organized in topical sections on social networks, business intelligence, and social computing; economics and organizational implications of electronic markets; and e-business systems and applications.

Neoplastic Diseases of the Blood integrates the history, epidemiology, pathology, pathophysiology, and therapeutics of modern neoplastic hematopathology. The book is divided into five major sections, with the first four covering the spectrum of hematologic neoplasia— Chronic Leukemias and Related Disorders, Acute Leukemias, Myeloma and Related Disorders, and Lymphomas. The fifth section covers a variety of topics in supportive care. Now in its fifth edition, this classic and invaluable text brings together a team of internationally renowned experts and offers in-depth coverage of the complex interface between diagnosis and therapy. Chapters feature an accessible and easy-to-read layout and provide updates on the tremendous progress made in the last decade in the understanding of the nature of hematologic malignancies and their treatment. An authoritative and indispensable resource for students, trainees, and clinicians, this fifth edition is sure to distinguish itself as the definitive reference on this topic.

This volume includes 41 revised papers selected from 125 papers presented at the th 6 IFIP Technical Committee 5/Working Group 5.7 International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems - APMS'96 -held at Kyoto, Japan, 4-6 November 1996. The task of selecting papers was accomplished by the IPC members voting. The selected papers were reviewed by IPC members who attended the conference. Based on the comments of reviewers, each paper was revised and rewritten in the format of this book. Therefore, the quality of each paper was raised very much. The papers selected in this volume were classified into invited articles and six themes taking into account the perspectives and future challenges in production management systems. Invited articles provide the overview of the present and future trend in the manufacturing world. Six themes were Next Generation Manufacturing Systems and Production Management, Benchmarking, Integration in Manufacturing and Decentralized Production Management, Strategic Aspects, Production Planning, and Production Scheduling. Each theme covers important area of present and future production management reflecting the recent trend in manufacturing toward globalization, agility in variety production, human centered manufacturing, environment consciousness, and so on. We hope that this volume will emerge a lot of new ideas to reach the goal of IFIP WG5.7'Computer Aided Production Management'and to bridge the gap between research and industrial practice in production management systems.

A technological book is written and published for one of two reasons: it either renders some other book in the same field obsolete or breaks new ground in the sense that a gap is filled. The present book aims to do the latter. On my return from industry to an academic career, I started writing this book because I had seen that a gap existed. Although a great deal of information appeared in the published literature about various technical aspects of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT), surprisingly little had been written about the systems con­ text within which the sophisticated hardware and software of AMT are utilized to increase efficiency. Therefore, I have attempted in this book to show how structured approaches in the design and evaluation of modern manufacturing plant may be adopted, with the objective of improving the performance of the factory as a whole. I hope this book will be a contribution to the newly recognized, multidisciplinary engineering function known as manufacturing sys­ tems engineering. The text has been designed specifically to demonstrate the systems aspects of modern manufacturing operations, including: systems con­ cepts of manufacturing operation; manufacturing systems modelling and evalua­ tion; and the structured design of manufacturing systems~ One of the major difficulties associated with writing a text of this nature stems from the diversity of the topics involved. I have attempted to solve this problem by adopting an overall framework into which the relevant topics are fitted.

The 6th ESPRIT Conference is being held in Brussels from the 27th November to the 1 st December 1989. Well over 1500 participants from all over Europe are expected to attend the various events during the week. The Conference will offer the opportunity to be updated on the results of ongoing Esprit projects and to develop Europe-wide contacts with colleagues, both within a specific branch of Information Technology and across different branches. The first three days of the week are devoted to presentations of Esprit I projects, structured into plenary and parallel sessions; this year there is special emphasis on panels and workshops where participants can exchange ideas and hold in-depth discussions on specific topics. The different areas of Esprit work are covered: Microelectronics, Informa­ tion Processing Systems, Office and Business Systems, Computer Integrated Manufac­ turing, Basic Research and different aspects of the Information Exchange System. During the IT Forum on Thursday 30th November, major European industrial and political decision-makers will address the audience in the morning. In the afternoon, different aspects of Technology Transfer will be discussed with the participation of outside experts, and presentations on the future plans for community R&D in IT will take place.

Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems in Electrical Power Engineering details how intelligent applications can be used in the power industry. The book gives a general and historical overview of intelligent knowledge based systems (IKBS) and artificial intelligence (AI) and a broad analysis of the application of these techniques in the electrical power industry. It includes chapters on forecasting and planning in power systems, design of electrical plant and systems, IKBS in condition monitoring, alarm processing, event and fault diagnosis and an analysis of future trends in IKBS for power engineering. No previous knowledge of IKBS is assumed, but an appreciation of electrical transmission and distribution systems would be useful.

