WorldWideScience

Sample records for minimum internal control

  1. 77 FR 43196 - Minimum Internal Control Standards and Technical Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-24

    ... NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION 25 CFR Parts 543 and 547 Minimum Internal Control Standards [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part 543 addresses minimum internal control standards (MICS) for Class II gaming operations. The regulations require tribes to establish controls and implement...

  2. 25 CFR 542.7 - What are the minimum internal control standards for bingo?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal control standards for bingo... SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.7 What are the minimum internal control standards for... utilized, alternate documentation and/or procedures that provide at least the level of control described by...

  3. 25 CFR 542.14 - What are the minimum internal control standards for the cage?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal control standards for the... SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.14 What are the minimum internal control standards for... and/or procedures that provide at least the level of control described by the standards in this...

  4. 25 CFR 542.8 - What are the minimum internal control standards for pull tabs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal control standards for pull... SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.8 What are the minimum internal control standards for... and/or procedures that provide at least the level of control described by the standards in this...

  5. 25 CFR 542.11 - What are the minimum internal control standards for pari-mutuel wagering?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal control standards for pari... INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.11 What are the minimum internal control... documentation and/or procedures that provide at least the level of control described by the standards in this...

  6. 25 CFR 542.17 - What are the minimum internal control standards for complimentary services or items?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal control standards for... THE INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.17 What are the minimum internal control standards for complimentary services or items? (a) Each Tribal gaming regulatory authority or...

  7. 25 CFR 542.4 - How do these regulations affect minimum internal control standards established in a Tribal-State...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How do these regulations affect minimum internal control... COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS § 542.4 How do these regulations affect minimum internal control standards established in a Tribal-State compact? (a) If there is a...

  8. 76 FR 53817 - Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Indian Gaming Commission 25 CFR Parts 542 and 543 Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming AGENCY: National Indian Gaming Commission, Interior. ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date and request for comments. SUMMARY: The National Indian Gaming...

  9. 77 FR 60625 - Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Indian Gaming Commission 25 CFR Parts 542 and 543 RIN 3141-AA-37 Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming AGENCY: National Indian Gaming Commission. ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date; suspension. SUMMARY: The National Indian Gaming Commission...

  10. 75 FR 55269 - Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Indian Gaming Commission 25 CFR Parts 542 and 543 RIN 3141-AA-37 Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming AGENCY: National Indian Gaming Commission. ACTION: Delay of effective date of final rule; request for comments. SUMMARY: The National Indian Gaming...

  11. 25 CFR 543.16 - What are the minimum internal controls for information technology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... controls for information technology? (a) Physical security measures restricting access to agents, including... longer required. (2) In the event of remote access, the information technology employees must prepare a... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the minimum internal controls for information...

  12. Minimum quality standards and international trade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baltzer, Kenneth Thomas

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of a non-discriminating minimum quality standard (MQS) on trade and welfare when the market is characterized by imperfect competition and asymmetric information. A simple partial equilibrium model of an international Cournot duopoly is presented in which a domes...... prefer different levels of regulation. As a result, international trade disputes are likely to arise even when regulation is non-discriminating....

  13. Minimum energy control and optimal-satisfactory control of Boolean control network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Fangfei; Lu, Xiwen

    2013-01-01

    In the literatures, to transfer the Boolean control network from the initial state to the desired state, the expenditure of energy has been rarely considered. Motivated by this, this Letter investigates the minimum energy control and optimal-satisfactory control of Boolean control network. Based on the semi-tensor product of matrices and Floyd's algorithm, minimum energy, constrained minimum energy and optimal-satisfactory control design for Boolean control network are given respectively. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the efficiency of the obtained results.

  14. Observer-based attitude controller for lifting re-entry vehicle with non-minimum phase property

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenming Nie

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This article concentrates on the attitude control problem for the lifting re-entry vehicle with non-minimum phase property. A novel attitude control method is proposed for this kind of lifting re-entry vehicle without assuming the internal dynamics to be measurable. First, an internal dynamics extended state observer is developed to deal with the unmeasurable problem of the internal dynamics. And then, the control scheme which adopts output feedback method is proposed by modifying the traditional output redefinition technique with internal dynamics extended state observer. This control scheme only requires the system output to be measurable, and it can still stabilize the unstable internal dynamics and track attitude commands. Besides, because of the inherent property of extended state observer in rejecting uncertainties and disturbances, the control precision of the proposed controller is higher than the controller designed with traditional output redefinition technique. Finally, the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed attitude controller are demonstrated by the simulation results.

  15. Risk control and the minimum significant risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seiler, F.A.; Alvarez, J.L.

    1996-01-01

    Risk management implies that the risk manager can, by his actions, exercise at least a modicum of control over the risk in question. In the terminology of control theory, a management action is a control signal imposed as feedback on the system to bring about a desired change in the state of the system. In the terminology of risk management, an action is taken to bring a predicted risk to lower values. Even if it is assumed that the management action taken is 100% effective and that the projected risk reduction is infinitely well known, there is a lower limit to the desired effects that can be achieved. It is based on the fact that all risks, such as the incidence of cancer, exhibit a degree of variability due to a number of extraneous factors such as age at exposure, sex, location, and some lifestyle parameters such as smoking or the consumption of alcohol. If the control signal is much smaller than the variability of the risk, the signal is lost in the noise and control is lost. This defines a minimum controllable risk based on the variability of the risk over the population considered. This quantity is the counterpart of the minimum significant risk which is defined by the uncertainties of the risk model. Both the minimum controllable risk and the minimum significant risk are evaluated for radiation carcinogenesis and are shown to be of the same order of magnitude. For a realistic management action, the assumptions of perfectly effective action and perfect model prediction made above have to be dropped, resulting in an effective minimum controllable risk which is determined by both risk limits. Any action below that effective limit is futile, but it is also unethical due to the ethical requirement of doing more good than harm. Finally, some implications of the effective minimum controllable risk on the use of the ALARA principle and on the evaluation of remedial action goals are presented

  16. 49 CFR 192.476 - Internal corrosion control: Design and construction of transmission line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal corrosion control: Design and... STANDARDS Requirements for Corrosion Control § 192.476 Internal corrosion control: Design and construction... the risk of internal corrosion. At a minimum, unless it is impracticable or unnecessary to do so, each...

  17. Control Techtronics International

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    West, J.

    1995-12-31

    Polish graded coal can be burned in existing stoker boilers and meet the 1998 Air Quality standard. This is accomplished with the Control Techtronics microprocessor-based combustion controller accurately and repeatedly: (a) matching the combustion air to the coal firing rate, with continuous stack sensor feedback; (b) continuously varying the boiler`s firing rate based on output water temperature or steam pressure; (c) continuously varying the exhaust fan`s speed to maintain minimum negative pressure in the boiler`s combustion chamber; and recirculating a portion of the flue gas, at varying amounts throughout the boiler`s firing rate. Systems for five boilers have been installed and are operating on MPEC`s Balicka plant in Krakow. Control Techtronics International has $10 million of U.S. Export-Import Bank funds available for similar projects throughout Poland.

  18. Output Feedback Adaptive Control of Non-Minimum Phase Systems Using Optimal Control Modification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Nhan; Hashemi, Kelley E.; Yucelen, Tansel; Arabi, Ehsan

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes output feedback adaptive control approaches for non-minimum phase SISO systems with relative degree 1 and non-strictly positive real (SPR) MIMO systems with uniform relative degree 1 using the optimal control modification method. It is well-known that the standard model-reference adaptive control (MRAC) cannot be used to control non-SPR plants to track an ideal SPR reference model. Due to the ideal property of asymptotic tracking, MRAC attempts an unstable pole-zero cancellation which results in unbounded signals for non-minimum phase SISO systems. The optimal control modification can be used to prevent the unstable pole-zero cancellation which results in a stable adaptation of non-minimum phase SISO systems. However, the tracking performance using this approach could suffer if the unstable zero is located far away from the imaginary axis. The tracking performance can be recovered by using an observer-based output feedback adaptive control approach which uses a Luenberger observer design to estimate the state information of the plant. Instead of explicitly specifying an ideal SPR reference model, the reference model is established from the linear quadratic optimal control to account for the non-minimum phase behavior of the plant. With this non-minimum phase reference model, the observer-based output feedback adaptive control can maintain stability as well as tracking performance. However, in the presence of the mismatch between the SPR reference model and the non-minimum phase plant, the standard MRAC results in unbounded signals, whereas a stable adaptation can be achieved with the optimal control modification. An application of output feedback adaptive control for a flexible wing aircraft illustrates the approaches.

  19. Minimum critical power ratio control device for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurosawa, Tsuneo.

    1991-01-01

    Reactor core flowrate is determined by comparing a minimum critical power ratio calculated based on the status amount of a nuclear power plant and a control value for the minimum critical power ratio that depends on the reactor core flowrate. Further, the minimum critical power ratio and a control value for the minimum critical power ratio that depends on the reactor thermal power are compared to set a reactor thermal power converted to a reactor core flowrate. Deviation between the thus determined reactor core flowrate and the present reactor core flowrate is calculated. When the obtained deviation is lower than a rated value, a reactor core flowrate set signal is generated to a reactor flowrate control means, to control the reactor power by a recycling flowrate control system of the reactor. On the other hand, when the deviation exceeds the determined value, the reactor core flowrate set signal is converted into a reactor thermal power, to control the position of control rods and control the reactor power. Then, monitor and control can be conducted safely and automatically without depending on operator's individual ability over the entire operation range corresponding to load following operation. (N.H.)

  20. Application of Minimum-time Optimal Control System in Buck-Boost Bi-linear Converters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. M. M. Shariatmadar

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the theory of minimum-time optimal control system in buck-boost bi-linear converters is described, so that output voltage regulation is carried out within minimum time. For this purpose, the Pontryagin's Minimum Principle is applied to find optimal switching level applying minimum-time optimal control rules. The results revealed that by utilizing an optimal switching level instead of classical switching patterns, output voltage regulation will be carried out within minimum time. However, transient energy index of increased overvoltage significantly reduces in order to attain minimum time optimal control in reduced output load. The laboratory results were used in order to verify numerical simulations.

  1. Minimum throttling feedwater control in VVER-1000 and PWR NPPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Symkin, B.E.; Thaulez, F.

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents an approach for the design and implementation of advanced digital control systems that use a minimum-throttling algorithm for the feedwater control. The minimum-throttling algorithm for the feedwater control, i.e. for the control of steam generators level and of the feedwater pumps speed, is applicable for NPPs with variable speed feedwater pumps. It operates in such a way that the feedwater control valve in the most loaded loop is wide open, steam generator level in this loop being controlled by the feedwater pumps speed, while the feedwater control valves in the other loops are slightly throttling under the action of their control system, to accommodate the slight loop imbalances. This has the advantage of minimizing the valve pressure losses hence minimizing the feedwater pumps power consumption and increasing the net MWe. The benefit has been evaluated for specific plants as being roughly 0.7 and 2.4 MW. The minimum throttling mode has the further advantages of lowering the actuator efforts with potential positive impact in actuator life and of minimizing the feedwater pipelines vibrations. The minimum throttling mode of operation has been developed by the Ukrainian company LvivORGRES. It has been applied with great deal of success on several VVER-1000 NPPs, six units of Zaporizhzha in Ukraine plus, with participation of Westinghouse, Kozloduy 5 and 6 in Bulgaria and South Ukraine 1 to 3 in Ukraine. The concept operates with both ON-OFF valves and true control valves. A study, jointly conducted by Westinghouse and LvivORGRES, is ongoing to demonstrate the applicability of the concept to PWRs having variable speed feedwater pumps and having, or installing, digital feedwater control, standalone or as part of a global digital control system. The implementation of the algorithm at VVER-1000 plants provided both safety improvement and direct commercial benefits. The minimum-throttling algorithm will similarly increase the performance of PWRs. The

  2. Minimum data set to measure rehabilitation needs and health outcome after major trauma: application of an international framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Karen P; Playford, Diane E; Grill, Eva; Soberg, Helene L; Brohi, Karim

    2016-06-01

    Measurement of long term health outcome after trauma remains non-standardized and ambiguous which limits national and international comparison of burden of injuries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the application of the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) to measure rehabilitation and health outcome worldwide. No previous poly-trauma studies have applied the ICF comprehensively to evaluate outcome after injury. To apply the ICF categorization in patients with traumatic injuries to identify a minimum data set of important rehabilitation and health outcomes to enable national and international comparison of outcome data. A mixed methods design of patient interviews and an on-line survey. An ethnically diverse urban major trauma center in London. Adult patients with major traumatic injuries (poly-trauma) and international health care professionals (HCPs) working in acute and post-acute major trauma settings. Mixed methods investigated patients and health care professionals (HCPs) perspectives of important rehabilitation and health outcomes. Qualitative patient data and quantitative HCP data were linked to ICF categories. Combined data were refined to identify a minimum data set of important rehabilitation and health outcome categories. Transcribed patient interview data (N.=32) were linked to 234 (64%) second level ICF categories. Two hundred and fourteen HCPs identified 121 from a possible 140 second level ICF categories (86%) as relevant and important. Patients and HCPs strongly agreed on ICF body structures and body functions categories which include temperament, energy and drive, memory, emotions, pain and repair function of the skin. Conversely, patients prioritised domestic tasks, recreation and work compared to HCP priorities of self-care and mobility. Twenty six environmental factors were identified. Patient and HCP data were refined to recommend a 109 possible ICF categories for a minimum data set. The

  3. Minimum scale controlled topology optimization and experimental test of a micro thermal actuator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heo, S.; Yoon, Gil Ho; Kim, Y.Y.

    2008-01-01

    This paper is concerned with the optimal topology design, fabrication and test of a micro thermal actuator. Because the minimum scale was controlled during the design optimization process, the production yield rate of the actuator was improved considerably; alternatively, the optimization design ...... tested. The test showed that control over the minimum length scale in the design process greatly improves the yield rate and reduces the performance deviation....... without scale control resulted in a very low yield rate. Using the minimum scale controlling topology design method developed earlier by the authors, micro thermal actuators were designed and fabricated through a MEMS process. Moreover, both their performance and production yield were experimentally...

  4. A proposed minimum data set for international primary care optometry: a modified Delphi study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davey, Christopher J; Slade, Sarah V; Shickle, Darren

    2017-07-01

    To identify a minimum list of metrics of international relevance to public health, research and service development which can be extracted from practice management systems and electronic patient records in primary optometric practice. A two stage modified Delphi technique was used. Stage 1 categorised metrics that may be recorded as being part of a primary eye examination by their importance to research using the results from a previous survey of 40 vision science and public health academics. Delphi stage 2 then gauged the opinion of a panel of seven vision science academics and achieved consensus on contentious metrics and methods of grading/classification. A consensus regarding inclusion and response categories was achieved for nearly all metrics. A recommendation was made of 53 metrics which would be appropriate in a minimum data set. This minimum data set should be easily integrated into clinical practice yet allow vital data to be collected internationally from primary care optometry. It should not be mistaken for a clinical guideline and should not add workload to the optometrist. A pilot study incorporating an additional Delphi stage prior to implementation is advisable to refine some response categories. © 2017 The Authors. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of College of Optometrists.

  5. An International Standard for specifying the minimum potency of anti-D blood-grouping reagents: evaluation of a candidate preparation in an international collaborative study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thorpe, S. J.; Fox, B.; Heath, A. B.; Scott, M.; de Haas, M.; Kochman, S.; Padilla, A.

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate a lyophilized monoclonal immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-D preparation for use as an International Standard to specify a recommended minimum acceptable potency of anti-D blood-grouping reagents. The candidate International Standard (99/836) for specifying the

  6. Predicting Minimum Control Speed on the Ground (VMCG) and Minimum Control Airspeed (VMCA) of Engine Inoperative Flight Using Aerodynamic Database and Propulsion Database Generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadder, Eric Michael

    There are many computer aided engineering tools and software used by aerospace engineers to design and predict specific parameters of an airplane. These tools help a design engineer predict and calculate such parameters such as lift, drag, pitching moment, takeoff range, maximum takeoff weight, maximum flight range and much more. However, there are very limited ways to predict and calculate the minimum control speeds of an airplane in engine inoperative flight. There are simple solutions, as well as complicated solutions, yet there is neither standard technique nor consistency throughout the aerospace industry. To further complicate this subject, airplane designers have the option of using an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS), which directly alters the minimum control speeds of an airplane. This work addresses this issue with a tool used to predict and calculate the Minimum Control Speed on the Ground (VMCG) as well as the Minimum Control Airspeed (VMCA) of any existing or design-stage airplane. With simple line art of an airplane, a program called VORLAX is used to generate an aerodynamic database used to calculate the stability derivatives of an airplane. Using another program called Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS), a propulsion database is generated to use with the aerodynamic database to calculate both VMCG and VMCA. This tool was tested using two airplanes, the Airbus A320 and the Lockheed Martin C130J-30 Super Hercules. The A320 does not use an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS), whereas the C130J-30 does use an ATCS. The tool was able to properly calculate and match known values of VMCG and VMCA for both of the airplanes. The fact that this tool was able to calculate the known values of VMCG and VMCA for both airplanes means that this tool would be able to predict the VMCG and VMCA of an airplane in the preliminary stages of design. This would allow design engineers the ability to use an Automatic Thrust Control System (ATCS) as part

  7. Design of intelligent comfort control system with human learning and minimum power control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, J.; Du, R.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the design of an intelligent comfort control system by combining the human learning and minimum power control strategies for the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. In the system, the predicted mean vote (PMV) is adopted as the control objective to improve indoor comfort level by considering six comfort related variables, whilst a direct neural network controller is designed to overcome the nonlinear feature of the PMV calculation for better performance. To achieve the highest comfort level for the specific user, a human learning strategy is designed to tune the user's comfort zone, and then, a VAV and minimum power control strategy is proposed to minimize the energy consumption further. In order to validate the system design, a series of computer simulations are performed based on a derived HVAC and thermal space model. The simulation results confirm the design of the intelligent comfort control system. In comparison to the conventional temperature controller, this system can provide a higher comfort level and better system performance, so it has great potential for HVAC applications in the future

  8. Feedback brake distribution control for minimum pitch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavernini, Davide; Velenis, Efstathios; Longo, Stefano

    2017-06-01

    The distribution of brake forces between front and rear axles of a vehicle is typically specified such that the same level of brake force coefficient is imposed at both front and rear wheels. This condition is known as 'ideal' distribution and it is required to deliver the maximum vehicle deceleration and minimum braking distance. For subcritical braking conditions, the deceleration demand may be delivered by different distributions between front and rear braking forces. In this research we show how to obtain the optimal distribution which minimises the pitch angle of a vehicle and hence enhances driver subjective feel during braking. A vehicle model including suspension geometry features is adopted. The problem of the minimum pitch brake distribution for a varying deceleration level demand is solved by means of a model predictive control (MPC) technique. To address the problem of the undesirable pitch rebound caused by a full-stop of the vehicle, a second controller is designed and implemented independently from the braking distribution in use. An extended Kalman filter is designed for state estimation and implemented in a high fidelity environment together with the MPC strategy. The proposed solution is compared with the reference 'ideal' distribution as well as another previous feed-forward solution.

  9. The Selection, Use, and Reporting of Control Variables in International Business Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Bo Bernhard; Raswant, Arpit

    2018-01-01

    This study explores the selection, use, and reporting of control variables in studies published in the leading international business (IB) research journals. We review a sample of 246 empirical studies published in the top five IB journals over the period 2012–2015 with particular emphasis...... on selection, use, and reporting of controls. Approximately 83% of studies included only half of what we consider Minimum Standard of Practice with regards to controls, whereas only 38% of the studies met the 75% threshold. We provide recommendations on how to effectively identify, use and report controls...

  10. Robustification and Optimization in Repetitive Control For Minimum Phase and Non-Minimum Phase Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasitmeeboon, Pitcha

    repetitive control FIR compensator. The aim is to reduce the final error level by using real time frequency response model updates to successively increase the cutoff frequency, each time creating the improved model needed to produce convergence zero error up to the higher cutoff. Non-minimum phase systems present a difficult design challenge to the sister field of Iterative Learning Control. The third topic investigates to what extent the same challenges appear in RC. One challenge is that the intrinsic non-minimum phase zero mapped from continuous time is close to the pole of repetitive controller at +1 creating behavior similar to pole-zero cancellation. The near pole-zero cancellation causes slow learning at DC and low frequencies. The Min-Max cost function over the learning rate is presented. The Min-Max can be reformulated as a Quadratically Constrained Linear Programming problem. This approach is shown to be an RC design approach that addresses the main challenge of non-minimum phase systems to have a reasonable learning rate at DC. Although it was illustrated that using the Min-Max objective improves learning at DC and low frequencies compared to other designs, the method requires model accuracy at high frequencies. In the real world, models usually have error at high frequencies. The fourth topic addresses how one can merge the quadratic penalty to the Min-Max cost function to increase robustness at high frequencies. The topic also considers limiting the Min-Max optimization to some frequencies interval and applying an FIR zero-phase low-pass filter to cutoff the learning for frequencies above that interval.

  11. Quality control of brachytherapy equipment in the Netherlands and Belgium: current practice and minimum requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elfrink, Robert J.M.; Kolkman-Deurloo, Inger-Karine K.; Kleffens, Herman J. van; Rijnders, Alex; Schaeken, Bob; Aalbers, Tony H.L.; Dries, Wim J.F.; Venselaar, Jack L.M.

    2002-01-01

    Background and purpose: Brachytherapy is applied in 39 radiotherapy institutions in The Netherlands and Belgium. Each institution has its own quality control (QC) programme to ensure safe and accurate dose delivery to the patient. The main goal of this work is to gain insight into the current practice of QC of brachytherapy in The Netherlands and Belgium and to reduce possible variations in test frequencies and tolerances by formulating a set of minimum QC-requirements. Materials and methods: An extensive questionnaire about QC of brachytherapy was distributed to and completed by the 39 radiotherapy institutions. A separate smaller questionnaire was sent to nine institutions performing intracoronary brachytherapy. The questions were related to safety systems, physical irradiation parameters and total time spent on QC. The results of the questionnaires were compared with recommendations given in international brachytherapy QC reports. Results: The answers to the questionnaires showed large variations in test frequencies and test methods. Furthermore, large variations in time spent on QC exist, which is mainly due to differences in QC-philosophy and differences in the available resources. Conclusions: Based on the results of the questionnaires and the comparison with the international recommendations, a set of minimum requirements for QC of brachytherapy has been formulated. These guidelines will be implemented in the radiotherapy institutions in The Netherlands and Belgium

  12. Hypnosis control based on the minimum concentration of anesthetic drug for maintaining appropriate hypnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furutani, Eiko; Nishigaki, Yuki; Kanda, Chiaki; Takeda, Toshihiro; Shirakami, Gotaro

    2013-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel hypnosis control method using Auditory Evoked Potential Index (aepEX) as a hypnosis index. In order to avoid side effects of an anesthetic drug, it is desirable to reduce the amount of an anesthetic drug during surgery. For this purpose many studies of hypnosis control systems have been done. Most of them use Bispectral Index (BIS), another hypnosis index, but it has problems of dependence on anesthetic drugs and nonsmooth change near some particular values. On the other hand, aepEX has an ability of clear distinction between patient consciousness and unconsciousness and independence of anesthetic drugs. The control method proposed in this paper consists of two elements: estimating the minimum effect-site concentration for maintaining appropriate hypnosis and adjusting infusion rate of an anesthetic drug, propofol, using model predictive control. The minimum effect-site concentration is estimated utilizing the property of aepEX pharmacodynamics. The infusion rate of propofol is adjusted so that effect-site concentration of propofol may be kept near and always above the minimum effect-site concentration. Simulation results of hypnosis control using the proposed method show that the minimum concentration can be estimated appropriately and that the proposed control method can maintain hypnosis adequately and reduce the total infusion amount of propofol.

  13. Internal Control: Peran Dan Perkembangannya

    OpenAIRE

    Murtin, Alek

    2000-01-01

    Perhatian terhadap pentingnya internal control dalam organisasi berjalan dari waktu ke waktu untuk meningkatkan fungsi internal control yang disesuaikan dengan perkembangan lingkungan organisasi, dimulai dengan adanya internal check, kemudian internal control system, internal control structure dan terakhir adalah internal control-integrated framework. Internal control system sempat berkembang beberapa tahun di Indonesia yang selanjutnya digantikan oleh internal control structure yang digunaka...

  14. The Control Based on Internal Average Kinetic Energy in Complex Environment for Multi-robot System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Mao; Tian, Yantao; Yin, Xianghua

    In this paper, reference trajectory is designed according to minimum energy consumed for multi-robot system, which nonlinear programming and cubic spline interpolation are adopted. The control strategy is composed of two levels, which lower-level is simple PD control and the upper-level is based on the internal average kinetic energy for multi-robot system in the complex environment with velocity damping. Simulation tests verify the effectiveness of this control strategy.

  15. Output Power Control of Wind Turbine Generator by Pitch Angle Control using Minimum Variance Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senjyu, Tomonobu; Sakamoto, Ryosei; Urasaki, Naomitsu; Higa, Hiroki; Uezato, Katsumi; Funabashi, Toshihisa

    In recent years, there have been problems such as exhaustion of fossil fuels, e. g., coal and oil, and environmental pollution resulting from consumption. Effective utilization of renewable energies such as wind energy is expected instead of the fossil fuel. Wind energy is not constant and windmill output is proportional to the cube of wind speed, which cause the generated power of wind turbine generators (WTGs) to fluctuate. In order to reduce fluctuating components, there is a method to control pitch angle of blades of the windmill. In this paper, output power leveling of wind turbine generator by pitch angle control using an adaptive control is proposed. A self-tuning regulator is used in adaptive control. The control input is determined by the minimum variance control. It is possible to compensate control input to alleviate generating power fluctuation with using proposed controller. The simulation results with using actual detailed model for wind power system show effectiveness of the proposed controller.

  16. The Preventive Control of a Dengue Disease Using Pontryagin Minimum Principal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratna Sari, Eminugroho; Insani, Nur; Lestari, Dwi

    2017-06-01

    Behaviour analysis for host-vector model without control of dengue disease is based on the value of basic reproduction number obtained using next generation matrices. Furthermore, the model is further developed involving a preventive control to minimize the contact between host and vector. The purpose is to obtain an optimal preventive strategy with minimal cost. The Pontryagin Minimum Principal is used to find the optimal control analytically. The derived optimality model is then solved numerically to investigate control effort to reduce infected class.

  17. A minimum attention control center for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meijer, C.H.

    1986-01-01

    Control Centers for Nuclear Power Plants have characteristically been designed for maximum attention by the operating staffs of these plants. Consequently, the monitoring, control and diagnostics oriented cognitive activities by these staffs, were mostly ''data-driven'' in nature. This paper addresses a control center concept, under development by Combustion Engineering, that promotes a more ''information-driven'' cognitive interaction process between the operator and the plant. The more ''intelligent'' and therefore less attentive nature of such interactive process utilizes computer implemented cognitive engineered algorithms. The underlying structure of these algorithms is based upon the Critical Function/Success Path monitoring principle. The paper highlights a typical implementation of the minimum attention concept for the handling of unfamiliar safety related events. (author)

  18. Internal control reporting and accounting quality : Insight "comply-or-explain" internal control regime

    OpenAIRE

    Cao Thi Thanh, Huyen; Cheung, Tina

    2010-01-01

    Nowadays, there exist two reporting regimes, rules-based and principle-based (comply-or-explain). In the rules-based environment, researchers have studied the relationship between internal control quality and accounting quality. Prior studies have suggested that reports on internal control are an effective way for investors to evaluate the quality of the firm‟s internal control. By having a sound system of internal control, it creates reliance upon the firm‟s financial reporting. Therefore, t...

  19. Parameters Tuning of Model Free Adaptive Control Based on Minimum Entropy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chao Ji; Jing Wang; Liulin Cao; Qibing Jin

    2014-01-01

    Dynamic linearization based model free adaptive control(MFAC) algorithm has been widely used in practical systems, in which some parameters should be tuned before it is successfully applied to process industries. Considering the random noise existing in real processes, a parameter tuning method based on minimum entropy optimization is proposed,and the feature of entropy is used to accurately describe the system uncertainty. For cases of Gaussian stochastic noise and non-Gaussian stochastic noise, an entropy recursive optimization algorithm is derived based on approximate model or identified model. The extensive simulation results show the effectiveness of the minimum entropy optimization for the partial form dynamic linearization based MFAC. The parameters tuned by the minimum entropy optimization index shows stronger stability and more robustness than these tuned by other traditional index,such as integral of the squared error(ISE) or integral of timeweighted absolute error(ITAE), when the system stochastic noise exists.

  20. THE INTERNAL CONTROL MODELS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TEODORESCU CRISTIAN DRAGOȘ

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Internal control is indissolubly linked to business and accounting. Throughout history, domestic and international trade has grown exponentially, which has led to an increasing complexity of internal control, to new methods and techniques to control the business. The literature has presented the first models of internal control in the Sumerian period (3600 - 3200 BC, and the emergence and development of internal control in Egypt, Persia, Greek and Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages till modern times. The purpose of this article is to present the models of internal control in Romania, starting from the principles of the classical model of internal control (COSO model. For a better understanding of the implication of internal control in terms of public and private sector, I have structured the article in the following parts: (a the definition of internal control in the literature; (b the presentation of the COSO model; (c internal control and internal audit in public institutions; (d internal control issues in accounting regulations on the individual and consolidated annual financial statements; (e internal / managerial control; (f conclusions.

  1. Minimum Thrust Load Control for Floating Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Søren; Bak, Thomas; Knudsen, Torben

    2012-01-01

    — Offshore wind energy capitalizes on the higher and less turbulent wind at sea. Shallow water sites are profitable for deployment of monopile wind turbines at water depths of up to 30 meters. Beyond 30 meters, the wind is even stronger and less turbulent. At these depths, floating wind turbines be...... and power stability when using the new control strategy.......— Offshore wind energy capitalizes on the higher and less turbulent wind at sea. Shallow water sites are profitable for deployment of monopile wind turbines at water depths of up to 30 meters. Beyond 30 meters, the wind is even stronger and less turbulent. At these depths, floating wind turbines...... presents a new minimum thrust control strategy capable of stabilizing a floating wind turbine. The new control strategy explores the freedom of variable generator speed above rated wind speed. A comparison to the traditional constant speed strategy, shows improvements in structural fore-aft oscillations...

  2. Chaos control in an economic model via minimum entropy strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salarieh, Hassan [Center of Excellence in Design, Robotics and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box 11365-9567, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: salarieh@mech.sharif.edu; Alasty, Aria [Center of Excellence in Design, Robotics and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box 11365-9567, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); National Research Institute for Science Policy (NRISP), Soheil Street, Shirazi Avenue, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: aalasti@sharif.edu

    2009-04-30

    In this paper, minimum entropy algorithm for controlling chaos, is applied to a Cournot duopoly with different constant marginal costs, as a discrete-time dynamical system which shows chaotic behavior. The ME control is implemented through delayed feedback. It is assumed that the equations of the dynamical system are not known, so the feedback gain cannot be obtained analytically from the system equations. In the ME method the feedback gain is obtained adaptively in such a way that the entropy of the system converges to zero, hence a fixed point of the system will be stabilized. Application of the proposed method with different economic control strategies is numerically investigated. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the ME method for controlling chaos in economic systems with unknown equations.

  3. Implementing the Kyoto protocol in Europe: Interactions between international and Community controls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabau, Anne-Sophie

    2011-07-01

    This bibliographical note presents a book which discusses the coexistence of the Kyoto protocol and of a regional regime within the European Union for the actual application of rules requiring mechanisms of control. The international regime implements a continuous monitoring which combines conventional techniques and more intrusive procedures. The European Community introduced a non-contentious mechanism with a large and strong law basis and sanction ability. The author assesses the ability of the monitoring system as a whole to ensure the very credibility of the Protocol. She also assesses the reliability of international and community economic tools which aim at reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a minimum cost. She also discusses the desirable evolutions of the regime of struggle against climate changes

  4. COSO internal control integrated framework 2013

    CERN Document Server

    American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

    2013-01-01

    Issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the 2013 Internal Control – Integrated Framework(Framework) is expected to help organizations design and implement internal control in light of many changes in business and operating environments since the issuance of the original Framework in 1992. The new Framework retains the core definition of internal control and the five components of internal control, and it continues to emphasize the importance of management judgment in designing, implementing, and conducting a system of internal control, and in assessing its effectiveness. It broadens the application of internal control in addressing operations and reporting objectives, and clarifies the requirements for determining what constitutes effective internal control.

  5. International control of nuclear materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koponen, Hannu

    1989-01-01

    Nuclear materials are subject to both national and international safeguards control. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) takes care of the international safeguards control. The control activities, which are discussed in this article, are carried out according to the agreements between various countries and the IAEA

  6. 12 CFR 618.8430 - Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal controls. 618.8430 Section 618.8430 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS Internal Controls § 618.8430 Internal controls. Each Farm Credit institution's board of directors must adopt an internal...

  7. Efficacy of internal control and controlling business risks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luminiţa IONESCU

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Companies can gain additional efficiency in designing and implementing or assessing internal control by focusing on only those financial reporting objectives directly applicable to the company’s activities and circumstances, taking a risk based approach to internal control. It is important for any organization to have reliable financial data for internal decision-making purpose. Financial information is often useful in many internal decisions such as product or service pricing. This is why the most important function of the controller is to create and maintain the corporate financial control system. Today’s corporation operates in an increasingly complex environment and the controller’s role is to advice the management of current or future problems of the business environment or to prevent the fraud.

  8. Efficacy of internal control and controlling business risks

    OpenAIRE

    IONESCU, Luminiţa

    2010-01-01

    Companies can gain additional efficiency in designing and implementing or assessing internal control by focusing on only those financial reporting objectives directly applicable to the company’s activities and circumstances, taking a risk based approach to internal control. It is important for any organization to have reliable financial data for internal decision-making purpose. Financial information is often useful in many internal decisions such as product or service pricing. This is why th...

  9. Employee quality, monitoring environment and internal control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunli Liu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the effect of internal control employees (ICEs on internal control quality. Using special survey data from Chinese listed firms, we find that ICE quality has a significant positive influence on internal control quality. We examine the effect of monitoring on this result and find that the effect is more pronounced for firms with strict monitoring environments, especially when the firms implement the Chinese internal control regulation system (CSOX, have higher institutional ownership or attach greater importance to internal control. Our findings suggest that ICEs play an important role in the design and implementation of internal control systems. Our study should be of interest to both top managers who wish to improve corporate internal control quality and regulators who wish to understand the mechanisms of internal control monitoring.

  10. The internal control of tax

    OpenAIRE

    E. B. Shuvalova; L. A. Butenko; Ju. A. Rudenko

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the research is to study the theoretical and practical issues of internal fiscal control. Internal tax control system requires the development of methodological tools, its scientific basis and practical recommendations for the application. This difficult task is now solved only in organizations, which are the largest taxpayers. For small and medium-sized businesses in the organization of internal fiscal control may improve the quality of the accounting organization of the company. ...

  11. Internal budget control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MSc. Mervete Shala

    2011-06-01

    Generally, duties of internal control officers within ministries and institutions must be clearly divided to reduce the risk of inco-rrect behaviour. Operations of an efficient control mechanism influence and ensure conditions for rule of law, good governance, and democracy.

  12. Minimum time control of a pair of two-level quantum systems with opposite drifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romano, Raffaele; D’Alessandro, Domenico

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we solve two equivalent time optimal control problems. On one hand, we design the control field to implement in minimum time the SWAP (or equivalent) operator on a two-level system, assuming that it interacts with an additional, uncontrollable, two-level system. On the other hand, we synthesize the SWAP operator simultaneously, in minimum time, on a pair of two-level systems subject to opposite drifts. We assume that it is possible to perform three independent control actions, and that the total control strength is bounded. These controls either affect the dynamics of the target system, under the first perspective, or, simultaneously, the dynamics of both systems, in the second view. We obtain our results by using techniques of geometric control theory on Lie groups. In particular, we apply the Pontryagin maximum principle, and provide a complete characterization of singular and nonsingular extremals. Our analysis shows that the problem can be formulated as the motion of a material point in a central force, a well known system in classical mechanics. Although we focus on obtaining the SWAP operator, many of the ideas and techniques developed in this work apply to the time optimal implementation of an arbitrary unitary operator. (paper)

  13. 48 CFR 819.7112 - Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal controls. 819... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS VA Mentor-Protégé Program 819.7112 Internal controls. (a) OSDBU... Program objectives. OSDBU will establish internal controls as checks and balances applicable to the...

  14. Nano positioning control for dual stage using minimum order observer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hong Gun

    2012-01-01

    A nano positioning control is developed using the ultra-precision positioning apparatus such as actuator, sensor, guide, power transmission element with an appropriate control method. Using established procedures, a single plane X-Y stage with ultra-precision positioning is manufactured. A global stage for materialization with robust system is combined by using an AC servo motor with a ball screw and rolling guide. An ultra-precision positioning system is developed using a micro stage with an elastic hinge and piezo element. Global and micro servos for positioning with nanometer accuracy are controlled simultaneously using an incremental encoder and a laser interferometer to measure displacement. Using established procedures, an ultra-precision positioning system (100 mm stroke and ±10 nm positioning accuracy) with a single plane X-Y stage is fabricated. Its performance is evaluated through simulation using Matlab. After analyzing previous control algorithms and adapting modern control theory, a dual servo algorithm is developed for a minimum order observer to secure the stability and priority on the controller. The simulations and experiments on the ultra precision positioning and the stability of the ultra-precision positioning system with single plane X-Y stage and the priority of the control algorithm are secured by using Matlab with Simulink and ControlDesk made in dSPACE

  15. Nano positioning control for dual stage using minimum order observer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hong Gun [Jeonju University, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-03-15

    A nano positioning control is developed using the ultra-precision positioning apparatus such as actuator, sensor, guide, power transmission element with an appropriate control method. Using established procedures, a single plane X-Y stage with ultra-precision positioning is manufactured. A global stage for materialization with robust system is combined by using an AC servo motor with a ball screw and rolling guide. An ultra-precision positioning system is developed using a micro stage with an elastic hinge and piezo element. Global and micro servos for positioning with nanometer accuracy are controlled simultaneously using an incremental encoder and a laser interferometer to measure displacement. Using established procedures, an ultra-precision positioning system (100 mm stroke and {+-}10 nm positioning accuracy) with a single plane X-Y stage is fabricated. Its performance is evaluated through simulation using Matlab. After analyzing previous control algorithms and adapting modern control theory, a dual servo algorithm is developed for a minimum order observer to secure the stability and priority on the controller. The simulations and experiments on the ultra precision positioning and the stability of the ultra-precision positioning system with single plane X-Y stage and the priority of the control algorithm are secured by using Matlab with Simulink and ControlDesk made in dSPACE.

  16. 25 CFR 542.15 - What are the minimum internal control standards for credit?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... outside agencies, and other documents related to issued credit instruments shall be maintained. (f) Write... (or another equivalent document) that contains: (i) The same preprinted number on all copies; (ii... balances are routinely confirmed on a random basis by the accounting or internal audit departments, or...

  17. Operational Control of Internal Transport

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.R. van der Meer (Robert)

    2000-01-01

    textabstractOperational Control of Internal Transport considers the control of guided vehicles in vehicle-based internal transport systems found in facilities such as warehouses, production plants, distribution centers and transshipment terminals. The author's interest of research having direct use

  18. 48 CFR 519.7014 - Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal controls. 519... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS GSA Mentor-Protégé Program 519.7014 Internal controls. (a) The GSA Mentor-Protégé Program Manager will manage the Program. Internal controls will be established by...

  19. Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Internal Temperature Chart Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential in preventing foodborne illness. You can't see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four guidelines to keep food safe: ...

  20. Minimum Entropy Generation Theorem Investigation and Optimization of Metal Hydride Alloy Hydrogen Storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi-Chang Wang

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to carry out numerical simulation of the hydrogen storage on exothermic reaction of metal hydride LaNi5 alloy container. In addition to accelerating the reaction speed of the internal metal hydride by internal control tube water-cooled mode, analyze via the application of second law of thermodynamics the principle of entropy generation. Use COMSOL Mutilphysics 4.3 a to engage in finite element method value simulation on two-dimensional axisymmetric model. Also on the premise that the internal control tube parameters the radius ri, the flow rate U meet the metal hydride saturation time, observe the reaction process of two parameters on the tank, entropy distribution and the results of the accumulated entropy. And try to find the internal tube parameter values of the minimum entropy, whose purpose is to be able to identify the reaction process and the reaction results of internal tank’s optimum energy conservation.

  1. The singular minimum entropy $H_\\infty$ control problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stoorvogel, A.A.

    1990-01-01

    In this paper we search for controllers which minimize an entropy function of the closed loop transfer matrix under the constraint of internal stability and under the constraint that the closed loop transfer matrix has $H_\\infty$ norm less than some a priori given bound $\\gamma$. We find an explicit

  2. Importance of Internal Audit and Internal Control in an organization - Case Study

    OpenAIRE

    Bubilek, Olga

    2017-01-01

    This research is a descriptive case study of a company. It presents concepts of the internal audit and internal control based on an example of a Finnish company. The research examines the role and importance that internal audit and internal controls have in an organization. The main research question is “What is the role and importance of internal audit and internal control in an organization” Additional sub-questions relating to the case company that will allow for better understanding of...

  3. Argue internal audit on how to promote the nuclear power enterprise internal control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Xiaoming

    2012-01-01

    In order to strengthen and standardize enterprise internal control, improve the management level and risk prevention ability, five departments jointly established the basic rules of internal control in enterprises, large and medium-sized enterprises as the national power enterprise, the enterprise internal audit executive power in strengthening and perfecting internal control, and in the enterprise internal control of play an active role. (author)

  4. Internal Control Organization Procedure

    OpenAIRE

    Radu Dorin Lenghel

    2013-01-01

    Internal control represents the totality of policies and procedures adopted by management, which contribute: to the fulfilment of managerial objectives, to the prevention and detection of frauds or errors, to the accuracy and exhaustiveness of accounting entries, as well as to the preparation in due course of financial accounting information. Internal control represents a managerial instrument which assures the fulfilment of objectives of the entity, being an ongoing process in which administ...

  5. Robust control of flexible space vehicles with minimum structural excitation: On-off pulse control of flexible space vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wie, Bong; Liu, Qiang

    1992-01-01

    Both feedback and feedforward control approaches for uncertain dynamical systems (in particular, with uncertainty in structural mode frequency) are investigated. The control objective is to achieve a fast settling time (high performance) and robustness (insensitivity) to plant uncertainty. Preshaping of an ideal, time optimal control input using a tapped-delay filter is shown to provide a fast settling time with robust performance. A robust, non-minimum-phase feedback controller is synthesized with particular emphasis on its proper implementation for a non-zero set-point control problem. It is shown that a properly designed, feedback controller performs well, as compared with a time optimal open loop controller with special preshaping for performance robustness. Also included are two separate papers by the same authors on this subject.

  6. Internal controls subjects at insurance companies

    OpenAIRE

    Прокопенко, Жанна Володимирівна

    2015-01-01

    The problematic issues of determining the authorities of the internal controls subjects at insurance companies have been elucidated. The list of internal controls subjects of insurer depending on the form of control as well as the purposefulness of such kind of control have been determined.

  7. Internal budget control

    OpenAIRE

    MSc. Mervete Shala

    2011-01-01

    Internal control is established by the Government to ensure effective and proper operations of ministries, institutions and generally of all public agencies, in compliance with the law, the goals and objectives stated by them, to provide protection against abuse and mismanagement or poor governance. The instrument of internal audit entails a series of mechanisms which aim at enabling budgetary policies compliance, such as: financial reporting; effective system of communication between mana...

  8. Internal corrosion control of northern pipelines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papavinasam, S.

    2005-02-01

    The general causes of internal corrosion in pipelines were discussed along with the methods to control them. Efficient methods are needed to determine chemical efficiency for mitigating internal corrosion in transmission pipelines, particularly those used in environmentally sensitive regions in the Arctic where harsh environmental conditions prevail. According to the Office of Pipeline Safety, 15 per cent of pipeline failures in the United States from 1994 to 2000 were caused by internal corrosion. Since pipelines in the United States are slightly older than Canadian pipelines, internal corrosion is a significant issue from a Canadian perspective. There are 306,618 km of energy-related pipelines in western Canada. Between April 2001 and March 2002 there were 808 failures, of which 425 failures resulted from internal corrosion. The approach to control internal corrosion comprises of dehydrating the gases at production facilities; controlling the quality of corrosive gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide; and, using internal coatings. The approaches to control internal corrosion are appropriate, when supplemented by adequate integrity management program to ensure that corrosive liquids do not collect, over the operational lifetime of the pipelines, at localized areas. It was suggested that modeling of pipeline operations may need improvement. This paper described the causes, prediction and control of internal pitting corrosion. It was concluded that carbon steel equipment can continue to be used reliably and safely as pipeline materials for northern pipelines if the causes that lead to internal corrosion are scientifically and accurately predicted, and if corrosion inhibitors are properly evaluated and applied. 5 figs.

  9. INTERNAL CONTROL OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. N. Yudenkov

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Estimation and technics of the account of expenses, efficiency, financial result should enter into the list of regular checks from service of internal control that demands corresponding vocational training of internal controlers which should own methods of an estimation of expediency of acquisition of long-term actives.

