Regulatory assessment of brand changes in the commercial tobacco product market.

Science.gov (United States)

Wayne, G Ferris; Connolly, G N

2009-08-01

Regulatory oversight of tobacco product design has gained momentum in the US and internationally. Appropriate standards for assessing commercial brands and characterising product features must be considered a priority. An area of potential concern is in-market design changes adopted within a single commercial brand over time. Internal tobacco industry documents were identified and used to assess internal discussion of product guidelines and practices regarding in-market brand changes. Commercial tobacco products undergo a constant process of revision in-market, beginning at the most basic level of physical product characteristics and components, and including every aspect of design. These revisions commonly exceed guidelines for acceptable product variance adopted within the industry. While consumer and market testing is conducted to ensure that products remain acceptable to users, explicit marketing often may not accompany brand changes. In the absence of such marketing, it should not be assumed that a brand remains unchanged. For manufacturers, assessment of competitor brands includes identification and analysis of non-routine changes; that is, those changes likely to significantly alter the character of a given brand. Regulators must adopt a similar practice in determining standards for product evaluation in the face of ongoing commercial product revision.

What standards do I need for my product or service?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H.J. de Vries (Henk); J. van der Zwan (Jappe)

2008-01-01

textabstractThere are standards for most products and services. Sometimes dozens of them. Examples of standards for products: - Standards for connection to another product. - Safety standards. - Standard dimensions. - Standards with test methods to be able to demonstrate the quality of the

Energy Saving Recommended: Delivering improved product standards, market presence and quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lock, Tom; Galvanoni, Frances [Energy Saving Trust (United Kingdom)

2007-07-01

CO{sub 2} emissions from the home equate to 27 % of UK total emissions. In order for consumers to use less energy, and reduce their environmental impact, the Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) voluntary product labelling scheme for domestic energy saving products was established to direct the consumer to choose better products and make smarter choices. With over 2000 certified products, ESR is present across 5 sectors and covers 24 product categories; 9 sets of standards were reviewed and revised in 2005/6 and a further 13 were delivered in 2006/7. ESR is now implementing existing and developing new standards in consumer electronics - from integrated digital televisions and recorders, to intelligent mains sockets and set-top-boxes, as well as assessing the feasibility of endorsing domestic ICT equipment. The Energy Saving Trust, through its marketing activities, acts as an enabler to make energy saving action simpler, easier and cheaper for the consumer to undertake. Using a variety of communication strategies the trade is engaged through the provision of value added member benefits; a holistic approach is taken with key partners to integrate energy efficiency throughout their businesses. Merchandising support helps product standards to be implemented in the market place; evaluation and research work demonstrates that markets can be changed and shows a 1 in 3 label recognition rate. The credibility and integrity of the label are reinforced through compliance testing, in-store and online label monitoring and legal enforcement, frequent data checks and the integration of ISO best practice standards through the certification system.

ESO science data product standard for 1D spectral products

Science.gov (United States)

Micol, Alberto; Arnaboldi, Magda; Delmotte, Nausicaa A. R.; Mascetti, Laura; Retzlaff, Joerg

2016-07-01

The ESO Phase 3 process allows the upload, validation, storage, and publication of reduced data through the ESO Science Archive Facility. Since its introduction, 2 million data products have been archived and published; 80% of them are one-dimensional extracted and calibrated spectra. Central to Phase3 is the ESO science data product standard that defines metadata and data format of any product. This contribution describes the ESO data standard for 1d-spectra, its adoption by the reduction pipelines of selected instrument modes for in-house generation of reduced spectra, the enhanced archive legacy value. Archive usage statistics are provided.

A new pathway to product standardization.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitcomb, J

2000-06-01

As the benefits of product standardization become more evident in improved financial, managerial, and clinical outcomes, tools to make the process easier will be in demand. Once a standardization program is established, e-commerce offers tools to keep it on track.

Development and standardization of methods for promoting products on the example of bakery products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Orlovtseva

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The popularity of products depends not only on its quality, but also on the activities that have been undertaken to promote it in the market. The media plan developed for this purpose should be based on the use of scientific approaches, since the success of an advertising campaign directly depends on the correctness of the selected promotion channels and the level of the developed advertising and information materials. At the same time, it is necessary to optimize the media plan, which makes it possible to ensure the effectiveness of advertising by attracting consumers, advancing competitors and rational use of resources, including material ones. The article gives an example of a developed advertising campaign for the promotion of bakery products: advertising channels in magazines, a radio commercial in shopping centers, advertising stand and distribution of flyers were chosen as channels for promotion. The general concept of this advertising is the promotion of various types of fresh hot products, so the main character is Red Riding Hood. The article gives examples of layouts of printed materials, an approximate scenario of a radio commercial and a description of the layout of magazine advertising. To assess the adequacy of the developed advertising company, the media plan and expenses for creating and conducting an advertising campaign are calculated.. On its basis, a methodology is formulated and an algorithm for performing these marketing activities is constructed. An important step in the application of this technique is its standardization - the creation of an organization standard. The standardization document containing the rules, regulations and requirements will allow optimizing production processes and increasing the competitiveness of the enterprise's products, and also contributes to a common understanding of marketing concepts and advertising policy in the enterprise.

Shifting Gears: Standards, Assessments, Curriculum, & Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dougherty, Eleanor

This book is designed to help educators move from a system that measures students against students to one that values mastery of central concepts and skills, striving for proficiency in publicly acknowledged standards of academic performance. It aims to connect the operative parts of standards-based education (standards, assessment, curriculum,…

New and revised standards for coke production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

G.A. Kotsyuba; M.I. Alpatov; Y.G. Shapoval [Giprokoks, the State Institute for the Design of Coke-Industry Enterprises, Kharkov (Ukraine)

2009-07-15

The need for new and revised standards for coke production in Ukraine and Russia is outlined. Such standards should address improvements in plant operation, working conditions, environmental protection, energy conservation, fire and explosion safety, and economic indices.

DIFFERENCES IN MANAGER ASSESSMENTS OF ISO 14000 STANDARD IMPLEMENTATION IN TURKEY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sıtkı Gözlü

2005-12-01

Full Text Available This study reports the results of a survey about the improvements achieved as result of ISO 14000 Environmental Management System (EMS standard implementation and the differences of improvements with respect to firm characteristics. A survey has been conducted in order to explain the improvements related to environmental management process and overall firm performance. The survey involved sixty-six enterprises implementing ISO 14000 EMS standard in Turkey. In order to assess improvements obtained from ISO 14000 EMS implementation, statements related to environmental management process and overall firm performance indicators have been prepared. The statements in this study are relevant to previous research. A factor analysis was employed to determine the factors of the variables explaining improvements. Nine factors have been identified related to achieved improvements, such as establishment of pro-active environmental management system, effectiveness in resource utilization, effectiveness of process control, relationships with industry and government, meeting expectations of stakeholders, demonstration of social responsibility, profitability, productivity, and competitiveness. Then, a T- test was conducted to determine the differences of managers’ assessments with respect to certain firm characteristics. The findings have shown that there are differences in the assessments of improvements achieved as a result of ISO 14000 EMS standard implementation with respect to sales volume, foreign-capital possession, and ISO 14000 EMS standard implementation. On the other hand, industrial sector, age of establishment, and export orientation are not statistically significant for the differences in the assessments of improvements.

Savannah River Site peer evaluator standards: Operator assessment for restart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

Savannah River Site has implemented a Peer Evaluator program for the assessment of certified Central Control Room Operators, Central Control Room Supervisors and Shift Technical Engineers prior to restart. This program is modeled after the nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Examiner Standard, ES-601, for the requalification of licensed operators in the commercial utility industry. It has been tailored to reflect the unique differences between Savannah River production reactors and commercial power reactors

Design and industrial production of frequency standards in the USSR

Science.gov (United States)

Demidov, Nikolai A.; Uljanov, Adolph A.

1990-01-01

Some aspects of research development and production of quantum frequency standards, carried out in QUARTZ Research and Production Association (RPA), Gorky, U.S.S.R., were investigated for the last 25 to 30 years. During this period a number of rubidium and hydrogen frequency standards, based on the active maser, were developed and put into production. The first industrial model of a passive hydrogen maser was designed in the last years. Besides frequency standards for a wide application range, RPA QUARTZ investigates metrological frequency standards--cesium standards with cavity length 1.9 m and hydrogen masers with a flexible storage bulb.

Psychological distress and streamlined BreastScreen follow-up assessment versus standard assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Kerry A; Winch, Caleb J; Borecky, Natacha; Boyages, John

2013-11-04

To establish whether altered protocol characteristics of streamlined StepDown breast assessment clinics heightened or reduced the psychological distress of women in attendance compared with standard assessment. Willingness to attend future screening was also compared between the assessment groups. Observational, prospective study of women attending either a mammogram-only StepDown or a standard breast assessment clinic. Women completed questionnaires on the day of assessment and 1 month later. Women attending StepDown (136 women) or standard assessment clinics (148 women) at a BreastScreen centre between 10 November 2009 and 7 August 2010. Breast cancer worries; positive and negative psychological consequences of assessment (Psychological Consequences Questionnaire); breast cancer-related intrusion and avoidance (Impact of Event Scale); and willingness to attend, and uneasiness about, future screening. At 1-month follow-up, no group differences were evident between those attending standard and StepDown clinics on breast cancer worries (P= 0.44), positive (P= 0.88) and negative (P = 0.65) consequences, intrusion (P = 0.64), and avoidance (P = 0.87). Willingness to return for future mammograms was high, and did not differ between groups (P = 0.16), although higher levels of unease were associated with lessened willingness to rescreen (P = 0.04). There was no evidence that attending streamlined StepDown assessments had different outcomes in terms of distress than attending standard assessment clinics for women with a BreastScreen-detected abnormality. However, unease about attending future screening was generally associated with less willingness to do so in both groups; thus, there is a role for psycho-educational intervention to address these concerns.

Accelerating the Adoption of Second-Tier Reach Standards forApplicable Appliance Products in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Jiang; Fridley, David

2007-03-01

The minimum energy efficiency standards program for household appliances in China was initiated in 1989. Since 1996, CLASP and its implementing partner, LBNL, have assisted China in developing 11 minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for 9 products and endorsement labels for 11 products including: refrigerators; air conditioners; clothes washers; televisions; printers; computers; monitors; fax machines; copiers; DVD/VCD players; external power supplies; and set-top boxes (under development). Before 2003, China's traditional approach to standards development involved small increases in efficiency requirements for implementation within 6 months of a standard's approval. Since 2003, China has adopted a new approach in setting MEPS. This new approach involves the development of two tiers of standards--one for initial implementation and a second tier at a more aggressive level of energy efficiency for implementation three to five years later. The second-tier standard is also referred to as a 'reach standard'. Reach standards have now been developed in China for: color TVs; refrigerators; air conditioners; and external power supplies. This report is presented in five sections. After the introduction in Section 1, Section 2 analyzes the distribution of the efficiency of refrigerators and air-conditioners in China based on data collected by the China Energy Label Center for the mandatory energy information label program. The results provide an assessment of the adoption of reach standards for these two products. Section 3 summarizes on-going collaborations with Shanghai related to early local adoption of reach standards, and presents both the impact and an analysis of barriers to the local adoption of reach standard for air-conditioners. Section 4 offers suggestions for local governments on how to move forward in adopting reach standards in their localities and concludes with a summary of the results and a plan for developing local capacity in

Background and derivation of ANS-5.4 standard fission product release model. Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

ANS Working Group 5.4 was established in 1974 to examine fission product releases from UO2 fuel. The scope of ANS-5.4 was narrowly defined to include the following: (1) Review available experimental data on release of volatile fission products from UO2 and mixed-oxide fuel; (2) Survey existing analytical models currently being applied to lightwater reactors; and (3) Develop a standard analytical model for volatile fission product release to the fuel rod void space. Place emphasis on obtaining a model for radioactive fission product releases to be used in assessing radiological consequences of postulated accidents

Integrated methodology for standard-setting norms of innovative product in the new competitive environment

Science.gov (United States)

Polyakova, Marina; Rubin, Gennadiy

2017-07-01

Modern theory of technological and economical development is based on long-term cycles. So far it has been proved that the technological structure of the economy can be subdivided into groups of technological complexes, which are inter-related with each other by similar technological links, so called technological modes. Technological mode is defined as a complex of interrelated production units of similar technological level, which develop simultaneously. In order to provide competitiveness of products in the new changing conditions, it is necessary to make sure that they meet all the regulatory requirements specified in standards. But the existing and the fast changing situation on the merchandise markets causes disbalance between the growing customer requirements and the technological capabilities of the manufacturer. This makes the issue of standardization development even more urgent both from the point of view of establishing the current positions and from the point of view of possible promising development trends in technology. In the paper scientific and engineering principles of developing standardization as a science are described. It is shown that further development of standardization is based on the principles of advanced standardization the main idea of which is to set up the prospective requirements to the innovative product. Modern approaches of advanced standardization are shown in this paper. The complexity of the negotiation procedure between customer and manufacturer as a whole and achieving of consensus, in particular, make it necessary to find conceptually new approaches to developing mathematical models. The developed methodology picture the process of achieving the consensus between customer and manufacturer while developing the standard norms in the form of decreasing S-curve diagram. It means that in the end of the negotiation process, there is no difference between customer and manufacturer positions. It makes it possible to provide the

Effects of assessing the productivity of faculty in academic medical centres: a systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Akl, Elie A.; Meerpohl, Joerg J.; Raad, Dany; Piaggio, Giulia; Mattioni, Manlio; Paggi, Marco G.; Gurtner, Aymone; Mattarocci, Stefano; Tahir, Rizwan; Muti, Paola; Schünemann, Holger J.

2012-01-01

Background: Many academic medical centres have introduced strategies to assess the productivity of faculty as part of compensation schemes. We conducted a systematic review of the effects of such strategies on faculty productivity. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, Healthstar, Embase and PsycInfo databases from their date of inception up to October 2011. We included studies that assessed academic productivity in clinical, research, teaching and administrative activities, as well as compensation, promotion processes and satisfaction. Results: Of 531 full-text articles assessed for eligibility, we included 9 articles reporting on eight studies. The introduction of strategies for assessing academic productivity as part of compensation schemes resulted in increases in clinical productivity (in six of six studies) in terms of clinical revenue, the work component of relative-value units (these units are nonmonetary standard units of measure used to indicate the value of services provided), patient satisfaction and other departmentally used standards. Increases in research productivity were noted (in five of six studies) in terms of funding and publications. There was no change in teaching productivity (in two of five studies) in terms of educational output. Such strategies also resulted in increases in compensation at both individual and group levels (in three studies), with two studies reporting a change in distribution of compensation in favour of junior faculty. None of the studies assessed effects on administrative productivity or promotion processes. The overall quality of evidence was low. Interpretation: Strategies introduced to assess productivity as part of a compensation scheme appeared to improve productivity in research activities and possibly improved clinical productivity, but they had no effect in the area of teaching. Compensation increased at both group and individual levels, particularly among junior faculty. Higher quality evidence about the benefits

Effects of assessing the productivity of faculty in academic medical centres: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Akl, Elie A; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Raad, Dany; Piaggio, Giulia; Mattioni, Manlio; Paggi, Marco G; Gurtner, Aymone; Mattarocci, Stefano; Tahir, Rizwan; Muti, Paola; Schünemann, Holger J

2012-08-07

Many academic medical centres have introduced strategies to assess the productivity of faculty as part of compensation schemes. We conducted a systematic review of the effects of such strategies on faculty productivity. We searched the MEDLINE, Healthstar, Embase and PsycInfo databases from their date of inception up to October 2011. We included studies that assessed academic productivity in clinical, research, teaching and administrative activities, as well as compensation, promotion processes and satisfaction. Of 531 full-text articles assessed for eligibility, we included 9 articles reporting on eight studies. The introduction of strategies for assessing academic productivity as part of compensation schemes resulted in increases in clinical productivity (in six of six studies) in terms of clinical revenue, the work component of relative-value units (these units are nonmonetary standard units of measure used to indicate the value of services provided), patient satisfaction and other departmentally used standards. Increases in research productivity were noted (in five of six studies) in terms of funding and publications. There was no change in teaching productivity (in two of five studies) in terms of educational output. Such strategies also resulted in increases in compensation at both individual and group levels (in three studies), with two studies reporting a change in distribution of compensation in favour of junior faculty. None of the studies assessed effects on administrative productivity or promotion processes. The overall quality of evidence was low. Strategies introduced to assess productivity as part of a compensation scheme appeared to improve productivity in research activities and possibly improved clinical productivity, but they had no effect in the area of teaching. Compensation increased at both group and individual levels, particularly among junior faculty. Higher quality evidence about the benefits and harms of such assessment strategies is

77 FR 65279 - Domestic Competitive Products Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-26

... POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Domestic Competitive Products Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes... and mailing standards for the following competitive products: Express Mail[supreg], Priority Mail.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule describes new prices and product features for competitive products...

16 CFR 1115.8 - Compliance with product safety standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... applicable mandatory consumer product safety standards and to report to the Commission any products which do.... 1115.8 Section 1115.8 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS SUBSTANTIAL PRODUCT HAZARD REPORTS General Interpretation § 1115.8 Compliance with...

Standards, Assessments & Opting Out, Spring 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Advance Illinois, 2015

2015-01-01

In the spring, Illinois students will take new state assessments that reflect the rigor and relevance of the new Illinois Learning Standards. But some classmates will sit out and join the pushback against standardized testing. Opt-out advocates raise concerns about over-testing, and the resulting toll on students as well as the impact on classroom…

[From manual workshop to international standard maker: exploration on production standard of acupuncture needle by Chengjiang acupuncture school].

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jie; Cao, Yang; Xia, Youbing

2015-02-01

ABSTRACT The exploration course on production standard of acupuncture needle by Chengjiang acupuncture school is reviewed in this paper. After new China was established, acupuncture needle standard was unified by Mr. CHENG Dan-an, which guided Suzhou Hua Erfang (predecessor of Suzhou Medical Supplies Factory) to make the quality standards and testing methods of acupuncture needle and improved the production process to make the modern acupuncture needle. Based on this, Suzhou Medical Supplies Factory followed the time development pace, ac tively introduced new technology, carried out technological innovation, and constantly improved the level of production technology, as a result, it gradually developed into one of the world's largest acupuncture needle production suppliers. Meanwhile, after establishing China's first national standard on acupuncture needle (GB 2024-1980), the Suzhou Medical Supplies Factory took the lead to draft "ISO) 17218:2014 the disposable use asepsis acupuncture needle", which was officially published as an international standard. The Suzhou Medical Supplies Factory developed from a manual workshop to an international standard maker.

setting sustainable standards for biofuel production

African Journals Online (AJOL)

OLAWUYI

Director for Research, Training and International Development, Institute for Oil, Gas, ..... Table 3 presents the five stages in the product lifecycle for biofuel production ..... Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessments of Trade and Investment.

Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment. Operational Guide to the ISO Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guinee, J.B. [Centre of Environmental Studies, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands)

2002-04-01

In 1992 the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) at Leiden University, The Netherlands, published a Guide on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, setting the standard for a long time. Since then LCA methodology has progressed enormously and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a series of Standards on LCA. These developments have now been incorporated into a new Handbook on LCA authored by CML in cooperation with a number of other important institutes in the area of LCA. The general aim of this Handbook on LCA is to provide a stepwise 'cookbook' with operational guidelines for conducting an LCA study step-by-step, justified by a scientific background document, based on the ISO Standards for LCA. The different ISO elements and requirements are made operational to the 'best available practice' for each step. CML is strongly involved in the development of a standard methodology to determine environmental impacts of products, i.e., LCA. This is done within international fora such as the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

Performance Standards': Utility for Different Uses of Assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert L. Linn

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Performance standards are arguably one of the most controversial topics in educational measurement. There are uses of assessments such as licensure and certification where performance standards are essential. There are many other uses, however, where performance standards have been mandated or become the preferred method of reporting assessment results where the standards are not essential to the use. Distinctions between essential and nonessential uses of performance standards are discussed. It is argued that the insistence on reporting in terms of performance standards in situations where they are not essential has been more harmful than helpful. Variability in the definitions of proficient academic achievement by states for purposes of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is discussed and it is argued that the variability is so great that characterizing achievement is meaningless. Illustrations of the great uncertainty in standards are provided.

40 CFR 63.1293 - Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... polyurethane foam production. 63.1293 Section 63.1293 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1293 Standards for slabstock flexible polyurethane foam production. Each owner or operator of a...

The development of national quality performance standards for disposable absorbent products for adult incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Muller, Nancy; McInnis, Elaine

2013-09-01

Disposable absorbent products are widely used in inpatient care settings and in the community to manage adult urinary and fecal incontinence, but few product standards exist to help guide their production or optimal use. Increasing costs and reduced revenues have caused a number of states to evaluate absorbent product use among persons who receive care at home with the assistance of the Medicaid Waiver Program, further increasing concerns about the lack of product performance standards. To address these issues, the National Association For Continence (NAFC) formed a council of experts and key stakeholders with the objective of establishing national, independent quality performance standards for disposable absorbent products provided by states to Waiver Program recipients. The Council consisted of representatives from five purposefully selected states, technical directors from six nonwoven product manufacturers, an officer of the nonwoven manufactures trade association, a delegate from an academic nursing program and professional societies, a family caregiver, and a patient representative. Following a consensus method and guidelines for use, nine specific recommendations were developed, posted for public comment, and further refined. Final recommendations for product performance assessment include: rewet rate (a measure of a product's ability to withstand multiple incontinent episodes between changes), rate of acquisition (a measure of the speed at which urine is drawn away from the skin by a product, product retention capacity (a measure of a product's capacity to hold fluid without rewetting the skin), sizing options, absorbency levels, product safety, closure technology, breathable zones (a measure of the air permeability across a textile-like fabric at a controlled differential pressure), and elasticity. The Council also set values for and recommended four quantifiable parameters, and the testing methodology associated with each, to help consumers and states

Impact assessment of commodity standards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruben, Ruerd

2017-01-01

Voluntary commodity standards are widely used to enhance the performance of tropical agro-food chains and to support the welfare and sustainability of smallholder farmers. Different methods and approaches are used to assess the effectiveness and impact of these certification schemes at

Current Methods Applied to Biomaterials - Characterization Approaches, Safety Assessment and Biological International Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Justine P R; Ortiz, H Ivan Melendez; Bucio, Emilio; Alves, Patricia Terra; Lima, Mayara Ingrid Sousa; Goulart, Luiz Ricardo; Mathor, Monica B; Varca, Gustavo H C; Lugao, Ademar B

2018-04-10

Safety and biocompatibility assessment of biomaterials are themes of constant concern as advanced materials enter the market as well as products manufactured by new techniques emerge. Within this context, this review provides an up-to-date approach on current methods for the characterization and safety assessment of biomaterials and biomedical devices from a physicalchemical to a biological perspective, including a description of the alternative methods in accordance with current and established international standards. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

A study on the implementation of the performance of electrical products standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berkowitz, M A

1984-03-01

The Steering Committee on Electrical Products (SCOPEP) has developed a number of performance standards for selected electrical products and product attributes, under the direction of the Canadian Standards Association. Although the development of these standards shows that a successful standards writing process is in place, the initiation and implementation has been achieved by one or more stakeholder groups spearheading the requirement for the standard. As a result, SCOPEP has been unable to achieve its full potential in its role of developing peformance standards for electrical products. A study was undertaken with the aim of developing a strategic plan for SCOPEP which would be supported by marketing and other strategies. The major elements of the strategy include: selecting those products for which the benefits of a standards program significantly outweigh the costs; agreeing on the use of a framework which rigorously evaluates the cost-benefits of developing performance standards; producing a critical mass of products through the selection process so that revenues from label fees will ultimately balance program costs and support a full time SCOPEP secretariat; aggressively marketing the standards in all sectors, using a balanced push-and-pull strategy; and developing a protagonist attitude so that standards programs implemented are credible to all SCOPEP stakeholders. Detailed cost-benefit tables are appended. 11 figs., 18 tabs.

40 CFR 63.1300 - Standards for molded flexible polyurethane foam production.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... polyurethane foam production. 63.1300 Section 63.1300 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production § 63.1300 Standards for molded flexible polyurethane foam production. Each owner or operator of a new...

An empirical assessment of the impact of technical standards on the export of meat in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Queeneth Odichi Ekeocha

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The study is an assessment of the impact of technical standards on meat export in Nigeria. Several literatures were reviewed in relation to meat standards, issues associated with standards compliance, the effects of SPS standards on food exports in developing countries, causes of non-export of meat in Nigeria, amongst others. A survey method was used and a cross tabulation analysis was made to ascertain the relationship among various variables and how significant they were in relation to food product standards. The findings of the study among others include- sanitary conditions for meat processing is a significant factor for meat export; standards compliance is a step in the right direction towards agricultural export diversification, food standard compliance can create market access for meat exports, etc. The study concluded that technical standard is very significant to meat exports in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends among others that the government should invest in the productive capacity of SPS requirements for meat export, standard abattoirs should be built and maintained, policymakers should re-think flexible export diversification policy that could attract foreign investor and meat companies in Nigeria.

Method for matching customer and manufacturer positions for metal product parameters standardization

Science.gov (United States)

Polyakova, Marina; Rubin, Gennadij; Danilova, Yulija

2018-04-01

Decision making is the main stage of regulation the relations between customer and manufacturer during the design the demands of norms in standards. It is necessary to match the positions of the negotiating sides in order to gain the consensus. In order to take into consideration the differences of customer and manufacturer estimation of the object under standardization process it is obvious to use special methods of analysis. It is proposed to establish relationships between product properties and its functions using functional-target analysis. The special feature of this type of functional analysis is the consideration of the research object functions and properties. It is shown on the example of hexagonal head crew the possibility to establish links between its functions and properties. Such approach allows obtaining a quantitative assessment of the closeness the positions of customer and manufacturer at decision making during the standard norms establishment.

The Influence of Purchasing Context and Reversibility of Choice on Consumer Responses Toward Personalized Products and Standardized Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jieun; Lee, Doo-Hee; Taylor, Charles R

2016-04-01

Existing research on personalization has found that consumers generally prefer personalized products over standardized ones. This study argued that consumer preference for personalized products is dependent on purchasing context and reversibility of choice. Results of an experiment conducted in this study found that consumers preferred personalized products when purchasing an item for personal use but preferred standardized products when purchasing an item as a gift. However, the effects of purchasing context were negated when consumers were given the assurance that personalized products could be returned (reversibility of choice); when presented with reversibility of choice, consumers preferred personalized products over standardized products regardless of purchasing context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results were discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

STANDARDIZING QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF FUSED REMOTELY SENSED IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Pohl

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The multitude of available operational remote sensing satellites led to the development of many image fusion techniques to provide high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution images. The comparison of different techniques is necessary to obtain an optimized image for the different applications of remote sensing. There are two approaches in assessing image quality: 1. Quantitatively by visual interpretation and 2. Quantitatively using image quality indices. However an objective comparison is difficult due to the fact that a visual assessment is always subject and a quantitative assessment is done by different criteria. Depending on the criteria and indices the result varies. Therefore it is necessary to standardize both processes (qualitative and quantitative assessment in order to allow an objective image fusion quality evaluation. Various studies have been conducted at the University of Osnabrueck (UOS to establish a standardized process to objectively compare fused image quality. First established image fusion quality assessment protocols, i.e. Quality with No Reference (QNR and Khan's protocol, were compared on varies fusion experiments. Second the process of visual quality assessment was structured and standardized with the aim to provide an evaluation protocol. This manuscript reports on the results of the comparison and provides recommendations for future research.

Standardizing Quality Assessment of Fused Remotely Sensed Images

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, C.; Moellmann, J.; Fries, K.

2017-09-01

The multitude of available operational remote sensing satellites led to the development of many image fusion techniques to provide high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution images. The comparison of different techniques is necessary to obtain an optimized image for the different applications of remote sensing. There are two approaches in assessing image quality: 1. Quantitatively by visual interpretation and 2. Quantitatively using image quality indices. However an objective comparison is difficult due to the fact that a visual assessment is always subject and a quantitative assessment is done by different criteria. Depending on the criteria and indices the result varies. Therefore it is necessary to standardize both processes (qualitative and quantitative assessment) in order to allow an objective image fusion quality evaluation. Various studies have been conducted at the University of Osnabrueck (UOS) to establish a standardized process to objectively compare fused image quality. First established image fusion quality assessment protocols, i.e. Quality with No Reference (QNR) and Khan's protocol, were compared on varies fusion experiments. Second the process of visual quality assessment was structured and standardized with the aim to provide an evaluation protocol. This manuscript reports on the results of the comparison and provides recommendations for future research.

40 CFR 63.302 - Standards for by-product coke oven batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... batteries. 63.302 Section 63.302 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... National Emission Standards for Coke Oven Batteries § 63.302 Standards for by-product coke oven batteries... oven emissions from each affected existing by-product coke oven battery that exceed any of the...

Alignment between South African mathematics assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment frameworks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu

2012-12-01

Full Text Available South Africa’s performance in international benchmark tests is a major cause for concern amongst educators and policymakers, raising questions about the effectiveness of the curriculum reform efforts of the democratic era. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the degree of alignment between the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics assessment frameworks and the Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS assessment standards for Grade 8 Mathematics, later revised to become the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS. Such an investigation could help to partly shed light on why South African learners do not perform well and point out discrepancies that need to be attended to. The methodology of document analysis was adopted for the study, with the RNCS and the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics frameworks forming the principal documents. Porter’s moderately complex index of alignment was adopted for its simplicity. The computed index of 0.751 for the alignment between the RNCS assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment objectives was found to be significantly statistically low, at the alpha level of 0.05, according to Fulmer’s critical values for 20 cells and 90 or 120 standard points. The study suggests that inadequate attention has been paid to the alignment of the South African mathematics curriculum to the successive TIMSS assessment frameworks in terms of the cognitive level descriptions. The study recommends that participation in TIMSS should rigorously and critically inform ongoing curriculum reform efforts.

Product unconformable in the light of legal regulations and the ISO 9001:2000 standards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna Górna

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The supervision of unconformable product is a key problem in the era of globalization. In Poland the supervision of safety product has been entrusted to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The agency supporting its activities is the Trade Inspection. Growing popularity of the quality systems conformable with the ISO 9000 standard caused that they have been included in the EU regulations as criteria of assessment of conformability with requirements. The certificate of the quality management system is indispensable for companies for functioning in many market areas. One should remember that quality management system will help the company to supervise unconformable products only when it really functions and is not just on paper. Only then it will function efficiently.

Assessment of the Japanese Energy Efficiency Standards Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Arakawa

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Japanese energy efficiency standards program for appliances is a unique program which sets and revises mandatory standards based on the products of the highest energy efficiency on the markets. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of the standard settings for air conditioner as a major residential appliance or typical example in the program. Based on analyses of empirical data, the net costs and effects from 1999 to 2040 were estimated. When applying a discount rate of 3%, the cost of abating CO2 emissions realized through the considered standards was estimated to be -13700 JPY/t-CO2. The sensitivity analysis, however, showed the cost turns into positive at a discount rate of 26% or higher. The authors also revealed that the standards’ “excellent” cost-effectiveness largely depends on that of the 1st standard setting, and the CO2 abatement cost through the 2nd standard was estimated to be as high as 26800 JPY/t-CO2. The results imply that the government is required to be careful about the possible economic burden imposed when considering introducing new, additional standards.

RE/H2 Production Micro-System Based on Standard Alkaline Electrolytic Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moschetto, A.; Tina, G.M.; Ferraro, M.; Briguglio, N.; Antonucci, V.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the first task of a more comprehensive research project focused on the development of micro-scale (1-20 kW) Renewable Hydrogen (RE/H 2 ) production systems oriented to carry on a wide campaign of educational and demonstration projects. The paper proposes to rely on low-cost and rugged 'standard' alkaline electrolytic technology, well suited for decentralized hydrogen production, but requiring a certain R and D effort to get technical competitiveness. An electrolyser test facility has been designed and carried out. Then performance assessment of a commercial electrolyser and its sub-systems has been accomplished. First experimental results stated that the unit under test gets an average production efficiency of 51%, versus a stack (cell) efficiency of about 62%, while the aged AC/DC power converter, to be removed or replaced to adapt the unit to DC link with renewables, requires more than 16% of the incoming power. (authors)

Making Use of the New Student Assessment Standards To Enhance Technological Literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Jill

2003-01-01

Describes the student assessment standards outlined in "Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards," a companion to the "Standards for Technological Literacy." Discusses how the standards apply to everyday teaching practices. (JOW)

Chinese green product standards: international experience and pathway for a unified system

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, Fu; Ling, Lin; Dongfeng, Gao; Shuo, Yang

2017-11-01

The establishment of a unified green product standard system is of great importance regarding the effective supply of green products and meeting trend of the consumption upgrade. It also is helpful to reduce the cost of green information disclosure of enterprises, and facilitate the supply-side structural reform. Based on the experience of developing and implementing green product standards in the EU, Germany, America, Japan and so on, combined with current Chinese standard systems including environmental protection, energy conservation, water conservation, low carbon, recycling, regeneration and organic, with the adoption of the life cycle thinking, this paper brings forward basic requirements on organizations including pollutant emissions, establishment of management system, energy conservation and emission reduction technology and green supply chain management, and proposes indicator requirements on product including resource attributes, energy attributes, environmental attributes and quality attributes, so as to guide the establishment of green product evaluation standards in the context of China.

Reinforced Plastic Composites Production: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

Science.gov (United States)

National emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for reinforced plastic composites production facilities. Regulates production and ancillary processes used to manufacture products with thermoset resins and gel coats.

Fulfillment of GMP standard, halal standard, and applying HACCP for production process of beef floss (Case study: Ksatria enterprise)

Science.gov (United States)

A'diat, Arkan Addien Al; Liquiddanu, Eko; Laksono, Pringgo Widyo; Sutopo, Wahyudi; Suletra, I. Wayan

2018-02-01

Along with the increasing number of the modern retail business in Indonesia, give an opportunity to small and medium enterprise (SME) to sell its products through the modern retailer. There are some obstacles faced by the SMEs, one of them is about product standard. Product standard that must be owned by SMEs are GMP standard and halal standard. This research was conducted to know the fulfillment by the beef floss enterprise in jagalan in fulfilling the GMP standard and halal. In addition, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system was applied to analyze the process. HACCP which used in this research was based on the seven principles in SNI (Indonesian National Standard) 01-4852-1998. The seven principles included hazard analysis, critical control point (CCP) determination, critical limit establishment, CCP monitor system establishment, corrective action establishment, verification, and also documentation establishment that must be applied in preparing HACCP plan. Based on this case study, it is concluded that there were 5 CCPs : the boiling process, roasting process, frying process, the beef floss draining process, and the packaging process.

Framework for Designing The Assessment Models of Readiness SMEs to Adopt Indonesian National Standard (SNI), Case Study: SMEs Batik in Surakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Fahma, Fakhrina; Zakaria, Roni; Fajar Gumilang, Royan

2018-03-01

Since the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is released, the opportunity to expand market share has become very open, but the level of competition is also very high. Standardization is believed to be an important factor in seizing opportunities in the AEC’s era and other free trade agreements in the future. Standardization activities in industry can be proven by obtaining certification of SNI (Indonesian National Standard). This is a challenge for SMEs, considering that currently only 20% of SMEs had SNI certification both product and process. This research will be designed a model of readiness assessment to obtain SNI certification for SMEs. The stages of model development used an innovative approach by Roger (2003). Variables that affect the readiness of SMEs are obtained from product certification requirements established by BSN (National Standardization Agency) and LSPro (Certification body). This model will be used for mapping the readiness for SNI certification of SMEs’product. The level of readiness of SMEs is determined by the percentage of compliance with those requirements. Based on the result of this study, the five variables are determined as main aspects to assess SME readiness. For model validation, trials were conducted on Batik SMEs in Laweyan Surakarta.

Leading the Transition from the Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Achievement Standards to the General Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Rieke, Rebekah

2013-01-01

Schools are facing many changes in the ways that teaching, learning, and assessment take place. Most states are moving from individual state standards to the new Common Core State Standards, which will be fewer, higher, and more rigorous than most current state standards. As the next generation of assessments used for accountability are rolled…

Standards of Ombudsman Assessment: A New Normative Concept?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Remac

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Today, an ombudsman is a traditional component of democratic legal systems. Generally, reports of the ombudsman are not legally binding. Due to this fact, the ombudsman can rely only on his own persuasiveness, on his acceptance by individuals and state institutions, on the understanding of the administration and on the accessibility and transparency of rules that underpin his reports. During investigations, ombudsmen assess whether the administration has acted in accordance with certain legal or extra-legal standards. Depending on the legal system, ombudsmen can investigate whether there is an instance of maladministration in the activities of administrative bodies, whether the administration has acted ‘properly’, whether it has acted in accordance with the law, whether administrative actions have breached the human rights of complainants or whether the actions of the administration were in accordance with anti-corruption rules etc. Regardless of the legislative standard of an ombudsman’s control, the ombudsman should consider and assess the situation described in complaints against certain criteria or against certain normative standards. A distinct set of standards which ombudsmen use during their investigation, or at least a clear statement of their assessment criteria, can increase the transparency of their procedures and the persuasiveness of their reports. Are the normative standards used by different ombudsmen the same? Do they possibly create a new normative concept? And can it possibly lead to a higher acceptance of their reports by the administration?

A proposed standard on medical isotope production in fission reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schenter, R. E.; Brown, G. J.; Holden, C. S.

2006-01-01

Authors Robert E. Sehenter, Garry Brown and Charles S. Holden argue that a Standard for 'Medical Isotope Production' is needed. Medical isotopes are becoming major components of application for the diagnosis and treatment of all the major diseases including all forms of cancer, heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer's, among others. Current nuclear data to perform calculations is incomplete, dated or imprecise or otherwise flawed for many isotopes that could have significant applications in medicine. Improved data files will assist computational analyses to design means and methods for improved isotope production techniques in the fission reactor systems. Initial focus of the Standard is expected to be on neutron cross section and branching data for both fast and thermal reactor systems. Evaluated and reviewed tables giving thermal capture cross sections and resonance integrals for the major target and product medical isotopes would be the expected 'first start' for the 'Standard Working Group'. (authors)

Development of the design of standardized units for the production of artificial radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auger, J.P.

1976-01-01

The production of artificial radionuclides began more than 20 years ago and has seen continuous growth at the rate over 20% a year. Technology has had to be adapted constantly to this growth in order to guarantee production and at the same time ensure the safety of personnel. The Department, which started its career in underground workings at Chatillon and then moved to the Saclay hot laboratories, is now housed in a building designed specially for the production of artificial radionuclides and equipped with standard production units. The first generation of standard units was sufficient to handle production which had begun to grow. Subsequently, thanks to the experience gained, there came into being a second generation of standardized units perfectly adapted to the new production requirements. The paper describes the evolution of design solutions between the first and the second standard, relating to contained cells, cell containment, remote control, interchangeability of cells, ventilation, waste discharge systems and repair of internal equipment. A highly positive evaluation can be made of the experience gained from the present standard. (author)

24 CFR 200.948 - Building product standards and certification program for carpet cushion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Minimum Property Standards § 200.948 Building product standards and certification program for carpet... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Building product standards and certification program for carpet cushion. 200.948 Section 200.948 Housing and Urban Development Regulations...

24 CFR 200.947 - Building product standards and certification program for polystyrene foam insulation board.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... INTRODUCTION TO FHA PROGRAMS Minimum Property Standards § 200.947 Building product standards and certification... product, the administrator's certification of compliance with the applicable standards and the type of... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Building product standards and...

