System redesign of the immunization supply chain: Experiences from Benin and Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Prosser, Wendy; Jaillard, Philippe; Assy, Emmanuelle; Brown, Shawn T; Matsinhe, Graça; Dekoun, Mawutondji; Lee, Bruce Y

2017-04-19

Evidence suggests that immunization supply chains are becoming outdated and unable to deliver needed vaccines due to growing populations and new vaccine introductions. Redesigning a supply chain could result in meeting current demands. The Ministries of Health in Benin in Mozambique recognized known barriers to the immunization supply chain and undertook a system redesign to address those barriers. Changes were made to introduce an informed push system while consolidating storage points, introducing transport loops, and increasing human resource capacity for distribution. Evaluations were completed in each country. Evaluation in each country indicated improved performance of the supply chain. The Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment in Benin documented notable improvements in the distribution criteria of the tool, increasing from 40% to 100% at the district level. In Mozambique, results showed reduced stockouts at health facility level from 79% at baseline to less than 1% at endline. Coverage rates of DTP3 also increased from 68.9% to 92.8%. Benin and Mozambique are undertaking system redesign in order to respond to constraints identified in the vaccine supply chain. Results and learnings show improvements in supply chain performance and make a strong case for system redesign. These countries demonstrate the feasibility of system redesign for other countries considering how to address outdated supply chains. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Application of participatory ergonomics to the redesign of the family-centred rounds process.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Anping; Carayon, Pascale; Cox, Elizabeth D; Cartmill, Randi; Li, Yaqiong; Wetterneck, Tosha B; Kelly, Michelle M

2015-01-01

Participatory ergonomics (PE) can promote the application of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) principles to healthcare system redesign. This study applied a PE approach to redesigning the family-centred rounds (FCR) process to improve family engagement. Various FCR stakeholders (e.g. patients and families, physicians, nurses, hospital management) were involved in different stages of the PE process. HFE principles were integrated in both the content (e.g. shared mental model, usability, workload consideration, systems approach) and process (e.g. top management commitment, stakeholder participation, communication and feedback, learning and training, project management) of FCR redesign. We describe activities of the PE process (e.g. formation and meetings of the redesign team, data collection activities, intervention development, intervention implementation) and present data on PE process evaluation. To demonstrate the value of PE-based FCR redesign, future research should document its impact on FCR process measures (e.g. family engagement, round efficiency) and patient outcome measures (e.g. patient satisfaction).

Application of participatory ergonomics to the redesign of the family-centered rounds process

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Anping; Carayon, Pascale; Cox, Elizabeth D.; Cartmill, Randi; Li, Yaqiong; Wetterneck, Tosha B.; Kelly, Michelle M.

2015-01-01

Participatory ergonomics (PE) can promote the application of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) principles to healthcare system redesign. This study applied a PE approach to redesigning the family-centered rounds (FCR) process to improve family engagement. Various FCR stakeholders (e.g., patients and families, physicians, nurses, hospital management) were involved in different stages of the PE process. HFE principles were integrated in both the content (e.g., shared mental model, usability, workload consideration, systems approach) and process (e.g., top management commitment, stakeholder participation, communication and feedback, learning and training, project management) of FCR redesign. We describe activities of the PE process (e.g., formation and meetings of the redesign team, data collection activities, intervention development, intervention implementation) and present data on PE process evaluation. To demonstrate the value of PE-based FCR redesign, future research should document its impact on FCR process measures (e.g., family engagement, round efficiency) and patient outcome measures (e.g., patient satisfaction). PMID:25777042

Using business process redesign to reduce wait times at a university hospital in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Elkhuizen, Sylvia G; Burger, Matthe P M; Jonkers, Rene E; Limburg, Martien; Klazinga, Niek; Bakker, Piet J M

2007-06-01

Business process redesign (BPR) has been applied to implement more customer-focused and cost-effective care. In 2002, two pilot projects to improve patient care processes for two specific patient groups were conducted at the Academic Medical Center, a 1,000-bed university hospital in Amsterdam. The BPR consisted of process analysis, identification of bottlenecks and goals for redesign, selection of interventions, and evaluation of effects. After identifying and selecting interventions with the greatest expected benefits, changes were implemented and effects were evaluated. For gynecologic oncology patients, access time (from telephone call to first visit) was reduced from 14 days to changes in communication and planning were sufficient to eliminate bottlenecks in the gynecologic oncology project, the dyspnea project required a radical redesign of processes. Experience since these projects suggests that process redesign may have only marginal impact when the greatest bottleneck occurs, as was the case for the two BPR projects, at the point of access to central diagnostic facilities.

Reinventing the Wheel: One Program's Approach to Redesign of Didactic Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudak, Nicholas M; Scott, Victoria; Spear, Sherrie B; Hills, Karen J

2015-12-01

Curriculum and course redesign are expected and intentional efforts in health professions education. For physician assistant (PA) education, ongoing program self-assessment is a required accreditation standard and may guide deliberate changes within curriculum. The purpose of this article is to describe one PA program’s approach to the redesign of 4 courses into 3 courses that span the entire didactic phase. Significant lessons learned include the importance of planning ahead, identifying key players, documenting the process as part of ongoing self-assessment, competency mapping, and being prepared to make real-time modifications and changes based on course evaluations and faculty feedback. Our approach and guiding principles to the successful redesign of the didactic courses may provide both established and new PA educational programs with useful methods to apply in their own unique curricula.

Application of Computer Simulation Modeling to Medication Administration Process Redesign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan Huynh

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The medication administration process (MAP is one of the most high-risk processes in health care. MAP workflow redesign can precipitate both unanticipated and unintended consequences that can lead to new medication safety risks and workflow inefficiencies. Thus, it is necessary to have a tool to evaluate the impact of redesign approaches in advance of their clinical implementation. This paper discusses the development of an agent-based MAP computer simulation model that can be used to assess the impact of MAP workflow redesign on MAP performance. The agent-based approach is adopted in order to capture Registered Nurse medication administration performance. The process of designing, developing, validating, and testing such a model is explained. Work is underway to collect MAP data in a hospital setting to provide more complex MAP observations to extend development of the model to better represent the complexity of MAP.

Long-dated evaluation of the external costs of the nuclear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Dars, A.; Schneider, T.

2002-09-01

Since the middle of the years 1990, the European Commission developed an ''ExternE'' methodology to propose an homogenous evaluation of the sanitary and environmental external costs of the various energy sectors in Europe. This document discusses the taking into account of the long-dated and analyzes the interests and the limits of the monetary evaluation, in terms of external costs, of the nuclear choice. It is organized in three chapters: 1. a presentation and a discussion on the various evaluation of the ''ExternE'' methodology; 2. a description of the available methods for the monetary evaluation of the long-dated impacts and more particularly the analysis of the monetary values actualization principle; 3. highlighted of the impacts for which the monetary evaluations exist. (A.L.B.)

Accounting for future redesign to balance performance and development costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villanueva, D.; Haftka, R.T.; Sankar, B.V.

2014-01-01

Most components undergo tests after they are designed and are redesigned if necessary. Tests help designers find unsafe and overly conservative designs, and redesign can restore safety or increase performance. In general, the expected changes to the performance and reliability of the design after the test and redesign are not considered. In this paper, we explore how modeling a future test and redesign provides a company an opportunity to balance development costs versus performance by simultaneously designing the design and the post-test redesign rules during the initial design stage. Due to regulations and tradition, safety margin and safety factor based design is a common practice in industry as opposed to probabilistic design. In this paper, we show that it is possible to continue to use safety margin based design, and employ probability solely to select safety margins and redesign criteria. In this study, we find the optimum safety margins and redesign criterion for an integrated thermal protection system. These are optimized in order to find a minimum mass design with minimal redesign costs. We observed that the optimum safety margin and redesign criterion call for an initially conservative design and use the redesign process to trim excess weight rather than restore safety. This would fit well with regulatory constraints, since regulations usually impose minimum safety margins. - Highlights: • Modeling future tests and redesign allows balancing performance and development cost. • We optimize safety margins and redesign criteria for desired balance. • We design with safety margins, with probabilistic optimization to decide the margins. • Redesign also allowed the trade-off of conservativeness and performance. • In our case it paid to be conservative initially but redesign for more

Effective healthcare process redesign through an interdisciplinary team approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Rita; Huynh, Nathan; Cai, Bo; Vidal, José; Bennett, Kevin

2013-01-01

Healthcare process redesign is a complex and often high risk undertaking. Typically, there is a limited understanding of the baseline process and often inadequate tools by which to assess it. This can be confounded by narrow redesign team expertise that can result in unanticipated and/or unintended redesign consequences. Interdisciplinary research teams of healthcare, biostatistics, engineering and computer science experts provide broad support for a more effective and safer approach to healthcare process redesign. We describe an interdisciplinary research team focused on medication administration process (MAP)redesign and its achievements and challenges.

Implementing a Redesign Strategy: Lessons from Educational Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Basom, Richard E., Jr.; Crandall, David P.

The effective implementation of school redesign, based on a social systems approach, is discussed in this paper. A basic assumption is that the interdependence of system elements has implications for a complex change process. Seven barriers to redesign and five critical issues for successful redesign strategy are presented. Seven linear steps for…

Development of redesign method of production system based on QFD

Science.gov (United States)

Kondoh, Shinsuke; Umeda, Yasusi; Togawa, Hisashi

In order to catch up with rapidly changing market environment, rapid and flexible redesign of production system is quite important. For effective and rapid redesign of production system, a redesign support system is eagerly needed. To this end, this paper proposes a redesign method of production system based on Quality Function Deployment (QFD). This method represents a designer's intention in the form of QFD, collects experts' knowledge as “Production Method (PM) modules,” and formulates redesign guidelines as seven redesign operations so as to support a designer to find out improvement ideas in a systematical manner. This paper also illustrates a redesign support tool of a production system we have developed based on this method, and demonstrates its feasibility with a practical example of a production system of a contact probe. A result from this example shows that comparable cost reduction to those of veteran designers can be achieved by a novice designer. From this result, we conclude our redesign method is effective and feasible for supporting redesign of a production system.

Redesigning a clinical mentoring program for improved outcomes in the clinical training of clerks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Der Lin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Mentorship has been noted as critical to medical students adapting to clinical training in the medical workplace. A lack of infrastructure in a mentoring program might deter relationship building between mentors and mentees. This study assessed the effect of a redesigned clinical mentoring program from the perspective of clerks. The objective was to assess the benefits of the redesigned program and identify potential improvements. Methods: A redesigned clinical mentoring program was launched in a medical center according to previous theoretical and practical studies on clinical training workplaces, including the elements of mentor qualifications, positive and active enhancers for mentor–mentee relationship building, the timing of mentoring performance evaluation, and financial and professional incentives. A four-wave web survey was conducted, comprising one evaluation of the former mentoring program and three evaluations of the redesigned clinical mentoring program. Sixty-four fifth-year medical students in clerkships who responded to the first wave and to at least two of the three following waves were included in the study. A structured and validated questionnaire encompassing 15 items on mentor performance and the personal characteristics of the clerks was used. Mixed linear models were developed for repeated measurements and to adjust for personal characteristics. Results: The results revealed that the redesigned mentoring program improved the mentors’ performance over time for most evaluated items regarding professional development and personal support provided to the mentees. Conclusions: Our findings serve as an improved framework for the role of the institution and demonstrate how institutional policies, programs, and structures can shape a clinical mentoring program. We recommend the adoption of mentorship schemes for other cohorts of medical students and for different learning and training stages involved in becoming a

Redesigning a clinical mentoring program for improved outcomes in the clinical training of clerks

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chia-Der; Lin, Blossom Yen-Ju; Lin, Cheng-Chieh; Lee, Cheng-Chun

2015-01-01

Introduction Mentorship has been noted as critical to medical students adapting to clinical training in the medical workplace. A lack of infrastructure in a mentoring program might deter relationship building between mentors and mentees. This study assessed the effect of a redesigned clinical mentoring program from the perspective of clerks. The objective was to assess the benefits of the redesigned program and identify potential improvements. Methods A redesigned clinical mentoring program was launched in a medical center according to previous theoretical and practical studies on clinical training workplaces, including the elements of mentor qualifications, positive and active enhancers for mentor–mentee relationship building, the timing of mentoring performance evaluation, and financial and professional incentives. A four-wave web survey was conducted, comprising one evaluation of the former mentoring program and three evaluations of the redesigned clinical mentoring program. Sixty-four fifth-year medical students in clerkships who responded to the first wave and to at least two of the three following waves were included in the study. A structured and validated questionnaire encompassing 15 items on mentor performance and the personal characteristics of the clerks was used. Mixed linear models were developed for repeated measurements and to adjust for personal characteristics. Results The results revealed that the redesigned mentoring program improved the mentors’ performance over time for most evaluated items regarding professional development and personal support provided to the mentees. Conclusions Our findings serve as an improved framework for the role of the institution and demonstrate how institutional policies, programs, and structures can shape a clinical mentoring program. We recommend the adoption of mentorship schemes for other cohorts of medical students and for different learning and training stages involved in becoming a physician. PMID

Influencing Organizational Commitment through Office Redesign

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Paula C.; McElroy, James C.; Scheibe, Kevin P.

2012-01-01

Prior research on the effects of office redesign on work-related outcomes has been largely a theoretical and yielded mixed and conflicting findings. Expanding on individual reactions to office design changes as specified by social interference theory, we propose that office redesign affects organizational commitment and this relationship is…

Redesigning Care Delivery with Patient Support Personnel: Learning from Accountable Care Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Gorbenko, Ksenia O.; Fraze, Taressa; Lewis, Valerie A.

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are a value-based payment model in the United States rooted in holding groups of healthcare providers financially accountable for the quality and total cost of care of their attributed population. To succeed in reaching their quality and efficiency goals, ACOs implement a variety of care delivery changes, including workforce redesign. Patient support personnel (PSP)—non-physician staff such as care coordinators, community health workers, and others—are critical to restructuring care delivery. Little is known about how ACOs are redesigning their patient support personnel in terms of responsibilities, location, and evaluation. METHODS We conducted semi-structured one-hour interviews with 25 executives at 16 distinct ACOs. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes, using a qualitative coding and analysis process. RESULTS ACOs deployed PSP to perform four clusters of responsibilities: care provision, care coordination, logistical help with transportation, and social and emotional support. ACOs deployed these personnel strategically across settings (primary care, inpatient services, emergency department, home care and community) depending on their population needs. Most ACOs used personnel with the same level of training across settings. Few ACOs planned to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of their PSP to optimize their value. DISCUSSION ACO strategies in workforce redesign indicate a shift from a physician-centered to a team-based approach. Employing personnel with varying levels of clinical training to perform different tasks can help further optimize care delivery. More robust evaluation of the deployment of PSP and their performance is needed to demonstrate cost-saving benefits of workforce redesign. PMID:28217305

Website Redesign: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jin; Brown, Janis F

2016-01-01

A library website redesign is a complicated and at times arduous task, requiring many different steps including determining user needs, analyzing past user behavior, examining other websites, defining design preferences, testing, marketing, and launching the site. Many different types of expertise are required over the entire process. Lessons learned from the Norris Medical Library's experience with the redesign effort may be useful to others undertaking a similar project.

Redesign workshop

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bornoe, Nis; Billestrup, Jane; Andersen, Jesper

2014-01-01

. The leading question was: “Can software developers contribute actively to alternative redesign suggestions?” Under the guidance of usability specialists, we found that the developers were able to constructively reconsider the existing design based on a top down approach. In this paper we report a hands...

Redesigning the Way We Listen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Morten

2014-01-01

This paper is based on a research project-in-progress investigating curatorial practice as methodology for creating responsive interfaces to sound art practices. Sound art is a transdisciplinary practice. As such, it creates new domains that may be used for redesign-purposes. Not only do experien......This paper is based on a research project-in-progress investigating curatorial practice as methodology for creating responsive interfaces to sound art practices. Sound art is a transdisciplinary practice. As such, it creates new domains that may be used for redesign-purposes. Not only do...... experiences of sound alter; the way we listen to sound is transforming as well. Thus, the paper analyses and discusses two responsive sound interfaces and claim that curating as a transdisciplinary practice may frame what is termed in the paper as a domain-game redesigning the way the audience listens...

A strategic planning methodology for aircraft redesign

Science.gov (United States)

Romli, Fairuz Izzuddin

Due to a progressive market shift to a customer-driven environment, the influence of engineering changes on the product's market success is becoming more prominent. This situation affects many long lead-time product industries including aircraft manufacturing. Derivative development has been the key strategy for many aircraft manufacturers to survive the competitive market and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Within this environment of design adaptation and variation, the main market advantages are often gained by the fastest aircraft manufacturers to develop and produce their range of market offerings without any costly mistakes. This realization creates an emphasis on the efficiency of the redesign process, particularly on the handling of engineering changes. However, most activities involved in the redesign process are supported either inefficiently or not at all by the current design methods and tools, primarily because they have been mostly developed to improve original product development. In view of this, the main goal of this research is to propose an aircraft redesign methodology that will act as a decision-making aid for aircraft designers in the change implementation planning of derivative developments. The proposed method, known as Strategic Planning of Engineering Changes (SPEC), combines the key elements of the product redesign planning and change management processes. Its application is aimed at reducing the redesign risks of derivative aircraft development, improving the detection of possible change effects propagation, increasing the efficiency of the change implementation planning and also reducing the costs and the time delays due to the redesign process. To address these challenges, four research areas have been identified: baseline assessment, change propagation prediction, change impact analysis and change implementation planning. Based on the established requirements for the redesign planning process, several methods and

Ergonomics evaluation as a powerful tool to redesign advanced interfaces of nuclear control rooms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Isaac J.A.L. dos; Carvalho, Paulo V.R.; Oliveira, Mauro V.; Fernandes, Nelson; Oliveira, Helio C.L.; Grecco, Claudio H.S.; Mol, Antonio C.A.; Augusto, Silas C.; Teixeira, Douglas V.; Ferraz, Fernando T.

2007-01-01

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system. Ergonomics contributes to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people. In the safe operation of nuclear power plant the performance of the control room crews plays an important role. In this respect, well-designed human-system interfaces (HSI) are crucial for safe and efficient operation of the plant, reducing the occurrence of incidents, accidents and the risks for human error. The aim of this paper is to describe a case study in which a methodological framework was applied to redesign advanced interfaces of a nuclear simulator. (author)

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration in the Redesign of Family-Centered Rounds Process

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Anping; Carayon, Pascale; Cartmill, Randi; Li, Yaqiong; Cox, Elizabeth D.; Plotkin, Julie A.; Kelly, Michelle M.

2014-01-01

A human factors approach to healthcare system redesign emphasizes the involvement of multiple healthcare stakeholders (e.g., patients and families, healthcare providers) in the redesign process. This study explores the experience of multiple stakeholders with collaboration in a healthcare system redesign project. Interviews were conducted with ten stakeholder representatives who participated in the redesign of the family-centered rounds process in a pediatric hospital. Qualitative interview data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. A model of collaborative healthcare system redesign was developed, which defined four phases (i.e., setup of the redesign team, preparation for meetings, collaboration in meetings, follow-up after meetings) and two outcomes (i.e., team outcomes, redesign outcomes) of the collaborative process. Challenges to multi-stakeholder collaboration in healthcare system redesign, such as need to represent all relevant stakeholders, scheduling of meetings and managing different perspectives, were identified. PMID:25124394

Redesigning Professional Development: Reconceptualising Teaching Using Social Learning Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Thomas; Narayan, Vickel

2013-01-01

This article evaluates the use of a community of practice model for redesigning a lecturer professional development course investigating the impact of mobile web 2.0 technologies in higher education. The results show a significant change in lecturer conceptions of pedagogy were achieved by this approach. Drawing on our experience of two iterations…

Measuring Externalities in Program Evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, Wendy

2005-01-01

Impact evaluations of development programmes usually focus on a comparison of participants with a control group. However, if the programme generates externalities for non-participants such an approach will capture only part of the programme's impact. Based on a unique large-scale quantitative survey

78 FR 27968 - Federal Management Regulation; Redesignations of Federal Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-13

... Management Regulation; Redesignations of Federal Buildings AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), General... designation and redesignation of six Federal buildings. DATES: Expiration Date: This bulletin announcement expires July 30, 2013. The building designations and redesignations remains in effect until canceled or...

Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

1993-06-01

The Space Station Program was initiated in 1984 to provide for permanent human presence in an orbiting laboratory. This program evolved into Space Station Freedom, later identified as a component to facilitate a return of astronauts to the Moon, followed by the exploration of Mars. In March 1993 the Clinton Administration directed NASA to undertake an intense effort to redesign the space station at a substantial cost savings relative to Space Station Freedom. The Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station was established in March 1993 to provide independent assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the redesign options. The results of the Committee's work is described. Discussion describes the mission that the Administration has articulated for the Space Station Program and the scientific and technical characteristics that a redesigned station must possess to fulfill those objectives. A description of recommended management, operations, and acquisition strategies for the redesigned program is provided. The Committee's assessment of the redesign options against five criteria are presented. The five criteria are technical capabilities, research capabilities, schedule, cost, and risk. A discussion of general mission risk is included.

ExternE transport methodology for external cost evaluation of air pollution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, S. S.; Berkowicz, R.; Brandt, J.

The report describes how the human exposure estimates based on NERI's human exposure modelling system (AirGIS) can improve the Danish data used for exposure factors in the ExternE Transport methodology. Initially, a brief description of the ExternE Tranport methodology is given and it is summarised...

A study of risk evaluation methodology selection for the external hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuramoto, Takahiro; Yamaguchi, Akira; Narumiya, Yosiyuki

2014-01-01

Since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, there has been growing demands for assessing the effects of external hazards, including natural events, such as earthquake and tsunami, and external human behaviors, and taking actions to address those external hazards. The newly established Japanese regulatory requirements claim design considerations associated with external hazards. The primary objective of the risk assessment for external hazards is to establish countermeasures against such hazards rather than grasping the risk figures. Therefore, applying detailed risk assessment methods, such as probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), to all the external hazards is not always the most appropriate. Risk assessment methods can vary in types including qualitative evaluation, hazard analysis (analyzing hazard frequencies or their influence), and margin assessment. To resolve these issues, a process has been established that enables us to identify the external hazards in a comprehensive and systematic manner, which have potential risks leading to core damage and to select an appropriate evaluation method according to the risks associated with each of the external hazards. This paper discusses the comprehensive and systematic identification process for the external hazards which have potential risks leading to core damage, and the approaches of selecting an appropriate evaluation method for each external hazard. This paper also describes some applications of specific risk evaluation methods. (author)

Long-dated evaluation of the external costs of the nuclear; L'evaluation des couts externes a long terme de la filiere nucleaire: interets et limites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le Dars, A.; Schneider, T

2002-09-01

Since the middle of the years 1990, the European Commission developed an ''ExternE'' methodology to propose an homogenous evaluation of the sanitary and environmental external costs of the various energy sectors in Europe. This document discusses the taking into account of the long-dated and analyzes the interests and the limits of the monetary evaluation, in terms of external costs, of the nuclear choice. It is organized in three chapters: 1. a presentation and a discussion on the various evaluation of the ''ExternE'' methodology; 2. a description of the available methods for the monetary evaluation of the long-dated impacts and more particularly the analysis of the monetary values actualization principle; 3. highlighted of the impacts for which the monetary evaluations exist. (A.L.B.)

Cognitive requirements in the redesign of a TRIGA RC-1 control room: The role of the operators' evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visciola, M.; Bagnara, S.; Ruggeri, R.

1986-01-01

When a control room undergoes to a redesign process it is of crucial importance to analyze how operators critically review it and which improvements they suggest. This is even more critical when presumably the same people will operate in the new 'redesigned' control room: Consistency in the mental models possessed by the operators of the plant functions and of their control should be emphasized. Consistency in the mental models can be assumed when redesign follows well-established guidelines drawn from experiences and studies carried out in very similar situations. However, this condition is not fulfilled when a nuclear research control room has to be redesigned, since available guidelines (e.g.; NUREG-0700) are based on studies conducted on nuclear power plant control rooms. These two types of facilities are of much difference as for activities performed in the control room, goals to be aimed at, costs and risks. As a consequence, the available guidelines cannot be safely applied to such a situation as the redesign of a TRIGA RC-1 control room. So, data have to be collected in order to allow the operators to efficiently and easily adapt to the new control room by consistently 'updating' their mental models. In the present study, these data have been collected through structured interviews, which consisted of a modified version of EPRI. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) The operators critically reviewed the present control room and underlined the lack of 'transparency' of the control system as for the plant's conditions and for the feedbacks about their own activities. 2) The operators' work analysis showed that they spend much of their time out of the control room. This means that, if the operators have to stay in the control room, they should be allowed to perform more and higher-level activities than those presently required, to prevent understimulation. So, the redesign should or allow and support the central control and maintenance, and other

Grid Computing BOINC Redesign Mindmap with incentive system (gamification)

OpenAIRE

Kitchen, Kris

2016-01-01

Grid Computing BOINC Redesign Mindmap with incentive system (gamification) this is a PDF viewable of https://figshare.com/articles/Grid_Computing_BOINC_Redesign_Mindmap_with_incentive_system_gamification_/1265350

Combining Internal and External Evaluation: A Case for School-Based Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nevo, David

1994-01-01

School-based evaluation, the focus of this article, is conceived of as neither a synonym for internal evaluation nor an antonym for external evaluation, but as a combination that is examined through a review of recent research. A school-based evaluation in Israel illustrates combining these approaches in a complementary way. (SLD)

Implementation of the IHR Joint External Evaluation: Taiwan's Experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Yi-Chun

In February 2016, the World Health Organization developed the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool to independently assess country capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats as part of the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) monitoring and evaluation framework. In light of this, the Taiwan government actively engaged at least 19 government agencies or institutions and voluntarily implemented the JEE. An External Assessment Team consisting of 6 US subject matter experts conducted the external evaluation, including site visits, from June 21 to July 1, 2016. The results, published on October 18, 2016, are useful and will be translated into actions and change in the system. Based on Taiwan's experiences, early stakeholder engagement and an experts' pre-JEE pilot visit would contribute to a successful JEE process.

Reducing bending stress in external spur gears by redesign of the standard cutting tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Niels Leergaard

2009-01-01

For the design of gears the stress due to bending plays a significant role. The stress from bending is largest in the root of the gear teeth, and the magnitude of the maximum stress is controlled by the nominal bending stress and stress concentration due to the geometric shape of the tooth....... In this work the bending stress of involute teeth is minimized by shape optimizing the tip of the standard cutting tool. By redesign of the tip of the standard cutting tool we achieve that the functional part of the teeth stays the same while at the same time the root shape is changed so that a reduction...... of the stresses results. The tool tip shape is described by different parameterizations that use the super ellipse as the central shape. For shape optimization it is important that the shape is given analytically. The shape of the cut tooth that is the envelope of the cutting tool is found analytically...

Controlling Curriculum Redesign with a Process Improvement Model

Science.gov (United States)

Drinka, Dennis; Yen, Minnie Yi-Miin

2008-01-01

A portion of the curriculum for a Management Information Systems degree was redesigned to enhance the experiential learning of students by focusing it on a three-semester community-based system development project. The entire curriculum was then redesigned to have a project-centric focus with each course in the curriculum contributing to the…

A REDESIGN LAYOUT TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY OF A COMPANY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincentia Kitriastika

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This project is conducted in Company X, a passenger cars wheel producing company located in Sunter, North Jakarta. With a view of increasing the productivity of the company, the focus of this project will be redesigned the layout of the factory. The main problem encountered is that the goods are not produced in single location, causing a considerable hindrance in terms of time and distance, and hence efficiency. The redesigning layout process will use SLP method and flow analysis while supported by analysis of assembly line balancing to optimize the layout. Regarding the evaluation process, ARENA software will be used to simulate and identify the bottleneck in the production process, and comparing the layout alternatives to decide the best layout. The best chosen layout according to the simulation and SLP method that supported with flow analysis and assembly line balancing will be used as the master draft layout that will be proposed to Company X.

76 FR 16233 - Interpretive Rule Regarding Electronic Contributor Redesignations

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-23

... audit, the Commission recently determined that a specific redesignation practice provided the same degree of assurance of the contributor's identity and the contributor's intent to redesignate the... that this process provided assurance of contributor identity and intent equivalent to a written...

Procedure Redesign Methods : E3-Control: a redesign methodology for control procedures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, J.; Hofman, W.J.; Tan, Y.H.

2011-01-01

This chapter highlights the core research methodology, e3-control, that is applied throughout the ITAIDE project for the purpose of control procedure redesign. We present the key concept of the e3-control methodology and its technical guidelines. Based on the output of this chapter, domain experts

Business Process Redesign Using EDI: the BHP steel experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Swatman

1994-05-01

Full Text Available EDI should not be seen as a competitive weapon - it does not offer a sustainable competitive advantage to its users as did the earlier inter-organisational systems (such as the various airline reservation systems. Instead EDI provides a standardised infrastructure upon which an adopting organisation can reengineer its business processes and thus confers a long-term, strategic and comparative advantage upon such an adopter. The potential for sustained competitive advantage to be derived from EDI arises from its integration with the organisational structure of its implementor, depending upon the implementing organisation's ability to redesign its business processes appropriately. This paper examines the case of (arguably the most sophisticated EDI-using company in Australia, BHP Steel, demonstrating the advantages obtainable by an organisation using EDI as a foundation for its reengineered organisational structure and business processes and concludes that: • there are real benefits to be obtained from an inter organisational electronic trading strategy founded on EDI as the enabling mechanism - benefits which are considerably more extensive than EDI's comparatively simple technical nature would appear to offer; • organisational gateways utilising an Application Generic approach to system integration and isolating the communications issue by insisting on the use of international data communications standards do offer a realistic and successful solution to the problem of internal and external trade for large and sophisticated organisations; • the majority of these achievements would have been either unlikely or totally impossible without BHP Steel's commitment to organisation-wide Business Process Redesign.

New Trends for Re-design the IT Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florin Ionita

2008-07-01

Full Text Available As it is known, the management adaptability to the changes taking place in the environment where it is acting represents a key factor for survival and development of an organization. As a reaction to the external signals, the internal change may be superficial when it affects only the development of activity in different sectors, or might be profound, when it changes the main processes and rules of the business and even the philosophy of the company’s existence. Speaking about structural changes, one of the most common approaches of the modern management is the re-design of the business architecture. The new architectural models such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA, presented in this paper, come with important advantages, but their implementation is not always very easy. This paper tries to present some of the most common encountered contextual characteristics which are able to start the implementation of Service Oriented Architecture, some advantages of this concept as well as some practical approaches of implementing.

An integrated lean-methods approach to hospital facilities redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholas, John

2012-01-01

Lean production methods for eliminating waste and improving processes in manufacturing are now being applied in healthcare. As the author shows, the methods are appropriate for redesigning hospital facilities. When used in an integrated manner and employing teams of mostly clinicians, the methods produce facility designs that are custom-fit to patient needs and caregiver work processes, and reduce operational costs. The author reviews lean methods and an approach for integrating them in the redesign of hospital facilities. A case example of the redesign of an emergency department shows the feasibility and benefits of the approach.

Development and Application of a Stepwise Assessment Process for Rational Redesign of Sequential Skills-Based Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallimore, Casey E; Porter, Andrea L; Barnett, Susanne G

2016-10-25

Objective. To develop and apply a stepwise process to assess achievement of course learning objectives related to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) preparedness and inform redesign of sequential skills-based courses. Design. Four steps comprised the assessment and redesign process: (1) identify skills critical for APPE preparedness; (2) utilize focus groups and course evaluations to determine student competence in skill performance; (3) apply course mapping to identify course deficits contributing to suboptimal skill performance; and (4) initiate course redesign to target exposed deficits. Assessment. Focus group participants perceived students were least prepared for skills within the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's pre-APPE core domains of Identification and Assessment of Drug-related Problems and General Communication Abilities. Course mapping identified gaps in instruction, performance, and assessment of skills within aforementioned domains. Conclusions. A stepwise process that identified strengths and weaknesses of a course, was used to facilitate structured course redesign. Strengths of the process included input and corroboration from both preceptors and students. Limitations included feedback from a small number of pharmacy preceptors and increased workload on course coordinators.

APPLICATION OF AUGMENTED REALITY IN FACADE REDESIGN PRESENTATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PEJIĆ Petar

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Augmented Reality (AR is a computer technology where the perception of the user is enhanced by the seamless blending between real environment and computer-generated virtual objects coexisting in the same space. When it comes to a redesign of the existing facades, it is necessary to create a visual presentation of the proposed changes. For this reason, contemporary architectural approach assumes creating a digital 3D model of the newly designed facade. Since the façade redesign is a real world change, the AR can be used for newly designed facade project presentation. In this paper a case study of the AR application for façade redesign presentation of a single family house located in Babušnica (Serbia is presented.

Does external evaluation of laboratories improve patient safety?

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Michael A

2007-01-01

Laboratory accreditation and External Quality Assessment (also called proficiency testing) are mainstays of laboratory quality assessment and performance. Both practices are associated with examples of improved laboratory performance. The relationship between laboratory performance and improved patient safety is more difficult to assess because of the many variables that are involved with patient outcome. Despite this difficulty, the argument to continue external evaluation of laboratories is too compelling to consider the alternative.

ILRS Website Redesign

Science.gov (United States)

Noll, C.; Lee, L.; Torrence, M.

2011-01-01

The International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) website, http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov, is the central source of information for all aspects of the service. The website provides information on the organization and operation of ILRS and descriptions of ILRS components, data, and products. Furthermore, the website and provides an entry point to the archive of these data and products available through the data centers. Links are provided to extensive information on the ILRS network stations including performance assessments and data quality evaluations. Descriptions of supported satellite missions (current, future, and past) are provided to aid in station acquisition and data analysis. The current format for the ILRS website has been in use since the early years of the service. Starting in 2010, the ILRS Central Bureau began efforts to redesign the look and feel for the website. The update will allow for a review of the contents, ensuring information is current and useful. This poster will detail the proposed design including specific examples of key sections and webpages.

Redesign of the Human Metabolic Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Duffield, Bruce; Jeng, Frank; Lange, Kevin

2004-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently building a Human Metabolic Simulator (HMS) at the Johnson Space Center as part of the Advanced Life Support Air Revitalization Technology Evaluation Facility (ARTEF). The purpose of ARTEF is to evaluate Environmental Control and Life Support System Technologies for Advanced Missions. The HMS is needed to reproduce the primary metabolic effects of human respiration on an enclosed atmosphere when humans cannot be present and the impact of human presence on the system is required. A HMS was designed, built and successfully operated in 2000 but larger crew size requirements and the expense of upgrade of the current system necessitate redesign. This paper addresses the redesign. Several concepts were considered, ranging from chemical oxidation of a hydrocarbon like ethanol or ethyl acetate to carbon dioxide and water, oxidation of an iron-containing compound, or by using a fuel cell. For reasons of cost, simplicity, safety and other factors, the concept chosen includes: a molecular sieve packaged as an industrial oxygen concentrator to remove oxygen from the atmosphere, with direct carbon dioxide, water and heat injection. The water injection is done via heating water to steam with a heat exchanger and thermal effects are handled by directly adding heat to the air stream with a second heat exchanger. Both heat exchangers are supplied by a hot oil loop. The amount of oxygen removal, carbon dioxide addition, water addition and heat addition were calculated using metabolic profiles for respiration and heat, calculated using a series of empirical equations developed for International Space Station (ISS). Sketches of the Human Metabolic Simulator and the hot oil bath loop used to supply heat to the heat exchangers are included

A redesigned follitropin alfa pen injector for infertility: results of a market research study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbotts C

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Carole Abbotts1, Cristiana Salgado-Braga2, Céline Audibert-Gros31Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Consultancy, London, UK; 2Fertility and Endocrinology Global Business Unit, 3Business Intelligence, Merck Serono SA, Geneva, SwitzerlandBackground: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient-learning and nurse-teaching experiences when using a redesigned prefilled, ready-to-use follitropin alfa pen injector.Methods: Seventy-three UK women of reproductive age either administering daily treatment with self-injectable gonadotropins or about to start gonadotropin treatment for infertility (aged 24–47 years; 53 self-injection-experienced and 20 self-injection-naïve and 28 nurses from UK infertility clinics were recruited for the study. Following instruction, patients and nurses used the redesigned follitropin alfa pen to inject water into an orange and completed questionnaires to evaluate their experiences with the pen immediately after the simulated injections.Results: Most (88%, n = 64 patients found it easy to learn how to use the pen. Among injection-experienced patients, 66% (n = 35 agreed that the redesigned pen was easier to learn to use compared with their current method and 70% (n = 37 also said they would prefer its use over current devices for all injectable fertility medications. All nurses considered the redesigned pen easy to learn and believed it would be easy to teach patients how to use. Eighty-six percent (n = 24 of the nurses thought it was easy to teach patients to determine the remaining dose to be dialed and injected in a second pen if the initial dose was incomplete. Compared with other injection devices, 96% (n = 27 thought it was "much easier" to "as easy" to teach patients to use the redesigned pen. Based on ease of teaching, 68% (n = 19 of nurses would choose to teach the pen in preference to any other injection method. Almost all (93%, n = 26 nurses considered that having the same pen format for a range of

Radionuclide evaluation in malignant external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolosker, Sara; Penha Costa Marques, Marise da; Fonseca, Lea Miriam Barbosa da; Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

1996-01-01

Malignant external otitis (MEO) is a severe infection of the external auditory canal that can result in osteomyelitis of the skull base. Twenty-eight patients with MEO (19 diabetics, 8 with AIDS and 1 with acute mielogenous leukemia) were evaluated using 99m Tc-MDP bone scintigraphy. 67 Ga citrate and computed tomography (CT) at the time of diagnosis for establishing the MEO extent. 67 Ga scans were obtained periodically in order to assess the evolution of the treatment. 99m Tc scans had shown high sensitivity and specificity in assessing the bone disease. Serial 67 Ga scans had shown to be valuable indicators of infection remission. CT scans provided poor diagnosis of early bone involvement. (author). 26 refs., 4 figs

PSYCHOLOGICAL VALENCES IN THE DESIGN AND REDESIGN OF JOBS

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Alic BIRCA

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the design and redesign of jobs under psychological aspect. For many years, the design and redesign of jobs have been treated more economically, i.e. by reducing staff costs. Although in the short-term, this approach has had positive economic effects, in the long-term the economic effects have been negative. Starting from this point of view, the authors attempt to highlight the problems that the psychological aspects involve in the design and redesign of jobs. Given the psychological aspects in the design of jobs aspects, are taken into consideration, certain problems that can have a far greater impact on organizational performance, may be anticipated and excluded.

From Course Assessment to Redesign: A Hybrid-Vehicle Course as a Case Illustration

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, Ken C.; Bradley, Thomas H.

2013-01-01

Assessment has become a central aspect of engineering education for evaluating student learning, attaining accreditation, and ensuring accountability. However, the final step of the assessment process, which requires assessment results be used to redesign courses and programmes, is appreciably underdeveloped in the literature. As such, this work…

Re-Design and Beat Testing of the Man-Machine Integration Design and Analysis System: MIDAS

Science.gov (United States)

Shively, R. Jay; Rutkowski, Michael (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

The Man-machine Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) is a human factors design and analysis system that combines human cognitive models with 3D CAD models and rapid prototyping and simulation techniques. MIDAS allows designers to ask 'what if' types of questions early in concept exploration and development prior to actual hardware development. The system outputs predictions of operator workload, situational awareness and system performance as well as graphical visualization of the cockpit designs interacting with models of the human in a mission scenario. Recently, MIDAS was re-designed to enhance functionality and usability. The goals driving the redesign include more efficient processing, GUI interface, advances in the memory structures, implementation of external vision models and audition. These changes were detailed in an earlier paper. Two Beta test sites with diverse applications have been chosen. One Beta test site is investigating the development of a new airframe and its interaction with the air traffic management system. The second Beta test effort will investigate 3D auditory cueing in conjunction with traditional visual cueing strategies including panel-mounted and heads-up displays. The progress and lessons learned on each of these projects will be discussed.

Business process redesign at a mental healthcare institute: a coulored petri net approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen-Vullers, M.H.; Reijers, H.A.; Jensen, K.

2005-01-01

Business Process Redesign aims to radically improve the performance of business processes. One of the approaches to derive such an improved process design is an evolutionary approach, making use of redesign heuristics (Reijers, 2003). Simulation of the redesigned business process comes into play if

Experiences of primary care physicians and staff following lean workflow redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Dorothy Y; Harrison, Michael I; Truong, Quan; Du, Xue

2018-04-10

In response to growing pressures on primary care, leaders have introduced a wide range of workforce and practice innovations, including team redesigns that delegate some physician tasks to nonphysicians. One important question is how such innovations affect care team members, particularly in view of growing dissatisfaction and burnout among healthcare professionals. We examine the work experiences of primary care physicians and staff after implementing Lean-based workflow redesigns. This included co-locating physician and medical assistant dyads, delegating significant responsibilities to nonphysician staff, and mandating greater coordination and communication among all care team members. The redesigns were implemented and scaled in three phases across 46 primary care departments in a large ambulatory care delivery system. We fielded 1164 baseline and 1333 follow-up surveys to physicians and other nonphysician staff (average 73% response rate) to assess workforce engagement (e.g., job satisfaction, motivation), perceptions of the work environment, and job-related burnout. We conducted multivariate regressions to detect changes in experiences after the redesign, adjusting for respondent characteristics and clustering of within-clinic responses. We found that both physicians and nonphysician staff reported higher levels of engagement and teamwork after implementing redesigns. However, they also experienced higher levels of burnout and perceptions of the workplace as stressful. Trends were the same for both occupational groups, but the increased reports of stress were greater among physicians. Additionally, members of all clinics, except for the pilot site that developed the new workflows, reported higher burnout, while perceptions of workplace stress increased in all clinics after the redesign. Our findings partially align with expectations of work redesign as a route to improving physician and staff experiences in delivering care. Although teamwork and engagement

Redesign and commissioning of sexual health services in England - a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, I F; Leigh-Hunt, N; Lee, A C K

2016-10-01

Responsibility for the commissioning of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services transferred from the National Health Service to local authorities in England in 2013. This transfer prompted many local authorities to undertake new procurements of these SRH services. This study was undertaken to capture some of the lessons learnt in order to inform future commissioning and system redesign. A qualitative study was carried out involving semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with 13 local authority sexual health commissioners in Yorkshire and the Humber from 11 interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from transcripts of the interviews with the 13 participants. Key themes identified were as follows: the challenge and complexity to those new to clinical commissioning; the prerequisites of robust infrastructural inputs to undertake the process, including technical expertise, a dependable project team, with clarity over the timescales and the budget; the requirement for good governance, stakeholder engagement and successful management of relationships with the latter; and the need to focus on the outcomes, aiming for value for money and improved system performance. Several key issues emerged from our study that significantly influenced the outcome of the redesign and commissioning process for sexual health services. An adapted model of the Donabedian evaluation framework was developed to provide a tool to inform future system redesign. Our model helps identify the key determinants for successful redesign in this context which is essential to both mitigate potential risks and maximize the likelihood of successful outcomes. Our model may have wider applications. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

External Benefit Evaluation of Renewable Energy Power in China for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huiru Zhao

2015-04-01

Full Text Available China’s renewable energy power has developed rapidly in recent years. Evaluating the external benefits of renewable energy power can provide a reference for the Chinese government to set diverse development goals and to implement differentiated supporting policies for different renewable energy power types, which can promote their sustainable development. In this paper, a hybrid MCDM method was applied to evaluate the external benefits of China’s renewable energy power. Firstly, the impacts of renewable energy power accessing the power grid for multiple stakeholders in the electric power system were analyzed. Secondly, the external benefit evaluation index system for renewable energy power was built from the economic, social and environmental factors, based on the concept of sustainability. Then, the basic theory of the hybrid MCDM method employed in this paper was introduced in two parts: the superiority linguistic ratings and entropy weighting method for index weight determination and the fuzzy grey relation analysis for ranking alternatives. Finally, the external benefits of wind power, solar PV power and biomass power were evaluated. Taking a regional electric power system as an example, the results show that PV power has the greatest external benefit, followed by wind power and biomass power. Therefore, more policies supporting PV power should be put in place to promote the harmonious and sustainable development of the whole renewable energy power industry.

Commercial off-the-shelf consumer health informatics interventions: recommendations for their design, evaluation and redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Marquard, Jenna L; Zayas-Cabán, Teresa

2012-01-01

The goal of this paper is to describe the successful application of a use case-based evaluation approach to guide the effective design, evaluation and redesign of inexpensive, commercial, off-the-shelf consumer health informatics (CHI) interventions. Researchers developed four CHI intervention use cases representing two distinct patient populations (patients with diabetes with high blood pressure, post-bariatric surgery patients), two commercial off-the-shelf CHI applications (Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health), and related devices (blood pressure monitor, pedometer, weight scale). Three patient proxies tested each intervention for 10 days. The patient proxies recorded their challenges while completing use case tasks, rating the severity of each challenge based on how much it hindered their use of the intervention. Two independent evaluators categorized the challenges by human factors domain (physical, cognitive, macroergonomic). The use case-based approach resulted in the identification of 122 challenges, with 12% physical, 50% cognitive and 38% macroergonomic. Thirty-nine challenges (32%) were at least moderately severe. Nine of 22 use case tasks (41%) accounted for 72% of the challenges. The study used two patient proxies and addressed two specific patient populations and low-cost, off-the-shelf CHI interventions, which may not perfectly generalize to a larger number of proxies, actual patient populations, or other CHI interventions. CHI designers can employ the use case-based evaluation approach to assess the fit of a CHI intervention with patients' health work, in the context of their daily activities and environment, which would be difficult or impossible to evaluate by laboratory-based studies.

Dose evaluation for external exposure in radiation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maruyama, Takashi

1989-01-01

Abnormal exposures including emergency and accidental are categorized into external exposure and internal contamination, although both of these may be associated with external contamination. From a point of view of lifesaving in the abnormal exposures, it is primarily important to evaluate radiation dose of exposed persons as soon as possible. This report reviews the status of early dosimetry in the accidental exposures and discusses the optimum methodology of the early dose determination for external exposures in abnormal exposures. Personal monitors generally give an indication of dose to an exposed person only at a single part of the body. The data obtained from the personal monitors should be interpreted with care and in the light of information about the circumstances of exposure. In most cases, the records of environmental monitors or the survey with area monitors provide valuable information on the radiation fields. In the some cases, the reconstruction of the abnormal exposure is required for the dose evaluation by means of phantom experiments. In the case of neutron exposures, activation products in the body or its components or personnel possession can be useful for the early dosimetry. If the dose received by the whole body is evaluated as being very high, clinical observations and biological investigations may be more important guide to initial medical treatment than the early dosimetry. For the dose evaluation of general public, depending on the size of abnormal exposure, information that could be valuable in the assessment of abnormal exposures will come from the early dose estimates with environmental monitors and radiation survey meters. (author)

Re-Designing Business Card Advertisements.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, Laura

2001-01-01

Discusses ways to turn information from a business card into an advertisement to be placed in a student publication. Addresses visual interest, typography, and other design issues. Includes several sample advertisements and a classroom activity involving redesigning a business card into an advertisement. (RS)

The External Cost Evaluation of the Nuclear Severe Accident Using CVM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yong Suk; Lee, Byung Chul

2006-01-01

The external cost of energy can be defined as 'the cost not included in the energy market price', such as air pollution, noise, etc. Within the evaluation of the external cost of nuclear energy, the estimation of the external cost of severe accident is one of the major topics to be addressed. For the evaluation of the external cost of severe accident, the effect of risk aversion of the public against the severe accident must be addressed, because people are more concerned about low probability - high consequence events than about high probability - low consequence events having the same mean damage. It is generally recognized that there is a discrepancy between the social acceptability of the risk and the average monetary value which corresponds in principle to the compensation of the consequences for each individual of the population affected by the accident. In this paper, the CVM (Contingent Valuation Method) is used to integrate the risk aversion in the external costs of nuclear severe accidents in Korea

Enzyme (re)design: lessons from natural evolution and computation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlt, John A; Babbitt, Patricia C

2009-02-01

The (re)design of enzymes to catalyze 'new' reactions is a topic of considerable practical and intellectual interest. Directed evolution (random mutagenesis followed by screening/selection) has been used widely to identify novel biocatalysts. However, 'rational' approaches using either natural divergent evolution or computational predictions based on chemical principles have been less successful. This review summarizes recent progress in evolution-based and computation-based (re)design.

Do the Math: Course Redesign's Impact on Learning and Scheduling

Science.gov (United States)

Squires, John; Faulkner, Jerry; Hite, Carl

2009-01-01

The math department at Cleveland State Community College embarked upon course redesign in 2008. As a result of this project, student engagement, learning, and success rates have increased dramatically. By including both developmental and college level math courses in the redesign, the department has been able to implement innovative scheduling and…

Using the Principles of SoTL to Redesign an Advanced Evolutionary Biology Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael deBraga

2015-03-01

Full Text Available A primary goal of university instruction is the students’ demonstration of improved, highly developed critical thinking (CT skills. However, how do faculty encourage CT and its potential concomitant increase in student workload without negatively impacting student perceptions of the course? In this investigation, an advanced biology course is evaluated after structural changes (implemented in 2010 met with a poor student evaluation of the course and the instructor. This analysis first examines the steps used to transform a course to encourage CT and then explains how it can be assessed. To accomplish these goals, the instructor collaborated with an educational developer to redesign the course using a philosophy informed by SoTL. This approach, as we see it, represents a set of principles that demand transparency in the development and application of strategies whose aim is to encourage student learning. However, the SoTL approach would be insufficient to simply promote a set of strategies without some mechanism for evaluating its efficacy. Therefore, we designed a “Graded Response” (GR multiple-choice test to measure CT development and hence to properly evaluate whether the strategies embedded in our SoTL-informed course redesign have adequately met our goals.

Development of consensus guidance to facilitate service redesign around pharmacist prescribing in UK hospital practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonna, Antonella; McCaig, Dorothy; Diack, Lesley; West, Bernice; Stewart, Derek

2014-10-01

The last decade has seen a drive towards non-medical prescribing in the United Kingdom (UK). However, there is a dearth of any published literature on applying the principles of service redesign to support pharmacist prescribing in any sphere of practice. To develop consensus guidance to facilitate service redesign around pharmacist prescribing. UK hospital practice. The Delphi technique was used to measure consensus of a panel of expert opinion holders in Scotland. Individuals with key strategic and operational roles in implementing initiatives of pharmacy practice and medicines management were recruited as experts. An electronic questionnaire consisting of 30 statements related to pharmacist prescribing service redesign was developed. These were presented as five-point Likert scales with illustrative quotes. Consensus, defined as 70 % of panel members agreeing (ranked strongly agree/agree) with each statement. Responses were obtained from 35/40 (87.5 %) experts in round one and 29 (72.5 %) in round two. Consensus in round one was achieved for 27/30 of statements relating to aspects of generic 'service development' (e.g. succession planning, multidisciplinary working, quality evaluation, practice development and outcome measures) and 'pharmacist prescribing role development' (e.g. education and future orientation of service). Issues of disagreement were around targeting of pharmacist prescribing to clinical specialities and financial remuneration for prescribing in the hospital setting. Consensus guidance has been developed to facilitate service redesign around hospital pharmacist prescribing.

Delivering Sustainability Through Supply Chain Distribution Network Redesign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Ravet

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose - Companies could gain (cost, service, green/sustainable competitive advantage through the supply chain network. The goal of this article is to study how to deliver sustainability through the supply chain distribution network redesign.Design/methodology/approach - A literature review is conducted to examine research relating to sustainable supply chain strategies and supply chain distribution network redesign.Findings - A study of the supply chain literature reveals the importance to rethink the supply chain distribution network design and to treat sustainability as integral to operations.

Outsourcing of Corporate Information Services: Implications for Redesigning Corporate Library Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Agada, John

1996-01-01

Examines the trend in outsourcing information services and suggests it threatens the survival of corporate libraries. Topics include changes in the competitive corporate environment; characteristics of outsourceable services; managing change; redesigning the corporate librarian's role; and implications for redesigning corporate information…

Including product features in process redesign

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Hauksdóttir, Dagný; Mortensen, Niels Henrik

2017-01-01

do not take into account how the product features are applied throughout the process, which makes it difficult to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the activities in the processes and to generate significant improvements. The suggested approach models the product family using the so......This article suggests a visual modelling method for integrating models of product features with business process models for redesigning the business processes involving specifications of customer-tailored products and services. The current methods for redesigning these types of business processes......-called product variant master and the business process modelling notation for modelling the process flow. The product model is combined with the process map by identifying features used in each step of the process flow. Additionally, based on the information absorbed from the integrated model, the value stream...

EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS IN LOMCE: TRANSPARENCY IN RURAL EDUCATION?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rogeli Santamaría Luna

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This document is intended to reflect on some articles of the Organic Law 2/2006 of 3 May on Education last modified by Organic Law 8/2013, of 9 December, to improve educational quality. We have selected those linked to external evaluation and transparency were discussed. In turn, the publication of Law 19/2013, of December 9, transparency, access to public information and good governance, imposes new obligations on the administrations and should result in the availability and dissemination of reports, as well as results. Both laws can promote knowledge of rural school if current approaches to external evaluation in Spain who do not usually attend rural uniqueness or do so partially. Thus they contribute to hiding the rural school or show a negative image of it because they have poorly contextualized results.

Reducing and Sustaining Duplicate Medical Record Creation by Usability Testing and System Redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Khunlertkit, Adjhaporn; Dorissaint, Leonard; Chen, Allen; Paine, Lori; Pronovost, Peter J

2017-10-25

Duplicate medical record creation is a common and consequential health care systems error often caused by poor search system usability and inappropriate user training. We conducted two phases of scenario-based usability testing with patient registrars working in areas at risk of generating duplicate medical records. Phase 1 evaluated the existing search system, which led to system redesigns. Phase 2 tested the redesigned system to mitigate potential errors before health system-wide implementation. To evaluate system effectiveness, we compared the monthly potential duplicate medical record rates for preimplementation and postimplementation months. The existing system could not effectively handle a misspelling, which led to failed search and duplicate medical record creation. Using the existing system, 96% of registrars found commonly spelled patient names whereas only 69% successfully found complicated names. Registrars lacked knowledge and usage of a phonetic matching function to assist in misspelling. The new system consistently captured the correct patient regardless of misspelling, but search returned more potential matches, resulting in, on average, 4 seconds longer to select common names. Potential monthly duplicate medical record rate reduced by 38%, from 4% to 2.3% after implementation of the new system, and has sustained at an average of 2.5% for 2 years. Usability testing was an effective method to reveal problems and aid system redesign to deliver a more user friendly system, hence reducing the potential for medical record duplication. Greater standards for usability would ensure that these improvements can be realized before rather than after exposing patients to risks.

Factors affecting adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustainability of the Redesigned Community Health Fund in Tanzania: a mixed methods protocol for process evaluation in the Dodoma region

Science.gov (United States)

Kalolo, Albino; Radermacher, Ralf; Stoermer, Manfred; Meshack, Menoris; De Allegri, Manuela

2015-01-01

Background Despite the implementation of various initiatives to address low enrollment in voluntary micro health insurance (MHI) schemes in sub-Saharan Africa, the problem of low enrollment remains unresolved. The lack of process evaluations of such interventions makes it difficult to ascertain whether their poor results are because of design failures or implementation weaknesses. Objective In this paper, we describe a process evaluation protocol aimed at opening the ‘black box’ to evaluate the implementation processes of the Redesigned Community Health Fund (CHF) program in the Dodoma region of Tanzania. Design The study employs a cross-sectional mixed methods design and is being carried out 3 years after the launch of the Redesigned CHF program. The study is grounded in a conceptual framework which rests on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Implementation Fidelity Framework. The study utilizes a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools (questionnaires, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and document review), and aligns the evaluation to the Theory of Intervention developed by our team. Quantitative data will be used to measure program adoption, implementation fidelity, and their moderating factors. Qualitative data will be used to explore the responses of stakeholders to the intervention, contextual factors, and moderators of adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustainability. Discussion This protocol describes a systematic process evaluation in relation to the implementation of a reformed MHI. We trust that the theoretical approaches and methodologies described in our protocol may be useful to inform the design of future process evaluations focused on the assessment of complex interventions, such as MHI schemes. PMID:26679408

Towards redesigning indigenous mung bean foods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dahiya, P.K.

2013-01-01

Redesigning traditional foods requires consideration of the various factors affecting the nutrient intake from such foods. Amongst these factors are adequate consumption, proper nutrient bioavailability and consumer satisfaction. These factors are related to traditional food quality at various

Malignant external otitis: CT evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtin, H.D.; Wolfe, P.; May, M.

1982-01-01

Malignant external otitis is an aggressive infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that most often occurs in elderly diabetics. Malignant external otitis often spreads inferiorly from the external canal to involve the subtemporal area and progresses medially towards the petrous apex leading to multiple cranial nerve palsies. The computed tomographic (CT) findings in malignant external otitis include obliteration of the normal fat planes in the subtemporal area as well as patchy destruction of the bony cortex of the mastoid. The point of exit of the various cranial nerves can be identified on CT scans, and the extent of the inflammatory mass correlates well with the clinical findings. Four cases of malignant external otitis are presented. In each case CT provided a good demonstration of involvement of the soft tissues at the base of the skull

An evolutionary approach for business process redesign : towards an intelligent system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Netjes, M.; Limam Mansar, S.; Reijers, H.A.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Cardoso, J.; Cordeiro, J.; Filipe, J.

2007-01-01

Although extensive literature on BPR is available, there is still a lack of concrete guidance on actually changing processes for the better. It is our goal to provide a redesign approach which describes and supports the steps to derive from an existing process a better performing redesign. In this

77 FR 35393 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2012-03; Redesignations of Federal Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-13

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2012-03; Redesignations of Federal Buildings AGENCY: Public Buildings... bulletin announces the designation and redesignation of three Federal buildings. Expiration Date: This bulletin announcement expires October 31, 2012. The building designation and redesignations remains in...

The creation of process redesigns by selecting, transforming and replacing process parts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Netjes, M.; Reijers, H.A.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.

2008-01-01

For companies to sustain competitive advantages, it is required to redesign and improve business processes continuously by monitoring and analyzing process enactment results. Furthermore, organizational structures must be redesigned according to the changes in business processes. However, there are

Factors affecting adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustainability of the Redesigned Community Health Fund in Tanzania: a mixed methods protocol for process evaluation in the Dodoma region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albino Kalolo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite the implementation of various initiatives to address low enrollment in voluntary micro health insurance (MHI schemes in sub-Saharan Africa, the problem of low enrollment remains unresolved. The lack of process evaluations of such interventions makes it difficult to ascertain whether their poor results are because of design failures or implementation weaknesses. Objective: In this paper, we describe a process evaluation protocol aimed at opening the ‘black box’ to evaluate the implementation processes of the Redesigned Community Health Fund (CHF program in the Dodoma region of Tanzania. Design: The study employs a cross-sectional mixed methods design and is being carried out 3 years after the launch of the Redesigned CHF program. The study is grounded in a conceptual framework which rests on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Implementation Fidelity Framework. The study utilizes a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools (questionnaires, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and document review, and aligns the evaluation to the Theory of Intervention developed by our team. Quantitative data will be used to measure program adoption, implementation fidelity, and their moderating factors. Qualitative data will be used to explore the responses of stakeholders to the intervention, contextual factors, and moderators of adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustainability. Discussion: This protocol describes a systematic process evaluation in relation to the implementation of a reformed MHI. We trust that the theoretical approaches and methodologies described in our protocol may be useful to inform the design of future process evaluations focused on the assessment of complex interventions, such as MHI schemes.

Does a grill menu redesign influence sales, nutrients purchased, and consumer acceptance in a worksite cafeteria?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maya K. Vadiveloo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Worksite cafeterias are compelling venues to improve diet quality through environmental changes.We conducted a pre-post study to evaluate how a cafeteria-initiated grill menu redesign influenced sales, revenue, and nutrient content of foods purchased. Secondly, we evaluated consumer opinions about menu changes to inform practices for worksite environment interventions. Monthly sales data (2012–2015 were used to compute gross sales and revenue of entrées and side dishes pre-post menu changes. Alternative protein sources replaced red meat; nutrient composition and nutrients purchased were compared using Food Pro software. Consumer responses were queried using online surveys; open-ended responses were analyzed using NVivo. Differences in sales and nutrient content pre-post menu redesign were tested with Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests. Gross sales of entrées (61 vs. 222servings/month; p=0.01 and side dishes (120 vs. 365servings/month; p=0.001 increased more than three-fold post-menu changes. Revenue from entrées (312 vs. 1144USD/month; p=0.01 and side dishes (238 vs. 914USD/month; p=0.001 also increased; per entrée, consumers purchased significantly more unsaturated fat (5g, and less saturated fat (3g and sodium (100mg. For side dishes, they purchased fewer calories (48kcal and unsaturated fat (2.9g, but more fiber (1.8g, and sodium (260mg. Four themes emerged from consumer responses: the importance of 1 variety, novelty, choice; 2 cost, affordability, value; 3 health; and 4 food quality, taste. Menu redesign can improve nutrient content, while also increasing sales and revenue. Multi-dimensional assessment of the nutritional, consumer, and retailer implications is desirable practice for enacting similar environmental changes. Keywords: Worksite health promotion, Food environment change, Consumer satisfaction, Menu redesign, Sales and revenue

The Role of the IT Department in Organizational Redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Lone Stub

2015-01-01

Focus within eHealth research is often on development and implementation. However, the role of information systems maintenance and management is often neglected. In order for the IT department to accommodate the needs of the hospitals and continuous change of organization and practice there is a need for developing an understanding of the complex relationship between the IT department and clinical practice. In this paper the concept of redesign is used to deepen our understanding of IT related organizational change in healthcare organizations. In the paper I argue that the IT department is a central partner, steward and power in organizational change and learning in hospitals as the IT department serve both as a barrier and a catalyst of change and flexibility in the organization through management of information systems maintenance and redesign. Therefore it is important to consider and secure appropriate forms for stewarding redesign and learning in cooperation between the health care organizations and the IT department.

The evaluation of external costs from energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, R.; Valette, P.; Krupnick, A.; Markandya, A.

1994-01-01

The paper outlines the progress of the joint EC-US Fuel Cycle study. This study seeks to provide a methodological framework for precisely the evaluation of external costs over the complete fuel cycle, from fuel extraction to decommissioning, conservation technologies, solar and wind power. (authors). 19 refs., 4 figs

Lean thinking across a hospital: redesigning care at the Flinders Medical Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Tovim, David I; Bassham, Jane E; Bolch, Denise; Martin, Margaret A; Dougherty, Melissa; Szwarcbord, Michael

2007-02-01

Lean thinking is a method for organising complex production processes so as to encourage flow and reduce waste. While the principles of lean thinking were developed in the manufacturing sector, there is increasing interest in its application in health care. This case history documents the introduction and development of Redesigning Care, a lean thinking-based program to redesign care processes across a teaching general hospital. Redesigning Care has produced substantial benefits over the first two-and-a-half years of its implementation, making care both safer and more accessible. Redesigning Care has not been aimed at changing the specifics of clinical practice. Rather, it has been concerned with improving the flow of patients through clinical and other systems. Concepts that emerged in the manufacturing sector have been readily translatable into health care. Lean thinking may play an important role in the reform of health care in Australia and elsewhere.

A study in usability: redesigning a health sciences library's mobile site.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosario, Jovy-Anne; Ascher, Marie T; Cunningham, Diana J

2012-01-01

A mobile site redesign was conducted at a medium-sized academic health sciences library with the goal of creating a site that meets the mobile information needs of its users. The redesign phases included (1) needs assessment, (2) usability testing, and (3) site design. The survey results showed that Apple devices were the most prevalent; the most desirable activities performed on a mobile site were searching for articles, accessing full-text articles and e-books, searching databases, and searching the catalog. These activities guided the development of the usability testing tasks and the redesign. All phases were completed within six months, and the total project cost was $50 for incentive purchases. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Aerodynamic Analysis and Three-Dimensional Redesign of a Multi-Stage Axial Flow Compressor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Ning

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the introduction of three-dimension (3-D blade designs into a 5-stage axial compressor with multi-stage computational fluid dynamic (CFD methods. Prior to a redesign, a validation study is conducted for the overall performance and flow details based on full-scale test data, proving that the multi-stage CFD applied is a relatively reliable tool for the analysis of the follow-up redesign. Furthermore, at the near stall point, the aerodynamic analysis demonstrates that significant separation exists in the last stator, leading to the aerodynamic redesign, which is the focus of the last stator. Multi-stage CFD methods are applied throughout the three-dimensional redesign process for the last stator to explore their aerodynamic improvement potential. An unconventional asymmetric bow configuration incorporated with leading edge re-camber and re-solidity is employed to reduce the high loss region dominated by the mainstream. The final redesigned version produces a 13% increase in the stall margin while maintaining the efficiency at the design point.

Costing analysis and anthropological assessment of the vaccine supply chain system redesign in the Comé District (Benin).

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiao Xian; Guillermet, Elise; Le Gargasson, Jean-Bernard; Alfa, Daleb Abdoulaye; Gbodja, Romule; Sossou, Adanmavokin Justin; Jaillard, Phillippe

2017-04-19

At the end of 2013, a pilot experiment was carried out in Comé health zone (HZ) in an attempt to optimize the vaccine supply chain. Four commune vaccine storage facilities were replaced by one central HZ facility. This study evaluated the incremental financial needs for the establishment of the new system; compared the economic cost of the supply chain in the Comé HZ before and after the system redesign; and analyzed the changes induced by the pilot project in immunization logistics management. The purposive sampling method was used to draw a sample from 37 health facilities in the zone for costing evaluation. Data on inputs and prices were collected retrospectively for 2013 and 2014. The analysis used an ingredient-based approach. In addition, 44 semi-structured interviews with health workers for anthropological analysis were completed in 2014. The incremental financial costs amounted to US$55,148, including US$50,605 for upfront capital investment and US$4543 for ongoing recurrent costs. Annual economic cost per dose administered (including all vaccines distributed through the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI)) in the Comé HZ increased from US$0.09 before system redesign to US$0.15 after implementation, mainly due to a high initial investment and the operational cost of HZ mobile warehouse. Interviews with health workers suggested that the redesigned system was associated with improvements in motivation and professional awareness due to training, supportive supervision, and improved work conditions. The system redesign involved a considerable investment at HZ level. Benefits were found in the reduction of transportation costs to health posts (HP) and commune health center (CHC) levels, and the strengthening of health workers professional skills at all levels in Comé. The redesigned system contributed to a decrease in funding needs at HP and CHC levels. The benefits of the investment need to be examined after the introduction of new vaccines and after a

[The external evaluation of study quality: the role in maintaining the reliability of laboratory information].

Science.gov (United States)

Men'shikov, V V

2013-08-01

The external evaluation of quality of clinical laboratory examinations was gradually introduced in USSR medical laboratories since 1970s. In Russia, in the middle of 1990 a unified all-national system of external evaluation quality was organized known as the Federal center of external evaluation of quality at the basis of laboratory of the state research center of preventive medicine. The main positions of policy in this area were neatly formulated in the guidance documents of ministry of Health. Nowadays, the center of external evaluation of quality proposes 100 and more types of control studies and permanently extends their specter starting from interests of different disciplines of clinical medicine. The consistent participation of laboratories in the cycles of external evaluation of quality intrinsically promotes improvement of indicators of properness and precision of analysis results and increases reliability of laboratory information. However, a significant percentage of laboratories does not participate at all in external evaluation of quality or takes part in control process irregularly and in limited number of tests. The managers of a number of medical organizations disregard the application of the proposed possibilities to increase reliability of laboratory information and limit financing of studies in the field of quality control. The article proposes to adopt the national standard on the basis of ISO 17043 "Evaluation of compliance. The common requirements of professional competence testing".

Redesigning a clinical mentoring program for improved outcomes in the clinical training of clerks

OpenAIRE

Lin, Chia-Der; Lin, Blossom Yen-Ju; Lin, Cheng-Chieh; Lee, Cheng-Chun

2015-01-01

Introduction: Mentorship has been noted as critical to medical students adapting to clinical training in the medical workplace. A lack of infrastructure in a mentoring program might deter relationship building between mentors and mentees. This study assessed the effect of a redesigned clinical mentoring program from the perspective of clerks. The objective was to assess the benefits of the redesigned program and identify potential improvements.Methods: A redesigned clinical mentoring program ...

76 FR 54772 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2011-B2; Redesignations of Federal Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-02

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2011-B2; Redesignations of Federal Buildings AGENCY: Public Buildings... announces the designation and redesignation of two Federal buildings. Expiration Date: This bulletin announcement expires January 31, 2012. The building designation and redesignation remains in effect until...

75 FR 69080 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2010-B5; Redesignations of Federal Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-10

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2010-B5; Redesignations of Federal Buildings AGENCY: Public Buildings... announces the designation and redesignation of two Federal buildings. DATES: Expiration Date: This bulletin announcement expires April 30, 2011. The building designation and redesignation remains in effect until...

76 FR 6792 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2011-B1; Redesignations of Federal Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-08

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2011-B1; Redesignations of Federal Buildings AGENCY: Public Buildings... announces the redesignations of three Federal buildings. DATES: Expiration Date: This bulletin announcement expires June 30, 2011. The building redesignations remain in effect until canceled or superseded by...

Redesigning current instruments as a precondition for a more effective environmental protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adžemović Mesud R.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The problems of environment and evaluation of natural capital belong to the phenomenology of externalities, and the requirements of environmental economics are ever more oriented towards the elaboration of the ecological–economic category of the externalization of internal expenses, wherefrom reasons for the introduction of ecological–economic instruments, before all payments for pollutions, ensue. Demystification of the negative conviction relating ecological payments as taxes is very important, since it must be shown that ecological payments correct, mitigate or remove externalities. Environmental protection is a complex system and it consists in a set of rules, measures and instruments that are applied for the surveillance of pollution sources, and shaping of instruments for environmental protection is a complex process intended for the accomplishment of established ecological goals. Among all instruments available for bridging the gap of internalization and exerting a significant effect on polluters to diminish their emissions of pollution, the ecological and economic ones are most important. The results of our investigation have demonstrated that it is necessary to reshape the current set of instruments regarding protection of vital functions of nature and an efficient environmental protection, and one of the key cognitions is that the scientific and professional public must not be excluded from the appraisals of creating and redesigning the instruments of environmental protection. These assertions have their foundation in the premise that the significance of elements of the social dimension in sustainable development is to a great extent determined by the level of environmental degradation and reduction in capacity of renewable sources. The paper, approach and data processing of the conducted research offer a new model and new elements of methodology for establishing the state and quality of the environment, whereby social

Redesigning Schools to Raise Achievement. Where We Stand. Item Number 39-0232

Science.gov (United States)

American Federation of Teachers, 2006

2006-01-01

This document contains resolution text adopted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in July 1998 regarding Redesigning Low-Performing Schools. A Question & Answer section follows the resolution, addressing the following issues: (1) Union support for redesign or closure of low-performing schools; (2) Indicators of low-performing schools…

75 FR 44264 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2010-B4; Redesignation of Federal Building

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-28

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2010-B4; Redesignation of Federal Building AGENCY: Public Buildings... announces the redesignation of a Federal building. DATES: Expiration Date: This bulletin expires December 31, 2010. However, the building redesignation announced by this bulletin will remain in effect until...

Designing and redesigning medical telecare services: a forces-oriented model.

Science.gov (United States)

Gortzis, L G

2007-01-01

Medical telecare services' designing and redesigning still remains a challenging issue since it often depends on how a number of socio-technological issues are framed. This work has two key objectives; the former is to theoretically analyze the nature of a telecare environment by developing a model that reveals potential areas of analysis and the latter is to support designing and redesigning medical telecare services by formulating a strategy as well as a number of 'state of the art' guidelines. We have extended Leavitt's diamond to develop a model capable of accurately reflecting the telecare environment building dimensions as well as their interactions. This model depends on the i) technology, ii) collaborators, iii) tasks, iv) structure, v) social forces, and the vi) procedure dimensions. Taking this model as a core element we have proposed a service designing and redesigning strategy formulating, in parallel, six scalable dimension-oriented guidelines. During the two-year period (2003-2005) an enormous amount of data was collected (by active participating in two EU projects, by conducting semistructured interviews, by performing onsite observations as well as by reviewing 78 previous projects) and classified, structuring six guidelines. These guidelines can be considered as the 'state of the art' to support future services' design and redesign. This work considering the telecare environment as a multi-dimensional, operational organization has put the focus on accurate telecare services' design and redesign. The parameters are not limited, by any means, and are drawn from experience of designing services in a variety of telecare domains. The optimal parameter combination must be chosen according to the aim of each telecare procedure. Further research is needed to determine the minimum parameters to support telecare service design.

Learning to Redesign Teacher Education: A Conceptual Framework to Support Program Change

Science.gov (United States)

Anagnostopoulos, Dorothea; Levine, Thomas; Roselle, Rene; Lombardi, Allison

2018-01-01

University-based teacher education faces intensifying pressure to prove its effectiveness. This has prompted renewed interest in program redesign. In this article, we argue that enacting meaningful redesign requires university-based teacher educators to learn new ways of thinking and acting not only with teacher candidates but also with their…

Mandated Preparation Program Redesign: Kentucky Case

Science.gov (United States)

Browne-Ferrigno, Tricia

2013-01-01

This case study presents a chronicle of events spanning a decade in Kentucky that led to state policy changes for principal preparation and details the response to those mandated changes by professors at the University of Kentucky. Professors' collaborative efforts resulted in a new teacher leadership program and redesigned principal certification…

76 FR 59600 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Redesignation of Lake and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-27

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Redesignation of Lake and Porter... redesignation of the Lake and Porter Counties, Indiana portion (Lake and Porter Counties) of the Chicago-Gary... or standard). EPA is proposing to approve the redesignation request for Lake and Porter Counties...

Alignment of the External Evaluation and Specific Features of Waldorf1 Pedagogy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Liszka

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Evaluation and assessment have increasing importance in education. Because of an international trend toward greater school autonomy, evaluation and assessment is fueling a need to monitor how schools are doing as, simultaneously, with demand is increasing for effectiveness, equity and quality in all fields of education, whether mainstream or alternative (OECD, 2013. This study aims to observe the state-required external evaluation of Waldorf kindergartens in Berlin, until now the only case in international practice in which the state has evaluated Waldorf/Steiner institutions’ professional work. The main question is how these institutions can preserve their own profiles during the external evaluation process. This question also has great importance in Hungary because a new state evaluation system has recently been introduced that will concern the Waldorf/Steiner schools.

Methodology and findings of the NRC's materials licensing process redesign

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rathbun, P.A.; Brown, K.D.; Madera, J.R.; Moriarty, M.; Pelchat, J.M.; Usilton, W.K.; Whitten, J.E.; Vacca, P.C.

1996-04-01

This report describes the work and vision of the team chartered to redesign the process for licensing users of nuclear materials. The Business Process Redesign team was chartered to improve the speed of the existing licensing process while maintaining or improving public safety and to achieve required resource levels. The report describes the team's methods for acquiring and analyzing information about the existing materials licensing process and the steps necessary to radically change this process to the envisioned future process

Course Redesign: An Evidence-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Nomme, Kathy; Birol, Gülnur

2014-01-01

A first year non-majors biology course, with an enrollment of around 440 students, has been redesigned from a course of traditional content and teaching style to one that emphasizes biological concepts in current global issues and incorporates active learning strategies. We were informed by the education literature incorporating many aspects of…

Redesigning Menstrual Education Programs Using Attitudes toward Menstruation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kieren, Dianne K.

1992-01-01

Critiques current menstrual education efforts and reviews current data about the nature of adolescent girls' attitudes toward menstruation as the basis for redesigning comprehensive, effective menstrual education programs. (Author)

Strength in unity: the power of redesign to align the hospital team.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Anthony; Cochrane, Alastair; Courtice, Sally; Flanigan, Kathy; Mathur, Mandeep; Wilckens, Daniel

2014-06-01

The aim of Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital (QEII) redesign project (QEII United) was to enhance timely access to an inpatient bed and maximise opportunities to value add during the inpatient episode of care. A tripartite relationship between the hospital team, system manager and external consultants. The team, QEII United, was formed to 'diagnose, solve and implement' change under the unifying metaphorical banner of a football team. A marketing strategy and communication plan targeted the key 'players' and outlined the 'game plan'. Baseline data were collected, analysed and reported in keeping with key aims. Strategies for systems improvement implementation were attached to key performance indicators (KPIs). Thematic KPIs were developed to embed internal process change to reflect the contributions made towards the National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) at each stage of the patient journey. As such, access block of under 20%, morning discharge rates of 50% before midday, reduced length of stay for selected elective orthopaedic and general medical diagnostic related groupings (DRGs; i.e. relative stay index ≤1) and hospital in the home (HITH) utilisation rates 1.5% of all admissions were all met. Key to sustainability was the transfer of clinical redesign skills to hospital staff and the fostering of emergent ground up leadership. QEII United's success has been underpinned by the development of themed solution areas developed by the hospital staff themselves. Robust baseline data analysis used in combination with nationally available benchmarking data provided a quantitative starting point for the work. The collaborative elements of the program re-energised the hospital team, who were kept informed by targeted communications, to establish quick wins and build trust and momentum for the more challenging areas.

External Evaluation of Education and Teacher Work: The Brazilian Case

Science.gov (United States)

Rothen, José Carlos; da Cunha Malheiros Santana, Andréia

2015-01-01

This article aims to discuss whether external evaluations are instruments to ensure increased quality of public school education. It is part of a research that investigated how evaluation results and the resulting indices were used in two schools in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). The methodology adopted was the case study, using different…

High School Redesign Gets Presidential Lift

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Caralee J.

2013-01-01

President Barack Obama applauded high school redesign efforts in his State of the Union address and encouraged districts to look to successful models for inspiration. Last week, he followed up with a request in his fiscal 2014 budget proposal for a new, $300 million competitive-grant program. Recognition is widespread that high schools need to…

Redesigning ambulatory care business processes supporting clinical care delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, C; Sinkewich, M; Short, J; Callas, E

1997-04-01

The first step in redesigning the health care delivery process for ambulatory care begins with the patient and the business processes that support the patient. Patient-related business processes include patient access, service documentation, billing, follow-up, collection, and payment. Access is the portal to the clinical delivery and care management process. Service documentation, charge capture, and payment and collection are supporting processes to care delivery. Realigned provider networks now demand realigned patient business services to provide their members/customers/patients with improved service delivery at less cost. Purchaser mandates for cost containment, health maintenance, and enhanced quality of care have created an environment where every aspect of the delivery system, especially ambulatory care, is being judged. Business processes supporting the outpatient are therefore being reexamined for better efficiency and customer satisfaction. Many health care systems have made major investments in their ambulatory care environment, but have pursued traditional supporting business practices--such as multiple access points, lack of integrated patient appointment scheduling and registration, and multiple patient bills. These are areas that are appropriate for redesign efforts--all with the customer's needs and convenience in mind. Similarly, setting unrealistic expectations, underestimating the effort required, and ignoring the human elements of a patient-focused business service redesign effort can sabotage the very sound reasons for executing such an endeavor. Pitfalls can be avoided if a structured methodology, coupled with a change management process, are employed. Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group has been involved in several major efforts, all with ambulatory care settings to assist with the redesign of their business practices to consider the patient as the driver, instead of the institution providing the care.

A Lightweight Structure Redesign Method Based on Selective Laser Melting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Tang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to present a new design method of lightweight parts fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM based on the “Skin-Frame” and to explore the influence of fabrication defects on SLM parts with different sizes. Some standard lattice parts were designed according to the Chinese GB/T 1452-2005 standard and manufactured by SLM. Then these samples were tested in an MTS Insight 30 compression testing machine to study the trends of the yield process with different structure sizes. A set of standard cylinder samples were also designed according to the Chinese GB/T 228-2010 standard. These samples, which were made of iron-nickel alloy (IN718, were also processed by SLM, and then tested in the universal material testing machine INSTRON 1346 to obtain their tensile strength. Furthermore, a lightweight redesigned method was researched. Then some common parts such as a stopper and connecting plate were redesigned using this method. These redesigned parts were fabricated and some application tests have already been performed. The compression testing results show that when the minimum structure size is larger than 1.5 mm, the mechanical characteristics will hardly be affected by process defects. The cylinder parts were fractured by the universal material testing machine at about 1069.6 MPa. These redesigned parts worked well in application tests, with both the weight and fabrication time of these parts reduced more than 20%.

Patients-people-place: developing a framework for researching organizational culture during health service redesign and change.

Science.gov (United States)

Gale, Nicola K; Shapiro, Jonathan; McLeod, Hugh S T; Redwood, Sabi; Hewison, Alistair

2014-08-20

Organizational culture is considered by policy-makers, clinicians, health service managers and researchers to be a crucial mediator in the success of implementing health service redesign. It is a challenge to find a method to capture cultural issues that is both theoretically robust and meaningful to those working in the organizations concerned. As part of a comparative study of service redesign in three acute hospital organizations in England, UK, a framework for collecting data reflective of culture was developed that was informed by previous work in the field and social and cultural theory. As part of a larger mixed method comparative case study of hospital service redesign, informed by realist evaluation, the authors developed a framework for researching organisational culture during health service redesign and change. This article documents the development of the model, which involved an iterative process of data analysis, critical interdisciplinary discussion in the research team, and feedback from staff in the partner organisations. Data from semi-structured interviews with 77 key informants are used to illustrate the model. In workshops with NHS partners to share and debate the early findings of the study, organizational culture was identified as a key concept to explore because it was perceived to underpin the whole redesign process. The Patients-People-Place framework for studying culture focuses on three thematic areas ('domains') and three levels of culture in which the data could be organised. The framework can be used to help explain the relationship between observable behaviours and cultural artefacts, the values and habits of social actors and the basic assumptions underpinning an organization's culture in each domain. This paper makes a methodological contribution to the study of culture in health care organizations. It offers guidance and a practical approach to investigating the inherently complex phenomenon of culture in hospital organizations

From Telecourses to Online Courses: A Story of Redesign | Du cours télévisé au cours en ligne : une histoire de redesign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claude Potvin

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This case deals with the redesign of a standard telecourse - printed material, professional studio video recordings and phone tutoring – into an online course. The redesign involved an adjunct professor in the Humanities having some experience in distance education but little with learning technologies. It was a two-year project including the grant application process. The main issues included replacing television-based content with multimedia content; understanding the complexity of interactions between materials, students, and tutors; and adapting traditional assessment approaches to online instruments and methods.

Evaluation of a pilot intervention to redesign the decentralised vaccine supply chain system in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Molemodile, Shola; Wotogbe, Maruchi; Abimbola, Seye

2017-05-01

Responsibility for immunisation in Nigeria is decentralised to sub-national governments. So far, they have failed to achieve optimal coverage for their populations. We evaluated a pilot intervention implemented between 2013 and 2014 to redesign a vaccine supply chain management system in Kano, Nigeria. The intervention included financing immunisation services from a designated pool of government and donor funds, a visibility tool to track vaccine stock, and a private vendor engaged to deliver vaccines directly to health facilities. The number of local government areas within the state with adequate vaccine stock increased from 21% to 98% after 10 months. To understand how the intervention achieved this outcome, we analysed immunisation coverage for the period and interviewed 18 respondents across different levels of government. We found that the intervention worked by improving ownership and accountability for immunisation by sub-national governments and their capacity for generating resources and management (of data and the supply chain). While the intervention focused on improving immunisation coverage, we identified gaps in the demand for services. Efforts to improve immunisation coverage and vaccine supply systems should streamline decentralised structures, empower sub-national governments with financial and technical capacity, and promote strategies to improve the demand and use of services.

RSA Monitoring Redesign Initiative Informational Booklet #2

Science.gov (United States)

US Department of Education, 2005

2005-01-01

The U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) is undertaking a major initiative to substantially redesign its program monitoring and improvement system. The overriding goal is to improve vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities through the development of a…

Redesigning photosynthesis to sustainably meet global food and bioenergy demand

Science.gov (United States)

Ort, Donald R.; Merchant, Sabeeha S.; Alric, Jean; Barkan, Alice; Blankenship, Robert E.; Bock, Ralph; Croce, Roberta; Hanson, Maureen R.; Hibberd, Julian M.; Long, Stephen P.; Moore, Thomas A.; Moroney, James; Niyogi, Krishna K.; Parry, Martin A. J.; Peralta-Yahya, Pamela P.; Prince, Roger C.; Redding, Kevin E.; Spalding, Martin H.; van Wijk, Klaas J.; Vermaas, Wim F. J.; von Caemmerer, Susanne; Weber, Andreas P. M.; Yeates, Todd O.; Yuan, Joshua S.; Zhu, Xin Guang

2015-01-01

The world’s crop productivity is stagnating whereas population growth, rising affluence, and mandates for biofuels put increasing demands on agriculture. Meanwhile, demand for increasing cropland competes with equally crucial global sustainability and environmental protection needs. Addressing this looming agricultural crisis will be one of our greatest scientific challenges in the coming decades, and success will require substantial improvements at many levels. We assert that increasing the efficiency and productivity of photosynthesis in crop plants will be essential if this grand challenge is to be met. Here, we explore an array of prospective redesigns of plant systems at various scales, all aimed at increasing crop yields through improved photosynthetic efficiency and performance. Prospects range from straightforward alterations, already supported by preliminary evidence of feasibility, to substantial redesigns that are currently only conceptual, but that may be enabled by new developments in synthetic biology. Although some proposed redesigns are certain to face obstacles that will require alternate routes, the efforts should lead to new discoveries and technical advances with important impacts on the global problem of crop productivity and bioenergy production. PMID:26124102

Environmental external effects from wind power based on the EU ExternE methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

1998-01-01

of the Danish part of the project is to implement the framework for externality evaluation, for three different power plants located in Denmark. The paper will focus on the assessment of the impacts of the whole fuel cycles for wind, natural gas and biogas. Priority areas for environmental impact assessment......The European Commission has launched a major study project, ExternE, to develop a methodology to quantify externalities. A “National Implementation Phase”, was started under the Joule II programme with the purpose of implementing the ExternE methodology in all member states. The main objective...

RSA Monitoring Redesign Initiative Informational Booklet #1

Science.gov (United States)

US Department of Education, 2005

2005-01-01

This informational booklet contains background materials regarding the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) initiative to redesign its monitoring system. The booklet is intended to expand the knowledge and understanding of those individuals selected to participate in the RSA-sponsored monitoring conference that was held August 24 and 25,…

Methodology and findings of the NRC`s materials licensing process redesign

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rathbun, P.A.; Brown, K.D.; Madera, J.R.; Moriarty, M.; Pelchat, J.M.; Usilton, W.K.; Whitten, J.E.; Vacca, P.C.

1996-04-01

This report describes the work and vision of the team chartered to redesign the process for licensing users of nuclear materials. The Business Process Redesign team was chartered to improve the speed of the existing licensing process while maintaining or improving public safety and to achieve required resource levels. The report describes the team`s methods for acquiring and analyzing information about the existing materials licensing process and the steps necessary to radically change this process to the envisioned future process.

Aplikasi Ergonomic Function Deployment (Efd Pada Redesign Alat Parut Kelapa Untuk Ibu Rumah Tangga

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Zulfhi Surya

2015-04-01

Ergonomic Function Deployment (Efd Application In Coconut Grater Redesign For HousewifeAbstract. Pulverizing (coconut grated is one of daily kitchen worksconducted by housewives. A common existing coconut grater which is available on the market is normally works using a crank system. Housewives have complaints of pain in the limbs, especially the hands, waist and back after using this grater. This study aims to improve the design of coconut grater with Ergonomic Function Deployment (EFD based system and determine the housewife musculoskeletal decline as users. Further, to examine pulverizing time difference after redesign. The study was conducted at RT. 001 RW. 005 West Tembilahan Hulu village, subdistrict Tembilahan Indragiri Hilir. The method use in this study is same design subject (treatment by subjects design with co added Colton equation. Atotal of 12 housewives were used and subjected to the calculation. A grater redesign with EFD system was obtained by creating House of Ergonomic (HOE matrices and determining the anthropometric data. Whilst musculoskeletal disorders were obtained by generating Nordic Body Map (NBMworksheets questionnaire. Moreover, pulverizing time was obtained by testing coconut graterused before and after redesign. Results of the study showed that the redesign tool based on Ergonomic Function Deployment (EFD systemwasfound to be more convenient form which five ergonomics aspects required was fulfilled: effective, convenient, safe, healthy, and efficient (ENASE. Housewife musculoskeletal complaints decreased by 0.285% or 17.39%. This study also shows that coconut pulverizing time is 5 minutes faster and increased by 30.10% after redesigning the coconut grater crank system.

Does a grill menu redesign influence sales, nutrients purchased, and consumer acceptance in a worksite cafeteria?

OpenAIRE

Maya K. Vadiveloo; Vasanti S. Malik; Donna Spiegelman; Walter C. Willett; Josiemer Mattei

2017-01-01

Worksite cafeterias are compelling venues to improve diet quality through environmental changes.We conducted a pre-post study to evaluate how a cafeteria-initiated grill menu redesign influenced sales, revenue, and nutrient content of foods purchased. Secondly, we evaluated consumer opinions about menu changes to inform practices for worksite environment interventions. Monthly sales data (2012–2015) were used to compute gross sales and revenue of entrées and side dishes pre-post menu changes....

Applying cognitive load theory to the redesign of a conventional database systems course

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Raina; Seton, Carolyn; Cooper, Graham

2016-01-01

Cognitive load theory (CLT) was used to redesign a Database Systems course for Information Technology students. The redesign was intended to address poor student performance and low satisfaction, and to provide a more relevant foundation in database design and use for subsequent studies and industry. The original course followed the conventional structure for a database course, covering database design first, then database development. Analysis showed the conventional course content was appropriate but the instructional materials used were too complex, especially for novice students. The redesign of instructional materials applied CLT to remove split attention and redundancy effects, to provide suitable worked examples and sub-goals, and included an extensive re-sequencing of content. The approach was primarily directed towards mid- to lower performing students and results showed a significant improvement for this cohort with the exam failure rate reducing by 34% after the redesign on identical final exams. Student satisfaction also increased and feedback from subsequent study was very positive. The application of CLT to the design of instructional materials is discussed for delivery of technical courses.

Evaluation of external hazards to nuclear power plants in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, C.Y.; Budnitz, R.J.

1987-12-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has performed a study of the risk of core damage to nuclear power plants in the United States due to externally initiated events. The broad objective has been to gain an understanding of whether or not each external initiator is among the major potential accident initiators that may pose a threat of severe reactor core damage or of large radioactive release to the environment from the reactor. Four external hazards were investigated in this report. These external hazards are internal fires, high winds/tornadoes, external floods, and transportation accidents. Analysis was based on two figures-of-merit, one based on core damage frequency and the other based on the frequency of large radioactive releases. Using these two figures-of-merit as evaluation criteria, it has been feasible to ascertain whether the risk from externally initiated accidents is, or is not, an important contributor to overall risk for the US nuclear power plants studied. This has been accomplished for each initiator separately. 208 refs., 17 figs., 45 tabs

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 1. Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.; Berry, J.

1995-01-01

There is a growing requirement for policy analysts to take account of the environment in their decision making and to undertake the specified cost-benefit analysis. Within the European Union this is reflected in the 5th Environmental Action Programme, and the Commission's White Paper entitled 'Growth, competitiveness, employment and the ways forward to the 21st century'. This has led to a need for evaluation of environmental externalities. The ExternE Project commenced in 1991 as the European part of a collaborative study between the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. It aims to be the first systematic approach to the evaluation of external costs of a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project will result in an operational accounting framework for the quantification and monetarisation of priority environmental and other externalities. This framework will allow the calculation of the marginal external costs and benefits for specific power plants, at specific sites using specified technologies. There are three major phases in the project. Phase 1 was undertaken in collaboration with the US Department of Energy. In this phase the teams jointly developed the conceptual approach and methodology and shared scientific information for application to a number of fuel cycles. On the European side work concentrated on the nuclear and coal fuel cycles which together were expected to raise many of the fundamental issues in fuel cycle analysis. The project is currently nearing completion of Phase 2. During this phase the methodology has been applied to a wide range of different fossil, nuclear and renewable fuel cycles for power generation and energy conservation options. Also a series of National Implementation Programmes is underway in which the methodology and accounting framework are being applied to reference sites throughout Europe. In addition the general methodology is being extended to address the evaluation of externalities associated with

A Flipped Classroom Redesign in General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Scott A.

2016-01-01

The flipped classroom continues to attract significant attention in higher education. Building upon our recent parallel controlled study of the flipped classroom in a second-term general chemistry course ("J. Chem. Educ.," 2016, 93, 13-23), here we report on a redesign of the flipped course aimed at scaling up total enrollment while…

Economic effect of fusion in energy market. Various externalities of energy systems and the integrated evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Keishiro

2002-01-01

The primacy of a nuclear fusion reactor in a competitive energy market remarkably depends on to what extent the reactor contributes to reduce the externalities of energy. The reduction effects are classified into two effects, which have quite dissimilar characteristics. One is an effect of environmental dimensions. The other is related to energy security. In this study I took up the results of EC's ExternE project studies as a representative example of the former effect. Concerning the latter effect, I clarified the fundamental characteristics of externalities related to energy security and the conceptual framework for the purpose of evaluation. In the socio-economical evaluation of research into and development investments in nuclear fusions reactors, the public will require the development of integrated evaluation systems to support the cost-effect analysis of how well the reduction effects of externalities have been integrated with the effects of technological innovation, learning, spillover, etc. (author)

77 FR 40358 - Federal Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2012-03; Redesignations of Federal Buildings...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-09

... Management Regulation; FMR Bulletin PBS-2012-03; Redesignations of Federal Buildings: Correction AGENCY: Public Buildings Service (PBS), General Services Administration (GSA). ACTION: Notice of a bulletin..., 2012, a bulletin announcing the designation and redesignation of three Federal buildings. Inadvertently...

Process efficiency. Redesigning social networks to improve surgery patient flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Samarth, Chandrika N; Gloor, Peter A

2009-01-01

We propose a novel approach to improve throughput of the surgery patient flow process of a Boston area teaching hospital. A social network analysis was conducted in an effort to demonstrate that process efficiency gains could be achieved through redesign of social network patterns at the workplace; in conjunction with redesign of organization structure and the implementation of workflow over an integrated information technology system. Key knowledge experts and coordinators in times of crisis were identified and a new communication structure more conducive to trust and knowledge sharing was suggested. The new communication structure is scalable without compromising on coordination required among key roles in the network for achieving efficiency gains.

External evaluation policies: emphasis in the cognitive and socioemotional competences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elma Júlia Gonçalves de Carvalho

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This article presents reflections on the Brazilian policies for external evaluation with the aim to question the relevance of the emphasis that has been given to the different skills. Thereunto, we analyze the goals, the basis and the references of Brazilian main basic education test (Prova Brasil and the SENNA Project, relating them to the new capital requirements and directions of international organizations from the 1990s. According to the analysis, initially, external evaluations focused on the amount of knowledge obtained, and later began to be guided by the model of different types of skills, influencing the way teachers assess and handle knowledge, that is their pedagogical conceptions. The results show that the logic of competences corresponds to a trend in political and pedagogical directions of denial of scientific and cultural knowledge, and of the school role as responsible for the distribution, as equally as possible, of systematized knowledge.

Experiences of first-year nursing students during an education redesign: findings from the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostrogorsky, Tanya L; Raber, Anjanette M

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to summarize first-year students' (n = 908) experience during a nursing education redesign. Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) began its redesign of nursing education in 2000, long before the current national calls for nursing education reform. As OCNE moved from planning to implementation, a comprehensive evaluation of the students, the program, and curriculum ensued. Data were collected from first-year nursing students each spring from 2007-2010 using a standardized survey instrument that included demographic, attitudinal, and opinion-based survey items. Results indicated fellow students, course lectures and interaction, and faculty and courses were rated areas of satisfaction. Areas needing improvement included advising and facilities, administration, quality of instruction and curriculum, and overall program effectiveness. Mean scaled and open-ended responses from each area are reported.

Redesigning rain gauges network in Johor using geostatistics and simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aziz, Mohd Khairul Bazli Mohd; Yusof, Fadhilah; Daud, Zalina Mohd; Yusop, Zulkifli; Kasno, Mohammad Afif

2015-01-01

Recently, many rainfall network design techniques have been developed, discussed and compared by many researchers. Present day hydrological studies require higher levels of accuracy from collected data. In numerous basins, the rain gauge stations are located without clear scientific understanding. In this study, an attempt is made to redesign rain gauge network for Johor, Malaysia in order to meet the required level of accuracy preset by rainfall data users. The existing network of 84 rain gauges in Johor is optimized and redesigned into a new locations by using rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, temperature and wind speed data collected during the monsoon season (November - February) of 1975 until 2008. This study used the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing as the algorithm of optimization during the redesigned proses. The result shows that the new rain gauge location provides minimum value of estimated variance. This shows that the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing is successful in the development of the new optimum rain gauge system

Redesigning rain gauges network in Johor using geostatistics and simulated annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz, Mohd Khairul Bazli Mohd; Yusof, Fadhilah; Daud, Zalina Mohd; Yusop, Zulkifli; Kasno, Mohammad Afif

2015-02-01

Recently, many rainfall network design techniques have been developed, discussed and compared by many researchers. Present day hydrological studies require higher levels of accuracy from collected data. In numerous basins, the rain gauge stations are located without clear scientific understanding. In this study, an attempt is made to redesign rain gauge network for Johor, Malaysia in order to meet the required level of accuracy preset by rainfall data users. The existing network of 84 rain gauges in Johor is optimized and redesigned into a new locations by using rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, temperature and wind speed data collected during the monsoon season (November - February) of 1975 until 2008. This study used the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing as the algorithm of optimization during the redesigned proses. The result shows that the new rain gauge location provides minimum value of estimated variance. This shows that the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing is successful in the development of the new optimum rain gauge system.

Redesigning rain gauges network in Johor using geostatistics and simulated annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aziz, Mohd Khairul Bazli Mohd, E-mail: mkbazli@yahoo.com [Centre of Preparatory and General Studies, TATI University College, 24000 Kemaman, Terengganu, Malaysia and Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Yusof, Fadhilah, E-mail: fadhilahy@utm.my [Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Daud, Zalina Mohd, E-mail: zalina@ic.utm.my [UTM Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM KL, 54100 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Yusop, Zulkifli, E-mail: zulyusop@utm.my [Institute of Environmental and Water Resource Management (IPASA), Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Kasno, Mohammad Afif, E-mail: mafifkasno@gmail.com [Malaysia - Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM KL, 54100 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2015-02-03

Recently, many rainfall network design techniques have been developed, discussed and compared by many researchers. Present day hydrological studies require higher levels of accuracy from collected data. In numerous basins, the rain gauge stations are located without clear scientific understanding. In this study, an attempt is made to redesign rain gauge network for Johor, Malaysia in order to meet the required level of accuracy preset by rainfall data users. The existing network of 84 rain gauges in Johor is optimized and redesigned into a new locations by using rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, temperature and wind speed data collected during the monsoon season (November - February) of 1975 until 2008. This study used the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing as the algorithm of optimization during the redesigned proses. The result shows that the new rain gauge location provides minimum value of estimated variance. This shows that the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing is successful in the development of the new optimum rain gauge system.

Participatory ergonomics in redesigning a dyeing tub for fabric dyers.

Science.gov (United States)

Parimalam, P; Premalatha, M R; Padmini, D S; Ganguli, A K

2012-01-01

The 'saree' worn by women in India and many South Asian countries is dyed using a tub, usually in small scale units employing low capital and a small number of workers. While using these tubs, workers adopt awkward postures over long periods of time which results in severe discomfort in the neck, shoulders and lower extremities. The purpose of the study was to redesign the dyeing tub using a participatory approach and to study the impact of the newly designed tub on the reported body discomfort and rate of production. Redesigning of the dyeing tub was carried out using three parallel participative processes--(1) eliciting the views of workers who use the tub, (2) interacting with the proprietors of the small scale dyeing units (the employers) and the tub manufacturers, and (3) iterative prototype tub development based on inputs from the first two processes. These processes facilitated involvement of the stake-holders and the acceptance of change. The final prototype was tested by nine workers for a period of three months to evaluate the reduction in body discomfort and increase in rate of production (output). Studies on the impact of the new tub showed a reduction in discomfort level from 'severe' to 'moderate', and a mean increase of 7.9% in the output, confirming the benefits of the participative approach to ergonomics intervention. The involvement, trust and credibility generated by the participative process facilitated the acceptance of the final design.

Acceptance of lean redesigns in primary care: A contextual analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Dorothy; Gray, Caroline; Martinez, Meghan; Schmittdiel, Julie; Harrison, Michael I

Lean is a leading change strategy used in health care to achieve short-term efficiency and quality improvement while promising longer-term system transformation. Most research examines Lean intervention to address isolated problems, rather than to achieve broader systemic changes to care delivery. Moreover, no studies examine contextual influences on system-wide Lean implementation efforts in primary care. The aim of this study was to identify contextual factors most critical to implementing and scaling Lean redesigns across all primary care clinics in a large, ambulatory care delivery system. Over 100 interviews and focus groups were conducted with frontline physicians, clinical staff, and operational leaders. Data analysis was guided by a modified Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), a popular implementation science framework. On the basis of expert recommendations, the modified framework targets factors influencing the implementation of process redesigns. This modified framework, the CFIR-PR, informed our identification of contextual factors that most impacted Lean acceptance among frontline physicians and staff. Several domains identified by the CFIR-PR were critical to acceptance of Lean redesigns. Regarding the implementation process acceptance was influenced by time and intensity of exposure to changes, "top-down" versus "bottom-up" implementation styles, and degrees of employee engagement in developing new workflows. Important factors in the inner setting were the clinic's culture and style of leadership, along with availability of information about Lean's effectiveness. Last, implementation efforts were impacted by individual and team characteristics regarding changed work roles and related issues of professional identity, authority, and autonomy. This study underscores the need for change leaders to consider the contextual factors that surround efforts to implement Lean in primary care. As Lean redesigns are scaled across a system

Externalities of fuel cycles 'ExternE' project. Summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.; Berry, J.

1994-01-01

There is a growing requirement for policy analysts to take account of the environment in their decision making and to undertake the specified cost-benefit analysis. Within the European Union this is reflected in the 5th Environmental Action Programme, and the Commission's White Paper entitled 'Growth, competitiveness, employment and the ways forward to the 21st century'. This has led to a need for evaluation of environmental externalities. The ExternE Project commenced in 1991 as the European part of a collaborative study between the European Commission and the US Department of Energy. It aims to be the first systematic approach to the evaluation of external costs of a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project will result in an operational accounting framework for the quantification and monetarisation of priority environmental and other externalities. This framework will allow the calculation of the marginal external costs and benefits for specific power plants, at specific sites using specified technologies. There are three major phases in the project. Phase I was undertaken in collaboration with the US Department of Energy. In this phase the teams jointly developed the conceptual approach and methodology and shared scientific information for application to a number of fuel cycles. On the European side work concentrated on the nuclear and coal fuel cycles which together were expected to raise many of the fundamental issues in fuel cycle analysis. The project is currently nearing completion of Phase 2. During this phase the methodology has been applied to a wide range of different fossil, nuclear and renewable fuel cycles for power generation and energy conservation options. Also a series of National Implementation Programmes are underway in which the methodology and accounting framework are being applied to reference sites throughout Europe. In addition the general methodology is being extended to address the evaluation of externalities associated with

Redesign of the SNS Modulator H-Bridge for Utilization of Press-Pack IGBTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemp, Mark A.; Burkhart, Craig; /SLAC; Anderson, David E.; /Oak Ridge

2008-09-25

The power conversion group at SLAC is currently redesigning the H-bridge switch plates of the High Voltage Converter Modulators at the Spallation Neutron Source. This integral part to the modulator operation has been indentified as a source of several modulator faults and potentially limits reliability with pulse width modulation operation. This paper is a presentation of the design and implementation of a redesigned switch plate based upon press-pack IGBTs.

The ExternE project: methodology, objectives and limitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabl, A.; Spadaro, J.V.