  10. Employee quality, monitoring environment and internal control

    OpenAIRE

    Chunli Liu; Bin Lin; Wei Shu

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the effect of internal control employees (ICEs) on internal control quality. Using special survey data from Chinese listed firms, we find that ICE quality has a significant positive influence on internal control quality. We examine the effect of monitoring on this result and find that the effect is more pronounced for firms with strict monitoring environments, especially when the firms implement the Chinese internal control regulation system (CSOX), have higher institutional ow...

  11. 26 CFR 5c.168(f)(8)-4 - Minimum investment of lessor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 14 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Minimum investment of lessor. 5c.168(f)(8)-4....168(f)(8)-4 Minimum investment of lessor. (a) Minimum investment. Under section 168(f)(8)(B)(ii), an... has a minimum at risk investment which, at the time the property is placed in service under the lease...

  12. A unique concept for automatically controlling the braking action of wheeled vehicles during minimum distance stops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barthlome, D. E.

    1975-01-01

    Test results of a unique automatic brake control system are outlined and a comparison is made of its mode of operation to that of an existing skid control system. The purpose of the test system is to provide automatic control of braking action such that hydraulic brake pressure is maintained at a near constant, optimum value during minimum distance stops.

  13. Minimum airflow reset of single-duct VAV terminal boxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Young-Hum

    Single duct Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems are currently the most widely used type of HVAC system in the United States. When installing such a system, it is critical to determine the minimum airflow set point of the terminal box, as an optimally selected set point will improve the level of thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) while at the same time lower overall energy costs. In principle, this minimum rate should be calculated according to the minimum ventilation requirement based on ASHRAE standard 62.1 and maximum heating load of the zone. Several factors must be carefully considered when calculating this minimum rate. Terminal boxes with conventional control sequences may result in occupant discomfort and energy waste. If the minimum rate of airflow is set too high, the AHUs will consume excess fan power, and the terminal boxes may cause significant simultaneous room heating and cooling. At the same time, a rate that is too low will result in poor air circulation and indoor air quality in the air-conditioned space. Currently, many scholars are investigating how to change the algorithm of the advanced VAV terminal box controller without retrofitting. Some of these controllers have been found to effectively improve thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. However, minimum airflow set points have not yet been identified, nor has controller performance been verified in confirmed studies. In this study, control algorithms were developed that automatically identify and reset terminal box minimum airflow set points, thereby improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort levels, and reducing the overall rate of energy consumption. A theoretical analysis of the optimal minimum airflow and discharge air temperature was performed to identify the potential energy benefits of resetting the terminal box minimum airflow set points. Applicable control algorithms for calculating the ideal values for the minimum airflow reset were developed and

  14. Minimum short-circuit ratios for grid interconnection of wind farms with induction generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reginatto, Romeu; Rocha, Carlos [Western Parana State University (UNIOESTE), Foz do Iguacu, PR (Brazil). Center for Engineering and Exact Sciences], Emails: romeu@unioeste.br, croberto@unioeste.br

    2009-07-01

    This paper concerns the problem of determining the minimum value for the short-circuit ratio which is adequate for the interconnection of a given wind farms to a given grid point. First, a set of 3 criteria is defined in order to characterize the quality/safety of the interconnection: acceptable terminal voltage variations, a minimum active power margin, and an acceptable range for the internal voltage angle. Then, the minimum short circuit ratio requirement is determined for 6 different induction generator based wind turbines, both fixed-speed (with and without reactive power compensation) and variable-speed (with the following control policies: reactive power, power factor, and terminal voltage regulation). The minimum short-circuit ratio is determined and shown in graphical results for the 6 wind turbines considered, for X/R in the range 0-15, also analyzing the effect of more/less stringent tolerances for the interconnection criteria. It is observed that the tighter the tolerances the larger the minimum short-circuit ratio required. For the same tolerances in the interconnection criteria, a comparison of the minimum short circuit ratio required for the interconnection of both squirrel-cage and doubly-fed induction generators is presented, showing that the last requires much smaller values for the short-circuit ratio. (author)

  15. 49 CFR 193.2631 - Internal corrosion control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal corrosion control. 193.2631 Section 193... GAS FACILITIES: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Maintenance § 193.2631 Internal corrosion control. Each component that is subject to internal corrosive attack must be protected from internal corrosion by— (a...

  16. 15 CFR 752.11 - Internal Control Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal Control Programs. 752.11... COMPREHENSIVE LICENSE § 752.11 Internal Control Programs. (a) Scope—(1) Introduction. It is through Internal Control Programs (ICPs) that the SCL holder and the consignee assure that exports and reexports are not...

  17. 48 CFR 719.273-10 - Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal controls. 719.273...égé Program 719.273-10 Internal controls. (a) OSDBU will oversee the Program and will work in... objectives. OSDBU will establish internal controls as checks and balances applicable to the Program. These...

  18. The Principles of Organization of Internal Control of Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panteleiev

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The question to give a convincing assessment of the Rules of the internal controls and present them in the form of principles of organization of internal control. Since the final decision in the form of an exhaustive list and universal principles of internal control is no scientific research continues these principles. It is necessary to examine the logic of the main provisions of the organization's internal control due consideration of the requirements of international practice controls and propose principles of internal control. For this purpose, conducted a critical analysis of the main provisions of internal controls contained in the publications and in the regulations on internal control proceedings. Synthesis of articles of authors of lead scientific and practical journal Ukraine "Accounting and Auditing" for the 1994-2015 biennium pointed out that despite the coverage of current journal articles provisions, principles, requirements, rules and other modern techniques. On internal control and comprehensive set of reasonable response to the organization and classification of internal control is absent. This leads to continue the search key components of the organization's internal control. The above basic concepts in publications on the organization of internal control were used in the formation of a set of principles of control. According to the requirements of the OECD field of internal control includes risk management, cost control, change in control, complete information to guarantee the effectiveness of internal control systems, providing the ability to make decisions and so on. COSO model contains an exhaustive list of five components. The results of the questionnaire trainees have provided compelling arguments for classifying and establishing relevant principles of organization and internal controls were rejected. A list of the basic principles of the organization of internal control, which consists of 25 elements that are shaped

  19. 49 CFR 192.477 - Internal corrosion control: Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal corrosion control: Monitoring. 192.477... Control § 192.477 Internal corrosion control: Monitoring. If corrosive gas is being transported, coupons... internal corrosion. Each coupon or other means of monitoring internal corrosion must be checked two times...

  20. Internal combustion engine and method for control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Daniel G

    2013-05-21

    In one exemplary embodiment of the invention an internal combustion engine includes a piston disposed in a cylinder, a valve configured to control flow of air into the cylinder and an actuator coupled to the valve to control a position of the valve. The internal combustion engine also includes a controller coupled to the actuator, wherein the controller is configured to close the valve when an uncontrolled condition for the internal engine is determined.

  1. Combined feedforward and model-assisted active disturbance rejection control for non-minimum phase system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Li; Li, Donghai; Gao, Zhiqiang; Yang, Zhao; Zhao, Shen

    2016-09-01

    Control of the non-minimum phase (NMP) system is challenging, especially in the presence of modelling uncertainties and external disturbances. To this end, this paper presents a combined feedforward and model-assisted Active Disturbance Rejection Control (MADRC) strategy. Based on the nominal model, the feedforward controller is used to produce a tracking performance that has minimum settling time subject to a prescribed undershoot constraint. On the other hand, the unknown disturbances and uncertain dynamics beyond the nominal model are compensated by MADRC. Since the conventional Extended State Observer (ESO) is not suitable for the NMP system, a model-assisted ESO (MESO) is proposed based on the nominal observable canonical form. The convergence of MESO is proved in time domain. The stability, steady-state characteristics and robustness of the closed-loop system are analyzed in frequency domain. The proposed strategy has only one tuning parameter, i.e., the bandwidth of MESO, which can be readily determined with a prescribed robustness level. Some comparative examples are given to show the efficacy of the proposed method. This paper depicts a promising prospect of the model-assisted ADRC in dealing with complex systems. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Minimum Energy Control of 2D Positive Continuous-Discrete Linear Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaczorek Tadeusz

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The minimum energy control problem for the 2D positive continuous-discrete linear systems is formulated and solved. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the reachability at the point of the systems are given. Sufficient conditions for the existence of solution to the problem are established. It is shown that if the system is reachable then there exists an optimal input that steers the state from zero boundary conditions to given final state and minimizing the performance index for only one step (q = 1. A procedure for solving of the problem is proposed and illustrated by a numerical example.

  3. Influence Implementation Internal Control To Quality Audit Internal Education Consultant In Indonesian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Zeina Maya Sari

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This research focus to quality audit internal with accountancy Inspection. Hameed 1995 found that the most important factors that affect auditing quality are auditors experience honesty and the knowledge in accounting and auditing standards. Research into this express an inspection of Intern Accountancy amp attributed to Monetary inspection an consultant education with quality. Audit quality is obtained by a process of identifying and administering the activities needed to achieve the quality objectives . Since an entityamp8223s internal control is under the purview of its audit committee Krishnan 2005 the relation between audit committee quality and internal control weaknesses is a subject to be investigated. The methodology used is a quantitative analysis by examining the relationship between variables conceptually. While some study its accounting activity. In self-supporting internal control. Internal control is defined as a process affected by an entitys board of directors management and other personnel designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions 1998 its bearing by reporting level an environment and reduction conduct in reporting result of mistake. What finally involvement by Audit Intern can be of benefit. In addition to researching into proposing Audit Intern can improve the target of consultant education going concern.

  4. Setting a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction in California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    S Barnert, Elizabeth; S Abrams, Laura; Maxson, Cheryl; Gase, Lauren; Soung, Patricia; Carroll, Paul; Bath, Eraka

    2017-03-13

    Purpose Despite the existence of minimum age laws for juvenile justice jurisdiction in 18 US states, California has no explicit law that protects children (i.e. youth less than 12 years old) from being processed in the juvenile justice system. In the absence of a minimum age law, California lags behind other states and international practice and standards. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this policy brief, academics across the University of California campuses examine current evidence, theory, and policy related to the minimum age of juvenile justice jurisdiction. Findings Existing evidence suggests that children lack the cognitive maturity to comprehend or benefit from formal juvenile justice processing, and diverting children from the system altogether is likely to be more beneficial for the child and for public safety. Research limitations/implications Based on current evidence and theory, the authors argue that minimum age legislation that protects children from contact with the juvenile justice system and treats them as children in need of services and support, rather than as delinquents or criminals, is an important policy goal for California and for other national and international jurisdictions lacking a minimum age law. Originality/value California has no law specifying a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction, meaning that young children of any age can be processed in the juvenile justice system. This policy brief provides a rationale for a minimum age law in California and other states and jurisdictions without one.

  5. 26 CFR 1.511-4 - Minimum tax for tax preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Minimum tax for tax preferences. 1.511-4 Section 1.511-4 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Taxation of Business Income of Certain Exempt Organizations § 1.511-4...

  6. The Process of Fixing the British National Minimum Wage, 1997-2007

    OpenAIRE

    Brown, W.

    2009-01-01

    The British National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999 under the guidance of a Low Pay Commission constructed on a basis of ‘social partnership’. The paper analyses its conduct over its first ten years from diary data. Key challenges were for it to be independent of government, to have its advice accepted by government, and to maintain internal unanimity. The changing internal dynamics of the Commission, and its major negotiations over the level of the Minimum Wage, are described and analys...

  7. INTERNAL CONTROL IN PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES INSTITUTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludmila FRUMUSACHI

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Internal control has a special role in the efficient organization of the entity’s management. The components of this control in the institutions of public health service are determined by the specific character of these institutions and National Standards of Internal Control in the Public Sector. The system of internal control in the institutions of public health service has the capacity to canalize the effort of the whole institution for the achievement of proposed objectives, to signalize permanently the dysfunctionalities about the quality of medical services and the deviations and to operate timely corrective measures for eliminating the noticed problems. In this regard the managers are obliged to analyse and to resize the system of internal control when in the organizational structure appear substantial changes.

  8. Internal control system

    OpenAIRE

    Pavésková, Ivana

    2014-01-01

    Dissertation focuse on the internal control system in the enterprises, aims to map the control system by focusing on the purchasing department. I focused on the purchasing process, because with an increasing trends of outsourcing services and the increasing interconnectedness of enterprises increases the risk of fraud currently in the purchasing process. To the research was selected the sample of companies from the banking and non-banking environment, to which were sent a questionnaire focusi...

  9. Sensorless State-Space Control of Elastic Two-Inertia Drive System Using a Minimum State Order Observer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Comnac

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents sensorless state-space control of two-inertia drive system with resilient coupling. The control structure contains an I+PI controller for load speed regulation and a state feedback controller for effective vibration suppression of the elastic coupling. Mechanical state variable of two-inertia drive are obtained by using a linear minimum-order (Gopinath state observer. The design of the combined (I+PI and state feedback controller is achieved with the extended version of the modulus criterion [5]. The dynamic behavior of presented control structure has been examined, for different conditions, using MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation.

  10. 49 CFR 192.475 - Internal corrosion control: General.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Internal corrosion control: General. 192.475... Control § 192.475 Internal corrosion control: General. (a) Corrosive gas may not be transported by... taken to minimize internal corrosion. (b) Whenever any pipe is removed from a pipeline for any reason...

  11. Setting a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnert, Elizabeth S.; Abrams, Laura S.; Maxson, Cheryl; Gase, Lauren; Soung, Patricia; Carroll, Paul; Bath, Eraka

    2018-01-01

    Purpose Despite the existence of minimum age laws for juvenile justice jurisdiction in 18 US states, California has no explicit law that protects children (i.e. youth less than 12 years old) from being processed in the juvenile justice system. In the absence of a minimum age law, California lags behind other states and international practice and standards. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this policy brief, academics across the University of California campuses examine current evidence, theory, and policy related to the minimum age of juvenile justice jurisdiction. Findings Existing evidence suggests that children lack the cognitive maturity to comprehend or benefit from formal juvenile justice processing, and diverting children from the system altogether is likely to be more beneficial for the child and for public safety. Research limitations/implications Based on current evidence and theory, the authors argue that minimum age legislation that protects children from contact with the juvenile justice system and treats them as children in need of services and support, rather than as delinquents or criminals, is an important policy goal for California and for other national and international jurisdictions lacking a minimum age law. Originality/value California has no law specifying a minimum age for juvenile justice jurisdiction, meaning that young children of any age can be processed in the juvenile justice system. This policy brief provides a rationale for a minimum age law in California and other states and jurisdictions without one. Paper type Conceptual paper PMID:28299968

  12. Minimum energy requirements for desalination of brackish groundwater in the United States with comparison to international datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahdab, Yvana D.; Thiel, Gregory P.; Böhlke, John Karl; Stanton, Jennifer S.; Lienhard, John H.

    2018-01-01

    This paper uses chemical and physical data from a large 2017 U.S. Geological Surveygroundwater dataset with wells in the U.S. and three smaller international groundwater datasets with wells primarily in Australia and Spain to carry out a comprehensive investigation of brackish groundwater composition in relation to minimum desalinationenergy costs. First, we compute the site-specific least work required for groundwater desalination. Least work of separation represents a baseline for specific energy consumptionof desalination systems. We develop simplified equations based on the U.S. data for least work as a function of water recovery ratio and a proxy variable for composition, either total dissolved solids, specific conductance, molality or ionic strength. We show that the U.S. correlations for total dissolved solids and molality may be applied to the international datasets. We find that total molality can be used to calculate the least work of dilute solutions with very high accuracy. Then, we examine the effects of groundwater solute composition on minimum energy requirements, showing that separation requirements increase from calcium to sodium for cations and from sulfate to bicarbonate to chloride for anions, for any given TDS concentration. We study the geographic distribution of least work, total dissolved solids, and major ions concentration across the U.S. We determine areas with both low least work and high water stress in order to highlight regions holding potential for desalination to decrease the disparity between high water demand and low water supply. Finally, we discuss the implications of the USGS results on water resource planning, by comparing least work to the specific energy consumption of brackish water reverse osmosisplants and showing the scaling propensity of major electrolytes and silica in the U.S. groundwater samples.

  13. 47 CFR 90.473 - Operation of internal transmitter control systems through licensed fixed control points.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation of internal transmitter control... Transmitter Control Internal Transmitter Control Systems § 90.473 Operation of internal transmitter control systems through licensed fixed control points. An internal transmitter control system may be operated...

  14. 78 FR 11793 - Minimum Internal Control Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-20

    ... count begins, to ensure the accuracy of the equipment. (7) If a currency counter interface is used: (i.... 543.2 by adding a definition for currency cassette in alphabetical order to read as follows: Sec. 543.2 What are the definitions for this part? * * * * * Currency cassette. A locked compartment that...

  15. 77 FR 32444 - Minimum Internal Control Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-01

    ... definitions, add and amend existing definitions; amend the term ``variance'' as it applies to establishing an... and audit and accounting procedures into their respective sections. DATES: Submit comments on or... Commission agrees that it does not intend to limit the definition of charitable organizations to those with a...

  16. 78 FR 63873 - Minimum Internal Control Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-25

    ...--though less stringent than--the drop and count process for player interfaces and card tables. By removing... count standards for player interfaces and card games, and intends to address the issue comprehensively... surveillance of kiosks and for the collection and count of their contents. The Commission published a proposed...

  17. 77 FR 58707 - Minimum Internal Control Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-21

    ..., if any), counted, inventoried, and secured by an authorized agent. (ii) Bingo card inventory records... comprehensive standards for the entire Class II gaming environment. The new sections include, for example: Card games; drop and count; surveillance; and gaming promotions and player tracking. The amendments also...

  18. Trends in social assistance, minimum income benefits and income polarization in an international perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, J.

    2016-01-01

    This thesis collects six empirical studies regarding the developments of social assistance benefits, their determinants and the impact of the benefit changes on income polarization. The first study suggests that the real minimum income benefit levels increased in many OECD countries whilst minimum

  19. A Design Method of Robust Servo Internal Model Control with Control Input Saturation

    OpenAIRE

    山田, 功; 舩見, 洋祐

    2001-01-01

    In the present paper, we examine a design method of robust servo Internal Model Control with control input saturation. First of all, we clarify the condition that Internal Model Control has robust servo characteristics for the system with control input saturation. From this consideration, we propose new design method of Internal Model Control with robust servo characteristics. A numerical example to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown.

  20. 12 CFR 3.6 - Minimum capital ratios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... should have well-diversified risks, including no undue interest rate risk exposure; excellent control... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum capital ratios. 3.6 Section 3.6 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY MINIMUM CAPITAL RATIOS; ISSUANCE...

  1. Internal Temperature Control For Vibration Testers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Richard J.

    1996-01-01

    Vibration test fixtures with internal thermal-transfer capabilities developed. Made of aluminum for rapid thermal transfer. Small size gives rapid response to changing temperatures, with better thermal control. Setup quicker and internal ducting facilitates access to parts being tested. In addition, internal flows smaller, so less energy consumed in maintaining desired temperature settings.

  2. Quality control methods in accelerometer data processing: defining minimum wear time.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carly Rich

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: When using accelerometers to measure physical activity, researchers need to determine whether subjects have worn their device for a sufficient period to be included in analyses. We propose a minimum wear criterion using population-based accelerometer data, and explore the influence of gender and the purposeful inclusion of children with weekend data on reliability. METHODS: Accelerometer data obtained during the age seven sweep of the UK Millennium Cohort Study were analysed. Children were asked to wear an ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer for seven days. Reliability coefficients(r of mean daily counts/minute were calculated using the Spearman-Brown formula based on the intraclass correlation coefficient. An r of 1.0 indicates that all the variation is between- rather than within-children and that measurement is 100% reliable. An r of 0.8 is often regarded as acceptable reliability. Analyses were repeated on data from children who met different minimum daily wear times (one to 10 hours and wear days (one to seven days. Analyses were conducted for all children, separately for boys and girls, and separately for children with and without weekend data. RESULTS: At least one hour of wear time data was obtained from 7,704 singletons. Reliability increased as the minimum number of days and the daily wear time increased. A high reliability (r = 0.86 and sample size (n = 6,528 was achieved when children with ≥ two days lasting ≥10 hours/day were included in analyses. Reliability coefficients were similar for both genders. Purposeful sampling of children with weekend data resulted in comparable reliabilities to those calculated independent of weekend wear. CONCLUSION: Quality control procedures should be undertaken before analysing accelerometer data in large-scale studies. Using data from children with ≥ two days lasting ≥10 hours/day should provide reliable estimates of physical activity. It's unnecessary to include only children

  3. A note on minimum-variance theory and beyond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng Jianfeng [Department of Informatics, Sussex University, Brighton, BN1 9QH (United Kingdom); Tartaglia, Giangaetano [Physics Department, Rome University ' La Sapienza' , Rome 00185 (Italy); Tirozzi, Brunello [Physics Department, Rome University ' La Sapienza' , Rome 00185 (Italy)

    2004-04-30

    We revisit the minimum-variance theory proposed by Harris and Wolpert (1998 Nature 394 780-4), discuss the implications of the theory on modelling the firing patterns of single neurons and analytically find the optimal control signals, trajectories and velocities. Under the rate coding assumption, input control signals employed in the minimum-variance theory should be Fitts processes rather than Poisson processes. Only if information is coded by interspike intervals, Poisson processes are in agreement with the inputs employed in the minimum-variance theory. For the integrate-and-fire model with Fitts process inputs, interspike intervals of efferent spike trains are very irregular. We introduce diffusion approximations to approximate neural models with renewal process inputs and present theoretical results on calculating moments of interspike intervals of the integrate-and-fire model. Results in Feng, et al (2002 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 35 7287-304) are generalized. In conclusion, we present a complete picture on the minimum-variance theory ranging from input control signals, to model outputs, and to its implications on modelling firing patterns of single neurons.

  4. A note on minimum-variance theory and beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Jianfeng; Tartaglia, Giangaetano; Tirozzi, Brunello

    2004-01-01

    We revisit the minimum-variance theory proposed by Harris and Wolpert (1998 Nature 394 780-4), discuss the implications of the theory on modelling the firing patterns of single neurons and analytically find the optimal control signals, trajectories and velocities. Under the rate coding assumption, input control signals employed in the minimum-variance theory should be Fitts processes rather than Poisson processes. Only if information is coded by interspike intervals, Poisson processes are in agreement with the inputs employed in the minimum-variance theory. For the integrate-and-fire model with Fitts process inputs, interspike intervals of efferent spike trains are very irregular. We introduce diffusion approximations to approximate neural models with renewal process inputs and present theoretical results on calculating moments of interspike intervals of the integrate-and-fire model. Results in Feng, et al (2002 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 35 7287-304) are generalized. In conclusion, we present a complete picture on the minimum-variance theory ranging from input control signals, to model outputs, and to its implications on modelling firing patterns of single neurons

  5. Disasters And Minimum Health Standards In Disaster Response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sibel GOGEN

    Full Text Available Millions of people are affected by natural or man made disasters all over the world. The number of people affected by disasters increase globally, due to global climate changes, increasing poverty, low life standards, inappropriate infrastructure, lack of early response systems, abuse of natural sources, and beside these, nuclear weapons, wars and conflicts, terrorist actions, migration, displacement and population movements. 95 % of life loss due to disasters are in the underdeveloped or developing countries. Turkey is a developing country, highly affected by disasters. For coping with disasters, not only national action plans, but also International Action Plans and cooperations are needed. Since all the disasters have direct and indirect effects on health, applications of minimal health standarts in disaster response, will reduce the morbidity and mortality rates. In this paper, water supplies and sanitation, vector control, waste control, burial of corpses, nutrition and minimum health standards in disaster response, are reviewed. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2004; 3(12.000: 296-306

  6. Improvement of internal book-keeping control at company "Balttranslaine"

    OpenAIRE

    Kolodinska, Aļona

    2012-01-01

    Master's thesis "Internal Accounting Control Improvement in Ltd."Balttranslaine"" is designed to determine the potential and directions for improving accounting controls Ltd. "Balttranslaine". The paper assesses Ltd. "Balttranslaine" internal accounting control system and develops proposals for its improvement, based on research on accounting control nature and its place in the overall company's internal control system, as well as the Latvian laws and regulations for construction and maint...

  7. 12 CFR 1731.5 - Internal controls, procedures, and training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal controls, procedures, and training... HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SAFETY AND SOUNDNESS MORTGAGE FRAUD REPORTING § 1731.5 Internal controls, procedures, and training. An Enterprise shall establish adequate and efficient internal controls and...

  8. A finite state, finite memory minimum principle, part 2. [a discussion of game theory, signaling, stochastic processes, and control theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandell, N. R., Jr.; Athans, M.

    1975-01-01

    The development of the theory of the finite - state, finite - memory (FSFM) stochastic control problem is discussed. The sufficiency of the FSFM minimum principle (which is in general only a necessary condition) was investigated. By introducing the notion of a signaling strategy as defined in the literature on games, conditions under which the FSFM minimum principle is sufficient were determined. This result explicitly interconnects the information structure of the FSFM problem with its optimality conditions. The min-H algorithm for the FSFM problem was studied. It is demonstrated that a version of the algorithm always converges to a particular type of local minimum termed a person - by - person extremal.

  9. Method and apparatus for controlling hybrid powertrain system in response to engine temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martini, Ryan D; Spohn, Brian L; Lehmen, Allen J; Cerbolles, Teresa L

    2014-10-07

    A method for controlling a hybrid powertrain system including an internal combustion engine includes controlling operation of the hybrid powertrain system in response to a preferred minimum coolant temperature trajectory for the internal combustion engine.

  10. Simulation of neoclassical tearing mode stabilization via minimum seeking method on ITER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, M. H.; Kim, K.; Na, D. H.; Byun, C. S.; Na, Y. S. [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, M. [FNC Technology Co. Ltd, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) are well known resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities. These instabilities are sustained by a helically perturbed bootstrap current. NTMs produce magnetic islands in tokamak plasmas that can degrade confinement and lead to plasma disruption. Because of this, the stabilization of NTMs is one of the key issues for tokamaks that achieve high fusion performance such as ITER. Compensating for the lack of bootstrap current by an Electron Cyclotron Current Drive (ECCD) has been proved experimentally as an effective method to stabilize NTMs. In order to stabilize NTMs, it is important to reduce misalignment. So that even ECCD can destabilize the NTMs when misalignment is large. Feedback control method that does not fully require delicate and accurate real-time measurements and calculations, such as equilibrium reconstruction and EC ray-tracing, has also been proposed. One of the feedback control methods is minimum seeking method. This control method minimizes the island width by tuning the misalignment, assuming that the magnetic island width is a function of the misalignment. As a robust and simple method of controlling NTM, minimum 'island width growth rate' seeking control is purposed and compared with performance of minimum ' island width' seeking control. At the integrated numerical system, simulations of the NTM suppression are performed with two types of minimum seeking controllers; one is a FDM based minimum seeking controller and the other is a sinusoidal perturbation based minimum seeking method. The full suppression is achieved both types of controller. The controllers adjust poloidal angle of EC beam and reduce misalignment to zero. The sinusoidal perturbation based minimum seeking control need to modify the adaptive gain.

  11. Investigating the effective factors on management internal controls applying

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Ahmadkhani

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Information technology plays an important role on increasing internal control in many organizations. In this paper, we present an empirical study to measure the impact of information technology, hiring high quality skilled management team, using high quality standards and increasing employees' awareness on managing internal control. The survey uses a questionnaire based on Likert scale and distributes among the people who work in either administration or financial sectors of governmental agencies in province of Zanjan, Iran. The results of the study indicate that the implementation of information technology positively influences management team to control their system, more effectively, using more skilled and specialized managers positively influences management internal control, an organization with suitable standard positively influences management internal control and increasing employees' awareness positively influences management internal control.

  12. INNOVATIVE ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF STATE INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL AND INTERNAL FINANCIAL AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. P. Voronchenko

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the innovative aspects of development of state internal fi nancial control and internal fi nancial audit in terms of the budgeting focused on result. A mechanism for implementing the functions of the Supervisory bodies in order to ensure the effi cient use of budgetary funds and eff ectiveness of budget expenditures. The main purpose of the article is justifi cation of implementing systems of internal fi nancial control and internal fi nancial audit in the structures of the major administrators and recipients of budgetary funds, with the allocation of the basic tools that ensure the functioning of the control mechanism, the combination of control procedures and sequence of their implementation. Methodological base of research is the generalization of domestic and foreign experience of internal fi nancial control and internal fi nancial audit, refl ecting an objective law and the necessity of development of state fi nancial control system in the conditions of innovative economy. The result of the implementation of the proposed mechanism and instruments for its implementation in key spending units and recipients of budget funds should be to ensure the eff ectiveness of the implementation of government programmes and projects. Signifi cance of the research contained in the article problems and their solutions is to ensure the effectiveness of the regulatory authorities at all stages of movement of budgetary funds and effective implementation of their Manager and recipient assigned to them socio-economic functions.

  13. Deriving proper measurement uncertainty from Internal Quality Control data: An impossible mission?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceriotti, Ferruccio

    2018-03-30

    Measurement uncertainty (MU) is a "non-negative parameter characterizing the dispersion of the quantity values being attributed to a measurand, based on the information used". In the clinical laboratory the most convenient way to calculate MU is the "top down" approach based on the use of Internal Quality Control data. As indicated in the definition, MU depends on the information used for its calculation and so different estimates of MU can be obtained. The most problematic aspect is how to deal with bias. In fact bias is difficult to detect and quantify and it should be corrected including only the uncertainty derived from this correction. Several approaches to calculate MU starting from Internal Quality Control data are presented. The minimum requirement is to use only the intermediate precision data, provided to include 6 months of results obtained with a commutable quality control material at a concentration close to the clinical decision limit. This approach is the minimal requirement and it is convenient for all those measurands that are especially used for monitoring or where a reference measurement system does not exist and so a reference for calculating the bias is lacking. Other formulas including the uncertainty of the value of the calibrator, including the bias from a commutable certified reference material or from a material specifically prepared for trueness verification, including the bias derived from External Quality Assessment schemes or from historical mean of the laboratory are presented and commented. MU is an important parameter, but a single, agreed upon way to calculate it in a clinical laboratory is not yet available. Copyright © 2018 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Combination of Markov chain and optimal control solved by Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle for a fuel cell/supercapacitor vehicle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hemi, Hanane; Ghouili, Jamel; Cheriti, Ahmed

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A combination of Markov chain and an optimal control solved by Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle is presented. • This strategy is applied to hybrid electric vehicle dynamic model. • The hydrogen consumption is analyzed for two different vehicle mass and drive cycle. • The supercapacitor and fuel cell behavior is analyzed at high or sudden required power. - Abstract: In this article, a real time optimal control strategy based on Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle (PMP) combined with the Markov chain approach is used for a fuel cell/supercapacitor electrical vehicle. In real time, at high power and at high speed, two phenomena are observed. The first is obtained at higher required power, and the second is observed at sudden power demand. To avoid these situations, the Markov chain model is proposed to predict the future power demand during a driving cycle. The optimal control problem is formulated as an equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS), that has to be solved by using the Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle. A Markov chain model is added as a separate block for a prediction of required power. This approach and the whole system are modeled and implemented using the MATLAB/Simulink. The model without Markov chain block and the model is with it are compared. The results presented demonstrate the importance of a Markov chain block added to a model

  15. Government Internal Control System Maturity: The Role of Internal Guidance and External Control of Local Government in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutaryo Sutaryo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study discusses the Government Internal Control System (SPIP. The purpose of this study is to obtain empirical evidence of influence of guidance, external control, and the characteristics of Local Governments on Internal Control (SPIP maturity of local governments in Indonesia. The samples used in this study are 188 local governments in 2014. The variables used include the dependent variable, i.e. the SPIP maturity of local government; Independent variables, i.e. guidance frequency, the number of internal control findings, total assets, total expenditure and the number of local government units. This study uses secondary data obtained from the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK. This study uses multiple regression analysis and the results show that the guidace frequency and total expenditure have a positive influence on maturity of SPIP, SPI finding has a negative influence, and the total assets and the number of units do not have significant influence on the maturity of SPIP.

  16. Internal control in the management system of meat processing enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volodymyr Kushnir

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article is described the theoretical basis of internal control and its practical aspects in the work of meat processing enterprises (a case in the meat processing industry in Ukraine. The purpose of the research is to establish the theoretical foundations of the internal control and its improvement in the activity of meat processing plants of various forms of management. It is proposed to use precisely internal control among other names of domestic control. Definition of internal control, its subject and purpose are improved. The subjects and objects of internal control are determined; the principles of its implementation are supplemented. Specific control tasks in meat processing plants according to the needs of this industry are outlined. Specific examples of control subjects are presented and the role of the revision commission is emphasized. The state of internal control in meat processing plants in Ukraine is investigated and it is established that it has a bad condition and unfounded approach to its implementation by managers of meat processing enterprises. To improve the situation we recommend that each meat processing enterprise have in its staff a revision commission or an apposer (auditor. It is established that internal control is more effective in joint-stock companies than in limited liability companies. The necessity of internal control as an important element in the enterprise management system is accented.

  17. Expanding Internal Control Functionality Scope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mykola M. Vuitsiv

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The article reviews the influence of «western» concepts of the information needs of management process provisions on forming and developing the up-to-date model of Internal Control. An attempt has been made to develop the approach to solve urgent management tasks by applying the ideas of controlling and management accounting via the traditional national approach to the content of control. The place of control in the enterprise management information system has also been reviewed.

  18. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dzhamilya F. Ismailova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the theoretical aspects of internal financial control, summarizes the definition formulated by scientists and experts, analyzed for differences between incompany and intrafarm control. The article discusses the collapse of Enron, notes the general provisions of various types of financial control.

  19. Internal Control Good Cooperative Governance And Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andry Arifian Rachman

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine the influence of internal control and good cooperative governance partially and simultaneously to the performance of cooperatives in West Java Province. The research method used in this research is descriptive and verification. The sample in this research is 22 boards as manager of cooperative in West Java Province. The data used in the research is the primary data through questionnaire collection. Validity and reliability testing is performed before hypothesis testing. This research uses multiple regression analysis technique. Based on hypothesis testing obtained 1 internal control has no significant effect on performance 2 good cooperative governance has a significant effect on performance and 3 internal control and good cooperative governance have a significant effect on performance.

  20. 13 CFR 107.506 - Safeguarding Licensee's assets/Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    .../Internal controls. 107.506 Section 107.506 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION... Safeguarding Licensee's assets/Internal controls. You must adopt a plan to safeguard your assets and monitor... your control procedures. ...

  1. Internal Border Controls in the European Union

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Carsten Willemoes; Sørensen, Karsten Engsig

    2012-01-01

    Recent events, involving inter alia France and Denmark, have stimulated renewed interest in the introduction of different forms of border controls at the internal borders within the European Union. These border control measures are aimed at checking either persons or goods or both. Against...... the background of these events, this article analyses the existing rules regulating controls of persons and goods, and explores how these rules may or may not stand in the way of introducing border controls at the European Union’s internal borders. These events have resulted in a call for reforms of the current...

  2. Budgeting-Based Organization of Internal Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogulenko, Tatiana; Ponomareva, Svetlana; Bodiaco, Anna; Mironenko, Valentina; Zelenov, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    The article suggests methodical approaches to the budgeting-based organization of internal control, determines the tasks and subtasks of control that consist in the construction of an efficient system for the making, implementation, control, and analysis of managerial decisions. The organization of responsibility centers by means of implementing…

  3. Reactor power control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomisawa, Teruaki.

    1981-01-01

    Purpose: To restore reactor-power condition in a minimum time after a termination of turbine bypass by reducing the throttling of the reactor power at the time of load-failure as low as possible. Constitution: The transient change of the internal pressure of condenser is continuously monitored. When a turbine is bypassed, a speed-control-command signal for a coolant recirculating pump is generated according as the internal pressure of the condenser. When the signal relating to the internal pressure of the condenser indicates insufficient power, a reactor-control-rod-drive signal is generated. (J.P.N.)

  4. AUTOMATION OF THE SYSTEM OF INTERNAL LABORATORY QUALITY CONTROL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Z. Stetsyuk

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Quality control system base d on the principles of standardi zation of all phases of laboratory testing and analysis of internal laboratory quality control and external quality assessment. For the detection accuracy of the results of laboratory tests, carried out internally between the laboratory and laboratory quality control. Under internal laboratory quality control we understand measurement results of each analysis in each anal ytical series rendered directly in the lab every day. The purpose of internal laboratory control - identifying and eliminating unacceptable deviations from standard perfor mance test in the laboratory, i.e. identifying and eliminating harmful analytical errors. The solutions to these problems by implementing automated systems - software that allows you to optimize analytical laboratory research stage of the procedure by automatically creating process control charts was shown.

  5. 42 CFR 422.382 - Minimum net worth amount.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... that CMS considers appropriate to reduce, control or eliminate start-up administrative costs. (b) After... section. (c) Calculation of the minimum net worth amount—(1) Cash requirement. (i) At the time of application, the organization must maintain at least $750,000 of the minimum net worth amount in cash or cash...

  6. Chaos control of the brushless direct current motor using adaptive dynamic surface control based on neural network with the minimum weights

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Shaohua; Wu, Songli; Gao, Ruizhen

    2015-01-01

    This paper investigates chaos control for the brushless DC motor (BLDCM) system by adaptive dynamic surface approach based on neural network with the minimum weights. The BLDCM system contains parameter perturbation, chaotic behavior, and uncertainty. With the help of radial basis function (RBF) neural network to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, the adaptive law is established to overcome uncertainty of the control gain. By introducing the RBF neural network and adaptive technology into the dynamic surface control design, a robust chaos control scheme is developed. It is proved that the proposed control approach can guarantee that all signals in the closed-loop system are globally uniformly bounded, and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are provided to show that the proposed approach works well in suppressing chaos and parameter perturbation

  7. Chaos control of the brushless direct current motor using adaptive dynamic surface control based on neural network with the minimum weights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Shaohua; Wu, Songli; Gao, Ruizhen

    2015-07-01

    This paper investigates chaos control for the brushless DC motor (BLDCM) system by adaptive dynamic surface approach based on neural network with the minimum weights. The BLDCM system contains parameter perturbation, chaotic behavior, and uncertainty. With the help of radial basis function (RBF) neural network to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, the adaptive law is established to overcome uncertainty of the control gain. By introducing the RBF neural network and adaptive technology into the dynamic surface control design, a robust chaos control scheme is developed. It is proved that the proposed control approach can guarantee that all signals in the closed-loop system are globally uniformly bounded, and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are provided to show that the proposed approach works well in suppressing chaos and parameter perturbation.

  8. Effect of internal controls on credit risk among listed Spanish banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellis Kofi Akwaa-Sekyi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The paper examines the effectiveness of internal control systems, explores the exposure of Spanish banks to the dangers of default as a result of internal control systems and establishes a relationship between internal controls and credit risk. Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative research approach is used to test hypotheses on the relationship between internal controls and credit risk among listed banks in Spain. Data from Bankscope and company websites from 2004-2013 were used. Generalized Least Squares (random effect econometric estimation technique was used for the model. Findings: We find that internal control systems are in place but their effectiveness cannot be guaranteed. This exposes Spanish listed banks to serious default situations. There is significant effect of internal controls on credit risk especially the control environment, risk management, control activities and monitoring. The non-disclosure of material internal control weakness is a contributory factor to the ineffective internal control systems. There is however a perceived board ineffectiveness which does not augur well for effective internal control systems. Board characteristics for Spanish banks confirm the agency theory. Research Limitations and Implications: Data unavailability for certain years, variables and many inactive banks did not permit a larger sample size than expected. The use of quantitative variables lacks flexibility. Practical Implications: Bank management will find the work useful to ensure strict enforcement of internal control mechanisms and see it as both credit risk and operational risk issues. Central bank should hurry to compel banks to disclose material internal control weakness as provided in the reviewed COSO framework. Social Implications: Ineffective internal controls lead to credit risks, bank closure and loss of investments. Society suffers a lot from such losses and contagion. Disclosure of material internal control

  9. AUDITING INTERNAL CONTROLS IN FINANCING PRESCHOOL PUBLIC INSTITUTION: EVIDENCE FROM SLOVENIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatjana HORVAT

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Public preschool educational institutions in Slovenia are mostly financed by public money, it means bay state and municipalities. They are also financed by parents. So, it is important that preschool institutions are using public money transparent and responsible, for this reason public preschool institution should have internal controls in financing. The internal auditor as independent professional should verify if internal controls works. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how internal controls in financing public educational institution works it means which internal controls are important in financing the preschool institution - on the selected institution to show and check how internal controls work. For this reason we divide internal controls in the financing in two phases: (1 internal controls in the preparation of the annual financial plan and financial planning of financial resources for institution’s programs and activities, (2 internal controls in obtaining financial resources. We used methods of internal auditing and research approaches as sampling, unstructured interviews and analysis of documents. The results showed that selected preschool institution should work on rules of recovery and monitoring of claims. The findings provide useful academic insight to setting internal controls as well as practical guidance for preschool institutions.

  10. Selection of an Alternate Biocide for the ISS Internal Thermal Control System Coolant, Phase 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Mark E.; Cole, Harold; Weir, Natalee; Oehler, Bill; Steele, John; Varsik, Jerry; Lukens, Clark

    2004-01-01

    The ISS (International Space Station) ITCS (Internal Thermal Control System) includes two internal coolant loops that utilize an aqueous based coolant for heat transfer. A silver salt biocide had previously been utilized as an additive in the coolant formulation to control the growth and proliferation of microorganisms within the coolant loops. Ground-based and in-flight testing demonstrated that the silver salt was rapidly depleted, and did not act as an effective long-term biocide. Efforts to select an optimal alternate biocide for the ITCS coolant application have been underway and are now in the final stages. An extensive evaluation of biocides was conducted to down-select to several candidates for test trials and was reported on previously. Criteria for that down-select included: the need for safe, non-intrusive implementation and operation in a functioning system; the ability to control existing planktonic and biofilm residing microorganisms; a negligible impact on system-wetted materials of construction; and a negligible reactivity with existing coolant additives. Candidate testing to provide data for the selection of an optimal alternate biocide is now in the final stages. That testing has included rapid biocide effectiveness screening using Biolog MT2 plates to determine minimum inhibitory concentration (amount that will inhibit visible growth of microorganisms), time kill studies to determine the exposure time required to completely eliminate organism growth, materials compatibility exposure evaluations, coolant compatibility studies, and bench-top simulated coolant testing. This paper reports the current status of the effort to select an alternate biocide for the ISS ITCS coolant. The results of various test results to select the optimal candidate are presented.

  11. 77 FR 14321 - Modifications to Minimum Present Value Requirements for Partial Annuity Distribution Options...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Part 1 [REG-110980-10] RIN 1545-BJ55 Modifications to Minimum Present Value Requirements for Partial Annuity Distribution Options Under Defined... FR 5454), providing guidance relating to the minimum present value requirements applicable to certain...

  12. The Nuclotron internal target control and data acquisition system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isupov, A.Yu., E-mail: isupov@moonhe.jinr.ru [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980 (Russian Federation); Krasnov, V.A.; Ladygin, V.P.; Piyadin, S.M.; Reznikov, S.G. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980 (Russian Federation)

    2013-01-11

    The new control system of the Nuclotron (JINR, Dubna) internal target is described in both hardware and software aspects. The CAMAC hardware is based on the use of the standard CAMAC modules developed and manufactured at JINR. The internal target control and data acquisition (IntTarg CDAQ) system software is implemented using the ngdp framework under the Unix-like operating system (OS) FreeBSD to allow easy network distribution of the online data collected from internal target and accompanying detectors, as well as the internal target remote control.

  13. The influence of beam energy, mode and focal length on the control of laser ignition in an internal combustion engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullett, J D; Dodd, R; Williams, C J; Triantos, G; Dearden, G; Shenton, A T; Watkins, K G; Carroll, S D; Scarisbrick, A D; Keen, S

    2007-01-01

    This work involves a study on laser ignition (LI) in an internal combustion (IC) engine and investigates the effects on control of engine combustion performance and stability of varying specific laser parameters (beam energy, beam quality, minimum beam waist size, focal point volume and focal length). A Q-switched Nd : YAG laser operating at the fundamental wavelength 1064 nm was successfully used to ignite homogeneous stoichiometric gasoline and air mixtures in one cylinder of a 1.6 litre IC test engine, where the remaining three cylinders used conventional electrical spark ignition (SI). A direct comparison between LI and conventional SI is presented in terms of changes in coefficient of variability in indicated mean effective pressure (COV IMEP ) and the variance in the peak cylinder pressure position (Var PPP ). The laser was individually operated in three different modes by changing the diameter of the cavity aperture, where the results show that for specific parameters, LI performed better than SI in terms of combustion performance and stability. Minimum ignition energies for misfire free combustion ranging from 4 to 28 mJ were obtained for various optical and laser configurations and were compared with the equivalent minimum optical breakdown energies in air

  14. Determinants of Effective Internal Control System in Nigerian Banks ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Determinants of Effective Internal Control System in Nigerian Banks. ... (21) chief internal auditors of selected recapitalized banks currently operating in Port Harcourt. ... can be carried out, high level ethical standards should be enshrined in Nigerian banks to make internal control more effective. ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

  15. METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM FORMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larisa I. Egorova

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The methodological aspects of the internal control system formation are stated in the article. The great attention is focused on the problems of financial statements misrepresentation. The basic principles and structure of the internal control system are discussed in this article.

  16. Determinants of human resource investment in internal controls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jong-Hag Choi

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Using the unique reporting environment in Korea, this study investigates the determinants of human resource investment in internal controls for 1352 listed firms disclosing the number of personnel who are in charge of internal control-related tasks (IC personnel from 2005 to 2008. We find that the number of IC personnel within a firm and several key departments increase with firm size, number of employees, complexity and for Chaebols, and decrease in rapidly growing firms. Additional analysis reveals that the factors influencing internal control systems have an accentuated effect on firms with relatively larger firm size.

