Matching patient and physician preferences in designing a primary care facility network

This paper introduces an integer programming model for planning primary care facility networks, which accounts for the interests of different stakeholders while maximizing access to health care. Physician allocation to health-care facilities is explicitly modelled, which allows consideration of physician incentives in the planning phase. An illustrative case study in the Turkish primary care system is presented to show the implications of focusing on patient or physician preferences in the planning phase. A discussion of trade-offs between the different stakeholder preferences and some recommendations for modelling choices to match these preferences are provided. In the context of this case, we found that using an access measure that decays with distance, and incorporating nearest allocation constraints improves performance for all stakeholders. We also show that increasing the number of physicians may have adverse affects on access measures when physician preferences are addressed.     

Interior-point methods for nonconvex nonlinear programming: Jamming and numerical testing

The paper considers an example of Wächter and Biegler which is shown to converge to a nonstationary point for the standard primal–dual interior-point method for nonlinear programming. The reason for this failure is analyzed and a heuristic resolution is discussed. The paper then characterizes the performance of LOQO, a line-search interior-point code, on a large test set of nonlinear programming problems. Specific types of problems which can cause LOQO to fail are identified.Research of the first and third authors supported by NSF grant DMS-9870317, ONR grant N00014-98-1-0036.Research of the second author supported by NSF grant DMS-9805495.     

Water management improvement in PEM fuel cells via addition of PDMS or APTES polymers to the catalyst layer

Water management is one of the obstacles in the development and commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Sufficient humidification of the membrane directly affects the PEM fuel cell performance. Therefore, 2 different hydrophobic polymers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), were tested at different percentages (5, 10, and 20 wt.%) in the catalyst layer. The solution was loaded onto the surface of a 25 BC gas diffusion layer (GDL) via the spraying method. The performance of the obtained fuel cells was compared with the performance of the commercial catalyst. Characterizations of each surface, including different amounts of PDMS and APTES, were performed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analyses. Molecular bond characterization was examined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and surface hydrophobicity was measured via contact angle measurements. The performance of the fuel cells was evaluated at the PEM fuel cell test station and the 2 hydrophobic polymers were compared. Surfaces containing APTES were found to be more hydrophobic. Fuel cells with PDMS performed better when compared to those with APTES. Fuel cells with 5wt.% APTES with a current density of 321.31 mA/cm ² and power density of 0.191 W/cm ² , and 10wt.% PDMS with a current density of 344.52 mA/cm ² and power density of 0.205 W/cm ² were the best performing fuel cells at 0.6V.     

Investigation of photophysical and photochemical properties of phthalocyanines bearing fluorinated groups

This study presents synthesis of novel peripherally tetrasubstituted Zn(II) and In(III) phthalocyanine complexes bearing 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy groups. These phthalocyanines were characterized by performing elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet visible spectrophotometric techniques. Aggregation properties of the resulting phthalocyanines were studied in different concentrations of DMSO. Aggregation behavior of the newly synthesized phthalocyanines was investigated in various organic solvents, as well. Photochemical and photophysical characterization of the resulting compounds were carried out to evaluate their photodynamic therapy properties in DMSO. The new metallophthalocyanines have high singlet oxygen quantum yields ranging from 0.72 to 0.88.     

Interior-Point Algorithms,Penalty Methods and Equilibrium Problems

In this paper we consider the question of solving equilibrium problems—formulated as complementarity problems and, more generally, mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPECs)—as nonlinear programs, using an interior-point approach. These problems pose theoretical difficulties for nonlinear solvers, including interior-point methods. We examine the use of penalty methods to get around these difficulties and provide substantial numerical results. We go on to show that penalty methods can resolve some problems that interior-point algorithms encounter in general. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Preparation of highly functionalized 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles via palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling

The preparation of a range of 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles has been achieved through palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling. Using appropriately substituted 5-p-toluenesulfonyltetrazoles as substrates (obtained by cycloaddition of a substituted azide with p-toluenesulfonyl cyanide), this methodology provides access to a variety of highly substituted tetrazoles that would be difficult to access otherwise. The procedure is compatible with functional groups commonly found in drug-like molecules, and has been used to generate a number of compounds of potential biological interest.     

Multi-period supplier selection under price uncertainty

We consider a problem faced by a procurement manager who needs to purchase a large volume of multiple items over multiple periods from multiple suppliers that provide base prices and discounts. Discounts are contingent on meeting various conditions on total volume or spend, and some are tied to future realizations of random events that can be mutually verified. We formulate a scenario-based multi-stage stochastic optimization model that allows us to consider random events such as a drop in price because of the most favoured customer clauses, a price change in the spot market or a new discount offer. We propose certainty-equivalent heuristics and evaluate the regret of using them. We use our model for three bidding events of a large manufacturing company. The results show that considering most favored customer clauses in supplier offers may create substantial savings that may surpass the savings from regular discount offers.     

Hopf bifurcation analysis of a general non-linear differential equation with delay

This work represents Hopf bifurcation analysis of a general non-linear differential equation involving time delay. A special form of this equation is the Hutchinson–Wright equation which is a mile stone in the mathematical modeling of population dynamics and mathematical biology. Taking the delay parameter as a bifurcation parameter, Hopf bifurcation analysis is studied by following the theory in the book by Hazzard et al. By analyzing the associated characteristic polynomial, we determine necessary conditions for the linear stability and Hopf bifurcation. In addition to this analysis, the direction of bifurcation, the stability and the period of a periodic solution to this equation are evaluated at a bifurcation value by using the Poincaré normal form and the center manifold theorem. Finally, the theoretical results are supported by numerical simulations.     

Plasma treatment of polypropylene fabric for improved dyeability with soluble textile dyestuff

The impact of plasma treatment parameters on the surface morphology, physical-chemical, and dyeing properties of polypropylene (PP) using anionic and cationic dyestuffs were investigated in this study. Argon plasma treatment was used to activate PP fabric surfaces. Activated surfaces were grafted different compounds: 6-aminohexanoic acid (6-AHA), acrylic acid (AA), ethylendiamine (EDA), acryl amide (AAMID) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS). Compounds were applied after the plasma treatment and the acid and basic dyeing result that was then observed, were quite encouraging in certain conditions. The possible formed oxidizing groups were emphasized by FTIR and ATR and the surface morphology of plasma treated PP fibers was also investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM).PP fabric could be dyed with acid and basic dyestuffs after only plasma treatment and plasma induced grafting, and fastnesses of the dyed samples were satisfactory.