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Background: Inequity in asthma and COVID-19 outcomes and research among Hispanic or Latino individuals is well established. Patient centered outcomes research (PCOR) may help address these inequalities. This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a virtual conference series program titled "Unidos Hablemos de/United, Let's Talk About" intended to address the health literacy of the Hispanic/Latino community regarding asthma and COVID-19 and to encourage involvement in PCOR. Methods: A Project Advisory Group consisting of Hispanic/Latino patient advisors who had been diagnosed with asthma and/or COVID-19, healthcare providers, researchers, a Hispanic faith-based leader, and a program evaluator designed and implemented a six-month series of monthly one-hour virtual sessions. Speakers and topics were selected that fit the Hispanic/Latino community and culture regarding asthma, COVID-19, and PCOR. Recruitment was through a multichannel digital promotion strategy, including social media. The virtual sessions were free on the ZOOM webinar platform and included interactive polling questions, live chat box, and Q&A. All audio and written materials from the sessions were translated into Spanish and English. Evaluations were used to rate the overall satisfaction with the program. Results: An average of 382 participants attended each of the six sessions, and participation generally increased with each session. The proportion of participants who considered themselves a Hispanic/Latino patient with asthma, caregiver, or clergy who served Hispanic/Latino communities increased by 100% from session one to session two. Preference for materials in Spanish ranged from 12 to 20% of participants over the six sessions. Among the sessions, 74–84% of polling question respondents indicated they would be willing to participate in research or a study, and 88% said they would be willing to serve as a patient partner/advocate. Program evaluations consistently indicated high satisfaction with the session content, session format, and feeling of inclusion. Conclusions: Unidos Hablemos provided a voice to the Hispanic/Latino community that will inform future strategies to improve equity in asthma management, COVID-19, and PCOR. Patient speakers generated trust from the participants and "bridged the gap" between physicians, researchers, and the Hispanic/Latino community. Providing evidence-based, current information will empower patients and caregivers to make informed healthcare decisions. Plain English summary: Hispanic/Latino patients have more emergency visits, hospitalizations, and deaths from asthma and COVID-19 than non-Hispanic/Latino White patients. Puerto Rican patients may have these outcomes more often than other Hispanic/Latino patients. Hispanic/Latino patients may not seek healthcare or take part in research because of language barriers and cultural differences. Patient centered outcomes research (PCOR) can be a solution to these issues. This type of research uses information from real-world situations to improve inequalities in research. A group of Hispanic/Latino patients, caregivers, and experts led the planning of a free webinar series that focused on asthma, COVID-19, and how patients can get involved in PCOR. The webinars and material were offered in both English and Spanish. Spanish was the preferred language for some of the webinar participants. During the sessions, most people indicated they would be willing to participate in research and be an advisor for PCOR. The patient speakers were important in generating the trust of the participants. Patients and caregivers were satisfied with the content and format and said they felt included. Programs, like this one, help patients make informed decisions about their medical care and take part in PCOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying inorganic phosphorus fertilizer is less effective in increasing crop yields in tropical soils due to precipitation and adsorption reactions. However, research suggests that partial substitution of organic and inorganic fertilizers has shown to improve the efficiency of applied phosphorus fertilizer by reducing its adsorption and enhancing desorption due to their synergistic effects. This study aimed to investigate the impact of treating the soil with mixed manure (MM) rates and blended nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and boron (NPSB) fertilizer on the soil's phosphorus adsorption and desorption characteristics. Results showed increased adsorbed phosphorus in all treatments, with increased added phosphorus (P) concentration from 100 to 500 mg kg−1. However, the efficiency of adsorbed P decreased significantly as added P concentration rates increased from 100 to 400 mg·kg−1 in all treatments and then decreased as the added P concentration advanced to 500 mg·kg−1. Moreover, in all treatments that received combined applications of MM and blended NPSB, both quantity and percentage of desorbed P showed a significant increase. The Freundlich adsorption coefficient and constant were also significantly reduced because of the combined application of MM and blended NPSB, compared to the control and their sole applications. Overall, the soil treated with a combined application of 15 t·ha−1 of MM with 100 kg·ha−1 of blended NPSB showed the highest reduction in the efficiency of adsorbed P, percentage of desorbed P, Freundlich adsorption capacity, and intensity by 8%, 37.5%, 60%, and 58%, respectively, as compared to the control. These findings indicate that the combined application of MM and blended NPSB can improve the P availability and uptake by maize by reducing its adsorption while increasing desorption characteristics. Finally, this experiment recommends further research on the long‐term effects of MM and blended NPSB on P adsorption and desorption characteristics of vertisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Examine how student demographics and perception of on-campus counseling service availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality is related to utilization. Participants: A total of 262 students from 49 Georgia (U.S.) higher education institutions. Methods: A logistic regression examined student perception of on-campus counseling services and associations with service utilization, controlling for covariates. Results: (1) Non-heterosexual students were more likely to use on-campus counseling services than heterosexual students, (2) students in rural areas were more likely to utilize services than students in urban areas, (3) insured students had higher odds of utilizing services than uninsured students, and (4) higher ratings of perceived accessibility were associated with likelier service use. Conclusions: The perception of accessibility was significantly associated with higher odds of on-campus service use. Thus, a better understanding of student perception of on-campus counseling center accessibility is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The accessibility of Parkinson's disease medicines is limited across sub‐Saharan Africa, which can have negative health, social and financial consequences for people with Parkinson's disease and their families. However, there is a stark gap in the literature regarding the impact of poor access to medicines on individuals. Objectives: The study objective was to understand the accessibility of Parkinson's disease medicines in Kenya from the perspective of people with Parkinson's disease, their caregivers and neurologists. Methods: In‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 55 people with Parkinson's disease, 23 caregivers and 8 neurologists to understand their experience regarding challenges with accessing Parkinson's disease medicines and the health, social and financial impact of poor availability and affordability. Results: Medicines for Parkinson's disease were deemed to be largely unavailable and unaffordable across Kenya. People with Parkinson's disease, caregivers and neurologists expressed the financial burden caused by long‐term treatment in the absence of health insurance coverage. Further, barriers accessing medicines negatively impacted symptom control, social relations, and quality of life. Conclusions: Access to Parkinson's disease medicines in Kenya is limited, with severe implications for symptom management and quality of life. People with Parkinson's disease should be able to access and afford the medicines they need to manage their condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable diets can achieve considerable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in human health, but changing dietary behavior remains a challenge. We assessed the impacts of two behavioral insights strategies on bridging the intention-action gap related to sustainable and healthy food choices amongst hospital cafeteria patrons. In a pilot survey of hospital staff (N = 1,165), 56% identified limited awareness and availability of