Patient portal readiness among postpartum patients in a safety net setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Wieland, Daryl; Gibeau, Anne; Dewey, Caitlin; Roshto, Melanie; Frankel, Hilary

2017-07-05

Maternity patients interact with the healthcare system over an approximately ten-month interval, requiring multiple visits, acquiring pregnancy-specific education, and sharing health information among providers. Many features of a web-based patient portal could help pregnant women manage their interactions with the healthcare system; however, it is unclear whether pregnant women in safety-net settings have the resources, skills or interest required for portal adoption. In this study of postpartum patients in a safety net hospital, we aimed to: (1) determine if patients have the technical resources and skills to access a portal, (2) gain insight into their interest in health information, and (3) identify the perceived utility of portal features and potential barriers to adoption. We developed a structured questionnaire to collect demographics from postpartum patients and measure use of technology and the internet, self-reported literacy, interest in health information, awareness of portal functions, and perceived barriers to use. The questionnaire was administered in person to women in an inpatient setting. Of the 100 participants surveyed, 95% reported routine internet use and 56% used it to search for health information. Most participants had never heard of a patient portal, yet 92% believed that the portal functions were important. The two most appealing functions were to check results and manage appointments. Most participants in this study have the required resources such as a device and familiarity with the internet to access a patient portal including an interest in interacting with a healthcare institution via electronic means. Pregnancy is a critical episode of care where active engagement with the healthcare system can influence outcomes. Healthcare systems and portal developers should consider ways to tailor a portal to address the specific health needs of a maternity population including those in a safety net setting.

Factors shaping effective utilization of health information technology in urban safety-net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Sheba; Garth, Belinda; Fish, Allison; Baker, Richard

2013-09-01

Urban safety-net clinics are considered prime targets for the adoption of health information technology innovations; however, little is known about their utilization in such safety-net settings. Current scholarship provides limited guidance on the implementation of health information technology into safety-net settings as it typically assumes that adopting institutions have sufficient basic resources. This study addresses this gap by exploring the unique challenges urban resource-poor safety-net clinics must consider when adopting and utilizing health information technology. In-depth interviews (N = 15) were used with key stakeholders (clinic chief executive officers, medical directors, nursing directors, chief financial officers, and information technology directors) from staff at four clinics to explore (a) nonhealth information technology-related clinic needs, (b) how health information technology may provide solutions, and (c) perceptions of and experiences with health information technology. Participants identified several challenges, some of which appear amenable to health information technology solutions. Also identified were requirements for effective utilization of health information technology including physical infrastructural improvements, funding for equipment/training, creation of user groups to share health information technology knowledge/experiences, and specially tailored electronic billing guidelines. We found that despite the potential benefit that can be derived from health information technologies, the unplanned and uninformed introduction of these tools into these settings might actually create more problems than are solved. From these data, we were able to identify a set of factors that should be considered when integrating health information technology into the existing workflows of low-resourced urban safety-net clinics in order to maximize their utilization and enhance the quality of health care in such settings.

Holes in the safety net: a case study of access to prescription drugs and specialty care.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Ava; Cantor, Joel C; Guarnaccia, Peter

2008-07-01

The health care safety net in the United States is intended to fill gaps in health care services for uninsured and other vulnerable populations. This paper presents a case study of New Brunswick, NJ, a small city rich in safety net resources, to examine the adequacy of the American model of safety net care. We find substantial gaps in access to care despite the presence of a medical school, an abundance of primary care and specialty physicians, two major teaching hospitals, a large federally qualified health center and other safety net resources in this community of about 50,000 residents. Using a blend of random-digit-dial and area probability sampling, a survey of 595 households was conducted in 2001 generating detailed information about the health, access to care, demographic and other characteristics of 1,572 individuals. Confirming the great depth of the New Brunswick health care safety net, the survey showed that more than one quarter of local residents reported a hospital or community clinic as their usual source of care. Still, barriers to prescription drugs were reported for 11.0% of the area population and more than two in five (42.8%) local residents who perceived a need for specialty care reported difficulty getting those services. Bivariate analyses show significantly elevated risk of access problems among Hispanic and black residents, those in poor health, those relying on hospital and community clinics or with no usual source of care, and those living at or below poverty. In multivariate analysis, lack of health insurance was the greatest risk factor associated with both prescription drug and specialty access problems. Few local areas can claim the depth of safety net resources as New Brunswick, NJ, raising serious concerns about the adequacy of the American safety net model, especially for people with complex and chronic health care needs.

Health safety nets can break cycles of poverty and disease: a stochastic ecological model.

Science.gov (United States)

Plucinski, Mateusz M; Ngonghala, Calistus N; Bonds, Matthew H

2011-12-07

The persistence of extreme poverty is increasingly attributed to dynamic interactions between biophysical processes and economics, though there remains a dearth of integrated theoretical frameworks that can inform policy. Here, we present a stochastic model of disease-driven poverty traps. Whereas deterministic models can result in poverty traps that can only be broken by substantial external changes to the initial conditions, in the stochastic model there is always some probability that a population will leave or enter a poverty trap. We show that a 'safety net', defined as an externally enforced minimum level of health or economic conditions, can guarantee ultimate escape from a poverty trap, even if the safety net is set within the basin of attraction of the poverty trap, and even if the safety net is only in the form of a public health measure. Whereas the deterministic model implies that small improvements in initial conditions near the poverty-trap equilibrium are futile, the stochastic model suggests that the impact of changes in the location of the safety net on the rate of development may be strongest near the poverty-trap equilibrium.

Estimating the Size and Cost of the STD Prevention Services Safety Net.

Science.gov (United States)

Gift, Thomas L; Haderxhanaj, Laura T; Torrone, Elizabeth A; Behl, Ajay S; Romaguera, Raul A; Leichliter, Jami S

2015-01-01

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to reduce the number of uninsured people in the United States during the next eight years, but more than 10% are expected to remain uninsured. Uninsured people are one of the main populations using publicly funded safety net sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention services. Estimating the proportion of the uninsured population expected to need STD services could help identify the potential demand for safety net STD services and improve program planning. In 2013, an estimated 8.27 million people met the criteria for being in need of STD services. In 2023, 4.70 million uninsured people are expected to meet the criteria for being in need of STD services. As an example, the cost in 2014 U.S. dollars of providing chlamydia screening to these people was an estimated $271.1 million in 2013 and is estimated to be $153.8 million in 2023. A substantial need will continue to exist for safety net STD prevention services in coming years.

Mobilizing local safety nets for enhanced adaptive capacity to ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

22 avr. 2016 ... In Zimbabwe, the increased frequency of drought, flash floods, and unpredictable rainfall has added to recurrent food deficits for poor households who depend on rainfed farming on nutrient poor soils. This brief explores how the erosion of Zunde raMambo — a traditional community safety net mechanism ...

Child Poverty, the Great Recession, and the Social Safety Net in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Bitler, Marianne; Hoynes, Hiliary; Kuku, Elira

In this paper, we comprehensively examine the effects of the Great Recession on child poverty, with particular attention to the role of the social safety net in mitigating the adverse effects of shocks to earnings and income. Using a state panel data model and data for 2000 to 2014, we estimate the relationship between the business cycle and child poverty, and we examine how and to what extent the safety net is providing protection to at-risk children. We find compelling evidence that the safety net provides protection; that is, the cyclicality of after-tax-and-transfer child poverty is significantly attenuated relative to the cyclicality of private income poverty. We also find that the protective effect of the safety net is not similar across demographic groups, and that children from more disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those living with Hispanic or single heads, or particularly those living with immigrant household heads—or immigrant spouses—experience larger poverty cyclicality than those living with non- Hispanic white or married heads, or those living with native household heads with native spouses. Our findings hold across a host of choices for how to define poverty. These include measures based on absolute thresholds or more relative thresholds. They also hold for measures of resources that include not only cash and near-cash transfers net of taxes but also several measures of the value of public medical benefits.

Caught in the competitive crossfire: safety-net providers balance margin and mission in a profit-driven health care market.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Peter J; Bazzoli, Gloria J; Katz, Aaron

2008-01-01

This paper describes how intensifying competitive pressures in the health system are simultaneously driving increased demand for safety-net care and taxing safety-net providers' ability to maintain the mission of serving all, regardless of ability to pay. Although safety-net providers adapted to previous challenges arising from managed care, health system pressures have been more intense and more generalized across different sectors in recent years than in the past. Providers are adopting some of the same strategies being used in the private sector to attract higher-paying patients and changing their "image" as a safety-net provider.

Establishment of the National Nuclear Regulatory Portal (NNRP) as the key element of the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network and Regulatory Network (GNSSN/RegNet) for sharing of nuclear safety information and knowledge among the Global Expert Community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuvshinnikov, A.V.

2011-01-01

The Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN) implements the concept of the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Framework (GNSSF) as outlined in INSAG 21. This is the framework of instruments and resources for achieving and maintaining worldwide a high level of safety and security at nuclear facilities and activities as stated in SF-1 and supporting safety standards or recommendations such as INSAG-12. National efforts are and should be augmented by the activities of a variety of international enterprises that facilitate safety and security. The IAEA standard GS-R-3 requires that information and knowledge is managed as a resource. Further strengthening of GNSSN in particular regulatory networking as intended by GNSSN/RegNet has to be based on current national priorities, on existing regional and thematic networks and on the established mechanisms of international co-operation as presented for example on the websites of the IAEA or the OECD-NEA. Current design and operation of RegNet are flexible enough to accommodate differences in national and international approaches and practices and to facilitate exchange and cooperation on regulatory matters. The main role of GNSSN/RegNet is sharing knowledge and bringing people together to enhance and promote nuclear safety and security. The objectives of GNSSN/RegNet: enhancing safety and security by international cooperation, sharing information and best practices, enabling adequate access to relevant safety and security information and promoting the dissemination of this information, implementing active collaboration in the relevant areas related to safety and security, such as joint projects, peer reviews, enabling synergies among existing networks and initiatives, informing the public on the relevant safety and security areas and the related international collaboration. In the RegNet part of the GNSSN exist the National Nuclear Regulatory Portal (NNRP) which is on one hand a part of the global RegNet and on the

Emergency Preparedness and Response: A Safety Net

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aaltonen, H., E-mail: hannele.aaltonen@stuk.fi [Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), Helsinki (Finland)

2014-10-15

Full text: The objective of nuclear regulatory work is to prevent accidents. Nevertheless, possibility of a severe accident cannot be totally excluded, which makes a safety net, efficient emergency preparedness and response, necessary. Should the possibility of accidents be rejected, the result would be in the worst case inadequate protection of population, functions of society, and environment from harmful effects of radiation. Adequate resources for maintenance and development of emergency arrangement are crucial. However, they need to be balanced taking into account risks assessments, justified expectations of society, and international requirements. To successfully respond to an emergency, effective emergency preparedness, such as up-to-date plans and procedures, robust arrangements and knowledgeable and regularly trained staff are required. These, however, are not enough without willingness and proactive attitude to • communicate in a timely manner; • co-operate and coordinate actions; • provide and receive assistance; and • evaluate and improve emergency arrangements. In the establishment and development of emergency arrangements, redundant and diverse means or tools used are needed in, for example, communication and assessment of hazard. Any severe nuclear emergency would affect all countries either directly or indirectly. Thus, national emergency arrangements have to be compatible to the extent practicable with international emergency arrangements. It is important to all countries that the safety nets of emergency arrangements are reliable - and operate efficiently in a coordinated manner when needed - on national, regional and international level. (author)

Opportunities for improved diabetes care among patients of safety net practices: a safety net providers' strategic alliance study.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichsman, Ann; Werner, James; Cella, Peggi; Bobiak, Sarah; Stange, Kurt C

2009-01-01

To identify barriers and opportunities for quality diabetes care in safety net practices. In 3 federally qualified health centers and 1 free clinic, 19 primary care clinicians profiled patient and visit characteristics and quality of care measures for 181 consecutive visits by adult type 2 diabetic patients. Open-ended questions assessed patient and clinician perception of barriers to diabetes care and patient report of enabling factors. A multidisciplinary team identified themes from open-ended responses. Logistic regression analyses assessed the association of the identified barriers/enablers with 2 measures of quality care: glycosylated hemoglobin and prophylactic aspirin use. Ranked barriers noted by patients included adherence (40%), financial/insurance (23%), and psychosocial (13%) factors. Clinicians ranked systemic factors, including financial/ insurance (32%) and cultural/psychosocial (29%) factors, as important to adherence (29%) in determining quality diabetes care. Patients reported dietary and medical adherence (37%) and family/health care worker support (17%) as helpful factors. Among 175 patients with available data, glycosylated hemoglobin levels were associated with patient report of financial/insurance factors both as a barrier when visits and medications were unaffordable and as an opportunity when free or low-cost medications and services were provided. Patients' adherence with aspirin prophylaxis was strongly associated with African American race, prior prescription of aspirin and distribution of aspirin at the practice site (p<.001). Patients were less likely than clinicians to identify systemic and contextual factors contributing to poor diabetes care. From the front line's perspective, enabling patient self-management and systemic support is a target for improving diabetes care in safety net practices.

Development and Validation of a Short-Form Safety Net Medical Home Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Nocon, Robert S; Gunter, Kathryn E; Gao, Yue; Lee, Sang Mee; Chin, Marshall H

2017-12-01

To develop a short-form Safety Net Medical Home Scale (SNMHS) for assessing patient-centered medical home (PCMH) capability in safety net clinics. National surveys of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Interviews with FQHC directors. We constructed three short-form SNMHS versions and examined correlations with full SNMHS and related primary care assessments. We tested usability with FQHC directors and reviewed scale development with an advisory group. Federally qualified health center surveys were administered in 2009 and 2013, by mail and online. Usability testing was conducted through telephone interviews with FQHC directors in 2013. Six-, 12-, and 18-question short-form SNMHS versions had Pearson correlations with full scale of 0.84, 0.92, and 0.96, respectively. All versions showed a level of convergent validity with other primary care assessment scales comparable to the full SNMHS. User testers found short forms to be low-burden, though missing some PCMH concepts. Advisory group members expressed caution over missing concepts and appropriate use of short-form self-assessments. Short-form versions of SNMHS showed strong correlations with full scale and may be useful for brief assessment of safety net PCMH capability. Each short-form SNMHS version may be appropriate for different research, quality improvement, and assessment purposes. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Medicare Payment Penalties and Safety Net Hospital Profitability: Minimal Impact on These Vulnerable Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Bazzoli, Gloria J; Thompson, Michael P; Waters, Teresa M

2018-02-08

To examine relationships between penalties assessed by Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program and Value-Based Purchasing Program and hospital financial condition. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, and Area Health Resource File data for 4,824 hospital-year observations. Bivariate and multivariate analysis of pooled cross-sectional data. Safety net hospitals have significantly higher HRRP/VBP penalties, but, unlike nonsafety net hospitals, increases in their penalty rate did not significantly affect their total margins. Safety net hospitals appear to rely on nonpatient care revenues to offset higher penalties for the years studied. While reassuring, these funding streams are volatile and may not be able to compensate for cumulative losses over time. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Comparing the Affordable Care Act's Financial Impact on Safety-Net Hospitals in States That Expanded Medicaid and Those That Did Not.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobson, Allen; DaVanzo, Joan E; Haught, Randy; Phap-Hoa, Luu

2017-11-01

Safety-net hospitals play a vital role in delivering health care to Medicaid enrollees, the uninsured, and other vulnerable patients. By reducing the number of uninsured Americans, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was also expected to lower these hospitals’ significant uncompensated care costs and shore up their financial stability. To examine how the ACA’s Medicaid expansion affected the financial status of safety-net hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid and in states that did not. Using Medicare hospital cost reports for federal fiscal years 2012 and 2015, the authors compared changes in Medicaid inpatient days as a percentage of total inpatient days, Medicaid revenues as a percentage of total net patient revenues, uncompensated care costs as a percentage of total operating costs, and hospital operating margins. Medicaid expansion had a significant, favorable financial impact on safety-net hospitals. From 2012 to 2015, safety-net hospitals in expansion states, compared to those in nonexpansion states, experienced larger increases in Medicaid inpatient days and Medicaid revenues as well as reduced uncompensated care costs. These changes improved operating margins for safety-net hospitals in expansion states. Margins for safety-net hospitals in nonexpansion states, meanwhile, declined.

Internet Safety and Malaysian Students: A Study of Female Undergraduates and Their Net Pals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheong Lee Mei, Dianne

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Malaysian female undergraduates are perceived as able to rationally evaluate and estimate risks towards Net pals. Friendship is secured online while deception and fraud are revealed offline. Based on what they have been informed, the female undergraduates may know their Net pals’ likes and dislikes but the invisible cyber veil does not allow them to penetrate the illusion and accurately evaluate a person’s character and personality. This study examined how Malaysian female undergraduates use the Internet, perceive risks in meeting Net pals and the safety awareness surrounding cyber friendship. Responses of 118 female undergraduates (43% from UiTM, 30% from UM, 27% from MMU to a survey indicated that Net pals were befriended through chat rooms and websites. More than half of the female undergraduates would have a face-to-face meeting with their Net pals without the knowledge of relevant parties and have done at least one potentially unsafe behaviour. If the extent and level of Internet safety awareness is known, the problem of Internet deception that might lead to potential social problems such as rape and sexual abuse can be effectively addressed.

Activation of PAD4 in NET formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda eRohrbach

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Peptidyl arginine deiminases, or PADs, convert arginine residues to the non-ribosomally encoded amino acid citrulline in a variety of protein substrates. PAD4 is expressed in granulocytes and is essential for the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs via PAD4-mediated histone citrullination. Citrullination of histones is thought to promote NET formation by inducing chromatin decondensation and facilitating the expulsion of chromosomal DNA that is coated with antimicrobial molecules. Numerous stimuli have been reported to lead to PAD4 activation and NET formation. However, how this signaling process proceeds and how PAD4 becomes activated in cells is largely unknown. Herein, we describe the various stimuli and signaling pathways that have been implicated in PAD4 activation and NET formation, including the role of reactive oxygen species generation. To provide a foundation for the above discussion, we first describe PAD4 structure and function, and how these studies led to the development of PAD-specific inhibitors. A comprehensive survey of the receptors and signaling pathways that regulate PAD4 activation will be important for our understanding of innate immunity, and the identification of signaling intermediates in PAD4 activation may also lead to the generation of pharmaceuticals to target NET-related pathogenesis.

Survivorship Care Plan Information Needs: Perspectives of Safety-Net Breast Cancer Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Nancy J; Napoles, Tessa M; Banks, Priscilla J; Orenstein, Fern S; Luce, Judith A; Joseph, Galen

2016-01-01

Despite the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) 2005 recommendation, few care organizations have instituted standard survivorship care plans (SCPs). Low health literacy and low English proficiency are important factors to consider in SCP development. Our study aimed to identify information needs and survivorship care plan preferences of low literacy, multi-lingual patients to support the transition from oncology to primary care and ongoing learning in survivorship. We conducted focus groups in five languages with African American, Latina, Russian, Filipina, White, and Chinese medically underserved breast cancer patients. Topics explored included the transition to primary care, access to information, knowledge of treatment history, and perspectives on SCPs. Analysis of focus group data identified three themes: 1) the need for information and education on the transition between "active treatment" and "survivorship"; 2) information needed (and often not obtained) from providers; and 3) perspectives on SCP content and delivery. Our data point to the need to develop a process as well as written information for medically underserved breast cancer patients. An SCP document will not replace direct communication with providers about treatment, symptom management and transition, a communication that is missing in participating safety-net patients' experiences of cancer care. Women turned to peer support and community-based organizations in the absence of information from providers. "Clear and effective" communication of survivorship care for safety-net patients requires dedicated staff trained to address wide-ranging information needs and uncertainties.

Burnout, Perceived Stress, and Job Satisfaction Among Trauma Nurses at a Level I Safety-Net Trauma Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Munnangi, Swapna; Dupiton, Lynore; Boutin, Anthony; Angus, L D George

Nurses are at the forefront of our health care delivery system and have been reported to exhibit a high level of burnout. Burnout and stress in trauma nurses at a safety-net hospital can negatively impact patient care. Safety-net hospitals are confronted with unique social, financial, as well as resource problems that can potentially make the work environment frustrating. The purpose of this study was to explore the levels of burnout, stress, and job satisfaction in nurses providing care to trauma patients at a Level I safety-net trauma center. A cross-sectional survey design was used to investigate principal factors including personal and professional demographics, burnout, perceived stress, and job satisfaction. Trauma nurses working at a Level I safety-net trauma center are stressed and exhibited moderate degree of burnout. The extent of emotional exhaustion experienced by the nurses varied with work location and was highest in surgical intensive care unit nurses. The level of job satisfaction in terms of opportunities for promotion differed significantly by race and the health status of the nurses. Satisfaction with coworkers was lowest in those nurses between the ages of 60-69 years. Female nurses were more satisfied with their coworkers than male nurses. In addition, the study revealed that significant relationships exist among perceived stress, burnout, and job satisfaction. Work environment significantly impacts burnout, job satisfaction, and perceived stress experienced by trauma nurses in a safety-net hospital. Nursing administration can make an effort to understand the levels of burnout and strategically improve work environment for trauma nurses in order to minimize stressors leading to attrition and enhance job satisfaction.

Reliability evaluation of the power supply of an electrical power net for safety-relevant applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez-Garcia, Alejandro D.; Kassakian, John G.; Schindall, Joel E.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we introduce a methodology for the dependability analysis of new automotive safety-relevant systems. With the introduction of safety-relevant electronic systems in cars, it is necessary to carry out a thorough dependability analysis of those systems to fully understand and quantify the failure mechanisms in order to improve the design. Several system level FMEAs are used to identify the different failure modes of the system and, a Markov model is constructed to quantify their probability of occurrence. A new power net architecture with application to new safety-relevant automotive systems, such as Steer-by-Wire or Brake-by-Wire, is used as a case study. For these safety-relevant loads, loss of electric power supply means loss of control of the vehicle. It is, therefore, necessary and critical to develop a highly dependable power net to ensure power to these loads under all circumstances

ActivityNet: A Large-Scale Video Benchmark for Human Activity Understanding

KAUST Repository

Heilbron, Fabian Caba

2015-06-02

In spite of many dataset efforts for human action recognition, current computer vision algorithms are still severely limited in terms of the variability and complexity of the actions that they can recognize. This is in part due to the simplicity of current benchmarks, which mostly focus on simple actions and movements occurring on manually trimmed videos. In this paper we introduce ActivityNet, a new largescale video benchmark for human activity understanding. Our benchmark aims at covering a wide range of complex human activities that are of interest to people in their daily living. In its current version, ActivityNet provides samples from 203 activity classes with an average of 137 untrimmed videos per class and 1.41 activity instances per video, for a total of 849 video hours. We illustrate three scenarios in which ActivityNet can be used to compare algorithms for human activity understanding: untrimmed video classification, trimmed activity classification and activity detection.

ActivityNet: A Large-Scale Video Benchmark for Human Activity Understanding

KAUST Repository

Heilbron, Fabian Caba; Castillo, Victor; Ghanem, Bernard; Niebles, Juan Carlos

2015-01-01

In spite of many dataset efforts for human action recognition, current computer vision algorithms are still severely limited in terms of the variability and complexity of the actions that they can recognize. This is in part due to the simplicity of current benchmarks, which mostly focus on simple actions and movements occurring on manually trimmed videos. In this paper we introduce ActivityNet, a new largescale video benchmark for human activity understanding. Our benchmark aims at covering a wide range of complex human activities that are of interest to people in their daily living. In its current version, ActivityNet provides samples from 203 activity classes with an average of 137 untrimmed videos per class and 1.41 activity instances per video, for a total of 849 video hours. We illustrate three scenarios in which ActivityNet can be used to compare algorithms for human activity understanding: untrimmed video classification, trimmed activity classification and activity detection.

Towards a Usability and Error "Safety Net": A Multi-Phased Multi-Method Approach to Ensuring System Usability and Safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushniruk, Andre; Senathirajah, Yalini; Borycki, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

The usability and safety of health information systems have become major issues in the design and implementation of useful healthcare IT. In this paper we describe a multi-phased multi-method approach to integrating usability engineering methods into system testing to ensure both usability and safety of healthcare IT upon widespread deployment. The approach involves usability testing followed by clinical simulation (conducted in-situ) and "near-live" recording of user interactions with systems. At key stages in this process, usability problems are identified and rectified forming a usability and technology-induced error "safety net" that catches different types of usability and safety problems prior to releasing systems widely in healthcare settings.

Comparative Studies of Collaborative Team Depression Care Adoption in Safety Net Clinics

Science.gov (United States)

Ell, Kathleen; Wu, Shinyi; Guterman, Jeffrey; Schulman, Sandra-Gross; Sklaroff, Laura; Lee, Pey-Jiuan

2018-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate three approaches adopting collaborative depression care model in Los Angeles County safety net clinics with predominantly Latino type 2 diabetes patients. Methods: Pre-post differences in treatment rates and symptom reductions were compared between baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups for each approach: (a) Multifaceted…

Who Lacks Support and Why? An Examination of Mothers' Personal Safety Nets

Science.gov (United States)

Harknett, Kristen S.; Hartnett, Caroline Sten

2011-01-01

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 12,140 person-waves) to identify characteristics associated with mothers' having or lacking "personal safety net" support from family and friends. We focus on characteristics that are likely to increase the importance of having support available but may also interfere with the…

Using a safety net and following the safety instructions could prevent half the paediatric trampoline injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Rättyä, J; Serlo, W

2008-08-01

The number of recreational trampolines in Finnish households has increased. There also appears to be a drastic increase in trampoline-related injuries among paediatric patients. The aim of this study was to quantify and describe trampoline-related injuries in North Finnish paediatric patients. A retrospective analysis of medical data was used in the study, covering children 16 years and younger treated for trampoline-related injuries at Oulu University Hospital over a five-month period of time from May 1 to September 30, 2005. Medical records were reviewed and additional details regarding the injuries were obtained by questionnaire. Altogether 76 patients were treated for trampoline-related injuries, which represented 13.4 % of all paediatric accidental trauma patients. In 57 accidents (86 %), there had been multiple jumpers on the trampoline. Twenty-five of the injuries (38 %) had occurred on the trampoline, in 25 cases (38 %) a child had fallen off, in 8 cases (12 %) there had been a collision with another jumper and the person had jumped onto a trampoline from a high platform in 5 incidents (8 %). Only 3 children (5 %) hurt themselves on the trampoline when jumping alone. Orthopaedic procedures requiring general anaesthesia were necessary in a total of 31 cases (41 %). The study shows that 50 % of traumas (falling off and collisions) could have been avoided by using a safety net and by jumping one at a time. The importance of following safety instructions and the need for a safety net should be emphasised to both the supervising adults and the children.

Tools for 'safety netting' in common paediatric illnesses: A systematic review in emergency care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E. De Vos-Kerkhof (Evelien); D.H.F. Geurts (Dorien); M. Wiggers (Mariska); H.A. Moll (Henriëtte); R. Oostenbrink (Rianne)

2016-01-01

textabstractContext Follow-up strategies after emergency department (ED) discharge, alias safety netting, is often based on the gut feeling of the attending physician. Objective To systematically identify evaluated safetynetting strategies after ED discharge and to describe determinants of

In a safety net population HPV4 vaccine adherence worsens as BMI increases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diane M Harper

Full Text Available Obesity adversely inhibits antibody response to vaccination. Three doses of HPV4 may or may not provide adequate long term protection against HPV 16/18 in obese females. The aim of this study was to determine whether adherence to HPV4 vaccination in a safety net population was reduced with increasing body mass index (BMI.We designed a historical prospective study evaluating the number and dates of HPV4 dosing that occurred from July 1, 2006 through October 1, 2009 by the demographic characteristics of the 10-26 year old recipient females. The defined dosing intervals were adapted from the literature and obesity categories were defined by the WHO.1240 females with BMI measurements received at least one dose of HPV4; 38% were obese (class I, II and III and 25% were overweight. Females with normal BMI received on-time triplet dosing significantly more often than did the obese class II and III females (30% vs. 18%, p<0.001. Obese class II/III females have a significant 45% less chance of completing the on-time triplet HPV4 series than normal women (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.83. Pregnancy history has a significant influence on BMI and HPV4 dosing compliance in this safety net population where 71% had been gravid. Hispanic females were less likely to complete HPV4 dosing regardless of BMI (aOR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.95.Obesity, as well as gravidity and Hispanic race, are risk factors for lack of HPV4 vaccine adherence among young females in a safety net population.

Understanding the Knowledge Gap Experienced by U.S. Safety Net Patients in Teleretinal Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Sheba M; Hayes, Erin Moran; Fish, Allison; Daskivich, Lauren Patty; Ogunyemi, Omolola I

2016-01-01

Safety-net patients' socioeconomic barriers interact with limited digital and health literacies to produce a "knowledge gap" that impacts the delivery of healthcare via telehealth technologies. Six focus groups (2 African- American and 4 Latino) were conducted with patients who received teleretinal screening in a U.S. urban safety-net setting. Focus groups were analyzed using a modified grounded theory methodology. Findings indicate that patients' knowledge gap is primarily produced at three points during the delivery of care: (1) exacerbation of patients' pre-existing personal barriers in the clinical setting; (2) encounters with technology during screening; and (3) lack of follow up after the visit. This knowledge gap produces confusion, potentially limiting patients' perceptions of care and their ability to manage their own care. It may be ameliorated through delivery of patient education focused on both disease pathology and specific role of telehealth technologies in disease management.

Neural Net Safety Monitor Design

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Richard R.

2007-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) has been conducting flight-test research using an F-15 aircraft (figure 1). This aircraft has been specially modified to interface a neural net (NN) controller as part of a single-string Airborne Research Test System (ARTS) computer with the existing quad-redundant flight control system (FCC) shown in figure 2. The NN commands are passed to FCC channels 2 and 4 and are cross channel data linked (CCDL) to the other computers as shown. Numerous types of fault-detection monitors exist in the FCC when the NN mode is engaged; these monitors would cause an automatic disengagement of the NN in the event of a triggering fault. Unfortunately, these monitors still may not prevent a possible NN hard-over command from coming through to the control laws. Therefore, an additional and unique safety monitor was designed for a single-string source that allows authority at maximum actuator rates but protects the pilot and structural loads against excessive g-limits in the case of a NN hard-over command input. This additional monitor resides in the FCCs and is executed before the control laws are computed. This presentation describes a floating limiter (FL) concept1 that was developed and successfully test-flown for this program (figure 3). The FL computes the rate of change of the NN commands that are input to the FCC from the ARTS. A window is created with upper and lower boundaries, which is constantly floating and trying to stay centered as the NN command rates are changing. The limiter works by only allowing the window to move at a much slower rate than those of the NN commands. Anywhere within the window, however, full rates are allowed. If a rate persists in one direction, it will eventually hit the boundary and be rate-limited to the floating limiter rate. When this happens, a persistent counter begins and after a limit is reached, a NN disengage command is generated. The

Incentivizing primary care providers to innovate: building medical homes in the post-Katrina New Orleans safety net.

Science.gov (United States)

Rittenhouse, Diane R; Schmidt, Laura A; Wu, Kevin J; Wiley, James

2014-02-01

To evaluate safety-net clinics' responses to a novel community-wide Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) financial incentive program in post-Katrina New Orleans. Between June 2008 and June 2010, we studied 50 primary care clinics in New Orleans receiving federal funds to expand services and improve care delivery. Multiwave, longitudinal, observational study of a local safety-net primary care system. Clinic-level data from a semiannual survey of clinic leaders (89.3 percent response rate), augmented by administrative records. Overall, 62 percent of the clinics responded to financial incentives by achieving PCMH recognition from the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA). Higher patient volume, higher baseline PCMH scores, and type of ownership were significant predictors of achieving NCQA recognition. The steepest increase in adoption of PCMH processes occurred among clinics achieving the highest, Level 3, NCQA recognition. Following NCQA recognition, 88.9 percent stabilized or increased their use of PCMH processes, although several specific PCMH processes had very low rates of adoption overall. Findings demonstrate that widespread PCMH implementation is possible in a safety-net environment when external financial incentives are aligned with the goal of practice innovation. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Health literacy and English language comprehension among elderly inpatients at an urban safety-net hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordasco, Kristina M; Asch, Steven M; Franco, Idalid; Mangione, Carol M

2009-01-01

To evaluate the relationship between health literacy and age in chronically-ill inpatients at a safety-net hospital. We recruited 399 English- and Spanish-speaking inpatients being evaluated or treated for Congestive Heart Failure or Coronary Artery Disease at a large, urban safety-net teaching hospital in Southern California. Participants were interviewed to ascertain education, English comprehension, and in-home language use. Health literacy was assessed using The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA). We compared by age (aged 65 or more, 51 to 64 years of age, and less than age 50) levels of health literacy, educational attainment, English comprehension, and language use. Prevalence of inadequate health literacy significantly increased with increasing age (87.2% in > or = 65, 48.9% for 51-64, and 26.3% in immigration status. Additionally, older patients were more likely to have never learned to read (34.9% in > or = 65, 6.5% for 51-64, and 1.5% in or = 65, 9.0% for 51-64, and 0.8% in or = 65, 43.5% for 51-64, and 35.8% in language at home (82.3% in > or = 65, 70.2% for 51-64, and 62.2% in < or = 50, p=0.015). To prepare to meet the chronic disease needs of a growing older patient population, and ameliorate the negative health effects of associated low literacy, safety-net hospital leaders and providers need to prioritize the development and implementation of low-literacy educational materials, programs, and services.

Translating self-persuasion into an adolescent HPV vaccine promotion intervention for parents attending safety-net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Austin S; Denman, Deanna C; Sala, Margarita; Marks, Emily G; Shay, L Aubree; Fuller, Sobha; Persaud, Donna; Lee, Simon Craddock; Skinner, Celette Sugg; Wiebe, Deborah J; Tiro, Jasmin A

2017-04-01

Self-persuasion is an effective behavior change strategy, but has not been translated for low-income, less educated, uninsured populations attending safety-net clinics or to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. We developed a tablet-based application (in English and Spanish) to elicit parental self-persuasion for adolescent HPV vaccination and evaluated its feasibility in a safety-net population. Parents (N=45) of age-eligible adolescents used the self-persuasion application. Then, during cognitive interviews, staff gathered quantitative and qualitative feedback on the self-persuasion tasks including parental decision stage. The self-persuasion tasks were rated as easy to complete and helpful. We identified six question prompts rated as uniformly helpful, not difficult to answer, and generated non-redundant responses from participants. Among the 33 parents with unvaccinated adolescents, 27 (81.8%) reported deciding to get their adolescent vaccinated after completing the self-persuasion tasks. The self-persuasion application was feasible and resulted in a change in parents' decision stage. Future studies can now test the efficacy of the tablet-based application on HPV vaccination. The self-persuasion application facilitates verbalization of reasons for HPV vaccination in low literacy, safety-net settings. This self-administered application has the potential to be more easily incorporated into clinical practice than other patient education approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving timeliness and efficiency in the referral process for safety net providers: application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Deckard, Gloria J; Borkowski, Nancy; Diaz, Deisell; Sanchez, Carlos; Boisette, Serge A

2010-01-01

Designated primary care clinics largely serve low-income and uninsured patients who present a disproportionate number of chronic illnesses and face great difficulty in obtaining the medical care they need, particularly the access to specialty physicians. With limited capacity for providing specialty care, these primary care clinics generally refer patients to safety net hospitals' specialty ambulatory care clinics. A large public safety net health system successfully improved the effectiveness and efficiency of the specialty clinic referral process through application of Lean Six Sigma, an advanced process-improvement methodology and set of tools driven by statistics and engineering concepts.

Holes in the US nuclear safety net

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utroska, D.

1987-01-01

Contrary to popular perception, the NRC has neither the authority nor the resources to comprehensively regulate the authority nor the resources to comprehensively regulate the nuclear power industry: it cannot check and monitor every nuclear plant in detail to assure reasonable reactor safety. This is widely understood within the power industry. After the Three Mile Island accident, the nuclear industry formed a group called the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), based in Atlanta, Georgia. Its self-proclaimed mandate is to pick up the safety initiative where NRC regulations and reviews leave off; to make sure that each nuclear plant in the United States goes beyond compliance with minimum regulations and achieves excellence in safe and efficient performance. INPO's 1986 budget was $44 million, paid to the institute by electricity ratepayers via the nuclear utilities. Among other things, the money funds INPO's development of nuclear plant operating criteria and pays for plant inspections to determine if the standards are being met. INPO has deliberately maintained a low profile. INPO does not become involved in public or media activities on behalf of the industry or in the role of promoting the nuclear power option, the organization's formal institutional plan declares. A key aspect of INPO's public noninvolvement is keeping to itself and its members the results of its nuclear plant safety evaluations. Although consumers fund INPO activities and have a stake in nuclear plant safety, the press and the public are denied access to INPO safety investigation reports. 8 references

A study on the quantitative evaluation of the reliability for safety critical software using Bayesian belief nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Jang, S. C.; Ha, J. J.

2003-01-01

Despite the efforts to avoid undesirable risks, or at least to bring them under control in the world, new risks that are highly difficult to manage continue to emerge from the use of new technologies, such as the use of digital instrumentation and control (I and C) components in nuclear power plant. Whenever new risk issues came out by now, we have endeavored to find the most effective ways to reduce risks, or to allocate limited resources to do this. One of the major challenges is the reliability analysis of safety-critical software associated with digital safety systems. Though many activities such as testing, verification and validation (V and V) techniques have been carried out in the design stage of software, however, the process of quantitatively evaluating the reliability of safety-critical software has not yet been developed because of the irrelevance of the conventional software reliability techniques to apply for the digital safety systems. This paper focuses on the applicability of Bayesian Belief Net (BBN) techniques to quantitatively estimate the reliability of safety-critical software adopted in digital safety system. In this paper, a typical BBN model was constructed using the dedication process of the Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) installed by KAERI. In conclusion, the adoption of BBN technique can facilitate the process of evaluating the safety-critical software reliability in nuclear power plant, as well as provide very useful information (e.g., 'what if' analysis) associated with software reliability in the viewpoint of practicality

A Pilot Quality Improvement Collaborative to Improve Safety Net Dental Access for Pregnant Women and Young Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Vander Schaaf, Emily B; Quinonez, Rocio B; Cornett, Amanda C; Randolph, Greg D; Boggess, Kim; Flower, Kori B

2018-02-01

Objectives To determine acceptability and feasibility of a quality improvement (QI) collaborative in safety net dental practices, and evaluate its effects on financial stability, access, efficiency, and care for pregnant women and young children. Methods Five safety net dental practices participated in a 15-month learning collaborative utilizing business assessments, QI training, early childhood oral health training, and prenatal oral health training. Practices collected monthly data on: net revenue, no-show rates, total encounters, and number of encounters for young children and pregnant women. We analyzed quantitative data using paired t-tests before and after the collaborative and collected supplemental qualitative feedback from clinic staff through focus groups and directed email. Results All mean measures improved, including: higher monthly revenue ($28,380-$33,102, p = 0.37), decreased no-show rate (17.7-14.3%, p = 0.11), higher monthly dental health encounters (283-328, p = 0.08), and higher monthly encounters for young children (8.8-10.5, p = 0.65), and pregnant women (2.8-9.7, p = 0.29). Results varied by practice, with some demonstrating largest increases in encounters for young children and others pregnant women. Focus group participants reported that the collaborative improved access for pregnant women and young children, and that QI methods were often new and difficult. Conclusion for practice Participation by safety net dental practices in a QI collaborative is feasible and acceptable. Individual sites saw greater improvements in different outcomes areas, based on their own structures and needs. Future efforts should focus on specific needs of each dental practice and should offer additional QI training.

Integrating evidence-based practices for increasing cancer screenings in safety net health systems: a multiple case study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Shuting; Kegler, Michelle C; Cotter, Megan; Emily, Phillips; Beasley, Derrick; Hermstad, April; Morton, Rentonia; Martinez, Jeremy; Riehman, Kara

2016-08-02

Implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) to increase cancer screenings in safety net primary care systems has great potential for reducing cancer disparities. Yet there is a gap in understanding the factors and mechanisms that influence EBP implementation within these high-priority systems. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), our study aims to fill this gap with a multiple case study of health care safety net systems that were funded by an American Cancer Society (ACS) grants program to increase breast and colorectal cancer screening rates. The initiative funded 68 safety net systems to increase cancer screening through implementation of evidence-based provider and client-oriented strategies. Data are from a mixed-methods evaluation with nine purposively selected safety net systems. Fifty-two interviews were conducted with project leaders, implementers, and ACS staff. Funded safety net systems were categorized into high-, medium-, and low-performing cases based on the level of EBP implementation. Within- and cross-case analyses were performed to identify CFIR constructs that influenced level of EBP implementation. Of 39 CFIR constructs examined, six distinguished levels of implementation. Two constructs were from the intervention characteristics domain: adaptability and trialability. Three were from the inner setting domain: leadership engagement, tension for change, and access to information and knowledge. Engaging formally appointed internal implementation leaders, from the process domain, also distinguished level of implementation. No constructs from the outer setting or individual characteristics domain differentiated systems by level of implementation. Our study identified a number of influential CFIR constructs and illustrated how they impacted EBP implementation across a variety of safety net systems. Findings may inform future dissemination efforts of EBPs for increasing cancer screening in similar settings. Moreover

Population characteristics of markets of safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaskin, D J; Hadley, J

1999-09-01

To compare and contrast the markets of urban safety-net (USN) hospitals with the markets of other urban hospitals. To develop profiles of the actual inpatient markets of hospitals, we linked 1994 patient-level information from hospital discharge abstracts from nine states with 1990 data at the ZIP code level from the US Census Bureau. Each hospital's market was characterized by its racial and ethnic composition, median household income, poverty rate, and educational attainment. Measures of hospital competition were also calculated for each hospital. The analysis compared the market profiles of USN hospitals to those of other urban hospitals. We also compared the level of hospital competition and financial status of USN and other urban hospitals. The markets of USN hospitals had higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities and non-English-speaking residents. Adults residing in markets of USN hospitals were less educated. Families living in markets of USN hospitals had lower incomes and were more likely to be living at or below the federal poverty level. USN hospitals and other urban hospitals faced similar levels of competition and had similar margins. However, USN hospitals were more dependent on Medicare disproportionate share payments and on state and local government subsidies to remain solvent. USN hospitals disproportionately serve vulnerable minority and low-income communities that otherwise face financial and cultural barriers to health care. USN hospitals are dependent on the public subsidies they receive from federal, state, and local governments. Public policies and market pressures that affect the viability of USN hospitals place the access to care by vulnerable populations at risk. Public policy that jeopardizes public subsidies places in peril the financial health of these institutions. As Medicare and Medicaid managed care grow, USN hospitals may lose these patient revenues and public subsidies based on their Medicaid and Medicare patient

The Great Recession and the Social Safety Net

Science.gov (United States)

Moffitt, Robert A.

2016-01-01

The social safety net responded in significant and favorable ways during the Great Recession. Aggregate per capita expenditures grew significantly, with particularly strong growth in the SNAP, EITC, UI, and Medicaid programs. Distributionally, the increase in transfers was widely shared across demographic groups, including families with and without children, single-parent and two-parent families. Transfers grew as well among families with more employed members and with fewer employed members. However, the increase in transfer amounts was not strongly progressive across income classes within the low-income population, increasingly slightly more for those just below the poverty line and those just above it, compared to those at the bottom of the income distribution. This is mainly the result of the EITC program, which provides greater benefits to those with higher family earnings. The expansions of SNAP and UI benefitted those at the bottom of the income distribution to a greater extent. PMID:27065356

Verification of the safety communication protocol in train control system using colored Petri net

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Lijie; Tang Tao; Zhao Xianqiong; Schnieder, Eckehard

2012-01-01

This paper deals with formal and simulation-based verification of the safety communication protocol in ETCS (European Train Control System). The safety communication protocol controls the establishment of safety connection between train and trackside. Because of its graphical user interface and modeling flexibility upon the changes in the system conditions, this paper proposes a composition Colored Petri Net (CPN) representation for both the logic and the timed model. The logic of the protocol is proved to be safe by means of state space analysis: the dead markings are correct; there are no dead transitions; being fair. Further analysis results have been obtained using formal and simulation-based verification approach. The timed models for the open transmit system and the application process are created for the purpose of performance analysis of the safety communication protocol. The models describe the procedure of data transmission and processing, and also provide relevant timed and stochastic factors, as well as time delay and lost packet, which may influence the time for establishment of safety connection of the protocol. Time for establishment of safety connection of the protocol in normal state is verified by formal verification, and then time for establishment of safety connection with different probability of lost packet is simulated. After verification it is found that the time for establishment of safety connection of the safety communication protocol satisfies the safety requirements.

Medicaid managed care for mental health services: the survival of safety net institutions in rural settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Willging, Cathleen E; Waitzkin, Howard; Nicdao, Ethel

2008-09-01

Few accounts document the rural context of mental health safety net institutions (SNIs), especially as they respond to changing public policies. Embedded in wider processes of welfare state restructuring, privatization has transformed state Medicaid systems nationwide. We carried out an ethnographic study in two rural, culturally distinct regions of New Mexico to assess the effects of Medicaid managed care (MMC) and the implications for future reform. After 160 interviews and participant observation at SNIs, we analyzed data through iterative coding procedures. SNIs responded to MMC by nonparticipation, partnering, downsizing, and tapping into alternative funding sources. Numerous barriers impaired access under MMC: service fragmentation, transportation, lack of cultural and linguistic competency, Medicaid enrollment, stigma, and immigration status. By privatizing Medicaid and contracting with for-profit managed care organizations, the state placed additional responsibilities on "disciplined" providers and clients. Managed care models might compromise the rural mental health safety net unless the serious gaps and limitations are addressed in existing services and funding.

Closing the Health Care Gap in Communities: A Safety Net System Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabow, Patricia A

2016-10-01

The goal of U.S. health care should be good health for every American. This daunting goal will require closing the health care gap in communities with a particular focus on the most vulnerable populations and the safety net institutions that disproportionately serve these communities. This Commentary describes Denver Health's (DH's) two-pronged approach to achieving this goal: (1) creating an integrated system that focuses on the needs of vulnerable populations, and (2) creating an approach for financial viability, quality of care, and employee engagement. The implementation and outcomes of this approach at DH are described to provide a replicable model. An integrated delivery system serving vulnerable populations should go beyond the traditional components found in most integrated health systems and include components such as mental health services, school-based clinics, and correctional health care, which address the unique and important needs of, and points of access for, vulnerable populations. In addition, the demands that a safety net system experiences from an open-door policy on access and revenue require a disciplined approach to cost, quality of care, and employee engagement. For this, DH chose Lean, which focuses on reducing waste to respect the patients and employees within its health system, as well as all citizens. DH's Lean effort produced almost $195 million of financial benefit, impressive clinical outcomes, and high employee engagement. If this two-pronged approach were widely adopted, health systems across the United States would improve their chances of giving better care at costs they can afford for every person in society.

Meaningful use in the safety net: a rapid ethnography of patient portal implementation at five community health centers in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, Sara L; Sarkar, Urmimala; Tieu, Lina; Handley, Margaret A; Schillinger, Dean; Hahn, Kenneth; Hoskote, Mekhala; Gourley, Gato; Lyles, Courtney

2017-09-01

US health care institutions are implementing secure websites (patient portals) to achieve federal Meaningful Use (MU) certification. We sought to understand efforts to implement portals in "safety net" health care systems that provide services for low-income populations. Our rapid ethnography involved visits at 4 California safety net health systems and in-depth interviews at a fifth. Visits included interviews with clinicians and executives ( n  = 12), informal focus groups with front-line staff ( n  = 35), observations of patient portal sign-up procedures and clinic work, review of marketing materials and portal use data, and a brief survey ( n  = 45). Our findings demonstrate that the health systems devoted considerable effort to enlisting staff support for portal adoption and integrating portal-related work into clinic routines. Although all health systems had achieved, or were close to achieving, MU benchmarks, patients faced numerous barriers to portal use and our participants were uncertain how to achieve and sustain "meaningful use" as defined by and for their patients. Health systems' efforts to achieve MU certification united clinic staff under a shared ethos of improved quality of care. However, MU's assumptions about patients' demand for electronic access to health information and ability to make use of it directed clinics' attention to enrollment and message routing rather than to the relevance and usability of a tool that is minimally adaptable to the safety net context. We found a mismatch between MU-based metrics of patient engagement and the priorities and needs of safety net patient populations. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

DEPOSIT GUARANTEE SCHEMES JOIN FINANCIAL SAFETY-NET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugen Dijmarescu

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS become more visible under the current conditions of the world financial markets. If those have played in the past a rather discreet role for social stability through the function of pay box following a bank failure, the recent crisis put them in a new light, once the guarantee ceiling for eligible deposits grew in order to make for the accumulation of wealth worldwide and the increased risk incurred by the leverage of banking operations. Consequently, the resources accumulated by the DGS from the member banks and their proper management make possible their involvement in pre-emptive actions aimed to avoid bankruptcies via special administration and purchase of assets and assumption of liabilities. These new attributes give DGS a role in the mechanism of financial safety-net, along the supervisors of the market. Hence, an increased preoccupation for applied corporate governance has developed and Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance Systems have been adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision together with International Association of Deposit Insurers. Concurrently, the EU Commission has put forward a process for reviewing the Directives 94/39 and 09/14 EC, in order to make the European DGS more prepared to deal with above mentioned issues and bestow increased confidence upon depositors.