2002-01-01

This paper presents a summary of recent studies on external costs of energy systems, in particular the ExternE (External Costs of Energy) Project of the European Commission. To evaluate the impact and damage cost of a pollutant, one needs to carry out an impact pathway analysis; this involves the calculation of increased pollutant concentrations in all affected regions due to an incremental emission (e.g. μg/m 3 of particles, using models of atmospheric dispersion and chemistry), followed by the calculation of physical impacts (e.g. number of cases of asthma due to these particles, using a dose-response function). The entire so-called fuel chain (or fuel cycle) is evaluated and compared on the basis of delivered end use energy. Even though the uncertainties are large, the results provide substantial evidence that the classical air pollutants (particles, NO x and SO x ) from the combustion of fossil fuels impose a heavy toll, in addition to the cost of global warming. The external costs are especially large for coal; even for 'good current technology' they may be comparable to the price of electricity. For natural gas the external costs are about a third to a half of coal. The external costs of nuclear are small compared to the price of electricity (at most a few %), and so are the external costs of most renewable energy systems. (authors)

External Dacryocystorhinostomy; Success Rate and Causes of Failure in Endoscopic and Pathologic Evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghasemi, Hassan; Asghari Asl, Sajedeh; Yarmohammadi, Mohammad Ebrahim; Jafari, Farhad; Izadi, Pupak

2017-01-01

External dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is the method of choice to treat nasolacrimal duct (NLD) obstruction and the other approaches are compared with it, with a failure rate of 4% to 13%. The current study aimed to assess the causes of failure in external DCR by postoperative endoscopic and pathological evaluation. The current retrospective cross sectional study followed-up113 patients with external DCR and silicone intubation for three months. Silicone tubes were removed after the third months. Failure was confirmed based on the clinical findings and irrigation test. Paranasal sinus computed tomography (CT) scanning, and endoscopic and pathological evaluations were performed in the failed cases. Totally, 113 patients underwent external DCR. The patients included 71 females and 42 males. The mean age of the patients was 55.91 years; ranged from 18 to 86. Epiphora was the most common complaint before surgery (90.3%). Clinically, epiphora continued in 17 cases (15%), of which 94.11% had at least one sinus CT abnormality and 82.35% had at least one endoscopic abnormality. The most common endoscopic findings were deviated septum (70.6%), scar tissue (52.94%), concha bullosa (46.9%), septal adhesion (47.05%), enlarged middle turbinate (41.2%), and sump syndrome (11.7%). The failure was significantly associated with the chronicity of the initial symptoms (P-value=0.00). Pathologically, there were significant relationship amongst the failure rate, scar formation, and allergic rhinitis (P-values =0.00 and <0.05, respectively). Preoperative endonasal evaluation and consultation with an otolaryngologist can improve surgical outcomes and help to have a better conscious to intranasal abnormalities before external DCR surgery.

Does a grill menu redesign influence sales, nutrients purchased, and consumer acceptance in a worksite cafeteria?

Science.gov (United States)

Vadiveloo, Maya K; Malik, Vasanti S; Spiegelman, Donna; Willett, Walter C; Mattei, Josiemer

2017-12-01

Worksite cafeterias are compelling venues to improve diet quality through environmental changes. We conducted a pre-post study to evaluate how a cafeteria-initiated grill menu redesign influenced sales, revenue, and nutrient content of foods purchased. Secondly, we evaluated consumer opinions about menu changes to inform practices for worksite environment interventions. Monthly sales data (2012-2015) were used to compute gross sales and revenue of entrées and side dishes pre-post menu changes. Alternative protein sources replaced red meat; nutrient composition and nutrients purchased were compared using Food Pro software. Consumer responses were queried using online surveys; open-ended responses were analyzed using NVivo. Differences in sales and nutrient content pre-post menu redesign were tested with Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests. Gross sales of entrées (61 vs. 222 servings/month; p = 0.01) and side dishes (120 vs. 365 servings/month; p = 0.001) increased more than three-fold post-menu changes. Revenue from entrées (312 vs. 1144 USD/month; p = 0.01) and side dishes (238 vs. 914 USD/month; p = 0.001) also increased; per entrée, consumers purchased significantly more unsaturated fat (5 g), and less saturated fat (3 g) and sodium (100 mg). For side dishes, they purchased fewer calories (48 kcal) and unsaturated fat (2.9 g), but more fiber (1.8 g), and sodium (260 mg). Four themes emerged from consumer responses: the importance of 1) variety, novelty, choice; 2) cost, affordability, value; 3) health; and 4) food quality, taste. Menu redesign can improve nutrient content, while also increasing sales and revenue. Multi-dimensional assessment of the nutritional, consumer, and retailer implications is desirable practice for enacting similar environmental changes.

External school evaluation in Portugal : a glance at the impacts on curricular and pedagogical practices

OpenAIRE

Leite, Carlinda; Morgado, José Carlos; Seabra, Filipa

2014-01-01

Conferência realizada na Universidade do Minho, em Braga de 18-19 de outubro de 2013 Answering demands for an increase of accountability in terms of public education, and intending to lead to an improvement of the quality of education (Conselho Nacional de Educação, 2010), external school evaluation has been taking place in the continental territory of Portugal since 2006. All the schools having been evaluated once, in what is known as the 1st cycle of external evaluation, and a 2nd cycle ...

77 FR 73575 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; Redesignation of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-11

...) (supplemented at 57 FR 18070, April 28, 1992) and has provided further guidance on processing redesignation requests in the following documents: 1. ``Procedures for Processing Requests to Redesignate Areas to... interpolation between VISTAS/ASIP 2012 and 2018 modeling inventory. The 2022 EGU inventory for PM 2.5 , NO X...

Preliminary design package for residential heating/cooling system: Rankine air conditioner redesign

Science.gov (United States)

1978-01-01

A summary of the preliminary redesign and development of a marketable single family heating and cooling system is presented. The interim design and schedule status of the residential (3-ton) redesign, problem areas and solutions, and the definition of plans for future design and development activities were discussed. The proposed system for a single-family residential heating and cooling system is a single-loop, solar-assisted, hydronic-to-warm-air heating subsystem with solar-assisted domestic water heating and a Rankine-driven expansion air-conditioning subsystem.

The benefits of redesigning Benin's vaccine supply chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Shawn T; Schreiber, Benjamin; Cakouros, Brigid E; Wateska, Angela R; Dicko, Hamadou M; Connor, Diana L; Jaillard, Philippe; Mvundura, Mercy; Norman, Bryan A; Levin, Carol; Rajgopal, Jayant; Avella, Mélanie; Lebrun, Caroline; Claypool, Erin; Paul, Proma; Lee, Bruce Y

2014-07-07

New vaccine introductions have put strains on vaccine supply chains around the world. While increasing storage and transportation may be the most straightforward options, it is also important to consider what financial and operational benefits can be incurred. In 2012, suboptimal vaccine coverage and impending vaccine introductions prompted the Republic of Benin's Ministry of Health (MOH) to explore ways to improve their vaccine supply chain. Working alongside the Beninese MOH, we utilized our computational model, HERMES, to explore the impact on cost and vaccine availability of three possible options: (1) consolidating the Commune level to a Health Zone level, (2) removing the Commune level completely, and (3) removing the Commune level and expanding to 12 Department Stores. We also analyzed the impact of adding shipping loops during delivery. At baseline, new vaccine introductions without any changes to the current system increased the logistics cost per dose ($0.23 to $0.26) and dropped the vaccine availability to 71%. While implementing the Commune level removal scenario had the same capital costs as implementing the Health Zone scenario, the Health Zone scenario had lower operating costs. This increased to an overall cost savings of $504,255 when implementing shipping loops. The best redesign option proved to be the synergistic approach of converting to the Health Zone design and using shipping loops (serving ten Health Posts/loop). While a transition to either redesign or only adding shipping loops was beneficial, implementing a redesign option and shipping loops can yield both lower capital expenditures and operating costs. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Logistics Centres Establishment: External and Internal Factors

OpenAIRE

Rasciauskaite, Daiva; Raudeliūnienė, Jurgita

2011-01-01

One of the most important research objects in comprehensive theories of strategic management for theoreticians and representatives of logistics is making appropriate competitive strategic decisions and achieving a competitive advantage in dynamic and uncertain business environment. The aim of the topic is to create the conceptual model of evaluation of logistics centres establishment, which allows complex assessment of external and internal factors of competition of logistics centres. The pro...

The Role of External Sources of Information in Children's Evaluative Food Categories

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Simone P.

2012-01-01

Evaluative food categories are value-laden assessments, which reflect the healthfulness and palatability of foods (e.g. healthy/unhealthy, yummy/yucky). In a series of three studies, this research examines how 3- to 4-year-old children (N?=?147) form evaluative food categories based on input from external sources of information. The results…

Comparison and improvements of different Bayesian procedures to integrate external information into genetic evaluations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vandenplas, J.; Gengler, N.

2012-01-01

The aim of this research was to compare different Bayesian procedures to integrate information from outside a given evaluation system, hereafter called external information, and in this context estimated breeding values (EBV), into this genetic evaluation, hereafter called internal evaluation, and

Environmental externalities related to power production on biogas and natural gas based on the EU ExternE methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Sieverts; Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner

1998-01-01

This paper assesses the environmental impacts and external costs from selected electricity generation systems in Denmark. The assessment is carried out as part of the ExternE National Implementation, which is the second phase of the ExternE project and involves case studies from all Western...... European countries. The project use a “bottom-up” methodology to evaluate the external costs associated with a wide range of different fuel cycles. The project has identified priority impacts, where most are impacts from air emissions. Externalities due to atmospheric emissions are calculated through...

Redesigning a control room from an ergonomic point of view : a case study of user participation in a chemical plant

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schaaf, van der T.W.; Kragt, H.; Kragt, H.

1992-01-01

A field study in a chemical industry was conducted to redesign a control room with panel instrumentation into one with visual display units (VDUs). The authors had been asked to advise the project team and to participate in the application. First, a general evaluation of the central control room

Preliminary design package for residential heating/cooling system--Rankine air conditioner redesign

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-12-01

This report contains a summary of the preliminary redesign and development of a marketable single-family heating and cooling system. The objectives discussed are the interim design and schedule status of the Residential (3-ton) redesign, problem areas and solutions, and the definition of plans for future design and development activities. The proposed system for a single-family residential heating and cooling system is a single-loop, solar-assisted, hydronic-to-warm-air heating subsystem with solar-assisted domestic water heating and a Rankine-driven expansion air-conditioning subsystem.

A University Web Portal redesign applying accessibility patterns. Breaking Down Barriers for Visually Impaired Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hernán Sosa

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Definitely, the WWW and ICTs have become the preferred media for the interaction between society and its citizens, and public and private organizations have today the possibility of deploying their activities through the Web. In particular, university education is a domain where the benefits of these technological resources can strongly contribute in caring for students. However, most university Web portals are inaccessible to their user community (students, professors, and non-teaching staff, between others, since these portals do not take into account the needs of people with different capabilities. In this work, we propose an accessibility pattern driven process to the redesign of university Web portals, aiming to break down barriers for visually impaired users. The approach is implemented to a real case study: the Web portal of Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA. The results come from applying accessibility recommendations and evaluation tools (automatic and manual from internationally recognized organizations, to both versions of the Web portal: the original and the redesign one.

On Engineering Support for Business Process Modelling and Redesign

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doumeingts, G.; Franken, H.M.; de Weger, M.K.; Browne, J.; Quartel, Dick; Ferreira Pires, Luis

1997-01-01

Currently, there is an enormous (research) interest in business process redesign (BPR). Several management-oriented approaches have been proposed showing how to make BPR work. However, detailed descriptions of empirical experience are few. Consistent engineering methodologies to aid and guide a

External evaluation in municipal level: The impacts of an experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana Ferrarotto

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The external evaluation is a consolidated reality in our country. Besides the state and federal ones, there are some municipalities that develop their own evaluation programs. To contribute with the debate about the external evaluations, this article presents data from a research which aim was to identify the actions from the Educational Secretariat from a city in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, opposite to the results of PROMASE (Municipal Assessment of the Educational System and its impact in school’s units. It is still being analyzed the path taken by the program with the aim of explaining its conception of the teaching quality. This way, the qualitative research was chosen based on the interviews with the Educational Secretary, teachers and school’s managers. Accordingly with the Secretary, after PROMASE, actions since improvements in the buildings to curricular restructuring and continuing educational were made. Even without the rankings and performance payments, it is noticeable in schools the built of what is called “hidden” and “adjustment” rankings of the pedagogical and evaluative practices to the matrix and to the evaluative instrument of the program to improve the teaching quality and improve the index. For an evaluative system to bring contributions to the network, it is noticeable that the quality must be anchored to the social quality, which more than the index, establishes its own scale as a protagonist in the process of looking to itself, adverse to the blaming of the teachers for the standards tests results and that, consequently, favors the social, political, cultural and human formation of the students.

Key strategies and criteria to redesigning the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iakimets, V.N.

1999-01-01

Design of the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) impacts future development of the nuclear industry on the one hand and the scale of the technological and environmental risk for future generations on the other hand. Adequate protection for humans and the biosphere will depend upon careful and unbiased design of the NFC. This paper addresses the two following problems: 1. What are the key strategies in restructuring nuclear power production itself in terms of choosing the safest possible variant of the NFC and identifying reasonable approaches to redesigning decision-making procedures for design, siting and operation, and decommissioning of new facilities, which have to be based on a strong legally approved citizen involvement. 2. What criteria should be used to evaluate any strategic or mid-term decisions related to the NFC, how can these be made operational, and what procedures may we apply to evaluate alternatives and select the most preferable one mutually acceptable to both citizens and nuclear specialists?

SPECT imaging in evaluating extent of malignant external otitis: case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

English, R.J.; Tu'Meh, S.S.; Piwnica-Worms, D.; Holman, B.L.

1987-01-01

Otitis externa, a benign inflammatory process of the external auditory canal, is general responsive to local therapy. Some patients however, develop a less controllable disease leading to chondritis and osteomyelitis of the base of the skull. The direct invasive characteristic of the disease has led to the descriptive term malignant external otitis (MEO), more appropriately called necrotizing or invasive external otitis. Malignant external otitis is caused by an aggressive pseudomonas or proteus infection that almost exclusively occurs in elderly diabetic patients. The primary imaging modalities previously used in the diagnosis and evaluation of MEO were standard planar scintigraphic techniques with technetium-99M (/sup 99m/Tc) bone agents and gallium-67 ( 67 Ga), and pluridirectional tomography. The advent of high resolution computed tomography (CT) effectively allowed demonstration of the soft tissue extension and bone destruction associated with MEO, but still suffered from the low sensitivity constraints of all radiographic techniques in determining early inflammatory bone involvement. Recent work suggests that scintigraphic detection of MEO with /sup 99m/Tc-MDP and 67 Ga, combined with the cross-sectional resolution of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) may be of value in planning treatment of this inflammatory condition

Subsurface barrier feasibility evaluation: External review meeting report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindberg, S.L.; Rouse, J.K.

1994-12-01

The Westinghouse Hanford Company -- Tank Waste Remediation System Division (TWRS) Program is evaluating subsurface barrier technologies for potential use in supporting remediation of the Hanford Tank Farms for the US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL). An External Review Team (ERT) was assembled to perform an independent technical review of the work performed to-date supporting the evaluation process. A set of draft documents was forwarded to the ERT for their review, and a meeting was held August 10 through 12, 1994, to facilitate comments and resolutions. This document summarizes the meeting, the comments provided by the ERT, and the ongoing work to resolve the comments and support a pending decision by The US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office; the Washington State Department of Ecology; and the US Environmental Protection Agency

Advancing Care Within an Adult Mental Health Day Hospital: Program Re-Design and Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Taube-Schiff, Marlene; Mehak, Adrienne; Marangos, Sandy; Kalim, Anastasia; Ungar, Thomas

2017-11-13

Day hospital mental health programs provide alternate care to individuals of high acuity that do not require an inpatient psychiatric stay. Ensuring provision of best practice within these programs is essential for patient stabilization and recovery. However, there is scant literature to review when creating such a program. This paper provides an overview of the steps an acute care hospital took when designing and implementing new programming within a day hospital program. Qualitative data was collected following initial program rollout. This data helped to inform the ongoing modification of groups offered, group scheduling and content, as well as ensuring patient satisfaction and adequate skill delivery during the rollout period and beyond. The goal of this paper is to inform health service delivery for other programs when attempting to build or re-design a day hospital program.

Redesigning a Ministry of Health's organizational structure: exploring implementation challenges through Botswana's experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Seitio-Kgokgwe, Onalenna; Gauld, Robin D C; Hill, Philip C; Barnett, Pauline

2016-04-01

The Botswana's Ministry of Health redesigned and adopted a new organizational structure in 2005, which was poorly implemented. This article explores factors that influenced the implementation of this organizational structure. This article draws from data collected through in-depth interviews with 54 purposively selected key informants comprising policy makers, senior managers and staff of the Ministry of Health (N = 40) and senior officers from various stakeholder organizations (N = 14). Participants generally felt that the review of the Ministry of Health organizational structure was important. The previous structure was considered obsolete with fragmented functions that limited the overall performance of the health system. The new organizational structure was viewed to be aligned to current national priorities with potential to positively influence performance. Some key weaknesses identified included lack of consultation and information sharing with workers during the restructuring process, which affected the understanding of their new roles, failure to mobilize key resources to support implementation of the new structure and inadequate monitoring of the implementation process. Redesigning an organizational structure is a major change. There is a need for effective and sustained leadership to plan, direct, coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation phase of the reform. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

25 CFR 20.203 - Can a tribe incorporate assistance from other sources into a tribal redesign plan?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...-477 federal funding sources) in the plan. ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Can a tribe incorporate assistance from other sources... tribe incorporate assistance from other sources into a tribal redesign plan? Yes, when a tribe redesigns...

Investigate-and-redesign tasks as a context for learning and doing science and technology: A study of naive, novice and expert high school and adult designers doing product comparisons and redesign tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Crismond, David Paul

This thesis studied high school students and adults with varying degrees of design experience doing two technology investigate-and-redesign (I&R) tasks. Each involved subjects investigating products, designing experiments to compare them fairly, and then redesigning the devices. A total of 25 pairs of subjects participated in this investigation and included naive and novice high school designers, as well as naive, novice, and expert adult designers. Subjects of similar age and design experience worked in same-gender teams and met for two 2-hour sessions. The essential research question of this thesis was: "What process skills and concepts do naive, novice and expert designers use and learn when investigating devices, designing experiments, and redesigning the devices?" Three methodologies were used to gather and analyze the data: clinical interviewing (Piaget, 1929/1960), protocol analysis (Ericsson & Simon, 1984) and interaction analysis (Jordan and Henderson, 1995). The thesis provides composite case-studies of 10 of the 50 test sessions, buttressed by descriptions of performance trends for all subjects. Given the small sample sizes involved, the findings are by necessity tentative and not supported by statistical analysis: (1) I&R activities are engaging, less time-intensive complements to design-and-build tasks, which involve simple mechanical devices and carry with them a host of potential "alternative understandings" in science and technology. Much gets learned during these tasks, more involving "device knowledge" and "device inquiry skills" than "big ideas" in science and technology. (2) Redesign tasks scaffold naive and novice designers to improved performance in the multidimensional and context-specific activity of design. The performances of naive and novice designers were more like that of expert designers when redesigning existing devices than when doing start-from-scratch designing. (3) Conceptual redesign involved more analysis- than synthesis

76 FR 76302 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Redesignation of Lake and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-07

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Redesignation of Lake and Porter...). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: EPA is taking several related actions affecting Lake and Porter Counties and... redesignation of Lake and Porter Counties to attainment of the 1997 annual PM 2.5 standard. EPA is approving, as...

An economic evaluation of nuclear power plant externalities, using the hedonic price approach

OpenAIRE

Kato, Hirotaka; Ueta, Kazuhiro

2012-01-01

This study evaluates the external costs of nuclear power plants in Japan. Using the hedonic price approach, we analyze changes in land price in Fukui Prefecture before and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The land in question is located far from the Fukushima accident area and was not directly impacted by the accident itself. The results of this study reveal that the area affected by the nuclear power plant's negative externalities expanded following the accident, and that the intensity ...

Redesigning School Accountability and Support: Progress in Pioneering States

Science.gov (United States)

Cook-Harvey, Channa M.; Stosich, Elizabeth Leisy

2016-01-01

How might policymakers and educators utilize the work already being done as states redesign their accountability systems? The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), brought much needed attention to the performance of traditionally underserved subgroups of students. Supported by greater flexibility under ESEA…

Field Evaluation of the System Identification Approach for Tension Estimation of External Tendons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myung-Hyun Noh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Various types of external tendons are considered to verify the applicability of tension estimation method based on the finite element model with system identification technique. The proposed method is applied to estimate the tension of benchmark numerical example, model structure, and field structure. The numerical and experimental results show that the existing methods such as taut string theory and linear regression method show large error in the estimated tension when the condition of external tendon is different with the basic assumption used during the derivation of relationship between tension and natural frequency. However, the proposed method gives reasonable results for all of the considered external tendons in this study. Furthermore, the proposed method can evaluate the accuracy of estimated tension indirectly by comparing the measured and calculated natural frequencies. Therefore, the proposed method can be effectively used for field application of various types of external tendons.

Redesigning the work system of rubber industries based on total ergonomics and ergo-micmac integration

Science.gov (United States)

Setiawan, H.

2018-01-01

The factory capacity achievement and the bottleneck reduction of production process at wet-blanket workstations are influenced by the balance of life quality rates and worker’s productivity, along with the worker’s ability and limitations, tasks, organization and work environment. The life quality of workers is indicated by: the reduction of workload, and fatigue. Meanwhile, work productivity is measured by increasing production results per work shift. The optimization of the quality of life and productivity of workers is achieved by redesigning the system and workstations based on ergonomics integrating Total Ergonomics with Ergo-MicMac (Micro Ergonomics and Macro Ergonomics), which includes redesigning wet-blanket folding worktable, regulating the system pattern of working in pairs, giving official break time, giving extra nutritious intakes such as sweet tea and snack Pempek, giving personal protective equipments, and redesigning physical working environments.This study was an experimental study, with treatment by subject design involving 30 workers sampled at a workstation condition before and after Ergonomics based redesign. The findings and conclusions of the study were derived from the reduction of the workload by 16.06%, fatigue by 18.84% and the increase of production results per work shift by 20.29%.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-12-01

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

External Economies Evaluation of Wind Power Engineering Project Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process and Matter-Element Extension Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-ze Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The external economies of wind power engineering project may affect the operational efficiency of wind power enterprises and sustainable development of wind power industry. In order to ensure that the wind power engineering project is constructed and developed in a scientific manner, a reasonable external economies evaluation needs to be performed. Considering the interaction relationship of the evaluation indices and the ambiguity and uncertainty inherent, a hybrid model of external economies evaluation designed to be applied to wind power engineering project was put forward based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP and matter-element extension model in this paper. The AHP was used to determine the weights of indices, and the matter-element extension model was used to deduce final ranking. Taking a wind power engineering project in Inner Mongolia city as an example, the external economies evaluation is performed by employing this hybrid model. The result shows that the external economies of this wind power engineering project are belonged to the “strongest” level, and “the degree of increasing region GDP,” “the degree of reducing pollution gas emissions,” and “the degree of energy conservation” are the sensitive indices.

Redesigning Manufacturing Footprint from Dynamic Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Cheng; Farooq, Sami; Johansen, John

2009-01-01

footprint to address the constantly emerging new challenges by giving a holistic approach from dynamic perspective. Three Danish companies are presented. The way they developed their international manufacturing networks is analysed historically, and their redesigning of manufacturing footprint is expressed...... as how to re-assign portfolios of products and processes between specific plants within the same manufacturing network at one point in time. The strategic factors that have impact on such decisions are discussed and classified into two groups. Last, a holistic framework and a process model is presented...

Using Technology, Clinical Workflow Redesign, and Team Solutions to Achieve the Patient Centered Medical Home

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Redesign, and Team Solutions to Achieve the Patient Centered Medical Home LTC Nicole Kerkenbush, MHA, MN Army Medical Department, Office of the...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Using Technology, Clinical Workflow Redesign, and Team Solutions to Achieve the Patient Centered Medical Home 5a. CONTRACT...Describe how these tools are being used to implement the Patient Centered Medical Home care model 2 2011 MHS Conference MEDCOM AHLTA Provider Satisfaction

[THE VIRTUAL CYTOLOGIC SLIDES FOR EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CYTOLOGIC ANALYSES IN CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES: POSSIBILITIES AND PERSPECTIVES].

Science.gov (United States)

Djangirova, T V; Shabalova, I P; Pronichev, A N; Polyakov, E V

2015-08-01

The article considers application of technology of analysis of cytological slides in external quality control of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The advantages of virtual slides are demonstrated against other applied technologies of external evaluation of quality i.e. slide plate and digital micro-photography. The conditions of formation of virtual slides for external evaluation of quality of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The technology of their application is described. The success of practical application of considered technology in the Federal system of external evaluation of quality is emphasized.

Externalities of energy. Swedish implementation of the ExternE methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Maans; Gullberg, M.

1998-01-01

The growing interest for developing economic instruments for efficient environmental policies has opened up a large area of multi-disciplinary research. ExternE is an example of this research, combining disciplines such as engineering, ecology, immunology and economics expertise to create new knowledge about how environmental pressures from energy production affect our nature and society. The ExternE Project aims to identify and, as far as possible quantify the externalities of energy production in Europe. The Stockholm Environment Institute has carried out a preliminary aggregation: -Coal Fuel Cycle: centred around Vaesteraas Kraftvaermeverk, Vaesteraas. This is the largest co-generation plant in Sweden, with four blocks and a maximum co-generation output of 520 MW electricity and 950 MW heat. The analysis is carried out on boiler B4. -Biomass Fuel Cycle: centred around Haendeloeverket, Norrkoeping. This plant predominately burns forestry residues, but a variety of fuels are combusted. Haendeloeverket has an installed capacity of 100 MW electricity and 375 MW heat, in a total of three boilers and two back-pressure turbines. The analysis is carried out on boiler P13. -Hydro Fuel Cycle: Klippens Kraftstation, Storuman. Built in 1990-1994, it is the youngest hydro power station in Sweden. It has been designed and built with significant efforts to account for and protect environmental values. Installed capacity is 28 MW. The environmental impact assessment from the construction of this plant is carried out, but the evaluation is still not finalized. The preliminary aggregation aimed to test whether ExternE results could be used to make estimates for the entire Swedish electricity production system. Hence, national results as well as results from other partner countries in ExternE has been applied

Is State-Mandated Redesign an Effective and Sustainable Solution?

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Michelle D.

2013-01-01

There is a pervasive and ongoing perception that leadership preparation is a problem. Important questions remain about the intentions, capacity, and impact of state departments of education engaged in leadership preparation program redesign. In this essay, I take up several issues concerning this state policy work, including whether a one size…

Computational redesign of a mononuclear zinc metalloenzyme for organophosphate hydrolysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khare, Sagar D.; Kipnis, Yakov; Greisen, Per Junior

2012-01-01

The ability to redesign enzymes to catalyze noncognate chemical transformations would have wide-ranging applications. We developed a computational method for repurposing the reactivity of metalloenzyme active site functional groups to catalyze new reactions. Using this method, we engineered a zinc...

Digital prototyping technique applied for redesigning plastic products

Science.gov (United States)

Pop, A.; Andrei, A.

2015-11-01

After products are on the market for some time, they often need to be redesigned to meet new market requirements. New products are generally derived from similar but outdated products. Redesigning a product is an important part of the production and development process. The purpose of this paper is to show that using modern technology, like Digital Prototyping in industry is an effective way to produce new products. This paper tries to demonstrate and highlight the effectiveness of the concept of Digital Prototyping, both to reduce the design time of a new product, but also the costs required for implementing this step. The results of this paper show that using Digital Prototyping techniques in designing a new product from an existing one available on the market mould offers a significantly manufacturing time and cost reduction. The ability to simulate and test a new product with modern CAD-CAM programs in all aspects of production (designing of the 3D model, simulation of the structural resistance, analysis of the injection process and beautification) offers a helpful tool for engineers. The whole process can be realised by one skilled engineer very fast and effective.

A systematic review of human factors and ergonomics (HFE)-based healthcare system redesign for quality of care and patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Anping; Carayon, Pascale

2015-01-01

Healthcare systems need to be redesigned to provide care that is safe, effective and efficient, and meets the multiple needs of patients. This systematic review examines how human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is applied to redesign healthcare work systems and processes and improve quality and safety of care. We identified 12 projects representing 23 studies and addressing different physical, cognitive and organisational HFE issues in a variety of healthcare systems and care settings. Some evidence exists for the effectiveness of HFE-based healthcare system redesign in improving process and outcome measures of quality and safety of care. We assessed risk of bias in 16 studies reporting the impact of HFE-based healthcare system redesign and found varying quality across studies. Future research should further assess the impact of HFE on quality and safety of care, and clearly define the mechanisms by which HFE-based system redesign can improve quality and safety of care.

Usability Testing in a Library Web Site Redesign Project.

Science.gov (United States)

McMullen, Susan

2001-01-01

Discusses the need for an intuitive library information gateway to meet users' information needs and describes the process involved in redesigning a library Web site based on experiences at Roger Williams University. Explains usability testing methods that were used to discover how users were interacting with the Web site interface. (Author/LRW)

Redesigning a Large Introductory Course to Incorporate the GAISE Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Woodard, Roger; McGowan, Herle

2012-01-01

In 2005, the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education" (GAISE) college report described several recommendations for teaching introductory statistics. This paper discusses how a large multi-section introductory course was redesigned in order to implement these recommendations. The experience described discusses…

Innovation in ambulatory care: a collaborative approach to redesigning the health care workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Paula A; Bookman, Ann; Bailyn, Lotte; Harrington, Mona; Orton, Piper

2011-02-01

To improve the quality of patient care and work satisfaction of the physicians and staff at an ambulatory practice that had recently started an innovative model of clinical care for women. The authors used an inclusive process, collaborative interactive action research, to engage all physicians and staff members in assessing and redesigning their work environment. Based on key barriers to working effectively and integrating work and family identified in that process, a pilot project with new work practices and structures was developed, implemented, and evaluated. The work redesign process established cross-occupational care teams in specific clinical areas. Members of the teams built skills in assessing clinical operations in their practice areas, developed new levels of collaboration, and constructed new models of distributed leadership. The majority of participants reported an improvement in how their area functioned. Integrating work and family/personal life-particularly practices around flexible work arrangements-became an issue for team discussion and solutions, not a matter of individual accommodation by managers. By engaging the workforce, collaborative interactive action research can help achieve lasting change in the health care workplace and increase physicians' and staff members' work satisfaction. This "dual agenda" may be best achieved through a collaborative process where cross-occupational teams are responsible for workflow and outcomes and where the needs of patients and providers are integrated.

Endovascular aneurysm repair delivery redesign leads to quality improvement and cost reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Courtney J; Horvath, Alexander J; Powell, Richard J; Columbo, Jesse A; Walsh, Teri R; Goodney, Philip P; Walsh, Daniel B; Stone, David H

2015-08-01

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is now a mainstay of therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm, although it remains associated with significant expense. We performed a comprehensive analysis of EVAR delivery at an academic medical center to identify targets for quality improvement and cost reduction in light of impending health care reform. All infrarenal EVARs performed from April 2011 to March 2012 were identified (N = 127). Procedures were included if they met standard commercial instructions for use guidelines, used a single manufacturer, and were billed to Medicare diagnosis-related group 238 (n = 49). By use of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) quality improvement methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, control), targets for EVAR quality improvement were identified and high-yield changes were implemented. Procedure technical costs were calculated before and after process redesign. Perioperative services and clinic visits were identified as targets for quality improvement efforts and cost reduction. Mean technical costs before the intervention were $31,672, with endograft implants accounting for 52%. Pricing redesign in collaboration with hospital purchasing reduced mean EVAR technical costs to $28,607, a 10% reduction in overall cost, with endograft implants now accounting for 46%. Perioperative implementation of instrument tray redesign reduced instrument use by 32% (184 vs 132 instruments), saving $50,000 annually. Unnecessary clinic visits were reduced by 39% (1.6 vs 1.1 clinic visits per patient) through implementation of a preclinic imaging protocol. There was no difference in mean length of stay after the intervention. Comprehensive EVAR delivery redesign leads to cost reduction and waste elimination while preserving quality. Future efforts to achieve more competitive and transparent device pricing will make EVAR more cost neutral and enhance its financial sustainability for health care systems. Copyright © 2015 Society for

Redesigning Schools to Raise Achievement. Item Number 39-0464

Science.gov (United States)

American Federation of Teachers, 2003

2003-01-01

The primary goal of the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) Redesigning Schools to Raise Achievement (RSRA) project is to build capacity at the state, district, school, and classroom levels to improve student achievement to meet the goals of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. This checklist highlights some of the opportunities and support…

The Role of the IT Department in Information System and Organizational Redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Stub Petersen, Lone

2015-01-01

This paper is based on a qualitative study of IT organization and clinical practice over a period of 3 years supported by additional data during the last 2 years. This paper argues that redesign is central to understanding and developing both healthcare information systems and organizations. The importance of the IT organization is also stressed throughout this paper as a pertinent partner and power when considering organizational change and learning in hospitals as it can serve both as a barrier and a catalyst of change and flexibility in the organization through information systems management. Therefore it is important to consider and secure appropriate forms for redesign and learning in cooperation with the IT department.

Cervical external immobilization devices: evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging issues at 3.0 Tesla.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, Francis L; Tweardy, Lisa; Shellock, Frank G

2010-02-15

Laboratory investigation, ex vivo. Currently, no studies have addressed the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) issues for cervical external immobilization devices at 3-Tesla. Under certain conditions significant heating may occur, resulting in patient burns. Furthermore, artifacts can be substantial and prevent the diagnostic use of MRI. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to evaluate MRI issues for 4 different cervical external immobilization devices at 3-Tesla. Excessive heating and substantial artifacts are 2 potential complications associated with performing MRI at 3-Tesla in patients with cervical external immobilization devices. Using ex vivo testing techniques, MRI-related heating and artifacts were evaluated for 4 different cervical devices during MRI at 3-Tesla. Four cervical external immobilization devices (Generation 80, Resolve Ring and Superstructure, Resolve Ring and Jerome Vest/Jerome Superstructure, and the V1 Halo System; Ossur Americas, Aliso Viejo, CA) underwent MRI testing at 3-Tesla. All devices were made from nonmetallic or nonmagnetic materials. Heating was determined using a gelled-saline-filled skull phantom with fluoroptic thermometry probes attached to the skull pins. MRI was performed at 3-Tesla, using a high level of RF energy. Artifacts were assessed at 3-Tesla, using standard cervical imaging techniques. The Generation 80 and V1 Halo devices exhibited substantial temperature rises (11.6 degrees C and 8.5 degrees C, respectively), with "sparking" evident for the Generation 80 during the MRI procedure. Artifacts were problematic for these devices, as well. By comparison, the 2 Resolve Ring-based cervical external immobilization devices showed little or no heating (Tesla.

Perceptions on evaluative and formative functions of external supervision of Rwandan primary healthcare facilities: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schriver, Michael; Cubaka, Vincent Kalumire; Itangishaka, Sylvere; Nyirazinyoye, Laetitia; Kallestrup, Per

2018-01-01

External supervision of primary healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries often has a managerial main purpose in which the role of support for professional development is unclear. To explore how Rwandan primary healthcare supervisors and providers (supervisees) perceive evaluative and formative functions of external supervision. Qualitative, exploratory study. Focus group discussions: three with supervisors, three with providers, and one mixed (n = 31). Findings were discussed with individual and groups of supervisors and providers. Evaluative activities occupied providers' understanding of supervision, including checking, correcting, marking and performance-based financing. These were presented as sources of motivation, that in self-determination theory indicate introjected regulation. Supervisors preferred to highlight their role in formative supervision, which may mask their own and providers' uncontested accounts that systematic performance evaluations predominated supervisors' work. Providers strongly requested larger focus on formative and supportive functions, voiced as well by most supervisors. Impact of performance evaluation on motivation and professional development is discussed. While external supervisors intended to support providers' professional development, our findings indicate serious problems with this in a context of frequent evaluations and performance marking. Separating the role of supporter and evaluator does not appear as the simple solution. If external supervision is to improve health care services, it is essential that supervisors and health centre managers are competent to support providers in a way that transparently accounts for various performance pressures. This includes delivery of proper formative supervision with useful feedback, maintaining an effective supervisory relationship, as well as ensuring providers are aware of the purpose and content of evaluative and formative supervision functions.

Feasibility study for the redesign of MDOT's pavement management systems software.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-01

In August of 2006 the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) initiated State Study No. 191, entitled Feasibility : Study for the Redesign of MDOTs Pavement Management System (PMS) Software. At the initiation of this study, the : Dep...

MO-A-BRB-03: Integration Issues in Electronic Charting for External Beam Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutlief, S.

2015-01-01

The process of converting to an electronic chart for radiation therapy can be daunting. It requires a dedicated committee to first research and choose appropriate software, to review the entire documentation policy and flow of the clinic, to convert this system to electronic form or if necessary, redesign the system to more easily conform to the electronic process. Those making the conversion and those who already use electronic charting would benefit from the shared experience of those who have been through the process in the past. Therefore TG262 was convened to provide guidance on electronic charting for external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy. This course will present the results of an internal survey of task group members on EMR practices in External Beam Radiation Therapy as well as discuss important issues in EMR development and structure for both EBRT and brachytherapy. Learning Objectives: Be familiarized with common practices and pitfalls in development and maintenance of an electronic chart in Radiation Oncology Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in External Beam Radiation Therapy Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in Brachytherapy

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 5. Nuclear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreicer, M.; Tort, V.; Manen, P.

1995-01-01

Since the early 1970s, there has been increased interest in the environmental impacts that are caused by the generation of electricity. The comparative risk assessment studies at that time used mainly deaths and injuries as impact indicators. By the end of the 1980s studies changed to the assessment of the costs imposed on society and the environment that were not included in the market price of the energy produced, the so-called external costs. The preliminary studies that were published set the conceptual basis, grounded in neo-classical economics, for the valuation of the health and environmental impacts that could be assessed. As a consequence of the many questions raised by the methodologies employed by these early studies, Directorate General XII (DG XII) of the Commission of the European Communities established a collaborative research programme with the United States Department of Energy to identify an appropriate methodology for this type of work. Following the completion of this collaboration, the DG XII programme has continued as the ExternE project. The main objective of the work carried out at CEPN was to develop an impact pathway methodology for the nuclear fuel cycle that would be consistent with the methodologies developed for other fuel cycles, without loosing the nuclear-specific techniques required for a proper evaluation. In this way, comparisons between the different fuel cycles would be possible. This report presents the methodology and demonstration of the results in the context of the French nuclear fuel cycle. The United States team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has previously issued a draft report on the results of their assessment. The French fuel cycle was broken down into 8 separate stages. Reference sites and 1990s technology were chosen to represent the total nuclear fuel cycle, as it exists today. In addition, the transportation of material between the sites was considered. The facilities are assessed for routine operation, except

Enhancing policy innovation by redesigning representative democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Eva

2016-01-01

Policy innovation is a key aspect of public innovation, which has been largely overlooked. Political leadership, competition and collaboration are key drivers of policy innovation. It is a barrier in traditional models of representative democracy that they provide weak conditions for collaboration....... Two Danish case studies indicate that collaboration between politicians and relevant and affected stakeholders can promote policy innovation, but also that a redesign of representative democracy is needed in order to establish a productive combination of political leadership, competition...... and collaboration in political life....

Redesign of a Life Span Development Course Using Fink's Taxonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Fallahi, Carolyn R.

2008-01-01

This study compared a traditional lecture-based life span development course to the same course redesigned using Fink's (2003) taxonomy of significant learning. The goals, activities, and feedback within the course corresponded to Fink's 6 taxa (knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, learning how to learn). Undergraduates in…

Effects of Internal and External Focus of Attention on Novices' Rehearsal Evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

Silvey, Brian A.; Montemayor, Mark

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of internal and external focus of attention on novices' rehearsal evaluations. Thirty-two undergraduate instrumental music education students led bands in a series of three 6-minute rehearsals on their assigned excerpt. Prior to these rehearsals, participants were led in score study and…

Effectiveness of Toyota process redesign in reducing thyroid gland fine-needle aspiration error.

Science.gov (United States)

Raab, Stephen S; Grzybicki, Dana Marie; Sudilovsky, Daniel; Balassanian, Ronald; Janosky, Janine E; Vrbin, Colleen M

2006-10-01

Our objective was to determine whether the Toyota Production System process redesign resulted in diagnostic error reduction for patients who underwent cytologic evaluation of thyroid nodules. In this longitudinal, nonconcurrent cohort study, we compared the diagnostic error frequency of a thyroid aspiration service before and after implementation of error reduction initiatives consisting of adoption of a standardized diagnostic terminology scheme and an immediate interpretation service. A total of 2,424 patients underwent aspiration. Following terminology standardization, the false-negative rate decreased from 41.8% to 19.1% (P = .006), the specimen nondiagnostic rate increased from 5.8% to 19.8% (P Toyota process change led to significantly fewer diagnostic errors for patients who underwent thyroid fine-needle aspiration.

Participatory redesign of work organisation in hospital nursing: A study of the implementation process.

Science.gov (United States)

Stab, Nicole; Hacker, Winfried

2018-05-01

The main goal of the study was to apply and analyse a moderated participatory small-group procedure with registered nurses, which aims at the development and implementation of measures to improve work organisation in hospital wards and nursing units. Participation in job redesign is an essential prerequisite of the successful implementation of improvement measures in nursing. The study was carried out in a public hospital of maximum care in Germany. We selected 25 wards with the most critical reported exhaustion and general health and applied a series of moderated small-group sessions in which the registered nurses jointly identified deficits in their work organisation, developed improvement measures, and then implemented and assessed them. Registered nurses of 22 wards actively took part in the small-group procedure. All nursing units jointly identified organisational deficits, developed possible improvement measures, and implemented them. The nursing teams then evaluated the implemented measures which were already assessable at the end of our research period; nearly all (99.0%) showed improvements, while 69.4% actually attained the desired goals. Participatory small-group activities may be successfully applied in hospital nursing in order to improve work organisation. Participatory assessment and redesign of nurses' work organisation should be integrated into regular team meetings. The nursing management should actively support the implementation process. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Identification and verification of critical performance dimensions. Phase 1 of the systematic process redesign of drug distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Colen, Hadewig B; Neef, Cees; Schuring, Roel W

2003-06-01

Worldwide patient safety has become a major social policy problem for healthcare organisations. As in other organisations, the patients in our hospital also suffer from an inadequate distribution process, as becomes clear from incident reports involving medication errors. Medisch Spectrum Twente is a top primary-care, clinical, teaching hospital. The hospital pharmacy takes care of 1070 internal beds and 1120 beds in an affiliated psychiatric hospital and nursing homes. In the beginning of 1999, our pharmacy group started a large interdisciplinary research project to develop a safe, effective and efficient drug distribution system by using systematic process redesign. The process redesign includes both organisational and technological components. This article describes the identification and verification of critical performance dimensions for the design of drug distribution processes in hospitals (phase 1 of the systematic process redesign of drug distribution). Based on reported errors and related causes, we suggested six generic performance domains. To assess the role of the performance dimensions, we used three approaches: flowcharts, interviews with stakeholders and review of the existing performance using time studies and medication error studies. We were able to set targets for costs, quality of information, responsiveness, employee satisfaction, and degree of innovation. We still have to establish what drug distribution system, in respect of quality and cost-effectiveness, represents the best and most cost-effective way of preventing medication errors. We intend to develop an evaluation model, using the critical performance dimensions as a starting point. This model can be used as a simulation template to compare different drug distribution concepts in order to define the differences in quality and cost-effectiveness.

Externalities of energy and atomic power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-09-01

Energy technology ensures not only energy supply but also has great impacts on society and environments. Economical value and effect evaluation alone doesn't mean appropriate so the evaluation of 'externalities' should be appreciated. In order to assess atomic power in this context, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan set up a research committee on 'externalities of energy and atomic power' from April 2002 to March 2006, whose activities were described in this report. In addition to environmental effects and environmental externalities, four areas were newly studied as follows: (1) biological effects of low dose rate exposure and externalities, (2) externalities as social/economical effects including stable supply and security, (3) energy technologies evaluation and (4) social choice and decision-making. (T. Tanaka)

External Validation of a Prediction Model for Successful External Cephalic Version

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Hundt, Marcella; Vlemmix, Floortje; Kok, Marjolein; van der Steeg, Jan W.; Bais, Joke M.; Mol, Ben W.; van der Post, Joris A.

2012-01-01

We sought external validation of a prediction model for the probability of a successful external cephalic version (ECV). We evaluated the performance of the prediction model with calibration and discrimination. For clinical practice, we developed a score chart to calculate the probability of a

Study on the measurements and evaluation of environmental external exposure after a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, R.; Saito, K.; Tsutsumi, M.

2001-01-01

Several important issues which affect external exposure in contaminated Chernobyl areas have been investigated using field measurements and computational simulations since 1992. The objectives of the study were: 1) the development of a mobile survey method to collect radiation data over the contaminated wide areas in a shot time; 2) the verification of a method to infer external dose to the population; 3) the provision of basic data used for evaluation of external dose due to gamma ray using a Monte Carlo simulation method. To develop a method to rapidly measure radiation over wide areas and map the extend of fallout, a mobile survey system was constructed and tested; the conversion factors to convert the measured data to required quantities were examined; and finally a detailed contamination map was created. The field surveys were implemented by using a land rover and a helicopter. To infer external dose to inhabitants, radiation measurements were carried out in the living environments using accurate dose meters in addition to individual dose measurements using glass dosimeters. Individual doses were inferred from occupancy factors and dose rate data measured with portable dose rate meters in and around houses. The evaluated doses were compared to directly measured individual doses with glass dosimeters in the seven settlements. A good agreement was observed with an error margin of approximate 20%. Basic data used for the evaluation of environmental gamma-ray dose rate were calculated using a Monte Carlo method. The following two kinds of data have been provided from the calculation: a) conversion factors from the nuclide concentration in the ground to the air kerma rate at 1 m height; and b) shielding factors of a typical Chernobyl house for gamma radiation. (M. Suetake)

Business process redesign in healthcare : towards an evidence-based holistic approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanwersch, R.J.B.; Mans, R.S.; Reijers, H.A.; Shiharzi, A.

2012-01-01

The redesign of business processes has become the key challenge for many healthcare organizations. This paper argues that current main research streams fail to assist healthcare practitioners in facing this challenge. More specifically, the main research streams fail to support practitioners in

Space Shuttle Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor nozzle natural frequency variations with burn time

Science.gov (United States)

Lui, C. Y.; Mason, D. R.

1991-01-01

The effects of erosion and thermal degradation on the Space Shuttle Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) nozzle's structural dynamic characteristics were analytically evaluated. Also considered was stiffening of the structure due to internal pressurization. A detailed NASTRAN finite element model of the nozzle was developed and used to evaluate the influence of these effects at several discrete times during motor burn. Methods were developed for treating erosion and thermal degradation, and a procedure was developed to account for internal pressure stiffening using differential stiffness matrix techniques. Results were verified using static firing test accelerometer data. Fast Fourier Transform and Maximum Entropy Method techniques were applied to the data to generate waterfall plots which track modal frequencies with burn time. Results indicate that the lower frequency nozzle 'vectoring' modes are only slightly affected by erosion, thermal effects and internal pressurization. The higher frequency shell modes of the nozzle are, however, significantly reduced.

Re-Designing University Courses to Support Collaborative Knowledge Creation Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Lakkala, Minna; Toom, Auli; Ilomäki, Liisa; Muukkkonen, Hanni

2015-01-01

Higher education institutions should not only aim to educate academic experts who master their own fields, but also give their students generic skills important in the current society. New teaching methods are required to support the development of such skills. The study examined how a group of voluntary university lecturers re-designed their…

Organizational Contexts and Texts: The Redesign of the Midwest Bell Telephone Bill.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller-Cohen, Deborah

1987-01-01

Offers a retrospective view of organizational factors affecting the redesign of the Midwest Bell Telephone Bill. Shows how financial considerations, organizational time frame, and employee training and experience influenced the bill's development process. (MM)

Integration of risk aversion in the evaluation of the external cost of a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eeckhoudt, L.; Schieber, C.; Schneider, Th.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: the external costs of fuel cycles used in the production of electricity are those imposed on society and environment that are not accounted for by the producers and consumers of energy. Within the evaluation of the external cost of the nuclear fuel cycle, the evaluation of a nuclear accident has to be addressed. For this purpose, the basic approach consists in calculating the expected value of various occident scenarios. the main criticism of this approach is that there is a discrepancy between the social acceptability of the risk and the average monetary value which corresponds in principle to the compensation of the consequences for each individual of the population affected by the accident. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for the integration of risk aversion, relying on the expected utility approach, as well as a numerical application based on the French data for the external cost of a nuclear accident. Although a huge range of values has been published for the relative risk aversion coefficient, it seems reasonable to adopt a value of 2 for the specific case of nuclear accident. This leads to an estimated multiplying coefficient approximately equal to 20 to be applied to the expected external cost of a nuclear accident corresponding to a release of about 1% of the core. In this case, the external cost of the nuclear accident is estimated to 0.046 mECU/kWh (i.e. about 50% of the total external costs of the nuclear fuel cycle estimated at 0.1 mECU/kWh with a 3% discount rate), instead of 0.0023 mECU/kWh without taking into account risk aversion. (authors)

External human induced events in site evaluation for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The purpose of the present Safety Guide is to provide recommendations and guidance for the examination of the region considered for site evaluation for a plant in order to identity hazardous phenomena associated with human induced events initiated by sources external to the plant. In some cases it also presents preliminary guidance for deriving values of relevant parameters for the design basis. This Safety Guide is also applicable for periodic site evaluation and site evaluation following a major human induced event, and for the design and operation of the site's environmental monitoring system. Site evaluation includes site characterization. Consideration of external events that could lead to a degradation of the safety features of the plant and cause a release of radioactive material from the plant and/or affect the dispersion of such material in the environment. And consideration of population issues and access issues significant to safety (such as the feasibility of evacuation, the population distribution and the location of resources). The process of site evaluation continues throughout the lifetime of the facility, from siting to design, construction, operation and decommissioning. The external human induced events considered in this Safety Guide are all of accidental origin. Considerations relating to the physical protection of the plant against wilful actions by third parties are outside its scope. However, the methods described herein may also have some application for the purposes of such physical protection. The present Safety Guide may also be used for events that may originate within the boundaries of the site, but from sources which are not directly involved in the operational states of the nuclear power plant units, such as fuel depots or areas for the storage of hazardous materials for the construction of other facilities at the same site. Special consideration should be given to the hazardous material handled during the construction, operation and

Measurement and evaluation of the external radiation level at reactor Kartini

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atok Suhartanto; Suparno

2013-01-01

Measurement and evaluation of external radiation level at reactor Kartini in 2012 has been done. The purpose of this activity is to know the external radiation level as a result of the radioactive or radiation source usage, toward the operational of limit condition. The measurement is using survey meter Inspector 11086, factor of calibration 0.991 mR/h, at 9 locations is: Control room area, Thermal column facilities, Demineralizer, Beamport radiography facilities, bulk shielding Deck, Subcritical facilities, Reactor hall, Deck reactor and on the surface of reactor water tank . The highest room average measurement result in 9 working areas for 12 months continuously are at the reactor tank location is between 13.05±1.09 (xlO -2 mSv/hour) to 16.80±1.40 (x10 -2 mSv/hour), and the lowest measurement result in 1 location (control room) is 0.02±0.005 (x10 -2 mSv/hour) to 0.035±0.009 (x10 -2 mSv/hour). The Kartini reactor is involved in the control area which has potentially contaminated and has radiation exposure at the level of 6 mSv/year. Radiation Protection Officer that work in interval will received radiation exposure dosage of 8.4 mSv/year. This dosage is still below the Below Dosage Value which is recommended by, BAPETEN decree No, 4, 2013 about Protection and Radiation Safety in Nuclear Energy Application at 20 mSv/year. The result of the evaluation above shows that the external radiation which occurred in each area is still below the operational of limit condition that is written on the Kartini reactor safety analysis report, on document number: C7/05/B2/LAK/2010, revision 7. So that the workplace is safe for work monitored. (author)

Potential pros and cons of external healthcare performance evaluation systems: real-life perspectives on Iranian hospital evaluation and accreditation program.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaafaripooyan, Ebrahim

2014-09-01

Performance evaluation is essential to quality improvement in healthcare. The current study has identified the potential pros and cons of external healthcare evaluation programs, utilizing them subsequently to look into the merits of a similar case in a developing country. A mixed method study employing both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques was adopted to achieve the study end. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and professionals were approached for two-stage process of data collection. Potential advantages included greater attractiveness of high accreditation rank healthcare organizations to their customers/purchasers and boosted morale of their personnel. Downsides, as such, comprised the programs' over-reliance on value judgment of surveyors, routinization and incurring undue cost on the organizations. In addition, the improved, standardized care processes as well as the judgmental nature of program survey were associated, as pros and cons, to the program investigated by the professionals. Besides rendering a tentative assessment of Iranian hospital evaluation program, the study provides those running external performance evaluations with a lens to scrutinize the virtues of their own evaluation systems through identifying the potential advantages and drawbacks of such programs. Moreover, the approach followed could be utilized for performance assessment of similar evaluation programs.

Potential Benefits and Downsides of External Healthcare Performance Evaluation Systems: Real-Life Perspectives on Iranian Hospital Evaluation and Accreditation Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebrahim Jaafaripooyan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Background Performance evaluation is essential to quality improvement in healthcare. The current study has identified the potential pros and cons of external healthcare evaluation programs, utilizing them subsequently to look into the merits of a similar case in a developing country. Methods A mixed method study employing both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques was adopted to achieve the study end. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs and professionals were approached for two-stage process of data collection. Results Potential advantages included greater attractiveness of high accreditation rank healthcare organizations to their customers/purchasers and boosted morale of their personnel. Downsides, as such, comprised the programs’ over-reliance on value judgment of surveyors, routinization and incurring undue cost on the organizations. In addition, the improved, standardized care processes as well as the judgmental nature of program survey were associated, as pros and cons, to the program investigated by the professionals. Conclusion Besides rendering a tentative assessment of Iranian hospital evaluation program, the study provides those running external performance evaluations with a lens to scrutinize the virtues of their own evaluation systems through identifying the potential advantages and drawbacks of such programs. Moreover, the approach followed could be utilized for performance assessment of similar evaluation programs.