24 CFR 115.206 - Performance assessments; Performance standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Performance assessments; Performance standards. 115.206 Section 115.206 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing... AGENCIES Certification of Substantially Equivalent Agencies § 115.206 Performance assessments; Performance...

7 CFR 319.40-11 - Plant pest risk assessment standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... analysis to determine the plant pest risks associated with each requested importation in order to determine... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Plant pest risk assessment standards. 319.40-11... Unmanufactured Wood Articles § 319.40-11 Plant pest risk assessment standards. When evaluating a request to...

Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Viet Nam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trifkovic, Neda

standards affect labour productivity of small and medium firms from the food sector in Viet Nam. The results based on a 3-year panel show that the application of private standards improves labour productivity. These gains primarily occur to firms operating above a threshold labour-intensity level. Firms......A rising number of firms from developing countries have adopted voluntary private standards in the last decade. This has become an area of active research, especially in terms of the impact of private standards on trade, organizational performance, and employee outcomes. This paper analyses how...

Standard Guide for Acousto-Ultrasonic Assessment of Composites, Laminates, and Bonded Joints

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2007-01-01

1.1 This guide explains the rationale and basic technology for the acousto-ultrasonic (AU) method. Guidelines are given for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of flaws and physical characteristics that influence the mechanical properties and relative strength of composite structures (for example, filament-wound pressure vessels), adhesive bonds (for example, joints between metal plates), and interlaminar and fiber/matrix bonds in man-made composites and natural composites (for example, wood products). 1.2 This guide covers technical details and rules that must be observed to ensure reliable and reproducible quantitative AU assessments of laminates, composites, and bonded structures. The underlying principles, prototype apparatus, instrumentation, standardization, examination methods, and data analysis for such assessments are covered. Limitations of the AU method and guidelines for taking advantage of its capabilities are cited. 1.3 The objective of AU is to assess subtle flaws and associated strength variations...

Preliminary Study on the Standard of Selenium Content in Agricultural Products

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Zhi-yuan; YOU Yong; GUO Qing-quan; WANG Yong-hong; DENG Shi-lin

2012-01-01

With the improvement of living standards, people pay more attention to the agricultural products with health protection function, and the selenium-rich agricultural products attract more and more consumers. The main biological role of selenium is to resist oxidation and inflammatory response, mainly focusing on resisting aging, preventing cardiovascular disease, protecting eyesight, counteracting or destroying the toxic properties, preventing cancer and thyroid disease. In most areas of China, there is a widespread shortage of selenium, thus producing selenium-rich agricultural products to provide natural selenium-rich health food to the areas in need of selenium, has gradually become a new hot spot of China’s health food industry, but high content of selenium in food is detrimental to human body, even leads to selenium intoxication, and artificially adding inorganic selenium is difficult to guarantee that the selenium content of agricultural products is not exceeded. According to human body’s daily demand for selenium in dietetics and the content of selenium in agricultural products in the Chinese food composition table, we put forward the recommendations on the standard of selenium in agricultural products, in order to provide the basis for China to formulate the health standard of selenium content in selenium-rich agricultural products.

Assessment of Safety Standards for Automotive Electronic Control Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

This report summarizes the results of a study that assessed and compared six industry and government safety standards relevant to the safety and reliability of automotive electronic control systems. These standards include ISO 26262 (Road Vehicles - ...

Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

2011-07-01

In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique

Towards a life cycle sustainability assessment: making informed choices on products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciroth, Andreas [GreenDeltaTC, Berlin (Germany); Finkbeiner, Matthias; Traverso, Marzia [TU Berlin (Germany); Hildenbrand, Jutta [Chalmers University (United States); Kloepffer, Walter [Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Germany); Mazijn, Bernard [Ghent University (Belgium); Prakash, Siddharth [Oeko-Institut (Germany); Sonnemann, Guido; Valdivia, Sonia [UNEP (France); Ugaya, Cassia Maria Lie [Technological Federal University of Parana, ACV (Brazil); Vickery-Niederman, Gina [University of Arkansas (United States)

2011-07-01

In this introduction to the concept of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), we acknowledge the foundations laid by previous works and initiatives. One such initiative has been the ISO 14040 series (Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Principles and framework), which in addition to the ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Guidance Standard, and the contribution of a number of international initiatives (Appendix A) have been essential for the development of this publication. The life cycle of a product involves flows of material, energy and money. Nonetheless, the picture is not complete unless we look also at the production and consumption impacts on all actors along the 'value chain' -- workers, local communities, consumers and society itself. Different life cycle assessment techniques allow individuals and enterprises to assess the impact of their purchasing decisions and production methods along different aspects of this value chain. An (Environmental) life cycle assessment (LCA) looks at potential impacts to the environment as a result of the extraction of resources, transportation, production, use, recycling and discarding of products; life cycle costing (LCC) is used to assess the cost implications of this life cycle; and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) examines the social consequences. However, in order to get the 'whole picture', it is vital to extend current life cycle thinking to encompass all three pillars of sustainability: (i) environmental, (ii) economic and (iii) social. This means carrying out an assessment based on environmental, economic and social issues -- by conducting an overarching life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This publication shows how all three techniques -- which all share similar methodological frameworks and aims -- can be combined to make the move towards an overarching LCSA possible. Because it is holistic, systemic and rigorous, (environmental) LCA is the preferred technique when it comes to

Emerging product carbon footprint standards and schemes and their possible trade impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolwig, S.; Gibbon, P.

2009-12-15

Concern over climate change has stimulated interest in estimating the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced during the life-cycle of goods and services - i.e. during their production, transportation, sale, use and disposal. The outcome of these calculations is referred to as 'product carbon footprints' (PCFs). The paper reviews the rationale, context, coverage and characteristics of emerging standards and certification schemes that estimate and designate PCFs, and discusses the possible impacts on trade, particularly exports from distant and developing countries. It draws on a survey of PCF certification schemes carried out during 2009, on a review of evolving international and national standards, and on a review of consumer surveys. Since 2007 one public standard, and two public and 14 private certification schemes referring to standards for calculating and communicating PCFs have become operational. Two new international standards and several new schemes, including three public ones, are due to become operational by 2011 or earlier. The private schemes are owned by a mixture of voluntary bodies and private companies, including some large retailers. Many provide assistance for reducing carbon footprints or procedures for certification or labelling. Nonetheless, to date only a few thousand products have been footprinted. As PCFs are already becoming market access requirements for bio-fuels imported to the EU, and may also become EU market access requirements for all mass-produced goods within 10-15 years, there is a danger that developing country exporters will lose out as a result. This is because: they are less likely to have the resources necessary for calculating and verifying PCFs; publicly available datasets are less likely to include processes carried out mainly in developing countries; and some existing standards do not currently include production of capital goods in their definition of product life cycles, which imparts a bias against

ASK Standards: Assessment, Skills, and Knowledge Content Standards for Student Affairs Practitioners and Scholars

Science.gov (United States)

ACPA College Student Educators International, 2011

2011-01-01

The Assessment Skills and Knowledge (ASK) standards seek to articulate the areas of content knowledge, skill and dispositions that student affairs professionals need in order to perform as practitioner-scholars to assess the degree to which students are mastering the learning and development outcomes the professionals intend. Consistent with…

Towards product design automation based on parameterized standard model with diversiform knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei; Zhang, Xiaobing

2017-04-01

Product standardization based on CAD software is an effective way to improve design efficiency. In the past, research and development on standardization mainly focused on the level of component, and the standardization of the entire product as a whole is rarely taken into consideration. In this paper, the size and structure of 3D product models are both driven by the Excel datasheets, based on which a parameterized model library is therefore established. Diversiform knowledge including associated parameters and default properties are embedded into the templates in advance to simplify their reuse. Through the simple operation, we can obtain the correct product with the finished 3D models including single parts or complex assemblies. Two examples are illustrated later to invalid the idea, which will greatly improve the design efficiency.

Strategies of bringing drug product marketing applications to meet current regulatory standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yan; Freed, Anita; Lavrich, David; Raghavachari, Ramesh; Huynh-Ba, Kim; Shah, Ketan; Alasandro, Mark

2015-08-01

In the past decade, many guidance documents have been issued through collaboration of global organizations and regulatory authorities. Most of these are applicable to new products, but there is a risk that currently marketed products will not meet the new compliance standards during audits and inspections while companies continue to make changes through the product life cycle for continuous improvement or market demands. This discussion presents different strategies to bringing drug product marketing applications to meet current and emerging standards. It also discusses stability and method designs to meet process validation and global development efforts.

NUSS safety standards: A critical assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minogue, R.B.

1985-01-01

The NUSS safety standards are based on systematic review of safety criteria of many countries in a process carefully defined to assure completeness of coverage. They represent an international consensus of accepted safety principles and practices for regulation and for the design, construction, and operation of nuclear power plants. They are a codification of principles and practices already in use by some Member States. Thus, they are not standards which describe methodologies at their present state of evolution as a result of more recent experience and improvements in technological understanding. The NUSS standards assume an underlying body of national standards and a defined technological base. Detailed design and industrial practices vary between countries and the implementation of basic safety standards within countries has taken approaches that conform with national industrial practices. Thus, application of the NUSS standards requires reconciliation with the standards of the country where the reactor will be built as well as with the country from which procurement takes place. Experience in making that reconciliation will undoubtedly suggest areas of needed improvement. After the TMI accident a reassessment of the NUSS programme was made and it was concluded that, given the information at that time and the then level of technology, the basic approach was sound; the NUSS programme should be continued to completion, and the standards should be brought into use. It was also recognized, however, that in areas such as probabilistic risk assessment, human factors methodology, and consideration of detailed accident sequences, more advanced technology was emerging. As these technologies develop, and become more amenable to practical application, it is anticipated that the NUSS standards will need revision. Ideally those future revisions will also flow from experience in their use

75 FR 65293 - Draft Guidelines on Pharmacovigilance of Veterinary Medicinal Products: Electronic Standards for...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-22

...] Draft Guidelines on Pharmacovigilance of Veterinary Medicinal Products: Electronic Standards for... Requirements for the Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH) has developed a draft guideline titled ``Pharmacovigilance of Veterinary Medicinal Products: Electronic Standards for Transfer of Data...

RE/H{sub 2} Production Micro-System Based on Standard Alkaline Electrolytic Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moschetto, A.; Tina, G.M. [UNICT DIEES University of Catania - Electric, Electronic and Systemcs Department, Viale A. Doria, 5 - 95125 Catania, (Italy); Ferraro, M.; Briguglio, N.; Antonucci, V. [CNR ITAE, National Council of Research - Advanced Energy Technology Institute, Via Salita S. Lucia, 5 - 98128 Messina, (Italy)

2006-07-01

This paper presents the first task of a more comprehensive research project focused on the development of micro-scale (1-20 kW) Renewable Hydrogen (RE/H{sub 2}) production systems oriented to carry on a wide campaign of educational and demonstration projects. The paper proposes to rely on low-cost and rugged 'standard' alkaline electrolytic technology, well suited for decentralized hydrogen production, but requiring a certain R and D effort to get technical competitiveness. An electrolyser test facility has been designed and carried out. Then performance assessment of a commercial electrolyser and its sub-systems has been accomplished. First experimental results stated that the unit under test gets an average production efficiency of 51%, versus a stack (cell) efficiency of about 62%, while the aged AC/DC power converter, to be removed or replaced to adapt the unit to DC link with renewables, requires more than 16% of the incoming power. (authors)

24 CFR 200.950 - Building product standards and certification program for solar water heating system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... PROGRAMS Minimum Property Standards § 200.950 Building product standards and certification program for...) concerning labeling of a product, the administrator's validation mark and the manufacturer's certification of... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Building product standards and...

24 CFR 200.943 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standards and certification program for the grademarking of lumber. 200... Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification program for the... compliance with the U.S. Department of Commerce Voluntary Product Standard PS 20-94 American Softwood Lumber...

Quality control and quality standards for the production of bone allografts in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Shiquan; Li Youchen

1999-01-01

There is a rapid progress of tissue banking especially Bone Banking in China, In order to strengthen the control on medical devices, Ministry of Public Health (MPH) issued the 'Regulation on Supervision of Critical Medical Devices, MPH Decree No. 54' in 1997. The SPTB was requested to submit new application for the approval of production and providing of tissue allografts. The needed documents are clinical reports, package insert, quality standards of product, Quality System Regulation (QSR) and audit report. Quality System Regulation document adopted the GMP standard for medical devices of FDA, US (21 CFR 620-1997). SPTB will amend the existed Quality Manual to suit the requirement of QSR. Referring to the AATB Standards, SPTB established 'Technical Standards' for Tissue Banking and was approved by the local government, which will be the supplement of the submitted QSR document. Considering the need of market control, MPH requested to submit a 'Quality Standard of Product' and the method of inspection. SPTB has completed such standards for final inspection of bone products, which includes the test for residual water, microbiology, bone species, colour and structure. In addition, the Tissue Bank has completed standards for in process inspection, which includes residual blood, radiation sterilization, initial bioburden, package leakage and biomechanics. In-process inspection is important for the control of non-conforming final products to assure the safety and efficacy of bone grafts. Methods of in process inspection and final inspection are described and discussed in this paper

TDA Assessment of Recommendations for Space Data System Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Posner, E. C.; Stevens, R.

1984-01-01

NASA is participating in the development of international standards for space data systems. Recommendations for standards thus far developed are assessed. The proposed standards for telemetry coding and packet telemetry provide worthwhile benefit to the DSN; their cost impact to the DSN should be small. Because of their advantage to the NASA space exploration program, their adoption should be supported by TDA, JPL, and OSTDS.

24 CFR 200.955 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standard and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standard and certification program for fenestration products (windows and... Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standard and certification program for... testing for a product shall be described in the specific building product certification program. In the...

Evaluation of Life-Cycle Assessment Studies of Chinese Cement Production: Challenges and Opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Hongyou; Masanet, Eric; Price, Lynn

2009-05-29

The use of life-cycle assessment (LCA) to understand the embodied energy, environmental impacts, and potential energy-savings of manufactured products has become more widespread among researchers in recent years. This paper reviews recent LCA studies in the cement industry in China and in other countries and provides an assessment of the methodology used by the researchers compared to ISO LCA standards (ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006, and ISO/TR 14048:2002). We evaluate whether the authors provide information on the intended application, targeted audience, functional unit, system boundary, data sources, data quality assessment, data disaggregation and other elements, and draw conclusions regarding the level of adherence to ISO standards for the papers reviewed. We found that China researchers have gained much experience during last decade, but still have room for improvement in establishing boundaries, assessing data quality, identifying data sources, and explaining limitations. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future LCA research in China.

75 FR 16748 - Final Voluntary Product Standard; DOC PS 20-10 “American Softwood Lumber Standard”

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-02

...-0146-02] Final Voluntary Product Standard; DOC PS 20-10 ``American Softwood Lumber Standard'' AGENCY... of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces voluntary product standard DOC PS 20-10 ``American Softwood Lumber Standard'' which will supersede DOC PS 20-05. The Standard establishes standard sizes and...

24 CFR 200.949 - Building product standards and certification program for exterior insulated steel door systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... INTRODUCTION TO FHA PROGRAMS Minimum Property Standards § 200.949 Building product standards and certification... product, the administrator's certification of compliance with the applicable standards is required to be... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Building product standards and...

Considerations of critical quality attributes in the analytical comparability assessment of biosimilar products.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Ohseok; Joung, Jeewon; Park, Younjoo; Kim, Chan Wha; Hong, Seung Hwa

2017-07-01

Based on experience in clinical trial approvals and marketing authorizations for biosimilar products in Korea, we suggest principles for the analytical comparability assessment of biosimilar products with respect to regulatory considerations. The composition and manufacturing processes of biosimilar products can differ from those of the reference product depending on the information available for the reference product and the time of product development; however, the analytical characteristics of biosimilar products should be highly similar to those of the reference product. Although manufacturing an identical product in terms of the quality profile is nearly impossible due to the high molecular weight and complex structure of biological products, the developer of the biosimilar product should attempt to establish a quality level as similar to that of the reference product as possible. When comparing the similarity of quality attributes, the criticality of the quality attributes and the characteristics of orthogonal quality attributes need to be considered carefully. Based on the results from the analytical comparability assessment, the comparability results of non-clinical and clinical studies should be evaluated before claiming biosimilarity to the reference product. In this review, we focus on quality attribute evaluation based on our regulatory experience. Copyright © 2017 International Alliance for Biological Standardization. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Standard practice for ultrasonic testing of wrought products

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2013-01-01

1.1 Purpose—This practice establishes the minimum requirements for ultrasonic examination of wrought products. Note 1—This standard was adopted to replace MIL-STD-2154, 30 Sept. 1982. This standard is intended to be used for the same applications as the document which it replaced. Users should carefully review its requirements when considering its use for new, or different applications, or both. 1.2 Application—This practice is applicable for examination of materials such as, wrought metals and wrought metal products. 1.2.1 Wrought Aluminum Alloy Products—Examination shall be in accordance with Practice B 594. 1.3 Acceptance Class—When examination is performed in accordance with this practice, engineering drawings, specifications, or other applicable documents shall indicate the acceptance criteria. Five ultrasonic acceptance classes are defined in Table 1. One or more of these classes may be used to establish the acceptance criteria or additional or alternate criteria may be specified. 1.4 Ord...

Product analysis and initial reliability testing of the total mesorectal excision-quality assessment instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Simunovic, Marko R; DeNardi, Franco G; Coates, Angela J; Szalay, David A; Eva, Kevin W

2014-07-01

Product analysis of rectal cancer resection specimens before specimen fixation may provide an immediate and relevant evaluation of surgical performance. We tested the interrater reliability (IRR) of a product analysis tool called the Total Mesorectal Excision-Quality Assessment Instrument (TME-QA). Participants included two gold standard raters, five pathology assistants, and eight pathologists. Domains of the TME-QA reflect total mesorectal excision principles including: (1) completeness of mesorectal margin; (2) completeness of mesorectum; (3) coning of distal mesorectum; (4) physical defects; and (5) overall specimen quality. Specimens were scored independently. We used the generalizability theory to assess the tool's internal consistency and IRR. There were 39 specimens and 120 ratings. Mean overall specimen quality scores for the gold standard raters, pathologists, and assistants were 4.43, 4.43, and 4.50, respectively (p > 0.85). IRR for the first nine items was 0.68 for the full sample, 0.62 for assistants alone, 0.63 for pathologists alone, and 0.74 for gold standard raters alone. IRR for the item overall specimen quality was 0.67 for the full sample, 0.45 for assistants, 0.80 for pathologists, and 0.86 for gold standard raters. IRR increased for all groups when scores were averaged across two raters. Assessment of surgical specimens using the TME-QA may provide rapid and relevant feedback to surgeons about their technical performance. Our results show good internal consistency and IRR when the TME-QA is used by pathologists. However, for pathology assistants, multiple ratings with the averaging of scores may be needed.

An assessment of individualized technical ear training for audio production.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungyoung

2015-07-01

An individualized technical ear training method is compared to a non-individualized method. The efficacy of the individualized method is assessed using a standardized test conducted before and after the training period. Participants who received individualized training improved better than the control group on the test. Results indicate the importance of individualized training for acquisition of spectrum-identification and spectrum-matching skills. Individualized training, therefore, should be implemented by default into technical ear training programs used in audio production industry and education.

Physical Activity Stories: Assessing the "Meaning Standard" in Physical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Tyler G.

2016-01-01

The presence of the "meaning standard" in both national and state content standards suggests that professionals consider it an important outcome of a quality physical education program. However, only 10 percent of states require an assessment to examine whether students achieve this standard. The purpose of this article is to introduce…

Teacher Assessment Literacy: A Review of International Standards and Measures

Science.gov (United States)

DeLuca, Christopher; LaPointe-McEwan, Danielle; Luhanga, Ulemu

2016-01-01

Assessment literacy is a core professional requirement across educational systems. Hence, measuring and supporting teachers' assessment literacy have been a primary focus over the past two decades. At present, there are a multitude of assessment standards across the world and numerous assessment literacy measures that represent different…

Standardized Curriculum for Food Production, Management and Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

Standardized vocational education course titles and core contents for two courses in Mississippi are provided: food production, management, and services I and II. The first course contains the following units: (1) Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA); (2) sanitation; (3) safety; (4) front of the house operations; (5) beverages; (6) food…

Transformative Shifts in Art History Teaching: The Impact of Standards-Based Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Ormond, Barbara

2011-01-01

This article examines pedagogical shifts in art history teaching that have developed as a response to the implementation of a standards-based assessment regime. The specific characteristics of art history standards-based assessment in the context of New Zealand secondary schools are explained to demonstrate how an exacting form of assessment has…

Risk management measures for chemicals in consumer products: documentation, assessment, and communication across the supply chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruinen de Bruin, Yuri; Hakkinen, Pertti Bert; Lahaniatis, Majlinda; Papameletiou, Demosthenes; Del Pozo, Carlos; Reina, Vittorio; Van Engelen, Jacqueline; Heinemeyer, Gerhard; Viso, Anne Catherine; Rodriguez, Carlos; Jantunen, Matti

2007-12-01

This paper analyzes the way risk management measures (RMMs) for consumer products have been used to date in authority and industry risk assessments. A working concept for consumer product RMMs is developed, aimed at controlling, limiting or avoiding exposures, and helping to insure the safe use (or handling) of a substance as part of a consumer product. Particular focus is placed on new requirements introduced by REACH (registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals). A RMMs categorization approach is also developed, dividing consumer product RMMs into those that are product integrated and those that are communicated to consumers. For each of these categories, RMMs for normal use, accidental use or misuse need to be distinguished. The level of detail for documenting, assessing and communicating RMMs across supply chains can vary, depending on the type of the assessment (tiered approach). Information on RMMs was collected from published sources to demonstrate that a taxonomical approach using standard descriptors for RMMs libraries is needed for effective information exchange across supply chains.

Assessing the Genetics Content in the Next Generation Science Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Lontok, Katherine S; Zhang, Hubert; Dougherty, Michael J

2015-01-01

Science standards have a long history in the United States and currently form the backbone of efforts to improve primary and secondary education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Although there has been much political controversy over the influence of standards on teacher autonomy and student performance, little light has been shed on how well standards cover science content. We assessed the coverage of genetics content in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) using a consensus list of American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) core concepts. We also compared the NGSS against state science standards. Our goals were to assess the potential of the new standards to support genetic literacy and to determine if they improve the coverage of genetics concepts relative to state standards. We found that expert reviewers cannot identify ASHG core concepts within the new standards with high reliability, suggesting that the scope of content addressed by the standards may be inconsistently interpreted. Given results that indicate that the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) included in the NGSS documents produced by Achieve, Inc. clarify the content covered by the standards statements themselves, we recommend that the NGSS standards statements always be viewed alongside their supporting disciplinary core ideas. In addition, gaps exist in the coverage of essential genetics concepts, most worryingly concepts dealing with patterns of inheritance, both Mendelian and complex. Finally, state standards vary widely in their coverage of genetics concepts when compared with the NGSS. On average, however, the NGSS support genetic literacy better than extant state standards.

Assessing the Genetics Content in the Next Generation Science Standards.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine S Lontok

Full Text Available Science standards have a long history in the United States and currently form the backbone of efforts to improve primary and secondary education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM. Although there has been much political controversy over the influence of standards on teacher autonomy and student performance, little light has been shed on how well standards cover science content. We assessed the coverage of genetics content in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS using a consensus list of American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG core concepts. We also compared the NGSS against state science standards. Our goals were to assess the potential of the new standards to support genetic literacy and to determine if they improve the coverage of genetics concepts relative to state standards. We found that expert reviewers cannot identify ASHG core concepts within the new standards with high reliability, suggesting that the scope of content addressed by the standards may be inconsistently interpreted. Given results that indicate that the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs included in the NGSS documents produced by Achieve, Inc. clarify the content covered by the standards statements themselves, we recommend that the NGSS standards statements always be viewed alongside their supporting disciplinary core ideas. In addition, gaps exist in the coverage of essential genetics concepts, most worryingly concepts dealing with patterns of inheritance, both Mendelian and complex. Finally, state standards vary widely in their coverage of genetics concepts when compared with the NGSS. On average, however, the NGSS support genetic literacy better than extant state standards.

Peer Review of Assessment Network: Supporting Comparability of Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Sara; Beckett, Jeff; Saunders, Cassandra

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to test the need in the Australian higher education (HE) sector for a national network for the peer review of assessment in response to the proposed HE standards framework and propose a sector-wide framework for calibrating and assuring achievement standards, both within and across disciplines, through the establishment of…

Experiences from Implementation of Lean Production: Standardization versus Self-management: A Swedish Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margareta Oudhuis

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, we discuss important aspects of the perceived problematic relationship between self-management and standardization. The article presents data from three case studies conducted within manufacturing companies in Sweden, where the popularity of lean production has led to a renaissance for short-cycle and standardized assembly work in settings that traditionally have made use of sociotechnical production design. The data suggest that the implementation has not contributed to an increased commitment, smooth operations, and capacity for change and innovation. Despite these not so positive results, it is argued that it is possible to combine self-management principles with lean production and standardization if 1 the implementation of lean is done with a contextual sensitivity, 2 a balance is reached between the use of standards on the one hand and work enrichment on the other, and 3 a feeling of ownership as regards both implementation and production process is upheld among the product on personnel.

42 CFR 493.1299 - Standard: Postanalytic systems quality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standard: Postanalytic systems quality assessment. 493.1299 Section 493.1299 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH....1291. (b) The postanalytic systems quality assessment must include a review of the effectiveness of...

42 CFR 493.1249 - Standard: Preanalytic systems quality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standard: Preanalytic systems quality assessment. 493.1249 Section 493.1249 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH....1241 through 493.1242. (b) The preanalytic systems quality assessment must include a review of the...

Oil company profitability: observations on the use of oil product price assessments and associated errors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, Gilbert

2000-01-01

Oil companies often report the exact price obtained for crude oil sales. Furthermore, crude oil prices may be linked to the price of Brent crude oil which is actively and very transparently traded on the International Petroleum Exchange. Brent crude oil prices are reported worldwide electronically and in many newspapers on a daily basis. Gas oil (No. 2 Fuel oil in the USA) is actively traded on the IPE and on NYMEX and the prices are also reported worldwide almost instantaneously. One grade of unleaded gasoline is traded on NYMEX but all other oil products do not have regulated and transparent markets. The prices of these products are assessed by price reporters following daily discussions with active oil traders. Two prices are assessed and reported, the bid (low) and offer (high) even if no trade has taken place. The oil industry itself and oil products consumers make much use of these assessed prices. The object of this paper is to provide some statistical detail on the differences between various product price assessments made through 2000. From these differences, it is possible to provide an indication of the precision of oil product price assessments However, it is doubtful if precision data based on a simple determination of the standard deviation of the differences between the assessment made by the various price reporting services would be of practical use. (Author)

In search of standards to support circularity in product policies: A systematic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tecchio, Paolo; McAlister, Catriona; Mathieux, Fabrice; Ardente, Fulvio

2017-12-01

The aspiration of a circular economy is to shift material flows toward a zero waste and pollution production system. The process of shifting to a circular economy has been initiated by the European Commission in their action plan for the circular economy. The EU Ecodesign Directive is a key policy in this transition. However, to date the focus of access to market requirements on products has primarily been upon energy efficiency. The absence of adequate metrics and standards has been a key barrier to the inclusion of resource efficiency requirements. This paper proposes a framework to boost sustainable engineering and resource use by systematically identifying standardization needs and features. Standards can then support the setting of appropriate material efficiency requirements in EU product policy. Three high-level policy goals concerning material efficiency of products were identified: embodied impact reduction, lifetime extension and residual waste reduction. Through a lifecycle perspective, a matrix of interactions among material efficiency topics (recycled content, re-used content, relevant material content, durability, upgradability, reparability, re-manufacturability, reusability, recyclability, recoverability, relevant material separability) and policy goals was created. The framework was tested on case studies for electronic displays and washing machines. For potential material efficiency requirements, specific standardization needs were identified, such as adequate metrics for performance measurements, reliable and repeatable tests, and calculation procedures. The proposed novel framework aims to provide a method by which to identify key material efficiency considerations within the policy context, and to map out the generic and product-specific standardisation needs to support ecodesign. Via such an approach, many different stakeholders (industry, academics, policy makers, non-governmental organizations etc.) can be involved in material efficiency

42 CFR 493.1289 - Standard: Analytic systems quality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standard: Analytic systems quality assessment. 493.1289 Section 493.1289 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... through 493.1283. (b) The analytic systems quality assessment must include a review of the effectiveness...

An exploratory study of the influence of national and state standards on middle school science teachers' classroom assessment practices

Science.gov (United States)

McWaters, Kathy Jean

2001-07-01

Classroom assessment practices of middle school science teachers were identified and the influence of national and state science standards on these practices was examined. In Phase I of this study a mail questionnaire was sent to 450 middle school (grades 5,6,7 and 8) science teachers in 17 parishes in Louisiana to obtain information about their classroom assessment practices. In Phase II, nine middle school teachers in eight departmentalized classrooms, two classes at each grade, participated in a qualitative study. Data were collected through questionnaires, classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Data analysis revealed three major categories of classroom assessment targets: (a) student achievement, (b) student attitudes and, (c) student products. Results indicated that most teachers are using different assessment methods when assessing different achievement targets, as recommended by science reform documents. It was also determined that many teachers are using appropriate methods to assess student learning. While teachers reported that students spend an inordinate amount of time engaged in assessment activities, classroom observations suggested that the activities were not always written tests or graded activities. Another key finding is that there is a disconnect between the quality of teaching and the quality of assessment. Teachers who teach the material recommended by science reform documents and use recommended instructional strategies were observed to stop teaching and engage students in a "test rehearsal" geared towards rote memorization of factual information. Data suggest that the national and state science content standards are influencing the content and the format of teacher-made tests. Teachers' reported using the standards during assessment construction or selection in a wide variety of ways. The most direct use of the standards reported was to select content, format and cognitive level for test items. A more circumspect approach

24 CFR 200.940 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standards and certification program for sealed insulating glass units... Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification program for... specific building product certification program. In the case of sealed insulating glass units, testing and...

24 CFR 200.944 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standards and certification program for plywood and other performance... product standards and certification program for plywood and other performance rated wood-based structural... building product certification program. In the case of plywood and wood-based structural-use panels...

24 CFR 200.954 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standard and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standard and certification program for construction adhesives for wood... § 200.954 Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standard and certification...) concerning labeling of a product, the administrator's validation mark and the manufacturer's certification of...

Assessing the Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards in Global Value Chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund-Thomsen, Peter

This paper considers the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) standard impact assessment in global value chains. CSR standards have proliferated in recent years, and several studies have attempted to assess their effects on local producers, workers, and the environment in developing...... countries. However, much less attention has been paid to the “dark side” of impact assessment – the ethical and political dilemmas that arise in the process of carrying out impact studies. This paper addresses this gap in literature, arguing that impact assessments of CSR standards may do more harm than...... good to the intended beneficiaries - developing country firms, farmers, workers, and communities - unless these ethical and political dilemmas are given serious consideration....

Secondary Aluminum Production: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

Science.gov (United States)

National emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for new and existing sources at secondary aluminum production facilities. Includes rule history, summary, federal register citations and implementation information.

Basic Laparoscopic Skills Assessment Study: Validation and Standard Setting among Canadian Urology Trainees.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jason Y; Andonian, Sero; Pace, Kenneth T; Grober, Ethan

2017-06-01

As urology training programs move to a competency based medical education model, iterative assessments with objective standards will be required. To develop a valid set of technical skills standards we initiated a national skills assessment study focusing initially on laparoscopic skills. Between February 2014 and March 2016 the basic laparoscopic skill of Canadian urology trainees and attending urologists was assessed using 4 standardized tasks from the AUA (American Urological Association) BLUS (Basic Laparoscopic Urological Surgery) curriculum, including peg transfer, pattern cutting, suturing and knot tying, and vascular clip applying. All performances were video recorded and assessed using 3 methods, including time and error based scoring, expert global rating scores and C-SATS (Crowd-Sourced Assessments of Technical Skill Global Rating Scale), a novel, crowd sourced assessment platform. Different methods of standard setting were used to develop pass-fail cut points. Six attending urologists and 99 trainees completed testing. Reported laparoscopic experience and training level correlated with performance (p standard setting methods to define pass-fail cut points for all 4 AUA BLUS tasks. The 4 AUA BLUS tasks demonstrated good construct validity evidence for use in assessing basic laparoscopic skill. Performance scores using the novel C-SATS platform correlated well with traditional time-consuming methods of assessment. Various standard setting methods were used to develop pass-fail cut points for educators to use when making formative and summative assessments of basic laparoscopic skill. Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

24 CFR 200.952 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standards and certification program for particleboard interior stair... Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification program for... forth in § 200.935(d)(6) concerning labeling of a product, the administrator's validation mark and the...

Standard setting and quality of assessment: A conceptual approach ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Quality performance standards and the effect of assessment outcomes are important in the educational milieu, as assessment remains the representative ... not be seen as a methodological process of setting pass/fail cut-off points only, but as a powerful catalyst for quality improvements in HPE by promoting excellence in ...

RADISH SEED PRODUCTION (TRANSPLANTATION CULTURE; STANDARD OF ORGANISATION FOR MODEL TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. V. Pavlov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The standard of organization for model technological process of seed production waselaborated at VNIISSOK. Requirements established are for implementation of technological operation at radish seed production as transplantation culture as followed: seed plant growing in polyhouses to produce elite seeds, seedlings planting out, plant nursing, harvesting and postharvest processing. The standard is aimed to provide the qualified work in radish seed production through transplantation culture. Radish seed plants for elite seed production are grown on warmed soil beds in winter greenhouses with use of plastic roofing or in plastic houses supplied with heating system. Seeds with germination not less than 85 % according to GOST 32592-2013 are taken for seed production aims. Hand sowing under marker ensures the identical all-around nutrition for plants that is particularly important when growing and selecting the seed plants (1 hectare - 55-60 thousand seed plant roots. Approbation of seed plants is carried out just before harvesting. The terms of seed plant planting are the earliest. Scheme of planting is 70 x 15 - 20 (cm, 60 x 30 (cm or 90 x 15 (cm. To protect the seed production plantation of radish against weeds, diseases and pests, the pesticides are allowed to apply in accordance with State Catalogue of Pesticides and Agrochemicals, permitted to use in the territory of Russian Federation. Postharvest desiccation of seed plants enables to yield radish by means of direct combining. Radish seeds after processing on sowing qualities have to meet all sowing requirements according to the acting standard. The standard of organization is agreed and affirmed in 2016 CTO45727225-52-16.

9 CFR 381.156 - Poultry meat content standards for certain poultry products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Poultry meat content standards for certain poultry products. 381.156 Section 381.156 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGENCY ORGANIZATION AND TERMINOLOGY; MANDATORY MEAT AND POULTRY...

Assessing Quality of Data Standards: Framework and Illustration Using XBRL GAAP Taxonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hongwei; Wu, Harris

The primary purpose of data standards or metadata schemas is to improve the interoperability of data created by multiple standard users. Given the high cost of developing data standards, it is desirable to assess the quality of data standards. We develop a set of metrics and a framework for assessing data standard quality. The metrics include completeness and relevancy. Standard quality can also be indirectly measured by assessing interoperability of data instances. We evaluate the framework using data from the financial sector: the XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) taxonomy and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings produced using the taxonomy by approximately 500 companies. The results show that the framework is useful and effective. Our analysis also reveals quality issues of the GAAP taxonomy and provides useful feedback to taxonomy users. The SEC has mandated that all publicly listed companies must submit their filings using XBRL. Our findings are timely and have practical implications that will ultimately help improve the quality of financial data.

24 CFR 200.945 - Supplementary specific requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... under the HUD building product standards and certification program for carpet. 200.945 Section 200.945... requirements under the HUD building product standards and certification program for carpet. (a) Applicable.... (b) Labeling. Under the procedures set forth in § 200.935(d)(6) concerning labeling of a product, the...

Specification of Energy Assessment Methodologies to Satisfy ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Kanneganti, Harish

Energy management has become more crucial for industrial sector as a way to lower their cost of production and in reducing their carbon footprint. Environmental regulations also force the industrial sector to increase the efficiency of their energy usage. Hence industrial sector started relying on energy management consultancies for improvements in energy efficiency. With the development of ISO 50001 standard, the entire energy management took a new dimension involving top level management and getting their commitment on energy efficiency. One of the key requirements of ISO 50001 is to demonstrate continual improvement in their (industry) energy efficiency. The major aim of this work is to develop an energy assessment methodology and reporting format to tailor the needs of ISO 50001. The developed methodology integrates the energy reduction aspect of an energy assessment with the requirements of sections 4.4.3 (Energy Review) to 4.4.6 (Objectives, Targets and Action Plans) in ISO 50001 and thus helping the facilities in easy implementation of ISO 50001.

Archive of Census Related Products (ACRP): 1990 Standard Extract Files

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The 1990 Standard Extract Files portion of the Archive of Census Related Products (ACRP) contains population and housing data derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's...

The GLAS Standard Data Products Specification-Data Dictionary, Version 1.0. Volume 15

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jeffrey E.

2013-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document contains the data dictionary for the GLAS standard data products. It details the parameters present on GLAS standard data products. Each parameter is defined with a short name, a long name, units on product, type of variable, a long description and products that contain it. The term standard data products refers to those EOS instrument data that are routinely generated for public distribution. These products are distributed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC).

[Precautions of physical performance requirements and test methods during product standard drafting process of medical devices].

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jin-Zi; Wan, Min; Xu, Hui; Yao, Xiu-Jun; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Jin-Hong

2009-09-01

The major idea of this article is to discuss standardization and normalization for the product standard of medical devices. Analyze the problem related to the physical performance requirements and test methods during product standard drafting process and make corresponding suggestions.

Standards and quality

CERN Document Server

El-Tawil, Anwar

2015-01-01

The book brings together a number of subjects of prime importance for any practicing engineer and, students of engineering. The book explains the concepts and functions of voluntary standards, mandatory technical regulations, conformity assessment (testing and measurement of products), certification, quality and quality management systems as well as other management systems such as environmental, social responsibility and food safety management systems.The book also gives a comprehensive description of the role of metrology systems that underpin conformity assessment. A description is given of typical national systems of standards, quality and metrology and how they relate directly or through regional structures to international systems. The book also covers the relation between standards and trade and explains the context and stipulations of the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Assessment of Primary Production of Horticultural Safety Management Systems of Mushroom Farms in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzingirayi, Garikayi; Korsten, Lise

2016-07-01

Growing global consumer concern over food safety in the fresh produce industry requires producers to implement necessary quality assurance systems. Varying effectiveness has been noted in how countries and food companies interpret and implement food safety standards. A diagnostic instrument (DI) for global fresh produce industries was developed to measure the compliancy of companies with implemented food safety standards. The DI is made up of indicators and descriptive grids for context factors and control and assurance activities to measure food safety output. The instrument can be used in primary production to assess food safety performance. This study applied the DI to measure food safety standard compliancy of mushroom farming in South Africa. Ten farms representing almost half of the industry farms and more than 80% of production were independently assessed for their horticultural safety management system (HSMS) compliance via in-depth interviews with each farm's quality assurance personnel. The data were processed using Microsoft Office Excel 2010 and are represented in frequency tables. The diagnosis revealed that the mushroom farming industry had an average food safety output. The farms were implementing an average-toadvanced HSMS and operating in a medium-risk context. Insufficient performance areas in HSMSs included inadequate hazard analysis and analysis of control points, low specificity of pesticide assessment, and inadequate control of suppliers and incoming materials. Recommendations to the industry and current shortcomings are suggested for realization of an improved industry-wide food safety assurance system.