A Simple Quantum Neural Net with a Periodic Activation Function

OpenAIRE

Daskin, Ammar

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a simple neural net that requires only $O(nlog_2k)$ number of qubits and $O(nk)$ quantum gates: Here, $n$ is the number of input parameters, and $k$ is the number of weights applied to these parameters in the proposed neural net. We describe the network in terms of a quantum circuit, and then draw its equivalent classical neural net which involves $O(k^n)$ nodes in the hidden layer. Then, we show that the network uses a periodic activation function of cosine values o...

Eleven years of net network research activity - inr contributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deaconu, V.; Ionita, I.; Meleg, T.; Deaconu, M.; Truta, C.; Oncioiu, G.

2013-01-01

The European Network on Neutron Techniques Standardization for Structural Integrity (NeT) was established in 2002, grouping institutions from industry, research and academic media. Coordinated by the European Commission.s Joint Research Centre, the main mission of this network is to develop experimental and numerical techniques and standards for the reliable characterisation of residual stresses in structural welds. Each problem is tackled by creating a dedicated Task Group which manages measurement and modelling round robin studies and undertakes a thorough analysis and interpretation of the results. Over forty institutions are active NeT partners, their specific involvement and contributions being summarised in this paper. The Institute for Nuclear Research Pitesti (INR) is one of NeT founders and its contribution is related to numerical modelling, specimen analysis, material characterisation, data analysis or SANS support. This is also emphasised throughout this paper, together with the specific NeT research topics presentation. (authors)

Strategies for Aligning Physicians to System Redesign Goals at Eight Safety-Net Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Zallman, Leah; Bearse, Adriana; Neal, Natasha; VanDeusen Lukas, Carol; Hacker, Karen

2014-12-01

Facing recent economic and regulatory pressures, safety-net systems (SNSs) are redesigning their organizations to improve care delivery, remain financially viable, and maintain competitive positions. Aligning physicians with redesign goals is a priority, particularly as many SNSs shift toward patient-centered, population health-focused models. No previous work has examined efforts to align physicians to safety net redesign efforts. This qualitative study, conducted at eight SNSs, examined challenges faced in a changing health care environment, as well as strategies and resources to address them. Strategies clustered in two categories: physician role definition and organizational infrastructure. Physician role definition strategies were (1) changing payment and employment arrangements, (2) changing clinical roles, (3) increasing physician involvement in quality improvement, and (4) strengthening physician leadership in clinical and quality roles. Organizational infrastructure strategies were (1) ensuring medical center leadership support and integration, (2) utilizing data to drive physician behavior, and (3) addressing competing allegiances with academia. All sites reported multifaceted approaches but differed in specific strategies employed, facilitators noted, and challenges encountered. The findings highlight the need to implement multiple strategies to align physicians in redesign efforts. They suggest that all health systems, whether SNSs or not, can capitalize on qualities of physicians and existing infrastructural and leadership elements to achieve physician alignment. However, they must contend with and address challenges of competing allegiance (for example, academic, physician organization, hospital), as well as resistance to changing clinical roles and payment structures.

Survey of bayesian belif nets for quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software used in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eom, H.S.; Sung, T.Y.; Jeong, H.S.; Park, J.H.; Kang, H.G.; Lee, K

2001-03-01

As part of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment of safety grade digital systems used in Nuclear Power plants research, measures and methodologies applicable to quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software were surveyed. Among the techniques proposed in the literature we selected those which are in use widely and investigated their limitations in quantitative software reliability assessment. One promising methodology from the survey is Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) which has a formalism and can combine various disparate evidences relevant to reliability into final decision under uncertainty. Thus we analyzed BBN and its application cases in digital systems assessment area and finally studied the possibility of its application to the quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software.

Survey of bayesian belif nets for quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software used in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Sung, T. Y.; Jeong, H. S.; Park, J. H.; Kang, H. G.; Lee, K.

2001-03-01

As part of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment of safety grade digital systems used in Nuclear Power plants research, measures and methodologies applicable to quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software were surveyed. Among the techniques proposed in the literature we selected those which are in use widely and investigated their limitations in quantitative software reliability assessment. One promising methodology from the survey is Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) which has a formalism and can combine various disparate evidences relevant to reliability into final decision under uncertainty. Thus we analyzed BBN and its application cases in digital systems assessment area and finally studied the possibility of its application to the quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software

WE-NET substask 3. Conceptual design of total system (Safety measures and evaluation techniques); 1998 nendo suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET). 3. Zentai system gainen sekkei anzen taisaku hyoka gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

Under the hydrogen-utilizing international clean energy system technology project WE-NET (World Energy NET Work) in fiscal 1998, researches and studies were conducted to clearly define safety designs and to improve on accident-and-safety analyses. In relation with system safety design, investigations continued into Japanese and foreign manuals and regulations about the handling of hydrogen and its peripherals, and safe design guidelines (draft) were compiled. Anomalies and accidents supposed to be typical of each of the systems concerned were investigated. As for accident-and-safety analyses, incorporation of a turbulence model was studied in relation to models representing the leak, evaporation, and diffusion of liquid hydrogen, and improvement was achieved when the scope of evaluation was enlarged concerning the hydrogen detonation model. The integration of the two models was discussed for the due evaluation of a series of processes of liquid hydrogen leak, evaporation, diffusion, and detonation. Calculation was performed for two assumed accidents, and the results were found to justify the integration of the two models. (NEDO)

Access, interest, and attitudes toward electronic communication for health care among patients in the medical safety net.

Science.gov (United States)

Schickedanz, Adam; Huang, David; Lopez, Andrea; Cheung, Edna; Lyles, C R; Bodenheimer, Tom; Sarkar, Urmimala

2013-07-01

Electronic and internet-based tools for patient-provider communication are becoming the standard of care, but disparities exist in their adoption among patients. The reasons for these disparities are unclear, and few studies have looked at the potential communication technologies have to benefit vulnerable patient populations. To characterize access to, interest in, and attitudes toward internet-based communication in an ethnically, economically, and linguistically diverse group of patients from a large urban safety net clinic network. Observational, cross-sectional study Adult patients (≥ 18 years) in six resource-limited community clinics in the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) MAIN MEASURES: Current email use, interest in communicating electronically with health care professionals, barriers to and facilitators of electronic health-related communication, and demographic data-all self-reported via survey. Sixty percent of patients used email, 71 % were interested in using electronic communication with health care providers, and 19 % reported currently using email informally with these providers for health care. Those already using any email were more likely to express interest in using it for health matters. Most patients agreed electronic communication would improve clinic efficiency and overall communication with clinicians. A significant majority of safety net patients currently use email, text messaging, and the internet, and they expressed an interest in using these tools for electronic communication with their medical providers. This interest is currently unmet within safety net clinics that do not offer a patient portal or secure messaging. Tools such as email encounters and electronic patient portals should be implemented and supported to a greater extent in resource-poor settings, but this will require tailoring these tools to patients' language, literacy level, and experience with communication technology.

Shaping forest safety nets with markets: Adaptation to climate change under changing roles of tropical forests in Congo Basin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nkem, J.; Kalame, F.B.; Idinoba, M.; Somorin, O.A.; Ndoye, O.; Awono, A.

2010-01-01

Tropical forests hold several goods and services used by forest-dependent people as safety nets to traverse difficult periods of resource supply. These same goods and services are constantly surrounded by emerging markets linking remote communities with major urban centers nationally and

Internet access and online cancer information seeking among Latino immigrants from safety net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Selsky, Claire; Luta, George; Noone, Anne-Michelle; Huerta, Elmer E; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S

2013-01-01

Internet use is widespread, but little is known about Internet use for cancer information among Latinos, especially those who rely on safety net clinics. The authors investigated access to and intended use of the Internet for cancer information among low income, immigrant Latinos predominately from Central and South America. A cross-sectional study of 1,273 Latinos 21 years and older attending safety net clinics or health fairs was conducted from June 2007 to November 2008. The authors used logistic regression models to evaluate associations of age, acculturation, psychosocial factors and other covariates with Internet access and intended use of the Internet for cancer information among those with access. Of the sample, 44% reported Internet access. Higher information self-efficacy and greater trust in the Internet were independently associated with Internet access (p = .05 and p Internet use for cancer information, considering covariates. In addition, those with high (vs. low) perceived risk of cancer (OR = 1.76; 95% CI [1.14, 2.73]; p = .01) and higher levels of trust in online health information (OR = 1.47 per one-point increase; 95% [CI 1.19, 1.82]; p = .0004) were more likely to intend to seek cancer information online. These findings that Internet access is fairly high in the immigrant Latino population and that the Internet is a trusted source of cancer information suggest that the Internet may be a channel for cancer control interventions.

Are HPV vaccination services accessible to high-risk communities? A spatial analysis of HPV-associated cancer and Chlamydia rates and safety-net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsui, Jennifer; Rodriguez, Hector P; Gee, Gilbert C; Escobedo, Loraine A; Kominski, Gerald F; Bastani, Roshan

2013-12-01

While HPV vaccines can greatly benefit adolescents and young women from high-risk areas, little is known about whether safety-net immunization services are geographically accessible to communities at greatest risk for HPV-associated diseases. We explore the spatial relationship between areas with high HPV risk and proximity to safety-net clinics from an ecologic perspective. We used cancer registry data and Chlamydia surveillance data to identify neighborhoods within Los Angeles County with high risk for HPV-associated cancers. We examined proximity to safety-net clinics among neighborhoods with the highest risk. Proximity was measured as the shortest distance between each neighborhood center and the nearest clinic and having a clinic within 3 miles of each neighborhood center. The average 5-year non-age-adjusted rates were 1,940 cases per 100,000 for Chlamydia and 60 per 100,000 for HPV-associated cancers. A large majority, 349 of 386 neighborhoods with high HPV-associated cancer rates and 532 of 537 neighborhoods with high Chlamydia rates, had a clinic within 3 miles of the neighborhood center. Clinics were more likely to be located within close proximity to high-risk neighborhoods in the inner city. High-risk neighborhoods outside of this urban core area were less likely to be near accessible clinics. The majority of high-risk neighborhoods were geographically near safety-net clinics with HPV vaccination services. Due to low rates of vaccination, these findings suggest that while services are geographically accessible, additional efforts are needed to improve uptake. Programs aimed to increase awareness about the vaccine and to link underserved groups to vaccination services are warranted.

Shared decision-making during surgical consultation for gallstones at a safety-net hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueck, Krislynn M; Leal, Isabel M; Wan, Charlie C; Goldberg, Braden F; Saunders, Tamara E; Millas, Stefanos G; Liang, Mike K; Ko, Tien C; Kao, Lillian S

2018-04-01

Understanding patient perspectives regarding shared decision-making is crucial to providing informed, patient-centered care. Little is known about perceptions of vulnerable patients regarding shared decision-making during surgical consultation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a validated tool reflects perceptions of shared decision-making accurately among patients seeking surgical consultation for gallstones at a safety-net hospital. A mixed methods study was conducted in a sample of adult patients with gallstones evaluated at a safety-net surgery clinic between May to July 2016. Semi-structured interviews were conducted after their initial surgical consultation and analyzed for emerging themes. Patients were administered the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire and Autonomy Preference Scale. Univariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with shared decision-making and to compare the results of the surveys to those of the interviews. The majority of patients (N = 30) were female (90%), Hispanic (80%), Spanish-speaking (70%), and middle-aged (45.7 ± 16 years). The proportion of patients who perceived shared decision-making was greater in the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire versus the interviews (83% vs 27%, P decision for operation was not associated with shared decision-making. Contributory factors to this discordance include patient unfamiliarity with shared decision-making, deference to surgeon authority, lack of discussion about different treatments, and confusion between aligned versus shared decisions. Available questionnaires may overestimate shared decision-making in vulnerable patients suggesting the need for alternative or modifications to existing methods. Furthermore, such metrics should be assessed for correlation with patient-reported outcomes, such as satisfaction with decisions and health status. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rethinking the therapeutic misconception: social justice, patient advocacy, and cancer clinical trial recruitment in the US safety net.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Nancy J

2014-09-20

Approximately 20% of adult cancer patients are eligible to participate in a clinical trial, but only 2.5-9% do so. Accrual is even less for minority and medically underserved populations. As a result, critical life-saving treatments and quality of life services developed from research studies may not address their needs. This study questions the utility of the bioethical concern with therapeutic misconception (TM), a misconception that occurs when research subjects fail to distinguish between clinical research and ordinary treatment, and therefore attribute therapeutic intent to research procedures in the safety net setting. This paper provides ethnographic insight into the ways in which research is discussed and related to standard treatment. In the course of two years of ethnographic fieldwork in a safety net hospital, I conducted clinic observations (n=150 clinic days) and in-depth in-person qualitative interviews with patients (n=37) and providers (n=15). I used standard qualitative methods to organize and code resulting fieldnote and interview data. Findings suggest that TM is limited in relevance for the interdisciplinary context of cancer clinical trial recruitment in the safety net setting. Ethnographic data show the value of the discussions that happen prior to the informed consent, those that introduce the idea of participation in research. These preliminary discussions are elemental especially when recruiting underserved and vulnerable patients for clinical trial participation who are often unfamiliar with medical research and how it relates to medical care. Data also highlight the multiple actors involved in research discussions and the ethics of social justice and patient advocacy they mobilize, suggesting that class, inequality, and dependency influence the forms of ethical engagements in public hospital settings. On the ground ethics of social justice and patient advocacy are more relevant than TM as guiding ethical principles in the context of

The Expected Net Present Value of Developing Weight Management Drugs in the Context of Drug Safety Litigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chawla, Anita; Carls, Ginger; Deng, Edmund; Tuttle, Edward

2015-07-01

Following withdrawals, failures, and significant litigation settlements, drug product launches in the anti-obesity category slowed despite a large and growing unmet need. Litigation concerns, a more risk-averse regulatory policy, and the difficulty of developing a product with a compelling risk-benefit profile in this category may have limited innovators' expected return on investment and restricted investment in this therapeutic area. The objective of the study was to estimate perceived manufacturer risk associated with product safety litigation and increased development costs vs. revenue expectations on anticipated return on investment and to determine which scenarios might change a manufacturer's investment decision. Expected net present value of a weight-management drug entering pre-clinical trials was calculated for a range of scenarios representing evolving expectations of development costs, revenue, and litigation risk over the past 25 years. These three factors were based on published estimates, historical data, and analogs from other therapeutic areas. The main driver in expected net present value calculations is expected revenue, particularly if one assumes that litigation risk and demand are positively correlated. Changes in development costs associated with increased regulatory concern with potential safety issues for the past 25 years likely did not impact investment decisions. Regulatory policy and litigation risk both played a role in anti-obesity drug development; however, product revenue-reflecting efficacy at acceptable levels of safety-was by far the most important factor. To date, relatively modest sales associated with recent product introductions suggest that developing a product that is sufficiently efficacious with an acceptable level of safety continues to be the primary challenge in this market.

Host-seeking activity of a Tanzanian population of Anopheles arabiensis at an insecticide treated bed net.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Josephine E A; Angarita Jaimes, Natalia C; Gleave, Katherine; Mashauri, Fabian; Abe, Mayumi; Martine, Jackline; Towers, Catherine E; Towers, David; McCall, Philip J

2017-07-04

Understanding how mosquitoes respond to long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) is fundamental to sustaining the effectiveness of this essential control tool. We report on studies with a tracking system to investigate behaviour of wild anophelines at an LLIN, in an experimental hut at a rural site in Mwanza, Tanzania. Groups of adult female mosquitoes (n = 10 per replicate) reared from larvae of a local population, identified as predominantly (95%) Anopheles arabiensis, were released in the hut. An infrared video tracking system recorded flight and net contact activity over 1 h as the mosquitoes attempted to reach a supine human volunteer within a bed net (either a deltamethrin-treated LLIN or an untreated control net). A range of activities, including flight path, position in relation to the bed net and duration of net contact, were quantified and compared between treatments. The total time that female An. arabiensis spent in flight around LLINs was significantly lower than at untreated nets [F(1,10) = 9.26, p = 0.012], primarily due to a substantial reduction in the time mosquitoes spent in persistent 'bouncing' flight [F(1,10) = 18.48, p = 0.002]. Most activity occurred at the net roof but significantly less so with LLINs (56.8% of total) than untreated nets [85.0%; Χ 2 (15) = 234.69, p Activity levels at the bed net directly above the host torso were significantly higher with untreated nets (74.2%) than LLINs [38.4%; Χ 2 (15) = 33.54, p = 0.004]. 'Visiting' and 'bouncing' rates were highest above the volunteer's chest in untreated nets (39.9 and 50.4%, respectively) and LLINs [29.9 and 42.4%; Χ 2 (13) = 89.91, p activity over 60 min was significantly more rapid for LLINs [F(1,10) = 6.81, p = 0.026], reiterating an 'attract and kill' rather than a repellent mode of action. The study has demonstrated the potential for detailed investigations of behaviour of wild mosquito populations under field conditions. The results validate

Targeting International Food Aid Programmes: The Case of Productive Safety Net Programme in Tigray, Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Azadi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Ethiopia has experienced more than five major droughts in the past three decades, leading to high dependency on international food aids. Nevertheless, studies indicate that asset depletion has not been prevented; neither did food insecurity diminish. Since 2004/5, the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP has been implemented to improve food security in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Critics point out that the implementation of food aid programmes can have negative impacts as well as positive outcomes for local communities. Accordingly, this survey study aimed to analyse the distribution and allocation of food aids in the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP in Tigray. Results of 479 interviews revealed that targeting different households in the PSNP has been considerably linked to socio-demographic attributes among which age and size of family were decisive factors to receive food aids. Furthermore, older households with smaller family size received more direct support. Inequality between genders was another major finding of this study. When combined with the marital status, there was also a big difference in the percentage of married or unmarried women receiving food aids. These findings could provide fundamental information for policy intervention to correct food security programmes at household level and reduce hunger. Given that, socio-demographic factors can help to identify particular and usually different requirements, vulnerabilities and coping strategies of the members of the food aid programme, so that they can be much more addressed when an emergency happens.

Fusion through the NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spears, B.

1987-01-01

The paper concerns the next generation of fusion machines which are intended to demonstrate the technical viability of fusion. In Europe, the device that will follow on from JET is known as NET - the Next European Torus. If the design programme for NET proceeds, Europe could start to build the machine in 1994. The present JET programme hopes to achieve breakeven in the early 1990's. NET hopes to reach ignition in the next century, and so lay the foundation for a demonstration reactor. A description is given of the technical specifications of the components of NET, including: the first wall, the divertors to protect the wall, the array of magnets that provide the fields containing the plasma, the superconducting magnets, and the shield of the machine. NET's research programme is briefly outlined, including the testing programme to optimise conditions in the machine to achieve ignition, and its safety work. (U.K.)

Shaping forest safety nets with markets: Adaptation to climate change under changing roles of tropical forests in Congo Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nkem, Johnson; Kalame, Fobissie B.; Idinoba, Monica; Somorin, Olufunso A.; Ndoye, Ousseynou; Awono, Abdon

2010-01-01

Tropical forests hold several goods and services used by forest-dependent people as safety nets to traverse difficult periods of resource supply. These same goods and services are constantly surrounded by emerging markets linking remote communities with major urban centers nationally and internationally. How these markets affect adaptation remains unclear. This paper examines the roles of markets in non-timber forest products that normally serve as safety nets for forest communities, and the implications for climate change adaptation in the Congo Basin. Following the identification and prioritization of forest-based development sectors for adaptation by stakeholders, the types of markets and trades surrounding the identified sectors were examined in two provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study in order to evaluate revenue flows and their potential contribution to adaptation by local communities. The distribution of the market revenue leaves local people with returns much lower than the worth of the commodity, while wholesalers and retailers reap most of the benefits and profit from the high variability in volume and market earnings for the same commodity across provinces. Markets may increase the value of a commodity as observed in this study, but their contributions to adaptation appear highly limited for local communities following their distribution among the stakeholders in the market chain. This is likely to be worse in free market settings, especially when it diminishes the safety net roles of forest goods and services. Markets should therefore complement rather than substitute forests roles for adaptation to climate change in tropical forest countries. Capturing the benefits of trade for adaptation is crucial but will require policy reforms and further research that addresses the complexity in benefit sharing.

Artisanal fishing net float loss and a proposal for a float design solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo de Tarso Chaves

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Plastic floats from fishing nets are commonly found washed up on beaches in southern Brazil. They are usually broken and show signs of having been repaired. Characteristics of floats and interviews with fishermen suggest two main causes of float loss. First, collisions between active gear, bottom trawl nets for shrimp, and passive gear, drift nets for fish, destroy nets and release fragments of them, including floats. Second, the difficulty with which floats are inserted on the float rope of the nets when they are used near the surface. Floats are inserted to replace damaged or lost floats, or they may be removed if it is desired that the nets be used in deeper waters. Floats may thus be poorly fixed to the cables and lost. Here a new float design that offers greater safety in use and for the replacement of floats is described and tested.

Identifying Telemedicine Services to Improve Access to Specialty Care for the Underserved in the San Francisco Safety Net

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken Russell Coelho

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Safety-net settings across the country have grappled with providing adequate access to specialty care services. San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, serving as the city's primary safety-net hospital, has also had to struggle with the same issue. With Healthy San Francisco, the City and County of San Francisco's Universal Healthcare mandate, the increased demand for specialty care services has placed a further strain on the system. With the recent passage of California Proposition 1D, infrastructural funds are now set aside to assist in connecting major hospitals with primary care clinics in remote areas all over the state of California, using telemedicine. Based on a selected sample of key informant interviews with local staff physicians, this study provides further insight into the current process of e-referral which uses electronic communication for making referrals to specialty care. It also identifies key services for telemedicine in primary and specialty care settings within the San Francisco public health system. This study concludes with proposals for a framework that seek to increase collaboration between the referring primary care physician and specialist, to prioritize institution of these key services for telemedicine.

Safety activities in small businesses

Science.gov (United States)

Sinclair, Raymond C.; Cunningham, Thomas R.

2015-01-01

Background Workplace injuries occur at higher rates in smaller firms than in larger firms, and the number of workplace safety activities appear to be inversely associated with those rates. Predictors of safety activities are rarely studied. Methods This study uses data from a national random survey of firms (n = 722) with less than 250 employees conducted in 2002. Results We found that, regardless of firm size or industry, safety activities were more common in 2002 than they were in a similar 1983 study. Having had an OSHA inspection in the last five years and firm size were stronger predictors of safety activities than industry hazardousness and manager’s perceptions of hazardousness. All four variables were significant predictors (β range .19 to .28; R2 = .27). Conclusions Further progress in the prevention of injuries in small firms will require attention to factors likely subsumed within the firm size variable, especially the relative lack of slack resources that might be devoted to safety activities. PMID:26339124

Performance Measurement and Target-Setting in California's Safety Net Health Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmat, Shirin; Schillinger, Dean; Lyles, Courtney; Ackerman, Sara; Gourley, Gato; Vittinghoff, Eric; Handley, Margaret; Sarkar, Urmimala

Health policies encourage implementing quality measurement with performance targets. The 2010-2015 California Medicaid waiver mandated quality measurement and reporting. In 2013, California safety net hospitals participating in the waiver set a voluntary performance target (the 90th percentile for Medicare preferred provider organization plans) for mammography screening and cholesterol control in diabetes. They did not reach the target, and the difference-in-differences analysis suggested that there was no difference for mammography ( P = .39) and low-density lipoprotein control ( P = .11) performance compared to measures for which no statewide quality improvement initiative existed. California's Medicaid waiver was associated with improved performance on a number of metrics, but this performance was not attributable to target setting on specific health conditions. Performance may have improved because of secular trends or systems improvements related to waiver funding. Relying on condition-specific targets to measure performance may underestimate improvements and disadvantage certain health systems. Achieving ambitious targets likely requires sustained fiscal, management, and workforce investments.

Sumoylation of the net inhibitory domain (NID) is stimulated by PIAS1 and has a negative effect on the transcriptional activity of Net.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasylyk, Christine; Criqui-Filipe, Paola; Wasylyk, Bohdan

2005-01-27

Net (Elk-3, Sap-2, Erp) and the related ternary complex factors Elk-1 and Sap-1 are effectors of multiple signalling pathways at the transcriptional level and play a key role in the dynamic regulation of gene expression. Net is distinct from Elk-1 and Sap-1, in that it is a strong repressor of transcription that is converted to an activator by the Ras/Erk signalling pathway. Two autonomous repression domains of Net, the NID and the CID, mediate repression. We have previously shown that the co-repressor CtBP is implicated in repression by the CID. In this report we show that repression by the NID involves a different pathway, sumoylation by Ubc9 and PIAS1. PIAS1 interacts with the NID in the two-hybrid assay and in vitro. Ubc9 and PIAS1 stimulate sumoylation in vivo of lysine 162 in the NID. Sumoylation of lysine 162 increases repression by Net and decreases the positive activity of Net. These results increase our understanding of how one of the ternary complex factors regulates transcription, and contribute to the understanding of how different domains of a transcription factor participate in the complexity of regulation of gene expression.

75 FR 39621 - Proposed Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity: Comment...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-09

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0002] Proposed Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Income-Net Worth and Employment...

77 FR 20888 - Proposed Information Collection (Income, Net Worth, and Employment Statement) Activity: Comment...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-06

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0002] Proposed Information Collection (Income, Net Worth, and Employment Statement) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Income, Net Worth, and Employment...

Safety assessment for facilities and activities. General safety requirements. Pt. 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The Safety Fundamentals publication, Fundamental Safety Principles, establishes principles for ensuring the protection of workers, the public and the environment, now and in the future, from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to establish the generally applicable requirements to be fulfilled in safety assessment for facilities and activities, with special attention paid to defence in depth, quantitative analyses and the application of a graded approach to the ranges of facilities and of activities that are addressed. The publication also addresses the independent verification of the safety assessment that needs to be carried out by the originators and users of the safety assessment. This publication is intended to provide a consistent and coherent basis for safety assessment across all facilities and activities, which will facilitate the transfer of good practices between organizations conducting safety assessments and will assist in enhancing the confidence of all interested parties that an adequate level of safety has been achieved for facilities and activities. The requirements, which are derived from the Fundamental Safety Principles, relate to any human activity that may cause people to be exposed to radiation risks arising from facilities and activities, as follows: Facilities includes: (a) Nuclear power plants; (b) Other reactors (such as research reactors and critical assemblies); (c) Enrichment facilities and fuel fabrication facilities; (d) Conversion facilities used to generate UF 6 ; (e) Storage and reprocessing plants for irradiated fuel; (f) Facilities for radioactive waste management where radioactive waste is treated, conditioned, stored or disposed of; (g) Any other places where radioactive materials are produced, processed, used, handled or stored; (h) Irradiation facilities for medical, industrial, research and other purposes, and any places where radiation generators are installed; (i

Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities. General Safety Requirements. Pt. 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The Safety Fundamentals publication, Fundamental Safety Principles, establishes principles for ensuring the protection of workers, the public and the environment, now and in the future, from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to establish the generally applicable requirements to be fulfilled in safety assessment for facilities and activities, with special attention paid to defence in depth, quantitative analyses and the application of a graded approach to the ranges of facilities and of activities that are addressed. The publication also addresses the independent verification of the safety assessment that needs to be carried out by the originators and users of the safety assessment. This publication is intended to provide a consistent and coherent basis for safety assessment across all facilities and activities, which will facilitate the transfer of good practices between organizations conducting safety assessments and will assist in enhancing the confidence of all interested parties that an adequate level of safety has been achieved for facilities and activities. The requirements, which are derived from the Fundamental Safety Principles, relate to any human activity that may cause people to be exposed to radiation risks arising from facilities and activities, as follows: Facilities includes: (a) Nuclear power plants; (b) Other reactors (such as research reactors and critical assemblies); (c) Enrichment facilities and fuel fabrication facilities; (d) Conversion facilities used to generate UF6; (e) Storage and reprocessing plants for irradiated fuel; (f) Facilities for radioactive waste management where radioactive waste is treated, conditioned, stored or disposed of; (g) Any other places where radioactive materials are produced, processed, used, handled or stored; (h) Irradiation facilities for medical, industrial, research and other purposes, and any places where radiation generators are installed; (i

Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities. General Safety Requirements. Pt. 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The Safety Fundamentals publication, Fundamental Safety Principles, establishes principles for ensuring the protection of workers, the public and the environment, now and in the future, from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to establish the generally applicable requirements to be fulfilled in safety assessment for facilities and activities, with special attention paid to defence in depth, quantitative analyses and the application of a graded approach to the ranges of facilities and of activities that are addressed. The publication also addresses the independent verification of the safety assessment that needs to be carried out by the originators and users of the safety assessment. This publication is intended to provide a consistent and coherent basis for safety assessment across all facilities and activities, which will facilitate the transfer of good practices between organizations conducting safety assessments and will assist in enhancing the confidence of all interested parties that an adequate level of safety has been achieved for facilities and activities. The requirements, which are derived from the Fundamental Safety Principles, relate to any human activity that may cause people to be exposed to radiation risks arising from facilities and activities, as follows: Facilities includes: (a) Nuclear power plants; (b) Other reactors (such as research reactors and critical assemblies); (c) Enrichment facilities and fuel fabrication facilities; (d) Conversion facilities used to generate UF6; (e) Storage and reprocessing plants for irradiated fuel; (f) Facilities for radioactive waste management where radioactive waste is treated, conditioned, stored or disposed of; (g) Any other places where radioactive materials are produced, processed, used, handled or stored; (h) Irradiation facilities for medical, industrial, research and other purposes, and any places where radiation generators are installed; (i

Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities. General Safety Requirements. Pt. 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The Safety Fundamentals publication, Fundamental Safety Principles, establishes principles for ensuring the protection of workers, the public and the environment, now and in the future, from harmful effects of ionizing radiation.? read more The objective of this Safety Requirements publication is to establish the generally applicable requirements to be fulfilled in safety assessment for facilities and activities, with special attention paid to defence in depth, quantitative analyses and the application of a graded approach to the ranges of facilities and of activities that are addressed. The publication also addresses the independent verification of the safety assessment that needs to be carried out by the originators and users of the safety assessment. This publication is intended to provide a consistent and coherent basis for safety assessment across all facilities and activities, which will facilitate the transfer of good practices between organizations conducting safety assessments and will assist in enhancing the confidence of all interested parties that an adequate level of safety has been achieved for facilities and activities. The requirements, which are derived from the Fundamental Safety Principles, relate to any human activity that may cause people to be exposed to radiation risks arising from facilities and activities, as follows: Facilities includes: (a) Nuclear power plants; (b) Other reactors (such as research reactors and critical assemblies); (c) Enrichment facilities and fuel fabrication facilities; (d) Conversion facilities used to generate UF6; (e) Storage and reprocessing plants for irradiated fuel; (f) Facilities for radioactive waste management where radioactive waste is treated, conditioned, stored or disposed of; (g) Any other places where radioactive materials are produced, processed, used, handled or stored; (h) Irradiation facilities for medical, industrial, research and other purposes, and any places where radiation generators are

Understanding the digital divide in the clinical setting: the technology knowledge gap experienced by US safety net patients during teleretinal screening.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Sheba; Moran, Erin; Fish, Allison; Ogunyemi, Lola

2013-01-01

Differential access to everyday technology and healthcare amongst safety net patients is associated with low technological and health literacies, respectively. These low rates of literacy produce a complex patient "knowledge gap" that influences the effectiveness of telehealth technologies. To understand this "knowledge gap", six focus groups (2 African-American and 4 Latino) were conducted with patients who received teleretinal screenings in U.S. urban safety-net settings. Findings indicate that patients' "knowledge gap" is primarily produced at three points: (1) when patients' preexisting personal barriers to care became exacerbated in the clinical setting; (2) through encounters with technology during screening; and (3) in doctor-patient follow-up. This "knowledge gap" can produce confusion and fear, potentially affecting patients' confidence in quality of care and limiting their disease management ability. In rethinking the digital divide to include the consequences of this knowledge gap faced by patients in the clinical setting, we suggest that patient education focus on both their disease and specific telehealth technologies deployed in care delivery.

Facilitators and barriers of implementing enhanced recovery in colorectal surgery at a safety net hospital: A provider and patient perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Alawadi, Zeinab M; Leal, Isabel; Phatak, Uma R; Flores-Gonzalez, Juan R; Holihan, Julie L; Karanjawala, Burzeen E; Millas, Stefanos G; Kao, Lillian S

2016-03-01

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways are known to decrease complications and duration of stay in colorectal surgery patients. However, it is unclear whether an ERAS pathway would be feasible and effective at a safety-net hospital. The aim of this study was to identify local barriers and facilitators before the adoption of an ERAS pathway for patients undergoing colorectal operations at a safety-net hospital. Semistructured interviews were conducted to assess the perceived barriers and facilitators before ERAS adoption. Stratified purposive sampling was used. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using content analysis. Analytic and investigator triangulation were used to establish credibility. Interviewees included 8 anesthesiologists, 5 surgeons, 6 nurses, and 18 patients. Facilitators identified across the different medical professions were (1) feasibility and alignment with current practice, (2) standardization of care, (3) smallness of community, (4) good teamwork and communication, and (5) caring for patients. The barriers were (1) difficulty in adapting to change, (2) lack of coordination between different departments, (3) special needs of a highly comorbid and socioeconomically disadvantaged patient population, (4) limited resources, and (5) rotating residents. Facilitators identified by the patients were (1) welcoming a speedy recovery, (2) being well-cared for and satisfied with treatment, (3) adequate social support, (4) welcoming early mobilization, and (5) effective pain management. The barriers were (1) lack of quiet and private space, (2) need for more patient education and counseling, and (3) unforeseen complications. Although limited hospital resources are perceived as a barrier to ERAS implementation at a safety-net hospital, there is strong support for such pathways and multiple factors were identified that may facilitate change. Inclusion of patient perspectives is critical to identifying challenges and

Reactor safety; Description and evaluation of safety activities in Nordic countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahlstroem, B.; Gunsell, L.

1998-03-01

The report gives a description of safety activities in the nuclear power industry. The study has been carried out as a part of the four year programme in Nordic Safety Research (NKS) which was completed in 1997. The objective of the NKS/RAK-1.1 project 'A survey and an evaluation of safety activities in nuclear power' was to make a broad description of various activities important for safety and to make an assessment of their efficiency. A special consideration was placed on a comparison of practices in Finland and Sweden, and between their nuclear utilities. The study has been divided into two parts, one theoretical part in which a model of the relationships between various activities important for safety has been constructed and one practical part where a total of 62 persons have been interviewed at the authorities, the nuclear utilities and one reactor vendor. To restrict the amount of work two activities, safety analysis and experience feedback, were selected. A few cases connected to incidents at nuclear power plants were discussed in more detail. The report has been structured around a simple model of nuclear safety consisting of the concepts of goals, means and outcomes. This model illustrates the importance of goal formulation, systematic planning and feedback of operational experience as major components in nuclear safety. In assessing organisation and management at authorities and the power utilities there is a clear trend of decentralisation and delegation of authority. The general impression from the study is that the safety activities in Finland and Sweden are efficient and well targeted. The experience from the methodology is favourable and the comparison of practices gives a good ground for a discussion of contents and targeting of safety activities. (EG) activities. (EG)

Feasibility of a Video-Based Advance Care Planning Website to Facilitate Group Visits among Diverse Adults from a Safety-Net Health System.

Science.gov (United States)

Zapata, Carly; Lum, Hillary D; Wistar, Emily; Horton, Claire; Sudore, Rebecca L

2018-02-20

Primary care providers in safety-net settings often do not have time to discuss advance care planning (ACP). Group visits (GV) may be an efficient means to provide ACP education. To assess the feasibility and impact of a video-based website to facilitate GVs to engage diverse adults in ACP. Feasibility pilot among patients who were ≥55 years of age from two primary care clinics in a Northern California safety-net setting. Participants attended two 90-minute GVs and viewed the five steps of the movie version of the PREPARE website ( www.prepareforyourcare.org ) concerning surrogates, values, and discussing wishes in video format. Two clinician facilitators were available to encourage participation. We assessed pre-to-post ACP knowledge, whether participants designated a surrogate or completed an advance directive (AD), and acceptability of GVs and PREPARE materials. We conducted two GVs with 22 participants. Mean age was 64 years (±7), 55% were women, 73% nonwhite, and 55% had limited literacy. Knowledge improved about surrogate designation (46% correct pre vs. 85% post, p = 0.01) and discussing decisions with others (59% vs. 90%, p = 0.01). Surrogate designation increased (48% vs. 85%, p = 0.01) and there was a trend toward AD completion (9% vs. 24%, p = 0.21). Participants rated the GVs and PREPARE materials a mean of 8 (±3.1) on a 10-point acceptability scale. Using the PREPARE movie to facilitate ACP GVs for diverse adults in safety net, primary care settings is feasible and shows potential for increasing ACP engagement.

Safety Culture Activities of HANARO in 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jong Sup [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-05-15

One of the important aims of a management system for nuclear facilities is to foster a strong safety culture. The safety culture activities in HANARO have been continuously conducted to enhance its safe operation. The following activities and events on a safety culture were performed last year; - Seminars and lectures on safety for the 'Nuclear Safety Check Day' every month - Development of safety culture indicators - Development of operational SPIs (Safety Performance Indicators) - Preparation of an e-Learning program for safety education. In this paper, the safety culture activities in HANARO of KAERI are described, and the efforts necessary for a safety improvement are presented.

A dynamic simulation to study NET in-vessel handling operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fung, P.T.F.

1989-01-01

The inspection, maintenance and repair of the Next European Torus (NET) fusion machine will require the extensive use of remote handling equipment to minimise the human exposure to the high radiation environment. The use of efficient manipulators will reduce the NET downtime by reducing the preparation time for entry into the controlled area and by performing the task with reasonable area and by performing the task with reasonable dexterity and speed, consistent with safety. A high fidelity simulation is a valuable tool to assist in the manipulator design, operations, trajectory planning, parameter optimisation and system verification. A manipulator simulation package called ASAD was originally developed by Spar for space manipulator applications. It is now being adapted to simulate the in-Vessel HandlingUnit for the NET program. This terestrial version of ASAD has been name ASAD - T. Spar, through the services of the Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project, is under contract to the NET program for the performance of this activity. This paper describes the capabillities and underlying assumptions of ASAD - T, aling with description of the simulation development of the NET in-vessel manipulator. (author). 4 refs.; 7 figs

Microbial activity in district cooling nets; Mikrobiell Aktivitet i Fjaerrkylenaet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nordling, Magnus [Swedish Corrosion Inst., Stockholm (Sweden)

2004-07-01

results point out the risk of only analysing the water instead of also neglecting to expose coupons and analysing the presence of biofilms on the coupons. Also made clear when using exposure containers is the advantage of having the possibility of withdrawal of coupons at different occasions, thereby being able to investigate the increase with time in concentration of micro-organisms in the biofilm. The Swedish Corrosion Institute has developed such an exposure container, and used it during phase two. It has proved to be both easy to handle and in good working order, at service for supervision of microbial activity in district cooling nets in general. Finally, recommendations for reducing the risk for biofilm formation and microbial corrosion can be stated as follows: Only water of DH quality should be used, both as basic water and feed water; Avoid additives, especially if organic; Only connect district cooling tubes which are clean on the inside; Watch over the system regarding micro-organism related problems, preferably by using exposure containers.

EDA activities related to safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gordon, C.; Raeder, J.

2001-01-01

This article reviews the accomplishments in ITER safety analysis during the course of the Engineering Design Activities (EDA). The key aspects of ITER safety analysis are: effluents and emissions from normal operation, including planned maintenance activities; occupational safety for workers at the facility; radioactive materials and wastes generated during operation and from decommissioning ; potential incidents and accidents and the resulting transients. As a result of the work during the EDA it is concluded that ITER is safe

IAEA safety requirements for safety assessment of fuel cycle facilities and activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, G.

2013-01-01

The IAEA's Statute authorises the Agency to establish standards of safety for protection of health and minimisation of danger to life and property. In that respect, the IAEA has established a Safety Fundamentals publication which contains ten safety principles for ensuring the protection of workers, the public and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. A number of these principles require safety assessments to be carried out as a means of evaluating compliance with safety requirements for all nuclear facilities and activities and to determine the measures that need to be taken to ensure safety. The safety assessments are required to be carried out and documented by the organisation responsible for operating the facility or conducting the activity, are to be independently verified and are to be submitted to the regulatory body as part of the licensing or authorisation process. In addition to the principles of the Safety Fundamentals, the IAEA establishes requirements that must be met to ensure the protection of people and the environment and which are governed by the principles in the Safety Fundamentals. The IAEA's Safety Requirements publication 'Safety Assessment for Facilities and Activities', establishes the safety requirements that need to be fulfilled in conducting and maintaining safety assessments for the lifetime of facilities and activities, with specific attention to defence in depth and the requirement for a graded approach to the application of these safety requirements across the wide range of fuel cycle facilities and activities. Requirements for independent verification of the safety assessment that needs to be carried out by the operating organisation, including the requirement for the safety assessment to be periodically reviewed and updated are also covered. For many fuel cycle facilities and activities, environmental impact assessments and non-radiological risk assessments will be required. The

End-Stage Renal Disease Outcomes among the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Creatinine Safety Program (Creatinine SureNet): Opportunities to Reflect and Improve.

Science.gov (United States)

Sim, John J; Batech, Michael; Danforth, Kim N; Rutkowski, Mark P; Jacobsen, Steven J; Kanter, Michael H

2017-01-01

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) creatinine safety program (Creatinine SureNet) identifies and outreaches to thousands of people annually who may have had a missed diagnosis for chronic kidney disease (CKD). We sought to determine the value of this outpatient program and evaluate opportunities for improvement. Longitudinal cohort study (February 2010 through December 2015) of KPSC members captured into the creatinine safety program who were characterized using demographics, laboratory results, and different estimations of glomerular filtration rate. Age- and sex-adjusted rates of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were compared with those in the overall KPSC population. Among 12,394 individuals, 83 (0.7%) reached ESRD. The age- and sex-adjusted relative risk of ESRD was 2.7 times higher compared with the KPSC general population during the same period (94.7 vs 35.4 per 100,000 person-years; p creatinine measurements, only 13% had a urine study performed (32% among patients with confirmed CKD). Our study found a higher incidence of ESRD among individuals captured into the KPSC creatinine safety program. If the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation were used, fewer people would have been captured while improving the accuracy for diagnosing CKD. Urine testing was low even among patients with confirmed CKD. Our findings demonstrate the importance of a creatinine safety net program in an integrated health system but also suggest opportunities to improve CKD care and screening.

How Well Does the “Safety Net” Work for Family Safety Nets? Economic Survival Strategies Among Grandmother Caregivers in Severe Deprivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LaShawnDa Pittman

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Using qualitative data collected from fifty-eight African American grandmothers raising grandchildren in skipped-generation households (SGHs, I reveal how and why women in non-normative families, lacking legal protections and publicly recognized authority as parents, must negotiate risk in pursuit of resources. I demonstrate that these grandmothers struggle for economic survival while seeking simultaneously to minimize the risk of losing their grandchildren and maximize their chances of receiving public assistance. I argue that grandmothers in SGHs face significant challenges obtaining government benefits owing to policy eligibility guidelines, street-level implementation, and family dynamics. Ultimately, I illustrate how the severe deprivation experienced by these grandmothers is exacerbated by their exclusion from safety net programs that could help them support the children in their care.

MMPM - Mars MetNet Precursor Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Harri, A.-M.; Schmidt, W.; Pichkhadze, K.; Linkin, V.; Vazquez, L.; Uspensky, M.; Polkko, J.; Genzer, M.; Lipatov, A.; Guerrero, H.; Alexashkin, S.; Haukka, H.; Savijarvi, H.; Kauhanen, J.

2008-09-01

MetNet Mars Mission will provide a crucial support for the safety of large landing missions in general and manned Mars missions in particular. Accurate knowledge of atmospheric conditions and weather data is essential to guarantee safe landings of the forthcoming Mars mission elements. The MetNet Mars Mission is exactly this type of tool that is needed both for the Martian atmospheric science as well as for the mission safety issues.

APPLYING PETRI NETS EXTENSIONS TO MODELING COMMERCIAL BANK ACTIVITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor ENICOV

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the study is determined by the need to improve the methods of modeling andsimulating commercial bank activity, including for the purpose of calculating, controlling and managingthe risk of the bank, in the context of the transition to the application of Basel III standards. Thisimprovement becomes necessary due to a direct transition to new regulatory standards when the internalassessments of the main risks become the initial data for calculating the capital adequacy of a bank. Thepurpose of this article is to argue the opportunity to formulate a theory of the commercial bank model onthe extensions of Petri nets theory. The main methods of research were the method of scientific abstractionand method of logical analysis. The main result obtained in the study and presented in the article is theargumentation of the possibility to analyze the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of acommercial bank with the help of Petri net extensions.

77 FR 39343 - Agency Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity Under OMB Review

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0002] Agency Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration... . Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0002.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Income-Net Worth and...

75 FR 56662 - Agency Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity Under OMB Review

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-16

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0002] Agency Information Collection (Income-Net Worth and Employment Statement) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration... . Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0002.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Income-Net Worth and...

Planned activities to improve safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This document presents the fulfilling of the Brazilian obligations under the Convention on Nuclear Safety. The Chapter 6 of the document contains some details about the planed activities to safety improvements

Verification of a primary-to-secondary leaking safety procedure in a nuclear power plant using coloured Petri nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemeth, E.; Bartha, T.; Fazekas, Cs.; Hangos, K.M.

2009-01-01

This paper deals with formal and simulation-based verification methods of a PRImary-to-SEcondary leaking (abbreviated as PRISE) safety procedure. The PRISE safety procedure controls the draining of the contaminated water in a faulty steam generator when a non-compensable leaking from the primary to the secondary circuit occurs. Because of the discrete nature of the verification, a Coloured Petri Net (CPN) representation is proposed for both the procedure and the plant model. We have proved by using a non-model-based strategy that the PRISE safety procedure is safe, there are no dead markings in the state space, and all transitions are live; being either impartial or fair. Further analysis results have been obtained using a model-based verification approach. We created a simple, low dimensional, nonlinear dynamic model of the primary circuit in a VVER-type pressurized water nuclear power plant for the purpose of the model-based verification. This is in contrast to the widely used safety analysis that requires an accurate detailed model. Our model also describes the relevant safety procedures, as well as all of the major leaking-type faults. We propose a novel method to transform this model to a CPN form by discretization. The composed plant and PRISE safety procedure system has also been analysed by simulation using CPN analysis tools. We found by the model-based analysis-using both single and multiple faults-that the PRISE safety procedure initiates the draining when the PRISE event occurs, and no false alarm will be initiated

The Challenges of Electronic Health Records and Diabetes Electronic Prescribing: Implications for Safety Net Care for Diverse Populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neda Ratanawongsa

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Widespread electronic health record (EHR implementation creates new challenges in the diabetes care of complex and diverse populations, including safe medication prescribing for patients with limited health literacy and limited English proficiency. This review highlights how the EHR electronic prescribing transformation has affected diabetes care for vulnerable patients and offers recommendations for improving patient safety through EHR electronic prescribing design, implementation, policy, and research. Specifically, we present evidence for (1 the adoption of RxNorm; (2 standardized naming and picklist options for high alert medications such as insulin; (3 the widespread implementation of universal medication schedule and language-concordant labels, with the expansion of electronic prescription 140-character limit; (4 enhanced bidirectional communication with pharmacy partners; and (5 informatics and implementation research in safety net healthcare systems to examine how EHR tools and practices affect diverse vulnerable populations.

