this paper considers a two-stage assembly flow shop problem (tafsp) where m machines are in the first stage and an assembly machine is in the second stage. the objective is to minimize a weighted sum of earliness and tardiness time for n available jobs. jit seeks to identify and eliminate waste components including over production, waiting time, transportation, inventory, movement and defective...

We investigate the response of a laboratory aquifer submitted to artificial rainfall, with an emphasis on the early stage of a rain event. In this almost two-dimensional experiment, the infiltrating rainwater forms a groundwater reservoir which exits the aquifer through one side. The resulting outflow resembles a typical stream hydrograph: the water discharge increases rapidly during rainfall a...

Quantitative evidence synthesis through meta-analysis is central to evidence-based medicine. For well-documented reasons, the meta-analysis of individual patient data is held in higher regard than aggregate data. With access to individual patient data, the analysis is not restricted to a "two-stage" approach (combining estimates and standard errors) but can estimate parameters of interest by fi...

The evolution of reproductive barriers is of central importance for speciation. Here, we investigated three components of postzygotic isolation-embryo mortality, hybrid inviability, and hybrid sterility-in a group of food-deceptive Mediterranean orchids from the genera Anacamptis, Neotinea, and Orchis. In these orchids, pollinator-mediated isolation is weak, which suggests that postpollination ...

One of the goals of AI is to design and build an android who can pass undetected as he lives and interacts with human beings. Although this aim cannot be realised, it makes sense to design androids initially who have skills and abilities similar to those possessed by humans. Among such abilities is that of learning from other people. It is this that I consider in this paper. I propose a two-pha...