Quality Assessment of Landsat Surface Reflectance Products Using MODIS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Min; Huang, Chengquan; Channan, Saurabh; Vermote, Eric; Masek, Jeffrey G.; Townshend, John R.

2012-01-01

images for the 2000 epoch. As surface reflectance likely will be a standard product for future Landsat missions, the approach developed in this study can be adapted as an operational quality assessment system for those missions.

The importance of production standard operating procedure in a family business company

Science.gov (United States)

Hongdiyanto, C.

2017-12-01

Plastic industry is a growing sector, therefore UD X which engage in this business has a great potential to grow as well. The problem faced by this family business company is that no standard operating procedure is used and it lead to problem in the quality and quantity produced. This research is aim to create a production standard operating procedure for UD X. Semistructure interview is used to gather information from respondent to help writer create the SOP. There are four SOP’s created, namely: classifying SOP, sorting SOP, milling SOP and packing SOP. Having SOP will improve the effectiveness of production because employees already know how to work in each stages of production process.

Radioactive environmental impact assessment for a production project of titanium dioxide by chlorination process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Guohua

2010-01-01

Based on the analysis of shifting direction of radionuclide in production process and the environmental investigation and monitoring, the radioactive environmental impact from a production project of titanium dioxide by chlorination process has been analyzed and assessed. The result of radioactive environmental investigation shows that values of assessment factors are in the range of environmental radioactive background. The radioactive environmental sensitive spot has been delineated. The results of radioactive environmental prediction show that the additional doses to workers and residents are 0.59 mSv/a and 9.28 × 10-4 mSv/a respectively which are less than the annual dose limits of administration. The radioactive environmental impact of the production project of the titanium dioxide by chlorination process will meet the needs of national regulations and standards if radiation protection and environmental protection measures are implemented and radioactive environmental monitoring are strengthened. (author)

Designing Standardized Patient Assessments to Measure SBIRT Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Wamsley, Maria A.; Julian, Katherine A.; O'Sullivan, Patricia; Satterfield, Jason M.; Satre, Derek D.; McCance-Katz, Elinore; Batki, Steven L.

2013-01-01

Objectives: Resident physicians report insufficient experience caring for patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Resident training in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) has been recommended. We describe the development of a standardized patient (SP) assessment to measure SBIRT skills, resident perceptions of…

77 FR 3223 - National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mineral Wool Production and Wool...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-23

... Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mineral Wool Production Risk and Technology Review..., Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations... National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Mineral Wool Production and Wool Fiberglass...

Training in Vocational Assessment: Preparing Rehabilitation Counselors and Meeting the Requirements of the CORE Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Tansey, Timothy N.

2008-01-01

Assessment represents a foundational component of rehabilitation counseling services. The revised Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) standards implemented in 2004 resulted in the redesign of the knowledge and outcomes under the Assessment standard. The author reviews the current CORE standard for training in assessment within the context…

75 FR 66734 - Proposed Voluntary Product Standard PS 2-10, Structural Plywood

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-29

... acceptability of wood-based structural-use panels for construction sheathing and single-floor applications. It... acceptability of wood-based structural-use panels for construction sheathing and single- floor application, and... to Voluntary Product Standard (PS) 2-04, Performance Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels...

Assessing the Blue and Green Water Footprint of Lucerne for Milk Production in South Africa

OpenAIRE

Morne E. Scheepers; Henry Jordaan

2016-01-01

The Global Water Footprint Standard approach was used to calculate the volumetric blue and green water footprint indicator for lucerne production as important feed for dairy cows in a major lucerne production region in South Africa. The degree of sustainability of water use then was assessed by comparing water use to water availability for the region. The results show a volumetric water footprint indicator of 378 m3/tonne of lucerne. Of the total blue and green water footprint, 55% is green w...

Aid conditionalities, international Good Manufacturing Practice standards and local production rights: a case study of local production in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Brhlikova, Petra; Harper, Ian; Subedi, Madhusudan; Bhattarai, Samita; Rawal, Nabin; Pollock, Allyson M

2015-06-14

Local pharmaceutical production has been endorsed by the WHO as a means of addressing health priorities of developing countries. However, local producers of essential medicines must comply with international pharmaceutical standards in order to be eligible to compete in donor tenders. These standards determine production rights for on-patent and off-patent medicines, and guide international procurement of medicines. We reviewed the literature on the impact of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) on local production; a gap analysis from the literature review indicated a need for further research. Over sixty interviews were conducted with people involved in the Nepali pharmaceutical production and distribution chain from 2006 to 2009 on the GMP areas of relevance: regulatory capacity, staffing, funding and training, resourcing of GMP, inspectors' interpretation of the rules and compliance. Although Nepal producers have increased their overall share of the domestic market, only the public manufacturer, Royal Drugs, focuses on medicines for public health programmes; private producers engage mainly in brand competition for private markets, not essential medicines. Nepali regulators and producers state that implementation of GMP standards is hindered by low regulatory capacity, insufficient training of staff in the industry, financial constraints and lack of investment for upgrading capital. The transition period to mandatory compliance with WHO GMP rules is lengthy. Less than half of private producers had WHO GMP in 2013. Producers are not directly affected by international harmonisation of standards as they do not export medicines and the Nepali regulator does not enforce the WHO standards strictly. Without an international GMP certificate they cannot tender for donor dependent health programmes. In Nepal, local private manufacturers focus mainly on brand competition for private consumption not essential medicines, the government preferentially procures essential

An Inventory of Methods for the Assessment of Additive Increased Addictiveness of Tobacco Products.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Nobelen, Suzanne; Kienhuis, Anne S; Talhout, Reinskje

2016-07-01

Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco contain the addictive drug nicotine. Other components, either naturally occurring in tobacco or additives that are intentionally added during the manufacturing process, may add to the addictiveness of tobacco products. As such, these components can make cigarette smokers more easily and heavily dependent.Efforts to regulate tobacco product dependence are emerging globally. Additives that increase tobacco dependence will be prohibited under the new European Tobacco Product Directive. This article provides guidelines and recommendations for developing a regulatory strategy for assessment of increase in tobacco dependence due to additives. Relevant scientific literature is summarized and criteria and experimental studies that can define increased dependence of tobacco products are described. Natural tobacco smoke is a very complex matrix of components, therefore analysis of the contribution of an additive or a combination of additives to the level of dependence on this product is challenging. We propose to combine different type of studies analyzing overall tobacco product dependence potential and the functioning of additives in relation to nicotine. By using a combination of techniques, changes associated with nicotine dependence such as behavioral, physiological, and neurochemical alterations can be examined to provide sufficient information.Research needs and knowledge gaps will be discussed and recommendations will be made to translate current knowledge into legislation. As such, this article aids in implementation of the Tobacco Product Directive, as well as help enable regulators and researchers worldwide to develop standards to reduce dependence on tobacco products. This article provides an overall view on how to assess tobacco product constituents for their potential contribution to use and dependence. It provides guidelines that help enable regulators worldwide to develop standards to reduce dependence on tobacco products

Utility and performance relative to consumer product energy efficiency standards. Final technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coggins, J.L.

1979-12-14

An investigation of the relative utility and performance of nine major household consumer products covered by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act is summarized. The objective was to define the terms utility and performance, to recommend methods for quantifying these two concepts, and to recommend an approach for dealing with utility and performance issues in the energy efficiency standards program. The definitions developed are: performance of a consumer product is the objective measure of how well, with the expected level of consumer input (following the manufacturer's instructions for installation and operation), the product does its intended job; and utility of a consumer product is a subjective measure, based on the consumer's perception, of the capability of the product to satisfy human needs. Quantification is based on test procedures and consumer survey methods which are largely already in use by industry. Utility and performance issues are important in product classification for prescribing energy efficiency standards. The recommended approach to utility and performance issues and classification is: prior to setting standards, evaluate utility and performance issues in the most quantitative way allowed by resources and schedules in order to develop classification guidelines. This approach requires no changes in existing Department of Energy test procedures.

24 CFR 200.946 - Building product standards and certification program for exterior finish and insulation systems...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... product standards and certification program for exterior finish and insulation systems, use of Materials... product, the administrator's validation mark and the manufacturer's certification of compliance with the... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Building product standards and...

Standard working procedures in production of traditionally fermented Sremska sausage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesković-Moračanin Slavica

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Investigations conducted within project "Techonological and protective characteristics of autochthonous strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional fermented sausages and possibilities for their implementation in the meat industry" (Project Number: 20127, financed on behalf of the Ministry for Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia, have provided an answer on the characteristics of the quality of the used raw materials for the production of Sremska sausage - one of the most well-known Serbian traditionally fermented sausages (choice of meat, fatty tissue, additives and spices, and data have been registered in connection with the procedures of their processing, microclimatic conditions have been established (temperature, relative humidity, and air circulation during the entire process of production and fermentation, as well as the presence and types of microorganisms, primarily lactic acid bacteria (BMK, the carrier of lactic fermentation. The most important characteristics of the filling have been established, the smoking regimen, the regimens of fermentation, maturing, drying, as well as the parameters for quality and safety of the finished product. At the same time, the standard working procedure has been determined for the preparation of the meat, fatty tissue, the forming and inserting of the filling into the wrappers, as well as the characteristics of the finished products. The given standard working procedure should serve as a guideline for the meat industry in the production process of this traditional fermented sausage.

Two paths from lab to market: Product and standard

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Robert H.

2018-01-01

To shed light on the movement of sustainable technologies from basic science to widespread use, this chapter describes key aspects of the quite different paths followed by two important examples—photovoltaics (a product) and passive-house buildings (a standard). Discussion of photovoltaics includes the experience curve concept, the increasing significance of balance-of-system costs, and the importance of market heterogeneity (niches and sub-national markets) to the long-term trajectory of major cost reductions. Discussion of passive-houses highlights the array of technical developments needed for present-day energy efficient houses, and the relevance of "stretch" standards to the development of a market for very high-performance houses.

Convergence or Divergence: Alignment of Standards, Assessment, and Issues of Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Norvella, Ed.

In this report, teacher educators scrutinize the relationships between the standards and assessment movement in education and the United States' increasingly multicultural population. The papers include: "Foreword" (Jacqueline Jordan Irvine); (1) "Diversity and Standards: Defining the Issues" (Norvella P. Carter); (2) "Accountability and…

Comparing Panelists' Understanding of Standard Setting across Multiple Levels of an Alternate Science Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Mary A.; Lyon, Steven R.; Heh, Peter; Zigmond, Naomi

2013-01-01

Large-scale assessment programs, including alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), must provide evidence of technical quality and validity. This study provides information about the technical quality of one AA-AAS by evaluating the standard setting for the science component. The assessment was designed to have…

Planning the Unplanned Experiment: Assessing the Efficacy of Standards for Safety Critical Software

Science.gov (United States)

Graydon, Patrick J.; Holloway, C. Michael

2015-01-01

We need well-founded means of determining whether software is t for use in safety-critical applications. While software in industries such as aviation has an excellent safety record, the fact that software aws have contributed to deaths illustrates the need for justi ably high con dence in software. It is often argued that software is t for safety-critical use because it conforms to a standard for software in safety-critical systems. But little is known about whether such standards `work.' Reliance upon a standard without knowing whether it works is an experiment; without collecting data to assess the standard, this experiment is unplanned. This paper reports on a workshop intended to explore how standards could practicably be assessed. Planning the Unplanned Experiment: Assessing the Ecacy of Standards for Safety Critical Software (AESSCS) was held on 13 May 2014 in conjunction with the European Dependable Computing Conference (EDCC). We summarize and elaborate on the workshop's discussion of the topic, including both the presented positions and the dialogue that ensued.

International standards for monoclonal antibodies to support pre- and post-marketing product consistency: Evaluation of a candidate international standard for the bioactivities of rituximab.

Science.gov (United States)

Prior, Sandra; Hufton, Simon E; Fox, Bernard; Dougall, Thomas; Rigsby, Peter; Bristow, Adrian

2018-01-01

The intrinsic complexity and heterogeneity of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is built into the biosimilarity paradigm where critical quality attributes are controlled in exhaustive comparability studies with the reference medicinal product. The long-term success of biosimilars will depend on reassuring healthcare professionals and patients of consistent product quality, safety and efficacy. With this aim, the World Health Organization has endorsed the need for public bioactivity standards for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in support of current controls. We have developed a candidate international potency standard for rituximab that was evaluated in a multi-center collaborative study using participants' own qualified Fc-effector function and cell-based binding bioassays. Dose-response curve model parameters were shown to reflect similar behavior amongst rituximab preparations, albeit with some differences in potency. In the absence of a common reference standard, potency estimates were in poor agreement amongst laboratories, but the use of the candidate preparation significantly reduced this variability. Our results suggest that the candidate rituximab standard can support bioassay performance and improve data harmonization, which when implemented will promote consistency of rituximab products over their life-cycles. This data provides the first scientific evidence that a classical standardization exercise allowing traceability of bioassay data to an international standard is also applicable to rituximab. However, we submit that this new type of international standard needs to be used appropriately and its role not to be mistaken with that of the reference medicinal product.

Higgs production via weak boson fusion in the standard model and the MSSM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figy, Terrance; Palmer, Sophy

2010-12-01

Weak boson fusion is expected to be an important Higgs production channel at the LHC. Complete one-loop results for weak boson fusion in the Standard Model have been obtained by calculating the full virtual electroweak corrections and photon radiation and implementing these results into the public Monte Carlo program VBFNLO (which includes the NLO QCD corrections). Furthermore the dominant supersymmetric one-loop corrections to neutral Higgs production, in the general case where the MSSM includes complex phases, have been calculated. These results have been combined with all one-loop corrections of Standard Model type and with the propagator-type corrections from the Higgs sector of the MSSM up to the two-loop level. Within the Standard Model the electroweak corrections are found to be as important as the QCD corrections after the application of appropriate cuts. The corrections yield a shift in the cross section of order 5% for a Higgs of mass 100-200 GeV, confirming the result obtained previously in the literature. For the production of a light Higgs boson in the MSSM the Standard Model result is recovered in the decoupling limit, while the loop contributions from superpartners to the production of neutral MSSM Higgs bosons can give rise to corrections in excess of 10% away from the decoupling region. (orig.)

Xpand chest drain: assessing equivalence to current standard ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

leakage from 'open to air' system or breakage of glass bottle (with associated risk to ... and an air-leak detection system. It is connected to a ... need to add water. Xpand chest drain: assessing equivalence to current standard therapy – a randomised controlled trial. CHARL COOPER, M.B. CH.B. TIMOTHY HARDCASTLE ...

Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Standard Product Generation and Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Micijevic, E.; Hayes, R.

2012-12-01

The LDCM's Landsat 8 (L8), planned for launch in February 2013, is the latest satellite in the 40 year history of the Landsat program. The satellite will have two imagers: the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS). The data from both sensors will be processed and combined into the final Level 1 Terrain (L1T) standard product by the Landsat Product Generation System (LPGS) at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS). Landsat 8 products will nominally have 11 image bands; however, products will still be created if OLI only, or TIRS only collections are acquired. The LPGS is designed to create L1T products from Level 0 data by merging OLI and TIRS outputs and performing systematic radiometric and geometric corrections, followed by precision and terrain corrections that include Ground Control Points (GCP), and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for topographic accuracy. Scenes that have a quality score of 9 or greater and a percent cloud cover less than 40 will be automatically processed. In addition, any archived scene, regardless of cloud cover, can be requested for processing through USGS EROS clients, GloVis or Earth Explorer. While most data will be processed as Level L1T, some scenes will not have ground control or elevation data necessary for precision or terrain correction, respectively. In these cases, the best level of correction will be applied (Level 1G-systematic or Level 1Gt-systematic terrain). The standard Level 1T products will contain scaled Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance data, only for OLI. The conversion between radiance and reflectance within radiometric processing (L1R) will be performed using the band specific coefficients that are proportional to the respective exoatmospheric solar irradiances and the Earth-Sun distance for the scene's acquisition day. The TIRS data will contain scaled at-sensor radiances and no at-sensor brightness temperature or emissivity conversions are planned. For users that

Energy engineering. Standardization in the domain of coldness production; Genie energetique. Normalisation dans le domaine du froid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Legent, N. [Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR), 92 - Paris-la-Defense (France)

2000-10-01

This paper deals with the recent advances in the domain of standardization and regulation of refrigeration and cold production systems used in the industry and in the commercial sector: 1 - international standardization; 2 - European standardization; 3 - international standardization in the domain of cold production (ISO/TC 86 'coldness and air conditioning', CEI 61C 'domestic refrigerating appliances', CEI 61D 'air-conditioning appliances for domestic and similar use', ISO/TC 104 'goods transportation containers'); 4 - European standardization in the domain of cold production (CEN/TC 182 'refrigerating systems - safety and environment requirements', CEN/TC 44 'household refrigerating appliances and refrigerating furniture for stores', CEN/TC 113 'heat pumps and air-conditioners', CEN/TC 141 'manometers and thermometers, measuring and recording means', CENELEC 61 'safety of domestic electrical appliances'); 5 - French standardization (international file, European file, French file, French standardization system); 6 - national standardization in other countries; 7 - regulations in the domain of cold production. (J.S.)

Multislice computed tomography: angiographic emulation versus standard assessment for detection of coronary stenoses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schnapauff, Dirk; Hamm, Bernd; Dewey, Marc [Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department of Radiology, Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Chariteplatz 1, P.O. Box 10098, Berlin (Germany); Duebel, Hans-Peter; Baumann, Gert [Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department of Cardiology, Berlin (Germany); Scholze, Juergen [Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Charite Outpatient Centre, Berlin (Germany)

2007-07-15

The present study investigated angiographic emulation of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) (catheter-like visualization) as an alternative approach of analyzing and visualizing findings in comparison with standard assessment. Thirty patients (120 coronary arteries) were randomly selected from 90 prospectively investigated patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent MSCT (16-slice scanner, 0.5 mm collimation, 400 ms rotation time) prior to conventional coronary angiography for comparison of both approaches. Sensitivity and specificity of angiographic emulation [81% (26/32) and 93% (82/88)] were not significantly different from those of standard assessment [88% (28/32) and 99% (87/88)], while the per-case analysis time was significantly shorter for angiographic emulation than for standard assessment (3.4 {+-} 1.5 vs 7.0 {+-} 2.5 min, P < 0.001). Both interventional and referring cardiologists preferred angiographic emulation over standard curved multiplanar reformations of MSCT coronary angiography for illustration, mainly because of improved overall lucidity and depiction of sidebranches (P < 0.001). In conclusion, angiographic emulation of MSCT reduces analysis time, yields a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of standard assessment, and is preferred by cardiologists for visualization of results. (orig.)

Assessment of Fine Aggregates from Different Sources in Ibadan and Environs for Concrete Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. O. Ajagbe

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Assessment of natural sand being used as fine aggregate for concrete production in Ibadan and its environs was carried out. Ten sources (F1 – F10 were selected for the study; four (F5, F6, F7, F8 were river sand sources while six (F1, F2, F3, F4, F9, F10 were burrow pit sand sources. Samples from each source were subjected to sieve analysis, atterberg limit, bulk density, specific gravity, water absorption, sand equivalent, clay lumps and friable particles, amount of materials passing 75μm and organic impurities adopting ASTM standard procedures. Results revealed that sand from river sources met all the criteria for concrete production stated in ASTM standard while sand from burrow pits deviated from limits of the standard in some respects. F10 had water absorption of 2.6% which exceeded maximum 2% specified, F9 was not free from clay lumps and friable particles with a significant value of 6% as against 3% maximum specification. F1, F2, F3, F4, F9 and F10 have more amounts of materials passing the 75μm sieve ranging from 10.8% for F9 to 20.1% for F10 than maximum of 5% in standard specification while F1, F9 and F10 showed an indication of having organic impurities. It is recommended that performance test be conducted on concrete made from burrow pits sand before use for concrete production. The knowledge of this study can be used as a prospecting tool for selecting suitable sand for the production of quality concrete.

Higher Education Quality Assessment Model: Towards Achieving Educational Quality Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Noaman, Amin Y.; Ragab, Abdul Hamid M.; Madbouly, Ayman I.; Khedra, Ahmed M.; Fayoumi, Ayman G.

2017-01-01

This paper presents a developed higher education quality assessment model (HEQAM) that can be applied for enhancement of university services. This is because there is no universal unified quality standard model that can be used to assess the quality criteria of higher education institutes. The analytical hierarchy process is used to identify the…

Cellulose Products Manufacturing: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)

Science.gov (United States)

Read the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Cellulose Products Manufacturing, see the rule history for this Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), and find Compliance help for this source.

75 FR 52378 - Transfer of Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to Competitive Product List

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-25

..., 2010, the United States Postal Service[reg] filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a Request of the United States Postal Service to transfer commercial Standard Mail Parcels from the Mail... POSTAL SERVICE Transfer of Commercial Standard Mail Parcels to Competitive Product List AGENCY...

Safety standards for near surface disposal and the safety case and supporting safety assessment for demonstrating compliance with the standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalf, P.

2003-01-01

The report presents the safety standards for near surface disposal (ICRP guidance and IAEA standards) and the safety case and supporting safety assessment for demonstrating compliance with the standards. Special attention is paid to the recommendations for disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. The requirements are based on the principle for the same level of protection of future individuals as for the current generation. Two types of exposure are considered: human intrusion and natural processes and protection measures are discussed. Safety requirements for near surface disposal are discussed including requirements for protection of human health and environment, requirements or safety assessments, waste acceptance and requirements etc

Health impact assessment in the United States: Has practice followed standards?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuchter, Joseph; Bhatia, Rajiv; Corburn, Jason; Seto, Edmund

2014-01-01

As an emerging practice, Health Impact Assessment is heterogeneous in purpose, form, and scope and applied in a wide range of decision contexts. This heterogeneity challenges efforts to evaluate the quality and impact of practice. We examined whether information in completed HIA reports reflected objectively-evaluable criteria proposed by the North American HIA Practice Standards Working Group in 2009. From publically-available reports of HIAs conducted in the U.S. and published from 2009 to 2011, we excluded those that were components of, or comment letters on, Environmental Impact Assessments (5) or were demonstration projects or student exercises (8). For the remaining 23 reports, we used practice standards as a template to abstract data on the steps of HIA, including details on the rationale, authorship, funding, decision and decision-makers, participation, pathways and methods, quality of evidence, and recommendations. Most reports described screening, scoping, and assessment processes, but there was substantial variation in the extent of these processes and the degree of stakeholder participation. Community stakeholders participated in screening or scoping in just two-thirds of the HIAs (16). On average, these HIAs analyzed 5.5 determinants related to 10.6 health impacts. Most HIA reports did not include evaluation or monitoring plans. This study identifies issues for field development and improvement. The standards might be adapted to better account for variability in resources, produce fit-for-purpose HIAs, and facilitate innovation guided by the principles. - Highlights: • Our study examined reported HIAs in the U.S. against published practice standards. • Most HIAs used some screening, scoping and assessment elements from the standards. • The extent of these processes and stakeholder participation varied widely. • The average HIA considered multiple health determinants and impacts. • Evaluation or monitoring plans were generally not included in

Health impact assessment in the United States: Has practice followed standards?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuchter, Joseph, E-mail: jws@berkeley.edu [University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 (United States); Bhatia, Rajiv [University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Urban and Regional Development (United States); Corburn, Jason [University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design, Department of City and Regional Planning (United States); Seto, Edmund [University of Washington, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (United States)

2014-07-01

As an emerging practice, Health Impact Assessment is heterogeneous in purpose, form, and scope and applied in a wide range of decision contexts. This heterogeneity challenges efforts to evaluate the quality and impact of practice. We examined whether information in completed HIA reports reflected objectively-evaluable criteria proposed by the North American HIA Practice Standards Working Group in 2009. From publically-available reports of HIAs conducted in the U.S. and published from 2009 to 2011, we excluded those that were components of, or comment letters on, Environmental Impact Assessments (5) or were demonstration projects or student exercises (8). For the remaining 23 reports, we used practice standards as a template to abstract data on the steps of HIA, including details on the rationale, authorship, funding, decision and decision-makers, participation, pathways and methods, quality of evidence, and recommendations. Most reports described screening, scoping, and assessment processes, but there was substantial variation in the extent of these processes and the degree of stakeholder participation. Community stakeholders participated in screening or scoping in just two-thirds of the HIAs (16). On average, these HIAs analyzed 5.5 determinants related to 10.6 health impacts. Most HIA reports did not include evaluation or monitoring plans. This study identifies issues for field development and improvement. The standards might be adapted to better account for variability in resources, produce fit-for-purpose HIAs, and facilitate innovation guided by the principles. - Highlights: • Our study examined reported HIAs in the U.S. against published practice standards. • Most HIAs used some screening, scoping and assessment elements from the standards. • The extent of these processes and stakeholder participation varied widely. • The average HIA considered multiple health determinants and impacts. • Evaluation or monitoring plans were generally not included in

The design of management system guidelines and technical standards for the production of x-ray aircraft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyah Palupi; Made Pramayuni

2013-01-01

Concept of management systems guidelines and technical standards X-ray Equipment Production arranged in order to prepare for the effective and efficient regulatory to ensure the safety of X-ray equipment production in Indonesia. The regulatory tools may the government policy or regulations. Authors proposed that BAPETEN develop guidelines for management system of x-ray equipment production by combining ISO 13485 with BAPETEN Chairman Regulation no.4 /2010. Author also suggested that BAPETEN make technical standards IEC 60601 as a mandatory standard in producing x-ray equipment. (author)

Assessing soil quality: practicable standards for sustainable forest productivity in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Robert F. Powers; Allan E. Tiarks; James R. Boyle

1998-01-01

Productive soils form the foundation for productive forests. But unfortunately, the significance of soil seems lost to modem society. Most of us are too far removed from the natural factors of production to appreciate the multiple roles of soil. Nor is its worth recognized well by many forest managers who too often see soil only in its capacity for logging roads and...

Life Cycle Assessment of Coal-fired Power Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spath, P. L.; Mann, M. K.; Kerr, D. R.

1999-09-01

Coal has the largest share of utility power generation in the US, accounting for approximately 56% of all utility-produced electricity (US DOE, 1998). Therefore, understanding the environmental implications of producing electricity from coal is an important component of any plan to reduce total emissions and resource consumption. A life cycle assessment (LCA) on the production of electricity from coal was performed in order to examine the environmental aspects of current and future pulverized coal boiler systems. Three systems were examined: (1) a plant that represents the average emissions and efficiency of currently operating coal-fired power plants in the US (this tells us about the status quo), (2) a new coal-fired power plant that meets the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and (3) a highly advanced coal-fired power plant utilizing a low emission boiler system (LEBS).

Assessment of Agricultural Water Productivity for Tea Production in Tea Fields of Guilan Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

kourosh majdsalimi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Water productivity index is one of the main factors in efficient use of water for agricultural products. In this study, the rate of water productivity (WP in six irrigated tea fields and three rainfed (no irrigation were assessed by farmer’s management for two years (2009-2010. Yield of each tea field in successive harvests, soil moisture monitoring by gravimetric soil and use of water balance equation was conducted during the growing seasons. Volume of water entered to irrigation system and amount of water reached to surface level were also measured. Tea mean yield in irrigated and rainfed field were 2843 and 1095 Kg. ha-1, respectively. Average of gross irrigation and effective rainfall (WP and irrigation water productivity (IWP in the irrigated fields were 4.39 and 4.55 kg (made tea ha-1 mm-1 and average of net WP (actual evaportanspiration and net IWP was 5.18 and 6.61 kg ha-1 mm-1, respectively. Average WP in rainfed tea fields was 3.4 kg ha-1 for each mm of effective rainfall. The most effective factors on WP reduction in tea fields were improper harvesting operations (un standard plucking and economic problems. Moreover, improper operation and maintenance and old irrigation systems and unprincipled irrigation scheduling in irrigated tea fields were also effective on WP reduction. Comparing the results of this study with other studies in past, showed that by implementing the proper methods in irrigation management and appropriate agricultural practices can improve water productivity in tea fields.

A revised ANS standard for decay heat from fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrock, V.E.

1978-01-01

The draft ANS 5.1 standard on decay heat was published in 1971 and given minor revision in 1973. Its basis was the best estimate working curve developed by K. Shure in 1961. Liberal uncertainties were assigned to the standard values because of lack of data for short cooling times and large discrepancies among experimental data. Research carried out over the past few years has greatly improved the knowledge of this phenomenon and a major revision of the standard has been completed. Very accurate determination of the decay heat is now possible, expecially within the first 10 4 seconds, where the influence of neutron capture in fission products may be treated as a small correction to the idealized zero capture case. The new standard accounts for differences among fuel nuclides. It covers cooling time to 10 9 seconds, but provides only an ''upper bound'' on the capture correction in the interval 10 4 9 seconds. (author)

STAMINA - Model description. Standard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreurs EM; Jabben J; Verheijen ENG; CMM; mev

2010-01-01

Deze rapportage beschrijft het STAMINA-model, dat staat voor Standard Model Instrumentation for Noise Assessments en door het RIVM is ontwikkeld. Het instituut gebruikt dit standaardmodel om omgevingsgeluid in Nederland in kaart te brengen. Het model is gebaseerd op de Standaard Karteringsmethode

78 FR 37723 - Laser Products; Proposed Amendment to Performance Standard

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-24

... of products that incorporate lasers are compact disc and DVD players, fax machines, fiber optic and... incorporate lasers are compact disc and DVD players, fax machines, fiber optic and free-air communication... additional training costs associated with learning the new standard, but believe estimated costs would be so...

Edible safety requirements and assessment standards for agricultural genetically modified organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Pingjian; Zhou, Xiangyang; Zhou, Peng; Du, Zhong; Hou, Hongli; Yang, Dongyan; Tan, Jianjun; Wu, Xiaojin; Zhang, Jinzhou; Yang, Yongcun; Liu, Jin; Liu, Guihua; Li, Yonghong; Liu, Jianjun; Yu, Lei; Fang, Shisong; Yang, Xiaoke

2008-05-01

This paper describes the background, principles, concepts and methods of framing the technical regulation for edible safety requirement and assessment of agricultural genetically modified organisms (agri-GMOs) for Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in the People's Republic of China. It provides a set of systematic criteria for edible safety requirements and the assessment process for agri-GMOs. First, focusing on the degree of risk and impact of different agri-GMOs, we developed hazard grades for toxicity, allergenicity, anti-nutrition effects, and unintended effects and standards for the impact type of genetic manipulation. Second, for assessing edible safety, we developed indexes and standards for different hazard grades of recipient organisms, for the influence of types of genetic manipulation and hazard grades of agri-GMOs. To evaluate the applicability of these criteria and their congruency with other safety assessment systems for GMOs applied by related organizations all over the world, we selected some agri-GMOs (soybean, maize, potato, capsicum and yeast) as cases to put through our new assessment system, and compared our results with the previous assessments. It turned out that the result of each of the cases was congruent with the original assessment.

Advances in life cycle assessment and emergy evaluation with case studies in gold mining and pineapple production

Science.gov (United States)

Ingwersen, Wesley W.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardized framework for assessing the environmental impacts of products that is rapidly evolving to improve understanding and quantification of how complex product systems depend upon and affect the environment. This dissertation contributes to that evolution through the development of new methods for measuring impacts, estimating the uncertainty of impacts, and measuring ranges of environmental performance, with a focus on product systems in non-OECD countries that have not been well characterized. The integration of a measure of total energy use, emergy, is demonstrated in an LCA of gold from the Yanacocha mine in Peru in the second chapter. A model for estimating the accuracy of emergy results is proposed in the following chapter. The fourth chapter presents a template for LCA-based quantification of the range of environmental performance for tropical agricultural products using the example of fresh pineapple production for export in Costa Rica that can be used to create product labels with environmental information. The final chapter synthesizes how each methodological contribution will together improve the science of measuring product environmental performance.

Dimethylthioarsinic anhydride: A standard for arsenic speciation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fricke, Michael; Zeller, Matthias; Cullen, William; Witkowski, Mark; Creed, John

2007-01-01

Dimethylthioarsinic acid (DMTA V ) has recently been identified in biological, dietary and environmental matrices. The relevance of this compound to the toxicity of arsenic in humans is unknown and further exposure assessment and metabolic studies are difficult to conduct because of the unavailability of a well characterized standard. The synthesis of DMTA V was accomplished by the reaction of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA V ) with hydrogen sulfide. The initial reaction product produced is DMTA V but multiple products over the course of the reaction are also observed. Therefore, a chromatographic separation was developed to monitor the reaction progress via LC-ICP-MS. In this synthesis, conversion of DMA V to DMTA V was not taken to completion to avoid the production of side products. The product was isolated from the starting material by standard organic techniques. Single crystal diffraction demonstrated that solid DMTA V is present in the form of the oxygen-bridged dimethylthioarsinic anhydride. Dissolution of the anhydride in water produces the acid form of DMTA V and the aqueous phase DMTA V provided a characteristic molecular ion of m/z 155 by LC-ESI-MS. The synthesis and isolation of dimethylthioarsinic anhydride provides a stable crystalline standard suitable for identification, toxicological study and exposure assessment of dimethylthioarsinic acid

Machine Learning to Assess Grassland Productivity in Southeastern Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Ponce-Campos, G. E.; Heilman, P.; Armendariz, G.; Moser, E.; Archer, V.; Vaughan, R.

2015-12-01

We present preliminary results of machine learning (ML) techniques modeling the combined effects of climate, management, and inherent potential on productivity of grazed semi-arid grasslands in southeastern Arizona. Our goal is to support public land managers determine if agency management policies are meeting objectives and where to focus attention. Monitoring in the field is becoming more and more limited in space and time. Remotely sensed data cover the entire allotments and go back in time, but do not consider the key issue of species composition. By estimating expected vegetative production as a function of site potential and climatic inputs, management skill can be assessed through time, across individual allotments, and between allotments. Here we present the use of Random Forest (RF) as the main ML technique, in this case for the purpose of regression. Our response variable is the maximum annual NDVI, a surrogate for grassland productivity, as generated by the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform based on Landsat 5, 7, and 8 datasets. PRISM 33-year normal precipitation (1980-2013) was resampled to the Landsat scale. In addition, the GRIDMET climate dataset was the source for the calculation of the annual SPEI (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index), a drought index. We also included information about landscape position, aspect, streams, ponds, roads and fire disturbances as part of the modeling process. Our results show that in terms of variable importance, the 33-year normal precipitation, along with SPEI, are the most important features affecting grasslands productivity within the study area. The RF approach was compared to a linear regression model with the same variables. The linear model resulted in an r2 = 0.41, whereas RF showed a significant improvement with an r2 = 0.79. We continue refining the model by comparison with aerial photography and to include grazing intensity and infrastructure from units/allotments to assess the

EMBEDding the CEFR in Academic Writing Assessment : A case study in training and standardization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haines, Kevin; Lowie, Wander; Jansma, Petra; Schmidt, Nicole

2013-01-01

The CEFR is increasingly being used as the framework of choice for the assessment of language proficiency at universities across Europe. However, to attain consistent assessment, familiarization and standardization are essential. In this paper we report a case study of embedding a standardization

Assessing MBA Student Teamwork under the AACSB Assurance of Learning Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Procino, Matthew C.

2012-01-01

Since the 2003 release of the AACSB's Assurance of Learning standards, outcomes assessment has been a required practice for business schools wishing to receive their endorsement. While most accredited institutions had been dabbling with the measurement of student learning, the new standards raised the bar considerably. It is now necessary to…

Using Microsoft Excel to Assess Standards: A "Techtorial". Article #2 in a 6-Part Series

Science.gov (United States)

Mears, Derrick

2009-01-01

Standards-based assessment is a term currently being used quite often in educational reform discussions. The philosophy behind this initiative is to utilize "standards" or "benchmarks" to focus instruction and assessments of student learning. The National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 2004) provide a framework to guide this process for…

Assessment of Satellite Ocean Colour Radiometry and Derived Geophysical Products. Chapter 6.1

Science.gov (United States)

Melin, Frederic; Franz, Bryan A.

2014-01-01

Standardization of methods to assess and assign quality metrics to satellite ocean color radiometry and derived geophysical products has become paramount with the inclusion of the marine reflectance and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chla) as essential climate variables (ECV; [1]) and the recognition that optical remote sensing of the oceans can only contribute to climate research if and when a continuous succession of satellite missions can be shown to collectively provide a consistent, long-term record with known uncertainties. In 20 years, the community has made significant advancements toward that objective, but providing a complete uncertainty budget for all products and for all conditions remains a daunting task. In the retrieval of marine water-leaving radiance from observed top-of-atmosphere radiance, the sources of uncertainties include those associated with propagation of sensor noise and radiometric calibration and characterization errors, as well as a multitude of uncertainties associated with the modeling and removal of effects from the atmosphere and sea surface. This chapter describes some common approaches used to assess quality and consistency of ocean color satellite products and reviews the current status of uncertainty quantification in the field. Its focus is on the primary ocean color product, the spectrum of marine reflectance Rrs, but uncertainties in some derived products such as the Chla or inherent optical properties (IOPs) will also be considered.

An integrated factor analysis model for product eco-design based on full life cycle assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Z.; Xiao, T.; Li, D.

2016-07-01

Among the methods of comprehensive analysis for a product or an enterprise, there exist defects and deficiencies in traditional standard cost analyses and life cycle assessment methods. For example, some methods only emphasize one dimension (such as economic or environmental factors) while neglecting other relevant dimensions. This paper builds a factor analysis model of resource value flow, based on full life cycle assessment and eco-design theory, in order to expose the relevant internal logic between these two factors. The model considers the efficient multiplication of resources, economic efficiency, and environmental efficiency as its core objectives. The model studies the status of resource value flow during the entire life cycle of a product, and gives an in-depth analysis on the mutual logical relationship of product performance, value, resource consumption, and environmental load to reveal the symptoms and potentials in different dimensions. This provides comprehensive, accurate and timely decision-making information for enterprise managers regarding product eco-design, as well as production and management activities. To conclude, it verifies the availability of this evaluation and analysis model using a Chinese SUV manufacturer as an example. (Author)

77 FR 16987 - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Secondary Aluminum Production

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-23

... National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Secondary Aluminum Production AGENCY... for secondary aluminum production (77 FR 8576). The EPA is extending the deadline for written comments... from the Aluminum Association. The Aluminum Association has requested the extension in order to allow...

Product modeling standards for the building and construction industry : Past, present and future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tolman, F.P.

1999-01-01

For the past ten years most sectors of industry have been developing standards for the electronic sharing and exchange of product model data. While several related industries, such as automotive and shipbuilding manufacturing have been relatively successful in integrating electronic product models

Assessment of chemicals in construction products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Hanne; Olsen, Stig Irving

2000-01-01

. The reasons for that are lacks of product-specific emissions by manufacturing of chemical products, e.g. waterproofing systems and sealants. Besides, most LCA-models do not include assessments of emissions in working environment, in indoor environment or from disposal processes. It was therefore...

Newly graduated doctors' competence in managing cardiopulmonary arrests assessed using a standardized Advanced Life Support (ALS) assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Lind; Hesselfeldt, Rasmus; Rasmussen, Maria Birkvad

2008-01-01

Aim of the study: Several studies using a variety of assessment approaches have demonstrated that young doctors possess insufficient resuscitation competence. The aims of this study were to assess newly graduated doctors’ resuscitation competence against an internationally recognised standard and...

Experimental limits from ATLAS on Standard Model Higgs production.