The purpose of this book is to discuss the state of the art and future trends in the field of computerized production management systems. It is composed of a number of independent papers, each presented in a chapter. Some of the widely recognized experts in the field around the world have been asked to contribute. lowe each of them my sincere gratitude for their kind cooperation. I am also grateful to Peter Falster and Jim Browne for their kind support in helping me to review topics to be covered and to select the authors. This book is a result of the professional work done in the International Federation of Information Processing Technical Committee IFIP TC5'Com­ puter Applications in Technology'and especially in the Working Group WG5. 7'Computer-Aided Production Management'. This group was established in 1978 with the aim of promoting and encouraging the advancement of the field of computer systems for the production management of manufacturing, off­ shore, construction, electronic and similar and related industries. The scope of the work includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: 1) design and implementation of new production planning and control systems taking into account new technology and management philosophy; 2) CAPM in a CIM environment including interfaces to CAD and CAM; 3) project management and cost engineering; 4) knowledge engineering in CAPM; 5) CAPM for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and Flexible Assembly Systems (F AS); 6) methods and concepts in CAPM; 7) economic and social implications of CAPM.

Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art in enterprise modeling and its application. Enterprise modeling is both a concept and a tool that is highly developed at the research level, but which still promises many new industrial applications. Enterprise models constitute a theoretical basis for the information system in an enterprise and are regarded by many as a substantial opportunity to improve global industrial competitiveness. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness gives the reader an understanding of enterprise modeling as a concept and provides examples of its application by describing some of the currently available tools. It is organized in five parts: overview and international trends, the basis of enterprise modeling, application areas, implementation, and industrial experience with enterprise modeling. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness is useful to developers of business information systems, users of technical information systems, engineers within operations management, and engineers and economists dealing with performance assessment and improvement. Enterprise Modeling: Improving Global Industrial Competitiveness is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) are powerful search and optimisation techniques inspired by the mechanisms of natural evolution. They imitate, on an abstract level, biological principles such as a population based approach, the inheritance of information, the variation of information via crossover/mutation, and the selection of individuals based on fitness. The most well-known class of EA are Genetic Algorithms (GA), which have received much attention not only in the scientific community lately. Other variants of EA, in particular Genetic Programming, Evolution Strategies, and Evolutionary Programming are less popular, though very powerful too. Traditionally, most practical applications of EA have appeared in the technical sector. Management problems, for a long time, have been a rather neglected field of EA-research. This is surprising, since the great potential of evolutionary approaches for the business and economics domain was recognised in pioneering publications quite a while ago. John Holland, for instance, in his seminal book Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems (The University of Michigan Press, 1975) identified economics as one of the prime targets for a theory of adaptation, as formalised in his reproductive plans (later called Genetic Algorithms).

The principle aim of this book, entitled'Operations ResearchlManagement Science at Work', is to provide a summary snapshot of recent research in and applications of Operations Research (OR)/ Management Science (MS) in the Asia-pacific region. The book emphasises research having potential industry interest, covering a wide range of topics from major fields of ORIMS in a systematic and coherent fashion and shows the elegance of their implementations. The book is intended to serve the needs of applied researchers who are interested in applications of ORIMS algorithms. The book includes descriptions of many real-world problems together with their solutions; we hope the reader will appreciate their applicability. The Asia-pacific region has embraced business applications of decision support systems in recent years. Given that many of these applications are unaffected by legacy models or systems it has meant that state of the art ORIMS techniques have been embedded in them. Moreover, the increased use of OR/MS techniques in this region provides opportunities for identifying methodological advances that are taking place as a result of the unique nature of the applications. These also provide opportunities for exploring synergies and interfaces that exist between OR/MS, from the point of view of applications as well as theoretical advances.

In recent years there has been a tremendous upsurge of interest in manufac­ turing systems design and analysis. Large industrial companies have realized that their manufacturing facilities can be a source of tremendous opportunity if managed well or a huge corporate liability if managed poorly. In particular industrial managers have realized the potential of well designed and installed production planning and control systems. Manufacturing, in an environment of short product life cycles and increasing product diversity, looks to tech­ niques such as manufacturing resource planning, Just In Time (lIT) and total quality control among others to meet the challenge. Customers are demanding high quality products and very fast turn around on orders. Manufacturing personnel are aware of the lead time from receipt of order to delivery of completed orders at the customer's premises. It is clear that this production lead time is, for the majority of manufacturing firms, greatly in excess of the actual processing or manufacturing time. There are many reasons for this, among them poor coordination between the sales and manufacturing function. Some are within the control of the manufacturing function. Others are not.

Cancer is one of the leading killers in the world and the incidence is increasing, but most cancer patients and cancer survivors suffer much from the disease and its conventional treatments'side effects. In the past, clinical data showed that some complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) possessed anticancer abilities, but some clinicians and scientists have queried about the scientific validity of CAM due to the lack of scientific evidence. There is great demand in narrowing the knowledge gap to explore the scientific and evidence-based knowledge of CAM in the anticancer field. With this aim, an unparalleled undertaking of a book series is launched to structurally consolidate this area.Although acupuncture and moxibustion have been practiced for millennia, they have come under scientific investigation only recently. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been used clinically to treat cancer-related symptoms (e.g. cancer pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia), manage treatment-induced side effects (e.g. hot flashes, nausea and vomiting) and enhance immunity (e.g. blood cell count, lymphocyte and natural killer cell activity). This is the first book manages to provide comprehensive and updated scientific evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion intervention for cancer care. Laboratory and animal studies have uncovered the mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion for cancer therapy. Promising results of most clinical trials show the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion in cancer management. This book consists of fifteen chapters which address a range of important aspects that will impact on the application of acupuncture and moxibustion. An overview of the safety and side effectsof acupuncture and moxibustion for cancer care are also covered. In addition, the integration of acupuncture with Western medicine in cancer treatment and recent clinical trials are included as well.Opinion leaders around the world have teamed up to pursue a thorough and up-to-date review of the area, this volume will contribute great to the cancer, clinical and academic community by providing evidence-based information on the efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion as an anticancer therapy.