sustainable food as barriers to purchasing, although 46% were extremely willing to try sustainable dishes. We examined increasing salience (Study 1), varying availability (Study 2a), and decreasing availability (Study 2b) on sustainable and healthy dish purchases in three hospital cafeterias. Each study ran for seven weeks from March to April, 2023. In total, 10,616 dishes were purchased. In Study 1, increasing salience was associated with significant uptake of sustainable and healthy dishes, but the effect disappeared once the salience intervention was removed. In Study 2a, increasing availability of sustainable dishes corresponded to a significant increase in purchases of sustainable dishes, while decreasing availability in Study 2b followed a downward trend in purchases, suggesting that availability drove dietary choices. We recommend hospitals consider these choice architecture interventions to support the adoption of sustainable and healthy diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a promising technology that can transform how internet service providers deliver their services. However, recent studies have identified several challenges in adopting NFV. Two key challenges are central to the operation and capacity planning of NFV Data Centers (DCs): (i) Service Function Chain (SFC) realization—determining if a new request with a known profile can be accommodated—and (ii) Network Function Virtualization (NFV) traffic bounds estimation—estimating the total traffic that a data center can handle considering all service requests and their performance constraints. To address these challenges, we propose a model that leverages stochastic network calculus to effectively dimension an NFV DC while ensuring delay and availability bounds for all service requests. Our theoretical model provides a mathematical framework to assess the realization of a single SFC request without delving into the specifics of the realization process. We utilize established availability-aware Virtual Network Function (VNF) placement patterns to obtain traffic bounds essential to planning data center capacity. We analyze NFV data center traffic under various scenarios over a Fat-tree DC topology. The results demonstrate that data center capacity is significantly influenced by the VNF placement strategy. Additionally, for data centers hosting latency-sensitive services, Service Level Objective (SLO) constraints on availability and delay are crucial in determining the number of such requests that can be accommodated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the developments of new materials and technologies for adsorption, it is necessary to develop new kinetic models to describe some more complex adsorption processes. This study aimed to evaluate the availability of a modified intraparticle diffusion model qt = k1t1/2 (0 ≤ t ≤ t1) and qt-qt=t1 = k2 (t-t1)1/2 (t1 < t ≤ t2) for the adsorption of chlorobenzene pollutants (CBs) on biochar and to explore the corresponding mechanisms. Materials and methods: The adsorption kinetics of the four CBs with different numbers of Cl substituents were investigated in mono- or multi-CB adsorption experiments (equal or unequal initial concentration) with the corn straw-based biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C. The kinetics process was fitted by the classical model (qt = kt1/2 + b) with linearization or nonlinearly regression, and by the modified intraparticle diffusion model qt = kt1/2 (0 ≤ t ≤ t1) and qt-qt=t1 = k2 (t-t1)1/2 (t1 < t ≤ t2). The optimal break point of t1 separating the stages of 0 ≤ t ≤ t1 and t1 < t ≤ t2 was obtained by comparing the parameters of adjR2 and AICc calculated from different t1 values. Combined with the characteristics of biochar morphology and structure, variation of initial concentrations and performances of competitive adsorption of CBs, the adsorption mechanisms were analyzed. Results and discussion: The modified model performed well the nonlinear fitting of the kinetic processes with R2 values between 0.917 and 0.981, higher than that of the nonlinear and linear fitting of the classical model. The adsorption rate of k1 was usually larger than k2 regardless of the number of chlorine substitutions, or in the scenario of mono-/multi-CBs adsorption. In the mono-adsorption, the k1 and k2 values of low-chlorinated CBs were mostly greater than those of the high-chlorinated CBs. In multi-adsorption, competitive adsorption decreased the intraparticle diffusion rates of each CBs. And the rates varied with the initial concentration of CBs, and with the numbers of chlorine substitutions which had an effect on the affinities of CBs to biochar and steric hindrance via hydrophobicity, electrophilicity and molecule sizes. Conclusions: The modified intraparticle diffusion model was suggested to be suitable to describe the diffusion processes of CBs with high aqueous phase concentrations on biochar. The modified model indicated the intraparticle diffusion and pore wall adsorption were two closely linked processes. The initial concentration, the number of chlorine substitutions and the morphology structure of biochar were suggested to be the key factors affecting the adsorption of CBs on the biochar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ensuring healthcare services are equipped to offer; emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) is crucial for improving the quality of maternal and newborn care in low- and middle-income countries. We assessed the temporal trends of the availability and readiness of the healthcare system to provide EmONC in Burkina Faso. Methods: We analyzed the data from three national health facilities surveys, conducted in 2014, 2016 and 2018, using the WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool. We performed multivariable linear regression models to examine the trends. Results: Between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of healthcare facilities providing delivery service and blood transfusion significantly decreased (88.1% to 75.4% for delivery services and 67.3% to 50.2% for blood transfusion, p < 0.001). The readiness index of healthcare facilities to provide basic EmONC showed a negative trend according to public healthcare, primary healthcare, and Centre-Nord, Centre-sud, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau Central and Sud-ouest health regions. Conclusions: We observed multiple indications of a decline in the readiness of healthcare services to offer EmONC in Burkina Faso from 2014 to 2018. As such, bolstering the capabilities of health facilities to deliver EmONC is essential for hastening the decrease in maternal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusions Reducing alcohol availability and restricting alcohol advertising are effective ways to reduce harm from alcohol. Implementation of public health policies involves collaboration between different stakeholders, and is influenced by public opinion. This paper explores public and professional stakeholders' perceptions of alcohol advertising and availability policies. It is the first to capture consensus and divergence in narratives of these stakeholders.We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 14 stakeholders from third sector organisations, government, public health and alcohol licensing in Scotland. We conducted 11 online focus groups with 45 participants, living in neighbourhoods in Scotland characterised by varying levels of urbanity, deprivation and retail density change. We gave participants a list of policies and discussed their views on acceptability, feasibility and likely success.Despite general consensus that regulation of alcohol advertising is an important priority, public stakeholders were concerned about the feasibility of advertising interventions and potential unintended consequences. While professional stakeholders were in favour of regulating alcohol availability, public stakeholders had misgivings about feasibility and effectiveness. When prompted to discuss specific interventions, similar views about protecting children and achieving cultural change emerged.This study highlights the importance of policy makers and other stakeholders to consider public stakeholders' opinions on alcohol policy and understanding that their views may be influenced by competing framings of alcohol problems. Attempts to increase support for alcohol control policies need to consider people's concerns about the effectiveness and potential unintended consequences of these policies, and the wider social context of alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Methods Results Conclusion Low boron (B) availability is associated with strongly weathered, coarse‐textured, and low organic matter soils, widespread in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). It is unknown to what extent B fertilization can increase maize yields in SSA. This study aims to understand the soil properties controlling B availability to field‐grown maize.Boron fertilizer omission