CERN Multimedia

ATLAS, collaboration

2012-01-01

Experimental limits from ATLAS on Standard Model Higgs production in the mass range 110-600 GeV. The solid curve reflects the observed experimental limits for the production of a Higgs of each possible mass value (horizontal axis). The region for which the solid curve dips below the horizontal line at the value of 1 is excluded with a 95% confidence level (CL). The dashed curve shows the expected limit in the absence of the Higgs boson, based on simulations. The green and yellow bands correspond (respectively) to 68%, and 95% confidence level regions from the expected limits. Higgs masses in the narrow range 123-130 GeV are the only masses not excluded at 95% CL

Planning the Unplanned Experiment: Towards Assessing the Efficacy of Standards for Safety-Critical Software

Science.gov (United States)

Graydon, Patrick J.; Holloway, C. M.

2015-01-01

Safe use of software in safety-critical applications requires well-founded means of determining whether software is fit for such use. While software in industries such as aviation has a good safety record, little is known about whether standards for software in safety-critical applications 'work' (or even what that means). It is often (implicitly) argued that software is fit for safety-critical use because it conforms to an appropriate standard. Without knowing whether a standard works, such reliance is an experiment; without carefully collecting assessment data, that experiment is unplanned. To help plan the experiment, we organized a workshop to develop practical ideas for assessing software safety standards. In this paper, we relate and elaborate on the workshop discussion, which revealed subtle but important study design considerations and practical barriers to collecting appropriate historical data and recruiting appropriate experimental subjects. We discuss assessing standards as written and as applied, several candidate definitions for what it means for a standard to 'work,' and key assessment strategies and study techniques and the pros and cons of each. Finally, we conclude with thoughts about the kinds of research that will be required and how academia, industry, and regulators might collaborate to overcome the noted barriers.

An ecological method to understand agricultural standardization in peach orchard ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Nian-Feng; Zhang, Ming-Yi; Jiang, Jie-Xian; Ji, Xiang-Yun; Hao-Zhang

2016-02-22

While the worldwide standardization of agricultural production has been advocated and recommended, relatively little research has focused on the ecological significance of such a shift. The ecological concerns stemming from the standardization of agricultural production may require new methodology. In this study, we concentrated on how ecological two-sidedness and ecological processes affect the standardization of agricultural production which was divided into three phrases (pre-, mid- and post-production), considering both the positive and negative effects of agricultural processes. We constructed evaluation indicator systems for the pre-, mid- and post-production phases and here we presented a Standardization of Green Production Index (SGPI) based on the Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator (FPPSI) method which we used to assess the superiority of three methods of standardized production for peaches. The values of SGPI for pre-, mid- and post-production were 0.121 (Level IV, "Excellent" standard), 0.379 (Level III, "Good" standard), and 0.769 × 10(-2) (Level IV, "Excellent" standard), respectively. Here we aimed to explore the integrated application of ecological two-sidedness and ecological process in agricultural production. Our results are of use to decision-makers and ecologists focusing on eco-agriculture and those farmers who hope to implement standardized agricultural production practices.

25 CFR 36.12 - Standard III-Program needs assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...., (1) Perceptions of the parents, tribes, educators, and the students with regard to the relevance and....12 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR EDUCATION MINIMUM ACADEMIC STANDARDS... Program Evaluation. This assessment shall include at least the following: (a) A clear statement of student...

Making environmental assessments of biomass production systems comparable worldwide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Markus A; Seppelt, Ralf; Priess, Joerg A; Witing, Felix

2016-01-01

Global demand for agricultural and forestry products fundamentally affects regional land-use change associated with environmental impacts (EIs) such as erosion. In contrast to aggregated global metrics such as greenhouse gas (GHG) balances, local/regional EIs of different agricultural and forestry production regions need methods which enable worldwide EI comparisons. The key aspect is to control environmental heterogeneity to reveal man-made differences of EIs between production regions. Environmental heterogeneity is the variation in biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. In the present study, we used three approaches to control environmental heterogeneity: (i) environmental stratification, (ii) potential natural vegetation (PNV), and (iii) regional environmental thresholds to compare EIs of solid biomass production. We compared production regions of managed forests and plantation forests in subtropical (Satilla watershed, Southeastern US), tropical (Rufiji basin, Tanzania), and temperate (Mulde watershed, Central Germany) climates. All approaches supported the comparison of the EIs of different land-use classes between and within production regions. They also standardized the different EIs for a comparison between the EI categories. The EIs for different land-use classes within a production region decreased with increasing degree of naturalness (forest, plantation forestry, and cropland). PNV was the most reliable approach, but lacked feasibility and relevance. The PNV approach explicitly included most of the factors that drive environmental heterogeneity in contrast to the stratification and threshold approaches. The stratification approach allows consistent global application due to available data. Regional environmental thresholds only included arbitrarily selected aspects of environmental heterogeneity; they are only available for few EIs. Especially, the PNV and stratification approaches are options to compare regional EIs of biomass or crop production

Assessment of a Standardized ROS Production Profile in Humans by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Mrakic-Sposta

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the growing interest in the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS in health and disease, reliable quantitative noninvasive methods for the assessment of oxidative stress in humans are still lacking. EPR technique, coupled to a specific spin probe (CMH: 1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine is here presented as the method of choice to gain a direct measurement of ROS in biological fluids and tissues. The study aimed at demonstrating that, differently from currently available “a posteriori” assays of ROS-induced damage by means of biomolecules (e.g., proteins and lipids spin-trapping EPR provides direct evidence of the “instantaneous” presence of radical species in the sample and, as signal areas are proportional to the number of excited electron spins, lead to absolute concentration levels. Using a recently developed bench top continuous wave system (e-scan EPR scanner, Bruker dealing with very low ROS concentration levels in small (50 μL samples, we successfully monitored rapid ROS production changes in peripheral blood of athletes after controlled exercise and sedentary subjects after antioxidant supplementation. The correlation between EPR results and data obtained by various enzymatic assays (e.g., protein carbonyls and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was determined too. Synthetically, our method allows reliable, quick, noninvasive quantitative determination of ROS in human peripheral blood.

Microbiological risk assessment for personal care products.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, S E; Parker, M D; Amézquita, A; Pitt, T L

2016-12-01

Regulatory decisions regarding microbiological safety of cosmetics and personal care products are primarily hazard-based, where the presence of a potential pathogen determines decision-making. This contrasts with the Food industry where it is a commonplace to use a risk-based approach for ensuring microbiological safety. A risk-based approach allows consideration of the degree of exposure to assess unacceptable health risks. As there can be a number of advantages in using a risk-based approach to safety, this study explores the Codex Alimentarius (Codex) four-step Microbiological Risk Assessment (MRA) framework frequently used in the Food industry and examines how it can be applied to the safety assessment of personal care products. The hazard identification and hazard characterization steps (one and two) of the Codex MRA framework consider the main microorganisms of concern. These are addressed by reviewing the current industry guidelines for objectionable organisms and analysing reports of contaminated products notified by government agencies over a recent 5-year period, together with examples of reported outbreaks. Data related to estimation of exposure (step three) are discussed, and examples of possible calculations and references are included. The fourth step, performed by the risk assessor (risk characterization), is specific to each assessment and brings together the information from the first three steps to assess the risk. Although there are very few documented uses of the MRA approach for personal care products, this study illustrates that it is a practicable and sound approach for producing products that are safe by design. It can be helpful in the context of designing products and processes going to market and with setting of microbiological specifications. Additionally, it can be applied reactively to facilitate decision-making when contaminated products are released on to the marketplace. Currently, the knowledge available may only allow a

The role of a German multi-stakeholder standard for livestock products derived from non-GMO feed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venus, Thomas J.; Drabik, Dusan; Wesseler, Justus

2018-01-01

In Germany, products derived from livestock who were fed GMO are not required to be labeled as GMO. However, non-GMO labeling requires compliance with the national public non-GMO production standard, including a confirmation that no GM feed was used. In addition to the national standard, firms can

Assessment of the Kid Production Traits of Kacang Goat Under Smallholders Production System

OpenAIRE

Sodiq, A; Priyono, A; Tawfik, ES

2010-01-01

The main objectives of this study were to assess the influence of environmental (non-genetic) factors on kid production traits of Kacang goat under smallholders production system. The study was conducted at the Kacang goat smallholders, located at the centre of Kacang goat in Gundi subdistric, Purwodadi regency, Central Java. The kid production traits evaluated are birth weight, weaning weight, and growth rate till weaning. The environmental factors assessed were: sex (male, female), type of ...

Technical Standards on the Safety Assessment of a HLW Repository in Other Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sung Ho; Hwang, Yong Soo

2009-01-01

The basic function of HLW disposal system is to prevent excessive radio-nuclides being leaked from the repository in a short time. To do this, many technical standards should be developed and established on the components of disposal system. Safety assessment of a repository is considered as one of technical standards, because it produces quantitative results of the future evolution of a repository based on a reasonably simplified model. In this paper, we investigated other countries' regulations related to safely assessment focused on the assessment period, radiation dose limits and uncertainties of the assessment. Especially, in the investigation process of the USA regulations, the USA regulatory bodies' approach to assessment period and peak dose is worth taking into account in case of a conflict between peak dose from safety assessment and limited value in regulation.

A Student Assessment Tool for Standardized Patient Simulations (SAT-SPS): Psychometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Yuste, Cristina; García-Cabanillas, María José; Rodríguez-Cornejo, María Jesús; Carnicer-Fuentes, Concepción; Paloma-Castro, Olga; Moreno-Corral, Luis Javier

2018-05-01

The evaluation of the level of clinical competence acquired by the student is a complex process that must meet various requirements to ensure its quality. The psychometric analysis of the data collected by the assessment tools used is a fundamental aspect to guarantee the student's competence level. To conduct a psychometric analysis of an instrument which assesses clinical competence in nursing students at simulation stations with standardized patients in OSCE-format tests. The construct of clinical competence was operationalized as a set of observable and measurable behaviors, measured by the newly-created Student Assessment Tool for Standardized Patient Simulations (SAT-SPS), which was comprised of 27 items. The categories assigned to the items were 'incorrect or not performed' (0), 'acceptable' (1), and 'correct' (2). 499 nursing students. Data were collected by two independent observers during the assessment of the students' performance at a four-station OSCE with standardized patients. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the variables. The difficulty levels and floor and ceiling effects were determined for each item. Reliability was analyzed using internal consistency and inter-observer reliability. The validity analysis was performed considering face validity, content and construct validity (through exploratory factor analysis), and criterion validity. Internal reliability and inter-observer reliability were higher than 0.80. The construct validity analysis suggested a three-factor model accounting for 37.1% of the variance. These three factors were named 'Nursing process', 'Communication skills', and 'Safe practice'. A significant correlation was found between the scores obtained and the students' grades in general, as well as with the grades obtained in subjects with clinical content. The assessment tool has proven to be sufficiently reliable and valid for the assessment of the clinical competence of nursing students using standardized patients

Water quality assessment of bioenergy production

Science.gov (United States)

Rocio Diaz-Chavez; Goran Berndes; Dan Neary; Andre Elia Neto; Mamadou Fall

2011-01-01

Water quality is a measurement of the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of water against certain standards set to ensure ecological and/or human health. Biomass production and conversion to fuels and electricity can impact water quality in lakes, rivers, and aquifers with consequences for aquatic ecosystem health and also human water uses. Depending on...

Use of product databases for risk assessment purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinemeyer, Gerhard; Hahn, Axel

2005-01-01

Product information databases are important prerequisites for providing data to poison centers (PC) to give adequate advice in cases of poisonings and for preparation of statistics as annual reports. For risk assessment measures, they can help for exposure assessments and for priority setting. A product database is a set of information of product and substance names, compositions, and uses of products. Data are provided due to national regulations as well as to national and international agreements between industry, international associations, e.g. the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT), and clinical toxicology institutions. They have different contents, i.e. complete formulations, frame formulations, and material safety data sheets. For definite identification of products, the product name should be readily taken from the labels and must be similar to the names provided by electronic media as databases. Products should be classified according to their use. The first system that has been prepared for that purpose is the ATC classification for pharmaceuticals. For chemicals, several systems e.g. the WHO-IPCS classification code, exist; the EU technical guidance document for risk assessment of chemicals is mentioning use categories, and they are used on national levels as well. For risk assessment purposes, statistics of poisonings and other health hazards are important as well as information about exposure. Linking cases of poisonings with product data enables risk assessors to perform statistical evaluations about health effects due to product use categories which can be compared to product compositions. If products are categorized by their use, information about use characteristics, such as frequencies and durations, can be derived. Hence, product categories can be taken to characterize scenarios and thus help for model estimations of exposure and respective doses

Progress in human exposure assessment for biocidal products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemmen, J.J. van

2004-01-01

An important shortcoming in our present knowledge required for risk assessment of biocidal products is the assessment of human exposure. This knowledge gap has been filled in a preliminary fashion with the TNsG on human exposure to biocidal products (available from the ECB website). Explicit User

77 FR 10358 - Acceptance of ASTM F963-11 as a Mandatory Consumer Product Safety Standard

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-22

... CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION 16 CFR Chapter II Acceptance of ASTM F963-11 as a Mandatory... have accepted the revised ASTM F963-11 standard titled, Standard Consumer Safety Specifications for Toy Safety. Pursuant to section 106 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, ASTM F963-11 will...

Dimethylthioarsinic anhydride: A standard for arsenic speciation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fricke, Michael [United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Microbiological and Chemical Exposure Assessment Research Division, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 (United States); Zeller, Matthias [STaRBURSTT-Cyberdiffraction Consortium, Department of Chemistry, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555-3663 (United States); Cullen, William [Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1 (Canada); Witkowski, Mark [Food and Drug Administration, Forensic Chemistry Center, Vibrational Spectroscopy Laboratory, 6751 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45237 (United States); Creed, John [United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Microbiological and Chemical Exposure Assessment Research Division, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268 (United States)]. E-mail: creed.jack@epa.gov

2007-01-30

Dimethylthioarsinic acid (DMTA{sup V}) has recently been identified in biological, dietary and environmental matrices. The relevance of this compound to the toxicity of arsenic in humans is unknown and further exposure assessment and metabolic studies are difficult to conduct because of the unavailability of a well characterized standard. The synthesis of DMTA{sup V} was accomplished by the reaction of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA{sup V}) with hydrogen sulfide. The initial reaction product produced is DMTA{sup V} but multiple products over the course of the reaction are also observed. Therefore, a chromatographic separation was developed to monitor the reaction progress via LC-ICP-MS. In this synthesis, conversion of DMA{sup V} to DMTA{sup V} was not taken to completion to avoid the production of side products. The product was isolated from the starting material by standard organic techniques. Single crystal diffraction demonstrated that solid DMTA{sup V} is present in the form of the oxygen-bridged dimethylthioarsinic anhydride. Dissolution of the anhydride in water produces the acid form of DMTA{sup V} and the aqueous phase DMTA{sup V} provided a characteristic molecular ion of m/z 155 by LC-ESI-MS. The synthesis and isolation of dimethylthioarsinic anhydride provides a stable crystalline standard suitable for identification, toxicological study and exposure assessment of dimethylthioarsinic acid.

Safety assessment standards for modern plants in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harbison, S.A.; Hannaford, J.

1993-01-01

The NII has revised its safety assessment principles (SAPs). This paper discusses the revised SAPs and their links with international standards. It considers the licensing of foreign designs of plant - a matter under active consideration in the UK -and discusses how the SAPs and the licensing process cater for that possibility. (author)

A randomized trial of standardized nursing patient assessment using wireless devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dykes, Patricia C; Carroll, Diane L; Benoit, Angela; Coakley, Amanda; Chang, Frank; Empoliti, Joanne; Gallagher, Joan; Lasala, Cynthia; O'Malley, Rosemary; Rath, Greg; Silva, Judy; Li, Qi

2007-10-11

A complete and accurate patient assessment database is essential for effective communication, problem identification, planning and evaluation of patient status. When employed consistently for point-of-care documentation, information systems are associated with completeness and quality of documentation. The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a randomized, cross-over study conducted to evaluate the adequacy of a standard patient assessment module to support problem identification, care planning and tracking of nursing sensitive patient outcomes. The feasibility of wireless devices to support patient assessment data collection at the point-of-care was evaluated using wireless PDAs and tablet PCs. Seventy-nine (79) nurses from two patient care units at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA) were recruited into the study and randomized to complete patient assessment using wireless or paper devices. At the end of six weeks, nurses who where randomized to the paper assessment module were assigned to a device and those who used a device were assigned to paper for an additional six weeks. Impact was evaluated with regard to data capture, workflow implications and nurse satisfaction. Findings suggest that a standard patient assessment set promotes patient sensitive and quality data capture, which is augmented by the use of wireless devices.

Towards a Standardized e-Assessment System: Motivations, Challenges and First Findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Helic

2009-10-01

Full Text Available “Global Learning” with shared learning contents, resources, activities and goals is one of the contributions of Globalization. With the capability to use new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT it is a bit easier to have a technology based learning systems that enable learners to share the learning resources and possibilities. As a result many Learning Management Systems (LMS were developed with divers of platforms and approaches. Consequently, sharing learning resources and components has become a major challenge. E-assessment as a primary activity of any LMS is facing the same challenges and problems. In order to stand on this challenge people in the field of technology enhanced learning have recommended that LMS should conform to specific standards. This paper discuses this challenge, the consequences and limitations of standards in the modern learning settings. Moreover, it shows a service oriented framework for assessment which aims to make the e-assessment systems flexible and also to initiate the term of “Global Learning Assessment” with the possibility of sharing the e-assessment system components.

40 CFR 63.825 - Standards: Product and packaging rotogravure and wide-web flexographic printing.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for the Printing and Publishing Industry § 63.825 Standards: Product and packaging rotogravure and wide-web flexographic printing. (a) Each... rotogravure and wide-web flexographic printing. 63.825 Section 63.825 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL...

Variation in assessment and standard setting practices across UK undergraduate medicine and the need for a benchmark.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDougall, Margaret

2015-10-31

The principal aim of this study is to provide an account of variation in UK undergraduate medical assessment styles and corresponding standard setting approaches with a view to highlighting the importance of a UK national licensing exam in recognizing a common standard. Using a secure online survey system, response data were collected during the period 13 - 30 January 2014 from selected specialists in medical education assessment, who served as representatives for their respective medical schools. Assessment styles and corresponding choices of standard setting methods vary markedly across UK medical schools. While there is considerable consensus on the application of compensatory approaches, individual schools display their own nuances through use of hybrid assessment and standard setting styles, uptake of less popular standard setting techniques and divided views on norm referencing. The extent of variation in assessment and standard setting practices across UK medical schools validates the concern that there is a lack of evidence that UK medical students achieve a common standard on graduation. A national licensing exam is therefore a viable option for benchmarking the performance of all UK undergraduate medical students.

77 FR 23250 - HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-18

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information... 2009 mandates that the HIT Standards Committee develop a schedule for the assessment of policy...

76 FR 25355 - HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-04

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information... 2009 mandates that the HIT Standards Committee develop a schedule for the assessment of policy...

78 FR 29134 - HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-17

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HIT Standards Committee; Schedule for the Assessment of HIT Policy Committee Recommendations AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information... 2009 mandates that the HIT Standards Committee develop a schedule for the assessment of policy...

Characterization of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Environmental Assessment (EA) glass Standard Reference Material. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jantzen, C.M.; Bibler, N.E.; Beam, D.C.; Crawford, C.L.; Pickett, M.A.

1993-06-01

Liquid high-level nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS) will be immobilized by vitrification in borosilicate glass. The glass will be produced and poured into stainless steel canisters in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Other waste form producers, such as West Valley Nuclear Services (WVNS) and the Hanford Waste Vitrification Project (HWVP), will also immobilize high-level radioactive waste in borosilicate glass. The canistered waste will be stored temporarily at each facility for eventual permanent disposal in a geologic repository. The Department of Energy has defined a set of requirements for the canistered waste forms, the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS). The current Waste Acceptance Primary Specification (WAPS) 1.3, the product consistency specification, requires the waste form producers to demonstrate control of the consistency of the final waste form using a crushed glass durability test, the Product Consistency Test (PCI). In order to be acceptable, a waste glass must be more durable during PCT analysis than the waste glass identified in the DWPF Environmental Assessment (EA). In order to supply all the waste form producers with the same standard benchmark glass, 1000 pounds of the EA glass was fabricated. The chemical analyses and characterization of the benchmark EA glass are reported. This material is now available to act as a durability and/or redox Standard Reference Material (SRM) for all waste form producers.

The series production in a standardized fabrication line for silicide fuels and commercial aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wehner, E.L.; Hassel, H.W.

1987-01-01

NUKEM has been responsible for the development and fabrication of LEU fuel elements for MTR reactors under the frame of the German AF program since 1979. The AF program is part of the international RERTR efforts, which were initiated by the INFCE Group in 1978. This paper describes the actual status of development and the transition from the prototype to the series production in a standardized manufacturing line for silicide fuels at NUKEM. Technical provisions and a customer oriented standardized product range aim at an economized manufacturing. (Author)

Sensory profiles of breast meat from broilers reared in an organic niche production system and conventional standard broilers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horsted, Klaus; Allesen-Holm, Bodil Helene; Hermansen, John E.

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Breast meat from broilers produced in very different production systems may vary considerable in sensory profile, which may affect consumer interests. In this study the aim was to evaluate differences in the sensory profiles of breast meat from five broiler products: two conventional...... standard products (A and B) and three organic niche genotypes (I657, L40 and K8) reared in an apple orchard. RESULTS: Thirteen out of 22 sensory attributes differed significantly between the products. The aroma attributes `chicken', `bouillon' and `fat' scored highest and the `iron/liver' aroma lowest...... of `sweet/maize' than the standard products. The `overall liking' score was significantly higher for the `K 8' product than for the `Standard A' and `L 40' products. The `overall liking' score was significantly correlated with the scores for aroma and taste of `chicken', `umami/bouillon', `iron...

Production and decay of neutralinos in the nonminimal supersymmetric standard model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franke, F.

1995-01-01

In this thesis after a presentation of the nonminimal supersymmetric standard model the lower mass limits for neutralinos and Higgs bosons are calculated. Then some typical scenarios for the study of the neutralino production and decay at LEP2 are constructed, for which the cross sections are calculated. (HSI)

Future Directions in Assessment: Influences of Standards and Implications for Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Troy L.; Malone, Margaret E.; Winke, Paula

2018-01-01

As "Foreign Language Annals" concludes its 50th anniversary, it is fitting to review the past and peer into the future of standards-based education and assessment. Standards are a common yardstick used by educators and researchers as a powerful framework for conceptualizing teaching and measuring learner success. The impact of standards…

Determination and health risk assessment of enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole in imported Pangasius catfish products in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansomboon, Worawat; Boontanon, Suwanna Kitpati; Boontanon, Narin; Polprasert, Chongrak

2018-02-01

The goals of this study were to determine the levels of three antibiotics - enrofloxacin, flumequine and sulfamethoxazole - in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand and to assess the health risks from consumption. To extract these antibiotic residues, acetonitrile, methanol and a small amount of formic acid were used as solvents. Determination of the antibiotics after extraction steps was carried out by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. The results showed that 14 and 3 samples of Pangasius catfish products were contaminated with enrofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, respectively. No flumequine residue was found. While the concentration levels of these antibiotics in most contaminated samples were lower than the European Union (EU) standard, one sample was found to contain sulfamethoxazole at 245.91 µg kg -1 , which was higher than the EU standard (100 µg kg -1 ), indicating the likelihood that some contaminated freshwater fish products are widely distributed in Thai markets. Notably, the concentration levels of enrofloxacin in samples of Pangasius catfish with skin were higher than in non-skin products, suggesting that products with skin might retain more antibiotic residues than non-skin products. Although the hazard quotient showed that consuming imported Pangasius catfish products, based on the current consumption rate, will not adversely affect consumer health, antibiotic residues in Pangasius catfish products imported into Thailand should be continually monitored.

Psychosocial Assessment as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kazak, Anne E.; Abrams, Annah N.; Banks, Jaime; Christofferson, Jennifer; DiDonato, Stephen; Grootenhuis, Martha A.; Kabour, Marianne; Madan-Swain, Avi; Patel, Sunita K.; Zadeh, Sima; Kupst, Mary Jo

2015-01-01

This paper presents the evidence for a standard of care for psychosocial assessment in pediatric cancer. An interdisciplinary group of investigators utilized EBSCO, PubMed, PsycINFO, Ovid, and Google Scholar search databases, focusing on five areas: youth/family psychosocial adjustment, family

Economic Integration and Quality Standards in a Duopoly Model with Horizontal and Vertical Product Differentiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Hansen, Jørgen Drud

This paper examines the effects of trade barriers on quality levels in a duopoly model for two countries with one producer in each country. The products are both vertically and horizontally differentiated. In absence of quality regulation, the two producers determine prices and quality levels...... standards are also ambiguous depending on the parameters of the model. Keywords: Vertical product differentiation; horizontal product differentiation; market integration; duopoly; minimum quality standard. JEL: F12, F13, F14....... product. On the unregulated markets, integration increases welfare in both countries if they are almost of similar size. However, if the countries are very asymmetrical with respect to size, market integration may harm welfare in the large country. Welfare effects by introduction of minimum quality...

Standards for psychological assessment of nuclear facility personnel. Technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, F.D.; Lindley, B.S.; Cohen, R.A.

1981-07-01

The subject of this study was the development of standards for the assessment of emotional instability in applicants for nuclear facility positions. The investigation covered all positions associated with a nuclear facility. Conclusions reached in this investigation focused on the ingredients of an integrated selection system including the use of personality tests, situational simulations, and the clinical interview; the need for professional standards to ensure quality control; the need for a uniform selection system as organizations vary considerably in terms of instruments presently used; and the need for an on-the-job behavioral observation program

Research of opportunistic behavior in the market of non-standard products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalya Sergeyevna Grigoryeva

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Objective to study the characteristic features of opportunistic behavior in the markets of complex products not subject to standardization by the example of rendering services during constructionandassembling operations. Methods analysis synthesis collection and description of empirical data. Results a significant amount of theoretical material has been analyzed budgets of constructionandassembling operations have been analyzed normative documents have been studied. A poll of quantity surveyors supervisors of constructionandassembling operations consumers of services and works have been carried out. The differences were revealed in the kinds of opportunistic behavior in the nonstandard products markets compared to the standard products markets the results of those surveys were presented in the earlier works by the author. Scientific novelty it has been shown that in case of individual elaboration of each project due to the uniqueness of the result of economic activity as a single complex the opportunistic behavior has such prerequisites as high costs for measurements and control of the quantity and quality of the rendered services and used materials lack of professional competencies of the consumers in the sphere of activity of the producer. Practical value the key provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in the scientific and educational activity when viewing the issues of opportunistic revelations between economic subjects. nbsp

Application of fuzzy set theory for integral assessment of agricultural products quality

Science.gov (United States)

Derkanosova, N. M.; Ponomareva, I. N.; Shurshikova, G. V.; Vasilenko, O. A.

2018-05-01

The methodology of integrated assessment of quality and safety of agricultural products, approbated by the example of indicators of wheat grain in relation to the provision of consumer properties of bakery products, was developed. Determination of the level of quality of the raw ingredients will allow direct using of agricultural raw materials for food production, taking into account ongoing technology, types of products, and, respectively, rational use of resource potential of the agricultural sector. The mathematical tool of the proposed method is a fuzzy set theory. The fuzzy classifier to evaluate the properties of the grain is formed. The set of six indicators normalized by the national standard is determined; values are ordered and represented by linguistic variables with a trapeziform membership function; the rules for calculation of membership functions are presented. Specific criteria values for individual indicators in shaping the quality of the finished products are considered. For one of the samples of wheat grain values of membership; functions of the linguistic variable "level" for all indicators and the linguistic variable "level of quality" were calculated. It is established that the studied sample of grain obtains the 2 (average) level of quality. Accordingly, it can be recommended for the production of bakery products with higher requirements for the structural-mechanical properties bakery and puff pastry products hearth bread and flour confectionery products of the group of hard dough cookies and crackers

MRI assessment of myelination: an age standardization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Staudt, M. (Kinderklinik Dritter Orden, Passau (Germany)); Schropp, C. (Kinderklinik Dritter Orden, Passau (Germany)); Staudt, F. (Kinderklinik Dritter Orden, Passau (Germany)); Obletter, N. (Radiologische Praxis, Klinikum Ingolstadt (Germany)); Bise, K. (Neuropathologisches Inst., Muenchen Univ. (Germany)); Breit, A. (MR Tomographie, Klinikum Passau (Germany)); Weinmann, H.M. (Kinderklinik Schwabing, Muenchen (Germany))

1994-04-01

777 cerebral MRI examinations of children aged 3 days to 14 years were staged for myelination to establish an age standardization. Staging was performed using a system proposed in a previous paper, separately ranking 10 different regions of the brain. Interpretation of the results led to the identification of foue clinical diagnoses that are frequently associated with delays in myelination: West syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental retardation, and congenital anomalies. In addition, it was found that assessment of myelination in children with head injuries was not practical as alterations in MRI signal can simulate earlier stages of myelination. Age limits were therefore calculated from the case material after excluding all children with these conditions. When simplifications of the definition of the stages are applied, these age limits for the various stages of myelination of each of the 10 regions of the brain make the staging system applicable for routine assessment of myelination. (orig.)

Impact of a product-specific reference standard for the measurement of a PEGylated rFVIII activity: the Swiss Multicentre Field Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulla, O; Poncet, A; Alberio, L; Asmis, L M; Gähler, A; Graf, L; Nagler, M; Studt, J-D; Tsakiris, D A; Fontana, P

2017-07-01

Measuring factor VIII (FVIII) activity can be challenging when it has been modified, such as when FVIII is pegylated to increase its circulating half-life. Use of a product-specific reference standard may help avoid this issue. Evaluate the impact of using a product-specific reference standard for measuring the FVIII activity of BAX 855 - a pegylated FVIII - in eight of Switzerland's main laboratories. Factor VIII-deficient plasma, spiked with five different concentrations of BAX 855, plus a control FVIII sample, was sent to the participating laboratories. They measured FVIII activity by using either with a one-stage (OSA) or the chromogenic assay (CA) against their local or a product-specific reference standard. When using a local reference standard, there was an overestimation of BAX 855 activity compared to the target concentrations, both with the OSA and CA. The use of a product-specific reference standard reduced this effect: mean recovery ranged from 127.7% to 213.5% using the OSA with local reference standards, compared to 110% to 183.8% with a product-specific reference standard, and from 146.3% to 182.4% using the CA with local reference standards compared to 72.7% to 103.7% with a product-specific reference standard. In this in vitro study, the type of reference standard had a major impact on the measurement of BAX 855 activity. Evaluation was more accurate and precise when using a product-specific reference standard. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Motivational Effects of Standardized Language Assessment on Chinese Young Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chuqiao

2016-01-01

This review paper examines how standardized language assessment affects Chinese young learners' motivation for second-language learning. By presenting the historical and contemporary contexts of the testing system in China, this paper seeks to demonstrate the interrelationship among cultural, social, familial, and individual factors, which…

Health Risk Assessment on Hazardous Ingredients in Household Deodorizing Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minjin Lee

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The inhalation of a water aerosol from a humidifier containing disinfectants has led to serious lung injuries in Korea. To promote the safe use of products, the Korean government enacted regulations on the chemicals in various consumer products that could have adverse health effects. Given the concern over the potential health risks associated with the hazardous ingredients in deodorizing consumer products, 17 ingredients were analyzed and assessed according to their health risk on 3 groups by the application type in 47 deodorizing products. The risk assessment study followed a stepwise procedure (e.g., collecting toxicological information, hazard identification/exposure assessment, and screening and detailed assessment for inhalation and dermal routes. The worst-case scenario and maximum concentration determined by the product purpose and application type were used as the screening assessment. In a detailed assessment, the 75th exposure factor values were used to estimate the assumed reasonable exposure to ingredients. The exposed concentrations of seven ingredients were calculated. Due to limitation of toxicity information, butylated hydroxyl toluene for a consumer’s exposure via the dermal route only was conducted for a detailed assessment. This study showed that the assessed ingredients have no health risks at their maximum concentrations in deodorizing products. This approach can be used to establish guidelines for ingredients that may pose inhalation and dermal hazards.

Health Risk Assessment on Hazardous Ingredients in Household Deodorizing Products

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Minjin; Kim, Joo-Hyon; Lee, Daeyeop; Kim, Jaewoo; Lim, Hyunwoo; Seo, Jungkwan; Park, Young-Kwon

2018-01-01

The inhalation of a water aerosol from a humidifier containing disinfectants has led to serious lung injuries in Korea. To promote the safe use of products, the Korean government enacted regulations on the chemicals in various consumer products that could have adverse health effects. Given the concern over the potential health risks associated with the hazardous ingredients in deodorizing consumer products, 17 ingredients were analyzed and assessed according to their health risk on 3 groups by the application type in 47 deodorizing products. The risk assessment study followed a stepwise procedure (e.g., collecting toxicological information, hazard identification/exposure assessment, and screening and detailed assessment for inhalation and dermal routes). The worst-case scenario and maximum concentration determined by the product purpose and application type were used as the screening assessment. In a detailed assessment, the 75th exposure factor values were used to estimate the assumed reasonable exposure to ingredients. The exposed concentrations of seven ingredients were calculated. Due to limitation of toxicity information, butylated hydroxyl toluene for a consumer’s exposure via the dermal route only was conducted for a detailed assessment. This study showed that the assessed ingredients have no health risks at their maximum concentrations in deodorizing products. This approach can be used to establish guidelines for ingredients that may pose inhalation and dermal hazards. PMID:29652814

Assessing Digital Student Productions, a Design-Based Research Study on the Development of a Criteria-Based Assessment Tool for Students’ Digital Multimodal Productions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmeyer, Mikkeline; Jensen, Jesper Juellund; Olsen, Marie Veisegaard

2017-01-01

Digital multimodal production is becoming increasingly important as a 21st century skill and as a learning condition in school (K-12). Moreover, there is a growing attention to the significance of criteria-based assessment for learning. Nevertheless, assessment of students’ digital multimodal...... productions is often vague or lacking. Therefore, the research project aims at developing a tool to support assessment of student’s digital multimodal productions through a design-based research method. This paper presents a proposal for issues to be considered through a prototyping phase, based on interviews...

Cross-cultural validity of standardized motor development screening and assessment tools: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendonça, Bianca; Sargent, Barbara; Fetters, Linda

2016-12-01

To investigate whether standardized motor development screening and assessment tools that are used to evaluate motor abilities of children aged 0 to 2 years are valid in cultures other than those in which the normative sample was established. This was a systematic review in which six databases were searched. Studies were selected based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and appraised for evidence level and quality. Study variables were extracted. Twenty-three studies representing six motor development screening and assessment tools in 16 cultural contexts met the inclusion criteria: Alberta Infant Motor Scale (n=7), Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd edition (n=2), Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition (n=8), Denver Developmental Screening Test, 2nd edition (n=4), Harris Infant Neuromotor Test (n=1), and Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd edition (n=1). Thirteen studies found significant differences between the cultural context and normative sample. Two studies established reliability and/or validity of standardized motor development assessments in high-risk infants from different cultural contexts. Five studies established new population norms. Eight studies described the cross-cultural adaptation of a standardized motor development assessment. Standardized motor development assessments have limited validity in cultures other than that in which the normative sample was established. Their use can result in under- or over-referral for services. © 2016 Mac Keith Press.

Standardized Patients Provide a Reliable Assessment of Athletic Training Students' Clinical Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Kirk J.; Jarriel, Amanda J.

2016-01-01

Context: Providing students reliable objective feedback regarding their clinical performance is of great value for ongoing clinical skill assessment. Since a standardized patient (SP) is trained to consistently portray the case, students can be assessed and receive immediate feedback within the same clinical encounter; however, no research, to our…

Series of standards for use by an oil and gas production administration for progress-of work reports and inventory control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kucherniuk, V A; Eliseev, V G; Iskandarov, R G

1981-01-01

Based on a study of the characteristics of product flows from oil wells, the test and monitoring equipment used to monitor the quantity of oil, and the standard documentation, it is demonstrated that in order to increase the measurement accuracy of the product produced by the oil and gas production administration, it is necessary to develop a system of enterprise standards to account for it. A list is given of standards of use by oil and gas production administration to account for its product. The use of the standards with existing metering equipment makes it possible to decrease the variation between operational and inventory records for the quantity of oil at the ''Rechitsaneft'' oil and gas production administration up to 5% and consequently to increase the control efficiency over the operation of the fields.

HANDBOOK - Environmental Assessment of Construction Products - An introduction to test mehtods and other procedures related to CE-marking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlstrom, Margareta; Laine-Ylyjoki, Jutta; Rautiainen, Liisa

2009-01-01

regulatory limit values with test results. The starting point in this handbook is the situation where there might be a potential for a release to soil and water during the intended use of a product. This handbook presents aspects that are especially important for manufactures of construction products...... Harmonised Standards and European Technical Approvals describe methods for testing of construction products and specify the conditions for CE marking of construction products. This handbook presents an overview of the technical, regulatory and administrative framework within which CE marking of construction...... products takes place and offers guidance on the selection of test methods for assessment of release of regulated dangerous substances from construction products to soil, surface water and groundwater. The handbook includes information on how test results can be used, e.g. by regulators when comparing...

Computed-tomography-guided anatomic standardization for quantitative assessment of dopamine transporter SPECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yokoyama, Kota [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, Tokyo (Japan); Imabayashi, Etsuko; Matsuda, Hiroshi [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, Tokyo (Japan); Sumida, Kaoru; Sone, Daichi; Kimura, Yukio; Sato, Noriko [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Mukai, Youhei; Murata, Miho [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Neurology, Tokyo (Japan)

2017-03-15

For the quantitative assessment of dopamine transporter (DAT) using [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (DaTscan), anatomic standardization is preferable for achieving objective and user-independent quantification of striatal binding using a volume-of-interest (VOI) template. However, low accumulation of DAT in Parkinson's disease (PD) would lead to a deformation error when using a DaTscan-specific template without any structural information. To avoid this deformation error, we applied computed tomography (CT) data obtained using SPECT/CT equipment to anatomic standardization. We retrospectively analyzed DaTscan images of 130 patients with parkinsonian syndromes (PS), including 80 PD and 50 non-PD patients. First we segmented gray matter from CT images using statistical parametric mapping 12 (SPM12). These gray-matter images were then anatomically standardized using the diffeomorphic anatomical registration using exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL) algorithm. Next, DaTscan images were warped with the same parameters used in the CT anatomic standardization. The target striatal VOIs for decreased DAT in PD were generated from the SPM12 group comparison of 20 DaTscan images from each group. We applied these VOIs to DaTscan images of the remaining patients in both groups and calculated the specific binding ratios (SBRs) using nonspecific counts in a reference area. In terms of the differential diagnosis of PD and non-PD groups using SBR, we compared the present method with two other methods, DaTQUANT and DaTView, which have already been released as software programs for the quantitative assessment of DaTscan images. The SPM12 group comparison showed a significant DAT decrease in PD patients in the bilateral whole striatum. Of the three methods assessed, the present CT-guided method showed the greatest power for discriminating PD and non-PD groups, as it completely separated the two groups. CT-guided anatomic standardization using

Standard Cosmic Ray Energetics and Light Element Production

CERN Document Server

Fields, B D; Cassé, M; Vangioni-Flam, E; Fields, Brian D.; Olive, Keith A.; Casse, Michel; Vangioni-Flam, Elisabeth

2001-01-01

The recent observations of Be and B in metal poor stars has led to a reassessment of the origin of the light elements in the early Galaxy. At low it is metallicity ([O/H] < -1.75), it is necessary to introduce a production mechanism which is independent of the interstellar metallicity (primary). At higher metallicities, existing data might indicate that secondary production is dominant. In this paper, we focus on the secondary process, related to the standard Galactic cosmic rays, and we examine the cosmic ray energy requirements for both present and past epochs. We find the power input to maintain the present-day Galactic cosmic ray flux is about 1.5e41 erg/s = 5e50 erg/century. This implies that, if supernovae are the sites of cosmic ray acceleration, the fraction of explosion energy going to accelerated particles is about 30%, a value which we obtain consistently both from considering the present cosmic ray flux and confinement and from the present 9Be and 6Li abundances. Using the abundances of 9Be (an...