Diabetes Health Information Technology Innovation to Improve Quality of Life for Health Plan Members in Urban Safety Net

Science.gov (United States)

Ratanawongsa, Neda; Handley, Margaret A.; Sarkar, Urmimala; Quan, Judy; Pfeifer, Kelly; Soria, Catalina; Schillinger, Dean

2014-01-01

Safety net systems need innovative diabetes self-management programs for linguistically diverse patients. A low-income government-sponsored managed care plan implemented a 27-week automated telephone self-management support (ATSM) / health coaching intervention for English, Spanish-, and Cantonese-speaking members from four publicly-funded clinics in a practice-based research network. Compared to waitlist, immediate intervention participants had greater 6-month improvements in overall diabetes self-care behaviors (standardized effect size [ES] 0.29, pimproving patient-reported self-management and may also improve some outcomes. PMID:24594561

Establishing benchmarks for the management of elevated liver enzymes and/or dilated biliary trees in an urban safety net hospital: analysis of 915 subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Laindy; Cripps, Michael W; Riggle, Andrew J; Wolf, Steven E; Nakonezny, Paul A; Phelan, Herb A

2015-12-01

The push for public reporting of outcomes necessitates relevant benchmarks for disease states across different settings. This study establishes benchmarks for choledocholithiasis management in a safety net hospital setting. We reviewed all patients admitted to our acute care surgery service with biochemical evidence of choledocholithiasis who underwent same-admission cholecystectomy (CCY) between July 2012 and December 2013. During this 18-month period, 915 patients were admitted with biochemical evidence of choledocholithiasis. Descriptive statistics for the cohort are provided, which include a 51% rate of obesity and 95% rate of pathologic cholecystitis. Conversion rates of 4% and complication rates of 6% were found. The majority had a CCY without biliary imaging (n = 630, 68.9%). Relevant benchmarks are characterized, and results of a practice pattern of omitting pre- or intraoperative biliary tree imaging are described. These findings serve as a first benchmark of choledocholithiasis management for urban safety net hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Activation of TZM and stainless steel divertor materials in the NET fusion machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cepraga, D.G.; Menapace, E.; Cambi, G.; Ciattaglia, S.; Petrizzi, L.; Cavallone, G.; Costa, M.; Broccoli, U.

1994-01-01

This paper presents the results of the activation and decay heat calculations for the divertor plate materials of the Next European Torus (NET). The basic option assessed enables molybdenum alloy TZM and AISI 316L as material for divertor cooling channels. Burn time, effective irradiation time history, and fluence dependence on activation, decay heat, and contact dose is assessed. Impact of the material impurity level on the radioactive inventory is also investigated. The ANITA code is used, with updated cross sections and decay data libraries based on EFF-2 and EAF-3 evaluation files. The flux-weighted spectrum provided by XSDRNPM or ANISN 1-D codes has been used. The real NET geometry was modelled with the 3-D MCNP Monte Carlo neutron transport code. ((orig.))

Activation of TZM and stainless steel divertor materials in the NET fusion machine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cepraga, D G [ENEA, INN-FIS, 8 Viale Ercolani, 40138, Bologna (Italy); Menapace, E [ENEA, INN-FIS, 8 Viale Ercolani, 40138, Bologna (Italy); Cambi, G [Bologna University, Physics Department, 33 Via Irnerio, 40126, Bologna (Italy); Ciattaglia, S [ENEA, NUC-FUS, 27 Via E. Fermi, 00044, Frascati (Italy); Petrizzi, L [ENEA, NUC-FUS, 27 Via E. Fermi, 00044, Frascati (Italy); Cavallone, G [NIER S.r.l., 16 Via S. Stefano, 40125, Bologna (Italy); Costa, M [NIER S.r.l., 16 Via S. Stefano, 40125, Bologna (Italy); Broccoli, U [ENEA, NUC-RIN, 4 Via Martiri del Sole, 40100, Bologna (Italy)

1994-09-01

This paper presents the results of the activation and decay heat calculations for the divertor plate materials of the Next European Torus (NET). The basic option assessed enables molybdenum alloy TZM and AISI 316L as material for divertor cooling channels. Burn time, effective irradiation time history, and fluence dependence on activation, decay heat, and contact dose is assessed. Impact of the material impurity level on the radioactive inventory is also investigated. The ANITA code is used, with updated cross sections and decay data libraries based on EFF-2 and EAF-3 evaluation files. The flux-weighted spectrum provided by XSDRNPM or ANISN 1-D codes has been used. The real NET geometry was modelled with the 3-D MCNP Monte Carlo neutron transport code. ((orig.))

Regulatory Activities for Licensee's Safety Culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Young Sung; Choi, Kwang Sik

2008-01-01

Weaknesses in safety culture have contributed to a number of incidents/accidents in the nuclear and other high hazard sectors worldwide in the past. These events have fostered an increasing awareness of the need for licensees to develop a strong safety culture to support successful and sustainable nuclear safety performance. Regulatory bodies are taking a growing interest in this issue, and several are actively working to develop and implement approaches to maintaining regulatory oversight of licensee safety culture. However, these approaches are not yet well-established, and it was considered prudent to share experiences and developing methodologies in order to disseminate good practices and avoid potential pitfalls. This paper presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of international meetings and other countries' activities on safety culture and gives some suggestions for regulators to consider when planning regulatory oversight for licensee's safety culture

An Analysis of the Role of Social Safety Net Scholarships in Reducing School Drop-Out during the Indonesian Economic Crisis. Innocenti Working Papers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Lisa A.

This paper uses regression and matching techniques to evaluate Indonesia's Social Safety Net Scholarships Programme. The scholarships program was developed to try to prevent large numbers of children from dropping out of school as a result of the Asian financial crisis. The expectation was that many families would find it difficult to keep their…

A Pilot Program Integrating Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Screening into an Outpatient Endoscopy Unit Improves HBV Screening Among an Ethnically Diverse Safety-Net Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Brendan; Lopez, Aristeo; Liu, Benny; Bhuket, Taft; Wong, Robert J

2018-01-01

Safety-net hospitals are enriched in ethnic minorities and provide opportunities for high-impact hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening. We aim to evaluate the impact of a pilot program integrating HBV screening into outpatient endoscopy among urban safety-net populations. From July 2015 to May 2017, consecutive adults undergoing outpatient endoscopy were prospectively assessed for HBV screening eligibility using US Preventative Services Task Force guidelines. Rates of prior HBV screening were assessed, and those eligible but not screened were offered HBV testing. Multivariate logistic regression models evaluated predictors of test acceptance among eligible patients. Among 1557 patients (47.1% male, 69.4% foreign born), 65.1% were eligible for HBV screening, among which 24.5% received prior screening. In our pilot screening program in the endoscopy unit, 91.4% (n = 855) of eligible patients accepted HBV testing. However, only 55.3% (n = 415) of those that accepted actually completed HBV testing. While there was a trend toward higher rates of test acceptance among African-Americans compared to non-Hispanic whites (OR 3.31, 95% CI 0.96-11.38, p = 0.06), no other sex-specific or race/ethnicity-specific disparities in HBV test acceptance were observed. Among those who completed HBV testing, we identified 10 new patients with chronic HBV (2.4% prevalence). Only 24.5% of eligible patients received prior HBV screening among our cohort. Our pilot program integrating HBV screening into outpatient endoscopy successfully tested an additional 415 patients, improving overall HBV screening from 24.5 to 75.6%. Integrating HBV testing into non-traditional settings has potential to bridge the gap in HBV screening among safety-net systems.

FiberNet--a new embolic protection device for carotid artery stenting.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, C; Franke, J; Bertog, S C; Woerner, V; Ghasemzadeh-Asl, S; Sievert, H

2014-05-01

Though distal filter protection during carotid stenting reduces the risk of cerebrovascular events, periprocedural stroke remains a risk despite their broad usage. This observation may be related to the pore size of common filters. The FiberNet distal filter system is unique by its very small pore size (40 µm) as well as its low profile and flexibility. Little data is available regarding the clinical performance and safety of this device. The aim was the evaluation of the safety of the FiberNet embolic protection system during carotid artery stenting. All consecutive patients treated with carotid stenting at our institution using the FiberNet device were systematically followed. Primary endpoint was the rate of all death and stroke within 30 days of the procedure. Carotid artery stenting using the FiberNet embolic protection system was performed in 54 patients. The procedure was technical successful in all patients. Three patients (5.5%) had a TIA. Amauosis fugax occurred in two patients (3.7%). One patient (1.9%) had a minor stroke with hemiparesis of the left arm and face which resolved completely within 48 hr after the procedure. No patient died or suffered a major stroke. The safety and feasibility of the FiberNet distal protection system appears to be at least equivalent to that reported in studies using conventional distal filter protection. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modelling human factor with Petri nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedreaga, Luminita; Constantinescu, Cristina; Guzun, Basarab

2007-01-01

The human contribution to risk and safety of nuclear power plant operation can be best understood, assessed and quantified using tools to evaluate human reliability. Human reliability analysis becomes an important part of every probabilistic safety assessment and it is used to demonstrate that nuclear power plants designed with different safety levels are prepared to cope with severe accidents. Human reliability analysis in context of probabilistic safety assessment consists in: identifying human-system interactions important to safety; quantifying probabilities appropriate with these interactions. Nowadays, the complex system functions can be modelled using special techniques centred either on states space adequate to system or on events appropriate to the system. Knowing that complex system model consists in evaluating the likelihood of success, in other words, in evaluating the possible value for that system being in some state, the inductive methods which are based on the system states can be applied also for human reliability modelling. Thus, switching to the system states taking into account the human interactions, the underlying basis of the Petri nets can be successfully applied and the likelihoods appropriate to these states can also derived. The paper presents the manner to assess the human reliability quantification using Petri nets approach. The example processed in the paper is from human reliability documentation without a detailed human factor analysis (qualitative). The obtained results by these two kinds of methods are in good agreement. (authors)

Risk communication activities toward nuclear safety in Tokai: your safety is our safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchiya, T.

2007-01-01

As several decades have passed since the construction of nuclear power plants began, residents have become gradually less interested in nuclear safety. The Tokai criticality accident in 1909, however, had roused residents in Tokai-Mura to realize that they live with nuclear technology risks. To prepare a field of risk communication, the Tokai-Mura C 3 project began as a pilot research project supported by NISA. Alter the project ended, we are continuing risk. communication activities as a non-profit organisation. The most important activity of C 3 project is the citizen's inspection programme for nuclear related facilities. This programme was decided by participants who voluntarily applied to the project. The concept of the citizen's inspection programme is 'not the usual facility tours'. Participants are involved from the planning stage and continue to communicate with workers of the inspected nuclear facility. Since 2003, we have conducted six programmes for five nuclear related organisations. Participants evaluated that radiation protection measures were near good but there were some problems concerning the worker's safety and safety culture, and proposed a mixture of advice based on personal experience. Some advice was accepted and it did improve the facility's safety measures. Other suggestions were not agreed upon by nuclear organisations. The reason lies in the difference of concept between the nuclear expert's 'safety' and the citizen's 'safety'. Residents do not worry about radiation only, but also about the facility's safety as a whole including the worker's safety. They say, 'If the workers are not safe, you also are unable to protect us'. Although the disagreement remained, the participants and the nuclear industry learned much about each other. Participating citizens received a substantial amount of knowledge about the nuclear industry and its safety measures, and feel the credibility and openness of the nuclear industry. On the other hand, the nuclear

A business planning model to identify new safety net clinic locations.

Science.gov (United States)

Langabeer, James; Helton, Jeffrey; DelliFraine, Jami; Dotson, Ebbin; Watts, Carolyn; Love, Karen

2014-01-01

Community health clinics serving the poor and underserved are geographically expanding due to changes in U.S. health care policy. This paper describes the experience of a collaborative alliance of health care providers in a large metropolitan area who develop a conceptual and mathematical decision model to guide decisions on expanding its network of community health clinics. Community stakeholders participated in a collaborative process that defined constructs they deemed important in guiding decisions on the location of community health clinics. This collaboration also defined key variables within each construct. Scores for variables within each construct were then totaled and weighted into a community-specific optimal space planning equation. This analysis relied entirely on secondary data available from published sources. The model built from this collaboration revolved around the constructs of demand, sustainability, and competition. It used publicly available data defining variables within each construct to arrive at an optimal location that maximized demand and sustainability and minimized competition. This is a model that safety net clinic planners and community stakeholders can use to analyze demographic and utilization data to optimize capacity expansion to serve uninsured and Medicaid populations. Communities can use this innovative model to develop a locally relevant clinic location-planning framework.

Safety culture activities in HANARO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, I. C.; Park, C.; Hwang, S. R.; Choi, H. Y.; Jeon, B. J.

2002-01-01

The yearly operation time and the number of users in HANARO are increasing since its initial criticality has been achieved in 1995. This achievement is partly in debt to the spread of safety culture to operators and reactor users. In this paper, the activities done by the reactor operation organization on safety culture are described, and their further efforts identified to be necessary for the improvement and dissemination of safety culture and are presented

Neutron activation behavior of NET/ITER divertor structural materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smid, I.; Weimann, G.; Kny, E.; Kneringer, G.; Reheis, N.

1995-01-01

The post-activation behavior of the materials carbon, TZM (99.3 % Mo) and Mo.41Re, as well as of high temperature brazes suitable for their joining after irradiation with 14 MeV neutrons has been evaluated. The activity, dose rate and energy generation after exposure to an ignited fusion plasma is presented for various time steps after shutdown. The impact of the activity and the afterheat production on the handling and storage conditions of retired divertor components is simulated, the required protection for maintenance is discussed. Further the temperature of stored divertor elements after a full time operation in NET was calculated. No major afterheat production will occur and thus no special cooling is to be provided after approximately one month. Taking into account convection and radiation the equilibrium temperature of vertically stored environment/aircooled divertor elements is predicted to be approximately 100 degree C. (author)

IAEA activities on research reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcala-Ruiz, F.

1995-01-01

Since its inception in 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has included activities in its programme to address aspects of research reactors such as safety, utilization and fuel cycle considerations. These activities were based on statutory functions and responsibilities, and on the current situation of research reactors in operation around the world; they responded to IAEA Member States' general or specific demands. At present, the IAEA activities on research reactors cover the above aspects and respond to specific and current issues, amongst which safety-related are of major concern to Member States. The present IAEA Research Reactor Safety Programme (RRSP) is a response to the current situation of about 300 research reactors in operation in 59 countries around the world. (orig.)

Innovative Strategies Designed to Improve Adult Pneumococcal Immunizations in Safety Net Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Nina J; Sklaroff, Laura Myerchin; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Hoang, Khathy; Tran, Helen; Campa, David; Scheib, Geoffrey; Guterman, Jeffrey J

2016-08-01

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a principal cause of serious illness, including bacteremia, meningitis, and pneumonia, worldwide. Pneumococcal immunization is proven to reduce morbidity and mortality in high-risk adult and elderly populations. Current pneumococcal vaccination practices are suboptimal in part because of recommendation complexity, the high cost of provider-driven immunization interventions, and outreach methods that are not patient-centric. These barriers are amplified within the safety net. This paper identifies efforts by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to increase pneumococcal immunization rates for adult indigent patient populations. A 4-part approach will be used to increase vaccination rates: (1) protocol driven care, (2) staff education, (3) electronic identification of eligible patients, and (4) automated patient outreach and scheduling. The proposed analytics plan and potential for scalability are described. (Population Health Management 2016;19:240-247).

A Cost Analysis of Hospitalizations for Infections Related to Injection Drug Use at a County Safety-Net Hospital in Miami, Florida

OpenAIRE

Tookes, Hansel; Diaz, Chanelle; Li, Hua; Khalid, Rafi; Doblecki-Lewis, Susanne

2015-01-01

Background Infections related to injection drug use are common. Harm reduction strategies such as syringe exchange programs and skin care clinics aim to prevent these infections in injection drug users (IDUs). Syringe exchange programs are currently prohibited by law in Florida. The goal of this study was to estimate the mortality and cost of injection drug use-related bacterial infections over a 12-month period to the county safety-net hospital in Miami, Florida. Additionally, the prevalence...

Estimation of insecticide persistence, biological activity and mosquito resistance to PermaNet® 2 long-lasting insecticidal nets over three to 32 months of use in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Anshebo, Gedeon Yohannes; Graves, Patricia M; Smith, Stephen C; Wills, Aprielle B; Damte, Mesele; Endeshaw, Tekola; Shargie, Estifanos Biru; Gebre, Teshome; Mosher, Aryc W; Patterson, Amy E; Emerson, Paul M

2014-03-06

Information is needed on the expected durability of insecticidal nets under operational conditions. The persistence of insecticidal efficacy is important to estimate the median serviceable life of nets under field conditions and to plan for net replacement. Deltamethrin residue levels were evaluated by the proxy method of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry on 189 nets used for three to six months from nine sites, 220 nets used for 14-20 months from 11 sites, and 200 nets used for 26-32 months from ten sites in Ethiopia. A random sample of 16.5-20% of nets from each time period (total 112 of 609 nets) were tested by bioassay with susceptible mosquitoes, and nets used for 14-20 months and 26-32 months were also tested with wild caught mosquitoes. Mean insecticide levels estimated by X-ray fluorescence declined by 25.9% from baseline of 66.2 (SD 14.6) mg/m2 at three to six months to 44.1 (SD 21.2) mg/m2 at 14-20 months and by 30.8% to 41.1 (SD 18.9) mg/m2 at 26-32 months. More than 95% of nets retained greater than 10 mg/m2 of deltamethrin and over 79% had at least 25 mg/m2 at all time periods. By bioassay with susceptible Anopheles, mortality averaged 89.0% on 28 nets tested at three to six months, 93.3% on 44 nets at 14-20 months and 94.1% on 40 nets at 26-32 months. With wild caught mosquitoes, mortality averaged 85.4% (range 79.1 to 91.7%) at 14-20 months but had dropped significantly to 47.2% (39.8 to 54.7%) at 26-32 months. Insecticide residue level, as estimated by X-ray fluorescence, declined by about one third between three and six months and 14-20 months, but remained relatively stable and above minimum requirements thereafter up to 26-32 months. The insecticidal activity of PermaNet® 2.0 long-lasting insecticidal nets in the specified study area may be considered effective to susceptible mosquitoes at least for the duration indicated in this study (32 months). However, results indicated that resistance in the wild population is already rendering nets with

IAEA activities in nuclear safety: future perspectives. Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, Madrid, 28 May 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ElBaradei, M.

1998-01-01

The document represents the conference given by the Director General of the IAEA at the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council in Madrid, on 28 May 1998, on Agency's activities in nuclear safety. The following aspects are emphasized: Agency's role in creating a legally binding nuclear safety regime, non-binding safety standards, services provided by the Agency to assist its Member States in the Application of safety standards, Agency's nuclear safety strategy, and future perspective concerning safety aspects related to radioactive wastes, residues of past nuclear activities, and security of radiological sources

Sub-optimal Testing and Awareness of HCV and HBV Among High Risk Individuals at an Underserved Safety-Net Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Robert J; Campbell, Brendan; Liu, Benny; Baden, Rachel; Bhuket, Taft

2018-02-01

Sub-optimal screening for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) among high risk groups delays diagnosis and treatment. We aimed to evaluate overall rates of HCV and HBV screening and patient knowledge of their testing result. Adults age ≥18 years undergoing elective outpatient endoscopy at a large, urban safety-net hospital from July 2015 to July 2016 were prospectively evaluated to determine rates of HCV and HBV testing, the results of those completed tests, and patient knowledge of test results among high risk individuals (as determined by U.S. Preventative Services Task Force). Among 1125 patients (52.3% male, 70.4% foreign-born), 66.5% were high risk for chronic HCV; only 30.9% received prior testing. 14.7% had positive chronic HCV infection. Patients born in the 1945-1965 cohort were more likely to have received prior HCV testing compared to those born outside of this cohort (32.7 vs. 16.9%, p = 0.01). Among patients who received HCV screening, 29.3% were aware of test results. Overall, 61.6% were high risk for chronic HBV; only 25.1% received prior testing. 4.1% were positive for chronic HBV. Compared to Caucasians, Asians (19.0 vs. 44.4%, p HBV testing. Among patients who received prior HBV screening, 18.4% were aware of test results. Less than one-third of high risk patients received HCV and HBV screening among an ethnically diverse safety-net population. Equally low rates of patient knowledge of testing results were observed.

Software hazard analysis for nuclear digital protection system by Colored Petri Net

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Tao; Chen, Wei-Hua; Liu, Zhen; Gao, Feng

2017-01-01

Highlights: •A dynamic hazard analysis method is proposed for the safety-critical software. •The mechanism relies on Colored Petri Net. •Complex interactions between software and hardware are captured properly. •Common failure mode in software are identified effectively. -- Abstract: The software safety of a nuclear digital protection system is critical for the safety of nuclear power plants as any software defect may result in severe damage. In order to ensure the safety and reliability of safety-critical digital system products and their applications, software hazard analysis is required to be performed during the lifecycle of software development. The dynamic software hazard modeling and analysis method based on Colored Petri Net is proposed and applied to the safety-critical control software of the nuclear digital protection system in this paper. The analysis results show that the proposed method can explain the complex interactions between software and hardware and identify the potential common cause failure in software properly and effectively. Moreover, the method can find the dominant software induced hazard to safety control actions, which aids in increasing software quality.

Research reactor management. Safety improvement activities in HANARO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jong-Sup; Jung, Hoan-Sung; Hong, Sung Taek; Ahn, Guk-Hoon

2012-01-01

Safety activities in HANARO have been continuously conducted to enhance its safe operation. Great effort has been placed on a normalization and improvement of the safety attitude of the regular staff and other employees working at the reactor and other experimental facilities. This paper introduces the activities on safety improvement that were performed over the last few years. (author)

Estimating dependability of programmable systems using bayesian belief nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gran, Bjoern Axel; Dahll, Gustav

2000-05-01

The research programme at the Halden Project on software safety assessment is augmented through a joint project with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS and Det Norske Veritas. The objective of this project is to investigate the possibility to combine the Bayesian Belief Net (BBN) methodology with a software safety standard. The report discusses software safety standards in general, with respect to how they can be used to measure software safety. The possibility to transfer the requirements of a software safety standard into a BBN is also investigated. The aim is to utilise the BBN methodology and associated tools, by transferring the software safety measurement into a probabilistic quantity. In this way software can be included in a total probabilistic safety analysis. This project was performed by applying the method for an evaluation of a real, safety related programmable system which was developed according to the avionic standard DO-178B. The test case, the standard, and the BBN methodology are shortly described. This is followed by a description of the construction of the BBN used in this project. This includes the topology of the BBN, the elicitation of probabilities and the making of observations. Based on this a variety of computations are made using the SERENE methodology and the HUGIN tool. Observations and conclusions are made on the basis of the findings from this process. This report should be considered as a progress report in a more long-term activity on the use of BBNs as support for safety assessment of programmable systems. (Author). 23 refs., 9 figs., tabs

Combining Costs and Benefits of Animal Activities to Assess Net Yield Outcomes in Apple Orchards.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Manu E; Luck, Gary W

2016-01-01

Diverse animal communities influence ecosystem function in agroecosystems through positive and negative plant-animal interactions. Yet, past research has largely failed to examine multiple interactions that can have opposing impacts on agricultural production in a given context. We collected data on arthropod communities and yield quality and quantity parameters (fruit set, yield loss and net outcomes) in three major apple-growing regions in south-eastern Australia. We quantified the net yield outcome (accounting for positive and negative interactions) of multiple animal activities (pollination, fruit damage, biological control) across the entire growing season on netted branches, which excluded vertebrate predators of arthropods, and open branches. Net outcome was calculated as the number of undamaged fruit at harvest as a proportion of the number of blossoms (i.e., potential fruit yield). Vertebrate exclusion resulted in lower levels of fruit set and higher levels of arthropod damage to apples, but did not affect net outcomes. Yield quality and quantity parameters (fruit set, yield loss, net outcomes) were not directly associated with arthropod functional groups. Model variance and significant differences between the ratio of pest to beneficial arthropods between regions indicated that complex relationships between environmental factors and multiple animal interactions have a combined effect on yield. Our results show that focusing on a single crop stage, species group or ecosystem function/service can overlook important complexity in ecological processes within the system. Accounting for this complexity and quantifying the net outcome of ecological interactions within the system, is more informative for research and management of biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes.

IAEA activities in the field of research reactors safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciuculescu, C.; Boado Magan, H.J.

2004-01-01

IAEA activities in the field of research reactor safety are included in the programme of the Division of Nuclear Installations Safety. Following the objectives of the Division, the results of the IAEA missions and the recommendations from International Advisory Groups, the IAEA has conducted in recent years a certain number of activities aiming to enhance the safety of research reactors. The following activities will be presented: (a) the new Requirements for the Safety of Research Reactors, main features and differences with previous standards (SS-35-S1 and SS-35-S2) and the grading approach for implementation; (b) new documents being developed (safety guides, safety reports and TECDOC's); (c) activities related to the Incident Reporting System for Research Reactor (IRSRR); (d) the new features implemented for the INSARR missions; (e) the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors adopted by the Board of Governors on 8 March 2004, following the General Conference Resolution GC(45)/RES/10; and (f) the survey on the safety of research reactors published on the IAEA website on February 2003 and the results obtained. (author)

A Patient Navigator Intervention to Reduce Hospital Readmissions among High-Risk Safety-Net Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Balaban, Richard B; Galbraith, Alison A; Burns, Marguerite E; Vialle-Valentin, Catherine E; Larochelle, Marc R; Ross-Degnan, Dennis

2015-07-01

Evidence-based interventions to reduce hospital readmissions may not generalize to resource-constrained safety-net hospitals. To determine if an intervention by patient navigators (PNs), hospital-based Community Health Workers, reduces readmissions among high risk, low socioeconomic status patients. Randomized controlled trial. General medicine inpatients having at least one of the following readmission risk factors: (1) age ≥60 years, (2) any in-network inpatient admission within the past 6 months, (3) length of stay ≥3 days, (4) admission diagnosis of heart failure, or (5) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The analytic sample included 585 intervention patients and 925 controls. PNs provided coaching and assistance in navigating the transition from hospital to home through hospital visits and weekly telephone outreach, supporting patients for 30 days post-discharge with discharge preparation, medication management, scheduling of follow-up appointments, communication with primary care, and symptom management. The primary outcome was in-network 30-day hospital readmissions. Secondary outcomes included rates of outpatient follow-up. We evaluated outcomes for the entire cohort and stratified by patient age >60 years (425 intervention/584 controls) and ≤60 years (160 intervention/341 controls). Overall, 30-day readmission rates did not differ between intervention and control patients. However, the two age groups demonstrated marked differences. Intervention patients >60 years showed a statistically significant adjusted absolute 4.1% decrease [95% CI: -8.0%, -0.2%] in readmission with an increase in 30-day outpatient follow-up. Intervention patients ≤60 years showed a statistically significant adjusted absolute 11.8% increase [95% CI: 4.4%, 19.0%] in readmission with no change in 30-day outpatient follow-up. A patient navigator intervention among high risk, safety-net patients decreased readmission among older patients while increasing readmissions

State Space Methods for Timed Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Søren; Jensen, Kurt; Mailund, Thomas

2001-01-01

it possible to condense the usually infinite state space of a timed Petri net into a finite condensed state space without loosing analysis power. The second method supports on-the-fly verification of certain safety properties of timed systems. We discuss the application of the two methods in a number......We present two recently developed state space methods for timed Petri nets. The two methods reconciles state space methods and time concepts based on the introduction of a global clock and associating time stamps to tokens. The first method is based on an equivalence relation on states which makes...

Impact of a Patient Navigator Program on Hospital-Based and Outpatient Utilization Over 180 Days in a Safety-Net Health System.

Science.gov (United States)

Balaban, Richard B; Zhang, Fang; Vialle-Valentin, Catherine E; Galbraith, Alison A; Burns, Marguerite E; Larochelle, Marc R; Ross-Degnan, Dennis

2017-09-01

With emerging global payment structures, medical systems need to understand longer-term impacts of care transition strategies. To determine the effect of a care transition program using patient navigators (PNs) on health service utilization among high-risk safety-net patients over a 180-day period. Randomized controlled trial conducted October 2011 through April 2013. Patients admitted to the general medicine service with ≥1 readmission risk factor: (1) age ≥ 60; (2) in-network inpatient admission within prior 6 months; (3) index length of stay ≥ 3 days; or (4) admission diagnosis of heart failure or (5) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The analytic sample included 739 intervention patients, 1182 controls. Through hospital visits and 30 days of post-discharge telephone outreach, PNs provided coaching and assistance with medications, appointments, transportation, communication with primary care, and self-care. Primary outcomes: (1) hospital-based utilization, a composite of ED visits and hospital admissions; (2) hospital admissions; (3) ED visits; and (4) outpatient visits. We evaluated outcomes following an index discharge, stratified by patient age (≥ 60 and safety-net patients differentially impacted patients based on age, and among younger patients, outcomes varied over time. Our findings highlight the importance for future research to evaluate care transition programs among different subpopulations and over longer time periods.

Health Services Utilization Among Fee-for-Service Medicare and Medicaid Patients Under Age 65 with Behavioral Health Illness at an Urban Safety Net Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Cancino, Ramon S; Jack, Brian W; Jarvis, John; Cummings, Alice Kate; Cooper, Ellie; Cremieux, Pierre-Yves; Burgess, James F

2017-07-01

In 2011, fee-for-service patients with both Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible) sustained $319.5 billion in health care costs. To describe the emergency department (ED) use and hospital admissions of adult dual eligible patients aged under 65 years who used an urban safety net hospital. This was a retrospective database analysis of patients aged between 18 and 65 years with Medicare and Medicaid, who used an urban safety net academic health center between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011. We compared patients with and without behavioral health illness. The main outcome measures were hospital admission and ED use. Chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used for descriptive statistics on categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Greedy propensity score matching was used to control for confounding factors. Rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were determined after matching and after adjusting for those variables that remained significantly different after matching. In 2011, 10% of all fee-for-service dual eligible patients aged less than 65 years in Massachusetts were seen at Boston Medical Center. Data before propensity score matching showed significant differences in age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, employment, physical comorbidities, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score between patients with and without behavioral health illness. Analysis after propensity score matching found significant differences in sex, Hispanic race, and other education and employment status. Compared with patients without behavioral health illness, patients with behavioral health illness had a higher RR for hospital admissions (RR = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.81-2.38; P fee-for-service plan had significantly higher rates of hospital admission and ED use compared with dual eligible patients without behavioral health illness at the largest urban safety net medical center in New England. Safety net hospitals care for a large proportion of dual

The NordiNet® International Outcome Study and NovoNet® ANSWER Program®: rationale, design, and methodology of two international pharmacoepidemiological registry-based studies monitoring long-term clinical and safety outcomes of growth hormone therapy (Norditropin®).

Science.gov (United States)

Höybye, Charlotte; Sävendahl, Lars; Christesen, Henrik Thybo; Lee, Peter; Pedersen, Birgitte Tønnes; Schlumpf, Michael; Germak, John; Ross, Judith

2013-01-01

Randomized controlled trials have shown that growth hormone (GH) therapy has effects on growth, metabolism, and body composition. GH therapy is prescribed for children with growth failure and adults with GH deficiency. Carefully conducted observational study of GH treatment affords the opportunity to assess long-term treatment outcomes and the clinical factors and variables affecting those outcomes, in patients receiving GH therapy in routine clinical practice. The NordiNet® International Outcome Study (IOS) and the American Norditropin® Web Enabled Research (ANSWER Program®) are two complementary, non-interventional, observational studies that adhere to current guidelines for pharmacoepidemiological data. The studies include pediatric and adult patients receiving Norditropin®, as prescribed by their physicians. The studies gather long-term data on the safety and effectiveness of reallife treatment with the recombinant human GH, Norditropin®. We describe the origins, aims, objectives, and design methodology of the studies, as well as their governance and validity, strengths, and limitations. The NordiNet® IOS and ANSWER Program® studies will provide valid insights into the effectiveness and safety of GH treatment across a diverse and large patient population treated in accordance with real-world clinical practice and following the Good Pharmacoepidemiological Practice and STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.

Child access to the nutritional safety net during and after the Great Recession: The case of WIC.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Margot I; Mayne, Patrick

2016-12-01

Because children disproportionately live in poverty, they are especially vulnerable during economic crises, making the social safety net a key buffer against the effects of economic disadvantage on their development. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 had strong and lasting effects on American children and families, including striking negative effects on their health environments. Understanding access to the health safety net during this time of increased economic need, as well as the extent to which all children-regardless of age, income or race/ethnicity-share in the increased use of transfer programs, is therefore important in identifying the availability and accessibility of government assistance for those in need. Focusing on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program because of its strong effects on child development, we use longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine change and stability in children's WIC enrollment before, during and after the recession. Specifically, we examine: 1) whether children's WIC enrollment increased alongside changing family income, and 2) the extent to which changes in participation were shared by all subpopulations, regardless of age, income, and race/ethnicity. Analyses reveal that WIC participation among eligible children increased leading up to, during, and after the Great Recession, suggesting that the program was responsive to increasing economic need. Examining the distribution of WIC enrollment across demographic groups largely reveals a pattern of stable inequality in access and "take up." Children born to poorer and less-educated mothers were more likely to be enrolled prior to the recession, and these differences remain mostly constant during and after the recession. Eligible Hispanic children had consistently higher enrollment, particularly among those in families with foreign-born mothers. The findings suggest that not all

Study protocol for "Study of Practices Enabling Implementation and Adaptation in the Safety Net (SPREAD-NET)": a pragmatic trial comparing implementation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Rachel; Hollombe, Celine; Bunce, Arwen; Nelson, Christine; Davis, James V; Cowburn, Stuart; Perrin, Nancy; DeVoe, Jennifer; Mossman, Ned; Boles, Bruce; Horberg, Michael; Dearing, James W; Jaworski, Victoria; Cohen, Deborah; Smith, David

2015-10-16

Little research has directly compared the effectiveness of implementation strategies in any setting, and we know of no prior trials directly comparing how effectively different combinations of strategies support implementation in community health centers. This paper outlines the protocol of the Study of Practices Enabling Implementation and Adaptation in the Safety Net (SPREAD-NET), a trial designed to compare the effectiveness of several common strategies for supporting implementation of an intervention and explore contextual factors that impact the strategies' effectiveness in the community health center setting. This cluster-randomized trial compares how three increasingly hands-on implementation strategies support adoption of an evidence-based diabetes quality improvement intervention in 29 community health centers, managed by 12 healthcare organizations. The strategies are as follows: (arm 1) a toolkit, presented in paper and electronic form, which includes a training webinar; (arm 2) toolkit plus in-person training with a focus on practice change and change management strategies; and (arm 3) toolkit, in-person training, plus practice facilitation with on-site visits. We use a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis: (i) baseline surveys on study clinic characteristics, to explore how these characteristics impact the clinics' ability to implement the tools and the effectiveness of each implementation strategy; (ii) quantitative data on change in rates of guideline-concordant prescribing; and (iii) qualitative data on the "how" and "why" underlying the quantitative results. The outcomes of interest are clinic-level results, categorized using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, within an interrupted time-series design with segmented regression models. This pragmatic trial will compare how well each implementation strategy works in "real-world" practices. Having a better understanding of how different

Experiments and simulation of a net closing mechanism for tether-net capture of space debris

Science.gov (United States)

Sharf, Inna; Thomsen, Benjamin; Botta, Eleonora M.; Misra, Arun K.

2017-10-01

This research addresses the design and testing of a debris containment system for use in a tether-net approach to space debris removal. The tether-net active debris removal involves the ejection of a net from a spacecraft by applying impulses to masses on the net, subsequent expansion of the net, the envelopment and capture of the debris target, and the de-orbiting of the debris via a tether to the chaser spacecraft. To ensure a debris removal mission's success, it is important that the debris be successfully captured and then, secured within the net. To this end, we present a concept for a net closing mechanism, which we believe will permit consistently successful debris capture via a simple and unobtrusive design. This net closing system functions by extending the main tether connecting the chaser spacecraft and the net vertex to the perimeter and around the perimeter of the net, allowing the tether to actuate closure of the net in a manner similar to a cinch cord. A particular embodiment of the design in a laboratory test-bed is described: the test-bed itself is comprised of a scaled-down tether-net, a supporting frame and a mock-up debris. Experiments conducted with the facility demonstrate the practicality of the net closing system. A model of the net closure concept has been integrated into the previously developed dynamics simulator of the chaser/tether-net/debris system. Simulations under tether tensioning conditions demonstrate the effectiveness of the closure concept for debris containment, in the gravity-free environment of space, for a realistic debris target. The on-ground experimental test-bed is also used to showcase its utility for validating the dynamics simulation of the net deployment, and a full-scale automated setup would make possible a range of validation studies of other aspects of a tether-net debris capture mission.

Safety Oversight of Decommissioning Activities at DOE Nuclear Sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zull, Lawrence M.; Yeniscavich, William

2008-01-01

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (Board) is an independent federal agency established by Congress in 1988 to provide nuclear safety oversight of activities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defense nuclear facilities. The activities under the Board's jurisdiction include the design, construction, startup, operation, and decommissioning of defense nuclear facilities at DOE sites. This paper reviews the Board's safety oversight of decommissioning activities at DOE sites, identifies the safety problems observed, and discusses Board initiatives to improve the safety of decommissioning activities at DOE sites. The decommissioning of former defense nuclear facilities has reduced the risk of radioactive material contamination and exposure to the public and site workers. In general, efforts to perform decommissioning work at DOE defense nuclear sites have been successful, and contractors performing decommissioning work have a good safety record. Decommissioning activities have recently been completed at sites identified for closure, including the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, the Fernald Closure Project, and the Miamisburg Closure Project (the Mound site). The Rocky Flats and Fernald sites, which produced plutonium parts and uranium materials for defense needs (respectively), have been turned into wildlife refuges. The Mound site, which performed R and D activities on nuclear materials, has been converted into an industrial and technology park called the Mound Advanced Technology Center. The DOE Office of Legacy Management is responsible for the long term stewardship of these former EM sites. The Board has reviewed many decommissioning activities, and noted that there are valuable lessons learned that can benefit both DOE and the contractor. As part of its ongoing safety oversight responsibilities, the Board and its staff will continue to review the safety of DOE and contractor decommissioning activities at DOE defense nuclear sites

Periodic safety review of the experimental fast reactor JOYO. Review of the activity for safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, Yukimoto; Kashimura, Youichi; Suzuki, Toshiaki; Isozaki, Kazunori; Hoshiba, Hideaki; Kitamura, Ryoichi; Nakano, Tomoyuki; Takamatsu, Misao; Sekine, Takashi

2005-02-01

Periodic safety review (Review of the activity for safety) which consisted of 'Comprehensive evaluation of operation experience' and Incorporation of the latest technical knowledge' was carried out up to January 2005. 1. Comprehensive evaluation of operation experience. It was confirmed that the effectual activities for safety through the operation of JOYO were carried out in terms of (1) Operation management, (2) Maintenance management, (3) Fuel management, (4) Radiation management, (5) Radioactive waste management, (6) Emergency planning and (7) Feedback of incidents and failures. 2. Reflection of the latest technical knowledge. It was confirmed that the latest technical knowledge including regulation and guide line established by Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan until March 31st. 2003 were properly reflected in impressing the safety of the reactor. As a result, it was evaluated that the activity for safety was carried out effectually, and no additional measure was identified continual safe operation of the reactor. (author)

Introducing standardized “readbacks” to improve patient safety in surgery: a prospective survey in 92 providers at a public safety-net hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prabhakar Hari

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Communication breakdowns represent the main root cause of preventable complications which lead to harm to surgical patients. Standardized readbacks have been successfully implemented as a main pillar of professional aviation safety for decades, to ensure a safe closed-loop communication between air traffic control and individual pilots. The present study was designed to determine the perception of staff in perioperative services regarding the role of standardized readbacks for improving patient safety in surgery at a single public safety-net hospital and level 1 trauma center. Methods A 12-item questionnaire was sent to 180 providers in perioperative services at Denver Health Medical Center. The survey was designed to determine the individual participants’ perception of (1 appropriateness of current readback processes; (2 willingness to attend a future training module on this topic; (3 specific scenarios in which readbacks may be effective; and (4 perceived major barriers to the implementation of standardized readbacks. Survey results were compared between departments (surgery versus anesthesia and between specific staff roles (attending or midlevel provider, resident physician, nursing staff, using non-parametric tests. Results The response rate to the survey was 50.1 % (n = 92. Respondents overwhelmingly recognized the role of readbacks in reducing communication errors and improving patient safety. There was a strong agreement among respondents to support participation in a readbacks training program. There was no difference in the responses between the surgery and anesthesia departments. There was a statistically significant difference in the healthcare providers willingness to attend a short training module on readbacks (p  The main challenge for respondents, which emanated from their responses, appeared to relate to determining the ideal scenarios in which readbacks may be most appropriately used. Overall

NEA activities in safety and regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stadie, K.B.

1983-01-01

The NEA programme on Safety and Regulations is briefly reviewed. It encompasses four main areas - nuclear safety technology; nuclear licensing; radiation protection; and waste management - with three principal objectives: to promote exchanges of technical information in order to enlarge the data base for national decision making; to improve co-ordination of national R and D activities with emphasis on international standard problem exercises, and to promote international projects; to develop common technical, administrative and legal approaches to improve compatibility of safety and regulatory practices

Home closure as a weapon in the Dutch war on drugs: Does judicial review function as a safety net?

Science.gov (United States)

Bruijn, L Michelle; Vols, Michel; Brouwer, Jan G

2018-01-01

A widespread sense of a failing criminal justice system and increased feelings of insecurity changed the response to crime into a culture of control, which is characterized by policies that punish and exclude. In the Netherlands, these influences can be witnessed in the war on drugs where local authorities use their administrative power to close homes involved in drug-related crime. Citizens can invoke judicial review over these administrative interferences by claiming that such closure results in an unfair balance between purposes, means and consequences. This paper assesses whether judicial review functions as a safety net against losing one's home due to drug-related crime. We used doctrinal legal research methods to examine the "law in the books" and empirical legal research methods to analyse the "law in action". We used a survey to investigate how often the drug-related closure power was used in 2015, and we statistically analysed all published case law of Dutch lower courts between 2007 and 2016. The scope of the closure power broadened over the years and our data show that local authorities fiercely make use of this instrument. In 41.4% of the cases, citizens are successful in fighting the closure. While scholarly literature indicates that judicial courts function as safeguards by questioning the proportionality of administrative action, raising a proportionality defence does not necessarily result in a more favourable outcome for citizens. In fact, raising a proportionality defence makes it more likely to result in dismissal of the appeal. The stretched scope of the drug-related closure power together with the relatively low success rate of citizens who fight the loss of their home and a seemingly meaningless proportionality check show no sign of a safety net against the loss of one's home at the suit of a local authority. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recent Activities on Global Nuclear Safety Regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Kun-Woo; Park, Jeong-Seop; Kim, Do-Hyoung

2006-01-01

Recently, rapid progress on the globalization of the nuclear safety issues is being made in IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and its member states. With the globalization, the need for international cooperation among international bodies and member states continues to grow for resolving these universal nuclear safety issues. Furthermore, the importance of strengthening the global nuclear safety regime is emphasized through various means, such as efforts in application of IAEA safety standards to all nuclear installations in the world and in strengthening the code of conduct and the convention on nuclear safety. In this regards, it is important for us to keep up with the activities related with the global nuclear safety regime as an IAEA member state and a leading country in nuclear safety regulation

Keys to Successful Diabetes Self-Management for Uninsured Patients: Social Support, Observational Learning, and Turning Points A Safety Net Providers’ Strategic Alliance Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hanahan, Melissa A.; Werner, James J.; Tomsik, Phillip; Weirich, Stephen A.; Reichsman, Ann; Navracruz, Lisa; Clemons-Clark, Terri; Cella, Peggi; Terchek, Joshua; Munson, Michelle R.

2015-01-01

Objective To determine how medically uninsured patients with limited material resources successfully manage diabetes. Methods Clinicians at 5 safety net practices enrolled uninsured adult patients (N=26) with prior diagnosis of diabetes for 6 months or longer. Patients were interviewed about enabling factors, motivations, resources, and barriers. Chart reviews and clinician surveys supplemented interview data. Interview, survey, and chart review data were analyzed and findings were summarized. Results Two distinct groups of patients were investigated: 1) “successful,” defined as those with an HbA1c of ≤7% or a recent improvement of at least 2% (n=17); and 2) “unsuccessful,” defined as patients with HbA1c of ≥9% (n=9) without recent improvement. In comparison to unsuccessful patients, successful patients more often reported having friends or family with diabetes, sought information about the disease, used evidence-based self-management strategies, held an accurate perception of their own disease control, and experienced “turning point” events that motivated increased efforts in disease management. Conclusions Uninsured safety net patients who successfully managed diabetes learned from friends and family with diabetes and leveraged disease-related events into motivational turning points. It may be beneficial for clinicians to incorporate social learning and motivational enhancement into diabetes interventions to increase patients’ motivation for improved levels of self-management. PMID:21671529

Safety Cultures in Water-Based Outdoor Activities in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andkjær, Søren; Arvidsen, Jan

2015-01-01

In this paper, we report on the study Safe in Nature (Tryg i naturen) in which the aim was to analyze and discuss risk and safety related to outdoor recreation in the coastal regions of Denmark. A cultural perspective is applied to risk management and the safety cultures related to three selected...... water-based outdoor activities: small boat fishing, sea kayaking, and kite surfing. The theoretical framework used was cultural analysis and the methodological approach was mixed methods using case studies with survey and qualitative interviews. The study indicates that safety is a complex matter...... and that safety culture can be understood as the sum and interaction among six categories. The safety culture is closely related to the activity and differs widely among activities. We suggest a broad perspective be taken on risk management wherein risk and safety can be managed at different levels. Small boat...

Nuclear safety activities in SR Slovenia in 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-09-01

Currently Yugoslavia has one 632 MWe nuclear power plant of PWR design, located at Krsko in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia. NPP Krsko, which is a two-loop plant, started power operation in 1981. In general, reactor safety activities in SR Slovenia are mostly related to upgrading the safety of our NPP Krsko and to develop capabilities to be used for the future units. This report presents safety related organizations in SR Slovenia and their activities performed in 1985. (author)

Nuclear safety activities in SR Slovenia in 1985

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1986-09-15

Currently Yugoslavia has one 632 MWe nuclear power plant of PWR design, located at Krsko in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia. NPP Krsko, which is a two-loop plant, started power operation in 1981. In general, reactor safety activities in SR Slovenia are mostly related to upgrading the safety of our NPP Krsko and to develop capabilities to be used for the future units. This report presents safety related organizations in SR Slovenia and their activities performed in 1985. (author)

Current activities on safety improvement at Ukrainian NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stovbun, V.V.

2000-01-01

This report describes general development status of the national programs on safety improvement of the Ukrainian NPPs, basic approaches adopted for planning and implementation of safety improvement works, and state of implementation of principal technical activities aimed at safety improvement of Ukrainian NPPs. (author)

Criticality Safety Information Resource Center Web portal: www.csirc.net

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmon, C.D. II; Jones, T.

2000-01-01

The Nuclear Criticality Safety Group (ESH-6) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is in the process of collecting and archiving historical and technical information related to nuclear criticality safety from LANL and other facilities. In an ongoing effort, this information is being made available via the Criticality Safety Information Resource Center (CSIRC) web site, which is hosted and maintained by ESH-6 staff. Recently, the CSIRC Web site was recreated as a Web portal that provides the criticality safety community with much more than just archived data

Outcomes of polio eradication activities in Uttar Pradesh, India: the Social Mobilization Network (SM Net and Core Group Polio Project (CGPP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Singh Vibha

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The primary strategy to interrupt transmission of wild poliovirus in India is to improve supplemental immunization activities and routine immunization coverage in priority districts with a focus on 107 high-risk blocks of western Uttar Pradesh and central Bihar. Villages or urban areas with a history of wild poliovirus transmission, or hard-to-reach or resistant populations are categorized as high-risk areas within blocks. The Social Mobilization Network (SM Net was formed in Uttar Pradesh in 2003 to support polio eradication efforts through improved planning, implementation and monitoring of social mobilization activities in those high-risk areas. In this paper, we examine the vaccination outcomes in districts of SM Net where the CORE Group works. Methods We carried out a secondary data analysis of routine monitoring information collected by the SM Net and the Government of India. These data include information about vaccination outcomes in SM Net areas and non-SM Net areas within the districts where the CORE Group operates. Statistical analysis was used to compare, between SM Net and non-SM Net areas, vaccination outcomes considered sensitive to social mobilization efforts of the SM Net. We employed Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE statistical method to account for Intra-cluster Correlation (ICC, and used 'Quasi-likelihood under the independence model criterion (QIC' as the model selection method. Results Vaccination outcomes in SM Net areas were as high as or higher than in non-SM Net areas. There was considerable variation in vaccination outcomes between districts. Conclusions While not conclusive, the results suggest that the social mobilization efforts of the SM Net and the CORE Group are helping to increase vaccination levels in high-risk areas of Uttar Pradesh. Vaccination outcomes in CORE Group areas were equal or higher than in non-CORE, non-SM Net areas. This occurred even though SM Net areas are those with

The NordiNet® International Outcome Study and NovoNet® ANSWER Program®

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Höybye, Charlotte; Sävendahl, Lars; Christesen, Henrik Thybo

2013-01-01

on the safety and effectiveness of reallife treatment with the recombinant human GH, Norditropin®. We describe the origins, aims, objectives, and design methodology of the studies, as well as their governance and validity, strengths, and limitations. CONCLUSION: The NordiNet® IOS and ANSWER Program® studies...... will provide valid insights into the effectiveness and safety of GH treatment across a diverse and large patient population treated in accordance with real-world clinical practice and following the Good Pharmacoepidemiological Practice and STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology......OBJECTIVE: Randomized controlled trials have shown that growth hormone (GH) therapy has effects on growth, metabolism, and body composition. GH therapy is prescribed for children with growth failure and adults with GH deficiency. Carefully conducted observational study of GH treatment affords...