trials with maize were executed at 15 sites in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Yield, B uptake, and soil parameters potentially relevant for B availability, including extractable soil B (hot water, 0.01 M CaCl2, and 0.43 M HNO3), were determined.Soil B pools were strongly intercorrelated and were positively correlated with organic carbon, suggesting the relevance of organic matter for soil B availability. Soil parameters described limited variation in B uptake and the yield response to B fertilization. Boron fertilization did not increase yields in any of the 15 sites but increased uptake in 11 sites. Yields were reduced through B fertilization in five sites, likely because B application induced toxicity. No clear critical soil or plant B concentrations indicating deficiency could be derived, but positive yield responses to B fertilization were absent with hot water B levels above 0.69 mg kg−1.Assessing B fertilizer needs in maize grown in tropical soils based on soil or plant tissue concentrations remains challenging. Improving soil organic matter status could potentially alleviate B deficiency in crops when present. Recommendations are given to overcome the identified challenges associated with studying B availability in tropical soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear energy is increasingly being considered for such targeted energy applications as data centers in light of their high capacity factors and low carbon emissions. This paper focuses on assessing the tradeoffs between economies of scale versus mass production to identify promising reactor sizes to meet data center demands. A framework is then built using the best cost estimates from the literature to identify ideal reactor power sizes for the needs of the given data center. Results should not be taken to be deterministic but highlight the variability of ideal reactor power output against the required demand. While certain advocates claim that with the gigawatts of clean, firm energy needed, large plants are ideal, others advocate for SMRs that can be deployed in large quantities and reap the benefits from learning effects. The findings of this study showcase that identifying the optimal size for a reactor is likely more nuanced and dependent on the application and its requirements. Overall, the study does show potential economic promise for coupling nuclear reactors to data centers and industrial heat applications under certain key conditions and assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Among the most important challenges associated with the gluten-free diet are the high costs and limited availability of gluten-free products, accompanied by the lower nutritional value of gluten-free products. The aim of the presented study was to assess gluten-free products' availability and satisfaction in a Polish population of coeliac-disease patients and their caregivers. Methods: The study was conducted in a population of Polish female coeliac-disease patients and female family members/relatives of patients diagnosed with coeliac disease, being members of the Polish Coeliac Society and purchasing gluten-free products. A population of n = 819 was included in the studied group based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria (n = 547 of patients and n = 272 of family members/relatives of patients). The study was conducted as a part of an international project to assess the opinions of coeliac-disease patients about gluten-free products, as well as the availability and prices of gluten-free products in various countries, while an identical questionnaire was applied in all participating countries, with transcultural adaptation applied. Opinions concerning the availability of and satisfaction with gluten-free products were assessed based on a questionnaire of agreement with fixed statements about the accessibility, range and quality of gluten-free products in Poland, with a five-point Likert scale to declare the agreement. This was stratified by the following variables: age, place of residence, being diagnosed with coeliac disease, place of purchasing major grocery shopping, gluten-free products at least occasionally bought online, declared problem(s) with the availability and quality of gluten-free products. Results: While comparing the studied sub-groups, it may be stated that some of them were more satisfied than the other sub-groups with the gluten-free products, including their availability and quality; namely, older respondents were more satisfied than younger ones (p < 0.05), respondents living in small towns/villages were more satisfied than those living in big cities (p < 0.05), respondents undertaking major grocery shopping in hypermarkets were more satisfied than those not doing this (p < 0.05), and respondents not buying gluten-free products online were more satisfied than those undertaking this at least occasionally (p < 0.05). At the same time, respondents diagnosed with coeliac disease were more satisfied with the availability and less satisfied with the quality of gluten-free products, while respondents with diagnosed family members/relatives were less satisfied with the availability and more satisfied with the quality (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The group of female coeliac-disease patients and female family members/relatives of patients diagnosed with coeliac disease was highly diverse in terms of their satisfaction with gluten-free products' availability and quality, whilst older respondents, respondents living in small towns/villages, respondents doing major grocery shopping in hypermarkets, and respondents not buying gluten-free products online were more satisfied. Respondents with family members/relatives diagnosed with coeliac disease declared serious efforts and sacrifice to purchase gluten-free products, which was associated with their higher satisfaction with quality and lower satisfaction with availability, while respondents diagnosed with coeliac disease chose easier options, resulting in their higher satisfaction with availability and lower satisfaction with quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractTo address concerns regarding economic risks and reliability issues in existing maintenance practices, this study introduces a novel condition-based maintenance model that considers failure risks in terms of both cost and availability. Utilizing a Markov decision process, this model determines inspection intervals and maintenance policies aimed at minimizing the nested conditional Value-at-Risk of cumulative costs while satisfying operational availability constraints. By applying this model to the plasma etching process, we demonstrate its effectiveness compared with existing maintenance models. Additionally, we found that higher risk levels do not necessarily lead to stricter maintenance policies, whereas achieving better operational availability incurs additional costs. These findings highlight the importance of balancing cost and availability risks when determining an optimal maintenance policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research focuses on the reliability analysis of a complex system comprising two interconnected subsystems. Each subsystem consists of three identical units arranged in parallel. The operational policy employed is the 1-out-of-3: G policy, which means that as long as at least one unit is operational in each subsystem, the system as a whole remains functional. The failure rates of the units within the subsystems are consistent and follow an exponential distribution. To address unit failures and repair them, the Gumbel-Hougaard copula repair method is employed. The research investigates various reliability metrics, including system availability, system reliability, mean time to failure (MTTF), and sensitivity analysis. The researchers employ stochastic theory, differential equations, and supplementary variables to model and analyze the reliability behavior of the system. Moreover, the model's findings can guide decision-making processes related to system design, component selection, and maintenance strategies. System engineers and managers can utilize the insights gained from the reliability analysis to optimize the system's performance, enhance its reliability, and reduce costs associated with maintenance and repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing reliability studies on K-out-of-N: G repairable retrial systems with mixed standbys mainly consider the case where the standby switching is completely reliable and the repair time follows an exponential distribution, and most of them directly analyze the system reliability indices based on probability theory. Given the existence of such phenomenon as standby switching failure in engineering, this paper proposes a novel reliability model of K-out-of-N: G repairable retrial system with switching failure, and performs statistical inference on the reliability to realize the modeling and evaluation of the system. The