A conceptual analysis of standard setting in large-scale assessments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Linden, Willem J.

1994-01-01

Elements of arbitrariness in the standard setting process are explored, and an alternative to the use of cut scores is presented. The first part of the paper analyzes the use of cut scores in large-scale assessments, discussing three different functions: (1) cut scores define the qualifications used

Methodological approach to assessment of organizational resources of the productive activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Miller

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to solve the problem connected with development of theoretical and methodological provisions of formation of the assessment procedure of organizational resources of the productive activity. Theoretical results of our research are: improvement of the concept of development of organizational resources of the productive activity; identifying the impact of organizational resources on the productive activity; justification of the basic principles of formation of the assessment system of efficiency of the organizational resources' use. We proposed a unified methodological approach allowing to combine the complexity of assessment of both quantity of core resources of the productive activity and organizational resources, which significantly develops traditional systems of the productive activity management based on identifying quantitative parameters of the subsystems, their assessment, comparison and analysis. We also substantiated our opinion on assessment of organizational resources' values. It is focused on the development of the productive activity and allows to use the developed tools of the methodological approach for forecast assessment of the impact of the quantity of core resources, used in the productive activity, and organizational resources of the productive activity on the economic results of the enterprise.

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)

Discriminant validity, responsiveness and reliability of the arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey assessing workplace and household productivity in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Introduction The novel arthritis-specific Work Productivity Survey (WPS) was developed to estimate patient productivity limitations associated with arthritis within and outside the home, which is an unmet need in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The WPS has been validated in rheumatoid arthritis. This report assesses the discriminant validity, responsiveness and reliability of the WPS in adult-onset PsA. Methods Psychometric properties were assessed using data from the RAPID-PsA trial (NCT01087788) investigating certolizumab pegol (CZP) efficacy and safety in PsA. WPS was completed at baseline and every 4 weeks until Week 24. Validity was evaluated at baseline via known-groups defined using first and third quartiles of patients’ Disease Activity Score 28 based on C-reactive protein (DAS28(CRP)), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), Short Form-36 (SF-36) items and PsA Quality of Life (PsAQoL) scores. Responsiveness and reliability were assessed by comparing WPS mean changes at Week 12 in American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement criteria (ACR20) or HAQ-DI Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) 0.3 responders versus non-responders, as well as using standardized response means (SRM). All comparisons were conducted on the observed cases in the Randomized Set, regardless of the randomization group, using a non-parametric bootstrap-t method. Results Compared with patients with a better health state, patients with a worse health state had on average 2 to 6 times more household work days lost, more days with reduced household productivity, more days missed of family/social/leisure activities, more days with outside help hired and a significantly higher interference of arthritis per month. Among employed patients, those with a worse health state had 2 to 4 times more workplace days lost, more days with patient workplace productivity reduced, and a significantly higher interference of arthritis on patient workplace productivity versus

Work-based Assessment and Co-production in Postgraduate Medical Training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holmboe, Eric S.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Assessment has always been an essential component of postgraduate medical education and for many years focused predominantly on various types of examinations. While examinations of medical knowledge and more recently of clinical skills with standardized patients can assess learner capability in controlled settings and provide a level of assurance for the public, persistent and growing concerns regarding quality of care and patient safety worldwide has raised the importance and need for better work-based assessments. Work-based assessments, when done effectively, can more authentically capture the abilities of learners to actually provide safe, effective, patient-centered care. Furthermore, we have entered the era of interprofessional care where effective teamwork among multiple health care professionals is now paramount. Work-based assessment methods are now essential in an interprofessional healthcare world.To better prepare learners for these newer competencies and the ever-growing complexity of healthcare, many post-graduate medical education systems across the globe have turned to outcomes-based models of education, codified through competency frameworks. This commentary provides a brief overview on key methods of work-based assessment such as direct observation, multisource feedback, patient experience surveys and performance measures that are needed in a competency-based world that places a premium on educational and clinical outcomes. However, the full potential of work-based assessments will only be realized if post-graduate learners play an active role in their own assessment program. This will require a substantial culture change, and culture change only occurs through actions and changed behaviors. Co-production offers a practical and philosophical approach to engaging postgraduate learners to be active, intrinsically motivated agents for their own professional development, help to change learning culture and contribute to improving

Design Of Measurements For Evaluating Readiness Of Technoware Components To Meet The Required Standard Of Products

Science.gov (United States)

Fauzi, Ilham; Muharram Hasby, Fariz; Irianto, Dradjad

2018-03-01

Although government is able to make mandatory standards that must be obeyed by the industry, the respective industries themselves often have difficulties to fulfil the requirements described in those standards. This is especially true in many small and medium sized enterprises that lack the required capital to invest in standard-compliant equipment and machineries. This study aims to develop a set of measurement tools for evaluating the level of readiness of production technology with respect to the requirements of a product standard based on the quality function deployment (QFD) method. By combining the QFD methodology, UNESCAP Technometric model [9] and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), this model is used to measure a firm’s capability to fulfill government standard in the toy making industry. Expert opinions from both the governmental officers responsible for setting and implementing standards and the industry practitioners responsible for managing manufacturing processes are collected and processed to find out the technological capabilities that should be improved by the firm to fulfill the existing standard. This study showed that the proposed model can be used successfully to measure the gap between the requirements of the standard and the readiness of technoware technological component in a particular firm.

The version 3 OMI NO2 standard product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Krotkov

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We describe the new version 3.0 NASA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI standard nitrogen dioxide (NO2 products (SPv3. The products and documentation are publicly available from the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/OMNO2_V003/summary/. The major improvements include (1 a new spectral fitting algorithm for NO2 slant column density (SCD retrieval and (2 higher-resolution (1° latitude and 1.25° longitude a priori NO2 and temperature profiles from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI chemistry–transport model with yearly varying emissions to calculate air mass factors (AMFs required to convert SCDs into vertical column densities (VCDs. The new SCDs are systematically lower (by ∼ 10–40 % than previous, version 2, estimates. Most of this reduction in SCDs is propagated into stratospheric VCDs. Tropospheric NO2 VCDs are also reduced over polluted areas, especially over western Europe, the eastern US, and eastern China. Initial evaluation over unpolluted areas shows that the new SPv3 products agree better with independent satellite- and ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR measurements. However, further evaluation of tropospheric VCDs is needed over polluted areas, where the increased spatial resolution and more refined AMF estimates may lead to better characterization of pollution hot spots.

Trend report on international and Japanese standardization activities for bioceramics and tissue engineered medical products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadami Tsutsumi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Since porous and injectable bioceramics have recently been utilized often as scaffolds for bone regenerative medicine, the need for their standardization has increased. One of the standard proposals in ISO/TC150 and JIS has been a draft for characterization of the porous bioceramic scaffolds in both micro- and macro-scopic aspects. ISO/TC150/SC7 (Tissue engineered medical products has been co-chaired by Professor J E Lemons, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Dr R Nakaoka, Division of Medical Devices, National Institute of Health Sciences, Japan. The scope of SC7 has been specified as 'Standardization for the general requirements and performance of tissue engineered medical products with the exclusion of gene therapy, transplantation and transfusion'.

Validation of a standard field test method in four countries to assess the toxicity of residues in dung of cattle treated with veterinary medical products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Floate, Kevin D.; Düring, Rolf Alexander; Hanafi, Jamal; Jud, Priska; Lahr, Joost; Lumaret, Jean Pierre; Scheffczyk, Adam; Tixier, Thomas; Wohde, Manuel; Römbke, Jörg; Sautot, Lucille; Blanckenhorn, Wolf U.

2016-01-01

Registration of veterinary medical products includes the provision that field tests may be required to assess potential nontarget effects associated with the excretion of product residues in dung of treated livestock (phase II, tier B testing). However, regulatory agencies provide no guidance on

Dermal safety assessment of Arm & Hammer laundry products formulated for sensitive skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, Douglas M; Vorwerk, Linda; Gupta, Archana; Ghassemi, Annahita

2017-09-01

The prevalence of sensitive skin among the general population in industrialized countries is reported to be over 50%. Sensitive skin subjects often report significant reactions to contact with cosmetics, soaps and other consumer products. This paper describes the overall skin compatibility and mildness program for a newly developed, lightly fragranced, colorant free laundry product (i.e. Arm & Hammer™ Sensitive Skin plus Skin-Friendly Fresh Scent), specially formulated for individuals with sensitive skin. The skin mildness of the product was compared to Arm & Hammer™ Free & Clear liquid laundry detergent with no fragrance or colorant, and an established history of safe use by sensitive skin consumers. The test material was a liquid laundry product with a light scent formulated for sensitive skin consumers (Arm & Hammer™ Sensitive Skin plus Skin-Friendly Fresh Scent). The product was compared to commercially marketed products for sensitive skin with a history of skin safety in the marketplace, including: a very similar product formulation (Arm & Hammer™ Free & Clear with no fragrance), and several selected competitors' products. Studies were conducted among individuals with self-assessed sensitive skin (based on a questionnaire) using standard protocols for the Human Repeat Insult Patch Test (HRIPT), 10-Day Cumulative Irritation, the Wrist Band Wear test, and the Safety In-Use testing. Responses in all protocols were evaluated by visual scoring of potential dermatologic reactions, and recording any sensory effects at the time of the examination. In addition, sensory effects collected from panelists' daily diaries were also evaluated. The HRIPT confirmed that neither the fragrance alone, nor the product formulation with fragrance, induced contact sensitization in sensitive skin subjects. The 10-Day cumulative irritation study conducted using sensitive skin subjects showed highly favorable skin compatibility, and the test product was comparable to the control

Pesticide Active Ingredient Production Industry: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)

Science.gov (United States)

This action promulgates national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the pesticide active ingredient (PAI) production source category under section 112 of the Clean Air Act as amended (CAA or Act).

Non-Standard Assessment Practices in the Evaluation of Communication in Australian Aboriginal Children

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Judith

2008-01-01

Australian Aboriginal children typically receive communication assessment services from Standard Australian English (SAE) speaking non-Aboriginal speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Educational assessments, including intelligence testing, are also primarily conducted by non-Aboriginal educational professionals. While the current paper will show…

Principle considerations for the risk assessment of sprayed consumer products.

Science.gov (United States)

Steiling, W; Bascompta, M; Carthew, P; Catalano, G; Corea, N; D'Haese, A; Jackson, P; Kromidas, L; Meurice, P; Rothe, H; Singal, M

2014-05-16

In recent years, the official regulation of chemicals and chemical products has been intensified. Explicitly for spray products enhanced requirements to assess the consumers'/professionals' exposure to such product type have been introduced. In this regard the Aerosol-Dispensers-Directive (75/324/EEC) with obligation for marketing aerosol dispensers, and the Cosmetic-Products-Regulation (1223/2009/EC) which obliges the insurance of a safety assessment, have to be mentioned. Both enactments, similar to the REACH regulation (1907/2006/EC), require a robust chemical safety assessment. From such assessment, appropriate risk management measures may be identified to adequately control the risk of these chemicals/products to human health and the environment when used. Currently, the above-mentioned regulations lack the guidance on which data are needed for preparing a proper hazard analysis and safety assessment of spray products. Mandatory in the process of inhalation risk and safety assessment is the determination and quantification of the actual exposure to the spray product and more specifically, its ingredients. In this respect the current article, prepared by the European Aerosol Federation (FEA, Brussels) task force "Inhalation Toxicology", intends to introduce toxicological principles and the state of the art in currently available exposure models adapted for typical application scenarios. This review on current methodologies is intended to guide safety assessors to better estimate inhalation exposure by using the most relevant data. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Upper-bound fission product release assessment for large break LOCA in CANFLEX bundle reactor core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Duk Ju; Lee, Kang Moon

1996-07-01

Quarter-core gap inventory assessment for CANDU-6 reactor core loaded with CANFLEX fuel bundles has been performed as one of the licensing safety analyses required for 24 natural uranium CANFLEX bundle irradiation in CANDU-6 reactor. The quarter-core gap inventory for the CANFLEX bundle core is 5 - 10 times lower than that for the standard bundle core, depending on the half-life of the isotope. The lower gap inventory of the CANFLEX bundle core is attributed to the lower linear power of the CANFLEX bundle compared with the standard bundle. However, the whole core total inventories for both the CANFLEX and standard bundle cores are nearly the same. The 6 - 8 times lower upper-bound fission product releases of the CANFLEX bundle core for large break LOCA than those of the standard bundle core imply that the loading of 24 natural uranium CANFLEX bundles would improve the predicted consequences of the postulated accident described in the Wolsung 2 safety report. 2 tabs., 6 figs., 3 refs. (Author)

Standardized Handwriting to Assess Bradykinesia, Micrographia and Tremor in Parkinson's Disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, Esther J.; Tolonen, Antti J.; Cluitmans, Luc; van Gils, Mark; Conway, Bernard A.; Zietsma, Rutger C.; Leenders, Klaus L.; Maurits, Natasha M.

2014-01-01

Objective: To assess whether standardized handwriting can provide quantitative measures to distinguish patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease from age- and gender-matched healthy control participants. Design: Exploratory study. Pen tip trajectories were recorded during circle, spiral and line

Biology Needs a Modern Assessment System for Professional Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

McDade, Lucinda A.; Maddison, David R.; Guralnick, Robert; Piwowar, Heather A.; Jameson, Mary Liz; Helgen, Kristofer M.; Herendeen, Patrick S.; Hill, Andrew; Vis, Morgan L.

2011-01-01

Stimulated in large part by the advent of the Internet, research productivity in many academic disciplines has changed dramatically over the last two decades. However, the assessment system that governs professional success has not kept pace, creating a mismatch between modes of scholarly productivity and academic assessment criteria. In this…

Phenology Data Products to Support Assessment and Forecasting of Phenology on Multiple Spatiotemporal Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Gerst, K.; Enquist, C.; Rosemartin, A.; Denny, E. G.; Marsh, L.; Moore, D. J.; Weltzin, J. F.

2014-12-01

The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN; www.usanpn.org) serves science and society by promoting a broad understanding of plant and animal phenology and the relationships among phenological patterns and environmental change. The National Phenology Database maintained by USA-NPN now has over 3.7 million records for plants and animals for the period 1954-2014, with the majority of these observations collected since 2008 as part of a broad, national contributory science strategy. These data have been used in a number of science, conservation and resource management applications, including national assessments of historical and potential future trends in phenology, regional assessments of spatio-temporal variation in organismal activity, and local monitoring for invasive species detection. Customizable data downloads are freely available, and data are accompanied by FGDC-compliant metadata, data-use and data-attribution policies, vetted and documented methodologies and protocols, and version control. While users are free to develop custom algorithms for data cleaning, winnowing and summarization prior to analysis, the National Coordinating Office of USA-NPN is developing a suite of standard data products to facilitate use and application by a diverse set of data users. This presentation provides a progress report on data product development, including: (1) Quality controlled raw phenophase status data; (2) Derived phenometrics (e.g. onset, duration) at multiple scales; (3) Data visualization tools; (4) Tools to support assessment of species interactions and overlap; (5) Species responsiveness to environmental drivers; (6) Spatially gridded phenoclimatological products; and (7) Algorithms for modeling and forecasting future phenological responses. The prioritization of these data products is a direct response to stakeholder needs related to informing management and policy decisions. We anticipate that these products will contribute to broad understanding of plant

Balancing development and conservation? An assessment of livelihood and environmental outcomes of nontimber forest product trade in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kusters, K.; Achdiawan, R.; Belcher, B.; Ruiz Pérez, M.; Hussain, A.

2008-01-01

This chapter addresses the question, to what extent and under which conditions nontimber forest product (NTFP) trade leads to both livelihood improvement and forest conservation. We based the analysis on a standardized expert-judgment assessment of the livelihood and environmental outcomes of 55

Indirect water management through Life Cycle Assessment: Fostering sustainable production in developing countries

Science.gov (United States)

Pfister, S.; Bayer, P.; Koehler, A.; Hellweg, S.

2009-04-01

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) represents a methodological framework for analyzing the total environmental impact of any product or service of our daily life. After tracking all associated emissions and the consumption of resources, this impact is expressed with respect to a few common impact categories. These are supposed to reflect major societal and environmental priorities. However, despite their central role in environmental processes, to date hydrological as well as hydrogeological aspects are only rarely considered in LCA. Compared with standard impact categories within LCA, water is special. In contrast to other abiotic resources such as crude oil, it can be replenished. Total freshwater resources are immense, but not evenly distributed and often scarce in regions of high demand. Consequently, threads to natural water bodies have immense spatial dependency. Setting up functional relationships in order to derive a generally valid and practicable evaluation is tedious due to the complex, insufficiently understood, and uncertain natural processes involved. LCA that includes the environmental effects of water consumption means global indirect water resource management. It supports goal-directed consumer behaviour that aims to reduce pressure on natural water systems. By developing a hydrologically-based assessment of potential impacts from human interaction with natural water bodies, "greener" products can be prioritised. More sustainable and environmentally friendly water management is the result. The proposed contribution presents an operational assessment method of global surface water consumption for impacts on human health and ecosystem quality within a LCA framework. A major focus is the issue of how such global assessment helps to quantify potential impacts from water-intensive production in developing countries, where the means for proper water management are often limited. We depict a compensation scheme for impacts related to water consumption that

Risk assessment using probabilistic standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila, R.

2004-01-01

A core element of risk is uncertainty represented by plural outcomes and their likelihood. No risk exists if the future outcome is uniquely known and hence guaranteed. The probability that we will die some day is equal to 1, so there would be no fatal risk if sufficiently long time frame is assumed. Equally, rain risk does not exist if there was 100% assurance of rain tomorrow, although there would be other risks induced by the rain. In a formal sense, any risk exists if, and only if, more than one outcome is expected at a future time interval. In any practical risk assessment we have to deal with uncertainties associated with the possible outcomes. One way of dealing with the uncertainties is to be conservative in the assessments. For example, we may compare the maximal exposure to a radionuclide with a conservatively chosen reference value. In this case, if the exposure is below the reference value then it is possible to assure that the risk is low. Since single values are usually compared; this approach is commonly called 'deterministic'. Its main advantage lies in the simplicity and in that it requires minimum information. However, problems arise when the reference values are actually exceeded or might be exceeded, as in the case of potential exposures, and when the costs for realizing the reference values are high. In those cases, the lack of knowledge on the degree of conservatism involved impairs a rational weighing of the risks against other interests. In this presentation we will outline an approach for dealing with uncertainties that in our opinion is more consistent. We will call it a 'fully probabilistic risk assessment'. The essence of this approach consists in measuring the risk in terms of probabilities, where the later are obtained from comparison of two probabilistic distributions, one reflecting the uncertainties in the outcomes and one reflecting the uncertainties in the reference value (standard) used for defining adverse outcomes. Our first aim

Fission product release assessment for end fitting failure in Candu reactor loaded with CANFLEX-NU fuel bundles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Dirk Joo; Jeong, Chang Joon; Lee, Kang Moon; Suk, Ho Chun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

Fission product release (FPR) assessment for End Fitting Failure (EFF) in CANDU reactor loaded with CANFLEX-natural uranium (NU) fuel bundles has been performed. The predicted results are compared with those for the reactor loaded with standard 37-element bundles. The total channel I-131 release at the end of transient for EFF accident is calculated to be 380.8 TBq and 602.9 TBq for the CANFLEX bundle and standard bundle channel cases, respectively. They are 4.9% and 7.9% of total inventory, respectively. The lower total releases of the CANFLEX bundle O6 channel are attributed to the lower initial fuel temperatures caused by the lower linear element power of the CANFLEX bundle compared with the standard bundle. 4 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs. (Author)

Fission product release assessment for end fitting failure in Candu reactor loaded with CANFLEX-NU fuel bundles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Dirk Joo; Jeong, Chang Joon; Lee, Kang Moon; Suk, Ho Chun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

Fission product release (FPR) assessment for End Fitting Failure (EFF) in CANDU reactor loaded with CANFLEX-natural uranium (NU) fuel bundles has been performed. The predicted results are compared with those for the reactor loaded with standard 37-element bundles. The total channel I-131 release at the end of transient for EFF accident is calculated to be 380.8 TBq and 602.9 TBq for the CANFLEX bundle and standard bundle channel cases, respectively. They are 4.9% and 7.9% of total inventory, respectively. The lower total releases of the CANFLEX bundle O6 channel are attributed to the lower initial fuel temperatures caused by the lower linear element power of the CANFLEX bundle compared with the standard bundle. 4 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs. (Author)

Assessment of TRMM 3B43 product for drought monitoring in Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Mou Leong; Chua, Vivien P.; Tan, Kok Chooi; Brindha, K.

2017-10-01

Drought is one of the most hazardous natural disasters for human beings and the environment. Using only rain gauge is insufficient to monitor the drought pattern effectively as it impacts large areas. This situation is more critical on small island countries, with limited rain gauges for monitoring drought pattern over the ocean regions. This study aims to assess the capability of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B43 product in monitoring drought in Singapore from 1998 to 2014. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at various time-scales is used for identifying drought patterns. Results show moderate to good correlations between TMPA- 3B43 and rain gauges in the SPI estimations. Besides that, TMPA-3B43 exhibits a similar temporal drought behavior as the rain gauges. These findings indicate the TMPA 3B43 product as a very useful tool to study drought pattern over Singapore.

Life Cycle Assessment of Sugar Production (VB)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teljigovic, Mehmed; Mengiardi, Jon; Factor, Gabriela

1999-01-01

The environmental organisation NOAH has proposed carrying out an environmental assessment of two different sugar productions (using sugar beet or sugar cane) in order to illustrate which of the systems has a higher environmental impact for sugar consumption in Denmark. Therefore a comparison...... will be made between sugar from sugar beet produced in Denmark versus sugar produces from sugar cane in a tropical country, Brazil, and transported afterwards to Denmark. To evaluate the environmental aspects of these two product systems a Life Cycle Assessement (LCA) will be carried out.From the results...... obtained in the present LCA of sugar produces from sugar canes or sugar beet it is difficult to make an immediate choice between the two possibilities. Indeed, Quantitative results from the EDIP (Environmental Design of Industrial Products) software are globally similar for both ways of producing sugar...

Quality Assessment of Collection 6 MODIS Atmospheric Science Products

Science.gov (United States)

Manoharan, V. S.; Ridgway, B.; Platnick, S. E.; Devadiga, S.; Mauoka, E.

2015-12-01

Since the launch of the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites in December 1999 and May 2002, respectively, atmosphere and land data acquired by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor on-board these satellites have been reprocessed five times at the MODAPS (MODIS Adaptive Processing System) located at NASA GSFC. The global land and atmosphere products use science algorithms developed by the NASA MODIS science team investigators. MODAPS completed Collection 6 reprocessing of MODIS Atmosphere science data products in April 2015 and is currently generating the Collection 6 products using the latest version of the science algorithms. This reprocessing has generated one of the longest time series of consistent data records for understanding cloud, aerosol, and other constituents in the earth's atmosphere. It is important to carefully evaluate and assess the quality of this data and remove any artifacts to maintain a useful climate data record. Quality Assessment (QA) is an integral part of the processing chain at MODAPS. This presentation will describe the QA approaches and tools adopted by the MODIS Land/Atmosphere Operational Product Evaluation (LDOPE) team to assess the quality of MODIS operational Atmospheric products produced at MODAPS. Some of the tools include global high resolution images, time series analysis and statistical QA metrics. The new high resolution global browse images with pan and zoom have provided the ability to perform QA of products in real time through synoptic QA on the web. This global browse generation has been useful in identifying production error, data loss, and data quality issues from calibration error, geolocation error and algorithm performance. A time series analysis for various science datasets in the Level-3 monthly product was recently developed for assessing any long term drifts in the data arising from instrument errors or other artifacts. This presentation will describe and discuss some test cases from the

Standards and measurements for assessing bone health-workshop report co-sponsored by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Herbert S; Dienstfrey, Andrew; Hudson, Lawrence T; Oreskovic, Tammy; Fuerst, Thomas; Shepherd, John

2006-01-01

This article reports and discusses the results of the recent ISCD-NIST Workshop on Standards and Measurements for Assessing Bone Health. The purpose of the workshop was to assess the status of efforts to standardize and compare results from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans, and then to identify and prioritize ongoing measurement and standards needs.

NODC Standard Product: World Ocean Atlas 1994 (11 disc set) (NODC Accession 0098057)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Observed and standard level profile data (along with quality control flags) used in the production of these atlases were made available in a World Ocean Atlas 1994...

Standardized assessment of infrared thermographic fever screening system performance

Science.gov (United States)

Ghassemi, Pejhman; Pfefer, Joshua; Casamento, Jon; Wang, Quanzeng

2017-03-01

Thermal modalities represent the only currently viable mass fever screening approach for outbreaks of infectious disease pandemics such as Ebola and SARS. Non-contact infrared thermometers (NCITs) and infrared thermographs (IRTs) have been previously used for mass fever screening in transportation hubs such as airports to reduce the spread of disease. While NCITs remain a more popular choice for fever screening in the field and at fixed locations, there has been increasing evidence in the literature that IRTs can provide greater accuracy in estimating core body temperature if appropriate measurement practices are applied - including the use of technically suitable thermographs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a battery of evaluation test methods for standardized, objective and quantitative assessment of thermograph performance characteristics critical to assessing suitability for clinical use. These factors include stability, drift, uniformity, minimum resolvable temperature difference, and accuracy. Two commercial IRT models were characterized. An external temperature reference source with high temperature accuracy was utilized as part of the screening thermograph. Results showed that both IRTs are relatively accurate and stable (<1% error of reading with stability of +/-0.05°C). Overall, results of this study may facilitate development of standardized consensus test methods to enable consistent and accurate use of IRTs for fever screening.

A Mapmark method of standard setting as implemented for the National Assessment Governing Board.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, E Matthew; Mitzel, Howard C

2011-01-01

This article describes a Mapmark standard setting procedure, developed under contract with the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). The procedure enhances the bookmark method with spatially representative item maps, holistic feedback, and an emphasis on independent judgment. A rationale for these enhancements, and the bookmark method, is presented, followed by a detailed description of the materials and procedures used in a meeting to set standards for the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Grade 12 mathematics. The use of difficulty-ordered content domains to provide holistic feedback is a particularly novel feature of the method. Process evaluation results comparing Mapmark to Anghoff-based methods previously used for NAEP standard setting are also presented.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Standardized Assessment Tools in the Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and in the Assessment of Fibromyalgia Severity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chad S. Boomershine

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Standard assessments for fibromyalgia (FM diagnosis and core FM symptom domains are needed for biomarker development and treatment trials. Diagnostic and symptom assessments are reviewed and recommendations are made for standards. Recommendations for existing assessments include the American College of Rheumatology FM classification criteria using the manual tender point Survey for diagnosis, the brief pain inventory average pain visual analogue scale for pain intensity, the function subscale of the revised fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQR for physical function, the patient global impression of change and FIQR for overall/global improvement, the hospital anxiety and depression scale depression subscale for depression, the multiple ability self-report questionnaire for cognitive dysfunction, the fatigue severity scale for fatigue, the FIQR for multidimensional function/health-related quality of life, the jenkins sleep scale for sleep disturbance, and the fibromyalgia intensity score for tenderness. Forthcoming assessments including the FIQR for diagnosis, NIH PROMIS, and FIBRO Change scales are discussed.

Environmental Performance of Kettle Production: Product Life Cycle Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Marcinkowski, Andrzej; Zych, Krzysztof

2017-12-01

The main objective of this paper is to compare the environmental impact caused by two different types of water boiling processes. The aim was achieved thanks to product life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted for stovetop and electric kettles. A literature review was carried out. A research model was worked out on the basis of data available in literature as well as additional experiments. In order to have a better opportunity to compare LCA results with reviewed literature, eco-indicator 99 assessment method was chosen. The functional unit included production, usage and waste disposal of each product (according to from cradle to grave approach) where the main function is boiling 3360 l of water during 4-year period of time. A very detailed life cycle inventory was carried out. The mass of components was determined with accuracy of three decimal places (0.001 g). The majority of environmental impact is caused by electricity or natural gas consumption during usage stage: 92% in case of the electric and kettle and 99% in case of stovetop one. Assembly stage contributed in 7% and 0.8% respectively. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses took into consideration various waste scenario patterns as well as demand for transport. Environmental impact turned out to be strongly sensitive to a chosen pattern of energy delivery (electricity mix) which determined final comparison results. Basing on LCA results, some improvements of products were suggested. The boiling time optimization was pointed out for electric kettle's efficiency improvement. Obtained results can be used by manufacturers in order to improve their eco-effectiveness. Moreover, conclusions following the research part can influence the future choices of home appliances users.

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF KETTLE PRODUCTION: PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej MARCINKOWSKI

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to compare the environmental impact caused by two different types of water boiling processes. The aim was achieved thanks to product life cycle assessment (LCA conducted for stovetop and electric kettles. A literature review was carried out. A research model was worked out on the basis of data available in literature as well as additional experiments. In order to have a better opportunity to compare LCA results with reviewed literature, eco-indicator 99 assessment method was chosen. The functional unit included production, usage and waste disposal of each product (according to from cradle to grave approach where the main function is boiling 3360 l of water during 4- year period of time. A very detailed life cycle inventory was carried out. The mass of components was determined with accuracy of three decimal places (0.001 g. The majority of environmental impact is caused by electricity or natural gas consumption during usage stage: 92% in case of the electric and kettle and 99% in case of stovetop one. Assembly stage contributed in 7% and 0.8% respectively. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses took into consideration various waste sce-nario patterns as well as demand for transport. Environmental impact turned out to be strongly sensitive to a chosen pattern of energy delivery (electricity mix which determined final comparison results. Basing on LCA results, some im-provements of products were suggested. The boiling time optimization was pointed out for electric kettle's efficiency improvement. Obtained results can be used by manufacturers in order to improve their eco-effectiveness. Moreover, conclusions following the research part can influence the future choices of home appliances users.

DOE [Department of Energy]-Nuclear Energy Standards Program annual assessment, FY 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, D.L. Jr.

1990-11-01

To meet the objectives of the programs funded by the Department of Energy (DOE)-Nuclear Energy (NE) Technology Support Programs, the Performance Assurance Project Office (PAPO) administers a nuclear standards program and related activities and fosters the development and application of standards. This standards program is carried out in accordance with the principles in DOE Order 1300.2, Department of Energy Standards Program, December 18, 1980. The purposes of this effort, as set forth in three subtasks, are to (1) manage the NE Standards Program, (2) manage the development and maintenance of NE standards, and (3) operate an NE Standards Information Program. This report assesses the Performance Assurance Project Office (PAPO) activities in terms of the objectives of the Department of Energy-Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) funded programs. To meet these objectives, PAPO administers a nuclear standards program and related activities and fosters the development and application of standards. This task is carried out in accordance with the principles set forth in DOE Order 1300.2, Department of Energy Standards Program, December 18, 1980, and DOE memorandum, Implementation of DOE Orders on Quality Assurance, Standards, and Unusual Occurrence Reporting for Nuclear Energy Programs, March 3, 1982, and with guidance from the DOE-NE Technology Support Programs. 1 tab. (JF)

Assessment of Multiple GNSS Real-Time SSR Products from Different Analysis Centers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiyu Wang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The real-time State Space Representation (SSR product of the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System orbit and clock is one of the most essential corrections for real-time precise point positioning (PPP. In this work, the performance of current SSR products from eight analysis centers were assessed by comparing it with the final product and the accuracy of real-time PPP. Numerical results showed that (1 the accuracies of the GPS SSR product were better than 8 cm for the satellite orbit and 0.3 ns for the satellite clock; (2 the accuracies of the GLONASS (GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema SSR product were better than 10 cm for orbit RMS (Root Mean Square and 0.6 ns for clock STD (Standard Deviation; and (3 the accuracies of the BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and Galileo SSR products from CLK93 were about 14.54 and 4.42 cm for the orbit RMS and 0.32 and 0.18 ns for the clock STD, respectively. The simulated kinematic PPP results obtained using the SSR products from CLK93 and CLK51 performed better than those using other SSR products; and the accuracy of PPP based on all products was better than 6 and 10 cm in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. The real-time kinematic PPP experiment carried out in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, China indicated that the SSR product CLK93 from Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES had a better performance than CAS01. Moreover, the PPP with GPS + BDS dual systems had a higher accuracy than those with only a GPS single system.

Risk assessment of allergen metals in cosmetic products.

Science.gov (United States)

Sipahi, Hande; Charehsaz, Mohammad; Güngör, Zerrin; Erdem, Onur; Soykut, Buğra; Akay, Cemal; Aydin, Ahmet

2015-01-01

Cosmetics are one of the most common reasons for hospital referrals with allergic contact dermatitis. Because of the increased use of cosmetics within the population and an increase in allergy cases, monitoring of heavy metals, especially allergen metals, is crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration of allergen metals, nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and chromium (Cr), in the most commonly used cosmetic products including mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, and nail polish. In addition, for safety assessment of cosmetic products, margin of safety of the metals was evaluated. Forty-eight makeup products were purchased randomly from local markets and large cosmetic stores in Istanbul, Turkey, and an atomic absorption spectrometer was used for metal content determination. Risk assessment of the investigated cosmetic products was performed by calculating the systemic exposure dosage (SED) using Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety guideline. According to the results of this investigation in all the samples tested, at least two of the allergen metals, Ni and/or Co and/or Cr were detected. Moreover, 97% of the Ni-detected products, 96% of Cr- and 54% of Co-detected products, contained over 1 μg/g of this metals, which is the suggested ultimate target value for sensitive population and thereby can be considered as the possible allergen. On the basis of the results of this study, SED of the metals was negligible; however, contact dermatitis caused by cosmetics is most probably due to the allergen metal content of the products. In conclusion, to assess the safety of the finished products, postmarketing vigilance and routine monitoring of allergen metals are very important to protect public health.

Reduced-dose chest CT with 3D automatic exposure control vs. standard chest CT: Quantitative assessment of emphysematous changes in smokers’ lung parenchyma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koyama, Hisanobu; Ohno, Yoshiharu; Yamazaki, Youichi; Matsumoto, Keiko; Onishi, Yumiko; Takenaka, Daisuke; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Nishio, Mizuho; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Murase, Kenya; Nishimura, Yoshihiro

2012-01-01

Objectives: To determine the capability of reduced-dose chest CT with three-dimensional (3D) automatic exposure control (AEC) on quantitative assessment of emphysematous change in smoker’ lung parenchyma, compared to standard chest CT. Methods: Twenty consecutive smoker patients (mean age 62.8 years) underwent CT examinations using a standard protocol (150 mAs) and a protocol with 3D-AEC. In this study, the targeted standard deviations number was set to 160. For quantitative assessment of emphysematous change in lung parenchyma in each subject using the standard protocol, a percentage of voxels less than −950 HU in the lung (%LAA −950 ) was calculated. The 3D-AEC protocol's %LAA was computed from of voxel percentages under selected threshold CT value. The differences of radiation doses between these two protocols were evaluated, and %LAAs −950 was compared with the 3D-AEC protocol %LAAs. Results: Mean dose length products were 780.2 ± 145.5 mGy cm (standard protocol), and 192.0 ± 95.9 (3D-AEC protocol). There was significant difference between them (paired Student's t test, p −950 and 3D-AEC protocol %LAAs. In adopting the feasible threshold CT values of the 3D-AEC protocol, the 3D-AEC protocol %LAAs were significantly correlated with %LAAs −950 (r = 0.98, p < 0.001) and limits of agreement from Bland–Altman analysis was 0.52 ± 4.3%. Conclusions: Changing threshold CT values demonstrated that reduced-dose chest CT with 3D-AEC can substitute for the standard protocol in assessments of emphysematous change in smoker’ lung parenchyma.

Framework for Assessing the ICT Competency in Teachers up to the Requirements of "Teacher" Occupational Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Avdeeva, Svetlana; Zaichkina, Olga; Nikulicheva, Nataliya; Khapaeva, Svetlana

2016-01-01

The paper deals with problems of working out a test framework for the assessment of teachers' ICT competency in line with the requirements of "Teacher" occupational standard. The authors have analyzed the known approaches to assessing teachers' ICT competency--ISTE Standards and UNESCO ICT CFT and have suggested their own approach to…

Sustainability Assessment Model in Product Development

Science.gov (United States)

Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina; Nor, Nik Hisyamudin Muhd; Omar, Badrul

2017-08-01

Faster and more efficient development of innovative and sustainable products has become the focus for manufacturing companies in order to remain competitive in today’s technologically driven world. Design concept evaluation which is the end of conceptual design is one of the most critical decision points. It relates to the final success of product development, because poor criteria assessment in design concept evaluation can rarely compensated at the later stages. Furthermore, consumers, investors, shareholders and even competitors are basing their decisions on what to buy or invest in, from whom, and also on what company report, and sustainability is one of a critical component. In this research, a new methodology of sustainability assessment in product development for Malaysian industry has been developed using integration of green project management, new scale of “Weighting criteria” and Rough-Grey Analysis. This method will help design engineers to improve the effectiveness and objectivity of the sustainable design concept evaluation, enable them to make better-informed decisions before finalising their choice and consequently create value to the company or industry. The new framework is expected to provide an alternative to existing methods.

Measurement of Standard Model VBS/VBF production with the ATLAS and CMS detectors

CERN Document Server

Li, Shu; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Proceeding for the poster presentation at Blois2017, France on the topic of "Measurements of Standard Model VBS/VBF productions with ATLAS+CMS detectors" (ATL-PHYS-SLIDE-2017-333 https://cds.cern.ch/record/2267458) Deadline: 15/10/2017

Measuring the Software Product Quality during the Software Development Life-Cycle: An ISO Standards Perspective

OpenAIRE

Rafa E. Al-Qutaish

2009-01-01

Problem statement: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a set of international standards related to the software engineering, such as ISO 12207 and ISO 9126. However, there is a set of cross-references between the two standards. Approach: The ISO 9126 on software product quality and ISO 12207 on software life cycle processes had been analyzed to invistigate the relationships between them and to make a mapping from the ISO 9126 quality characteristics to the ISO 1...