  17. Effect of density control and impurity transport on internal transport barrier formation in tokamak plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamakami, Tomoyuki; Fujita, Takaaki; Arimoto, Hideki; Yamazaki, Kozo

    2014-01-01

    In future fusion reactors, density control, such as fueling by pellet injection, is an effective method to control the formation of the internal transport barrier (ITB) in reversed magnetic shear plasma, which can improve plasma performance. On the other hand, an operation with ITB can cause accumulation of impurities inside the core ITB region. We studied the relation between pellet injection and ITB formation and the effect of impurity transport on the core of ITB for tokamak plasmas by using the toroidal transport analysis linkage. For ITB formation, we showed that the pellet has to be injected beyond the position where the safety factor q takes the minimum value. We confirmed that the accumulation of impurities causes the attenuation of ITB owing to radiation loss inside the ITB region. Moreover, in terms of the divertor heat flux reduction by impurity gas, the line radiation loss is high for high-Z noble gas impurities, such as Kr, whereas factor Q decreases slightly. (author)

  18. Internal control as part of prevention irregularities in accounting of budgetary institution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.М. Bunda

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The article researches the principles of internal control, the importance, the rationale for the essence of the system of internal control and the legislative building in budgetary institution. It describes the main challenges and problems of practical application of internal control in the normal course of business in modern enterprises. It reveals the following elements of the internal control of a budget institution as: control environment, risk assessment process of a budget institution, information systems, control procedures and control monitoring. The dependence between the effectiveness of accounting and internal control of a budget institution is determined. The paper highlights the methods of evaluation of internal control of a budget institution. This method is recommended for use in the preliminary assessment of control risk budget institution. The concept of «decision» as on the whole and also in particular in internal control is covered. The essential grouping indications of internal control decisions are defined and every type of decisions is characterized. The main directions of improvement of internal control to prevent violations in accounting of a budgetary institution is examined.

  19. ENHANCING ASSETS' PROTECTION THROUGH AN ADEQUATE MONITORING OF INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM BY INTERNAL AUDIT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Eugen Cosmin

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The assets are established into a company as very important and strategic resources that are contributing at the creation of the needed premises to conduct the daily-basis activity and also to reach present and future planned objectives. Recent studies like COSO's Fraudulent Financial Reporting 1998-2007 have highlighted an increasing fraudulent activity against assets therefore the efforts of fighting against fraud must be supplemented in order to preserve the existence and value of those resources. Internal controls are processes implemented in order to give a reasonable assurance that the company will not become a fraud victim. Even so, a lot of internal controls are paying a heavy tribute to their lack of efficiency and update. Thus, for a correct functioning, internal controls must be monitored and assessed permanently in order to preserve their strength and ability to fulfill their mission. This approach will deliver more added value because rather than being corrected after they have already occurred, the frauds related with the assets will be prevented, detected and reported at a timely moment, thereby the incidence and value of those criminal activities will decrease significantly. Furthermore, because not only the process of monitoring is important but even the entity conducting this activity we believe that internal audit is the most appropriate to undertake this responsibility. Thus, through this material we opened a discussion about how important permanent monitored and updated internal controls are in order to assure a proper assets protection and why internal audit, rather than the management, should be the most eligible to undertake this responsibility. Also we provided some suggestions regarding the main activities that must be taken into consideration by an internal audit professional when is being involved in a monitoring process of internal control system. We do believe that this paper will be the starting point for new

  20. Minimum alcohol pricing policies in practice: A critical examination of implementation in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Kara; Stockwell, Tim; Wettlaufer, Ashley; Giesbrecht, Norman; Thomas, Gerald

    2017-02-01

    There is an interest globally in using Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol to promote public health. Canada is the only country to have both implemented and evaluated some forms of minimum alcohol prices, albeit in ways that fall short of MUP. To inform these international debates, we describe the degree to which minimum alcohol prices in Canada meet recommended criteria for being an effective public health policy. We collected data on the implementation of minimum pricing with respect to (1) breadth of application, (2) indexation to inflation and (3) adjustments for alcohol content. Some jurisdictions have implemented recommended practices with respect to minimum prices; however, the full harm reduction potential of minimum pricing is not fully realised due to incomplete implementation. Key concerns include the following: (1) the exclusion of minimum prices for several beverage categories, (2) minimum prices below the recommended minima and (3) prices are not regularly adjusted for inflation or alcohol content. We provide recommendations for best practices when implementing minimum pricing policy.

  1. The Environmental Action Internal Control Index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith-Sebasto, N. J.; Fortner, Rosanne W.

    1994-01-01

    Reports research designed to develop a reliable and valid instrument to assess the relationship between locus of control of reinforcement and environmentally responsible behavior in (n=853) undergraduate students. Results suggest that the Environmental Action Internal Control Index can accurately predict environmentally responsible behavior.…

  2. Experimental evaluation of the MIT-SNL period-generated minimum time control laws for the rapid adjustment of reactor power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernard, J.A.; Kwok, K.S.; Menadier, P.T.; Thome, F.V.; Wyant, F.J.

    1987-01-01

    The rapid adjustment of reactor neutronic power has recently been achieved by developing control laws that determine the actuator mechanism velocity necessary to produce a specified reactor period. Designated as the 'MIT-SNL Period-Generated Minimum Time Control Laws,' these relations are closed-form expressions of general applicability. In particular, if there is no limitation on the available rate of change of reactivity, these laws can be used to achieve virtually any desired power profile including time optimal ones. The innovative aspect of these laws is that the rate of change of reactivity rather than the reactivity itself is used as the control signal. For example, relative to a time-optimal response, these laws function by altering the rate of change of reactivity so that the instantaneous period is stepped from infinity to its minimum allowed value, held at that value until the desired power level is attained, and then stepped back to infinity. The response is time-optimal because the power adjustment is continuously made at the maximum allowed rate

  3. Optimization Strategies for Bruch's Membrane Opening Minimum Rim Area Calculation: Sequential versus Simultaneous Minimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enders, Philip; Adler, Werner; Schaub, Friederike; Hermann, Manuel M; Diestelhorst, Michael; Dietlein, Thomas; Cursiefen, Claus; Heindl, Ludwig M

    2017-10-24

    To compare a simultaneously optimized continuous minimum rim surface parameter between Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) and the internal limiting membrane to the standard sequential minimization used for calculating the BMO minimum rim area in spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). In this case-control, cross-sectional study, 704 eyes of 445 participants underwent SD-OCT of the optic nerve head (ONH), visual field testing, and clinical examination. Globally and clock-hour sector-wise optimized BMO-based minimum rim area was calculated independently. Outcome parameters included BMO-globally optimized minimum rim area (BMO-gMRA) and sector-wise optimized BMO-minimum rim area (BMO-MRA). BMO area was 1.89 ± 0.05 mm 2 . Mean global BMO-MRA was 0.97 ± 0.34 mm 2 , mean global BMO-gMRA was 1.01 ± 0.36 mm 2 . Both parameters correlated with r = 0.995 (P < 0.001); mean difference was 0.04 mm 2 (P < 0.001). In all sectors, parameters differed by 3.0-4.2%. In receiver operating characteristics, the calculated area under the curve (AUC) to differentiate glaucoma was 0.873 for BMO-MRA, compared to 0.866 for BMO-gMRA (P = 0.004). Among ONH sectors, the temporal inferior location showed the highest AUC. Optimization strategies to calculate BMO-based minimum rim area led to significantly different results. Imposing an additional adjacency constraint within calculation of BMO-MRA does not improve diagnostic power. Global and temporal inferior BMO-MRA performed best in differentiating glaucoma patients.

  4. Meta-Strategies of the Internal Control Development within the Organization

    OpenAIRE

    Roman Voronko

    2015-01-01

    The article considers the problem of the influence of external and internal environment of the organization on the structure of the internal control system. A critical analysis is made on existing scientific researches and practice of setting internal control within the organizations. Determined the cause-and-effect relationship between the stages of development of the industry and business, on the one hand, and the development of the internal control structure on the other hand. It made it p...

  5. Internal quality control in serological tests for syphilis.

    OpenAIRE

    Wasley, G D

    1985-01-01

    The importance of syphilis serological tests demands that laboratory reports are reliable. Internal quality control applied to the organisation of a syphilis serology service improves laboratory bench performance and reporting. Described here are internal quality control procedures of a department that serves a genitourinary medicine clinic and conducts 70 000 tests a year to investigate for syphilis.

  6. INTERNAL CONTROLS IN ENSURING GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KOSMAS NJANIKE

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper assessed factors that influence the internal controls in ensuring good corporate governance in financial institutions in developing economies with special reference to Zimbabwe. The research paper assessed how lack of internal controls affected good corporate governance and aimed to bring out elements of good corporate governance. It emerged that failure to effectively implement internal controls contributed significantly to poor corporate governance. The study discovered that internal control system overrides and the issue of “fact cat” directors also contributed to poor corporate governance. The study recommended that there is need for the board of directors to guarantee an organizational structure that clearly defines management responsibilities, authority and reporting relationships. There is also need to ensure that delegated responsibilities are effectively carried out to ensure compliance with internal controls of the financial institution concerned.

  7. 47 CFR 90.471 - Points of operation in internal transmitter control systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ...) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PRIVATE LAND MOBILE RADIO SERVICES Transmitter Control Internal Transmitter Control Systems § 90.471 Points of operation in internal transmitter control systems. The... licensee for internal communications and transmitter control purposes. Operating positions in internal...

  8. Thermonuclear controlled fusion: international cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conscience, J.-F.

    2001-01-01

    This report summarizes the current worldwide status of research in the field of thermonuclear controlled fusion as well as the international research programme planed for the next decades. The two main projects will be the ITER facility (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) that should produce 10 times more energy than the energy injected, and the IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility) designed to study the reactions of materials under intense neutron fluxes. The future of the pioneering JET facility (Joint European Torus) is also discussed. The engagement of the various countries (USA, Japan, Germany, Russian Federation and Canada) and international organisations (EURATOM and IEA) in terms of investment and research is described. Switzerland is involved in this program through an agreement with EURATOM and is mainly dedicated to experimental studies with the TCV machine in Lausanne and numerical studies of plasma configurations. It will participate to the development of the microwave plasma heating system for the ITER machine

  9. Effect of internal controls on credit risk among listed Spanish banks

    OpenAIRE

    Akwaa-Sekyi, Ellis Kofi; Moreno Gené, Jordi

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The paper examines the effectiveness of internal control systems, explores the exposure of Spanish banks to the dangers of default as a result of internal control systems and establishes a relationship between internal controls and credit risk. Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative research approach is used to test hypotheses on the relationship between internal controls and credit risk among listed banks in Spain. Data from Bankscope and company websites from 2004-2013 were used...

  10. 7 CFR 4290.506 - Safeguarding the RBIC's assets/Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Safeguarding the RBIC's assets/Internal controls... Safeguarding the RBIC's assets/Internal controls. You must adopt a plan to safeguard your assets and monitor... your control procedures. ...

  11. The influence of beam energy, mode and focal length on the control of laser ignition in an internal combustion engine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mullett, J D [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Dodd, R [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Williams, C J [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Triantos, G [Powertrain Control Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Dearden, G [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Shenton, A T [Powertrain Control Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Watkins, K G [Laser Group, Department of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool, L69 3GH (United Kingdom); Carroll, S D [Ford Motor Company, Dunton Research and Engineering Centre, Laindon, Basildon, Essex, SS15 6EE (United Kingdom); Scarisbrick, A D [Ford Motor Company, Dunton Research and Engineering Centre, Laindon, Basildon, Essex, SS15 6EE (United Kingdom); Keen, S [GSI Group, Cosford Lane, Swift Valley, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 1QN (United Kingdom)

    2007-08-07

    This work involves a study on laser ignition (LI) in an internal combustion (IC) engine and investigates the effects on control of engine combustion performance and stability of varying specific laser parameters (beam energy, beam quality, minimum beam waist size, focal point volume and focal length). A Q-switched Nd : YAG laser operating at the fundamental wavelength 1064 nm was successfully used to ignite homogeneous stoichiometric gasoline and air mixtures in one cylinder of a 1.6 litre IC test engine, where the remaining three cylinders used conventional electrical spark ignition (SI). A direct comparison between LI and conventional SI is presented in terms of changes in coefficient of variability in indicated mean effective pressure (COV{sub IMEP}) and the variance in the peak cylinder pressure position (Var{sub PPP}). The laser was individually operated in three different modes by changing the diameter of the cavity aperture, where the results show that for specific parameters, LI performed better than SI in terms of combustion performance and stability. Minimum ignition energies for misfire free combustion ranging from 4 to 28 mJ were obtained for various optical and laser configurations and were compared with the equivalent minimum optical breakdown energies in air.

  12. International Telecommunication Control: International Law and the Ordering of Satellite and Other Forms of International Broadcasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Delbert D.

    The need for and the available alternatives for international telecommunication controls are examined, and a functional approach to this area of law is offered. Information from a number of areas is collected and examined as it relates to the basic problem. These areas include general principles of international law, the activities of the…

  13. Internal dosimetry and control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rich, B.L.

    1990-05-01

    This internal dosimetry and control report provides guidance for EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc., field programs in detecting, evaluating, and controlling personnel exposure resulting from uptake of radionuclides by the body. Procedures specific to each program or facility are required to define the details of guidance from this report. Fundamental principles related to philosophy, policies, monitoring guidelines, and dose evaluation are discussed. Specific numerical guides and action levels are developed to guide the programs in evaluating the significance of specific analytical results. The requirement to thoroughly document the results and provide a formal technical base for each policy and/or practice is outlined and explained. 8 refs., 3 figs., 7 tabs

  14. Internal transport control in pot plant production

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Annevelink, E.

    1999-01-01

    Drawing up internal transport schedules in pot plant production is a very complex task. Scheduling internal transport at the operational level and providing control on a day-to-day or even hour-to-hour basis in particular requires a new approach. A hierarchical planning approach based on

  15. Have the auditors closed the expectation gap concerning evaluation of internal control?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birkholm, Peter; Holm, Claus

    internal controls intended for management directors, it provides a framework which explicitly deals with the interests of all parties involved (including auditors, board of directors and regulating bodies). The auditors took this into account by updating the particular auditing standard on internal control....... Realized discrepancies are identified and related to the necessary features of an integrated framework. The necessary features include (1) the definition of internal controls, (2) the components of internal control, (3) the criteria for evaluating internal control as stated by the auditors (4) the criteria...... for evaluating internal controls as stated by management, and (5) the integration of internal control evaluations from management and auditors. The paper provides evidence from an in-depth contents analysis comparing SAS No. 55 from 1988 with the COSO-report from 1992 and SAS No. 78 from 1995. The analysis...

  16. The Dutch minimum wage: a radical reduction shifts the main focus to part-time jobs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salverda, W.

    2009-01-01

    The paper is part of a broader international project undertaken by the ILO and the European Commission. It studies the Dutch minimum wage from the perspective of country differences in minimum-pay regulations within the European Union with the aim of serving as an input into a discussion whether a

  17. Internal quality control of PCR-based genotyping methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bladbjerg, Else-Marie; Gram, Jørgen; Jespersen, Jørgen

    2002-01-01

    Internal quality control programmes for genetic analyses are needed. We have focused on quality control aspects of selected polymorphism analyses used in thrombosis research. DNA was isolated from EDTA-blood (n = 500) and analysed for 18 polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), i...... because of positive reagent blanks (controls (Control of data handling revealed 0.1% reading mistakes and 0.5% entry mistakes. Based on our experiences, we propose an internal quality control programme......, electrophoresis (analytical factors), result reading and entry into a database (post-analytical factors). Furthermore, we evaluated a procedure for result confirmation. Isolated DNA was of good quality (42 micrograms/ml blood, A260/A280 ratio > 1.75, negative DNAsis tests). Occasionally, results were reanalysed...

  18. Nuclear materials control and accountability internal audit program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barham, M.A.; Abbott, R.R.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that the Department of Energy Order (DOE) 5633.3, Control and Accountability for Nuclear Materials, includes several requirements for development and implementation of an internal audit program. Martin Marietta Energy System, Inc., manages five sites in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio for the DOE Field Office, Oak Ridge and has a Central Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability (NMC and A) Manager with matrixed responsibility for the NMC and A program at the five sites. The Energy Systems Central NMC and A Manager has developed an NMC and A Internal Audit Handbook which defines the functional responsibilities, performance criteria, and reporting and documentation requirements for the Energy Systems NMC and A Internal Audit Program. The initial work to develop and implement these standards was tested at the K-25 Site when the site hired an internal auditor to meet the DOE requirements for an NMC and A Internal Audit program

  19. Protocol for the verification of minimum criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaggiano, M.; Spiccia, P.; Gaetano Arnetta, P.

    2014-01-01

    This Protocol has been prepared with reference to the provisions of article 8 of the Legislative Decree of May 26, 2000 No. 187. Quality controls of radiological equipment fit within the larger 'quality assurance Program' and are intended to ensure the correct operation of the same and the maintenance of that State. The pursuit of this objective guarantees that the radiological equipment subjected to those controls also meets the minimum criteria of acceptability set out in annex V of the aforementioned legislative decree establishing the conditions necessary to allow the functions to which each radiological equipment was designed, built and for which it is used. The Protocol is established for the purpose of quality control of radiological equipment of Cone Beam Computer Tomography type and reference document, in the sense that compliance with stated tolerances also ensures the subsistence minimum acceptability requirements, where applicable.

  20. Pengaruh Proporsi Komisaris Independen dan Komposisi Komite Audit terhadap Internal Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Makhdalena Makhdalena

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Accounting manipulation that occurred in recent years makes accounting experts to focus on internal control issues. The experts agree that internal control is an important issue through a substance that can be given by the internal control. Internal control can be effective if supported by the proportion of independent commissioners and audit committee composition are adequate. Based on that idea, the researchers interested in conducting research that aims to find out: the influence of the proportion of independent commissioners and audit committee composition of the internal control eithersimultaneously or partially. Research conducted by the survey in 48 listed companies in Jakarta Stock Exchange manufacturing drawn at random from the population. Data used in this study are primary data from the questionnaire and secondary data from the annual report. Data were analyzed using path analysis. The results showed that: the proportion of independent commissioners and audit committee composition has a significant influence on the internal control eithersimultaneously or partially.

  1. Partial Internal Control Recovery on 1-D Klein-Gordon Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iwan Pranoto

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available In this exposition, a technique to recover internal control on a distributed parameter system is reported. The system is described by 1-D Klein-Gordon partial differential equation with a time-varying parameter. We would like to recover the internal control applied to the system if we know some limited information about the output. We use a method called sentinel method to recover the internal control. It involves some construction of a linear functional, and we show that this construction relates closely to the exact controllability problem.

  2. Internal control activities in small Turkish companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismail Bilgi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to present major outcomes from an empirical study concerning internal control activities in small Turkish companies, as to propose the improvement guidelines. Methods of analysis and synthesis, descriptive statistics, and statistical comparison were used. The collected data was processed with the help of the SPSS software. Тhe study is limited to organizations based in the European part of Turkey. Most of them operate in areas around large cities, such as Istanbul, Edirne, Kırklareli, and Tekirdağ. They employ on average 19-20 people and have a turnover of about TRY 3 million (≈€715,000, https://sdw.ecb.europa.eu on average. The survey concentrates mainly on small family businesses, which have been present on the market for more than ten years, with managers of good education and other characteristics that presuppose availability of internal control systems. The research results were used to compile main points of a SWOT analysis, as a part of the broader effort to help modernizing the internal control system in Turkish small businesses.

  3. SOME CONSIDERATIONS OVER THE INTERNAL CONTROL IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT ACCOUNTANCY REGULATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lenghel Dorin Radu

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Through the hereby study we set ourselves on an analysis over the internal control and the ways of implementation of it. The final purpose of our research is represented by the characteristics of the internal control system in the context of current accountancy regulations. The accomplishment of such goal has forced us to research the current literature in the area and also the legal regulations over internal control. Of course, the accomplishment of such a research was possible only after a pertinent analysis over the opinions expressed in specialty literature regarding this area. Our research wants to be with a theoretical and applicative character. It is based on analysing the internal control system, the methodology of internal control and the steps of internal control. We express our belief that the implementation of the internal control in a very exact manner comes as an aid to the company management and lead to the accomplishment of managerial objectives and policies. In what it regards the result of our research there can be drawn the following conclusions: from the legal regulations (OMFP nr. 3055/2009, there is no clear conclusion over the procedures and policies of implementation of internal control applicable to an economical entity; also there are not presented in a detailed way the types (forms of internal control, being presented in the legal regulations only a classification of them after the time in which they are exercised (before, during or after the finishing of the operations; also in the legal regulations there is developed a certain way of internal control, represented by the financial and accounting internal control, as if the other forms of internal control do not exist; in what regards the components of internal control, these are presented in another way, but similar to already known models of internal control (Coso and Coco; also in the legal regulations there are presented the general objectives of internal control

  4. Model tracking dual stochastic controller design under irregular internal noises

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jong Bok; Heo, Hoon; Cho, Yun Hyun; Ji, Tae Young

    2006-01-01

    Although many methods about the control of irregular external noise have been introduced and implemented, it is still necessary to design a controller that will be more effective and efficient methods to exclude for various noises. Accumulation of errors due to model tracking, internal noises (thermal noise, shot noise and l/f noise) that come from elements such as resistor, diode and transistor etc. in the circuit system and numerical errors due to digital process often destabilize the system and reduce the system performance. New stochastic controller is adopted to remove those noises using conventional controller simultaneously. Design method of a model tracking dual controller is proposed to improve the stability of system while removing external and internal noises. In the study, design process of the model tracking dual stochastic controller is introduced that improves system performance and guarantees robustness under irregular internal noises which can be created internally. The model tracking dual stochastic controller utilizing F-P-K stochastic control technique developed earlier is implemented to reveal its performance via simulation

  5. Internal control as part of prevention irregularities in accounting of budgetary institution

    OpenAIRE

    O.М. Bunda; E.М. Guzenko

    2016-01-01

    The article researches the principles of internal control, the importance, the rationale for the essence of the system of internal control and the legislative building in budgetary institution. It describes the main challenges and problems of practical application of internal control in the normal course of business in modern enterprises. It reveals the following elements of the internal control of a budget institution as: control environment, risk assessment process of a budget institu...

  6. Specificity of continuous auditing approach on information technology internal controls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaćanski Slobodan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary business world, can not be imagined without the use of information technology in all aspects of business. The use of information technology in manufacturing and non-production companies' activities can greatly facilitate and accelerate the process of operation and control. Because of its complexity, they possess vulnerable areas and provide space for the emergence of accidental and intentional frauds that can significantly materially affect the business decisions made by the companies' management. Implementation of internal controls can greatly reduce the level of errors that can contribute to making the wrong decisions. In order to protect the operating system, the company's management implement an internal audit to periodically examine the fundamental quality of the internal control systems. Since the internal audit, according to its character, only periodically checks quality of internal control systems and information technologies to be reported to the manager, the problem arises in the process of in wrong time reporting the management structures of the business entity. To eliminate this problem, management implements a special approach to internal audit, called continuous auditing.

  7. Evolving minimum standards in responsible international sperm donor offspring quota

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssens, Pim M. W.; Thorn, Petra; Castilla, Jose A.; Frith, Lucy; Crawshaw, Marilyn; Mochtar, Monique; Bjorndahl, Lars; Kvist, Ulrik; Kirkman-Brown, Jackson C.

    2015-01-01

    An international working group was established with the aim of making recommendations on the number of offspring for a sperm donor that should be allowable in cases of international use of his sperm. Considerations from genetic, psychosocial, operational and ethical points of view were debated. For

  8. Internal controls and credit risk relationship among banks in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ellis Kofi Akwaa-Sekyi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The study purport to investigate the effectiveness of internal control mechanisms, investigate whether evidence of agency problem is found among banks in Europe and determine how internal controls affect credit risk. Design/methodology/approach: Panel data from 91 banks from 23 European Union countries were studied from 2008-2014. Hausman’s specification test suggest the use of fixed effects estimation technique of GLS. Quantitatively modelled data on 15 variables covering elements of internal controls, objectives of internal controls, agency problem, bank and country specific variables were used. Findings: There is still high credit risk in spite of measures being implemented by the European Central Bank. Banks have individual entity factors that increase or decrease credit risk. The study finds effective internal control systems because objectives of internal controls are achieved and significantly determine credit risk. Agency problem is confirmed due to significant positive relation with credit risk. There is significant effect of internal controls on credit risk with specific variables as risk assessment, return on average risk weighted assets, institutional ownership, bank size, inflation, interest rate and GDP. Research limitations/implications: Missing data prevented the use of strongly balanced panel. The lack of flexibility with using quantitative approach did not allow further scrutiny of the nature of variables. However, statistical tests were acceptable for the model used. The study has implications for management and owners of banks to be warry of agency problem because that provides incentive for reckless high risk transactions that may benefit the agent than the principal. Management must engage in actions that profile the company better and enhances value maximization. Rising default risk has tendency to impair corporate image leading to loss of reputational capital. Originality/value: The study provides the use of

  9. The Glioma International Case-Control Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amirian, E. Susan; Armstrong, Georgina N; Zhou, Renke

    2016-01-01

    Decades of research have established only a few etiological factors for glioma, which is a rare and highly fatal brain cancer. Common methodological challenges among glioma studies include small sample sizes, heterogeneity of tumor subtypes, and retrospective exposure assessment. Here, we briefly...... describe the Glioma International Case-Control (GICC) Study (recruitment, 2010-2013), a study being conducted by the Genetic Epidemiology of Glioma International Consortium that integrates data from multiple data collection sites, uses a common protocol and questionnaire, and includes biospecimen...

  10. Control of minimum member size in parameter-free structural shape optimization by a medial axis approximation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Oliver; Steinmann, Paul

    2017-09-01

    We introduce a manufacturing constraint for controlling the minimum member size in structural shape optimization problems, which is for example of interest for components fabricated in a molding process. In a parameter-free approach, whereby the coordinates of the FE boundary nodes are used as design variables, the challenging task is to find a generally valid definition for the thickness of non-parametric geometries in terms of their boundary nodes. Therefore we use the medial axis, which is the union of all points with at least two closest points on the boundary of the domain. Since the effort for the exact computation of the medial axis of geometries given by their FE discretization highly increases with the number of surface elements we use the distance function instead to approximate the medial axis by a cloud of points. The approximation is demonstrated on three 2D examples. Moreover, the formulation of a minimum thickness constraint is applied to a sensitivity-based shape optimization problem of one 2D and one 3D model.

  11. 25 CFR 542.12 - What are the minimum internal control standards for table games?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... this section, if a gaming operation uses plastic cards (not plastic-coated cards), the cards may be... distribution, use, and control. Personnel from the cashier or pit departments shall have no access to the... cards and dice shall be maintained in a secure location to prevent unauthorized access and to reduce the...

  12. The stages of the international drug control system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carstairs, Catherine

    2005-01-01

    This paper argues that the history of the international drug control system of the League of Nations/United Nations can be divided into three cumulative stages. The first stage, the supply stage, dates back to early part of the 20th century, and aimed to reduce the supply of drugs through careful monitoring and trade regulations. This has remained the dominant control strategy. In the middle of the century, demand control, in the form of treatment and criminalization of the individual user, began to appear. This was the least successful stage. Finally, in the 1980s, the dangers of the drug traffic assumed an important place on the international agenda and measures to reduce drug-related organized crime were enacted. To date, this has been a process of proliferation of regulatory strategies. Recently, new challenges to the international drug control system have emerged, including well-funded non-governmental organizations critical of the war on drugs, and the adoption of harm reduction measures in national policies around the world.

  13. International trade agreements: a threat to tobacco control policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, E R; Brenner, J E; Houston, T P

    2005-08-01

    International covenants establish a role for governments in ensuring the conditions for human health and wellbeing, which has been recognised as a central human right. International trade agreements, conversely, prioritize the rights of corporations over health and human rights. International trade agreements are threatening existing tobacco control policies and restrict the possibility of implementing new controls. This situation is unrecognised by many tobacco control advocates in signatory nations, especially those in developing countries. Recent agreements on eliminating various trade restrictions, including those on tobacco, have expanded far beyond simply international movement of goods to include internal tobacco distribution regulations and intellectual property rules regulating advertising and labelling. Our analysis shows that to the extent trade agreements protect the tobacco industry, in itself a deadly enterprise, they erode human rights principles and contribute to ill health. The tobacco industry has used trade policy to undermine effective barriers to tobacco importation. Trade negotiations provide an unwarranted opportunity for the tobacco industry to assert its interests without public scrutiny. Trade agreements provide the industry with additional tools to obstruct control policies in both developed and developing countries and at every level. The health community should become involved in reversing these trends, and help promote additional measures to protect public health.

  14. National Transportation Safety Board : weak internal control impaired financial accountability

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-09-28

    The U. S. General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to review the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) internal controls over selected types of fiscal year expenditures. They were asked to determine whether internal control weaknesses were a...

  15. 17 CFR 229.308 - (Item 308) Internal control over financial reporting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... over financial reporting. 229.308 Section 229.308 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND... § 229.308 (Item 308) Internal control over financial reporting. (a) Management's annual report on internal control over financial reporting. Provide a report of management on the registrant's internal...

  16. Internal laboratory control in residue analysis of chlorinated hydrocarbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-01-01

    The thesis contains a chapter on gaschromatographic system in which gas current, temperatures, separation system, detector system, recorder, dosing system and integrator are described. The chapter on reagents deals with standards and solvents, absorbents and other reagents. The chapter on laboratory equipment deals with general recommendations for apparatus, purification and total numerical result of blank test. The chapter ''Methods'' contains general references, aptitude for a special problem, common investigations and control by standard reference materials. The chapter on the work up of samples treats extraction, purification, concentrating the solution, internal standard, multiple determination and control samples. The chapter on measurement presents calibration, internal standard, multiple determination, securing the result and control samples. The chapter on evaluation consists of qualitative and quantitave evaluation, decision criteria and communication of the result. The chapter of documentation described routine investigations, tests and controls of internal laboratory control, preliminary works, maintenance and service works.

  17. The importance of domestic law to international arms control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehman, R.F. II.

    1993-11-01

    Studies of arms control and disarmament tend to focus on political, military, and diplomatic processes. Recently, in the context of the conversion of defense activities to civilian use, the economic aspects of arms control have also received renewed interest. The legal dimension, however, is in need of fresh examination. Both international and domestic law are sailing increasingly in uncharted waters. Recent arms control agreements and related developments in international peacekeeping have expanded the scope of international law and altered how one perceives certain fundamentals, including the principle of national sovereignty. Still, the nation state is largely unchallenged as the primary actor in international affairs. National governments retain near absolute sovereign rights and responsibilities even in an age of trans-national economic integration and codified international norms for human rights, freedom of the press, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Indeed, the role of domestic law in arms control and disarmament may be more significant now than ever before. A brief review of relationships between arms control and domestic law should illustrate ways in which ones thinking has been underestimating the importance of domestic law. Hopefully, this survey will set the stage properly for the excellent, more detailed case studies by Elinor Hammarskjold and Alan Crawford. Toward that end, this paper will highlight a number of more general, and sometimes provocative, themes. These themes should be kept in mind when those two complementary presentations are considered

  18. The importance of domestic law to international arms control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehman, R.F. II

    1993-11-01

    Studies of arms control and disarmament tend to focus on political, military, and diplomatic processes. Recently, in the context of the conversion of defense activities to civilian use, the economic aspects of arms control have also received renewed interest. The legal dimension, however, is in need of fresh examination. Both international and domestic law are sailing increasingly in uncharted waters. Recent arms control agreements and related developments in international peacekeeping have expanded the scope of international law and altered how one perceives certain fundamentals, including the principle of national sovereignty. Still, the nation state is largely unchallenged as the primary actor in international affairs. National governments retain near absolute sovereign rights and responsibilities even in an age of trans-national economic integration and codified international norms for human rights, freedom of the press, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Indeed, the role of domestic law in arms control and disarmament may be more significant now than ever before. A brief review of relationships between arms control and domestic law should illustrate ways in which ones thinking has been underestimating the importance of domestic law. Hopefully, this survey will set the stage properly for the excellent, more detailed case studies by Elinor Hammarskjold and Alan Crawford. Toward that end, this paper will highlight a number of more general, and sometimes provocative, themes. These themes should be kept in mind when those two complementary presentations are considered.

  19. 13 CFR 108.506 - Safeguarding the NMVC Company's assets/Internal controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... assets/Internal controls. 108.506 Section 108.506 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS... Requirements § 108.506 Safeguarding the NMVC Company's assets/Internal controls. You must adopt a plan to... document describing your control procedures. ...

  20. What is the minimum value of the safety factor on the magnetic axis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bussac, M.N.; Pellat, R.; Edery, D.; Soule, J.L.

    This paper is presented in the following way: in chapter 2 the main stability properties in the vicinity of the magnetic axis with respect to the localized modes is recalled. The possibility of decreasing the minimum value of the safety factor q below unity, without violating Mercier's criterion is emphasized. In chapter 3 the ideal internal kink in cylindrical geometry for non-circular cross-sections is studied. The main findings are the small destabilizing effect of an elliptical deformation and the larger stabilizing effect of a triangular deformation. In chapter 4 the previous analysis is completed by toroidal corrections and the complete result for the ideal internal kink for circular magnetic surfaces is given. This mode may be stable in toroidal geometry provided the minimum value of q remains larger than 1/2. In chapter 5 the resistive internal kink and its collisionless high temperature limit is discussed. Toroidal effects and non-linear effects in the non-linear development of the tearing modes are compared

  1. Women's perceived internal control of future pregnancy outcomes and its related factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maleki, Azam; Mazloomzadeh, Saeideh

    2013-03-01

    With regards to the importance of women's beliefs in improving pregnancy outcomes, this study was performed to determine the perceived internal control on future pregnancy outcomes and its related factors in women who participated in pre-marital counseling. In a cross-sectional study, women's perceived internal control was investigated. The study population comprised the women in reproductive age of whom 400 were selected by random sampling. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire consisting of demographic, pre-conceptional care, and internal control questions. Two categories of favorite and not favorite levels of internal control were defined based on the total score. The validity of the questionnaire was determined via content validity method by use of experts' opinion and its reliability was evaluated through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient which was 0.76. Data were analyzed through frequency tables, correlation coefficient, and Chi-square test at the confidence level of 0.95. Two hundred sixty-five (65%) women had a good perceived internal control and it was significantly associated with the age, educational level, and hearing about pre-conceptional care. The internal control score also showed a positive and significant correlation with both age and the subject knowledge about folic acid (r = 0.19 and r = 0.15, respectively). The majority of women had a favorite perceived internal control. Since age and educational level were the affecting factors on the perceived internal control of women, promoting the level of internal control in young women and those with low education in pre-marital counseling classes seems necessary.

  2. 25 CFR 542.22 - What are the minimum internal control standards for internal audit for Tier A gaming operations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... sensitive keys, the tracing of source documents to summarized documentation and accounting records, and... source documents to summarized documentation and accounting records, reconciliation to restricted copies... limited to, game write and payout procedures, sensitive key location and control, and a review of keno...

  3. 25 CFR 542.32 - What are the minimum internal control standards for internal audit for Tier B gaming operations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... sensitive keys, the tracing of source documents to summarized documentation and accounting records, and... source documents to summarized documentation and accounting records, reconciliation to restricted copies... limited to, game write and payout procedures, sensitive key location and control, and a review of keno...

  4. 25 CFR 542.42 - What are the minimum internal control standards for internal audit for Tier C gaming operations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... drop cabinet access, tracing of source documents to summarized documentation and accounting records...) Keno, including but not limited to, game write and payout procedures, sensitive key location and control, and a review of keno auditing procedures; (v) Pari-mutual wagering, including write and payout...

  5. Non-proliferation through effective international control, with particular reference to peaceful uses of nuclear material as a result of nuclear disarmament and international control of plutonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imai, Ryukichi

    1993-01-01

    The role of nuclear factors in the international political situation has changed. The emphasis is now on the new circumstance of the post cold-war world. Non-proliferation is dealt with through effective international control, with particular reference to peaceful uses of nuclear material as a result of nuclear weapons dismantling and international control of plutonium

  6. 32 CFR Appendix B to Part 327 - Internal Management Control Review Checklist

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Internal Management Control Review Checklist B... B to Part 327—Internal Management Control Review Checklist (a) Task: Personnel and/or Organization... See footnote 2 to this Appendix B. (1) I attest that the above listed internal controls provide...

  7. 47 CFR 90.475 - Operation of internal transmitter control systems in specially equipped systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation of internal transmitter control... Control Internal Transmitter Control Systems § 90.475 Operation of internal transmitter control systems in specially equipped systems. (a) An internal transmitter control system need not be designed to meet the...

  8. 26 CFR 404.6334(d)-1 - Minimum exemption from levy for wages, salary, or other income.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Minimum exemption from levy for wages, salary... ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE TAX REFORM ACT OF 1976 § 404.6334(d)-1 Minimum exemption from levy for wages, salary, or... him as wages, salary, or other income. Under section 6331(d)(3), a levy upon wages or salary is...

  9. Internal cost control on the ecological quality of products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.P. Syroid

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available To improve the environmental quality of products due attention should be paid to control the processes related to environmental quality input of the product. The results of the study help to state the purpose and objectives of the control, also to define objects for internal control of operations cost of environmental quality. So, we believe that the main purpose of internal cost control on the ecological quality of products is the establishment of the correctness and legality of business operations, prevention of violations and abuses in the expenditure of natural, labour, material and financial resources to ensure the minimization of negative impact on the health of consumers and the environment. The basic objectives of internal control of expenditure are brought forward, but it should be noted that they can vary and depend on the size, structure, spheres and types of economic activity of the enterprise, the requirements of management personnel. In the process of identifying the objects of control of environmental quality it should be noted that this list is not exhaustive, but it is most relevant to highlight objects such as genetically modified organisms and waste production. Also the subjects of cost control to environmental quality, their functions and the information base for monitoring are determined. Proper organization of the process of internal cost control on the ecological quality of products would benefit from a clear documentation of transactions, timely and complete registration of accounting data in the registers, the true reflection of information in managerial financial reporting and ensure reduction of the negative impact on the health of consumers and the environment.

  10. Fuzzy Logic Based Set-Point Weighting Controller Tuning for an Internal Model Control Based PID Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maruthai Suresh

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Controller tuning is the process of adjusting the parameters of the selected controller to achieve optimum response for the controlled process. For many of the control problems, a satisfactory performance is obtained by using PID controllers. One of the main problems with mathematical models of physical systems is that the parameters used in the models cannot be determined with absolute accuracy. The values of the parameters may change with time or various effects. In these cases, conventional controller tuning methods suffer when trying a lot to produce optimum response. In order to overcome these difficulties a fuzzy logic based Set- Point weighting controller tuning method is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is analyzed through computer simulation using SIMULINK software and the results are presented. The fuzzy logic based simulation results are compared with Cohen-Coon (CC, Ziegler- Nichols (ZN, Ziegler – Nichols with Set- Point weighting (ZN-SPW, Internal Model Control (IMC and Internal model based PID controller responses (IMC-PID. The effects of process modeling errors and the importance of controller tuning have been brought out using the proposed control scheme.

  11. Survival at the Center - The Stability of Minimum Differentiation

    OpenAIRE

    Hehenkamp , Burkhard; Wambach , Achim

    2010-01-01

    International audience; We model a Hotelling market with multidimensional product differentiation in an evolutionary framework. Both evolutionary stability (in the sense of Schaffer, 1989) and stochastic stability (following Kandori et al., 1993, and Young, 1993) are analysed. It is shown that firms move towards the center in product space, i.e. a "principle of minimum differentiation" on all dimensions of the product space applies.

  12. Results of an OECD/NEA comparison of minimum critical values

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, Wolf; Mennerdahl, Dennis

    2003-01-01

    An OECD/NEA expert group has compiled international data on existing minimum critical values for UO 2 -, PuO 2 -, UNH- and PuNH-systems to identify any significant discrepancies in the data and to propose explanations. The paper examines the spread of the compiled data and the influence of the time of generation of the data on the spread. It turns out, that the remarkable spread reduces by omitting values older than five years. Considering only data generated in the last three years, the spread further reduces. The number of cases with a large spread in the reported minimum critical values falls from 28 to four cases, and the smallest and largest data values converge. (author)

  13. Dimensional control and check of field machining parts for reactor internals installation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Caifang

    2010-01-01

    Some key issues of dimensional control for reactor internals installation are analyzed, and important technical requirements of crucial quality control elements on the measurement, machining, and checking of reactor internals filed machining parts are discussed. Moreover, provisions on quality control and risk prevention of reactor internals filed machining parts are presented in this paper. (author)

  14. An Analysis of Internal Controls and Procurement Fraud Deterrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-01

    might keep the organization from achieving its objectives and analyze risks , including fraud risk , so as to decide how the risk should be managed ( COSO ...internal control to adequately manage the risk ( COSO , 2013). Risk management involves developing the effective internal control targeted at a...structure and management . While the risk of fraud cannot be eliminated entirely, it can be greatly reduced with an appropriate procurement fraud prevention

  15. Climatic changes, the international control stakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maljean-Dubois, S.

    2007-01-01

    The author presents a juridical and economic analysis of the control mechanism called ''observance'' of the Kyoto protocol. This political and juridical innovation in the domain of the international agreements on the environment deals with the national sovereignty and the economical development mode. (A.L.B.)

  16. Do Minimum Wages Fight Poverty?

    OpenAIRE

    David Neumark; William Wascher

    1997-01-01

    The primary goal of a national minimum wage floor is to raise the incomes of poor or near-poor families with members in the work force. However, estimates of employment effects of minimum wages tell us little about whether minimum wages are can achieve this goal; even if the disemployment effects of minimum wages are modest, minimum wage increases could result in net income losses for poor families. We present evidence on the effects of minimum wages on family incomes from matched March CPS s...

  17. Ion trapping in one-minimum potentials via charge-exchange collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maier, H.; Kuhn, S.

    1994-01-01

    A (1 d, 2 v), electrostatic, kinetics model for time-independent single-ended Q-machine states with a positively biased cold plate and a single internal minimum near the hot plate is presented. While the electrons are treated as collisionless, charge-exchange collisions between the ions and the neutral background gas atoms are taken into account by means of a linearized Boltzmann collision operator. The self-consistent plasma states are found by using an iterative analytic-numerical trajectory-simulation method in which the charge-density and potential distributions are alternately determined numerical results clearly demonstrate the sensitive role that trapped ions play in shaping the microscopic and macroscopic properties of the dc states under study. The trapped-ion distributions themselves are shown to be controlled critically by the detailed scattering conditions, which in turn are determined by the choice of the background properties. (author). 10 refs, 3 figs

  18. Active lubrication applied to internal combustion engines - evaluation of control strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Estupinan, Edgar Alberto; Santos, Ilmar

    2009-01-01

    surface. The behaviour of a main bearing of a medium size combustion engine, operating with radial oil injection and with four different control strategies is analyzed, giving some insights into the minimum fluid film thickness, maximum fluid film pressure, friction losses and maximum vibration levels...... of reducing friction losses and vibrations between the crankshaft and the bearings. The conventional hydrodynamic lubrication is combined with hydrostatic lubrication which is actively modified by radially injecting oil at controllable pressures, through orifices circumferentially located around the bearing...

  19. 26 CFR 1.904(b)-2 - Special rules for application of section 904(b) to alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) to alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit. 1.904(b)-2 Section 1.904(b)-2 Internal Revenue... alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit. (a) Application of section 904(b)(2)(B) adjustments. Section 904(b)(2)(B) shall apply for purposes of determining the alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit under...

  20. PERFORMANCE IN INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT

    OpenAIRE

    JELER (POPA) IOANA; FOCŞAN ELEONORA IONELA; CORICI MARIAN CĂTĂLIN

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of internal control and risk management. In practice, economic entities meet a variety of risks that have the origins from the internal environment or the external one. Although there are different of views on addressing the concept of risk - threats or opportunities, event or action, accordingly uncertain, proposed by specialists in risk management in this article we try to present these issues and identify techniques to ...

  1. The role of a company’s internal control system in fraud prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragomir Dimitrijevic

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of internal control over specific segments of activities has been associated with management needs for evaluation of the consistency between the actual situation and development targets. Monitoring activities should enable detection and timely reaction to possible target-related deviations. While responding to complex market needs, companies are exposed to numerous internal and external influences, some of which may cause significant damage. Companies have realized that it is safer and cheaper to establish their own internal control systems in order to prevent such influences. The aim of this work is to show how the overall quality of control and The emergence of internal control over specific segments of activities has been associated with management needs for evaluation of the consistency between the actual situation and development targets. Monitoring activities should enable detection and timely reaction to possible target-related deviations. While responding to complex market needs, companies are exposed to numerous internal and external influences, some of which may cause significant damage. Companies have realized that it is safer and cheaper to establish their own internal control systems in order to prevent such influences. The aim of this work is to show how the overall quality of control and company performance is improved through implementation of preventive methods by internal controls, and to indicate that a developed system of internal control represents a protective barrier against various kinds of data manipulation and fraud inside the companies. Special attention was paid to fraud in financial statements since it can cause the most serious damage leading to instability of the economic-financial environment.