considered system consists of mixed standbys and a repairer with vacation. When an operating component fails, the warm standby one is switched to the operating one immediately, and the probability of switching failure during the switchover process is p. In the case where the repair time of failed components follows a general distribution, based on the supplementary variable method and recursive algorithm, the steps for calculating the system steady-state availability are presented. In the case of unknown parameters for repair time and retrial time, the Bayesian estimator of the steady-state availability under the squared error loss function and highest posterior density (HPD) confidence interval are obtained. In numerical simulation, the system reliability inference is realized by using the Monte Carlo (MC) method, and the validity of the inference method is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, James Gibson's influential notion of "perceptual affordances" is applied to the romantic realm. The core idea of Gibson's view rests on the possible, meaningful actions that the perceptual environment offers the animal. In order to sustain this idea, Gibson posits two additional major characteristics of affordances: (a) affordances are perceived in a direct cognitive manner, and (b) affordances have a unique ontological status that is neither subjective nor objective. While I accept the core idea, I have doubts as to whether the two other characteristics are necessary in other types of affordances, such as social and romantic affordances. The romantic realm offers an abundance of many enticing affordances. In this regard, I discuss phenomena like the availability of a romantic alternative, romantic ambivalence, choosing a romantic partner, sexual fantasies, the road not taken, reciprocity, playing hard to get, cultivating backup mates, romantic affordances in old age and in the digital realm. In light of the abundance and complexity of romantic affordances in our current romantic environment, knowing the nature of these affordances is most useful from both pragmatic and theoretical viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study entails the determination of the due time required for carrying out hot gas path inspection of a gas turbine. Delay in execution of HGPI may result in machine failure, extra cost and loss in revenue while early execution may result in unnecessary cost, waste, and loss in revenue due to downtime. Hence, the aim of the research study, to model and evaluate the due time for carrying out hot gas path inspection for a GE frame 9E machine. This study was conducted using GT17 of Transcorp Power Limited, Ughelli, Delta State. The methodological approach considered for this study was to carry out a mathematical modelling approach in determining the due time for carrying out HGPI. A corrosion rate formula was developed, presented and used in the modelling process. The two main parts considered for the experiment were turbine buckets and shroud blocks, which is considered critical for the turbine clearance when undertaking HGPI. Based on the mathematical modelling analysis, the due time for the turbine buckets were 24134.9hrs for stage 1, 235456hrs for stage 2 and 24727.5hrs for stage 3. In correspondence, turbine shroud blocks due time were computed at 24805.3hrs, 24497.8hrs and 23346.1hrs for stages 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Based on the efficiency computed, it was discovered that the efficiency of the gas turbine reduces gradually until maintenance activities are carried out to improve the efficiency, reliability and availability of the gas turbine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite swarm networks have occupied a prominent position in many modern applications due to their low cost, simplicity of design, and flexibility. Reliability is an influential factor in the design of satellite networks with different structures. Usually, small satellites are based on COST components, which may reduce continues operability due to the lack of using backup system on board the sagecraft. Any failure in one subsystem means a complete loss of the function and data stored in this subsystem; hence the need for a reliable and applicable solution for this matter is a crucial topic. Using the redundancy strategy in satellite swarm networks increases reliability and availability. Blockchain is characterized by using a distributed ledger which enables the database to be replicated across nodes in the network and results in increasing transparency, security, and trust. This paper suggests adoption of blockchain technology in distributed multi-satellite mission swarm networks to provide a high level of reliability and availability of the entire system; the blockchain is usually used to secure system transactions in multilayer approach by storage of the key parameters in more than one node; here we suggest the adoption of this approach not only to secure satellite network transaction, but also to increase system reliability so that failure of one node can be recovered by other nodes. We compared this approach with similar traditional networks that do not use blockchain. The results show a higher reliability efficiency of 95.3% for applying blockchain technology compared to 64.3% without the use of blockchain, as well as a higher availability of 99% compared to 91%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimize the operational availability of the series-parallel system and provide useful insights for maintenance planning, the study attempts to investigate the availability of a ball mill unit. These four different components make up the ball mill production system: "drum," "ring-gear," "gearbox," and "electric motor." There is a chain mechanism connecting all four components. The "ring gear" and "electric motor" components are composed of two independent units, one of which serves the desired purpose and the other is maintained in cold standby. The "drum" and "gearbox" of the components each contain only one unit. Therefore, a novel mathematical model is designed and implemented in this work by assuming arbitrary repair rates and exponentially distributed failure rates using the Markov process and Chapman-Kolmogorov equations. This study explored the availability with a normalization method and used genetic algorithm techniques to optimize ball mill availability. Putting this article into practice is of great benefit when developing an appropriate maintenance program. Through this, the study achieves maximum production. To investigate the behavior of several performance characteristics of the ball mill production system, numerical results and corresponding graphs are also specifically created for specific values of subsystem parameters, such as failure rate, and repair rate to increase the system's overall efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accepted by: M. Zied Babai We study an aged-based replacement policy with two control limits. The first triggers opportunistic replacement and the second triggers a guaranteed replacement. The policy is novel because: the instances for component replacement are restricted to instances of time, which we call slots, that arise periodically; and a slot provides an opportunity for replacement with a particular probability. The policy models contexts in which maintenance is periodic, and resources are limited or execution of maintenance is not guaranteed. The policy is important for practice because it is simple and reflects the common reality of time-based maintenance planning. Long-run cost per unit time and average availability are calculated in a renewal-reward framework. Numerical study indicates that, if opportunities are rare, guaranteed replacement is beneficial and opportunities should be taken early in the life of a system. Using the policy, a maintainer can evaluate the cost–benefit of investing more resources to reduce the time between slots. Specific analysis and policy comparisons can be carried out using a web-application developed by the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inherent uncertainties of biomass-driven systems including seasonality, supply chain problems, and energy conversion limitations put reliability and availability of such systems under question. The optimization of the energy systems taken into account the reliability, availability and maintainability (denoted by RAM), parameters, and constraints can dramatically change the system design, configuration, and operation. An enviro-economic optimization of biomass-powered energy systems, considering the impact of the reliability and maintainability parameters in the final optimal cost of the energy generation and after-commissioning operation, is pinpointed in this study. The objective function was developed as an explicit function to provide the system performance parameters such as rated capacities and utilization times and reliability elements such as maintenance intervals and mean time to