Intuitive thinking of design and redesign on innovative aircraft cabin simulator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, C.F.; Chen, W.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.

2009-01-01

In this paper, the intuition approach in the design and redesign of the environmental friendly innovative aircraft cabin simulator is presented. The simulator is a testbed that was designed and built for research on aircraft passenger comfort improvement of long haul air travel. The simulation

Cognitive Evaluation Theory: The Effects of External Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation of Gifted Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Brenda T.

1985-01-01

E. Deci's cognitive evaluation theory, which suggests that external rewards undermine intrinsic interest in an activity, is applied to the decline of instrinsic motivation in gifted students. Implications for feedback, rewards, and teacher role are noted. (CL)

Evaluation of hygienic-sanitary conditions of hospital nutrition and dietary services from the perspectives of internal and external auditors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lize Stangarlin

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of hospital nutrition and dietary services using external and internal auditors. Eleven hospitals were evaluated for their nutrition and dietary services using an evaluation checklist based on food safety requirements in the current legislation. The checklist was applied by an internal auditor (a technical supervisor and an external auditor (a professional with experience in food services between August and October 2011. According to the number of items on the evaluation checklist that were considered adequate, the hospital facilities were ranked as excellent, good, regular, bad, or very bad. The results obtained by the auditors were compared. According to these results, it can be said that most of the hospital nutrition and dietary services were rated as good for overall quality by the internal auditor, while the external auditor classified them as Regular. There was a clear difference between the evaluations of the auditors, both in terms of the number of items considered adequate and the overall requirements' average score. It can be concluded that hospital nutrition and dietary services should meet safety requirements in order to provide food. These facilities should have external audits conducted as a way to prevent routine problems from being perpetuated.

Evaluation of external hazards to nuclear power plants in the United States: Other external events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, C.Y.; Prassinos, P.G.

1989-02-01

In support of implementation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Severe Accident Policy, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has performed a study of the risk of core damage to nuclear power plants in the United States due to ''other external events.'' The broad objective has been to gain an understanding of whether ''other external events'' (the hazards not covered by previous reports) are among the major potential accident initiators that may pose a threat of severe reactor core damage or of large radioactive release to the environment from the reactor. The ''other external events'' covered in this report are nearby industrial/military facility accidents, on site hazardous material storage accidents, severe temperature transients, severe weather storms, lightning strikes, external fires, extraterrestrial activity, volcanic activity, earth movement, and abrasive windstorms. The analysis was based on two figures-of-merit, one based on core damage frequency and the other based on the frequency of large radioactive releases. 37 refs., 8 tabs

The external dimension of the Sixth Environment Action Programme: an evaluation of implementing policy instruments: final report

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adelle, C.; Fajardo del Castillo, T.; Pallemaerts, M.; Withana, S.; Van Den Bossche, K.

2010-01-01

This report evaluates the EU’s progress on the external dimension of the 6EAP, with a particular focus on the EU’s consumption and production of global natural resources. It explores the EU’s activities in pursuit of its objectives set out in the 6EAP which relate to the external dimension by

OhioHealth web site wins awards. Draws leadership recognition for outstanding redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, Tom

2004-01-01

OhioHealth, Columbus, Ohio, has redesigned its web site, making it especially useful and appealing to women. For the collaborative effort, which included the Mayo Clinic and The VIA Group, Portland Maine, it has received numerous awards.

Which kind of knowledge is suitable for redesigning hospital logistic processes?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maruster, L; Jorna, RJ; Miksch, S; Hunter, J; Keravnou, E

2005-01-01

A knowledge management perspective is rarely used to model a process. Using the cognitive perspective on knowledge management in which we start our analysis with events and knowledge (bottom-up) instead of with processes and units (top-down), we propose a new approach for redesigning hospital

Redesigning Health Information Systems in Developing Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mengiste, Shegaw Anagaw; Kimaro, Honest; Aanestad, Margunn

2008-01-01

or no end user involvement results in a centralised HIS with an extensive, somewhat inappropriate, but also inflexible set of standards. Consequently, the HIS is not very useful for the wished-for decentralisation of health services, and there is an urgent need to redesign the existing HIS in order to make...... degree of control over a decentralised HIS, including budgets and the use of resources, should be delegated to the district administration. In order to achieve the aim of a locally relevant, well-working HIS, it is necessary that appropriate authority, capacity and decentralised allocation of resources...

Development and validation of the ExPRESS instrument for primary health care providers' evaluation of external supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

Schriver, Michael; Cubaka, Vincent Kalumire; Vedsted, Peter; Besigye, Innocent; Kallestrup, Per

2018-01-01

External supervision of primary health care facilities to monitor and improve services is common in low-income countries. Currently there are no tools to measure the quality of support in external supervision in these countries. To develop a provider-reported instrument to assess the support delivered through external supervision in Rwanda and other countries. "External supervision: Provider Evaluation of Supervisor Support" (ExPRESS) was developed in 18 steps, primarily in Rwanda. Content validity was optimised using systematic search for related instruments, interviews, translations, and relevance assessments by international supervision experts as well as local experts in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Construct validity and reliability were examined in two separate field tests, the first using exploratory factor analysis and a test-retest design, the second for confirmatory factor analysis. We included 16 items in section A ('The most recent experience with an external supervisor'), and 13 items in section B ('The overall experience with external supervisors'). Item-content validity index was acceptable. In field test I, test-retest had acceptable kappa values and exploratory factor analysis suggested relevant factors in sections A and B used for model hypotheses. In field test II, models were tested by confirmatory factor analysis fitting a 4-factor model for section A, and a 3-factor model for section B. ExPRESS is a promising tool for evaluation of the quality of support of primary health care providers in external supervision of primary health care facilities in resource-constrained settings. ExPRESS may be used as specific feedback to external supervisors to help identify and address gaps in the supervision they provide. Further studies should determine optimal interpretation of scores and the number of respondents needed per supervisor to obtain precise results, as well as test the functionality of section B.

Redesign of a supply network by considering stochastic demand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Camilo Paz

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the problem of redesigning a supply network of large scale by considering variability of the demand. The central problematic takes root in determining strategic decisions of closing and adjusting of capacity of some network echelons and the tactical decisions concerning to the distribution channels used for transporting products. We have formulated a deterministic Mixed Integer Linear Programming Model (MILP and a stochastic MILP model (SMILP whose objective functions are the maximization of the EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. The decisions of Network Design on stochastic model as capacities, number of warehouses in operation, material and product flows between echelons, are determined in a single stage by defining an objective function that penalizes unsatisfied demand and surplus of demand due to demand changes. The solution strategy adopted for the stochastic model is a scheme denominated as Sample Average Approximation (SAA. The model is based on the case of a Colombian company dedicated to production and marketing of foodstuffs and supplies for the bakery industry. The results show that the proposed methodology was a solid reference for decision support regarding to the supply networks redesign by considering the expected economic contribution of products and variability of the demand.

Life Cycle Assessment, ExternE and Comprehensive Analysis for an integrated evaluation of the environmental impact of anthropogenic activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pietrapertosa, F.; Cosmi, C. [National Research Council, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis C.N.R.-I.M.A.A. C.da S.Loja, I-85050 Tito Scalo (PZ) (Italy); National Research Council, National Institute for the Physics of Matter, C.N.R.-I.N.F.M. Via Cinthia, I-80126 Naples (Italy); Macchiato, M. [Federico II University, Department of Physical Sciences, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Naples (Italy); National Research Council, National Institute for the Physics of Matter, C.N.R.-I.N.F.M. Via Cinthia, I-80126 Naples (Italy); Salvia, M.; Cuomo, V. [National Research Council, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis C.N.R.-I.M.A.A. C.da S.Loja, I-85050 Tito Scalo (PZ) (Italy)

2009-06-15

The implementation of resource management strategies aimed at reducing the impacts of the anthropogenic activities system requires a comprehensive approach to evaluate on the whole the environmental burdens of productive processes and to identify the best recovery strategies from both an environmental and an economic point of view. In this framework, an analytical methodology based on the integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), ExternE and Comprehensive Analysis was developed to perform an in-depth investigation of energy systems. The LCA methodology, largely utilised by the international scientific community for the assessment of the environmental performances of technologies, combined with Comprehensive Analysis allows modelling the overall system of anthropogenic activities, as well as sub-systems, the economic consequences of the whole set of environmental damages. Moreover, internalising external costs into partial equilibrium models, as those utilised by Comprehensive Analysis, can be useful to identify the best paths for implementing technology innovation and strategies aimed to a more sustainable energy supply and use. This paper presents an integrated application of these three methodologies to a local scale case study (the Val D'Agri area in Basilicata, Southern Italy), aimed to better characterise the environmental impacts of the energy system, with particular reference to extraction activities. The innovative methodological approach utilised takes advantage from the strength points of each methodology with an added value coming from their integration as emphasised by the main results obtained by the scenario analysis. (author)

Structural analysis of 177-FA redesigned surveillance specimen holder tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pryor, C.W.; Thoren, D.E.; Vames, G.J.; Harris, R.J.

1976-08-01

Because of in-service operational problems, the surveillance specimen holder tubes described in B and W topical report BAW-10051 have been redesigned. This report describes the new design and structural analysis for normal operation and upset loading conditions. The results of the analysis demonstrate the adequacy of the new surveillance specimen holder tubes for their design life of 40 years

The establishment of bilateral external iliac artery stenosis model in experimental canines and its angiographic evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Yonghui; Li Weixiao; Bi Yonghua; Xu Ke

2011-01-01

Objective: To establish an experimental canine model of bilateral external iliac artery stenosis by surgical method with absorbable suture. Methods: Under general anesthesia bilateral external iliac arteries were partly obstructed (about 50%) with absorbable suture in ten dogs. Three months later angiography was performed to evaluate the arterial stricture degree. Results: Bilateral external iliac artery stenosis model was successfully established in eight dogs and the other two dogs died within two weeks after the procedure. Angiography performed three months after the procedure showed that the stricture degree of arterial lumen was (60.6±12.5)%. Conclusion: Satisfactory experimental canine model of bilateral external iliac artery stenosis can be established by surgical method with absorbable suture. This method can be used for reference when peripheral artery stenosis model is to be prepared in larger animals. (authors)

Effects of a Redesigned Classroom on Play Behaviour among Preschool Children

Science.gov (United States)

Acer, Dilek; Gözen, Göksu; Firat, Zehra Saadet; Kefeli, Hatice; Aslan, Büsra

2016-01-01

Current research exists regarding the play behaviour of students in various settings and with varying abilities. Regardless, there needs to be improved understanding of how students' play behaviour is affected when their classroom environment is significantly redesigned. This study examined, over a 21-week period between December 2013 and May…

A Study on Situated Cognition: Product Dissection's Effect on Redesign Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Grantham, Katie; Okudan Kremer, Gül E.; Simpson, Timothy W.; Ashour, Omar

2013-01-01

Situated cognition theory describes the context of a learning activity's effect on learner's cognition. In this paper, we use situated cognition theory to examine the effect of product dissection on product redesign activities. Two specific research questions are addressed: 1) Does situated cognition, in the form of product dissection, improve…

Information Technology Management: Course Re-Design Using an Assessment Driven Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Schwieger, Dana; Surendran, Ken

2013-01-01

One of the core courses in the IS2010 Model Curriculum Guideline is "IS Strategy, Management and Acquisition" ("ISMA"). The authors redesigned their pre-IS2010 model Information Technology Management (ITM) course to meet the skills development stated in the ISMA course. Since the IT discipline is changing rapidly, the technical…

Appointment Template Redesign in a Women's Health Clinic Using Clinical Constraints to Improve Service Quality and Efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Y; Verduzco, S

2015-01-01

Patient wait time is a critical element of access to care that has long been recognized as a major problem in modern outpatient health care delivery systems. It impacts patient and medical staff productivity, stress, quality and efficiency of medical care, as well as health-care cost and availability. This study was conducted in a Women's Health Clinic. The objective was to improve clinic service quality by redesigning patient appointment template using the clinical constraints. The proposed scheduling template consisted of two key elements: the redesign of appointment types and the determination of the length of time slots using defined constraints. The re-classification technique was used for the redesign of appointment visit types to capture service variation for scheduling purposes. Then, the appointment length was determined by incorporating clinic constraints or goals, such as patient wait time, physician idle time, overtime, finish time, lunch hours, when the last appointment was scheduled, and the desired number of appointment slots, to converge the optimal length of appointment slots for each visit type. The redesigned template was implemented and the results indicated a 73% reduction in average patient waiting from the reported 40 to 11 minutes. The patient no-show rate was reduced by 4% from 24% to 20%. The morning section on average finished about 11:50 am. The clinic day was finished around 4:45 pm. Provider average idle time was estimated to be about 5 minutes, which can be used for charting/documenting patients. This study provided an alternative method of redesigning appointment scheduling templates using only the clinical constraints rather than the traditional way that required an objective function. This paper also documented the employed methods step by step in a real clinic setting. The implementation results concluded a significant improvement on patient wait time and no-show rate.

Evaluation of the external costs of energy production in the Helsinki metropolitan area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otterstroem, T.

1995-01-01

The aim of the research is to evaluate the external costs of energy production at Helsinki metropolitan area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa). The previously developed valorization method for effects on population centres is adjusted. All the main health, material and environmental effects will be taken into account in the research. The effects of emissions of the energy production of the Helsinki metropolitan area on concentrations of the impurities in the air and through them on human and environment will be evaluated. The estimates will be based on the relativistic fuels consumption and the emission data of Helsinki metropolitan area. Life-cycle reasoning will be applied so that the emissions of the main components of the fuels used in the metropolitan area will be included in the estimation. The cost-effectiveness of the investments will be estimated by comparing the environmental investments of energy boards with the external costs. The methods of this work can be applied to estimation of the profitability of energy production plants from the point of view of national economy also elsewhere in the country

BEPS redesign of 168 commercial buildings: summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoops, J.L.; Deringer, J.J.; Moreno, S.; Misuriello, H.P.

1984-05-01

The objective of this report is to present, in usable form, summary data from the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) Phase II commercial buildings energy research conducted in 1978-1979. Summary data presented were obtained from two major research efforts: the BEPS Phase II Redesign experiment; and the related research on ASHRAE Standard 90-75R. The bulk of this report consists of data tabulations of key energy parameters for the 168 sample buildings, which were tabulated from computer-stored files of the 1978-1979 data. Two kinds of tabulations are included: numerical tabulations that extracted information from the computer-stored data base for the 168 sample buildings; and graphic presentations of the computer-generated data, plus data extracted from other sources. The intent is to provide a single data compendium of key energy-related factors from the 1978 redesign experiment and the associated 1978-1979 ASHRAE Standard 90-75R research. This report also supplements the information for which there was not space in the magazine articles. Thus, for some building types, additional analysis, comments, and data tabulations are included that could not be included in the articles because space was limited. These additional analysis items are not consistent across building types because both the energy conservation opportunities and the design strategies applied by the building designers varied considerably by building type. The chapters have been entered individually into EDB and ERA.

A multi-stage stochastic program for supply chain network redesign problem with price-dependent uncertain demands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fattahi, Mohammad; Govindan, Kannan; Keyvanshokooh, Esmaeil

2018-01-01

In this paper, we address a multi-period supply chain network redesign problem in which customer zones have price-dependent stochastic demand for multiple products. A novel multi-stage stochastic program is proposed to simultaneously make tactical decisions including products' prices and strategic...... redesign decisions. Existing uncertainty in potential demands of customer zones is modeled through a finite set of scenarios, described in the form of a scenario tree. The scenarios are generated using a Latin Hypercube Sampling method and then a forward scenario construction technique is employed...

Redesign of Work for Educational Purposes and for Quality of Working Life

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, James C.

1976-01-01

Examples of successful implementation of sociotechnical design of workplaces indicate that workplaces can be redesigned to achieve a closer match between employee values and organizational work roles. Organizational effectiveness does not seem to be sacrificed as a consequence of such action. (Author/JDS)

Redesigning Human Body Systems: Effective Pedagogical Strategy for Promoting Active Learning and STEM Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abour H. Cherif

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The human body is a remarkable biological machine maintained by interdependent body systems and organized biochemical reactions. Evolution has worked on humans for hundreds of thousands of years, yet the current pace of technological and social change have radically affected our life style and have exposed possible human frailties. This raises the question of whether or not nature’s work could be improved upon. We provide two-sided perspectives as a rationale for the need for the redesign of the human body. Then, we describe pedagogical strategy through which students study morphological and anatomical structures and the physiological functions of the human body systems and their respective organs and parts. The students select their own favorite system or organ to redesign in order to optimize the efficiency of the anatomical structural, physiological function, and/or the aesthetic and functional morphology; a redesign that might lead to, for example, lowering risk of diabetes, heart attack, and/or stroke. Through group work and interaction (student groups compete for a prestigious “in-house” patent award, students actively engage in the learning process in order to understand the role of design in the efficiency and functionality and vulnerability to disease of the human body system.

Redesign av Escola forlag sine skoleordbøker

OpenAIRE

Heggen, Inger Helene

2007-01-01

Rapporten består av en litteraturstudie (med begrepsavklaringer og en gjennomgang av ordboktypografiens historie – med hovedvekt på engelsk ordboktypografi), en analyse av ettspråklige ordbøker i dag (både norske og engelske), og en analyse av Escola Forlags ordbøker (bokmål og nynorsk utgave). Til slutt – en demononstrasjon av min resulterende redesign av ordbøkene (omslag og innmat). Her har det vært særlig viktig å tydeliggjøre oppslagsordene og oppslagsordenes underelementer s...

Multicenter, noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study to evaluate dosing of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone using the redesigned follitropin alfa pen in women undergoing ovulation induction

Science.gov (United States)

Nawroth, Frank; Tandler-Schneider, Andreas; Bilger, Wilma

2015-01-01

This prospective, noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study evaluated doses of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH) using the redesigned follitropin alfa pen in women who were anovulatory or oligomenorrheic and undergoing ovulation induction (OI) alone or OI with intrauterine insemination. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved monofollicular or bifollicular development (defined as one or two follicles ≥15 mm). Secondary endpoints included characteristics of ovulation stimulation treatment, such as mean total and mean daily r-hFSH doses. Data were analyzed for 3,193 patients from 30 German fertility centers. The proportion of patients with monofollicular or bifollicular development was 71.1% (n=2,270 of a total of 3,193 patients; intent-to-treat population). The mean±standard deviation total and daily doses of r-hFSH were 696.9±542.5 IU and 61.7±29.4 IU, respectively. The three doses prescribed most frequently were: 37.5 IU (n=703 from N=3,189; 22.0%), 50.0 IU (n=1,056 from N=3,189; 33.1%), and 75.0 IU (n=738 from N=3,189; 23.1%) on the first day of stimulation; and 37.5 IU (n=465 from N=3,189; 14.6%), 50.0 IU (n=922 from N=3,189; 28.9%), and 75.0 IU (n=895 from N=3,189; 28.1%) on the last day of stimulation. This noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study found that monofollicular or bifollicular development was achieved in 71% of patients studied and the small dose increment (12.5 IU) of the redesigned follitropin alfa pen allowed individualized treatment of women undergoing OI. PMID:25926755

Survey and evaluation of the external research and development programme 1977-1983 of the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Lars.

1993-01-01

A review of the external research programme of SSI is undertaken. The main research programme is in this report divided into five subprogrammes according to the main programmes of the Institute. This report covers research projects reported 1977-1983. An evaluation of the impact of the R and D programme is included in the report. The external R and D research programme of SSI has had an important impact on the radiation protection work in Sweden. The methods for evaluation of research programmes are also discussed in the report

Redesigning business processes : a methodology based on simulation and process mining techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maruster, L.; van Beest, N.R.T.P.

2009-01-01

Nowadays, organizations have to adjust their business processes along with the changing environment in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Changing a part of the system to support the business process implies changing the entire system, which leads to complex redesign activities. In this

Supporting the full BPM life-cycle using process mining and intelligent redesign

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Netjes, M.; Reijers, H.A.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Siau, K.

2007-01-01

Abstract. Business Process Management (BPM) systems provide a broad range of facilities to enact and manage operational business processes. Ideally, these systems should provide support for the complete BPM life-cycle: (re)design, configuration, execution, control, and diagnosis by the FileNet P8

Redesigning Acquisition Processes: A New Methodology Based on the Flow of Knowledge and Information

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kock, Ned F; Murphy, Frederic

2001-01-01

Current business process redesign practices, in the defense sector as well as in business in general, are based on several assumptions inherited from Taylor s scientific management method, including...

The Perceived Impact of External Evaluation: The System, Organisation and Individual Levels-Estonian Case

Science.gov (United States)

Seema, Riin; Udam, Maiki; Mattisen, Heli; Lauri, Liia

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how the employees of higher education institutions perceive the impact of external evaluations. The study was conducted using the concurrent mixed method and involved 361 employees from Estonian universities and professional higher education institutions. The results indicated that…

Medipix3RX: Characterizing the Medipix3 Redesign With Synchrotron Radiation

CERN Document Server

Gimenez, Eva N; Blaj, Gabriel; Campbell, Michael; Dolbnya, Igor; Frodjh, Erik; Horswell, Ian; Llopart, Xavier; Marchal, Julien; McGrath, John; Omar, David; Plackett, Richard; Sawhney, Kawal; Tartoni, Nicola

2015-01-01

The Medipix3RX is the latest version of the Medipix3 photon counting ASICs, which implements two new operational modes, with respect to the Medipix2 ASIC, aimed at eliminating charge shared events (referred to as Charge Summing Mode (CSM)) and at providing spectroscopic information (referred to as Colour Mode (CM)). The Medipix3RX is a redesign of the Medipix3v0 ASIC and corrects for the underperformance of CSM features observed in the previous version. This paper presents the results from synchrotron X-rays tests to evaluate the Medipix3RX ASIC performance. The newly implemented CSM algorithm eliminates the charge sharing effect at the same time as allocating the event to the readout pixel corresponding to the sensor pixel where the X-ray photon impinged. The new pixel trimming circuit led to a reduced dispersion between pixels. Further results of the linearity for all the gain modes, energy resolution and pixel uniformity are also presented.

Across the divide: "Primary care departments working together to redesign care to achieve the Triple Aim".

Science.gov (United States)

Koslov, Steven; Trowbridge, Elizabeth; Kamnetz, Sandra; Kraft, Sally; Grossman, Jeffrey; Pandhi, Nancy

2016-09-01

Primary care is considered the foundation of an effective health care system. However, primary care departments at academic health centers have numerous challenges to overcome when trying to achieve the Triple Aim. As part of an organizational initiative to redesign primary care at a large academic health center, departments of internal medicine, general pediatrics and adolescent medicine, and family medicine worked together to comprehensively redesign primary care. This article describes the process of aligning these three primary care departments: defining panel size, developing a common primary care job description, redesigning the primary care compensation plan, redesigning the care model, and developing standardized staffing. Prior to the initiative, the rate of patient satisfaction was 85%, anticoagulation measurement 65%, pneumococcal vaccination 85%, breast cancer screening 79%, and colorectal cancer screening 69%. These rates all improved to 87%, 75%, 88%, 80%, and 80% respectively. Themes around key challenges to departmental integration are identified: (1) implementing effective communication strategies; (2) addressing specialty differences in primary care delivery; (3) working within resource limitations; and (4) developing long-term sustainability. Primary care in this large academic health center was transformed through developing a united primary care leadership team that bridged individual departments to create and adopt a common vision and solutions to shared problems. Our collaboration has achieved improvements across patient satisfaction, clinical safety metrics, and publicly-reported preventive care outcomes. The description of this experience may be useful for other academic health centers or other non-integrated delivery systems undertaking primary care practice transformation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

External costs of electricity; Les couts externes de l'electricite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabl, A. [Ecole des Mines de Paris, 75 (France); Spadaro, J.V. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna (Austria)

2005-07-01

This article presents a synthesis of the ExternE project (External costs of Energy) of the European community about the external costs of power generation. Pollution impacts are calculated using an 'impact pathways' analysis, i.e. an analysis of the emission - dispersion - dose-response function - cost evaluation chain. Results are presented for different fuel cycles (with several technological variants) with their confidence intervals. The environmental impact costs are particularly high for coal: for instance, in France, for coal-fired power plants it is of the same order as the electricity retail price. For natural gas, this cost is about a third of the one for coal. On the contrary, the environmental impact costs for nuclear and renewable energies are low, typically of few per cent of the electricity price. The main part of these costs corresponds to the sanitary impacts, in particular the untimely mortality. In order to avoid any controversy about the cost evaluation of mortality, the reduction of the expectation of life due to the different fuel cycles is also indicated and the risks linked with nuclear energy are presented using several comparisons. (J.S.)

[External cephalic version of breech fetus after 36 weeks of gestation - evaluation of efectiveness and complications].

Science.gov (United States)

Hruban, L; Janků, P; Jordánová, K; Gerychová, R; Huser, M; Ventruba, P; Roztočil, A

2017-01-01

Evaluation of success rate and the safety of external cephalic version after 36 weeks of gestation. Retrospective analysis. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Masaryk University, University Hospital Brno. A retrospective analysis of external cephalic version attempts performed on a group of 638 singleton breech pregnancies after 36 weeks gestation in the years 2003-2016 at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Masaryk University, Brno. The effectiveness, number and type of complications, mode of delivery and perinatal result were observed. The effectiveness of external cephalic version from breech to head presentation was 47.8% (305 cases). After a successful external cephalic version 238 patients (78.0%) gave birth vaginally. After unsuccessful cephalic version 130 patients (39.0%) gave birth vaginally. The number of serious complications did not exceed 0,9% and did not affect perinatal outcomes. External cephalic version-related emergency cesarean deliveries occurred in 6 cases (2 placental abruption, 4 abnormal cardiotocography). The fetal outcome was good in all these cases. The death of the fetus in connection with the external version has not occurred in our file. Spontaneous discharge of amniotic fluid within 24 hours after procedure occurred in 5 cases (0.8%). The spontaneous onset of labor within 24 hours of procedure occurred in 5 cases (0.8%). The pH value of a. umbilicalis external version and in the group with unsuccessful external version in 9 cases. The Apgar score in the 5th minute external cephalic version of the fetus in the case of breech presentation after the 36th week of pregnancy is an effective and safe alternative for women who have a fear of the vaginal breech delivery. Performing the external cephalic version can reduce the rate of elective caesarean sections due to breech presentation at term.

A Product Analysis Method and Its Staging to Develop Redesign Competences

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Claus Thorp; Lenau, Torben Anker

2013-01-01

Most product development work in industrial practice is incremental, i.e., the company has had a product in production and on the market for some time, and now time has come to design an upgraded variant. This type of redesign project requires that the engineering designers have competences to carry through an analysis of the existing product…

The external cost of the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schieber, C.; Schneider, T.

2002-01-01

The external cost of the nuclear fuel cycle has been evaluated in the particular context of France as part of the European Commission's ExternE project. All the steps in the fuel cycle which involve the use of cutting edge technology were taken into consideration, from mining of uranium ores to waste disposal, via construction, dismantling of nuclear power plants and the transport of radioactive materials. The general methodology adopted in the study, known as the 'Impact Pathway Analysis', is based on a sequence of evaluations from source terms to the potential= effects on man and the environment, and then to their monetary evaluation, using a single framework devised for all the fuel cycles considered in the ExternE project. The resulting external cost is in the range of 2 to 3 mEuro/kWh when no discount rate is applied, and around 0.1 mEuro/kWh when a discount rate of 3% is considered. Further developments have been made on the external cost of a nuclear accident and on the integration of risk aversion in its evaluation. It appeared that the external cost of a nuclear accident would be about 0.04 mEuro/kWh, instead of 0.002 mEuro/kWh without taking risk aversion into account. (authors)

Evaluation of personal dose equivalent 'HP(d)' in a external individual monitoring system for X and gamma radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, C.; Antonio Filho, J.; Santos, M.A.P.

2007-01-01

The good of individual monitoring for external radiation is the assessment of occupational exposure from X and γ radiations in order to assure that the radiological conditions of the workplace are acceptable, safe and satisfactory. The evaluation of radiations doses for workers must not exceed dose limits specified for workers, according to national regulatory agencies. Nowadays, there are two external monitoring systems in use, both based on ICRU definitions. In the conventional system, the workers doses are evaluated in terms of Hx. The personal dosimeter is worn over chest surface and it is calibrated in function of air kerma. In the new system, the workers doses are evaluated in terms of HP(d) and the personal dosimeter is calibrated in function of phantom doses. The aim of this paper is to adapt an external dosimetry laboratory (based on photographic dosimetry) to evaluate the personal dosimeters in terms of HP(d). In this way, a simple methodology, based on linear programming, was utilized. In this adaptation, calibration curves were obtained for radiation qualities (W and N series) described by International Organization for Standardization (ISO 4037-1, 1995). These calibration curves offer a better accuracy on dose determinations and energy below 140 keV, improving the quality of service rendered the society. (author)

Evaluation of GafChromic EBT prototype B for external beam dose verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todorovic, M.; Fischer, M.; Cremers, F.; Thom, E.; Schmidt, R.

2006-01-01

The capability of the new GafChromic EBT prototype B for external beam dose verification is investigated in this paper. First the general characteristics of this film (dose response, postirradiation coloration, influence of calibration field size) were derived using a flat-bed scanner. In the dose range from 0.1 to 8 Gy, the sensitivity of the EBT prototype B film is ten times higher than the response of the GafChromic HS, which so far was the GafChromic film with the highest sensitivity. Compared with the Kodak EDR2 film, the response of the EBT is higher by a factor of 3 in the dose range from 0.1 to 8 Gy. The GafChromic EBT almost does not show a temporal growth of the optical density and there is no influence of the chosen calibration field size on the dose response curve obtained from this data. A MatLab program was written to evaluate the two-dimensional dose distributions from treatment planning systems and GafChromic EBT film measurements. Verification of external beam therapy (SRT, IMRT) using the above-mentioned approach resulted in very small differences between the planned and the applied dose. The GafChromic EBT prototype B together with the flat-bed scanner and MatLab is a successful approach for making the advantages of the GafChromic films applicable for verification of external beam therapy

Preliminary Assessment of the Emporium Model in a Redesigned Engineering Mechanics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Rais-Rohani, Masoud; Walters, Andrew

2014-01-01

A lecture-based engineering mechanics course (Statics) is redesigned using the Emporium model. Whereas students study the material outside of class via asynchronous online delivery of the content and instructional videos, they do all the other activities (e.g., assignments, tests) either individually or in groups inside the classroom. Computer-…

Evaluation of stability of interface between CCM (Co-Cr-Mo) UCLA abutment and external hex implant.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Ki-Joon; Park, Young-Bum; Choi, Hyunmin; Cho, Youngsung; Lee, Jae-Hoon; Lee, Keun-Woo

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the stability of interface between Co-Cr-Mo (CCM) UCLA abutment and external hex implant. Sixteen external hex implant fixtures were assigned to two groups (CCM and Gold group) and were embedded in molds using clear acrylic resin. Screw-retained prostheses were constructed using CCM UCLA abutment and Gold UCLA abutment. The external implant fixture and screw-retained prostheses were connected using abutment screws. After the abutments were tightened to 30 Ncm torque, 5 kg thermocyclic functional loading was applied by chewing simulator. A target of 1.0 × 10 6 cycles was applied. After cyclic loading, removal torque values were recorded using a driving torque tester, and the interface between implant fixture and abutment was evaluated by scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The means and standard deviations (SD) between the CCM and Gold groups were analyzed with independent t-test at the significance level of 0.05. Fractures of crowns, abutments, abutment screws, and fixtures and loosening of abutment screws were not observed after thermocyclic loading. There were no statistically significant differences at the recorded removal torque values between CCM and Gold groups ( P >.05). SEM analysis revealed that remarkable wear patterns were observed at the abutment interface only for Gold UCLA abutments. Those patterns were not observed for other specimens. Within the limit of this study, CCM UCLA abutment has no statistically significant difference in the stability of interface with external hex implant, compared with Gold UCLA abutment.

Interprofessional Health Team Communication About Hospital Discharge: An Implementation Science Evaluation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, Sarah J; Siclovan, Danielle M; Opper, Kristi; Beiler, Joseph; Bobay, Kathleen L; Weiss, Marianne E

The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided formative evaluation of the implementation of a redesigned interprofessional team rounding process. The purpose of the redesigned process was to improve health team communication about hospital discharge. Themes emerging from interviews of patients, nurses, and providers revealed the inherent value and positive characteristics of the new process, but also workflow, team hierarchy, and process challenges to successful implementation. The evaluation identified actionable recommendations for modifying the implementation process.

Case-based reasoning as a technique for knowledge management in business process redesign

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Limam Mansar, S.; Reijers, H.A.; Marir, F.

2003-01-01

Business Process Redesign (BPR) helps rethinking a process in order to enhance its performance. Practitioners have been developing methodologies to support BPR implementation. However, most methodologies lack actual guidance on deriving a process design threatening the success of BPR. In this paper,

Evaluation of an external exposure of a worker during manipulation with waste packages stored in Bohunice radioactive waste treatment centre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slimak, A.; Hrncir, T.; Necas, V.

2012-01-01

The paper briefly describes current state of radioactive waste management as well as radioactive waste treatment and conditioning technologies used in Bohunice Radioactive Waste Treatment Centre. Radioactive Waste management includes pretreatment, treatment, conditioning, storage, transport and disposal of radioactive waste. Presented paper deals with the evaluation of an external exposure of a worker during manipulation with fibre-reinforced concrete container stored under shelter object. The external exposure of a worker was evaluated using VISIPLAN 3D ALARA code. (Authors)

Redesigning Schools to Reach Every Student with Excellent Teachers: Financial Planning Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Public Impact, 2012

2012-01-01

This brief summarizes the ways that schools and their teachers can simultaneously reach more students with excellent teaching, expand teachers' career opportunities, and sustainably fund higher pay and other priorities. This is based on Public Impact's school models that use job redesign and technology to extend the reach of excellent teachers to…

Evaluation of marginal bone loss of dental implants with internal or external connections and its association with other variables: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

de Medeiros, Rodrigo Antonio; Pellizzer, Eduardo Piza; Vechiato Filho, Aljomar José; Dos Santos, Daniela Micheline; da Silva, Emily Vivianne Freitas; Goiato, Marcelo Coelho

2016-10-01

Different factors can influence marginal bone loss around dental implants, including the type of internal and external connection between the implant and the abutment. The evidence needed to evaluate these factors is unclear. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate marginal bone loss by radiographic analysis around dental implants with internal or external connections. A systematic review was conducted following the criteria defined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Initially, a population, intervention, comparison, and outcome(s) (PICO) question was defined: does the connection type (internal or external) influence marginal bone loss in patients undergoing implantation? An electronic search of PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases was performed for studies in English language published between January 2000 and December 2014 by 2 independent reviewers, who analyzed the marginal bone loss of dental implants with an internal and/or external connection. From an initial screening yield of 595 references and after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, 17 articles were selected for this review. Among them, 10 studies compared groups of implants with internal and external connections; 1 study evaluated external connections; and 6 studies analyzed internal connections. A total of 2708 implants were placed in 864 patients. Regarding the connection type, 2347 implants had internal connections, and 361 implants had external connections. Most studies showed lower marginal bone loss values for internal connection implants than for external connection implants. Osseointegrated dental implants with internal connections exhibited lower marginal bone loss than implants with external connections. This finding is mainly the result of the platform switching concept, which is more frequently found in implants with internal connections. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry

Ultrasonographic evaluation of myometrial thickness and prediction of a successful external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Buhimschi, Catalin S; Buhimschi, Irina A; Wehrum, Mark J; Molaskey-Jones, Sherry; Sfakianaki, Anna K; Pettker, Christian M; Thung, Stephen; Campbell, Katherine H; Dulay, Antonette T; Funai, Edmund F; Bahtiyar, Mert O

2011-10-01

To test the hypothesis that myometrial thickness predicts the success of external cephalic version. Abdominal ultrasonographic scans were performed in 114 consecutive pregnant women with breech singletons before an external cephalic version maneuver. Myometrial thickness was measured by a standardized protocol at three sites: the lower segment, midanterior wall, and the fundal uterine wall. Independent variables analyzed in conjunction with myometrial thickness were: maternal age, parity, body mass index, abdominal wall thickness, estimated fetal weight, amniotic fluid index, placental thickness and location, fetal spine position, breech type, and delivery outcomes such as final mode of delivery and birth weight. Successful version was associated with a thicker ultrasonographic fundal myometrium (unsuccessful: 6.7 [5.5-8.4] compared with successful: 7.4 [6.6-9.7] mm, P=.037). Multivariate regression analysis showed that increased fundal myometrial thickness, high amniotic fluid index, and nonfrank breech presentation were the strongest independent predictors of external cephalic version success (Pexternal cephalic versions (fundal myometrial thickness: odds ratio [OR] 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-5.2, P=.029; amniotic fluid index: OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.0, P=.008). Combining the two variables resulted in an absolute risk reduction for a failed version of 27.6% (95% CI 7.1-48.1) and a number needed to treat of four (95% CI 2.1-14.2). Fundal myometrial thickness and amniotic fluid index contribute to success of external cephalic version and their evaluation can be easily incorporated in algorithms before the procedure. III.

SU-E-E-01: ABR Diagnostic Radiology Core Exam: Was Our Redesigned Physics Course Successful in Teaching Physics to Radiology Residents?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanal, K; Hoff, M; Dickinson, R; Zamora, D; Stewart, B

2014-01-01

Purpose: Our purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of our two year physics course in preparing radiology residents for the American Board of Radiology (ABR) diagnostic radiology exam. Methods: We designed a new two-year physics course that integrates radiology clinical content and practice and is primarily based on the AAPM curriculum and RSNA/AAPM physics modules. Biweekly classes focus on relevant concepts from assigned reading and use audience response systems to encourage participation. Teaching efficiency is optimized through lecturer rotations of physicists, radiologists, and guest speakers. An emphasis is placed on clinical relevance by requiring lab work and providing equipment demonstrations. Periodic quiz were given during the course. The course website was also redesigned for usability, and physics review lectures were conducted two weeks before the board exam to refresh key concepts. At the completion of our first two-year course, we conducted a confidential evaluation of the faculty and course. The evaluation assessed metrics such as overall organization, clinical relevance of content, and level of difficulty, with a rating scale from poor to excellent. Results: Our evaluation indicated that the redesigned course provided effective board exam preparation, with most responses between good and excellent. There was some criticism on the course length and on chronological discontinuity, but the review lectures were appreciated by the residents. All of our residents passed the physics component of the ABR exam with scores exceeding the minimum passing score by a significant margin. Conclusion: The course evaluation and board exam results indicate that our new two-year course format provides valuable board exam preparation. This is possible thanks to the time and effort taken by the physics faculty on ensuring the residents get quality physics education

MO-A-BRB-01: Review of TG-262 Internal Survey of Practices in EMR for External Beam Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mechalakos, J.

2015-01-01

The process of converting to an electronic chart for radiation therapy can be daunting. It requires a dedicated committee to first research and choose appropriate software, to review the entire documentation policy and flow of the clinic, to convert this system to electronic form or if necessary, redesign the system to more easily conform to the electronic process. Those making the conversion and those who already use electronic charting would benefit from the shared experience of those who have been through the process in the past. Therefore TG262 was convened to provide guidance on electronic charting for external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy. This course will present the results of an internal survey of task group members on EMR practices in External Beam Radiation Therapy as well as discuss important issues in EMR development and structure for both EBRT and brachytherapy. Learning Objectives: Be familiarized with common practices and pitfalls in development and maintenance of an electronic chart in Radiation Oncology Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in External Beam Radiation Therapy Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in Brachytherapy

Magnetic evaluation of the external surface in cast heat-resistant steel tubes with different aging states

Science.gov (United States)

Arenas, Mónica P.; Silveira, Rosa M.; Pacheco, Clara J.; Bruno, Antonio C.; Araujo, Jefferson F. D. F.; Eckstein, Carlos B.; Nogueira, Laudemiro; de Almeida, Luiz H.; Rebello, João M. A.; Pereira, Gabriela R.

2018-06-01

Heat-resistant austenitic stainless steels have become the principal alloys for use in steam reformer tubes in the petrochemical industry due to its mechanical properties. These tubes are typically exposed to severe operational conditions leading to microstructural transformations such as the aging phenomenon. The combination of high temperatures and moderate stresses causes creep damages, being necessary to monitor its structural condition by non-destructive techniques. The tube external wall is also subjected to oxidizing atmospheres, favoring the formation of an external surface, composed by an oxide scale and a chromium depleted zone. This external surface is usually not taken into account in the tube evaluation, which can lead to erroneous estimations of the service life of these components. In order to observe the magnetic influence of this layer, two samples, exposed to different operational temperatures, were characterized by non-destructive eddy current testing (ECT), scanning DC-susceptometer and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). It was found that the external surface thickness influences directly in the magnetic response of the samples.

Economic evaluation of environmental externalities in China’s coal-fired power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Xiaoli; Cai, Qiong; Ma, Chunbo; Hu, Yanan; Luo, Kaiyan; Li, William

2017-01-01

Serious environmental externalities exist in China’s power industry. Environmental economics theory suggests that the evaluation of environmental externality is the basis of designing an efficient regulation. The purposes of this study are: (1) to identify Chinese respondents’ preferences for green development of electric power industry and the socio-economic characteristics behind them; (2) to investigate the different attitudes of the respondents towards pollution and CO_2 reduction; (3) to quantitatively evaluate the environmental cost of China’s coal-fired power generation. Based on the method of choice experiments (CE) and the 411 questionnaires with 2466 data points, we found that Chinese respondents prefer PM2.5, SO_2 and NO_x reduction to CO_2 reduction and that the environment cost of coal-fired power plants in China is 0.30 yuan per kWh. In addition, we found that the socio-economic characteristics of income, education, gender, and environmental awareness have significant impacts on respondents’ choices. These findings indicate that the environmental cost of coal-fired power generation is a significant factor that requires great consideration in the formulation of electric power development policies. In addition, importance should also be attached to the implementation of green power price policy and enhancement of environmental protection awareness. - Highlights: • Chinese respondents have willingness to pay premium for green development. • The environment cost of coal-fired power plants in China is 0.30 yuan/kwh. • Chinese respondents prefer PM2.5, SO_2 and NO_x reduction to CO_2 reduction. • Environmental awareness has significant impacts on respondents’ preferences. • Income, education and gender affect the evaluation results.

External contamination and skin dose. From ICRP and regulations to skin dose evaluation in practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Coulteulx, I.; Apretna, D.; Beaugerie, M.; Fenolland, J.; Frey, R.; Gonin, M.; Landry, B.; Laporte, E.; Le Guen, B.; Leval, D.

2006-01-01

Dose limitation to the skin is an objective of radiation protection. Our aim is to propose in case of skin contamination in EDF NPPs a simply, quickly and reproducible procedure for evaluating skin dose. French regulation admit an annual limit for skin dose over one square centimeter equal to 500 mSv. ICRP Publication 26 and 60 recommend that dose assessment be performed only if skin dose might be equal to or more than 50 mSv at basal cells. To respect this recommendation, an alert value (A) must be determined. This value is the lowest value of measurement from which dose assessment has to be made, based on the hypothesis that uninterrupted work time in controlled area is no more than four hours. This alert value (A) has been established for three external detection equipments, and for the ten radionuclides commonly detected. In case of external contamination, a first measurement is performed. If the value exceeds value (A), other measurements are instituted because skin dose evaluation needs to know other parameters as: - the radioactivity of the most contaminated square centimeter of the skin, - the identity of the radionuclides and their relative proportion. At the same time, we have to evaluate the length of the exposure. At last, we use different compiled results in a program developed from excel software which allow to calculate automatically the skin dose. This work has allowed us to publish an occupational health guideline about the assessment of skin dose in case of external contamination in EDF NPPs and to create an information booklet for workers. The authors propose to examine used methodology and to demonstrate the software. (authors)

Assessment of external costs for transport project evaluation: Guidelines in some European countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petruccelli, Umberto, E-mail: umberto.petruccelli@unibas.it

2015-09-15

Many studies about the external costs generated by the transport system have been developed in the last twenty years. To standardize methodologies and assessment procedures to be used in the evaluation of the projects, some European countries recently have adopted specific guidelines that differ from each other in some aspects even sensibly. This paper presents a critical analysis of the British, Italian and German guidelines and is aimed at cataloguing the external cost types regarded and the assessment methods indicated as well as to highlight the differences of the results, in terms of applicability and reliability. The goal is to contribute to a European standardization process that would lead to the drafting of guidelines suited for all EU countries. - Highlights: • The analyzed guidelines agree on the methods to evaluate costs from air pollution, greenhouse gases and accidents. • They recommend respectively: dose-resp. approach; costs to reduce/permit emissions; whole direct, indirect and social costs. • For noise, DE guide indicates defensive expenditure or SP methods; IT guide, SP method; UK guide, the hedonic prices one. • For on territory impact, DE guide regards only the barrier effect; the IT one, also the soil consumption and system effects. • British guide proposes a qualitative methodology to estimate the impact on various landscapes and environments.

The evaluation of external data resources for business intelligence applications: the example of the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronika Jasikova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Contemporary business requires relevant data for appropriate, effective and reliable decisions. The concept of Business Intelligence which has been successfully established in a lot of organisations necessitates gathering relevant internal as well as external data which are often hardly acquirable. The aim of this paper is to analyse both the quality and availability of the sample of the external data resources on the basis of selected criteria and to enable the evaluation of their potential. The research reveals that the resources are currently not as suitable and utilisable for the purposes of Business Intelligence as they are expected to be. Although there are exceptions such as data provided by particular governmental or national institutions, the majority of external data resources does not correspond to the requirements posed to their availability, credibility, update regularity, stability and technical accessibility.

Computational Re-design of Synthetic Genetic Oscillators for Independent Amplitude and Frequency Modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomazou, Marios; Barahona, Mauricio; Polizzi, Karen M; Stan, Guy-Bart

2018-04-25

To perform well in biotechnology applications, synthetic genetic oscillators must be engineered to allow independent modulation of amplitude and period. This need is currently unmet. Here, we demonstrate computationally how two classic genetic oscillators, the dual-feedback oscillator and the repressilator, can be re-designed to provide independent control of amplitude and period and improve tunability-that is, a broad dynamic range of periods and amplitudes accessible through the input "dials." Our approach decouples frequency and amplitude modulation by incorporating an orthogonal "sink module" where the key molecular species are channeled for enzymatic degradation. This sink module maintains fast oscillation cycles while alleviating the translational coupling between the oscillator's transcription factors and output. We characterize the behavior of our re-designed oscillators over a broad range of physiologically reasonable parameters, explain why this facilitates broader function and control, and provide general design principles for building synthetic genetic oscillators that are more precisely controllable. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Redesigning the Structure of Republic Indonesian Defense System; An Analysis of Systems Thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ade Muhammad

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of Shrinking Defense Capabilities is only the tip of the iceberg of Indonesian Defense System’s problem. The root of the problem that lies beneath and outside is keep untouched. This journal is the part of the efforts to reveal the phenomenon’s structure that binding as a system. The present structure is a cause of that phenomenon and the basis of the current organization responsible for Republic Indonesia Defense sector. With the Systems thinking analysis, the research has revealed the structure that become the problem cause and give a holistic solution trough redesigning new structure based on two theories namely the Strategic-Operational Management with Vision Dissemination of Prof. Dr. Jürgen Strohhecker and the Defense System Generic Dr. Ir. Muhammad Tasrif, M.Eng and Ir. Ade Muhammad, M.Han. The logical consequences would also changing of formation of Indonesian Defense Organization. Keywords : Design, Redesigning, Defense System, System, Defense, Holistic

Analisis Karakteristik Traksi Serta Redesign Rasio Transmisi Mobil Toyota Fortuner 4.0 V6 Sr (At 4x4

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nico Yudha Wardana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Produksi mobil Indonesia tahun 2014 mengalami peningkatan sebanyak 1,29 juta unit, meningkat 7,5 persen dari tahun sebelumnya dan terus mengalami peningkatan pada tahun 2015 sebesar 2 juta unit (Kemenprin, 1/16. Tingginya penjualan mobil tersebut tidak diiringi dengan upaya produsen untuk mencerdaskan konsumen mengenai performa mobil. Hal tersebut yang mendasari penulis untuk melakukan analisa karakteristik traksi pada mobil Toyota fortuner 4.0 V6 SR (4X4 AT. Dalam penelitian ini, telah dilakukan tiga tahapan pengujian. Tahapan pertama adalah melakukan pengujian dynotest pada mobil untuk mengetehaui efisiensi transmisi. Tahap kedua, dilakukan analisa perhitungan sehingga di dapatkan grafik karakteristik mobil pada kondisi standar. Selanjutnya tahap ketiga dilakukan evaluasi terhadap grafik karakteristik traksi mobil standar, dilanjutkan dengan proses redesign tingkat transmisi untuk mengoptimalkan kinerja mobil menggunakan metode progressi geometri. Dari penelitian ini diperoleh grafik karakteristik traksi mobil untuk kondisi rasio gigi standar serta hasil redesign dengan 5,6 dan 7 tingkat kecepatan. Setelah dilakukan analisa, ternyata distribusi traksi pada mobil kondisistandar tidak merata, terdapat loses yang cukup besar terutama pada 3 tingkatan gigi awal. Hasil redesign dengan menggunakan teori progressi geometry menunjukan distribusi traksi yang lebih baik dari kondisi standar. Loses traksi untuk perpindahan gigi pertama menuju tingkat gigi kedua yang awalnya pada kondisi standar sebesar 4.564 kN dapat diminimalisir sampai dengan 1 kN setelah dilakukan redesign dengan 7 tingkat kecepatan.

External coating of colonic anastomoses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Achiam, Michael Patrick; Rosenberg, Jacob

2012-01-01

Colon anastomotic leakage remains both a frequent and serious complication in gastrointestinal surgery. External coating of colonic anastomoses has been proposed as a means to lower the rate of this complication. The aim of this review was to evaluate existing studies on external coating of colonic...

A Journey to Improved Inpatient Glycemic Control by Redesigning Meal Delivery and Insulin Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Martha; Ferguson, Allison; Fields, Willa

2016-01-01

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to redesign a hospital meal delivery process in order to shorten the time between blood glucose monitoring and corresponding insulin administration and improve glycemic control. This process change redesigned the workflow of the dietary and nursing departments. Modifications included nursing, rather than dietary, delivering meal trays to patients receiving insulin. Dietary marked the appropriate meal trays and phoned each unit prior to arrival on the unit. The process change was trialed on 2 acute care units prior to implementation hospital wide. Elapsed time between blood glucose monitoring and insulin administration was analyzed before and after process change as well as evaluation of glucometrics: percentage of patients with blood glucose between 70 and 180 mg/dL (percent perfect), blood glucose greater than 300 mg/dL (extreme hyperglycemia), and blood glucose less than 70 mg/dL (hypoglycemia). Percent perfect glucose results improved from 45% to 53%, extreme hyperglycemia (blood glucose >300 mg/dL) fell from 11.7% to 5%. Hypoglycemia demonstrated a downward trend line, demonstrating that with improving glycemic control hypoglycemia rates did not increase. Percentage of patients receiving meal insulin within 30 minutes of blood glucose check increased from 35% to 73%. In the hospital, numerous obstacles were present that interfered with on-time meal insulin delivery. Establishing a meal delivery process with the nurse performing the premeal blood glucose check, delivering the meal, and administering the insulin improves overall blood glucose control. Nurse-led process improvement of blood glucose monitoring, meal tray delivery, and insulin administration does lead to improved glycemic control for the inpatient population.

External costs of electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabl, A.; Spadaro, J.V.

2005-01-01

This article presents a synthesis of the ExternE project (External costs of Energy) of the European community about the external costs of power generation. Pollution impacts are calculated using an 'impact pathways' analysis, i.e. an analysis of the emission - dispersion - dose-response function - cost evaluation chain. Results are presented for different fuel cycles (with several technological variants) with their confidence intervals. The environmental impact costs are particularly high for coal: for instance, in France, for coal-fired power plants it is of the same order as the electricity retail price. For natural gas, this cost is about a third of the one for coal. On the contrary, the environmental impact costs for nuclear and renewable energies are low, typically of few per cent of the electricity price. The main part of these costs corresponds to the sanitary impacts, in particular the untimely mortality. In order to avoid any controversy about the cost evaluation of mortality, the reduction of the expectation of life due to the different fuel cycles is also indicated and the risks linked with nuclear energy are presented using several comparisons. (J.S.)

