The Department of Community Nursing and the Open Learning Centre of Technikon Natal (South Africa) and the community-owned Community Development Programme are collaborating to provide online learning to rural and urban community nurses. The project involves the development of a multimedia pharmacology course, a virtual Internet class, and the provision of information points (telecenters) in fac...

Any tachyarrhythmia arising from the atria or the atrioventricular junction is a supraventricular tachycardia. In clinical practice, however, the term supraventricular tachycardia is reserved for atrial tachycardias and arrhythmias arising from the region of the atrioventricular junction as a result of a re-entry mechanism (junctional tachycardias). The most common junctional tachycardias are a...

This work proposes the experimental study of an auxetic polymeric structure manufactured by 3D printing (SLA). The is composed a re-entrant unit cell based on cylindrical elements not previously studied. effect number and size/scale cells used in specimens, subjected to both static dynamic loads, has been analysed. results show how studied variables affect behaviour terms stress strain that dim...

This study compared the relationship between learning style preferences and learner success of students in an online graduate level instructional design course with an equivalent face-to-face course. Comparisons included motivation maintenance, task engagement, and cognitive controls. Results revealed significant relationships between preferences and course success on five constructs for the fa...

this paper deals with the problem of forbidden states in discrete event systems modeled by petri net. to avoid the forbidden states, some constraints which are called generalized mutual exclusion constraints can be assigned to them. enforcing these constraints on the system can be performed using control places. however, when the number of these constraints is large, a large number of control p...

Environmental stress testing (EST) is a reliability test for the semiconductor products that is concerned with how products perform its intended functions under some environmental conditions. Planning, implementation and delivery schedules are affected by the outcome of these tests and it is crucial to determine the throughput of the EST process. In this paper we present an efficient modified a...

We consider a two machine 3 step re-entrant line, with an infinite supply of work. The service discipline is last buffer first served. Processing times are independent exponentially distributed. We analyze this system, obtaining steady state behavior and sample path properties.

Enterprises are seeking novel approaches to reduce cost in complying with regulations and requirements from original equipment manufacturers. Consequently, enterprises are investing in manufacturing execution system (MES) solutions for realizing these requirements. However, most of the MES solutions do not support processing of real-time process data acquired from shop floor for online monitori...

Today, industry is confronted with a fast changing market. Customers demand a high-quality, low price and tailored product. This requires flexible manufacturing systems. At K.U. Leuven, a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is designed, that allows to adjust execution to quickly changing circumstances. This paper discusses how this MES can cooperate with existing planning systems. A collaborat...

This paper demonstrates how MES can help meet the challenges of sustainable production in addition to conventional uses. The methodology for extending the scope of MES to achieve energy efficiency and other sustainability goals is explained using standardized practices and actual installations.