failure (denoted by MTTF) as independent parameters for the multivariable nonlinear optimization problem. Such parameters are then used for deriving maintainability and availability parameters such as mean time to repair (denoted by MTTR) to assure the required availability levels. Developing a methodology to be used for performing the same analysis for other configurations using distinguished energy systems, storage or biomass fuel is another problem that was considered in this research. The results showed that integrating RAM parameters to optimization analysis still keeps the biomass-fueled systems competitive economically with other energy systems. The study showed that a biomass-powered system is more sensitive to electrical module performance parameters than to thermal module and biomass types. Furthermore, thermal module requires more frequent maintenance activities in comparison with electrical module in order to retain a system reliability level above the thresholds. Moreover, reliability can be integrated as a nonlinear constraint into the above-mentioned optimization problem, resulting in optimal rated capacities closer to maximum nominal capacities in case of electrical module. RAM integration to optimization changes the performance parameters of an enviro-economic optimization analysis. The sensitivity to parameters and approaches could be high, and other fuels, technologies, or system configurations shall be considered to deliver more confident results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of developing and implementing Smart Cities (SC) projects depends on a varied set of factors, where the availability of a qualified technical workforce is a critical one. The combination of ICT requirements, like the effectiveness and quality of solutions merging IoT, cloud computing, sensors, and communications with the work from many varied disciplines (e.g., civil engineering, architecture, etc.), mixed with aspects of environmental and business sustainability, makes the management of these projects really challenging. Reports forecast a scarcity of qualified candidates, given this complexity and the growth of activity in SC projects. The European project SMACITE has addressed the requirements of the qualification of an ICT workforce with an analysis of multiples sources of information from the labor market, feedback from involved stakeholders, and the literature. The goal was the development of two occupational ICT profiles as a reference for training and for the availability of candidates for job vacancies. The result is two ICT role profiles for engineers and technicians, mapped with the European skills frameworks ESCO and EN16234. The profiles determined the whole set of requirements, including not only the technical areas and soft skills, but also additional technical areas and sustainability and managerial skills and the analysis of different sources of information. Our work has also determined which existing ESCO occupations are similar to the two reference profiles, so they are better adapted to SC projects. The training activities of SMACITE have also suggested the amount of training expected for a varied sample of candidates who want to be qualified for SC projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Access to cardiovascular medications is severely hampered by their unavailability and high cost, particularly for the poorest households in developing nations. The availability and price range of cardiovascular medications are significantly limited in both hospital and community pharmacies. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the availability and price variations of commonly used cardiovascular medicines in hospital pharmacies in Gondar Town, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: From July 13 to August 6, 2022, a mixed cross‐sectional and simulated client survey was carried out at two hospital and 13 community pharmacies in Gondar Town. The analysis and data entry were performed using SPSS Version 25 and EpiData Version 4.2, respectively. The availability and pricing variations of the medications are given as percentages. The significance was examined using paired t tests. Results: On average, community retail pharmacies offered 33.22% of CVD drugs. Aspirin (81 mg), amlodipine (5 mg), atorvastatin (20 mg), and hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg) were the most readily available drugs in community pharmacies. Overall, 28.00% of the hospital pharmacies had available CVD medicines during the course of our analysis. The average cost for the 25 CVD medications in hospital pharmacies was $0.699, with a standard deviation (SD) of 1.513, which was less than the cost at community pharmacies ($2.741 with an SD of 6.015) (p = 0.045). Conclusion: CVD medications were more available in community pharmacies than in hospital pharmacies, although there were fewer CVD medications available than recommended by the WHO/HAI (80%) in both hospital and community pharmacies. There was a statistically significant difference between the two prices. Compared to that at hospital pharmacies, the mean price at community pharmacies was greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Worldwide, the uptake of peritoneal dialysis (PD) compared with hemodialysis remains limited. This study assessed organizational structures, availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of PD worldwide. Methods This cross-sectional study relied on data from kidney registries as well as survey data from stakeholders (clinicians, policymakers and advocates for people living with kidney disease) from countries affiliated with the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) from July to September 2022. Results Overall, 167 countries participated in the survey. PD was available in 79% of countries with a median global prevalence of 21.0 [interquartile range (IQR) 1.5–62.4] per million population (pmp). High-income countries (HICs) had an 80-fold higher prevalence of PD than low-income countries (LICs) (56.2 pmp vs 0.7 pmp). In 53% of countries, adults had greater PD access than children. Only 29% of countries used public funding (and free) reimbursement for PD with Oceania and South East Asia (6%), Africa (10%) and South Asia (14%) having the lowest proportions of countries in this category. Overall, the annual median cost of PD was US$18 959.2 (IQR US$10 891.4–US$31 013.8) with full private out-of-pocket payment in 4% of countries and the highest median cost in LICs (US$30 064.4) compared with other country income levels (e.g. HICs US$27 206.0). Conclusions Ongoing large gaps and variability in the availability, access and affordability of PD across countries and world regions were observed. Of note, there is significant inequity in access to PD by children and for people in LICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present age of industrial revolution where the smart manufacturing and smart production are being used in the developed countries, the production systems are still vulnerable to disruptions and outages that affect the reliability and availability of the systems. Certain scientific and probabilistic approaches are required to study the inter‐failure times and repair times and find the possible solutions for maximum production and minimum losses. In this article, we propose a bivariate Power Pareto distribution to model the inter‐failure times and repair times of a system along with some of its characteristics. The model parameters are estimated by employing the maximum likelihood estimation, Bayesian estimation and ant colony optimization algorithm. A simulation study is conducted for different sample sizes to assess the stability of the model parameters. Moreover, we derive the distribution of convolution from our proposed bivariate stochastic distribution and compute its quantiles that help to determine the total time of availability and recovery of a certain system. To demonstrate the efficacy of our model, we use real data set of inter‐failure times and repair times of a certain system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of Beidou satellite-based augmentation system (BDSBAS) single frequency augmentation service was evaluated and analyzed according to the shortcomings of the research on the corresponding operational performance support of the BDSBAS with the actual data. The calculation process of BDSBAS accuracy enhancement and integrity enhancement was comprehensively sorted out based on the relevant international standards. The process of accuracy enhancement and integrity enhancement was achieved through the publicly broadcast BDSBAS-BIC messages, and the enhancement results were used to evaluate the service performance of BDSBAS in China in the second quarter of 2022 in terms of precision, integrity and availability. The results show that during the test period, the BDSBAS single frequency augmentation service can support the accuracy and availability required for approach procedure with vertical