The role of Health Impact Assessment in the setting of air quality standards: An Australian perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spickett, Jeffery, E-mail: J.Spickett@curtin.edu.au [WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health Impact Assessment (Australia); Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia (Australia); Katscherian, Dianne [WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health Impact Assessment (Australia); Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia (Australia); Harris, Patrick [CHETRE — UNSW Research Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales (Australia)

2013-11-15

The approaches used for setting or reviewing air quality standards vary from country to country. The purpose of this research was to consider the potential to improve decision-making through integration of HIA into the processes to review and set air quality standards used in Australia. To assess the value of HIA in this policy process, its strengths and weaknesses were evaluated aligned with review of international processes for setting air quality standards. Air quality standard setting programmes elsewhere have either used HIA or have amalgamated and incorporated factors normally found within HIA frameworks. They clearly demonstrate the value of a formalised HIA process for setting air quality standards in Australia. The following elements should be taken into consideration when using HIA in standard setting. (a) The adequacy of a mainly technical approach in current standard setting procedures to consider social determinants of health. (b) The importance of risk assessment criteria and information within the HIA process. The assessment of risk should consider equity, the distribution of variations in air quality in different locations and the potential impacts on health. (c) The uncertainties in extrapolating evidence from one population to another or to subpopulations, especially the more vulnerable, due to differing environmental factors and population variables. (d) The significance of communication with all potential stakeholders on issues associated with the management of air quality. In Australia there is also an opportunity for HIA to be used in conjunction with the NEPM to develop local air quality standard measures. The outcomes of this research indicated that the use of HIA for air quality standard setting at the national and local levels would prove advantageous. -- Highlights: • Health Impact Assessment framework has been applied to a policy development process. • HIA process was evaluated for application in air quality standard setting. �

Life Cycle Assessment for the Production of Oil Palm Seeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhamad, Halimah; Ai, Tan Yew; Khairuddin, Nik Sasha Khatrina; Amiruddin, Mohd Din; May, Choo Yuen

2014-12-01

The oil palm seed production unit that generates germinated oil palm seeds is the first link in the palm oil supply chain, followed by the nursery to produce seedling, the plantation to produce fresh fruit bunches (FFB), the mill to produce crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel, the kernel crushers to produce crude palm kernel oil (CPKO), the refinery to produce refined palm oil (RPO) and finally the palm biodiesel plant to produce palm biodiesel. This assessment aims to investigate the life cycle assessment (LCA) of germinated oil palm seeds and the use of LCA to identify the stage/s in the production of germinated oil palm seeds that could contribute to the environmental load. The method for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is modelled using SimaPro version 7, (System for Integrated environMental Assessment of PROducts), an internationally established tool used by LCA practitioners. This software contains European and US databases on a number of materials in addition to a variety of European- and US-developed impact assessment methodologies. LCA was successfully conducted for five seed production units and it was found that the environmental impact for the production of germinated oil palm was not significant. The characterised results of the LCIA for the production of 1000 germinated oil palm seeds showed that fossil fuel was the major impact category followed by respiratory inorganics and climate change.

Study of specific pharmacological activity of standardized composition of bee product substances for treatment of urogenital system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Koval

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The work presents review of the data literature, which indicate the prospects of creation new highly efficient drugs for the treatment of chronic prostatitis and prostate gland adenoma based bioactive standardized substances of bee products, including powdered honey (PH, propolis phenolic hydrophobic drug (PPHD and bee pollen (BP. Materials and methods. Results of discussion of preclinical pharmacological studies of standardized substances of bee products composition – PH, PPHD and BP for the treatment of specified pathology is given in the experimental part. Results. It was found that the most pronounced anti-inflammatory effect on the level 40 % the mixture of APIs (PH, PPHD and BP detects at a dose of 100 mg/kg in relation to the reference drug – trianom capsules in doses of 100 and 130 mg/kg. Conclusions. Usage of bee products is grounded in creation of the new drug on their basis in the form of standardized substances of bee products composition –PH, PPHD and BP for chronic prostatitis and prostate gland adenoma. It was found that the most pronounced anti-inflammatory effect on 40 % the mixture of APIs (PH, PPHD and BP detects at a dose of 100 mg/kg. It was established that the composition of standard substances of bee products – PH, PPHD and BP at a dose of 100 mg/kg shows a more pronounced specific pharmacological effect in comparison to the reference product – trianom capsules at doses of 100 and 130 mg/kg, which positively affect the course of the pilot prostatitis in male rats caused by dichloroethyl.

International trade with peat and peat products - a challenge to international standardization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmilewski, G; Guenther, J [Institut fuer Torf- und Humusforschung GmbH (ITH), Bad Zwischenahn (Germany, F.R.)

1990-01-01

On a worldwide scale raised bog peat is the most important basic material for the production of growing media. Peat has greatly contributed to the realization of modern, standardized and even computer-controlled growing techniques in commercial horticulture. No other material can truly compete with the outstanding physical, chemical and biological properties of peat. All present and future substitutes will have to stand comparison with peat. Nonetheless, many other organic, mineral and synthetic materials are use in horticulture mainly to adjust the physical properties of growing media to new growing methods. As a direct or indirect consequence thereof, the spared raw material peat is a fact which is considered progressive in industrial countries strongly characterized by nature conservational ideas also. Some peat consuming countries do not have any indigenous peat resources and meet their demands with imports. Other countries, such as the Fed. Rep. of Germany, the Scandinavian countries and the USSR export considerable amounts of peat and peat products. International transactions have not only increased for big industries, but also for the peat industry. For the grower and for the producer of growing media alike, the knowledge of growing media properties are of fundamental importance. Various standard methods for the analysis of peat and growing media have been developed by national organizations and are being used just as manifold. In some cases national standards have derived from these.

Challenges and opportunities in establishing scientific and regulatory standards for determining therapeutic equivalence of modified-release products: Workshop summary report.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mei-Ling; Shah, Vinod P; Ganes, Derek; Midha, Kamal K; Caro, James; Nambiar, Prabu; Rocci, Mario L; Thombre, Avinash G; Abrahamsson, Bertil; Conner, Dale; Davit, Barbara; Fackler, Paul; Farrell, Colm; Gupta, Suneel; Katz, Russell; Mehta, Mehul; Preskorn, Sheldon H; Sanderink, Gerard; Stavchansky, Salomon; Temple, Robert; Wang, Yaning; Winkle, Helen; Yu, Lawrence

2010-09-01

Modified-release (MR) products are complex dosage forms designed to release drug in a controlled manner to achieve the desired efficacy and safety profiles. Inappropriate control of drug release from such products may result in reduced efficacy or increased toxicity. This paper is a summary report of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, International Pharmaceutical Federation, and Product Quality Research Institute workshop titled "Challenges and Opportunities in Establishing Scientific and Regulatory Standards for Assuring Therapeutic Equivalence of Modified Release Products", held October 1-2, 2009, in Baltimore, Maryland. The workshop provided an opportunity for pharmaceutical scientists from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to discuss current regulatory expectations and industry practices for evaluating the pharmaceutical equivalence and bioequivalence of oral MR products. In the case of conventional monophasic MR formulations, the current regulatory approaches and criteria for bioequivalence evaluation were considered adequate for the assessment of therapeutic equivalence and inter-changeability of drug products. Additional measures may occasionally be needed to determine the bioequivalence of multiphasic MR products. The metric of partial AUC proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration received broad support as an additional measure for evaluating bioequivalence of multiphasic MR products designed to have a rapid onset of drug action followed by sustained response. The cutoff for partial AUCs may be based on the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic/ response characteristics of the products under examination. If the new metric is highly variable, the bioequivalence limits may be set based on the known within-subject variability for the reference product. The current regulatory approaches and criteria for bioequivalence evaluation were considered adequate for the assessment of therapeutic equivalence and

Student’s Video Production as Formative Assessment

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Eduardo Gama

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Learning assessments are subject of discussion both in their theoretical and practical approaches. The process of measuring learning in physics by high school students, either qualitatively or quantitatively, is one in which it should be possible to identify not only the concepts and contents students failed to achieve but also the reasons for the failure. We propose that students’ video production offers a very effective formative assessment tool to teachers: as a formative assessment, it produces information that allows the understanding of where and when the learning process succeeded or failed, of identifying, as a subject or as a group, the deficiencies or misunderstandings related to the theme under analysis and their interpretation by students, and it provides also a different kind of assessment, related to some other life skills, such as ability to carry on a project till its conclusion and to work cooperatively. In this paper, we describe the use of videos produced by high school students as an assessment resource. The students were asked to prepare a short video, which was then presented to the whole group and discussed. The videos reveal aspects of students’ difficulties that usually do not appear in formal assessments such as tests and questionnaires. After the use of the videos as a component of classroom assessments and the use of the discussions to rethink learning activities in the group, the videos were analysed and classified in various categories. This analysis showed a strong correlation between the technical quality of the video and the content quality of the students’ argumentation. Also, it was shown that the students do not prepare their video based on quick and easy production; they usually choose forms of video production that require careful planning and implementation, and this reflects directly on the overall quality of the video and of the learning process.

Safeguard assessment for life extension in nuclear power plants (NPPs) using a production function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, Tae-Ho; Lee, Un-Chul

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → The numerical value is constructed for the secure operation. → As the power increases, the NSEF increases. → Specific month could be indicated by the relative value of NSEF. → It is suggested for the better power in NPPs. → There is another possibility for the secure operation factors. - Abstract: Life extension is investigated as a safeguard assessment for the stability on the operation of the nuclear power plants (NPPs). The Cobb-Douglas function, one of the production functions, is modified for the nuclear safeguard in NPPs, which was developed for the life quality of the social and natural objects. Nuclear Safeguard Estimator Function (NSEF) is developed for the application in NPPs. The cases of NPPs are compared with each other in the aspect of the secure performance. The results are obtained by the standard productivity comparisons with the designed power operations. The range of secure life extension is between 1.008 and 5.353 in 2000 MW e and the range is between 0.302 and 0.994 in 600 MW e . So, the successfulness of the power operation increases about 5 times higher than that of the interested power in this study, which means that the safeguard assessment has been performed in the life extension of the NPPs. The technology assessment (TA) is suggested for the safe operation which is an advanced method comparing conventional probabilistic safety assessment (PSA).

Standardized mean differences cause funnel plot distortion in publication bias assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwetsloot, Peter-Paul; Van Der Naald, Mira; Sena, Emily S; Howells, David W; IntHout, Joanna; De Groot, Joris Ah; Chamuleau, Steven Aj; MacLeod, Malcolm R; Wever, Kimberley E

2017-09-08

Meta-analyses are increasingly used for synthesis of evidence from biomedical research, and often include an assessment of publication bias based on visual or analytical detection of asymmetry in funnel plots. We studied the influence of different normalisation approaches, sample size and intervention effects on funnel plot asymmetry, using empirical datasets and illustrative simulations. We found that funnel plots of the Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) plotted against the standard error (SE) are susceptible to distortion, leading to overestimation of the existence and extent of publication bias. Distortion was more severe when the primary studies had a small sample size and when an intervention effect was present. We show that using the Normalised Mean Difference measure as effect size (when possible), or plotting the SMD against a sample size-based precision estimate, are more reliable alternatives. We conclude that funnel plots using the SMD in combination with the SE are unsuitable for publication bias assessments and can lead to false-positive results.

Russian Language Development Assessment as a Standardized Technique for Assessing Communicative Function in Children Aged 3–9 Years

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Prikhoda N.A.,

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The article describes the Russian Language Development Assessment, a standardized individual diagnostic tool for children aged from 3 to 9 that helps to assess the following components of a child’s communicative function: passive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, knowledge of semantic constructs with logical, temporal and spatial relations, passive perception and active use of syntactic and morphological features of words in a sentence, active and passive phonological awareness, active and passive knowledge of syntactic structures and categories. The article provides descriptions of content and diagnostic procedures for all 7 subtests included in the assessment (Passive Vocabulary, Active Vocabulary, Linguistic Operators, Sentence structure, Word Structure, Phonology, Sentence Repetition. Basing on the data collected in the study that involved 86 first- graders of a Moscow school, the article analyzes the internal consistency and construct validity of each subtest of the technique. It concludes that the Russian Language Development Assessment technique can be of much use both in terms of diagnostic purposes and in supporting children with ASD taking into account the lack of standardized tools for language and speech development assessment in Russian and the importance of this measure in general.

Categorization framework to aid exposure assessment of nanomaterials in consumer products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Steffen Foss; Michelson, Evan S.; Kamper, Anja

2008-01-01

Exposure assessment is crucial for risk assessment for nanomaterials. We propose a framework to aid exposure assessment in consumer products. We determined the location of the nanomaterials and the chemical identify of the 580 products listed in the inventory maintained by the Woodrow Wilson Inte...

78 FR 77019 - Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Certain Consumer Products

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-20

... air conditioning heat pump'' that were established in section 5 of the American Energy Manufacturing... heat pump'' product class, including the definition and standards. DATES: DOE will accept comments....gov . Table of Contents I. Background and Authority II. Discussion III. Procedural Requirements A...

Drivers of productivity in Vietnamese SMEs : The role of management standards and innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Calza, E.; Goedhuys, M.; Trifković, N.

2018-01-01

Using a rich panel dataset of small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) active in the manufacturing sector in Viet Nam, this paper investigates the drivers of firm productivity, focusing on the role played by international management standards certification. We test the hypothesis

The development of methodological tools to assess the health sector with the resulting standardized index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hansuvarova Evgenia Adolfovna

2016-10-01

The proposed assessment methodology resulting standardized health index in the various countries of the world allows you to define the country implementing an effective management strategy in the health sector. The leading positions belong to the countries where the state health policy has shown its greatest efficiency. This technique can be used not only for point scoring result of a standardized health index in the world, but also to assess in a particular country.

Comparison of National and International Standards of Good Egg Production Practices

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GP Sousa

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Egg production is an important economic activity in Brazil, with about 697 million eggs produced annually. The conventional cage system is commonly used for egg production. However, there has been a growing concern for the welfare of laying hens around the world. In this context, many countries have issued laws, protocols, and other normative technical specifications to ensure the welfare of layers. This study aims at identifying similarities and differences between international standards and Brazilian protocols using the Comparative Law perspective. This article reports an analytical study of selected protocols, performing three analyses using the Comparative Law method. The research concludes that some items of the Brazilian protocols of good egg production practices, such as farm inspection, treatment of diseases, temperature, ventilation, beak trimming, feed and water supply, correspond to international specifications, whereas others, such as housing, freedom movement, use of equipment, and transport, are less strict.

Implementing Life Cycle Assessment in Product development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bhander, Gurbakhash Singh

2003-01-01

The overall aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product development and the capacity of life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. The paper aims to outline the problems for the designer in evaluating the envir......The overall aim of the paper is to provide an understanding of the environmental issues involved in the early stages of product development and the capacity of life cycle assessment techniques to address these issues. The paper aims to outline the problems for the designer in evaluating......, and of the opportunities for introducing environmental criteria in the design process through meeting the information requirements of the designer on the different life cycle stages, producing an in-depth understanding of the attitudes of practitioners among product developers to the subject area, and an understanding...... of possible future directions for product development. An Environmentally Conscious Design method is introduced and trade-offs are presented between design degrees of freedom and environmental solutions. Life cycle design frameworks and strategies are addressed. The paper collects experiences and ideas around...

Single Top Production at Next-to-Leading Order in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cen

2016-04-22

Single top production processes at hadron colliders provide information on the relation between the top quark and the electroweak sector of the standard model. We compute the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the three main production channels: t-channel, s-channel, and tW associated production, in the standard model including operators up to dimension six. The calculation can be matched to parton shower programs and can therefore be directly used in experimental analyses. The QCD corrections are found to significantly impact the extraction of the current limits on the operators, because both of an improved accuracy and a better precision of the theoretical predictions. In addition, the distributions of some of the key discriminating observables are modified in a nontrivial way, which could change the interpretation of measurements in terms of UV complete models.

A stochastic model for the derivation of economic values and their standard deviations for production and functional traits in dairy cattle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Hanne-Marie; Groen, A F; Østergaard, Søren

2006-01-01

The objective of this paper was to present a model of a dairy cattle production system for the derivation of economic values and their standard deviations for both production and functional traits under Danish production circumstances. The stochastic model used is dynamic, and simulates production...... was -0.94 €/day per cow-year. Standard deviations of economic values expressing variation in realised profit of a farm before and after a genetic change were computed using a linear Taylor series expansion. Expressed as coefficient of variation, standard deviations of economic values based on 1000...

A Standardized Narrative Profile Approach to Self-Reflection and Assessment of Cross-Cultural Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyle J Wilby

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: 1 to explore clinical assessor’s values regarding behaviours related to cultural aspects of care, 2 to generate standardized narrative profiles regarding cultural behavioural outcomes within clinical teaching settings, and 3 to rank order standardized narrative profiles according to performance expectations. Methods: Ten interviews were completed with clinicians to determine values and performance expectations for culturally competent behaviours. Transcripts were produced and coded. Six narrative profiles were developed based on data obtained. Twenty clinicians categorized profiles according to performance expectations and rank ordered. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs determined inter-rater reliability. Clinicians rated usability of profiles in clinical training settings. Results: Eighteen categories were coded with communication, awareness and ability most frequently reported with each ranging from 9.6-11.5% of the utterances. Consensus for categorization of all profiles was achieved at a level of 70% (ICC = 0.837, 95% CI 0.654-0.969. High inter-rater reliability was achieved for rank ordering (ICC = 0.815, 95% CI 0.561 to 0.984. Seventeen (85% clinicians agreed that the profiles would be usable in clinical training settings. Conclusions: Standardized narrative profiles may aid assessment and self-reflection for student performance within culturally diverse interactions. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received, employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties.   Type: Original Research

Tropical Fruit Pulps: Processing, Product Standardization and Main Control Parameters for Quality Assurance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo de Farias Silva

2017-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Fruit pulp is the most basic food product obtained from fresh fruit processing. Fruit pulps can be cold stored for long periods of time, but they also can be used to fabricate juices, ice creams, sweets, jellies and yogurts. The exploitation of tropical fruits has leveraged the entire Brazilian fruit pulp sector due mainly to the high acceptance of their organoleptic properties and remarkable nutritional facts. However, several works published in the last decades have pointed out unfavorable conditions regarding the consumption of tropical fruit pulps. This negative scenario has been associated with unsatisfactory physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of fruits pulps as outcomes of little knowledge and improper management within the fruit pulp industry. There are protocols for delineating specific identity and quality standards (IQSs and standardized good manufacturing practices (GMP for fruit pulps, which also embrace standard operating procedures (SOPs and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP, although this latter is not considered mandatory by the Brazilian legislation. Unfortunately, the lack of skilled labor, along with failures in complying established protocols have impaired quality of fruit pulps. It has been necessary to collect all information available with the aim to identify the most important hazards within fruit pulp processing lines. Standardizing methods and practices within the Brazilian fruit pulp industry would assurance high quality status to tropical fruit pulps and the commercial growth of this vegetal product towards international markets.

DEVELOPING STANDARDS FOR ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL STRESSORS THROUGH ASTM COMMITTEE E47: A PAST FOUNDATION OF PROVEN STANDARDS, A FUTURE OF GREAT POTENTIAL AND OPPORTUNITY

Science.gov (United States)

Development of standards associated with assessing the bioavailability of contaminants in sediment will be used as a case study for how standards have been developed through Committee E47. In 1987, Committee E47 established Subcommittee E47.03 on Sediment Assessment and Toxicity....

Human reliability assessment in a 99Mo/99mTc generator production facility using the standardized plant analysis risk-human (SPAR-H) technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyvazlou, Meysam; Dadashpour Ahangar, Ali; Rahimi, Azin; Davarpanah, Mohammad Reza; Sayyahi, Seyed Soheil; Mohebali, Mehdi

2018-02-13

Reducing human error is an important factor for enhancing safety protocols in various industries. Hence, analysis of the likelihood of human error in nuclear industries such as radiopharmaceutical production facilities has become more essential. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to quantify the probability of human errors in a 99 Mo/ 99m Tc generator production facility in Iran. First, through expert interviews, the production process of the 99 Mo/ 99m Tc generator was analyzed using hierarchical task analysis (HTA). The standardized plant analysis risk-human (SPAR-H) method was then applied in order to calculate the probability of human error. Twenty tasks were determined using HTA. All of the eight performance shaping factors (PSF S ) were evaluated for the tasks. The mean probability of human error was 0.320. The highest and the lowest probability of human error in the 99 Mo/ 99m Tc generator production process, related to the 'loading the generator with the molybdenum solution' task and the 'generator elution' task, were 0.858 and 0.059, respectively. Required measures for reducing the human error probability (HEP) were suggested. These measures were derived from the level of PSF S that were evaluated in this study.

On risk assessment of energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunii, Katsuhiko

2005-07-01

Today we cannot ignore the risk of health and/or environment by energy production such as power generation since the risk has been made large enough. In this report an information survey has been done in order to know the outline and points of risk assessment. Based on the information of reports and literature about risk assessment, have been surveyed mainly the external cost assessment of power generation (in which quantification of health and/or environment risk has been done), in addition, risks of disasters, accidents, investments, finance etc. and impacts of those risks on social activities. The remarks obtained by the survey are as follows: 1) Some of external cost assessment of power generation show different results even if the assessment conditions of technology, site, etc. are mostly the same. It is necessary to remark on the information such as basic data, model, background, application limit of assessment considering the reliability. 2) Especially it is considered that the reliability of risk assessment is not enough at present because of the lack of basic data. (author)

Establishment of quality assessment standard for mammographic equipment: evaluation of phantom and clinical images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sung Hoon; Choe, Yeon Hyeon; Chung, Soo Young

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish a quality standard for mammographic equipment Korea and to eventually improve mammographic quality in clinics and hospitals throughout Korea by educating technicians and clinic personnel. For the phantom test and on site assessment, we visited 37 sites and examined 43 sets of mammographic equipment. Items that were examined include phantom test, radiation dose measurement, developer assessment, etc. The phantom images were assessed visually and by optical density measurements. For the clinical image assessment, clinical images from 371 sites were examined following the new Korean standard for clinical image evaluation. The items examined include labeling, positioning, contrast, exposure, artifacts, collimation among others. Quality standard of mammographic equipment was satisfied in all equipment on site visits. Average mean glandular dose was 114.9 mRad. All phantom image test scores were over 10 points (average, 10.8 points). However, optical density measurements were below 1.2 in 9 sets of equipment (20.9%). Clinical image evaluation revealed appropriate image quality in 83.5%, while images from non-radiologist clinics were adequate in 74.6% (91/122), which was the lowest score of any group. Images were satisfactory in 59.0% (219/371) based on evaluation by specialists following the new Korean standard for clinical image evaluation. Satisfactory images had a mean score of 81.7 (1 S.D. =8.9) and unsatisfactory images had a mean score of 61.9 (1 S.D = 11). The correlation coefficient between the two observers was 0.93 (ρ < 0.01) in 49 consecutive cases. The results of the phantom tests suggest that optical density measurements should be performed as part of a new quality standard for mammographic equipment. The new clinical evaluation criteria that was used in this study can be implemented with some modifications for future mammography quality control by the Korean government

Public School Finance Assessment Project Aligned with ELCC Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Risen, D. Michael

2008-01-01

This is a detailed description of an assessment that can be used in a graduate level of study in the area of public school finance. This has been approved by NCATE as meeting all of the stipulated ELCC standards for which it is designed (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3.). This course of…

A randomized controlled trial of skin care protocols for facial resurfacing: lessons learned from the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation's Skin Products Assessment Research study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pannucci, Christopher J; Reavey, Patrick L; Kaweski, Susan; Hamill, Jennifer B; Hume, Keith M; Wilkins, Edwin G; Pusic, Andrea L

2011-03-01

The Skin Products Assessment Research Committee was created by the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation in 2006. The Skin Products Assessment Research study aims were to (1) develop an infrastructure for Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation-conducted, industry-sponsored research in facial aesthetic surgery and (2) test the research process by comparing outcomes of the Obagi Nu-Derm System versus conventional therapy as treatment adjuncts for facial resurfacing procedures. The Skin Products Assessment Research study was designed as a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. The study was conducted in women with Fitzpatrick type I to IV skin, moderate to severe facial photodamage, and periocular and/or perioral fine wrinkles. Patients underwent chemical peel or laser facial resurfacing and were randomized to the Obagi Nu-Derm System or a standard care regimen. The study endpoints were time to reepithelialization, erythema, and pigmentation changes. Fifty-six women were enrolled and 82 percent were followed beyond reepithelialization. There were no significant differences in mean time to reepithelialization between Obagi Nu-Derm System and control groups. The Obagi Nu-Derm System group had a significantly higher median erythema score on the day of surgery (after 4 weeks of product use) that did not persist after surgery. Test-retest photographic evaluations demonstrated that both interrater and intrarater reliability were adequate for primary study outcomes. The authors demonstrated no significant difference in time to reepithelialization between patients who used the Obagi Nu-Derm System or a standard care regimen as an adjunct to facial resurfacing procedures. The Skin Products Assessment Research team has also provided a discussion of future challenges for Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation-sponsored clinical research for readers of this article.

Raising the Bar on Faculty Productivity: Realigning Performance Standards to Enhance Quality Trajectories

Science.gov (United States)

Hardré, Patricia L.

2014-01-01

Many universities have observed needs and shared goals that include increasing faculty members' research productivity (in quantity or quality). Strategies for raising faculty performance include revising standards and supporting valued outcomes with rewards and incentives. One college at a research-extensive university received institutional…

Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission L4_SM Data Product Assessment (Version 2 Validated Release)

Science.gov (United States)

Reichle, Rolf Helmut; De Lannoy, Gabrielle J. M.; Liu, Qing; Ardizzone, Joseph V.; Chen, Fan; Colliander, Andreas; Conaty, Austin; Crow, Wade; Jackson, Thomas; Kimball, John;

Object-Based Assessment of Satellite Precipitation Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjing Li

2016-06-01

Full Text Available An object-based verification approach is employed to assess the performance of the commonly used high-resolution satellite precipitation products: Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN, Climate Prediction center MORPHing technique (CMORPH, and Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA 3B42RT. The evaluation of the satellite precipitation products focuses on the skill of depicting the geometric features of the localized precipitation areas. Seasonal variability of the performances of these products against the ground observations is investigated through the examples of warm and cold seasons. It is found that PERSIANN is capable of depicting the orientation of the localized precipitation areas in both seasons. CMORPH has the ability to capture the sizes of the localized precipitation areas and performs the best in the overall assessment for both seasons. 3B42RT is capable of depicting the location of the precipitation areas for both seasons. In addition, all of the products perform better on capturing the sizes and centroids of precipitation areas in the warm season than in the cold season, while they perform better on depicting the intersection area and orientation in the cold season than in the warm season. These products are more skillful on correctly detecting the localized precipitation areas against the observations in the warm season than in the cold season.

Global Ocean Data Quality Assessment of SARAL/AltiKa GDR products

Science.gov (United States)

Picot, Nicolas; Prandi, Pierre; desjonqueres, jean-damien

2015-04-01

The SARAL mission was successfully launched on February, 5th 2013 and cycle 1 started a few days later on March 14th. For more than 2 years, the Ka-band altimeter and dual frequency radiometer on board have been collecting high quality ocean topography measurements. Within the first months of the mission, a first patch (P1) was developed to correct some small anomalies detected in the products and to account for in-flight calibration data. At the beginning of year 2014, a second patch (P2) was produced (applied from cycle 10 pass 407 on OGDR data and from pass 566 on IGDR data) and the all GDR produced before this were reprocessed in order to deliver a consistent dataset to users. This new version of the products provides, among other changes, important improvements regarding radiometer data processing, sea-state bias and wind speed. Since the beginning of the mission, data quality assessment of OGDR, IGDR and GDR data has been routinely performed at CNES and CLS (as part of the CNES SALP project). We will present the main results of the data quality assessment over ocean based on SARAL/AltiKa GDR data reprocessed using the homogeneous P2 version. The main data quality metrics presented will include: Data availability and validity, Monitoring of the main altimeter and radiometer parameters and comparisons to other altimeter missions such as OSTM/Jason-2, Mission performance through mono-mission crossovers analysis, Investigation of inter-mission biases and large-scale regional differences from multi-mission crossovers between SARAL and Jason-2. Monitoring of the global mean SLA and comparison to Jason-2 Finally, we will present the new product version standard that is currently under development on CNES side.

75 FR 28227 - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Gold Mine Ore Processing and Production...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-20

...-AP48 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Gold Mine Ore Processing and Production... published a proposed rule for mercury emissions from the gold mine ore processing and production area source... Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hazardous substances, Incorporations by reference, Reporting...

From the Margins to the Spotlight: Diverse Deaf and Hard of Hearing Student Populations and Standardized Assessment Accessibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawthon, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Designing assessments and tests is one of the more challenging aspects of creating an accessible learning environment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), particularly for deaf students with a disability (DWD). Standardized assessments are a key mechanism by which the educational system in the United States measures student progress, teacher effectiveness, and the impact of school reform. The diversity of student characteristics within DHH and DWD populations is only now becoming visible in the research literature relating to standardized assessments and their use in large-scale accountability reforms. The purpose of this article is to explore the theoretical frameworks surrounding assessment policy and practice, current research related to standardized assessment and students who are DHH and DWD, and potential implications for practice within both the assessment and instruction contexts.

Towards identifying dyslexia in Standard Indonesian: the development of a reading assessment battery.

Science.gov (United States)

Jap, Bernard A J; Borleffs, Elisabeth; Maassen, Ben A M

2017-01-01

With its transparent orthography, Standard Indonesian is spoken by over 160 million inhabitants and is the primary language of instruction in education and the government in Indonesia. An assessment battery of reading and reading-related skills was developed as a starting point for the diagnosis of dyslexia in beginner learners. Founded on the International Dyslexia Association's definition of dyslexia, the test battery comprises nine empirically motivated reading and reading-related tasks assessing word reading, pseudoword reading, arithmetic, rapid automatized naming, phoneme deletion, forward and backward digit span, verbal fluency, orthographic choice (spelling), and writing. The test was validated by computing the relationships between the outcomes on the reading-skills and reading-related measures by means of correlation and factor analyses. External variables, i.e., school grades and teacher ratings of the reading and learning abilities of individual students, were also utilized to provide evidence of its construct validity. Four variables were found to be significantly related with reading-skill measures: phonological awareness, rapid naming, spelling, and digit span. The current study on reading development in Standard Indonesian confirms findings from other languages with transparent orthographies and suggests a test battery including preliminary norm scores for screening and assessment of elementary school children learning to read Standard Indonesian.

Life cycle assessment and the resilience of product systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pizzol, Massimo

2015-01-01

Resilience is the capacity of systems to withstand and recover from disturbance, depends on the structure and architecture of a system, and plays a key role for the sustainability of complex systems. Despite its importance, resilience is not explicitly taken into account by studies of life cycle...... assessment (LCA), which main objective is determining the eco-efficiency of a product system with limited focus on its structure. The question is whether a product system which structure is improved or designed to be more resilient will result in being not only inefficient, but also eco-inefficient, when...... assessed by means of LCA. This study proposes a theoretical modelling approach to compare vulnerable and resilient product systems within the framework of LCA, consisting of assessment of disturbance and system expansion. Examples are provided where the theory is made operational. The structure...

Assessment of environmental external effects in the production of energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schleisner, L.; Meyer, H.J.; Morthorst, P.E.

1995-01-01

A project in Denmark has been carried out with the purpose to assess the environmental damages and the external costs in the production of energy. The energy production technologies that will be reported in this paper are wind power and a conventional coal fired plant. In the project the environm......A project in Denmark has been carried out with the purpose to assess the environmental damages and the external costs in the production of energy. The energy production technologies that will be reported in this paper are wind power and a conventional coal fired plant. In the project...... the environmental damages for the energy production technologies are compared, and externalities in the production of energy using renewable energy and fossil fuels are identified, estimated and monetized....

Self-assessment: Strategy for higher standards, consistency, and performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ide, W.E.

1996-01-01

In late 1994, Palo Verde operations underwent a transformation from a unitized structure to a single functional unit. It was necessary to build consistency in watchstanding practices and create a shared mission. Because there was a lack of focus on actual plant operations and because personnel were deeply involved with administrative tasks, command and control of evolutions were weak. Improvement was needed. Consistent performance standards have been set for all three operating units. These expectation focus on nuclear, radiological, and industrial safety. Straightforward descriptions of watchstanding and monitoring practices have been provided to all department personnel. The desired professional and leadership qualities for employee conduct have been defined and communicated thoroughly. A healthy and competitive atmosphere developed with the successful implementation of these standards. Overall performance improved. The auxiliary operators demonstrated increased pride and ownership in the performance of their work activities. In addition, their morale improved. Crew teamwork improved as well as the quality of shift briefs. There was a decrease in the noise level and the administrative functions in the control room. The use of self-assessment helped to anchor and define higher and more consistent standards. The proof of Palo Verde's success was evident when an Institute of Nuclear Power Operations finding was turned into a strength within 1 yr

Incorporating Standardized Colleague Simulations in a Clinical Assessment Course and Evaluating the Impact on Interprofessional Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Shrader, Sarah; Dunn, Brianne; Blake, Elizabeth; Phillips, Cynthia

2015-05-25

To determine the impact of incorporating standardized colleague simulations on pharmacy students' confidence and interprofessional communication skills. Four simulations using standardized colleagues portraying attending physicians in inpatient and outpatient settings were integrated into a required course. Pharmacy students interacted with the standardized colleagues using the Situation, Background, Assessment, Request/Recommendation (SBAR) communication technique and were evaluated on providing recommendations while on simulated inpatient rounds and in an outpatient clinic. Additionally, changes in student attitudes and confidence toward interprofessional communication were assessed with a survey before and after the standardized colleague simulations. One hundred seventy-one pharmacy students participated in the simulations. Student interprofessional communication skills improved after each simulation. Student confidence with interprofessional communication in both inpatient and outpatient settings significantly improved. Incorporation of simulations using standardized colleagues improves interprofessional communication skills and self-confidence of pharmacy students.

Study on Design and Implementation of JAVA Programming Procedural Assessment Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Tingting, Xu; Hua, Ma; Xiujuan, Wang; Jing, Wang

2015-01-01

The traditional JAVA course examination is just a list of questions from which we cannot know students' skills of programming. According to the eight abilities in curriculum objectives, we designed an assessment standard of JAVA programming course that is based on employment orientation and apply it to practical teaching to check the teaching…

Planning Model of Physics Learning In Senior High School To Develop Problem Solving Creativity Based On National Standard Of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Putra, A.; Masril, M.; Yurnetti, Y.

2018-04-01

One of the causes of low achievement of student’s competence in physics learning in high school is the process which they have not been able to develop student’s creativity in problem solving. This is shown that the teacher’s learning plan is not accordance with the National Eduction Standard. This study aims to produce a reconstruction model of physics learning that fullfil the competency standards, content standards, and assessment standards in accordance with applicable curriculum standards. The development process follows: Needs analysis, product design, product development, implementation, and product evaluation. The research process involves 2 peers judgment, 4 experts judgment and two study groups of high school students in Padang. The data obtained, in the form of qualitative and quantitative data that collected through documentation, observation, questionnaires, and tests. The result of this research up to the product development stage that obtained the physics learning plan model that meets the validity of the content and the validity of the construction in terms of the fulfillment of Basic Competence, Content Standards, Process Standards and Assessment Standards.

Critical Review of Commercial Secondary Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Harry P.; Chapin, Thomas, J.; Tabaddor, Mahmod

2010-09-01

The development of Li-ion cells with greater energy density has lead to safety concerns that must be carefully assessed as Li-ion cells power a wide range of products from consumer electronics to electric vehicles to space applications. Documented field failures and product recalls for Li-ion cells, mostly for consumer electronic products, highlight the risk of fire, smoke, and even explosion. These failures have been attributed to the occurrence of internal short circuits and the subsequent thermal runaway that can lead to fire and explosion. As packaging for some applications include a large number of cells, the risk of failure is likely to be magnified. To address concerns about the safety of battery powered products, safety standards have been developed. This paper provides a review of various international safety standards specific to lithium-ion cells. This paper shows that though the standards are harmonized on a host of abuse conditions, most lack a test simulating internal short circuits. This paper describes some efforts to introduce internal short circuit tests into safety standards.

Accounting for the NCEA : Has the Transition to Standards-based Assessment Achieved its Objectives?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Agnew

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper identifies trends in secondary school accounting participation and achievement during the firstfive years of the full implementation of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA in NewZealand schools. NCEA marks a shift from a norm-referenced assessment regime to standards-basedassessment. Literature suggests that standards-based assessment increases the academic performance ofminority ethnic groups (such as Maori and Pacific Island students, and low socio-economic status (SESstudents. The author pays particular attention to these groups and his analysis reveals some interestingresults: in accounting, the NCEA has not met expectations for these students. From 2004 to 2008, thenumber of low SES accounting students has dropped, as has the number of accounting standards entered andthe rates of achievement. Likewise, there has been no significant improvement in the academic performanceof Maori students taking accounting standards, while Pacific Island students have experienced a significantdecrease in achievement. The author also discusses how studying high school accounting impacts on tertiarylevel study and offers some future implications of this research.

Radiation protection standards: A practical exercise in risk assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clarke, Roger H [National Radiological Protection Board (United Kingdom)

1992-07-01

Within 12 months of the discovery of x-rays in 1895, it was reported that large doses of radiation were harmful to living human tissues. The first radiation protection standards were set to avoid the early effects of acute irradiation. By the 1950s, evidence was mounting for late somatic effects - mainly a small excess of cancers - in irradiated populations. In the late 1980's, sufficient human epidemiological data had been accumulated to allow a comprehensive assessment of carcinogenic radiation risks following the delivery of moderately high doses. Workers and the public are exposed to lower doses and dose-rates than the groups from whom good data are available so that risks have had to be estimated for protection purposes. However, in the 1990s, some confirmation of these risk factors has been derived occupationally exposed populations. If an estimate is made of the risk per unit dose, then in order to set dose limits, an unacceptable level of risk must be established for both workers and the public. There has been and continues to be a debate about the definitions of 'acceptable' and 'tolerable' and the attributing of numerical values to these definitions. This paper discusses the issues involved in the quantification of these terms and their application to setting dose limits on risk grounds. Conclusions are drawn about the present protection standards and the application of the methods to other fields of risk assessment. (author)

Radiation protection standards: A practical exercise in risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarke, Roger H.

1992-01-01

Within 12 months of the discovery of x-rays in 1895, it was reported that large doses of radiation were harmful to living human tissues. The first radiation protection standards were set to avoid the early effects of acute irradiation. By the 1950s, evidence was mounting for late somatic effects - mainly a small excess of cancers - in irradiated populations. In the late 1980's, sufficient human epidemiological data had been accumulated to allow a comprehensive assessment of carcinogenic radiation risks following the delivery of moderately high doses. Workers and the public are exposed to lower doses and dose-rates than the groups from whom good data are available so that risks have had to be estimated for protection purposes. However, in the 1990s, some confirmation of these risk factors has been derived occupationally exposed populations. If an estimate is made of the risk per unit dose, then in order to set dose limits, an unacceptable level of risk must be established for both workers and the public. There has been and continues to be a debate about the definitions of 'acceptable' and 'tolerable' and the attributing of numerical values to these definitions. This paper discusses the issues involved in the quantification of these terms and their application to setting dose limits on risk grounds. Conclusions are drawn about the present protection standards and the application of the methods to other fields of risk assessment. (author)

Potential Errors and Test Assessment in Software Product Line Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hartmut Lackner

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Software product lines (SPL are a method for the development of variant-rich software systems. Compared to non-variable systems, testing SPLs is extensive due to an increasingly amount of possible products. Different approaches exist for testing SPLs, but there is less research for assessing the quality of these tests by means of error detection capability. Such test assessment is based on error injection into correct version of the system under test. However to our knowledge, potential errors in SPL engineering have never been systematically identified before. This article presents an overview over existing paradigms for specifying software product lines and the errors that can occur during the respective specification processes. For assessment of test quality, we leverage mutation testing techniques to SPL engineering and implement the identified errors as mutation operators. This allows us to run existing tests against defective products for the purpose of test assessment. From the results, we draw conclusions about the error-proneness of the surveyed SPL design paradigms and how quality of SPL tests can be improved.

Models and standards for production systems integration: Technological process and documents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lečić Danica

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Electronic business demands from production companies to collaborate with customers, suppliers and end users and start electronic manufacturing. To achieve this goal companies have to integrate their subsystems (Application to Application-A2A and they have to collaborate with their business partners (Business to Business - B2B. For this purpose models and unique standards for integration are necessary. In this paper, ebXML and OAGI specifications have been used to present metamodel process by UML class diagram and standardized model of document Working Order for technological process in the form of OAGI BOD XML document. Based on it, from an example, model of technological process is presented by activity diagram (DA in XML form and an appearance of document Working Order. Just as well, rules of transformation DA to XML are presented.