  2. Adaptive Control of Non-Minimum Phase Modal Systems Using Residual Mode Filters2. Parts 1 and 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balas, Mark J.; Frost, Susan

    2011-01-01

    Many dynamic systems containing a large number of modes can benefit from adaptive control techniques, which are well suited to applications that have unknown parameters and poorly known operating conditions. In this paper, we focus on a direct adaptive control approach that has been extended to handle adaptive rejection of persistent disturbances. We extend this adaptive control theory to accommodate problematic modal subsystems of a plant that inhibit the adaptive controller by causing the open-loop plant to be non-minimum phase. We will modify the adaptive controller with a Residual Mode Filter (RMF) to compensate for problematic modal subsystems, thereby allowing the system to satisfy the requirements for the adaptive controller to have guaranteed convergence and bounded gains. This paper will be divided into two parts. Here in Part I we will review the basic adaptive control approach and introduce the primary ideas. In Part II, we will present the RMF methodology and complete the proofs of all our results. Also, we will apply the above theoretical results to a simple flexible structure example to illustrate the behavior with and without the residual mode filter.

  3. Investigating the Role of International Law in Controlling Communicable Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aliasghar Kheirkhah

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available International law globally plays a key role in the surveillance and control of communicable diseases. Throughout the nineteenth century, international law played a dominant role in harmonizing the inconsistent national quarantine regulations of European nation states; facilitating the exchange of epidemiological information on infectious diseases; establishing international health organizations; and standardization of surveillance. Today, due to changed forms of infectious diseases and individuals' lifestyles as well as individuals' proximity caused by increased air travels, communicable diseases are in an international and cross-border form. In this regard, binding regulations and inconsistent rules adopted in international multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization can be of great use in surveillance and control of communicable diseases. With the globalization of public health, international law can be used as an essential tool in monitoring global health and reducing human vulnerability and mortality.

  4. Nonlinear Dynamic Surface Control of Chaos in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Based on the Minimum Weights of RBF Neural Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaohua Luo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the problem of the nonlinear dynamic surface control (DSC of chaos based on the minimum weights of RBF neural network for the permanent magnet synchronous motor system (PMSM wherein the unknown parameters, disturbances, and chaos are presented. RBF neural network is used to approximate the nonlinearities and an adaptive law is employed to estimate unknown parameters. Then, a simple and effective controller is designed by introducing dynamic surface control technique on the basis of first-order filters. Asymptotically tracking stability in the sense of uniformly ultimate boundedness is achieved in a short time. Finally, the performance of the proposed controller is testified through simulation results.

  5. 25 CFR 900.54 - Should the property management system prescribe internal controls?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... System Standards § 900.54 Should the property management system prescribe internal controls? Yes. Effective internal controls should include procedures: (a) For the conduct of periodic inventories; (b) To... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Should the property management system prescribe internal...

  6. 78 FR 68447 - Exposure Draft-Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-14

    ... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Exposure Draft--Standards for Internal Control in the Federal... revisions to the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, known as the ``Green Book,'' to... proposed changes contained in the 2013 Exposure Draft update to the Standards for Internal Control in the...

  7. Nuclear reactor internals with control elements guides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baujat, J.; Chevereau, G.

    1991-01-01

    The internals have a lower plate, a superior plate, support columns and guide tubes for the control rods displacements. The lower section of the control rod guide tube have a base that fits into a bevelled seat in the lower plate. The guide tube is held into the seat by a spring, compressed between the base of the upper section of the tube and the lower plate

  8. Evaluation of information technology impact on effective internal control in the University system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanusi Fasilat, A., E-mail: Fasilat17@gmail.com; Hassan, Haslinda, E-mail: lynn@uum.edu.my [School of Accountancy, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah (Malaysia)

    2015-12-11

    Information Technology (IT) plays a key role in internal control system in various organizations in terms of maintaining records and other internal services. Internal control system is defined as an efficient control procedures set up by firm to safeguard resources and to assure the reliability and accuracy of both financial and non-financial records in line with applicable governance and procedure to acquire the established goal and objectives. This paper focuses on the impact of IT on internal control system in the Nigerian universities. Data are collected from three different universities via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics is used to analyze the data; Chi-square is performed to test the hypothesis. The results of the hypothesis showed that IT has a positive relationship with the effective internal control activities in the University system. It is concluded that the adoption of IT will significantly improve the effectiveness of the internal control system operations in the University in terms of quality service delivery.

  9. Evaluation of information technology impact on effective internal control in the University system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanusi Fasilat, A.; Hassan, Haslinda

    2015-01-01

    Information Technology (IT) plays a key role in internal control system in various organizations in terms of maintaining records and other internal services. Internal control system is defined as an efficient control procedures set up by firm to safeguard resources and to assure the reliability and accuracy of both financial and non-financial records in line with applicable governance and procedure to acquire the established goal and objectives. This paper focuses on the impact of IT on internal control system in the Nigerian universities. Data are collected from three different universities via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics is used to analyze the data; Chi-square is performed to test the hypothesis. The results of the hypothesis showed that IT has a positive relationship with the effective internal control activities in the University system. It is concluded that the adoption of IT will significantly improve the effectiveness of the internal control system operations in the University in terms of quality service delivery

  10. Evaluation of information technology impact on effective internal control in the University system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanusi Fasilat, A.; Hassan, Haslinda

    2015-12-01

    Information Technology (IT) plays a key role in internal control system in various organizations in terms of maintaining records and other internal services. Internal control system is defined as an efficient control procedures set up by firm to safeguard resources and to assure the reliability and accuracy of both financial and non-financial records in line with applicable governance and procedure to acquire the established goal and objectives. This paper focuses on the impact of IT on internal control system in the Nigerian universities. Data are collected from three different universities via questionnaire. Descriptive statistics is used to analyze the data; Chi-square is performed to test the hypothesis. The results of the hypothesis showed that IT has a positive relationship with the effective internal control activities in the University system. It is concluded that the adoption of IT will significantly improve the effectiveness of the internal control system operations in the University in terms of quality service delivery.

  11. Issues of internal control during the reform period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.I. Gresova

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers theoretical and methodological problems of organization and financial control activities, the main problems and reasons causing the need for a unified system of internal financial control in the State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine at the stage of the reform.

  12. Modelling and Internal Fuzzy Model Power Control of a Francis Water Turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klemen Nagode

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents dynamic modelling of a Francis turbine with a surge tank and the control of a hydro power plant (HPP. Non-linear and linear models include technical parameters and show high similarity to measurement data. Turbine power control with an internal model control (IMC is proposed, based on a turbine fuzzy model. Considering appropriate control responses in the entire area of turbine power, the model parameters of the process are determined from a fuzzy model, which are further included in the internal model controller. The results are compared to a proportional-integral (PI controller tuned with an integral absolute error (IAE objective function, and show an improved response of internal model control.

  13. Internal control in the company in order to financial monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osipov A.V.

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available the article explores the definition of financial monitoring, financial analysis and internal control in aspect to their correlation to fight money laundering and terrorism financing. Internal control is analyzed from the point of view of law, economics and management. The author pays much attention in the article to the work of systems of financial monitoring in organizations.

  14. Analysis of power ramp rate and minimum power controllability of the MMS model for a plant dynamics analysis of a Prototype SFR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Eui Kwang; Kim, Dehee; Joo, Hyungkook; Lee, Taeho

    2014-01-01

    A full plant dynamic model was developed for a prototype SFR using the Modular Modeling System (MMS). It includes the modeling of various subsystems such as the neutronics, primary and intermediate sodium systems of the NSSS, steam and water systems of the BOP, BOP controls, and the supervisory plant controls. The NSSS model is subdivided into component models, such as a Core, IHXs, Pumps, SGs, and the rest of the NSSS loop model. The BOP model is subdivided into a steam subsystem, feedwater subsystem, and preheater subsystem. Plant transient tests were performed to study the operational considerations. It includes varying the power ramp rate and studying the controllability at minimum power. Plant transient tests were performed to study operational considerations by using the MMS model for a prototype SFR. It includes varying the power ramp rate, studying the controllability at the minimum power set point. At a power ramp rate of higher than 2%, the steam temperature has a large deviation from the target. As the power set point decreases, the PHTS hot leg temperature and steam temperature tend to have higher deviations. After further refinement of the MMS model, it can be useful for developing the plant operation logics of the prototype SFR

  15. An Experimental study on a Method of Computing Minimum flow rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Yeon Sik; Kim, Tae Hyun; Kim, Chang Hyun

    2009-01-01

    Many pump reliability problems in the Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are being attributed to the operation of the pump at flow rates well below its best efficiency point(BEP). Generally, the manufacturer and the user try to avert such problems by specifying a minimum flow, below which the pump should not be operated. Pump minimum flow usually involves two considerations. The first consideration is normally termed the 'thermal minimum flow', which is that flow required to prevent the fluid inside the pump from reaching saturation conditions. The other consideration is often referred to as 'mechanical minimum flow', which is that flow required to prevent mechanical damage. However, the criteria for specifying such a minimum flow are not clearly understood by all parties concerned. Also various factor and information for computing minimum flow are not easily available as considering for the pump manufacturer' proprietary. The objective of this study is to obtain experimental data for computing minimum flow rate and to understand the pump performances due to low flow operation. A test loop consisted of the pump to be used in NPPs, water tank, flow rate measurements and piping system with flow control devices was established for this study

  16. Rising above the Minimum Wage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Even, William; Macpherson, David

    An in-depth analysis was made of how quickly most people move up the wage scale from minimum wage, what factors influence their progress, and how minimum wage increases affect wage growth above the minimum. Very few workers remain at the minimum wage over the long run, according to this study of data drawn from the 1977-78 May Current Population…

  17. Strategies for Enhancing Nonlinear Internal Model Control of pH Processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Qiuping.; Rangaiah, G.P. [The National University of Singapore, Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

    1999-02-01

    Control of neutralization processes is very difficult due to nonlinear dynamics, different types of disturbances and modeling errors. The objective of the paper is to evaluate two strategies (augmented internal model control, AuIMC and adaptive internal model control, AdIMC) for enhancing pH control by nonlinear internal model control (NIMC). A NIMC controller is derived directly form input output linearization. The AuIMC is composed of NIMC and an additional loop through which the difference between the process and model outputs is fed back and added to the input of the controller. For the AdIMC, and adaptive law with two tuning parameters is proposed for estimating the unknown parameter. Both AuIMC and AdIMC are extensively tested via simulation for pH neutralization. The theoretical and simulation results show that both the proposed strategies can reduce the effect of modeling errors and disturbances, and thereby enhance the performance of NIMC for pH processes. (author)

  18. Effects of Internal Control Training on the Locus of Control of Some ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the effect of internal control training on the locus of control of selected school going adolescents in Benin City. A sample size of 60 was drawn from two of the 27 co-educational schools in Oredo Local government area of Benin City. A table of random number technique was used to select subjects for ...

  19. Inhibitory control in young children and its role in emerging internalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochanska, G; Murray, K; Jacques, T Y; Koenig, A L; Vandegeest, K A

    1996-04-01

    We examined inhibitory control as a quality of temperament that contributes to internalization. Children were assessed twice, at 26-41 months (N = 103) and at 43-56 months (N = 99), on repeated occasions, in multiple observational contexts and using parental reports. Comprehensive behavioral batteries incorporating multiple tasks were designed to measure inhibitory control at toddler and preschool age. They had good internal consistencies, corresponded with maternal ratings, and were developmentally sensitive. Individual children's performance was significantly correlated across both assessments, indicating stable individual differences. Girls surpassed boys at both ages. Children's internalization was observed while they were alone with prohibited objects, with a mundane chore, playing games that occasioned cheating, being induced to violate standards of conduct, and assessed using maternal reports. Inhibitory control was significantly associated with internalization, both contemporaneously and as a predictor in the longitudinal sense. The implications for considering children's temperament as a significant, yet often neglected contributor to developing internalization are discussed.

  20. Evaluating Internal Model Strength and Performance of Myoelectric Prosthesis Control Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shehata, Ahmed W; Scheme, Erik J; Sensinger, Jonathon W

    2018-05-01

    On-going developments in myoelectric prosthesis control have provided prosthesis users with an assortment of control strategies that vary in reliability and performance. Many studies have focused on improving performance by providing feedback to the user but have overlooked the effect of this feedback on internal model development, which is key to improve long-term performance. In this paper, the strength of internal models developed for two commonly used myoelectric control strategies: raw control with raw feedback (using a regression-based approach) and filtered control with filtered feedback (using a classifier-based approach), were evaluated using two psychometric measures: trial-by-trial adaptation and just-noticeable difference. The performance of both strategies was also evaluated using Schmidt's style target acquisition task. Results obtained from 24 able-bodied subjects showed that although filtered control with filtered feedback had better short-term performance in path efficiency ( ), raw control with raw feedback resulted in stronger internal model development ( ), which may lead to better long-term performance. Despite inherent noise in the control signals of the regression controller, these findings suggest that rich feedback associated with regression control may be used to improve human understanding of the myoelectric control system.

  1. Internal Interdecadal Variability in CMIP5 Control Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, A. H.; Mann, M. E.; Frankcombe, L. M.; England, M. H.; Steinman, B. A.; Miller, S. K.

    2015-12-01

    Here we make use of control simulations from the CMIP5 models to quantify the amplitude of the interdecadal internal variability component in Atlantic, Pacific, and Northern Hemisphere mean surface temperature. We compare against estimates derived from observations using a semi-empirical approach wherein the forced component as estimated using CMIP5 historical simulations is removed to yield an estimate of the residual, internal variability. While the observational estimates are largely consistent with those derived from the control simulations for both basins and the Northern Hemisphere, they lie in the upper range of the model distributions, suggesting the possibility of differences between the amplitudes of observed and modeled variability. We comment on some possible reasons for the disparity.

  2. Retrospective exposure assessment and quality control in an international multi-centre case-control study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tinnerberg, H; Heikkilä, P; Huici-Montagud, A

    2003-01-01

    The paper presents the exposure assessment method and quality control procedure used in an international, multi-centre case-control study within a joint Nordic and Italian cohort. This study was conducted to evaluate whether occupational exposure to carcinogens influenced the predictivity of high...... was higher among the original assessors (the assessor from the same country as the subject) than the average prevalence assessed by the other four in the quality control round. The original assessors classified more job situations as exposed than the others. Several reasons for this are plausible: real...... country-specific differences, differences in information available to the home assessor and the others and misunderstandings or difficulties in translation of information. To ensure the consistency of exposure assessments in international retrospective case-control studies it is important to have a well...

  3. 2013 International Conference on Mechatronics and Automatic Control Systems

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    This book examines mechatronics and automatic control systems. The book covers important emerging topics in signal processing, control theory, sensors, mechanic manufacturing systems and automation. The book presents papers from the 2013 International Conference on Mechatronics and Automatic Control Systems held in Hangzhou, China on August 10-11, 2013. .

  4. Theoretical grounds of internal audit in the system of state financial control in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dikan Larysa V.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The article considers modern directions of reformation of the system of state financial control connected with introduction of the state internal financial control. It considers economic essence of the state internal financial control in the context of its components. It justifies the place of the internal audit in the system of the state internal financial control in Ukraine. It considers existing definitions of internal audit in legislative acts. It generalises views of scientists on interpretation of the “internal audit” notion. It provides definitions united in approaches. It conducts a critical analysis of generalised approaches. It offers the authors’ view on the essence of internal audit in budget institutions, which has certain positive features compared to existing ones.

  5. Control of a Modular Multilevel Converter STATCOM under internal and external unbalances

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsolaridis, Georgios; Kontos, E.; Parikh, Harsh

    2016-01-01

    This paper develops a complete control scheme for the Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) in a STATCOM application. The focus is laid on the internal balancing of the converter and its reliable operation under internal mismatches as well as under external unbalanced conditions. The leg energy...... and the simulation results verified the capability to provide maximum reactive power to the AC grid while maintaining internal balance through the individual control of each arm energy level....... controller ensures that the sum of the capacitor voltages of each phase are equal. An intuitive arm energy controller is also implemented which allows the decoupled control of the energy levels of every arm. The control performance of the STATCOM was evaluated under asymmetrical grid faults...

  6. Internal audit: the expert in providing comfort to the audit committee. The case of risk management and internal control

    OpenAIRE

    G. SARENS; I. DE BEELDE

    2006-01-01

    This study investigates to what extent audit committees feel uncomfortable about risk management and internal control, and focuses on how internal audit can be the expert in providing comfort in these areas, building upon the sociology of professions literature. Four case studies reveal that audit committees need comfort with respect to the control environment. Thanks to their internal position, their familiarity with the company, and their position close to people across the company, interna...

  7. Employment effects of minimum wages

    OpenAIRE

    Neumark, David

    2014-01-01

    The potential benefits of higher minimum wages come from the higher wages for affected workers, some of whom are in low-income families. The potential downside is that a higher minimum wage may discourage employers from using the low-wage, low-skill workers that minimum wages are intended to help. Research findings are not unanimous, but evidence from many countries suggests that minimum wages reduce the jobs available to low-skill workers.

  8. Quality assurance activities and proposals at the international level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davison, M.

    1985-01-01

    A number of international bodies have attempted to stimulate wider interest in Quality Assurance in X-ray departments. A major initiative has been taken by WHO with the publication of its recommendations in 1982 under the title Quality Assurance in Diagnostic Radiology, in which they indicated the action that should be taken at various national, professional and local levels. The recommendations of ICRP in Publication 26 point to the need for quality assurance programmes that will obtain optimum diagnostic information at minimum cost and minimum patient dose. ICRU have been considering the need for cost-effective quality assurance programmes and the specification of standards for image quality. The IEC and various manufacturers' organisations have begun to consider the part they can play in setting up quality control procedures. The most active group has been the ISRRT, which has arranged a series of seminars and workshops for radiographers in various parts of the world. Future needs for international support lie in the provision of training programmes, the publication of comparative statistical data and the development of image quality standards. (author)

  9. ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL IN THE WORLD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela – Lavinia CIOBĂNICĂ

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Beyond the multitude of definitions, internal control is found in the centre of managerial concerns worldwide. This amplification of interest towards internal control has its origin in a series of events, of which two can be mentioned: the growing business complexity and dispersal activity centres, which led to the growth and development of the delegation of competence, the only way which enables the responsible to exercise powers from a distance and entirely, bringing together the components needed by its delegates. Regulatory domain, which has not ceased to expand: laws, regulations, rules, professional constraints, budgetary and social – all these have increasingly limited the decision makers, through a network of rules that must be respected. Consequently, what can be done to be safe from any punishment and to ensure constant watch over the essentials? To answer these questions, and many others, experts in the field have taken initiatives that have enabled them to define with precision the specific internal control and to set goals, creating the famous models: COSO and CoCo.

  10. Radiation Measured with Different Dosimeters for ISS-Expedition 18-19/ULF2 on Board International Space Station during Solar Minimum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Dazhuang; Gaza, R.; Roed, Y.; Semones, E.; Lee, K.; Steenburgh, R.; Johnson, S.; Flanders, J.; Zapp, N.

    2010-01-01

    Radiation field of particles in low Earth orbit (LEO) is mainly composed of galactic cosmic rays (GCR), solar energetic particles and particles in SAA (South Atlantic Anomaly). GCR are modulated by solar activity, at the period of solar minimum activity, GCR intensity is at maximum and the main contributor for space radiation is GCR. At present for space radiation measurements conducted by JSC (Johnson Space Center) SRAG (Space Radiation Analysis Group), the preferred active dosimeter sensitive to all LET (Linear Energy Transfer) is the tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC); the preferred passive dosimeters are thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) and optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) sensitive to low LET as well as CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTDs) sensitive to high LET. For the method using passive dosimeters, radiation quantities for all LET can be obtained by combining radiation results measured with TLDs/OSLDs and CR-39 PNTDs. TEPC, TLDs/OSLDs and CR-39 detectors were used to measure the radiation field for the ISS (International Space Station) - Expedition 18-19/ULF2 space mission which was conducted from 15 November 2008 to 31 July 2009 - near the period of the recent solar minimum activity. LET spectra (differential and integral fluence, absorbed dose and dose equivalent) and radiation quantities were measured for positions TEPC, TESS (Temporary Sleeping Station, inside the polyethylene lined sleep station), SM-P 327 and 442 (Service Module - Panel 327 and 442). This paper presents radiation LET spectra measured with TEPC and CR-39 PNTDs and radiation dose measured with TLDs/OSLDs as well as the radiation quantities combined from results measured with passive dosimeters.

  11. Control Modes in International Service Operations: The Propensity to Franchise

    OpenAIRE

    Karin Fladmoe-Lindquist; Laurent L. Jacque

    1995-01-01

    What determines a service firm's organizational choice between equity-based control and franchising? This question, which has elicited some theoretical answers and a few empirical tests in a domestic setting, has never been addressed in an international context before. This study explains the mode of control chosen in terms of a theoretical framework which borrows from agency theory and transaction cost analysis. The propensity to franchise internationally was found to be directly related to ...

  12. Impact of Public Internal Financial Control on Public Administration in Croatia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna VAŠIČEK

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The PIFC /Public Internal Financial Control/ was developed by the European Commission. PIFC is set of principles internal financial controls system established for the purpose of controlling, auditing, supervise on the use of national budget and European Union budget and funds. Also, in order to support candidate countries in their internal control system reforms in the public sector. Therefore, it is expected for the candidate countries to establish and develop the system of internal financial controls according to the concept which was in that field developed by the European Union based on International Standards and the best practice of European countries. Since the year 2003 the Republic of Croatia undertakes intensive activities on the establishment and development of the internal financial control system according with the regulation of European Union. In keeping with the set concept, the Republic of Croatia undertook numerous activities during the past six years to create all the necessary assumptions for the establishment and development of the system, including: the adoption of the initial strategic documents; drafting of laws; the creation of organisational capacities and human resources; and the implementation of the system with budget users at central government and local levels. In this paper we will present phases of implementation PIFC in Croatian Public Sector. Through this phases we will show impact that PIFC has on development of New Public Management in Croatia and changes in organizational structure and human resource that are caused during this process. Also, we will give critical opinion of that process and problems which occur during implementation. In this paper we will present approach in implementation of PIFC in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and compare this with implementation in Croatia.

  13. An Inverse Optimal Control Approach to Explain Human Arm Reaching Control Based on Multiple Internal Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oguz, Ozgur S; Zhou, Zhehua; Glasauer, Stefan; Wollherr, Dirk

    2018-04-03

    Human motor control is highly efficient in generating accurate and appropriate motor behavior for a multitude of tasks. This paper examines how kinematic and dynamic properties of the musculoskeletal system are controlled to achieve such efficiency. Even though recent studies have shown that the human motor control relies on multiple models, how the central nervous system (CNS) controls this combination is not fully addressed. In this study, we utilize an Inverse Optimal Control (IOC) framework in order to find the combination of those internal models and how this combination changes for different reaching tasks. We conducted an experiment where participants executed a comprehensive set of free-space reaching motions. The results show that there is a trade-off between kinematics and dynamics based controllers depending on the reaching task. In addition, this trade-off depends on the initial and final arm configurations, which in turn affect the musculoskeletal load to be controlled. Given this insight, we further provide a discomfort metric to demonstrate its influence on the contribution of different inverse internal models. This formulation together with our analysis not only support the multiple internal models (MIMs) hypothesis but also suggest a hierarchical framework for the control of human reaching motions by the CNS.

  14. Minimum Wages and Poverty

    OpenAIRE

    Fields, Gary S.; Kanbur, Ravi

    2005-01-01

    Textbook analysis tells us that in a competitive labor market, the introduction of a minimum wage above the competitive equilibrium wage will cause unemployment. This paper makes two contributions to the basic theory of the minimum wage. First, we analyze the effects of a higher minimum wage in terms of poverty rather than in terms of unemployment. Second, we extend the standard textbook model to allow for incomesharing between the employed and the unemployed. We find that there are situation...

  15. 17 CFR 240.17Ad-13 - Annual study and evaluation of internal accounting control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... internal accounting control. 240.17Ad-13 Section 240.17Ad-13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES... Company Rules § 240.17Ad-13 Annual study and evaluation of internal accounting control. (a) Accountant's... accountant concerning the transfer agent's system of internal accounting control and related procedures for...

  16. Constitution of a centralised data base for the internal quality control in radiotherapy; Constitution d'une base de donnees centralisee pour le controle de qualite interne en radiotherapie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fau, P.; Rodrigues, C.; Ruchaud, R.; Bravetti, J. [Centre Prive de Radiotherapie de Metz, 57 - Metz (France)

    2009-10-15

    The objective of this project was to implement a centralised data base of internal quality control in radiotherapy according to the criteria of the decree of A.f.s.s.a.p.s. (French agency of sanitary safety of health products on 27 july 2007, about the internal quality control of external radiotherapy facilities. The software on one year meets the objectives: compliance by comparison with A.f.s.s.a.p.s. criteria but particularly optimization of the centralisation and analysis of the internal quality controls. (N.C.)

  17. 75 FR 6151 - Minimum Capital

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-08

    ... capital and reserve requirements to be issued by order or regulation with respect to a product or activity... minimum capital requirements. Section 1362(a) establishes a minimum capital level for the Enterprises... entities required under this section.\\6\\ \\3\\ The Bank Act's current minimum capital requirements apply to...

  18. A Pareto-Improving Minimum Wage

    OpenAIRE

    Eliav Danziger; Leif Danziger

    2014-01-01

    This paper shows that a graduated minimum wage, in contrast to a constant minimum wage, can provide a strict Pareto improvement over what can be achieved with an optimal income tax. The reason is that a graduated minimum wage requires high-productivity workers to work more to earn the same income as low-productivity workers, which makes it more difficult for the former to mimic the latter. In effect, a graduated minimum wage allows the low-productivity workers to benefit from second-degree pr...

  19. 49 CFR 225.33 - Internal Control Plans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... official business. Each railroad shall amend its Internal Control Plan, as necessary, to reflect any..., incident, injury or illness will not be permitted or tolerated and will result in some stated disciplinary... paragraph (a)(1). Each railroad shall have procedures to process complaints from any person about the policy...

  20. Detecting Internal Control Problems Based on COSO and Islamic Perspective: Case on SMEs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuniarti Hidayah Suyoso Putra

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – The presence of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs has been able to be livelihoods sources and absorb more labor, even though it has a relative smaller contribution of additional value compared to the Large-scale Enterprises. The number of economic actors of SMEs spread across area from urban to rural. However, SMEs have faced several serious problems. These problems are caused by the unique characteristics of SMEs itself. First, lack of managerial skills due to limited human resources and lack of monitoring which it is rarely conducted by the manager or the owner. Second, lack of information and technology to carry out operations. Both problems have great impacts in lack of internal controls. Third, SMEs also face problems in developing business scale, limited access to capital to the banks and financial institutions due to the lack of transparency. Therefore, this research aimed to detect to what extent of the problems arising in the application and assessment of internal controls performed by SMEs.Method – The research employs descriptive qualitative research method through direct observation, interview and business documentation owned by the company. Research materials are 29 SMEs consisting of 19 trading SMEs and 10 service SMEs. All SMEs are located in Malang city. Detection of application and assessment of internal controls in this study is based on the COSO framework and the Islamic perspective.Result – Internal control activities indicators apply the five principles of COSO framework which focused on three layers. First layer is self-assessment control area. Second layer is environment control area and the third layer is independent control area. While the Islamic perspective is focused on the internal control of business activities based on the Qur'an and Hadith. The results derive from application and assessment based on COSO framework and Islamic perspectives are complementary in improving the practice of internal

  1. 17 CFR 229.308T - (Item 308T) Internal control over financial reporting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... over financial reporting. 229.308T Section 229.308T Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND... § 229.308T (Item 308T) Internal control over financial reporting. Note to Item 308T: This is a special... internal control over financial reporting. Provide a report of management on the registrant's internal...

  2. Minimum intervention dentistry approach to managing early childhood caries: a randomized control trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrow, Peter; Klobas, Elizabeth

    2015-12-01

    A pragmatic randomized control trial was undertaken to compare the minimum intervention dentistry (MID) approach, based on the atraumatic restorative treatment procedures (MID-ART: Test), against the standard care approach (Control) to treat early childhood caries in a primary care setting. Consenting parent/child dyads were allocated to the Test or Control group using stratified block randomization. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Participants were examined at baseline and at follow-up by two calibrated examiners blind to group allocation status (κ = 0.77), and parents completed a questionnaire at baseline and follow-up. Dental therapists trained in MID-ART provided treatment to the Test group and dentists treated the Control group using standard approaches. The primary outcome of interest was the number of children who were referred for specialist pediatric care. Secondary outcomes were the number of teeth treated, changes in child oral health-related quality of life and dental anxiety and parental perceptions of care received. Data were analyzed on an intention to treat basis; risk ratio for referral for specialist care, test of proportions, Wilcoxon rank test and logistic regression were used. Three hundred and seventy parents/carers were initially screened; 273 children were examined at baseline and 254 were randomized (Test = 127; Control = 127): mean age = 3.8 years, SD 0.90; 59% male, mean dmft = 4.9, SD 4.0. There was no statistically significant difference in age, sex, baseline caries experience or child oral health-related quality of life between the Test and Control group. At follow-up (mean interval 11.4 months, SD 3.1 months), 220 children were examined: Test = 115, Control = 105. Case-notes review of 231 children showed Test = 6 (5%) and Control = 53 (49%) were referred for specialist care, P < 0.0001. More teeth were filled in the Test group (mean = 2.93, SD 2.48) than in the Control group (mean = 1.54, SD

  3. INTERMARS: User-controlled international management system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Harrison H.

    1986-01-01

    Existing international space law as well as the best interest of all nations are consistent with the establishment of a user-based international organization, herein called INTERMARS. INTERMARS would provide access to facilities and services at a Martian base which would be of high functional potential, quality, safety, and reliability. These opportunities would be available on an open and nondiscriminatory basis to all peaceful users and investors. INTERMARS is a model organization concept tailored to provide cooperative international management of a Martian base for the benefit of its members, users, and investors. Most importantly, INTERMARS would provide such management through a sharing of both sovereignty and opportunity rather then unilateral control by any one nation or set of competing nations. Through an Assembly of Parties, a Board of Governors, a Board of Users and Investors, and a Director General, INTERMARS would meet its primary goal as it would be in the self-interest of all members, users, and investors to do so. The internal structure and philosophy of INTERMARS would provide not only for all participants to have representation in decisions affecting its activities, but also would insure effective and responsive management. Surely this is the precedent wished for, to establish for mankind at the now not-so-distant shores of the new ocean of space.

  4. Construction of an internal amplification control for Mycobacterium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Elham

    2013-07-03

    Jul 3, 2013 ... million and 10 bacteria and the most suitable internal control concentration for the mix was ... But the risk of contamination is unavoidable in normal ..... Contamination Management: Implication for Broad-Range Ribosomal.

  5. Internal control in an EDI environment.

    OpenAIRE

    Bae, Dal Hyeoung

    1991-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) is the electronic transmission of standard business documents in machine-readable format between parent companies and respective trading partners. As the use of EDI has grown, there have been the associated risks due to an uncontrolled environment. Accordingly, the necessity for effective internal controls in an EDI environment is on the rise. This thesis evaluates and analyzes the feasi...

  6. International consensus principles for ethical wildlife control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubois, Sara; Fenwick, Nicole; Ryan, Erin A; Baker, Liv; Baker, Sandra E; Beausoleil, Ngaio J; Carter, Scott; Cartwright, Barbara; Costa, Federico; Draper, Chris; Griffin, John; Grogan, Adam; Howald, Gregg; Jones, Bidda; Littin, Kate E; Lombard, Amanda T; Mellor, David J; Ramp, Daniel; Schuppli, Catherine A; Fraser, David

    2017-08-01

    Human-wildlife conflicts are commonly addressed by excluding, relocating, or lethally controlling animals with the goal of preserving public health and safety, protecting property, or conserving other valued wildlife. However, declining wildlife populations, a lack of efficacy of control methods in achieving desired outcomes, and changes in how people value animals have triggered widespread acknowledgment of the need for ethical and evidence-based approaches to managing such conflicts. We explored international perspectives on and experiences with human-wildlife conflicts to develop principles for ethical wildlife control. A diverse panel of 20 experts convened at a 2-day workshop and developed the principles through a facilitated engagement process and discussion. They determined that efforts to control wildlife should begin wherever possible by altering the human practices that cause human-wildlife conflict and by developing a culture of coexistence; be justified by evidence that significant harms are being caused to people, property, livelihoods, ecosystems, and/or other animals; have measurable outcome-based objectives that are clear, achievable, monitored, and adaptive; predictably minimize animal welfare harms to the fewest number of animals; be informed by community values as well as scientific, technical, and practical information; be integrated into plans for systematic long-term management; and be based on the specifics of the situation rather than negative labels (pest, overabundant) applied to the target species. We recommend that these principles guide development of international, national, and local standards and control decisions and implementation. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  7. Internal Capital Market Controls and Financial Performance in Multidivisional Firms.

    OpenAIRE

    Hill, Charles W L

    1988-01-01

    It is proposed that, within the population of M-form firms, the control systems necessary to realize economic benefits from interrelationships between subunits o f a firm are incompatible with the systems necessary to realize benef its from an M-form type internal capital market. This hypothesis is t ested on 156 large U.K. firms. Questionnaire data are used to classif y the firms according to their internal control characteristics. The findings provide tentative support for the hypothesis. C...

  8. Minimum critical mass systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dam, H. van; Leege, P.F.A. de

    1987-01-01

    An analysis is presented of thermal systems with minimum critical mass, based on the use of materials with optimum neutron moderating and reflecting properties. The optimum fissile material distributions in the systems are obtained by calculations with standard computer codes, extended with a routine for flat fuel importance search. It is shown that in the minimum critical mass configuration a considerable part of the fuel is positioned in the reflector region. For 239 Pu a minimum critical mass of 87 g is found, which is the lowest value reported hitherto. (author)

  9. Minimum Wages and School Enrollment of Teenagers: A Look at the 1990's.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaplin, Duncan D.; Turner, Mark D.; Pape, Andreas, D.

    2003-01-01

    Estimates the effects of higher minimum wages on school enrollment using the Common Core of Data. Controlling for local labor market conditions and state and year fixed effects, finds some evidence that higher minimum wages reduce teen school enrollment in states where students drop out before age 18. (23 references) (Author/PKP)

  10. A Neural Network Controller for Variable-Speed Variable-Pitch Wind Energy Conversion Systems Using Generalized Minimum Entropy Criterion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mifeng Ren

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the neural network controller design problem for variable pitch wind energy conversion systems (WECS with non-Gaussian wind speed disturbances in the stochastic distribution control framework. The approach here is used to directly model the unknown control law based on a fixed neural network (the number of layers and nodes in a neural network is fixed without the need to construct a separate model for the WECS. In order to characterize the randomness of the WECS, a generalized minimum entropy criterion is established to train connection weights of the neural network. For the train purpose, both kernel density estimation method and sliding window technique are adopted to estimate the PDF of tracking error and entropies. Due to the unknown process dynamics, the gradient of the objective function in a gradient-descent-type algorithm is estimated using an incremental perturbation method. The proposed approach is illustrated on a simulated WECS with non-Gaussian wind speed.

  11. Internal and external force-based impedance control for cooperative manipulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heck, D.J.F.; Kostic, D.; Denasi, A.; Nijmeijer, H.

    2013-01-01

    An asymptotically stable cascaded control algorithm is proposed for cooperative manipulation of a common object. This algorithm controls motion and internal forces of the object, as well as the contact forces between the object and environment. The motion of each manipulator is controlled using an

  12. Implementation guide of internal contamination control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balter, Henia; Savio, Eduardo; Souto, Beatriz

    1994-01-01

    A review of current methods of contamination control for radioisotopes 131I, 125I and 99mTc, periodic control of personnel exposed to radiation.Maximum permissible body burden (Mpbb) for each radionuclide,radiotoxicity as danger of internal contamination directly related with Let, type of radiation,Ali values for various radionuclides and external irradiation as an opposed factor.Effective half life,examples, 99mTc in urine,iodine in thyroid caption, 99m Tc absorption by skin and mouth. Procedure of control and calculation by measurement of urine samples in a gamma spectrometer. Iodine thyroid caption by monitoring of thyroid with a solid NaI(TI)scintillator taking as background radiation the activity of upper leg muscle. Standard solutions are prepared to fill a thyroid phantoms.Results must not be higher than Mpbb of corresponding radionuclide.Bibliography

  13. EVALUATING IMPLEMENTION OF GOVERNMENTAL PROVISION ON NO. 60 YEAR 2008 FOR GOVERNMENTAL INTERNAL CONTROL IN BOARD OF FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CONTROL OF SOUTH SULAWESI

    OpenAIRE

    Mediaty

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to evaluate Governmental Internal Control System in Board of Finance and Development Control of South Sulawesi. Governmental Internal Control System is a management control of government in achieving purpose of the state with the issuance of Governmental Provision No. 60 year 2008. List of Governmental Internal Control Test consists of five parts in accordance with the Internal Control System elements are: Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activitie...

  14. 2nd International Conference on Mechatronics and Automatic Control

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    This book examines mechatronics and automatic control systems. The book covers important emerging topics in signal processing, control theory, sensors, mechanic manufacturing systems and automation. The book presents papers from the second International Conference on Mechatronics and Automatic Control Systems held in Beijing, China on September 20-21, 2014. Examines how to improve productivity through the latest advanced technologies Covering new systems and techniques in the broad field of mechatronics and automatic control systems.

  15. Risk-oriented internal control: The essence, management methods at small enterprises

    OpenAIRE

    Piskunov, V. A.; Manyayeva, V. A.; Tatarovskaya, T. E.; Bychkova, E. Y.

    2016-01-01

    The research topic relevance is inspired by necessity to develop theoretical and methodical provisions on the internal control system, risk-based management at small enterprises and to prove application feasibility, using economic-mathematical methods its implementation. The purpose of this research is to develop theoretical and methodical approaches to internal control system formation in small businesses, generating reliable and relevant information on the commercial organization activities...

  16. 5 CFR 551.301 - Minimum wage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum wage. 551.301 Section 551.301... FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Minimum Wage Provisions Basic Provision § 551.301 Minimum wage. (a)(1) Except... employees wages at rates not less than the minimum wage specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Act for all...

  17. CO2 maximum in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ)

    OpenAIRE

    Paulmier, Aurélien; Ruiz-Pino, D.; Garcon, V.

    2011-01-01

    International audience; Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), known as suboxic layers which are mainly localized in the Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems, have been expanding since the 20th "high CO2" century, probably due to global warming. OMZs are also known to significantly contribute to the oceanic production of N2O, a greenhouse gas (GHG) more efficient than CO2. However, the contribution of the OMZs on the oceanic sources and sinks budget of CO2, the main GHG, still remains to be established. ...

  18. Quality control of radiation counting systems and measurement of minimum detectable activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Byoung Chul; Han, Sung Sim; Kim, Young Bok; Jee, Kwang Yong; Sohn, Se Chul

    2004-01-01

    Various radiation counters have been using to determine radioactivity of radwastes for disposal. A radiation counting system was set up using a radiation detector chosen in this study and its stability was investigated through the periodic determination of background and counting efficiencies in accordance with a quality control program to increase the confidence level. The average background level for the γ-spectrometer was 1.59 cps and the average counting level for the standard sample was 45248 dps within 20 confidence levels. The average alpha background level for the low background α/β counting system was 0.31 cpm and the efficiency for alpha counting was 34.38 %. The average beta background level for the α/β counting system was 1.30 cpm and the efficiency for beta counting was 46.5%. The background level in the region of 3H and 14C for the liquid scintillation counting system was 2.52 and 3.31 cpm and the efficiency for alpha counting was 58.5 and 95.6%, respectively. The minimum detectable activity for the γ-spectrometer was found to be 3.2 Bq/mL and 3.8 Bq/mL for the liquid scintillation counter, and 20.5 and 23.0 Bq/mL, respectively for the α and β counting system

  19. Internal versus External Control of Reinforcement: A Review of the Locus of Control Construct

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kormanik, Martin B.; Rocco, Tonette S.

    2009-01-01

    One aspect of personality, perceptions of internal versus external control of reinforcement, shifts under conditions of change. This review of the literature examines the relationship between planned organizational change and locus of control. The review includes literature from the disciplines of clinical and social psychology, adult development,…

  20. Turbine Energy Evaluation by internal dimensional control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mediavilla, F.

    2000-01-01

    To maintain the optimum thermal performance in a high level throughout the life of the turbines requires a good testing program, proper analysis of the test data, and a steam path audit during turbine overhauls. If from operating data analysis collected during the performance test before the outage shows that the efficiency of the turbine is coming down, the steam path audit, that is an internal inspection and a dimensional control of the internals, identity and quantity causes of performance degradation like, seal leakages, excessive clearances, solid particle erosion damages, blades deposits and other losses. The steam path audit assigns the heat rate penalties associated with each of these individual losses to the total degradation. This are used to make cost-effective maintenance decisions during the course of the overhaul. After repairs, a closing steam path audit is conducted during the re assembly of the turbine in order to predict return to service condition of the machine and to provide a quality control check on outage repairs. (Author)

  1. El Control y la Confianza: dos rivales en las "International Joint Ventures"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Puig Blanco

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Las empresas conjuntas internacionales(International Joint Ventures se caracterizan pordos factores íntimamente relacionados: el control y eloportunismo. En este trabajo, trataremos de analizarla relación entre ambos factores y estudiaremos quétipos de control ayudarían a prevenir o a reducirel oportunismo en este tipo de empresas. Además,trataremos de identificar las ventajas e inconvenientesasociados al control y analizaremos el caso de unaInternational Joint Venture formada por dos empresas,una española y la otra americana, cuyo fracaso se debió,en gran parte, a la ausencia de control (confianza y aloportunismo.   ABSTRACT International Joint Ventures are distinguished bytwo closely related factors: control and opportunism.In this paper we will try to analyze the relationshipbetween both factors and we will study what controlswould help prevent or reduce opportunism in thisclass of enterprises. Besides, we will attempt to identifythe advantages and inconveniences associated withcontrol, and analyze one case of an International JointVenture comprised by two companies, a Spanish and anAmerican one whose failure was largely due to lack ofcontrol (trust and opportunism.

  2. The Information Support of the Internal Control of Receivables and Accounts Payable

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akimova Natalia S.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The article substantiates the necessity of organization of internal audit of receivables and accounts payable at the trade enterprises, which will allow the decision-makers to obtain confirmation of the validity of the accountance data. The theoretical substantiation of bases of monitoring together with necessity of its carrying out in the accountance system of accounts receivable and accounts payable was considered. The scheme on interaction of subjects of control has been proposed, in terms of which each of the examined subjects of control is in constant information interaction with other divisions. To effectively control the movement of debt, trade organizations are encouraged to use the forms of operational reporting developed as part of improving internal audit as a tool to enhance the efficiency of the internal control system.

  3. Optimal closed-loop identification test design for internal model control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhu, Y.; Bosch, van den P.P.J.

    2000-01-01

    In this work, optimal closed-loop test design for control is studied. Simple design formulas are derived based on the asymptotic theory of Ljung. The control scheme used is internal model control (IMC) and the design constraint is the power of the process output or that of the reference signal. The

  4. USING RESPONSES OF OYSTERS IN ESTABLISHING MINIMUM FLOWS AND LEVELS IN THE CALOOSAHATCHEE ESTUARY, FLORIDA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volety, Aswani K., S. Gregory Tolley and James T. Winstead. 2002. Using Responses of Oysters in Establishing Minimum Flows and Levels in the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida (Abstract). Presented at the 6th International Conference on Shellfish Restoration, 20-24 November 2002, Ch...

  5. Methods of internal control in integrated management accounting system of the enterprise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shevelev A.E.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of internal control procedure of material and information flows is expression of independent opinion about accounting of material and information flows of the organization, development of recommendations about elimination of detected violations and preparing data to implement automated management accounting system, based on integrated system. Internal control procedure of material and information flows in the enterprise can solve complex of problems about identifying deficiencies in accounting, searching for reserves using information resources, identifying opportunities for implementation of automated management accounting system at the enterprise. Internal control was planned and conducted thus to argue that management statements are free of misstatement, and information flows provide required operability of the entire system. Internal control was carried out on a sample basis and included examining, on a test basis evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in management reports. The disclosure of information about innovative activities, assessment of compliance with the principles and rules of accounting used in the preparation of management reporting, the review of key performance indicators, as well as evaluating the presentation of management reports are presented.

  6. Constitution of a centralised data base for the internal quality control in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fau, P.; Rodrigues, C.; Ruchaud, R.; Bravetti, J.

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this project was to implement a centralised data base of internal quality control in radiotherapy according to the criteria of the decree of A.f.s.s.a.p.s. (French agency of sanitary safety of health products on 27 july 2007, about the internal quality control of external radiotherapy facilities. The software on one year meets the objectives: compliance by comparison with A.f.s.s.a.p.s. criteria but particularly optimization of the centralisation and analysis of the internal quality controls. (N.C.)

  7. Reduce Fraud Risk in Your District with Stronger Internal Controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okrzesik, Daryl J.; Nuehring, Bert G.