guidance (APV)-I operation, and the horizontal and vertical accuracies respectively range from 1.5 to 5.5 m and from 2.5 to 10.3 m with the availability of APV-I operation of 99.871% (better than 99.000%). Although the transient integrity does not support APV-I, the positioning error is completely enveloped by the protection level without misleading information and dangerous misleading information events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims at the study of a two non-identical system model having safe and unsafe failures and rebooting. The focus centers on the analysis w.r.t important reliability measures and estimation of parameters in Classical and Bayesian paradigms. At first one of the units is operational whereas other one is confined to standby mode. Any unit may suffer safe or unsafe failure. A safe failure is immediately taken up for remedial action by a repairman available with the system all the time, while the case of unsafe failure cannot be dealt directly but first rebooting is performed to convert the unsafe failure to safe failure mode so as to start repair normally. A switching device is used to make the repaired and standby units operational. The lifetime of both the units and switching device are taken to be exponentially distributed random variables whereas the distribution of repair times are assumed to be general. Regenerative point technique is employed to derive assosciated measures of effectiveness. To make the study more elaborative and visually attractive, some of the derived characteristics have been studied graphically too. A simulation study has also been undertaken to exhibit the behaviour of obtained characteristics in Classical and Bayesian setup. Valuable inferences about MLE and Bayes estimates have been drawn from the tables and graphs for varying values of failure and repair parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to optimize the performance parameters of the casting process using a neural network approach. The casting process is molten or liquefied metal is poured into the mould cavity, after solidification it takes the near net shape of the cavity. The entire manufacturing process goes through six stations viz Pouring turret "ladle", "Tundish", "Mould", "Water spray chamber", "Support roller" and "Torch cutter". The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique is used in this paper to analyze the casting system's availability, profitability, and state probability variation. An effort has been made to identify the most critical component of the system. The outcomes of the analysis will help the practitioners in deciding effective maintenance strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a standard methodology for measuring and evaluating the availability and affordability of selected medicines in the healthcare system, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Aim: To investigate availability, affordability and accessibility of medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2021 and compare the results with those from 2019. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study investigated the availability and affordability of 60 selected medicines in Islamic Republic of Iran. Availability and affordability were measured using the WHO/Health Action International methodology. Results: The availability rates for originator brands in the public, private and other sectors were 6.4%, 8.6% and 6.8%, respectively. In contrast, availability rates for lowest-priced and most-sold generics were 44.7% and 63.6% in the public sector, 45.4% and 66.4% in the private sector, and 39.6% and 58.6% in other sectors. Only 20.0% of originator brands in the Islamic Republic of Iran were affordable, while 96.6% of the lowest priced and 95.0% of the most sold generics were affordable. Conclusion: Most medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran were affordable and the pharmaceutical supply chain was acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nutrition security encompasses stable and equitable access, availability, affordability, and utilization of healthy foods. Aim: To evaluate the relationship of two newly created dichotomous measures that represent aspects of nutrition security (i.e., perceived limited availability and healthfulness choice) with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation. Methods: Logistic regression models were run for each outcome separately with adjustment for age, income-to-poverty ratio, gender, education, race, and food security. Results: Adults using social services (e.g., food pantries) were enrolled (N = 402) in this cross-sectional analysis. SNAP participants (61.7%) were not different from non-SNAP participants in perceiving limited availability (aOR [95% CI]: 1.21 [0.75, 1.95]) or limited ability to choose (aOR [95% CI]: 0.69 [0.43, 1.12]) healthy foods. Conclusions: Both SNAP and non-SNAP participants with low socioeconomic status report limited availability of healthy foods in their environment and a limited ability to choose healthy foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energies have a fundamental role in sustainability, with wind power being one of the most important due to its low production costs. Modern wind turbines are becoming bigger and more complex, and their operation and maintenance must be as optimized as possible. In this context, supervisory control and data acquisition systems provide valuable information, but there is no precise methodology for their analysis. To overcome this need, a generalized methodology is proposed to determine the recognition of critical subsystems through alarm analysis and management. The proposed methodology defines each subsystem in a precise way, shows the indicators for the alarms, and presents a theoretical framework for its application using the quantity and activation times of alarms, along with the real downtime. It also considers the transition of states when the wind turbine is operationally inactive. To highlight the proposal's novelty, the methodology is exemplified with a case study from the Southern Cone, applying the method through a data management and analysis tool. Four critical subsystems were found, with the alarms of wind vanes, anemometers, and emergency speeds being of relevance. The indicators and the graphical tools recommended helped guide the applied analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliability optimization is a process aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of maintenance activities within an organization. This optimization can concern various aspects, including failure prevention, resource management, cost reduction, and improving the operational availability of equipment. In this work, our study aims to implement a comprehensive maintenance strategy for the 1600T press at Algal + company with the primary objectives of preventing breakdowns, minimizing unplanned downtime, optimizing productivity, extending the lifespan of equipment, ensuring safety, and improving the competitiveness and profitability of the company. The problem of reliability and availability of the 1600T press at the Algal + company can be addressed by a systematic approach to industrial maintenance. By adopting a holistic approach to industrial maintenance, Algal + company can improve the reliability and availability of its equipment, thereby reducing unplanned downtime and optimizing overall productivity. By systematically applying FMECA to the 1600T press, the optimization efforts become data-driven and focused on addressing the most critical risks. This, in turn, significantly contributes to optimizing the reliability and availability of the equipment, reducing unplanned downtime, and enhancing overall operational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the challenge of assessing relatedness and functional interdependence through connecting passes within invasion games, which may offer valuable pedagogical insights into gameplay for accessibility and inclusiveness. Hence, the purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it presents preliminary work on the methodology for computing open passing lanes and derived metrics, integrating spatiotemporal data analysis with event data. Secondly, using a within-subject design, it investigates how modified handball games influence game play opportunities. Data were collected during handball matches in a pre-teens Physical Education (PE) class with mixed-skill-level teams. Game actions (e.g., passes, receptions, and shots) were manually recorded through systematic observation of video footage, while players' positional data were captured with ultra-wideband technology. Findings provide evidence that employing a numerical advantage (one player up) enhances overall opportunities for individual attacking actions (i.e., more passing, catching actions, and goal-scoring opportunities) and relational actions (i.e., more open passing lanes) compared to equal numbers. Conversely, equal