ASTM International Workshop on Standards & Measurements for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Carl G.; Yaszemski, Michael J.; Ratcliffe, Anthony; Tomlins, Paul; Luginbuehl, Reto; Tesk, John A.

2016-01-01

The “Workshop on Standards & Measurements for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds” was held on May 21, 2013 in Indianapolis, IN and was sponsored by the ASTM International (ASTM). The purpose of the workshop was to identify the highest priority items for future standards work for scaffolds used in the development and manufacture of tissue engineered medical products (TEMPs). Eighteen speakers and 78 attendees met to assess current scaffold standards and to prioritize needs for future standards. A key finding was that the ASTM TEMPs subcommittees (F04.41-46) have many active “guide” documents for educational purposes, but that few standard “test methods” or “practices” have been published. Overwhelmingly, the most clearly identified need was standards for measuring the structure of scaffolds, followed by standards for biological characterization, including in vitro testing, animal models and cell-material interactions. The third most pressing need was to develop standards for assessing the mechanical properties of scaffolds. Additional needs included standards for assessing scaffold degradation, clinical outcomes with scaffolds, effects of sterilization on scaffolds, scaffold composition and drug release from scaffolds. Discussions also highlighted the need for additional scaffold reference materials and the need to use them for measurement traceability. Finally, dialogue emphasized the needs to promote the use of standards in scaffold fabrication, characterization, and commercialization and to assess the use and impact of standards in the TEMPs community. Many scaffold standard needs have been identified and focus should now turn to generating these standards to support the use of scaffolds in TEMPs. PMID:25220952

Effect of feeding biotin on milk production and hoof health in lactating dairy cows: a quantitative assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lean, I J; Rabiee, A R

2011-03-01

Objectives of this study were to critically review randomized controlled trials, evaluate the effectiveness of supplementation with biotin on milk yield and composition and hoof health in lactating dairy cows, explore sources of heterogeneity among studies, and evaluate publication bias. Quantitative assessments can increase the statistical power with which we study the effect of treatments, such as biotin, on outcomes. A total of 9 papers, with 6 production and 3 hoof health studies, met the eligibility criteria for meta-analysis. Eight studies evaluated various hoof lesions in biotin-supplemented cows that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Eleven comparisons were made of milk production responses to biotin treatment. Data extracted included the number of cows in control and treatment groups, measures of variance of responses (standard error or standard deviation) and P-values. Other data obtained included the duration of treatment before and after calving, parity, breed of cow, type and dose of biotin, delivery method of supplementation, and types of diets. Biotin increased milk production by 1.29 kg per head per day (95% confidence interval=0.35 to 2.18 kg) with no evidence of heterogeneity (I(2)=0.0%). Treatment did not affect milk fat or protein percentages, and a trend to increase fat and protein yields was observed. Milk production and composition results were not influenced by duration of treatment before calving, parity, or diet type. Assessment of biotin supplementation on hoof health indicated that more studies had improved rather than negative or neutral outcomes. The effect of biotin treatment on milk production was relatively large and the effects on fat and protein yields, although not significant, were consistent in direction and magnitude with the milk response. The hoof health responses to biotin should encourage further studies to more effectively define the nature of these responses using consistent criteria for examination of hoof conditions

Draft CSA standard on environmental risk assessments at class I nuclear facilities and uranium mines and mills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hart, D.; Garisto, N.; Parker, R.; Kovacs, R.; Thompson, B.

2012-01-01

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is preparing a draft Standard on environmental risk assessments (ERAs) at Class I nuclear facilities and uranium mines and mills (CSA N288.6). It is being prepared by a technical subcommittee of the CSA N288 Technical Committee, including experts from across the nuclear industry, government and regulatory authorities, and environmental service providers, among others. It addresses the design, implementation, and management of environmental risk assessment programs, and is intended to standardize practice across the industry. This paper outlines the scope of the draft Standard and highlights key features. It is under development and subject to change. (author)

An Analysis of the Impact of Federated Search Products on Library Instruction Using the ACRL Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Christopher

2006-01-01

Federated search products are becoming more and more prevalent in academic libraries. What are the implications of this phenomenon for instruction librarians? An analysis of federated search products using the "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" and a thorough review of the literature offer insight concerning whether…

Emerging product carbon footprint standards and schemes and their possible trade impacts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon; Gibbon, Peter

footprints or procedures for certification or labelling. Nonetheless, to date only a few thousand products have been footprinted. As PCFs are already becoming market access requirements for bio-fuels imported to the EU, and may also become EU market access requirements for all mass-produced goods within 10......Concern over climate change has stimulated interest in estimating the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced during the life-cycle of goods and services - i.e. during their production, transportation, sale, use and disposal. The outcome of these calculations is referred to as "product carbon...... footprints" (PCFs). The paper reviews the rationale, context, coverage and characteristics of emerging standards and certification schemes that estimate and designate PCFs, and discusses the possible impacts on trade, particularly exports from distant and developing countries. It draws on a survey of PCF...

Tracer methodology: an appropriate tool for assessing compliance with accreditation standards?

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchard, Chantal; Jean, Olivier

2017-10-01

Tracer methodology has been used by Accreditation Canada since 2008 to collect evidence on the quality and safety of care and services, and to assess compliance with accreditation standards. Given the importance of this methodology in the accreditation program, the objective of this study is to assess the quality of the methodology and identify its strengths and weaknesses. A mixed quantitative and qualitative approach was adopted to evaluate consistency, appropriateness, effectiveness and stakeholder synergy in applying the methodology. An online questionnaire was sent to 468 Accreditation Canada surveyors. According to surveyors' perceptions, tracer methodology is an effective tool for collecting useful, credible and reliable information to assess compliance with Qmentum program standards and priority processes. The results show good coherence between methodology components (appropriateness of the priority processes evaluated, activities to evaluate a tracer, etc.). The main weaknesses are the time constraints faced by surveyors and management's lack of cooperation during the evaluation of tracers. The inadequate amount of time allowed for the methodology to be applied properly raises questions about the quality of the information obtained. This study paves the way for a future, more in-depth exploration of the identified weaknesses to help the accreditation organization make more targeted improvements to the methodology. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Subjective Video Quality Assessment in H.264/AVC Video Coding Standard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Miličević

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to provide an approach for subjective video quality assessment in the H.264/AVC standard. For this purpose a special software program for the subjective assessment of quality of all the tested video sequences is developed. It was developed in accordance with recommendation ITU-T P.910, since it is suitable for the testing of multimedia applications. The obtained results show that in the proposed selective intra prediction and optimized inter prediction algorithm there is a small difference in picture quality (signal-to-noise ratio between decoded original and modified video sequences.

Health risk assessment standards of cyanobacteria bloom occurrence in bathing sites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Stankiewicz

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Threat for human health appears during a massive cyanobacteria bloom in potable water used for human consumption or in basins used for recreational purposes. General health risk assessment standards and preventive measures to be taken by sanitation service were presented in scope of: – evaluation of cyanobacteria bloom occurrence in bathing sites / water bodies, – procedures in case of cyanobacteria bloom, including health risk assessment and decision making process to protect users’ health at bathing sites, – preventive measures, to be taken in case of cyanobacteria bloom occurrence in bathing sites and basins, where bathing sites are located.

Environmental sustainability assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silalertruksa, Thapat; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

2012-01-01

The study assesses the environmental sustainability of palm biodiesel production systems in Thailand by focusing on their energy efficiency and environmental impact potentials. The Net Energy Balance (NEB) and Renewability indicate energy gain for palm biodiesel and its co-products as compared to fossil energy inputs. In addition, life cycle assessment also reveals lower values of environmental impact potentials of biodiesel as compared to conventional diesel. For example, palm biodiesel can provide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of around 46–73% as compared to diesel. Nitrogen-fertilizer production and application in the plantation and the air emissions from the ponds treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) are found to be the major environmental aspects. However, the energy and environmental performances depend on various factors such as the management efficiency of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and POME and the possible land-use change in the future. Recommendations are made for improving environmental performance of palm biodiesel and for securing the long-term availability of crude palm oil supply with a view towards sustainable palm biodiesel production. -- Highlights: ► Environmental sustainability of palm biodiesel production in Thailand is assessed. ► Palm biodiesel can provide GHG reduction of around 46–73% as compared to diesel. ► Net energy ratio and renewability of palm biodiesel both range between 2 and 4. ► Efficient use of by-products in the value chain enhances environmental benefits.

Applying and extending ISO/TC42 digital camera resolution standards to mobile imaging products

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Don; Burns, Peter D.

2007-01-01

There are no fundamental differences between today's mobile telephone cameras and consumer digital still cameras that suggest many existing ISO imaging performance standards do not apply. To the extent that they have lenses, color filter arrays, detectors, apertures, image processing, and are hand held, there really are no operational or architectural differences. Despite this, there are currently differences in the levels of imaging performance. These are driven by physical and economic constraints, and image-capture conditions. Several ISO standards for resolution, well established for digital consumer digital cameras, require care when applied to the current generation of cell phone cameras. In particular, accommodation of optical flare, shading non-uniformity and distortion are recommended. We offer proposals for the application of existing ISO imaging resolution performance standards to mobile imaging products, and suggestions for extending performance standards to the characteristic behavior of camera phones.

Secondary Organic Aerosol Production from Gasoline Vehicle Exhaust: Effects of Engine Technology, Cold Start, and Emission Certification Standard.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yunliang; Lambe, Andrew T; Saleh, Rawad; Saliba, Georges; Robinson, Allen L

2018-02-06

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from dilute exhaust from 16 gasoline vehicles was investigated using a potential aerosol mass (PAM) oxidation flow reactor during chassis dynamometer testing using the cold-start unified cycle (UC). Ten vehicles were equipped with gasoline direct injection engines (GDI vehicles) and six with port fuel injection engines (PFI vehicles) certified to a wide range of emissions standards. We measured similar SOA production from GDI and PFI vehicles certified to the same emissions standard; less SOA production from vehicles certified to stricter emissions standards; and, after accounting for differences in gas-particle partitioning, similar effective SOA yields across different engine technologies and certification standards. Therefore the ongoing, dramatic shift from PFI to GDI vehicles in the United States should not alter the contribution of gasoline vehicles to ambient SOA and the natural replacement of older vehicles with newer ones certified to stricter emissions standards should reduce atmospheric SOA levels. Compared to hot operations, cold-start exhaust had lower effective SOA yields, but still contributed more SOA overall because of substantially higher organic gas emissions. We demonstrate that the PAM reactor can be used as a screening tool for vehicle SOA production by carefully accounting for the effects of the large variations in emission rates.

Adherence of pain assessment to the German national standard for pain management in 12 nursing homes

OpenAIRE

Osterbrink, Jürgen; Bauer, Zsuzsa; Mitterlehner, Barbara; Gnass, Irmela; Kutschar, Patrick

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Pain is very common among nursing home residents. The assessment of pain is a prerequisite for effective multiprofessional pain management. Within the framework of the German health services research project, ‘Action Alliance Pain-Free City Muenster’, the authors investigated pain assessment adherence according to the German national Expert Standard for Pain Management in Nursing, which is a general standard applicable to all chronic/acute pain-affected persons and highly recommen...

Applying life-cycle assessment to low carbon fuel standards-How allocation choices influence carbon intensity for renewable transportation fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufman, Andrew S.; Meier, Paul J.; Sinistore, Julie C.; Reinemann, Douglas J.

2010-01-01

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires life-cycle assessment (LCA) for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from expanded U.S. biofuel production. To qualify under the Renewable Fuel Standard, cellulosic ethanol and new corn ethanol must demonstrate 60% and 20% lower emissions than petroleum fuels, respectively. A combined corn-grain and corn-stover ethanol system could potentially satisfy a major portion of renewable fuel production goals. This work examines multiple LCA allocation procedures for a hypothetical system producing ethanol from both corn grain and corn stover. Allocation choice is known to strongly influence GHG emission results for corn-ethanol. Stover-derived ethanol production further complicates allocation practices because additional products result from the same corn production system. This study measures the carbon intensity of ethanol fuels against EISA limits using multiple allocation approaches. Allocation decisions are shown to be paramount. Under varying approaches, carbon intensity for corn ethanol was 36-79% that of gasoline, while carbon intensity for stover-derived ethanol was -10% to 44% that of gasoline. Producing corn-stover ethanol dramatically reduced carbon intensity for corn-grain ethanol, because substantially more ethanol is produced with only minor increases in emissions. Regulatory considerations for applying LCA are discussed.

The iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire: A Standardized Instrument for Measuring and Valuing Health-Related Productivity Losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwmans, Clazien; Krol, Marieke; Severens, Hans; Koopmanschap, Marc; Brouwer, Werner; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2015-09-01

Productivity losses often contribute significantly to the total costs in economic evaluations adopting a societal perspective. Currently, no consensus exists on the measurement and valuation of productivity losses. We aimed to develop a standardized instrument for measuring and valuing productivity losses. A group of researchers with extensive experience in measuring and valuing productivity losses designed an instrument suitable for self-completion, building on preknowledge and evidence on validity. The instrument was designed to cover all domains of productivity losses, thus allowing quantification and valuation of all productivity losses. A feasibility study was performed to check the questionnaire's consistency and intelligibility. The iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire (iPCQ) includes three modules measuring productivity losses of paid work due to 1) absenteeism and 2) presenteeism and productivity losses related to 3) unpaid work. Questions for measuring absenteeism and presenteeism were derived from existing validated questionnaires. Because validated measures of losses of unpaid work are scarce, the questions of this module were newly developed. To enhance the instrument's feasibility, simple language was used. The feasibility study included 195 respondents (response rate 80%) older than 18 years. Seven percent (n = 13) identified problems while filling in the iPCQ, including problems with the questionnaire's instructions and routing (n = 6) and wording (n = 2). Five respondents experienced difficulties in estimating the time that would be needed for other people to make up for lost unpaid work. Most modules of the iPCQ are based on validated questions derived from previously available instruments. The instrument is understandable for most of the general public. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating pesticide emissions for life cycle assessment of agricultural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Røpke, Inge

2004-01-01

As the first country in Europe Denmark almost 2 years ago established an official center for Life Cycle Assessments and life cycle approaches as an element of the national IPP (Integrated Product Policy). The Danish EPA lends financial support to this important initiative, the aim of which is to: 1....... promote the use of Life Cycle Assessment and other product-oriented environmental tools in companies, 2. support companies and other in using environmental assessment of products and services, 3. ensure that the effort in the LCA area is based on a solid and scientific basis, and 4. maintain the well...... evaluation finished in September 2004. Important learnings for all who are engaged in dissemination of life cycle thinking in industry will be presented....

Life cycle assessment of genetically modified products as a basis for a comprehensive assessment of possible environmental effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloepffer, W.; Renner, I.; Schmidt, E.; Tappeser, B.; Gensch, C.O.; Gaugitsch, H.

2001-01-01

In the preceding project 'Life Cycle Assessment of genetically modified products as a basis for a comprehensive assessment of possible environmental effects' for the first time the risks of deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment have been taken into account in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This was performed by a risk assessment in addition to a quantitative impact assessment. As from a methodological perspective this was not satisfactory, the Federal Environment Agency commissioned the C.A.U. GmbH and the Institute of Applied Ecology Freiburg to further develop the impact assessment methodology for the risks of GMOs. Any further development of the methodology of impact assessment in LCAs has to be performed on the basis of the standard EN/ISO 14042. There are 2 options for taking into account risks of deliberate release of GMOs: 1. allocation of the potential effects resulting from the genetic modification on human beings and the environment to existing categories of the impact assessment and attempt to quantify within those existing methods of characterization; 2. development of a new category, e.g. 'effects of genetically modified crop plants'. In order to asses the possibilities under option 1 various models of characterization within the categories human toxicity, ecotoxicity and land use (appropriation of environmental space) have been analyzed. The risks of GMOs identified and dealt with in the preceding study were allocated to these categories. It seemed to be impossible to integrate the risks in existing models of characterization for human toxicity and ecotoxicity, as these are based on exposure and impact factors. The development of a factor for exposure seems possible for GMOs, however a suitable impact factor is not possible to generate. In addition it was analyzed if in other impact categories which are difficult to quantify any solutions for operationalization exist. This does not seem to be the case. As a

Social impact assessment of sugar production operations in South Africa : a social life cycle assessment perspective

OpenAIRE

2013-01-01

M.Tech. (Quality and Operations Management) This paper focuses on the social impact of the sugar industry in South Africa. A social impact assessment is a method that aims to assess social features of the product and their positive and negative aspects in terms of its processing of raw material to the final stages of its disposal. The objectives of the study were guided by the guidelines on social life cycle assessment of products of the South African Sugar Industry developed by the United...

Biocatalyzed processes for production of commodity chemicals: Assessment of future research advances for N-butanol production

Science.gov (United States)

Ingham, J. D.

1984-01-01

This report is a summary of assessments by Chem Systems Inc. and a further evaluation of the impacts of research advances on energy efficiency and the potential for future industrial production of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) solvents and other products by biocatalyzed processes. Brief discussions of each of the assessments made by CSI, followed by estimates of minimum projected energy consumption and costs for production of solvents by ABE biocatalyzed processes are included. These assessments and further advances discussed in this report show that substantial decreases in energy consumption and costs are possible on the basis of specific research advances; therefore, it appears that a biocatalyzed process for ABE can be developed that will be competitive with conventional petrochemical processes for production of n-butanol and acetone. (In this work, the ABE process was selected and utilized only as an example for methodology development; other possible bioprocesses for production of commodity chemicals are not intended to be excluded.) It has been estimated that process energy consumption can be decreased by 50%, with a corresponding cost reduction of 15-30% (in comparison with a conventional petrochemical process) by increasing microorganism tolerance to n-butanol and efficient recovery of product solvents from the vapor phase.

Environmental impact assessment of conventional and organic milk production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, de I.J.M.

2003-01-01

Organic agriculture addresses the public demand to diminish environmental pollution of agricultural production. Until now, however, only few studies tried to determine the integrated environmental impact of conventional versus organic production using life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim of this

77 FR 38743 - Energy Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Battery...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-29

... Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW...

78 FR 9631 - Energy Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-11

... Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Boilers AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of public meeting.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, EE-2J...

Results of the Level 1 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of internal events for heavy water production reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tinnes, S.P.; Cramer, D.S.; Logan, V.E.; Topp, S.V.; Smith, J.A.; Brandyberry, M.D.

1990-01-01

A full-scope probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) is being performed for the Savannah River site (SRS) production reactors. The Level 1 PRA for the K Reactor has been completed and includes the assessment of reactor systems response to accidents and estimates of the severe core melt frequency (SCMF). The internal events spectrum includes those events related directly to plant systems and safety functions for which transients or failures may initiate an accident. The SRS PRA has three principal objectives: improved understanding of SRS reactor safety issues through discovery and understanding of the mechanisms involved. Improved risk management capability through tools for assessing the safety impact of both current standard operations and proposed revisions. A quantitative measure of the risks posed by SRS reactor operation to employees and the general public, to allow comparison with declared goals and other societal risks

Review of central exclusive production of the Higgs boson beyond the Standard Model

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Taševský, Marek

2014-01-01

Roč. 29, č. 28 (2014), "1446012-1"-"1446012-21" ISSN 0217-751X R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LG13009 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : LHC * Higgs boson * central exclusive production * beyond Standard Model * forward detectors Subject RIV: BF - Elementary Particles and High Energy Physics Impact factor: 1.699, year: 2014

PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN THE LIFECYCLE OF PRODUCTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Kulczycka

2017-02-01

Full Text Available One of the aims of the European Commission (EC activities is to introduce uniform rules for the environmental performance assessment based on the life cycle assessment method (LCA, which can be widely used e.g. in eco-labeling, assessment of goods, services, technology, etc. Therefore, from 1 November 2013 the European Commission implemented a pilot phase of the project on developing common methods for measuring the environmental performance of the product and organisation, aims to develop guidance documents in this field. The pilot phase includes development of the Category Rules relating to the calculation, verification and communication for environmental footprint of the 25 categories of products and two organizations. Therefore, the article presents the principle of environmental performance based on life cycle assessment in relation to the objectives of the proposed methodology of environmental footprint.

Drought footprint on European ecosystems between 1999 and 2010 assessed by remotely sensed vegetation phenology and productivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ivits, Eva; Horion, Stéphanie Marie Anne F; Fensholt, Rasmus

2014-01-01

bioclimatic zones. The Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) was used as drought indicator whereas changes in growing season length and vegetation productivity were assessed using remote sensing time-series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Drought spatio...... length, indicating that these ecosystems did not buffer the effects of drought well. In a climate change perspective, increase in drought frequency or intensity may result in larger impacts over these ecosystems, thus management and adaptation strategies should be strengthened in these areas of concerns.......Drought affects more people than any other natural disaster but there is little understanding of how ecosystems react to droughts. This study jointly analyzed spatio-temporal changes of drought patterns with vegetation phenology and productivity changes between 1999 and 2010 in major European...

Adherence of Pain Assessment to the German National Standard for Pain Management in 12 Nursing Homes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jürgen Osterbrink

2014-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Pain is very common among nursing home residents. The assessment of pain is a prerequisite for effective multiprofessional pain management. Within the framework of the German health services research project, ‘Action Alliance Pain-Free City Muenster’, the authors investigated pain assessment adherence according to the German national Expert Standard for Pain Management in Nursing, which is a general standard applicable to all chronic/acute pain-affected persons and highly recommended for practice.

Effect of standardized training on the reliability of the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool: a study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

da Costa, Bruno R; Resta, Nina M; Beckett, Brooke; Israel-Stahre, Nicholas; Diaz, Alison; Johnston, Bradley C; Egger, Matthias; Jüni, Peter; Armijo-Olivo, Susan

2014-12-13

The Cochrane risk of bias (RoB) tool has been widely embraced by the systematic review community, but several studies have reported that its reliability is low. We aim to investigate whether training of raters, including objective and standardized instructions on how to assess risk of bias, can improve the reliability of this tool. We describe the methods that will be used in this investigation and present an intensive standardized training package for risk of bias assessment that could be used by contributors to the Cochrane Collaboration and other reviewers. This is a pilot study. We will first perform a systematic literature review to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that will be used for risk of bias assessment. Using the identified RCTs, we will then do a randomized experiment, where raters will be allocated to two different training schemes: minimal training and intensive standardized training. We will calculate the chance-corrected weighted Kappa with 95% confidence intervals to quantify within- and between-group Kappa agreement for each of the domains of the risk of bias tool. To calculate between-group Kappa agreement, we will use risk of bias assessments from pairs of raters after resolution of disagreements. Between-group Kappa agreement will quantify the agreement between the risk of bias assessment of raters in the training groups and the risk of bias assessment of experienced raters. To compare agreement of raters under different training conditions, we will calculate differences between Kappa values with 95% confidence intervals. This study will investigate whether the reliability of the risk of bias tool can be improved by training raters using standardized instructions for risk of bias assessment. One group of inexperienced raters will receive intensive training on risk of bias assessment and the other will receive minimal training. By including a control group with minimal training, we will attempt to mimic what many review authors

Production of advanced biofuels: co-processing of upgraded pyrolysis oil in standard refinery units

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Miguel Mercader, F.; de Miguel Mercader, F.; Groeneveld, M.J.; Hogendoorn, Kees; Kersten, Sascha R.A.; Way, N.W.J.; Schaverien, C.J.

2010-01-01

One of the possible process options for the production of advanced biofuels is the co-processing of upgraded pyrolysis oil in standard refineries. The applicability of hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) was studied as a pyrolysis oil upgrading step to allow FCC co-processing. Different HDO reaction end

Non-small cell carcinoma: Comparison of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence assessment capability of qualitatively and/or quantitatively assessed FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onishi, Yumiko, E-mail: onitan@med.kobe-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Ohno, Yoshiharu, E-mail: yosirad@kobe-u.ac.jp [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Koyama, Hisanobu; Nogami, Munenobu; Takenaka, Daisuke [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Matsumoto, Keiko [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Department of Radiology, Yamanashi University, Shimokato, Yamanashi (Japan); Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan); Maniwa, Yoshimasa [Division of Thoracic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Nishimura, Yoshihiro [Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Sugimura, Kazuro [Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Hyogo (Japan)

2011-09-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the capability of integrated FDG-PET/CT for assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with that of standard radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 121 consecutive pathologically diagnosed NSCLC patients (80 males, 41 females; mean age, 71 years) underwent pathologically and surgically confirmed complete resection, followed by prospective integrated FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations. Final diagnosis of recurrence was based on the results of more than 12 months of follow-up and/or pathological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with either method for each patient by using 5-point visual scoring system, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. ROC analysis was used to compare the capability of the two methods for assessment of postoperative recurrence on a per-patient basis. The ROC-based positive test was used to determine optimal cut-off value for FDG uptake measurement at a site suspected on the basis of qualitatively assessed PET/CT. Finally, sensitivities, specificities and accuracies of all methods were compared by means of McNemar's test. Results: Areas under the curve of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). At an optimal cut-off value of 2.5, specificity and accuracy of quantitatively and qualitatively assessed PET/CT were significantly higher than those of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Accuracy of assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in NSCLC patients by qualitative and/or quantitative FDG-PET/CT is equivalent to or higher than that by standard radiological examinations.

Non-small cell carcinoma: Comparison of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence assessment capability of qualitatively and/or quantitatively assessed FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Yumiko; Ohno, Yoshiharu; Koyama, Hisanobu; Nogami, Munenobu; Takenaka, Daisuke; Matsumoto, Keiko; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Maniwa, Yoshimasa; Nishimura, Yoshihiro; Sugimura, Kazuro

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the capability of integrated FDG-PET/CT for assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with that of standard radiological examinations. Materials and methods: A total of 121 consecutive pathologically diagnosed NSCLC patients (80 males, 41 females; mean age, 71 years) underwent pathologically and surgically confirmed complete resection, followed by prospective integrated FDG-PET/CT and standard radiological examinations. Final diagnosis of recurrence was based on the results of more than 12 months of follow-up and/or pathological examinations. The probability of recurrence was assessed with either method for each patient by using 5-point visual scoring system, and final diagnosis was made by consensus between two readers. ROC analysis was used to compare the capability of the two methods for assessment of postoperative recurrence on a per-patient basis. The ROC-based positive test was used to determine optimal cut-off value for FDG uptake measurement at a site suspected on the basis of qualitatively assessed PET/CT. Finally, sensitivities, specificities and accuracies of all methods were compared by means of McNemar's test. Results: Areas under the curve of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations showed no significant differences (p > 0.05). At an optimal cut-off value of 2.5, specificity and accuracy of quantitatively and qualitatively assessed PET/CT were significantly higher than those of qualitatively assessed PET/CT and standard radiological examinations (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Accuracy of assessment of postoperative intra- and extrathoracic recurrence in NSCLC patients by qualitative and/or quantitative FDG-PET/CT is equivalent to or higher than that by standard radiological examinations.

16 CFR 1115.5 - Reporting of failures to comply with a voluntary consumer product safety standard relied upon by...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... voluntary consumer product safety standard relied upon by the Commission under section 9 of the CPSA. 1115.5 Section 1115.5 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS SUBSTANTIAL PRODUCT HAZARD REPORTS General Interpretation § 1115.5 Reporting of failures to comply...

Environmental risk assessment for veterinary medicinal products. Part 1. Other than GMO-containing and immunological products. First update

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montforts MHMM; CSR

1999-01-01

The EC has issued directives (1981, 1992) requesting for registration of veterinary medicinal product information to enable an assessment of the product's safety for the environment. As a whole, the risk assessment is structured around the hazard quotient approach used in USES (1994). Predicted

Guidelines, Criteria, and Rules of Thumb for Evaluating Normed and Standardized Assessment Instruments in Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cicchetti, Domenic V.

1994-01-01

In the context of developing assessment instruments in psychology, issues of standardization, norming procedures, and test reliability and validity are discussed. Criteria, guidelines, and rules of thumb are provided to help the clinician with instrument selection for a given psychological assessment. (SLD)

Teachers' use of a self-assessment procedure : the role of criteria, standards, feedback and reflection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diggelen, van M.R.; Brok, den P.J.; Beijaard, D.

2013-01-01

This article reports on the way teachers assess their own coaching competencies regarding the development of vocational education students’ reflection skills. The participating teachers used a self-assessment procedure in which they had to judge themselves with the help of criteria and standards,

Balance Assessment Practices and Use of Standardized Balance Measures Among Ontario Physical Therapists

Science.gov (United States)

Sibley, Kathryn M.; Straus, Sharon E.; Inness, Elizabeth L.; Salbach, Nancy M.

2011-01-01

Background Balance impairment is a significant problem for older adults, as it can influence daily functioning. Treating balance impairment in this population is a major focus of physical therapist practice. Objective The purpose of this study was to document current practices in clinical balance assessment and compare components of balance assessed and measures used across practice areas among physical therapists. Design This was a cross-sectional study. Methods A survey questionnaire was mailed to 1,000 practicing physical therapists in Ontario, Canada. Results Three hundred sixty-nine individuals completed the survey questionnaire. More than 80% of respondents reported that they regularly (more than 60% of the time) assessed postural alignment, static and dynamic stability, functional balance, and underlying motor systems. Underlying sensory systems, cognitive contributions to balance, and reactive control were regularly assessed by 59.6%, 55.0%, and 41.2% of the respondents, respectively. The standardized measures regularly used by the most respondents were the single-leg stance test (79.1%), the Berg Balance Scale (45.0%), and the Timed “Up & Go” Test (27.6%). There was considerable variation in the components of balance assessed and measures used by respondents treating individuals in the orthopedic, neurologic, geriatric, and general rehabilitation populations. Limitations The survey provides quantitative data about what is done to assess balance, but does not explain the factors influencing current practice. Conclusions Many important components of balance and standardized measures are regularly used by physical therapists to assess balance. Further research, however, is needed to understand the factors contributing to the relatively lower rates of assessing reactive control, the component of balance most directly responsible for avoiding a fall. PMID:21868613

The EUR assessment process, methodology and highlights of the compliance analysis for the EU-APWR standard design - 15235

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Facciolo, L.; Welander, D.; Nuutinen, P.

2015-01-01

In August 2007 the European Utility Requirements organisation (EUR) received an initial application from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries asking for submitting the EU-APWR standard design to the EUR assessment. The EU-APWR is an advanced PWR, 1700 MWe class, 4-loops, 14 ft active core fuel length. The EU-APWR Standard Design documentation has been assessed against the EUR Volume 2 - Generic Nuclear Island requirements - Revision D. The assessment is divided into 20 chapters for a total of over 4000 individual requirements. A Synthesis Report for each chapter was written by the assessment performers. The Synthesis Reports showed that the EU-APWR Standard Design was in compliance with 77% of the EUR requirements. The percentage increases to 85% when taking into account the requirements where the design has been considered in compliance with the objectives. The requirements resulting in a non-compliance assessment correspond to less than 2%. This confirms the overall good level of compliance. From the Utilities point of view it is possible to state that the differences in standards, codes and regulations applied in Japan and in Europe contribute to a series of discrepancies between the EU-APWR Standard Design and the EUR, regarding, for instance, outage durations, operational capability, layout, personal protection or radiation monitoring. Some disagreements are easy to overcome, others require particular attention

Standard-model predictions for W-pair production in electron-positron collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beenakker, W.; Denner, A.

1994-03-01

We review the status of the theoretical predictions for W-pair production in e + e - collisions within the electroweak standard model (SM). We first consider for on-shell W-bosons the lowest-order cross-section within the SM, the general effects of anomalous couplings, the radiative corrections within the SM, and approximations for them. Then we discuss the inclusion of finite-width effects in lowest order and the existing results for radiative corrections to off-shell W-pair production, and we outline the general strategy to calculate radiative corrections within the pole scheme. We summarize the theoretical predictions for the total and partial W-boson widths including radiative corrections and discuss the quality of an improved Born approximation. Finally we provide a general discussion of the structure-function method to calculate large logarithmic higher-order corrections associated with collinear photon radiation. (orig.)

A Study on Methodology of Assessment for Hydrogen Explosion in Hydrogen Production Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Gun Hyo

2007-02-01

Due to the exhaustion of fossil fuel as energy sources and international situation insecurity for political factor, unstability of world energy market is rising, consequently, a substitute energy development have been required. Among substitute energy to be discussed, producing hydrogen from water by nuclear energy which does not release carbon is a very promising technology. Very high temperature gas cooled reactor is expected to be utilized since the procedure of producing hydrogen requires high temperature over 1000 .deg. C. Hydrogen production facility using very high temperature gas cooled reactor lies in situation of high temperature and corrosion which makes hydrogen release easily. In case of hydrogen release, there lies a danger of explosion. Moreover explosion not only has a bad influence upon facility itself but very high temperature gas cooled reactor which also result in unsafe situation that might cause serious damage. However, from point of thermal-hydraulics view, long distance makes low efficiency result. In this study, therefore, outlines of hydrogen production using nuclear energy is researched. Several methods for analyzing the effects of hydrogen explosion upon high temperature gas cooled reactor are reviewed. Reliability physics model which is appropriate for assessment is used. Using this model, leakage probability, rupture probability and structure failure probability of very high temperature gas cooled reactor is evaluated classified by detonation volume and distance. Also based on standard safety criteria which is a value of 1x10 -6 , the safety distance between very high temperature and hydrogen production facility is calculated. In the future, assessment for characteristic of very high temperature gas cooled reactor, capacity to resist pressure from outside hydrogen explosion and overpressure for large amount of detonation volume in detail is expected to identify more precise distance using reliability physics model in this paper. This

The Impact of Early Exposure of Eighth Grade Math Standards on End of Grade Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Tonjai E.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the Cumberland County Schools district-wide issue surrounding the disproportional performance of eighth grade Math I students' proficiency scores on standardized end-of-grade and end-of-course assessments. The study focused on the impact of the school district incorporating eighth grade math standards in…

ISO radiation sterilization standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambert, Byron J.; Hansen, Joyce M.

1998-01-01

This presentation provides an overview of the current status of the ISO radiation sterilization standards. The ISO standards are voluntary standards which detail both the validation and routine control of the sterilization process. ISO 11137 was approved in 1994 and published in 1995. When reviewing the standard you will note that less than 20% of the standard is devoted to requirements and the remainder is guidance on how to comply with the requirements. Future standards developments in radiation sterilization are being focused on providing additional guidance. The guidance that is currently provided in informative annexes of ISO 11137 includes: device/packaging materials, dose setting methods, and dosimeters and dose measurement, currently, there are four Technical Reports being developed to provide additional guidance: 1. AAMI Draft TIR, 'Radiation Sterilization Material Qualification' 2. ISO TR 13409-1996, 'Sterilization of health care products - Radiation sterilization - Substantiation of 25 kGy as a sterilization dose for small or infrequent production batches' 3. ISO Draft TR, 'Sterilization of health care products - Radiation sterilization Selection of a sterilization dose for a single production batch' 4. ISO Draft TR, 'Sterilization of health care products - Radiation sterilization-Product Families, Plans for Sampling and Frequency of Dose Audits'

75 FR 76789 - Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2011 Renewable Fuel Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-09

... projections as well as assessments of production capability from industry. This action establishes annual... American Industry Classification System (NAICS). \\2\\ Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system code... facility has a maximum production capacity of 250,000 gallons of ethanol per year and uses an enzymatic...

Effects of a non-standard W± magnetic moment in W± production via deep inelastic e-P scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehm, M.; Rosado, A.

1989-01-01

We calculate the production of charged bosons in deep inelastic e - P scattering in the context of an electroweak model in which the vector boson self interactions may be different from those prescribed by the electroweak standard model. We present results which show the dependence of the cross section on the anomalous magnetic dipole moment κ of the W ± . We find for energies available at HERA that even small deviations from the standard model value of κ imply observable deviations in the W ± production rates. We also show that the contributions from heavy boson exchange diagrams are very important. (orig.)

A data base and a standard material for use in acceptance testing of low-activity waste products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, S.F.; Ebert, W.L.; Luo, J.S.; Strachan, D.M.

1998-04-01

The authors have conducted replicate dissolution tests following the product consistency test (PCT) procedure to measure the mean and standard deviation of the solution concentrations of B, Na, and Si at various combinations of temperature, duration, and glass/water mass ratio. Tests were conducted with a glass formulated to be compositionally similar to low-activity waste products anticipated for Hanford to evaluate the adequacy of test methods that have been designated in privatization contracts for use in product acceptance. An important finding from this set of tests is that the solution concentrations generated in tests at 20 C will likely be too low to measure the dissolution rates of waste products reliably. Based on these results, the authors recommend that the acceptance test be conducted at 40 C. Tests at 40 C generated higher solution concentrations, were more easily conducted, and the measured rates were easily related to those at 20 C. Replicate measurements of other glass properties were made to evaluate the possible use of LRM-1 as a standard material. These include its composition, homogeneity, density, compressive strength, the Na leachability index with the ANSI/ANS 16.1 leach test, and if the glass is characteristically hazardous with the toxicity characteristic leach procedure. The values of these properties were within the acceptable limits identified for Hanford low-activity waste products. The reproducibility of replicate tests and analyses indicates that the glass would be a suitable standard material

Mastoidectomy performance assessment of virtual simulation training using final-product analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Steven A W; Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Sørensen, Mads S

2015-01-01

a modified Welling scale. The simulator gathered basic metrics on time, steps, and volumes in relation to the on-screen tutorial and collisions with vital structures. RESULTS: Substantial inter-rater reliability (kappa = 0.77) for virtual simulation and moderate inter-rater reliability (kappa = 0.......59) for dissection final-product assessment was found. The simulation and dissection performance scores had significant correlation (P = .014). None of the basic simulator metrics correlated significantly with the final-product score except for number of steps completed in the simulator. CONCLUSIONS: A modified...... version of a validated final-product performance assessment tool can be used to assess mastoidectomy on virtual temporal bones. Performance assessment of virtual mastoidectomy could potentially save the use of cadaveric temporal bones for more advanced training when a basic level of competency...

Assessing the sustainability of bioethanol production in Nepal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khatiwada, Dilip

2010-10-15

Access to modern energy services derived from renewable sources is a prerequisite, not only for economic growth, rural development and sustainable development, but also for energy security and climate change mitigation. The least developed countries (LDCs) primarily use traditional biomass and have little access to commercial energy sources. They are more vulnerable to problems relating to energy security, air pollution, and the need for hard-cash currency to import fossil fuels. This thesis evaluates sugarcane-molasses bioethanol, a renewable energy source with the potential to be used as a transport fuel in Nepal. Sustainability aspects of molasses-based ethanol have been analyzed. Two important indicators for sustainability, viz. net energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances have been used to assess the appropriateness of bioethanol in the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. This thesis has found that the production of bioethanol is energy-efficient in terms of the fossil fuel inputs required to produce it. Life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from production and combustion are also lower than those of gasoline. The impacts of important physical and market parameters, such as sugar cane productivity, the use of fertilizers, energy consumption in different processes, and price have been observed in evaluating the sustainability aspects of bioethanol production. The production potential of bioethanol has been assessed. Concerns relating to the fuel vs. food debate, energy security, and air pollution have also been discussed. The thesis concludes that the major sustainability indicators for molasses ethanol in Nepal are in line with the goals of sustainable development. Thus, Nepal could be a good example for other LDCs when favorable governmental policy, institutional set-ups, and developmental cooperation from donor partners are in place to strengthen the development of renewable energy technologies

Considerations on EN 9100: 2016 / AS 9100D standard new changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilinca SOARE

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article aims to highlight the main changes brought by the new edition of standard EN 9100: 2016 / AS 9100D. This standard is an effective tool for organizations working in the aerospace industry, providing the framework for achieving the ultimate goal of on-quality and on-time delivery of products and services. Using the SR EN ISO 9001: 2015 model for quality management system requirements and validation of compliance by third party assessment, EN 9100: 2016 / AS 9100D has been developed to include additional requirements that are of particular interest to the aerospace industry. Aspects of safety and performance of aerospace products are critical to stakeholders, appearing to be an uncompromising standard for guidance.