Barriers and Facilitators to Online Portal Use Among Patients and Caregivers in a Safety Net Health Care System: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tieu, Lina; Sarkar, Urmimala; Schillinger, Dean; Ralston, James D; Ratanawongsa, Neda; Pasick, Rena; Lyles, Courtney R

2015-12-03

Patient portals have the potential to support self-management for chronic diseases and improve health outcomes. With the rapid rise in adoption of patient portals spurred by meaningful use incentives among safety net health systems (a health system or hospital providing a significant level of care to low-income, uninsured, and vulnerable populations), it is important to understand the readiness and willingness of patients and caregivers in safety net settings to access their personal health records online. To explore patient and caregiver perspectives on online patient portal use before its implementation at San Francisco General Hospital, a safety net hospital. We conducted 16 in-depth interviews with chronic disease patients and caregivers who expressed interest in using the Internet to manage their health. Discussions focused on health care experiences, technology use, and interest in using an online portal to manage health tasks. We used open coding to categorize all the barriers and facilitators to portal use, followed by a second round of coding that compared the categories to previously published findings. In secondary analyses, we also examined specific barriers among 2 subgroups: those with limited health literacy and caregivers. We interviewed 11 patients and 5 caregivers. Patients were predominantly male (82%, 9/11) and African American (45%, 5/11). All patients had been diagnosed with diabetes and the majority had limited health literacy (73%, 8/11). The majority of caregivers were female (80%, 4/5), African American (60%, 3/5), caregivers of individuals with diabetes (60%, 3/5), and had adequate health literacy (60%, 3/5). A total of 88% (14/16) of participants reported interest in using the portal after viewing a prototype. Major perceived barriers included security concerns, lack of technical skills/interest, and preference for in-person communication. Facilitators to portal use included convenience, health monitoring, and improvements in patient

The relative effectiveness of managed care penetration and the healthcare safety net in reducing avoidable hospitalizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pracht, Etienne E; Orban, Barbara L; Comins, Meg M; Large, John T; Asin-Oostburg, Virginia

2011-01-01

Avoidable hospitalizations represent a key indicator for access to, and the quality of, primary care. Therefore, understanding their behavior is essential in terms of management of healthcare resources and costs. This analysis examines the affect of 2 healthcare strategies on the rate of avoidable hospitalization, managed care and the healthcare safety net. The avoidable hospitalizations definition developed by Weissman et al. (1992) was used to identify relevant inpatient episodes. A 2-stage simultaneous equations multivariate regression model with instrumental variables was used to estimate the relative influence of HMO penetration and the composition of local hospital markets on the rate of avoidable hospitalizations. Control variables in the model include healthcare supply and demand, demographic, socioeconomic, and health status characteristics. Increased market presence of public hospitals significantly reduced avoidable hospitalizations. HMO penetration did not influence the rate of avoidable hospitalizations. The results suggest that public investments in healthcare facilities and infrastructure are more effective in reducing avoidable hospitalizations. © 2011 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

CEC activities in the field of LMFBR safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balz, W.; Finzi, S.; Klersy, R.

1976-01-01

The aim of the ECC is to reach a common LMFBR Safety strategy in Europe. To this end the Commission promotes collaboration between the different fast reactor projects in the Community through working groups and collaborative arrangements and contributes with a research activity executed in its Joint Research Centre Ispra. A short description is given of the activity in the working groups and of the Ispra programme on LMFBR Safety. This programme covers: LMFBR thermohydraulics, fuel coolant interactions, dynamic structure loading and response, safety related material properties and whole core accident code development

International Clean Energy System Using Hydrogen Conversion (WE-NET). subtask 3. Conceptual design of the total system (safety measures and evaluation technology); Suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET). subtask 3. Zentai system gainen sekkei (anzen taisaku hyoka gijutsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Safety measures and assessment technology were studied for the WE-NET project. As the study result in fiscal 1996, the information on safety design, anomaly and accident was collected and arranged. The information on safety measures, ideology and criterion was also collected by visiting some domestic and overseas organizations experienced about handling of liquid hydrogen (LH). The initial survey was made for the safety design ideology, analytical technique and disaster preventive measures of LNG systems as the similar cold liquid system. Accidents and explosion accident of a hydrogen production plant (water electrolysis) in Germany were analyzed. Events on storage tanks and leakage around the tanks were studied as typical risk of LH considering temporary and LNG system design information. The model based on the LH spillage test result and 3-D dispersion of vapor cloud were prepared by modifying a simulation code. The model allowed evaluation of the effect of explosion and fire accidents of compressed hydrogen gas and flying fragments on structures and people, and visual display of distances from a tank and damage conditions. 19 refs., 29 figs., 18 tabs.

Safety performance indicators for the road network.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weijermars, W. Gitelman, V. Papadimitriou, E. Lima De & Azevedo, C.

2010-01-01

Within the 6th FP European project SafetyNet, a team has worked on the development of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) on seven road safety related areas. These SPIs reflect the operational conditions of the road traffic system that influence the system's safety performance. SPIs were developed

Design of an Active Automotive Safety System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Wang

2013-07-01

Full Text Available With the development of the national economy, the people's standard of living got corresponding improvement, cars has been one of the indispensable traffic tools in many families. An active safety system is proposed, which can real-time detect the vehicle's running status and judge the security status of the vehicle. The system, which takes single-chip microcomputer as the controlling core and combines with millimeter-wave and ultrasonic distance measurement technology, can detect the distance from vehicle to vehicle and judge the security status of the vehicle. The hardware composition of the system and the data acquiring circuit are proposed, the mathematic model for different situation is established, and the controlling algorithm is completed. This system can accurately measure speed and distance between vehicles; the active safety control system can meet the relevant data measurement and transmission requirement; and can meet the functional requirement of the active safety control system

Nuclear safety regulation on nuclear safety equipment activities in relation to human and organizational factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tianshu

2013-01-01

Based on years of knowledge in nuclear safety supervision and experience of investigating and dealing with violation events in repair welding of DFHM, this paper analyzes major faults in manufacturing and maintaining activities of nuclear safety equipment in relation to human and organizational factors. It could be deducted that human and organizational factors has definitely become key features in the development of nuclear energy and technology. Some feasible measures to reinforce supervision on nuclear safety equipment activities have also been proposed. (author)

The mediating role of integration of safety by activity versus operator between organizational culture and safety climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Auzoult, Laurent; Gangloff, Bernard

2018-04-20

In this study, we analyse the impact of the organizational culture and introduce a new variable, the integration of safety, which relates to the modalities for the implementation and adoption of safety in the work process, either through the activity or by the operator. One hundred and eighty employees replied to a questionnaire measuring the organizational climate, the safety climate and the integration of safety. We expected that implementation centred on the activity or on the operator would mediate the relationship between the organizational culture and the safety climate. The results support our assumptions. A regression analysis highlights the positive impact on the safety climate of organizational values of the 'rule' and 'support' type, as well as of integration by the operator and activity. Moreover, integration mediates the relation between these variables. The results suggest to take into account organizational culture and to introduce different implementation modalities to improve the safety climate.

Active pedestrian safety by automatic braking and evasive steering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keller, C.; Dang, T.; Fritz, H.; Joos, A.; Rabe, C.; Gavrila, D.M.

2011-01-01

Active safety systems hold great potential for reducing accident frequency and severity by warning the driver and/or exerting automatic vehicle control ahead of crashes. This paper presents a novel active pedestrian safety system that combines sensing, situation analysis, decision making, and

Design of the Lifestyle Improvement through Food and Exercise (LIFE) study: a randomized controlled trial of self-management of type 2 diabetes among African American patients from safety net health centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, Elizabeth B; Liebman, Rebecca; Ventrelle, Jennifer; Keim, Kathryn; Appelhans, Bradley M; Avery, Elizabeth F; Tahsin, Bettina; Li, Hong; Shapera, Merle; Fogelfeld, Leon

2014-11-01

The Lifestyle Improvement through Food and Exercise (LIFE) study is a community-based randomized-controlled trial to measure the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention to improve glycemic control among African Americans with type 2 diabetes attending safety net clinics. The study enrolled African American adults with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and HbA1c ≥ 7.0 who had attended specific safety net community clinics in the prior year. 210 patients will be enrolled and randomized to either the LIFE intervention or a standard of care control group, which consists of two dietitian-led diabetes self-management classes. The LIFE intervention was delivered in 28 group sessions over 12 months and focused on improving diet through dietitian-led culturally-tailored nutrition education, increasing physical activity through self-monitoring using an accelerometer, increasing ability to manage blood sugar through modifications to lifestyle, and providing social support for behavior change. In addition to the group sessions, peer supporters made regular telephone calls to participants to monitor progress toward behavioral goals and provide social support. The 12-month intervention phase was followed by a six-month maintenance phase consisting of two group sessions. The primary outcome of the study is change in A1C from baseline to 12 months, and an additional follow-up will occur at 18 months. The hypothesis of the study is that the participants in the LIFE intervention will show a greater improvement in glycemic control over 12 months than participants in the control group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring Facilitators and Barriers to Initiation and Completion of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Series among Parents of Girls in a Safety Net System.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, Sean T; Lockhart, Steven; Barnard, Juliana; Furniss, Anna; Dickinson, Miriam; Dempsey, Amanda F; Stokley, Shannon; Federico, Steven; Bronsert, Michael; Kempe, Allison

2018-01-23

Objective: To assess, among parents of predominantly minority, low-income adolescent girls who had either not initiated (NI) or not completed (NC) the HPV vaccine series, attitudes and other factors important in promoting the series, and whether attitudes differed by language preference. Design/Methods: From August 2013-October 2013, we conducted a mail survey among parents of girls aged 12-15 years randomly selected from administrative data in a Denver safety net system; 400 parents from each group (NI and NC) were targeted. Surveys were in English or Spanish. The response rate was 37% (244/660; 140 moved or gone elsewhere; 66% English-speaking, 34% Spanish-speaking). Safety attitudes of NIs and NCs differed, with 40% NIs vs. 14% NC's reporting they thought HPV vaccine was unsafe ( p HPV vaccine before, but now I am" (English-speaking, 23%, Spanish-speaking, 50%). Items rated as very important among NIs in the decision regarding vaccination included: more information about safety (74%), more information saying it prevents cancer (70%), and if they knew HPV was spread mainly by sexual contact (61%). Conclusions : Safety concerns, being unaware of the need for multiple doses, and low perceived risk of infection remain significant barriers to HPV vaccination for at-risk adolescents. Some parents' safety concerns do not appear until initial vaccination.

Technology-facilitated depression care management among predominantly Latino diabetes patients within a public safety net care system: comparative effectiveness trial design.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shinyi; Ell, Kathleen; Gross-Schulman, Sandra G; Sklaroff, Laura Myerchin; Katon, Wayne J; Nezu, Art M; Lee, Pey-Jiuan; Vidyanti, Irene; Chou, Chih-Ping; Guterman, Jeffrey J

2014-03-01

Health disparities in minority populations are well recognized. Hispanics and Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the United States; a significant proportion receives their care via a safety net. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and comorbid depression is high among this group, but the uptake of evidence-based collaborative depression care management has been suboptimal. The study design and baseline characteristics of the enrolled sample in the Diabetes-Depression Care-management Adoption Trial (DCAT) establishes a quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness research clinical trial aimed at accelerating the adoption of collaborative depression care in safety net clinics. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services at eight county-operated clinics. DCAT has enrolled 1406 low-income, predominantly Hispanic/Latino patients with diabetes to test a translational model of depression care management. This three-group study compares usual care with a collaborative care team support model and a technology-facilitated depression care model that provides automated telephonic depression screening and monitoring tailored to patient conditions and preferences. Call results are integrated into a diabetes disease management registry that delivers provider notifications, generates tasks, and issues critical alerts. All subjects receive comprehensive assessments at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months by independent English-Spanish bilingual interviewers. Study outcomes include depression outcomes, treatment adherence, satisfaction, acceptance of assessment and monitoring technology, social and economic stress reduction, diabetes self-care management, health care utilization, and care management model cost and cost-effectiveness comparisons. DCAT's goal is to optimize depression screening, treatment, follow-up, outcomes, and cost savings to reduce health disparities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights

ShadowNet: An Active Defense Infrastructure for Insider Cyber Attack Prevention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Xiaohui [ORNL; Beaver, Justin M [ORNL; Treadwell, Jim N [ORNL

2012-01-01

The ShadowNet infrastructure for insider cyber attack prevention is comprised of a tiered server system that is able to dynamically redirect dangerous/suspicious network traffic away from production servers that provide web, ftp, database and other vital services to cloned virtual machines in a quarantined environment. This is done transparently from the point of view of both the attacker and normal users. Existing connections, such as SSH sessions, are not interrupted. Any malicious activity performed by the attacker on a quarantined server is not reflected on the production server. The attacker is provided services from the quarantined server, which creates the impression that the attacks performed are successful. The activities of the attacker on the quarantined system are able to be recorded much like a honeypot system for forensic analysis.

The Net Enabled Waste Management Database as an international source of radioactive waste management information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csullog, G.W.; Friedrich, V.; Miaw, S.T.W.; Tonkay, D.; Petoe, A.

2002-01-01

The IAEA's Net Enabled Waste Management Database (NEWMDB) is an integral part of the IAEA's policies and strategy related to the collection and dissemination of information, both internal to the IAEA in support of its activities and external to the IAEA (publicly available). The paper highlights the NEWMDB's role in relation to the routine reporting of status and trends in radioactive waste management, in assessing the development and implementation of national systems for radioactive waste management, in support of a newly developed indicator of sustainable development for radioactive waste management, in support of reporting requirements for the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, in support of IAEA activities related to the harmonization of waste management information at the national and international levels and in relation to the management of spent/disused sealed radioactive sources. (author)

Mobile phone use patterns and preferences in safety net office-based buprenorphine patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Tofighi, Babak; Grossman, Ellie; Buirkle, Emily; McNeely, Jennifer; Gourevitch, Marc; Lee, Joshua D

2015-01-01

Integrating mobile phone technologies in addiction treatment is of increasing importance and may optimize patient engagement with their care and enhance the delivery of existing treatment strategies. Few studies have evaluated mobile phone and text message (TM) use patterns in persons enrolled in addiction treatment, and none have assessed the use in safety net, office-based buprenorphine practices. A 28-item, quantitative and qualitative semistructured survey was administered to opiate-dependent adults in an urban, publicly funded, office-based buprenorphine program. Survey domains included demographic characteristics, mobile phone and TM use patterns, and preferences pertaining to their recovery. Surveyors approached 73 of the 155 eligible subjects (47%); 71 respondents completed the survey. Nearly all participants reported mobile phone ownership (93%) and TM use (93%), and most reported "very much" or "somewhat" comfort sending TM (79%). Text message contact with 12-step group sponsors, friends, family members, and counselors was also described (32%). Nearly all preferred having their providers' mobile phone number (94%), and alerting the clinic via TM in the event of a potential relapse to receive both supportive TM and a phone call from their buprenorphine provider was also well received (62%). Mobile phone and TM use patterns and preferences among this sample of office-based buprenorphine participants highlight the potential of adopting patient-centered mobile phone-based interventions in this treatment setting.

Petri nets - part 1: concepts and application areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivertsen, Terje

2004-03-01

There exist a number of models, languages, methods, and tools that support the specification and analysis of system requirements. One important class comprises graphical methods based on the concept of Petri nets. Due to the wide variety of applications, these methods are relevant also in research and applications outside the digital systems safety domain. The present report constitutes the first of three parts of a unified exposition of graphical methods based on the concept of Petri nets. The report provides an introduction to basic concepts of Petri nets and an overview of a wide variety of application areas. The second part of the trilogy will present a number of techniques and tools. The third part will focus on analysis. Petri nets have been proposed for a wide variety of applications, and new areas are considered as new challenges emerge from scientific, technological, and social developments. The wide variety of application areas reflects a broad interest in Petri nets, coming from diverse directions. Empirically, as well as theoretically, there are good reasons to claim that Petri nets are applicable for many different kinds of problems. What is common to the different applications and problems addressed is the need for a formalism that allows adequate representation of important system characteristics like concurrency, asyncronicity, distribution, parallelism, and non-determinism. Several of the references in the report discuss NPP-related applications, or applications with great potentials for technology transfer from other areas to the nuclear domain. (Author)

Recent development in safety regulation of nuclear fuel cycle activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, S.

2001-01-01

Through the effort of deliberation and legislation over five years, Japanese government structure was reformed this January, with the aim of realizing simple, efficient and transparent administration. Under the reform, the Agency for Nuclear and Industrial Safety (ANIS) was founded in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to be responsible for safety regulation of energy-related nuclear activities, including nuclear fuel cycle activities, and industrial activities, including explosives, high-pressure gasses and mining. As one of the lessons learned from the JCO criticality accident of September 1999, it was pointed out that the government's inspection function was not enough for fuel fabrication facilities. Accordingly, new statutory regulatory activities were introduced, namely, inspection of observance of safety rules and procedures for all kinds of nuclear operators and periodic inspection of fuel fabrication facilities. In addition, in order to cope with insufficient safety education and training of workers in nuclear facilities, licensees of nuclear facilities are required by law to specify safety education and training for their workers. ANIS is committed to enforce these new regulatory activities effectively and efficiently. In addition, it is going to be prepared, in its capacity as safety regulatory authority, for future development of Japanese fuel cycle activities, including commissioning of JNFL Rokkasho reprocessing plant and possible application for licenses for JNFL MOX fabrication plant and for spent fuel interim storage facilities. (author)

75 FR 53733 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2010-0246] Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous... liquefied natural gas, hazardous liquid, and gas transmission pipeline systems operated by a company. The...

SU-D-BRD-06: Creating a Safety Net for a Fully Automated, Script Driven Electronic Medical Record

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheu, R; Ghafar, R; Powers, A; Green, S; Lo, Y [Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Demonstrate the effectiveness of in-house software in ensuring EMR workflow efficiency and safety. Methods: A web-based dashboard system (WBDS) was developed to monitor clinical workflow in real time using web technology (WAMP) through ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). Within Mosaiq (Elekta Inc), operational workflow is driven and indicated by Quality Check Lists (QCLs), which is triggered by automation software IQ Scripts (Elekta Inc); QCLs rely on user completion to propagate. The WBDS retrieves data directly from the Mosaig SQL database and tracks clinical events in real time. For example, the necessity of a physics initial chart check can be determined by screening all patients on treatment who have received their first fraction and who have not yet had their first chart check. Monitoring similar “real” events with our in-house software creates a safety net as its propagation does not rely on individual users input. Results: The WBDS monitors the following: patient care workflow (initial consult to end of treatment), daily treatment consistency (scheduling, technique, charges), physics chart checks (initial, EOT, weekly), new starts, missing treatments (>3 warning/>5 fractions, action required), and machine overrides. The WBDS can be launched from any web browser which allows the end user complete transparency and timely information. Since the creation of the dashboards, workflow interruptions due to accidental deletion or completion of QCLs were eliminated. Additionally, all physics chart checks were completed timely. Prompt notifications of treatment record inconsistency and machine overrides have decreased the amount of time between occurrence and execution of corrective action. Conclusion: Our clinical workflow relies primarily on QCLs and IQ Scripts; however, this functionality is not the panacea of safety and efficiency. The WBDS creates a more thorough system of checks to provide a safer and near error-less working environment.

SU-D-BRD-06: Creating a Safety Net for a Fully Automated, Script Driven Electronic Medical Record

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheu, R; Ghafar, R; Powers, A; Green, S; Lo, Y

2015-01-01

Purpose: Demonstrate the effectiveness of in-house software in ensuring EMR workflow efficiency and safety. Methods: A web-based dashboard system (WBDS) was developed to monitor clinical workflow in real time using web technology (WAMP) through ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). Within Mosaiq (Elekta Inc), operational workflow is driven and indicated by Quality Check Lists (QCLs), which is triggered by automation software IQ Scripts (Elekta Inc); QCLs rely on user completion to propagate. The WBDS retrieves data directly from the Mosaig SQL database and tracks clinical events in real time. For example, the necessity of a physics initial chart check can be determined by screening all patients on treatment who have received their first fraction and who have not yet had their first chart check. Monitoring similar “real” events with our in-house software creates a safety net as its propagation does not rely on individual users input. Results: The WBDS monitors the following: patient care workflow (initial consult to end of treatment), daily treatment consistency (scheduling, technique, charges), physics chart checks (initial, EOT, weekly), new starts, missing treatments (>3 warning/>5 fractions, action required), and machine overrides. The WBDS can be launched from any web browser which allows the end user complete transparency and timely information. Since the creation of the dashboards, workflow interruptions due to accidental deletion or completion of QCLs were eliminated. Additionally, all physics chart checks were completed timely. Prompt notifications of treatment record inconsistency and machine overrides have decreased the amount of time between occurrence and execution of corrective action. Conclusion: Our clinical workflow relies primarily on QCLs and IQ Scripts; however, this functionality is not the panacea of safety and efficiency. The WBDS creates a more thorough system of checks to provide a safer and near error-less working environment

Horizontal ichthyoplankton tow-net system with unobstructed net opening

Science.gov (United States)

Nester, Robert T.

1987-01-01

The larval fish sampler described here consists of a modified bridle, frame, and net system with an obstruction-free net opening and is small enough for use on boats 10 m or less in length. The tow net features a square net frame attached to a 0.5-m-diameter cylinder-on-cone plankton net with a bridle designed to eliminate all obstructions forward of the net opening, significantly reducing currents and vibrations in the water directly preceding the net. This system was effective in collecting larvae representing more than 25 species of fish at sampling depths ranging from surface to 10 m and could easily be used at greater depths.

Higher-moment measurements of net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions at STAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Amal

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report the measurements of the various moments, such as mean, standard deviation (σ), skewness (S) and kurtosis (κ) of the net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions at mid-rapidity in Au + Au collisions from √(s NN )=7.7 to 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC. This work has been done with the aim to locate the critical point on the QCD phase diagram. These moments and their products are related to the thermodynamic susceptibilities of conserved quantities such as net baryon number, net charge, and net strangeness as well as to the correlation length of the system which diverges in an ideal infinite thermodynamic system at the critical point. For a finite system, existing for a finite time, a non-monotonic behavior of these variables would indicate the presence of the critical point. Furthermore, we also present the moment products Sσ, κσ 2 of net-kaon, net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions as a function of collision centrality and energy. The energy and the centrality dependence of higher moments and their products have been compared with different models

URBAN-NET: A Network-based Infrastructure Monitoring and Analysis System for Emergency Management and Public Safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sangkeun (Matt) [ORNL; Chen, Liangzhe [ORNL; Duan, Sisi [ORNL; Chinthavali, Supriya [ORNL; Shankar, Mallikarjun (Arjun) [ORNL; Prakash, B. Aditya [Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

2016-01-01

Abstract Critical Infrastructures (CIs) such as energy, water, and transportation are complex networks that are crucial for sustaining day-to-day commodity flows vital to national security, economic stability, and public safety. The nature of these CIs is such that failures caused by an extreme weather event or a man-made incident can trigger widespread cascading failures, sending ripple effects at regional or even national scales. To minimize such effects, it is critical for emergency responders to identify existing or potential vulnerabilities within CIs during such stressor events in a systematic and quantifiable manner and take appropriate mitigating actions. We present here a novel critical infrastructure monitoring and analysis system named URBAN-NET. The system includes a software stack and tools for monitoring CIs, pre-processing data, interconnecting multiple CI datasets as a heterogeneous network, identifying vulnerabilities through graph-based topological analysis, and predicting consequences based on what-if simulations along with visualization. As a proof-of-concept, we present several case studies to show the capabilities of our system. We also discuss remaining challenges and future work.

Safety performance indicators used by the Russian Safety Regulatory Authority in its practical activities on nuclear power plant safety regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khazanov, A.L.

2005-01-01

The Sixth Department of the Nuclear, Industrial and Environmental Regulatory Authority of Russia, Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety process, analyse and use the information on nuclear power plants (NPPs) operational experience or NPPs safety improvement. Safety performance indicators (SPIs), derived from processing of information on operational violations and analysis of annual NPP Safety Reports, are used as tools to determination of trends towards changing of characteristics of operational safety, to assess the effectiveness of corrective measures, to monitor and evaluate the current operational safety level of NPPs, to regulate NPP safety. This report includes a list of the basic SPIs, those used by the Russian safety regulatory authority in regulatory activity. Some of them are absent in list of IAEA-TECDOC-1141 ('Operational safety performance indicators for nuclear power plants'). (author)

PSA in design of passive/active safety reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T.; Tanabe, A.; Kondo, S.

1995-01-01

PSAs in the design of advanced reactors are applied mainly in level 1 PSA areas. However, even in level 1 PSA, there are certain areas where special care must be taken depending on plant design concepts. This paper identifies these areas both for passive and active safety reactor concepts. For example, 'long-term PSA' and shutdown PSA are very important for a passive safety reactor concept from the standpoint of effectiveness of a grace period and passive safety systems. External events are also important for an active safety reactor concept. These kinds of special PSAs are difficult to conduct precisely in a conceptual design stage. This paper shows methods of conducting these kinds of special PSAs simply and conveniently and the use of acquired insights for the design of advanced reactors. This paper also clarifies the meaning or definition of a grace period from the standpoint of PSA

Fiscal 1997 survey report. Subtask 3 (hydrogen utilization worldwide clean system technology) (WE-NET) (total system conceptual design/safety measures/evaluation technology); 1997 nendo seika hokokusho. Suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET) subtask 3 zentai system gainen sekkei - anzen taisaku hyoka gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Concerning the study of safety measures in WE-NET, the paper described the fiscal 1997 results. For drawing up a policy for safety design, technology of preserving hydrogen at high temperature/pressure, continuing collecting information on existing plants (liquid hydrogen, LNG). Investigating manuals of NASA and NASDA and also referring to people`s opinions at chemical plants, etc., the study entered into the setting-up of the safety policy and design standards. Examples of anomalies/accidents were extracted, and classification/arrangement were commenced of the measures for anomalies of detection/prevention/protection. Toward the diffusion of hydrogen and the enhancement and unification of explosion/fire simulation models, the extraction of problems has been almost finished. The second mini work shop on safety was held in the U.S., and exchanges of information were made among researchers of each country. All agreed on the importance of collecting data as the base of safety standards. As to safety measures in various tests using combustor evaluation experimental facilities, experimental equipment for materials under liquid hydrogen and experimental equipment of thermal insulation under liquid hydrogen, problems were extracted between researchers and people concerned with safety measures, and the measures to solve them were studied. 18 refs., 31 figs., 10 tabs.

Professional ASP.NET 4 in C# and VB

CERN Document Server

Evjen, Bill; Rader, Devin

2010-01-01

This book was written to introduce you to the features and capabilities that ASP.NET 4 offers, as well as to give you an explanation of the foundation that ASP.NET provides. We assume you have a general understanding of Web technologies, such as previous versions of ASP.NET, Active Server Pages 2.0/3.0, or JavaServer Pages. If you understand the basics of Web programming, you should not have much trouble following along with this book's content. If you are brand new to ASP.NET, be sure to check out Beginning ASP.NET 4: In C# and VB by Imar Spaanjaars (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010) to help you

The use of open source electronic health records within the federal safety net.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldwater, Jason C; Kwon, Nancy J; Nathanson, Ashley; Muckle, Alison E; Brown, Alexa; Cornejo, Kerri

2014-01-01

To conduct a federally funded study that examines the acquisition, implementation and operation of open source electronic health records (EHR) within safety net medical settings, such as federally qualified health centers (FQHC). The study was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago from April to September 2010. The NORC team undertook a comprehensive environmental scan, including a literature review, a dozen key informant interviews using a semistructured protocol, and a series of site visits to West Virginia, California and Arizona FQHC that were currently using an open source EHR. Five of the six sites that were chosen as part of the study found a number of advantages in the use of their open source EHR system, such as utilizing a large community of users and developers to modify their EHR to fit the needs of their provider and patient communities, and lower acquisition and implementation costs as compared to a commercial system. Despite these advantages, many of the informants and site visit participants felt that widespread dissemination and use of open source was restrained due to a negative connotation regarding this type of software. In addition, a number of participants stated that there is a necessary level of technical acumen needed within the FQHC to make an open source EHR effective. An open source EHR provides advantages for FQHC that have limited resources to acquire and implement an EHR, but additional study is needed to evaluate its overall effectiveness.

Fiscal 1999 phase 2 R and D report of WE-NET (International Clean Energy Network Using Hydrogen Conversion). Task 2. Research on safety measures; 1999 nendo suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET) dainiki kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Task 2. Anzen taisaku ni kansuru chosa kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This report summarizes the fiscal 1999 WE-NET phase 2, task 2 research result on safety measures. In the study on preparation of the safety design standard, based on the concept design of the hydrogen supply station under investigation in task 7, latent anomalies and accidents, safety measures against them, and precautions for the safety design were arranged. Survey was made on databases available to collect failure rates necessary for quantitative risk assessment. In the study on establishment of a safety evaluation method, an evaporation apparatus for liquid hydrogen was prepared for comparative experiment with liquid nitrogen. Various information on flow and evaporation properties of liquid hydrogen were obtained. Survey was made on previously reported documents for hydrogen explosion experiment and preparation of an experiment plan. The simulation model for spillage, evaporation and diffusion of liquid hydrogen was verified and improved on the basis of the experiment results. A commercially available computation program for hydrogen deflagration was introduced, and its implementation was studied. (NEDO)

The present condition and projection of construction of railway net of the Danube-Morava corridor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vemić Mirčeta

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The railway net of the Danube-Morava corridor, together with the road net represent the central section of the Pan-European transport corridor X. According to the traffic and economic standards, the railway net represents the second main traffic direction of this corridor as the area-functioning system of the territory of Serbia. Main railway lines have favourable positions as they are located along prominent geographical features, namely river valleys thus enabling considerable flow of goods, passengers and information. The paper presents some characteristics of the present condition of the railway net, its functioning and safety, with certain ideas of its future construction and expected exploitation till 2015. Traffic infrastructure represents the initial factor of overall development of a state and its connection with the surrounding countries. It is considered to be of strategic importance for a country to built railway net. Improvement and additional construction of railway lines is of the greatest priority for the purpose of enlargement of overall mobility and quality of life of population, to make urban areas closer, to improve connections, functions efficiency and level of services of railway system, reduction of negative influence on other economic systems and human environment, better safety etc.

Nuclear safety activities in the SR of Slovenia in 1986

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Susnik, J [Inst. Jozef Stefan, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

1987-06-15

Currently Yugoslavia has one 632 MWe nuclear power plant (NPP) of PWR design, located at Krsko in the Socialist Republic (SR) of Slovenia. Krsko NPP, which is a two-loop plant, started power operation in 1981. In general, reactor safety activities in the SR of Slovenia are mostly related to upgrading the safety of our Krsko NPP and to developing capabilities for use in future units. This report presents the nuclear safety related legislation and organization of the corresponding regulatory body, and the activities related to nuclear safety of the participating organizations in the SR of Slovenia in 1986. (author)

Nuclear safety activities in the SR of Slovenia in 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susnik, J.

1987-06-01

Currently Yugoslavia has one 632 MWe nuclear power plant (NPP) of PWR design, located at Krsko in the Socialist Republic (SR) of Slovenia. Krsko NPP, which is a two-loop plant, started power operation in 1981. In general, reactor safety activities in the SR of Slovenia are mostly related to upgrading the safety of our Krsko NPP and to developing capabilities for use in future units. This report presents the nuclear safety related legislation and organization of the corresponding regulatory body, and the activities related to nuclear safety of the participating organizations in the SR of Slovenia in 1986. (author)

SupportNet for Frontline Behavioral Health Providers

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-30

to help women and their children achieve safety and wellbeing while challenging communities to end sexual and family violence. In the process, TESSA...did not engage with the SupportNet intervention as a function of their level of burnout. Lack of military support was cited by staff as being a barrier...October 2013, which resulted in government employees being furloughed. Since the project itself was funded by the Department of Defense, the project was

Cultivating engaged leadership through a learning collaborative: lessons from primary care renewal in Oregon safety net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

McMullen, Carmit K; Schneider, Jennifer; Firemark, Alison; Davis, James; Spofford, Mark

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore how learning collaboratives cultivate leadership skills that are essential for implementing patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). We conducted an ethnographic evaluation of a payor-incentivized PCMH implementation in Oregon safety net clinics, known as Primary Care Renewal. Analyses primarily drew on in-depth interviews with organizational leaders who were involved in the initiative. We solicited perspectives on the history, barriers, facilitators, and other noteworthy factors related to the implementation of PCMH. We reviewed and summarized transcripts and created and applied a coding dictionary to identify emergent leadership themes. We reviewed field notes from clinic site visits and observations of learning collaborative activities for additional information on the role of engaged leadership. Interview data suggested that organizations followed a similar, sequential process of Primary Care Renewal implementation having 2 phases-inspiration and implementation-and that leaders needed and learned different leadership skills in each phase. Leaders reported that collaborative learning opportunities were critical for developing engaged leadership skills during the inspiration phase of transformation. Facilitative and modeling aspects of engaged leadership were most important for codesigning a vision and plan for change. Adaptive leadership skills became more important during the implementation phase, when specific operational and management skills were needed to foster standardization and spread of the Primary Care Renewal initiative throughout participating clinics. The PCMH has received much attention as a way to reorganize and potentially improve primary care. Documenting steps and stages for cultivating leaders with the vision and skills to transform their organizations into PCMHs may offer a useful roadmap to other organizations considering a similar transformation.

Deep neural nets as a method for quantitative structure-activity relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Junshui; Sheridan, Robert P; Liaw, Andy; Dahl, George E; Svetnik, Vladimir

2015-02-23

Neural networks were widely used for quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) in the 1990s. Because of various practical issues (e.g., slow on large problems, difficult to train, prone to overfitting, etc.), they were superseded by more robust methods like support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), which arose in the early 2000s. The last 10 years has witnessed a revival of neural networks in the machine learning community thanks to new methods for preventing overfitting, more efficient training algorithms, and advancements in computer hardware. In particular, deep neural nets (DNNs), i.e. neural nets with more than one hidden layer, have found great successes in many applications, such as computer vision and natural language processing. Here we show that DNNs can routinely make better prospective predictions than RF on a set of large diverse QSAR data sets that are taken from Merck's drug discovery effort. The number of adjustable parameters needed for DNNs is fairly large, but our results show that it is not necessary to optimize them for individual data sets, and a single set of recommended parameters can achieve better performance than RF for most of the data sets we studied. The usefulness of the parameters is demonstrated on additional data sets not used in the calibration. Although training DNNs is still computationally intensive, using graphical processing units (GPUs) can make this issue manageable.

Net-baryon-, net-proton-, and net-charge kurtosis in heavy-ion collisions within a relativistic transport approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nahrgang, Marlene; Schuster, Tim; Stock, Reinhard; Mitrovski, Michael; Bleicher, Marcus

2012-01-01

We explore the potential of net-baryon, net-proton and net-charge kurtosis measurements to investigate the properties of hot and dense matter created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Contrary to calculations in a grand-canonical ensemble we explicitly take into account exact electric and baryon charge conservation on an event-by-event basis. This drastically limits the width of baryon fluctuations. A simple model to account for this is to assume a grand-canonical distribution with a sharp cut-off at the tails. We present baseline predictions of the energy dependence of the net-baryon, net-proton and net-charge kurtosis for central (b≤2.75 fm) Pb+Pb/Au+Au collisions from E lab =2A GeV to √(s NN )=200 GeV from the UrQMD model. While the net-charge kurtosis is compatible with values around zero, the net-baryon number decreases to large negative values with decreasing beam energy. The net-proton kurtosis becomes only slightly negative for low √(s NN ). (orig.)

A brief report on the statistical study of net electric current in solar active regions with longitudinal fields of opposite polarity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Yu

2013-01-01

Dynamic processes occurring in solar active regions are dominated by the solar magnetic field. As of now, observations using a solar magnetograph have supplied us with the vector components of a solar photospheric magnetic field. The two transverse components of a photospheric magnetic field allow us to compute the amount of electric current. We found that the electric current in areas with positive (negative) polarity due to the longitudinal magnetic field have both positive and negative signs in an active region, however, the net current is found to be an order-of-magnitude less than the mean absolute magnitude and has a preferred sign. In particular, we have statistically found that there is a systematic net electric current from areas with negative (positive) polarity to areas with positive (negative) polarity in solar active regions in the northern (southern) hemisphere, but during the solar minimum this tendency is reversed over time at some latitudes. The result indicates that there is weak net electric current in areas of solar active regions with opposite polarity, thus providing further details about the hemispheric helicity rule found in a series of previous studies.

Safety research activities on radioactive waste management in JNES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otsuka, Ichiro; Aoki, Hiroomi; Suko, Takeshi; Onishi, Yuko; Masuda, Yusuke; Kato, Masami

2010-01-01

Research activities in safety regulation of radioactive waste management are presented. Major activities are as follows. As for the geological disposal, major research areas are, developing 'safety indicators' to judge the adequacy of site investigation results presented by an implementer (NUMO), compiling basic requirements of safety design and safety assessment needed to make a safety review of the license application and developing an independent safety assessment methodology. In proceeding research, JNES, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) signed an agreement of cooperative study on geological disposal in 2007. One of the ongoing joint studies under this agreement has been aimed at investigating regional-scale hydrogeological modeling using JAEA's Horonobe Underground Research Center. In the intermediate depth disposal, JNES conducted example analysis of reference facility and submitted the result to Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC). JNES is also listing issues to be addressed in the safety review of the license application and tries to make criteria of the review. Furthermore, JNES is developing analysis tool to evaluate long term safety of the facility and conducting an experiment to investigate long term behavior of engineered barrier system. In the near surface disposal of waste package, it must be confirmed by a regulatory inspector whether each package meets safety requirements. JNES continuously updates the confirmation methodology depending on new processing technologies. The clearance system was established in 2005. Two stages of regulatory involvement were adapted, 1) approval for measurement and judgment methods developed by the nuclear operator and 2) confirmation of measurement and judgment results based on approved methods. JNES is developing verification methodology for each stage. As for decommissioning, based on the regulatory needs and a research program

Regulatory Activities on Civil Nuclear Safety Equipment in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaoshang, Lu; Choi, Kwang Sik

2011-01-01

It is stipulated in IAEA Fundamental Safety Principles (SF1) that the fundamental safety objective is to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The fundamental safety objective applies for all facilities and activities and for all stages over the lifetime of a facility or radiation source, including planning, sitting, design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning and operation, as well as decommissioning and closure. So, according to the requirement, the related activities such as design, manufacturing, installation and non-destructive test that conducted on civil nuclear equipment should be well controlled by the vendors, the owner of the nuclear power plants and the regulatory body. To insure the quality of those equipment, Chinese government had taken a series of measures to regulate the related activities on them

Application of the management system for facilities and activities. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This Safety Guide supports the Safety Requirements publication on The Management System for Facilities and Activities. It provides generic guidance to aid in establishing, implementing, assessing and continually improving a management system that complies with the requirements established. In addition to this Safety Guide, there are a number of Safety Guides for specific technical areas. Together these provide all the guidance necessary for implementing these requirements. This publication supersedes Safety Series No. 50-SG-Q1-Q7 (1996). The guidance provided here may be used by organizations in the following ways: - To assist in the development of the management systems of organizations directly responsible for operating facilities and activities and providing services for: Nuclear facilities; Activities using sources of ionizing radiation; Radioactive waste management; The transport of radioactive material; Radiation protection activities; Any other practices or circumstances in which people may be exposed to radiation from naturally occurring or artificial sources; The regulation of such facilities and activities; - To assist in the development of the management systems of the relevant regulatory bodies; - By the operator, to specify to a supplier, via contractual documentation, any guidance of this Safety Guide that should be included in the supplier's management system for the supply and delivery of products

Aktivasi Keterlibatan Publik dalam Program Berita ‘NET 10’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinar Safa Anggraeni

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This research entitled Activation of The Public Engagement in `NET 10` News Program. An intrinsic case study by Robert E. Stake on Activating The Public Engagement in `NET 10` Citizen Journalism NET TV’s News Program. This research aimed to understand NET TV’s public management strategy in 'NET 10' news program. In addition, this research also aimed to determine how the editorial staff considere the standard of news value and news judgment on citizen journalist news, and the function of public sphere in the mass media of citizen journalism. The method used qualitative research with intrinsic case study approach by Robert E. Stake to NET TV’s editorial. The results showed the editorial’s strategy of public management by following action: (1 provided easily of joining  'NET CJ', (2 created  campaigns to increase the number of CJ, (3 nature CJ by keeping good and giving relationship evaluations, (4 provides rewards for the creator of CJ news aired in 'NET 10', and (5 educates CJ in making a citizen journalism news. NET TV used curation techniques in the process of citizen journalism news gatekeeper to keep the news value and news judment standard of citizen journalism news. Unfortunately, ‘NET 10’’s citizen journalism news rate of the proportion of news comprehensive continues to fall down because the editorial put loyalty forward. 'NET CJ' act as a opinions catalyst of the citizens to the government.

The Economic Impact of Productive Safety Net Program on Poverty: Microeconometrics Analysis, Tigrai National Regional State, Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yibrah Hagos Gebresilassie

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at evaluating the impact of productive safety net program on poverty using primary data from randomly selected 600 households in central zone of Tigrai National Regional State, Ethiopia. Propensity Score Matching and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke were used to evaluate impact of the program and poverty, respectively. The paper revealed that the program has positive and significant effect on consumption, livestock holdings, and productive assets. Moreover, impact of the program on total consumption expenditure per adult equivalent was found to be positive and significant. Using total poverty line, poverty rate was lowest among program participants (30.33% than non-participants (31.1%. Highest poverty rate was found among households headed by women (38.42% while households headed by men (23.1%. The study also revealed that the program has positive and significant effect on poverty reduction and protecting productive assets. Finally, it was recommended that female headed program participants based programs should be provided to help boost their agricultural output and reduce endemic poverty.

Work Disability Among Native-born and Foreign-born Americans: On Origins, Health, and Social Safety Nets.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelman, Michal; Kestenbaum, Bert M; Zuelsdorff, Megan L; Mehta, Neil K; Lauderdale, Diane S

2017-12-01

Public debates about both immigration policy and social safety net programs are increasingly contentious. However, little research has explored differences in health within America's diverse population of foreign-born workers, and the effect of these workers on public benefit programs is not well understood. We investigate differences in work disability by nativity and origins and describe the mix of health problems associated with receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Our analysis draws on two large national data sources-the American Community Survey and comprehensive administrative records from the Social Security Administration-to determine the prevalence and incidence of work disability between 2001 and 2010. In sharp contrast to prior research, we find that foreign-born adults are substantially less likely than native-born Americans to report work disability, to be insured for work disability benefits, and to apply for those benefits. Overall and across origins, the foreign-born also have a lower incidence of disability benefit award. Persons from Africa, Northern Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia have the lowest work disability benefit prevalence rates among the foreign-born; persons from Southern Europe, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Caribbean have the highest rates.

Safety risk assessment for vertical concrete formwork activities in civil engineering construction.

Science.gov (United States)

López-Arquillos, Antonio; Rubio-Romero, Juan Carlos; Gibb, Alistair G F; Gambatese, John A

2014-01-01

The construction sector has one of the worst occupational health and safety records in Europe. Of all construction tasks, formwork activities are associated with a high frequency of accidents and injuries. This paper presents an investigation of the activities and related safety risks present in vertical formwork for in-situ concrete construction in the civil engineering sector. Using the methodology of staticized groups, twelve activities and ten safety risks were identified and validated by experts. Every safety risk identified in this manner was quantified for each activity using binary methodology according to the frequency and severity scales developed in prior research. A panel of experts was selected according to the relevant literature on staticized groups. The results obtained show that the activities with the highest risk in vertical formwork tasks are: Plumbing and leveling of forms, cutting of material, handling materials with cranes, and climbing or descending ladders. The most dangerous health and safety risks detected were falls from height, cutting and overexertion. The research findings provide construction practitioners with further evidence of the hazardous activities associated with concrete formwork construction and a starting point for targeting worker health and safety programmes.

Petri Nets

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

In a computer system, for example, typical discrete events ... This project brought out a series of influential reports on Petri net theory in the mid and late ... Technology became a leading centre for Petri net research and from then on, Petri nets ...

Crime, perceived safety, and physical activity: A meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees-Punia, Erika; Hathaway, Elizabeth D; Gay, Jennifer L

2018-06-01

Perceived safety from crime and objectively-measured crime rates may be associated with physical inactivity. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to estimate the odds of accumulating high levels of physical activity (PA) when the perception of safety from crime is high and when objectively-measured crime is high. Peer-reviewed studies were identified through PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest Criminal Justice, and ScienceDirect from earliest record through 2016. Included studies measured total PA, leisure-time PA, or walking in addition to perceived safety from crime or objective measures of crime. Mean odds ratios were aggregated with random effects models, and meta-regression was used to examine effects of potential moderators: country, age, and crime/PA measure. Sixteen cross-sectional studies yielded sixteen effects for perceived safety from crime and four effects for objective crime. Those reporting feeling safe from crime had a 27% greater odds of achieving higher levels of physical activity (OR=1.27 [1.08, 1.49]), and those living in areas with higher objectively-measured crime had a 28% reduced odds of achieving higher levels of physical activity (OR=0.72 [0.61, 0.83]). Effects of perceived safety were highly heterogeneous (I 2 =94.09%), but explored moderators were not statistically significant, likely because of the small sample size. Despite the limited number of effects suitable for aggregation, the mean association between perceived safety and PA was significant. As it seems likely that perceived lack of safety from crime constrains PA behaviors, future research exploring moderators of this association may help guide public health recommendations and interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Specialists' meeting on passive and active safety features of LMFRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-07-01

The objective of the meeting was to discuss and exchange information on passive and active safety concepts and to find some reasonable coupling of these concept, aiming at firmer establishment of plant safety and at the same time of plant cost reduction. The following main topical areas were discussed by delegates: (1) Overview - review of national status on the safety design approaches of LMFRs (2) Safety characteristics of decay heat removal system (DHRS) (3) Safety characteristics of reactor protection system (RPS) and reactor shutdown system (RSS) (4) Core safety characteristics.

Specialists' meeting on passive and active safety features of LMFRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The objective of the meeting was to discuss and exchange information on passive and active safety concepts and to find some reasonable coupling of these concept, aiming at firmer establishment of plant safety and at the same time of plant cost reduction. The following main topical areas were discussed by delegates: (1) Overview - review of national status on the safety design approaches of LMFRs (2) Safety characteristics of decay heat removal system (DHRS) (3) Safety characteristics of reactor protection system (RPS) and reactor shutdown system (RSS) (4) Core safety characteristics

Nuclear power reactor safety research activities in CIAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pu Shendi; Huang Yucai; Xu Hanming; Zhang Zhongyue

1994-01-01

The power reactor safety research activities in CIAE are briefly reviewed. The research work performed in 1980's and 1990's is mainly emphasised, which is closely related to the design, construction and licensing review of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the safety review of Guangdong Nuclear Power Station. Major achievements in the area of thermohydraulics, nuclear fuel, probabilistic safety assessment and severe accident researches are summarized. The foreseeable research plan for the near future, relating to the design and construction of 600 MWe PWR NPP at Qinshan Site (phase II development) is outlined

Activities of the PNC Nuclear Safety Working Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, W.Y.