Performance-Based Task Assessment of Higher-Order Proficiencies in Redesigned STEM High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, Jeremy V.; Glennie, Elizabeth; Li, Songze

2017-01-01

This study explored student abilities in applying conceptual knowledge when presented with structured performance tasks. Specifically, the study gauged proficiency in higher-order applications of students enrolled in earth and environmental science or biology. The student sample was drawn from a Redesigned STEM high school model where a tested…

The Power of Professionally Situated Practice Analysis in Redesigning Organisations: A Psychosociological Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Scaratti, Giuseppe; Gorli, Mara; Ripamonti, Silvio

2009-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to provoke thoughts around the possibility of using the lever of practices and situated knowledge to trigger organisational change and to redesign it with the involvement of the whole organisation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents connections between a psychosociological approach and a practice-based…

Piezosurgery in External Dacryocystorhinostomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Czyz, Craig N; Fowler, Amy M; Dutton, Jonathan J; Cahill, Kenneth V; Foster, Jill A; Hill, Robert H; Everman, Kelly R; Nabavi, Cameron B

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) can be performed via an external or endoscopic approach. The use of ultrasonic or piezosurgery has been well described for endoscopic DCRs but is lacking for external DCRs. This study presents a case series of external DCRs performed using piezosurgery evaluating results and complications. Prospective, consecutive case series of patients undergoing primary external DCR for lacrimal drainage insufficiency. A standard external DCR technique was used using 1 of 2 piezosurgery systems for all bone incision. All patients received silicone intubation to the lacrimal system. Surgical outcome was measured in terms of patient-reported epiphora as follows: 1) complete resolution, 2) improvement >50%, 3) improvement 50% improvement. There were 4 patients (7%) who had <50% improvement. There was 1 (2%) intraoperative complication and 2 (4%) postoperative complications recorded. Piezourgery is a viable modality for performing external DCRs. The lack of surgical complications shows a potential for decreased soft tissues damage. The surgical success rate based on patient-reported epiphora is similar to those published for mechanical external DCRs. This modality may benefit the novice surgeon in the reduction of soft and mucosal tissue damage.

Partnered research in healthcare delivery redesign for high-need, high-cost patients: development and feasibility of an Intensive Management Patient-Aligned Care Team (ImPACT).

Science.gov (United States)

Zulman, Donna M; Ezeji-Okoye, Stephen C; Shaw, Jonathan G; Hummel, Debra L; Holloway, Katie S; Smither, Sasha F; Breland, Jessica Y; Chardos, John F; Kirsh, Susan; Kahn, James S; Asch, Steven M

2014-12-01

We employed a partnered research healthcare delivery redesign process to improve care for high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patients within the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. Health services researchers partnered with VA national and Palo Alto facility leadership and clinicians to: 1) analyze characteristics and utilization patterns of HNHC patients, 2) synthesize evidence about intensive management programs for HNHC patients, 3) conduct needs-assessment interviews with HNHC patients (n = 17) across medical, access, social, and mental health domains, 4) survey providers (n = 8) about care challenges for HNHC patients, and 5) design, implement, and evaluate a pilot Intensive Management Patient-Aligned Care Team (ImPACT) for a random sample of 150 patients. HNHC patients accounted for over half (52 %) of VA facility patient costs. Most (94 %) had three or more chronic conditions, and 60 % had a mental health diagnosis. Formative data analyses and qualitative assessments revealed a need for intensive case management, care coordination, transitions navigation, and social support and services. The ImPACT multidisciplinary team developed care processes to meet these needs, including direct access to team members (including after-hours), chronic disease management protocols, case management, and rapid interventions in response to health changes or acute service use. Two-thirds of invited patients (n = 101) enrolled in ImPACT, 87 % of whom remained actively engaged at 9 months. ImPACT is now serving as a model for a national VA intensive management demonstration project. Partnered research that incorporated population data analysis, evidence synthesis, and stakeholder needs assessments led to the successful redesign and implementation of services for HNHC patients. The rigorous design process and evaluation facilitated dissemination of the intervention within the VA healthcare system. Employing partnered research to redesign care for high-need, high

A conceptual redesign of an inter-building fuel transfer cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klann, R.T.; Picker, B.A. Jr.

1993-01-01

The Inter-Building Fuel Transfer Cask, referred to as the IBC, is a lead shielded cask for transporting subassemblies between buildings on the Argonne National Laboratory-West site near Idaho Falls, Idaho. The cask transports both newly fabricated and spent reactor subassemblies between the Experimental Breeder Reactor-2 (EBR-2), the Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF) and the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF). The IBC will play a key role in the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel recycling demonstration project. The existing IBC technology, designed and fabricated in the late fifties, is outdated and is a source of personnel exposure at ANL-W. The current IBC system requires forced argon cooling and has extremely limited passive cooling capabilities due to existing design features. A conceptual redesign of the IBC has been performed. The objective of the conceptual design was to increase the passive heat removal capabilities, reduce the personnel radiation exposure and incorporate enhanced safety features into the design. The heat transfer, radiation and thermal-hydraulic properties of the IBC were analytically modeled to determine the principal factors controlling the design. The scoping studies that were performed determined the vital physical characteristics (i.e., size, shielding, pumps, etc.) of the IBC conceptual design. The conceptual design for the IBC allows subassemblies with up to 800 Watts of decay heat to be passively cooled, a significant increase over the existing system. The new design which incorporates better passive cooling mechanisms will prevent inadvertent damage to the subassembly during postulated loss-of-power and loss-of-flow accident scenarios. The new design also decreases the radiation hazard to personnel by having fewer external systems, a better shield plug design, and surfaces that are easier to decontaminate. The control and monitoring system will also be state-of-the-art technology

A Behavioral Analysis of the Laboratory Learning Process: Redesigning a Teaching Unit on Recrystallization.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, T.; Verdonk, A. H.

1984-01-01

Reports on a project in which observations of student and teaching assistant behavior were used to redesign a teaching unit on recrystallization. Comments on the instruction manual, starting points for teaching the unit, and list of objectives with related tasks are included. (JN)

The Delivery of Developmental Mathematics: Course Redesign and Implementation at a Community College

Science.gov (United States)

Westerfield, Mary Ann K.

2013-01-01

This research was undertaken to determine if the redesigned modular delivery method for developmental mathematics produced a higher sequence completion rate within a year as compared to the traditional lecture style delivery. Re-enrollment rates from fall to spring for the modularized delivery system were compared to the traditional delivery…

Redesign of a Low Energy Probe Head

CERN Document Server

Rao, Yi-Nong; Ries, Thomas

2005-01-01

The present situation of the low energy probe LE2 in TRIUMF cyclotron is that the thickness of the finger 5 is uniform over a radial length of 3.25 inch and its weight which amounts to ~447 g is affecting its re-circulating ball mechanism and causing it to fall below the median plane over its range of movement. We therefore re-design it in order to reduce its weight. First, we made simulations and determined the optimum thickness of the probe head vs its radial length. These simulation results are found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements made. Finally, we calculated the temperature rise caused by the beam power dumped on the probe, and figured out the maximum current of beam that can be dumped on the finger.

Hubble Space Telescope EVA Power Ratchet Tool redesign

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, Paul W.; Park, Chan; Brown, Lee

The Power Ratchet Tool (PRT) is a self contained, power-driven, 3/8 inch drive ratchet wrench which will be used by astronauts during Extravehicular Activities (EVA). This battery-powered tool is controlled by a dedicated electonic controller. The PRT was flown during the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Deployment Mission STS-31 to deploy the solar arrays if the automatic mechanisms failed. The PRT is currently intended for use during the first HST Servicing Mission STS-61 as a general purpose power tool. The PRT consists of three major components; the wrench, the controller, and the battery module. Fourteen discrete combinations of torque, turns, and speed may be programmed into the controller before the EVA. The crewmember selects the desired parameter profile by a switch mounted on the controller. The tool may also be used in the manual mode as a non-powered ratchet wrench. The power is provided by a silver-zinc battery module, which fits into the controller and is replaceable during an EVA. The original PRT did not meet the design specification of torque output and hours of operation. To increase efficiency and reliability the PRT underwent a redesign effort. The majority of this effort focused on the wrench. The original PRT drive train consisted of a low torque, high speed brushless DC motor, a face gear set, and a planocentric gear assembly. The total gear reduction was 300:1. The new PRT wrench consists of a low speed, high torque brushless DC motor, two planetary gear sets and a bevel gear set. The total gear reduction is now 75:1. A spline clutch has also been added to disengage the drive train in the manual mode. The design changes to the controller will consist of only those modifications necessary to accomodate the redesigned wrench.

Exploration of an allied health workforce redesign model: quantifying the work of allied health assistants in a community workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Somerville, Lisa; Davis, Annette; Milne, Sarah; Terrill, Desiree; Philip, Kathleen

2017-07-25

The Victorian Assistant Workforce Model (VAWM) enables a systematic approach for the identification and quantification of work that can be delegated from allied health professionals (AHPs) to allied health assistants (AHAs). The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of implementation of VAWM in the community and ambulatory health care setting. Data captured using mixed methods from allied health professionals working across the participating health services enabled the measurement of opportunity for workforce redesign in the community and ambulatory allied health workforce. A total of 1112 AHPs and 135 AHAs from the 27 participating organisations took part in the present study. AHPs identified that 24% of their time was spent undertaking tasks that could safely be delegated to an appropriately qualified and supervised AHA. This equates to 6837h that could be redirected to advanced and expanded AHP practice roles or expanded patient-centred service models. The VAWM demonstrates potential for more efficient implementation of assistant workforce roles across allied health. Data outputs from implementation of the VAWM are vital in informing strategic planning and sustainability of workforce change. A more efficient and effective workforce promotes service delivery by the right person, in the right place, at the right time. What is known about this topic? There are currently workforce shortages that are predicted to grow across the allied health workforce. Ensuring that skill mix is optimal is one way to address these shortages. Matching the right task to right worker will also enable improved job satisfaction for both allied health assistants and allied health professionals. Workforce redesign efforts are more effective when there is strong data to support the redesign. What does this paper add? This paper builds on a previous paper by Somerville et al. with a case study applying the workforce redesign model to a community and ambulatory health care

Redesign and modernization of radioactive waste administration systems in Ukraine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nieder-Westermann, Gerald H.; Walther, Thorsten; Krone, Juergen [DBE Technology GmbH, Peine (Germany)

2016-06-15

The European Commission (EC) has undertaken a series of projects to render assistance to Ukraine in modernizing and redesigning the Ukrainian approach to the administration, management and ultimately disposal of all forms of radioactive waste, including waste associated with the Chornobyl accident as well as waste generated as part of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure and from industrial and medical applications. One of the most recently completed projects focused on modernizing Ukraine's management and administrative systems responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste.

Redesign and modernization of radioactive waste administration systems in Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieder-Westermann, Gerald H.; Walther, Thorsten; Krone, Juergen

2016-01-01

The European Commission (EC) has undertaken a series of projects to render assistance to Ukraine in modernizing and redesigning the Ukrainian approach to the administration, management and ultimately disposal of all forms of radioactive waste, including waste associated with the Chornobyl accident as well as waste generated as part of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure and from industrial and medical applications. One of the most recently completed projects focused on modernizing Ukraine's management and administrative systems responsible for the disposal of radioactive waste.

Connecting the dots: interprofessional health education and delivery system redesign at the Veterans Health Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilman, Stuart C; Chokshi, Dave A; Bowen, Judith L; Rugen, Kathryn Wirtz; Cox, Malcolm

2014-08-01

Health systems around the United States are embracing new models of primary care using interprofessional team-based approaches in pursuit of better patient outcomes, higher levels of satisfaction among patients and providers, and improved overall value. Less often discussed are the implications of new models of care for health professions education, including education for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other professions engaged in primary care. Described here is the interaction between care transformation and redesign of health professions education at the largest integrated delivery system in the United States: the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Challenges and lessons learned are discussed in the context of a demonstration initiative, the VA Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education. Five sites, involving VA medical centers and their academic affiliates in Boise, Cleveland, San Francisco, Seattle, and West Haven, introduced interprofessional primary care curricula for resident physicians and nurse practitioner students beginning in 2011. Implementation struggles largely revolved around the operational logistics and cultural disruption of integrating educational redesign for medicine and nursing and facilitating the interface between educational and clinical activities. To realize new models for interprofessional teaching, faculty, staff, and trainees must understand the histories, traditions, and program requirements across professions and experiment with new approaches to achieving a common goal. Key recommendations for redesign of health professions education revolve around strengthening the union between interprofessional learning, team-based practice, and high-value care.

Monetary valorization of the sanitary and environmental impacts of a nuclear accident: synthesis of ''ExternE'' studies, interests and limits of complementary developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schieber, C.; Schneider, Th.

2002-09-01

This document constitutes a synthesis of the various available methods for the monetary evaluation of the nuclear accidents impacts in order to reveal the already evaluated impacts, those which need complementary developments and those for which the monetary approach currently seems to come up against limits. It is based primarily on the approach realized by the ''ExternE'' project of the European Commission, consisting in the evaluation of the external costs of the nuclear energy industry. (A.L.B.)

Creative thinking of design and redesign on SEAT aircraft cabin testbed: a case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, C.F.; Chen, W.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.

2009-01-01

this paper, the intuition approach in the design and redesign of the environmental friendly innovative aircraft cabin simulator is presented.. The aircraft cabin simulator is a testbed that used for European Project SEAT (Smart tEchnologies for Stress free Air Travel). The SEAT project aims to

Economical evaluation of electricity generation considering externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Kordy, M.N.; Badr, M.A.; Abed, K.A.; Ibrahim, Said M.A.

2002-01-01

The economics of renewable energy are the largest barrier to renewable penetration. Nevertheless, the strong desire to reduce environmental emissions is considered a great support for renewable energy sources. In this paper, a full analysis for the cost of the kWh of electricity generated from different systems actually used in Egypt is presented. Also renewable energy systems are proposed and their costs are analyzed. The analysis considers the external cost of emissions from different generating systems. A proposed large scale PV plant of 3.3 MW, and a wind farm 11.25 MW grid connected at different sites are investigated. A life cycle cost analysis for each system was performed using the present value criterion. The comparison results showed that wind energy generation has the lowest cost, followed by a combined cycle-natural gas fired system. A photovoltaic system still uses comparatively expensive technology for electricity generation; even when external costs are considered the capital cost of photovoltaic needs to be reduced by about 60% in order to be economically competitive. (Author)

Research into experiential learning in nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Barry

2017-09-07

This research is founded on an innovative pedagogical project as part of a higher education lecturer teaching qualification. This project involved redesigning the module 'advanced history taking and physical examination with clinical reasoning', a continuing professional development at a higher education institution. The author undertook an exploration of the literature, considering evidence on teaching styles and the way in which students learn and gain knowledge. The module was redesigned, impelemented and then evaluated by the student participants. Key themes in the evaluation centred on the experiential learning style and experiential teaching style. There are numerous internal and external factors that affect teaching, and student learning. Experiential learning has provided a successful teaching pedagogy when applied to clinical skill acquisition, and has positively benefited the module delivery and pass rate, suggesting it has embedded 'deep learning'. Student feedback was positive, and the redesigned module has had a positive impact on student engagement and the teacher-student interaction.

Five Key Leadership Actions Needed to Redesign Family Medicine Residencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozakowski, Stanley M; Eiff, M Patrice; Green, Larry A; Pugno, Perry A; Waller, Elaine; Jones, Samuel M; Fetter, Gerald; Carney, Patricia A

2015-06-01

New skills are needed to properly prepare the next generation of physicians and health professionals to practice in medical homes. Transforming residency training to address these new skills requires strong leadership. We sought to increase the understanding of leadership skills useful in residency programs that plan to undertake meaningful change. The Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4) project (2007-2014) was a comparative case study of 14 family medicine residencies that engaged in innovative training redesign, including altering the scope, content, sequence, length, and location of training to align resident education with requirements of the patient-centered medical home. In 2012, each P4 residency team submitted a final summary report of innovations implemented, overall insights, and dissemination activities during the study. Six investigators conducted independent narrative analyses of these reports. A consensus meeting held in September 2012 was used to identify key leadership actions associated with successful educational redesign. Five leadership actions were associated with successful implementation of innovations and residency transformation: (1) manage change; (2) develop financial acumen; (3) adapt best evidence educational strategies to the local environment; (4) create and sustain a vision that engages stakeholders; and (5) demonstrate courage and resilience. Residency programs are expected to change to better prepare their graduates for a changing delivery system. Insights about effective leadership skills can provide guidance for faculty to develop the skills needed to face practical realities while guiding transformation.

BDD-based reliability evaluation of phased-mission systems with internal/external common-cause failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing, Liudong; Levitin, Gregory

2013-01-01

Phased-mission systems (PMS) are systems in which multiple non-overlapping phases of operations (or tasks) are accomplished in sequence for a successful mission. Examples of PMS abound in applications such as aerospace, nuclear power, and airborne weapon systems. Reliability analysis of a PMS must consider statistical dependence across different phases as well as dynamics in system configuration, failure criteria, and component behavior. This paper proposes a binary decision diagrams (BDD) based method for the reliability evaluation of non-repairable binary-state PMS with common-cause failures (CCF). CCF are simultaneous failure of multiple system elements, which can be caused by some external factors (e.g., lightning strikes, sudden changes in environment) or by propagated failures originating from some elements within the system. Both the external and internal CCF is considered in this paper. The proposed method is combinatorial, exact, and is applicable to PMS with arbitrary system structures and component failure distributions. An example with different CCF scenarios is analyzed to illustrate the application and advantages of the proposed method. -- Highlights: ► Non-repairable phased-mission systems with common-cause failures are analyzed. ► Common-cause failures caused by internal or external factors are considered. ► A combinatorial algorithm based on binary decision diagrams is suggested

Designing to Promote Access, Quality, and Student Support in an Advanced Certificate Programme for Rural Teachers in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jill W. Fresen

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the re-design of the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE programme, which is offered by the University of Pretoria through distance education (DE to teachers in rural South Africa. In 2007, a team re-designed the programme with the goal of promoting access, quality, and student support. The team included an independent body, the South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE, and various education specialists. Training workshops for academics and a comprehensive internal and external review process contributed to the quality of the re-designed programme. Interactive web-based technologies were not included because of poor Internet connectivity; however, the authors note the use and potential of cell phone technology for DE programmes. Student support was enhanced by an additional short contact session, a capping assignment, a CD-ROM, and decentralised tutoring at contact venues. The programme was re-evaluated and approved in 2008, and the re-design methodology now guides similar projects.

PSA approach for the evaluation of external hazards as part of CNSC Fukushima action items

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Michael; Yalaoui, Smain

2014-01-01

This paper introduces the PSA approach that Canadian licensees adopted to address the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) Fukushima Action Items (FAIs) [1] with respect to external hazards evaluation. This paper focus on the FAIs specifically associated with the external hazard evaluation. It also briefly discusses the similarity and differences between the requirements of CNSC FAIs, the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA) Stress Test [2], and the USNRC 'Request for Information'[3]. This paper provides a status update on the completion of the FAIs by the Canadian licensees' and discusses the lessons learned from the implementation of these actions items. It also identifies the importance of a closer interaction between the CNSC and other government agencies for the characterization of as well as for the protection against the external natural hazards. It also highlights some other areas that include research projects on external hazards, combined methodologies from the licensees, etc. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of CNSC, or any part thereof. All Canadian licensees are currently preparing their plant specific reports to address the relevant FAIs. Some preliminary hazards screening reports, as well as the reports for probabilistic seismic hazards analysis, external flood hazard and high wind hazard have been submitted to CNSC. CNSC, in conjunction other Canadian government agencies, are currently reviewing these reports to determine their acceptability. The licensees are expected to submit all required reports by the end of this year. In the meantime, other Fukushima actions requiring facility enhancements are underway for some licensees. These include: - acquiring additional emergency mitigating portable equipment, such as power generators and pumps, which can be stored onsite and offsite and used to bring reactors to a safe shutdown state, in the unlikely event of a

[Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a qualitative study on sex definition and redesignation dilation surgery and psychological support (part II)].

Science.gov (United States)

Telles-Silveira, Mariana; Tonetto-Fernandes, Vânia F; Schiller, Paulo; Kater, Claudio E

2009-12-01

To identify relevant questions related to sex definition and re-designation and reconstructive surgery in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and to understand the role of the psychologist in providing care for these patients. We selected 21 subjects: 7 pediatric endocrinologists from 5 Brazilian Public Health System institutions, 9 parents and 6 patients with CAH, according to a qualitative research model. In this paper, 3 of the studied categories are analyzed: 'sex definition and re-designation', 'reconstructive surgery/vaginal dilation', and 'psychology'. Parents' main anguish relates to the situation of an unnamed sex at birth, whereas sex re-designation was distressful to physicians. A sense of loneliness when dealing with the disease and treatment was a common anguish among patients; dilation procedures were the major complaint. In general, physicians recommend that genital reconstructive surgery be performed early on to avoid future trauma. In such a complex scenario, it is remarkable that not all the reference service staff have a psychologist on duty. Difficulties to deal with questions involving sexuality were evident and dilation procedures are an additional source of trauma for these patients.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Intravenous Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) in Preterm and Term Neonates: Model Development and External Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Sarah F; Roberts, Jessica K; Samiee-Zafarghandy, Samira; Stockmann, Chris; King, Amber D; Deutsch, Nina; Williams, Elaine F; Allegaert, Karel; Wilkins, Diana G; Sherwin, Catherine M T; van den Anker, John N

2016-01-01

The aims of this study were to develop a population pharmacokinetic model for intravenous paracetamol in preterm and term neonates and to assess the generalizability of the model by testing its predictive performance in an external dataset. Nonlinear mixed-effects models were constructed from paracetamol concentration-time data in NONMEM 7.2. Potential covariates included body weight, gestational age, postnatal age, postmenstrual age, sex, race, total bilirubin, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. An external dataset was used to test the predictive performance of the model through calculation of bias, precision, and normalized prediction distribution errors. The model-building dataset included 260 observations from 35 neonates with a mean gestational age of 33.6 weeks [standard deviation (SD) 6.6]. Data were well-described by a one-compartment model with first-order elimination. Weight predicted paracetamol clearance and volume of distribution, which were estimated as 0.348 L/h (5.5 % relative standard error; 30.8 % coefficient of variation) and 2.46 L (3.5 % relative standard error; 14.3 % coefficient of variation), respectively, at the mean subject weight of 2.30 kg. An external evaluation was performed on an independent dataset that included 436 observations from 60 neonates with a mean gestational age of 35.6 weeks (SD 4.3). The median prediction error was 10.1 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 6.1-14.3] and the median absolute prediction error was 25.3 % (95 % CI 23.1-28.1). Weight predicted intravenous paracetamol pharmacokinetics in neonates ranging from extreme preterm to full-term gestational status. External evaluation suggested that these findings should be generalizable to other similar patient populations.

Responding to the Concerns of Student Cultural Groups: Redesigning Spaces for Cultural Centers

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Anise Mazone; Higbee, Jeanne L.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the engagement of a student committee in redesigning an entire floor of a university union to accommodate student cultural centers and provide space in a fair and equitable manner. The reorganization focused on the process as well as the task of allocating space, with an emphasis on the opportunity to foster the development of…

77 FR 56859 - Federal Register Notification of Redesignation of Potential Wilderness as Wilderness, Ross Lake...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-14

... Register Notification of Redesignation of Potential Wilderness as Wilderness, Ross Lake National Recreation..., Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area as the Stephen Mather... acres of potential wilderness within Ross Lake National Recreation Area, including approximately 1,667...

User Experience Design (UX Design) in a Website Development : Website redesign

OpenAIRE

Orlova, Mariia

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to implement an approach of user experience for a website design. Mostly, I concentrated on revealing and understanding the concepts of UX design which include usability, visual design and human factors affecting the user experience. Another aim of the study was to investigate people’s behaviour related to web design. The thesis based on a project. The project was to redesign an existing web design for a company called Positive Communications. They provide differe...

The Power of Structural and Symbolic Redesign: Creating a Collaborative Learning Community in Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Geltner, Beverley B.

This paper describes efforts to redesign a graduate program of educational administration and leadership at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, shaped by contributions of researchers in contemporary management and leadership theory, feminist pedagogy, action research, and educational reform. A culture of collaboration, inclusion, and…

Evaluation of Group Intervention for Mothers/Caretakers of Kindergarten Children with Externalizing Behavioral Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandra Turini Bolsoni-Silva

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Negative parental practices may influence the onset and maintenance of externalizing behavior problems, and positive parenting seem to improve children's social skills and reduce behavior problems. The objective of the present study was to describe the effects of an intervention designed to foster parents' social skills related to upbringing practices in order to reduce externalizing problems in children aged 4 to 6 years. Thirteen mothers and two care taker grandmothers took part in the study with an average of four participants per group. To assess intervention effects, we used a repeated measure design with control, pre, and post intervention assessments. Instruments used were: (a An interview schedule that evaluates the social interactions between parents and children functionally, considering each pair of child¿s and parent's behaviors as context for one another; (b A Social Skills Inventory; (c Child Behavior Checklist - CBCL. Intervention was effective in improving parent general social skills, decreasing negative parental practices and decreasing child behavior problems.

Redesigning Romance: The Making and Analysis of a Critical Literacy Comic in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Shariff, Patricia Watson; Janks, Hilary

2001-01-01

Examines the making and redesigning of the romance stories (in comic-book form) in drama in education workshops conducted in a rural South African high school. Brings together practice and theory that were independently conceived, so that they can mutually inform one another. Analyses the narrative outline which kick-started the comic development…

Service-Learning and Integrated Course Redesign: Principles of Management and the Campus Kitchen Metaproject

Science.gov (United States)

Flannery, Brenda L.; Pragman, Claudia H.

2010-01-01

This article describes the process of redesigning a Principles of Management course to integrate a service-learning metaproject. The metaproject was Campus Kitchen, a food recovery and delivery program operated on a handful of university campuses across the United States. We used L. Dee Fink's integrated course design approach as well as systems…

Safety in the redesigning of production lines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dyhrberg, Mette Bang; Broberg, Ole; Jacobsen, Peter

2006-01-01

This paper is a case study report on how safety considerations were handled in the process of redesigning a production line. The design process was characterized as a specification and negotiation process between engineers from the company and the supplier organization. The new production line...... became safer, but not as a result of any intentional plan to integrate safety aspects into the design process. Instead, the supplier’s design of a new piece of equipment had a higher built-in safety level. The engineering team in the company was aware of the importance of safety aspects neither...... in the specification material nor in their face-to-face meetings with the supplier. Safety aspects were not part of their work practice. On this basis, it was suggested that formal guidelines or procedures for integrating safety in the design of production lines would have no effect. Instead, the researchers set up...

Multicenter, noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study to evaluate dosing of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone using the redesigned follitropin alfa pen in women undergoing ovulation induction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nawroth F

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Frank Nawroth,1 Andreas Tandler-Schneider,2 Wilma Bilger3 1Centre for Reproductive and Prenatal Medicine, Endocrinology and Osteology, Hamburg, Germany; 2Center for Reproductive Medicine, Fertility Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 3Medical Affairs, Fertility, Endocrinology and General Medicine, Merck Serono GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany (an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Abstract: This prospective, noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study evaluated doses of recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH using the redesigned follitropin alfa pen in women who were anovulatory or oligomenorrheic and undergoing ovulation induction (OI alone or OI with intrauterine insemination. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved monofollicular or bifollicular development (defined as one or two follicles 15 mm. Secondary endpoints included characteristics of ovulation stimulation treatment, such as mean total and mean daily r-hFSH doses. Data were analyzed for 3,193 patients from 30 German fertility centers. The proportion of patients with monofollicular or bifollicular development was 71.1% (n=2,270 of a total of 3,193 patients; intent-to-treat population. The mean±standard deviation total and daily doses of r-hFSH were 696.9±542.5 IU and 61.7±29.4 IU, respectively. The three doses prescribed most frequently were: 37.5 IU (n=703 from N=3,189; 22.0%, 50.0 IU (n=1,056 from N=3,189; 33.1%, and 75.0 IU (n=738 from N=3,189; 23.1% on the first day of stimulation; and 37.5 IU (n=465 from N=3,189; 14.6%, 50.0 IU (n=922 from N=3,189; 28.9%, and 75.0 IU (n=895 from N=3,189; 28.1% on the last day of stimulation. This noninterventional, post-marketing surveillance study found that monofollicular or bifollicular development was achieved in 71% of patients studied and the small dose increment (12.5 IU of the redesigned follitropin alfa pen allowed individualized treatment of women undergoing OI. Keywords: ovulation

Fracture Toughness Evaluation of Space Shuttle External Tank Thermal Protection System Polyurethane Foam Insulation Materials

Science.gov (United States)

McGill, Preston; Wells, Doug; Morgan, Kristin

2006-01-01

Experimental evaluation of the basic fracture properties of Thermal Protection System (TPS) polyurethane foam insulation materials was conducted to validate the methodology used in estimating critical defect sizes in TPS applications on the Space Shuttle External Fuel Tank. The polyurethane foam found on the External Tank (ET) is manufactured by mixing liquid constituents and allowing them to react and expand upwards - a process which creates component cells that are generally elongated in the foam rise direction and gives rise to mechanical anisotropy. Similarly, the application of successive foam layers to the ET produces cohesive foam interfaces (knitlines) which may lead to local variations in mechanical properties. This study reports the fracture toughness of BX-265, NCFI 24-124, and PDL-1034 closed-cell polyurethane foam as a function of ambient and cryogenic temperatures and knitline/cellular orientation at ambient pressure.

External Reactor Vessel Cooling Evaluation for Severe Accident Mitigation in NPP Krsko

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihalina, M.; Spalj, S.; Glaser, B.

2016-01-01

The In-Vessel corium Retention (IVR) through the External Reactor Vessel Cooling (ERVC) is mean for maintaining the reactor vessel integrity during a severe accident, by cooling and retaining the molten material inside the reactor vessel. By doing this, significant portion of severe accident negative phenomena connected with reactor vessel failure could be avoided. In this paper, analysis of NPP Krsko applicability for IVR strategy was performed. It includes overview of performed plant related analysis with emphasis on wet cavity modification, plant's site specific walk downs, new applicable probabilistic and deterministic analysis, evaluation of new possibilities for ERVC strategy implementation regarding plant's post-Fukushima improvements and adequacy with plant's procedures for severe accident mitigation. Conclusion is that NPP Krsko could perform in-vessel core retention by applying external reactor vessel cooling strategy with reasonable confidence in success. Per probabilistic and deterministic analysis, time window for successful ERVC strategy performance for most dominating plant damage state scenarios is 2.5 hours, when onset of core damage is observed. This action should be performed early after transition to Severe Accident Management Guidance's (SAMG). For loss of all AC power scenario, containment flooding could be initiated before onset of core damage within related emergency procedure. To perform external reactor vessel cooling, reactor water storage tank gravity drain with addition of alternate water is needed to be injected into the containment. ERVC strategy will positively interfere with other severe accident strategies. There are no negative effects due to ERVC performance. New flooding level will not threaten equipment and instrumentation needed for long term SAMGs performance and eventually diluted containment sump borated water inventory will not cause return to criticality during eventual recirculation phase due to the

Using business process redesign to reduce wait times at a university hospital in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elkhuizen, Sylvia G.; Burger, Matthe P. M.; Jonkers, Rene E.; Limburg, Martien; Klazinga, Niek; Bakker, Piet J. M.

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Business process redesign (BPR) has been applied to implement more customer-focused and cost-effective care. In 2002, two pilot projects to improve patient care processes for two specific patient groups were conducted at the Academic Medical Center, a 1,000-bed university hospital in

STUDENTS’ COMMUNICATION SKILLS ASSESSMENT BY EXTERNAL LECTURERS AND INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NOORFAZILA KAMAL

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Soft skills, especially communication skills, are important skills which each graduate must possess. Accordingly, several courses and approaches have been carried out in universities to train students in communication skills. The skills are normally evaluated by course lecturers. However, assessments by a third party from outside the university are valuable so that the students’ ahievements may be weighed against external evaluators’ point of views. In the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering (DEESE, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM, communication skills assessment by external lecturers and industry representatives are performed on Hari Poster JKEES, where students present their final year project poster. There are two categories of evaluation, namely project and communication skills. The project evaluation covers content, result and impact, while communication skills evaluation covers poster layout and design, and delivery. This study only analyse the students’ communication skills achievement. The participants of this study consists of 109 final year students from two batches, of which 51 students are from year 2014 and the other 58 students from year 2015. The results show that for the year 2014 students, the mean mark given by external lecturers in layout and design category is 6.7, while the mean mark from industry evaluators is 6.5. For the 2015 batch, the mean mark in the layout and design category is 6.3 from external lecturers and 5.9 from industry evaluators. In the delivery category, the mean marks for the 2014 batch are 7.1 and 6.6 from external lecturers and industry evaluators, espectively. Meanwhile, for the 2015 batch, the mean marks by external lecturers and industry evaluators are 6.3 and 5.8, respectively. The results show that both external lecturers and industry representatives judged DEESE students’ communication skills to be good.

Redesigning fruit and vegetable distribution network in Tehran using a city logistics model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farshad Saeedi

2019-01-01

Full Text Available Tehran, as one of the most populated capital cities worldwide, is categorized in the group of highly polluted cities in terms of the geographical location as well as increased number of industries, vehicles, domestic fuel consumption, intra-city trips, increased manufacturing units, and in general excessive increase in the consumption of fossil energies. City logistics models can be effectively helpful for solving the complicated problems of this city. In the present study, a queuing theory-based bi-objective mathematical model is presented, which aims to optimize the environmental and economic costs in city logistics operations. It also tries to reduce the response time in the network. The first objective is associated with all beneficiaries and the second one is applicable for perishable and necessary goods. The proposed model makes decisions on urban distribution centers location problem. Subsequently, as a case study, the fruit and vegetable distribution network of Tehran city is investigated and redesigned via the proposed modelling. The results of the implementation of the model through traditional and augmented ε-constraint methods indicate the efficiency of the proposed model in redesigning the given network.

Redesign of a health science centre: reflections on co-leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

MacTavish, M; Norton, P

1995-01-01

Since 1988, the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre has been proactive in re-designing its system toward decentralized management, the purpose being to further enhance patient care. This process has involved numerous changes, among which were the establishment of three large clinical units. These clinical units are not defined following the historic medical model, but group patients with similar service and care needs. Subsequently, each of the clinical units defined Patient Service Units (PSUs). The hospital has chosen a co-leadership model for the lead management at each of the unit levels. This paper describes the model for clinical units.

Predicting Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Children with ASD: Evaluation of a Contextual Model of Parental Factors

Science.gov (United States)

McRae, Elizabeth M.; Stoppelbein, Laura; O'Kelley, Sarah E.; Fite, Paula; Greening, Leilani

2018-01-01

Parental adjustment, parenting behaviors, and child routines have been linked to internalizing and externalizing child behavior. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a comprehensive model examining relations among these variables in children with ASD and their parents. Based on Sameroff's Transactional Model of Development (Sameroff…

Bone scanning in severe external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, W.J.; Shary, J.H. III; Nichols, L.T.; Lucente, F.E.

1986-01-01

Technetium99 Methylene Diphosphate bone scanning has been considered an early valuable tool to diagnose necrotizing progressive malignant external otitis. However, to our knowledge, no formal studies have actually compared bone scans of otherwise young, healthy patients with severe external otitis to scans of patients with clinical presentation of malignant external otitis. Twelve patients with only severe external otitis were studied with Technetium99 Diphosphate and were compared to known cases of malignant otitis. All scans were evaluated by two neuroradiologists with no prior knowledge of the clinical status of the patients. Nine of the 12 patients had positive bone scans with many scans resembling those reported with malignant external otitis. Interestingly, there was no consistent correlation between the severity of clinical presentation and the amount of Technetium uptake. These findings suggest that a positive bone scan alone should not be interpreted as indicative of malignant external otitis

Analysis of social relations among organizational units derived from process models and redesign of organization structure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Choi, I.; Song, M.S.; Kim, K.M.; Lee, Y-H.

2007-01-01

Despite surging interests in analyzing business processes, there are few scientific approaches to analysis and redesign of organizational structures which can greatly affect the performance of business processes. This paper presents a method for deriving and analyzing organizational relations from

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 4. Oil and gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, R.; Krewitt, W.; Mayerhofer, P.

1995-01-01

Awareness of the environmental damage resulting from human activity, particularly commencing energy use, has grown greatly in recent years. Effects such as global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain are now the subjects of much research and public debate. It is now known that these and other effects damage a wide range of receptors, including human health, forests, crops, freshwater ecosystems and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the assessment of the environmental and health impacts of energy, and the related external costs. This concern is driven by a number of different factors: the need to integrate environmental concerns in decision making over the choice between different fuels and energy technologies; the need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards; increased attention to the use of economic instruments for environmental policy, the need to develop overall indicators of environmental performance of different technologies; major changes in the energy sector, including privatisation, liberalisation of markets, reduction of subsidies, etc. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not been established. Earlier work is typically of a preliminary nature and tends to be deficient with respect to both the methods employed and the quality of models and data used. In consequence of this a collaborative project, the EC/US Fuel Cycles Study, was established between Directorate General XLI (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy. This ran for the period 1991 to 1993, and good agreement on a variety of

Application of Evidence-Centered Assessment Design to the Advanced Placement Redesign: A Graphic Restatement

Science.gov (United States)

Bejar, Isaac I.

2010-01-01

The foregoing articles constitute what I consider a comprehensive and clear description of the redesign process of a major assessment. The articles serve to illustrate the problems that will need to be addressed by large-scale assessments in the twenty-first century. Primary among them is how to organize the development of such assessments to meet…

Evaluation of the external exposure to Rn-222 progeny in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, E.M.; Taha, T.M.; Gomaa, M.A.; El-Hussein, A.M.; Ahmed, A.A.

2003-01-01

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the Rn-222 progeny annual effective dose, skin dose and effective doses to different organs such as Gonad, Lung, Red Marrow, Bone surface, Thyroid, and the Remainder. Dose Coefficients of external exposure to Rn-222 in air was used in mSv s/Bqm -3 to calculate the organ doses. The study was monitored for two places, Nuclear Research Center and Al-Minia University. We have confirmed that the inhalation modes, sleep, sitting, light and heavy exercise influence the activity inhalation rate Bq/hr. It varies from 0.3 to 39.6 Bq/hr., the organ doses of Pb-214 is higher than Bi-214/Po-214 and Po-218 respectively in the case of the organ dose relative to environmental media

Re-designing the PhEDEx security model

CERN Document Server

Wildish, Anthony

2013-01-01

PhEDEx. the data-placement tool used by the CMS experiment at the LHC, was conceived in a more trusting time. The security model was designed to provide a safe working environment for site agents and operators, but provided little more protection than that. CMS data was not sufficiently protected against accidental loss caused by operator error or software bugs or from loss of data caused by deliberate manipulation of the database. Operations staff were given high levels of access to the database, beyond what should have been needed to accomplish their tasks. This exposed them to the risk of suspicion should an incident occur. Multiple implementations of the security model led to difficulties maintaining code, which can lead to degredation of security over time.In order to meet the simultaneous goals of protecting CMS data, protecting the operators from undue exposure to risk, increasing monitoring capabilities and improving maintainability of the security model, the PhEDEx security model was redesigned and r...

The Life Cycle Evaluation Model of External Diseconomy of Open-loop Supply Chain

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qian; Hu, Tianjun

2017-08-01

In recent years, with the continuous deterioration of pollution, resource space is gradually narrowed, the number of waste items increased, people began to use the method of recycling on waste products to ease the pressure on the environment. This paper adopted the external diseconomy of open-loop supply chain as the research object and constructed the model by the life cycle evaluation method, comparative analysis through the case. This paper also concludes that the key to solving the problem is to realize the closed-loop supply chain and building reverse logistics system is of great significance.

Simulation modelling for food supply chain redesign; integrated decision making on product quality, sustainability and logistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Vorst, J.G.A.J.; Tromp, S.O.; van der Zee, D.J.

2009-01-01

Food supply chains are confronted with increased consumer demands on food quality and sustainability. When redesigning these chains the analysis of food quality change and environmental load of new scenarios is as important as the analysis of efficiency and responsiveness requirements. Simulation

Review and evaluation of performance measures for survival prediction models in external validation settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Shafiqur Rahman

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background When developing a prediction model for survival data it is essential to validate its performance in external validation settings using appropriate performance measures. Although a number of such measures have been proposed, there is only limited guidance regarding their use in the context of model validation. This paper reviewed and evaluated a wide range of performance measures to provide some guidelines for their use in practice. Methods An extensive simulation study based on two clinical datasets was conducted to investigate the performance of the measures in external validation settings. Measures were selected from categories that assess the overall performance, discrimination and calibration of a survival prediction model. Some of these have been modified to allow their use with validation data, and a case study is provided to describe how these measures can be estimated in practice. The measures were evaluated with respect to their robustness to censoring and ease of interpretation. All measures are implemented, or are straightforward to implement, in statistical software. Results Most of the performance measures were reasonably robust to moderate levels of censoring. One exception was Harrell’s concordance measure which tended to increase as censoring increased. Conclusions We recommend that Uno’s concordance measure is used to quantify concordance when there are moderate levels of censoring. Alternatively, Gönen and Heller’s measure could be considered, especially if censoring is very high, but we suggest that the prediction model is re-calibrated first. We also recommend that Royston’s D is routinely reported to assess discrimination since it has an appealing interpretation. The calibration slope is useful for both internal and external validation settings and recommended to report routinely. Our recommendation would be to use any of the predictive accuracy measures and provide the corresponding predictive

Lessons learned from EU stress tests evaluations with regard to external hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misak, J.

2014-01-01

The presentation was oriented to critical review of the lessons learned from the European Union (EU) Stress Test focusing on NPP robustness against external hazards. These lessons addressed: - organization of the stress tests, - scope and objectives of the stress tests, - peer review findings, recommendations and implications on the design in the area of external hazards, - further studies recommended in the area of external hazards and PSA, - relevant research areas identified by the SNETP Task Group in response to Fukushima accident. Some important conclusions were made in the final part of the presentation: - Vulnerability to the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents caused by external hazards and including their secondary effects was underestimated, - Lessons learned from Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents, from the EU Stress Test and from peer reviews are to be reflected in safety improvements of operating plants and considered in new designs, - while no completely new phenomena were revealed from the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor accidents, improvements in specific research areas (including external hazards and use of PSA) should be considered with high priority

Review on studies for external cost of nuclear power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Byung Heung [Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Won Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

External cost is cost imposed on a third party when producing or consuming a good or service. Since the 1990s, the external costs of nuclear powered electricity production have been studied. Costs are a very important factor in policy decision and the external cost is considered for cost comparison on electricity production. As for nuclear fuel cycle, a chosen technology will determine the external cost. However, there has been little research on this issue. For this study, methods for external cost on nuclear power production have been surveyed and analyzed to develop an approach for evaluating external cost on nuclear fuel cycles. Before the Fukushima accident, external cost research had focused on damage costs during normal operation of a fuel cycle. However, accident cost becomes a major concern after the accident. Various considerations for external cost including accident cost have been used to different studies, and different methods have been applied corresponding to the considerations. In this study, the results of the evaluation were compared and analyzed to identify methodological applicability to the external cost estimation with nuclear fuel cycles.

Review on studies for external cost of nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Byung Heung; Ko, Won Il

2015-01-01

External cost is cost imposed on a third party when producing or consuming a good or service. Since the 1990s, the external costs of nuclear powered electricity production have been studied. Costs are a very important factor in policy decision and the external cost is considered for cost comparison on electricity production. As for nuclear fuel cycle, a chosen technology will determine the external cost. However, there has been little research on this issue. For this study, methods for external cost on nuclear power production have been surveyed and analyzed to develop an approach for evaluating external cost on nuclear fuel cycles. Before the Fukushima accident, external cost research had focused on damage costs during normal operation of a fuel cycle. However, accident cost becomes a major concern after the accident. Various considerations for external cost including accident cost have been used to different studies, and different methods have been applied corresponding to the considerations. In this study, the results of the evaluation were compared and analyzed to identify methodological applicability to the external cost estimation with nuclear fuel cycles

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 3. Coal and lignite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, J.; Holland, M.; Lee, D.

1995-01-01

Awareness of the environmental damage resulting from human activity, particularly concerning energy use, has grown greatly in recent years. Effects such as global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain are now the subjects of much research and public debate. It is now known that these and other effects damage a wide range of receptors, including human health, forests, crops, freshwater ecosystems and buildings. Such damages are typically not accounted for by the producers and consumers of the good in question (in this case energy). They are thus referred to as 'external costs' or 'externalities', to distinguish them from the private costs which account for the construction of plant, cost of fuel, wages, etc. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the assessment of the environmental and health impacts of energy, and the related external costs. This concern is driven by a number of different factors: the need to integrate environmental concerns in decision making over the choice between different fuels and energy technologies; the need to evaluate the costs and benefits of stricter environmental standards; increased attention to the use of economic instruments for environmental policy; the need to develop overall indicators of environmental performance of different technologies; major changes in the energy sector, including privatisation, liberalisation of markets, reduction of subsidies, etc. An agreed methodology for calculation and integration of external costs has not been established. Earlier work is typically of a preliminary nature and tends to be deficient with respect to both the methods employed and the quality of models and data used. In consequence of this a collaborative project, the EC/US Fuel Cycles Study, was established between Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Technology) of the European Commission and the United States Department of Energy. This ran for the period 1991 to 1993, and good agreement on a variety of

External beam radiotherapy of localized prostatic adenocarcinoma. Evaluation of conformal therapy, field number and target margins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lennernaes, B.; Rikner, G.; Letocha, H.; Nilsson, S.

1995-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to identify factors of importance in the planning of external beam radiotherapy of prostatic adenocarcinoma. Seven patients with urogenital cancers were planned for external radiotherapy of the prostate. Four different techniques were used, viz. a 4-field box technique and four-, five- or six-field conformal therapy set-ups combined with three different margins (1-3 cm). The evaluations were based on the doses delivered to the rectum and the urinary bladder. A normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) was calculated for each plan using Lyman's dose volume reduction method. The most important factors that resulted in a decrease of the dose delivered to the rectum and the bladder were the use of conformal therapy and smaller margins. Conformal therapy seemed more important for the dose distribution in the urinary bladder. Five- and six-field set-ups were not significantly better than those with four fields. NTCP calculations were in accordance with the evaluation of the dose volume histograms. To conclude, four-field conformal therapy utilizing reduced margins improves the dose distribution to the rectum and the urinary bladder in the radiotherapy of prostatic adenocarcinoma. (orig.)

Employee health benefit redesign at the academic health center: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Julie; Weaver, Deirdre C; Splaine, Kevin; Hefner, David S; Kirch, Darrell G; Paz, Harold L

2013-03-01

The rapidly escalating cost of health care, including the cost of providing health care benefits, is a significant concern for many employers. In this article, the authors examine a case study of an academic health center that undertook a complete redesign of its health benefit structure to control rising costs, encourage use of its own provider network, and support employee wellness. With the implementation in 2006 of a high-deductible health plan combined with health reimbursement arrangements and wellness incentives, the Penn State Hershey Medical Center (PSHMC) was able to realize significant cost savings and increase use of its own network while maintaining a high level of employee satisfaction. By contracting with a single third-party administrator for its self-insured plan, PSHMC reduced its administrative costs and simplified benefit choices for employees. In addition, indexing employee costs to salary ensured that this change was equitable for all employees, and the shift to a consumer-driven health plan led to greater employee awareness of health care costs. The new health benefit plan's strong focus on employee wellness and preventive health has led to significant increases in the use of preventive health services, including health risk assessments, cancer screenings, and flu shots. PSHMC's experience demonstrates the importance of clear and ongoing communication with employees throughout--before, during, and even after--the process of health benefit redesign.

The effect of childhood malnutrition on externalizing behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianghong; Raine, Adrian

2006-10-01

Childhood externalizing behavior (aggression, hyperactivity, and conduct disorder) has been increasingly viewed as a public health problem because of its etiology and outcome. The association between malnutrition and externalizing behavior has begun to receive attention. This review summarizes recent empirical findings on malnutrition as a risk factor for the development of externalizing behavior, with an emphasis on micronutrient deficiency, and explores brain dysfunction as a possible mechanism. Externalizing behavior is associated with both macromalnutrition (e.g. protein) and micromalnutrition (e.g. iron and zinc). Both prenatal and postnatal malnutrition is implicated. The long-term effects of malnutrition on behavior could be reversible. The effects of docosahexaenoic acid/omega-3 long-chain essential fatty acid on externalizing behavior are more mixed. From animal and human findings, it is hypothesized that malnutrition impairs neurocognitive functioning by reducing neurons, alternating neurotransmitter functioning, and increasing neurotoxicity, and that such neurocognitive impairments predispose to externalizing behavior. Different lines of evidence support the view that poor nutrition contributes to the development of child behavior problems. More randomized, controlled trials that manipulate nutritional intake and evaluate behavior in children are needed to evaluate the etiological role of nutrition in externalizing behavior in order to inform intervention and prevention efforts.

Evaluation of dose conversion coefficients for external exposure using Taiwanese reference man and woman

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, S.J.; Hung, S.Y.; Liu, Y.L.; Jiang, S.H.; Wu, J.

2015-01-01

Reference man has been widely used for external and internal dose evaluation of radiation protection. The parameters of the mathematical model of organs suggested by the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) are adopted from the average data of Caucasians. However, the organ masses of Asians are significantly different from the data of Caucasians, leading to potentially dosimetric errors. In this study, a total of 40 volunteers whose heights and weights corresponded to the statistical average of Taiwanese adults were recruited. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and T2-weighted images were acquired. The Taiwanese reference man and woman were constructed according to the measured organ masses. The dose conversion coefficients (DCFs) for anterior-posterior (AP), posterior-anterior (PA), right lateral (RLAT) and left lateral (LLAT) irradiation geometries were simulated. For the Taiwanese reference man, the average differences of the DCFs compared with the results of ICRP-74 were 7.6, 5.1 and 11.1 % for 0.1, 1 and 10 MeV photons irradiated in the AP direction. The maximum difference reached 51.7 % for the testes irradiated by 10 MeV photons. The size of the trunk, the volume and the geometric position of organs can cause a significant impact on the DCFs for external exposure of radiation. The constructed Taiwanese reference man and woman can be used in radiation protection to increase the accuracy of dose evaluation for the Taiwanese population. (authors)

Productivity Change and Externalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kravtsova, Victoria

2014-01-01

This paper contributes to the analysis of the impact of externalities on the host country's total factor productivity by taking into account different dimensions of spillover effects. Namely, engagement in exporting and foreign ownership is generally perceived as being beneficial to individual...... firms and the economy as a whole. The approach used in the current research accounts for different internal as well as external factors that individual firms face and evaluates the effect on changes in productivity, technology as well as the efficiency of domestic firms. The empirical analysis focuses...... on Hungary. While the country leads the group of post-socialist countries in the amount of attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) the effect of this policy on the economy remains unclear. The research finds that different externalities play a different role in productivity, technological and efficiency...

Effect of External Quality Assurance Evaluation for Chest Radiography: 3-Year Follow-Up in the Medical Institution for Pneumoconiosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Won Jeong; Choi, Soon Byung

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of external quality assurance (QA) evaluation for chest radiography in the medical institution for pneumoconiosis (MIP). The chest radiography of the MIPs were evaluated for a radiological technique (RT), image quality (IQ), and reading environment (RE), during a 3-year follow up according to the Korean guidelines. Same methods were implemented each year to ensure that the results are reliable. RT, IQ, and RE were compared between examination and medical care (EMP), and only medical care (MCP) for pneumoconiosis, film-screen (FSR) and digital (DR) radiography. Uneducated and educated for QA during a 3-year follow up referencing with 2008 were realized. RT and IQ of the MIPs showed a significantly higher score in 2009 and 2010 compared with 2008 (p < 0.01). However, RE was not significantly improved. The score of RT, IQ, and RE of the EMPs were higher than those of MCPs every year, and FSR showed a lower score in all evaluations, although, more improvement was seen than the DR. The chest radiography of the MIPs showed a significant effect as a result of a repeated external QA evaluation. However, the MIPs need to transfer from FSR to DR, and maintain a continuous QA evaluation for the MCPs.

ExternE National Implementation Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pingoud, K; Maelkki, H; Wihersaari, M; Pirilae, P [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Hongisto, M [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Siitonen, S [Ekono Energy Ltd, Espoo (Finland); Johansson, M [Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki (Finland)

1999-07-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

ExternE National Implementation Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pingoud, K.; Maelkki, H.; Wihersaari, M.; Pirilae, P. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Hongisto, M. [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland); Siitonen, S. [Ekono Energy Ltd, Espoo (Finland); Johansson, M. [Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki (Finland)

1999-07-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

ExternE National Implementation Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pingoud, K.; Maelkki, H.; Wihersaari, M.; Pirilae, P.; Hongisto, M.; Siitonen, S.; Johansson, M.