    2011-01-01

    Internal accounts offer schools a faster, more convenient way to handle the income and expenses that result from student fees, school clubs and organizations, field trips, fund-raising, and similar activities. But this convenience also incurs the added risk of fraud. Fortunately, there are proven ways to strengthen internal controls and reduce…

  8. Spinal motor control system incorporates an internal model of limb dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimansky, Y P

    2000-10-01

    The existence and utilization of an internal representation of the controlled object is one of the most important features of the functioning of neural motor control systems. This study demonstrates that this property already exists at the level of the spinal motor control system (SMCS), which is capable of generating motor patterns for reflex rhythmic movements, such as locomotion and scratching, without the aid of the peripheral afferent feedback, but substantially modifies the generated activity in response to peripheral afferent stimuli. The SMCS is presented as an optimal control system whose optimality requires that it incorporate an internal model (IM) of the controlled object's dynamics. A novel functional mechanism for the integration of peripheral sensory signals with the corresponding predictive output from the IM, the summation of information precision (SIP) is proposed. In contrast to other models in which the correction of the internal representation of the controlled object's state is based on the calculation of a mismatch between the internal and external information sources, the SIP mechanism merges the information from these sources in order to optimize the precision of the controlled object's state estimate. It is demonstrated, based on scratching in decerebrate cats as an example of the spinal control of goal-directed movements, that the results of computer modeling agree with the experimental observations related to the SMCS's reactions to phasic and tonic peripheral afferent stimuli. It is also shown that the functional requirements imposed by the mathematical model of the SMCS comply with the current knowledge about the related properties of spinal neuronal circuitry. The crucial role of the spinal presynaptic inhibition mechanism in the neuronal implementation of SIP is elucidated. Important differences between the IM and a state predictor employed for compensating for a neural reflex time delay are discussed.

  9. United Nations International Drug Control Programme responds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Platzer

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available [First paragraph] We would like to reply to the article written by Axel Klein entitled, "Between the Death Penalty and Decriminalization: New Directions for Drug Control in the Commonwealth Caribbean" published in NWIG 75 (3&4 2001. We have noted a number of factual inaccuracies as well as hostile comments which portray the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in a negative light. This reply is not intended to be a critique of the article, which we find unbalanced and polemical, but rather an alert to the tendentious statements about UNDCP, which we feel should be corrected.

  10. ICG: a wiki-driven knowledgebase of internal control genes for RT-qPCR normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sang, Jian; Wang, Zhennan; Li, Man; Cao, Jiabao; Niu, Guangyi; Xia, Lin; Zou, Dong; Wang, Fan; Xu, Xingjian; Han, Xiaojiao; Fan, Jinqi; Yang, Ye; Zuo, Wanzhu; Zhang, Yang; Zhao, Wenming; Bao, Yiming; Xiao, Jingfa; Hu, Songnian; Hao, Lili; Zhang, Zhang

    2018-01-04

    Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has become a widely used method for accurate expression profiling of targeted mRNA and ncRNA. Selection of appropriate internal control genes for RT-qPCR normalization is an elementary prerequisite for reliable expression measurement. Here, we present ICG (http://icg.big.ac.cn), a wiki-driven knowledgebase for community curation of experimentally validated internal control genes as well as their associated experimental conditions. Unlike extant related databases that focus on qPCR primers in model organisms (mainly human and mouse), ICG features harnessing collective intelligence in community integration of internal control genes for a variety of species. Specifically, it integrates a comprehensive collection of more than 750 internal control genes for 73 animals, 115 plants, 12 fungi and 9 bacteria, and incorporates detailed information on recommended application scenarios corresponding to specific experimental conditions, which, collectively, are of great help for researchers to adopt appropriate internal control genes for their own experiments. Taken together, ICG serves as a publicly editable and open-content encyclopaedia of internal control genes and accordingly bears broad utility for reliable RT-qPCR normalization and gene expression characterization in both model and non-model organisms. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  11. Minimum income protection in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Peijpe, T.

    2009-01-01

    This article offers an overview of the Dutch legal system of minimum income protection through collective bargaining, social security, and statutory minimum wages. In addition to collective agreements, the Dutch statutory minimum wage offers income protection to a small number of workers. Its

  12. Energy-minimum sub-threshold self-timed circuits using current-sensing completion detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Akgun, O. C.; Rodrigues, J. N.; Sparsø, Jens

    2011-01-01

    This study addresses the design of self-timed energy-minimum circuits, operating in the sub-VT domain and a generic implementation template using bundled-data circuitry and current sensing completion detection (CSCD). Furthermore, a fully decoupled latch controller was developed, which integrates......V. Spice simulations indicate a gain of 52.58% in throughput because of asynchronous operation. By trading the throughput improvement, energy dissipation is reduced by 16.8% at the energy-minimum supply voltage....

  13. Control of a perturbed under-actuated mechanical system

    KAUST Repository

    Zayane, Chadia

    2015-11-05

    In this work, the trajectory tracking problem for an under-actuated mechanical system in presence of unknown input disturbances is addressed. The studied inertia wheel inverted pendulum falls in the class of non minimum phase systems. The proposed high order sliding mode control architecture including a controller and differentiator allows to track accurately the predefined trajectory and to stabilize the internal dynamics. The robustness of the proposed approach is illustrated through different perturbation and output noise configurations.

  14. Canada loses appeal of WTO panel ruling on minimum patent terms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, R

    2000-01-01

    In the last issue, we reported on a ruling of a Panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Canada was in breach of the international Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement). The Panel found that Canada's Patent Act does not provide the minimum patent terms required by the trade agreement. Canada appealed that decision, but on 18 September 2000 the WTO Appellate Body upheld the Panel ruling.

  15. PERFORMANCE IN INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JELER (POPA IOANA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of internal control and risk management. In practice, economic entities meet a variety of risks that have the origins from the internal environment or the external one. Although there are different of views on addressing the concept of risk - threats or opportunities, event or action, accordingly uncertain, proposed by specialists in risk management in this article we try to present these issues and identify techniques to counter risks occurrence. In this article we present also means managing risk and why needs to be implemented at institutional level a risk management. The paper concludes by highlight the role of efficient risk management in the company’s management and company's activities.

  16. Prediction technique for minimum-heat-flux (MHF)- point condition of saturated pool boiling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishio, Shigefumi

    1987-01-01

    The temperature-controlled hypothesis for the minimum-heat-flux (MHF)-point condition, in which the MHF-point temperature is regarded as the controlling factor and is expected to be independent of surface configuration and dimensions, is inductively investigated for saturated pool-boiling. In this paper such features of the MHF-point condition are experimentally proved first. Secondly, a correlation of the MHF-point temperature is developed for the effect of system pressure. Finally, a simple technique based on this correlation is presented to estimate the effects of surface configuration, dimensions and system pressure on the minimum heat flux. (author)

  17. Disturbance Observer based internal Model Controller Design: Applications to Tracking Control of Optical Disk Drive

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Hyun Taek; Suh, Il Hong [Hanyang University (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-02-01

    A digital tracking controller is proposed for a precise positioning control under a large repetitive and/or non repetitive disturbances. The proposed controller consists of the internal model controller and the disturbance observer to eliminate the modeling uncertainty. A sufficient condition is given for robust stability of the proposed control system. Numerical Examples are illustrated for a precise head positioning of optical disk drives regardless of a torque disturbance and/or output disturbance. (author). 8 refs., 19 figs.

  18. Preparing a Minimum Information about a Flow Cytometry Experiment (MIFlowCyt) compliant manuscript using the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC) FCS file repository (FlowRepository.org).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spidlen, Josef; Breuer, Karin; Brinkman, Ryan

    2012-07-01

    FlowRepository.org is a Web-based flow cytometry data repository provided by the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC). It supports storage, annotation, analysis, and sharing of flow cytometry datasets. A fundamental tenet of scientific research is that published results should be open to independent validation and refutation. With FlowRepository, researchers can annotate their datasets in compliance with the Minimum Information about a Flow Cytometry Experiment (MIFlowCyt) standard, thus greatly facilitating third-party interpretation of their data. In this unit, we will mainly focus on the deposition, sharing, and annotation of flow cytometry data.

  19. Anatomical characteristics of the styloid process in internal carotid artery dissection: Case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amorim, José M; Pereira, Daniela; Rodrigues, Marta G; Beato-Coelho, José; Lopes, Margarida; Cunha, André; Figueiredo, Sofia; Mendes-Pinto, Mafalda; Ferreira, Carla; Sargento-Freitas, João; Castro, Sérgio; Pinho, João

    2018-06-01

    Introduction Pathophysiology of cervical artery dissection is complex and poorly understood. In addition to well-known causative and predisposing factors, including major trauma and monogenic connective tissue disorders, morphological characteristics of the styloid process have been recently recognized as a possible risk factor for cervical internal carotid artery dissection. Aims To study the association of the anatomical characteristics of styloid process with internal carotid artery dissection. Methods Retrospective, multicenter, case-control study of patients with internal carotid artery dissection and age- and sex-matched controls. Consecutive patients with internal carotid artery dissection and controls with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack of any etiology excluding internal carotid artery dissection, who had performed computed tomography angiography, diagnosed between January 2010 and September 2016. Two independent observers measured styloid process length and styloid process distance to internal carotid artery. Results Sixty-two patients with internal carotid artery dissection and 70 controls were included. Interobserver agreement was good for styloid process length and styloid process-internal carotid artery distance (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.89 and 0.76, respectively). Styloid process ipsilateral to dissection was longer than left and right styloid process in controls (35.8 ± 14.4 mm versus 30.4 ± 8.9 mm and 30.3 ± 8.2 mm, p = 0.011 and p = 0.008, respectively). Styloid process-internal carotid artery distance ipsilateral to dissection was shorter than left and right distance in controls (6.3 ± 1.9 mm versus 7.2 ± 2.1 mm and 7.0 ± 2.3 mm, p = 0.003 and p = 0.026, respectively). Internal carotid artery dissection was associated with styloid process length (odds ratio = 1.04 mm -1 , 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.08, p = 0.015) and styloid process-internal

  20. 25 CFR 23.46 - Financial management, internal and external controls and other assurances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Financial management, internal and external controls and....46 Financial management, internal and external controls and other assurances. Grantee financial... required by the grantee's financial management system. The Secretary or his/her designee may review the...

  1. IMPROVEMENT OF THE METHODS OF INTERNAL CONTROL OF INVENTORIES IN AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

    OpenAIRE

    Afanasenko A. N.

    2013-01-01

    The article considers the necessity of inventories for any organization. The fate of the organization depends on its management effectiveness and its financial position. The organizational peculiarities of internal control in the agricultural sphere have been studied and the ways of improvement of the organizational and methodological mechanisms have been offered for the internal control of inventories in agricultural organizations

  2. International systems for harmonization and quality control by in vivo monitoring and quality control by in vivo monitoring of internal contamination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malatova, I [National Radiation Protection Inst., Prague (Czech Republic)

    1996-12-31

    After the Chernobyl accident, whole body counting for the monitoring of internal contamination of the population was widely used. In many cases, great discrepancy occurred between in vivo measured values and predicted ones from model calculations. This situation was very similar to the situation in environmental monitoring, however, by sample measurement, quality assurance and quality control of the measurement procedure is much easier than by whole body counting. In addition to it, unlike in environmental monitoring, use of semiconductor detectors by whole counting was rather limited in this time so there were few laboratories which were able to distinguish up to 20 radionuclides by which people from the vicinity of Chernobyl were internally contaminated. Therefore, effort was undertaken by many international organization to summarize current status of whole body counting and to estimate uncertainty and sensitivity of different devices. In this paper efforts to harmonize an interpretation of measured results is given. Whole body counting laboratory of the National Radiation Protection Institute (NRPI) in Prague participates in the above mentioned intercomparisons with good results and scientists from NRPI have participated in the preparation of 3 international recommendations concerning measurement of internal contamination (author).

  3. INTERDEPENDENCIES OF THE INTERNAL / MANAGERIAL CONTROL STANDARD NO. 6 - ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ionut-Cosmin BĂLOI

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Our initiative of analyzing the internal control standard which deals with the organizational structure comes from the observations on the significance of these essential aspects of modern management and on the sensitivity with which this standard is treated in most of the public institutions considered representative for the Oltenia region. Although the administrators of public institutions strive to optimize the systems of internal/managerial control, they frequently face many issues concerning the misunderstanding of these standards, vaguely explained, for example throughout some guidelines or other documents. The hypothesis of our study is that most of public institutions face gaps in understanding, interpreting, adapting and implementing an effective model of organizational structure, and the causes are due to the lack of an interdependent, correlated approach of the pillars that support the internal/managerial control system: the 25 standards required by the Romanian legislation. Our study critically describes the superficial approach founded in the self-evaluation reports of the public institutions, if we refer only to the conformity of the organizational structure and the four standards that we consider inextricably related with this internal/managerial control standard. From the methodological point of view, our study tests the correlation between the level of compliance of these standards and the functionality of the system composed by them in the public organizations that we have investigated.

  4. Energy and IAQ Implications of Alternative Minimum Ventilation Rates in California Retail and School Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dutton, Spencer M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Fisk, William J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-01-01

    For a stand-alone retail building, a primary school, and a secondary school in each of the 16 California climate zones, the EnergyPlus building energy simulation model was used to estimate how minimum mechanical ventilation rates (VRs) affect energy use and indoor air concentrations of an indoor-generated contaminant. The modeling indicates large changes in heating energy use, but only moderate changes in total building energy use, as minimum VRs in the retail building are changed. For example, predicted state-wide heating energy consumption in the retail building decreases by more than 50% and total building energy consumption decreases by approximately 10% as the minimum VR decreases from the Title 24 requirement to no mechanical ventilation. The primary and secondary schools have notably higher internal heat gains than in the retail building models, resulting in significantly reduced demand for heating. The school heating energy use was correspondingly less sensitive to changes in the minimum VR. The modeling indicates that minimum VRs influence HVAC energy and total energy use in schools by only a few percent. For both the retail building and the school buildings, minimum VRs substantially affected the predicted annual-average indoor concentrations of an indoor generated contaminant, with larger effects in schools. The shape of the curves relating contaminant concentrations with VRs illustrate the importance of avoiding particularly low VRs.

  5. Minimum power requirement for environmental control of aircraft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ordonez, Juan Carlos; Bejan, Adrian

    2003-01-01

    This paper addresses two basic issues in the thermodynamic optimization of environmental control systems (ECS) for aircraft: realistic limits for the minimal power requirement, and design features that facilitate operation at minimal power consumption. Four models are proposed and optimized. In the first, the ECS operates reversibly, the air stream in the cabin is mixed to one temperature, and the cabin experiences heat transfer with the ambient, across its insulation. The cabin temperature is fixed. In the second model, the fixed cabin temperature is assigned to the internal solid surfaces of the cabin, and a thermal resistance separates these surfaces from the air mixed in the cabin. In the third model, the ECS operates irreversibly, based on the bootstrap air cycle. The fourth model combines the ECS features of the third model with the cabin-environment interaction features of the second model. It is shown that in all models the temperature of the air stream that the ECS delivers to the cabin can be optimized for operation at minimal power. The effect of other design parameters and flying conditions is documented. The optimized air delivery temperature is relatively insensitive to the complexity of the model; for example, it is insensitive to the size of the heat exchanger used in the bootstrap air cycle. This study adds to the view that robustness is a characteristic of optimized complex flow systems, and that thermodynamic optimization results can be used for orientation in the pursuit of more complex and realistic designs

  6. Aseptic minimum volume vitrification technique for porcine parthenogenetically activated blastocyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Lin; Yu, Yutao; Zhang, Xiuqing; Yang, Huanming; Bolund, Lars; Callesen, Henrik; Vajta, Gábor

    2011-01-01

    Minimum volume vitrification may provide extremely high cooling and warming rates if the sample and the surrounding medium contacts directly with the respective liquid nitrogen and warming medium. However, this direct contact may result in microbial contamination. In this work, an earlier aseptic technique was applied for minimum volume vitrification. After equilibration, samples were loaded on a plastic film, immersed rapidly into factory derived, filter-sterilized liquid nitrogen, and sealed into sterile, pre-cooled straws. At warming, the straw was cut, the filmstrip was immersed into a 39 degree C warming medium, and the sample was stepwise rehydrated. Cryosurvival rates of porcine blastocysts produced by parthenogenetical activation did not differ from control, vitrified blastocysts with Cryotop. This approach can be used for minimum volume vitrification methods and may be suitable to overcome the biological dangers and legal restrictions that hamper the application of open vitrification techniques.

  7. La mise en oeuvre des codes d'éthique par le control interne

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Elst, C.F.

    2014-01-01

    The real value of the internal control system lies in the animation of the ethical values in the organization. The integration of ethical risks in the internal control process enables the moving notions of ethical behaviour and accommodate the training and inducement programs of all employees

  8. Business Process Risk Management, Compliance and Internal Control: A Research Agenda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rikhardsson, Pall M.; Best, Peter; Green, Peter

    (COSO). Based on an inductive methodological approach using literature review and interviews with managers engaged in risk management and internal control projects, this paper identifies three main areas that currently have management attention. These are business process risk management, compliance......Integration of risk management and management control is emerging as an important area in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and with ongoing development of frameworks such as the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission...... management and internal control development. This paper discusses these areas and identifies a series of research questions regarding these critical issues....

  9. Aspects Regarding the Use of Coco Model for Public Entities� Internal Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madalina Beldiman

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Control, from the semantic analysis point of view, is a permanent or regular activity, a situation, to track the overall progress and improvement measures. According to the Romanian legislation, internal control is defined as all forms of control exercised at the level of the public entity, including internal audit, established by management in accordance with its objectives and legal regulations, to ensure the management of public funds economically, efficiently and effective. In general, the audit includes organizational structures, methods and procedures.

  10. 12 CFR 609.940 - Internal systems and controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Internal systems and controls. 609.940 Section 609.940 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT SYSTEM ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Standards... business plan objectives and policies and procedures requirements regarding E-commerce; and (b) Prevent and...

  11. Interdependence of NAFTA capital markets: A minimum variance portfolio approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    López-Herrera Francisco

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We estimate the long-run relationships among NAFTA capital market returns and then calculate the weights of a “time-varying minimum variance portfolio” that includes the Canadian, Mexican, and USA capital markets between March 2007 and March 2009, a period of intense turbulence in international markets. Our results suggest that the behavior of NAFTA market investors is not consistent with that of a theoretical “risk-averse” agent during periods of high uncertainty and may be either considered as irrational or attributed to a possible “home country bias”. This finding represents valuable information for portfolio managers and contributes to a better understanding of the nature of the markets in which they invest. It also has practical implications in the design of international portfolio investment policies.

  12. 78 FR 22263 - Advisory Council on the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government; Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-15

    ... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Advisory Council on the Standards for Internal Control in the... Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government; Notice of Meeting. SUMMARY: The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is initiating efforts to revise the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal...

  13. Minimum Compliance Topology Optimization of Shell-Infill Composites for Additive Manufacturing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Jun; Clausen, Anders; Sigmund, Ole

    2017-01-01

    Additively manufactured parts are often composed of two sub-structures, a solid shell forming their exterior and a porous infill occupying the interior. To account for this feature this paper presents a novel method for generating simultaneously optimized shell and infill in the context of minimum...... interpolation model into a physical density field, upon which the compliance is minimized. Enhanced by an adapted robust formulation for controlling the minimum length scale of the base, our method generates optimized shell-infill composites suitable for additive manufacturing. We demonstrate the effectiveness...

  14. International training workshop on quality control and management of food irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The International Training Workshop on Quality Control and Management of Food Indantrione was hold from 28-30, August, 2004 in Beijing, China and organized by Chinese Society of Nuclear Agriculture and China Isotope and Radiation Association. 10 Articles were collected in this symposium including training lectures. The contents included: international developments in food irradiation, Quality control and magement of food irradiation, industrializing development of irradiated food in China, Food irradiator and its quality management, research in setting standard for enterprise about irradiated products and etc.

  15. 78 FR 40740 - Advisory Council on the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-08

    ... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Advisory Council on the Standards for Internal Control in the... on the Green Book Advisory Council and the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government.... SUMMARY: The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is preparing to revise the Standards for Internal...

  16. International Co-Operation in Control Engineering Education Using Online Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Jim; Schaedel, Herbert M.

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the international co-operation experience in teaching control engineering with laboratories being conducted remotely by students via the Internet. This paper describes how the students ran the experiments and their personal experiences with the laboratory. A tool for process identification and controller tuning based on…

  17. Understanding the Minimum Wage: Issues and Answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Employment Policies Inst. Foundation, Washington, DC.

    This booklet, which is designed to clarify facts regarding the minimum wage's impact on marketplace economics, contains a total of 31 questions and answers pertaining to the following topics: relationship between minimum wages and poverty; impacts of changes in the minimum wage on welfare reform; and possible effects of changes in the minimum wage…

  18. Minimum exposure limits and measured relationships between the vitamin D, erythema and international commission on non-ionizing radiation protection solar ultraviolet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downs, Nathan; Parisi, Alfio; Butler, Harry; Turner, Joanna; Wainwright, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has established guidelines for exposure to ultraviolet radiation in outdoor occupational settings. Spectrally weighted ICNIRP ultraviolet exposures received by the skin or eye in an 8 h period are limited to 30 J m(-2). In this study, the time required to reach the ICNIRP exposure limit was measured daily in 10 min intervals upon a horizontal plane at a subtropical Australian latitude over a full year and compared with the effective Vitamin D dose received to one-quarter of the available skin surface area for all six Fitzpatrick skin types. The comparison of measured solar ultraviolet exposures for the full range of sky conditions in the 2009 measurement period, including a major September continental dust event, show a clear relationship between the weighted ICNIRP and the effective vitamin D dose. Our results show that the horizontal plane ICNIRP ultraviolet exposure may be used under these conditions to provide minimum guidelines for the healthy moderation of vitamin D, scalable to each of the six Fitzpatrick skin types. © 2014 The American Society of Photobiology.

  19. 12 CFR 567.3 - Individual minimum capital requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... association's directors, officers, and senior management as well as the internal control and internal audit... associations; has management deficiencies, including failure to adequately monitor and control financial and... capital requirement for a savings association that varies from the risk-based capital requirement, the...

  20. Youth minimum wages and youth employment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marimpi, Maria; Koning, Pierre

    2018-01-01

    This paper performs a cross-country level analysis on the impact of the level of specific youth minimum wages on the labor market performance of young individuals. We use information on the use and level of youth minimum wages, as compared to the level of adult minimum wages as well as to the median

  1. ROMANIA’S FACTS ABOUT INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND FINANCED PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dogar Cristian

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The malfunctioning of internal control system of European Social Fund (ESF financed interventions may prejudice the sound financial management principle. Incorporating COSO principles in the beneficiary’s internal control systems may provide some warranties about compliance to the above mentioned principle as described in the EC Regulation 1605-2002. This study aims to explore some facts in actual internal control environment, as a base for future improvements of Romanian ESF beneficiary’s internal control systems ESF financed interventions covers a large range of costs for implementing labor market related services. But supporting costs according to the sound financial management principle calls for best value for money in real and legal operations. Without some specifics from the donor or a mutual accepted best practice model, most of the ESF beneficiaries are reporting their efforts to actual researches and specialized literature regarding internal control system implementation in services. This study was realized in April 2012 by applying an investigation instrument, an on-line questionnaire collecting both opinions and factual data as well to a number of 962 members of a practice community for ESF interventions implementation. This technique was used to test hypotheses regarding the premises existence for a future improvement of the existing internal control system model. 100 members of this community: managers, accountants, auditors financial responsible and other team members answered anonymously, revealing a real concern for internal control, providing as well a different side image for this. Analyzing all stakeholder answers, we may consider that our hypothesis is correct and there is a real need for internal control environment improvements. This study is a part of a larger research “New models of the accounting and internal control systems of ESF financed interventions in Romania”, addressing a qualitative

  2. Duplex recombinase polymerase amplification assays incorporating competitive internal controls for bacterial meningitis detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Owen; Clancy, Eoin; Forrest, Matthew S; Piepenburg, Olaf; Cormican, Martin; Boo, Teck Wee; O'Sullivan, Nicola; McGuinness, Claire; Cafferty, Deirdre; Cunney, Robert; Smith, Terry J

    2018-04-01

    Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is an isothermal nucleic acid amplification technology that provides rapid and robust infectious disease pathogen detection, ideal for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics in disease-prevalent low-resource countries. We have developed and evaluated three duplex RPA assays incorporating competitive internal controls for the detection of leading bacterial meningitis pathogens. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis and Haemophilus influenzae singleplex RPA assays were initially developed and evaluated, demonstrating 100% specificity with limits of detection of 4.1, 8.5 and 3.9 genome copies per reaction, respectively. Each assay was further developed into internally controlled duplex RPA assays via the incorporation of internal amplification control templates. Clinical performance of each internally controlled duplex RPA assay was evaluated by testing 64 archived PCR-positive clinical samples. Compared to real-time PCR, all duplex RPA assays demonstrated 100% diagnostic specificity, with diagnostic sensitivities of 100%, 86.3% and 100% for the S. pneumoniae, N. meningitidis and H. influenzae assays, respectively. This study details the first report of internally controlled duplex RPA assays for the detection of bacterial meningitis pathogens: S. pneumoniae, N. meningitidis and H. influenzae. We have successfully demonstrated the clinical diagnostic utility of each duplex RPA assay, introducing effective diagnostic technology for POC bacterial meningitis identification in disease-prevalent developing countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. International hearing protector standardization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Torben

    2002-01-01

    Hearing protectors shall fulfill some minimum requirements to their performance. As hearing protector manufacturers sell the products all over the world, the testing and certification of hearing protectors has become an international issue. The ISO working group WG17 under the headlines Acoustics...

  4. Internal quality control of neutron activation analysis laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, S. H.; Mun, J. H.; BaeK, S. Y.; Jung, Y. S.; Kim, Y. J. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    The importance for quality assurance and control in analytical laboratories has been emphasized, day by day. Internal quality control using certified reference materials(CRMs) can be one of effective methods for this purpose. In this study, 10 kinds of CRMs consisting of soil, sediment and biological matrix were analyzed. To evaluate the confidence of analytical results and the validation of testing method and procedure, the accuracy and the precision of the measured elements were treated statistically and the reproducibility was compared with those values produced before 2003.

  5. Discretization of space and time: determining the values of minimum length and minimum time

    OpenAIRE

    Roatta , Luca

    2017-01-01

    Assuming that space and time can only have discrete values, we obtain the expression of the minimum length and the minimum time interval. These values are found to be exactly coincident with the Planck's length and the Planck's time but for the presence of h instead of ħ .

  6. Minimum wage development in the Russian Federation

    OpenAIRE

    Bolsheva, Anna

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the minimum wage policy at the national level in Russia and its impact on living standards in the country. The analysis showed that the national minimum wage in Russia does not serve its original purpose of protecting the lowest wage earners and has no substantial effect on poverty reduction. The national subsistence minimum is too low and cannot be considered an adequate criterion for the setting of the minimum wage. The minimum wage d...

  7. Nonlinearity measure and internal model control based linearization in anti-windup design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perev, Kamen [Systems and Control Department, Technical University of Sofia, 8 Cl. Ohridski Blvd., 1756 Sofia (Bulgaria)

    2013-12-18

    This paper considers the problem of internal model control based linearization in anti-windup design. The nonlinearity measure concept is used for quantifying the control system degree of nonlinearity. The linearizing effect of a modified internal model control structure is presented by comparing the nonlinearity measures of the open-loop and closed-loop systems. It is shown that the linearization properties are improved by increasing the control system local feedback gain. However, it is emphasized that at the same time the stability of the system deteriorates. The conflicting goals of stability and linearization are resolved by solving the design problem in different frequency ranges.

  8. Corporate internal control system in the process of transformations: formation, development, problems

    OpenAIRE

    Kanapickienė, Rasa

    2009-01-01

    In the market environment every company is seeking to obtain and maintain the best market share. One of the mechanisms in achieving this goal is an effective internal control of the company. With growing competition, fast development and introduction of new technologies, progressing complexity of business projects, and enlarging business diversity, company management is becoming increasingly more complicated. Consequently, company internal control is becoming a more and more complicated task....

  9. Minimum deltaV Burn Planning for the International Space Station Using a Hybrid Optimization Technique, Level 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Aaron J.

    2015-01-01

    The International Space Station's (ISS) trajectory is coordinated and executed by the Trajectory Operations and Planning (TOPO) group at NASA's Johnson Space Center. TOPO group personnel routinely generate look-ahead trajectories for the ISS that incorporate translation burns needed to maintain its orbit over the next three to twelve months. The burns are modeled as in-plane, horizontal burns, and must meet operational trajectory constraints imposed by both NASA and the Russian Space Agency. In generating these trajectories, TOPO personnel must determine the number of burns to model, each burn's Time of Ignition (TIG), and magnitude (i.e. deltaV) that meet these constraints. The current process for targeting these burns is manually intensive, and does not take advantage of more modern techniques that can reduce the workload needed to find feasible burn solutions, i.e. solutions that simply meet the constraints, or provide optimal burn solutions that minimize the total DeltaV while simultaneously meeting the constraints. A two-level, hybrid optimization technique is proposed to find both feasible and globally optimal burn solutions for ISS trajectory planning. For optimal solutions, the technique breaks the optimization problem into two distinct sub-problems, one for choosing the optimal number of burns and each burn's optimal TIG, and the other for computing the minimum total deltaV burn solution that satisfies the trajectory constraints. Each of the two aforementioned levels uses a different optimization algorithm to solve one of the sub-problems, giving rise to a hybrid technique. Level 2, or the outer level, uses a genetic algorithm to select the number of burns and each burn's TIG. Level 1, or the inner level, uses the burn TIGs from Level 2 in a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) algorithm to compute a minimum total deltaV burn solution subject to the trajectory constraints. The total deltaV from Level 1 is then used as a fitness function by the genetic

  10. Solid phase stability of a double-minimum interaction potential system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suematsu, Ayumi; Yoshimori, Akira; Saiki, Masafumi; Matsui, Jun; Odagaki, Takashi

    2014-01-01

    We study phase stability of a system with double-minimum interaction potential in a wide range of parameters by a thermodynamic perturbation theory. The present double-minimum potential is the Lennard-Jones-Gauss potential, which has a Gaussian pocket as well as a standard Lennard-Jones minimum. As a function of the depth and position of the Gaussian pocket in the potential, we determine the coexistence pressure of crystals (fcc and bcc). We show that the fcc crystallizes even at zero pressure when the position of the Gaussian pocket is coincident with the first or third nearest neighbor site of the fcc crystal. The bcc crystal is more stable than the fcc crystal when the position of the Gaussian pocket is coincident with the second nearest neighbor sites of the bcc crystal. The stable crystal structure is determined by the position of the Gaussian pocket. These results show that we can control the stability of the solid phase by tuning the potential function

  11. Internal Leakage Fault Detection and Tolerant Control of Single-Rod Hydraulic Actuators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianyong Yao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The integration of internal leakage fault detection and tolerant control for single-rod hydraulic actuators is present in this paper. Fault detection is a potential technique to provide efficient condition monitoring and/or preventive maintenance, and fault tolerant control is a critical method to improve the safety and reliability of hydraulic servo systems. Based on quadratic Lyapunov functions, a performance-oriented fault detection method is proposed, which has a simple structure and is prone to implement in practice. The main feature is that, when a prescribed performance index is satisfied (even a slight fault has occurred, there is no fault alarmed; otherwise (i.e., a severe fault has occurred, the fault is detected and then a fault tolerant controller is activated. The proposed tolerant controller, which is based on the parameter adaptive methodology, is also prone to realize, and the learning mechanism is simple since only the internal leakage is considered in parameter adaptation and thus the persistent exciting (PE condition is easily satisfied. After the activation of the fault tolerant controller, the control performance is gradually recovered. Simulation results on a hydraulic servo system with both abrupt and incipient internal leakage fault demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed fault detection and tolerant control method.

  12. Collaborative study to assess the suitability of a candidate International Standard for yellow fever vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferguson, Morag; Heath, Alan

    2004-12-01

    Yellow fever vaccines are routinely assayed by plaque assay. However, the results of these assays are then converted into mouse LD(50) using correlations/conversion factors which, in many cases, were established many years ago. The minimum required potency in WHO Recommendations is 10(3) LD(50)/dose. Thirteen participants from 8 countries participated in a collaborative study whose aim was to assess the suitability of two candidate preparations to serve as an International Standard for yellow fever vaccine. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between the mouse LD(50) test and plaque forming units with a view to updating the WHO recommendations. Plaque assays were more reproducible than mouse assays, as expected. Differences in sensitivities of plaque assays were observed between laboratories but these differences appear to be consistent within a laboratory for all samples and the expression of potency relative to the candidate standard vaccine improved the reproducibility of assays between laboratories. However, the use of potencies had little effect on the between laboratory variability in mouse LD(50) assays. There appears to be a consistent relationship between overall mean LD(50) and plaques titre for all study preparations other than sample E. The slope of the correlation curve is >1 and it would appear that 10(3) LD(50) is approximately equivalent to 10(4) plaque forming units (PFU), based on the overall means of all laboratory results. The First International Standard for yellow fever vaccine, NIBSC Code 99/616, has been established as the First International Standard for yellow fever vaccine by the Expert Committee of Biological Standards of the World Health Organisation. The International Standard has been arbitrarily assigned a potency of 10(4.5) International Units (IU) per ampoule. Manufacturers and National Control Laboratories are including the First International Standard for yellow fever vaccine in routine assays so that the minimum

  13. Minimum emittance of three-bend achromats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Xiaoyu; Xu Gang

    2012-01-01

    The calculation of the minimum emittance of three-bend achromats (TBAs) made by Mathematical software can ignore the actual magnets lattice in the matching condition of dispersion function in phase space. The minimum scaling factors of two kinds of widely used TBA lattices are obtained. Then the relationship between the lengths and the radii of the three dipoles in TBA is obtained and so is the minimum scaling factor, when the TBA lattice achieves its minimum emittance. The procedure of analysis and the results can be widely used in achromats lattices, because the calculation is not restricted by the actual lattice. (authors)

  14. Enhanced IMC based PID controller design for non-minimum phase (NMP) integrating processes with time delays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghousiya Begum, K; Seshagiri Rao, A; Radhakrishnan, T K

    2017-05-01

    Internal model control (IMC) with optimal H 2 minimization framework is proposed in this paper for design of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers. The controller design is addressed for integrating and double integrating time delay processes with right half plane (RHP) zeros. Blaschke product is used to derive the optimal controller. There is a single adjustable closed loop tuning parameter for controller design. Systematic guidelines are provided for selection of this tuning parameter based on maximum sensitivity. Simulation studies have been carried out on various integrating time delay processes to show the advantages of the proposed method. The proposed controller provides enhanced closed loop performances when compared to recently reported methods in the literature. Quantitative comparative analysis has been carried out using the performance indices, Integral Absolute Error (IAE) and Total Variation (TV). Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Minimum Energy Requirements in Complex Distillation Arrangements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halvorsen, Ivar J

    2001-07-01

    Distillation is the most widely used industrial separation technology and distillation units are responsible for a significant part of the total heat consumption in the world's process industry. In this work we focus on directly (fully thermally) coupled column arrangements for separation of multicomponent mixtures. These systems are also denoted Petlyuk arrangements, where a particular implementation is the dividing wall column. Energy savings in the range of 20-40% have been reported with ternary feed mixtures. In addition to energy savings, such integrated units have also a potential for reduced capital cost, making them extra attractive. However, the industrial use has been limited, and difficulties in design and control have been reported as the main reasons. Minimum energy results have only been available for ternary feed mixtures and sharp product splits. This motivates further research in this area, and this thesis will hopefully give some contributions to better understanding of complex column systems. In the first part we derive the general analytic solution for minimum energy consumption in directly coupled columns for a multicomponent feed and any number of products. To our knowledge, this is a new contribution in the field. The basic assumptions are constant relative volatility, constant pressure and constant molar flows and the derivation is based on Underwood's classical methods. An important conclusion is that the minimum energy consumption in a complex directly integrated multi-product arrangement is the same as for the most difficult split between any pair of the specified products when we consider the performance of a conventional two-product column. We also present the Vmin-diagram, which is a simple graphical tool for visualisation of minimum energy related to feed distribution. The Vmin-diagram provides a simple mean to assess the detailed flow requirements for all parts of a complex directly coupled arrangement. The main purpose in the first

  16. Minimum Energy Requirements in Complex Distillation Arrangements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halvorsen, Ivar J.

    2001-07-01

    Distillation is the most widely used industrial separation technology and distillation units are responsible for a significant part of the total heat consumption in the world's process industry. In this work we focus on directly (fully thermally) coupled column arrangements for separation of multicomponent mixtures. These systems are also denoted Petlyuk arrangements, where a particular implementation is the dividing wall column. Energy savings in the range of 20-40% have been reported with ternary feed mixtures. In addition to energy savings, such integrated units have also a potential for reduced capital cost, making them extra attractive. However, the industrial use has been limited, and difficulties in design and control have been reported as the main reasons. Minimum energy results have only been available for ternary feed mixtures and sharp product splits. This motivates further research in this area, and this thesis will hopefully give some contributions to better understanding of complex column systems. In the first part we derive the general analytic solution for minimum energy consumption in directly coupled columns for a multicomponent feed and any number of products. To our knowledge, this is a new contribution in the field. The basic assumptions are constant relative volatility, constant pressure and constant molar flows and the derivation is based on Underwood's classical methods. An important conclusion is that the minimum energy consumption in a complex directly integrated multi-product arrangement is the same as for the most difficult split between any pair of the specified products when we consider the performance of a conventional two-product column. We also present the Vmin-diagram, which is a simple graphical tool for visualisation of minimum energy related to feed distribution. The Vmin-diagram provides a simple mean to assess the detailed flow requirements for all parts of a complex directly coupled arrangement. The main purpose in

  17. Quality specification and status of internal quality control of cardiac biomarkers in China from 2011 to 2016.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tingting; Wang, Wei; Zhao, Haijian; He, Falin; Zhong, Kun; Yuan, Shuai; Wang, Zhiguo

    2017-09-07

    This study aimed to investigate the status of internal quality control (IQC) for cardiac biomarkers from 2011 to 2016 so that we can have overall knowledge of the precision level of measurements in China and set appropriate precision specifications. Internal quality control data of cardiac biomarkers, including creatinine kinase MB (CK-MB) (μg/L), CK-MB(U/L), myoglobin (Mb), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), and homocysteines (HCY), were collected by a web-based external quality assessment (EQA) system. Percentages of laboratories meeting five precision quality specifications for current coefficient of variations (CVs) were calculated. Then, appropriate precision specifications were chosen for these six analytes. Finally, the CVs and IQC practice were further analyzed with different grouping methods. The current CVs remained nearly constant for 6 years. cTnT had the highest pass rates every year against five specifications, whereas HCY had the lowest pass rates. Overall, most analytes had a satisfactory performance (pass rates >80%), except for HCY, if one-third TEa or the minimum specification were employed. When the optimal specification was applied, the performance of most analytes was frustrating (pass rates < 60%) except for cTnT. The appropriate precision specifications of Mb, cTnI, cTnT and HCY were set as current CVs less than 9.20%, 9.90%, 7.50%, 10.54%, 7.63%, and 6.67%, respectively. The data of IQC practices indicated wide variation and substantial progress. The precision performance of cTnT was already satisfying, while the other five analytes, especially HCY, were still frustrating; thus, ongoing investigation and continuous improvement for IQC are still needed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. The regulations concerning the uses of international controlled material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    These provisions are established on the basis of and to enforce ''The law for the regulations of nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials and reactors'' and the ''Prescriptions on the usage of internationally regulated goods'' in the Enforcement Ordinance of the Law. Terms are explained, such as area for incoming and outgoing of goods, main measuring point, batch and real stocks. Applications for the permission of the use of internationally regulated goods shall be filed, in which the kinds of such goods for the materials and equipments in each partner country, with which international agreement was concluded, and the quantity and expected period of use of each regulated material must be written. The users of such regulated materials shall keep the records on the usage of such materials in each factory or establishment. Such records include the quantities of receiving and delivering and stocks of nuclear raw material of each kind, radiation control reports and the records of accidents in the facilities for using nuclear raw materials. Applications for the approval of the stipulation on the management of measurement shall be filed, in which the functions and organizations of the persons engaging in the measurement and control of internationally regulated goods, the establishment of the areas for receiving and delivering the goods and the marks to be put on such areas, etc. Applications for the designation as the persons engaging in information processing works are specified. (Okada, K.)

  19. 30 CFR 57.19021 - Minimum rope strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0. (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0. (c) Tail...

  20. 30 CFR 56.19021 - Minimum rope strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0-0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0-0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0 (c) Tail ropes...

  1. Optimising a Model of Minimum Stock Level Control and a Model of Standing Order Cycle in Selected Foundry Plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szymszal J.

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available It has been found that the area where one can look for significant reserves in the procurement logistics is a rational management of the stock of raw materials. Currently, the main purpose of projects which increase the efficiency of inventory management is to rationalise all the activities in this area, taking into account and minimising at the same time the total inventory costs. The paper presents a method for optimising the inventory level of raw materials under a foundry plant conditions using two different control models. The first model is based on the estimate of an optimal level of the minimum emergency stock of raw materials, giving information about the need for an order to be placed immediately and about the optimal size of consignments ordered after the minimum emergency level has occurred. The second model is based on the estimate of a maximum inventory level of raw materials and an optimal order cycle. Optimisation of the presented models has been based on the previously done selection and use of rational methods for forecasting the time series of the delivery of a chosen auxiliary material (ceramic filters to a casting plant, including forecasting a mean size of the delivered batch of products and its standard deviation.

  2. ROMANIAâ€(tm)S FACTS ABOUT INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND FINANCED PROJECTS

    OpenAIRE

    Danescu Tatiana; Dogar Cristian

    2012-01-01

    The malfunctioning of internal control system of European Social Fund (ESF) financed interventions may prejudice the sound financial management principle. Incorporating COSO principles in the beneficiaryâ€(tm)s internal control systems may provide some warranties about compliance to the above mentioned principle as described in the EC Regulation 1605-2002. This study aims to explore some facts in actual internal control environment, as a base for future improvements of Romanian ESF beneficiar...

  3. External and semi-internal controls for PCR amplification of homologous sequences in mixed templates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalle, Elena; Gulevich, Alexander; Rensing, Christopher

    2013-11-01

    In a mixed template, the presence of homologous target DNA sequences creates environments that almost inevitably give rise to artifacts and biases during PCR. Heteroduplexes, chimeras, and skewed template-to-product ratios are the exclusive attributes of mixed template PCR and never occur in a single template assay. Yet, multi-template PCR has been used without appropriate attention to quality control and assay validation, in spite of the fact that such practice diminishes the reliability of results. External and internal amplification controls became obligatory elements of good laboratory practice in different PCR assays. We propose the inclusion of an analogous approach as a quality control system for multi-template PCR applications. The amplification controls must take into account the characteristics of multi-template PCR and be able to effectively monitor particular assay performance. This study demonstrated the efficiency of a model mixed template as an adequate external amplification control for a particular PCR application. The conditions of multi-template PCR do not allow implementation of a classic internal control; therefore we developed a convenient semi-internal control as an acceptable alternative. In order to evaluate the effects of inhibitors, a model multi-template mix was amplified in a mixture with DNAse-treated sample. Semi-internal control allowed establishment of intervals for robust PCR performance for different samples, thus enabling correct comparison of the samples. The complexity of the external and semi-internal amplification controls must be comparable with the assumed complexity of the samples. We also emphasize that amplification controls should be applied in multi-template PCR regardless of the post-assay method used to analyze products. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Internal quality control practice of thyroid disease related tests and imprecision analysis in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Li-Tao; Wang, Zhi-Guo

    2014-01-01

    Internal quality control (IQC) has a long and well-established role in clinical laboratories and the quality of laboratories has achieved great improvement in China. However, the practice of IQC varies significantly between institutions and many problems still exists. Consequently, the Chinese National Center for Clinical Laboratories has been undertaking monthly nation-wide surveys of current IQC practice of tests since 2010 to monitor laboratory quality. Thyroid disease related tests were chosen for this research. Different numbers of laboratories in China participating national external quality assessment (EQA) schemes of Total Thyroxine (TT4), Total Triiodothyronine (TT3), Free Thyroxine (FT4) and Free Triiodothyronine (FT3) tests, and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) measurements, were required to report the IQC information though the national external quality assessment (EQA) network platform. Survey data showed significant variability in all aspects of IQC practice. More than half of the laboratories are using a single concentration level of IQC material and up to 28.6% of the laboratories only use 1(2s) or 1(3s) to monitor IQC results for FT3, TT3, FT4, TT4, and TSH. The medians of the average time intervals of two control tests for FT3, TT3, FT4, TT4, and TSH are 33.6, 35.4, 33.6, 35.4, and 33.6 hours, respectively, more or less 1.4 days. When quality specifications based on biological variation are applied to imprecision evaluation, only 46.3%, 52.1%, 31.3%, 12.8%, and 5.86% laboratories meet the minimum performance for FT3, TT3, FT4, and TT4, 24.5%, 23.6%, 12.8%, and 5.86% of the all meet the desirable performance, and 4.4%, 3.9%, 2.5% and 3.0% of the all meet the optimal performance. While it shows a higher percentage of acceptable laboratories (98.1%, 87.9% and 39.0% meeting the minimum, desirable and optimal performance, respectively) for TSH. Not-well-designed IQC practices may affect the effectiveness of laboratory IQC and, thus, the adequacy of a

  5. The role of interactive control systems in obtaining internal consistency in the management control system package

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toldbod, Thomas; Israelsen, Poul

    2014-01-01

    Companies rely on multiple Management Control Systems to obtain their short and long term objectives. When applying a multifaceted perspective on Management Control System the concept of internal consistency has been found to be important in obtaining goal congruency in the company. However, to d...... management is aware of this shortcoming they use the cybernetic controls more interactively to overcome this shortcoming, whereby the cybernetic controls are also used as a learning platform and not just for performance control....