1991-01-01

The Nuclear Safety Working Group of the Pacific Nuclear Council promotes nuclear safety cooperation among its members. Status of safety research, emergency planning, development of lists of technical experts, severe accident prevention and mitigation have been the topics of discussion in the NSWG. This paper reviews and compares the severe accident prevention and mitigation program activities in some of the areas of the Pacific Basin region based on papers presented at a special session organized by the NSWG at an ANS Topical Meeting as well as papers from other sources

First results of registering ionospheric disturbances obtained with SibNet network of GNSS receivers in active space experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Ishin, Artem; Perevalova, Natalia; Voeykov, Sergey; Khakhinov, Vitaliy

2017-12-01

Global and regional networks of GNSS receivers have been successfully used for geophysical research for many years; the number of continuous GNSS stations in the world is steadily growing. The article presents the first results of the use of a new regional network of GNSS stations (SibNet) in active space experiments. The Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ISTP SB RAS) has established this network in the South Baikal region. We describe in detail SibNet, characteristics of receivers in use, parameters of antennas and methods of their installation. We also present the general structure of observation site and the plot of coverage of the receiver operating zone at 50-55° latitudes by radio paths. It is shown that the selected location of receivers allows us to detect ionospheric irregularities of various scales. The purpose of the active space experiments was to reveal and record parameters of the ionospheric irregu larities caused by effects from jet streams of Progress cargo spacecraft. The mapping technique enabled us to identify weak, vertically localized ionospheric irregularities and associate them with the Progress spacecraft engine impact. Thus, it has been shown that SibNet deployed in the Southern Baikal region is an effective instrument for monitoring ionospheric conditions.

Exploring Facilitators and Barriers to Initiation and Completion of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV Vaccine Series among Parents of Girls in a Safety Net System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean T. O’Leary

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess, among parents of predominantly minority, low-income adolescent girls who had either not initiated (NI or not completed (NC the HPV vaccine series, attitudes and other factors important in promoting the series, and whether attitudes differed by language preference. Design/Methods: From August 2013–October 2013, we conducted a mail survey among parents of girls aged 12–15 years randomly selected from administrative data in a Denver safety net system; 400 parents from each group (NI and NC were targeted. Surveys were in English or Spanish. Results: The response rate was 37% (244/660; 140 moved or gone elsewhere; 66% English-speaking, 34% Spanish-speaking. Safety attitudes of NIs and NCs differed, with 40% NIs vs. 14% NC’s reporting they thought HPV vaccine was unsafe (p < 0.0001 and 43% NIs vs. 21% NCs that it may cause long-term health problems (p < 0.001. Among NCs, 42% reported they did not know their daughter needed more shots (English-speaking, 20%, Spanish-speaking 52% and 39% reported that “I wasn’t worried about the safety of the HPV vaccine before, but now I am” (English-speaking, 23%, Spanish-speaking, 50%. Items rated as very important among NIs in the decision regarding vaccination included: more information about safety (74%, more information saying it prevents cancer (70%, and if they knew HPV was spread mainly by sexual contact (61%. Conclusions: Safety concerns, being unaware of the need for multiple doses, and low perceived risk of infection remain significant barriers to HPV vaccination for at-risk adolescents. Some parents’ safety concerns do not appear until initial vaccination.

The equivalency between logic Petri workflow nets and workflow nets.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Yu, ShuXia; Du, YuYue

2015-01-01

Logic Petri nets (LPNs) can describe and analyze batch processing functions and passing value indeterminacy in cooperative systems. Logic Petri workflow nets (LPWNs) are proposed based on LPNs in this paper. Process mining is regarded as an important bridge between modeling and analysis of data mining and business process. Workflow nets (WF-nets) are the extension to Petri nets (PNs), and have successfully been used to process mining. Some shortcomings cannot be avoided in process mining, such as duplicate tasks, invisible tasks, and the noise of logs. The online shop in electronic commerce in this paper is modeled to prove the equivalence between LPWNs and WF-nets, and advantages of LPWNs are presented.

The Equivalency between Logic Petri Workflow Nets and Workflow Nets

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Yu, ShuXia; Du, YuYue

2015-01-01

Logic Petri nets (LPNs) can describe and analyze batch processing functions and passing value indeterminacy in cooperative systems. Logic Petri workflow nets (LPWNs) are proposed based on LPNs in this paper. Process mining is regarded as an important bridge between modeling and analysis of data mining and business process. Workflow nets (WF-nets) are the extension to Petri nets (PNs), and have successfully been used to process mining. Some shortcomings cannot be avoided in process mining, such as duplicate tasks, invisible tasks, and the noise of logs. The online shop in electronic commerce in this paper is modeled to prove the equivalence between LPWNs and WF-nets, and advantages of LPWNs are presented. PMID:25821845

Implementing and measuring safety goals and safety culture. 4. Utility's Activities for Better Safety Culture After the JCO Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omoto, Akira

2001-01-01

The criticality accident at the JCO plant prompted the Government to enact a law for nuclear emergency preparedness. The nuclear industry established NSnet to facilitate opportunities for peer review among its members. This paper describes the activities by NSnet and TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station (NPS) for a better safety culture. Created as a voluntary organization by the nuclear industry in 1999, NSnet has 35 members and is assisted by CRIEPI and NUPEC for its activities relevant to human factors. Given the fact that nuclear facility operators not belonging to WANO had no institutional system available for exchange of experiences and good practices for better safety among themselves, NSnet's activities focus on peer review by member organizations and onsite seminars. Starting April 2000 with visits to three fuel fabricators, NSnet intends to have 23 peer-review visits in 2 yr (Ref. 1). The six-member review team stays on-site for 4 days, during which time they review-using guidelines available from WANO and IAEA-OSART-six areas: organization/management, emergency preparedness, education/training, operation/ maintenance, protection against occupational radiation exposure, and prevention of accidents. A series of on-site seminars is held at members' nuclear facilities, to which NSnet dispatches experts for lectures. NSnet plans to hold such seminars twice per month. Other activities include information-sharing through a newsletter, a Web site (www. nsnet.gr.jp), and others. Although considerable differences exist in the design and the practices in operation/maintenance between power reactors and JCO, utilities can extract lessons from the accident that will be worth consideration for their own facilities in the areas of safety culture, education and training, and interface between design and operation. This thinking prompted the Nuclear Safety Promotion Center at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPS, to which the author belonged at that time, to launch the

PA activity by using nuclear power plant safety demonstration and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchiya, Mitsuo; Kamimae, Rie

1999-01-01

INS/NUPEC presents one of Public acceptance (PA) methods for nuclear power in Japan, 'PA activity by using Nuclear Power Plant Safety Demonstration and Analysis', by using one of videos which is explained and analyzed accident events (Loss of Coolant Accident). Safety regulations of The National Government are strictly implemented in licensing at each of basic design and detailed design. To support safety regulation activities conducted by the National Government, INS/NLTPEC continuously implement Safety demonstration and analysis. With safety demonstration and analysis, made by assuming some abnormal conditions, what impacts could be produced by the assumed conditions are forecast based on specific design data on a given nuclear power plants. When analysis results compared with relevant decision criteria, the safety of nuclear power plants is confirmed. The decision criteria are designed to help judge if or not safety design of nuclear power plants is properly made. The decision criteria are set in the safety examination guidelines by taking sufficient safety allowance based on the latest technical knowledge obtained from a wide range of tests and safety studies. Safety demonstration and analysis is made by taking the procedure which are summarized in this presentation. In Japan, various PA (Public Acceptance) pamphlets and videos on nuclear energy have been published. But many of them focused on such topics as necessity or importance of nuclear energy, basic principles of nuclear power generation, etc., and a few described safety evaluation particularly of abnormal and accident events in accordance with the regulatory requirements. In this background, INS/NUPEC has been making efforts to prepare PA pamphlets and videos to explain the safety of nuclear power plants, to be simple and concrete enough, using various analytical computations for abnormal and accident events. In results, PA activity of INS/NUPEC is evaluated highly by the people

Contribution of Field Strength Gradients to the Net Vertical Current of Active Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Vemareddy, P.

2017-12-01

We examined the contribution of field strength gradients for the degree of net vertical current (NVC) neutralization in active regions (ARs). We used photospheric vector magnetic field observations of AR 11158 obtained by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on board SDO and Hinode. The vertical component of the electric current is decomposed into twist and shear terms. The NVC exhibits systematic evolution owing to the presence of the sheared polarity inversion line between rotating and shearing magnetic regions. We found that the sign of shear current distribution is opposite in dominant pixels (60%–65%) to that of twist current distribution, and its time profile bears no systematic trend. This result indicates that the gradient of magnetic field strength contributes to an opposite signed, though smaller in magnitude, current to that contributed by the magnetic field direction in the vertical component of the current. Consequently, the net value of the shear current is negative in both polarity regions, which when added to the net twist current reduces the direct current value in the north (B z > 0) polarity, resulting in a higher degree of NVC neutralization. We conjecture that the observed opposite signs of shear and twist currents are an indication, according to Parker, that the direct volume currents of flux tubes are canceled by their return currents, which are contributed by field strength gradients. Furthermore, with the increase of spatial resolution, we found higher values of twist, shear current distributions. However, the resolution effect is more useful in resolving the field strength gradients, and therefore suggests more contribution from shear current for the degree of NVC neutralization.

Mathematics Hiding in the Nets for a Cube

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Kyungsoon

2009-01-01

Whether they are third graders or teacher candidates, students can learn about perimeter and area while having fun manipulating two-dimensional figures into three-dimensional objects. In this article, the author describes a common mathematical activity for geometry students by creating nets for a cube. By making connections between nets in two…

Cycling and walking for transport: Estimating net health effects from comparison of different transport mode users' self-reported physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Veisten, Knut; Flügel, Stefan; Ramjerdi, Farideh; Minken, Harald

2011-07-20

There is comprehensive evidence of the positive health effects of physical activity, and transport authorities can enable this by developing infrastructure for cycling and walking. In particular, cycling to work or to school can be a relatively high intensity activity that by itself might suffice for maximum health gain. In this paper, we present estimates of net health effects that can be assumed for demand responses to infrastructure development. The estimation was based on comparing current cyclists/pedestrians against potential cyclists/pedestrians, applying the international physical activity questionnaire, which is a survey-based method for estimating metabolic equivalent task levels from self-reported types of physical activity, and their frequency, duration and level of intensity (moderate or vigorous).. By comparing between shares of individuals with medium or high intensity levels, within the segments of current cyclists/pedestrians and potential cyclists/pedestrians, we estimate the possible net health effects of potential new users of improved cycling/walking infrastructure. For an underpinning of the estimates, we also include the respondents' assessments of the extent to which cycling/walking for transport replaces other physical activity, and we carry out a regression of cycling/walking activity levels on individual characteristics and cycle/walk facility features. The estimated share of new regular cyclists obtaining net health gains was ca. 30%, while for new regular pedestrians this was only ca. 15%. These estimates are based on the assumption that the new users of improved cycle/walk facilities are best represented by self-declared potential users of such improved facilities. For potential cyclists/pedestrians, exercise was stated as the main motivation for physical active transport, but among current regular cyclists "fast and flexible" was just as important as exercising. Measured intensity levels from physically active transport increased with

Providing public information in the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fon Jager, Mojca

2000-01-01

these activities were organized by the IAEA. For several years the SNSA has been endeavoring to maintain continuity in translating some of the basic IAEA publications stated below: Code on the Safety on Nuclear Power Plants: Siting, Code on the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants Quality Assurance, Code on safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation, Code on safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design, Code on safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Governmental Organization, The safety Nuclear Installations, Intervention Criteria in a Nuclear or Radiation Emergency, Establishing a National System for Radioactive Waste Management, The Principles of Radioactive Management, Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources, International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of radiation Sources. This publications are distributed free of charge to the institutions concerned. The SNSA also continues sending data to the international network in the field of nuclear and radiation safety NucNet ad distributing the NucNet data to the interested media in Slovenia. Every year the SNSA, the distributor for Slovenia, investigates the interest of media and others in this kind of information and updates the list of receivers. All research work and studies being financed by the SNSA are public and available at the SNSA Library and the international missions' reports are available from the National and University Library, the Central Technical Library, Ljubljana and the University Library, Maribor. (author)

Coloured Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kurt

1987-01-01

The author describes a Petri net model, called coloured Petri nets (CP-nets), by means of which it is possible to describe large systems without having to cope with unnecessary details. The author introduces CP-nets and provide a first impression of their modeling power and the suitability...

Net one, net two: the primary care network income statement.

Science.gov (United States)

Halley, M D; Little, A W

1999-10-01

Although hospital-owned primary care practices have been unprofitable for most hospitals, some hospitals are achieving competitive advantage and sustainable practice operations. A key to the success of some has been a net income reporting tool that separates practice operating expenses from the costs of creating and operating a network of practices to help healthcare organization managers, physicians, and staff to identify opportunities to improve the network's financial performance. This "Net One, Net Two" reporting allows operations leadership to be held accountable for Net One expenses and strategic leadership to be held accountable for Net Two expenses.

Net energy analysis of different electricity generation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-07-01

This document is a report on the net energy analysis of nuclear power and other electricity generation systems. The main objectives of this document are: To provide a comprehensive review of the state of knowledge on net energy analysis of nuclear and other energy systems for electricity generation; to address traditional questions such as whether nuclear power is a net energy producer or not. In addition, the work in progress on a renewed application of the net energy analysis method to environmental issues is also discussed. It is expected that this work could contribute to the overall comparative assessment of different energy systems which is an ongoing activity at the IAEA. 167 refs, 9 figs, 5 tabs

Addressing the fundamental issues in reliability evaluation of passive safety of AP1000 for a comparison with active safety of PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashim Muhammad; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Yang Ming

2013-01-01

Passive safety systems adopted in advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), such as AP1000 and EPR, should attain higher reliability than the existing active safety systems of the conventional PWR. The objective of this study is to discuss the fundamental issues relating to the reliability evaluation of AP1000 passive safety systems for a comparison with the active safety systems of conventional PWR, based on several aspects. First, comparisons between conventional PWR and AP1000 are made from the both aspects of safety design and cost reduction. The main differences between these PWR plants exist in the configurations of safety systems: AP1000 employs the passive safety system while reducing the number of active systems. Second, the safety of AP1000 is discussed from the aspect of severe accident prevention in the event of large break loss of coolant accidents (LOCA). Third, detailed fundamental issues on reliability evaluation of AP1000 passive safety systems are discussed qualitatively by using single loop models of safety systems of both PWRs plants. Lastly, methodology to conduct quantitative estimation of dynamic reliability for AP1000 passive safety systems in LOCA condition is discussed, in order to evaluate the reliability of AP1000 in future by a success-path-based reliability analysis method (i.e., GO-FLOW). (author)

A review of the nuclear safety activities in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merelli, A.

1989-01-01

A review of research programs carried out in Italy in the field of nuclear reactor safety was done in 1986, in the frame of the activities of the Commission of the European Communities, the International Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report contains information on these programs, as well as information on the organization of safety research in Italy and the evolution of safety research programs

IAEA activity related to safety of nuclear desalination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gasparini, M.

2000-01-01

The nuclear plants for desalination to be built in the future will have to meet the standards of safety required for the best nuclear power plants currently in operation or being designed. The current safety approach, based on the achievement of the fundamental safety functions and defence in depth strategy, has been shown to be a sound foundation for the safety and protection of public health, and gives the plant the capability of dealing with a large variety of sequences, even beyond the design basis. The Department of Nuclear Safety of the IAEA is involved in many activities, the most important of which are to establish safety standards, and to provide various safety services and technical knowledge in many Technical Co-operation assistance projects. The department is also involved in other safety areas, notably in the field of future reactors. The IAEA is carrying out a project on the safety of new generation reactors, including those used for desalination, with the objective of fostering an exchange of information on safety approaches, promoting harmonization among Member States and contributing towards the development and revision of safety standards and guidelines for nuclear power plant design. The safety, regulatory and environmental concerns in nuclear powered desalination are those related directly to nuclear power plants, with due consideration given to the coupling process. The protection of product water against radioactive contamination must be ensured. An effective infrastructure, including appropriate training, a legal framework and regulatory regime, is a prerequisite to considering use of nuclear power for desalination plants, also in those countries with limited industrial infrastructures and little experience in nuclear technology or safety. (author)

Community pharmacist participation in a practice-based research network: a report from the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet).

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Puja; Hemmeger, Heather; Kozak, Mary Ann; Gernant, Stephanie A; Snyder, Margie E

2015-01-01

To describe the experiences and opinions of pharmacists serving as site coordinators for the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx-SafeNet). Retail chain, independent, and hospital/health system outpatient community pharmacies throughout Indiana, with a total of 127 pharmacy members represented by 26 site coordinators. Rx-SafeNet, a statewide practice-based research network (PBRN) formed in 2010 and administered by the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Barriers and facilitators to participation in available research studies, confidence participating in research, and satisfaction with overall network communication. 22 of 26 site coordinators participated, resulting in an 85% response rate. Most (72.2%) of the respondents had received a doctor of pharmacy degree, and 13.6% had postgraduate year (PGY)1 residency training. The highest reported benefits of PBRN membership were an enhanced relationship with the Purdue University College of Pharmacy (81% agreed or strongly agreed) and enhanced professional development (80% agreed or strongly agreed). Time constraints were identified as the greatest potential barrier to network participation, reported by 62% of respondents. In addition, the majority (59%) of survey respondents identified no prior research experience. Last, respondents' confidence in performing research appeared to increase substantially after becoming network members, with 43% reporting a lack of confidence in engaging in research before joining the network compared with 90% reporting confidence after joining the network. In general, Rx-SafeNet site coordinators appeared to experience increased confidence in research engagement after joining the network. While respondents identified a number of benefits associated with network participation, concerns about potential time constraints remained a key barrier to participation. These findings will assist network leadership in identifying opportunities to positively increase member participation

Activities on safety for the cross-cutting issue of research reactors in the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perrotta, J.A.; Boado Magan, H.J.

2003-01-01

IAEA activities in the field of research reactor safety are included in the programme of the Division of Nuclear Installations Safety and implemented by the Engineering Safety Section through its Research Reactor Safety Unit. Following the objectives of the Division, the results of the IAEA missions and the recommendations from International Advisory Groups, the IAEA has conducted in recent years a certain number of activities aiming to enhance the safety of research reactors. The following activities are discussed in this paper: (a) the new Requirements for the Safety of Research Reactors, main features and differences with previous standards (SS-35-S1 and SS-35-S2) and the grading approach for implementation; (b) new documents being developed (safety guides, safety reports and TECDOCs); (c) activities related to the Incident Reporting System for Research Reactor (IRSRR); (d) the new features implemented for the (Integrated Safety Assessment of Research Reactors) INSARR missions; (e) the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors developed, following the General Conference Resolution GC(45)/RES/10; and (f) the survey on the safety of research reactors conducted in the year 2002 and the results obtained. (author)

Results of dose calculations for NET accidental and normal operation releases of tritium and activation products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raskob, W.; Hasemann, I.

1992-08-01

This report documents conditions, data and results of dose calculations for accidental and normal operation releases of tritium and activation products, performed within the NET subtask SEP2.2 ('NET-Benchmark') of the European Fusion Technology Programme. For accidental releases, the computer codes UFOTRI and COSYMA for assessing the radiological consequences, have been applied for both deterministic and probabilistic calculations. The influence on dose estimates of different release times (2 minutes / 1 hour), two release heights (10 m / 150 m), two chemical forms of tritium (HT/HTO), and two different model approaches for the deposition velocity of HTO on soil was investigated. The dose calculations for normal operation effluents were performed using the tritium model of the German regulatory guidelines, parts of the advanced dose assessment model NORMTRI still under development, and the statistical atmospheric dispersion model ISOLA. Accidental and normal operation source terms were defined as follows: 10g (3.7 10 15 Bq) for accidental tritium releases, 10 Ci/day (3.7 10 11 Bq/day) for tritium releases during normal operation and unit releases of 10 9 Bq for accidental releases of activation products and fission products. (orig./HP) [de

Can We Do That Here? Establishing the Scope of Surgical Practice at a New Safety-Net Community Hospital Through a Transparent, Collaborative Review of Physician Privileges.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Sean M; Seresinghe, Sarah; Sharma, Arun; Russell, Tara A; Crawford, L'Orangerie; Frencher, Stanley K

2018-01-01

Stewarding of physician privileges wisely is imperative, but no guidelines exist for how to incorporate system-level factors in privileging decisions. A newly opened, safety-net community hospital tailored the scope of surgical practice through review of physician privileges. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital is a public-private partnership, safety-net institution in South Los Angeles that opened in July 2015. It has 131 beds, including a 28-bed emergency department, a 20-bed ICU, and 5 operating rooms. Staff privileging decisions were initially based only on physicians' training and experience, but this resulted in several cases that tested the boundaries of what a small community hospital was prepared to handle. A collaborative, transparent process to review physician privileges was developed. This began with physician-only review of procedure lists, followed by a larger, multidisciplinary group to assess system-level factors. Specific questions were used to guide discussion, and unanimous approval from all stakeholders was required to include a procedure. An initial list of 558 procedures across 11 specialties was reduced to 321 (57.5%). No new cases that fall outside these new boundaries have arisen. An inclusive process was crucial for obtaining buy-in and establishing cultural norms. Arranging transfer agreements remains a significant challenge. Accumulation of institutional experience continues through regular performance reviews. As this hospital's capabilities mature, a blueprint has been established for expanding surgical scope of practice based explicitly on system-level factors. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical safety issues in the design of fusion machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, W.

1991-01-01

In the course of developing fusion machines both general safety considerations and safety assessments for the various components and systems of actual machines increase in number and become more and more coherent. This is particularly true for the NET/ITER projects where safety analysis plays an increasing role for the design of the machine. Since in a D/T tokamak the radiological hazards will be dominant basic radiological safety objectives are discussed. Critical safety issues as identified in particular by the NET/ITER community are reviewed. Subsequently, issues of major concern are considered both for normal operation and for conceivable accidents. The following accidents are considered to be crucial: Loss of cooling in plasma facing components, loss of vacuum, tritium system failure, and magnet system failure. To mitigate accident consequences a confinement concept based on passive features and multiple barriers including detritiation and filtering has to be applied. The reactor building as final barrier needs special attention to cope with both internal and external hazards. (orig.)

Validation results of satellite mock-up capturing experiment using nets

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, Alberto; Cercós, Lorenzo; Stefanescu, Raluca M.; Benvenuto, Riccardo; Pesce, Vincenzo; Marcon, Marco; Lavagna, Michèle; González, Iván; Rodríguez López, Nuria; Wormnes, Kjetil

2017-05-01

The PATENDER activity (Net parametric characterization and parabolic flight), funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) via its Clean Space initiative, was aiming to validate a simulation tool for designing nets for capturing space debris. This validation has been performed through a set of different experiments under microgravity conditions where a net was launched capturing and wrapping a satellite mock-up. This paper presents the architecture of the thrown-net dynamics simulator together with the set-up of the deployment experiment and its trajectory reconstruction results on a parabolic flight (Novespace A-310, June 2015). The simulator has been implemented within the Blender framework in order to provide a highly configurable tool, able to reproduce different scenarios for Active Debris Removal missions. The experiment has been performed over thirty parabolas offering around 22 s of zero-g conditions. Flexible meshed fabric structure (the net) ejected from a container and propelled by corner masses (the bullets) arranged around its circumference have been launched at different initial velocities and launching angles using a pneumatic-based dedicated mechanism (representing the chaser satellite) against a target mock-up (the target satellite). High-speed motion cameras were recording the experiment allowing 3D reconstruction of the net motion. The net knots have been coloured to allow the images post-process using colour segmentation, stereo matching and iterative closest point (ICP) for knots tracking. The final objective of the activity was the validation of the net deployment and wrapping simulator using images recorded during the parabolic flight. The high-resolution images acquired have been post-processed to determine accurately the initial conditions and generate the reference data (position and velocity of all knots of the net along its deployment and wrapping of the target mock-up) for the simulator validation. The simulator has been properly

System analysis of vehicle active safety problem

Science.gov (United States)

Buznikov, S. E.

2018-02-01

The problem of the road transport safety affects the vital interests of the most of the population and is characterized by a global level of significance. The system analysis of problem of creation of competitive active vehicle safety systems is presented as an interrelated complex of tasks of multi-criterion optimization and dynamic stabilization of the state variables of a controlled object. Solving them requires generation of all possible variants of technical solutions within the software and hardware domains and synthesis of the control, which is close to optimum. For implementing the task of the system analysis the Zwicky “morphological box” method is used. Creation of comprehensive active safety systems involves solution of the problem of preventing typical collisions. For solving it, a structured set of collisions is introduced with its elements being generated also using the Zwicky “morphological box” method. The obstacle speed, the longitudinal acceleration of the controlled object and the unpredictable changes in its movement direction due to certain faults, the road surface condition and the control errors are taken as structure variables that characterize the conditions of collisions. The conditions for preventing typical collisions are presented as inequalities for physical variables that define the state vector of the object and its dynamic limits.

CalMagNet – an array of search coil magnetometers monitoring ultra low frequency activity in California

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Dunson

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The California Magnetometer Network (CalMagNet consists of sixty-eight triaxial search-coil magnetometer systems measuring Ultra Low Frequency (ULF, 0.001–16 Hz, magnetic field fluctuations in California. CalMagNet provides data for comprehensive multi-point measurements of specific events in the Pc 1–Pc 5 range at mid-latitudes as well as a systematic, long-term study of ULF signals in active fault regions in California. Typical events include geomagnetic micropulsations and spectral resonant structures associated with the ionospheric Alfvén resonator. This paper provides a technical overview of the CalMagNet sensors and data processing systems. The network is composed of ten reference stations and fifty-eight local monitoring stations. The primary instruments at each site are three orthogonal induction coil magnetometers. A geophone monitors local site vibration. The systems are designed for future sensor expansion and include resources for monitoring four additional channels. Data is currently sampled at 32 samples per second with a 24-bit converter and time tagged with a GPS-based timing system. Several examples of representative magnetic fluctuations and signals as measured by the array are given.

Effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in difficult-to-treat patients in a safety-net health system: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yek, Christina; de la Flor, Carolina; Marshall, John; Zoellner, Cindy; Thompson, Grace; Quirk, Lisa; Mayorga, Christian; Turner, Barbara J; Singal, Amit G; Jain, Mamta K

2017-11-20

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have revolutionized chronic hepatitis C (HCV) treatment, but real-world effectiveness among vulnerable populations, including uninsured patients, is lacking. This study was conducted to characterize the effectiveness of DAAs in a socioeconomically disadvantaged and underinsured patient cohort. This retrospective observational study included all patients undergoing HCV treatment with DAA-based therapy between April 2014 and June 2016 at a large urban safety-net health system (Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, TX, USA). The primary outcome was sustained virologic response (SVR), with secondary outcomes including treatment discontinuation, treatment relapse, and loss to follow-up. DAA-based therapy was initiated in 512 patients. The cohort was socioeconomically disadvantaged (56% uninsured and 13% Medicaid), with high historic rates of alcohol (41%) and substance (50%) use, and mental health disorders (38%). SVR was achieved in 90% of patients (n = 459); 26 patients (5%) were lost to follow-up. SVR was significantly lower in patients with decompensated cirrhosis (82% SVR; OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.16-0.85) but did not differ by insurance status (P = 0.98) or alcohol/substance use (P = 0.34). Reasons for treatment failure included loss to follow-up (n = 26, 5%), viral relapse (n = 16, 3%), non-treatment-related death (n = 7, 1%), and treatment discontinuation (n = 4, 1%). Of patients with viral relapse, 6 reported non-compliance and have not been retreated, 5 have been retreated and achieved SVR, 4 have undergone resistance testing but not yet initiated retreatment, and 1 was lost to follow-up. Effective outcomes with DAA-based therapy can be achieved in difficult-to-treat underinsured populations followed in resource-constrained safety-net health systems.

Safety Culture Improvement Activities of YGN 3 and 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Il Hoon

2006-01-01

In nuclear power industry all over the world, we can never overemphasize the importance of nuclear safety. After the Chernobyl accident occurred in 1986, Korean nuclear energy industry had made every effort to enhance nuclear safety culture further. And, as a result of the efforts, Korean government declared the five principles for the nuclear energy safety regulation, which were included in the Nuclear Energy Safety Policy Statement published in 1994. In 2001, through the announcement of Nuclear Safety Charter for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the Ministry of Science and Technology proclaimed at home and abroad that the protection of citizens and environment by securing nuclear safety should be the highest priority in nuclear energy industry. Occupying almost 40% share of domestic electricity generation, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. decided 'Safety Top Priority Management' as president's management policy, and clearly presented the safety goal to the personnel. By this, the management can effectively place stress on securing safety, which is our highest priority and the only way to win public confidence toward nuclear energy industry. This is prepared to shortly introduce the activities for improving safety culture in Yonggwang Nuclear Power unit 3 and 4 (YGN 3 and 4)

Complexity metrics for workflow nets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lassen, K.B.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.

2009-01-01

Process modeling languages such as EPCs, BPMN, flow charts, UML activity diagrams, Petri nets, etc., are used to model business processes and to configure process-aware information systems. It is known that users have problems understanding these diagrams. In fact, even process engineers and system

Complexity Metrics for Workflow Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Kristian Bisgaard; van der Aalst, Wil M.P.

2009-01-01

Process modeling languages such as EPCs, BPMN, flow charts, UML activity diagrams, Petri nets, etc.\\ are used to model business processes and to configure process-aware information systems. It is known that users have problems understanding these diagrams. In fact, even process engineers and system...

Study on application of safety checklist in preventive maintenance activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Jin; Chen Song; Liu Jingquan

2013-01-01

The paper describes the principles and the characteristics of safety checklist as a risk evaluation method. Examples of application of safety checklists to preventive maintenance activities such as criteria comparison and checkup items in place in nuclear power plants are illustrated in details with issues appeared in the checklist establishment. Checklist has a good application in the RCM analysis or in the actual preventive maintenance program for Chashma Nuclear Power Plant indicated by concrete instances. In the light of safety checklist which is used to sustain preventive maintenance as a simple and applicable risk analysis approach, we can get deep knowledge of risks of nuclear power plant to perfect preventive maintenance activities. (authors)

Road identification for its-integrated systems of automotive active safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Ivanov

2005-04-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses several aspects of active safety control for automotive application. Particular emphasis is placed on the fuzzy logic determination of friction properties of a tyre-road contact. An example of vehicle control systems equipped with off-board sensors of road roughness, temperature, moisture and rain intensity demonstrates the implementation of this approach. The paper proposes conceptual solutions for preventive active safety control applied to vehicles which are integrated in an intelligent transportation system.

THE CONCEPT OF “SAFETY NET” AND ITS APPLICATION IN AMERICAN AND CANADIAN AGRICULTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Soliwoda

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This aim of the article was  to provide a multi-faceted presentation of the possibilities of aplication the concept of "safety net" in agriculture in the United States and Canada. Literature review, elements of heuristic methods, and the documentaty method- in comparative terms - were used.  . The theoretical basis of the concept of safety nets in agriculture refer to the achievements earned by many schools and streams  in economics and finance. An in-depth analysis is based on an "eclectic" and interdisciplinary approach. In practice, the "architecture" of safety nets in agriculture in the U.S.  and Canada is quite complex and is based on relationships between the individual components. The role of risk management systems for agriculture will be strengthened.

The Affordability of Providing Sexually Transmitted Disease Services at a Safety-net Clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Lorraine T; Montgomery, Madeline C; Raifman, Julia; Nunn, Amy; Bertrand, Thomas; Almonte, Alexi; Chan, Philip A

2018-04-01

Sexually transmitted diseases continue to increase in the U.S. There is a growing need for financially viable models to ensure the longevity of safety-net sexually transmitted disease clinics, which provide testing and treatment to high-risk populations. This micro-costing analysis estimated the number of visits required to balance cost and revenue of a sexually transmitted disease clinic in a Medicaid expansion state. In 2017, actual and projected cost and revenues were estimated from the Rhode Island sexually transmitted disease clinic in 2015. Projected revenues for a hypothetical clinic offering a standard set of sexually transmitted disease services were based on Medicaid; private ("commercial") insurance; and institutional ("list price") reimbursement rates. The number of visits needed to cover clinic costs at each rate was assessed. Total operating cost for 2,153 clinic visits was estimated at $255,769, or $119 per visit. Laboratory testing and salaries each accounted for 44% of operating costs, medications for treatment 7%, supplies 5%, and 28% of visits used insurance. For a standard clinic offering a basic set of sexually transmitted disease services to break even, a projected 73% of visits need to be covered at the Medicaid rate, 38% at private rate, or 11% at institutional rate. Sexually transmitted disease clinics may be financially viable when a majority of visits are billed at a Medicaid rate; however, mixed private/public models may be needed if not all visits are billed. In this manner, sexually transmitted disease clinics can be solvent even if not all visits are billed to insurance, thus ensuring access to uninsured or underinsured patients. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

WE-G-BRA-02: SafetyNet: Automating Radiotherapy QA with An Event Driven Framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadley, S; Kessler, M; Litzenberg, D; Lee, C; Irrer, J; Chen, X; Acosta, E; Weyburne, G; Lam, K; Younge, K; Matuszak, M; Keranen, W; Covington, E; Moran, J

2015-01-01

Purpose: Quality assurance is an essential task in radiotherapy that often requires many manual tasks. We investigate the use of an event driven framework in conjunction with software agents to automate QA and eliminate wait times. Methods: An in house developed subscription-publication service, EventNet, was added to the Aria OIS to be a message broker for critical events occurring in the OIS and software agents. Software agents operate without user intervention and perform critical QA steps. The results of the QA are documented and the resulting event is generated and passed back to EventNet. Users can subscribe to those events and receive messages based on custom filters designed to send passing or failing results to physicists or dosimetrists. Agents were developed to expedite the following QA tasks: Plan Revision, Plan 2nd Check, SRS Winston-Lutz isocenter, Treatment History Audit, Treatment Machine Configuration. Results: Plan approval in the Aria OIS was used as the event trigger for plan revision QA and Plan 2nd check agents. The agents pulled the plan data, executed the prescribed QA, stored the results and updated EventNet for publication. The Winston Lutz agent reduced QA time from 20 minutes to 4 minutes and provided a more accurate quantitative estimate of radiation isocenter. The Treatment Machine Configuration agent automatically reports any changes to the Treatment machine or HDR unit configuration. The agents are reliable, act immediately, and execute each task identically every time. Conclusion: An event driven framework has inverted the data chase in our radiotherapy QA process. Rather than have dosimetrists and physicists push data to QA software and pull results back into the OIS, the software agents perform these steps immediately upon receiving the sentinel events from EventNet. Mr Keranen is an employee of Varian Medical Systems. Dr. Moran’s institution receives research support for her effort for a linear accelerator QA project from

WE-G-BRA-02: SafetyNet: Automating Radiotherapy QA with An Event Driven Framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, S; Kessler, M [The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Litzenberg, D [Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Lee, C; Irrer, J; Chen, X; Acosta, E; Weyburne, G; Lam, K; Younge, K; Matuszak, M [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Keranen, W [Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Covington, E [University of Michigan Hospital and Health System, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Moran, J [Univ Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Quality assurance is an essential task in radiotherapy that often requires many manual tasks. We investigate the use of an event driven framework in conjunction with software agents to automate QA and eliminate wait times. Methods: An in house developed subscription-publication service, EventNet, was added to the Aria OIS to be a message broker for critical events occurring in the OIS and software agents. Software agents operate without user intervention and perform critical QA steps. The results of the QA are documented and the resulting event is generated and passed back to EventNet. Users can subscribe to those events and receive messages based on custom filters designed to send passing or failing results to physicists or dosimetrists. Agents were developed to expedite the following QA tasks: Plan Revision, Plan 2nd Check, SRS Winston-Lutz isocenter, Treatment History Audit, Treatment Machine Configuration. Results: Plan approval in the Aria OIS was used as the event trigger for plan revision QA and Plan 2nd check agents. The agents pulled the plan data, executed the prescribed QA, stored the results and updated EventNet for publication. The Winston Lutz agent reduced QA time from 20 minutes to 4 minutes and provided a more accurate quantitative estimate of radiation isocenter. The Treatment Machine Configuration agent automatically reports any changes to the Treatment machine or HDR unit configuration. The agents are reliable, act immediately, and execute each task identically every time. Conclusion: An event driven framework has inverted the data chase in our radiotherapy QA process. Rather than have dosimetrists and physicists push data to QA software and pull results back into the OIS, the software agents perform these steps immediately upon receiving the sentinel events from EventNet. Mr Keranen is an employee of Varian Medical Systems. Dr. Moran’s institution receives research support for her effort for a linear accelerator QA project from

Application of deconvolution interferometry with both Hi-net and KiK-net data

Science.gov (United States)

Nakata, N.

2013-12-01

Application of deconvolution interferometry to wavefields observed by KiK-net, a strong-motion recording network in Japan, is useful for estimating wave velocities and S-wave splitting in the near surface. Using this technique, for example, Nakata and Snieder (2011, 2012) found changed in velocities caused by Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan. At the location of the borehole accelerometer of each KiK-net station, a velocity sensor is also installed as a part of a high-sensitivity seismograph network (Hi-net). I present a technique that uses both Hi-net and KiK-net records for computing deconvolution interferometry. The deconvolved waveform obtained from the combination of Hi-net and KiK-net data is similar to the waveform computed from KiK-net data only, which indicates that one can use Hi-net wavefields for deconvolution interferometry. Because Hi-net records have a high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and high dynamic resolution, the S/N and the quality of amplitude and phase of deconvolved waveforms can be improved with Hi-net data. These advantages are especially important for short-time moving-window seismic interferometry and deconvolution interferometry using later coda waves.

Review of FEWS NET Biophysical Monitoring Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, K. W.; Brown, Molly E.; Verdin, J.; Underwood, L. W.

2009-01-01

The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) provides monitoring and early warning support to decision makers responsible for responding to famine and food insecurity. FEWS NET transforms satellite remote sensing data into rainfall and vegetation information that can be used by these decision makers. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has recently funded activities to enhance remote sensing inputs to FEWS NET. To elicit Earth observation requirements, a professional review questionnaire was disseminated to FEWS NET expert end-users: it focused upon operational requirements to determine additional useful remote sensing data and; subsequently, beneficial FEWS NET biophysical supplementary inputs. The review was completed by over 40 experts from around the world, enabling a robust set of professional perspectives to be gathered and analyzed rapidly. Reviewers were asked to evaluate the relative importance of environmental variables and spatio-temporal requirements for Earth science data products, in particular for rainfall and vegetation products. The results showed that spatio-temporal resolution requirements are complex and need to vary according to place, time, and hazard: that high resolution remote sensing products continue to be in demand, and that rainfall and vegetation products were valued as data that provide actionable food security information.

Role of computer techniques for knowledge propagation about nuclear energetics safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osachkin, V.S.

1996-01-01

The development of nuclear power engineering depends on the levels of nuclear, radiological and ecological safety. To ensure the approval of such levels by the community to spread the knowledge on Safety of Nuclear Engineering in understandable forms. New computer technologies may play an important role in the safety education of the public and upgrading of qualification of personnel. The progress in computer nets development makes it possible to use besides e-mail qualification of personnel. The progress in computer in nets development makes it possible to use besides e-mail and BBS the Internet system for remote education. As an example a computer course on Atomic Energy and its safety presented. This course now written in Russian consists of 6 parts, namely: physical basis of utilization of Nuclear energy; technical bases of uses of Nuclear energy; nuclear Reactors and their Systems; safety Principles, Goals, Nuclear Safety Regulation; the Environmental Impact of the us of Nuclear Power, severe accident consequences and scenarios

Review of nuclear regulatory activities associated with safety culture and the management of safety in the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodhouse, P.A.

1995-01-01

This paper describes some of the key regulatory activities which have taken place in the United Kingdom in recent years in the areas of safety culture and management of safety. It explains how the UK's nuclear licensing regime, regulated and enforced by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, (NII), provides the framework for a viable safety management system and identifies a management of safety model which a NII Task Force has developed. It finally identifies further work which is being undertaken by the NII. (author). 4 refs, 2 figs

Video studies of passage by Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes through holes in a simulated bed net: effects of hole size, hole orientation and net environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutcliffe, James; Colborn, Kathryn L

2015-05-13

Holes in netting provide potential routes for mosquitoes to enter ITNs. Despite this, there is little information on how mosquitoes respond to holes in bed nets and how their responses are affected by hole size, shape and orientation or by ambient conditions around the net. Female Anopheles gambiae (G3) were recorded in a simulated bed net consisting of two sizes of untreated netting-covered behavioural arenas placed above and beside (to simulate the bed net roof and sides respectively) the experimenter who was a source of host cues from 'inside' the net. A round hole of 9 mm or 13 mm diameter was cut into the centre of the netting of each arena. Videos of unfed female mosquitoes in arenas were analysed for time spent flying, walking and standing still and for exit through the hole. The effects of the experimenter on temperature and relative humidity around the simulated net were also measured. Mosquitoes were significantly more active in overhead arenas than in arenas to the side. Hole passage was significantly more likely in smaller arenas than larger ones and for larger holes than smaller ones. In arenas to the side, hole passage rate through small holes was about 50% less likely than what could be explained by area alone. Passage rate through holes in overhead arenas was consistent with hole area. Temperature in arenas did not strongly reflect the experimenter's presence in the simulated net. Relative humidity and absolute humidity in overhead arenas, but not in arenas to the side, were immediately affected by experimenter presence. Higher levels of activity in overhead arenas than in arenas to the side were likely due to the rising heat and humidity plume from the experimenter. Lower than expected passage rates through smaller vertically oriented holes may have been be due to an edge effect that does not apply to horizontally oriented holes. Results suggest that current methods of assessing the importance of physical damage to ITNs may not accurately reflect

Applying Petri nets in modelling the human factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedreaga, Luminita; Constntinescu, Cristina; Guzun, Basarab

2007-01-01

Usually, in the reliability analysis performed for complex systems, we determine the success probability to work with other performance indices, i.e. the likelihood associated with a given state. The possible values assigned to system states can be derived using inductive methods. If one wants to calculate the probability to occur a particular event in the system, then deductive methods should be applied. In the particular case of the human reliability analysis, as part of probabilistic safety analysis, the international regulatory commission have developed specific guides and procedures to perform such assessments. The paper presents the modality to obtain the human reliability quantification using the Petri nets approach. This is an efficient means to assess reliability systems because of their specific features. The examples showed in the paper are from human reliability documentation without a detailed human factor analysis (qualitative). We present human action modelling using event trees and Petri nets approach. The obtained results by these two kinds of methods are in good concordance. (authors)

IAEA activities on safety aspects of NPP ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pachner, J.

1998-01-01

A review of IAEA activities concerned with safety aspects of nuclear power plants ageing is given for the period from 1995 to 1998 with the prospects till year 2000. Coordinated Research programs were conducted on Management Ageing of Concrete Containment Buildings; Management of Ageing of In-Containment I and C cables. TECDOCs were published on Assessment and Management of Ageing of Major NPP Components Important for Safety of CANDU, PWR and BWR NPPs. Technical Committee Meetings and Interregional training courses concerned with the same subjects were held

Perspective on Secure Development Activities and Features of Safety I and C Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Youngdoo; Yu, Yeong Jin; Kim, Hyungtae; Kwon, Yong il; Park, Yeunsoo; Choo, Jaeyul; Son, Jun Young; Jeong, Choong Heui

2015-01-01

The Enforcement Decree of the Act on Physical Protection and Radiological Emergency (ED-APPRE) was revised December 2013 to include security requirements on computer systems at nuclear facilities to protect those systems against malicious cyber-attacks. It means Cyber-Security-related measures, controls and activities of safety I and C systems against cyber-attacks shall meet the requirements of ED-APPRE. Still regulation upon inadvertent access or non-malicious modifications to the safety I and C systems is covered under the Nuclear Safety Act. The objective of this paper is to propose KINS' regulatory perspective on secure development and features against non-malicious access or modification of safety I and C systems. Secure development activities and features aim to prevent inadvertent and non-malicious access, and to prevent unwanted action from personnel or connected systems for ensuring reliable operation of safety I and C systems. Secure development activities of safety I and C systems are life cycle activities to ensure unwanted, unneeded and undocumented code is not incorporated into the systems. Secure features shall be developed, verified and qualified throughout the development life cycle

Perspective on Secure Development Activities and Features of Safety I and C Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Youngdoo; Yu, Yeong Jin; Kim, Hyungtae; Kwon, Yong il; Park, Yeunsoo; Choo, Jaeyul; Son, Jun Young; Jeong, Choong Heui [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

The Enforcement Decree of the Act on Physical Protection and Radiological Emergency (ED-APPRE) was revised December 2013 to include security requirements on computer systems at nuclear facilities to protect those systems against malicious cyber-attacks. It means Cyber-Security-related measures, controls and activities of safety I and C systems against cyber-attacks shall meet the requirements of ED-APPRE. Still regulation upon inadvertent access or non-malicious modifications to the safety I and C systems is covered under the Nuclear Safety Act. The objective of this paper is to propose KINS' regulatory perspective on secure development and features against non-malicious access or modification of safety I and C systems. Secure development activities and features aim to prevent inadvertent and non-malicious access, and to prevent unwanted action from personnel or connected systems for ensuring reliable operation of safety I and C systems. Secure development activities of safety I and C systems are life cycle activities to ensure unwanted, unneeded and undocumented code is not incorporated into the systems. Secure features shall be developed, verified and qualified throughout the development life cycle.

Comparative Effectiveness of a Technology-Facilitated Depression Care Management Model in Safety-Net Primary Care Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: 6-Month Outcomes of a Large Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shinyi; Ell, Kathleen; Jin, Haomiao; Vidyanti, Irene; Chou, Chih-Ping; Lee, Pey-Jiuan; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Sklaroff, Laura Myerchin; Belson, David; Nezu, Arthur M; Hay, Joel; Wang, Chien-Ju; Scheib, Geoffrey; Di Capua, Paul; Hawkins, Caitlin; Liu, Pai; Ramirez, Magaly; Wu, Brian W; Richman, Mark; Myers, Caitlin; Agustines, Davin; Dasher, Robert; Kopelowicz, Alex; Allevato, Joseph; Roybal, Mike; Ipp, Eli; Haider, Uzma; Graham, Sharon; Mahabadi, Vahid; Guterman, Jeffrey

2018-04-23

Comorbid depression is a significant challenge for safety-net primary care systems. Team-based collaborative depression care is effective, but complex system factors in safety-net organizations impede adoption and result in persistent disparities in outcomes. Diabetes-Depression Care-management Adoption Trial (DCAT) evaluated whether depression care could be significantly improved by harnessing information and communication technologies to automate routine screening and monitoring of patient symptoms and treatment adherence and allow timely communication with providers. The aim of this study was to compare 6-month outcomes of a technology-facilitated care model with a usual care model and a supported care model that involved team-based collaborative depression care for safety-net primary care adult patients with type 2 diabetes. DCAT is a translational study in collaboration with Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the second largest safety-net care system in the United States. A comparative effectiveness study with quasi-experimental design was conducted in three groups of adult patients with type 2 diabetes to compare three delivery models: usual care, supported care, and technology-facilitated care. Six-month outcomes included depression and diabetes care measures and patient-reported outcomes. Comparative treatment effects were estimated by linear or logistic regression models that used generalized propensity scores to adjust for sampling bias inherent in the nonrandomized design. DCAT enrolled 1406 patients (484 in usual care, 480 in supported care, and 442 in technology-facilitated care), most of whom were Hispanic or Latino and female. Compared with usual care, both the supported care and technology-facilitated care groups were associated with significant reduction in depressive symptoms measured by scores on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (least squares estimate, LSE: usual care=6.35, supported care=5.05, technology-facilitated care=5

[European Blood Alliance (EBA) and EuroNet TMS: what challenges for the transfusion of tomorrow?].