This book is a result of the ISD'97, Sixth International Conference on Information Systems Development-Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice held August 11-14, 1997 in Boise, Idaho, USA. The purpose of this Conference was to address the issues facing academia and industry when specifying, developing, managing and improving software systems. The selection of papers was carried out by the International Program Committee. All papers were reviewed in advance by at least three people. Papers were judged according to their originality, relevance and presentation quality. All papers were judged purely on their own merits, independently of other submissions. This year's Information Systems Development Conference-ISD'97 is the first ISD conference being held in the US. ISD was brought into existence almost ten years ago. It continues the fine tradition of the first Polish-Scandinavian Seminar on Current Trends in Information Systems Development Methodologies, held in Gdansk-Poland in 1988. ISD'98 will be held in Bled, Slovenia. ISD'97 consists not only of the technical program represented in these proceedings, but also tutorials on improved software testing and end-user information systems and workshop on sharing knowledge within international high technology industries that are intended for both, the research and business communities. We would like to thank the authors of papers accepted for ISD'97 who all made gal­ lant efforts to provide me with electronic copies of their manuscripts conforming to com­ mon guidelines. We thank them for thoughtfully responding to reviewers comments and carefully preparing their final contributions.

Postponement strategy is one of the major supply chain management (SCM) pr- tices that has a discernible impact on rms'competitive advantage and organi- tional performance. Postponement is a mass customization strategy that captures the advantages of both mass production and mass customization. Recent research studies have identi ed four common postponement strategies, namely pull, logistics, form and price postponement. The former three postponement strategies are linked to production and manufacturing, while the last one is a pure pricing strategy. They aim at balancing the costs and bene ts of mass production and mass customization. Practical examples of postponement can be found in the high-tech industry, food industry and other industries that require high differentiation. However, empirical studies have found that postponement may not be an evident SCM practice compared to the other practices. In addition, postponement has both positive and negative impacts on a supply chain. The advantages include following the JIT principles, reducing end-product inventory, making forecasting easier and pooling risk. The high cost of designing and manufacturing generic components is the main drawback of postponement. Thus, the evaluation of postponement strategy is an important research issue and there have been many qualitative and quantitative models for analyzing postponement under different scenarios.

Scheduling, planning and packing are ubiquitous problems that can be found in a wide range of real-world settings. These problems transpire in a large variety of forms, and have enormous socio-economic impact. For many years, significant work has been devoted to automating the processes of scheduling, planning and packing using different kinds of methods. However, poor scaling and the lack of flexibility of many of the conventional methods coupled with the fact that most of the real-world problems across the application areas of scheduling, planning and packing nowadays tend to be of large scale, dynamic and full of complex dependencies have made it necessary to tackle them in unconventional ways. This volume,'Natural Intelligence for Scheduling, Planning and Packing Problems', is a collection of numerous natural intelligence based approaches for solving various kinds of scheduling, planning and packing problems. It comprises 12 chapters which present many methods that draw inspiration from nature, such as evolutionary algorithms, neural-fuzzy system, particle swarm algorithms, ant colony optimisation, extremal optimisation, raindrop optimisation, and so on. Problems addressed by these chapters include freight transportation, job shop scheduling, flowshop scheduling, electrical load forecasting, vehicle routing, two-dimensional strip packing, network configuration and forest planning, among others. Along with solving these problems, the contributing authors present a lively discussion of the various aspects of the nature-inspired algorithms utilised, providing very useful and important new insights into the research areas.

The “extended enterprise” is a new emerging paradigm in the manufacturing arena. Indeed, global competition is pushing manufacturing enterprises in several industries either to split geographically the production capacity or to work together in supply chain organizations involving several independent entities. This dynamic is involving both big companies, whose organisation is always more and more decentralised and geographically distributed, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are embracing new organisation forms such as the Virtual Enterprise (VE) one. The “extended enterprise” allows gaining agility, reactive ness, even p- activeness, and, of course, efficiency in the highly dynamic markets of the mass customisation and knowledge based economy era. However, the “extended enterprise” paradigm scales management complexity both at the strategic and operational level up. This requires new tools for managing the complexity of the extended enterprise. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enables the possibility to create new and innovative “tools for managing the extended enterprise”. This book addresses the above introduced issue of the tools for the extended enterprise. More specifically, it presents the results of a research developed under a two years program titled “ “Distributed process and production planning in manufacturing enterprise networks” and funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) under the program PRIN2001.