  6. The regulations concerning the uses of international controlled material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    The regulations are defined under the law for the regulations of nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials and reactors and provisions concerning the uses of international controlled material in the order for execution of the law. Basic concepts and terms are explained, such as: area of material delivery; fluctuation of stock; batch; real stock, effective value; fuel assembly and main measuring point. The application for permission of the uses of international controlled material shall be filed to the Director General of Science and Technology Agency by the processor, the establisher of reactor, the reprocessor or the user for each works or enterprise, listing name and address of the person, name and location of the works or the enterprise where such material is used, kind and quantity of the material and expected period of the uses. Records shall be made and kept for particular periods for each works or enterprise on specified matters, including especially delivery, stock and fluctuation of stock of nuclear source or fuel material, etc. Provisions on control of measurement, method of analysis and information processing business are stipulated. Reports shall be submitted to the Director in the forms attached on delivery, control and fluctuation of stock of nuclear source or fuel material, etc. (Okada, K.)

  7. β-arrestins negatively control human adrenomedullin type 1-receptor internalization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuwasako, Kenji; Kitamura, Kazuo; Nagata, Sayaka; Sekiguchi, Toshio; Danfeng, Jiang; Murakami, Manabu; Hattori, Yuichi; Kato, Johji

    2017-01-01

    Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent hypotensive peptide that exerts a powerful variety of protective effects against multiorgan damage through the AM type 1 receptor (AM 1 receptor), which consists of the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) and receptor activity-modifying protein 2 (RAMP2). Two β-arrestin (β-arr) isoforms, β-arr-1 and β-arr-2, play a central role in the agonist-induced internalization of many receptors for receptor resensitization. Notably, β-arr-biased agonists are now being tested in phase II clinical trials, targeting acute pain and acute heart failure. Here, we examined the effects of β-arr-1 and β-arr-2 on human AM 1 receptor internalization. We constructed a V5-tagged chimera in which the cytoplasmic C-terminal tail (C-tail) of CLR was replaced with that of the β 2 -adrenergic receptor (β 2 -AR), and it was transiently transfected into HEK-293 cells that stably expressed RAMP2. The cell-surface expression and internalization of the wild-type or chimeric receptor were quantified by flow cytometric analysis. The [ 125 I]AM binding and the AM-induced cAMP production of these receptors were also determined. Surprisingly, the coexpression of β-arr-1 or -2 resulted in significant decreases in AM 1 receptor internalization without affecting AM binding and signaling prior to receptor internalization. Dominant-negative (DN) β-arr-1 or -2 also significantly decreased AM-induced AM 1 receptor internalization. In contrast, the AM-induced internalization of the chimeric AM 1 receptor was markedly augmented by the cotransfection of β-arr-1 or -2 and significantly reduced by the coexpression of DN-β-arr-1 or -2. These results were consistent with those seen for β 2 -AR. Thus, both β-arrs negatively control AM 1 receptor internalization, which depends on the C-tail of CLR. - Highlights: • We found that β-arrestins 1 and 2 negatively control agonist-induced GPCR internalization. • β-arrestins 1 and 2 significantly inhibits the AM

  8. Robust control of chaos in Chua's circuit based on internal model principle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Keum W.; Singh, Sahjendra N.

    2007-01-01

    The paper treats the question of robust control of chaos in Chua's circuit based on the internal model principle. The Chua's diode has polynomial non-linearity and it is assumed that the parameters of the circuit are not known. A robust control law for the asymptotic regulation of the output (node voltage) along constant and sinusoidal reference trajectories is derived. For the derivation of the control law, the non-linear regulator equations are solved to obtain a manifold in the state space on which the output error is zero and an internal model of the k-fold exosystem (k = 3 here) is constructed. Then a feedback control law using the optimal control theory or pole placement technique for the stabilization of the augmented system including the Chua's circuit and the internal model is derived. In the closed-loop system, robust output node voltage trajectory tracking of sinusoidal and constant reference trajectories are accomplished and in the steady state, the remaining state variables converge to periodic and constant trajectories, respectively. Simulation results are presented which show that in the closed-loop system, asymptotic trajectory control, disturbance rejection and suppression of chaotic motion in spite of uncertainties in the system are accomplished

  9. 30 CFR 77.1431 - Minimum rope strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0 (c) Tail ropes...

  10. Current internal-dosimetry practices at US Department of Energy facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Traub, R.J.; Murphy, B.L.; Selby, J.M.; Vallario, E.J.

    1985-04-01

    The internal dosimetry practice at DOE facilities were characterized. The purpose was to determine the size of the facilities' internal dosimetry programs, the uniformity of the programs among the facilities, and the areas of greatest concern to health physicists in providing and reporting accurate estimates of internal radiation dose and in meeting proposed changes in internal dosimetry. The differences among the internal-dosimetry programs are related to the radioelements in use at each facility and, to some extent, the number of workers at each facility. The differences include different frequencies in the use of quality control samples, different minimum detection levels, different methods of recording radionuclides, different amounts of data recorded in the permanent record, and apparent differences in modeling the metabolism of radionuclides within the body. Recommendations for improving internal-dosimetry practices include studying the relationship between air-monitoring/survey readings and bioassay data, establishing uniform methods for recording bioassay results, developing more sensitive direct-bioassay procedures, establishing a mechanism for sharing information on internal-dosimetry procedures among DOE facilities, and developing mathematical models and interactive computer codes that can help quantify the uptake of radioactive materials and predict their distribution in the body. 19 refs., 8 tabs

  11. The potential value of dynamic materials control in international safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keepin, G.R.; Lovett, J.E.

    1979-01-01

    The difficulties inherent in conventional materials accountancy based on semi-annual or annual shutdown cleanout physical inventories have been recognized for many years. The increasing importance of international nuclear materials safeguards, coupled with the availability of advanced non-destructive measurement technology which could be installed on or near process lines, has led to the development of the concept of advanced or dynamic materials control. The potential benefits of dynamic materials control in terms of significantly improved detection capabilities (ranging from a few kilograms of plutonium down to perhaps a few hundred grams, even for large-scale bulk processing facilities), and even more dramatically improved detection timeliness (typically a few days, and potentially only a few hours, in advanced facilities), are reviewed. At least twelve major dynamic material control systems already in existence or in the process of being installed are noted, and some of the essential characteristics are discussed. Some currently unresolved questions are explored, and future prospects for the concept of dynamic material control in international safeguards are reviewed. (author)

  12. Strengthening the regulatory control of consumer goods through international harmonization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yus Rusdian Akhmad

    2013-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is currently working on a recommendation in the form of guidelines for regulating consumer goods. Preparation of this document has a significant dimension of international issues, especially in terms of the application of the principles of justification and application of the concept of exemption. International harmonization among regulators ranging from the regional to the global level is a central issue and considering the complex issues that arise in addition to covering the scientific aspects also involve consideration of the legal aspects or values espoused by any State which may differ from one another. PERKA BAPETEN on consumer goods is still in the preparation stage so that the discussion of the material will be useful for improving the quality of the regulation in time. There is a significant gap of understanding to the related materials by the parties concerned (between local and international parties were among the local party). This paper intends to propose the understanding and views on radiation protection and regulatory control for consumer goods and hopely could contributed significantly to strengthening its regulatory control which is primarily through a reduction in the gap of understanding to the related concept that potentially multi perceptions and encourage stronger cooperation among regulatory bodies. (author)

  13. Trends in trace element emission legislation - an international overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sloss, L.L.

    2003-07-01

    Emissions of trace elements have decreased for a variety of reasons in many developed countries. However, the application of more successful control strategies in other industry sectors means that coal combustion is still a relatively important source of some trace elements, especially mercury. International and national legislation is increasingly being applied to trace element emissions. International programmes for trace element reduction are generally in the form of voluntary action plans with recommendations and targets for reduction. National legislation in Europe is commonly in the form of emission limits for specific sources. New legislation in the USA may take the form of best available technology or a minimum emission reduction requirement. It is also possible that mercury could be included in multi-pollutant emissions trading schemes. 52 refs., 4 tabs.

  14. How do minimum cigarette price laws affect cigarette prices at the retail level?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feighery, E C; Ribisl, K M; Schleicher, N C; Zellers, L; Wellington, N

    2005-04-01

    Half of US states have minimum cigarette price laws that were originally passed to protect small independent retailers from unfair price competition with larger retailers. These laws prohibit cigarettes from being sold below a minimum price that is set by a formula. Many of these laws allow cigarette company promotional incentives offered to retailers, such as buydowns and master-type programmes, to be calculated into the formula. Allowing this provision has the potential to lower the allowable minimum price. This study assesses whether stores in states with minimum price laws have higher cigarette prices and lower rates of retailer participation in cigarette company promotional incentive programmes. Retail cigarette prices and retailer participation in cigarette company incentive programmes in 2001 were compared in eight states with minimum price laws and seven states without them. New York State had the most stringent minimum price law at the time of the study because it excluded promotional incentive programmes in its price setting formula; cigarette prices in New York were compared to all other states included in the study. Cigarette prices were not significantly different in our sample of US states with and without cigarette minimum price laws. Cigarette prices were significantly higher in New York stores than in the 14 other states combined. Most existing minimum cigarette price laws appear to have little impact on the retail price of cigarettes. This may be because they allow the use of promotional programmes, which are used by manufacturers to reduce cigarette prices. New York's strategy to disallow these types of incentive programmes may result in higher minimum cigarette prices, and should also be explored as a potential policy strategy to control cigarette company marketing practices in stores. Strict cigarette minimum price laws may have the potential to reduce cigarette consumption by decreasing demand through increased cigarette prices and reduced

  15. A Phosphate Minimum in the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulmier, A.; Giraud, M.; Sudre, J.; Jonca, J.; Leon, V.; Moron, O.; Dewitte, B.; Lavik, G.; Grasse, P.; Frank, M.; Stramma, L.; Garcon, V.

    2016-02-01

    The Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Peru is known to be associated with the advection of Equatorial SubSurface Waters (ESSW), rich in nutrients and poor in oxygen, through the Peru-Chile UnderCurrent (PCUC), but this circulation remains to be refined within the OMZ. During the Pelágico cruise in November-December 2010, measurements of phosphate revealed the presence of a phosphate minimum (Pmin) in various hydrographic stations, which could not be explained so far and could be associated with a specific water mass. This Pmin, localized at a relatively constant layer ( 20minimum with a mean vertical phosphate decrease of 0.6 µM but highly variable between 0.1 and 2.2 µM. In average, these Pmin are associated with a predominant mixing of SubTropical Under- and Surface Waters (STUW and STSW: 20 and 40%, respectively) within ESSW ( 25%), complemented evenly by overlying (ESW, TSW: 8%) and underlying waters (AAIW, SPDW: 7%). The hypotheses and mechanisms leading to the Pmin formation in the OMZ are further explored and discussed, considering the physical regional contribution associated with various circulation pathways ventilating the OMZ and the local biogeochemical contribution including the potential diazotrophic activity.

  16. ROMANIA’S FACTS ABOUT INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT OF EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND FINANCED PROJECTS

    OpenAIRE

    Dogar Cristian; Dãnescu Tatiana

    2012-01-01

    The malfunctioning of internal control system of European Social Fund (ESF) financed interventions may prejudice the sound financial management principle. Incorporating COSO principles in the beneficiary’s internal control systems may provide some warranties about compliance to the above mentioned principle as described in the EC Regulation 1605-2002. This study aims to explore some facts in actual internal control environment, as a base for future improvements of Romanian ESF beneficiaryâ€...

  17. 12 CFR 630.5 - Accuracy of reports and assessment of internal control over financial reporting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... control over financial reporting. 630.5 Section 630.5 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM... assessment of internal control over financial reporting. (1) Annual reports must include a report by the... disclose any material change(s) in the internal control over financial reporting occurring during the...

  18. Neuromuscular control and running economy is preserved in elite international triathletes after cycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonacci, Jason; Saunders, Philo U; Alexander, Mark; Blanch, Peter; Vicenzino, Bill

    2011-03-01

    Running is the most important discipline for Olympic triathlon success. However, cycling impairs running muscle recruitment and performance in some highly trained triathletes; though it is not known if this occurs in elite international triathletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cycling in two different protocols on running economy and neuromuscular control in elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and sagittal plane joint angles of the left lower extremity and running economy were compared between control (no preceding cycle) and transition (preceded by cycling) runs for two different cycle protocols (20-minute low-intensity and 50-minute high-intensity cycles) in seven elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and joint angles were not different between control and transition runs for either cycle protocols. Running economy was also not different between control and transition runs for the low-intensity (62.4 +/- 4.5 vs. 62.1 +/- 4.0 ml/min/kg, p > 0.05) and high-intensity (63.4 +/- 3.5 vs. 63.3 +/- 4.3 ml/min/kg, p > 0.05) cycle protocols. The results of this study demonstrate that both low- and high-intensity cycles do not adversely influence neuromuscular control and running economy in elite international triathletes.

  19. International Workshop on Advanced Dynamics and Model Based Control of Structures and Machines

    CERN Document Server

    Belyaev, Alexander; Krommer, Michael

    2017-01-01

    The papers in this volume present and discuss the frontiers in the mechanics of controlled machines and structures. They are based on papers presented at the International Workshop on Advanced Dynamics and Model Based Control of Structures and Machines held in Vienna in September 2015. The workshop continues a series of international workshops held in Linz (2008) and St. Petersburg (2010).

  20. Internal ellipsoidal estimates of reachable set of impulsive control systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matviychuk, Oksana G. [Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 16 S. Kovalevskaya str., Ekaterinburg, 620990, Russia and Ural Federal University, 19 Mira str., Ekaterinburg, 620002 (Russian Federation)

    2014-11-18

    A problem of estimating reachable sets of linear impulsive control system with uncertainty in initial data is considered. The impulsive controls in the dynamical system belong to the intersection of a special cone with a generalized ellipsoid both taken in the space of functions of bounded variation. Assume that an ellipsoidal state constraints are imposed. The algorithms for constructing internal ellipsoidal estimates of reachable sets for such control systems and numerical simulation results are given.

  1. Work stress and emotional exhaustion in nurses: the mediating role of internal locus of control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partlak Günüşen, Neslihan; Ustün, Besti; Erdem, Sabri

    2014-01-01

    Burnout is a major problem for nursing. There is a strong relationship between work stress and emotional exhaustion. Although studies report a negative correlation between the internal locus of control and emotional exhaustion and work stress, the number of studies available on the subject is limited. This study intends to examine the extent to which the relationship between work stress and emotional exhaustion is mediated by nurses' internal locus of control. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The study sample consisted of 347 nurses who worked in a university hospital in Izmir, Turkey and who agreed to participate in the study. The Work-Related Strain Inventory was used to evaluate the nurses' work stress level, Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to evaluate their emotional exhaustion levels, and the Locus of Control Scale was used to evaluate the internal locus of control. The variables of the study were based on the Neuman Systems Model. Work stress was positively related to internal locus of control (β3 = .21, p 0.1). Internal locus of control was negatively related to emotional exhaustion (β = -.14, p Work stress is directly (β = .87, p Work stress is directly (β = .87, p work stress was mediated, the impact of internal locus of control was limited. It is recommended that different variables be included in future studies so that they can mediate the relationship between work stress and emotional exhaustion.

  2. Speaking in Tongues: Can International Graduate Students Read International Graduate Admissions Materials?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Zachary W.

    2017-01-01

    A recent Educational Testing Services report (2016) found that international graduate students with a TOEFL score of 80--the minimum average TOEFL score for graduate admission in the United States--usually possess reading subscores of 20, equating to a 12th-grade reading comprehension level. However, one public flagship university's international…

  3. The impact of inclusive business on ethical values & internal control quality: an accounting perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamer A. El Nashar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of inclusive business on the internal ethical values and the internal control quality while conceiving the accounting perspective. I construct the hypothesis for this paper based on the potential impact on the organizations’ awareness to be directed to the inclusive business approach that will significantly impact the culture of the organizations then the ethical values and the internal control quality. I use the approach of the expected value and variance of random variable test in order to analyze the potential impact of inclusive business. I support the examination by discrete probability distribution and continuous probability distribution. I find a probability of 85.5% to have a significant potential impact of the inclusive business by 100% score on internal ethical values and internal control quality. And to help contribute to sustainability growth, reduce poverty and improve organizational culture and learning.

  4. Future Control and Automation : Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    This volume Future Control and Automation- Volume 1 includes best papers selected from 2012 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation (ICFCA 2012) held on July 1-2, 2012, Changsha, China. Future control and automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. This volume can be divided into five sessions on the basis of the classification of manuscripts considered, which is listed as follows: Identification and Control, Navigation, Guidance and Sensor, Simulation Technology, Future Telecommunications and Control

  5. PENGARUH INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL DAN FASILITAS BELAJAR TERHADAP HASIL BELAJAR MELALUI DISIPLIN BELAJAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Risnaeni

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis pengaruh langsung dan tidak langsung internal locus of control dan fasilitas belajar terhadap hasil belajar melalui disiplin belajar. Populasi penelitian ini adalah seluruh siswa kelas XI SMA N 3 Pemalang tahun ajaran 2015/2016. Sampel yang diambil sebanyak 105 siswa. Metode pengumpulan data menggunakan dokumentasi dan angket. Metode analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis deskriptif, analisis jalur dan sobel test. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan (1 Ada pengaruh internal locus of control terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi sebesar 6,4% (2 Ada pengaruh fasilitas belajar terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi sebesar 4,6% (3 Ada pengaruh disiplin belajar terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi sebesar 9,6% (4 Ada pengaruh internal locus of control terhadap disiplin belajar siswa sebesar 37,2% (5 Ada pengaruh fasilitas belajar terhadap disiplin belajar siswa sebesar 30,2% (6 Ada pengaruh internal locus of control melalui disiplin belajar sebagai variabel intervening terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi sebesar 18,5% (7 Ada pengaruh fasilitas belajar melalui disiplin belajar sebagai variabel intervening terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi sebesar 14%. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diatas, dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh internal locus of control dan fasilitas belajar terhadap hasil belajar ekonomi melalui disiplin belajar sebagai variabel intervening. Saran yang dapat diberikan adalah memperbaiki indikator-indikator yang masih rendah sehingga hasil belajar akan semakin baik. The purpose is this study is to analyze the direct and indirect effect of internal locus of control and learning facilities toward learning outcomes through learning self-discipline. The population of the research is all of the 11th social students class at SMA N 3 Pemalang academic year 2015/2016. The researcher took 105 students as the sample. The researcher collects the data by using documentation and questionnaire. The result of this research shown

  6. Control of internal exposure doses of Belarus population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minenko, V.; Drozdovich, V.; Ulanovski, A.; Ternov, V.I.; Vasilyeva, I.

    1997-01-01

    Starting from May 1986 instrumental control of internal exposure is being carried out in Belarus using different equipment. In earlier, iodine period, the basic aim of the control was a mass screening of the population for defining of iodine content in thyroid. After the iodine period attention of the radiological control was focused on monitoring of caesium radionuclides content in human bodies of the inhabitants of radioactively contaminated territories. Goals of the control were changing, depending on the time that passed since the day of the accident. Nowadays the National Commission of Belarus recognizes entering of the, Republic into rehabilitation period of the accident of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Developed Conception of Protection Measures for the rehabilitation period for the population living at the territories affected by the radioactive contamination in the result of the Chernobyl catastrophe

  7. Closed to reason: time for accountability for the International Narcotic Control Board

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Small Dan

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract For more than two decades, the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB has tried to stop harm reduction and its HIV prevention programs. This posture is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of their responsibilities and of drug addiction itself – i.e. as a public health and clinical care matter made criminal by decree. A recent focal point for the Board's action has been rejecting the use of supervised injection facilities to reduce morbidity and mortality of drug injectors. They single out individual countries and attempt to bully them into rejecting such programs under the banner of the United Nations (falsely and in the name of international treaties. Their unrelenting and unjustified badgering of signatories to the international treaties that established the INCB is not only unjustified; it is an affront to one of the core purposes of the Board itself: to ensure adequate medical supplies and safe use of controlled substances. The INCB's ill-conceived obsession with intravenousaddiction as a crime flies in the face of the medical view and policies of the World Health Organization and the universally endorsed principles of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The latest target of the INCB is North America's only supervised injection facility, Insite, located in the inner city of Vancouver, Canada. Using the power of their office to meddle in matters of public health for individual nations is without medical, scientific or legal justification. But, most importantly, it is a matter of lifeand death for these most marginalized of citizens. The empirical evidence remains that a significant portion of the continued growth of the AIDS pandemic is due to injecting drug use, and the INCB's intrusion will inevitably result in additional deaths due to preventable HIV infections and drug overdoses. So we are very pleased to call to our readers' attention to a recent report produced by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the

  8. Control authorities of internal affairs bodies in the sphere of drug trafficking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. М. Шевчук

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with control authorities of internal Affairs bodies in the sphere of turnover of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors. Established the concept of the legal status of the Management of the fight against illegal circulation of drugs of the Ministry of interior of Ukraine and describes its features. The classification of control authorities of internal Affairs bodies in the sphere of turnover of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors and analyzed for their content.

  9. Evaluating the Level of Internal Control System in the Management of Financial Security of Bank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pidvysotska Lyudmyla J.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is aimed at studying the organization and technology of evaluation process of the internal control system of bank in order to ensure financial security management of its activities. The work of the internal audit service on monitoring and evaluating the performance of the bank’s internal control system was analyzed. It has been found that improving the level of financial security of commercial banks is conditional upon improvements in the quality of audits and the provision of sound and objective conclusions. The interrelation of the tasks of internal audit service and the tasks of bank’s financial security management has been determined. Methodological recommendations on evaluation of the bank’s internal control system on the basis of results of audit have been proposed.

  10. The impact of inclusive business on ethical values & internal control quality: an accounting perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Tamer A. El Nashar

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of inclusive business on the internal ethical values and the internal control quality while conceiving the accounting perspective. I construct the hypothesis for this paper based on the potential impact on the organizations’ awareness to be directed to the inclusive business approach that will significantly impact the culture of the organizations then the ethical values and the internal control quality. I use the approach of the expected va...

  11. Corruption and internal control weaknesses. Case study Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luminiţa IONESCU

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Corruption represents one of the major causes of poverty all over the world and European Union is fighting against it. In the last few years, the corruption phenomenon registered a high level in some European countries and became one of the most problematic factors for doing business, due to the evolution of the perceived top five global risks: interstate conflict and regional consequences, extreme weather events, failure of national governance, state collapse or crises, high structural unemployment or underemployment              (WEF-Global Risk Report 2015, p. 14. One of the modalities in combating corruption is implementing the internal control and most of the governments and organizations adopted strong control techniques. Most of the control weaknesses are related to the financial procedures and the number of controllers. Some of the controllers do not have enough financial expertise or do not understand the importance of informatics systems.

  12. Design of a control system for HIRFL-CSRe internal target facility in Lanzhou

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yanyu; Liu Wufeng; Shao Caojie; Lin Feiyu; Zhang Jianchuan; Xiao Wenjun

    2010-01-01

    It is described in this paper the design of the control system for HIRFL-CSRe internal target facility, in which there are many different kinds of units need to be monitored and controlled. The control system is composed of several subsystems which are designed to control the gas-jet temperature, chamber vacuum, valves and molecular pumps. A human-computer interaction interface is also realized to do the data acquisition, data processing and display. The whole system has been working stably and safely, it fully meets the requirements of physical experiments in the internal target facility. In January of 2010, the first physics experiment of the radioactive electron capture was finished successfully with the aids of this control system. (authors)

  13. An Improved Minimum Error Interpolator of CNC for General Curves Based on FPGA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiye HUANG

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an improved minimum error interpolation algorithm for general curves generation in computer numerical control (CNC. Compared with the conventional interpolation algorithms such as the By-Point Comparison method, the Minimum- Error method and the Digital Differential Analyzer (DDA method, the proposed improved Minimum-Error interpolation algorithm can find a balance between accuracy and efficiency. The new algorithm is applicable for the curves of linear, circular, elliptical and parabolic. The proposed algorithm is realized on a field programmable gate array (FPGA with Verilog HDL language, and simulated by the ModelSim software, and finally verified on a two-axis CNC lathe. The algorithm has the following advantages: firstly, the maximum interpolation error is only half of the minimum step-size; and secondly the computing time is only two clock cycles of the FPGA. Simulations and actual tests have proved that the high accuracy and efficiency of the algorithm, which shows that it is highly suited for real-time applications.

  14. Energy Optimal Control Strategy of PHEV Based on PMP Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiezhou Wu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Under the global voice of “energy saving” and the current boom in the development of energy storage technology at home and abroad, energy optimal control of the whole hybrid electric vehicle power system, as one of the core technologies of electric vehicles, is bound to become a hot target of “clean energy” vehicle development and research. This paper considers the constraints to the performance of energy storage system in Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV, from which lithium-ion battery frequently charges/discharges, PHEV largely consumes energy of fuel, and their are difficulty in energy recovery and other issues in a single cycle; the research uses lithium-ion battery combined with super-capacitor (SC, which is hybrid energy storage system (Li-SC HESS, working together with internal combustion engine (ICE to drive PHEV. Combined with PSO-PI controller and Li-SC HESS internal power limited management approach, the research proposes the PHEV energy optimal control strategy. It is based on revised Pontryagin’s minimum principle (PMP algorithm, which establishes the PHEV vehicle simulation model through ADVISOR software and verifies the effectiveness and feasibility. Finally, the results show that the energy optimization control strategy can improve the instantaneity of tracking PHEV minimum fuel consumption track, implement energy saving, and prolong the life of lithium-ion batteries and thereby can improve hybrid energy storage system performance.

  15. Improving boiler unit performance using an optimum robust minimum-order observer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moradi, Hamed; Bakhtiari-Nejad, Firooz

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Multivariable model of a boiler unit with uncertainty. → Design of a robust minimum-order observer. → Developing an optimal functional code in MATLAB environment. → Finding optimum region of observer-based controller poles. → Guarantee of robust performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties. - Abstract: To achieve a good performance of the utility boiler, dynamic variables such as drum pressure, steam temperature and water level of drum must be controlled. In this paper, a linear time invariant (LTI) model of a boiler system is considered in which the input variables are feed-water and fuel mass rates. Due to the inaccessibility of some state variables of boiler system, a minimum-order observer is designed based on Luenberger's model to gain an estimate state x-tilde of the true state x. Low cost of design and high accuracy of states estimation are the main advantages of the minimum-order observer; in comparison with previous designed full-order observers. By applying the observer on the closed-loop system, a regulator system is designed. Using an optimal functional code developed in MATLAB environment, desired observer poles are found such that suitable time response specifications of the boiler system are achieved and the gain and phase margin values are adjusted in an acceptable range. However, the real dynamic model may associate with parametric uncertainties. In that case, optimum region of poles of observer-based controller are found such that the robust performance of the boiler system against model uncertainties is guaranteed.

  16. The Impact of the Malaysian Minimum Cigarette Price Law: Findings from the ITC Malaysia Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liber, Alex C.; Ross, Hana; Omar, Maizurah; Chaloupka, Frank J.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives Study the effects of the 2011 Malaysian minimum price law (MPL) on prices of licit and illicit cigarette brands. Identify barriers to the MPL achieving positive public health effects. Methods The International Tobacco Control Project's Southeast Asia survey collected information on Malaysian smokers' cigarette purchases (n=7,520) in five survey waves between 2005 and 2012. Consumption-weighted comparisons of proportions tests and adjusted Wald tests were used to evaluate changes over time in violation rates of the inflation-adjusted MPL, the proportion of illicit cigarette purchases, and mean prices. Results After the passage of the MPL, the proportion of licit brand cigarette purchases that were below the inflation-adjusted 2011 minimum price level fell substantially (before 3.9%, after 1.8%, p=0.002), while violation of the MPL for illicit brand cigarette purchases was unchanged (before 89.8%, after 91.9%, p=0.496). At the same time, the mean real price of licit cigarettes rose (p=0.006) while the mean real price of illicit cigarettes remained unchanged (p=0.134). The proportion of illicit cigarette purchases rose as well (before 13.4%, after 16.5%, p=0.041). Discussion The MPL appears not to have meaningfully changed cigarette prices in Malaysia, as licit brand prices remained well above and illicit brand prices remained well below the minimum price level before and after MPL's implementation. The increasing proportion of illicit cigarettes on the market may have undermined any positive health effects of the Malaysian MPL. The illicit cigarette trade must be addressed before a full evaluation of the Malaysian MPL's impact on public health can take place. The authors encourage the continued use of specific excise tax increases to reliably increase the price and decrease the consumption of cigarettes in Malaysia and elsewhere. PMID:25808666

  17. 12 CFR 564.4 - Minimum appraisal standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum appraisal standards. 564.4 Section 564.4 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY APPRAISALS § 564.4 Minimum appraisal standards. For federally related transactions, all appraisals shall, at a minimum: (a...

  18. The minimum wage in the Czech enterprises

    OpenAIRE

    Eva Lajtkepová

    2010-01-01

    Although the statutory minimum wage is not a new category, in the Czech Republic we encounter the definition and regulation of a minimum wage for the first time in the 1990 amendment to Act No. 65/1965 Coll., the Labour Code. The specific amount of the minimum wage and the conditions of its operation were then subsequently determined by government regulation in February 1991. Since that time, the value of minimum wage has been adjusted fifteenth times (the last increase was in January 2007). ...

  19. Auto-ignition control in turbocharged internal combustion engines operating with gaseous fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duarte, Jorge; Amador, Germán; Garcia, Jesus; Fontalvo, Armando; Vasquez Padilla, Ricardo; Sanjuan, Marco; Gonzalez Quiroga, Arturo

    2014-01-01

    Control strategies for auto-ignition control in turbocharged internal combustion engines operating with gaseous fuels are presented. Ambient temperature and ambient pressure are considered as the disturbing variables. A thermodynamic model for predicting temperature at the ignition point is developed, adjusted and validated with a large experimental data-set from high power turbocharged engines. Based on this model, the performance of feedback and feedforward auto-ignition control strategies is explored. A robustness and fragility analysis for the Feedback control strategies is presented. The feedforward control strategy showed the best performance however its implementation entails adding a sensor and new control logic. The proposed control strategies and the proposed thermodynamic model are useful tools for increasing the range of application of gaseous fuels with low methane number while ensuring a safe running in internal combustion engines. - Highlights: • A model for predicting temperature at the ignition point. • Robust PID, modified PID, and feedforward strategies for auto-ignition control. • λ′ were the best set of tuning equations for calculating controller parameters. • Robust PID showed significant improvements in auto-ignition control. • Feedforward control showed the best performance

  20. Participants at the 4th Controlling Conference of International Public Organisations

    CERN Multimedia

    Jean-Claude Gadmer

    2010-01-01

    The 4th Controlling Conference of International Public Organisations is part of a cycle of yearly conferences which were held the previous years in Frankfurt, Munich, Luxemburg, and which will take place this year on 31 May and 1 June at CERN. The aim of these conferences is to offer a forum for Directors of Administration, Deputy CFOs, Secretary-Generals, Heads of Budget of International Organisations, to exchange experiences on selected themes related to performance management. This year’s theme is “The Reduction of Overheads in International Public Organisations”.

  1. Minimum Wages and Regional Disparity: An analysis on the evolution of price-adjusted minimum wages and their effects on firm profitability (Japanese)

    OpenAIRE

    MORIKAWA Masayuki

    2013-01-01

    This paper, using prefecture level panel data, empirically analyzes 1) the recent evolution of price-adjusted regional minimum wages and 2) the effects of minimum wages on firm profitability. As a result of rapid increases in minimum wages in the metropolitan areas since 2007, the regional disparity of nominal minimum wages has been widening. However, the disparity of price-adjusted minimum wages has been shrinking. According to the analysis of the effects of minimum wages on profitability us...

  2. Trajectory-tracking control of underwater inspection robot for nuclear reactor internals using Time Delay Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Joon-Young; Cho, Byung-Hak; Lee, Jae-Kyung

    2009-01-01

    This paper addresses the trajectory control problem of an underwater inspection robot for nuclear reactor internals. From the viewpoint of control engineering, the trajectory control of the underwater robot is a difficult task due to its nonlinear dynamics, which includes various hydraulic forces such as buoyancy and hydrodynamic damping, the difference between the centres of gravity and buoyancy, and disturbances from a tether cable. To solve such problems, we applied Time Delay Control to the underwater robot. This control law has a very simple structure not requiring nonlinear plant dynamics, and was proven to be highly robust against nonlinearities, uncertainties and disturbances. We confirmed its effectiveness through experiments.

  3. External and semi-internal controls for PCR amplification of homologous sequences in mixed templates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalle, Elena; Gulevich, Alexander; Rensing, Christopher Günther T

    2013-01-01

    as an acceptable alternative. In order to evaluate the effects of inhibitors, a model multi-template mix was amplified in a mixture with DNAse-treated sample. Semi-internal control allowed establishment of intervals for robust PCR performance for different samples, thus enabling correct comparison of the samples......In a mixed template, the presence of homologous target DNA sequences creates environments that almost inevitably give rise to artifacts and biases during PCR. Heteroduplexes, chimeras, and skewed template-to-product ratios are the exclusive attributes of mixed template PCR and never occur....... This study demonstrated the efficiency of a model mixed template as an adequate external amplification control for a particular PCR application. The conditions of multi-template PCR do not allow implementation of a classic internal control; therefore we developed a convenient semi-internal control...

  4. Chapter 10. Multinational and international controls. Paper 18. Nuclear proliferation: arrangements for international control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotblat, J.

    1979-01-01

    In the context of nuclear proliferation, the role of Third World countries is crucial since they constitute the great majority of nations, but only a few of them have as yet decided on their future energy programmes. Both the IAEA and the nuclear energy industries are urging them to opt for nuclear power. This is undesirable, because nuclear energy is an unsuitable energy source for most of these countries; it would create a new economic dependence on industrialized countries and would greatly increase the dangers of a nuclear war. To counteract this, measures are needed (a) to encourage Third World countries to meet their energy need from sources other than nuclear ones; (b) to reduce pressures on countries to acquire nuclear reactors; and (c) to eliminate the threat of new hegemonies to countries that already have nuclear power. To achieve this, it is proposed that two new international organizations be set up. One, a World Energy Organization (WEO), would be a specialized agency of the United Nations, with functions similar to those of WHO or FAO but with sufficient funds to make loans to individual countries which accept WEO's advice about their energy programmes. The second, an International Nuclear Fuel Agency (INFA), would be the sole authority to operate enrichment, fuel fabrication, reprocessing and waste disposal plants. Organizationally, it could be part of the IAEA, but the latter would have to separate its promotional and safeguarding activities. An amendment to the NPT would be needed to oblige all countries both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states, equally to accept INFA controls. (author)

  5. International Conference on Systems, Control and Information Technologies 2016

    CERN Document Server

    Kaliczyńska, Małgorzata

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Systems, Control and Information Technologies 2016. It includes research findings from leading experts in the fields connected with INDUSTRY 4.0 and its implementation, especially: intelligent systems, advanced control, information technologies, industrial automation, robotics, intelligent sensors, metrology and new materials. Each chapter offers an analysis of a specific technical problem followed by a numerical analysis and simulation as well as the implementation for the solution of a real-world problem.

  6. EFFECT OF INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS ON FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN BARINGO COUNTY GOVERNMENT, KENYA

    OpenAIRE

    Lagat, Cornelius; Okelo, Caroline

    2018-01-01

    This study intended to establish the effect of internal control systems on financial management in Baringo County government in Kenya. Internal control systems are integral components of the management processes of a public sector institution which should be established in order to provide reasonable assurance that the financial operations are carried out transparently and accountably. The study adopted the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tread way Commission (COSO) theoretical f...

  7. Virtual forensic entomology: improving estimates of minimum post-mortem interval with 3D micro-computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Cameron S; Simonsen, Thomas J; Abel, Richard L; Hall, Martin J R; Schwyn, Daniel A; Wicklein, Martina

    2012-07-10

    We demonstrate how micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can be a powerful tool for describing internal and external morphological changes in Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) during metamorphosis. Pupae were sampled during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter of development after the onset of pupariation at 23 °C, and placed directly into 80% ethanol for preservation. In order to find the optimal contrast, four batches of pupae were treated differently: batch one was stained in 0.5M aqueous iodine for 1 day; two for 7 days; three was tagged with a radiopaque dye; four was left unstained (control). Pupae stained for 7d in iodine resulted in the best contrast micro-CT scans. The scans were of sufficiently high spatial resolution (17.2 μm) to visualise the internal morphology of developing pharate adults at all four ages. A combination of external and internal morphological characters was shown to have the potential to estimate the age of blowfly pupae with a higher degree of accuracy and precision than using external morphological characters alone. Age specific developmental characters are described. The technique could be used as a measure to estimate a minimum post-mortem interval in cases of suspicious death where pupae are the oldest stages of insect evidence collected. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 41 CFR 50-201.1101 - Minimum wages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Minimum wages. 50-201... Contracts PUBLIC CONTRACTS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 201-GENERAL REGULATIONS § 50-201.1101 Minimum wages. Determinations of prevailing minimum wages or changes therein will be published in the Federal Register by the...

  9. Aerobic Microbial Respiration In Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalvelage, Tim; Lavik, Gaute; Jensen, Marlene Mark

    2015-01-01

    Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic denitrifica......Oxygen minimum zones are major sites of fixed nitrogen loss in the ocean. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox, in pelagic nitrogen removal. Sources of ammonium for the anammox reaction, however, remain controversial, as heterotrophic...... denitrification and alternative anaerobic pathways of organic matter remineralization cannot account for the ammonium requirements of reported anammox rates. Here, we explore the significance of microaerobic respiration as a source of ammonium during organic matter degradation in the oxygen-deficient waters off...... Namibia and Peru. Experiments with additions of double-labelled oxygen revealed high aerobic activity in the upper OMZs, likely controlled by surface organic matter export. Consistently observed oxygen consumption in samples retrieved throughout the lower OMZs hints at efficient exploitation of vertically...

  10. Internal quality control of RIA with Tonks error calculation method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xiaodong

    1996-01-01

    According to the methodology feature of RIA, an internal quality control chart with Tonks error calculation method which is suitable for RIA is designed. The quality control chart defines the value of the allowance error with normal reference range. The method has the simplicity of its performance and directly perceived through the senses. Taking the example of determining T 3 and T 4 , the calculation of allowance error, drawing of quality control chart and the analysis of result are introduced

  11. Evaluation of the expression of internal control transcripts by real ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Evaluation of the expression of internal control transcripts by real-time RT-PCR analysis during tomato flower abscission. Song Gao, Tao Xu, Mingfang Qi, Yufeng Liu, Hong Li, Shuangshuang Lv, Jinhong Li, Tianlai Li ...

  12. Detection system qualification for direct measurement of thyroid internal contamination by radioiodine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiberi, V.; Battisti, P.; Gualdrini, G.

    1999-01-01

    The work deals with a detection system qualification for direct measurements of thyroid internal contamination by radioiodine. The isotopes 131 I and 125 I are the most frequently used in nuclear medicine. Because of their volatility they are very dangerous for thyroid contamination by inhalation. The system has been projected to be easily and fast used and above all transportable where the control is necessary. These characteristic make it able to realise supervision programs of internal contamination by radioiodine. In fact due the very high control frequencies (each 15 days for 131 I), these programs are usually very expensive and demanding when they are executed in external measurement laboratories. The following steps are described: devices presentation, calculation of energy and efficiency parameters, minimum detectable activity, time system reliability, best operative conditions in the measurements. At the end an application example of the system is reported [it

  13. Minimum Wage Laws and the Distribution of Employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Kevin

    The desirability of raising the minimum wage long revolved around just one question: the effect of higher minimum wages on the overall level of employment. An even more critical effect of the minimum wage rests on the composition of employment--who gets the minimum wage job. An examination of employment in eating and drinking establishments…

  14. 17 CFR 240.15c3-4 - Internal risk management control systems for OTC derivatives dealers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...-Counter Markets § 240.15c3-4 Internal risk management control systems for OTC derivatives dealers. (a) An... derivatives dealer's internal risk management control system shall include the following elements: (1) A risk... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Internal risk management...

  15. 29 CFR 505.3 - Prevailing minimum compensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevailing minimum compensation. 505.3 Section 505.3 Labor... HUMANITIES § 505.3 Prevailing minimum compensation. (a)(1) In the absence of an alternative determination...)(2) of this section, the prevailing minimum compensation required to be paid under the Act to the...

  16. Minimum information about a single amplified genome (MISAG) and a metagenome-assembled genome (MIMAG) of bacteria and archaea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bowers, Robert M.; Kyrpides, Nikos C.; Stepanauskas, Ramunas; Harmon-Smith, Miranda; Doud, Devin; Reddy, T. B. K.; Schulz, Frederik; Jarett, Jessica; Rivers, Adam R.; Eloe-Fadrosh, Emiley A.; Tringe, Susannah G.; Ivanova, Natalia N.; Copeland, Alex; Clum, Alicia; Becraft, Eric D.; Malmstrom, Rex R.; Birren, Bruce; Podar, Mircea; Bork, Peer; Weinstock, George M.; Garrity, George M.; Dodsworth, Jeremy A.; Yooseph, Shibu; Sutton, Granger; Glöckner, Frank O.; Gilbert, Jack A.; Nelson, William C.; Hallam, Steven J.; Jungbluth, Sean P.; Ettema, Thijs J. G.; Tighe, Scott; Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T.; Liu, Wen-Tso; Baker, Brett J.; Rattei, Thomas; Eisen, Jonathan A.; Hedlund, Brian; McMahon, Katherine D.; Fierer, Noah; Knight, Rob; Finn, Rob; Cochrane, Guy; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene; Tyson, Gene W.; Rinke, Christian; Kyrpides, Nikos C.; Schriml, Lynn; Garrity, George M.; Hugenholtz, Philip; Sutton, Granger; Yilmaz, Pelin; Meyer, Folker; Glöckner, Frank O.; Gilbert, Jack A.; Knight, Rob; Finn, Rob; Cochrane, Guy; Karsch-Mizrachi, Ilene; Lapidus, Alla; Meyer, Folker; Yilmaz, Pelin; Parks, Donovan H.; Eren, A. M.; Schriml, Lynn; Banfield, Jillian F.; Hugenholtz, Philip; Woyke, Tanja

    2017-08-08

    The number of genomes from uncultivated microbes will soon surpass the number of isolate genomes in public databases (Hugenholtz, Skarshewski, & Parks, 2016). Technological advancements in high-throughput sequencing and assembly, including single-cell genomics and the computational extraction of genomes from metagenomes (GFMs), are largely responsible. Here we propose community standards for reporting the Minimum Information about a Single-Cell Genome (MIxS-SCG) and Minimum Information about Genomes extracted From Metagenomes (MIxS-GFM) specific for Bacteria and Archaea. The standards have been developed in the context of the International Genomics Standards Consortium (GSC) community (Field et al., 2014) and can be viewed as a supplement to other GSC checklists including the Minimum Information about a Genome Sequence (MIGS), Minimum information about a Metagenomic Sequence(s) (MIMS) (Field et al., 2008) and Minimum Information about a Marker Gene Sequence (MIMARKS) (P. Yilmaz et al., 2011). Community-wide acceptance of MIxS-SCG and MIxS-GFM for Bacteria and Archaea will enable broad comparative analyses of genomes from the majority of taxa that remain uncultivated, improving our understanding of microbial function, ecology, and evolution.

  17. The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations ...

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

    2008-02-05

    Feb 5, 2008 ... The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual ... New funding opportunity to fight antimicrobial resistance ... IDRC and key partners will showcase critical work on adaptation and ...

  18. Notification: FY 2018 CSB Management Challenges and Internal Control Weaknesses

    Science.gov (United States)

    December 26, 2017. The OIG is beginning work to update for fiscal year 2018 its list of proposed key management challenges and internal control weaknesses confronting the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

  19. Minimum bar size for flexure testing of irradiated SiC/SiC composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Youngblood, G.E.; Jones, R.H.

    1998-01-01

    This report covers material presented at the IEA/Jupiter Joint International Workshop on SiC/SiC Composites for Fusion structural Applications held in conjunction with ICFRM-8, Sendai, Japan, Oct. 23-24, 1997. The minimum bar size for 4-point flexure testing of SiC/SiC composite recommended by PNNL for irradiation effects studies is 30 x 6 x 2 mm 3 with a span-to-depth ratio of 10/1

  20. PC-based control of the internal target station at the Nuclotron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilman, J [and others

    1996-12-31

    A PC-based control system of the internal target at the Nuclotron is described. The system is based on CAMAC-control of the step motor of the station and screen representation of information about needed beam parameters and space-time position of targets relative to a beam. 6 refs.; 4 figs.

  1. International trade agreements challenge tobacco and alcohol control policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeigler, Donald W

    2006-11-01

    This report reviews aspects of trade agreements that challenge tobacco and alcohol control policies. Trade agreements reduce barriers, increase competition, lower prices and promote consumption. Conversely, tobacco and alcohol control measures seek to reduce access and consumption, raise prices and restrict advertising and promotion in order to reduce health and social problems. However, under current and pending international agreements, negotiated by trade experts without public health input, governments and corporations may challenge these protections as constraints on trade. Advocates must recognise the inherent conflicts between free trade and public health and work to exclude alcohol and tobacco from trade agreements. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has potential to protect tobacco policies and serve as a model for alcohol control.