Science.gov (United States)

Folléa, G; de Wit, J; Rouger, P

2011-04-01

The primary mission of the European Blood Alliance (EBA) is to contribute to the safety and efficiency of the supply of blood products, cells and tissues, in developing an active network of blood establishments in Europe (25 countries). Its strategic objectives are to improve performance (through working groups and projects funded by the European Union), to engage in regulatory affairs (particularly at the European Commission level) to promote best practices and to facilitate a network to collect and share knowledge and experiences. The main objective of EuroNet TMS, combining the blood scientific societies from more than 30 countries in Europe, is to update and publish regularly, intended for policymakers, a White Book on the transfusion chain from donor to patient and probable or possible changes in the coming 5 years. Since 2008, EBA and EuroNet TMS actively collaborate on the drafting of the 2nd edition to be published in 2011. The two presidents jointly drafted the final chapter outlining the major issues of transfusion for tomorrow, summarized thereafter. Transfusion will still be useful for a long time and for reasons of safety and ethics the voluntary and unpaid donations, with non-profit blood establishments, will remain, the cornerstone of the supply of blood products. This renders crucial the continuous improvement of donor management and optimal blood use. On the regulatory side, after 5 years of implementation, EU directives must be independently evaluated and the Blood Guide of the Council of Europe should gradually become a regulatory standard. Finally, if a competition should be introduced for the blood products, it should be strictly regulated to prevent any threat to the security of their supply and quality for patients. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Safety net : train safely, profitably, and stay out of jail

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Byfield, M.

2005-08-01

This article discussed the benefits of new Web-based training and development services provided by AMEC Training and Development Services. Various Alberta safety regulations were also reviewed, and it was noted that the upstream oil and gas sector have already begun building up strong safety programs. Companies are now increasingly using computer-based training for employees to improve workplace safety. Web-based courses ensure that the subject material is understood by students. In addition, Web-based materials can be economically delivered to field personnel. The learning process can be tracked and recorded in the event that misfortune should occur in the future. Various e-learning packages were evaluated, including Gemini's SWIFT e-learning package. However, the degree to which the Web can replace classroom instruction remains controversial. Typically, modules of a course focus initially on a foundation description of the plant or process, then progress to operating procedures and troubleshooting lessons. Moving diagrams can be programmed using Macro-media Flash, and can be used to portray moving mechanical parts and chemical changes that would normally not be visible to an operator even when standing beside the equipment. It was concluded that with hundreds of workers to train, often on a just-in-time basis, training services that include Web-based instruction are often the most cost-effective and efficient means of training staff. 5 figs.

Net Neutrality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Savin, Andrej

2017-01-01

Repealing “net neutrality” in the US will have no bearing on Internet freedom or security there or anywhere else.......Repealing “net neutrality” in the US will have no bearing on Internet freedom or security there or anywhere else....

The Evaluation of the Safety Benefits of Combined Passive and On-Board Active Safety Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Page, Yves; Cuny, Sophie; Zangmeister, Tobias; Kreiss, Jens-Peter; Hermitte, Thierry

2009-01-01

One of the objectives of the European TRACE project (TRaffic Accident Causation in Europe, 2006–2008) was to estimate the proportion of injury accidents that could be avoided and/or the proportion of injury accidents where the severity could be mitigated for on-the-market safety applications, if 100 % of the car fleet would be equipped with them. We have selected for evaluation the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and the Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) applications. As for passive safety systems, recent cars are designed to offer overall safety protection. Car structure, load limiters, front airbags, side airbags, knee airbags, pretensioners, padding and non aggressive structures in the door panel, the dashboard, the windshield, the seats, and the head rest also contribute to applying more protection. The whole safety package is very difficult to evaluate separately, one element independently segmented from the others. We decided to consider evaluating the effectivenessof the whole passive safety package, This package,, for the sake of simplicity, was the number of stars awarded at the Euro NCAP testing. The challenges were to compare the effectiveness of some safety configuration SC I, with the effectiveness of a different safety configuration SC II. A safety configuration is understood as a package of safety functions. Ten comparisons have been carried out such as the evaluation of the safety benefit of a fifth star given that the car has four stars and an EBA. The main outcome of this analysis is that any addition of a passive or active safety function selected in this analysis is producing increased safety benefits. For example, if all cars were five stars fitted with EBA and ESC, instead of four stars without ESC and EBA, injury accidents would be reduced by 47.2% for severe injuries and 69.5% for fatal injuries. PMID:20184838

Annotating Coloured Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindstrøm, Bo; Wells, Lisa Marie

2002-01-01

Coloured Petri nets (CP-nets) can be used for several fundamentally different purposes like functional analysis, performance analysis, and visualisation. To be able to use the corresponding tool extensions and libraries it is sometimes necessary to include extra auxiliary information in the CP......-net. An example of such auxiliary information is a counter which is associated with a token to be able to do performance analysis. Modifying colour sets and arc inscriptions in a CP-net to support a specific use may lead to creation of several slightly different CP-nets – only to support the different uses...... of the same basic CP-net. One solution to this problem is that the auxiliary information is not integrated into colour sets and arc inscriptions of a CP-net, but is kept separately. This makes it easy to disable this auxiliary information if a CP-net is to be used for another purpose. This paper proposes...

Workplace activities to promote small attempts for safety. Toward development of safety culture in a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukui, Hirokazu; Sugiman, Toshio

2007-01-01

Activities that could possibly grow into learning activities for developing safety culture were explored by intensive fieldwork in a nuclear power plant depending on Engestroem's activity theory. As a first step to achieve this goal, workers' small attempts that might contribute to nurturing a safety culture were investigated. Eight kinds of activity were observed and interpreted as having the possibility to facilitate small recognition and small practice, i.e., activities including (1) workgroup as community, (2) other workgroups and other departments as community, (3) meeting drawing remarks as mediating artifacts, (4) study session and Off-the-Job-Training as mediating artifact, (5) award as mediating artifact, (6) extended leave as mediating artifact, (7) check sheet as mediating artifact, and (8) skill-transfer system as mediating artifact. (author)

NetSig

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horn, Heiko; Lawrence, Michael S; Chouinard, Candace R

2018-01-01

Methods that integrate molecular network information and tumor genome data could complement gene-based statistical tests to identify likely new cancer genes; but such approaches are challenging to validate at scale, and their predictive value remains unclear. We developed a robust statistic (Net......Sig) that integrates protein interaction networks with data from 4,742 tumor exomes. NetSig can accurately classify known driver genes in 60% of tested tumor types and predicts 62 new driver candidates. Using a quantitative experimental framework to determine in vivo tumorigenic potential in mice, we found that Net......Sig candidates induce tumors at rates that are comparable to those of known oncogenes and are ten-fold higher than those of random genes. By reanalyzing nine tumor-inducing NetSig candidates in 242 patients with oncogene-negative lung adenocarcinomas, we find that two (AKT2 and TFDP2) are significantly amplified...

Estimation of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and vegetation net production efficiency using satellite data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanan, N.P.; Prince, S.D.; Begue, A.

1995-01-01

The amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by green vegetation is an important determinant of photosynthesis and growth. Methods for the estimation of fractional absorption of PAR (iff PAR ) for areas greater than 1 km 2 using satellite data are discussed, and are applied to sites in the Sahel that have a sparse herb layer and tree cover of less than 5%. Using harvest measurements of seasonal net production, net production efficiencies are calculated. Variation in estimates of seasonal PAR absorption (APAR) caused by the atmospheric correction method and relationship between surface reflectances and iff PAR is considered. The use of maximum value composites of satellite NDVI to reduce the effect of the atmosphere is shown to produce inaccurate APAR estimates. In this data set, however, atmospheric correction using average optical depths was found to give good approximations of the fully corrected data. A simulation of canopy radiative transfer using the SAIL model was used to derive a relationship between canopy NDVI and iff PAR . Seasonal APAR estimates assuming a 1:1 relationship between iff PAR and NDVI overestimated the SAIL modeled results by up to 260%. The use of a modified 1:1 relationship, where iff PAR was assumed to be linearly related to NDVI scaled between minimum (soil) and maximum (infinite canopy) values, underestimated the SAIL modeled results by up to 35%. Estimated net production efficiencies (ϵ n , dry matter per unit APAR) fell in the range 0.12–1.61 g MJ −1 for above ground production, and in the range 0.16–1.88 g MJ −1 for total production. Sites with lower rainfall had reduced efficiencies, probably caused by physiological constraints on photosynthesis during dry conditions. (author)

Learning Visual Basic NET

CERN Document Server

Liberty, Jesse

2009-01-01

Learning Visual Basic .NET is a complete introduction to VB.NET and object-oriented programming. By using hundreds of examples, this book demonstrates how to develop various kinds of applications--including those that work with databases--and web services. Learning Visual Basic .NET will help you build a solid foundation in .NET.

Using Active Learning to Identify Health Information Technology Related Patient Safety Events.

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Allan; Howe, Jessica L; Adams, Katharine T; Ratwani, Raj M

2017-01-18

The widespread adoption of health information technology (HIT) has led to new patient safety hazards that are often difficult to identify. Patient safety event reports, which are self-reported descriptions of safety hazards, provide one view of potential HIT-related safety events. However, identifying HIT-related reports can be challenging as they are often categorized under other more predominate clinical categories. This challenge of identifying HIT-related reports is exacerbated by the increasing number and complexity of reports which pose challenges to human annotators that must manually review reports. In this paper, we apply active learning techniques to support classification of patient safety event reports as HIT-related. We evaluated different strategies and demonstrated a 30% increase in average precision of a confirmatory sampling strategy over a baseline no active learning approach after 10 learning iterations.

 NET and NETosis – new phenomenon in immunology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Matoszka

2012-06-01

Full Text Available  Neutrophils are one of the first cells of the immune system recruited to the site of infection, representing the host’s most effective and numerous front-line defenders. Recently, a novel antimicrobial mechanism of neutrophils has been described: upon activation, they release DNA and a subset of their granule content, forming neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs. These extracellular, chromatin structures, which contain histones and neutrophil granule proteins, can trap and kill a broad spectrum of microbes, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. Some of the pathogens, which are trapped and exposed to high local concentrations of antimicrobial compounds, employ strategies against NET binding, including surface modification and/or degradation of NET by DNases. It has been suggested that NETs are formed during active cell death, recently named NETosis. New data indicate that this novel mechanism of cell death requires interaction between three processes – reactive oxygen species generation, histone citrullination and autophagy – and significantly differs from previously known types of cell death, including apoptosis and necrosis. Moreover, the release of nuclear chromatin was also described for other types of cells – mast cells and eosinophils. Mast cells, like neutrophils, under certain conditions release nuclear chromatin and may undergo a similar active cell death program, while eosinophils release only mitochondrial chromatin, and its release does not lead to the death of these cells.

Quality Control Activities Related to Mechanical Maintenance of Safety Related Components at Krsko NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djakovic, D.

2016-01-01

For successful, safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plant, maintenance processes have to be systematically controlled and procedures for quality control of maintenance activities shall be established. This is requested by the quality assurance program, which shall provide control over activities affecting the quality of structures, systems, and components, considering their importance to safety. As a part of Quality and Nuclear Oversight Division (QNOD; SKV), the Quality Control Department (QC) provides quality control activities, which are deeply involved in maintenance processes at Krsko NPP, both on safety related and non-safety related (non-nuclear safety) components. QC activities on safety related components have to fulfil all requirements, which will enable the components to perform their intended safety functions. This paper describes quality control activities related to mechanical maintenance of safety related components at Krsko NPP and significant role of the Krsko plant QC Department in three particular maintenance cases connected with safety related components. In these three specific cases, the QC has confirmed its importance in compliance with quality assurance program and presented its significant added value in providing safe and reliable operation of the plant. The first maintenance activity was installation of nozzle check valves in the scope of a modification for improving regulation of spent fuel pit pumps. The QC Department performed receipt inspection of the valves. Using non-destructive examination methods and X-ray spectrometry, it was found out that the valve diffuser was made of improper material, which could cause progressive corrosion of the valve diffuser in borated water and consequently a loss of safety function of the valves followed by long-term consequences. The second one was the receipt inspection of containment ventilation fan coolers. The coolers were claimed and sent back to the supplier because the QC Department

A 3D Active Learning Application for NeMO-Net, the NASA Neural Multi-Modal Observation and Training Network for Global Coral Reef Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

van den Bergh, J.; Schutz, J.; Chirayath, V.; Li, A.

2017-12-01

NeMO-Net, the NASA neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment, is an open-source deep convolutional neural network and interactive active learning training software aiming to accurately assess the present and past dynamics of coral reef ecosystems through determination of percent living cover and morphology as well as mapping of spatial distribution. We present an interactive video game prototype for tablet and mobile devices where users interactively label morphology classifications over mm-scale 3D coral reef imagery captured using fluid lensing to create a dataset that will be used to train NeMO-Net's convolutional neural network. The application currently allows for users to classify preselected regions of coral in the Pacific and will be expanded to include additional regions captured using our NASA FluidCam instrument, presently the highest-resolution remote sensing benthic imaging technology capable of removing ocean wave distortion, as well as lower-resolution airborne remote sensing data from the ongoing NASA CORAL campaign.Active learning applications present a novel methodology for efficiently training large-scale Neural Networks wherein variances in identification can be rapidly mitigated against control data. NeMO-Net periodically checks users' input against pre-classified coral imagery to gauge their accuracy and utilizes in-game mechanics to provide classification training. Users actively communicate with a server and are requested to classify areas of coral for which other users had conflicting classifications and contribute their input to a larger database for ranking. In partnering with Mission Blue and IUCN, NeMO-Net leverages an international consortium of subject matter experts to classify areas of confusion identified by NeMO-Net and generate additional labels crucial for identifying decision boundary locations in coral reef assessment.

A 3D Active Learning Application for NeMO-Net, the NASA Neural Multi-Modal Observation and Training Network for Global Coral Reef Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

van den Bergh, Jarrett; Schutz, Joey; Li, Alan; Chirayath, Ved

2017-01-01

NeMO-Net, the NASA neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment, is an open-source deep convolutional neural network and interactive active learning training software aiming to accurately assess the present and past dynamics of coral reef ecosystems through determination of percent living cover and morphology as well as mapping of spatial distribution. We present an interactive video game prototype for tablet and mobile devices where users interactively label morphology classifications over mm-scale 3D coral reef imagery captured using fluid lensing to create a dataset that will be used to train NeMO-Nets convolutional neural network. The application currently allows for users to classify preselected regions of coral in the Pacific and will be expanded to include additional regions captured using our NASA FluidCam instrument, presently the highest-resolution remote sensing benthic imaging technology capable of removing ocean wave distortion, as well as lower-resolution airborne remote sensing data from the ongoing NASA CORAL campaign. Active learning applications present a novel methodology for efficiently training large-scale Neural Networks wherein variances in identification can be rapidly mitigated against control data. NeMO-Net periodically checks users input against pre-classified coral imagery to gauge their accuracy and utilize in-game mechanics to provide classification training. Users actively communicate with a server and are requested to classify areas of coral for which other users had conflicting classifications and contribute their input to a larger database for ranking. In partnering with Mission Blue and IUCN, NeMO-Net leverages an international consortium of subject matter experts to classify areas of confusion identified by NeMO-Net and generate additional labels crucial for identifying decision boundary locations in coral reef assessment.

Further activities of safety culture toward nuclear transportation industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machida, Y.; Shimakura, D.

2004-01-01

On September 30, 1999, a criticality accident occurred at the uranium processing facility of the JCO Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ''JCO'') Tokai plant, located in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. This was an unprecedented accident in Japan's history of peaceful use of nuclear power, resulting in three workers exposed to severe radiation, two of whom died, and the evacuation and enforced indoor confinement of local residents. Nuclear power suppliers must take personal responsibility for ensuring safety. In this connection, the electric power industry, heavy electric machinery manufacturers, fuel fabricators, and nuclear power research organizations gathered together to establish the Nuclear Safety Network (NSnet) in December 1999, based on the resolve to share and improve the level of the safety culture across the entire nuclear power industry and to assure that such an accident never occurs again. NSnet serves as a link between nuclear power enterprises, research organizations, and other bodies, based on the principles of equality and reciprocity. A variety of activities are pursued, such as diffusing a safety culture, implementing mutual evaluation among members, and exchanging safety-related information. Aiming to share and improve the safety culture throughout the entire nuclear power industry, NSnet thoroughly implements the principle of safety first, while at the same time making efforts to restore trust in nuclear power

Science and Development Network (SciDev.net) - Phase IV | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

SciDev.net was set up in 2001 as an organization dedicated to providing reliable and authoritative information about science and technology (S&T) for the developing world. SciDev.Net does this primarily through a free-access website, but also by organizing training workshops and other activities in the developing world.

Pro-Nets versus No-Nets: Differences in Urban Older Adults' Predilections for Internet Use

Science.gov (United States)

Cresci, M. Kay; Yarandi, Hossein N.; Morrell, Roger W.

2010-01-01

Enthusiasm for information technology (IT) is growing among older adults. Many older adults enjoy IT and the Internet (Pro-Nets), but others have no desire to use it (No-Nets). This study found that Pro-Nets and No-Nets were different on a number of variables that might predict IT use. No-Nets were older, had less education and income, were…

Development of a Safety Assessment Information System for the Management of Periodic Safety Assessment Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Tae Young

2007-01-01

At present, the 10-year Periodic Safety Review(PSR) has been performing to confirm all the aspects of safety issues for all the operating plants in compliance with domestic nuclear law of article 23, subarticle 3. For each plant, in addition, Probabilistic Safety Assessment(PSA) and Severe Accident Management Guideline(SAMG) are being implemented and revised periodically to reflect the latest safety level according to principle fulfillment of severe accident policy statement. The assessment reports, as one of outcomes from these activities, are submitted into and reviewed by domestic regulatory body. During reviewing (in-office duty) and licensing (regulatory duty) process, a large number of outcomes of which most are the formal technical reports and licensing materials, are inevitably produced. Moreover, repeated review process over the plants can make them accumulated and produce a variety of documents additionally. This circumstance motivates to develop effective tool or system for the management of these reports and related technical documents for the future use in licensing process and for subsequent plant assessments. This paper presents the development status of Safety Assessment Information System(SAIS) which manages safety-related documents of PSR, PSA and SAMG for practical use for experienced engineers in charge of these areas

Development of a Safety Assessment Information System for the Management of Periodic Safety Assessment Activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Tae Young [Nuclear Engineering and Technology Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2007-07-01

At present, the 10-year Periodic Safety Review(PSR) has been performing to confirm all the aspects of safety issues for all the operating plants in compliance with domestic nuclear law of article 23, subarticle 3. For each plant, in addition, Probabilistic Safety Assessment(PSA) and Severe Accident Management Guideline(SAMG) are being implemented and revised periodically to reflect the latest safety level according to principle fulfillment of severe accident policy statement. The assessment reports, as one of outcomes from these activities, are submitted into and reviewed by domestic regulatory body. During reviewing (in-office duty) and licensing (regulatory duty) process, a large number of outcomes of which most are the formal technical reports and licensing materials, are inevitably produced. Moreover, repeated review process over the plants can make them accumulated and produce a variety of documents additionally. This circumstance motivates to develop effective tool or system for the management of these reports and related technical documents for the future use in licensing process and for subsequent plant assessments. This paper presents the development status of Safety Assessment Information System(SAIS) which manages safety-related documents of PSR, PSA and SAMG for practical use for experienced engineers in charge of these areas.

Active SMS-based influenza vaccine safety surveillance in Australian children.

Science.gov (United States)

Pillsbury, Alexis; Quinn, Helen; Cashman, Patrick; Leeb, Alan; Macartney, Kristine

2017-12-18

Australia's novel, active surveillance system, AusVaxSafety, monitors the post-market safety of vaccines in near real time. We analysed cumulative surveillance data for children aged 6 months to 4 years who received seasonal influenza vaccine in 2015 and/or 2016 to determine: adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) rates by vaccine brand, age and concomitant vaccine administration. Parent/carer reports of AEFI occurring within 3 days of their child receiving an influenza vaccine in sentinel immunisation clinics were solicited by Short Message Service (SMS) and/or email-based survey. Retrospective data from 2 years were combined to examine specific AEFI rates, particularly fever and medical attendance as a proxy for serious adverse events (SAE), with and without concomitant vaccine administration. As trivalent influenza vaccines (TIV) were funded in Australia's National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2015 and quadrivalent (QIV) in 2016, respectively, we compared their safety profiles. 7402 children were included. Data were reported weekly through each vaccination season; no safety signals or excess of adverse events were detected. More children who received a concomitant vaccine had fever (7.5% versus 2.8%; p vaccine was associated with the highest increase in AEFI rates among children receiving a specified concomitant vaccine: 30.3% reported an AEFI compared with 7.3% who received an influenza vaccine alone (p safety profiles included low and expected AEFI rates (fever: 4.3% for TIV compared with 3.2% for QIV (p = .015); injection site reaction: 1.9% for TIV compared with 3.0% for QIV (p safety profile between brands. Active participant-reported data provided timely vaccine brand-specific safety information. Our surveillance system has particular utility in monitoring the safety of influenza vaccines, given that they may vary in composition annually. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Summary of the Safety Culture Activities in HANARO of KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, In-Cheol; Wu, Jong-Sup; Lee, Kye-Hong

2006-01-01

The definition of safety culture in HANARO takes the IAEA's definition and it is the assembly of characteristics of attitudes in the HANARO center and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, the HANARO safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance. Since the power operation of HANARO started in 1996, HANARO has been operated for about 11 years and its degree of utilization and the number of experimental facilities have increased. This achievement is partly due to the spread of safety culture to the operators and the reactor users. In this paper, the safety culture activities done by the HANARO center of KAERI are described, and its efforts necessary for an improvement of it are presented

Handling and safety enhancement of race cars using active aerodynamic systems

Science.gov (United States)

Diba, Fereydoon; Barari, Ahmad; Esmailzadeh, Ebrahim

2014-09-01

A methodology is presented in this work that employs the active inverted wings to enhance the road holding by increasing the downward force on the tyres. In the proposed active system, the angles of attack of the vehicle's wings are adjusted by using a real-time controller to increase the road holding and hence improve the vehicle handling. The handling of the race car and safety of the driver are two important concerns in the design of race cars. The handling of a vehicle depends on the dynamic capabilities of the vehicle and also the pneumatic tyres' limitations. The vehicle side-slip angle, as a measure of the vehicle dynamic safety, should be narrowed into an acceptable range. This paper demonstrates that active inverted wings can provide noteworthy dynamic capabilities and enhance the safety features of race cars. Detailed analytical study and formulations of the race car nonlinear model with the airfoils are presented. Computer simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed active aerodynamic system.

Safety upgrading of the PAKS Nuclear Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vamos, G.; Vigassy, J.

1993-01-01

In the last several years the net electricity from the Paks NPP represents almost half of the Hungarian total. The 4 units of Paks belong to the latest generation of the VVER-440 units, the small-sized Russian designed PWRs. Reviewing the main design features of them, the safety merits and safety concerns are summarized. Due to the conservative design and the extensive operating experience the safety merits appear to be more significant than generally believed. The VVER-440 type has two models, the 230 and 213, which have a large number of distinctive safety features. These are highlighted in the section comparisons. A quality assurance program was initiated in Paks very early. A long-term safety upgrading program was also initiated, originating from vendor recommendations, regulatory decisions, in-house operating experience and safety concerns, and independent reviews. The main areas and some examples of the measures are described. This program, like all other activities related to nuclear safety, has been under regulatory control. The specific features of the Hungarian regulatory system are described. For advanced, general and new evaluation of the safety of the units in Paks in accordance with the internationally recommended criteria of the 90's, the project AGNES has been launched with international participation. The scope of this project is summarized. International efforts as the IAEA Regional Project on safety assessment of VVER-440/213 and VVER-440/230 units are underway. Since safety is not only a question of design, but it can be significantly influenced by operations and maintenance practices, the Paks NPP has invited LAEA's OSART and ASSET missions, WANO's Pilot Peer Review

Quarterly report on the activities in Safety Administration Division. The fourth quarter of 2002

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Junta

2003-11-01

The activities of Safety Administration Division covers many fields in Tokai-Works such as the management of a safety and health, the crisis management and the security, the safeguards of the nuclear materials, the transport of nuclear materials, and the management of a quality assurance. This report is summary of the activities of Safety Administration Division in January to March in 2003. (author)

Quarterly report on the activities in Safety Administration Division. The second quarter of 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Junta

2004-08-01

The activities of Safety Administration Division covers many fields in Tokai-Works such as the management of a safety and health, the crisis management and the security, the safeguards of the nuclear materials, the transport of nuclear materials, and the management of a quality assurance. This report is summary of the activities of Safety Administration Division in July to September in 2003. (author)

Quarterly report on the activities in safety Administration Division. The forth quarter of 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Junta

2005-01-01

The activities of Safety Administration Division covers many fields in Tokai-works such as the management of a safety and health, the crisis management and the security, the safeguards of the nuclear materials, the transport of nuclear materials, and the management of a quality assurance. This report is summary of the activities of Safety Administration Division in January to March in 2004. (author)

Quarterly report on the activities in Safety Administration Division. The first quarter of 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Junta

2004-02-01

The activities of Safety Administration Division covers many fields in Tokai-Works such as the management of a safety and health, the crisis management and the security, the safeguards of the nuclear materials, the transport of nuclear materials, and the management of a quality assurance. This report is summary of the activities of Safety Administration Division in April to June in 2003. (author)

Recommendations for the development and application of Evaluation Tools for road infrastructure safety management in the EU. Road Infrastructure Safety Management Evaluation Tools (RISMET), Deliverable No. 7.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schermers, G. Cardoso, J. Elvik, R. Weller, G. Dietze, M. Reurings, M. Azeredo, S. & Charman, S.

2014-01-01

“ERA-NET ROAD — Coordination and Implementation of Road Research in Europe” was a Coordination Action funded by the 6th Framework Programme of the EC. The partners in the 2009 ERA-NET ROAD (ENR) Safety at the heart of road design initiative were the United Kingdom, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden,

Pragmatic trial of an intervention to increase human papillomavirus vaccination in safety-net clinics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maureen Sanderson

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human papillomavirus (HPV infection has been causally linked to six cancers, and many disproportionately affect minorties. This study reports on the development and effectiveness of an intervention aimed at increasing HPV vaccine uptake among African American and Hispanic pediatric patients in safety-net clinics. Methods Formative research, community engagement, and theory guided development of the intervention. A clustered, non-randomized controlled pragmatic trial was conducted in four clinics providing healthcare for the underserved in Tennessee, U.S., with two intervention sites and two usual care sites. Patients aged 9-18 years (N = 408 and their mothers (N = 305 enrolled, with children clustered within families. The intervention consisted of two provider/staff training sessions and provision of patient education materials, consisting of a video/flyer promoting HPV vaccine. Medical records were reviewed before/after the initial visit and after 12 months. Results At the initial visit, provision of patient education materials and provider recommendation were higher at intervention sites versus usual care sites, and receipt of HPV vaccine was higher at intervention sites (45.4% versus 32.9% but not significantly after adjusting for patient’s age and mother’s education. Provider recommendation, but not education materials, increased the likelihood of vaccine receipt at the initial visit, although over one-third of intervention mothers cited the flyer/video as motivating vaccination. Completion of the 3-dose series at follow-up was lower in the intervention arm. Conclusions Future interventions should combine patient education, intensive provider/staff education, and patient reminders. Research should compare patient education focusing on HPV vaccine only versus all adolescent vaccines. Trial registration Retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02808832 , 9/12/16

Seismic safety programme at NPP Paks. Propositions for coordinated international activity in seismic safety of the WWER-440 V-213

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katona, T.

1995-01-01

This paper presents the Paks NPP seismic safety program, highlighting the specifics of the WWER-440/213 type in operation, and the results of work obtained so far. It covers the following scope: establishment of the seismic safety program (original seismic design, current requirements, principles and structure of the seismic safety program); implementation of the seismic safety program (assessing the seismic hazard of the site, development of the new concept of seismic safety for the NPP, assessing the seismic resistance of the building and the technology); realization of the seismic safety of higher level (technical solutions, drawings, realization); ideas and propositions for coordinated international activity

Phytochemically evaluation and net anti-oxidant activity of Tunisian Melia azedarach leaves extract from their ProAntidex parameter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maroua Akacha

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Phytotherapy is a discipline which is interested in the design, the preparation and the interpretation of structure activity relationship of the natural bioactive molecules. In this context, ethanolic leaves extract of Melia azedarach L. was phytochemically analysed on the bases of HPLC and by GC–MS. Extract wase tested for his in vitro antioxidant activities by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, H2O2, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, Ferric Reducing Power (FRP and Ferrous ion chelating abilities methods. The antioxidant activity of the extract was analyzed simultaneously with their pro-oxidant capacity. The ratio of pro-oxidant to the antioxidant activity (ProAntidex represents a useful index of the net free radical scavenging potential of the synthesized compounds. Tested extract showed significant antioxidant activity with a moderate ProAntidex.

Modeling of water treatment plant using timed continuous Petri nets

Science.gov (United States)

Nurul Fuady Adhalia, H.; Subiono, Adzkiya, Dieky

2017-08-01

Petri nets represent graphically certain conditions and rules. In this paper, we construct a model of the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) using timed continuous Petri nets. Specifically, we consider that (1) the water pump always active and (2) the water source is always available. After obtaining the model, the flow through the transitions and token conservation laws are calculated.

ROOT.NET: Using ROOT from .NET languages like C# and F#

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, G.

2012-12-01

ROOT.NET provides an interface between Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) and .NET technology and the ubiquitous particle physics analysis tool, ROOT. ROOT.NET automatically generates a series of efficient wrappers around the ROOT API. Unlike pyROOT, these wrappers are statically typed and so are highly efficient as compared to the Python wrappers. The connection to .NET means that one gains access to the full series of languages developed for the CLR including functional languages like F# (based on OCaml). Many features that make ROOT objects work well in the .NET world are added (properties, IEnumerable interface, LINQ compatibility, etc.). Dynamic languages based on the CLR can be used as well, of course (Python, for example). Additionally it is now possible to access ROOT objects that are unknown to the translation tool. This poster will describe the techniques used to effect this translation, along with performance comparisons, and examples. All described source code is posted on the open source site CodePlex.

ROOT.NET: Using ROOT from .NET languages like C and F

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watts, G

2012-01-01

ROOT.NET provides an interface between Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) and .NET technology and the ubiquitous particle physics analysis tool, ROOT. ROOT.NET automatically generates a series of efficient wrappers around the ROOT API. Unlike pyROOT, these wrappers are statically typed and so are highly efficient as compared to the Python wrappers. The connection to .NET means that one gains access to the full series of languages developed for the CLR including functional languages like F (based on OCaml). Many features that make ROOT objects work well in the .NET world are added (properties, IEnumerable interface, LINQ compatibility, etc.). Dynamic languages based on the CLR can be used as well, of course (Python, for example). Additionally it is now possible to access ROOT objects that are unknown to the translation tool. This poster will describe the techniques used to effect this translation, along with performance comparisons, and examples. All described source code is posted on the open source site CodePlex.

Further activities of safety culture toward nuclear transportation industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Machida, Y.; Shimakura, D. [NSnet, Tokyo (Japan)

2004-07-01

On September 30, 1999, a criticality accident occurred at the uranium processing facility of the JCO Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ''JCO'') Tokai plant, located in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture. This was an unprecedented accident in Japan's history of peaceful use of nuclear power, resulting in three workers exposed to severe radiation, two of whom died, and the evacuation and enforced indoor confinement of local residents. Nuclear power suppliers must take personal responsibility for ensuring safety. In this connection, the electric power industry, heavy electric machinery manufacturers, fuel fabricators, and nuclear power research organizations gathered together to establish the Nuclear Safety Network (NSnet) in December 1999, based on the resolve to share and improve the level of the safety culture across the entire nuclear power industry and to assure that such an accident never occurs again. NSnet serves as a link between nuclear power enterprises, research organizations, and other bodies, based on the principles of equality and reciprocity. A variety of activities are pursued, such as diffusing a safety culture, implementing mutual evaluation among members, and exchanging safety-related information. Aiming to share and improve the safety culture throughout the entire nuclear power industry, NSnet thoroughly implements the principle of safety first, while at the same time making efforts to restore trust in nuclear power.

SafeNet: a methodology for integrating general-purpose unsafe devices in safe-robot rehabilitation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicentini, Federico; Pedrocchi, Nicola; Malosio, Matteo; Molinari Tosatti, Lorenzo

2014-09-01

Robot-assisted neurorehabilitation often involves networked systems of sensors ("sensory rooms") and powerful devices in physical interaction with weak users. Safety is unquestionably a primary concern. Some lightweight robot platforms and devices designed on purpose include safety properties using redundant sensors or intrinsic safety design (e.g. compliance and backdrivability, limited exchange of energy). Nonetheless, the entire "sensory room" shall be required to be fail-safe and safely monitored as a system at large. Yet, sensor capabilities and control algorithms used in functional therapies require, in general, frequent updates or re-configurations, making a safety-grade release of such devices hardly sustainable in cost-effectiveness and development time. As such, promising integrated platforms for human-in-the-loop therapies could not find clinical application and manufacturing support because of lacking in the maintenance of global fail-safe properties. Under the general context of cross-machinery safety standards, the paper presents a methodology called SafeNet for helping in extending the safety rate of Human Robot Interaction (HRI) systems using unsafe components, including sensors and controllers. SafeNet considers, in fact, the robotic system as a device at large and applies the principles of functional safety (as in ISO 13489-1) through a set of architectural procedures and implementation rules. The enabled capability of monitoring a network of unsafe devices through redundant computational nodes, allows the usage of any custom sensors and algorithms, usually planned and assembled at therapy planning-time rather than at platform design-time. A case study is presented with an actual implementation of the proposed methodology. A specific architectural solution is applied to an example of robot-assisted upper-limb rehabilitation with online motion tracking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing safety culture in nuclear activities. Practical suggestions to assist progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The term 'safety culture' was introduced by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) in Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident published by the IAEA as Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-1 in 1986, and expanded in Basic Safety Principles for Nuclear Power Plants, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-3 in 1988. This publication supplements INSAG-4 published in 1991 which includes the definition and concept of safety culture describing practices valuable in establishing and maintaining a sound safety culture in a number of countries. It is intended for those who design, construct, manufacture, operate, maintain or decommission nuclear facilities. It should be practically useful for all those involved in operating nuclear facilities. It will also provide a reference for groups such as regulators who have an interest in developing, improving and evaluating safety culture training and individuals engaged in nuclear activities, and for bodies such as ethics review committees who should take into account safety culture issues for certifying professional excellence in the medical field

Developing safety culture in nuclear activities. Practical suggestions to assist progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The term 'safety culture' was introduced by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) in Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident published by IAEA as safety Series No. 75-INSAG-1 in 1986, and expanded in Basic Safety principles for Nuclear Power Plants, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-3 in 1988. This publication supplements INSAG-4 published in 1991 which includes the definition and concept of safety culture describing practices valuable in establishing and maintaining a sound safety culture in a number of countries. It is intended for those who design, construct, manufacture, operate, maintain or decommission nuclear facilities. It should be practically useful for all those involved in operating nuclear facilities. It will also provide a reference for groups such as regulators who have an interest in developing, improving and evaluating safety culture training and individuals engaged in nuclear activities, and for bodies such as ethics review committees who should take into account safety culture issues for certifying professional excellence in the medical field

Does perceived neighborhood walkability and safety mediate the association between education and meeting physical activity guidelines?

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Michael; Yin, Shaoman; Soler, Robin; Njai, Rashid; Siegel, Paul Z; Liao, Youlian

2015-04-09

The role of neighborhood walkability and safety in mediating the association between education and physical activity has not been quantified. We used data from the 2010 and 2012 Communities Putting Prevention to Work Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and structural equation modeling to estimate how much of the effect of education level on physical activity was mediated by perceived neighborhood walkability and safety. Neighborhood walkability accounts for 11.3% and neighborhood safety accounts for 6.8% of the effect. A modest proportion of the important association between education and physical activity is mediated by perceived neighborhood walkability and safety, suggesting that interventions focused on enhancing walkability and safety could reduce the disparity in physical activity associated with education level.

Safety and Health Perceptions in Work-related Transport Activities in Ghanaian Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Atombo

2017-06-01

Conclusion: OSH culture is not fully complied in industries transport activities. This study, therefore, supports the use of safety seminars and training sessions for industry workers responsible for transport operations for better integration of safety standards.

Extending NetBeansTM with Dynamic Update of Active Modules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Allan Raundahl

ved at integrere det med NetBeans rich client Platform. Målinger af Javeleons ydeevne viser at køretidsomkostningerne for at understøtte dynamisk opdatering bidrager minimalt til den samlede køretid. Ifølge vores kendskab er der ingen tidligere mekanismer til dynamisk opdatering der opnår den samme...

Bevacizumab plus capecitabine in patients with progressive advanced well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of the gastro-intestinal (GI-NETs) tract (BETTER trial)--a phase II non-randomised trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitry, Emmanuel; Walter, Thomas; Baudin, Eric; Kurtz, Jean-Emmanuel; Ruszniewski, Philippe; Dominguez-Tinajero, Sophie; Bengrine-Lefevre, Leïla; Cadiot, Guillaume; Dromain, Clarisse; Farace, Françoise; Rougier, Philippe; Ducreux, Michel

2014-12-01

Gastro-intestinal neuroendocrine tumours (GI-NETs) are chemotherapy-resistant tumours. Bevacizumab, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), has shown promising results in several phase II trials of gastro-entero-pancreatic-NETs. We assessed bevacizumab combined with capecitabine, specifically in GI-NET patients. BEvacizumab in The Treament of neuroEndocrine tumoRs (BETTER) was a multicentre, open-label, non-randomised, two-group phase II trial. Here we present the group of patients with progressive, metastatic, well-differentiated GI-NETs. Patients Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-performance status (ECOG-PS)⩽2, Ki-67 proliferation rate <15% and no prior systemic chemotherapy were treated with bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg/q3w) and capecitabine (1000 mg/m2 twice daily, orally d1-14, resumed on d22) for 6-24 months. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end-points included overall survival (OS), response rate, safety and quality of life. Of the 49 patients included, 53% were men, median age was 60 years (41-82), primary tumour site was ileal in 82% patients and Ki-67 was <15% in 48 patients and not available for one patient. After a maximum of 24 month follow-up per patient, the median PFS by investigator assessment was 23.4 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 13.2; not reached] and the overall disease control rate was 88% (18% partial response, 70% stable disease). The 2-year survival rate was 85%. Median OS was not reached. The most frequent grade 3-4 adverse events were hypertension (31%), diarrhoea (14%) and hand-foot syndrome (10%). The combination of bevacizumab and capecitabine showed clinical activity and a manageable safety profile in the treatment of GI-NETs that warrant confirmation in a randomised phase III trial. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Status of Safety and Environmental Activities for Inertial Fusion Energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latkowski, J.F.; Reyes, S.; Cadwallader, L.C.; Sharpe, J.P.; Marshall, T.D.; Merrill, B.J.; Moore, R.L.; Petti, D.A.; Falquina, R.; Rodriguez, A.; Sanz, J.; Cabellos, O.

2003-01-01

Over the past several years, significant progress has been made in the analysis of safety and environmental (S and E) issues for inertial fusion energy (IFE). Detailed safety assessments have been performed for the baseline power plant concepts, as well as for a conceptual target fabrication facility. Safety analysis results are helping to drive the agenda for experiments. A survey of the S and E characteristics - both radiological and chemical - of candidate target materials has been completed. Accident initiating events have been identified and incorporated into master logic diagrams, which will be essential to the detailed safety analyses that will be needed in the future. Studies of aerosol generation and transport will have important safety implications. A Monte Carlo-based uncertainty analysis procedure has been developed for use in neutron activation calculations. Finally, waste management issues are receiving increased attention and are deserving of further discussion

Development and Application of High-Content Biological Screening for Modulators of NET Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilaria J. Chicca

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs are DNA-based antimicrobial web-like structures whose release is predominantly mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS; their purpose is to combat infections. However, unbalanced NET production and clearance is involved in tissue injury, circulation of auto-antibodies and development of several chronic diseases. Currently, there is lack of agreement regarding the high-throughput methods available for NET investigation. This study, therefore, aimed to develop and optimize a high-content analysis (HCA approach, which can be applied for the assay of NET production and for the screening of compounds involved in the modulation of NET release. A suitable paraformaldehyde fixation protocol was established to enable HCA of neutrophils and NETs. Bespoke and in-built bioinformatics algorithms were validated by comparison with standard low-throughput approaches for application in HCA of NETs. Subsequently, the optimized protocol was applied to high-content screening (HCS of a pharmaceutically derived compound library to identify modulators of NETosis. Of 56 compounds assessed, 8 were identified from HCS for further characterization of their effects on NET formation as being either inducers, inhibitors or biphasic modulators. The effects of these compounds on naïve neutrophils were evaluated by using specific assays for the induction of ROS and NET production, while their modulatory activity was validated in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-stimulated neutrophils. Results indicated the involvement of glutathione reductase, Src family kinases, molecular-target-of-Rapamycin, and mitogen-activated-protein-kinase pathways in NET release. The compounds and pathways identified may provide targets for novel therapeutic approaches for treating NET-associated pathologies.

The safety activities of the ICAO and the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzen, L.F.; Iansiti, E.

1983-01-01

The article presents a comparative analysis of the safety activities of the IAEA and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), from which possible solutions for the problems faced by the nuclear community are suggested

Data communication between Panasonic PLC and PC using SerialPort control in C#.NET environment

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Ting; Gan, Xiaochuan; Ma, Liqun

2015-02-01

With the gradual promotion of Microsoft.NET platform, C# as an object-oriented programming language based on the platform has been widely used. Therefore, more attention is concentrated on how to achieve the communication between Panasonic PLC and PC efficiently and fast in C#.NET environment. In this paper, a method of using SerialPort control which could be used for achieving communication between PLC and PC is introduced. Meanwhile, the reason of abnormal thread when displayed the receiving data in form is analyzed and the programming method to solve the problem of thread safety is designed. Achieving the communication of Panasonic PLC and PC in C#.NET environment can give full play to the advantages of the .NET framework. It is practical, easy communication, high reliability and can combine with other measurement and calibration procedures effectively and conveniently. Configuration software is expensive and can only communicate with PLC separately, but these shortcomings can be solved in C#.NET environment. A well-designed user interface realized real-time monitoring of PLC parameters and achieved management and control integration. The experiment show that this method of data transfer is accurate and the program' running is stable.

Quantum net dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finkelstein, D.

1989-01-01

The quantum net unifies the basic principles of quantum theory and relativity in a quantum spacetime having no ultraviolet infinities, supporting the Dirac equation, and having the usual vacuum as a quantum condensation. A correspondence principle connects nets to Schwinger sources and further unifies the vertical structure of the theory, so that the functions of the many hierarchic levels of quantum field theory (predicate algebra, set theory, topology,hor-ellipsis, quantum dynamics) are served by one in quantum net dynamics

Safety surveillance of activities on nuclear pressure components in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Ganjie; Li Tianshu; Yan Tianwen

2005-01-01

The nuclear pressure components, which perform the nuclear safety functions, are one of the key physical barriers for nuclear safety. For the national strategy on further development of nuclear power and localization of nuclear pressure components, there still exist some problems in preparedness on the localization. As for the technical basis, what can not be overlooked is the management. Aiming at the current problems, National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) has taken measures to strengthen the propagation and popularization of nuclear safety culture, adjust the review and approval policies for nuclear pressure components qualification license, establish more stringent management requirements, and enhance the surveillance of activities on nuclear pressure equipment. Meanwhile, NNSA has improved the internal management and the regulation efficiency on nuclear pressure components. At the same time, with the development and implementation of 'Rules on the Safety Regulation for Nuclear Safety Important Components' to be promulgated by the State Council of China, NNSA will complete and improve the regulation on nuclear pressure components and other nuclear equipment. (authors)

High-level Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

various journals and collections. As a result, much of this knowledge is not readily available to people who may be interested in using high-level nets. Within the Petri net community this problem has been discussed many times, and as an outcome this book has been compiled. The book contains reprints...... of some of the most important papers on the application and theory of high-level Petri nets. In this way it makes the relevant literature more available. It is our hope that the book will be a useful source of information and that, e.g., it can be used in the organization of Petri net courses. To make......High-level Petri nets are now widely used in both theoretical analysis and practical modelling of concurrent systems. The main reason for the success of this class of net models is that they make it possible to obtain much more succinct and manageable descriptions than can be obtained by means...

Safety from Crime and Physical Activity among Older Adults: A Population-Based Study in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corseuil, M.W.; Schneider, I.J.C.; Orsi, E.; Hallal, P.C.; Corseuil, H.X.

2012-01-01

Objective. To evaluate the association between safety from crime and physical activity among older adults. Methods. A population-based survey including 1,656 older adults (60+ years) took place in Florianopolis, Brazil, in 2009-2010. Commuting and leisure time physical activity were assessed through the long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Perception of safety from crime was assessed using the Neighbourhood Environment Walk ability Scale. Results. Perceiving the neighbourhood as safe during the day was related to a 25% increased likelihood of being active in leisure time (95% CI 1.02-1.53); general perception of safety was also associated with a 25% increase in the likelihood of being active in leisure time (95% CI 1.01-1.54). Street lighting was related to higher levels of commuting physical activity (prevalence ratio: 1.89; 95% CI 1.28-2.80). Conclusions. Safety investments are essential for promoting physical activity among older adults in Brazil

Biodiversity offsets and the challenge of achieving no net loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Toby A; VON Hase, Amrei; Brownlie, Susie; Ekstrom, Jonathan M M; Pilgrim, John D; Savy, Conrad E; Stephens, R T Theo; Treweek, Jo; Ussher, Graham T; Ward, Gerri; Ten Kate, Kerry

2013-12-01

Businesses, governments, and financial institutions are increasingly adopting a policy of no net loss of biodiversity for development activities. The goal of no net loss is intended to help relieve tension between conservation and development by enabling economic gains to be achieved without concomitant biodiversity losses. biodiversity offsets represent a necessary component of a much broader mitigation strategy for achieving no net loss following prior application of avoidance, minimization, and remediation measures. However, doubts have been raised about the appropriate use of biodiversity offsets. We examined what no net loss means as a desirable conservation outcome and reviewed the conditions that determine whether, and under what circumstances, biodiversity offsets can help achieve such a goal. We propose a conceptual framework to substitute the often ad hoc approaches evident in many biodiversity offset initiatives. The relevance of biodiversity offsets to no net loss rests on 2 fundamental premises. First, offsets are rarely adequate for achieving no net loss of biodiversity alone. Second, some development effects may be too difficult or risky, or even impossible, to offset. To help to deliver no net loss through biodiversity offsets, biodiversity gains must be comparable to losses, be in addition to conservation gains that may have occurred in absence of the offset, and be lasting and protected from risk of failure. Adherence to these conditions requires consideration of the wider landscape context of development and offset activities, timing of offset delivery, measurement of biodiversity, accounting procedures and rule sets used to calculate biodiversity losses and gains and guide offset design, and approaches to managing risk. Adoption of this framework will strengthen the potential for offsets to provide an ecologically defensible mechanism that can help reconcile conservation and development. Balances de Biodiversidad y el Reto de No Obtener P�

MetNet - In situ observational Network and Orbital platform to investigate the Martian environment

Science.gov (United States)

Harri, Ari-Matti; Leinonen, Jussi; Merikallio, Sini; Paton, Mark; Haukka, Harri; Polkko, Jouni

2007-09-01

MetNet Mars Mission is an in situ observational network and orbital platform mission to investigate the Martian environment and it has been proposed to European Space Agency in response to Call for proposals for the first planning cycle of Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 D/SCI/DJS/SV/val/21851. The MetNet Mars Mission is to be implemented in collaboration with ESA, FMI, LA, IKI and the payload providing science teams. The scope of the MetNet Mission is to deploy 16 MetNet Landers (MNLs) on the Martian surface by using inflatable descent system structures accompanied by an atmospheric sounder and data relay onboard the MetNet Orbiter (MNO), which is based on ESA Mars Express satellite platform. The MNLs are attached on the three sides of the satellite and most of the MNLs are deployed to Mars separately a few weeks prior to the arrival to Mars. The MetNet Orbiter will perform continuous atmospheric soundings thus complementing the accurate in situ observations at the Martian ground produced by the MetNet observation network, as well as the orbiter will serve as the primary data relay between the MetNet Landers and the Earth. The MNLs are equipped with a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. Detailed characterisation of the Martian atmospheric circulation patterns, boundary layer phenomena, and climatological cycles, as well as interior investigations, require simultaneous in situ meteorological, seismic and magnetic measurements from networks of stations on the Martian surface. MetNet Mars Mission will also provide a crucial support for the safety of large landing missions in general and manned Mars missions in particular. Accurate knowledge of atmospheric conditions and weather data is essential to guarantee safe landings of the forthcoming Mars mission elements.

The potential of centrifugal casting for the production of near net shape uranium parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, E.