Progress towards Sustainable Production: Environmental, Economic, and Social Assessments of the Cellulose Nanofiber Production Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dami Moon

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We assessed the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the process for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs, which are considered to be a valuable sustainable woody biomass feedstock. The greenhouse gas (GHG emissions associated with CNF production are greater than the emissions associated with producing most plastic materials used in vehicle components because the grinding process during CNF production generates significant GHG emissions. The cost of CNF production is also higher than the cost of producing comparable plastics for automotive use because of the high cost of the pulverization process. The sensitivity analysis in this study suggested that GHG emissions and manufacturing costs could be reduced by 19.1–76.4% and 3.6–12.2%, respectively, by improving the energy efficiency of CNF production by two to five times. We compared the potential social risks associated with CNF production between Japan and Vietnam using a product social impact life cycle assessment database. It is desirable to reduce the social risk on the fair salary and child labor, and to improve the safe and healthy living conditions in the local communities that import wood chips harvested in Vietnam.

Bioassays for risk assessment of coal conversion products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schacht, S.; Sinder, C.; Pfeifer, F.; Klein, J. [DMT-Gesellschaft fuer Forschung und Pruefung mbH, Essen (Germany)

1999-07-01

Traditional as well as biotechnological processing coal leads to complex mixtures of products. Besides chemical and physical characterization, which provides the information for product application, there is a need for bioassays to monitor properties that are probably toxic, mutagenic or cancerogenic. Investigations carried out focused on the selection, adaptation and validation of bioassays for the sensitive estimation of toxic effects. Organisms like bacteria, Daphnia magna and Scenedesmus subspicatus, representing different complexities in the biosphere, were selected as test systems for ecotoxicological and mutagenicity studies. The results obtained indicate that bioassays are, in principle, suitable tools for characterization and evaluation of coal-derived substances and bioconversion products. Using coal products, coal-relevant model compounds and bioconversion products, data for risk assessment are presented. (orig.)

Adherence of pain assessment to the German national standard for pain management in 12 nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Osterbrink, Jürgen; Bauer, Zsuzsa; Mitterlehner, Barbara; Gnass, Irmela; Kutschar, Patrick

2014-01-01

Pain is very common among nursing home residents. The assessment of pain is a prerequisite for effective multiprofessional pain management. Within the framework of the German health services research project, 'Action Alliance Pain-Free City Muenster', the authors investigated pain assessment adherence according to the German national Expert Standard for Pain Management in Nursing, which is a general standard applicable to all chronic⁄acute pain-affected persons and highly recommended for practice. To evaluate the state of pain assessment and to identify need for improvement in 12 nursing homes in a German city. In the present study, the authors used an ex-post-facto design (survey methodology). Available written policies for routine pain assessment in residents ≥65 years of age were reviewed and a standardized online survey completed by 151 of 349 nurses in 12 nursing home facilities was conducted between September 2010 and April 2011. Most of the included nursing homes provided written policies for pain assessment, and the majority of nurses reported that they assess and regularly reassess pain. However, observational tools for residents with severe cognitive impairment and written reassessment schedules were lacking in many facilities or were inconsistent. Essentially, pain assessment appeared to be feasible in the majority of the German nursing homes studied. However, the absence or inconsistency of reassessment schedules indicate that pain management guidelines should include a detailed and explicit reassessment schedule for the heterogenic needs of nursing home residents. For residents with severe cognitive impairment, assessment tools are needed that are simple to use and clearly indicate the presence or absence of pain.

Effects of dietary protease on nitrogen emissions from broiler production: a holistic comparison using Life Cycle Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Leinonen, Ilkka; Williams, Adrian G

2015-12-01

The aim of the study was to quantify the effects of the use of a protease Ronozyme® ProAct in broiler feed on the environmental impacts of broiler and broiler feed production chains. This was done by using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modelling approach with data from trials using both standard soya-based broiler diets and reduced-protein diets with added protease. The results for the feed production chain showed that there was a reduction in all environmental impact categories when protease was used in the diets. The biggest reduction occurred in the category of Global Warming Potential, mainly as a result of decreased carbon dioxide emissions from land use changes related to soya production. In the results for the broiler production chain, there were relatively bigger reductions in Eutrophication Potential and especially in Acidification Potential, mainly as a result of reduced feed protein content and subsequent nitrogen emissions from housing and manure management. The use of protease in the broiler diets reduced the environmental impacts of both feed production and broiler production. The latter is mainly through reduced ammonia emissions, which has substantial benefit per se in the poultry industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Developing standards for malaria microscopy: external competency assessment for malaria microscopists in the Asia-Pacific.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashraf, Sania; Kao, Angie; Hugo, Cecilia; Christophel, Eva M; Fatunmbi, Bayo; Luchavez, Jennifer; Lilley, Ken; Bell, David

2012-10-24

Malaria diagnosis has received renewed interest in recent years, associated with the increasing accessibility of accurate diagnosis through the introduction of rapid diagnostic tests and new World Health Organization guidelines recommending parasite-based diagnosis prior to anti-malarial therapy. However, light microscopy, established over 100 years ago and frequently considered the reference standard for clinical diagnosis, has been neglected in control programmes and in the malaria literature and evidence suggests field standards are commonly poor. Microscopy remains the most accessible method for parasite quantitation, for drug efficacy monitoring, and as a reference of assessing other diagnostic tools. This mismatch between quality and need highlights the importance of the establishment of reliable standards and procedures for assessing and assuring quality. This paper describes the development, function and impact of a multi-country microscopy external quality assurance network set up for this purpose in Asia. Surveys were used for key informants and past participants for feedback on the quality assurance programme. Competency scores for each country from 14 participating countries were compiled for analyses using paired sample t-tests. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants including the programme facilitators and national level microscopists. External assessments and limited retraining through a formalized programme based on a reference slide bank has demonstrated an increase in standards of competence of senior microscopists over a relatively short period of time, at a potentially sustainable cost. The network involved in the programme now exceeds 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific, and the methods are extended to other regions. While the impact on national programmes varies, it has translated in some instances into a strengthening of national microscopy standards and offers a possibility both for supporting revival of national microcopy

Developing standards for malaria microscopy: external competency assessment for malaria microscopists in the Asia-Pacific

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf Sania

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Malaria diagnosis has received renewed interest in recent years, associated with the increasing accessibility of accurate diagnosis through the introduction of rapid diagnostic tests and new World Health Organization guidelines recommending parasite-based diagnosis prior to anti-malarial therapy. However, light microscopy, established over 100 years ago and frequently considered the reference standard for clinical diagnosis, has been neglected in control programmes and in the malaria literature and evidence suggests field standards are commonly poor. Microscopy remains the most accessible method for parasite quantitation, for drug efficacy monitoring, and as a reference of assessing other diagnostic tools. This mismatch between quality and need highlights the importance of the establishment of reliable standards and procedures for assessing and assuring quality. This paper describes the development, function and impact of a multi-country microscopy external quality assurance network set up for this purpose in Asia. Methods Surveys were used for key informants and past participants for feedback on the quality assurance programme. Competency scores for each country from 14 participating countries were compiled for analyses using paired sample t-tests. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants including the programme facilitators and national level microscopists. Results External assessments and limited retraining through a formalized programme based on a reference slide bank has demonstrated an increase in standards of competence of senior microscopists over a relatively short period of time, at a potentially sustainable cost. The network involved in the programme now exceeds 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific, and the methods are extended to other regions. Conclusions While the impact on national programmes varies, it has translated in some instances into a strengthening of national microscopy standards and offers a

Portfolio Assessment: Production and Reduction of Complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keiding, Tina Bering; Qvortrup, Ane

2015-01-01

Over the last two decades, the education system has witnessed a shift from summative, product-oriented assessment towards formative, process-oriented assessment. Among the different learning and assessment initiatives introduced in the slipstream of this paradigmatic turn, the portfolio seems...... to have become one of the most popular. By re-describing the portfolio from a systems theoretical point of view, this article discusses established expectations of the portfolio in relation to transparency in learning, reflexivity and self-assessment. It shows that the majority of the literature deals...... with what-questions and that the portfolio is expected to handle a number of challenges with regard to the documentation of learning processes and achievements as well as the conditioning of learning activities. Furthermore, is becomes clear that descriptions of how the portfolio works are sparse. Based...

Assessing the transfer of risk due to transportation of agricultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pei-Chiun; Shih, Hsiu-Ching; Ma, Hwong-Wen

2015-02-01

Health risk assessment (HRA) is the process used to estimate adverse health effects on humans. The importance and sensitivity of food chains to HRA have been observed, but the impact of the transportation of food has generally been ignored. This study developed an exposure assessment to demonstrate the significance of the transportation of agricultural products in HRA. The associated case study estimated the health risks derived from various sources of arsenic emissions in Taiwan. Two assessment scenarios, self-sufficiency and transportation of agricultural products, were compared to calculate risk transfer ratios that show the impact of agriculture transportation. The risk transfer ratios found by the study range from 0.22 to 42.10, indicating that the quantity of transportation of agricultural products is the critical factor. High air deposition and high agricultural production are the two main contributors to the effect of the transportation of agricultural products on HRA. Risk reduction measures could be applied to high-pollution areas as well as to areas with high agricultural productivity to reduce ingestion risks to residents. Certain areas that are sensitive to the transportation of agricultural products may incur more risks if emissions increase in agriculturally productive counties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2008. Synthesis Report 72

Science.gov (United States)

Albus, Deb; Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Thurlow, Martha L.; Cormier, Damien

2009-01-01

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

Assessing greenhouse gas emissions of milk production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolf, Patricia; Groen, Evelyne A.; Berg, Werner; Prochnow, Annette; Bokkers, E.A.M.; Heijungs, Reinout; Boer, de Imke J.M.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of food products, such as dairy, require many input parameters that are affected by variability and uncertainty. Moreover, correlations may be present between input parameters, e.g. between feed intake and milk yield. The purpose of this study was to

Assessing water resource use in livestock production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ran, Y.; Lannerstad, M.; Herrero, M.; Middelaar, Van C.E.; Boer, De I.J.M.

2016-01-01

This paper reviews existing methods for assessing livestock water resource use, recognizing that water plays a vital role in global food supply and that livestock production systems consumes a large amount of the available water resources. A number of methods have contributed to the development

Assessment of productive employment policies in Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamau, P.; Kinyanjui, B.; Akinyoade, A.; Mukoko, C.

2018-01-01

This paper documents and assesses productive employment policies in Kenya. The main objective being to reflect on the current state of affairs, identify constraints and gaps among these policies. The paper is mainly based on desk-top research which reviews available literature and policy papers on

Assessment of herbal medicinal products: Challenges, and opportunities to increase the knowledge base for safety assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jordan, Scott A.; Cunningham, David G.; Marles, Robin J.

2010-01-01

Although herbal medicinal products (HMP) have been perceived by the public as relatively low risk, there has been more recognition of the potential risks associated with this type of product as the use of HMPs increases. Potential harm can occur via inherent toxicity of herbs, as well as from contamination, adulteration, plant misidentification, and interactions with other herbal products or pharmaceutical drugs. Regulatory safety assessment for HMPs relies on both the assessment of cases of adverse reactions and the review of published toxicity information. However, the conduct of such an integrated investigation has many challenges in terms of the quantity and quality of information. Adverse reactions are under-reported, product quality may be less than ideal, herbs have a complex composition and there is lack of information on the toxicity of medicinal herbs or their constituents. Nevertheless, opportunities exist to capitalise on newer information to increase the current body of scientific evidence. Novel sources of information are reviewed, such as the use of poison control data to augment adverse reaction information from national pharmacovigilance databases, and the use of more recent toxicological assessment techniques such as predictive toxicology and omics. The integration of all available information can reduce the uncertainty in decision making with respect to herbal medicinal products. The example of Aristolochia and aristolochic acids is used to highlight the challenges related to safety assessment, and the opportunities that exist to more accurately elucidate the toxicity of herbal medicines.

Assessing the Impact of Stricter Alcohol Advertising Standards: The Case of Beam Global Spirits.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Craig S; Sparks, Alicia; Jernigan, David H

2016-08-01

Reducing youth exposure to alcohol advertising is a global health priority. In most countries around the world, the alcohol industry is given the opportunity to regulate itself with respect to advertising practices. Generally, the alcohol industry self-regulations are lax, allowing youth to be disproportionately exposed to alcohol advertising. However, Beam Global Spirits and Wine (Beam) voluntarily adopted more restrictive advertising standards in the United States in 2007. This study assessed Beam's compliance with their new standard and estimates its effect on youth exposure and advertising costs. We found that Beam's compliance with its more restrictive standards was imperfect, but never-the-less, we estimated that youth exposure to alcohol advertising was reduced compared to other spirits brands. Beam's more restrictive standards did not increase their advertising costs and therefore other alcohol companies should consider adopting similar standards around the world.

10 CFR 170.21 - Schedule of fees for production and utilization facilities, review of standard referenced design...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Schedule of fees for production and utilization facilities, review of standard referenced design approvals, special projects, inspections and import and export... AMENDED Schedule of Fees § 170.21 Schedule of fees for production and utilization facilities, review of...

Evaluation of the Standard Setting on the 2005 Grade 12 National Assessment of Educational Progress Mathematics Test

Science.gov (United States)

Sireci, Stephen G.; Hauger, Jeffrey B.; Wells, Craig S.; Shea, Christine; Zenisky, April L.

2009-01-01

The National Assessment Governing Board used a new method to set achievement level standards on the 2005 Grade 12 NAEP Math test. In this article, we summarize our independent evaluation of the process used to set these standards. The evaluation data included observations of the standard-setting meeting, observations of advisory committee meetings…

Development of the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S. J.

2008-05-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research (AER) community over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing the AER discipline so that researchers could establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Unfortunately, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. This was not done in oversight, but rather as a result of the relative youth of AER as a discipline. Now that several important science education reform documents exist and are generally accepted by the AER community, we are in a position to develop, validate, and disseminate a new assessment instrument which is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. In response, researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science & Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) have designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of our community.

A critical assessment of regulatory triggers for products of biotechnology: Product vs. process

Science.gov (United States)

McHughen, Alan

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Regulatory policies governing the safety of genetic engineering (rDNA) and the resulting products (GMOs) have been contentious and divisive, especially in agricultural applications of the technologies. These tensions led to vastly different approaches to safety regulation in different jurisdictions, even though the intent of regulations—to assure public and environmental safety—are common worldwide, and even though the international scientific communities agree on the basic principles of risk assessment and risk management. So great are the political divisions that jurisdictions cannot even agree on the appropriate triggers for regulatory capture, whether product or process. This paper reviews the historical policy and scientific implications of agricultural biotechnology regulatory approaches taken by the European Union, USA and Canada, using their respective statutes and regulations, and then critically assesses the scientific underpinnings of each. PMID:27813691

A strategy for improving worker satisfaction and job attitudes in a repetitive industrial task: application of production standards and performance feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Shikdar, Ashraf A; Das, Biman

2003-04-15

Worker satisfaction improved significantly as a consequence of the provision of the assigned and participative standards with performance feedback in a repetitive industrial production task. The maximum improvement in worker satisfaction was found for the participative standard and feedback condition. Only this condition had a significant positive effect on worker job attitudes. Monetary incentive, when provided with an assigned or participative standard with feedback, added no incremental worker satisfaction or job attitudes gain. The participative standard with feedback condition emerges as the optimum strategy for improving worker satisfaction and job attitudes in a repetitive industrial production task.

AVLIS Production Plant Preliminary Quality Assurance Plan and Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This preliminary Quality Assurance Plan and Assessment establishes the Quality Assurance requirements for the AVLIS Production Plant Project. The Quality Assurance Plan defines the management approach, organization, interfaces, and controls that will be used in order to provide adequate confidence that the AVLIS Production Plant design, procurement, construction, fabrication, installation, start-up, and operation are accomplished within established goals and objectives. The Quality Assurance Program defined in this document includes a system for assessing those elements of the project whose failure would have a significant impact on safety, environment, schedule, cost, or overall plant objectives. As elements of the project are assessed, classifications are provided to establish and assure that special actions are defined which will eliminate or reduce the probability of occurrence or control the consequences of failure. 8 figures, 18 tables

NASA Educational Product Development and Post-Secondary Program Assessment Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Salmons, Phyllis A.

1999-01-01

Producing "value-added students" involves proactively addressing how successfully students develop their skills, knowledge, and personal, social, and ethical growth due to their association with a program. NASA programs for higher education can certainly be responsive in aiding the academic community strive for quality in terms of "valueadded" students. By identifying essential characteristics of exemplary assessment practices, the standards developed by accrediting agencies serve as guides for developing quality practices and policies. Such a process is an effective tool for communicating the expectations of the educational components of a program to all concerned with the program and its expected results. When standards are connected to student performance, they provide a very compelling argument for refocusing the definition of quality in higher education. By linking standards and performance, student learning and development becomes the starting point for examining program quality. If the multiple stakeholders - faculty, peers, the professional community, addressed assessment issues, then accreditation can be a link among various constituencies, the parties can better understand the needs of each other and develop the necessary trust needed for understanding and support.

Laterality and Lateralization in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Using a Standardized Neuro-Psychomotor Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Paquet, A; Golse, B; Girard, M; Olliac, B; Vaivre-Douret, L

2017-01-01

A detailed assessment of laterality in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was realized, including handedness and other measures (muscle tone, manual performance, dominant eye), using a standardized battery for the developmental assessment of neuro-psychomotor functions. The results of the laterality tests relating to cerebral hemisphere organization (spontaneous gestural laterality and tonic laterality) were different in ASD children, and indicate that the cerebral organization could be disrupted. These assessments, added to the observations of usual laterality most often reported in the literature, provide better understanding of the developmental organization from the pathophysiological point of view in children with ASD.

Integrating Hazardous Materials Characterization and Assessment Tools to Guide Pollution Prevention in Electronic Products and Manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Carl

Due to technology proliferation, the environmental burden attributed to the production, use, and disposal of hazardous materials in electronics have become a worldwide concern. The major theme of this dissertation is to develop and apply hazardous materials assessment tools to systematically guide pollution prevention opportunities in the context of electronic product design, manufacturing and end-of-life waste management. To this extent, a comprehensive review is first provided on describing hazard traits and current assessment methods to evaluate hazardous materials. As a case study at the manufacturing level, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA)-based and risk-based screening methods are used to quantify chemical and geographic environmental impacts in the U.S. printed wiring board (PWB) industry. Results from this industrial assessment clarify priority waste streams and States to most effectively mitigate impact. With further knowledge of PWB manufacturing processes, select alternative chemical processes (e.g., spent copper etchant recovery) and material options (e.g., lead-free etch resist) are discussed. In addition, an investigation on technology transition effects for computers and televisions in the U.S. market is performed by linking dynamic materials flow and environmental assessment models. The analysis forecasts quantities of waste units generated and maps shifts in environmental impact potentials associated with metal composition changes due to product substitutions. This insight is important to understand the timing and waste quantities expected and the emerging toxic elements needed to be addressed as a consequence of technology transition. At the product level, electronic utility meter devices are evaluated to eliminate hazardous materials within product components. Development and application of a component Toxic Potential Indicator (TPI) assessment methodology highlights priority components requiring material alternatives. Alternative

Carbon footprinting of electronic products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasan, Arvind; Sood, Bhanu; Pecht, Michael

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Challenges in adopting existing CF standards for electronic products are discussed. • Carbon footprint of electronic products is underestimated using existing standards. • Multipronged approach is presented to overcome the identified challenges. • Multipronged approach demonstrated on commercial and military grade DC–DC converter system. - Abstract: In order to mitigate the effects of global warming, companies are being compelled by governments, investors, and customers to control their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Similar to the European Union’s legislation on the airline industry, legislation is expected to require the electronics industry to assess their product’s carbon footprint before sale or use, as the electronics industry’s contribution to global GHG emissions is comparable to the airline industry’s contribution. Thus, it is necessary for members of the electronics industry to assess their current GHG emission rates and identify methods to reduce environmental impacts. Organizations use Carbon Footprint (CF) analysis methods to identify and quantify the GHG emissions associated with the life cycle stages of their product or services. This paper discusses the prevailing methods used by organizations to estimate the CF of their electronics products and identifies the challenges faced by the electronics industry when adopting these methods in an environment of decreasing product development cycles with complex and diffuse supply chains. We find that, as a result of the inconsistencies arising from the system boundary selection methods and databases, the use of outdated LCA approaches, and the lack of supplier’s emissions-related data, the CFs of electronic products are typically underestimated. To address these challenges, we present a comprehensive approach to the carbon footprinting of electronic products that involves the use of product-group-oriented standards, hybrid life cycle assessment techniques, and the

The Role of Standardized Tests as a Means of Assessment of Young Children: A Review of Related Literature and Recommendations of Alternative Assessments for Administrators and Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Meadows, Stacie; Karr-Kidwell, P. J.

An extensive review of literature related to the role of standardized tests in the assessment of young children was conducted, and recommendations were made for alternative approaches more appropriate to the assessment of young children. The first section of the paper contains a literature review that provides a brief history of standardized tests…

Positive animal welfare states and reference standards for welfare assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellor, D J

2015-01-01

Developments in affective neuroscience and behavioural science during the last 10-15 years have together made it increasingly apparent that sentient animals are potentially much more sensitive to their environmental and social circumstances than was previously thought to be the case. It therefore seems likely that both the range and magnitude of welfare trade-offs that occur when animals are managed for human purposes have been underestimated even when minimalistic but arguably well-intentioned attempts have been made to maintain high levels of welfare. In light of these neuroscience-supported behaviour-based insights, the present review considers the extent to which the use of currently available reference standards might draw attention to these previously neglected areas of concern. It is concluded that the natural living orientation cannot provide an all-embracing or definitive welfare benchmark because of its primary focus on behavioural freedom. However assessments of this type, supported by neuroscience insights into behavioural motivation, may now carry greater weight when used to identify management practices that should be avoided, discontinued or substantially modified. Using currently accepted baseline standards as welfare reference points may result in small changes being accorded greater significance than would be the case if they were compared with higher standards, and this could slow the progress towards better levels of welfare. On the other hand, using "what animals want" as a reference standard has the appeal of focusing on the specific resources or conditions the animals would choose themselves and can potentially improve their welfare more quickly than the approach of making small increments above baseline standards. It is concluded that the cautious use of these approaches in different combinations could lead to recommendations that would more effectively promote positive welfare states in hitherto neglected areas of concern.

Living Language: Self-Assessment, Oral Production, and Domestic Immersion

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Dolosic, Haley N.; Brantmeier, Cindy; Strube, Michael; Hogrebe, Mark C.

2016-01-01

With 24 adolescent students enrolled in a French language summer camp, the present study examines the relationship between self-assessment and oral production in French, interpreting results through a framework of individual learning variables. Participants were surrounded by French inside and outside the classroom. Self-assessment was measured…

Biodiesel I: Historical background, present and future production and standards - professional paper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skala Dejan U.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel is defined as a fuel which may be used as pure biofuel or at high concentration in mineral oil derivatives, in accordance with specific quality standards for transport applications. The main raw material used for biodiesel production is rapeseed, which contains mono-unsaturated acids (about 60% and also poly-unsaturated fatty acids (C 18:1 and C 18:3 in a lower quantity, as well as some undesired saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids. Other raw materials have also been used in research and the industrial production of biodiesel (palm oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, waste plant oil, animal fats, etc. The historical background of biodiesel production, installed industrial capacities, as well as the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (May 2003 regarding the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport are discussed in the first part of this article. The second part focuses on some new concepts for the future development of technology for biodiesel production, based on the application of non-catalytic transesterification under supercritical conditions or the use of lipases as an alternative catalyst for this reaction.

ASTM lights the way for tissue engineered medical products standards: jump start for combination medical products that restore biological function of human tissues.

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Picciolo, G L; Stocum, D L

2001-01-01

Everybody hopes for better health and restoration of impaired bodily function, and now that hope is illuminated by the promise of powerful biological tools that make human cells grow and replace human tissue. ASTM Committee F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices is taking the lead by defining some of those tools as standards that can be used for the development, production, testing, and regulatory approval of medical products.

Disinfectant Products Fact Sheet. To assess the risks for the consumer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prud'homme de Lodder LCH; Bremmer HJ; Pelgrom SMGJ; Park MVDZ; Engelen JGM van; SIR

2006-01-01

Exposure to compounds in consumer products can be assessed using the computer program ConsExpo (Consumer Exposure). Given the huge number of consumer products, it is not possible to calculate the exposure for each separate product, so a limited number of groups containing similar products are

Multivariate statistical process control in product quality review assessment - A case study.

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Kharbach, M; Cherrah, Y; Vander Heyden, Y; Bouklouze, A

2017-11-01

According to the Food and Drug Administration and the European Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines, Annual Product Review (APR) is a mandatory requirement in GMP. It consists of evaluating a large collection of qualitative or quantitative data in order to verify the consistency of an existing process. According to the Code of Federal Regulation Part 11 (21 CFR 211.180), all finished products should be reviewed annually for the quality standards to determine the need of any change in specification or manufacturing of drug products. Conventional Statistical Process Control (SPC) evaluates the pharmaceutical production process by examining only the effect of a single factor at the time using a Shewhart's chart. It neglects to take into account the interaction between the variables. In order to overcome this issue, Multivariate Statistical Process Control (MSPC) can be used. Our case study concerns an APR assessment, where 164 historical batches containing six active ingredients, manufactured in Morocco, were collected during one year. Each batch has been checked by assaying the six active ingredients by High Performance Liquid Chromatography according to European Pharmacopoeia monographs. The data matrix was evaluated both by SPC and MSPC. The SPC indicated that all batches are under control, while the MSPC, based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA), for the data being either autoscaled or robust scaled, showed four and seven batches, respectively, out of the Hotelling T 2 95% ellipse. Also, an improvement of the capability of the process is observed without the most extreme batches. The MSPC can be used for monitoring subtle changes in the manufacturing process during an APR assessment. Copyright © 2017 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Teachers' Use of a Self-Assessment Procedure: The Role of Criteria, Standards, Feedback and Reflection

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van Diggelen, Migchiel; den Brok, Perry; Beijaard, Douwe

2013-01-01

This article reports on the way teachers assess their own coaching competencies regarding the development of vocational education students' reflection skills. The participating teachers used a self-assessment procedure in which they had to judge themselves with the help of criteria and standards, received feedback from a colleague based on the…

First Results from the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

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Slater, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing astronomy as a sub-discipline of physics education research, allowing researchers to establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt to measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Before now, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. Moving beyond the 10-year old Astronomy Diagnostics Test, we have developed and validated a new assessment instrument that is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. Researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science and Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this multiple-choice instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for undergraduate science survey courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of the astronomy education community.

Assessing the potential of fatty acids produced by filamentous fungi as feedstock for biodiesel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivaldi, Juan Daniel; Carvalho, Ana Karine F; da Conceição, Leyvison Rafael V; de Castro, Heizir F

2017-11-26

Increased costs and limited availability of traditional lipid sources for biodiesel production encourage researchers to find more sustainable feedstock at low prices. Microbial lipid stands out as feedstock replacement for vegetable oil to convert fatty acid esters. In this study, the potential of three isolates of filamentous fungi (Mucor circinelloides URM 4140, M. hiemalis URM 4144, and Penicillium citrinum URM 4126) has been assessed as single-cell oil (SCO) producers. M. circinelloides 4140 had the highest biomass concentration with lipid accumulation of up to 28 wt% at 120 hr of cultivation. The profile of fatty acids revealed a high content of saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), including palmitic (C16:0, 33.2-44.1 wt%) and oleic (C18:1, 20.7-31.2 wt%) acids, with the absence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) having more than four double bonds. Furthermore, the predicted properties of biodiesel generated from synthesized SCOs have been estimated by using empirical models which were in accordance with the limits imposed by the USA (ASTM D6715), European Union (EN 14214), and Brazilian (ANP 45/2014) standards. These results suggest that the assessed filamentous fungus strains can be considered as alternative feedstock sources for high-quality biofuel production.

The Use of Bayesian Networks to Assess the Quality of Evidence from Research Synthesis: 2. Inter-Rater Reliability and Comparison with Standard GRADE Assessment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexis Llewellyn

Full Text Available The grades of recommendation, assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE approach is widely implemented in systematic reviews, health technology assessment and guideline development organisations throughout the world. We have previously reported on the development of the Semi-Automated Quality Assessment Tool (SAQAT, which enables a semi-automated validity assessment based on GRADE criteria. The main advantage to our approach is the potential to improve inter-rater agreement of GRADE assessments particularly when used by less experienced researchers, because such judgements can be complex and challenging to apply without training. This is the first study examining the inter-rater agreement of the SAQAT.We conducted two studies to compare: a the inter-rater agreement of two researchers using the SAQAT independently on 28 meta-analyses and b the inter-rater agreement between a researcher using the SAQAT (who had no experience of using GRADE and an experienced member of the GRADE working group conducting a standard GRADE assessment on 15 meta-analyses.There was substantial agreement between independent researchers using the Quality Assessment Tool for all domains (for example, overall GRADE rating: weighted kappa 0.79; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.93. Comparison between the SAQAT and a standard GRADE assessment suggested that inconsistency was parameterised too conservatively by the SAQAT. Therefore the tool was amended. Following amendment we found fair-to-moderate agreement between the standard GRADE assessment and the SAQAT (for example, overall GRADE rating: weighted kappa 0.35; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.87.Despite a need for further research, the SAQAT may aid consistent application of GRADE, particularly by less experienced researchers.

Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS): international standards for validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Benedict, Ralph H B; Amato, Maria Pia; Boringa, Jan; Brochet, Bruno; Foley, Fred; Fredrikson, Stan; Hamalainen, Paivi; Hartung, Hans; Krupp, Lauren; Penner, Iris; Reder, Anthony T; Langdon, Dawn

2012-07-16

An international expert consensus committee recently recommended a brief battery of tests for cognitive evaluation in multiple sclerosis. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) battery includes tests of mental processing speed and memory. Recognizing that resources for validation will vary internationally, the committee identified validation priorities, to facilitate international acceptance of BICAMS. Practical matters pertaining to implementation across different languages and countries were discussed. Five steps to achieve optimal psychometric validation were proposed. In Step 1, test stimuli should be standardized for the target culture or language under consideration. In Step 2, examiner instructions must be standardized and translated, including all information from manuals necessary for administration and interpretation. In Step 3, samples of at least 65 healthy persons should be studied for normalization, matched to patients on demographics such as age, gender and education. The objective of Step 4 is test-retest reliability, which can be investigated in a small sample of MS and/or healthy volunteers over 1-3 weeks. Finally, in Step 5, criterion validity should be established by comparing MS and healthy controls. At this time, preliminary studies are underway in a number of countries as we move forward with this international assessment tool for cognition in MS.

Assessment of Consumers' Satisfaction with the Automotive Product Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Amineh, Hadi; Kosach, Nataliya

2016-01-01

Relevance of article is caused by the fact that customer's satisfaction currently serves as the mechanism allowing the carmakers to be competitive in the market. The paper describes issues of assessment of the quality of products manufactured by automobile companies. The assessment is based on widely applicable complex characteristics of the…

Standardization of skin cleansing in vivo: part I. Development of an Automated Cleansing Device (ACiD).

Science.gov (United States)

Sonsmann, F K; Strunk, M; Gediga, K; John, C; Schliemann, S; Seyfarth, F; Elsner, P; Diepgen, T L; Kutz, G; John, S M

2014-05-01

To date, there are no legally binding requirements concerning product testing in cosmetics. This leads to various manufacturer-specific test methods and absent transparent information on skin cleansing products. A standardized in vivo test procedure for assessment of cleansing efficacy and corresponding barrier impairment by the cleaning process is needed, especially in the occupational context where repeated hand washing procedures may be performed at short intervals. For the standardization of the cleansing procedure, an Automated Cleansing Device (ACiD) was designed and evaluated. Different smooth washing surfaces of the equipment for ACiD (incl. goat hair, felt, felt covered with nitrile caps) were evaluated regarding their skin compatibility. ACiD allows an automated, fully standardized skin washing procedure. Felt covered with nitrile as washing surface of the rotating washing units leads to a homogenous cleansing result and does not cause detectable skin irritation, neither clinically nor as assessed by skin bioengineering methods (transepidermal water loss, chromametry). Automated Cleansing Device may be useful for standardized evaluation of the cleansing effectiveness and parallel assessment of the corresponding irritancy potential of industrial skin cleansers. This will allow objectifying efficacy and safety of industrial skin cleansers, thus enabling market transparency and facilitating rational choice of products. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of application of selected waste for production of biogas

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Pawlita-Posmyk, Monika; Wzorek, Małgorzata

2017-10-01

Recently, the idea of biogas production has become a popular topic in Poland. Biogas is a valuable source of renewable energy with a potential application in electricity and heat production. Numerous types of technological solutions of biogas production are closely linked to the availability of substrates in the area, as well as their quantity and their properties. The paper presents the assessment of application in biogas production selected wastes such as communal and household sewage sludge and waste from a paper production in Opole region (Poland). The annual productions of methane, biogas and electricity were estimated. Chosen physico-chemical properties important in fermentation process were taken into consideration in the assessment. The highest value of potential energy was obtained using waste from the paper industry but the most appropriate parameters for this process has sewage sludge from the municipal sewage treatment plant. The use of sewage sludge from domestic and municipal sewage and waste from the paper industry creates the opportunity to reduce the amount of waste materials.

Assessing and controlling risks from the emission of organic chemicals from construction products into indoor environments.

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Brown, Veronica M; Crump, Derrick R; Harrison, Paul T C

2013-12-01

Construction products can be a significant source of indoor pollutants, including volatile organic compounds that may be a risk to the health and well-being of building occupants. There are currently a number of schemes for the labelling of products according to their potential to emit organic compounds. Assessment of the complex mixtures of compounds that may be released has mandated the development of test methods that allow the determination of the concentrations of the chemicals released from products in controlled test chamber environments. In response to concerns about the financial burden faced by manufacturers required to test products according to the various different labelling schemes currently in existence, the European Commission has investigated the scope for greater harmonisation. This initiative has sought to harmonise the process for the assessment of emissions data, complementing work led by the European standards organisation focussed on harmonising the test chamber procedures. The current labelling schemes have a range of requirements with respect to the number of chemicals to be quantified. A comparison of 13 schemes worldwide has identified 15 lists of target compounds, with a total of 611 chemicals occurring on at least one of the target lists. While harmonisation may clarify and perhaps simplify these requirements, at least in Europe, it can be expected that future changes to product formulations, the introduction of new products and our increasing knowledge about the potential risks to health, will require continued development of new and improved measurement techniques. There is, therefore, a particular challenge for analytical chemists to ensure the efficient provision of high quality emissions data and thereby ultimately enable effective control of risks to human health through the prevention or reduction of indoor air pollution.

An Investigation of Item Type in a Standards-Based Assessment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liz Hollingworth

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Large-scale state assessment programs use both multiple-choice and open-ended items on tests for accountability purposes. Certainly, there is an intuitive belief among some educators and policy makers that open-ended items measure something different than multiple-choice items. This study examined two item formats in custom-built, standards-based tests of achievement in Reading and Mathematics at grades 3-8. In this paper, we raise questions about the value of including open-ended items, given scoring costs, time constraints, and the higher probability of missing data from test-takers.

An exploratory assessment of the attitudes of Chinese wood products manufacturers towards forest certification.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Juan; Innes, John L; Kozak, Robert A

2011-11-01

Interviews with Chinese forest products manufacturers were conducted to explore their attitudes towards forest certification and related issues. Participants comprised owners, CEOs, and managers in 20 Chinese wood products companies, including producers of furniture, doors, flooring, and various engineered wood products. The interviews were used to analyze the extent to which participants were considering adopting forest certification and what might motivate such a decision. This was done by assessing their awareness and knowledge of certification. The results indicated that participants' understanding of forest certification was extremely low, despite major efforts in China to raise awareness of the issue. Potential economic benefits were the most frequently cited reason to adopt certification, including gaining or maintaining competitive advantage over their industry counterparts, improved access to both domestic and export markets, better customer recognition, and enhanced corporate responsibility practices. Some interviewees (3 out of 20) considered that certification would become a mandatory requirement or industry standard, and that this would be the only viable motivation for certification given that the financial benefits were potentially limited. According to the participants, the main differences between certified and uncertified wood products operations related to improved market access and public image. Interviewees felt that cooperation between and support from governments and the forest industry would enable the enhanced awareness of certification amongst manufacturers and the general public. This, in turn, could serve to stimulate demand for certified products. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of standardized training on the reliability of the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool: a prospective study.

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da Costa, Bruno R; Beckett, Brooke; Diaz, Alison; Resta, Nina M; Johnston, Bradley C; Egger, Matthias; Jüni, Peter; Armijo-Olivo, Susan

2017-03-03

The Cochrane risk of bias tool is commonly criticized for having a low reliability. We aimed to investigate whether training of raters, with objective and standardized instructions on how to assess risk of bias, can improve the reliability of the Cochrane risk of bias tool. In this pilot study, four raters inexperienced in risk of bias assessment were randomly allocated to minimal or intensive standardized training for risk of bias assessment of randomized trials of physical therapy treatments for patients with knee osteoarthritis pain. Two raters were experienced risk of bias assessors who served as reference. The primary outcome of our study was between-group reliability, defined as the agreement of the risk of bias assessments of inexperienced raters with the reference assessments of experienced raters. Consensus-based assessments were used for this purpose. The secondary outcome was within-group reliability, defined as the agreement of assessments within pairs of inexperienced raters. We calculated the chance-corrected weighted Kappa to quantify agreement within and between groups of raters for each of the domains of the risk of bias tool. A total of 56 trials were included in our analysis. The Kappa for the agreement of inexperienced raters with reference across items of the risk of bias tool ranged from 0.10 to 0.81 for the minimal training group and from 0.41 to 0.90 for the standardized training group. The Kappa values for the agreement within pairs of inexperienced raters across the items of the risk of bias tool ranged from 0 to 0.38 for the minimal training group and from 0.93 to 1 for the standardized training group. Between-group differences in Kappa for the agreement of inexperienced raters with reference always favored the standardized training group and was most pronounced for incomplete outcome data (difference in Kappa 0.52, p training on risk of bias assessment may significantly improve the reliability of the Cochrane risk of bias tool.

Life Cycle Assessment in the Cereal and Derived Products Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Renzulli, Pietro A.; Bacenetti, Jacopo; Benedetto, Graziella

2015-01-01

environmental improvement in such systems. Following a brief introduction to the cereal sector and supply chain, this chapter reviews some of the current cereal-based life cycle thinking literature, with a particular emphasis on LCA. Next, an analysis of the LCA methodological issues emerging from......This chapter discusses the application of life cycle assessment methodologies to rice, wheat, corn and some of their derived products. Cereal product systems are vital for the production of commodities of worldwide importance that entail particular environmental hot spots originating from...... their widespread use and from their particular nature. It is thus important for tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) to be tailored to such cereal systems in order to be used as a means of identifying the negative environmental effects of cereal products and highlighting possible pathways to overall...

Product Family Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)