  2. Minimum Time Trajectory Optimization of CNC Machining with Tracking Error Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available An off-line optimization approach of high precision minimum time feedrate for CNC machining is proposed. Besides the ordinary considered velocity, acceleration, and jerk constraints, dynamic performance constraint of each servo drive is also considered in this optimization problem to improve the tracking precision along the optimized feedrate trajectory. Tracking error is applied to indicate the servo dynamic performance of each axis. By using variable substitution, the tracking error constrained minimum time trajectory planning problem is formulated as a nonlinear path constrained optimal control problem. Bang-bang constraints structure of the optimal trajectory is proved in this paper; then a novel constraint handling method is proposed to realize a convex optimization based solution of the nonlinear constrained optimal control problem. A simple ellipse feedrate planning test is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. Then the practicability and robustness of the trajectory generated by the proposed approach are demonstrated by a butterfly contour machining example.

  3. Randomized controlled trial of internal and external targeted temperature management methods in post- cardiac arrest patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Look, Xinqi; Li, Huihua; Ng, Mingwei; Lim, Eric Tien Siang; Pothiawala, Sohil; Tan, Kenneth Boon Kiat; Sewa, Duu Wen; Shahidah, Nur; Pek, Pin Pin; Ong, Marcus Eng Hock

    2018-01-01

    Targeted temperature management post-cardiac arrest is currently implemented using various methods, broadly categorized as internal and external. This study aimed to evaluate survival-to-hospital discharge and neurological outcomes (Glasgow-Pittsburgh Score) of post-cardiac arrest patients undergoing internal cooling verses external cooling. A randomized controlled trial of post-resuscitation cardiac arrest patients was conducted from October 2008-September 2014. Patients were randomized to either internal or external cooling methods. Historical controls were selected matched by age and gender. Analysis using SPSS version 21.0 presented descriptive statistics and frequencies while univariate logistic regression was done using R 3.1.3. 23 patients were randomized to internal cooling and 22 patients to external cooling and 42 matched controls were selected. No significant difference was seen between internal and external cooling in terms of survival, neurological outcomes and complications. However in the internal cooling arm, there was lower risk of developing overcooling (p=0.01) and rebound hyperthermia (p=0.02). Compared to normothermia, internal cooling had higher survival (OR=3.36, 95% CI=(1.130, 10.412), and lower risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias (OR=0.18, 95% CI=(0.04, 0.63)). Subgroup analysis showed those with cardiac cause of arrest (OR=4.29, 95% CI=(1.26, 15.80)) and sustained ROSC (OR=5.50, 95% CI=(1.64, 20.39)) had better survival with internal cooling compared to normothermia. Cooling curves showed tighter temperature control for internal compared to external cooling. Internal cooling showed tighter temperature control compared to external cooling. Internal cooling can potentially provide better survival-to-hospital discharge outcomes and reduce cardiac arrhythmia complications in carefully selected patients as compared to normothermia. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. Do Some Workers Have Minimum Wage Careers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrington, William J.; Fallick, Bruce C.

    2001-01-01

    Most workers who begin their careers in minimum-wage jobs eventually gain more experience and move on to higher paying jobs. However, more than 8% of workers spend at least half of their first 10 working years in minimum wage jobs. Those more likely to have minimum wage careers are less educated, minorities, women with young children, and those…

  5. Does the Minimum Wage Affect Welfare Caseloads?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, Marianne E.; Spetz, Joanne; Millar, Jane

    2005-01-01

    Although minimum wages are advocated as a policy that will help the poor, few studies have examined their effect on poor families. This paper uses variation in minimum wages across states and over time to estimate the impact of minimum wage legislation on welfare caseloads. We find that the elasticity of the welfare caseload with respect to the…

  6. 29 CFR 4.159 - General minimum wage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true General minimum wage. 4.159 Section 4.159 Labor Office of... General minimum wage. The Act, in section 2(b)(1), provides generally that no contractor or subcontractor... a contract less than the minimum wage specified under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards...

  7. Effect of exercising at minimum recommendations of the multiple sclerosis exercise guideline combined with structured education or attention control education - secondary results of the step it up randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coote, Susan; Uszynski, Marcin; Herring, Matthew P; Hayes, Sara; Scarrott, Carl; Newell, John; Gallagher, Stephen; Larkin, Aidan; Motl, Robert W

    2017-06-24

    Recent exercise guidelines for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) recommend a minimum of 30 min moderate intensity aerobic exercise and resistance exercise twice per week. This trial compared the secondary outcomes of a combined 10-week guideline based intervention and a Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) education programme with the same exercise intervention involving an attention control education. Physically inactive people with MS, scoring 0-3 on Patient Determined Disease Steps Scale, with no MS relapse or change in MS medication, were randomised to 10-week exercise plus SCT education or exercise plus attention control education conditions. Outcomes included fatigue, depression, anxiety, strength, physical activity, SCT constructs and impact of MS and were measured by a blinded assessor pre and post-intervention and 3 and 6 month follow up. One hundred and seventy-four expressed interest, 92 were eligible and 65 enrolled. Using linear mixed effects models, the differences between groups on all secondary measures post-intervention and at follow-up were not significant. Post-hoc, exploratory, within group analysis identified improvements in both groups post intervention in fatigue (mean ∆(95% CI) SCT -4.99(-9.87, -0.21), p = 0.04, Control -7.68(-12.13, -3.23), p = 0.00), strength (SCT -1.51(-2.41, -0.60), p exercise planning (SCT 5.88(3.37, 8.39), p Exercising at the minimum guideline amount has a positive effect on fatigue, strength and PA that is sustained at 3 and 6 months following the cessation of the program. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02301442 , retrospectively registered on November 13th 2014.

  8. Future Control and Automation : Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    This volume Future Control and Automation- Volume 2 includes best papers from 2012 2nd International Conference on Future Control and Automation (ICFCA 2012) held on July 1-2, 2012, Changsha, China. Future control and automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. This volume can be divided into six sessions on the basis of the classification of manuscripts considered, which is listed as follows: Mathematical Modeling, Analysis and Computation, Control Engineering, Reliable Networks Design, Vehicular Communications and Networking, Automation and Mechatronics.

  9. International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System Acceptance Testing for Node 1 Temperature and Humidity Control Subsystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David E.

    2011-01-01

    The International Space Station (ISS) Node 1 Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) System is comprised of five subsystems: Atmosphere Control and Storage (ACS), Atmosphere Revitalization (AR), Fire Detection and Suppression (FDS), Temperature and Humidity Control (THC), and Water Recovery and Management (WRM). This paper will provide a summary of the Node 1 ECLS THC subsystem design and a detailed discussion of the ISS ECLS Acceptance Testing methodology utilized for this subsystem.The International Space Station (ISS) Node 1 Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) System is comprised of five subsystems: Atmosphere Control and Storage (ACS), Atmosphere Revitalization (AR), Fire Detection and Suppression (FDS), Temperature and Humidity Control (THC), and Water Recovery and Management (WRM). This paper will provide a summary of the Node 1 ECLS THC subsystem design and a detailed discussion of the ISS ECLS Acceptance Testing methodology utilized for this subsystem.

  10. The minimum information about a genome sequence (MIGS) specification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Field, D; Garrity, G; Gray, T

    2008-01-01

    With the quantity of genomic data increasing at an exponential rate, it is imperative that these data be captured electronically, in a standard format. Standardization activities must proceed within the auspices of open-access and international working bodies. To tackle the issues surrounding the...... that will be required to develop improved mechanisms of metadata capture and exchange. As part of its wider goals, the GSC also supports improving the 'transparency' of the information contained in existing genomic databases....... the development of better descriptions of genomic investigations, we have formed the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC). Here, we introduce the minimum information about a genome sequence (MIGS) specification with the intent of promoting participation in its development and discussing the resources...

  11. Internal Control of Derivatives Usage by Spanish Savings Banks: An Empirical Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Fernández-Laviada

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Global derivatives activity continues to expand although they have provided some of the most devastating financial disasters. The debate on their regulation has always been present and is still unresolved. However, without undervaluing the importance of regulation and the usefulness of an adequate external control, a sound internal control system is essential to prevent new financial scandals. First of all, this paper, through the review of existing recommendations, rules, regulation and academic literature, studies and analyses the need and importance of internal control in derivative usage for risk management. And secondly, through a questionnaire about established policies, procedures and internal controls, it provides evidence related to its usage and control by Spanish savings banks.El uso de los derivados sigue en expansión a pesar de haber ocasionado alguno de los mayoresescándalos financieros.El debate sobre su regulación, todavía sin resolver, ha estado siempre presente. No obstante,y sin menospreciar la importancia de la regulación y la utilidad de un adecuado controlexterno, un buen sistema de control interno es esencial para prevenir nuevos desastres.Este trabajo, en primer lugar, a través de la revisión de las recomendaciones, normas,regulación y literatura académica existente, estudia y analiza la necesidad e importancia delcontrol interno en el uso de los derivados para la gestión del riesgo. Y en segundo lugar, através de un cuestionario sobre las políticas, procedimientos y controles internos establecidos,aporta evidencia sobre el uso y control de los mismos por las cajas de ahorros españolas.

  12. Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi, E-mail: emmanueladdai41@yahoo.com; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

    2016-04-15

    Highlights: • Ignition sensitivity of a highly flammable dust decreases upon addition of inert dust. • Minimum ignition temperature of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • Minimum ignition energy of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. - Abstract: The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%.

  13. Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Ignition sensitivity of a highly flammable dust decreases upon addition of inert dust. • Minimum ignition temperature of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • Minimum ignition energy of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. - Abstract: The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%.

  14. Accounting for and control of nuclear material at the Central Institute of Nuclear Research, Rossendorf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heidel, S.; Rossbander, W.; Helming, M.

    1983-01-01

    A survey is given of the system of accounting for and control of nuclear material at the Central Institute for Nuclear Research, Rossendorf. It includes 3 material balance areas. Control is implemented at both the institute and the MBA levels on the basis of concepts which are coordinated with the national control authority of the IAEA. The system applied enables national and international nuclear material control to be carried out effectively and economically at a minimum of interference with operational procedures. (author)

  15. THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUAL MORALITY AND INTERNAL CONTROL ON THE PROPENSITY TO COMMIT FRAUD: EVIDENCE FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novita Puspasari

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to examine the influence of individual morality and internal controls on individuals’ propensity to commit accounting fraud at the local government level. This is a quasi-experimental research paper. Individual morality and internal controls are hypothesized to be having an interaction with each other in influencing the propensity to commit accounting fraud. Individuals who have low levels of moral principles are hypothesized to have the tendency to commit accounting fraud in the absence of any internal controls. To test this, a 2x2 factorial experiment was conducted involving 57 students from the Masters in Economics Development programme at Gadjah Mada University. The result shows that there is an interaction between individual morality and internal controls. The absence of internal controls does not cause an individual with high moral principles to commit accounting fraud. However, individuals with low morality levels tend to commit accounting fraud when internal controls are absent.

  16. A proposal of comparative Maunder minimum cosmogenic isotope measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Attolini, M.R.; Nanni, T.; Galli, M.; Povinec, P.

    1989-01-01

    There are at present contraddictory conclusions about solar activity and cosmogenic isotope production variation during Maunder Minimum. The interaction of solar wind with galactic cosmic rays, the dynamic behaviour of the Sun either as a system having an internal clock, and/or as a forced non linear system, are important aspects that can shed new light on solar physics, the Earth-Sun relationship and the climatic variation. An essential progress in the matter might be made by clarifying the cosmogenic isotope production during the mentioned interval. As it seems that during Maunder Minimum the Be10 production oscillates of about a factor of two, the authors have also to expect short scale enhanced variations in tree rings radiocarbon concentrations for the same interval. It is therefore highly desirable that for the same interval, that the authors would identify with 1640-1720 AD, detailed concentration measurements both of Be10 (in dated polar ice in addition to those of Beer et al.) and of tree ring radiocarbon, be made with cross-checking, in samples of different latitudes, longitudes and within short and large distance of the sea. The samples could be taken, as for example in samples from the central Mediterranean region, in the Baltic region and in other sites from central Europe and Asia

  17. Physiological and Molecular Response of Prorocentrum minimum to Tannic Acid: An Experimental Study to Evaluate the Feasibility of Using Tannic Acid in Controling the Red Tide in a Eutrophic Coastal Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byungkwan Jeong

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Bioassay and gene expression experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the growth and physiology of Prorocentrum minimum isolated from a eutrophic coastal water in response to tannic acid. In the bioassay experiments, variations in abundance, chlorophyll (chl a concentration, maximum fluorescence (in vivo Fm, and photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm were measured over the course of a seven-day incubation. Moreover, stress-related gene expression in both the control and an experimental (2.5 ppm TA treatment group was observed for 24 h and 48 h. The molecular markers used in this study were the heat shock proteins (Hsp70 and Hsp90 and cyclophilin (CYP. The findings show that P. minimum can thrive and grow at low concentrations (<2.5 ppm of tannic acid, and, above this concentration, cells begin to slow down development. In addition, TA concentration of 10 ppm halted photosynthetic activity. At the molecular level, treatment with tannic acid increased the expression of Hsp70, Hsp90, and CYP, and heat shock proteins are more upregulated than the cyclophilin gene. Exposure to tannic acid increased the expression of stress factors over time (48 h by 10- to 27-fold the expression level of the control group. These results suggest that tannic acid can be used to control harmful algal blooms such as those containing P. minimum in eutrophic coastal waters.

  18. Measures for the capitalization of internal control activity performed on the entity's financial and accounting activities

    OpenAIRE

    Doina Maria Tilea; Dragos Zaharia

    2013-01-01

    In the organization of internal control flexibility is required because if a rule is too rigid or no longer current it can leads to inefficiency. Current organizational complexity involving the private sector to organize a system of internal control to fold on this, which can cover a territory so expanded and a wide variety of activities. Thus, the Company's internal controls is exercised at the level of each structure and because of the importance and implications of the financial ones are h...

  19. New Minimum Wage Research: A Symposium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrenberg, Ronald G.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Includes "Introduction" (Ehrenberg); "Effect of the Minimum Wage [MW] on the Fast-Food Industry" (Katz, Krueger); "Using Regional Variation in Wages to Measure Effects of the Federal MW" (Card); "Do MWs Reduce Employment?" (Card); "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages" (Neumark,…

  20. Improving cylinder-type LiFePO4 battery performance via control of internal resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purwanto, Agus; Jumari, Arif; Nizam, Muhammad; Widiyandari, Hendri; Sudaryanto; Deswita; Azmin Mohamad, Ahmad

    2018-04-01

    Strategies for controlling the internal resistance to improve battery performance were systematically investigated. Electrode densification of LiFePO4 cathodes significantly reduced the internal resistance of the prepared batteries. Densification by reduction to 31.25% of initial thickness resulted in optimal electrochemical performance of the prepared LiFePO4 batteries. The addition of KS 6 graphite material improved the conductivity of the cathodes, which was indicated by a lowering of the internal resistance. The internal resistance was decreased from 73 to 54 when the KS6/AB ratio was varied from 3 to 1. Another factor in controlling the internal resistance was the location of a welded aluminum tab in the cathode. The welding of an aluminum tab in a small gap in the cathode significantly reduced the internal resistance. Thus, three main factors can be performed during fabrication to reduce the internal resistance of a LiFePO4 battery: cathode densification, KS-6 graphite addition, and the arrangement of an aluminum tab welded to the cathode. By optimizing these factors, high-performance LFP batteries were produced.

  1. Foreign Banks: Internal Control and Audit Weaknesses in U.S. Branches

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1997-01-01

    .... Weaknesses in the branch's internal controls, including inadequate segregation of duties in trading and electronic funds transfer activities, had enabled an employee to trade illegally and to hide...

  2. Dose control for internal radiation; Kawalan dos untuk sinaran dalam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1988-12-31

    The chapter briefly discussed the following subjects: aerosol physics, relationship of surface contamination and internal contamination for workers, surface contamination control and the it`s procedures i.e. protective personnel cloth, waste management in active area, storage of radioactive materials etc.

  3. Internal quality control: planning and implementation strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westgard, James O

    2003-11-01

    The first essential in setting up internal quality control (IQC) of a test procedure in the clinical laboratory is to select the proper IQC procedure to implement, i.e. choosing the statistical criteria or control rules, and the number of control measurements, according to the quality required for the test and the observed performance of the method. Then the right IQC procedure must be properly implemented. This review focuses on strategies for planning and implementing IQC procedures in order to improve the quality of the IQC. A quantitative planning process is described that can be implemented with graphical tools such as power function or critical-error graphs and charts of operating specifications. Finally, a total QC strategy is formulated to minimize cost and maximize quality. A general strategy for IQC implementation is recommended that employs a three-stage design in which the first stage provides high error detection, the second stage low false rejection and the third stage prescribes the length of the analytical run, making use of an algorithm involving the average of normal patients' data.

  4. Self-Tuning Control of Linear Systems Followed by Deadzones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Kazlauskas

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present paper is to increase the efficiency of self-tuning generalized minimum variance (GMV control of linear time-invariant (LTI systems followed by deadzone nonlinearities. An approach, based on reordering of observations to be processed for the reconstruction of an unknown internal signal that acts between LTI system and a static nonlinear block of the closed-loop Wiener system, has been developed. The results of GMV self-tuning control of the second order LTI system with an ordinary deadzone are given.

  5. Measurements and IRI Model Predictions During the Recent Solar Minimum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilitza, Dieter; Brown, Steven A.; Wang, Mathew Y.; Souza, Jonas R.; Roddy, Patrick A.

    2012-01-01

    Cycle 23 was exceptional in that it lasted almost two years longer than its predecessors and in that it ended in an extended minimum period that proved all predictions wrong. Comparisons of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) with CHAMP and GRACE in-situ measurements of electron density during the minimum have revealed significant discrepancies at 400-500 km altitude. Our study investigates the causes for these discrepancies with the help of ionosonde and Planar Langmuir Probe (PLP) data from the Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite. Our C/NOFS comparisons confirm the earlier CHAMP and GRACE results. But the ionosonde measurements of the F-peak plasma frequency (foF2) show generally good agreement throughout the whole solar cycle. At mid-latitude stations yearly averages of the data-model difference are within 10% and at low latitudes stations within 20%. The 60-70% differences found at 400-500 km altitude are not seen at the F peak. We will discuss how these seemingly contradicting results from the ionosonde and in situ data-model comparisons can be explained and which parameters need to be corrected in the IRI model.

  6. Internal Controls for Accounting Areas. Alliance Action Information Sheets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers, 2006

    2006-01-01

    Internal controls are important to ensure your Parent Center's resources are well protected. Steps should be taken to ensure that finance transactions are authorized by management, executed properly and on time, and recorded appropriately. Some centers may not have staff with all of the titles used in the procedures presented in this paper.…

  7. Teaching the Minimum Wage in Econ 101 in Light of the New Economics of the Minimum Wage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krueger, Alan B.

    2001-01-01

    Argues that the recent controversy over the effect of the minimum wage on employment offers an opportunity for teaching introductory economics. Examines eight textbooks to determine topic coverage but finds little consensus. Describes how minimum wage effects should be taught. (RLH)

  8. Passivity Based Stabilization of Non-minimum Phase Nonlinear Systems

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Travieso-Torres, J.C.; Duarte-Mermoud, M.A.; Zagalak, Petr

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 45, č. 3 (2009), s. 417-426 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA102/07/1596 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : nonlinear systems * stabilisation * passivity * state feedback Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 0.445, year: 2009 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2009/AS/zagalak-passivity based stabilization of non-minimum phase nonlinear systems.pdf

  9. Controlled procurement for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacFarlane, I.S.

    1985-01-01

    A method is presented for establishing a controlled materials management system that facilitates materials procurement at nuclear power plants. This method is based on the determination of informational data requirements, appropriate input and approvals, and extent of administrative controls. Implementation of the techniques described herein will ensure that the accuracy of important procurement information is not compromised by unauthorized initial input or changes and/or failure to maintain the information. Needed material can thus be ordered through the materials management system with a high degree of confidence that the correct items are ordered, with minimal internal lead time and minimum delays during the receiving process

  10. Quasilinear Extreme Learning Machine Model Based Internal Model Control for Nonlinear Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dazi Li

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A new strategy for internal model control (IMC is proposed using a regression algorithm of quasilinear model with extreme learning machine (QL-ELM. Aimed at the chemical process with nonlinearity, the learning process of the internal model and inverse model is derived. The proposed QL-ELM is constructed as a linear ARX model with a complicated nonlinear coefficient. It shows some good approximation ability and fast convergence. The complicated coefficients are separated into two parts. The linear part is determined by recursive least square (RLS, while the nonlinear part is identified through extreme learning machine. The parameters of linear part and the output weights of ELM are estimated iteratively. The proposed internal model control is applied to CSTR process. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method are extensively verified through numerical results.

  11. A quality control of proteomic experiments based on multiple isotopologous internal standards

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adele Bourmaud

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The harmonization of proteomics experiments facilitates the exchange and comparison of results. The definition of standards and metrics ensures reliable and consistent data quality. An internal quality control procedure was developed to assess the different steps of a proteomic analysis workflow and perform a system suitability test. The method relies on a straightforward protocol using a simple mixture of exogenous proteins, and the sequential addition of two sets of isotopically labeled peptides added to reference samples. This internal quality control procedure was applied to plasma samples to demonstrate its easy implementation, which makes it generic for most proteomics applications.

  12. Does cognitive training improve internal locus of control among older adults?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolinsky, Fredric D; Vander Weg, Mark W; Martin, René; Unverzagt, Frederick W; Willis, Sherry L; Marsiske, Michael; Rebok, George W; Morris, John N; Ball, Karlene K; Tennstedt, Sharon L

    2010-09-01

    We evaluated the effect of cognitive training among 1,534 participants in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) randomized controlled trial (RCT) on 5-year improvements in 3 cognitive-specific measures of locus of control-internal, chance, and powerful others. ACTIVE was a multisite RCT (age > or = 65), with 4 groups (memory, reasoning, speed of processing, and no-contact control). Complete 5-year follow-up data were available for 1,534 (55%) of the 2,802 participants. A propensity score model was used to adjust for potential attrition bias. Clinically important improvements (and decrements) in the cognitive-specific locus of control scale scores were defined as greater than or equal to 0.5 SD (medium) and greater than or equal to 1.0 SD (large). Multinomial logistic regression was used to simultaneously contrast those who improved and those who declined with those whose locus of control scale score was unchanged. Statistically significant effects reflecting medium-sized (> or = 0.5 SD) improvements in internal locus of control between baseline and the 5-year follow-up were found for the reasoning and speed of processing intervention groups who were 76% (p control group. No improvement effects were found on the chance or powerful others locus of control measures or for the memory intervention group. Cognitive training that targets reasoning and speed of processing can improve the cognitive-specific sense of personal control over one's life in older adults.

  13. International Drug Control Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-24

    Common illegal drugs include cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and synthetic drugs. International trade in these drugs represents a lucrative and what...into effect, decriminalizing “personal use” amounts of marijuana , heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other internationally sanctioned drugs.15 While...President Calls for Legalizing Marijuana ,”CNN.com, May 13, 2009. 15 “Mexico Legalizes Drug Possession,” Associated Press, August 21, 2009. 16 In support

  14. 30 CFR 75.1431 - Minimum rope strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., including rotation resistant). For rope lengths less than 3,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet...

  15. 17 CFR 240.17i-4 - Internal risk management control system requirements for supervised investment bank holding...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Internal risk management... Supervised Investment Bank Holding Company Rules § 240.17i-4 Internal risk management control system...) As part of its internal risk management control system, a supervised investment bank holding company...

  16. High-resolution internal state control of ultracold 23Na87Rb molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Mingyang; Ye, Xin; He, Junyu; Quéméner, Goulven; Wang, Dajun

    2018-02-01

    We report the full internal state control of ultracold 23Na87Rb molecules, including vibrational, rotational, and hyperfine degrees of freedom. Starting from a sample of weakly bound Feshbach molecules, we realize the creation of molecules in single hyperfine levels of both the rovibrational ground and excited states with a high-efficiency and high-resolution stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. This capability brings broad possibilities for investigating ultracold polar molecules with different chemical reactivities and interactions with a single molecular species. Moreover, starting from the rovibrational and hyperfine ground state, we achieve rotational and hyperfine control with one- and two-photon microwave spectroscopy to reach levels not accessible by the stimulated Raman transfer. The combination of these two techniques results in complete control over the internal state of ultracold polar molecules, which paves the way to study state-dependent molecular collisions and state-controlled chemical reactions.

  17. International Electrotechnical Commission standards and French material control standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furet, J.; Weill, J.

    1978-01-01

    There are reported the international standards incorporated into the IEC Subcommitee 45 A (Nuclear Reactor Instrumentation) and the national standards elaborated by the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, CEA, Group of normalized control equipment, the degree of application of those being reported on the base design, call of bids and exploitation of nuclear power plants. (J.E. de C)

  18. Simulation study of burning control with internal transport barrier

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tateishi, Gonta [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Yagi, Masatoshi; Itoh, S.I. [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Research Inst. for Applied Mechanics

    2000-02-01

    Dynamics of burning plasma with internal transport barrier is studied by use of a one dimensional transport simulation code. Two possible mechanisms are modeled for internal transport barrier collapse. One is the collapse, which occurs above the critical pressure gradient, the impact of which is modeled by the enhancement of thermal conductivity. The other is the collapse, which occurs due to the sawtooth trigger. The extended Kadomtsev type reconnection model with multiple resonant surfaces is introduced. Both models are examined for the analysis of long time sustainment of burning. A test of profile control to mitigate the collapse is investigated. The additional circulating power to suppress thermal quench (collapse) is evaluated. (author)

  19. International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Control: A Tool for Securing Women's Rights in Drug Control Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schleifer, Rebecca; Pol, Luciana

    2017-06-01

    Discrimination and inequality shape women's experiences of drug use and in the drug trade and the impact of drug control efforts on them, with disproportionate burdens faced by poor and otherwise marginalized women. In recent years, UN member states and UN drug control and human rights entities have recognized this issue and made commitments to integrate a 'gender perspective' into drug control policies, with 'gender' limited to those conventionally deemed women. But the concept of gender in international law is broader, rooted in socially constructed and culturally determined norms and expectations around gender roles, sex, and sexuality. Also, drug control policies often fail to meaningfully address the specific needs and circumstances of women (inclusively defined), leaving them at risk of recurrent violations of their rights in the context of drugs. This article explores what it means to 'mainstream' this narrower version of gender into drug control efforts, using as examples various women's experiences as people who use drugs, in the drug trade, and in the criminal justice system. It points to international guidelines on human rights and drug control as an important tool to ensure attention to women's rights in drug control policy design and implementation.

  20. Nuclear power proliferation. Problems of international control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, B [International Inst. for Environment and Development, London (UK)

    1977-09-01

    The nuclear industry is experiencing a multiple crisis in which economic, technical and ethical aspects are blended inextricably. Nuclear hardware costs have everywhere soared far beyond inflation in the last five years, largely as a result of delays in programme completion arising from problems of reactor and fuel cycle. Meanwhile, partly as a result of this cost escalation, there is widespread and growing doubt as to whether capital will be available to finance the electricity generating levels projected by the industry and by governments for the 1990s. The nuclear industry is now in trouble at every stage of the fuel cycle. The industry's difficulties have also revealed a lack of overall - but particularly nuclear - energy strategy at either national or international levels, and a lack of will to create regulations and institutional machinery at either of these levels which might reassure both concerned publics and the energy industries themselves. This paper appraises some of the present limitations of international institutions in achieving control and management of nuclear power.

  1. Nuclear power proliferation: problems of international control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, B

    1977-09-01

    Some of the present limitations of international institutions in achieving control and management of nuclear power are reviewed and appraised. The nuclear industry is experiencing a multiple crisis in which economic, technical, and ethical aspects are blended. Nuclear hardware costs have increased faster than inflation in the last five years, largely as a result of delays in program completion arising from reactor and fuel-cycle safety problems. Meanwhile, there is a widespread and growing doubt, partly as a result of this cost escalation, as to whether capital will be available to finance the electricity-generating levels projected by the industry and by governments for the 1990s. The nuclear industry is now in trouble at every stage of the fuel cycle. The industry's difficulties have also revealed a lack of overall--but particularly nuclear--energy strategy at either national or international levels, and a lack of will to create regulations and institutional machinery at either of these levels that could reassure the concerned public and the energy industries.

  2. Minimum Entropy-Based Cascade Control for Governing Hydroelectric Turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mifeng Ren

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an improved cascade control strategy is presented for hydroturbine speed governors. Different from traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID control and model predictive control (MPC strategies, the performance index of the outer controller is constructed by integrating the entropy and mean value of the tracking error with the constraints on control energy. The inner controller is implemented by a proportional controller. Compared with the conventional PID-P and MPC-P cascade control methods, the proposed cascade control strategy can effectively decrease fluctuations of hydro-turbine speed under non-Gaussian disturbance conditions in practical hydropower plants. Simulation results show the advantages of the proposed cascade control method.

  3. Status of internal quality control for thyroid hormones immunoassays from 2011 to 2016 in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shishi; Wang, Wei; Zhao, Haijian; He, Falin; Zhong, Kun; Yuan, Shuai; Wang, Zhiguo

    2018-01-01

    Internal quality control (IQC) plays a key role in the evaluation of precision performance in clinical laboratories. This report aims to present precision status of thyroid hormones immunoassays from 2011 to 2016 in China. Through Clinet-EQA reporting system, IQC information of Triiodothyronine and Thyroxine in the form of free and total (FT3, TT3, FT4, TT4), as well as Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) were collected from participant laboratories submitting IQC data in February, 2011-2016. For each analyte, current CVs were compared among different years and measurement systems. Percentages of laboratories meeting five allowable imprecision specifications (pass rates) were also calculated. Analysis of IQC practice was conducted to constitute a complete report. Current CVs were decreasing significantly but pass rates increasing only for FT3 during 6 years. FT3, TT3, FT4, and TT4 had the highest pass rates comparing with 1/3TEa imprecision specification but TSH had this comparing with minimum imprecision specification derived from biological variation. Constituent ratios of four mainstream measurement systems changed insignificantly. In 2016, precision performance of Abbott and Roche systems were better than Beckman and Siemens systems for all analytes except FT3 had Siemens also better than Beckman. Analysis of IQC practice demonstrated wide variation and great progress in aspects of IQC rules and control frequency. With change of IQC practice, only FT3 had precision performance improved in 6 years. However, precision status of five analytes in China was still unsatisfying. Ongoing investigation and improvement of IQC have yet to be achieved. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Cancer Control Programs in East Asia: Evidence From the International Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malcolm A. Moore

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Cancer is a major cause of mortality and morbidity throughout the world, including the countries of North-East and South-East Asia. Assessment of burden through cancer registration, determination of risk and protective factors, early detection and screening, clinical practice, interventions for example in vaccination, tobacco cessation efforts and palliative care all should be included in comprehensive cancer control programs. The degree to which this is possible naturally depends on the resources available at local, national and international levels. The present review concerns elements of cancer control programs established in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan in North-East Asia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia as representative larger countries of South-East Asia for comparison, using the published literature as a guide. While major advances have been made, there are still areas which need more attention, especially in South-East Asia, and international cooperation is essential if standard guidelines are to be generated to allow effective cancer control efforts throughout the Far East.

  5. The impact of the UK National Minimum Wage on mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Kronenberg

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite an emerging literature, there is still sparse and mixed evidence on the wider societal benefits of Minimum Wage policies, including their effects on mental health. Furthermore, causal evidence on the relationship between earnings and mental health is limited. We focus on low-wage earners, who are at higher risk of psychological distress, and exploit the quasi-experiment provided by the introduction of the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW to identify the causal impact of wage increases on mental health. We employ difference-in-differences models and find that the introduction of the UK NMW had no effect on mental health. Our estimates do not appear to support earlier findings which indicate that minimum wages affect mental health of low-wage earners. A series of robustness checks accounting for measurement error, as well as treatment and control group composition, confirm our main results. Overall, our findings suggest that policies aimed at improving the mental health of low-wage earners should either consider the non-wage characteristics of employment or potentially larger wage increases.

  6. The impact of the UK National Minimum Wage on mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kronenberg, Christoph; Jacobs, Rowena; Zucchelli, Eugenio

    2017-12-01

    Despite an emerging literature, there is still sparse and mixed evidence on the wider societal benefits of Minimum Wage policies, including their effects on mental health. Furthermore, causal evidence on the relationship between earnings and mental health is limited. We focus on low-wage earners, who are at higher risk of psychological distress, and exploit the quasi-experiment provided by the introduction of the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW) to identify the causal impact of wage increases on mental health. We employ difference-in-differences models and find that the introduction of the UK NMW had no effect on mental health. Our estimates do not appear to support earlier findings which indicate that minimum wages affect mental health of low-wage earners. A series of robustness checks accounting for measurement error, as well as treatment and control group composition, confirm our main results. Overall, our findings suggest that policies aimed at improving the mental health of low-wage earners should either consider the non-wage characteristics of employment or potentially larger wage increases.

  7. Disarmament verification and its contribution to the theory of international control: A legal study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sayed Anwar Abou Ali.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper, the Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt, discusses the legal aspects related to the international control for verification of disarmament

  8. Nursing care update: Internal radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowdermilk, D.L.

    1990-01-01

    Internal radiation therapy has been used in treating gynecological cancers for over 100 years. A variety of radioactive sources are currently used alone and in combination with other cancer treatments. Nurses need to be able to provide safe, comprehensive care to patients receiving internal radiation therapy while using precautions to keep the risks of exposure to a minimum. This article discusses current trends and issues related to such treatment for gynecological cancers.20 references

  9. MONITORING IN CREDIT INSTITUTIONS – COMPARATIVE APPROACH ON INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS – THE CASE OF ROMANIA VS. INTERNATIONAL MODELS OF CONTROL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MURESAN MARIANA

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the stipulations of the two well-known internal control system models – COSO and CoCo - the purpose of this paper is to focus on the Romanian framework for credit institutions – trying to to identify on which international model is our national one most appropriate to. The research methodology is based on an empirical analysis between Romanian regulation and the models already mentioned. To reach to a conclusion we tried to identify several key issues closely related to information and communication, and to determine the degree of similarities and dissimilarities between the three selected frameworks, by using statistical indicators. The paper has some limitations, too, because it only approaches formal harmonization. So, those issues analyzed through the regulations’ perspectives need to be closely quantified in matters of their actual implementation, which offer us outlooks of future research.

  10. 30 CFR 281.30 - Minimum royalty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Minimum royalty. 281.30 Section 281.30 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE LEASING OF MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Financial Considerations § 281.30 Minimum royalty...

  11. On the Minimum Induced Drag of Wings -or- Thinking Outside the Box

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Albion H.

    2011-01-01

    Of all the types of drag, induced drag is associated with the creation and generation of lift over wings. Induced drag is directly driven by the span load that the aircraft is flying at. The tools by which to calculate and predict induced drag we use were created by Ludwig Prandtl in 1903. Within a decade after Prandtl created a tool for calculating induced drag, Prandtl and his students had optimized the problem to solve the minimum induced drag for a wing of a given span, formalized and written about in 1920. This solution is quoted in textbooks extensively today. Prandtl did not stop with this first solution, and came to a dramatically different solution in 1932. Subsequent development of this 1932 solution solves several aeronautics design difficulties simultaneously, including maximum performance, minimum structure, minimum drag loss due to control input, and solution to adverse yaw without a vertical tail. This presentation lists that solution by Prandtl, and the refinements by Horten, Jones, Kline, Viswanathan, and Whitcomb.

  12. Performance and Internal Control

    OpenAIRE

    Mifti, Sri; Lestariyo, Nugroho Budi; Kowanda, Anacostia

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this study is to measure the influence of internal auditing on performance. Research object is Inspectorate General Department of Home Affairs staffs. As research instrument, questionnaire was developed and distributed to respondents. Closed type questionnaire was developed with five (5) choices to measure the two (2) research variables. Internal auditing is measured using six (6) dimensions, and performance is measured using three (3) dimensions. As the two variables are lat...

  13. State cigarette minimum price laws - United States, 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-09

    Cigarette price increases reduce the demand for cigarettes and thereby reduce smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption, and youth initiation of smoking. Excise tax increases are the most effective government intervention to increase the price of cigarettes, but cigarette manufacturers use trade discounts, coupons, and other promotions to counteract the effects of these tax increases and appeal to price-sensitive smokers. State cigarette minimum price laws, initiated by states in the 1940s and 1950s to protect tobacco retailers from predatory business practices, typically require a minimum percentage markup to be added to the wholesale and/or retail price. If a statute prohibits trade discounts from the minimum price calculation, these laws have the potential to counteract discounting by cigarette manufacturers. To assess the status of cigarette minimum price laws in the United States, CDC surveyed state statutes and identified those states with minimum price laws in effect as of December 31, 2009. This report summarizes the results of that survey, which determined that 25 states had minimum price laws for cigarettes (median wholesale markup: 4.00%; median retail markup: 8.00%), and seven of those states also expressly prohibited the use of trade discounts in the minimum retail price calculation. Minimum price laws can help prevent trade discounting from eroding the positive effects of state excise tax increases and higher cigarette prices on public health.

  14. Wireless embedded control system for atomically precise manufacturing

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser; Randall, John N.

    2011-01-01

    This paper will explore the possibilities of implementing a wireless embedded control system for atomically precise manufacturing. The manufacturing process, similar to Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, takes place within an Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) chamber at a pressure of 10-10 torr. In order to create vibration isolation, and to keep internal noise to a minimum, a wireless link inside the UHV chamber becomes essential. We present a MATLAB simulation of the problem, and then demonstrate a hardware scheme between a Gumstix computer and a Linux based laptop for controlling nano-manipulators with three degrees of freedom. © 2011 IEEE.

  15. Wireless embedded control system for atomically precise manufacturing

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser

    2011-04-01

    This paper will explore the possibilities of implementing a wireless embedded control system for atomically precise manufacturing. The manufacturing process, similar to Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, takes place within an Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) chamber at a pressure of 10-10 torr. In order to create vibration isolation, and to keep internal noise to a minimum, a wireless link inside the UHV chamber becomes essential. We present a MATLAB simulation of the problem, and then demonstrate a hardware scheme between a Gumstix computer and a Linux based laptop for controlling nano-manipulators with three degrees of freedom. © 2011 IEEE.

  16. Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Managerial Rent Extraction: Evidence from the Profitability of Insider Trading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Skaife, H.A.; Veenman, D.; Wangerin, D.

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the association between ineffective internal control over financial reporting and the profitability of insider trading. We predict and find that the profitability of insider trading is significantly greater in firms disclosing material weaknesses in internal control relative to

  17. Update in the methodology of the chronic stress paradigm: internal control matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boyks Marco

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract To date, the reliability of induction of a depressive-like state using chronic stress models is confronted by many methodological limitations. We believe that the modifications to the stress paradigm in mice proposed herein allow some of these limitations to be overcome. Here, we discuss a variant of the standard stress paradigm, which results in anhedonia. This anhedonic state was defined by a decrease in sucrose preference that was not exhibited by all animals. As such, we propose the use of non-anhedonic, stressed mice as an internal control in experimental mouse models of depression. The application of an internal control for the effects of stress, along with optimized behavioural testing, can enable the analysis of biological correlates of stress-induced anhedonia versus the consequences of stress alone in a chronic-stress depression model. This is illustrated, for instance, by distinct physiological and molecular profiles in anhedonic and non-anhedonic groups subjected to stress. These results argue for the use of a subgroup of individuals who are negative for the induction of a depressive phenotype during experimental paradigms of depression as an internal control, for more refined modeling of this disorder in animals.

  18. Update in the methodology of the chronic stress paradigm: internal control matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strekalova, Tatyana; Couch, Yvonne; Kholod, Natalia; Boyks, Marco; Malin, Dmitry; Leprince, Pierre; Steinbusch, Harry Mw

    2011-04-27

    To date, the reliability of induction of a depressive-like state using chronic stress models is confronted by many methodological limitations. We believe that the modifications to the stress paradigm in mice proposed herein allow some of these limitations to be overcome. Here, we discuss a variant of the standard stress paradigm, which results in anhedonia. This anhedonic state was defined by a decrease in sucrose preference that was not exhibited by all animals. As such, we propose the use of non-anhedonic, stressed mice as an internal control in experimental mouse models of depression. The application of an internal control for the effects of stress, along with optimized behavioural testing, can enable the analysis of biological correlates of stress-induced anhedonia versus the consequences of stress alone in a chronic-stress depression model. This is illustrated, for instance, by distinct physiological and molecular profiles in anhedonic and non-anhedonic groups subjected to stress. These results argue for the use of a subgroup of individuals who are negative for the induction of a depressive phenotype during experimental paradigms of depression as an internal control, for more refined modeling of this disorder in animals.

  19. [Resource allocation analysis for international cooperation program for HIV/AIDS prevention and control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Xue, Hui; Liu, Hui; Guo, Hao-yan; Zhang, Hua; Sun, Jiang-ping

    2008-12-01

    To provide evidence for resource allocation and cooperation between domestic and international HIV/AIDS programs in China by analyzing the needs and current levels of resource input in provinces. National and provincial international cooperation program investment and allocation data from 2000 to 2006 were collected. Several factors in each province were analyzed through multiple regression analysis in order to determine whether they had a statistical correlation to the distribution of international HIV/AIDS program resources in China, including: the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the number of accumulated people living with HIV/AIDS, and the number of accumulated people living with AIDS. Then the Z values were calculated at each provincial level and compared with related international investment. The resource allocation in different program areas were compared with the level of resource input by international and central government HIV/AIDS prevention and control programs through Chi-square test. The international cooperation program investment at local level from 2000 to 2006 were 4893, 24 669, 50 567, 52 950, 112 143, 363 396 and 247 045 thousand RMB respectively, and at national level were 3007, 19 726, 29 035, 37 530, 77 500, 105 786 and 77 035 thousand RMB respectively. There was a statistical correlation between international HIV/AIDS program resource input and the accumulated number of people living with AIDS (R is 0.56 and 0.69 accordingly, and P international resource input and the GDP of each province. International HIV/AIDS cooperation programs did not invest in each province according to its practical needs (R = 0.066, P = 0.725). The international cooperation program investments and needs in different province could not meet completely. The ranks of Z value in Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu were 3, 5 and 6, but the ranks of international cooperation program in those provinces were 18, 13 and 28 respectively. The investment proportion for national

  20. 9 CFR 147.51 - Authorized laboratory minimum requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Authorized laboratory minimum requirements. 147.51 Section 147.51 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE... Authorized Laboratories and Approved Tests § 147.51 Authorized laboratory minimum requirements. These minimum...

  1. Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

    2016-04-15

    The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. DYNAMIC PARAMETER ESTIMATION BASED ON MINIMUM CROSS-ENTROPY METHOD FOR COMBINING INFORMATION SOURCES

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sečkárová, Vladimíra

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 24, č. 5 (2015), s. 181-188 ISSN 0204-9805. [XVI-th International Summer Conference on Probability and Statistics (ISCPS-2014). Pomorie, 21.6.-29.6.2014] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-13502S Grant - others:GA UK(CZ) SVV 260225/2015 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : minimum cross- entropy principle * Kullback-Leibler divergence * dynamic diffusion estimation Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2015/AS/seckarova-0445817.pdf

  3. Predictive piston motion control in a free-piston internal combustion engine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mikalsen, R.; Jones, E.; Roskilly, A.P. [Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU England (United Kingdom)

    2010-05-15

    A piston motion controller for a free-piston internal combustion engine is presented. To improve dynamic performance in the control of the piston motion and engine compression ratio, the controller response is determined from a prediction of engine top dead centre error rather than the measured value from the previous cycle. The proposed control approach showed superior performance compared with that of standard PI feedback control known from the literature due to a reduced control action time delay. The manipulation of fuel injection timing to reduce in-cylinder pressure peaks and cycle-to-cycle variations was also studied, indicating that with the piston motion estimation, the injection timing is a powerful control variable for this purpose. (author)

  4. Trends in International Persuasion: Persuasion in the Arms Control Negotiations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopmann, P. Terrence; Walcott, Charles

    An analysis of the bargaining process in international arms control negotiations is possible by developing a framework of interrelated hypotheses, by delineating and practicing interactions study called "Bargaining Process Analysis," and by formulating procedural steps that bridge the gap between laboratory studies and "real world" situations. In…

  5. The minimum information about a genome sequence (MIGS) specification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Dawn; Garrity, George; Gray, Tanya; Morrison, Norman; Selengut, Jeremy; Sterk, Peter; Tatusova, Tatiana; Thomson, Nicholas; Allen, Michael J; Angiuoli, Samuel V; Ashburner, Michael; Axelrod, Nelson; Baldauf, Sandra; Ballard, Stuart; Boore, Jeffrey; Cochrane, Guy; Cole, James; Dawyndt, Peter; De Vos, Paul; dePamphilis, Claude; Edwards, Robert; Faruque, Nadeem; Feldman, Robert; Gilbert, Jack; Gilna, Paul; Glöckner, Frank Oliver; Goldstein, Philip; Guralnick, Robert; Haft, Dan; Hancock, David; Hermjakob, Henning; Hertz-Fowler, Christiane; Hugenholtz, Phil; Joint, Ian; Kagan, Leonid; Kane, Matthew; Kennedy, Jessie; Kowalchuk, George; Kottmann, Renzo; Kolker, Eugene; Kravitz, Saul; Kyrpides, Nikos; Leebens-Mack, Jim; Lewis, Suzanna E; Li, Kelvin; Lister, Allyson L; Lord, Phillip; Maltsev, Natalia; Markowitz, Victor; Martiny, Jennifer; Methe, Barbara; Mizrachi, Ilene; Moxon, Richard; Nelson, Karen; Parkhill, Julian; Proctor, Lita; White, Owen; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Spiers, Andrew; Stevens, Robert; Swift, Paul; Taylor, Chris; Tateno, Yoshio; Tett, Adrian; Turner, Sarah; Ussery, David; Vaughan, Bob; Ward, Naomi; Whetzel, Trish; Gil, Ingio San; Wilson, Gareth; Wipat, Anil

    2008-01-01

    With the quantity of genomic data increasing at an exponential rate, it is imperative that these data be captured electronically, in a standard format. Standardization activities must proceed within the auspices of open-access and international working bodies. To tackle the issues surrounding the development of better descriptions of genomic investigations, we have formed the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC). Here, we introduce the minimum information about a genome sequence (MIGS) specification with the intent of promoting participation in its development and discussing the resources that will be required to develop improved mechanisms of metadata capture and exchange. As part of its wider goals, the GSC also supports improving the ‘transparency’ of the information contained in existing genomic databases. PMID:18464787

  6. New software of the control and data acquisition system for the Nuclotron internal target station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isupov, A.Yu.