1993-09-01

This report was written to provide a detailed summary of a literature survey on the near net shape casting process of centrifugal casting. Centrifugal casting is one potential casting method which could satisfy the requirements of the LANL program titled Near Net Shape Casting of Uranium for Reduced Environmental, Safety and Health Impact. In this report, centrifugal casting techniques are reviewed and an assessment of the ability to achieve the near net shape and waste minimization goals of the LANL program by using these techniques is made. Based upon the literature reviewed, it is concluded that if properly modified for operation within a vacuum, vertical or horizontal centrifugation could be used to safely cast uranium for the production of hollow, cylindrical parts. However, for the production of components of geometries other than hollow tubes, vertical centrifugation could be combined with other casting methods such as semi-permanent mold or investment casting

Annual report on the activities in Safety Administration Department. Report of the fiscal year 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aoki, Yoshikazu [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)

2014-01-15

The activities of Safety Administration Department covers many fields in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories such as the management of the occupational safety and health, the crisis management, the security, and the management of a quality assurance. This report is the summary of the activities of Safety Administration Department since April, 2010 until March, 2011. (author)

Planning of nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carberry, M

1996-01-01

The paper is about the planning of nets in areas of low density like it is the case of the rural areas. The author includes economic and technological aspects, planning of nets, demands and management among others

Regulatory activities in the area of fuel safety and performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viktorov, A.; Couture, M.

2005-01-01

Generic Action Item 94G02 'Impact of Fuel Bundle Condition on Reactor Safety' in many ways determined the present priorities in regulatory activities related to fuel performance. As one of the closure criteria it required that all licensees establish 'an effective formal and systematic process for integrating fuel design, fuel and channel inspection, laboratory examination, research, operating limits and safety analysis'. To date, such a process has been, to a large extent, put in place by all licensees. To assure that such processes remain operational and effective after the GAI closure, CNSC required, through S-99, to report annually on fuel performance and major activities in the fuel safety area. The scope of reported information has been defined to allow CNSC staff evaluation of key events and trends in fuel performance. To compliment reporting by the industry, CNSC staff has conducted targeted inspections of fuel compliance programs at all sites. Combined together, these activities provide the regulator with the confidence that CANDU fuel is robust and operates with safety margins. The scrutiny, to which fuel performance has been subjected lately, has allowed identification of certain programmatic weaknesses and gaps in the knowledge concerning the fuel behaviour under various conditions. It has become apparent that top-level strategies for assessment of fuel performance may have been inadequate and far from systematic; fuel inspection practices and capabilities have varied significantly from site to site; certain issues were identified but remained unaddressed for significant time; priorities in experimental or design support activities were not assigned consistently. The presentation gives examples of areas where, in the opinion of the CNSC staff, further work is required to support fuel design and safety envelopes. The implementation of new CANFLEX fuel designs is currently being considered by the industry and CNSC staff has been engaged in the review

Programming NET Web Services

CERN Document Server

Ferrara, Alex

2007-01-01

Web services are poised to become a key technology for a wide range of Internet-enabled applications, spanning everything from straight B2B systems to mobile devices and proprietary in-house software. While there are several tools and platforms that can be used for building web services, developers are finding a powerful tool in Microsoft's .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET. Designed from scratch to support the development of web services, the .NET Framework simplifies the process--programmers find that tasks that took an hour using the SOAP Toolkit take just minutes. Programming .NET

78 FR 34703 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Distribution Annual Report

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-10

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0004] Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Distribution Annual Report AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, DOT. ACTION: Notice and request...

The net return from animal activity in agro-ecosystems: trading off benefits from ecosystem services against costs from crop damage [v2; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/3c4

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary W Luck

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Animals provide benefits to agriculture through the provision of ecosystem services, but also inflict costs such as damaging crops. These benefits and costs are mostly examined independently, rather than comparing the trade-offs of animal activity in the same system and quantifying the net return from beneficial minus detrimental activities. Here, I examine the net return associated with the activity of seed-eating birds in almond orchards by quantifying the economic costs and benefits of bird consumption of almonds. Pre-harvest, the consumption of harvestable almonds by birds cost growers AUD$57.50 ha-1 when averaged across the entire plantation. Post-harvest, the same bird species provide an ecosystem service by removing mummified nuts from trees that growers otherwise need to remove to reduce threats from fungal infection or insect pest infestations. The value of this ecosystem service ranged from AUD$82.50 ha-1–$332.50 ha-1 based on the replacement costs of mechanical or manual removal of mummified nuts, respectively. Hence, bird consumption of almonds yielded a positive net return of AUD$25–$275 ha-1 averaged across the entire plantation. However, bird activity varied spatially resulting in positive net returns occurring primarily at the edges of crops where activity was higher, compared to negative net returns in crop interiors. Moreover, partial mummy nut removal by birds meant that bird activity may only reduce costs to growers rather than replace these costs completely. Similar cost-benefit trade-offs exist across nature, and quantifying net returns can better inform land management decisions such as when to control pests or promote ecosystem service provision.

Tritium technology development in EEC laboratories contributions to design goals for NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinner, P.; Chazalon, M.; Leger, D.; Rohrig, H.D.; Penzhorn, R.D.

1988-01-01

An overview is given of the tritium technology activities carried out in the European national laboratories associated with the European Fusion Programme and in the European Joint Research Center. The relationship of these activities to the Next European Torus (NET) design priorities is discussed, and the current status of the research is summarised. Future developments, required for NET, which will be addressed in the definition of the next 5-year programme are also presented

Annual activity report of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group for 1996 year

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ushpuras, E.; Augutis, J.; Bubelis, E.

1997-03-01

The main results of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) investigations for 1996 are presented. ISAG is concentrating its research activities into four areas: the neutrons dynamics modelling, simulation of transient processes during loss of coolant accident, the reactor cooling systems modelling and the probabilistic safety assessment of accident confinement system. Ignalina Safety Analysis Report was prepared on the basis of these results. 37 refs., 9 tabs., 96 figs

Safety update on the use of recombinant activated factor VII in approved indications.

Science.gov (United States)

Neufeld, Ellis J; Négrier, Claude; Arkhammar, Per; Benchikh el Fegoun, Soraya; Simonsen, Mette Duelund; Rosholm, Anders; Seremetis, Stephanie

2015-06-01

This updated safety review summarises the large body of safety data available on the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in approved indications: haemophilia with inhibitors, congenital factor VII (FVII) deficiency, acquired haemophilia and Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. Accumulated data up to 31 December 2013 from clinical trials as well as post-marketing data (registries, literature reports and spontaneous reports) were included. Overall, rFVIIa has shown a consistently favourable safety profile, with no unexpected safety concerns, in all approved indications. No confirmed cases of neutralising antibodies against rFVIIa have been reported in patients with congenital haemophilia, acquired haemophilia or Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. The favourable safety profile of rFVIIa can be attributed to the recombinant nature of rFVIIa and its localised mechanism of action at the site of vascular injury. Recombinant FVIIa activates factor X directly on the surface of activated platelets, which are present only at the site of injury, meaning that systemic activation of coagulation is avoided and the risk of thrombotic events (TEs) thus reduced. Nonetheless, close monitoring for signs and symptoms of TE is warranted in all patients treated with any pro-haemostatic agent, including rFVIIa, especially the elderly and any other patients with concomitant conditions and/or predisposing risk factors to thrombosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

KfK, Institute for Reactor Development. Results of research and development activities in 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-03-01

R and D activities at IRE (Institut fuer Reaktorentwicklung-Institute for Reactor Development) are dedicated to power engineering and handling processes in the framework of the point-of-main-effort projects 'nuclear fusion', 'solid-state and materials research', 'handling', 'nuclear safety' and 'miscellaneous research'. Nuclear fusion contributions deal with special vacuum system design problems, heavy-duty design and materials selection and safety aspects. Specimens from 30 different carbon-based materials were subjected to comparative tests in a plasma spraying plant. In the framework of solid-state and materials research activities a viscoplastic model for mechanical component analysis was investigated for its compatibility with elementary physical laws under complex loads. The handling project was dedicated to the specific requirements of nuclear fusion with regard to JET and NET uses, the development of system solutions for flexible industrial techniques, and to standardization. A study on the control system of a work station for NET remote handling tasks was completed. In the framework of the nuclear safety project one currently investigates the dynamics of fast reactors under failure conditions, the possible propagation of local cooling failures in the reactor core, and core monitoring problems. (orig./GL) [de

Fishing Performance of an Octopus minor Net Pot Made of Biodegradable Twines

OpenAIRE

Kim, Seonghun; Park, Seongwook; Lee, Kyounghoon

2014-01-01

Gillnets and net pots are made of synthetic fiber as polyester (PE) and polyamide (PA). These are often lost by heavy weather or trawling of the active fishing gears. Lost gears result in the ghost fishing because these are non-degradable in seawater and damage to spawning grounds or habitats. To address these problems, biodegradable nets composed of aliphatic polyester were developed. This study describes four types of biodegradable net pots for capturing Octopus minor in Southern Korea,...

Safety assessment of discharge chute isolation barrier preparation and installation activities. Revision 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meichle, R.H.

1994-01-01

This revision adds a section addressing impacts of dropping surfacing tool and rack cutter on the basin floor, and corrects typographical errors. The safety assessment is made for the activities for the preparation and installation of the discharge chute isolation barriers. The safety assessment includes a hazard assessment and comparisons of potential accidents/events to those addressed by the current safety basis documentation. No significant hazards were identified. An evaluation against the USQ evaluation questions was made and the determination made that the activities do not represent a USQ. Hazard categorization techniques were used to provide a basis for readiness review classifications

Game Coloured Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westergaard, Michael

2006-01-01

This paper introduces the notion of game coloured Petri nets. This allows the modeler to explicitly model what parts of the model comprise the modeled system and what parts are the environment of the modeled system. We give the formal definition of game coloured Petri nets, a means of reachability...... analysis of this net class, and an application of game coloured Petri nets to automatically generate easy-to-understand visualizations of the model by exploiting the knowledge that some parts of the model are not interesting from a visualization perspective (i.e. they are part of the environment...

Safety implications of standardized continuous quality improvement programs in community pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Todd A; Ho, Certina; Mackinnon, Neil J; Mahaffey, Thomas; Taylor, Jeffrey M

2013-06-01

Standardized continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs combine Web-based technologies and standardized improvement processes, tools, and expectations to enable quality-related events (QREs) occurring in individual pharmacies to be shared with pharmacies in other jurisdictions. Because standardized CQI programs are still new to community pharmacy, little is known about how they impact medication safety. This research identifies key aspects of medication safety that change as a result of implementing a standardized CQI program. Fifty-three community pharmacies in Nova Scotia, Canada, adopted the SafetyNET-Rx standardized CQI program in April 2010. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Canada's Medication Safety Self-Assessment (MSSA) survey was administered to these pharmacies before and 1 year into their use of the SafetyNET-Rx program. The nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to explore where changes in patient safety occurred as a result of SafetyNETRx use. Significant improvements occurred with quality processes and risk management, staff competence, and education, and communication of drug orders and other information. Patient education, environmental factors, and the use of devices did not show statistically significant changes. As CQI programs are designed to share learning from QREs, it is reassuring to see that the largest improvements are related to quality processes, risk management, staff competence, and education.

A Study of Cyber Security Activities for Development of Safety-related Controller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Myeongkyun; Song, Seunghwan; Yoo, Kwanwoo; Yun, Donghwa [Korea Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

Nuclear Power Plant Regulatory guide describes the regulatory requirements to implement cyber security activities to ensure that design and operate to respond to cyber threats that exploited to vulnerability of digital-based technologies associated with safety-related digital instrumentation and control systems at nuclear power plants. Cyber security activities coverage is instrumentation and control systems to perform safety functions and digital-based equipment to use development, test, analysis and asset for instrumentation and control systems. Regulatory guidance is required to the cyber security activities that should be performed in each development phase of safety-related controller. Development organization should establish and implement to cyber security plans for responding to cyber threats throughout each lifecycle phase and the result of the cyber security activities should be generated to the documents. In addition, the independent verification and validation organization should perform simulated penetration test for enhancing response capabilities to cyber security threats and development organization should establish and implement response hardening solutions for the cyber security vulnerabilities identified in the simulated penetration test.

A Study of Cyber Security Activities for Development of Safety-related Controller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Myeongkyun; Song, Seunghwan; Yoo, Kwanwoo; Yun, Donghwa

2014-01-01

Nuclear Power Plant Regulatory guide describes the regulatory requirements to implement cyber security activities to ensure that design and operate to respond to cyber threats that exploited to vulnerability of digital-based technologies associated with safety-related digital instrumentation and control systems at nuclear power plants. Cyber security activities coverage is instrumentation and control systems to perform safety functions and digital-based equipment to use development, test, analysis and asset for instrumentation and control systems. Regulatory guidance is required to the cyber security activities that should be performed in each development phase of safety-related controller. Development organization should establish and implement to cyber security plans for responding to cyber threats throughout each lifecycle phase and the result of the cyber security activities should be generated to the documents. In addition, the independent verification and validation organization should perform simulated penetration test for enhancing response capabilities to cyber security threats and development organization should establish and implement response hardening solutions for the cyber security vulnerabilities identified in the simulated penetration test

Personnel Risks in Ensuring Safety of Medical Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. L. Zadvornaya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: modern strategies of management of the organization require the formation of special management approaches based on the analysis of the mechanisms and processes of the organization of medical activities related to possible risks in activity of medical personnel. Based on international experience and own research the authors have identified features of a system of management of personnel risk in medical activities, examined approaches showing the sequence and contents of the main practical activities of the formation, maintenance and development of the system of management of personnel risks. Emphasized is the need for further research and implementation of the system of management of personnel risk in health care organizations. Study and assessment of personnel risks affecting the security of medical activities aimed at the development of the system of personnel risk management, development of a system of identification and monitoring of HR risk indicators with a purpose to improve institutional management and increase efficiency of activity of medical organizations. Methods: in the present study, the following methods were used: systemic approach, content analysis, methods of social diagnosis (questionnaires, interviews, comparative analysis, method of expert evaluations, method of statistical processing of information. Results: approaches to predict the occurrence and development of personnel risks have been reviewed and proposed. Conclusions and Relevance: patient safety is a global issue affecting countries at all levels of development. Each year, the WHO identifies a number of systemic and technical aspects and trends in the field of patient safety related to actions of medical workers. Existing imbalances in the staffing of the health system of the Russian Federation increase the probability of potential risks in medical practice. The personnel policy of healthcare of the Russian Federation requires further improvement and

Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

A brief account of activities carried out by the Nuclear power plants Jaslovske Bohunice in 1997 is presented. These activities are reported under the headings: (1) Nuclear safety; (2) Industrial and health safety; (3) Radiation safety; and Fire protection

Coloured Petri Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kurt

1991-01-01

This paper describes how Coloured Petri Nets (CP-nets) have been developed — from being a promising theoretical model to being a full-fledged language for the design, specification, simulation, validation and implementation of large software systems (and other systems in which human beings and...

Net zero water

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Lindeque, M

2013-01-01

Full Text Available the national grid. The unfortunate situation with water is that there is no replacement technology for water. Water can be supplied from many different sources. A net zero energy development will move closer to a net zero water development by reducing...

Comprehensive target populations for current active safety systems using national crash databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusano, Kristofer D; Gabler, Hampton C

2014-01-01

The objective of active safety systems is to prevent or mitigate collisions. A critical component in the design of active safety systems is the identification of the target population for a proposed system. The target population for an active safety system is that set of crashes that a proposed system could prevent or mitigate. Target crashes have scenarios in which the sensors and algorithms would likely activate. For example, the rear-end crash scenario, where the front of one vehicle contacts another vehicle traveling in the same direction and in the same lane as the striking vehicle, is one scenario for which forward collision warning (FCW) would be most effective in mitigating or preventing. This article presents a novel set of precrash scenarios based on coded variables from NHTSA's nationally representative crash databases in the United States. Using 4 databases (National Automotive Sampling System-General Estimates System [NASS-GES], NASS Crashworthiness Data System [NASS-CDS], Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS], and National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey [NMVCCS]) the scenarios developed in this study can be used to quantify the number of police-reported crashes, seriously injured occupants, and fatalities that are applicable to proposed active safety systems. In this article, we use the precrash scenarios to identify the target populations for FCW, pedestrian crash avoidance systems (PCAS), lane departure warning (LDW), and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems. Crash scenarios were derived using precrash variables (critical event, accident type, precrash movement) present in all 4 data sources. This study found that these active safety systems could potentially mitigate approximately 1 in 5 of all severity and serious injury crashes in the United States and 26 percent of fatal crashes. Annually, this corresponds to 1.2 million all severity, 14,353 serious injury (MAIS 3+), and 7412 fatal crashes. In addition

Decreasing Turnaround Time and Increasing Patient Satisfaction in a Safety Net Hospital-Based Pediatrics Clinic Using Lean Six Sigma Methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayasinha, Yasangi

2016-01-01

Increasingly, health care quality indicators are focusing on patient-centeredness as an indicator of performance. The National Quality Forum lists assessment of patient experience, often conducted using patient surveys, as a top priority. We developed a patient-reported time stamp data collection tool that was used to collect cycle times in a safety net hospital-based outpatient pediatrics clinic. Data were collected using patient-reported survey to obtain cycle times in Pediatric clinic, as well as qualitative and quantitative patient satisfaction data. Several rapid-cycle improvements were performed using Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce cycle time by eliminating waste and revise unnecessary processes to improve operational effectiveness and patient and staff satisfaction. A total of 94 surveys were collected and revealed average cycle time of 113 minutes. Our measured patient satisfaction rating was 87%. Discharge and check-in processes were identified as the least efficient and were targeted for intervention. Following implementation, the overall cycle time was decreased from 113 to 90 minutes. Patient satisfaction ratings increased from 87% to 95%. We demonstrate that using Lean Six Sigma tools can be invaluable to clinical restructuring and redesign and results in measurable, improved outcomes in care delivery.

Towards new information resources for public health--from WordNet to MedicalWordNet.

Science.gov (United States)

Fellbaum, Christiane; Hahn, Udo; Smith, Barry

2006-06-01

In the last two decades, WordNet has evolved as the most comprehensive computational lexicon of general English. In this article, we discuss its potential for supporting the creation of an entirely new kind of information resource for public health, viz. MedicalWordNet. This resource is not to be conceived merely as a lexical extension of the original WordNet to medical terminology; indeed, there is already a considerable degree of overlap between WordNet and the vocabulary of medicine. Instead, we propose a new type of repository, consisting of three large collections of (1) medically relevant word forms, structured along the lines of the existing Princeton WordNet; (2) medically validated propositions, referred to here as medical facts, which will constitute what we shall call MedicalFactNet; and (3) propositions reflecting laypersons' medical beliefs, which will constitute what we shall call the MedicalBeliefNet. We introduce a methodology for setting up the MedicalWordNet. We then turn to the discussion of research challenges that have to be met to build this new type of information resource. We build a database of sentences relevant to the medical domain. The sentences are generated from WordNet via its relations as well as from medical statements broken down into elementary propositions. Two subcorpora of sentences are distinguished, MedicalBeliefNet and MedicalFactNet. The former is rated for assent by laypersons; the latter for correctness by medical experts. The sentence corpora will be valuable for a variety of applications in information retrieval as well as in research in linguistics and psychology with respect to the study of expert and non-expert beliefs and their linguistic expressions. Our work has to meet several considerable challenges. These include accounting for the distinction between medical experts and laypersons, the social issues of expert-layperson communication in different media, the linguistic aspects of encoding medical knowledge, and

Multiflavor string-net models

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chien-Hung

2017-05-01

We generalize the string-net construction to multiple flavors of strings, each of which is labeled by the elements of an Abelian group Gi. The same flavor of strings can branch, while different flavors of strings can cross one another and thus they form intersecting string nets. We systematically construct the exactly soluble lattice Hamiltonians and the ground-state wave functions for the intersecting string-net condensed phases. We analyze the braiding statistics of the low-energy quasiparticle excitations and find that our model can realize all the topological phases as the string-net model with group G =∏iGi . In this respect, our construction provides various ways of building lattice models which realize topological order G , corresponding to different partitions of G and thus different flavors of string nets. In fact, our construction concretely demonstrates the Künneth formula by constructing various lattice models with the same topological order. As an example, we construct the G =Z2×Z2×Z2 string-net model which realizes a non-Abelian topological phase by properly intersecting three copies of toric codes.

Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 1. An Investigation Study on Practical Points of Safety Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Naoko; Takano, Kenichi; Hirose, Ayako

2001-01-01

In a report after the Chernobyl accident, the International Atomic Energy Agency indicated the definition and the importance of safety culture and the ideal organizational state where safety culture pervades. However, the report did not mention practical approaches to enhance safety culture. In Japan, although there had been investigations that clarified the consciousness of employees and the organizational climate in the nuclear power and railway industries, organizational factors that clarified the level of organization safety and practical methods that spread safety culture in an organization had not been studied. The Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry conducted surveys of organizational culture for the construction, chemical, and manufacturing industries. The aim of our study was to clarify the organizational factors that influence safety in an organization expressed in employee safety consciousness, commitment to safety activities, rate of accidents, etc. If these areas were clarified, the level of organization safety might be evaluated, and practical ways could be suggested to enhance the safety culture. Consequently, a series of investigations was conducted to clarify relationships among organizational climate, employee consciousness, safety management and activities, and rate of accidents. The questionnaire surveys were conducted in 1998-1999. The subjects were (a) managers of the safety management sections in the head offices of the construction, chemical, and manufacturing industries; (b) responsible persons in factories of the chemical and manufacturing industries; and (c) general workers in factories of the chemical and manufacturing industries. The number of collected data was (a) managers in the head office: 48 from the construction industry and 58 from the chemical and manufacturing industries, (b) responsible persons in factories: 567, and (c) general workers: from 29 factories. Items in the questionnaires were selected from

Mars MetNet Mission Status

Science.gov (United States)

Harri, Ari-Matti; Aleksashkin, Sergei; Arruego, Ignacio; Schmidt, Walter; Genzer, Maria; Vazquez, Luis; Haukka, Harri

2015-04-01

descent phase starting shortly after separation from the spacecraft. MetNet Mission payload instruments are specially designed to operate in very low power conditions. MNL flexible solar panels provides a total of approximately 0.7-0.8 W of electric power during the daylight time. As the provided power output is insufficient to operate all instruments simultaneously they are activated sequentially according to a specially designed cyclogram table which adapts itself to the different environmental constraints. 3. Mission Status Full Qualification Model (QM) of the MetNet landing unit with the Precursor Mission payload is currently under functional tests. In near future the QM unit will be exposed to environmental tests with qualification levels including vibrations, thermal balance, thermal cycling and mechanical impact shock. One complete flight unit of the entry, descent and landing systems (EDLS) has been manufactured and tested with acceptance levels. Another flight-like EDLS has been exposed to most of the qualification tests, and hence it may be used for flight after refurbishments. Accordingly two flight-capable EDLS systems exist. The eventual goal is to create a network of atmospheric observational posts around the Martian surface. Even if the MetNet mission is focused on the atmospheric science, the mission payload will also include additional kinds of geophysical instrumentation. The next step in the MetNet Precursor Mission to demonstrate the technical robustness and scientific capabilities of the MetNet type of landing vehicle. Definition of the Precursor Mission and discussions on launch opportunities are currently under way. The baseline program development funding exists for the next five years. Flight unit manufacture of the payload bay takes about 18 months, and it will be commenced after the Precursor Mission has been defined. References [1] http://metnet.fmi.fi

On-going and some future safety related activities of the OECD/NEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frescura, G.

2001-01-01

The CSNI and CNRA structures and current activities of direct relevance to WWERs are presented. The nuclear regulatory challenges arising from economic deregulation like: direct safety challenges, infrastructure issues, increased pressure on regulatory bodies etc. are given. The OECD/NEA initiatives on assuring nuclear safety competence are mentioned

Regulatory support activities of JNES by thermal-hydraulic and safety analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasahara, Fumio

2008-01-01

Current status and some related topics on regulatory support activities of Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) by thermal-hydraulic and safety analyses are reported. The safety of nuclear facilities is secured primarily by plant owners and operators. However, the regulatory body NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) has conducted a strict regulation to confirm the adequacy of the site condition as well as the basic and detailed design. The JNES has been conducting independent analyses from applicants (audit analyses, etc.) by direction of NISA and supporting its review. In addition to the audit analysis, thermal-hydraulic and safety analyses are used in such areas as analytical evaluation for investigation of causes of accidents and troubles, level 2 PSA for risk informed regulation, etc. Recent activities of audit analyses are for the application of Tsuruga 3 and 4 (APWR), the spent fuel storage facility for the establishment, and the LMFBR Monju for the core change. For the trouble event evaluation, the criticality accident analysis of Sika1 was carried out and the evaluation of effectiveness of accident management (AM) measure for Tomari 3 (PWR) and Monju was performed. The analytical codes for these evaluations are continuously revised by reflecting the state-of-art technical information and validated using the information provided by the data from JAEA, OECD project, etc. (author)

Rare, but challenging tumors: NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanova, D.; Balev, B.

2013-01-01

Full text: Introduction: Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (GEP - NET) are a heterogeneous group of tumors with different locations and many different clinical, histological, and imaging performance. In a part of them a secretion of various organic substances is present. The morbidity of GEP - NET in the EU is growing, and this leads to increase the attention to them. What you will learn: Imaging methods used for localization and staging of GEP - NET, characteristics of the study’s protocols; Classification of GEP - NET; Demonstration of typical and atypical imaging features of GEP - NET in patients registered at the NET Center at University Hospital ‘St. Marina’, Varna; Features of metastatic NET, The role of imaging in the evaluation of treatment response and follow-up of the patients. Discussion: The image semiotics analysis is based on 19 cases of GEP - NET registered NET Center at University Hospital ‘St. Marina’. The main imaging method is multidetector CT (MDCT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ) has advantages in the evaluation of liver lesions and the local prevalence of anorectal tumors. In patients with advanced disease and liver lesions the assessment of skeletal involvement (MRI/ nuclear medical method) is mandatory. The majority of GEP - NET have not any specific imaging findings. Therefore it is extremely important proper planning and conducting of the study (MDCT and MR enterography; accurate assessment phase of scanning, positive and negative contrast). Conclusion: GEP - NET is a major diagnostic challenge due to the absence of typical imaging characteristics and often an overlap with those of the tumors of different origin can be observed. Therefore, a good knowledge of clinical and imaging changes occurring at different locations is needed. MDCT is the basis for the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of these neoplasms

Seafood Safety and Quality: The Consumer’s Role

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doris T. Hicks

2016-10-01

Full Text Available All the good news about seafood—the health and nutritional benefits, the wide varieties and flavors—has had a positive effect on consumption: people are eating more seafood (http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/seafood/pdfs/SeafoodSavvy.pdf. Yet consumers want to be assured that seafood is as safe as, or safer to eat than, other foods. When you hear “seafood safety”, think of a safety net designed to protect you, the consumer, from food-borne illness. Every facet of the seafood industry, from harvester to consumer, plays a role in holding up the safety net. The role of state and federal agencies, fishermen, aquaculturists, retailers, processors, restaurants, and scientists is to provide, update, and carry out the necessary handling, processing, and inspection procedures to give consumers the safest seafood possible. The consumer’s responsibility is to follow through with proper handling techniques, from purchase to preparation. It doesn’t matter how many regulations and inspection procedures are set up; the final edge of the safety net is held by the consumer. This article will give you the information you need to educate yourself and be assured that the fish and shellfish you consume are safe. The most common food-borne illnesses are caused by a combination of bacteria naturally present in our environment and food handling errors made in commercial settings, food service institutions, or at home.

Food insecurity among students living with HIV: Strengthening safety ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Food insecurity among students living with HIV: Strengthening safety nets at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa. ... of age and managed as part of the Campus Health Service antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme.

Medication safety activities of hospital pharmacists in Ghana; challenges and perceived impact on patient care.

Science.gov (United States)

Acheampong, Franklin; Bruce, Elizabeth; Anto, Berko Panyin

2015-01-01

Pharmacists by their training have the competences and skills to promote safe use of medicines which is an essential component of patient safety. This study explored the perceptions of hospital pharmacists' role in medication safety in Ghana, identified their attendant challenges and ways of enhancing such roles in the future. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to 200 pharmacists selected conveniently from the 10 regions of Ghana. Questions in the questionnaire were based on a systematic literature review that had catalogued and summarised all the activities of hospital pharmacists related to medication safety. A total of 176 (88% response rate) questionnaires were completed and returned. Almost all pharmacists (97.7%) believed that they were involved in medication safety activities in their daily routine. The frequently performed activities were counselling of out-patient (91.8%), training pharmacy and other clinical students (72.2%), reporting on medication errors (70%), and reconciling medications (69.2%). The mean weekly time spent on the activities ranged from 6.5 to 19.8 hours. Participants who had clinical pharmacy related additional qualifications (χ2 = 37.749; p = 0.049) and worked in tertiary care hospitals (χ2 = 26.6; p = 0.377) undertook more medication safety activities than those without. The cited challenges faced by participants included inadequate time available (62.7%), spending most time in managerial activities (47.3%), lack of formal structures of engagement (43.8%), lack of motivation by superiors (34.9%), and no formal schedule by supervisor (32%). Only 7.7% stated they lack interest in performing those activities. Pharmacists undertake many medication safety activities routinely that they perceive to have impact on patient care outcomes. Restructuring of their managerial roles will contribute to freeing time for pharmacists to engage more in those activities.

Safety activities and human resource development at NCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumanomido, Hironori; Sakurada, Koichi; Yanagisawa, Shigeru; Masuyama, Tadaharu

2015-01-01

Toshiba Nuclear Critical Assembly (NCA) has been safely operated since the first criticality in December 1963. The topics covered in this Yayoi Meeting Report are: (1) the outline of NCA, (2) the safety control situation mainly after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, (3) educational training incorporates the lessons learned in this earthquake, and (4) human resource development during 2008-2015. Regarding safety control, facility maintenance has been conducted systematically according to the maintenance plan from the viewpoint of preventive maintenance. Regarding educational training, two disaster handling training based on the safety regulation and one nuclear emergency drill based on the emergency drill plan for licensee of nuclear energy activity based on the Act of Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness every year. Regarding human resource development, development training was given to 358 people including students. This year, training that does not require NCA operation was conducted including gamma-ray spectrum measurement of NCA fuel rod and neutron deceleration property measurement using 252 Cf neutron source. (S.K.)

Limitations of shallow nets approximation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shao-Bo

2017-10-01

In this paper, we aim at analyzing the approximation abilities of shallow networks in reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHSs). We prove that there is a probability measure such that the achievable lower bound for approximating by shallow nets can be realized for all functions in balls of reproducing kernel Hilbert space with high probability, which is different with the classical minimax approximation error estimates. This result together with the existing approximation results for deep nets shows the limitations for shallow nets and provides a theoretical explanation on why deep nets perform better than shallow nets. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A generic standard for assessing and managing activities with significant risk to health and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilde, T.S.; Sandquist, G.M.

2005-01-01

Some operations and activities in industry, business, and government can present an unacceptable risk to health and safety if not performed according to established safety practices and documented procedures. The nuclear industry has extensive experience and commitment to assessing and controlling such risks. This paper provides a generic standard based upon DOE Standard DOE-STD-3007- 93, Nov 1993, Change Notice No. 1, Sep 1998. This generic standard can be used to assess practices and procedures employed by any industrial and government entity to ensure that an acceptable level of safety and control prevail for such operations. When any activity and operation is determined to involve significant risk to health and safety to workers or the public, the organization should adopt and establish an appropriate standard and methodology to ensure that adequate health and safety prevail. This paper uses DOE experience and standards to address activities with recognized potential for impact upon health and safety. Existing and future assessments of health and safety issues can be compared and evaluated against this generic standard for insuring that proper planning, analysis, review, and approval have been made. (authors)

USA perspectives. Safety and security of radioactive sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicus, G.J.

1999-01-01

In contrast to the 103 licensed nuclear power plants in the United States, there are about 157,000 licenses that authorize the use of radioactive materials subject to US Atomic Energy Act. as amended. Each year the NRC receives about 200 reports of lost, stolen or abandoned radioactive sources and devices. The NRC has established a programme to review and analyze reports and other information on losses, thefts, abandonments, and discoveries of radioactive sources that helped to identify and characterize the problem with safety and security of radioactive sources in devices used under the general license programme. In summary, a large number of radioactive sources in use in the USA have a very good safety record. When used properly by trained personnel with effective regulatory oversight, the many uses of radioactive sources are safe and provide a net benefit to society. If problems occur such as overexposures or contamination of property, it is essential that hey are promptly reported to the regulatory authority. If necessary appropriate emergency response measures can be taken, and the problems analysed. In that way, effective risk-informed regulatory measures can be activated to assure the continued safety and security of radioactive sources

Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 4. Enhancing Safety Culture Through the Establishment of Safety Goals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tateiwa, Kenji; Miyata, Koichi; Yahagi, Kimitoshi

2001-01-01

Safety culture is the perception of each individual and organization of a nuclear power plant that safety is the first priority, and at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), we have been practicing it in everyday activities. On the other hand, with the demand for competitiveness of nuclear power becoming even more intense these days, we need to pursue efficient management while maintaining the safety level at the same time. Below, we discuss how to achieve compatibility between safety culture and efficient management as well as enhance safety culture. Discussion at Tepco: safety culture-nurturing activities such as the following are being implemented: 1. informing the employees of the 'Declaration of Safety Promotion' by handing out brochures and posting it on the intranet home page; 2. publishing safety culture reports covering stories on safety culture of other industry sectors, recent movements on safety culture, etc.; 3. conducting periodic questionnaires to employees to grasp how deeply safety culture is being established; 4. carrying out educational programs to learn from past cases inside and outside the nuclear industry; 5. committing to common ownership of information with the public. The current status of safety culture in Japan sometimes seems to be biased to the quest of ultimate safety; rephrasing it, there have been few discussions regarding the sufficiency of the quantitative safety level in conjunction with the safety culture. Safety culture is one of the most crucial foundations guaranteeing the plant's safety, and for example, the plant safety level evaluated by probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) could be said to be valid only on the ground that a sound and sufficient safety culture exists. Although there is no doubt that the safety culture is a fundamental and important attitude of an individual and organization that keeps safety the first priority, the safety culture in itself should not be considered an obstruction to efforts to implement

Effect of photo-selective nettings on post-harvest quality and bioactive compounds in selected tomato cultivars.

Science.gov (United States)

Selahle, Maphoko Kamogelo; Sivakumar, Dharini; Soundy, Puffy

2014-08-01

Photo-selective coloured netting is referred to as a 'new agro-technological' concept adopted to manipulate light quality changes that can induce favourable responses in plants. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars AlvaV, Irit and SCX 248 grown under the black net (commercial net, 25% shading) showed higher weight loss, loss of firmness, ascorbic acid content and decline in the ratio of soluble solids content/titrable acidity during post-harvest storage (low-temperature storage at 10°C and 90% relative humidity for 21 days followed by market shelf conditions at 25°C for 2 days). During post-harvest storage, lycopene, β-carotene, total phenolic content and antioxidant scavenging activity were higher in cvs AlfaV and Irit grown under the black or pearl nets. However, the β-carotene, total phenolic content and antioxidant scavenging activity were higher in SCX 248 grown under the red net during post-harvest storage. Cultivar AlfaV grown under the red and pearl nets had a higher number of odour active aroma compounds during post-harvest storage. Panellists preferred cv. AlfaV grown under the pearl nets after storage based on taste, overall appearance and firm textured fruits. Pearl photo-selective nets retained the overall fruit quality and bioactive components in cvs AlfaV and Irit during post-harvest storage. Red photo-selective nets, however, showed greater influence on retention of overall fruit quality and bioactive compounds in cv. SCX 248 during post-harvest storage. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mathematical modelling of active safety system functions as tools for development of driverless vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ryazantsev, V.; Mezentsev, N.; Zakharov, A.

2018-02-01

This paper is dedicated to a solution of the issue of synthesis of the vehicle longitudinal dynamics control functions (acceleration and deceleration control) based on the element base of the vehicle active safety system (ESP) - driverless vehicle development tool. This strategy helps to reduce time and complexity of integration of autonomous motion control systems (AMCS) into the vehicle architecture and allows direct control of actuators ensuring the longitudinal dynamics control, as well as reduction of time for calibration works. The “vehicle+wheel+road” longitudinal dynamics control is complicated due to the absence of the required prior information about the control object. Therefore, the control loop becomes an adaptive system, i.e. a self-adjusting monitoring system. Another difficulty is the driver’s perception of the longitudinal dynamics control process in terms of comfort. Traditionally, one doesn’t pay a lot of attention to this issue within active safety systems, and retention of vehicle steerability, controllability and stability in emergency situations are considered to be the quality criteria. This is mainly connected to its operational limits, since it is activated only in critical situations. However, implementation of the longitudinal dynamics control in the AMCS poses another challenge for the developers - providing the driver with comfortable vehicle movement during acceleration and deceleration - while the possible highest safety level in terms of the road grip is provided by the active safety system (ESP). The results of this research are: universal active safety system - AMCS interaction interface; block diagram for the vehicle longitudinal acceleration and deceleration control as one of the active safety system’s integrated functions; ideology of adaptive longitudinal dynamics control, which enables to realize the deceleration and acceleration requested by the AMCS; algorithms synthesised; analytical experiments proving the

The effect of netting solidity ratio and inclined angle on the hydrodynamic characteristics of knotless polyethylene netting

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Hao; Hu, Fuxiang; Xu, Liuxiong; Dong, Shuchuang; Zhou, Cheng; Wang, Xuefang

2017-10-01

Knotless polyethylene (PE) netting has been widely used in aquaculture cages and fishing gears, especially in Japan. In this study, the hydrodynamic coefficient of six knotless PE netting panels with different solidity ratios were assessed in a flume tank under various attack angles of netting from 0° (parallel to flow) to 90° (perpendicular to flow) and current speeds from 40 cm s-1 to 130 cm s-1. It was found that the drag coefficient was related to Reynolds number, solidity ratio and attack angle of netting. The solidity ratio was positively related with drag coefficient for netting panel perpendicular to flow, whereas when setting the netting panel parallel to the flow the opposite result was obtained. For netting panels placed at an angle to the flow, the lift coefficient reached the maximum at an attack angle of 50° and then decreased as the attack angle further increased. The solidity ratio had a dual influence on drag coefficient of inclined netting panels. Compared to result in the literature, the normal drag coefficient of knotless PE netting measured in this study is larger than that of nylon netting or Dyneema netting.

Using UML and Petri nets for visualization of business document flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Rábová

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with two principles of business workflow modeling, Petri nets and UML notation, that are the acceptable approaches to business modeling and can be used also for business documents workflow. The special type of Petri nets, WF-nets and UML activity diagrams are used in this article and both modeling ways are presented on the concrete business workflow and then there are presented and specified their advantage and disadvantage for business documents flows. At beginning it is explained the word workflow in context business documents, its features, principles and using in business environment. After that it is clarified that the UML is OMG’s most-used specification, and the way the world models not only application structure, behavior, and architecture, but also business process, workflows and data structure. Activity diagram UML is good way to show how different workflows in the business are managed, how they start, go and stop. Diagrams also show many different decision paths that can be taken from start to finish. State charts can be used as a detail the transitions or changes of states when documents can go through in the business. They show how a documents moves from one state to another and the rules that govern that change. Petri-nets offer a graphical notation for stepwise processes that include choice, iteration, and concurrent execution. Unlike UML Petri nets have an exact mathematical definition of their execution semantics, with a well-developed mathematical theory for process analysis. In the article there are modeled a special type of Petri nets, the WF-nets. The practical part of article incorporates two models of concrete business documents workflows presented in these notations, their comparison and recommendation for using these diagrams in business process management.

Use of bed nets and factors that influence bed net use among Jinuo Ethnic Minority in southern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jian-wei; Liao, Yuan-mei; Liu, Hui; Nie, Ren-hua; Havumaki, Joshua

2014-01-01

Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are an integral part of vector control recommendations for malaria elimination in China. This study investigated the extent to which bed nets were used and which factors influence bed net use among Jinuo Ethnic Minority in China-Myanmar-Laos border areas. This study combined a quantitative household questionnaire survey and qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews (SDI). Questionnaires were administered to 352 heads of households. SDIs were given to 20 key informants. The bed net to person ratio was 1∶2.1 (i.e., nearly one net for every two people), however only 169 (48.0%) households owned at least one net and 623 (47.2%) residents slept under bed nets the prior night. The percentages of residents who regularly slept under nets (RSUN) and slept under nets the prior night (SUNPN) were similar (48.0% vs. 47.2%, P>0.05), however the percentage correct use of nets (CUN) was significantly lower (34.5%, Pcash income per person (ACIP) was an independent factor that influenced bed net use (PHigh bed net availability does not necessarily mean higher coverage or bed net use. Household income, house type and knowledge of the ability of bed nets to prevent malaria are all independent factors that influence bed net use among Jinuo Ethnic Minority.

Ageing management of AG3NET beam tubes in ORPHEE Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florence, Gupta; Maud, Corbel

2013-01-01

The materials used in research reactors come from the best compromise between research needs and safety issues such as integrity of equipment during their whole life. For example, aluminium alloys such as AG3NET are interesting for research reactors dedicated to the production of neutron flux since they are transparent to neutrons but they become fragile under irradiation. Therefore the evolution of material's mechanical properties under irradiation is a topic of interest for research reactors safety and operators must implement an ageing management program of equipment subject to irradiation. This kind of aluminium alloys compound is used in many French research reactors like the Jules Horowitz reactor (JHR) and ORPHEE reactor operated by the Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) or the high flux reactor (HFR) operated by the Laue-Langevin Institute (ILL). Particularly, in the ORPHEE reactor, AG3NET is used for beam tubes, located in the heavy water tank surrounding the core, which guide neutrons towards experimental stations. The failure of a beam tube in ORPHEE reactor can lead to a reactivity insertion in the core, whose effects can be managed by the control rods system. Nevertheless, to control the effects of ageing on such equipment, the operator plans to replace the beam tubes on the basis of a criterion he defined. For the ORPHEE's second periodic safety review, the operator has re-evaluated the situation of the beam tubes with regard of this criterion and has established a beam tube replacement schedule. The 'Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire' (IRSN), as a technical support of the French nuclear safety authority, assessed the elements presented by the CEA for this periodic safety review and concluded that the replacement criterion used for these equipment lead to reach a fragile behaviour of the materials. Thus, the breaking of several beam tubes can't be excluded but this situation can leads to severe consequences on the

Net Metering and Interconnection Procedures-- Incorporating Best Practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jason Keyes, Kevin Fox, Joseph Wiedman, Staff at North Carolina Solar Center

2009-04-01

State utility commissions and utilities themselves are actively developing and revising their procedures for the interconnection and net metering of distributed generation. However, the procedures most often used by regulators and utilities as models have not been updated in the past three years, in which time most of the distributed solar facilities in the United States have been installed. In that period, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has been a participant in more than thirty state utility commission rulemakings regarding interconnection and net metering of distributed generation. With the knowledge gained from this experience, IREC has updated its model procedures to incorporate current best practices. This paper presents the most significant changes made to IREC’s model interconnection and net metering procedures.

NetView technical research

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

This is the Final Technical Report for the NetView Technical Research task. This report is prepared in accordance with Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) item A002. NetView assistance was provided and details are presented under the following headings: NetView Management Systems (NMS) project tasks; WBAFB IBM 3090; WPAFB AMDAHL; WPAFB IBM 3084; Hill AFB; McClellan AFB AMDAHL; McClellan AFB IBM 3090; and Warner-Robins AFB.

Efficacy of PermaNet® 3.0 and PermaNet® 2.0 nets against laboratory-reared and wild Anopheles gambiae sensu lato populations in northern Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Kweka, Eliningaya J; Lyaruu, Lucile J; Mahande, Aneth M

2017-01-18

Mosquitoes have developed resistance against pyrethroids, the only class of insecticides approved for use on long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of the pyrethroid synergist PermaNet® 3.0 LLIN versus the pyrethroid-only PermaNet® 2.0 LLIN, in an East African hut design in Lower Moshi, northern Tanzania. In this setting, resistance to pyrethroid insecticides has been identified in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Standard World Health Organization bioefficacy evaluations were conducted in both laboratory and experimental huts. Experimental hut evaluations were conducted in an area where there was presence of a population of highly pyrethroid-resistant An. arabiensis mosquitoes. All nets used were subjected to cone bioassays and then to experimental hut trials. Mosquito mortality, blood-feeding inhibition and personal protection rate were compared between untreated nets, unwashed LLINs and LLINs that were washed 20 times. Both washed and unwashed PermaNet® 2.0 and PermaNet® 3.0 LLINs had knockdown and mortality rates of 100% against a susceptible strain of An. gambiae sensu stricto. The adjusted mortality rate of the wild mosquito population after use of the unwashed PermaNet® 3.0 and PermaNet® 2.0 nets was found to be higher than after use of the washed PermaNet® 2.0 and PermaNet® 3.0 nets. Given the increasing incidence of pyrethroid resistance in An. gambiae mosquitoes in Tanzania, we recommend that consideration is given to its distribution in areas with pyrethroid-resistant malaria vectors within the framework of a national insecticide-resistance management plan.

The risk management of perishable supply chain based on coloured Petri Net modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The supply chain of perishable products is a combination of information organization, sharing and integration. The information modeling of supply chain is constructed to abstract key quality information including environment information, processing procedures and product quality assessments based on principle of quality safety factors and property of decay rate. The coloured Petri Net is applied for integrated description of independent information classification, aiming at risk identification and risk management framework. Well, according to the quality deterioration tendency, risk grades management and decision-making system are established. Practically, the circulation system of aquatic products is studied in this paper for full processing description. The simulation experiments are manipulated on environmental information, processing information and product quality information by the coloured Petri Net. Eventually, the conclusion turns out precisely as such that the coloured Petri Net conclusive for information classification and information transmission while integrated information management is available of efficient risk identification and decision-making system in supply chain of perishable products. Meanwhile, the validity of evaluating management and shelf-life estimation of perishable products are technically feasible.

PODATKOVNE STORITVE ADO.NET IN ADO.NET ENTITY FRAMEWORK

OpenAIRE

Volavc, Franc

2012-01-01

V diplomskem delu smo predstavili Microsoftovi ogrodji ADO.NET in ADO.NET Entity Framework. Preučili in analizirali smo metode za dostop do podatkovnih virov, ki jih ponujata ogrodji, ter nato te ugotovitve preslikati v odločitveno drevo, katero bo programerjem in razvijalcem informacijskih sistemov pomagalo pri odločanju glede pristopa za dostop do podatkovnih virov. Ker bomo v diplomskem delu predstavili Microsoftovi ogrodji, bomo posledično omejeni zgolj na Microsoftovo tehnologijo, se pra...

Blanket testing in NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chazalon, M.; Daenner, W.; Libin, B.

1989-01-01

The testing stages in NET for the performance assessment of the various breeding blanket concepts developed at the present time in Europe for DEMO (LiPb and ceramic blankets) and the requirements upon NET to perform these tests are reviewed. Typical locations available in NET for blanket testing are the central outboard segments and the horizontal ports of in-vessel sectors. These test positions will be connectable with external test loops. The number of test loops (helium, water, liquid metal) will be such that each major class of blankets can be tested in NET. The test positions, the boundary conditions and the external test loops are identified and the requirements for test blankets are summarized (author). 6

Neighbourhood social trust and youth perceptions of safety during daily activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Kalen; Richmond, Therese S; Branas, Charles C; Wiebe, Douglas J

2017-10-07

Exposure to adverse neighbourhood conditions can negatively impact adolescent well-being and perceived safety. However, the impact of neighbourhood social trust on perceived safety is largely unknown. We studied 139 adolescent men to investigate how their perceptions of safety varied as a function of social trust levels in the neighbourhoods they traversed; neighbourhoods that were not necessarily their own. Adolescents mapped their minute-by-minute activities over a recent day and rated their perceived safety on a 10-point scale during in-person interviews. Neighbourhood social trust was measured via a citywide random sample survey. Mixed effects regression showed that, compared with their safety perceptions when in areas of low social trust, older adolescents were 73% more likely to feel unsafe when in areas of medium social trust, and 89% more likely to feel unsafe when in areas of high social trust. Inverse relationships between neighbourhood social trust and adolescents' perceived safety highlight the complex interplay between youth, environmental contexts and safety. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Overview of the activities of the OECD/NEA/NSC working party on nuclear criticality safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nouri, A.; Blomquist, R.; Bradyraap, M.; Briggs, B.; Cousinou, P.; Nomura, Y.; Weber, W.