1999-01-01

ExternE National Implementation is a continuation of the ExternE Project, funded in part by the European Commission's Joule III Programme. This study is the result of the ExternE National Implementation Project for Finland. Three fuel cycles were selected for the Finnish study: coal, peat and wood-derived biomass, which together are responsible for about 40% of total electricity generation in Finland and about 75% of the non-nuclear fuel based generation. The estimated external costs or damages were dominated by the global warming (GW) impacts in the coal and peat fuel cycles, but knowledge of the true GW impacts is still uncertain. From among other impacts that were valued in monetary terms the human health damages due to airborne emissions dominated in all the three fuel cycles. Monetary valuation for ecosystem impacts is not possible using the ExternE methodology at present. The Meri-Pori power station representing the coal fuel cycle is one of the world's cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants with a condensing turbine. The coal is imported mainly from Poland. The estimated health damages were about 4 mECU/kWh, crop damages an order of magnitude lower and damages caused to building materials two orders of magnitude lower. The power stations of the peat and biomass fuel cycles are of CHP type, generating electricity and heat for the district heating systems of two cities. Their fuels are of domestic origin. The estimated health damages allocated to electricity generation were about 5 and 6 mECU/kWh, respectively. The estimates were case-specific and thus an generalisation of the results to the whole electricity generation in Finland is unrealistic. Despite the uncertainties and limitations of the methodology, it is a promising tool in the comparison of similar kinds of fuel cycles, new power plants and pollution abatement technologies and different plant locations with each other. (orig.)

Evaluation of the Match External Load in Soccer: Methods Comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Castagna, Carlo; Varley, Matthew; Póvoas, Susana C A; D'Ottavio, Stefano

2017-04-01

To test the interchangeability of 2 match-analysis approaches for external-load detection considering arbitrary selected speeds and metabolic power (MP) thresholds in male top-level soccer. Data analyses were performed considering match physical performance of 60 matches (1200 player cases) of randomly selected Spanish, German, and English first-division championship matches (2013-14 season). Match analysis was performed with a validated semiautomated multicamera system operating at 25 Hz. During a match, players covered 10,673 ± 348 m, of which 1778 ± 208 m and 2759 ± 241 m were performed at high intensity, as measured using speed (≥16 km/h, HI) and metabolic power (≥20 W/kg, MPHI) notations. High-intensity notations were nearly perfectly associated (r = .93, P Player high-intensity decelerations (≥-2 m/s 2 ) were very largely associated with MPHI (r = .73, P physical match-analysis methods can be independently used to track match external load in elite-level players. However, match-analyst decisions must be based on use of a single method to avoid bias in external-load determination.

Market redesign and regulatory change : how companies doing business in Alberta's power markets will be affected

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runge, C.

2003-01-01

The Power Pool of Alberta (PPA) began its operations in 1996 based on a model with a single price set based on day ahead offers/bids and real time dispatch. The Electric Utilities Act was amended in 1998 and direct sales were permitted in 1999. The Power Purchase Arrangement Auction was implemented in 2000. Significant events took place in 2001, including: (1) retail competition, (2) PPAs began operations, (3) restrictions on direct sales were removed, (4) forward exchange operation, and (5) ancillary services market. In 2002, the Market Achievement Plan II was implemented and government industry structure was reviewed. There are several considerations regarding market redesign, such as day ahead market, capacity market, congestion management, and Northwest Regional Transmission Organization (RTO West). The role of the International Standard Organization (ISO) was discussed, with reference to the Independent System Operator, Independent Market Operator, and Transmission and Market Planner. Redesign must involve all participants and include informed, phased in changes

Regional Externalities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heijman, W.J.M.

2007-01-01

The book offers practical and theoretical insights in regional externalities. Regional externalities are a specific subset of externalities that can be defined as externalities where space plays a dominant role. This class of externalities can be divided into three categories: (1) externalities

Internal versus external preference analysis : an exploratory study on end-user evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleef, van E.; Trijp, van H.C.M.; Luning, P.A.

2006-01-01

Internal and external preference analysis emphasise fundamentally different perspectives on the same data. We extend the literature on comparisons between internal and external preference analysis by incorporating the perspective of the end user of the preference analysis results. From a conceptual

Externalities of the energy. The nuclear case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Notari, Carla; Perl, Hugo

2005-01-01

When referring to private energy cost, which reflects the market value of energy, important elements are left aside in the evaluation process. These elements or externalities have an impact on third parties. The impact can be positive or negative and nowadays it is increasingly relevant to take them into account and include them in the project evaluation, specially when we are looking for sustainable development. The environmental impact and health effects are the most visible items but not the unique which generate externalities. The supply security, prices stability, employment impact and trade balance, are also important factors, although not much improvement has been achieved in their quantitative evaluation. (author) [es

Concept for the redesign of ECOMAN (standby losses) - Final report; Konzepte fuer Redesign ECOMAN (Standby-Verluste) - Schlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ernst, D.; Haerri, V.V.; Riesen, H.

2008-04-15

A lot of electronic devices are equipped with a so called standby mode. In this mode a device can easily be brought into full functionality directly, by remote control or by timer. Unfortunately, the standby mode implies a high consumption of electrical energy that could be reduced 10 to 20 times by an adequate technology. In Switzerland these losses amount to approximately 1,900 GWh. The so called ECOMAN is an electronic device which can reduce these losses effectively and comfortably. Due to political pressure the producers of electronic devices are forced to find solutions for the problem of standby losses. The ECOMAN would thus be of less importance because the problem would be solved at its roots. This fact and the wish to have a better performance led to a new definition of this device. The ECOMAN has to be improved and shall offer additional functions. E.g. it shall protect the devices from fire hazard or serve as control in the field of building automation. The new concepts were well accepted by the producer who already realized the specification of the first phase of redesign, which serves as basis for the further development of integration. (author)

Externalities - an analysis using the EU ExternE-results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-10-01

The EU project ExternE quantified the externalities for the different energy technologies. In this work, the ExternE results are used in a MARKAL-analysis for the Nordic countries. The analysis does not go into detail, but gives some interesting indications: The external costs are not fully covered in the Nordic energy systems, the present taxes and charges are not high enough. The emissions from the energy systems would be strongly reduced, if taxes/environmental charges were set at the level ExternE calculate. The emissions from power production would be reduced most. Renewable energy sources and natural gas dominate the energy systems in the ExternE case

The redesigned Forensic Research/Reference on Genetics-knowledge base, FROG-kb.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidd, Kenneth K; Soundararajan, Usha; Rajeevan, Haseena; Pakstis, Andrew J; Moore, Katherine N; Ropero-Miller, Jeri D

2018-03-01

The Forensic Resource/Reference on Genetics-knowledge base (FROG-kb) web site was introduced in 2011 and in the five years since the previous publication ongoing research into how the database can better serve forensics has resulted in extensive redesign of the database interface and functionality. Originally designed as a prototype to support forensic use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), FROG-kb provides a freely accessible web interface that facilitates forensic practice and can be useful for teaching and research. Based on knowledge gained through its use, the web interface has been redesigned for easier navigation through the multiple components. The site also has functional enhancements, extensive new documentation, and new reference panels of SNPs with new curated data. FROG-kb focuses on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and provides reference population data for several published panels of individual identification SNPs (IISNPs) and several published panels of ancestry inference SNPs (AISNPs). For each of the various marker panels with reference population data, FROG-kb calculates random match probabilities (RMP) and relative likelihoods of ancestry for a user-entered genotype profile (either completely or partially specified). Example genotype profiles are available and the User's Manual presents interpretation guidelines for the calculations. The extensive documentation along with ongoing updates makes FROG-kb a comprehensive tool in facilitating use of SNPs in forensic practice and education. An overview of the new FROG-kb with examples and material explaining the results of its use are presented here. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ExternE: Externalities of energy Vol. 2. Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berry, J.; Holland, M.; Watkiss, P.

1995-01-01

This report describes the methodology used by the ExternE Project of the European Commission (DGXII) JOULE Programme for assessment of the external costs of energy. It is one of a series of reports describing analysis of nuclear, fossil and renewable fuel cycles for assessment of the externalities associated with electricity generation. Part I of the report deals with analysis of impacts, and Part II with the economic valuation of those impacts. Analysis is conducted on a marginal basis, to allow the effect of an incremental investment in a given technology to be quantified. Attention has been paid to the specificity of results with respect to the location of fuel cycle activities, the precise technologies used, and the type and source of fuel. The main advantages of this detailed approach are as follows: It takes full and proper account of the variability of impacts that might result from different power projects; It is more transparent than analysis based on hypothetically 'representative' cases for each of the different fuel cycles; It provides a framework for consistent comparison between fuel cycles. A wide variety of impacts have been considered. These include the effects of air pollution on the natural and human environment, consequences of accidents in the workplace, impacts of noise and visual intrusion on amenity, and the effects of climate change arising from the release of greenhouse gases. Wherever possible we have used the 'impact pathway' or 'damage function' approach to follow the analysis from identification of burdens (e.g. emissions) through to impact assessment and then valuation in monetary terms. This has required a detailed knowledge of the technologies involved, pollutant dispersion, analysis of effects on human and environmental health, and economics. In view of this the project brought together a multi-disciplinary team with experts from many European countries and the USA. The spatial and temporal ranges considered in the analysis are

External apical root resorption in maxillary incisors in orthodontic patients: associated factors and radiographic evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanekrungsan, Kamonporn; Patanaporn, Virush; Janhom, Apirum; Korwanich, Narumanus

2012-09-01

This study was performed to evaluate the incidence and degree of external apical root resorption of maxillary incisors after orthodontic treatment and to evaluate particular associated factors related to external apical root resorption. The records and maxillary incisor periapical radiographs of 181 patients were investigated. Crown and root lengths were measured and compared on the pre- and post-treatment periapical radiographs. Crown length was measured from the center of the incisal edge to the midpoint of the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). Root length was measured from the CEJ midpoint to the root apex. A correction factor for the enlargement difference was used to calculate root resorption. The periapical radiographs of 564 teeth showed that the average root resorption was 1.39±1.27 (8.24±7.22%) and 1.69±1.14 mm (10.16±6.78%) for the maxillary central and lateral incisors, respectively. The results showed that the dilacerated or pointed roots, maxillary premolar extraction cases, and treatment duration were highly significant factors for root resorption (proot resorption (proot resorption among the factors of gender, overbite, tongue-thrusting habit, types of malocclusion, and types of bracket. These results suggested that orthodontic treatment should be carefully performed in pre-treatment extraction patients who have pointed or dilacerated roots and need long treatment duration.

78 FR 48087 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Redesignation of the Canton...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-07

... specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and suggest alternatives. 7. Explain your views as clearly... 172(c)(9) contingency measures is not applicable for purposes of redesignation. Id. Section 172(c)(3... area demonstrates maintenance of the NAAQS without part D NSR. A detailed rationale for this view is...

Chronic disease management: time for consultant physicians to take more leadership in system redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, C; Scott, I; Greenberg, P; Sargious, P

2007-09-01

There is a need for system redesign to meet the needs of individuals with chronic disease. New models of chronic disease care include team-based paradigms that focus on continuous and patient-centred care. In such models the roles of providers and patients must change. In this article we focus on new roles for consultant physicians, as well as barriers and incentives to these roles.

Friction Plug Weld Repair for the Space Shuttle External Tank

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Paula J.; McCool, A. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Michoud Operations in New Orleans, LA is the manufacturer of the External Fuel Tanks (ET) for the Space Transportation System (STS). The ET contains and delivers the propellants used by the Orbiters three main engines. Additionally, it also serves as the structural backbone for the Orbiter and the two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), which combined, constitute the STS. In 1994, NASA established that in order to launch the International Space Station, the performance of the STS must be improved. One option was to reduce the weight of the ET, which would enable sufficient increase in performance. With the development of the Weldalite(R) series of Al-Cu-Li alloys in the late 1980's, Lockheed Martin was postured to replace the current A12219 fuel tanks with the high strength, light weight A12195 alloy. With the use of A12195 and some component redesign, the weight of the Super Lightweight (SLWT) ET was reduced by approximately 7,000 pounds, which added as much capability to the Space Shuttle. Since June 1998, seven STS missions have been successful with the use of the SLWT ET's.

Integration of external estimated breeding values and associated reliabilities using correlations among traits and effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenplas, J; Colinet, F G; Glorieux, G; Bertozzi, C; Gengler, N

2015-12-01

Based on a Bayesian view of linear mixed models, several studies showed the possibilities to integrate estimated breeding values (EBV) and associated reliabilities (REL) provided by genetic evaluations performed outside a given evaluation system into this genetic evaluation. Hereafter, the term "internal" refers to this given genetic evaluation system, and the term "external" refers to all other genetic evaluations performed outside the internal evaluation system. Bayesian approaches integrate external information (i.e., external EBV and associated REL) by altering both the mean and (co)variance of the prior distributions of the additive genetic effects based on the knowledge of this external information. Extensions of the Bayesian approaches to multivariate settings are interesting because external information expressed on other scales, measurement units, or trait definitions, or associated with different heritabilities and genetic parameters than the internal traits, could be integrated into a multivariate genetic evaluation without the need to convert external information to the internal traits. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the integration of external EBV and associated REL, expressed on a 305-d basis and genetically correlated with a trait of interest, into a multivariate genetic evaluation using a random regression test-day model for the trait of interest. The approach we used was a multivariate Bayesian approach. Results showed that the integration of external information led to a genetic evaluation for the trait of interest for, at least, animals associated with external information, as accurate as a bivariate evaluation including all available phenotypic information. In conclusion, the multivariate Bayesian approaches have the potential to integrate external information correlated with the internal phenotypic traits, and potentially to the different random regressions, into a multivariate genetic evaluation. This allows the use of different

Time-driven activity-based costing: a driver for provider engagement in costing activities and redesign initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Nancy; Burke, Michael A; Setlur, Nisheeta P; Niedzwiecki, Douglas R; Kaplan, Alan L; Saigal, Christopher; Mahajan, Aman; Martin, Neil A; Kaplan, Robert S

2014-11-01

To date, health care providers have devoted significant efforts to improve performance regarding patient safety and quality of care. To address the lagging involvement of health care providers in the cost component of the value equation, UCLA Health piloted the implementation of time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). Here, the authors describe the implementation experiment, share lessons learned across the care continuum, and report how TDABC has actively engaged health care providers in costing activities and care redesign. After the selection of pilots in neurosurgery and urology and the creation of the TDABC team, multidisciplinary process mapping sessions, capacity-cost calculations, and model integration were coordinated and offered to engage care providers at each phase. Reviewing the maps for the entire episode of care, varying types of personnel involved in the delivery of care were noted: 63 for the neurosurgery pilot and 61 for the urology pilot. The average cost capacities for care coordinators, nurses, residents, and faculty were $0.70 (range $0.63-$0.75), $1.55 (range $1.28-$2.04), $0.58 (range $0.56-$0.62), and $3.54 (range $2.29-$4.52), across both pilots. After calculating the costs for material, equipment, and space, the TDABC model enabled the linking of a specific step of the care cycle (who performed the step and its duration) and its associated costs. Both pilots identified important opportunities to redesign care delivery in a costconscious fashion. The experimentation and implementation phases of the TDABC model have succeeded in engaging health care providers in process assessment and costing activities. The TDABC model proved to be a catalyzing agent for cost-conscious care redesign.

Education within public management in South Africa: A focus on external Whole-School Evaluation process’ contribution in Mpumalanga province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Siphamandla Ryan Mathaba

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The study focused on the role played by public sector management in South Africa towards the country’s total development and improvement. This article also analyses how through the Whole School Evaluation (WSE process, the education system in South Africa seeks to ensure that the schooling is effective. This paper examines public management, public administration as well as new public management (NPM. The aim is to illustrate a view of how education fits in the broader public management and how the WSE process assists schooling in South Africa and Mpumalanga in particular. This is to ensure that the schooling is effective and contribute towards service delivery and the country’s overall development and improvement. Furthermore, WSE as a process, is viewed through five of NPM undisputable and debatable characteristics of accountability for performance; performance measurement; performance auditing; policy analysis and evaluation; and strategic planning and management. Public management functions and public management principles are discussed from a point of how the WSE process strives to ensure that it complies with these function and principles, and how this compliance benefit school improvement. This paper came to a number of conclusions regarding education within public management from a WSE perspective. Firstly, education through the external WSE process conforms to this principle of New Public Management in that evaluation is aimed at improving the quality of education. Also, the external WSE, as a process, and education in general, through the NPM principles can be performed within public management. Furthermore, external WSE conforms to public management principles as well as Batho Pele principles.

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, L; Sieverts Nielsen, P [eds.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results, to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the detailed information concerning the ExternE methodology. Importance is attached to the computer system used in the project and the assessment of air pollution effects on health, materials and ecological effects. Also the assessment of global warming damages are described. Finally the report covers the detailed information concerning the national implementation for Denmark for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant base on biogas. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 79 tabs., 11 ills., 201 refs.

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, L.; Sieverts Nielsen, P.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results, to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the detailed information concerning the ExternE methodology. Importance is attached to the computer system used in the project and the assessment of air pollution effects on health, materials and ecological effects. Also the assessment of global warming damages are described. Finally the report covers the detailed information concerning the national implementation for Denmark for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant base on biogas. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 79 tabs., 11 ills., 201 refs

The redesigned Bulletin is on its way

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

In May, you will discover a redesigned CERN Bulletin. Starting with the first May issue (No. 19-20/2006), the format of the Bulletin will change completely. The page layout will be more attractive, reminiscent of a proper newspaper, with pictograms to identify the different sections. The information provided will also be more visible. The Bulletin was much in need of a makeover as its current layout dates back to 1976! The introduction of the new format will coincide with the introduction of a new means of distribution. You will still receive the electronic version of the Bulletin every week directly on your computer. However, in order to avoid the waste from the dozens of copies that linger unread in people's mailboxes, the paper version will be available at a series of distribution points around the Laboratory. You will find the Bulletin along with the Staff Association newsletter at the cafeteria closest to your office. The Bulletin will be available from the following distribution points: On the Meyrin...

Spatial externalities, openness and financial development in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Spatial externalities, openness and financial development in the SADC. Alex Bara, Gift Mugano, Pierre Le Roux. Abstract. This study empirically evaluates spatial externalities in financial development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in line with spatial proximity theory. The study specifically tests ...

Online optimal experimental re-design in robotic parallel fed-batch cultivation facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz Bournazou, M N; Barz, T; Nickel, D B; Lopez Cárdenas, D C; Glauche, F; Knepper, A; Neubauer, P

2017-03-01

We present an integrated framework for the online optimal experimental re-design applied to parallel nonlinear dynamic processes that aims to precisely estimate the parameter set of macro kinetic growth models with minimal experimental effort. This provides a systematic solution for rapid validation of a specific model to new strains, mutants, or products. In biosciences, this is especially important as model identification is a long and laborious process which is continuing to limit the use of mathematical modeling in this field. The strength of this approach is demonstrated by fitting a macro-kinetic differential equation model for Escherichia coli fed-batch processes after 6 h of cultivation. The system includes two fully-automated liquid handling robots; one containing eight mini-bioreactors and another used for automated at-line analyses, which allows for the immediate use of the available data in the modeling environment. As a result, the experiment can be continually re-designed while the cultivations are running using the information generated by periodical parameter estimations. The advantages of an online re-computation of the optimal experiment are proven by a 50-fold lower average coefficient of variation on the parameter estimates compared to the sequential method (4.83% instead of 235.86%). The success obtained in such a complex system is a further step towards a more efficient computer aided bioprocess development. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 610-619. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ergonomi Function Deployment Pada Redesign Alat Parut Kelapa Untuk Ibu Rumah Tangga

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Zulfhi Surya

2014-10-01

Abstract. Grate the coconut is one of kitchen activity which faces by housewife in daily life. A coconut grater product which is distibuted in market, one of them is manual crank system. Housewife complain that they feel painfull in their body, especially at hand. Waist and back after using available old tool. This research is purposed to improve the design of coconut grater with crank system by ergonomic function deployment (EFD approach, also to known mosculuskletal reducing of housewife as user and show differention time of grater after redesign done. Research was conducted in RT. 001 RW.005 Tembilahan, Indragiri Hilir District. Research model used treatment by subject design with total sample is 12 housewife which is calculation by Colton Formula. Improvement new coconut grater design with crank system which EFD got by creat the matrix house of ergonomic (HOE and determination of anthropometry data. Mosculuskletal complain on housewife is measured by making the Nordic Body Map (NBM Questionnaire work sheet. Time of grated the coconut got by testing coconut grater by crank system on before and after using. Research finding after redesign of coconut grater of crank system shown that design of coconut grater of crank system with EFD and base on ergonomic acpects (effective, confort, savety, healthy and efficient. Mosculuskletal complaint that happend on housewife decrease about 0,285 or 17,39%. Time of grate is also faster around 5 minutes or has imporove 30,1%.

Movement of the external ear in human embryo.

Science.gov (United States)

Kagurasho, Miho; Yamada, Shigehito; Uwabe, Chigako; Kose, Katsumi; Takakuwa, Tetsuya

2012-02-01

External ears, one of the major face components, show an interesting movement during craniofacial morphogenesis in human embryo. The present study was performed to see if movement of the external ears in a human embryo could be explained by differential growth. In all, 171 samples between Carnegie stage (CS) 17 and CS 23 were selected from MR image datasets of human embryos obtained from the Kyoto Collection of Human Embryos. The three-dimensional absolute position of 13 representative anatomical landmarks, including external and internal ears, from MRI data was traced to evaluate the movement between the different stages with identical magnification. Two different sets of reference axes were selected for evaluation and comparison of the movements. When the pituitary gland and the first cervical vertebra were selected as a reference axis, the 13 anatomical landmarks of the face spread out within the same region as the embryo enlarged and changed shape. The external ear did move mainly laterally, but not cranially. The distance between the external and internal ear stayed approximately constant. Three-dimensionally, the external ear located in the caudal ventral parts of the internal ear in CS 17, moved mainly laterally until CS 23. When surface landmarks eyes and mouth were selected as a reference axis, external ears moved from the caudal lateral ventral region to the position between eyes and mouth during development. The results indicate that movement of all anatomical landmarks, including external and internal ears, can be explained by differential growth. Also, when the external ear is recognized as one of the facial landmarks and having a relative position to other landmarks such as the eyes and mouth, the external ears seem to move cranially. © 2012 Kagurasho et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Modular, object-oriented redesign of a large-scale Monte Carlo neutron transport program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moskowitz, B.S.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the modular, object-oriented redesign of a large-scale Monte Carlo neutron transport program. This effort represents a complete 'white sheet of paper' rewrite of the code. In this paper, the motivation driving this project, the design objectives for the new version of the program, and the design choices and their consequences will be discussed. The design itself will also be described, including the important subsystems as well as the key classes within those subsystems

Sustaining the work ability and work motivation of lower-educated older workers: Directions for work redesign

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sanders, J.; Dorenbosch, L.; Grundemann, R.; Blonk, R.W.B.

2011-01-01

This study examines directions for work redesign which might lead to the creation of sustainable jobs for lower-educated older workers (45 years or over, ISCED 0-2) and thus motivate and enable them to extend their working lives. We use longitudinal data on 1,264 older Dutch workers collected by the

Evaluation of external heat loss from a small-scale expander used in organic Rankine cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jing; Pei Gang; Li Yunzhu; Ji Jie

2011-01-01

With the scaling down of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), the engine shaft power is not only determined by the enthalpy drop in the expansion process but also the external heat loss from the expander. Theoretical and experimental support in evaluating small-scale expander heat loss is rare. This paper presents a quantitative study on the convection, radiation, and conduction heat transfer from a kW-scale expander. A mathematical model is built and validated. The results show that the external radiative or convective heat loss coefficient was about 3.2 or 7.0 W/K.m 2 when the ORC operated around 100 o C. Radiative and convective heat loss coefficients increased as the expander operation temperature increased. Conductive heat loss due to the connection between the expander and the support accounted for a large proportion of the total heat loss. The fitting relationships between heat loss and mean temperature difference were established. It is suggested that low conductivity material be embodied in the support of expander. Mattress insulation for compact expander could be eliminated when the operation temperature is around 100 o C. - Highlights: → A close examination of external heat loss from a small expander is presented. → Theoretical analysis and experimental test were conducted. → The established formulas can be applied to other small ORC expanders. → The results are useful in further research of small-scale ORC.

Management of Late Onset Perthes: Evaluation of Distraction by External Fixator—5-Year Follow-Up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajai Singh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Hip distraction in Perthes’ disease unloads the joint, which negates the harmful effect of the stresses on the articular surfaces, which may promote the sound healing of the area of necrosis. We have examined the effect of arthrodiastasis on the preservation of the femoral head in older children with Perthes’ disease. Methods and Materials. Twelve children with age more than 8 years with Perthes’ disease of less than one year were treated with hip distraction by a hinged monolateral external fixator. Observation and Results. Mean duration of distraction was 13.9 days. These children were evaluated by clinicoradiological parameters for a mean period of 32.4 months. There was a significant improvement in the range of movements and mean epiphyseal index, but the change in the percentage of uncovered head femur was insignificant. There was significant improvement in Harris Hip score. Conclusions. Hip distraction by hinged monolateral external fixator seems to be a valid treatment option in cases with Perthes’ disease in the selected group of patients, where poor results are expected from conventional treatment.

Improving aerosol drug delivery during invasive mechanical ventilation with redesigned components.

Science.gov (United States)

Longest, P Worth; Azimi, Mandana; Golshahi, Laleh; Hindle, Michael

2014-05-01

Patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation with an endotracheal tube (ETT) can often benefit from pharmaceutical aerosols; however, drug delivery through the ventilator circuit is known to be very inefficient. The objective of this study was to improve the delivery of aerosol through an invasive mechanical ventilation system by redesigning circuit components using a streamlining approach. Redesigned components were the T-connector interface between the nebulizer and ventilator line and the Y-connector leading to the ETT. The streamlining approach seeks to minimize aerosol deposition and loss by eliminating sharp changes in flow direction and tubing diameter that lead to flow disruption. Both in vitro experiments and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were applied to analyze deposition and emitted dose of drug for multiple droplet size distributions, flows, and ETT sizes used in adults. The experimental results demonstrated that the streamlined components improved delivery through the circuit by factors ranging from 1.3 to 1.5 compared with a commercial system for adult ETT sizes of 8 and 9 mm. The overall delivery efficiency was based on the bimodal aspect of the aerosol distributions and could not be predicted by median diameter alone. CFD results indicated a 20-fold decrease in turbulence in the junction region for the streamlined Y resulting in a maximum 9-fold decrease in droplet deposition. The relative effectiveness of the streamlined designs was found to increase with increasing particle size and increasing flow, with a maximum improvement in emitted dose of 1.9-fold. Streamlined components can significantly improve the delivery of pharmaceutical aerosols during mechanical ventilation based on an analysis of multiple aerosol generation devices, ETT sizes, and flows.

Preliminary results on scintigraphic evaluation of malignant external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malamitsi, J.; Maragoudakis, P.; Papafragou, K.; Koukouliou, V.; Kalatzis, Y.; Adamopoulos, G.; Proukakis, C.

1993-01-01

Malignant external otitis (MEO) is a potentially fatal otitis occurring in diabetic and immunosuppressed patients, which may cause cranial nerve palsies and massive thrombophlebitis of the brain. We studied five diabetic patients with the clinical diagnosis of external otitis who were suspected of having MEO and one diabetic patient presumed cured from MEO. All of them underwent methylene diphosphonate, nanocolloid and gallium single-photon emission tomography studies with quantitative analysis on the basis of regions of interest and count profile curves. This combined assessment helped us to diagnose and follow-up soft tissue and temporal bone infection, especially in the case of transsphenoidal extension of the disease, since conventional radiology and computed tomography were of no particular help. On the basis of these results, we consider scintigraphic demonstration of skull base infection as a fourth criterion of MEO given that the classical Chandler's triad (diabetes, granuloma, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) is not always present. (orig.)

Redesigning and Manufacturing of a Land Levelling Shovel by Assembly Structural Stress Analysis

OpenAIRE

Tahir Altinbalik; Gürkan İrsel

2014-01-01

The aim was to redesign and manufacture of a shovel for a pull-type land levelling machine, which, in its present condition, is used to get easily damaged even under low loads. Firstly, the maximum pulling load affecting the levelling shovel was experimentally determined. Then, stable-shovel system with the bolt connection was replaced with a bearing-shaft connection system. In this way, the new shovel has gained a capability of making oscillation motion so that it can operate on sloped groun...

Human factors engineering and design validation for the redesigned follitropin alfa pen injection device.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahony, Mary C; Patterson, Patricia; Hayward, Brooke; North, Robert; Green, Dawne

2015-05-01

To demonstrate, using human factors engineering (HFE), that a redesigned, pre-filled, ready-to-use, pre-asembled follitropin alfa pen can be used to administer prescribed follitropin alfa doses safely and accurately. A failure modes and effects analysis identified hazards and harms potentially caused by use errors; risk-control measures were implemented to ensure acceptable device use risk management. Participants were women with infertility, their significant others, and fertility nurse (FN) professionals. Preliminary testing included 'Instructions for Use' (IFU) and pre-validation studies. Validation studies used simulated injections in a representative use environment; participants received prior training on pen use. User performance in preliminary testing led to IFU revisions and a change to outer needle cap design to mitigate needle stick potential. In the first validation study (49 users, 343 simulated injections), in the FN group, one observed critical use error resulted in a device design modification and another in an IFU change. A second validation study tested the mitigation strategies; previously reported use errors were not repeated. Through an iterative process involving a series of studies, modifications were made to the pen design and IFU. Simulated-use testing demonstrated that the redesigned pen can be used to administer follitropin alfa effectively and safely.

Iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker for large-scale systems: a digital redesign approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Jason Sheng-Hong; Du, Yan-Yi; Huang, Pei-Hsiang; Guo, Shu-Mei; Shieh, Leang-San; Chen, Yuhua

2011-07-01

In this paper, a digital redesign methodology of the iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker is proposed to improve the dynamic performance of sampled-data linear large-scale control systems consisting of N interconnected multi-input multi-output subsystems, so that the system output will follow any trajectory which may not be presented by the analytic reference model initially. To overcome the interference of each sub-system and simplify the controller design, the proposed model reference decentralized adaptive control scheme constructs a decoupled well-designed reference model first. Then, according to the well-designed model, this paper develops a digital decentralized adaptive tracker based on the optimal analog control and prediction-based digital redesign technique for the sampled-data large-scale coupling system. In order to enhance the tracking performance of the digital tracker at specified sampling instants, we apply the iterative learning control (ILC) to train the control input via continual learning. As a result, the proposed iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker not only has robust closed-loop decoupled property but also possesses good tracking performance at both transient and steady state. Besides, evolutionary programming is applied to search for a good learning gain to speed up the learning process of ILC. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elbow joint stability in relation to forced external rotation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deutch, S.R.; Jensen, S.L.; Olsen, B.S.

2003-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the osseous constraint related to forced forearm external rotation as the initial stage in a posterior elbow dislocation. Six joint specimens without soft tissues were examined in a joint analysis system developed for simulation of dislocation. The osse......The objective of this study was to evaluate the osseous constraint related to forced forearm external rotation as the initial stage in a posterior elbow dislocation. Six joint specimens without soft tissues were examined in a joint analysis system developed for simulation of dislocation...... external forearm rotation until the point of maximal torque decreased from a maximum in full extension to a minimum at 30 degrees of elbow flexion (P =.03). The elbow in a slightly flexed position, varus stress, and forearm external rotation trauma might be the important biomechanical factors...

Four years of training in family medicine: implications for residency redesign.

Science.gov (United States)

Sigmon, J Lewis; McPherson, Vanessa; Little, John M

2012-09-01

In light of the ongoing consideration for extending the length of residency education in family medicine in the United States, this paper reports the findings from a retrospective, qualitative study of six family physicians that elected to extend their residency training from 3 to 4 years. Each participant completed a written questionnaire and a structured personal interview focusing on various aspects of career development resulting from the additional year of training. The authors independently evaluated these interviews to identify major themes. All the participants were found to have been involved in teaching medicine, valued a more flexible and expanded curriculum, and appreciated their individualized curricula-based on their respective career interests. Given the opportunity, each would opt again for a fourth year of training. There were mixed opinions as to whether the fourth year should be required of all family medicine residents. Other perceived benefits reported were: a better opportunity to find a personally satisfactory practice, additional time for gaining clarity about career plans, and a higher beginning salary as a result of the additional skills and experiences gained. This study of mid-career physicians supports that a fourth-year (PGY4) curriculum in family medicine may enhance subsequent career satisfaction. Further studies of residents in other PGY4 training programs are necessary to assess outcomes comparing our findings as well as guide the discipline's leaders in residency redesign.

A Methodology Proposal to Calculate the Externalities of Liquid Biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galan, A.; Gonzalez, R.; Varela, M. [Ciemat. Madrid (Spain)

1999-05-01

The aim of the survey is to propose a methodology to calculate the externalities associated with the liquid bio fuels cycle. The report defines the externalities from a theoretical point of view and classifies them. The reasons to value the externalities are explained as well as the existing methods. Furthermore, an evaluation of specific environmental and non-environmental externalities is also presented. The report reviews the current situation of the transport sector, considering its environmental effects and impacts. The progress made by the ExternE and ExternE-transport projects related the externalities of transport sector is assessed. Finally, the report analyses the existence of different economic instruments to internalize the external effects of the transport sector as well as other aspects of this internalization. (Author) 58 refs.

External costs of energy - do the answers match the questions? Looking back at 10 years of ExternE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krewitt, W.

2002-01-01

While the claim for 'getting prices right' is quite popular in conceptual policy papers, the implementation of appropriate internalisation strategies is still hampered by a lack of reliable external cost data. Great expectations were set into the ExternE project, a major research programme launched by the European Commission at the beginning of the 1990s to provide a scientific basis for the quantification of energy related externalities and to give guidance supporting the design of internalisation measures. After more than a decade of research, the ExternE label became a well recognised standard source for external cost data. Looking back into the ExternE history, the paper pursues how emerging new scientific insights and changing background assumptions affected external cost estimates and related recommendations to policy over time. Based on ExternE results, the usefulness and inherent limitations of external cost estimates for impact categories like climate change or nuclear waste disposal is discussed. The paper also gives examples on how external costs in spite of remaining uncertainties are successfully used to support environmental policy. (Author)

Creating an Environment Conducive to Active and Collaborative Learning: Redesigning Introduction to Sociology at a Large Research University

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, C. C.; Prohaska, A.

2011-01-01

In 2003 a Southeastern research university undertook the redesign of an introductory sociology course in order to improve student success by adding active and collaborative learning activities that gave students greater responsibility for learning. The new "hybrid" course provides most course materials online, requires electronic…

A Pilot Study Evaluating "Dojo," a Videogame Intervention for Youths with Externalizing and Anxiety Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuurmans, Angela A T; Nijhof, Karin S; Vermaes, Ignace P R; Engels, Rutger C M E; Granic, Isabela

2015-10-01

Externalizing problems, which are the main reason for youth referrals to mental health agencies, are highly persistent and predict a range of negative outcomes. Youths with externalizing problems are also frequently comorbid with anxiety. Among the most widely recognized evidence-based treatments is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Although CBT principles seem to be sound, effect sizes remain moderate, suggesting improvements could be made to this conventional treatment approach. The main premise of the current pilot study is to investigate the feasibility of implementing a videogame intervention ("Dojo" [Gamedesk, Los Angeles, CA]) that incorporates CBT principles and aims to address the limitations of conventional CBT delivery models, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for this difficult-to-treat population. "Dojo" is an emotion management game that helps youths to recognize and control their physiological and emotional arousal. We explored the implementation and user experience of "Dojo" in a sample of eight adolescents in residential treatment for both externalizing and anxiety problems. Participants attended all sessions without complaints. They evaluated "Dojo" very positively and exhibited high compliance during the training sessions. We encountered some problems with session scheduling and obtaining mentor reports. Quantitative data show the predicted decrease in three out of four measurements. The smooth implementation, high user satisfaction, high self-reported compliance during training sessions, and initial outcome results all indicate the high potential "Dojo" holds as an innovative intervention. If additional rigorously designed randomized controlled trials prove to be successful, "Dojo" can be a cost-effective way to engage high-risk youths in effective intervention.

The system of personal monitoring and the evaluation of occupational exposure to external ionizing radiation in Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molina, Daniel; Castro, Ailza; Martinez, Ernesto; Pernas, Rene

2008-01-01

Full text: Personal monitoring of workers is recommended or required by the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources. In our country the personal monitoring of external exposure to ionizing radiation is carried out by External Dosimetry Laboratory (LDE) of the Center for Radiation Protection and Hygiene (CPHR). We have implemented an individual monitoring service based on thermoluminescence dosimetry system. The service includes whole body and extremity dosimeters. We have two systems; one is base on a manual Toledo TLD reader and the other on an automatic RADOS TLD system. This service is recognized by the National Regulatory Authority in the field of radiation protection and safety. We have implemented a quality assurance (QA) programme designed according to the recommendations of the ISO/IEC 17025 standards. The papers deals with the presentation of these QA programme which includes administrative data and information, technical checking of the equipment, acceptance tests of new dosimeters and equipment, issuing and processing of the dosimeters, dose evaluation, record keeping and reporting, traceability, handling of complaints, internal reviews and external audits. The papers also describe the results of occupational exposure for the different practices during 2006-2007 period. (author)

Evaluation of the internal and external biofidelity of current rear impact ATDs to response targets developed from moderate-speed rear impacts of PMHS.

Science.gov (United States)

Moorhouse, Kevin; Donnelly, Bruce; Kang, Yun-Seok; Bolte, John H; Herriott, Rodney

2012-10-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate both the internal and external biofidelity of existing rear impact anthropomorphic test devices (BioRID II, RID3D, Hybrid III 50th) in two moderate-speed rear impact sled test conditions (8.5g, 17 km/h; 10.5g, 24 km/h) by quantitatively comparing the ATD responses to biomechanical response targets developed from PMHS testing in a corresponding study. The ATDs and PMHS were tested in an experimental seat system that is capable of simulating the dynamic seat back rotation response of production seats. The experimental seat contains a total of fourteen load cells installed such that external loads from the ATDs and PMHS can be measured to evaluate external biofidelity. The PMHS were instrumented to correspond to the instrumentation contained in the ATDs so that direct comparison between ATDs and PMHS could be made to evaluate internal biofidelity. The NHTSA Biofidelity Ranking system was used to quantitatively evaluate the biofidelity of the ATDs and an additional tool was introduced and utilized which allows for the biofidelity score to be partitioned into components of amplitude, phase, and shape. For internal biofidelity, the BioRID II and RID3D were more biofidelic than the Hybrid III in the 17 km/h test, and the BioRID II was most biofidelic in the 24 km/h test. For external biofidelity, the BioRID II was most biofidelic in the 17 km/h test, while both the BioRID II and the RID3D were more biofidelic than the Hybrid III in the 24 km/h test. Overall, the BioRID II demonstrated the best biofidelity in both the 17 km/h and 24 km/h tests.

Case management redesign in an urban facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Almaden, Stefany; Freshman, Brenda; Quaye, Beverly

2011-01-01

To explore strategies for improving patient throughput and to redesign case management processes to facilitate level of care transitions and safe discharges. Large Urban Medical Center in South Los Angeles County, with 384 licensed beds that services poor, underserved communities. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied. Combined theoretical frameworks were used for needs assessment, intervention strategies, and change management. Observations, interviews, surveys, and database extraction methods were used. The sample consisted of case management staff members and several other staff from nursing, social work, and emergency department staff. Postintervention measures indicated improvement in reimbursements for services, reduction in length of stay, increased productivity, improved patients' access to care, and avoiding unnecessary readmission or emergency department visits. Effective change management strategies must consider multiple factors that influence daily operations and service delivery. Creating accountability by using performance measures associated with patient transitions is highlighted by the case study results. The authors developed a process model to assist in identifying and tracking outcome measures related to patient throughput, front-end assessments, and effective patient care transitions. This model can be used in future research to further investigate best case management practices.

Methods for external event screening quantification: Risk Methods Integration and Evaluation Program (RMIEP) methods development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravindra, M.K.; Banon, H.

1992-07-01

In this report, the scoping quantification procedures for external events in probabilistic risk assessments of nuclear power plants are described. External event analysis in a PRA has three important goals; (1) the analysis should be complete in that all events are considered; (2) by following some selected screening criteria, the more significant events are identified for detailed analysis; (3) the selected events are analyzed in depth by taking into account the unique features of the events: hazard, fragility of structures and equipment, external-event initiated accident sequences, etc. Based on the above goals, external event analysis may be considered as a three-stage process: Stage I: Identification and Initial Screening of External Events; Stage II: Bounding Analysis; Stage III: Detailed Risk Analysis. In the present report, first, a review of published PRAs is given to focus on the significance and treatment of external events in full-scope PRAs. Except for seismic, flooding, fire, and extreme wind events, the contributions of other external events to plant risk have been found to be negligible. Second, scoping methods for external events not covered in detail in the NRC's PRA Procedures Guide are provided. For this purpose, bounding analyses for transportation accidents, extreme winds and tornadoes, aircraft impacts, turbine missiles, and chemical release are described

Regional process redesign of lung cancer care: a learning health system pilot project.

Science.gov (United States)

Fung-Kee-Fung, M; Maziak, D E; Pantarotto, J R; Smylie, J; Taylor, L; Timlin, T; Cacciotti, T; Villeneuve, P J; Dennie, C; Bornais, C; Madore, S; Aquino, J; Wheatley-Price, P; Ozer, R S; Stewart, D J

2018-02-01

The Ottawa Hospital (toh) defined delay to timely lung cancer care as a system design problem. Recognizing the patient need for an integrated journey and the need for dynamic alignment of providers, toh used a learning health system (lhs) vision to redesign regional diagnostic processes. A lhs is driven by feedback utilizing operational and clinical information to drive system optimization and innovation. An essential component of a lhs is a collaborative platform that provides connectivity across silos, organizations, and professions. To operationalize a lhs, we developed the Ottawa Health Transformation Model (ohtm) as a consensus approach that addresses process barriers, resistance to change, and conflicting priorities. A regional Community of Practice (cop) was established to engage stakeholders, and a dedicated transformation team supported process improvements and implementation. The project operationalized the lung cancer diagnostic pathway and optimized patient flow from referral to initiation of treatment. Twelve major processes in referral, review, diagnostics, assessment, triage, and consult were redesigned. The Ottawa Hospital now provides a diagnosis to 80% of referrals within the provincial target of 28 days. The median patient journey from referral to initial treatment decreased by 48% from 92 to 47 days. The initiative optimized regional integration from referral to initial treatment. Use of a lhs lens enabled the creation of a system that is standardized to best practice and open to ongoing innovation. Continued transformation initiatives across the continuum of care are needed to incorporate best practice and optimize delivery systems for regional populations.

Evaluation of surface and shallow depth dose reductions using a Superflab bolus during conventional and advanced external beam radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jihyung; Xie, Yibo; Zhang, Rui

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a methodology to reduce scatter and leakage radiations to patients' surface and shallow depths during conventional and advanced external beam radiotherapy. Superflab boluses of different thicknesses were placed on top of a stack of solid water phantoms, and the bolus effect on surface and shallow depth doses for both open and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) beams was evaluated using thermoluminescent dosimeters and ion chamber measurements. Contralateral breast dose reduction caused by the bolus was evaluated by delivering clinical postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) plans to an anthropomorphic phantom. For the solid water phantom measurements, surface dose reduction caused by the Superflab bolus was achieved only in out-of-field area and on the incident side of the beam, and the dose reduction increased with bolus thickness. The dose reduction caused by the bolus was more significant at closer distances from the beam. Most of the dose reductions occurred in the first 2-cm depth and stopped at 4-cm depth. For clinical PMRT treatment plans, surface dose reductions using a 1-cm Superflab bolus were up to 31% and 62% for volumetric-modulated arc therapy and 4-field IMRT, respectively, but there was no dose reduction for Tomotherapy. A Superflab bolus can be used to reduce surface and shallow depth doses during external beam radiotherapy when it is placed out of the beam and on the incident side of the beam. Although we only validated this dose reduction strategy for PMRT treatments, it is applicable to any external beam radiotherapy and can potentially reduce patients' risk of developing radiation-induced side effects. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

External apical root resorption in maxillary incisors in orthodontic patients: associated factors and radiographic evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanekrungsan, Kamonporn [Dept. of Dentistry, Overbrook Hospital, Chiang Rai (Thailand); Patanaporn, Virush; Janhom, Apirum; Korwanich, Narumanus [Dept. of Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai (Thailand)

2012-09-15

This study was performed to evaluate the incidence and degree of external apical root resorption of maxillary incisors after orthodontic treatment and to evaluate particular associated factors related to external apical root resorption. The records and maxillary incisor periapical radiographs of 181 patients were investigated. Crown and root lengths were measured and compared on the pre- and post-treatment periapical radiographs. Crown length was measured from the center of the incisal edge to the midpoint of the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). Root length was measured from the CEJ midpoint to the root apex. A correction factor for the enlargement difference was used to calculate root resorption. The periapical radiographs of 564 teeth showed that the average root resorption was 1.39{+-}1.27 (8.24{+-}7.22%) and 1.69{+-}1.14 mm (10.16{+-}6.78%) for the maxillary central and lateral incisors, respectively. The results showed that the dilacerated or pointed roots, maxillary premolar extraction cases, and treatment duration were highly significant factors for root resorption (p<0.001). Allergic condition was a significant factor at p<0.01. Age at the start of treatment, large overjet, and history of facial trauma were also factors significantly associated with root resorption (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in root resorption among the factors of gender, overbite, tongue-thrusting habit, types of malocclusion, and types of bracket. These results suggested that orthodontic treatment should be carefully performed in pre-treatment extraction patients who have pointed or dilacerated roots and need long treatment duration.

External apical root resorption in maxillary incisors in orthodontic patients: associated factors and radiographic evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanekrungsan, Kamonporn; Patanaporn, Virush; Janhom, Apirum; Korwanich, Narumanus

2012-01-01

This study was performed to evaluate the incidence and degree of external apical root resorption of maxillary incisors after orthodontic treatment and to evaluate particular associated factors related to external apical root resorption. The records and maxillary incisor periapical radiographs of 181 patients were investigated. Crown and root lengths were measured and compared on the pre- and post-treatment periapical radiographs. Crown length was measured from the center of the incisal edge to the midpoint of the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). Root length was measured from the CEJ midpoint to the root apex. A correction factor for the enlargement difference was used to calculate root resorption. The periapical radiographs of 564 teeth showed that the average root resorption was 1.39±1.27 (8.24±7.22%) and 1.69±1.14 mm (10.16±6.78%) for the maxillary central and lateral incisors, respectively. The results showed that the dilacerated or pointed roots, maxillary premolar extraction cases, and treatment duration were highly significant factors for root resorption (p<0.001). Allergic condition was a significant factor at p<0.01. Age at the start of treatment, large overjet, and history of facial trauma were also factors significantly associated with root resorption (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in root resorption among the factors of gender, overbite, tongue-thrusting habit, types of malocclusion, and types of bracket. These results suggested that orthodontic treatment should be carefully performed in pre-treatment extraction patients who have pointed or dilacerated roots and need long treatment duration.

Linking Teacher Education to Redesigned Systems of Accountability: A Call for Multiple Measures in Pre-Service Teacher Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Farley, Amy N.; Clayton, Grant; Kaka, Sarah J.

2018-01-01

In this written commentary for the special issue of "Education Policy Analysis Archives" focused on "Redesigning Assessment and Accountability," we call for teacher preparation to embrace a multiple measures philosophy by providing teacher candidates with rich opportunities to engage with data from a variety of sources, beyond…

On using rational enzyme redesign to improve enzyme-mediated microbial dehalogenation of recalcitrant substances in deep-subsurface environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ornstein, R.L.

1993-06-01

Heavily halogenated hydrocarbons are one of the most prevalent classes of man-made recalcitrant environmental contaminants and often make their way into subsurface environments. Biodegradation of heavily chlorinated compounds in the deep subsurface often occurs at extremely slow rates because native enzymes of indigenous microbes are unable to efficiently metabolize such synthetic substances. Cost-effective engineering solutions do not exist for dealing with disperse and recalcitrant pollutants in the deep subsurface (i.e., ground water, soils, and sediments). Timely biodegradation of heavily chlorinated compounds in the deep subsurface may be best accomplished by rational redesign of appropriate enzymes that enhance the ability of indigenous microbes to metabolize these substances. The isozyme family cytochromes P450 are catalytically very robust and are found in all aerobic life forms and may be active in may anaerobes as well. The author is attempting to demonstrate proof-of-principle rational enzyme redesign of cytochromes P450 to enhance biodehalogenation

Redesign of CERN LINAC3 RFQ for Lead 29+

CERN Document Server

Benedetti, Stefano; Lallement, Jean-Baptiste; Lombardi, Alessandra; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2018-01-01

CERN Linac3 is at the heart of the CERN Heavy Ion Facility, providing 4.2 MeV/u ion beams to the Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR). It mostly accelerates 208Pb29+, though in recent years runs were performed with 40Ar11+ and 129Xe22+, in view of the raising interest of the physics community towards lighter ions experiments. In the framework of the LHC Injectors Upgrade (LIU) project, measurements and beam dynamics simulations showed that a transmission bottleneck of Linac3 is represented by the RFQ. As this accelerator was originally designed for 208Pb25+, the lower beam rigidity of the heavy ions currently in used – and planned to be used – permits a redesign of the RFQ aimed at increasing its transverse acceptance, and thus the transmitted beam current. The methodology adopted and the results of this study are presented.

Digital redesign of anti-wind-up controller for cascaded analog system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y S; Tsai, J S H; Shieh, L S; Moussighi, M M

2003-01-01

The cascaded conventional anti-wind-up (CAW) design method for integral controller is discussed. Then, the prediction-based digital redesign methodology is utilized to find the new pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) digital controller for effective digital control of the analog plant with input saturation constraint. The desired digital controller is determined from existing or pre-designed CAW analog controller. The proposed method provides a novel methodology for indirect digital design of a continuous-time unity output-feedback system with a cascaded analog controller as in the case of PID controllers for industrial control processes with the presence of actuator saturations. It enables us to implement an existing or pre-designed cascaded CAW analog controller via a digital controller effectively.

Evaluation of field development plans using 3-D reservoir modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seifert, D.; Lewis, J.J.M. [Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Newbery, J.D.H. [Conoco, UK Ltd., Aberdeen (United Kingdom)] [and others

1997-08-01

Three-dimensional reservoir modelling has become an accepted tool in reservoir description and is used for various purposes, such as reservoir performance prediction or integration and visualisation of data. In this case study, a small Northern North Sea turbiditic reservoir was to be developed with a line drive strategy utilising a series of horizontal producer and injector pairs, oriented north-south. This development plan was to be evaluated and the expected outcome of the wells was to be assessed and risked. Detailed analyses of core, well log and analogue data has led to the development of two geological {open_quotes}end member{close_quotes} scenarios. Both scenarios have been stochastically modelled using the Sequential Indicator Simulation method. The resulting equiprobable realisations have been subjected to detailed statistical well placement optimisation techniques. Based upon bivariate statistical evaluation of more than 1000 numerical well trajectories for each of the two scenarios, it was found that the wells inclinations and lengths had a great impact on the wells success, whereas the azimuth was found to have only a minor impact. After integration of the above results, the actual well paths were redesigned to meet external drilling constraints, resulting in substantial reductions in drilling time and costs.

Evaluating external costs of human health and environmental impacts using IAEA model SIMPACTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobric, Elena; Jelev, Adrian

2005-01-01

SIMPACTS (Simplified Approach for Estimating Impacts and External Costs of Electricity Generation) model developed at the International Atomic Energy Agency is a powerful and convenient tool for evaluating external costs induced by different energy sources. The model was developed for industrial countries and for developing countries as well where studies of alternatives of sustainable energy policies are conducted. The SIMPACTS allow the decision making factors involved in energy policy to have reasonable estimates of environment impacts and relating costs appealing to a rather low number of input parameters. The paper aims at analyzing by means of SIMPACTS the environmental impact produced by Cernavoda NPP operation in two cases: a) the impact of the Cernavoda NPP itself; b) the impact of an hypothetical coal based power plant of the same power level and located on the Cernavoda NPP site. The SIMPACTS modules AIRPACTS and NUCPACTS were applied to assess the impacts on human health, agricultural crops and building materials from exposure to routine atmospheric emissions and as well to quantify and value the adverse effects on human health due to routine atmospheric release of radionuclides from the NPP, via radioactive waste ground disposal or resulting from accidents in nuclear facility, respectively. The conclusion of this study based on SIMPACTS model application to assess the health effects and damage cost per year is that the Cernavoda NPP presents the lower health effects and damage cost comparing with power plants of other types

Malignant external otitis: the role of computed tomography and radionuclides in evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendelson, D.S.; Som, P.M.; Mendelson, M.H.; Parisier, S.C.