    2012-01-01

    The control and data acquisition system for the Internal Target Station (ITS) of the Nuclotron (LHEP, JINR) is implemented. The new software is based on the ngdp framework under the Unix-like operating system FreeBSD to allow easy network distribution of the on-line data collected from ITS, as well as the internal target remote control

  7. The Factors that Determine the Minimum Speed of an Airplane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, F H

    1921-01-01

    The author argues that because of a general misunderstanding of the principles of flight at low speed, there are a large number of airplanes that could be made to fly several miles per hour slower than at present by making slight modifications. In order to show how greatly the wing section affects the minimum speed, curves are plotted against various loadings. The disposition of wings on the airplane slightly affects the lift coefficient, and a few such cases are discussed. Another factor that has an effect on minimum speed is the extra lift exerted by the slip stream on the wings. Also discussed are procedures to be followed by the pilot, especially with regard to stick movements during low speed flight. Also covered are stalling, yaw, rolling moments, lateral control, and the effectiveness of ailerons and rudders.

  8. Process control and dosimetry in a multipurpose irradiation facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cabalfin, E.G.; Lanuza, L.G.; Solomon, H.M.

    1998-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. To introduce and demonstrate radiation processing to the local industries, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) with the technical assistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has set up a pilot scale multipurpose gamma irradiation facility. Though on a limited scale, this has led to the commercial radiation sterilization and decontamination of various products, such as empty aluminum tubes, empty gelatin capsules, spices and fresh onions. Process control in this facility involves dose measurement to ensure that the products receive the required dose to get the desired beneficial effect. Prior to routine processing, dose distribution studies to determine the locations of minimum and maximum absorbed dose are undertaken for each product and product-source geometry. The product loading pattern, which meets the required dose uniformity ratio and which gives the optimum amount of product per loading is then chosen. During routine irradiation, dosimeters are placed at the minimum and maximum absorbed dose positions of a process load. If locations of minimum or maximum dose are not readily accessible, dosimeters are placed at reference positions. The relationship of the absorbed dose at these reference positions with the absorbed dose at the minimum or maximum position is established beforehand. Fricke and ethanol chlorobenzene (ECB) dosimeters are used to measure absorbed dose. PNRI participates in the International Dose Assurance Service (IDAS) of IAEA. Results show that absorbed dose as measured by alanine agreed with ECB within 5%, while that from Fricke agreed to within 2%

  9. Process control and dosimetry in a multipurpose irradiation facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cabalfin, E G; Lanuza, L G; Solomon, H M [Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines)

    1999-12-31

    Complete text of publication follows. To introduce and demonstrate radiation processing to the local industries, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) with the technical assistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has set up a pilot scale multipurpose gamma irradiation facility. Though on a limited scale, this has led to the commercial radiation sterilization and decontamination of various products, such as empty aluminum tubes, empty gelatin capsules, spices and fresh onions. Process control in this facility involves dose measurement to ensure that the products receive the required dose to get the desired beneficial effect. Prior to routine processing, dose distribution studies to determine the locations of minimum and maximum absorbed dose are undertaken for each product and product-source geometry. The product loading pattern, which meets the required dose uniformity ratio and which gives the optimum amount of product per loading is then chosen. During routine irradiation, dosimeters are placed at the minimum and maximum absorbed dose positions of a process load. If locations of minimum or maximum dose are not readily accessible, dosimeters are placed at reference positions. The relationship of the absorbed dose at these reference positions with the absorbed dose at the minimum or maximum position is established beforehand. Fricke and ethanol chlorobenzene (ECB) dosimeters are used to measure absorbed dose. PNRI participates in the International Dose Assurance Service (IDAS) of IAEA. Results show that absorbed dose as measured by alanine agreed with ECB within 5%, while that from Fricke agreed to within 2%.

  10. Control of internal combustion engines and hybrid engines; Regelung von Verbrennungsmotoren und Hybridantrieben

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isermann, R. [TU Darmstadt (Germany). Forschungsgruppe Regelungstechnik und Prozessautomatisierung

    2007-07-15

    In the development of internal combustion engines, there are increasingly rigid specifications for further reduction of consumption, exhaust and noise emissions, better specific performance, lower weight, and good driving characteristics. The contributions in this special issue provide an insight into the many aspects of internal combustion engine and hybrid engine control. The editors of at journal took care to select interesting papers presented at the 3. VDI/VDE-GMA conference AUTOREG 2006. They show how control and mechatronics support the high demands on functionality in motor car engineering. (orig.)

  11. Minimum Price Guarantees In a Consumer Search Model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.C.W. Janssen (Maarten); A. Parakhonyak (Alexei)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractThis paper is the first to examine the effect of minimum price guarantees in a sequential search model. Minimum price guarantees are not advertised and only known to consumers when they come to the shop. We show that in such an environment, minimum price guarantees increase the value of

  12. Assessing the impacts of Saskatchewan's minimum alcohol pricing regulations on alcohol-related crime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stockwell, Tim; Zhao, Jinhui; Sherk, Adam; Callaghan, Russell C; Macdonald, Scott; Gatley, Jodi

    2017-07-01

    Saskatchewan's introduction in April 2010 of minimum prices graded by alcohol strength led to an average minimum price increase of 9.1% per Canadian standard drink (=13.45 g ethanol). This increase was shown to be associated with reduced consumption and switching to lower alcohol content beverages. Police also informally reported marked reductions in night-time alcohol-related crime. This study aims to assess the impacts of changes to Saskatchewan's minimum alcohol-pricing regulations between 2008 and 2012 on selected crime events often related to alcohol use. Data were obtained from Canada's Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. Auto-regressive integrated moving average time series models were used to test immediate and lagged associations between minimum price increases and rates of night-time and police identified alcohol-related crimes. Controls were included for simultaneous crime rates in the neighbouring province of Alberta, economic variables, linear trend, seasonality and autoregressive and/or moving-average effects. The introduction of increased minimum-alcohol prices was associated with an abrupt decrease in night-time alcohol-related traffic offences for men (-8.0%, P prices may contribute to reductions in alcohol-related traffic-related and violent crimes perpetrated by men. Observed lagged effects for violent incidents may be due to a delay in bars passing on increased prices to their customers, perhaps because of inventory stockpiling. [Stockwell T, Zhao J, Sherk A, Callaghan RC, Macdonald S, Gatley J. Assessing the impacts of Saskatchewan's minimum alcohol pricing regulations on alcohol-related crime. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:492-501]. © 2016 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  13. CTEPP STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING INTERNAL FIELD AUDITS AND QUALITY CONTROL (SOP-2.25)

    Science.gov (United States)

    This SOP describes the method for conducting internal field audits and quality control procedures. Internal field audits will be conducted to ensure the collection of high quality data. Internal field audits will be conducted by Field Auditors (the Field QA Officer and the Field...

  14. The empirical relationship between the managerial conduct and internal control activities in South African small, medium and micro enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan-Pierre Bruwer

    2017-07-01

    Aim: Since a system of internal control comprises five inter-related elements, while also taking into consideration that management is ultimately responsible for the internal control in their respective business entities, which is greatly influenced by their managerial conduct, this research study placed focus on determining the relationship which exist between the managerial conduct and the internal control activities evident in South African SMMEs. Setting: This study was conducted in the Cape Metropole, South Africa by obtaining responses from 240 stakeholders of SMMEs: 120 members of management and 120 employees. Methods: In order to achieve the latter, quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire and analysed accordingly through both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Results: From the results, a very weak negative statistically significant relationship was identified between the managerial conduct and the internal control activities evident in South African SMMEs. Conclusion: Essentially, management and employees should revisit the internal control activities evident in their respective SMMEs through placing emphasis on those internal control activities which can be built on their control environment.

  15. An Open-Source Arduino-based Controller for Mechanical Rain Simulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantilina, K. K.

    2017-12-01

    Many commercial rain simulators currently used in hydrology rely on inflexible and outdated controller designs. These analog controllers typically only allow a handful of discrete parameter options, and do not support internal timing functions or continuously-changing parameters. A desire for finer control of rain simulation events necessitated the design and construction of a microcontroller-based controller, using widely available off-the-shelf components. A menu driven interface allows users to fine-tune simulation parameters without the need for training or experience with microcontrollers, and the accessibility of the Arduino IDE allows users with a minimum of programming and hardware experience to modify the controller program to suit the needs of individual experiments.

  16. 5th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Automatic Control

    CERN Document Server

    Yao, Yufeng

    2016-01-01

    On the basis of instrument electrical and automatic control system, the 5th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Automatic Control (CEEAC) was established at the crossroads of information technology and control technology, and seeks to effectively apply information technology to a sweeping trend that views control as the core of intelligent manufacturing and life. This book takes a look forward into advanced manufacturing development, an area shaped by intelligent manufacturing. It highlights the application and promotion of process control represented by traditional industries, such as the steel industry and petrochemical industry; the technical equipment and system cooperative control represented by robot technology and multi-axis CNC; and the control and support of emerging process technologies represented by laser melting and stacking, as well as the emerging industry represented by sustainable and intelligent life. The book places particular emphasis on the micro-segments field, such as...

  17. Wage inequality, minimum wage effects and spillovers

    OpenAIRE

    Stewart, Mark B.

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigates possible spillover effects of the UK minimum wage. The halt in the growth in inequality in the lower half of the wage distribution (as measured by the 50:10 percentile ratio) since the mid-1990s, in contrast to the continued inequality growth in the upper half of the distribution, suggests the possibility of a minimum wage effect and spillover effects on wages above the minimum. This paper analyses individual wage changes, using both a difference-in-differences estimat...

  18. Internal quality control of PCR-based genotyping methods in research studies and patient diagnostics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bladbjerg, Else-Marie; Gram, Jørgen; Jespersen, Jørgen

    2002-01-01

    Genetic analyses are increasingly integrated in the clinical laboratory, and internal quality control programmes are needed. We have focused on quality control aspects of selected polymorphism analyses used in thrombosis research. DNA was isolated from EDTA-blood (n = 500) by ammonium acetate....... Control of data handling revealed 0.1% reading mistakes and 0.5% entry mistakes. Based on our experiences we propose an internal quality control programme for widely used PCR-based haemostasis polymorphism analyses.......-isolation (pre-analytical factors), DNA-amplification, digestion with restriction enzymes, electrophoresis (analytical factors), result reading and entry into a database (post-analytical factors). Furthermore, we evaluated a procedure for result confirmation. Isolated DNA was of good quality (42 microg/ml blood...

  19. Study on minimum heat-flux point during boiling heat transfer on horizontal plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishio, Shigefumi

    1985-01-01

    The characteristics of boiling heat transfer are usually shown by the boiling curve of N-shape having the maximum and minimum points. As for the limiting heat flux point, that is, the maximum point, there have been many reports so far, as it is related to the physical burn of heat flux-controlling type heating surfaces. But though the minimum heat flux point is related to the quench point as the problems in steel heat treatment, the core safety of LWRs, the operational stability of superconducting magnets, the start-up characteristics of low temperature machinery, the condition of vapor explosion occurrence and so on, the systematic information has been limited. In this study, the effects of transient property and the heat conductivity of heating surfaces on the minimum heat flux condition in the pool boiling on horizontal planes were experimentally examined by using liquid nitrogen. The experimental apparatuses for steady boiling, for unsteady boiling with a copper heating surface, and for unsteady boiling with a heating surface other than copper were employed. The boiling curves obtained with these apparatuses and the minimum heat flux point condition are discussed. (Kako, I.)

  20. Minimum Variance Portfolios in the Brazilian Equity Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Rubesam

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available We investigate minimum variance portfolios in the Brazilian equity market using different methods to estimate the covariance matrix, from the simple model of using the sample covariance to multivariate GARCH models. We compare the performance of the minimum variance portfolios to those of the following benchmarks: (i the IBOVESPA equity index, (ii an equally-weighted portfolio, (iii the maximum Sharpe ratio portfolio and (iv the maximum growth portfolio. Our results show that the minimum variance portfolio has higher returns with lower risk compared to the benchmarks. We also consider long-short 130/30 minimum variance portfolios and obtain similar results. The minimum variance portfolio invests in relatively few stocks with low βs measured with respect to the IBOVESPA index, being easily replicable by individual and institutional investors alike.

  1. Standardization of radioactive gaseous waste radiation monitoring equipment from the International Electrotechnical Commission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fitoussi, L.

    1983-01-01

    After having introduced the works performed by the International Electrotechnical Commission, the authors report on the results of the studies carried out to achieve the standardization of the radiation monitoring equipment concerning the control of the gaseous waste from nuclear installations. The authors present the most interesting aspects of the regulations and recommendations, which include not only a description of the minimum permissible levels of sensitivity for the monitors, but also a description of the set of assays to be established in order to verify the level of performance of the monitors

  2. Real or perceived impediments to minimum pricing of alcohol in Australia: public opinion, the industry and the law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalmers, Jenny; Carragher, Natacha; Davoren, Sondra; O'Brien, Paula

    2013-11-01

    A burgeoning body of empirical evidence demonstrates that increases in the price of alcohol can reduce per capita alcohol consumption and harmful drinking. Taxes on alcohol can be raised to increase prices, but this strategy can be undermined if the industry absorbs the tax increase and cross-subsidises the price of one alcoholic beverage with other products. Such loss-leading strategies are not possible with minimum pricing. We argue that a minimum (or floor) price for alcohol should be used as a complement to alcohol taxation. Several jurisdictions have already introduced minimum pricing (e.g., Canada, Ukraine) and others are currently investigating pathways to introduce a floor price (e.g., Scotland). Tasked by the Australian government to examine the public interest case for a minimum price, Australia's peak preventative health agency recommended against setting one at the present time. The agency was concerned that there was insufficient Australian specific modelling evidence to make robust estimates of the net benefits. Nonetheless, its initial judgement was that it would be difficult for a minimum price to produce benefits for Australia at the national level. Whilst modelling evidence is certainly warranted to support the introduction of the policy, the development and uptake of policy is influenced by more than just empirical evidence. This article considers three potential impediments to minimum pricing: public opinion and misunderstandings or misgivings about the operation of a minimum price; the strength of alcohol industry objections and measures to undercut the minimum price through discounts and promotions; and legal obstacles including competition and trade law. The analysis of these factors is situated in an Australian context, but has salience internationally. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Robust control of chaos in Chua's circuit based on internal model principle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Keum W. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4026 (United States); Singh, Sahjendra N. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-4026 (United States)]. E-mail: sahaj@ee.unlv.edu

    2007-03-15

    The paper treats the question of robust control of chaos in Chua's circuit based on the internal model principle. The Chua's diode has polynomial non-linearity and it is assumed that the parameters of the circuit are not known. A robust control law for the asymptotic regulation of the output (node voltage) along constant and sinusoidal reference trajectories is derived. For the derivation of the control law, the non-linear regulator equations are solved to obtain a manifold in the state space on which the output error is zero and an internal model of the k-fold exosystem (k = 3 here) is constructed. Then a feedback control law using the optimal control theory or pole placement technique for the stabilization of the augmented system including the Chua's circuit and the internal model is derived. In the closed-loop system, robust output node voltage trajectory tracking of sinusoidal and constant reference trajectories are accomplished and in the steady state, the remaining state variables converge to periodic and constant trajectories, respectively. Simulation results are presented which show that in the closed-loop system, asymptotic trajectory control, disturbance rejection and suppression of chaotic motion in spite of uncertainties in the system are accomplished.

  4. Minimum Covers of Fixed Cardinality in Weighted Graphs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Lee J.

    Reported is the result of research on combinatorial and algorithmic techniques for information processing. A method is discussed for obtaining minimum covers of specified cardinality from a given weighted graph. By the indicated method, it is shown that the family of minimum covers of varying cardinality is related to the minimum spanning tree of…

  5. Internal Control in Capitalist Enterprises. A Look from the Perspective of Political Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Domingos-Sapilinha

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available All work directly social or collective on a large scale, requires to a greater or lesser extent a direction that establishes a harmonic link between the various individual activities and perform general functions born of the total productive organism. Thus the tasks of management, supervision and control appear as a requirement of the production process organized on the basis of the social division of labor and purely technical activities. Since then control has become a benchmark for various sciences, and internal control in the tool that aims at the effectiveness of business management by transparent operations and make records reliable, being indispensable for all types of business, including The big multinationals. Evaluating the fulfillment of internal control in large capitalist enterprises, approaching it from the perspective of Political Economy, is the objective of this article.

  6. An Analysis of Viable Financial Negotiations Processes and Related Internal Controls for Procurement in Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    regulations are in accordance with UNCITRAL Model Law and are based on principles of “ accountability , transparency, fairness, efficiency and value for... account certain factors about the firm(s) for pre-qualification. These factors include past performance and experience; financial health; managerial...internal control components, along with associated principles , were discussed in detail to develop a suitable internal control system for the financial

  7. International Space Station (ISS) Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) New Biocide Selection, Qualification and Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Mark E.; Cole, Harold E.; Rector, Tony; Steele, John; Varsik, Jerry

    2011-01-01

    The Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is primarily responsible for the removal of heat loads from payload and system racks. The IATCS is a water based system which works in conjunction with the EATCS (External ATCS), an ammonia based system, which are interfaced through a heat exchanger to facilitate heat transfer. On-orbit issues associated with the aqueous coolant chemistry began to occur with unexpected increases in CO2 levels in the cabin. This caused an increase in total inorganic carbon (TIC), a reduction in coolant pH, increased corrosion, and precipitation of nickel phosphate. These chemical changes were also accompanied by the growth of heterotrophic bacteria that increased risk to the system and could potentially impact crew health and safety. Studies were conducted to select a biocide to control microbial growth in the system based on requirements for disinfection at low chemical concentration (effectiveness), solubility and stability, material compatibility, low toxicity to humans, compatibility with vehicle environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), ease of application, rapid on-orbit measurement, and removal capability. Based on these requirements, ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA), an aromatic dialdehyde compound, was selected for qualification testing. This paper presents the OPA qualification test results, development of hardware and methodology to safely apply OPA to the system, development of a means to remove OPA, development of a rapid colorimetric test for measurement of OPA, and the OPA on-orbit performance for controlling the growth of microorganisms in the ISS IATCS since November 3, 2007.

  8. Search Results | Page 675 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

    Results 6741 - 6750 of 9602 ... ... Societies (4) Apply International Partnerships for Sustainable Societies filter ... Labour market regulations, particularly minimum wage policies, ... (think tanks) in developing countries, thereby enabling them to ... of legislation related to economic management, business activity and ... Solutions.

  9. A Snapshot of the Sun Near Solar Minimum: The Whole Heliosphere Interval

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Barbara J.; Gibson, Sarah E.; Schroeder, Peter C.; Webb, David F.; Arge, Charles N.; Bisi, Mario M.; de Toma, Giuliana; Emery, Barbara A.; Galvin, Antoinette B.; Haber, Deborah A.; hide

    2011-01-01

    We present an overview of the data and models collected for the Whole Heliosphere Interval, an international campaign to study the three-dimensional solar heliospheric planetary connected system near solar minimum. The data and models correspond to solar Carrington Rotation 2068 (20 March 16 April 2008) extending from below the solar photosphere, through interplanetary space, and down to Earth's mesosphere. Nearly 200 people participated in aspects of WHI studies, analyzing and interpreting data from nearly 100 instruments and models in order to elucidate the physics of fundamental heliophysical processes. The solar and inner heliospheric data showed structure consistent with the declining phase of the solar cycle. A closely spaced cluster of low-latitude active regions was responsible for an increased level of magnetic activity, while a highly warped current sheet dominated heliospheric structure. The geospace data revealed an unusually high level of activity, driven primarily by the periodic impingement of high-speed streams. The WHI studies traced the solar activity and structure into the heliosphere and geospace, and provided new insight into the nature of the interconnected heliophysical system near solar minimum.

  10. To a question of the purposes, tasks of implementation of internal control in the credit organizations and in the Bank of Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. Panova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Аrticle is devoted to comprehensive consideration and the characteristic of the purposes and tasks of the multi-level internal control exercised inBank of Russia, to a procedure and creations of internal control, in article the interrelation of the purposes and components of internal control is traced, the control environment as one of the main a component of internal control is analyzed, powers of subjects of internal control are in detail stated. The attention is paid to control consideration as management functions, the developed list of the principles of creation of internal control and its types – preliminary, current and subsequent is provided.

  11. Planes, Politics and Oral Proficiency: Testing International Air Traffic Controllers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moder, Carol Lynn; Halleck, Gene B.

    2009-01-01

    This study investigates the variation in oral proficiency demonstrated by 14 Air Traffic Controllers across two types of testing tasks: work-related radio telephony-based tasks and non-specific English tasks on aviation topics. Their performance was compared statistically in terms of level ratings on the International Civil Aviation Organization…

  12. Who Benefits from a Minimum Wage Increase?

    OpenAIRE

    John W. Lopresti; Kevin J. Mumford

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses the question of how a minimum wage increase affects the wages of low-wage workers. Most studies assume that there is a simple mechanical increase in the wage for workers earning a wage between the old and the new minimum wage, with some studies allowing for spillovers to workers with wages just above this range. Rather than assume that the wages of these workers would have remained constant, this paper estimates how a minimum wage increase impacts a low-wage worker's wage...

  13. Optimal control predicts human performance on objects with internal degrees of freedom.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arne J Nagengast

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available On a daily basis, humans interact with a vast range of objects and tools. A class of tasks, which can pose a serious challenge to our motor skills, are those that involve manipulating objects with internal degrees of freedom, such as when folding laundry or using a lasso. Here, we use the framework of optimal feedback control to make predictions of how humans should interact with such objects. We confirm the predictions experimentally in a two-dimensional object manipulation task, in which subjects learned to control six different objects with complex dynamics. We show that the non-intuitive behavior observed when controlling objects with internal degrees of freedom can be accounted for by a simple cost function representing a trade-off between effort and accuracy. In addition to using a simple linear, point-mass optimal control model, we also used an optimal control model, which considers the non-linear dynamics of the human arm. We find that the more realistic optimal control model captures aspects of the data that cannot be accounted for by the linear model or other previous theories of motor control. The results suggest that our everyday interactions with objects can be understood by optimality principles and advocate the use of more realistic optimal control models for the study of human motor neuroscience.

  14. Corporate Characteristics and Internal Control Information Disclosure- Evidence from Annual Reports in 2009 of Listed Companies in Shenzhen Stock Exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiaowen, Song

    Under the research framework of internal control disclosure and combined the current economic situation, the paper empirically analyzes the relationship between corporate characteristics and internal control information disclosure. The paper selects 647 A share companies listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in 2009 as a sample. The results show: (1) the companies with excellent performance and high liquidity tend to disclose more internal control information; (2) the companies with the high leverage and also issued B shares are not willing to disclosure internal control information; (3) the companies sizes and companies which have hired Four-big accounting firms have no significant effects on internal control disclosure.

  15. 75 FR 77664 - Honeywell International, Inc., Automation and Control Solutions Division, Including On-Site...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-13

    ..., Inc., Automation and Control Solutions Division, Including On-Site Leased Workers From Manpower... Solutions Division. The Department has determined that these workers were sufficiently under the control of Honeywell International, Inc., Automation and Control Solutions Division to be considered leased workers...

  16. Cutting-in control of the variable speed constant frequency wind power generator based on internal model controller

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo Jindong; Xu Honghua; Zhao Dongli [Inst. of Electrical Engineering, CAS, BJ (China)

    2008-07-01

    The no-impact-current cutting-in-network control is the key of variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) wind power control system. Based on the stator flux linkage oriented control theory of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), the field-oriented vector control technique and the internal model controller (IMC) are transplanted into the voltage control of DFIG and a novel cutting-in control strategy is obtained. The strategy does not need the exact inductor generator model, and has perfect performance without overshoot. The structure of the controller is simple, and the only parameter to be adjusted is directly related to system performance, so the strategy is easy to realize. Finally the strategy is studied by simulation using Matlab, the results of the simulation show that the control strategy can effectively control the stator voltage. (orig.)

  17. The impact of the Malaysian minimum cigarette price law: findings from the ITC Malaysia Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liber, Alex C; Ross, Hana; Omar, Maizurah; Chaloupka, Frank J

    2015-07-01

    Study the effects of the 2011 Malaysian minimum price law (MPL) on prices of licit and illicit cigarette brands. Identify barriers to the MPL achieving positive public health effects. The International Tobacco Control Project's Southeast Asia survey collected information on Malaysian smokers' cigarette purchases (n=7520) in five survey waves between 2005 and 2012. Consumption-weighted comparisons of proportions tests and adjusted Wald tests were used to evaluate changes over time in violation rates of the inflation-adjusted MPL, the proportion of illicit cigarette purchases and mean prices. After the passage of the MPL, the proportion of licit brand cigarette purchases that were below the inflation-adjusted 2011 minimum price level fell substantially (before 3.9%, after 1.8%, p=0.002), while violation of the MPL for illicit brand cigarette purchases was unchanged (before 89.8%, after 91.9%, p=0.496). At the same time, the mean real price of licit cigarettes rose (p=0.006), while the mean real price of illicit cigarettes remained unchanged (p=0.134). The proportion of illicit cigarette purchases rose as well (before 13.4%, after 16.5%, p=0.041). The MPL appears not to have meaningfully changed cigarette prices in Malaysia, as licit brand prices remained well above and illicit brand prices remained well below the minimum price level before and after MPL's implementation. The increasing proportion of illicit cigarettes on the market may have undermined any positive health effects of the Malaysian MPL. The illicit cigarette trade must be addressed before a full evaluation of the Malaysian MPL's impact on public health can take place. The authors encourage the continued use of specific excise tax increases to reliably increase the price and decrease the consumption of cigarettes in Malaysia and elsewhere. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  18. Botulinum Toxin Injection for Internal Rotation Contractures in Brachial Plexus Birth Palsy. A Minimum 5-Year Prospective Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duijnisveld, Bouke J; van Wijlen-Hempel, Marie S; Hogendoorn, Simone; de Boer, Kees S; Malessy, Martijn J A; Keurentjes, J Christiaan; Nagels, Jochem; Nelissen, Rob G H H

    Brachial plexus birth palsy is frequently associated with internal rotation contractures of the shoulder as a result of muscle imbalance. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) injection in the subscapular (SC) muscle on external rotation and the need for tendon transfer for external rotation of the shoulder. A prospective comparative study was performed including 15 consecutive patients treated with BTX-A and a historic control group of 67 patients with mean age 30 months (SD 10). The BTX-A injection (2 IU/kg body weight) was performed immediately following MRI under general anesthesia in the SC muscle. Passive external rotation, the need for tendon transfer surgery, glenohumeral deformity, and muscle degeneration were evaluated. The hazard ratio for no relapse of internal rotation contracture after BTX-A injection compared with no BTX-A injection was calculated. In the BTX-A group, the passive external rotation in adduction increased from -1 degree (95% CI, -10 to 8) to 32 degrees (95% CI, 17-46) at 3 months and 6 patients were indicated for surgery compared with a decline from -2 degrees (95% CI, -7 to 3) to -11 degrees (95% CI, -17 to -6) in the control group with 66 indications for surgery. At 5 years of follow-up, 10 patients in the BTX-A group were indicated for surgery with a hazard ratio of 4.0 (95% CI, 1.9 to 8.4). BTX-A injection in the SC muscle of brachial plexus birth palsy patients can reduce internal rotation contractures and subsequently the need for tendon transfer surgery. At 5 years of follow-up a relapse was seen in 67% of the patients treated with BTX-A. Because at MRI less SC degeneration was found in the good responders on BTX-A treatment, this group seems to be the best target group. Further research is needed on patient selection for BTX-A injection including glenohumeral deformity, SC degeneration, as well as doses of BTX-A to be used. Level II-prospective comparative study.

  19. The minimum wage in the Czech enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Lajtkepová

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Although the statutory minimum wage is not a new category, in the Czech Republic we encounter the definition and regulation of a minimum wage for the first time in the 1990 amendment to Act No. 65/1965 Coll., the Labour Code. The specific amount of the minimum wage and the conditions of its operation were then subsequently determined by government regulation in February 1991. Since that time, the value of minimum wage has been adjusted fifteenth times (the last increase was in January 2007. The aim of this article is to present selected results of two researches of acceptance of the statutory minimum wage by Czech enterprises. The first research makes use of the data collected by questionnaire research in 83 small and medium-sized enterprises in the South Moravia Region in 2005, the second one the data of 116 enterprises in the entire Czech Republic (in 2007. The data have been processed by means of the standard methods of descriptive statistics and of the appropriate methods of the statistical analyses (Spearman correlation coefficient of sequential correlation, Kendall coefficient, χ2 - independence test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and others.

  20. Customized Internal Reference Controls for Improved Assessment of Circulating MicroRNAs in Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenny Schlosser

    Full Text Available Altered levels of circulating extracellular miRNA in plasma and serum have shown promise as non-invasive biomarkers of disease. However, unlike the assessment of cellular miRNA levels for which there are accepted housekeeping genes, analogous reference controls for normalization of circulating miRNA are lacking. Here, we provide an approach to identify and validate circulating miRNA reference controls on a de novo basis, and demonstrate the advantages of these customized internal controls in different disease settings. Importantly, these internal controls overcome key limitations of external spike-in controls.Using a global RT-qPCR screen of 1066 miRNAs in plasma from pulmonary hypertension patients (PAH and healthy subjects as a case example, we identified a large pool of initial candidate miRNAs that were systematically ranked according to their plasma level stability using a predefined algorithm. The performance of the top candidates was validated against multiple comparators, and in a second independent cohort of PAH and control subjects. The broader utility of this approach was demonstrated in a completely different disease setting with 372 miRNAs screened in plasma from septic shock patients and healthy controls.Normalization of data with specific internal reference controls significantly reduced the overall variation in circulating miRNA levels between subjects (relative to raw data, provided a more balanced distribution of up- and down-regulated miRNAs, replicated the results obtained by the benchmark geometric averaging of all detected miRNAs, and outperformed the commonly used external spike-in strategy.We demonstrate the feasibility of identifying circulating reference controls that can reduce extraneous technical variations, and improve the assessment of disease-related changes in plasma miRNA levels. This study provides a novel conceptual framework that addresses a critical and previously unmet need if circulating miRNAs are to

  1. Digitally controlled measurement of sonic elastic moduli and internal friction by phase analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Brien, M.H.; Hunter, O. Jr.; Rasmussen, M.D.; Skank, H.D.

    1983-01-01

    An automated system is described for measuring internal friction and elastic moduli using sonic resonance techniques. This mirocomputer-controlled device does phase angle analysis in addition to traditional decay and peak-width internal friction measurement. The apparatus may be programmed to make measurements at any sequence of temperatures between room temperature and 1600 0 C

  2. How unprecedented a solar minimum was it?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, C T; Jian, L K; Luhmann, J G

    2013-05-01

    The end of the last solar cycle was at least 3 years late, and to date, the new solar cycle has seen mainly weaker activity since the onset of the rising phase toward the new solar maximum. The newspapers now even report when auroras are seen in Norway. This paper is an update of our review paper written during the deepest part of the last solar minimum [1]. We update the records of solar activity and its consequent effects on the interplanetary fields and solar wind density. The arrival of solar minimum allows us to use two techniques that predict sunspot maximum from readings obtained at solar minimum. It is clear that the Sun is still behaving strangely compared to the last few solar minima even though we are well beyond the minimum phase of the cycle 23-24 transition.

  3. Banks’ internal controls and risk management: Value-added functions in Italian credit cooperative banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosaria Cerrone

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available A critical component of safe and sound bank management is constituted by an effective and efficient system of internal controls, which help to ensure that the goals and objectives of a bank will be met, that long-term profitability targets will be achieved, and maintain reliable financial and managerial reporting. Such a system can also ensure that the bank will comply with laws and regulations as well as policies, plans, internal rules and procedures, and decrease the risk of unexpected losses or damage to the bank’s reputation. The paper describes the essential elements of a sound internal control system and through a qualitative approach, it shows how is tied to the rules attaining capital requirements and, above all, to the purpose of the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP which aims at determining the adequate capitalisation of a bank given the risks endured as well as future risks arising from growth, and new business lines. After the recent financial crisis ICAAP is becoming more and more relevant and a central component of an effective strategy for managing risk and creating value. All principles and considerations are referred to Italian Credit Cooperative Banks particular both for dimension and for governance and risk management. They have been contacted though local federations and the results confirm the existing of weakness in internal controls.

  4. Minimum-Cost Reachability for Priced Timed Automata

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Behrmann, Gerd; Fehnker, Ansgar; Hune, Thomas Seidelin

    2001-01-01

    This paper introduces the model of linearly priced timed automata as an extension of timed automata, with prices on both transitions and locations. For this model we consider the minimum-cost reachability problem: i.e. given a linearly priced timed automaton and a target state, determine...... the minimum cost of executions from the initial state to the target state. This problem generalizes the minimum-time reachability problem for ordinary timed automata. We prove decidability of this problem by offering an algorithmic solution, which is based on a combination of branch-and-bound techniques...

  5. Minimum Q Electrically Small Antennas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, O. S.

    2012-01-01

    Theoretically, the minimum radiation quality factor Q of an isolated resonance can be achieved in a spherical electrically small antenna by combining TM1m and TE1m spherical modes, provided that the stored energy in the antenna spherical volume is totally suppressed. Using closed-form expressions...... for a multiarm spherical helix antenna confirm the theoretical predictions. For example, a 4-arm spherical helix antenna with a magnetic-coated perfectly electrically conducting core (ka=0.254) exhibits the Q of 0.66 times the Chu lower bound, or 1.25 times the minimum Q....

  6. The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations ...

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

    5 févr. 2008 ... This is the best single summary of the political choices facing food and agriculture policymakers that has been written in this decade. Pat Mooney, Executive Director, the ETC Group An excellent resource for those mapping the increasing control of our food chain by international players. Suman Sahai ...

  7. Review of international standards related to the design for control rooms on nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Masashi; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Fujita, Yushi

    2005-01-01

    The improvement of Human-Machine Interface (HMI) design for control rooms on nuclear power plants (NPP) has been accomplished world wide, especially after the TMI-2 accident. The design process and guidelines are standardized in IEC60964 and supplemental standards as international standard. However, technological update is required due to the increased use of computerized control and monitoring equipment and systems in control rooms on NPP in recent years. Standards are becoming more important for computerized control rooms because there is more freedom to design than conventional hardware based system. For computerized control rooms, standards for hardware and software of HMI systems should be also considered. Standards and guidelines for computerized control rooms on NPP have been developed recently in each body such as IEC, ISO, and IEEE etc. Therefore, reviewing these standards and guidelines related to control rooms design of NPP can be useful not only for revision of the international standards such as IEC60964, but also for users of the standards and guidelines. In this paper, we reviewed the international standards related to the design for control rooms, in the two aspects of HMI design and hardware and software design, considering the undergoing revision work and their application. (author)

  8. Minimum detection limit and spatial resolution of thin-sample field-emission electron probe microanalysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, Yugo; Hamada, Kotaro; Urano, Akira

    2013-01-01

    The minimum detection limit and spatial resolution for a thinned semiconductor sample were determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) using a Schottky field emission (FE) electron gun and wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry. Comparison of the FE-EPMA results with those obtained using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy, confirmed that FE-EPMA is largely superior in terms of detection sensitivity. Thin-sample FE-EPMA is demonstrated as a very effective method for high resolution, high sensitivity analysis in a laboratory environment because a high probe current and high signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved. - Highlights: • Minimum detection limit and spatial resolution determined for FE-EPMA. • Detection sensitivity of FE-EPMA greatly superior to that of STEM-EDX. • Minimum detection limit and spatial resolution controllable by probe current

  9. Stochastic variational approach to minimum uncertainty states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Illuminati, F.; Viola, L. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Padova Univ. (Italy)

    1995-05-21

    We introduce a new variational characterization of Gaussian diffusion processes as minimum uncertainty states. We then define a variational method constrained by kinematics of diffusions and Schroedinger dynamics to seek states of local minimum uncertainty for general non-harmonic potentials. (author)

  10. Patients suffering from restless legs syndrome have low internal locus of control and poor psychological functioning compared to healthy controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brand, Serge; Beck, Johannes; Hatzinger, Martin; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith

    2013-01-01

    Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disturbing sensorimotor disorder negatively influencing both sleep and psychological functioning. The aim of the present study was to assess RLS patients with respect to locus of control, sleep-related personality traits, quality of life, and sleep as compared to healthy controls. Thirty-eight patients (18 females and 20 males; mean age: 56.06 years) diagnosed with RLS and an age- and gender-matched control group (n = 42) were recruited. Participants completed a series of questionnaires related to locus of control, personality traits, quality of life, and sleep. Compared to healthy controls, RLS patients had a lower internal locus of control, unfavourable sleep-related personality traits such as low self-confidence and higher mental arousal, poorer quality of life, and more depressive symptoms. Sleep was also affected. Multiple regression analyses showed that a low internal and a high external locus of control were predicted by RLS. The pattern of results suggests that RLS is associated with a low locus of control, negative personality traits, and poor quality of life as compared to healthy controls. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. Notification: Evaluating the Internal Controls for EPA's Vehicle Emissions Testing Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Project #OPE-FY17-0009, Mar 6, 2017. The EPA OIG plans to begin preliminary research to determine whether the EPA’s existing internal controls are effective at detecting and preventing light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-road vehicle emissions fraud.

  12. Internal Targeting and External Control: Phototriggered Targeting in Nanomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrue, Lily; Ratjen, Lars

    2017-12-07

    The photochemical control of structure and reactivity bears great potential for chemistry, biology, and life sciences. A key feature of photochemistry is the spatiotemporal control over secondary events. Well-established applications of photochemistry in medicine are photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photopharmacology (PP). However, although both are highly localizable through the application of light, they lack cell- and tissue-specificity. The combination of nanomaterial-based drug delivery and targeting has the potential to overcome limitations for many established therapy concepts. Even more privileged seems the merger of nanomedicine and cell-specific targeting (internal targeting) controlled by light (external control), as it can potentially be applied to many different areas of medicine and pharmaceutical research, including the aforementioned PDT and PP. In this review a survey of the interface of photochemistry, medicine and targeted drug delivery is given, especially focusing on phototriggered targeting in nanomedicine. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Internal combustion engines - Modelling, estimation and control issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vigild, C.W.

    2001-12-01

    Alternative power-trains have become buzz words in the automotive industry in the recent past. New technologies like Lithium-Ion batteries or fuel cells combined with high efficient electrical motors show promising results. However both technologies are extremely expensive and important questions like 'How are we going to supply fuel-cells with hydrogen in an environmentally friendly way?', 'How are we going to improve the range - and recharging speed - of electrical vehicles?' and 'How will our existing infrastructure cope with such changes?' are still left unanswered. Hence, the internal combustion engine with all its shortcomings is to stay with us for the next many years. What the future will really bring in this area is uncertain, but one thing can be said for sure; the time of the pipe in - pipe out engine concept is over. Modem engines, Diesel or gasoline, have in the recent past been provided with many new technologies to improve both performance and handling and to cope with the tightening emission legislations. However, as new devices are included, the number of control inputs is also gradually increased. Hence, the control matrix dimension has grown to a considerably size, and the typical table and regression based engine calibration procedures currently in use today contain both challenging and time-consuming tasks. One way to improve understanding of engines and provide a more comprehensive picture of the control problem is by use of simplified physical modelling - one of the main thrusts of this dissertation. The application of simplified physical modelling as a foundation for engine estimation and control design is first motivated by two control applications. The control problem concerns Air/Fuel ratio control of Spark Ignition engines. Two different ways of control are presented; one based on. a model based Extended Kalman Filter updated predictor, and one based on robust H {infinity} techniques. Both controllers are

  14. Internal voltage control of hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells: Feasibility study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prokopius, P. R.

    1975-01-01

    An experimental study was conducted to assess the feasibility of internal voltage regulation of fuel cell systems. Two methods were tested. In one, reactant partial pressure was used as the voltage control parameter and in the other reactant total pressure was used for control. Both techniques were breadboarded and tested on a single alkaline-electrolyte fuel cell. Both methods were found to be possible forms of regulation, however, of the two the total pressure technique would be more efficient, simpler to apply and would provide better transient characteristics.

  15. Minimum entropy production principle

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Maes, C.; Netočný, Karel

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 7 (2013), s. 9664-9677 ISSN 1941-6016 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : MINEP Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Minimum_entropy_production_principle

  16. Characteristics of internal transport barrier in JT-60U reversed shear plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakamoto, Y.; Kamada, Y.; Ide, S.; Fujita, T.; Shirai, H.; Takizuka, T.; Koide, Y.; Fukuda, T.; Oikawa, T.; Suzuki, T.; Shinohara, K.; Yoshino, R.

    2001-01-01

    Characteristics of internal transport barrier (ITB) structure are studied and the active ITB control has been developed in JT-60U reversed shear plasmas. The following results are found. Outward propagation of the ITB with steep T i gradient is limited to the minimum safety factor location (ρ qmin ). However the ITB with reduced T i gradient can move to the outside of ρ qmin . Lower boundary of ITB width is proportional to the ion poloidal gyroradius at the ITB center. Furthermore the demonstration of the active control of the ITB strength based on the modification of the radial electric field shear profile is successfully performed by the toroidal momentum injection in different directions or the increase of heating power by neutral beams. (author)

  17. Associations between minimum wage policy and access to health care: evidence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1996-2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarrier, Kelly P; Zimmerman, Frederick J; Ralston, James D; Martin, Diane P

    2011-02-01

    We examined whether minimum wage policy is associated with access to medical care among low-skilled workers in the United States. We used multilevel logistic regression to analyze a data set consisting of individual-level indicators of uninsurance and unmet medical need from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and state-level ecological controls from the US Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and several other sources in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1996 and 2007. Higher state-level minimum wage rates were associated with significantly reduced odds of reporting unmet medical need after control for the ecological covariates, substate region fixed effects, and individual demographic and health characteristics (odds ratio = 0.853; 95% confidence interval = 0.750, 0.971). Minimum wage rates were not significantly associated with being uninsured. Higher minimum wages may be associated with a reduced likelihood of experiencing unmet medical need among low-skilled workers, and do not appear to be associated with uninsurance. These findings appear to refute the suggestion that minimum wage laws have detrimental effects on access to health care, as opponents of the policies have suggested.

  18. Business Process Risk Management, Compliance and Internal Control: A Research Agenda

    OpenAIRE

    Rikhardsson, Pall; Best, Peter; Green, Peter; Rosemann, Michael

    2006-01-01

    Integration of risk management and management control is emerging as an important area in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and with ongoing development of frameworks such as the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on an inductive methodological approach using literature review and interviews with managers engaged in risk management and internal control projects, this paper identifies three main ar...

  19. METHODOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION OF ACCOUNTING AND INTERNAL CONTROL OF INVENTORIES OF THE COMPANY IN THE SYSTEM OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koblyanska Olena

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The article is devoted to theoretical, methodological and practical issues of accounting and internal control of the company’s stocks in the asset management system. The purpose of the study is to deepen and consolidate the theoretical and practical knowledge of the issues of accounting and internal control of the company’s stocks in the asset management system, identify practical problems with the implementation of the methodology and organization of accounting and internal control of the company’s stocks and develop recommendations for the elimination of deficiencies and improve the accounting and internal control of the company’s stocks. Results. The issue of relevance of proper accounting and internal control of stocks at the enterprise is considered. The research of typical operations with stocks was carried out with the use of the method of their reflection in the account. The classification of stocks, carrying out of their estimation, definition of the initial value, and also the typical correspondence from the account of stocks are resulted. A comparative characteristic of international and national inventory standards was implemented. The article deals with the features of the internal control of inventories at the enterprise, provides normative documents on its organization and methodology, describes the procedure for its implementation at the enterprise and identifies the typical mistakes that occur during its implementation. Conclusions. The questions about theoretical, methodological and practical issues of accounting and internal control of the company’s stocks in the asset management system were considered. A study of typical operations with stocks was carried out with the use of the method of their reflection in the accounts and the features of the internal control of inventories at the enterprise.

  20. The Role of Information Technology as Moderating Variable and Internal Control Effectiveness as intervening in the Relationship between Human Resource Competency and Internal Auditor Service Quality on of Report

    OpenAIRE

    Haliah, Hamid,Irdam

    2015-01-01

    in general, this research is intended to investigate factors that effect quality of report of local government in west Sulawesi province, Indonesia. Human resource competence and quality of services of internal auditor have indirect effect through the effectiveness of internal control to the quality of the report. These results indicate that the effectiveness of internal control serves as an intervening variable on the relationship of competence of human resources and internal auditor service...