Motivated by a classical result concerning the ε-subdifferential of the sum of two proper, convex and lower semicontinuous functions, we give in this paper a similar result for the enlargement of the sum of two maximal monotone operators defined on a Banach space. This is done by establishing a necessary and sufficient condition for a bivariate inf-convolution formula.

The concept of upper and lower semicontinuity of fuzzy mappings introduced by Bao and Wu [Y.E. Bao, C.X. Wu, Convexity and semicontinuity of fuzzy mappings, Comput. Math. Appl., 51 (2006) 1809–1816] is redefined by using the concept of parameterized triples of fuzzy numbers. On the basis of the linear ordering of fuzzy numbers proposed by Goetschel and Voxman [R. Goetschel, W. Voxman, Elementar...

The use of large amounts of distributed and heterogeneous information has become extremely cumbersome; this difficulty is mainly related to exploring the data, rather than actually storing or exchanging it. The user who is interested in small bits of information is getting more and more confused when having to dig under a large volume of diverse and more importantly semi-structured data. In thi...

Ring fencing (RF) is defined as separating elective from emergency operations in parallel hospital production lines. This study examines the effects of RF of elective surgery on hospital efficiency. The analysis is performed on two levels. First, an intensive three-month study at the departmental level of three hospitals was performed. Second, a panel data analysis of the organizational populat...

To describe the factors that influence general practitioners' choice of hospital when referring patients for elective surgery in three specialties, a postal questionnaire was distributed in January 1991 to 449 doctors who had referred patients to one of six hospitals in the North Western Regional Health Authority. Responses were received from 260 general practitioners (58%). Of the respondents ...