BACKGROUND Recently, a strategy for treating stroke directly at the emergency site was developed. It was based on the use of an ambulance equipped with a scanner, a point-of-care laboratory, and telemedicine capabilities (Mobile Stroke Unit). Despite demonstrating a marked reduction in the delay to thrombolysis, this strategy is criticized because of potentially unacceptable costs. METHODS We...

the task of optimally assigning military ordinance to enemy targets, often termed weapon target allocation (wta) problem, has become a major focus of modern military thought where a cost effective allocation is required without degrading the required kill performance. the paper presents three main weapon allocation techniques namely uniform weapon allocation, first-in-first weapon allocation an...

the redundancy allocation problem can be described as selecting the components and system configuration in order to optimize some objective function(s) without violating the system constraints. operating conditions are not constant in many advanced engineering systems. mostly, in the engineering applications selection, the number of redundancy components must be balanced among the constraints (...

Distributed database systems can yield significant cost and performance advantages over centralized systems for geographically distributed organizations. The efficiency of a distributed database depends primarily on the data allocation (data replication and placzment) and the operating strategies (where and how retrieval and update query processing operations are performed). We develop a distri...

OBJECTIVE Bipolar electrosurgery is an excellent method for obtaining hemostasis at laparoscopy. The present study describes and evaluates a bipolar device that can be more versatile and cost effective in advanced operative procedures than the traditional instrumentation. METHODS This was a retrospective, case-controlled analysis of bipolar instrumentation with a design classification of II-2...

BACKGROUND Neuromuscular block (NMB) monitoring and use of reversal agents accelerate the recovery time and improve the workflow in the operating room. We aimed to compare recovery times after sugammadex or neostigmine administration, and estimate the time spent in operating theater and the possible economic impact of a faster recovery, in morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. ...

In this paper the design of annular fin heat exchanger based on economic optimization has been carried out. The optimization process targeted minimizing the lifecycle cost of annular fin heat exchanger that has the same frontal area, effectiveness and heat load of available practical standard geometry exchangers. The lifecycle cost includes both capital and operating costs. Beside the pumping c...

Ever since the 1990s, the role of call centers has been transformed from simply dealing with customer inquiries to performing integrated marketing functions. Firms are starting to view contemporary call centers as preferred and prevalent channels to acquire and retain customers, enhance customer relationship and grow long-term revenue, rather than a cost to be minimized. The management of call ...