despite a renewed focus in the field of global health on strengthening health systems, inadequate attention has been directed to a key ingredient of high-performing health systems: management. we aimed to develop the argument that management – defined here as the process of achieving predetermined objectives through human, financial, and technical resources – is a cross-cutting function necessa...

We present a new method for proving rank lower bounds for Cutting Planes (CP) and several procedures based on lifting due to Lovász and Schrijver (LS), when viewed as proof systems for unsatisfiability. We apply this method to obtain the following new results: First, we prove near-optimal rank bounds for Cutting Planes and LovászSchrijver proofs for several prominent unsatisfiable CNF examples,...

We analyze the properties of an interior point cutting plane algorithm that is based on a semi-infinite linear formulation of the dual semidefinite program. The cutting plane algorithm approximately solves a linear relaxation of the dual semidefinite program in every iteration and relies on a separation oracle that returns linear cutting planes. We show that the complexity of a variant of the i...

In this paper, we deal with a column generation based algorithm for the classical cutting stock problem. This algorithm is known to have convergence issues, which are addressed in this paper. Our methods are based on the fact that there are interesting characterizations of the structure of the dual problem, and that a large number of dual solutions are known. First we describe methods based on ...

This paper provides an introduction to one-dimensional cutting stock problems and solution procedures. The first problem considered requires that both trim loss and pattern changes be controlled. Both linear programming and sequential heuristic procedures are discussed along with the ways they can be used jointly to generate the best possible solutions to this type of problem. Two other importa...

Spatially-explicit harvest scheduling models optimize the spatial and temporal layout of forest management actions in order to best meet management objectives such as profit maximization, even flow of products, or wildlife habitat preservation while satisfying a variety of constraints, including maximum harvest opening size constraints. A procedure is proposed that strengthens these arearestric...

Advances in trauma management and operative techniques, as well as cutting-edge management of intraabdominal catastrophes lead to enhanced patient survival, but challenging hernias as the sequelae. Hernia surgeons and plastic surgeons are saddled with increasingly complex abdominal wall reconstruction, often for whom there have been multiple prior attempts.1,2 Sometimes, a routine hernia repair...

We present a new method for proving rank lower bounds for the cutting planes procedures of Gomory and Chvátal (GC) and Lovász and Schrijver (LS), when viewed as proof systems for unsatisfiability. We apply this method to obtain the following new results: First, we prove near-optimal rank bounds for GC and LS proofs for several prominent unsatisfiable CNF examples, including random kCNF formulas...

Management of solid wastes is considered as an economic and environmental issue in the building stone industry. The current study uses raw and calcined calcareous sludge, generated in the stone cutting factories, in order to remove sulfur dioxide. Sludge characterization has been performed, using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-d...