We consider the problem of outsourcing warranty repairs to outside vendors when items have priorities in service. The manufacturer has a contract with a fixed number of repair vendors. The manufacturer pays a fixed fee for each repair done by a vendor which is independent of the repair type and priority class but depends on the vendor. There are a fixed number of items under warranty, and each ...

INTRODUCTION This paper aims to illustrate the use of computer simulation in evaluating the impact of a prototype automated dispensing system on waiting time in an outpatient pharmacy and its potential as a routine tool in pharmacy management. MATERIALS AND METHODS A discrete event simulation model was developed to investigate the impact of a prototype automated dispensing system on operation...

Stereo matching, i.e., the matching by the visual system of corresponding parts of the images seen by the two eyes, is inherently a 2D problem. To gain insights into how this operation is carried out by the visual system, we measured, in human subjects, the reflexive vergence eye movements elicited by the sudden presentation of stereo plaids. We found compelling evidence that the 2D pattern dis...

We propose a distributed architecture for deep reinforcement learning at scale, that enables agents to learn effectively from orders of magnitude more data than previously possible. The algorithm decouples acting from learning: the actors interact with their own instances of the environment by selecting actions according to a shared neural network, and accumulate the resulting experience in a s...

BackgroundResident sensitive quality measures (RSQMs) are a new patient-focused approach to performance assessment. Their alignment with existing constructs is underexplored.ObjectiveDevelop and prioritize RSQMs for outpatient general pediatrics in the areas of well visits (0–2 months, 1, 5 years) compare framework Bright Futures recommendations.MethodsCategorical pediatric residents, academic ...

Many knowledge-based systems use some kind of priorities for controlling their reasoning. In this work, autoepistemic logic is extended with priorities. Priorities are formalized as partial orders of formulae that express that some formulae are preferred to others. Priorities increase the set of conclusions that can be inferred from a set of formulae, because the number of cases where connicts ...

Prioritized sweeping is a model-based reinforcement learning method that attempts to focus an agent’s limited computational resources to achieve a good estimate of the value of environment states. To choose effectively where to spend a costly planning step, classic prioritized sweeping uses a simple heuristic to focus computation on the states that are likely to have the largest errors. In this...

This paper shows how action theory in the language B can be naturally encoded using prioritized default theory. We also show how prioritized default theory can be extended to express preferences between rules and formulae. This extension provides a natural framework to introduce preferences over trajectories in B. We illustrate how these preferences can be expressed and how they can be represen...

Service Function Chaining and Network Virtualization are enabling technologies that provide dynamic network services with diverse QoS requirements. Regarding the limited infrastructure resources, service providers need to prioritize requests even reject some of low-priority satisfy requirements high-priority services. In this paper, we study problem deployment reconfiguration a set chains diffe...