1983-01-01

Nine patients with malignant external otitis (MEO) were evaluated with Tc-99m bone scans, Ga-67 citrate scans, pluridirectional tomography, and computed tomographic (CT) scans in order to assess the role of each in the diagnosis and management of MEO. The Tc-99m and Ga-67 citrate scans were the most accurate studies in the initial identification of disease activity, while the return to normal or improvement of the Ga-67 citrate scan has been shown to correlate best with clinical resolution of MEO. CT demonstrated soft-tissue disease and central skull base osteomyelitis better than pluridirectional tomography. CT is excellent for localizing and following the progression of bone disease; however, because reossification of the skull base is a very slow process, CT cannot be used to follow accurately regression or inactivity of MEO affecting this area. CT is the best modality for following soft-tissue extension of MEO

An In-Depth Study on the Impact of External Quality Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Stensaker, Bjorn; Langfeldt, Liv; Harvey, Lee; Huisman, Jeroen; Westerheijden, Don

2011-01-01

After more than two decades of external quality assurance, there is an increasing interest in questions concerning the impact and effects of this activity. Following an external evaluation of NOKUT--the Norwegian quality assurance agency, this article studies the impact of external quality assurance in detail by analysing quantitative and…

Flipping the Classroom Applications to Curriculum Redesign for an Introduction to Management Course: Impact on Grades

Science.gov (United States)

Albert, Michael; Beatty, Brian J.

2014-01-01

The authors discuss the application of the flipped classroom model to the redesign of an introduction to management course at a highly diverse, urban, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited U.S. university. The author assessed the impact of a flipped classroom versus a lecture class on grades. Compared to the prior…

A simulated annealing approach for redesigning a warehouse network problem

Science.gov (United States)

Khairuddin, Rozieana; Marlizawati Zainuddin, Zaitul; Jiun, Gan Jia

2017-09-01

Now a day, several companies consider downsizing their distribution networks in ways that involve consolidation or phase-out of some of their current warehousing facilities due to the increasing competition, mounting cost pressure and taking advantage on the economies of scale. Consequently, the changes on economic situation after a certain period of time require an adjustment on the network model in order to get the optimal cost under the current economic conditions. This paper aimed to develop a mixed-integer linear programming model for a two-echelon warehouse network redesign problem with capacitated plant and uncapacitated warehouses. The main contribution of this study is considering capacity constraint for existing warehouses. A Simulated Annealing algorithm is proposed to tackle with the proposed model. The numerical solution showed the model and method of solution proposed was practical.

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG)

Socio-economic research on fusion. SERF 1997-98. Macro Tast E2: External costs and benefits. Task 2: Comparison of external costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, Lotte; Korhonen, Riitta

1998-12-01

This report is part of the SERF (Socio-Economic Research on Fusion) project, Macro Task E2, which covers External Costs and Benefits. The report is the documentation of Task 2, Comparison of External Costs. The aim of Task 2 Comparison of External Costs, has been to compare the external costs of the fusion energy with those from other alternative energy generation technologies. In this task identification and quantification of the external costs for wind energy and photovoltaic have been performed by Risoe, while identification and quantification of the external cost for nuclear fission and fossil fuels have been discussed by VTT. The methodology used for the assessment of the externalities of the fuel cycles selected has been the one developed within the ExternE Project. First estimates for the externalities of fusion energy have been under examination in Macrotask E2. Externalities of fossil fuels and nuclear fission have already been evaluated in the ExternE project and a vast amount of material for different sites in various countries is available. This material is used in comparison. In the case of renewable wind energy and photovoltaic are assessed separately. External costs of the various alternatives may change as new technologies are developed and costs can to a high extent be avoided (e.g. acidifying impacts but also global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions). Also fusion technology can experience major progress and some important cost components probably can be avoided already by 2050. (EG) 36 refs.

Effect of a redesigned two-wheeled container for refuse collecting on mechanical loading of low back and shoulders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuijer, P. Paul F. M.; Hoozemans, Marco J. M.; Kingma, Idsart; van Dieën, Jaap H.; de Vries, Wiebe H. K.; Veeger, Dirk Jan; van der Beek, Allard J.; Visser, Bart; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

2003-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare the mechanical and perceived workload when working with a redesigned two-wheeled container and working with a standard two-wheeled container for refuse collecting. The three changes in the design of the container were a displacement of the position of the

Ten Years of External Quality Audit in Australia: Evaluating Its Effectiveness and Success

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Mahsood

2012-01-01

External quality audits are now being used in universities across the world to improve quality assurance, accountability for quality education and transparency of public funding of higher education. Some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have had external quality audits for more than a decade but there…

Toward Joint Medical Logistics 2010 and Beyond: Process Innovation and Redesign of Class VIII Supply Chain at a Medical Logistics Company

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Augustitus, Mary

2000-01-01

.... Medical Logistics Company (Med Log Co), process map the "as is" baseline process and propose possible "to be" process redesign alternatives that will possibly improve efficiency and produce long-term cost savings...

Redesigning nursing work in long-term care environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, L M; O'Brien-Pallas, L

2000-01-01

The authors present a highly statistically oriented argument for examining work attitudes and activities among three groups of caregivers [RNs, RPNs, and HCAs] working in long-term care. The investigators used both work sampling, written surveys, and interviews with a sample of 46 caregivers in a large university-affiliated LTC facility in Toronto, Canada. While RNs stated their strong affinity for direct patient care activities, they perform the lowest percentage of direct care, chiefly due to their accountability for planning and coordinating the care provided by others. The HCAs who provided the bulk of direct patient care "valued it the least," apparently finding little gratification with this aspect of their role. This study suggests that there is a need to examine and clarify work roles and perceptions for all caregivers as part of any work redesign process. A higher level of RN involvement in direct patient care activities, along with "attention to enhancing the importance" of these activities for staff employed in the HCA role, could be beneficial.

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schleisner, L.; Sieverts Nielsen, P.

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results; to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the results of the national implementation for Denmark. Three different fuel cycles have been chosen as case studies. These are fuel cycles for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant based on biogas. The report covers all the details of the application of the methodology to these fuel cycles aggregation to a national level. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 59 tabs., 25 ills., 61 refs

External costs related to power production technologies. ExternE national implementation for Denmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleisner, L; Sieverts Nielsen, P

1997-12-01

The objective of the ExternE National Implementation project has been to establish a comprehensive and comparable set of data on externalities of power generation for all EU member states and Norway. The tasks include the application of the ExternE methodology to the most important fuel cycles for each country as well as to update the already existing results; to aggregate these site- and technology-specific results to more general figures. The current report covers the results of the national implementation for Denmark. Three different fuel cycles have been chosen as case studies. These are fuel cycles for an offshore wind farm and a wind farm on land, a decentralised CHP plant based on natural gas and a decentralised CHP plant based on biogas. The report covers all the details of the application of the methodology to these fuel cycles aggregation to a national level. (au) EU-JOULE 3. 59 tabs., 25 ills., 61 refs.

Performance Targets and External Market Prices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Allan; Friis, Ivar; Vámosi, Tamás S.

2012-01-01

the implementation of external market information in target setting – well known in transfer pricing, relative performance evaluation, beyond budgeting, target costing, piece rates systems and value based management – relate to challenging motivation and information problem. The analysis and discussion of those...... problems, in particular those related to accounting for the internal performance (that are going to be compared with the external target), calculating the ‘inside’ costs and defining controllability, contributes to the management accounting as well as the piece-rate literature.......In this paper we explore the processes of ‘bringing the market inside the firm’ to set performance targets and benchmark production workers productivity. We analyze attempts to use external suppliers’ bids in target setting in a Danish manufacturing company. The case study illustrates how...

A field evaluation of an external and neutrally buoyant acoustic transmitter for juvenile salmon: implications for estimating hydroturbine passage survival.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard S Brown

Full Text Available Turbine-passed fish are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure which can cause barotrauma. The presence of an implanted telemetry tag increases the likelihood of injury or death from exposure to pressure changes, thus potentially biasing studies evaluating survival of turbine-passed fish. Therefore, a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag was developed to eliminate this bias in turbine passage studies. This new tag was designed not to add excess mass in water or take up space in the coelom, having an effective tag burden of zero with the goal of reducing pressure related biases to turbine survival studies. To determine if this new tag affects fish performance or susceptibility to predation, it was evaluated in the field relative to internally implanted acoustic transmitters (JSATS; Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System used widely for survival studies of juvenile salmonids. Survival and travel time through the study reach was compared between fish with either tag type in an area of high predation in the Snake and Columbia rivers, Washington. An additional group of fish affixed with neutrally-buoyant dummy external tags were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT tags and recovered further downstream to assess external tag retention and injury. There were no significant differences in survival to the first detection site, 12 river kilometers (rkm downstream of release. Travel times were also similar between groups. Conversely, externally-tagged fish had reduced survival (or elevated tag loss to the second detection site, 65 rkm downstream. In addition, the retention study revealed that tag loss was first observed in fish recaptured approximately 9 days after release. Results suggest that this new tag may be viable for short term (<8 days single-dam turbine-passage studies and under these situations, may alleviate the turbine passage-related bias encountered when using internal tags, however further research is needed to

A field evaluation of an external and neutrally buoyant acoustic transmitter for juvenile salmon: implications for estimating hydroturbine passage survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Richard S; Deng, Z Daniel; Cook, Katrina V; Pflugrath, Brett D; Li, Xinya; Fu, Tao; Martinez, Jayson J; Li, Huidong; Trumbo, Bradly A; Ahmann, Martin L; Seaburg, Adam G

2013-01-01

Turbine-passed fish are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure which can cause barotrauma. The presence of an implanted telemetry tag increases the likelihood of injury or death from exposure to pressure changes, thus potentially biasing studies evaluating survival of turbine-passed fish. Therefore, a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag was developed to eliminate this bias in turbine passage studies. This new tag was designed not to add excess mass in water or take up space in the coelom, having an effective tag burden of zero with the goal of reducing pressure related biases to turbine survival studies. To determine if this new tag affects fish performance or susceptibility to predation, it was evaluated in the field relative to internally implanted acoustic transmitters (JSATS; Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System) used widely for survival studies of juvenile salmonids. Survival and travel time through the study reach was compared between fish with either tag type in an area of high predation in the Snake and Columbia rivers, Washington. An additional group of fish affixed with neutrally-buoyant dummy external tags were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and recovered further downstream to assess external tag retention and injury. There were no significant differences in survival to the first detection site, 12 river kilometers (rkm) downstream of release. Travel times were also similar between groups. Conversely, externally-tagged fish had reduced survival (or elevated tag loss) to the second detection site, 65 rkm downstream. In addition, the retention study revealed that tag loss was first observed in fish recaptured approximately 9 days after release. Results suggest that this new tag may be viable for short term (<8 days) single-dam turbine-passage studies and under these situations, may alleviate the turbine passage-related bias encountered when using internal tags, however further research is needed to confirm this.

Hospital's redesigned Web site patient-friendly, comprehensive. Site one-of-a-kind in Twin Cities market area.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, T

2001-01-01

North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale, Minn., has opened a brightly redesigned Web site. It is patient-friendly and features a different approach to provide healthcare information called "care areas," which are organized by condition, such as heart care, cancer care and childbirth. This approach led to the the site being named North Memorial Online Care Center.

How externalities impact an evaluation of strategies to prevent antimicrobial resistance in health care organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenine R. Leal

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The rates of antimicrobial-resistant organisms (ARO continue to increase for both hospitalized and community patients. Few resources have been allocated to reduce the spread of resistance on global, national and local levels, in part because the broader economic impact of antimicrobial resistance (i.e. the externality is not fully considered when determining how much to invest to prevent AROs, including strategies to contain antimicrobial resistance, such as antimicrobial stewardship programs. To determine how best to measure and incorporate the impact of externalities associated with the antimicrobial resistance when making resource allocation decisions aimed to reduce antimicrobial resistance within healthcare facilities, we reviewed the literature to identify publications which 1 described the externalities of antimicrobial resistance, 2 described approaches to quantifying the externalities associated with antimicrobial resistance or 3 described macro-level policy options to consider the impact of externalities. Medline was reviewed to identify published studies up to September 2016. Main body An externality is a cost or a benefit associated with one person’s activity that impacts others who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit. We did not identify a well-accepted method of accurately quantifying the externality associated with antimicrobial resistance. We did identify three main methods that have gained popularity to try to take into account the externalities of antimicrobial resistance, including regulation, charges or taxes on the use of antimicrobials, and the right to trade permits or licenses for antimicrobial use. To our knowledge, regulating use of antimicrobials is the only strategy currently being used by health care systems to reduce antimicrobial use, and thereby reduce AROs. To justify expenditures on programs that reduce AROs (i.e. to formally incorporate the impact of the negative externality of

A Proposal of a Method to Measure and Evaluate the Effect to Apply External Support Measures for Owners by Construction Management Method, etc

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Hiroshi; Miyatake, Ichiro; Mouri, Junji; Ajiki, Norihiko; Fueta, Toshiharu

In Japan, various approaches have been taken to ensure the quality of public works or to support the procurement regime of the governmental agencies, as a means to utilize external resources, which include the procurement support service or the construction management (CM) method. Although discussions on these measures to utilize external resources (hereinafter referred to as external support measure) have been going on, as well as the follow-up surveys showing the positive effects of such measures have been conducted, the surveys only deal with the matters concerning the overall effects of the external support measure on the whole, meaning that the effect of each item of the tasks have not been addressed, and that the extent it dealt with the expectations of the client is unknown. However, the effective use of the external support measure in future cannot be achieved without knowing what was the purpose to introduce the external support measure, and what effect was expected on each task item, and what extent the expectation fulfilled. Furthermore, it is important to clarify not only the effect as compared to the client's expectation (performance), but also the public benefit of this measure (value improvement). From this point of view, there is not an established method to figure out the effect of the client's measure to utilize external resources. In view of this background, this study takes the CM method as an example of the external support measure, and proposes a method to measure and evaluate the effect by each task item, and suggests the future issues and possible responses, in the aim of contributing the promotion, improvement, and proper implementation of the external support measures in future.

Redesigning the Production of the Bacillus thuringiensis Bio-Pesticide within the Context of Subsistence Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, India

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Puente, D.

2007-01-01

Biotechnologies are social constructions. The way in which biotechnology is designed, developed and deployed depends on the actors involved in these processes and the strategies and choices employed by these actors. This article assesses the re-designing process of the production of a biopesticide

Food or Thought? Assessing Internal and External Factors Affecting Evaluations of Instructor Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, John; Kiggins, Ryan; Kickham, Kenneth

2017-01-01

Within the broader literature concerned with potential bias in student measures of instructor effectiveness, two broad types of bias have been shown to operate in a course: internal and external. Missing is an assessment of the relative influence of each bias type in the classroom. Do internal or external types of bias matter more or less to…

Redesigning a Large Lecture Course for Student Engagement: Process and Outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leslie F. Reid

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Using an action-research approach, a large-lecture science course (240 students was redesigned to improve student engagement in the areas of active and collaborative learning, faculty-student interaction and level of academic challenge. This was mainly achieved through the addition of a half-semester long group project, which replaced half of the lectures and the final exam. The course redesign did not result in more hours spent on teaching and teaching-related activities (grading, assessment preparation, lecturing, lecture preparation for the instructor – although the redesigned course requires the support of teaching assistants for the project component. Data on students’ perceptions of the modified course and the frequency to which they participated in the engagement activities were collected using the Classroom Survey of Student Engagement (CLASSE. The majority of students reported high levels of engagement in most of the intended areas and were comfortable with the new class design. The CLASSE data also helped identify areas where intended engagement levels were not met. These areas are the focus for future course development and action research questions.Utilisant une approche de type recherche-action, un cours de science offert dans un grand auditorium (240 étudiants a été reconfiguré afin d’amener les étudiants à s’engager davantage dans un apprentissage actif et collaboratif ainsi que dans leur interaction professeur-étudiants et à relever un défi de nature académique. Pour ce faire, la moitié des cours magistraux ainsi que l’examen final ont été remplacés par un projet de groupe. La reconfiguration du cours ne s’est pas traduite par une augmentation des heures d’enseignement ou des activités liées à l’enseignement (notation, préparation des évaluations, exposé magistral, préparation de l’exposé magistral – bien qu’elle ait nécessité le soutien des assistants à l’enseignement pour la

Optimum location of external markers using feature selection algorithms for real-time tumor tracking in external-beam radiotherapy: a virtual phantom study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nankali, Saber; Torshabi, Ahmad Esmaili; Miandoab, Payam Samadi; Baghizadeh, Amin

2016-01-08

In external-beam radiotherapy, using external markers is one of the most reliable tools to predict tumor position, in clinical applications. The main challenge in this approach is tumor motion tracking with highest accuracy that depends heavily on external markers location, and this issue is the objective of this study. Four commercially available feature selection algorithms entitled 1) Correlation-based Feature Selection, 2) Classifier, 3) Principal Components, and 4) Relief were proposed to find optimum location of external markers in combination with two "Genetic" and "Ranker" searching procedures. The performance of these algorithms has been evaluated using four-dimensional extended cardiac-torso anthropomorphic phantom. Six tumors in lung, three tumors in liver, and 49 points on the thorax surface were taken into account to simulate internal and external motions, respectively. The root mean square error of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) as prediction model was considered as metric for quantitatively evaluating the performance of proposed feature selection algorithms. To do this, the thorax surface region was divided into nine smaller segments and predefined tumors motion was predicted by ANFIS using external motion data of given markers at each small segment, separately. Our comparative results showed that all feature selection algorithms can reasonably select specific external markers from those segments where the root mean square error of the ANFIS model is minimum. Moreover, the performance accuracy of proposed feature selection algorithms was compared, separately. For this, each tumor motion was predicted using motion data of those external markers selected by each feature selection algorithm. Duncan statistical test, followed by F-test, on final results reflected that all proposed feature selection algorithms have the same performance accuracy for lung tumors. But for liver tumors, a correlation-based feature selection algorithm, in

Tolerance measurements on internal- and external-hexagon implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Braian, Michael; De Bruyn, Hugo; Fransson, Håkan; Christersson, Cecilia; Wennerberg, Ann

2014-01-01

To measure the horizontal machining tolerances of the interface between internal- and external-hexagon implants and analogs with corresponding components after delivery from the manufacturer. These values may be a valuable tool for evaluating increasing misfit caused by fabrication, processing, and wear. Seven implants and seven analogs with external- and internal-hexagon connections (Biomet 3i) with corresponding prefabricated gold cylinders and gold screws, prefabricated cylindric plastic cylinders, and laboratory screws were studied. One set of components from the external and internal groups was measured manually and digitally. Measurements from the test subjects were compared with identical measurements from the virtual model to obtain threshold values. The virtual model was then used to obtain optimally oriented cuts. The horizontal machining tolerances for castable plastic abutments on external implants were 12 ± 89 μm, and for internal implants they were 86 ± 47 μm. Tolerance measurements on prefabricated gold abutments for external implants were 44 ± 9 μm, and for internal implants they were 58 ± 28 μm. The groups with metallic components showed the smallest tolerance at external group and internal group. The prefabricated plastic cylinder groups ranged from external and internal connection.

Re-designing the PhEDEx Security Model

Science.gov (United States)

C-H, Huang; Wildish, T.; X, Zhang

2014-06-01

PhEDEx, the data-placement tool used by the CMS experiment at the LHC, was conceived in a more trusting time. The security model provided a safe environment for site agents and operators, but offerred little more protection than that. Data was not sufficiently protected against loss caused by operator error or software bugs or by deliberate manipulation of the database. Operators were given high levels of access to the database, beyond what was actually needed to accomplish their tasks. This exposed them to the risk of suspicion should an incident occur. Multiple implementations of the security model led to difficulties maintaining code, which can lead to degredation of security over time. In order to meet the simultaneous goals of protecting CMS data, protecting the operators from undue exposure to risk, increasing monitoring capabilities and improving maintainability of the security model, the PhEDEx security model was redesigned and re-implemented. Security was moved from the application layer into the database itself, fine-grained access roles were established, and tools and procedures created to control the evolution of the security model over time. In this paper we describe this work, we describe the deployment of the new security model, and we show how these enhancements improve security on several fronts simultaneously.

Re-designing the PhEDEx security model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang C-H; Wildish, T; Zhang X

2014-01-01

PhEDEx, the data-placement tool used by the CMS experiment at the LHC, was conceived in a more trusting time. The security model provided a safe environment for site agents and operators, but offerred little more protection than that. Data was not sufficiently protected against loss caused by operator error or software bugs or by deliberate manipulation of the database. Operators were given high levels of access to the database, beyond what was actually needed to accomplish their tasks. This exposed them to the risk of suspicion should an incident occur. Multiple implementations of the security model led to difficulties maintaining code, which can lead to degredation of security over time. In order to meet the simultaneous goals of protecting CMS data, protecting the operators from undue exposure to risk, increasing monitoring capabilities and improving maintainability of the security model, the PhEDEx security model was redesigned and re-implemented. Security was moved from the application layer into the database itself, fine-grained access roles were established, and tools and procedures created to control the evolution of the security model over time. In this paper we describe this work, we describe the deployment of the new security model, and we show how these enhancements improve security on several fronts simultaneously.

PROPOSAL FOR ERGONOMIC REDESIGN IN THE SEED MANUAL CLEANING AREA AND CORN RECEPTION AND MISSING AREA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Luna-Soto

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The project is presented at a Seeds plant in the region of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, with the purpose of giving proposals for improvements, through different studies, in order to find optimal solutions for workers with better performance time to carry out the corresponding activities. In the company it is necessary to have a work area in which the operator is comfortable, also to protect the health, and to increase the productivity of the same one. For this reason the study was conducted to know the problems that are generated by an inadequate workstation, in order to obtain a better quality and to have the adequate information on how to do the work without risk. In the development of this study, different techniques of ergonomic evaluation were applied, such as Yoshitake, 4 luke points and Corlet & Bishop Mapping for the analysis of fatigue and possible CTD (Cumulative Trauma Disorders. Once analyzed, proceeded to take anthropometric measures for the redesign of the workstation, focusing mainly on the seat of workers.

Redesign of the DFT/MRCI Hamiltonian

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyskov, Igor; Kleinschmidt, Martin; Marian, Christel M., E-mail: Christel.Marian@hhu.de [Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf (Germany)

2016-01-21

The combined density functional theory and multireference configuration interaction (DFT/MRCI) method of Grimme and Waletzke [J. Chem. Phys. 111, 5645 (1999)] is a well-established semi-empirical quantum chemical method for efficiently computing excited-state properties of organic molecules. As it turns out, the method fails to treat bi-chromophores owing to the strong dependence of the parameters on the excitation class. In this work, we present an alternative form of correcting the matrix elements of a MRCI Hamiltonian which is built from a Kohn-Sham set of orbitals. It is based on the idea of constructing individual energy shifts for each of the state functions of a configuration. The new parameterization is spin-invariant and incorporates less empirism compared to the original formulation. By utilizing damping techniques together with an algorithm of selecting important configurations for treating static electron correlation, the high computational efficiency has been preserved. The robustness of the original and redesigned Hamiltonians has been tested on experimentally known vertical excitation energies of organic molecules yielding similar statistics for the two parameterizations. Besides that, our new formulation is free from artificially low-lying doubly excited states, producing qualitatively correct and consistent results for excimers. The way of modifying matrix elements of the MRCI Hamiltonian presented here shall be considered as default choice when investigating photophysical processes of bi-chromophoric systems such as singlet fission or triplet-triplet upconversion.

Analysis of lifting beam and redesigned lifting lugs for 241-AZ-01A decant pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coverdell, B.L.

1994-01-01

This supporting document details calculations for the proper design of a lifting beam and redesigned lifting lugs for the 241AZO1A decant pump. This design is in accordance with Standard Architectural-Civil Design Criteria, Design Loads for Facilities (DOE-RL 1989) and is safety class three. The design and fabrication is in accordance with American Institute of Steel Construction, Manual of Steel Construction, (AISC, 1989) and the Hanford Hoisting and Rigging Manual (DOE-RL 1993)

The selective external carotid arterial embolization treatment of uncontrollable epistaxis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Qunli; Liu Yizhi; Ni Caifang

2004-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the selective external carotid arterial embolization of uncontrollable epistaxis. Methods: 27 procedures of super-selective external carotid arterial embolization were performed with absorbable gelfoam by using Seldinger's method in 26 cases with uncontrollable epistaxis. Results: 27 procedures of super-selective intra-arterial embolization of uncontrollable epistaxis were all successful without any serious complication. Conclusions: Selective external carotid arterial embolization is safe, effective and successful in the treatment of severe epistaxis. (authors)

Toward meso-level product-market network indices for strategic product selection and (re)design guidelines over the product life-cycle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, B.; Kok, de A.G.

2010-01-01

Many methods to arrive at a product-market choice through selection and (re)design assume stationary demand and a stable range of products to pick and maximize profit trading off operational performance in manufacturing versus (under)servicing certain market segments. The determination and

Redesigning Schools to Reach Every Student with Excellent Teachers: Change Management--Key Theories to Consider when Extending Reach

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Sharon Kebschull

2012-01-01

As schools, their teachers, and outside facilitators redesign jobs and incorporate technology to extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students and develop an Opportunity Culture for all, choosing the right school models is just one part of the task. The human experience--and experience in education--says that even perfect design will not…

Regulating multiple externalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waldo, Staffan; Jensen, Frank; Nielsen, Max

2016-01-01

Open access is a well-known externality problem in fisheries causing excess capacity and overfishing. Due to global warming, externality problems from CO2 emissions have gained increased interest. With two externality problems, a first-best optimum can be achieved by using two regulatory instrume......Open access is a well-known externality problem in fisheries causing excess capacity and overfishing. Due to global warming, externality problems from CO2 emissions have gained increased interest. With two externality problems, a first-best optimum can be achieved by using two regulatory...

External doses of residents near semipalatinsk nuclear test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takada, Jun; Hoshi, Masaharu; Nagatomo, Tsuneto

1999-01-01

Accumulated external radiation doses of residents near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site of the former USSR are presented as a results of study by the thermoluminescence technique for bricks sampled at several settlements in 1995 and 1996. The external doses that we evaluated from exposed bricks were up to about 100 cGy for resident. The external doses at several points in the center of Semipalatinsk City ranged from a background level to 60 cGy, which was remarkably high compared with the previously reported values based on military data. (author)

Redesign and Automation of a mold for manufacturing of refrigerated display cases using Polyurethane Foam Injection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugenio Yime

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Context: To stay competitive over time, a company must continually submit their processes to improvements and updates. Herein are proposed some improvements with regard to safety at work and the reduction of time that occurs during the operation of a mold for manufacturing refrigerators. Method: Some operating conditions of the mold are analyzed and then some factors affecting the processing time and the safety of operating personnel are established. The weaknesses found are related to the intrinsic design of the mold, which raises the need for a structural redesign that also includes automation. Results: It is presented a new design and way to operate the mold which reduces the risk of accidents at having no heavy loads over operator heads. Another contribution of the redesign is the increase in the system rigidity which helps to reduce manufacturing defects. Finally, it is show a automation design which helps to reduce manufacturing times. Conclusions: Significant improvements were obtained in the operation of the mold, such as the reduction of occupational hazards and reduced manufacturing time of refrigerators. These improvements translate into benefits for the company, by reducing costs and increasing production. Both benefits help strengthen the competitiveness of the company.

Principles to guide sustainable implementation of extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy workforce redesign initiatives in Australia: stakeholder perspectives, barriers, supports, and incentives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morris J

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Joanne Morris,1 Karen Grimmer,2 Lisa Gilmore,1 Chandima Perera,3 Gordon Waddington,4 Greg Kyle,4 Bryan Ashman,5 Karen Murphy61The Physiotherapy Department, The Canberra Hospital, ACT Health, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 2International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia; 3Department of Rheumatology, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 4The Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 5Department of Surgical Services, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 6Office of Allied Health Advisor, ACT Health, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaAbstract: Sustainable implementation of new workforce redesign initiatives requires strategies that minimize barriers and optimize supports. Such strategies could be provided by a set of guiding principles. A broad understanding of the concerns of all the key stakeholder groups is required before effective strategies and initiatives are developed. Many new workforce redesign initiatives are not underpinned by prior planning, and this threatens their uptake and sustainability. This study reports on a cross-sectional qualitative study that sought the perspectives of representatives of key stakeholders in a new workforce redesign initiative (extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy in one Australian tertiary hospital. The key stakeholder groups were those that had been involved in some way in the development, management, training, funding, and/or delivery of the initiative. Data were collected using semistructured questions, answered individually by interview or in writing. Responses were themed collaboratively, using descriptive analysis. Key identified themes comprised: the importance of service marketing; proactively addressing barriers; using readily understood nomenclature; demonstrating service quality and safety, monitoring adverse events, measuring health and cost outcomes; legislative issues; registration; promoting viable

Evaluation of external exposure in a radioactive waste deposit; Avaliacao da exposicao externa em um deposito de rejeitos radioativos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Sergio Quinet de; Pereira, Wagner de Souza; Py Junior, Delcy de Azevedo; Dores, Luis Augusto de Carvalho Bresser; Dantas, Marcelino Vicente de Almeida; Silva, Ana Claudia Antunes; Garcia Filho, Oswaldo, E-mail: wspereira@inb.gov.b, E-mail: sergioquinet@inb.gov.b, E-mail: delcy@inb.gov.b, E-mail: luisdores@inb.gov.b, E-mail: marcelino@inb.go.b, E-mail: anasilva@inb.gov.b, E-mail: ogarcia@inb.gov.b [Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (UTM/INB), Pocos de Caldas, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Tratamento de Minerio

2011-10-26

The ore treatment unit (OTU) of Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB), located at Caldas municipality - Minas Gerais, Brazil, posses a radioactive deposit, coming mainly from the chemical processing of monazite sands for obtention of 'rare earths'. The main components of these waste are the 'torta II (thorium rich residues) and the 'mesothorium' ({sup 228}Ra rich residues) - conditioned in steel drums (200 liters), plastic pumps (100 liters) or underground silos. These loaders are deposited in waste loading warehouses existent at the OTU and periodic evaluations of the external exposure rates (mR/h) are part of the 'Programa de Monitoracao Radiologica Ocupacional' of the unit. This paper presents a brief history of origins of this waste deposit and the material found there, and also the result of a routine monitoring of the external exposure rates

Approaches in estimation of external cost for fuel cycles in the ExternE project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afanas'ev, A.A.; Maksimenko, B.N.

1998-01-01

The purposes, content and main results of studies realized within the frameworks of the International Project ExternE which is the first comprehensive attempt to develop general approach to estimation of external cost for different fuel cycles based on utilization of nuclear and fossil fuels, as well as on renewable power sources are discussed. The external cost of a fuel cycle is treated as social and environmental expenditures which are not taken into account by energy producers and consumers, i.e. these are expenditures not included into commercial cost nowadays. The conclusion on applicability of the approach suggested for estimation of population health hazards and environmental impacts connected with electric power generation growth (expressed in money or some other form) is made

Evaluation of body image and self-esteem in patients with external fixation devices: a Turkish perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Büyükyilmaz, Funda; Sendir, Merdiye; Salmond, Susan

2009-01-01

This descriptive study aimed to describe the body image and self-esteem of patients with external fixation devices. Fifty patients with external fixation devices who came for follow-up to the Ilizarov Outpatient Clinic of a university hospital in Turkey were included in this study. Data were collected by using a Demographic Questionnaire Form, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), and Coppersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. The perceived body image (197.58 +/- 25.14) and self-esteem (65.28 +/- 17.97) of the patients with external fixation devices were in the moderate range. There was no significant correlation between body image and self-esteem. Self-esteem was correlated with one's perception of whether external fixation impacted one's appearance and whether one wanted to avoid being seen by certain individuals because of the appearance of the external fixator. The study highlighted that body image disturbance and threats to self-esteem are not universal with the use of external fixation and need to be assessed individually.

Biomechanical responses of PMHS in moderate-speed rear impacts and development of response targets for evaluating the internal and external biofidelity of ATDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yun-Seok; Bolte, John H; Moorhouse, Kevin; Donnelly, Bruce; Herriott, Rodney; Mallory, Ann

2012-10-01

The objectives of this study were to obtain biomechanical responses of post mortem human subjects (PMHS) by subjecting them to two moderate-speed rear impact sled test conditions (8.5g, 17 km/h; 10.5g, 24 km/h) while positioned in an experimental seat system, and to create biomechanical targets for internal and external biofidelity evaluation of rear impact ATDs. The experimental seat was designed to measure external loads on the head restraint (4 load cells), seat back (6 load cells), and seat pan (4 load cells) such that subject dynamic interaction with the seat could be evaluated. This seat system was capable of simulating the dynamic characteristics of modern vehicle seat backs by considering the moment-rotation properties of a typical passenger vehicle, thus providing a more realistic test environment than using a rigid seat with a non-rotating seat back as done in previous studies. Instrumentation used to measure biomechanical responses of the PMHS included both accelerometers and angular rate sensors (ARS). A total of fourteen sled tests using eight PMHS (males 175.8 ± 6.2 cm of stature and 78.4 ± 7.2 kg of weight) provided data sets of seven PMHS for both test conditions. The biomechanical responses are described at both speeds, and cervical spine injuries are documented. Biomechanical targets are also created for internal and external biofidelity evaluation of rear impact anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs).

Redesigning a collection system for 'small' consumer electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melissen, Frans W.

2006-01-01

This paper establishes that the collection system within the recycling scheme for consumer electronics in the Netherlands has not been entirely successful in convincing consumers to hand in their used appliances by means of dedicated collection routes. Particularly regarding small appliances, consumers are persisting in their habit of discarding their appliances by means of the refuse bag/bin for regular household waste. Therefore, the current collection system has been unable to direct consumer behavior in the desired direction. Consequently, the layout of the current system is reviewed and redesigned in order to tackle this problem. This design effort applies the Triad model (behavioral model) in the analysis stage and the Morphological Chart method (design tool) in the synthesis stage, and results in a concrete proposal for a new system. Finally, the applicability of this design approach beyond the specific circumstances of the case study presented in this paper is discussed. This case represents only one example of the broader, worldwide challenge to design appropriate collection systems to direct consumer behavior in desired directions. It is argued that the approach presented in this paper could be a valuable contribution to research dealing with this challenge

Implementing Business Process Redesign: early lessons from the Australian experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marianne Broadbent

1995-05-01

Full Text Available Business Process Redesign (BPR is a change management approach aimed at achieving quantum improvements in business performance. Industry interest levels in BPR are high as a direct result of current difficulties in the global economic climate and tight business conditions. Integral to BPR is the availability of new stable technologies which both stimulate and enable process changes. This paper highlights the experiences of a number of Australian firms which have implemented BPR. A ten step framework for BPR is presented together with a series of caveats. BPR is a difficult, messy and often non-linear activity which challenges many of the ways organisations operate. Information Technology plays a pivotal role in BPR as both an enabler and disenabler for change. Lessons emerging from early Australian experiences with BPR focus on the role of executive sponsorship, consultants, measurements, education and training, technology and people involved in the change process.

Evaluation of Cost and Effectiveness of Decontamination Scenarios on External Radiation Exposure in Fukushima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yasutaka, T.; Naito, W. [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan)

2014-07-01

Despite the enormous cost associated with radiation decontamination, almost no quantitative assessment has been performed on the relationship between the potential reduction in long-term radiation exposure and the costs of the various decontamination strategies considered for the decontamination areas in Fukushima. In order to establish effective and pragmatic decontamination strategies for use in the radiation contaminated areas in Fukushima, a holistic approach for assessing decontamination strategies, their costs, and long-term external radiation doses is needed. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of decontamination scenarios in the decontamination areas in Fukushima in regard to external radiation exposure. The choice of decontamination strategies in the decontamination areas should be based on a comprehensive analysis of multiple attributes such as radiological, economic, and socio-psychological attributes. The cost and effectiveness of the different decontamination strategies is not sole determinant of the decontamination strategies of the special decontamination area but is one of the most important attributes when making the policy decision. In the current study, we focus on radiological and economic attributes in determining decontamination strategies. A geographical information system (GIS) was used to relate the predicted external dose in the affected areas to the number of potential inhabitants and the land use in the areas. A comprehensive review of the costs of various decontamination methods was conducted as part of the analysis. The results indicate that aerial decontamination in the special decontamination areas in Fukushima would be effective for reducing the air dose rate to the target level in a short period of time in some but not all of the areas. In a standard scenario, the analysis of cost suggests that decontamination costs of decontamination in Fukushima was estimated to be up to approximately 5

Sliding Mode Controller and Lyapunov Redesign Controller to Improve Microgrid Stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hossain, Eklas; Perez, Ron; Padmanaban, Sanjeevikumar

2017-01-01

technique is used to enhance stability of microgrids. Besides adopting this technique here, Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and Lyapunov Redesign Controller (LRC), two of the most prominent nonlinear control techniques, are individually implemented to control microgrid system stability with desired robustness....... CPL power is then varied to compare robustness of these two control techniques. This investigation revealed the better performance of the LRC system compared to SMC to retain stability in microgrid with dense CPL load. All the necessary results are simulated in Matlab/Simulink platform for authentic......To mitigate the microgrid instability despite the presence of dense Constant Power Load (CPL) loads in the system, a number of compensation techniques have already been gone through extensive research, proposed, and implemented around the world. In this paper, a storage based load side compensation...

The Evolution of Nondestructive Evaluation Methods for the Space Shuttle External Tank Thermal Protection System

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, James L.; Richter, Joel D.

2006-01-01

Three nondestructive evaluation methods are being developed to identify defects in the foam thermal protection system (TPS) of the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET). Shearography is being developed to identify shallow delaminations, shallow voids and crush damage in the foam while terahertz imaging and backscatter radiography are being developed to identify voids and cracks in thick foam regions. The basic theory of operation along with factors affecting the results of these methods will be described. Also, the evolution of these methods from lab tools to implementation on the ET will be discussed. Results from both test panels and flight tank inspections will be provided to show the range in defect sizes and types that can be readily detected.

Analysis of External Treatment Methods and Technical Characteristics of External Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui; Miao, Mingsan; Bai, Ming

2018-01-01

Chinese medicine external therapy is a treatment method of Chinese medicine with Chinese characteristics. The effect of traditional Chinese medicine external treatment, convenient operation, external treatment and technology has great prospects for development. The traditional Chinese medicine external treatment method and technical characteristics were analyzed.

Evaluation of functional outcome of pilon fractures managed with limited internal fixation and external fixation: A prospective clinical study.

Science.gov (United States)

Meena, Umesh Kumar; Bansal, Mahesh Chand; Behera, Prateek; Upadhyay, Rahul; Gothwal, Gyan Chand

2017-11-01

The management of pilon fractures is controversial primarily due to the high rate of complications irrespective of the mode of treatment. Limited internal fixation with external fixation is associated with minimal soft tissue handling. This may reduce the chances of wound dehiscence and infection. This study was designed to evaluate the functional and clinical outcomes in patients treated with limited internal fixation combined with external fixation in pilon fractures. This study was conducted as a prospective clinical study on 56 skeletally mature patients with closed fractures with poor skin condition, and with open grade 1 and grade 2 distal tibial intra-articular fractures. All patients were treated with combined limited internal fixation and ankle spanning external fixation. All fractures in this series united with an average time period of union of 18.3weeks (ranging from 13 weeks to 30 weeks). There was no non-union in any case. There was malunion in 4 cases, varus malunion (>5 degree) in 2 cases and recurvatum in another 2 cases). Excellent to good functional results were observed in 88% cases based on the modified Ovadia and Beals score. The mean ankle dorsiflexion and planter flexion movements were 10.2±5.3 degrees and 27.4±7.2 degrees respectively. infections occurred in 6 patients which included 4 pin tract infections and 2 superficial wound infection, all 6 healed after removal of pin tract and with oral antibiotics. The technique of combined external fixation with internal fixation is safe and effective management option for intra-articular distal tibial fractures.

Quantitative bone and 67Ga scintigraphy in the differentiation of necrotizing external otitis from severe external otitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uri, N.; Gips, S.; Front, A.; Meyer, S.W.; Hardoff, R.

1991-01-01

Qualitative technetium Tc 99m bone scintigraphy using phosphate compounds and gallium 67 scintigraphy were described as a helpful means in diagnosing necrotizing external otitis (NEO). They were, however, claimed to be nonspecific. Quantitative Tc 99m methylene diphosphonate bone scintigraphy and gallium 67 scintigraphy were performed in eight patients with NEO and in 20 patients with severe external otitis, in order to prove usefulness of scintigraphy in the diagnosis of NEO. Ratios of lesion to nonlesion for bone scintigraphy were 1.67 ± 0.16 in patients with NEO and 1.08 ± 0.09 in patients with severe external otitis, and for gallium 67 scintigraphy they were 1.35 ± 0.24 in NEO patients and 1.05 ± 0.03 in patients with severe external otitis. There was no difference in uptake between diabetic patients with severe external otitis and nondiabetic patients. The scintigraphic studies were also evaluated using a qualitative scoring method (scores 0 to +4), according to the intensity of the radiopharmaceutical uptake. This method was found to be inferior in the diagnosis of NEO compared with the quantitative method. We conclude that lesion-to-nonlesion ratios greater than 1.5 and 1.3 on bone and gallium 67 scintigraphy, respectively, are indicative of NEO. Quantitative bone scintigraphy, which is quicker to perform, may be used as a single imaging modality for the diagnosis of NEO

Fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version.

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, Marc; Marquette, Gerald P; Varin, Jocelyne; Champagne, Josette; Bujold, Emmanuel

2008-07-01

To estimate the frequency and volume of fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version for term breech singleton fetuses and to identify risk factors involved with this complication. A prospective observational study was performed including all patients undergoing a trial of external cephalic version for a breech presentation of at least 36 weeks of gestation between 1987 and 2001 in our center. A search for fetal erythrocytes using the standard Kleihauer-Betke test was obtained before and after each external cephalic version. The frequency and volume of fetomaternal hemorrhage were calculated. Putative risk factors for fetomaternal hemorrhage were evaluated by chi(2) test and Mann-Whitney U test. A Kleihauer-Betke test result was available before and after 1,311 trials of external cephalic version. The Kleihauer-Betke test was positive in 67 (5.1%) before the procedure. Of the 1,244 women with a negative Kleihauer-Betke test before external cephalic version, 30 (2.4%) had a positive Kleihauer-Betke test after the procedure. Ten (0.8%) had an estimated fetomaternal hemorrhage greater than 1 mL, and one (0.08%) had an estimated fetomaternal hemorrhage greater than 30 mL. The risk of fetomaternal hemorrhage was not influenced by parity, gestational age, body mass index, number of attempts at version, placental location, or amniotic fluid index. The risk of detectable fetomaternal hemorrhage during external cephalic version was 2.4%, with fetomaternal hemorrhage more than 30 mL in less than 0.1% of cases. These data suggest that the performance of a Kleihauer-Betke test is unwarranted in uneventful external cephalic version and that in Rh-negative women, no further Rh immune globulin is necessary other than the routine 300-microgram dose at 28 weeks of gestation and postpartum. II.

Thermographic venous blood flow characterization with external cooling stimulation

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Ashish; Ng, E. Y. K.; Raman, Vignesh

2018-05-01

Experimental characterization of blood flow in a human forearm is done with the application of continuous external cooling based active thermography method. Qualitative and quantitative detection of the blood vessel in a thermal image is done, along with the evaluation of blood vessel diameter, blood flow direction, and velocity in the target blood vessel. Subtraction based image manipulation is performed to enhance the feature contrast of the thermal image acquired after the removal of external cooling. To demonstrate the effect of occlusion diseases (obstruction), an external cuff based occlusion is applied after the removal of cooling and its effect on the skin rewarming is studied. Using external cooling, a transit time method based blood flow velocity estimation is done. From the results obtained, it is evident that an external cooling based active thermography method can be used to develop a diagnosis tool for superficial blood vessel diseases.

External Program Reviews (2012) | IDRC - International ...

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

2016-06-24

Jun 24, 2016 ... These final evaluations are our primary accountability mechanism in terms of the results, effectiveness, and relevance of program spending. External program reviews aim to: account to IDRC's Board of Governors for the implementation of the program prospectus; provide input into programming for learning ...

Attitudes of Academic Staff towards Their Own Work and towards External Evaluation, from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory: Estonian Case

Science.gov (United States)

Seema, Riin; Udam, Maiki; Mattisen, Heli

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the attitudes of academic staff towards their own work as well as towards external evaluations. The study was based on (1) an analysis of assessment reports of institutional accreditations conducted by the Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education and (2) self-determination theory on…

Motion-Base Simulator Evaluation of an Aircraft Using an External Vision System

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Arthur, J. J.; Rehfeld, Sherri A.; Harrison, Stephanie

2012-01-01

Twelve air transport-rated pilots participated as subjects in a motion-base simulation experiment to evaluate the use of eXternal Vision Systems (XVS) as enabling technologies for future supersonic aircraft without forward facing windows. Three head-up flight display concepts were evaluated -a monochromatic, collimated Head-up Display (HUD) and a color, non-collimated XVS display with a field-of-view (FOV) equal to and also, one significantly larger than the collimated HUD. Approach, landing, departure, and surface operations were conducted. Additionally, the apparent angle-of-attack (AOA) was varied (high/low) to investigate the vertical field-of-view display requirements and peripheral, side window visibility was experimentally varied. The data showed that lateral approach tracking performance and lateral landing position were excellent regardless of AOA, display FOV, display collimation or whether peripheral cues were present. However, the data showed glide slope approach tracking appears to be affected by display size (i.e., FOV) and collimation. The monochrome, collimated HUD and color, uncollimated XVS with Full FOV display had (statistically equivalent) glide path performance improvements over the XVS with HUD FOV display. Approach path performance results indicated that collimation may not be a requirement for an XVS display if the XVS display is large enough and employs color. Subjective assessments of mental workload and situation awareness also indicated that an uncollimated XVS display may be feasible. Motion cueing appears to have improved localizer tracking and touchdown sink rate across all displays.

A heuristic approach for the evaluation of Physical Protection System effectiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zou, Bowen; Yang, Ming; Guo, Jia; Benjamin, Emi-Reybold; Wu, Wenfei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A heuristic approach is applied for the evaluation of PPS effectiveness (HAPPS). • Import 2-D engineering drawings into the analysis application, identify the information contained in the model. Use the HAPPS method as search algorithm to seek the vulnerable adversary intrusion and escape path under certain conditions. • Redesign the PPS by the evaluation results. - Abstract: Physical Protection System (PPS) is essential for each nuclear power plant to safeguard its nuclear materials and nuclear facilities from theft, robbery, illegal transport and sabotage. This paper presents a novel method (HAPPS) combined with Estimate of Adversary Sequence Interruption (EASI) method and heuristic approach (Ant Colony Optimization, ACO) for analyzing and evaluating the PPS effectiveness of NPPs. Import 2-D engineering drawings into the analysis application, identify the information contained in the model, and use the HAPPS method as search algorithm to seek the vulnerable adversary intrusion and escape path under certain conditions. The results of PPS effectiveness analysis will provide a detailed technical feedback for redesigning PPS.

Redesigning a joint replacement program using Lean Six Sigma in a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Gayed, Benjamin; Black, Stephen; Daggy, Joanne; Munshi, Imtiaz A

2013-11-01

In April 2009, an analysis of joint replacement surgical procedures at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, revealed that total hip and knee replacements incurred $1.4 million in non-Veterans Affairs (VA) care costs with an average length of stay of 6.1 days during fiscal year 2008. The Joint Replacement Program system redesign project was initiated following the Vision-Analysis-Team-Aim-Map-Measure-Change-Sustain (VA-TAMMCS) model to increase efficiency, decrease length of stay, and reduce non-VA care costs. To determine the effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma process improvement methods applied in a VA hospital. Perioperative processes for patients undergoing total joint replacement were redesigned following the VA-TAMMCS model--the VA's official, branded method of Lean Six Sigma process improvement. A multidisciplinary team including the orthopedic surgeons, frontline staff, and executive management identified waste in the current processes and initiated changes to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Data collection included a 1-year baseline period and a 20-month sustainment period. The primary endpoint was length of stay; a secondary analysis considered non-VA care cost reductions. Length of stay decreased 36% overall, decreasing from 5.3 days during the preproject period to 3.4 days during the 20-month sustainment period (P Lean and Six Sigma process improvement initiatives in a surgical practice, producing a 36% sustained reduction in length of stay and completely eliminating non-VA care for total hip and knee replacements while increasing total joint replacement volume at this medical center.

10 CFR 72.94 - Design basis external man-induced events.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Design basis external man-induced events. 72.94 Section 72... WASTE Siting Evaluation Factors § 72.94 Design basis external man-induced events. (a) The region must be examined for both past and present man-made facilities and activities that might endanger the proposed...

Economic evaluation of externally fired gas turbine cycles for small-scale biomass cogeneration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anheden, Marie [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Technology

2001-01-01

In this conceptual study, externally fired gas turbine (EFGT) cycles in combination with a biomass-fueled, atmospheric circulating fluidized bed (CFB) furnace are investigated for small scale heat and power production ({approx} 8 MW fuel input). Three cycle configurations are considered: closed cycle, with nitrogen, helium, and a helium/carbon dioxide mixture as working fluids; open cycle operating in parallel to the CFB system; and open cycle with a series connection to the CFB system. Intercooling, postcooling, and recuperation are employed with the goal of maximizing efficiency. Aside from a thermodynamic performance analysis, the study includes an economic analysis of both the closed and open externally fired gas turbine configurations, and comparisons are made with existing and emerging alternatives for small-scale biomass cogeneration. Simulation results show that thermodynamic performance varies slightly between the different configurations and working fluids, with electrical efficiencies of 31-38% (LHV) and total efficiency of 85-106% (LHV). The economic evaluation shows that the turbomachinery and the CFB furnace dominate the total plant cost, with each contributing about 1/3 of the total installed equipment cost. The specific capital cost for installation in Sweden in 1998 currency is calculated as 26-31 kSEK/kW{sub e} which is equivalent to 3 200-3 900 USD/kW{sub e} or 2 700-3 300 EUR/kW{sub e} .The cost of electricity, COE, is estimated to 590-670 SEK/MWh{sub e} (equivalent to 73-84 USD/MWh{sub e} or 62-71 EUR/MWh{sub e}) for 4 000 full load hours per year in a cogeneration application. Comparing the economic results for the externally fired gas turbine cycles in a slightly larger scale (40-50 MW{sub f}) to the economics of conventional biomass fired steam turbine cycles shows that the cost of electricity for the two plant configurations are roughly the same with a COE of 300-350 SEK/MWh{sub e}. It is believed that the economic performance of the EFGT

Operationalizing Proneness to Externalizing Psychopathology as a Multivariate Psychophysiological Phenotype

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Lindsay D.; Patrick, Christopher J.; Bernat, Edward M.

2010-01-01

The externalizing dimension is viewed as a broad dispositional factor underlying risk for numerous disinhibitory disorders. Prior work has documented deficits in event-related brain potential (ERP) responses in individuals prone to externalizing problems. Here, we constructed a direct physiological index of externalizing vulnerability from three ERP indicators and evaluated its validity in relation to criterion measures in two distinct domains: psychometric and physiological. The index was derived from three ERP measures that covaried in their relations with externalizing proneness the error-related negativity and two variants of the P3. Scores on this ERP composite predicted psychometric criterion variables and accounted for externalizing-related variance in P3 response from a separate task. These findings illustrate how a diagnostic construct can be operationalized as a composite (multivariate) psychophysiological variable (phenotype). PMID:20573054

Redesign of the Attention Process of Patients with Rheumatologic Diseases: Assessing the Performance with Analytic Hierarchy Process

OpenAIRE

Gorbanev, Iouri; Cortes, Ariel; Agudelo-Londoño, Sandra

2017-01-01

Objective. To compare the Business process management and the analytic hierarchy process as the tools of process performance assessment. Instruments and Methods. Case study of the attention process of rheumatology patients. Business process management and analytic hierarchy process were applied to assess the redesign of the attention process. The two methods were compared. The data were obtained through personal observations, an interview with a Colombian health insurer’s senior executive, an...

External tank chill effect on the space transportation system launch pad environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, R. A.; Boraas, S.