numbers with individual marking appeared more challenging, as fewer secure passing lanes were observed, and the ball possessor spent more time with the ball before releasing it. The developed approach holds promise for studying designed games to enhance inclusion and learning opportunities for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated availability of teaching facilities and utilization of instructional procedures for implementation of Chemistry core curriculum (CCC) in senior secondary schools (SSS) in Ebonyi State. Specifically, it determined level of availability of stipulated facilities and extent of utilization of instructional procedures by teachers for implementation of CCC in SSS in Ebonyi State. Design of the study was descriptive survey. Population was made up of all 216 senior secondary schools in Ebonyi State. Proportionate random sampling was used to draw a sample of 120 schools. Chemistry teachers and laboratory attendants participated in the study. Instruments for data collection were checklist and questionnaire. Results show that good examination halls, chalk board and classrooms were 100% very highly available, standard Chemistry laboratory(16%), projector(16%), chemicals and reagents(14%), water and electricity(33% each) were lowly available. Utilization of lecture and laboratory instructional procedures (IP) was of a very high extent with a mean of 3.78 and 3.70 respectively, activity based IP 2.98 and project IP has a mean of 2.73. Analogy and programmed IPs were very lowly utilized with a mean of 1.20 and 1.08 respectively. The study recommended among others, that government should make available teaching and learning facilities as stipulated in CCC to secondary schools for better achievement and implementation of the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fake base stations comprise a critical security issue in mobile networking. A fake base station exploits vulnerabilities in the broadcast message announcing a base station's presence, which is called SIB1 in 4G LTE and 5G NR, to get user equipment to connect to the fake base station. Once connected, the fake base station can deprive the user of connectivity and access to the Internet/cloud. We discovered that a fake base station can disable the victim user equipment's connectivity for an indefinite period of time, which we validated using our threat prototype against current 4G/5G practices. We designed and built a defense scheme which detects and blacklists a fake base station and then, informed by the detection, avoids it through link routing for connectivity availability. For detection and blacklisting, our scheme uses the real-time information of both the time duration and the number of request transmissions, the features of which are directly impacted by the fake base station's threat and which have not been studied in previous research. Upon detection, our scheme takes an active measure called link routing, which is a novel concept in mobile/4G/5G networking, where the user equipment routes the connectivity request to another base station. To defend against a Sybil-capable fake base station, we use a history–reputation-based link routing scheme for routing and base station selection. We implemented both the base station and the user on software-defined radios using open-source 5G software (srsRAN v23.10 and Open5GS v2.6.6) for validation. We varied the base station implementation to simulate legitimate vs. faulty but legitimate vs. fake and malicious base stations, where a faulty base station notifies the user of the connectivity disruption and releases the session, while a fake base station continues to hold the session. We empirically analyzed the detection and identification thresholds, which vary with the fake base station's power and the channel condition. By strategically selecting the threshold parameters, our scheme provides zero errors, including zero false positives, to avoid blacklisting a temporarily faulty base station that cannot provide connectivity at the time. Furthermore, our link routing scheme enables the base station to switch in order to restore the connectivity availability and limit the threat impact. We also discuss future directions to facilitate and encourage R&D in securing telecommunications and base station security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RDF and SPARQL provide a uniform way to publish and query billions of triples in open knowledge graphs (KGs) on the Web. Yet, provisioning of a fast, reliable, and responsive live querying solution for open KGs is still hardly possible through SPARQL endpoints alone: while such endpoints provide a remarkable performance for single queries, they typically can not cope with highly concurrent query workloads by multiple clients. To mitigate this, the Linked Data Fragments (LDF) framework sparked the design of different alternative low-cost interfaces such as Triple Pattern Fragments (TPF), that partially offload the query processing workload to the client side. On the downside, such interfaces still come with the expense of unnecessarily high network load due to the necessary transfer of intermediate results to the client, leading to query performance degradation compared with endpoints. To address this problem, in the present work, we investigate alternative interfaces, refining and extending the original TPF idea, which also aims at reducing server-resource consumption, by shipping query-relevant partitions of KGs from the server to the client. To this end, first, we align formal definitions and notations of the original LDF framework to uniformly present existing LDF implements and such "partition-based" LDF approaches. These novel LDF interfaces retrieve, instead of the exact triples matching a particular query pattern, a subset of pre-materialized, compressed, partitions of the original graph, containing all answers to a query pattern, to be further evaluated on the client side. As a concrete representative of partition-based LDF, we present smart-KG+, extending and refining our prior work (In WWW '20: The Web Conference 2020 (2020) 984–994 ACM / IW3C2) in several respects. Our proposed approach is a step forward towards a better-balanced share of the query processing load between clients and servers by shipping graph partitions driven by the structure of RDF graphs to group entities described with the same sets of properties and classes, resulting in significant data transfer reduction. Our experiments demonstrate that the smart-KG+ significantly outperforms existing Web SPARQL interfaces on both pre-existing benchmarks for highly concurrent query execution as well as an accustomed query workload inspired by query logs of existing SPARQL endpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the stochastic analysis of noodles manufacturing plant. Various subsystems namely—FMCS (feeder system, mixing, compound process, slitting), steaming, CFC (cutting, frying process, cooling and packaging process) are arranged in a series configuration. For the purpose of achieving more reliability of the system an additional steaming unit is attached in parallel to the main steaming unit as a warm standby. Failure rate of the unit is linearly increasing while the distributions of time to repair are general. A single repairman is always available with the system to make the whole system more reliable and productive. The regenerating point technique is used to derive various measures of system effectiveness. The graphs of profit function and MTSF have also been successfully plotted using particular values of various parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil contamination by heavy metals (HM) from pesticides poses a serious environmental threat, affecting sustainability and agricultural productivity. Soil enzymes are essential for biochemical reactions such as organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling and are vital for maintaining soil health. However, the effects of HM on soil enzyme activity are not yet well understood. This study examined the impact of HM contamination on enzymatic stoichiometry in regions with intensive pesticide use. We selected flower cultivation areas with 5 years (CA1) and 10 years (CA2) of pesticide exposure and a native forest area (NFA) as a reference during the dry and rainy seasons. We measured Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn levels and employed ecological risk indices to assess contamination levels. We also analyzed enzyme activities (arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, urease) and enzymatic stoichiometry. CA2 exhibited the highest concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Mn in both periods, while Zn was highest in both CA1 and CA2. CA2 had higher values for all indices, indicating significant contamination. Compared with NFA, arylsulfatase activity was lower in cultivated areas during both periods, suggesting decreased soil quality. We found negative correlations between Cu, Mn, Zn, and