2003-01-01

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) started dealing with criticality-safety related subjects back in the seventies. In the mid-nineties, several activities related to criticality-safety were grouped together into the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety. This working party has since been operating and reporting to the Nuclear Science Committee. Six expert groups co-ordinate various activities ranging from experimental evaluations to code and data inter-comparisons for the study of static and transient criticality behaviours. The paper describes current activities performed in this framework and the achievements of the various expert groups. (author)

NS [Nuclear Safety] update. Current safety and security activities and developments taking place in the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Issue no. 6, March 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-03-01

The current issue presents information about the following activities: 1) International Conference on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking which took place in November 2007 in Edinburgh. The principal aim of the conference was to examine the threat and context of illicit nuclear trafficking of radioactive material, specifically, what is being done to combat such trafficking and where more needs to be done. The conference was also to consider how the obligations and commitments of the legally binding and non-binding international instruments could be and are being implemented by various States. 2) INSAG Message on Nuclear Safety Infrastructure in which the INSAG Chairman Richard Meserve addressed nuclear safety in the current context and various issues that warrant special attention. 3) approved for publication the Safety Requirements publication on Safety of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities. 4) The Asian Nuclear Safety Network (ANSN)

Current Status and Future Prospect of K-NET and KiK-net

Science.gov (United States)

Aoi, S.; Kunugi, T.; Suzuki, W.; Nakamura, H.; Fujiwara, H.

2014-12-01

During 18 years since the deployment of K-NET following the Kobe earthquake, our attention has mainly focused on rapidity of the data collection and an unfailing and reliable observation. In this presentation, we review three generations of the instruments employed by K-NET and KiK-net from these two points of view.At beginning of the 2000's, we newly developed the second generation instruments (K-NET02, K-NET02A, KiK-net06) to replace the first generation instruments (K-NET95, SMAC-MDK) employed when the networks were constructed in the 1990's. These instruments have an automatic dial-out function. It takes typically 2-5 s to establish communication and a few seconds to send the pre-trigger data. After that, data is available typically within a 1.5 s delay. Not only waveform data but also strong motion indexes such as real-time intensity, PGA, PGV, PGD, and response spectra are continuously sent once a second.After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, we have developed the third generation instruments (K-NET11, KiK-net11) and have replaced almost half of the all stations country wide. Main improvement of this instrument is more unfailing and reliable observation. Because we have often experienced very large ground motions (e.g. 45 records exceeding gravity), the maximum measureable range was expanded from 2000 gal to 4000 gal for the second generation instrument, and to 8000 gal for the third. For the third generation instrument, in case of power failure, observation (including transmission of data) works for seven days thanks to the backup battery, while for the second generation instruments it works only for one day. By adding an oblique component to the three-component accelerometers, we could automatically distinguish shaking data from noise such as electric pulses which may cause a false alarm in EEW. Implementation to guarantee the continuity of observation under severe conditions such as during the Tohoku earthquake is very important, as well as a highly efficient

The Management System for Facilities and Activities. Safety Requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This publication establishes requirements for management systems that integrate safety, health, security, quality assurance and environmental objectives. A successful management system ensures that nuclear safety matters are not dealt with in isolation but are considered within the context of all these objectives. The aim of this publication is to assist Member States in establishing and implementing effective management systems that integrate all aspects of managing nuclear facilities and activities in a coherent manner. It details the planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that all these requirements are satisfied. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Management system; 3. Management responsibility; 4. Resource management; 5. Process implementation; 6. Measurement, assessment and improvement.

Markets, voucher subsidies and free nets combine to achieve high bed net coverage in rural Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerrets Rene PM

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tanzania has a well-developed network of commercial ITN retailers. In 2004, the government introduced a voucher subsidy for pregnant women and, in mid 2005, helped distribute free nets to under-fives in small number of districts, including Rufiji on the southern coast, during a child health campaign. Contributions of these multiple insecticide-treated net delivery strategies existing at the same time and place to coverage in a poor rural community were assessed. Methods Cross-sectional household survey in 6,331 members of randomly selected 1,752 households of 31 rural villages of Demographic Surveillance System in Rufiji district, Southern Tanzania was conducted in 2006. A questionnaire was administered to every consenting respondent about net use, treatment status and delivery mechanism. Findings Net use was 62.7% overall, 87.2% amongst infants (0 to1 year, 81.8% amongst young children (>1 to 5 years, 54.5% amongst older children (6 to 15 years and 59.6% amongst adults (>15 years. 30.2% of all nets had been treated six months prior to interview. The biggest source of nets used by infants was purchase from the private sector with a voucher subsidy (41.8%. Half of nets used by young children (50.0% and over a third of those used by older children (37.2% were obtained free of charge through the vaccination campaign. The largest source of nets amongst the population overall was commercial purchase (45.1% use and was the primary means for protecting adults (60.2% use. All delivery mechanisms, especially sale of nets at full market price, under-served the poorest but no difference in equity was observed between voucher-subsidized and freely distributed nets. Conclusion All three delivery strategies enabled a poor rural community to achieve net coverage high enough to yield both personal and community level protection for the entire population. Each of them reached their relevant target group and free nets only temporarily

Initial CAD investigations for NET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, F.; Leinemann, K.; Ludwig, A.; Marek, U.; Olbrich, W.; Schlechtendahl, E.G.

1985-11-01

This report summarizes the work done under contract no. 164/84-7/FU-D-/NET between the Commission of the European Communities and KfK during the period from June 1, 1984, through May 31, 1985. The following topics are covered in this report: Initial modelling of NET version NET2A, CAD system extension for remote handling studies, analysis of the CAD information structure, work related to the transfer of CAD information between KfK and the NET team. (orig.) [de

Statistical adjustment of culture-independent diagnostic tests for trend analysis in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Weidong; Dutta, Vikrant; Patrick, Mary; Bruce, Beau B; Geissler, Aimee; Huang, Jennifer; Fitzgerald, Collette; Henao, Olga

2018-03-19

Culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) are increasingly used to diagnose Campylobacter infection in the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet). Because CIDTs have different performance characteristics compared with culture, which has been used historically and is still used to diagnose campylobacteriosis, adjustment of cases diagnosed by CIDT is needed to compare with culture-confirmed cases for monitoring incidence trends. We identified the necessary parameters for CIDT adjustment using culture as the gold standard, and derived formulas to calculate positive predictive values (PPVs). We conducted a literature review and meta-analysis to examine the variability in CIDT performance and Campylobacter prevalence applicable to FoodNet sites. We then developed a Monte Carlo method to estimate test-type and site-specific PPVs with their associated uncertainties. The uncertainty in our estimated PPVs was largely derived from uncertainty about the specificity of CIDTs and low prevalence of Campylobacter in tested samples. Stable CIDT-adjusted incidences of Campylobacter cases from 2012 to 2015 were observed compared with a decline in culture-confirmed incidence. We highlight the lack of data on the total numbers of tested samples as one of main limitations for CIDT adjustment. Our results demonstrate the importance of adjusting CIDTs for understanding trends in Campylobacter incidence in FoodNet.

“The NET outcome”: are neutrophil extracellular traps of any relevance to the pathophysiology of autoimmune disorders in childhood?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stavros Giaglis

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET formation represents a form of cell death distinct from apoptosis or necrosis, by which invading pathogens are simultaneously entangled and potentially eliminated. Increased NET formation is observed in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA-associated and small vessel vasculitis (SVV, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS and psoriasis. NETs contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmunity by exposing cryptic autoepitopes, which may facilitate the generation of autoantibodies, induce the production of interferons and activate the complement cascade. In SLE, augmented disease activity and renal disease are associated with increased NET formation, so that NETs could serve as a marker for the monitoring of disease activity. NETs can additionally cause endothelial cell damage and death and stimulate inflammation in atheromatous plaques, adding to the accelerated atherosclerosis witnessed in autoimmune disease. Since NETs induce production of interferons, assessing the extent of NET formation might facilitate the prediction of IFN-alpha levels and identification of SLE patients with presumably better responses to anti-IFN-alpha therapies or other novel therapeutic concepts, such as N-acetyl-cysteine and inhibitors of DNase 1, and peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4, which also target NETs. In summary, the study of NETs provides a novel approach to the understanding of autoimmune disease pathogenesis and opens new vistas in the development of sensitive disease markers and therapies.

Two types of a passive safety containment for a near future BWR with active and passive safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Takashi; Akinaga, Makoto; Kojima, Yoshihiro

2009-01-01

The paper presents two types of a passive safety containment for a near future BWR. They are named Mark S and Mark X containment. One of their common merits is very low peak pressure at severe accidents without venting the containment atmosphere to the environment. The PCV pressure can be moderated within the design pressure. Another merit is the capability to submerge the PCV and the RPV above the core level. The third merit is robustness against external events such as a large commercial airplane crash. Both the containments have a passive cooling core catcher that has radial cooling channels. The Mark S containment is made of reinforced concrete and applicable to a large power BWR up to 1830 MWe. The Mark X containment has the steel secondary containment and can be cooled by natural circulation of outside air. It can accommodate a medium power BWR up to 1380 MWe. In both cases the plants have active and passive safety systems constituting in-depth hybrid safety (IDHS). The IDHS provides not only hardware diversity between active and passive safety systems but also more importantly diversity of the ultimate heat sinks between the atmosphere and the sea water. Although the plant concept discussed in the paper uses well-established technology, plant performance including economy is innovatively and evolutionally improved. Nothing is new in the hardware but everything is new in the performance.

Two types of a passive safety containment for a near future BWR with active and passive safety systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, Takashi [Toshiba Corporation, IEC, Gen-SS, 8, Shinsugita-ho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama (Japan)], E-mail: takashi44.sato@glb.toshiba.co.jp; Akinaga, Makoto; Kojima, Yoshihiro [Toshiba Corporation, IEC, Gen-SS, 8, Shinsugita-ho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama (Japan)

2009-09-15

The paper presents two types of a passive safety containment for a near future BWR. They are named Mark S and Mark X containment. One of their common merits is very low peak pressure at severe accidents without venting the containment atmosphere to the environment. The PCV pressure can be moderated within the design pressure. Another merit is the capability to submerge the PCV and the RPV above the core level. The third merit is robustness against external events such as a large commercial airplane crash. Both the containments have a passive cooling core catcher that has radial cooling channels. The Mark S containment is made of reinforced concrete and applicable to a large power BWR up to 1830 MWe. The Mark X containment has the steel secondary containment and can be cooled by natural circulation of outside air. It can accommodate a medium power BWR up to 1380 MWe. In both cases the plants have active and passive safety systems constituting in-depth hybrid safety (IDHS). The IDHS provides not only hardware diversity between active and passive safety systems but also more importantly diversity of the ultimate heat sinks between the atmosphere and the sea water. Although the plant concept discussed in the paper uses well-established technology, plant performance including economy is innovatively and evolutionally improved. Nothing is new in the hardware but everything is new in the performance.

Application of the Management System for Facilities and Activities. Safety Guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This publication provides guidance for following the requirements for management systems that integrate safety, health, security, quality assurance and environmental objectives. A successful management system ensures that nuclear safety matters are not dealt with in isolation but are considered within the context of all these objectives. The aim of this publication is to assist Member States to establish and implement effective management systems that coherently integrate all aspects of managing nuclear facilities and activities. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Management system; 3. Management responsibility; 4. Resource management; 5. Process implementation; 6. Measurement, assessment and improvement; Appendix I: Transition to an integrated management system; Appendix II: Activities in the document control process; Appendix III: Activities in the procurement process; Appendix IV: Performance of independent assessments; Annex I: Electronic document management system; Annex II: Media for record storage; Annex III: Record retention and storage; Glossary.

NetBeans IDE 8 cookbook

CERN Document Server

Salter, David

2014-01-01

If you're a Java developer of any level using NetBeans and want to learn how to get the most out of NetBeans, then this book is for you. Learning how to utilize NetBeans will provide a firm foundation for your Java application development.

The Net Advance of Physics

Science.gov (United States)

THE NET ADVANCE OF PHYSICS Review Articles and Tutorials in an Encyclopædic Format Established 1995 [Link to MIT] Computer support for The Net Advance of Physics is furnished by The Massachusetts Newest Additions SPECIAL FEATURES: Net Advance RETRO: Nineteenth Century Physics History of Science

Annual activity report of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group for 1995 year

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ushpuras, E.; Augutis, J.; Bubelis, E.

1995-01-01

The main results of Ignalina NPP Safety Analysis Group (ISAG) investigations for 1995 are presented. ISAG is concentrating its research activities into four areas: the neutrons dynamics modelling, simulation of transient processes during loss of coolant accident, the reactor cooling systems modelling and the probabilistic safety assessment of accident confinement system. 18 refs., 9 tabs., 110 figs

Improved netting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bramley, A.; Clabburn, R.J.T.

1976-01-01

A method is described for producing netting composed of longitudinal and transverse threads of irradiation cross linked thermoplastic material, the threads being joined together at their crossings by moulded masses of cross linked thermoplastic material. The thread may be formed of polyethylene filaments, subjected to a radiation dose of 15 to 25 MR. The moulding can be conducted at 245 0 to 260 0 C or higher. The product is claimed to be an improved quality of netting, with bonds of increased strength between crossing threads. (U.K.)

Net alkalinity and net acidity 1: Theoretical considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirby, Carl S.; Cravotta, Charles A.

2005-01-01

Net acidity and net alkalinity are widely used, poorly defined, and commonly misunderstood parameters for the characterization of mine drainage. The authors explain theoretical expressions of 3 types of alkalinity (caustic, phenolphthalein, and total) and acidity (mineral, CO 2 , and total). Except for rarely-invoked negative alkalinity, theoretically defined total alkalinity is closely analogous to measured alkalinity and presents few practical interpretation problems. Theoretically defined 'CO 2 -acidity' is closely related to most standard titration methods with an endpoint pH of 8.3 used for determining acidity in mine drainage, but it is unfortunately named because CO 2 is intentionally driven off during titration of mine-drainage samples. Using the proton condition/mass-action approach and employing graphs to illustrate speciation with changes in pH, the authors explore the concept of principal components and how to assign acidity contributions to aqueous species commonly present in mine drainage. Acidity is defined in mine drainage based on aqueous speciation at the sample pH and on the capacity of these species to undergo hydrolysis to pH 8.3. Application of this definition shows that the computed acidity in mgL -1 as CaCO 3 (based on pH and analytical concentrations of dissolved Fe II , Fe III , Mn, and Al in mgL -1 ):acidity calculated =50{1000(10 -pH )+[2(Fe II )+3(Fe III )]/56+2(Mn) /55+3(Al)/27}underestimates contributions from HSO 4 - and H + , but overestimates the acidity due to Fe 3+ and Al 3+ . However, these errors tend to approximately cancel each other. It is demonstrated that 'net alkalinity' is a valid mathematical construction based on theoretical definitions of alkalinity and acidity. Further, it is shown that, for most mine-drainage solutions, a useful net alkalinity value can be derived from: (1) alkalinity and acidity values based on aqueous speciation (2) measured alkalinity minus calculated acidity, or (3) taking the negative of the

Net alkalinity and net acidity 1: Theoretical considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, C.S.; Cravotta, C.A.

2005-01-01

Net acidity and net alkalinity are widely used, poorly defined, and commonly misunderstood parameters for the characterization of mine drainage. The authors explain theoretical expressions of 3 types of alkalinity (caustic, phenolphthalein, and total) and acidity (mineral, CO2, and total). Except for rarely-invoked negative alkalinity, theoretically defined total alkalinity is closely analogous to measured alkalinity and presents few practical interpretation problems. Theoretically defined "CO 2-acidity" is closely related to most standard titration methods with an endpoint pH of 8.3 used for determining acidity in mine drainage, but it is unfortunately named because CO2 is intentionally driven off during titration of mine-drainage samples. Using the proton condition/mass- action approach and employing graphs to illustrate speciation with changes in pH, the authors explore the concept of principal components and how to assign acidity contributions to aqueous species commonly present in mine drainage. Acidity is defined in mine drainage based on aqueous speciation at the sample pH and on the capacity of these species to undergo hydrolysis to pH 8.3. Application of this definition shows that the computed acidity in mg L -1 as CaCO3 (based on pH and analytical concentrations of dissolved FeII, FeIII, Mn, and Al in mg L -1):aciditycalculated=50{1000(10-pH)+[2(FeII)+3(FeIII)]/56+2(Mn)/ 55+3(Al)/27}underestimates contributions from HSO4- and H+, but overestimates the acidity due to Fe3+ and Al3+. However, these errors tend to approximately cancel each other. It is demonstrated that "net alkalinity" is a valid mathematical construction based on theoretical definitions of alkalinity and acidity. Further, it is shown that, for most mine-drainage solutions, a useful net alkalinity value can be derived from: (1) alkalinity and acidity values based on aqueous speciation, (2) measured alkalinity minus calculated acidity, or (3) taking the negative of the value obtained in a

The social context moderates the relationships between neighborhood safety and adolescents’ physical activities

Science.gov (United States)

Background. Previous studies of neighborhood safety and physical (in)activity have typically neglected to consider the youth’s peer context as a modifier of these relationships. Objective. Test the independent and interactive effects of perceived neighborhood safety and time spent with friends and p...

Change in neighborhood traffic safety: does it matter in terms of physical activity?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jongeneel-Grimen, Birthe; Busschers, Wim; Droomers, Mariël; van Oers, Hans A. M.; Stronks, Karien; Kunst, Anton E.

2013-01-01

There is limited evidence on the causality of previously observed associations between neighborhood traffic safety and physical activity (PA). This study aims to contribute to this evidence by assessing the extent to which changes over time in neighborhood traffic safety were associated with PA.

Proof Nets for Lambek Calculus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roorda, Dirk

1992-01-01

The proof nets of linear logic are adapted to the non-commutative Lambek calculus. A different criterion for soundness of proof nets is given, which gives rise to new algorithms for proof search. The order sensitiveness of the Lambek calculus is reflected by the planarity condition on proof nets;

Properties of porous netted materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daragan, V.D.; Drozdov, B.G.; Kotov, A.Yu.; Mel'nikov, G.N.; Pustogarov, A.V.

1987-01-01

Hydraulic and strength characteristics, efficient heat conduction and inner heat exchange coefficient are experimentally studied for porous netted materials on the base of the brass nets as dependent on porosity, cell size and method of net laying. Results of the studies are presented. It is shown that due to anisotropy of the material properties the hydraulic resistance in the direction parallel to the nets plane is 1.3-1.6 times higher than in the perpendicular one. Values of the effective heat conduction in the direction perpendicular to the nets plane at Π>0.45 agree with the data from literature, at Π<0.45 a deviation from the calculated values is marked in the direction of the heat conduction decrease

Sweden's Cooperation with Eastern Europe in Radiation Safety 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Dassen, Lars; Andersson, Sarmite; Bejarano, Gabriela

2011-09-01

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority implemented in 2010 cooperation projects in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Lithuania and Moldova based on instructions from the Swedish Government and agreements with the European Union and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA. The projects aim at achieving a net contribution to radiation safety (including nuclear safety, nuclear security and non-proliferation as well as radiation protection and emergency preparedness) for the benefit of the host country as well as Sweden. This report gives an overview of all the projects implemented in 2010

Software-Enabled Distributed Network Governance: The PopMedNet Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Melanie; Erickson, Kyle; Wyner, Zachary; Malenfant, Jessica; Rosen, Rob; Brown, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

The expanded availability of electronic health information has led to increased interest in distributed health data research networks. The distributed research network model leaves data with and under the control of the data holder. Data holders, network coordinating centers, and researchers have distinct needs and challenges within this model. The concerns of network stakeholders are addressed in the design and governance models of the PopMedNet software platform. PopMedNet features include distributed querying, customizable workflows, and auditing and search capabilities. Its flexible role-based access control system enables the enforcement of varying governance policies. Four case studies describe how PopMedNet is used to enforce network governance models. Trust is an essential component of a distributed research network and must be built before data partners may be willing to participate further. The complexity of the PopMedNet system must be managed as networks grow and new data, analytic methods, and querying approaches are developed. The PopMedNet software platform supports a variety of network structures, governance models, and research activities through customizable features designed to meet the needs of network stakeholders.

A Bayesian belief nets based quantitative software reliability assessment for PSA: COTS case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Sung, T. Y.; Jeong, H. S.; Park, J. H.; Kang, H. G.; Lee, K. Y.; Park, J. K

2002-03-01

Current reliability assessments of safety critical software embedded in the digital systems in nuclear power plants are based on the rule-based qualitative assessment methods. Then recently practical needs require the quantitative features of software reliability for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) that is one of important methods being used in assessing the whole safety of nuclear power plant. But conventional quantitative software reliability assessment methods are not enough to get the necessary results in assessing the safety critical software used in nuclear power plants. Thus, current reliability assessment methods for these digital systems exclude the software part or use arbitrary values for the software reliability in the assessment. This reports discusses a Bayesian Belief Nets (BBN) based quantification method that models current qualitative software assessment in formal way and produces quantitative results required for PSA. Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software dedication process that KAERI developed was applied to the discussed BBN based method for evaluating the plausibility of the proposed method in PSA

Evaluating the effectiveness of active vehicle safety systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Eunbi; Oh, Cheol

2017-03-01

Advanced vehicle safety systems have been widely introduced in transportation systems and are expected to enhance traffic safety. However, these technologies mainly focus on assisting individual vehicles that are equipped with them, and less effort has been made to identify the effect of vehicular technologies on the traffic stream. This study proposed a methodology to assess the effectiveness of active vehicle safety systems (AVSSs), which represent a promising technology to prevent traffic crashes and mitigate injury severity. The proposed AVSS consists of longitudinal and lateral vehicle control systems, which corresponds to the Level 2 vehicle automation presented by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). The effectiveness evaluation for the proposed technology was conducted in terms of crash potential reduction and congestion mitigation. A microscopic traffic simulator, VISSIM, was used to simulate freeway traffic stream and collect vehicle-maneuvering data. In addition, an external application program interface, VISSIM's COM-interface, was used to implement the AVSS. A surrogate safety assessment model (SSAM) was used to derive indirect safety measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the AVSS. A 16.7-km freeway stretch between the Nakdong and Seonsan interchanges on Korean freeway 45 was selected for the simulation experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of AVSS. A total of five simulation runs for each evaluation scenario were conducted. For the non-incident conditions, the rear-end and lane-change conflicts were reduced by 78.8% and 17.3%, respectively, under the level of service (LOS) D traffic conditions. In addition, the average delay was reduced by 55.5%. However, the system's effectiveness was weakened in the LOS A-C categories. Under incident traffic conditions, the number of rear-end conflicts was reduced by approximately 9.7%. Vehicle delays were reduced by approximately 43.9% with 100% of market penetration rate (MPR). These results

Recent and current activities of the OECD/NEA Working Group on Fuel Safety (NEA/CSNI). Recent and Current Activities of the Working Group on Fuel Safety (NEA/CSNI)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petit, Marc

2013-01-01

The Working Group on Fuel Safety (WGFS) is part of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) of the Nuclear Energy Agency and has the main mission of advancing the current understanding and addressing fuel safety issues. Recent and current activities of the working group have addressed mainly the loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the reactivity initiated accident (RIA), the fuel safety criteria and leaking fuel issues, as well as Fukushima-related fuel topics. In the area of LOCA, the group issued different documents, the most notable being a very comprehensive state of the art report [NEA/CSNI/R (2009)15]. Regarding RIA, some documents were finalised and issued in the recent years, as well as a state of the art report [NEA/CSNI/R (2010)1]. The question of leaking fuel and how it is handled in the reactors is an activity that is just starting. Of particular interest to people developing new fuel concepts is the Nuclear Fuel Safety Criteria Technical Review - Second Edition [NEA/CSNI/R (2012)3]. This document provides a broad overview of the numerous criteria used in the NEA member countries to demonstrate to safe use of fuel in light water reactors. The WGFS has started discussions about fuel related issues raised by the Fukushima accident, in particular, hydrogen production. New concepts have been proposed to solve these issues but it appears that these concepts will need to go through a long qualification process to assess their adequacy for the different situations considered in the evaluation of fuel safety, from normal operation to accident conditions

Trends in internet search activity, media coverage, and patient-centered health information after the FDA safety communications on surgical mesh for pelvic organ prolapse.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Benjamin V; Forde, James C; Levit, Valerie B; Lee, Richard K; Te, Alexis E; Chughtai, Bilal

2016-11-01

In July 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication regarding serious complications associated with surgical mesh for pelvic organ prolapse, prompting increased media and public attention. This study sought to analyze internet search activity and news article volume after this FDA warning and to evaluate the quality of websites providing patient-centered information. Google Trends™ was utilized to evaluate search engine trends for the term "pelvic organ prolapse" and associated terms between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2014. Google News™ was utilized to quantify the number of news articles annually under the term "pelvic organ prolapse." The search results for the term "pelvic organ prolapse" were assessed for quality using the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) certification. There was a significant increase in search activity from 37.42 in 2010 to 57.75 in 2011, at the time of the FDA communication (p = 0.021). No other annual interval had a statistically significant increase in search activity. The single highest monthly search activity, given the value of 100, was August 2011, immediately following the July 2011 notification, with the next highest value being 98 in July 2011. Linear regression analysis of news articles per year since the FDA communication revealed r 2  = 0.88, with a coefficient of 186. Quality assessment demonstrated that 42 % of websites were HON-certified, with .gov sites providing the highest quality information. Although the 2011 FDA safety communication on surgical mesh was associated with increased public and media attention, the quality of relevant health information on the internet remains of poor quality. Future quality assurance measures may be critical in enabling patients to play active roles in their own healthcare.

Understanding Net Zero Energy Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salom, Jaume; Widén, Joakim; Candanedo, José

2011-01-01

Although several alternative definitions exist, a Net-Zero Energy Building (Net ZEB) can be succinctly described as a grid-connected building that generates as much energy as it uses over a year. The “net-zero” balance is attained by applying energy conservation and efficiency measures...... and by incorporating renewable energy systems. While based on annual balances, a complete description of a Net ZEB requires examining the system at smaller time-scales. This assessment should address: (a) the relationship between power generation and building loads and (b) the resulting interaction with the power grid...

78 FR 50079 - Information Collection Activities: Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS); Proposed...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement [Docket ID BSEE-2013-0005; OMB Control Number 1014-0017: 134E1700D2 EEEE500000 ET1SF0000.DAQ000] Information Collection Activities: Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS); Proposed Collection; Comment Request...

Linking Safety Analysis to Safety Requirements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kirsten Mark

Software for safety critical systems must deal with the hazards identified by safety analysistechniques: Fault trees, event trees,and cause consequence diagrams can be interpreted as safety requirements and used in the design activity. We propose that the safety analysis and the system design use...

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO Safety Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which the management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of the safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi-purpose research reactor and achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation like the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops, the development of safety culture indicators, the survey on the attitude of safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e-Learning program for safety education. (author)

History-dependent stochastic Petri nets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schonenberg, H.; Sidorova, N.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Hee, van K.M.; Pnueli, A.; Virbitskaite, I.; Voronkov, A.

2010-01-01

Stochastic Petri Nets are a useful and well-known tool for performance analysis. However, an implicit assumption in the different types of Stochastic Petri Nets is the Markov property. It is assumed that a choice in the Petri net only depends on the current state and not on earlier choices. For many

Source-book of International Activities Related to the Development of Safety Cases for Deep Geological Repositories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

All national radioactive waste management authorities recognise today that a robust safety case is essential in developing disposal facilities for radioactive waste. To improve the robustness of the safety case for the development of a deep geological repository, a wide variety of activities have been carried out by national programs and international organisations over the past years. The Nuclear Energy Agency, since first introducing the modern concept of the 'safety case', has continued to monitor major developments in safety case activities at the international level. This Source-book summarises the activities being undertaken by the Nuclear Energy Agency, the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning the safety case for the operational and post-closure phases of geological repositories for radioactive waste that ranges from low-level to high-level waste and for spent fuel. In doing so, it highlights important differences in focus among the three organisations

Pro ASP.NET 4 in VB 2010

CERN Document Server

MacDonald, Matthew; Freeman, Adam; Szpuszta, Mario; Agarwal, Vidya Vrat

2010-01-01

ASP.NET 4 is the latest version of Microsoft's revolutionary ASP.NET technology. It is the principal standard for creating dynamic web pages on the Windows platform. Pro ASP.NET 4 in VB 2010 raises the bar for high-quality, practical advice on learning and deploying Microsoft's dynamic web solution. This new edition is updated with everything you need to come to grips with the latest version of ASP.NET, including coverage of ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET AJAX 4, ASP.NET Dynamic Data, and Silverlight 3. Seasoned .NET professionals Matthew MacDonald and Mario Szpuszta explain how you can get the most fro

Spring hydrology determines summer net carbon uptake in northern ecosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Yonghong; Kimball, John S; Reichle, Rolf H

2014-01-01

Increased photosynthetic activity and enhanced seasonal CO 2 exchange of northern ecosystems have been observed from a variety of sources including satellite vegetation indices (such as the normalized difference vegetation index; NDVI) and atmospheric CO 2 measurements. Most of these changes have been attributed to strong warming trends in the northern high latitudes (⩾50° N). Here we analyze the interannual variation of summer net carbon uptake derived from atmospheric CO 2 measurements and satellite NDVI in relation to surface meteorology from regional observational records. We find that increases in spring precipitation and snow pack promote summer net carbon uptake of northern ecosystems independent of air temperature effects. However, satellite NDVI measurements still show an overall benefit of summer photosynthetic activity from regional warming and limited impact of spring precipitation. This discrepancy is attributed to a similar response of photosynthesis and respiration to warming and thus reduced sensitivity of net ecosystem carbon uptake to temperature. Further analysis of boreal tower eddy covariance CO 2 flux measurements indicates that summer net carbon uptake is positively correlated with early growing-season surface soil moisture, which is also strongly affected by spring precipitation and snow pack based on analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals. This is attributed to strong regulation of spring hydrology on soil respiration in relatively wet boreal and arctic ecosystems. These results document the important role of spring hydrology in determining summer net carbon uptake and contrast with prevailing assumptions of dominant cold temperature limitations to high-latitude ecosystems. Our results indicate potentially stronger coupling of boreal/arctic water and carbon cycles with continued regional warming trends. (letters)

Spring Hydrology Determines Summer Net Carbon Uptake in Northern Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Yonghong; Kimball, John; Reichle, Rolf H.

2014-01-01

Increased photosynthetic activity and enhanced seasonal CO2 exchange of northern ecosystems have been observed from a variety of sources including satellite vegetation indices (such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) and atmospheric CO2 measurements. Most of these changes have been attributed to strong warming trends in the northern high latitudes (greater than or equal to 50N). Here we analyze the interannual variation of summer net carbon uptake derived from atmospheric CO2 measurements and satellite NDVI in relation to surface meteorology from regional observational records. We find that increases in spring precipitation and snow pack promote summer net carbon uptake of northern ecosystems independent of air temperature effects. However, satellite NDVI measurements still show an overall benefit of summer photosynthetic activity from regional warming and limited impact of spring precipitation. This discrepancy is attributed to a similar response of photosynthesis and respiration to warming and thus reduced sensitivity of net ecosystem carbon uptake to temperature. Further analysis of boreal tower eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements indicates that summer net carbon uptake is positively correlated with early growing-season surface soil moisture, which is also strongly affected by spring precipitation and snow pack based on analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals. This is attributed to strong regulation of spring hydrology on soil respiration in relatively wet boreal and arctic ecosystems. These results document the important role of spring hydrology in determining summer net carbon uptake and contrast with prevailing assumptions of dominant cold temperature limitations to high-latitude ecosystems. Our results indicate potentially stronger coupling of boreal/arctic water and carbon cycles with continued regional warming trends.

NASA Net Zero Energy Buildings Roadmap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pless, S.; Scheib, J.; Torcellini, P.; Hendron, B.; Slovensky, M.

2014-10-01

In preparation for the time-phased net zero energy requirement for new federal buildings starting in 2020, set forth in Executive Order 13514, NASA requested that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop a roadmap for NASA's compliance. NASA detailed a Statement of Work that requested information on strategic, organizational, and tactical aspects of net zero energy buildings. In response, this document presents a high-level approach to net zero energy planning, design, construction, and operations, based on NREL's first-hand experience procuring net zero energy construction, and based on NREL and other industry research on net zero energy feasibility. The strategic approach to net zero energy starts with an interpretation of the executive order language relating to net zero energy. Specifically, this roadmap defines a net zero energy acquisition process as one that sets an aggressive energy use intensity goal for the building in project planning, meets the reduced demand goal through energy efficiency strategies and technologies, then adds renewable energy in a prioritized manner, using building-associated, emission- free sources first, to offset the annual energy use required at the building; the net zero energy process extends through the life of the building, requiring a balance of energy use and production in each calendar year.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-11-15

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG (International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safely. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30MW multi-purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of a e-learning program for a safety education purpose.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG (International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safely. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30MW multi-purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of a e-learning program for a safety education purpose

FILTER-NET STRUCTURE AND PUMPING ACTIVITY IN THE POLYCHAETE NEREIS-DIVERSICOLOR - EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND PUMP-MODELING

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riisgård, H.U.; Vedel, A.; Boye, H.

1992-01-01

on water processing were measured as clearance of suspended algal cells or measured directly. Pumping activity (undulating body movements of worms kept in glass tubes) was monitored using an infrared phototransducer technique. In the temperature interval from 5 to about 15-degrees-C there was a linear...... and a halving of the net cycle length. At low temperatures a tendency towards an extended pause between pumping periods was noticed. The N. diversicolor pump was modelled as a positive displacement leaking unit, and earlier data on back pressure characteristics were examined in light of the proposed model...

RESTful NET

CERN Document Server

Flanders, Jon

2008-01-01

RESTful .NET is the first book that teaches Windows developers to build RESTful web services using the latest Microsoft tools. Written by Windows Communication Foundation (WFC) expert Jon Flanders, this hands-on tutorial demonstrates how you can use WCF and other components of the .NET 3.5 Framework to build, deploy and use REST-based web services in a variety of application scenarios. RESTful architecture offers a simpler approach to building web services than SOAP, SOA, and the cumbersome WS- stack. And WCF has proven to be a flexible technology for building distributed systems not necessa

Fundamental safety principles. Safety fundamentals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

This publication states the fundamental safety objective and ten associated safety principles, and briefly describes their intent and purpose. The fundamental safety objective - to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation - applies to all circumstances that give rise to radiation risks. The safety principles are applicable, as relevant, throughout the entire lifetime of all facilities and activities - existing and new - utilized for peaceful purposes, and to protective actions to reduce existing radiation risks. They provide the basis for requirements and measures for the protection of people and the environment against radiation risks and for the safety of facilities and activities that give rise to radiation risks, including, in particular, nuclear installations and uses of radiation and radioactive sources, the transport of radioactive material and the management of radioactive waste

Fundamental safety principles. Safety fundamentals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This publication states the fundamental safety objective and ten associated safety principles, and briefly describes their intent and purpose. The fundamental safety objective - to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation - applies to all circumstances that give rise to radiation risks. The safety principles are applicable, as relevant, throughout the entire lifetime of all facilities and activities - existing and new - utilized for peaceful purposes, and to protective actions to reduce existing radiation risks. They provide the basis for requirements and measures for the protection of people and the environment against radiation risks and for the safety of facilities and activities that give rise to radiation risks, including, in particular, nuclear installations and uses of radiation and radioactive sources, the transport of radioactive material and the management of radioactive waste

Getting to Net Zero

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-09-01

The technology necessary to build net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) is ready and available today, however, building to net zero energy performance levels can be challenging. Energy efficiency measures, onsite energy generation resources, load matching and grid interaction, climatic factors, and local policies vary from location to location and require unique methods of constructing NZEBs. It is recommended that Components start looking into how to construct and operate NZEBs now as there is a learning curve to net zero construction and FY 2020 is just around the corner.

Net Zero Energy Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marszal, Anna Joanna; Bourrelle, Julien S.; Gustavsen, Arild

2010-01-01

and identify possible renewable energy supply options which may be considered in calculations. Finally, the gap between the methodology proposed by each organisation and their respective national building code is assessed; providing an overview of the possible changes building codes will need to undergo......The international cooperation project IEA SHC Task 40 / ECBCS Annex 52 “Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings”, attempts to develop a common understanding and to set up the basis for an international definition framework of Net Zero Energy Buildings (Net ZEBs). The understanding of such buildings...

Pro NET Best Practices

CERN Document Server

Ritchie, Stephen D

2011-01-01

Pro .NET Best Practices is a practical reference to the best practices that you can apply to your .NET projects today. You will learn standards, techniques, and conventions that are sharply focused, realistic and helpful for achieving results, steering clear of unproven, idealistic, and impractical recommendations. Pro .NET Best Practices covers a broad range of practices and principles that development experts agree are the right ways to develop software, which includes continuous integration, automated testing, automated deployment, and code analysis. Whether the solution is from a free and

77 FR 22387 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Transmission and Gathering...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-13

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2012-0024] Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems Annual Report, Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems Incident Report...

77 FR 58616 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Transmission and Gathering...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-21

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2012-0024] Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revision to Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems Annual Report, Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems Incident Report...

25 Years of Community Activities towards Harmonization of Nuclear Safety Criteria and Requirements - Achievements and Prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lillington, J.N.; Turland, B.D.; Haste, T.J.; Seiler, J.M.; Carretero, A.; Perez, T.; Geutges, A.; Van Hienen, J.F.A.; Jehee, J.N.T.; Sehgal, B.R.; Mattila, L.; Holmstrom, H.; Karwat, H.; Maroti, L.; Toth, I.; Husarcek, J.

2001-10-01

The main objective was to advise the EC on future challenges and opportunities in terms of enhanced co-operation in the area of nuclear safety and harmonization of safety requirements and practices in an enlarged European Union. The activities were divided into 3 sub-tasks as follows: part A, to prepare an analysis, synthesis and assessment of the main achievements from Community activities related to the Resolutions on the technological problems of nuclear safety of 1975 and 1992, with due consideration for related research activities; part B, to prepare an overview of safety philosophies and practices in EU Member States, taking account of their specific national practices in terms of legal framework, type and age of operating nuclear reactors; part C, to provide elements of a strategy for future activities in the frame of the Council Resolutions, with particular attention to the context of enlargement of the EU. (author)

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jong Sup; Han, Gee Yang; Kim, Ik Soo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-11-15

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementation have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e Learning program for a safety education purpose.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jong Sup; Han, Gee Yang; Kim, Ik Soo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementation have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e Learning program for a safety education purpose

ASP.NET web API build RESTful web applications and services on the .NET framework

CERN Document Server

Kanjilal, Joydip

2013-01-01

This book is a step-by-step, practical tutorial with a simple approach to help you build RESTful web applications and services on the .NET framework quickly and efficiently.This book is for ASP.NET web developers who want to explore REST-based services with C# 5. This book contains many real-world code examples with explanations whenever necessary. Some experience with C# and ASP.NET 4 is expected.

Regulatory activities in reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvatore, J.E.L.

1987-01-01

The safety phylosophy in designs and operation of nuclear power plants and, the steps for evaluating the safety and quality assurance, in the licensing procedure are described. The CNEN organization structure and the licensing procedure for nuclear power plants in Brazil are presented. (M.C.K.) [pt

Instructional games and activities for criticality safety training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bullard, B.; McBride, J.

1993-01-01

During the past several years, the Training and Management Systems Division (TMSD) staff of Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) has designed and developed nuclear criticality safety (NCS) training programs that focus on high trainee involvement through the use of instructional games and activities. This paper discusses the instructional game, initial considerations for developing games, advantages and limitations of games, and how games may be used in developing and implementing NCS training. It also provides examples of the various instructional games and activities used in separate courses designed for Martin Marietta Energy Systems (MMES's) supervisors and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) fuel facility inspectors

The ClaudicatioNet concept: design of a national integrated care network providing active and healthy aging for patients with intermittent claudication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauret GJ

2012-08-01

within the Dutch health care system need to be tackled.Conclusion: With ClaudicatioNet, integrated care pathways are likely to improve in the upcoming years. This should result in the achievement of optimal quality of care for all patients with IC.Keywords: intermittent claudication, supervised exercise therapy, integrated care network, chronic care model, active healthy aging

Inhibition of the Ras-Net (Elk-3) pathway by a novel pyrazole that affects microtubules.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasylyk, Christine; Zheng, Hong; Castell, Christelle; Debussche, Laurent; Multon, Marie-Christine; Wasylyk, Bohdan

2008-03-01

Net (Elk-3/SAP-2/Erp) is a transcription factor that is phosphorylated and activated by the Ras-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) signaling pathway and is involved in wound healing, angiogenesis, and tumor growth. In a cell-based screen for small molecule inhibitors of Ras activation of Net transcriptional activity, we identified a novel pyrazole, XRP44X. XRP44X inhibits fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2)-induced Net phosphorylation by the Ras-Erk signaling upstream from Ras. It also binds to the colchicine-binding site of tubulin, depolymerizes microtubules, stimulates cell membrane blebbing, and affects the morphology of the actin skeleton. Interestingly, Combretastin-A4, which produces similar effects on the cytoskeleton, also inhibits FGF-2 Ras-Net signaling. This differs from other classes of agents that target microtubules, which have either little effect (vincristine) or no effect (docetaxel and nocodazole) on the Ras-Net pathway. XRP44X inhibits various cellular properties, including cell growth, cell cycle progression, and aortal sprouting, similar to other molecules that bind to the tubulin colchicine site. XRP44X has the potentially interesting property of connecting two important pathways involved in cell transformation and may thereby represent an interesting class of molecules that could be developed for cancer treatment.

Translating Colored Control Flow Nets into Readable Java via Annotated Java Workflow Nets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Kristian Bisgaard; Tjell, Simon

2007-01-01

In this paper, we present a method for developing Java applications from Colored Control Flow Nets (CCFNs), which is a special kind of Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) that we introduce. CCFN makes an explicit distinction between the representation of: The system, the environment of the system, and the ......In this paper, we present a method for developing Java applications from Colored Control Flow Nets (CCFNs), which is a special kind of Colored Petri Nets (CPNs) that we introduce. CCFN makes an explicit distinction between the representation of: The system, the environment of the system......, and the interface between the system and the environment. Our translation maps CCFNs into Anno- tated Java Workflow Nets (AJWNs) as an intermediate step, and these AJWNs are finally mapped to Java. CCFN is intended to enforce the modeler to describe the system in an imperative manner which makes the subsequent...... translation to Java easier to define. The translation to Java preserves data dependencies and control-flow aspects of the source CCFN. This paper contributes to the model-driven software development paradigm, by showing how to model a system, environment, and their interface, as a CCFN and presenting a fully...

Perceived neighborhood safety related to physical activity but not recreational screen-based sedentary behavior in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenhart, Clare M; Wiemken, Andrew; Hanlon, Alexandra; Perkett, Mackenzie; Patterson, Freda

2017-09-18

A growing proportion of adolescents have poor cardiovascular health behaviors, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, thus increasing the likelihood of poor heart health in later years. This study tested the hypothesis that low perceived neighborhood safety would be associated with low levels of physical activity and high levels of recreational sedentary behavior in high-school students. Using cross-sectional, weighted data from the 2015 Pennsylvania (USA) State and Philadelphia city Youth Risk Behavior Survey, multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between perceived neighborhood safety, and physical activity levels and recreational screen-based sedentary behavior time respectively, while controlling for potential confounders. After adjustment for other significant correlates of physical activity, students with low perceived neighborhood safety had a 21% reduced odds of being physically active on 5 or more days of the last week as compared to those who felt safe (p = 0.044). Perceived safety was not related to sedentary behavior; but sports team participation emerged as a strong correlate of low screen-based sedentary behavior (OR = 0.73, p = .002). These data add to a growing body of work demonstrating the importance of perceived safety with physical activity levels in youth. Sports team participation may be a viable target to reduce screen-based sedentary time.

Perceived neighborhood safety related to physical activity but not recreational screen-based sedentary behavior in adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clare M. Lenhart

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A growing proportion of adolescents have poor cardiovascular health behaviors, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, thus increasing the likelihood of poor heart health in later years. This study tested the hypothesis that low perceived neighborhood safety would be associated with low levels of physical activity and high levels of recreational sedentary behavior in high-school students. Methods Using cross-sectional, weighted data from the 2015 Pennsylvania (USA State and Philadelphia city Youth Risk Behavior Survey, multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between perceived neighborhood safety, and physical activity levels and recreational screen-based sedentary behavior time respectively, while controlling for potential confounders. Results After adjustment for other significant correlates of physical activity, students with low perceived neighborhood safety had a 21% reduced odds of being physically active on 5 or more days of the last week as compared to those who felt safe (p = 0.044. Perceived safety was not related to sedentary behavior; but sports team participation emerged as a strong correlate of low screen-based sedentary behavior (OR = 0.73, p = .002. Conclusion These data add to a growing body of work demonstrating the importance of perceived safety with physical activity levels in youth. Sports team participation may be a viable target to reduce screen-based sedentary time.

MetHumi - Humidity Device for Mars MetNet Lander

Science.gov (United States)

Genzer, Maria; Polkko, Jouni; Harri, Ari-Matti; Schmidt, Walter; Leinonen, Jussi; Mäkinen, Teemu; Haukka, Harri

2010-05-01

MetNet Mars Mission focused for Martian atmospheric science is based on a new semihard landing vehicle called the MetNet Lander (MNL). The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. MetHumi is the humidity sensor of MetNet Lander designed to work on Martian surface. It is based on Humicap® technology developed by Vaisala, Inc. MetHumi is a capacitive type of sensing device where an active polymer film changes capacitance as function of relative humidity. One MetHumi device package consists of one humidity transducer including three Humicap® sensor heads, an accurate temperature sensor head (Thermocap® by Vaisala, Inc.) and constant reference channels. MetHumi is very small, lightweighed and has low power consumption. It weighs only about 15 g without wires, and consumes 15 mW of power. MetHumi can make meaningful relative humidity measurements in range of 0 - 100%RH down to -70°C ambient temperature, but it survives even -135°C ambient temperature.

75 FR 4904 - Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC); Working Group Activity Update

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-29

... amend regulations protecting persons who work on, under, or between rolling equipment; and persons...-7257] Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC); Working Group Activity Update AGENCY: Federal Railroad... Committee (RSAC) Working Group Activities. SUMMARY: The FRA is updating its announcement of RSAC's Working...

Active and intelligent packaging: The indication of quality and safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Janjarasskul, Theeranun; Suppakul, Panuwat

2018-03-24

The food industry has been under growing pressure to feed an exponentially increasing world population and challenged to meet rigorous food safety law and regulation. The plethora of media consumption has provoked consumer demand for safe, sustainable, organic, and wholesome products with "clean" labels. The application of active and intelligent packaging has been commercially adopted by food and pharmaceutical industries as a solution for the future for extending shelf life and simplifying production processes; facilitating complex distribution logistics; reducing, if not eliminating the need for preservatives in food formulations; enabling restricted food packaging applications; providing convenience, improving quality, variety and marketing features; as well as providing essential information to ensure consumer safety. This chapter reviews innovations of active and intelligent packaging which advance packaging technology through both scavenging and releasing systems for shelf life extension, and through diagnostic and identification systems for communicating quality, tracking and brand protection.

Considering lessons learned about safety culture and their reflection to activity. After Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obu, Etsuji; Hamada, Jun; Fukano, Takuya

2011-01-01

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident forced neighboring residents to evacuate for a long time and gave Public anxieties greatly and significant effects to social activities in Japan. Public trust of nuclear power was lost by not preventing the accident and future of nuclear power became reconsidered, which nuclear industry people regretted deeply. Japan Nuclear Technology Institute (JANTI) had conducted activities enhancing safety culture in nuclear industry. It would be necessary to consider improvements of accident prevention and mitigation measures after evaluating the accident in a viewpoint of 'safety culture'. Based on published information and knowledge accumulated by activities of JANTI, the accident was examined taking account of greatness of nuclear accident and its effects from the side of safety culture. Lessons learned about safety culture were pointed out as; (1) reconfirmation of specialty of nuclear technology. (2) reinforcement of questioning and learning attitudes and (3) improvement of evaluation capability of nuclear safety and safety assurance against external event. These were reflected in activities such as; (1) reconsideration of safety culture assessment, (2) strengthening further support to improve safety culture consciousness and (3) improvement of peer review activity. (T. Tanaka)

Programming NET 35

CERN Document Server

Liberty, Jesse

2009-01-01

Bestselling author Jesse Liberty and industry expert Alex Horovitz uncover the common threads that unite the .NET 3.5 technologies, so you can benefit from the best practices and architectural patterns baked into the new Microsoft frameworks. The book offers a Grand Tour" of .NET 3.5 that describes how the principal technologies can be used together, with Ajax, to build modern n-tier and service-oriented applications. "