1991-01-01

The external tank (ET) of the STS contains liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as oxidizer and fuel for the SSMEs. Once the cryogen have been loaded into the ET, the temperature of the air surrounding the STS is chilled by the cold outer surface of the ET. This paper describes a two-dimensional flow and thermal analysis to determine this chill effect on the STS launch pad environment subsequent to the ET loading operation. The analysis was done assuming winter conditions and a northwest wind direction. An existing CFD code, PHOENICS '81, was used in the study. The results are presented as local and average values of the heat transfer coefficient, the Nusselt number, and the surface temperature around the redesigned solid rocket motors (RSRMs) and the ET. The temperature depression caused by the ET chilling of the air in the vicinity of the RSRMs was calculated to be 3 F below the ambient. This compares with the observed 1-2 F RSRM surface temperature depression based upon measurements made prior to the winter flight of STS-29. Since the surface temperature would be expected to be slightly higher than the local air temperature, the predicted temperature depression of the air appears to be substantiated.

Integrating biological redesign: where synthetic biology came from and where it needs to go.

Science.gov (United States)

Way, Jeffrey C; Collins, James J; Keasling, Jay D; Silver, Pamela A

2014-03-27

Synthetic biology seeks to extend approaches from engineering and computation to redesign of biology, with goals such as generating new chemicals, improving human health, and addressing environmental issues. Early on, several guiding principles of synthetic biology were articulated, including design according to specification, separation of design from fabrication, use of standardized biological parts and organisms, and abstraction. We review the utility of these principles over the past decade in light of the field's accomplishments in building complex systems based on microbial transcription and metabolism and describe the progress in mammalian cell engineering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Redesign of a Grignard-Based Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Batch Synthesis to a Flow Process for the Preparation of Melitracen HCl

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Michael J.; Skovby, Tommy; Mealy, Michael J.

2018-01-01

A Grignard-based batch process, for the preparation of Melitracen HCl, has been redesigned to fit a continuous reactor system. The Grignard addition is carried out at room temperature, with subsequent hydrolysis of the magnesium alkoxide intermediate followed by dehydration of the resulting alcoh...

External-field shifts in precision spectroscopy of hydrogen molecular ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bakalov, Dimitar, E-mail: dbakalov@inrne.bas.bg [INRNE, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria); Korobov, Vladimir [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation); Schiller, Stephan [Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf, Institut fur Experimentalphysik (Germany)

2015-08-15

The Effective Hamiltonian of the hydrogen molecular ions is a convenient tool for the evaluation of the shift of the energy levels of the ro-vibrational states and the frequencies of the transitions between them, due to external electric and magnetic fields. Using the Effective Hamiltonian, composite frequencies of suppressed susceptibility to external fields are constructed.

Redesigning a Flexible Material Master Data Application with Language Dependency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela Muntean

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Based on some inconveniences identified within a material master data application of theSAP MM module, the current paper proposes an alternative technical solution for designing thepopup layout screen of the material master data application with respect to language dependency.The application should present the text of all tabs, areas and fields in the desired language based onthe user logon preferences. Also it has been implemented a possibility to sort the data in the desiredorder, so the customer isn’t forced, as before, to search for a certain field, when updating certainmaterials. The proposed solution suggests the use of five database tables, combined within threemaintenance views, which build a view cluster. The advantage of the redesigned application consistsof easier maintainability of the data (fields, areas and tabs can be easily added, deleted, reorderedand renamed and all the data within the view cluster can be translated into any language supportedby the system.

A conceptual redesign of an Inter-Building Fuel Transfer Cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klann, R.T.; Picker, B.A. Jr.

1993-01-01

The Inter-Building Fuel Transfer Cask, referred to as the IBC, is a lead shielded cask for transporting subassemblies between buildings on the Argonne National Laboratory-West site near Idaho Falls, Idaho. The cask transports both newly fabricated and spent reactor subassemblies between the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), the Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF) and the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF). The IBC will play a key role in the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel recycling demonstration project. This report discusses a conceptual redesign of the IBC which has been performed. The objective of the conceptual design was to increase the passive heat removal capabilities, reduce the personnel radiation exposure and incorporate enhanced safety features into the design. The heat transfer, radiation and thermal-hydraulic properties of the IBC were analytically modelled to determine the principal factors controlling the desip. The scoping studies that were performed determined the vital physical characteristics (i.e., size, shielding, pumps, etc.) of the MC conceptual design

Robust digital controllers for uncertain chaotic systems: A digital redesign approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ababneh, Mohammad [Department of Controls, FMC Kongsberg Subsea, FMC Energy Systems, Houston, TX 77067 (United States); Barajas-Ramirez, Juan-Gonzalo [CICESE, Depto. De Electronica y Telecomunicaciones, Ensenada, BC, 22860 (Mexico); Chen Guanrong [Centre for Chaos Control and Synchronization, Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong (China); Shieh, Leang S. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-4005 (United States)

2007-03-15

In this paper, a new and systematic method for designing robust digital controllers for uncertain nonlinear systems with structured uncertainties is presented. In the proposed method, a controller is designed in terms of the optimal linear model representation of the nominal system around each operating point of the trajectory, while the uncertainties are decomposed such that the uncertain nonlinear system can be rewritten as a set of local linear models with disturbed inputs. Applying conventional robust control techniques, continuous-time robust controllers are first designed to eliminate the effects of the uncertainties on the underlying system. Then, a robust digital controller is obtained as the result of a digital redesign of the designed continuous-time robust controller using the state-matching technique. The effectiveness of the proposed controller design method is illustrated through some numerical examples on complex nonlinear systems--chaotic systems.

A pilot study evaluating "Dojo", a videogame intervention for youths with externalizing and anxiety problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuurmans, A.T.; Nijhof, K.S.; Vermaes, I.P.R.; Engels, R.C.M.E.; Granic, I.

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Externalizing problems, which are the main reason for youth referrals to mental health agencies, are highly persistent and predict a range of negative outcomes. Youths with externalizing problems are also frequently comorbid with anxiety. Among the most widely recognized evidence-based

The Relationship Between Core Members' Social Capital and Perceived and Externally Evaluated Prestige and Cooperation Among HIV/AIDS-Related Civil Society Organizations in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Danni; Xu, Xiaoru; Mei, Guangliang; Ma, Ying; Chen, Ren; Qin, Xia; Hu, Zhi

2017-03-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the core members' social capital was associated with individually perceived and externally evaluated prestige and cooperation among the HIV/AIDS-related civil society organizations (CSOs). To accomplish this, a cross-sectional study using multistage sampling was carried out in eight provinces of China. Data were collected from the 327 core members via questionnaires and self-evaluated performance of the respondents were evaluated and measured. The interviews were conducted with all core members and the supervisory staff of the local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that social support (adjusted odds ratio [a OR] = 1.87) and organizational commitment (a OR = 1.57) were significantly associated with a higher odds of prestige performance in self-evaluation. Furthermore, social support (a OR = 1.65), trust (a OR = 1.33), and organizational commitment (a OR = 1.52) were significantly correlated with cooperation performance. Trust was positively associated with the cooperation performance on external evaluation. These findings may provide a new perspective on challenges that the CSOs face in response to a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in China. Social capital may increase performance and accelerate organizational growth, ultimately improving HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

Redesign of a Variable-Gain Output Feedback Longitudinal Controller Flown on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV)

Science.gov (United States)

Ostroff, Aaron J.

1998-01-01

This paper describes a redesigned longitudinal controller that flew on the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) during calendar years (CY) 1995 and 1996. Linear models are developed for both the modified controller and a baseline controller that was flown in CY 1994. The modified controller was developed with three gain sets for flight evaluation, and several linear analysis results are shown comparing the gain sets. A Neal-Smith flying qualities analysis shows that performance for the low- and medium-gain sets is near the level 1 boundary, depending upon the bandwidth assumed, whereas the high-gain set indicates a sensitivity problem. A newly developed high-alpha Bode envelope criterion indicates that the control system gains may be slightly high, even for the low-gain set. A large motion-base simulator in the United Kingdom was used to evaluate the various controllers. Desired performance, which appeared to be satisfactory for flight, was generally met with both the low- and medium-gain sets. Both the high-gain set and the baseline controller were very sensitive, and it was easy to generate pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) in some of the target-tracking maneuvers. Flight target-tracking results varied from level 1 to level 3 and from no sensitivity to PIO. These results were related to pilot technique and whether actuator rate saturation was encountered.

EVALUATION OF THERMAL INSULATION FOR THREE DIFFERENT MATERIALS USED IN CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLETION OF EXTERNAL WALLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcio Carlos Navroski

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Summers increasingly hot are bringing large thermal problems within homes and businesses, leading to increased demand for installation of air conditioners and the consequent high energy consumption. Constructions with thermal insulation on its external walls thatcould reduce energy use or even supply the use of such equipment. Due to these factors the present study was to evaluate the insulation in three boxes built with different materials, one made of wooden boards with plain walls, and two built with plywood, wall insulation andinterior walls filled with rice husk and Styrofoam®. The boxes were built after placed in drying oven at 40 °C, then noted the temperature inside the same interval every five minutes using a digital thermometer. The box with inner Styrofoam® showed the lowest variation among the three evaluated, followed by the box of rice husk. These two materials also showed good thermal initial, unlike the box built only with wood, which showed a large interiorheating, lay in a drying oven.

On-Boarding a New Chief Nursing Officer to Lead a Magnet Redesignation Visit: The Value of Relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantu, Kathy; Batcheller, Joyce A

2016-01-01

The chief nursing officer (CNO) is a critical senior executive in a hospital and serves as the architect of patient care. Recruiting, hiring, and on-boarding a new CNO present a challenge for any facility. Stakes are higher when the facility is replacing a CNO in the midst of its Magnet redesignation. How does a facility ensure success under these circumstances? This case study demonstrates how one organization was successful in meeting this challenge.

[Results of femoral lengthening over an intramedullary nail and external fixator].

Science.gov (United States)

Jasiewicz, Barbara; Kacki, Wojciech; Tesiorowski, Maciej; Potaczek, Tomasz

2008-01-01

Current techniques of operative limb lengthening usually are based on distraction osteogenesis. One of the techniques is limb lengthening over an intramedullary nail. The goal of this study is to evaluate the results of femoral lengthening over an intramedullary nail. Between 1999 and 200619 femoral "over nail" lengthenings were performed. There were 7 males and 12 females. Mean patients' age at surgery was 15.8 years, and mean initial femoral shortening was 5.1 cm. Operative technique consisted of one-stage implantation of intramedullary nail and external fixator. Ilizarov apparatus was used in 9 patients, monolateral fixator in 10 cases--ORTHOFIX in 9 patients, Wagner fixator--in 1 patient. Intramedullary nail was locked proximally with screws or Schanz pins from external fixator. After distraction phase, external fixator was removed and distal locking screws were applied. Evaluation criteria: obtained lengthening, time of external fixator, treatment time, healing index, external fixation index, range of motion in hip and knee joints and complications according to Paley. The mean lengthening was 4.6 cm, and mean distraction time was 66.6 days. Mean time of external fixation was 115.5 days, and external fixation index was 26.2 days for centimeter. Healing index was 36.9 days for centimeter. In cases with monolateral fixator, healing index did not differ with the whole group. During treatment 18 complications occurred, for a rate of 0.9 complication per segment. Lengthening over an intramedullary nail reduces the time of external fixator. Over nail femoral lengthening can prevent axis deviation following regenerate bending. Complication rate is similar to lengthenings with the classic Ilizarov technique. There are no differences in the treatment time in relation to the type of external fixator.

Ergonomic Redesign of an Industrial Control Panel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Raeisi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Operator's role in industrial control centers takes place in time, which is one of the most important determinants of whether an expected action is going to be successful or not. In certain situations, due to the complex nature of the work, the existing interfaces and already prepared procedures do not meet the dynamic requirements of operator's cognitive demands, making the control tasks unnecessarily difficult. This study was conducted to identify ergonomic issues with a specific industrial control panel, and redesign its layout and elements to enhance its usability. Task and link analysis methodologies were implemented. All essential functions and supporting operations were identified at the required trivial levels. Next, the weight of any possible link between the elements of the panel was computed as a composite index of frequency and importance. Finally, all components were rearranged within a new layout, and a computerized mockup was generated. A total of 8 primary tasks was identified, including 4 system failure handling tasks, switching between manual and automated modes, and 3 types of routine vigilance and control tasks. These tasks were broken down into 28 functions and 145 supporting operations, accordingly. Higher link values were observed between hand rest position and 2 elements. Also, 6 other components showed robust linkages. In conclusion, computer modeling can reduce the likelihood of accidents and near misses in industrial control rooms by considering the operators' misperception or mental burden and correcting poor design of the panels and inappropriate task allocation.

Cupryphans, metal-binding, redox-active, redesigned conopeptides.

Science.gov (United States)

Barba, Marco; Sobolev, Anatoli P; Romeo, Cristina; Schininà, M Eugenia; Pietraforte, Donatella; Mannina, Luisa; Musci, Giovanni; Polticelli, Fabio

2009-03-01

Contryphans are bioactive peptides, isolated from the venom of marine snails of the genus Conus, which are characterized by the short length of the polypeptide chain and the high degree of unusual post-translational modifications. The cyclization of the polypeptide chain through a single disulphide bond, the presence of two conserved Pro residues, and the epimerization of a Trp/Leu residue confer to Contryphans a stable and well-defined structure in solution, conserved in all members of the family, and tolerant to multiple substitutions. The potential of Contryphans as scaffolds for the design of redox-active (macro)molecules was tested by engineering a copper-binding site on two different variants of the natural peptide Contryphan-Vn. The binding site was designed by computational modeling, and the redesigned peptides were synthesized and characterized by optical, fluorescence, electron spin resonance, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The novel peptides, named Cupryphan and Arg-Cupryphan, bind Cu(2+) ions with a 1:1 stoichiometry and a K(d) in the 100 nM range. Other divalent metals (e.g., Zn(2+) and Mg(2+)) are bound with much lower affinity. In addition, Cupryphans catalyze the dismutation of superoxide anions with an activity comparable to other nonpeptidic superoxide dismutase mimics. We conclude that the Contryphan motif represents a natural robust scaffold which can be engineered to perform different functions, providing additional means for the design of catalytically active mini metalloproteins.

Impact of external events on site evaluation: a probabilistic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaccarino, E.; Giuliani, P.; Zaffiro, C.

1975-01-01

A probabilistic method is proposed for definition of the reference external events of nuclear sites. The external events taken into account are earthquakes, floods and tornadoes. On the basis of the available historical data for each event it is possible to perform statistical analyses to determine the probability of occurrence on site of events of given characteristics. For earthquakes, the method of analysis takes into consideration both the annual frequency of seismic events in Italy and the probabilistic distribution of areas stricken by each event. For floods, the methods of analysis of hydrological data and the basic criteria for the determination of design events are discussed and the general lines of the hydraulic analysis of a nuclear site are shown. For tornadoes, the statistical analysis has been performed for the events which occurred in Italy during the last 40 years; these events have been classified according to an empirical intensity scale. The probability of each reference event should be a function of the potential radiological damage associated with the particular type of plant which must be installed on the site. Thus the reference event could be chosen such that for the whole of the national territory the risk for safety and environmental protection is the same. (author)

Internalising external costs of electricity and heat production in a municipal energy system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmgren, Kristina; Amiri, Shahnaz

2007-01-01

Both energy supply and waste treatment give rise to negative effects on the environment, so-called external effects. In this study, monetary values on external costs collected from the EU's ExternE project are used to evaluate inclusion of these costs in comparison with an energy utility perspective including present policy instruments. The studied object is a municipal district heating system with a waste incineration plant as the base supplier of heat. The evaluation concerns fuels used for heat production and total electricity production, for scenarios with external costs included and for a scenario using the present policy instrument. Impacts of assumptions on marginal power producers (coal or natural gas power plants) are investigated, since locally produced electricity is assumed to replace marginal power and thus is credited for the avoided burden. Varying levels of external costs for carbon dioxide emissions are analysed. The method used is an economic optimisation model, MODEST. The conclusion is that present policy instruments are strong incentives for cogeneration, even when external costs are included. Waste is fully utilised in all scenarios. In cases where coal is the marginal power producer, more electricity is produced; when natural gas is the marginal power producer, less is produced. There are several uncertainties in the data for external costs, both methodological and ethical. In the ExternE data, not all environmental impacts are included. For waste incineration, ashes are not included, and another difficulty is how to treat the avoided burden of other waste treatment methods

Sign Redesign: Applying Design Principles to Improve Signage in an Academic Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila Kasperek

2014-05-01

Full Text Available When the Mansfield University library’s Special Events and Customer Service Committee created a communications plan for the library, the opportunity presented itself to overhaul the library signs. Applying basic design principles of contrast, alignment, and repetition along with standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act, the library improved the visual communications within the library. Patrons can now read signs from a distance and understand their purpose. Using common design elements, the library began presenting official library information more cohesively. Extending beyond signs, these design principles are now part of the library’s print publications and promotional items. With this consistency, the library brand is more easily recognizable both within the library and across campus. This article describes some basic elements of design and the process of redesigning the signs.

The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS Study: Protocol of a natural experiment to investigate the impact of citywide park redesign and renovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry T. K. Huang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The built environment plays a critical role in promoting physical activity and health. The association between parks, as a key attribute of the built environment, and physical activity, however, remains inconclusive. This project leverages a natural experiment opportunity to assess the impact of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI, a citywide park redesign and renovation effort in New York City, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing. Methods The project will use a longitudinal design with matched controls. Thirty intervention park neighborhoods are socio-demographically matched to 20 control park neighborhoods. The study will investigate whether improvements in physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing are observed from baseline to 3 years post-renovation among residents in intervention vs. control neighborhoods. Discussion This study represents a rare opportunity to provide robust evidence to further our understanding of the complex relationship between parks and health. Findings will inform future investments in health-oriented urban design policies and offer evidence for addressing health disparities through built environment strategies.

Re-designing the Mozambique vaccine supply chain to improve access to vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Bruce Y; Haidari, Leila A; Prosser, Wendy; Connor, Diana L; Bechtel, Ruth; Dipuve, Amelia; Kassim, Hidayat; Khanlawia, Balbina; Brown, Shawn T

2016-09-22

Populations and routine childhood vaccine regimens have changed substantially since supply chains were designed in the 1980s, and introducing new vaccines during the "Decade of Vaccine" may exacerbate existing bottlenecks, further inhibiting the flow of all vaccines. Working with the Mozambique Ministry of Health, our team implemented a new process that integrated HERMES computational simulation modeling and on-the-ground implementers to evaluate and improve the Mozambique vaccine supply chain using a system-re-design that integrated new supply chain structures, information technology, equipment, personnel, and policies. The alternative system design raised vaccine availability (from 66% to 93% in Gaza; from 76% to 84% in Cabo Delgado) and reduced the logistics cost per dose administered (from $0.53 to $0.32 in Gaza; from $0.38 to $0.24 in Cabo Delgado) as compared to the multi-tiered system under the current EPI. The alternative system also produced higher availability at lower costs after new vaccine introductions. Since reviewing scenarios modeling deliveries every two months in the north of Gaza, the provincial directorate has decided to pilot this approach diverging from decades of policies dictating monthly deliveries. Re-design improved not only supply chain efficacy but also efficiency, important since resources to deliver vaccines are limited. The Mozambique experience and process can serve as a model for other countries during the Decade of Vaccines. For the Decade of Vaccines, getting vaccines at affordable prices to the market is not enough. Vaccines must reach the population to be successful. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Redesign, construction and characterization of the new neutron radiography facility of the RA-6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marin, J.; Sanchez, F.A.; Blaumann, H.

2012-01-01

Neutron radiography is a non-destructive test in which it is registered an image of the attenuation experienced by a collimated neutron beam while it passes through a sample. The image is generated by using a neutron-sensitive screen. The applications of this technique are wide, some of them include: services to industries, study of explosives, study of pieces belonging to cultural heritage and studies of the distribution of hydrogen. The actual neutron radiography facility is placed in the RA-6 reactor at the Centro Atomico Bariloche. Due to the reactor's nucleus change and the subsequent power raise, it has been necessary to redesign the facility. During the last year the pieces that constitute it had been designed and built. In April 2012 the facility has been mounted. The system employed is of on-line neutron radiographies. The maximum area of study is of 20 cm x 20 cm. The images obtained are registered by a CCD camera, whose maximum resolution is of 2776 x 2074 pixels and 65536 gray levels. In this work the initial steps towards characterization of the facility are presented, these include neutron fluxes and dose rates levels determinations. Also, in order to evaluate the functionality, images of several objects have been taken, as the one shown in Fig. 7. The results obtained reveal the good performance of the facility and its wide potential (author)

The RCSB Protein Data Bank: redesigned web site and web services.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Peter W; Beran, Bojan; Bi, Chunxiao; Bluhm, Wolfgang F; Dimitropoulos, Dimitris; Goodsell, David S; Prlic, Andreas; Quesada, Martha; Quinn, Gregory B; Westbrook, John D; Young, Jasmine; Yukich, Benjamin; Zardecki, Christine; Berman, Helen M; Bourne, Philip E

2011-01-01

The RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB) web site (http://www.pdb.org) has been redesigned to increase usability and to cater to a larger and more diverse user base. This article describes key enhancements and new features that fall into the following categories: (i) query and analysis tools for chemical structure searching, query refinement, tabulation and export of query results; (ii) web site customization and new structure alerts; (iii) pair-wise and representative protein structure alignments; (iv) visualization of large assemblies; (v) integration of structural data with the open access literature and binding affinity data; and (vi) web services and web widgets to facilitate integration of PDB data and tools with other resources. These improvements enable a range of new possibilities to analyze and understand structure data. The next generation of the RCSB PDB web site, as described here, provides a rich resource for research and education.

Dynamic ultrasound of the external snapping hip syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Yun Sun; Song, Baek Yong; Paik, Sang Hyun; Lee, Tae Gyu; Yoon, Yong Kyu; Lee, Sung Moon

2002-01-01

Snapping hip syndrome has been described as a hip pain accompanied by an audible snapping during motion of the hip or while walking. The variable causes of its external, internal, and intra-articular origins have been described. The most common extemal snapping hip has been associated with a thickened posterior border of the iliotibial band or of the anterior border of the gluteus maximus muscle slipping over the greater trochanter. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamic ultrasound findings of external snapping hip syndrome with review of the literature. We studied 5 patients (7 cases) with external snapping hip and pain over the greater trochanter during walking or hip motion (3 males and 2 females, age range, 14-32 years; mean, 19 years). Two patients reported bilateral snapping hips.

Rigid external maxillary distraction and rhinoplasty for pyknodysostosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Varol, Altan; Sabuncuoglu, Fidan Alakus; Sencimen, Metin; Akcam, Timur; Olmez, Hüseyin; Basa, Selçuk

2011-05-01

This article reports the treatment of an 33-year-old female patient with pyknodysostosis by rigid external distraction II midface distraction system. The patient with pyknodysostosis described in this report had severe midfacial hypoplasia. Correction of this by use of routine orthognathic surgery would require osteosynthesis and bone grafting. Risk of infection and/or nonunion after such a surgical procedure was considered too great, and therefore the possibility of treatment by distraction osteogenesis of the maxilla was evaluated. The rigid external distraction II midface distraction system was used to relocate the hypoplastic maxilla at anterior-inferior projection. Distraction osteogenesis should be considered as the primary reconstructive method for maxillofacial deformities in patients with sclerosing bone dysplasias, since this is the second reported case treated successfully with rigid external distraction.

Environmental externalities: Applying the concept to Asian coal-based power generation. [Includes external environmental and societal costs and methods of evaluating them

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Szpunar, C.B.; Gillette, J.L.

1993-03-01

This report examines the concept of environmental externality. It discusses various factors -- the atmospheric transformations, relationship of point-source emissions to ambient air quality, dose-response relationships, applicable cause-and-effect principles, and risk and valuation research -- that are considered by a number of state utilities when they apply the environmental externality concept to energy resource planning. It describes a methodology developed by Argonne National Laboratory for general use in resource planning, in combination with traditional methods that consider the cost of electricity production. Finally, it shows how the methodology can be applied in Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan to potential coal-fired power plant projects that will make use of clean coal technologies.

Dental hygiene student experiences in external placements in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Jane A; Hayes, Melanie J; Wallace, Linda

2012-05-01

While placements in external locations are being increasingly used in dental education globally, few studies have explored the student learning experience at such placements. The purpose of this study was to investigate student experiences while on external placement in a baccalaureate dental hygiene program. A self-reporting questionnaire was distributed to final-year dental hygiene students (n=77) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, in 2010. The questionnaire included questions regarding the type of placement, experiences offered, supervision, resources available, and lasting impressions. Responding students were generally positive about their external placement experience and indicated that the majority of facilities provided them with the opportunity to provide direct patient care and perform clinical tasks typical of a practicing hygienist. However, there was a statistically significant difference in their opinions about discipline-focused and community placements. Students indicated that their external placement experience provided opportunities to learn more about time and patient management, including hands-on experience with specific clinical tasks. Ongoing evaluations are necessary to ensure that external placements meet both student needs and intended learning outcomes within dental hygiene programs.

Amnioinfusion to facilitate external cephalic version after initial failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Adama van Scheltema, P N; Feitsma, A H; Middeldorp, J M; Vandenbussche, F P H A; Oepkes, D

2006-09-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of antepartum transabdominal amnioinfusion to facilitate external cephalic version after initial failure. Women with a structurally normal fetus in breech lie at term, with a failed external cephalic version and an amniotic fluid index (AFI) less than 15 cm, were asked to participate in our study. After tocolysis with indomethacin, a transabdominal amnioinfusion was performed with an 18G spinal needle. Lactated Ringers solution was infused until the AFI reached 15 cm, with a maximum of 1 L. External cephalic version was performed directly afterward. Seven women participated in the study. The gestational age of the women was between 36(+4) and 38(+3) weeks, and three women were primiparous. The AFI ranged from 4 cm to 13 cm. A median amount of 1,000 mL Ringers solution (range 700-1,000 mL) was infused per procedure. The repeat external cephalic versions after amnioinfusion were not successful in any of the patients. In our experience, amnioinfusion does not facilitate external cephalic version.

The ECE Pre-Service Teachers' Perception on Factors Affecting the Integration of Educational Computer Games in Two Conditions: Selecting versus Redesigning

Science.gov (United States)

Sancar Tokmak, Hatice; Ozgelen, Sinan

2013-01-01

This case study aimed to examine early childhood education (ECE) pre-service teachers' perception on the factors affecting integration of educational computer games to their instruction in two areas: selecting and redesigning. Twenty-six ECE pre-service teachers participated in the study. The data was collected through open-ended questionnaires,…

Morphometric evaluation of external root resorption of mandibular second molar teeth adjacent to the impacted third molars in CBCT imaging of Tehran\\'s population between 2011-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Ezoddini Ardakani

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Presence of external root resorption in second molars associated with impacted mandibular third molars was not rare. The neglect of this issue may leads to penetration of the pulp and loss of the second molars. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors affecting the external root resorption in second molars associated with mandibular impacted third molars were inclined mesially and horizontally by Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT images. Methods: In this cross sectional study the samples consisted of 231 scans with mesially and horizontally impacted mandibular third molars. Incidence of external root resorption of second molars and the effects of age, gender and clinical parameters such as location and intensity of external root resorption were considered. Moreover, depth and inclination of impacted mandibular third molar were evaluated by CBCT. The data were analyzed by Chi-square test. Results: The overall incidence of external root resorption in the second molars was 22.08%. Incidence of external root resorption in second molars was significantly related to gender and inclination of third molar. The relations between external root resorption and impaction depth of third molar or the patient's age was not statistically significant. However, the relationship between external root resorption and the intensity or depth of impacted third molar and location of root resorption was statistically meaningful. Conclusion: Patient’s gender and horizontal inclination of third molars are the most important factors affecting the presence of external root resorption in the second molars associated with mesially and horizontally impacted mandibular third molars.

Comparison of genomic-enhanced EPD systems using an external phenotypic database

Science.gov (United States)

The American Angus Association (AAA) is currently evaluating two methods to incorporate genomic information into their genetic evaluation program: 1) multi-trait incorporation of an externally produced molecular breeding value as an indicator trait (MT) and 2) single-step evaluation with an unweight...

Redesigning NASA Earthdata to Become Powered by EOSDIS Components

Science.gov (United States)

Bagwell, R.; Siarto, J.; Wong, M. M.; Murphy, K. J.; McLaughlin, B. D.

2014-12-01

Two years ago, NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Systems (ESDIS) Project launched the Earthdata website (https://earthdata.nasa.gov) in order to make Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data, data products, data tools, and services available to a broad range of user communities across Earth science disciplines to foster collaboration and learning amongst the communities. Earthdata is being redesigned to be the one-stop shop in providing Earth science data, services, and information to the Earth science community. The goal is to move from the current static, manually-intensive content format to a dynamic, data-driven website in order to provide a more flexible and usable design website infrastructure that leverages EOSDIS components such as the User Registration System (URS), the Common Metadata Repository (CMR) and the Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS). This will reorganize information content to make the website easier to use and to make easily accessible the high-value Earth science content throughout the site. The website will also easily accept and incorporate upcoming new projects such as the Earthdata Search Client and the Sea Level Change Portal.

Process evaluation to explore internal and external validity of the "Act in Case of Depression" care program in nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Leontjevas, Ruslan; Gerritsen, Debby L; Koopmans, Raymond T C M; Smalbrugge, Martin; Vernooij-Dassen, Myrra J F J

2012-06-01

A multidisciplinary, evidence-based care program to improve the management of depression in nursing home residents was implemented and tested using a stepped-wedge design in 23 nursing homes (NHs): "Act in case of Depression" (AiD). Before effect analyses, to evaluate AiD process data on sampling quality (recruitment and randomization, reach) and intervention quality (relevance and feasibility, extent to which AiD was performed), which can be used for understanding internal and external validity. In this article, a model is presented that divides process evaluation data into first- and second-order process data. Qualitative and quantitative data based on personal files of residents, interviews of nursing home professionals, and a research database were analyzed according to the following process evaluation components: sampling quality and intervention quality. Nursing home. The pattern of residents' informed consent rates differed for dementia special care units and somatic units during the study. The nursing home staff was satisfied with the AiD program and reported that the program was feasible and relevant. With the exception of the first screening step (nursing staff members using a short observer-based depression scale), AiD components were not performed fully by NH staff as prescribed in the AiD protocol. Although NH staff found the program relevant and feasible and was satisfied with the program content, individual AiD components may have different feasibility. The results on sampling quality implied that statistical analyses of AiD effectiveness should account for the type of unit, whereas the findings on intervention quality implied that, next to the type of unit, analyses should account for the extent to which individual AiD program components were performed. In general, our first-order process data evaluation confirmed internal and external validity of the AiD trial, and this evaluation enabled further statistical fine tuning. The importance of

Evaluate Yourself. Evaluation: Research-Based Decision Making Series, Number 9304.

Science.gov (United States)

Fetterman, David M.

This document considers both self-examination and external evaluation of gifted and talented education programs. Principles of the self-examination process are offered, noting similarities to external evaluation models. Principles of self-evaluation efforts include the importance of maintaining a nonjudgmental orientation, soliciting views from…

External costs of nuclear-generated electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotaru, I.; Glodeanu, F.; Popescu, D.; Andrei, V.

2004-01-01

in market prices, such as security of supply, cost stability and broad economic impacts on employment and balance of trade. If such externalities would be internalized, the effect would be positive for nuclear energy in Romania. In conclusion, like other energy sources, nuclear energy has risks and benefits that need to be fully recognized and assessed to evaluate its external costs. Both internalized (direct) costs and externalities vary from country to country, and from technology to technology. For fossil fuels and biomass, external costs may be of the same order of magnitude as direct cost. Nuclear electricity, solar photovoltaic and wind power have external costs at least one order of magnitude lower than the direct cost. Beyond the competitive generation costs of existing nuclear power plants in most markets, benefits of nuclear power, that are not reflected currently in prices, include: security of supply, cost stability and the quasi absence of atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases, other pollutant gases and particulates. The capital and operating costs of nuclear power plants and fuel cycle facilities already internalize a major portion of the potential external costs, and these are reflected in the prices paid by consumers of nuclear-generated electricity. The internalization of external costs for all electricity generating technologies will help nuclear energy to be more competitive. (authors)

Myxoid intraneural cysts of external popliteal ischiadic nerve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masciocchi, Carlo; Innacoli, Michele; Cisternino, Salvatore; Barile, Antonio; Rossi, Folco; Passariello, Roberto.

1992-01-01

Peripheral neuropathy of the external popliteal ischiadic nerve caused by intraneural cysts is a very rare and peculiar pathological phenomenon compared with diseases associated with extraneural cysts or colliquative phenomena of solid nervous lesions. Two cases of peripheral neuropathy of the external poplitheal ischiadic nerve caused by intra-neural cysts and evaluated with ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance are described. The diagnostic efficacy of these imaging modalities is also evaluated with particular reference to MR capability to define the morphology of such lesions and their relation-ships to the surrounding structures. It is not yet possible to obtain a correct diagnosis about histopathologic features by means of the imaging techniques currently available. Nevertheless, they provide information about the involvement of the neighboring areas, which are useful indications for possible surgical treatment of the disease. (author). 9 refs.; 2 figs

Evaluation of the learning curve for external cephalic version using cumulative sum analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, So Yun; Han, Jung Yeol; Chang, Eun Hye; Kwak, Dong Wook; Ahn, Hyun Kyung; Ryu, Hyun Mi; Kim, Moon Young

2017-07-01

We evaluated the learning curve for external cephalic version (ECV) using learning curve-cumulative sum (LC-CUSUM) analysis. This was a retrospective study involving 290 consecutive cases between October 2013 and March 2017. We evaluated the learning curve for ECV on nulli and over para 1 group using LC-CUSUM analysis on the assumption that 50% and 70% of ECV procedures succeeded by description a trend-line of quadratic function with reliable R 2 values. The overall success rate for ECV was 64.8% (188/290), while the success rate for nullipara and over para 1 groups was 56.2% (100/178) and 78.6% (88/112), respectively. 'H' value, that the actual failure rate does not differ from the acceptable failure rate, was -3.27 and -1.635 when considering ECV success rates of 50% and 70%, respectively. Consequently, in order to obtain a consistent 50% success rate, we would require 57 nullipara cases, and in order to obtain a consistent 70% success rate, we would require 130 nullipara cases. In contrast, 8 to 10 over para 1 cases would be required for an expected success rate of 50% and 70% on over para 1 group. Even a relatively inexperienced physician can experience success with multipara and after accumulating experience, they will manage nullipara cases. Further research is required for LC-CUSUM involving several practitioners instead of a single practitioner. This will lead to the gradual implementation of standard learning curve guidelines for ECV.

Redesigning models of patient care delivery and organisation: building collegial generosity in response to workplace challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarella, E Mary

2007-04-01

This case study describes the New South Wales Nursing and Midwifery Office (NaMO) Models of Care Project, a project designed to identify, encourage and disseminate innovations in nursing care organisation and delivery. The project is a 4-year action research project, using a range of interactive engagements including workshops, seminars, questionnaires and websites to achieve the goals. This case study briefly describes the main stimuli for review and redesign of models of care identified through analysis of the clinicians' presentations, and explores the range of responses to the workplace challenges.

Self and External Monitoring of Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Shiu, Ling-po; Chen, Qishan

2013-01-01

The present study compared the effectiveness of 2 approaches to remedy the inaccuracy of self-monitoring of reading comprehension. The first approach attempts to enhance self-monitoring by strengthening the cues utilized in monitoring. The second approach replaces self-monitoring with external regulation based on objective evaluative information.…

Gravity versus manual external rotation stress view in evaluating ankle stability: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

LeBa, Thu-Ba; Gugala, Zbigniew; Morris, Randal P; Panchbhavi, Vinod K

2015-06-01

The purpose of this prospective study was to determine whether gravity versus manual external rotation stress testing effectively detects widening of the medial clear space in isolated ankle fractures when compared with the uninjured contralateral side. Manual external rotation stress and gravity stress tests were performed on injured and uninjured ankles of ankle fracture patients in a clinic setting. Medial clear space measurements were recorded and differences between gravity and manual stress views were determined. Twenty consecutive patients with ankle injury were enrolled in the study. When compared with the uninjured side, gravity stress views showed a statistically significant (P = .017) increase in medial clear space widening (1.85 ± 1.07 mm) compared with manual stress view widening (1.35 ± 1.04 mm). This study suggests that gravity stress views are as effective as manual external rotation stress views in detecting medial clear space widening in isolated fibular fractures. Diagnostic, Level II: Prospective, comparative trial. © 2014 The Author(s).

Sliding Mode Controller and Lyapunov Redesign Controller to Improve Microgrid Stability:A Comparative Analysis with CPL Power Variation

OpenAIRE

Hossain, Eklas; Perez, Ron; Padmanaban, Sanjeevikumar; Mihet-Popa, Lucian; Blaabjerg, Frede; Ramachandaramurthy, Vigna K.

2017-01-01

To mitigate the microgrid instability despite the presence of dense Constant Power Load (CPL) loads in the system, a number of compensation techniques have already been gone through extensive research, proposed, and implemented around the world. In this paper, a storage based load side compensation technique is used to enhance stability of microgrids. Besides adopting this technique here, Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and Lyapunov Redesign Controller (LRC), two of the most prominent nonlinear...

REDESIGN OF CERNS QUADRUPOLE RESONATOR FOR TESTING OF SUPERCONDUCTING SAMPLES

CERN Document Server

Del Pozo Romano, Veronica

2017-01-01

The quadrupole resonator (QPR) was constructed in 1997 to measure the surface resistance of niobium samples at 400 MHz, the technology and RF frequency chosen for the LHC. It allows measurement of the RF properties of superconducting films deposited on disk-shaped metallic substrates. The samples are used to study different coatings which is much faster than the coating, stripping and re-coating of sample cavities. An electromagnetic and mechanical re-design of the existing QPR has been done with the goal of doubling the magnetic peak fields on the samples. Electromagnetic simulations were carried out on a completely parametrized model, using the existings QPR as baseline and modifying its dimensions. The aim was to optimize the measurement range and resolution by increasing the ratio between the magnetic peak fields on the sample and in the cavity. Increasing the average magnetic field on the sample leads to a more homogenous field distribution over the sample. Some of the modifications were based on t...

Ontologies and Formation Spaces for Conceptual ReDesign of Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Bíla

2005-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses ontologies, methods for developing them and languages for representing them. A special ontology for computational support of the Conceptual ReDesign Process (CRDP is introduced with a simple illustrative example of an application. The ontology denoted as Global context (GLB combines features of general semantic networks and features of UML language. The ontology is task-oriented and domain-oriented, and contains three basic strata – GLBExpl(stratum of Explanation, GLBFAct (stratum of Fields of Activities and GLBEnv (stratum of Environment, with their sub-strata. The ontology has been developed to represent functions of systems and their components in CRDP. The main difference between this ontology and ontologies which have been developed to identify functions (the semantic details in those ontologies must be as deep as possible is in the style of the description of the functions. In the proposed ontology, Formation Spaces were used as lower semantic categories the semantic deepness of which is variable and depends on the actual solution approach of a specialised Conceptual Designer.

Biofuel production system with operation flexibility: Evaluation of economic and environmental performance under external disturbance

Science.gov (United States)

Kou, Nannan

grain) into a single primary product (ethanol). The traditional lower efficient (i.e. lower ethanol yield per bushel of corn and higher capital cost) wet-mill plant has a more diverse and adjustable product portfolio i.e. corn syrup, starch, and ethanol. The fact that only the dry-mill corn ethanol plants have bankrupted while the wet-mill corn ethanol plants have survived the late 2000s economy recession suggests that the higher conversion efficiency achieved by the dry-mill production mode has jeopardized operational flexibility, a design operational feature I agree that is indispensable for the biofuel plant's long term profit and viability. Based on the analysis of corn ethanol production, operational flexibility has been proposed as a key strategy for the next generation biofuel plants to improve its lifetime economic performance, as well as to enhance its survivability under external disturbances. This strategy requires the biofuel plant to adopt a flexible feedstock management, making it possible to utilize alternative types of biomass feedstock when the primary feedstock supply is disturbed. Biofuel plants also need to produce a wider range of final products that could meet the preference variation that either comes from the energy market or from the subsidy policy. Aspen Plus model based numerical simulations have been carried out for a thermochemical ethanol plant and a Fischer Tropsch plant (both are assumed to be located in southwest Indiana) to test this strategy under the external disturbances of extreme weather impact, different energy price projections and various subsidy policy combinations. For the thermochemical ethanol plant, effects of extreme weather conditions are mainly evaluated. It has been shown that this strategy could effectively increase the net present value of the biofuel plant and significantly decrease the GHG emission comparing with the traditional single-feedstock strategy, when the extreme weather conditions are considered. It has

[External cephalic version].

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro-Santana, B; Duarez-Coronado, M; Plaza-Arranz, J

2016-08-01

To analyze the rate of successful external cephalic versions in our center and caesarean sections that would be avoided with the use of external cephalic versions. From January 2012 to March 2016 external cephalic versions carried out at our center, which were a total of 52. We collected data about female age, gestational age at the time of the external cephalic version, maternal body mass index (BMI), fetal variety and situation, fetal weight, parity, location of the placenta, amniotic fluid index (ILA), tocolysis, analgesia, and newborn weight at birth, minor adverse effects (dizziness, hypotension and maternal pain) and major adverse effects (tachycardia, bradycardia, decelerations and emergency cesarean section). 45% of the versions were unsuccessful and 55% were successful. The percentage of successful vaginal delivery in versions was 84% (4% were instrumental) and 15% of caesarean sections. With respect to the variables studied, only significant differences in birth weight were found; suggesting that birth weight it is related to the outcome of external cephalic version. Probably we did not find significant differences due to the number of patients studied. For women with breech presentation, we recommend external cephalic version before the expectant management or performing a cesarean section. The external cephalic version increases the proportion of fetuses in cephalic presentation and also decreases the rate of caesarean sections.

Biotype assessment and evaluation as a method to quantify the external costs related to surface brown coal mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabrna, M.; Peleska, O.

2009-01-01

Externalities express the uncompensated effects of human individuals on each other and on nature. Externalities include costs and benefits which impact human individuals and environment and are not included in the costs and benefits of their creators and are often defined as the differences between social costs or revenues from economic activity and private costs or revenues. Surface brown coal mining can be characterized by a large range of adverse environmental effects. In order to compensate for the environmental damage caused by mining activities in the Czech Republic, various environmental fees paid by mining companies were introduced to the Czech legislation. The Hessian method of quantifying impacts on the environment is an expert methods that is appropriate for the evaluating environmental damage caused by large-scale impacts on landscape. This paper described the methodology of the Hessian method and its application to a selected opencast mine in north-western Bohemia called the Vrsany-Sverma mine. The paper also discussed current environmental charges in the Czech Republic. It was concluded that the calculated amount of environmental damage caused by surface mining balances the amount of environmental fees currently paid by mining companies. 4 refs., 1 tab.

Redesigned front end for the upgrade at CHESS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Headrick, R.L.; Smolenski, K.W.

1996-01-01

We will report on beamline front-end upgrades for the 24-pole wiggler beamlines at CHESS. A new design for primary x-ray beamstops based on a tapered, water-cooled copper block has been implemented and installed in the CHESS F beamline. The design uses a horizontally tapered open-quote open-quote V close-quote close-quote shape to reduce the power density on the internal surfaces and internal water channels in the block to provide efficient water cooling. Upstream of the beam stops, we have installed a new photoelectron style beam position monitor with separate monitoring of the wiggler and dipole vertical beam positions and with micron-level sensitivity. The monitor close-quote s internal surfaces are designed to absorb the full x-ray power in case of beam missteering, and the uncooled photoelectron collecting plates are not visible to the x-ray beam. A graphite prefilter has been installed to protect the beryllium windows that separate the front end from the x-ray optics downstream. The redesigned front end is required by the upgrade of the Cornell storage ring, now in progress, which will allow stored electron and positron currents of 300 mA by 1996, and 500 mA by 1998. At 500 mA, the wiggler power output will be over 32 kW. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Redesigning Health Care Practices to Address Childhood Poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Fierman, Arthur H; Beck, Andrew F; Chung, Esther K; Tschudy, Megan M; Coker, Tumaini R; Mistry, Kamila B; Siegel, Benjamin; Chamberlain, Lisa J; Conroy, Kathleen; Federico, Steven G; Flanagan, Patricia J; Garg, Arvin; Gitterman, Benjamin A; Grace, Aimee M; Gross, Rachel S; Hole, Michael K; Klass, Perri; Kraft, Colleen; Kuo, Alice; Lewis, Gena; Lobach, Katherine S; Long, Dayna; Ma, Christine T; Messito, Mary; Navsaria, Dipesh; Northrip, Kimberley R; Osman, Cynthia; Sadof, Matthew D; Schickedanz, Adam B; Cox, Joanne

2016-04-01

Child poverty in the United States is widespread and has serious negative effects on the health and well-being of children throughout their life course. Child health providers are considering ways to redesign their practices in order to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on children and support the efforts of families to lift themselves out of poverty. To do so, practices need to adopt effective methods to identify poverty-related social determinants of health and provide effective interventions to address them. Identification of needs can be accomplished with a variety of established screening tools. Interventions may include resource directories, best maintained in collaboration with local/regional public health, community, and/or professional organizations; programs embedded in the practice (eg, Reach Out and Read, Healthy Steps for Young Children, Medical-Legal Partnership, Health Leads); and collaboration with home visiting programs. Changes to health care financing are needed to support the delivery of these enhanced services, and active advocacy by child health providers continues to be important in effecting change. We highlight the ongoing work of the Health Care Delivery Subcommittee of the Academic Pediatric Association Task Force on Child Poverty in defining the ways in which child health care practice can be adapted to improve the approach to addressing child poverty. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. All rights reserved.

External Costs Associated with Electricity Generation in Lithuania: Impact of Ignalina NPP Closure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streimikiene, D.

2000-01-01

Sustainability and development have been founded on continuing growth in energy demand and distribution, and management of natural resources through proper allocation and efficiency. It is clear that the use of energy in all its forms and applications provides an enormous benefit to society. However, it is also associated with numerous environmental and social challenges, such as, e.g., the health effects of air pollution. These burdens are referred to as external costs, as they have not been included in the market price of energy. The purpose of externalities research is to quantify damages in order to allow rational decisions to be made that weigh the benefits of actions to reduce externalities against the costs of doing so. Ultimately, market failure could be reduced by internalization of the external costs during energy planning. The paper deals with the problems of external costs associated with electricity generation in Lithuania and evaluates the environmental impact related to increased atmospheric pollution when the first unit at Ignalina NPP will be closed in 2005. Simplified methodology for the evaluation of external costs based on Impact Pathway Approach developed by International Atomic Energy Agency was applied. Achieved results indicate that due to the increased atmospheric pollution the external costs associated with electricity generation in the case of the first unit closure at Ignalina NPP would amount to 130 million USD. (author)

Redesigning a large school-based clinical trial in response to changes in community practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerald, Lynn B; Gerald, Joe K; McClure, Leslie A; Harrington, Kathy; Erwin, Sue; Bailey, William C

2011-06-01

Asthma exacerbations are seasonal with the greatest risk in elementary-age students occurring shortly after returning to school following summer break. Recent research suggests that this seasonality in children is primarily related to viral respiratory tract infections. Regular hand washing is the most effective method to prevent the spread of viral respiratory infections; unfortunately, achieving hand washing recommendations in schools is difficult. Therefore, we designed a study to evaluate the effect of hand sanitizer use in elementary schools on exacerbations among children with asthma. To describe the process of redesigning the trial in response to changes in the safety profile of the hand sanitizer as well as changes in hand hygiene practice in the schools. The original trial was a randomized, longitudinal, subject-blinded, placebo-controlled, community-based crossover trial. The primary aim was to evaluate the incremental effectiveness of hand sanitizer use in addition to usual hand hygiene practices to decrease asthma exacerbations in elementary-age children. Three events occurred that required major modifications to the original study protocol: (1) safety concerns arose regarding the hand sanitizer's active ingredient; (2) no substitute placebo hand sanitizer was available; and (3) community preferences changed regarding hand hygiene practices in the schools. The revised protocol is a randomized, longitudinal, community-based crossover trial. The primary aim is to evaluate the incremental effectiveness of a two-step hand hygiene process (hand hygiene education plus institutionally provided alcohol-based hand sanitizer) versus usual care to decrease asthma exacerbations. Enrollment was completed in May 2009 with 527 students from 30 schools. The intervention began in August 2009 and will continue through May 2011. Study results should be available at the end of 2011. The changed design does not allow us to directly measure the effectiveness of hand

Evaluation of the use of digital images for a national prostate core external quality assurance scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Harnden, Patricia; Coleman, Derek; Moss, Sue; Kodikara, Sandhya; Griffin, Nick R; Melia, Jane

2011-10-01

To evaluate the use of virtual images as an alternative to glass slides to expand the number of participants in the External Quality Assurance Scheme for prostatic biopsies. Benign and neoplastic cases, previously circulated as glass slides, were selected to include cases that had demonstrated a high level of agreement (n = 10) and a lesser degree of agreement (n = 10). Whole slide virtual images were circulated to 68 pathologists; 51 responses were returned. The levels of agreement for the primary diagnosis and for Gleason grading of cancers were analysed using kappa statistics. Responses for glass slides versus images were compared for the 24 pathologists for whom data were available. Levels of agreement for diagnostic categories using virtual slides were moderate to substantial, comparable to those found using glass slides. The level of agreement for Gleason grades 8-10 was substantial, but for lower grades was fair or moderate, poorer than for the glass slide circulation. Circulation of virtual images of biopsy material is a suitable alternative to glass slide-based schemes for the evaluation of diagnostic consistency. The majority of participants agreed that the ability to evaluate limited diagnostic material outweighed the disadvantages of a virtual system. 2011 Blackwell Publishing Limited.

The management of external marketing communication instruments in health care services.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobocea, L; Spiridon, St; Petrescu, L; Gheorghe, C M; Purcarea, V L

2016-01-01

In order to become known and attract consumers, a health care organization has to develop suitable external communication campaigns. Consequently, management instruments are employed to effectively evaluate the success of a campaign. The BCG Matrix, SWOT analysis and the Gantt Diagram were used in this paper to ensure the consistency and accuracy of the external communication process at an empirical level.

Wind seismic noise introduced by external infrastructure: field data and transfer mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Martysevich, Pavel; Starovoyt, Yuri

2017-04-01

Background seismic noise generated by wind was analyzed at six co-located seismic and infrasound arrays with the use of the wind speed data. The main factors affecting the noise level were identified as (a) external structures as antenna towers for intrasite communication, vegetation and heavy solar panels fixtures, (b) borehole casing and (c) local lithology. The wind-induced seismic noise peaks in the spectra can be predicted by combination of inverted pendulum model for antenna towers and structures used to support solar panels, free- or clamped-tube resonance of the borehole casing and is dependent on the type of sedimentary upper layer. Observed resonance frequencies are in agreement with calculated clamped / free tube modes for towers and borehole casings. Improvement of the seismic data quality can be achieved by minimizing the impact of surrounding structures close to seismic boreholes. The need and the advantage of the borehole installation may vanish and appear to be even not necessary at locations with non-consolidated sediments because the impact of surrounding structures on seismic background may significantly deteriorate the installation quality and therefore the detection capability of the array. Several IMS arrays where the radio telemetry antennas are used for data delivery to the central site may benefit from the redesign of the intrasite communication system by its substitute with the fiber-optic net as less harmful engineering solution.

External Costs Related to Power Production Technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibsen, Liselotte Schleisner; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

1997-01-01

of the Danish part of the project is to implement the framework for externality evaluation, for three different power plants located in Denmark. The paper will focus on the assessment of the impacts of the whole fuel cycles for wind, natural gas and biogas. Priority areas for environmental impact assessment...

Redesigning care for chronic conditions: improving hospital-based ambulatory care for people with osteoarthritis of the hip and knee.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, C A; Amatya, B; Gordon, B; Tosti, T; Gorelik, A

2010-06-01

Osteoarthritis of the hip and knee is a highly prevalent chronic condition in Australia that commonly affects older people who have other comorbidities. We report the pilot implementation of a new chronic disease management osteoarthritis service, which was multidisciplinary, evidence-based, supported patient self-management and care coordination. A musculoskeletal coordinator role was pivotal to service redesign and osteoarthritis pathway implementation. Impact evaluation included: service utilization, patient and general practitioner service experience, a 'before and after' audit of clinician adherence to recommendations, and 3- and 6-month patient health outcomes (pain, physical function, patient and physician global health (Visual Analogue Scale), disability (Multi-Attribute Prioritisation Tool), Partners in Health Scale and body mass index). A total of 123 patients, median age of 66 years, were assessed. Documentation of osteoarthritis assessment and management improved for all parameters. At 3 months there were improvements in self-reported pain (P preferences for therapy. The cost implications for implementation were low. The osteoarthritis service model is feasible to implement, is well received by patients and staff, and provides a template for translation into other settings.

External radiation surveillance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)