arylsulfatase, as well as a reduction in urease with Cd; these elements also increased microbial C limitation. Our findings show that continuous pesticide input increases HM levels and that enzyme activity and stoichiometry are effective bioindicator of soil contamination. This study underscores the urgent need for guidelines to protect soils from prolonged HM buildup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-precision availability prediction, availability monitoring, and availability improvement method for in-service nuclear power plants has been proposed. The calculation formula for availability characteristic quantities and categories of planned maintenance for nuclear power plants are introduced. For nuclear power plants that have been in operation for less than 5 years, an availability prediction method based on statistical data is adopted to predict the equivalent availability factor of nuclear power plants. For nuclear power plants with operation years greater than or equal to 5 years, an availability prediction method based on power function and polynomial is adopted to predict the equivalent availability factor of nuclear power plants, and an accuracy verification method of availability prediction for nuclear power plants is provided. Based on availability prediction values and qualification criteria for availability monitoring, the availability monitoring of nuclear power plants is carried out. The optimization for numbers of planned maintenance days and newly added unplanned maintenance days based on different planned maintenance years promote the availability improvement of nuclear power plants. The relative error of availability prediction for an 1000 MW nuclear power plant and application example of optimized maintenance measures for different planned maintenance years are provided. The results show that the availability prediction method based on power function has high prediction accuracy and conforms to the availability trend of nuclear power plants. Based on the high-precision prediction results of availability, optimizing the number of planned maintenance days for different planned maintenance years can promote the availability improvement of in-service nuclear power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an exploration of mathematical modeling and performance enhancement of a casting system in the steel industry. The study employs the implementation of Markov processes and genetic algorithm to achieve these objectives. The system comprises of four subsystems namely transfer laddle, continuous casting machine, shot blasting machine and grinding machine. These are arranged in a way that failing of a single subsystem halts the working of overall system. Using probabilistic approach, differential equations have been developed from transition diagram based on Markov process. Failure and repair rates follow exponential distribution. To ascertain steady state availability, differential equations are solved using normalizing conditions. Further, genetic algorithm is applied to find optimal values of failure/repair rates to estimate the optimal plant availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. However, continuous monitoring is essential to ensure sustained access and to tackle regional disparities in drug utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction are prevalent endocrine disorders that impose enormous burdens on patients and countries. However, access to essential medicines remains inadequate in many low-income countries. This study evaluated medications’ availability, price, and affordability for these conditions. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at health facilities in the South Wollo zone in 2022. Following World Health Organization (WHO)/Health Action International (HAI) guidelines, 34 medicines were evaluated across 60 medicine outlets. Data were collected using a standardized tool adapted from WHO/HAI. Availability was measured by the percentage of facilities where the medicines were in stock. Prices were reported as median prices and median price ratios (MPR). Affordability was assessed based on the number of days’ wages required for the lowest-paid government workers to cover the full course of therapy. Results The availability of lowest-priced generic (LPG) diabetes and thyroid dysfunction medicines in the public sector was 24.4% and 28.7%, respectively. In private pharmacies, availability was 26.3% for diabetes and 21% for thyroid dysfunction medicines. Median prices for LPG medicines were higher in private pharmacies than in public health facilities, with 81.81% showing a statistically significant difference (p

Abstract Sustainable diets can achieve considerable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in human health, but changing dietary behavior remains a challenge. We assessed the impacts of two behavioral insights strategies on bridging the intention-action gap related to sustainable and healthy food choices amongst hospital cafeteria patrons. In a pilot survey of hospital staff (N = 1,165), 56% identified limited awareness and availability of sustainable food as barriers to purchasing, although 46% were extremely willing to try sustainable dishes. We examined increasing salience (Study 1), varying availability (Study 2a), and decreasing availability (Study 2b) on sustainable and healthy dish purchases in three hospital cafeterias. Each study ran for seven weeks from March to April, 2023. In total, 10,616 dishes were purchased. In Study 1, increasing salience was associated with significant uptake of sustainable and healthy dishes, but the effect disappeared once the salience intervention was removed. In Study 2a, increasing availability of sustainable dishes corresponded to a significant increase in purchases of sustainable dishes, while decreasing availability in Study 2b followed a downward trend in purchases, suggesting that availability drove dietary choices. We recommend hospitals consider these choice architecture interventions to support the adoption of sustainable and healthy diets.

Introduction/purpose: The aim of this paper is to obtain quantitative and qualitative indicators of vehicle condition and reliability based on operational data which can be used to determine the optimal periodicity of preventive maintenance for special purpose vehicles, and to more accurately manage the maintenance process and the operational readiness of these vehicles. Methods: Based on operational failure data and statistical methods, a mathematical model of the reliability of special purpose vehicles was determined. Using this model and operational data, the periodicity of preventive maintenance for the vehicles was determined through multicriteria optimization, considering both readiness and minimum maintenance costs. The same methodology was applied to determine the optimal preventive maintenance periodicity for 15 components of the mechanical system of special purpose vehicles. A group analysis was conducted using Minitab 15 statistical software, based on the theory of similarity in preventive maintenance periodicity for the 15 components, and a statistical analysis of the conducted research was performed using Minitab 16 statistical software. Results: Models for preventive maintenance of special purpose vehicles were developed based on the recorded vehicle failures and the failures of fifteen vital components. A group analysis grouped the fifteen components into optimal maintenance groups, similar in terms of working time between failures. The statistical analysis of the research determined a functional relationship for the optimal periodicity of preventive maintenance for special purpose vehicles. Conclusion: The maintenance periodicity obtained through multi-criteria analysis is optimal, as it achieves satisfactory vehicle readiness with optimal maintenance costs. The statistical analysis of the research concluded that the maintenance periodicities of the vehicle components are different. In both fleets, the engine and the transmission block have the longest maintenance intervals. The research results can be used to rationalize the existing preventive maintenance concept.

Abstract Background Ensuring healthcare services are equipped to offer; emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) is crucial for improving the quality of maternal and newborn care in low- and middle-income countries. We assessed the temporal trends of the availability and readiness of the healthcare system to provide EmONC in Burkina Faso. Methods We analyzed the data from three national health facilities surveys, conducted in 2014, 2016 and 2018, using the WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool. We performed multivariable linear regression models to examine the trends. Results Between 2014 and 2018, the percentage of healthcare facilities providing delivery service and blood transfusion significantly decreased (88.1% to 75.4% for delivery services and 67.3% to 50.2% for blood transfusion, p