In the recent past, robust optimization methods have been developed and successfully applied to a variety of single-stage problems. More recently, some these approaches extended multi-stage settings with fixed uncertainties. However, in many real-world applications, uncertainties evolve over time, rendering solutions suboptimal. This issue is particularly prevalent medical decision making, where patient's condition can change during course treatment. context radiation therapy, changes cell...

A majority of homes in the United States (US) receive household water services via complete in-home plumbing. Observers tend to assume that US, there is an upward trend plumbing access; yet some Alaska communities, rate fact a downward trend. This study seeks identify, while considering spatiotemporal variations region, sociodemographic parameters are correlated with rates communities. Equipped American Community Survey data from 2011 2015, we employed fixed-effects regression analysis. Our...

In this study, we build a vendor-agnostic software application capable of importing and analyzing non-image-based DICOM files for various radiation treatment modalities (i.e., RT Dose, Structure, Plan files). Dose-volume histogram (DVH) planning data are imported into SQL database, methods provided to manage, edit, view, download data. Furthermore, the provides analytical tools plan evaluations, comparisons, benchmarking, outcome predictions. DVH Analytics is developed using Python,...

Customer trust in a community's water utility infrastructure is essential for making collaborative decisions via adaptive management strategies. Such strategies become increasingly important when an area served by undergoes economic and socio-demographic transformations including population decline. Water system has been researched prior one-dimensional studies, such as quality or management. A more complete picture can be obtained from the range of multidimensional interactions between...

The construction industry's long-term health depends upon continued efforts to understand historically excluded students' attrition from engineering programs. For women, lack of identification with may motivate their departure. Because professional persistence relates identity, it benefits interventions this identity development. Focusing students demonstrating some in engineering, research examines if and how differs across gender among upper-division undergraduates. Surveying 11 American...

This study aimed to develop a quality control framework for intensity modulated radiation therapy plan evaluations that can account variations in patient- and treatment-specific risk factors.Patient-specific factors, such as patient's anatomy tumor dose requirements, affect organs-at-risk (OARs) dose-volume histograms (DVHs), which turn affects potentially cause adverse effects. Treatment-specific the use of chemotherapy surgery, are clinically relevant when evaluating planning criteria. A...

Testing hypotheses about the structure of a covariance matrix for doubly multivariate data is often considered in literature. In this paper Rao's score test (RST) derived to block exchangeable or compound symmetry (BCS) under assumption normality. It shown that empirical distribution RST statistic null hypothesis independent true values mean and components BCS structure. A significant advantage it can be performed small samples, even smaller than dimension data, where likelihood ratio (LRT)...

Accurate positioning of multileaf collimator (MLC) leaves during volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is essential for accurate treatment delivery. We developed a linear regression, support vector machine, random forest, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and an artificial neural network (ANN) predicting the delivered leaf positions VMAT plans.For this study, 160 MLC log files from 80 plans were obtained single institution treated on 3 Elekta Versa HD accelerators. The gravity vector,...

Purpose Statistical process control tools such as charts were recommended by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 218 for radiotherapy quality assurance. However, needed to analyze multivariate, correlated data that are often encountered treatment plan measures, lacking. In this study, we develop can model multivariate measures with correlations and account patient‐specific risk factors, without adding a significant burden clinical workflow. Methods Materials...

Purpose We propose a treatment planning framework that accounts for weekly lung tumor shrinkage using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images with deep learning‐based model. Methods Sixteen patients non‐small‐cell cancer (NSCLC) were selected one CT and six CBCTs each. A model was applied to predict the deformation of primary based on spatial temporal features extracted from previous CBCTs. Starting Week 3, contour at N predicted by input all weeks (1, 2 … − 1), evaluated against...

The purpose was to study correlations amongst IMRT DVH evaluation points and how their relaxation impacts the overall plan. 100 head‐and‐neck cancer cases, using Eclipse treatment planning system with same protocol, are statistically analyzed for PTV, brainstem, spinal cord. To measure variations plans, we use (i) interquartile range (IQR) of volume as a function dose, (ii) dose volume, (iii) falloff. determine institutional ICRU goals, conditional probabilities medians computed. We observe...

We consider a special type of Delay Tolerant Network (DTN), called "Local-Ferry-based network" (LFN), which enables communication among multiple nodes distributed over geographic terrain. LFN utilizes controllable purpose vehicles "pigeons" to transfer messages neighboring nodes: some (or all) own these message ferries (a.k.a. pigeons), help in establishing links local nodes, cumulatively setting up the whole network. One research challenge is schedule pigeon movement between (i.e., deciding...

This work addresses the practical anesthesiologist scheduling (AS) problem motivated by needs of an academic anesthesiology department. The AS requires department to plan and deploy providers adequately meet clinical demand institutional protocols various units over a planning horizon up several weeks. A data‐driven two‐step framework is developed exploiting historical data anesthesia cases. first step shift design which obtains optimal shifts considering under uncertainty using conditional...

Experts bring necessary comprehensive and authoritative knowledge to address issues as they arise throughout a project. This expertise is critical for construction engineering organizations because the characteristics of each project are dynamic unique. Practitioners often perceive objective across demographics; however, this study demonstrates that it subjective, gender-implicit biases emerge when organization personnel rate others. used survey data spanning 279 employees from one company....

Purpose: To incorporate uncertainties in oxygenation of tumor cells into radiation therapy planning via robust optimization. The model is demonstrated using a clinical prostate cancer case. Methods: levels are determined based on pre‐ and mid‐treatment PET scans. account for changes, we use radio‐sensitivity factor the effective dose necessary to treat hypoxic cells. Due unpredictable nature re‐oxygenation cells, its change modeled reside time‐dependent uncertainty set. This can adapt both...

Uncertainties can be time-dependent, particularly in areas such as cancer radiotherapy planning and maintenance scheduling, where the condition of patient (or system) change during course treatment operation). When solving problems areas, it is crucial to intervene observe system prior adapting decisions. However, observations costly, timing directly impacted by time-dependent uncertainties. We address these challenges developing optimal intervention policies for robust optimization models...