Circle activity of quality assurance in construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-05-01

This book explains purpose, introduction 10 things to keep in mind, management and role of QC activity, TQC and QC circle activity in construction, introduction of the case of QC circle activity in a company like QC circle activity as TQC activity and QC circle for the bright future, case of experience of QC circle activity such as decreasing concrete loss, improvement of sleeve sticking on the ps wooden floor, overcoming handicap in field where one person works and point of QC 7 tools and order of improvement and management.

Quality Control Circles: A Vehicle for Just-in-Time Implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sepehri, Mehran

1985-01-01

Explains just-in-time (JIT) material flow and production, a method of production designed to eliminate waste. Discusses why quality control circles work so well with a JIT system, and describes how several companies have made JIT work for them. (CT)

Revisiting Cyberbullying in Schools Using the Quality Circle Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Simone; Smith, Peter K.; Blumberg, Herbert H.

2012-01-01

An earlier study reported the use of Quality Circles (QC) in a UK school in the context of understanding and reducing bullying and cyberbullying. Here, we report further work in the same school setting. The QC approach allows explorative analysis of problems in school settings, whereby students embark on a problem-solving exercise over a period of…

[Does implementation of benchmarking in quality circles improve the quality of care of patients with asthma and reduce drug interaction?].

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann-Kolle, Petra; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Broge, Björn; Haefeli, Walter Emil; Schneider, Antonius

2011-01-01

The purpose of this cluster-randomised controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of quality circles (QCs) working either with general data-based feedback or with an open benchmark within the field of asthma care and drug-drug interactions. Twelve QCs, involving 96 general practitioners from 85 practices, were randomised. Six QCs worked with traditional anonymous feedback and six with an open benchmark. Two QC meetings supported with feedback reports were held covering the topics "drug-drug interactions" and "asthma"; in both cases discussions were guided by a trained moderator. Outcome measures included health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction with treatment, asthma severity and number of potentially inappropriate drug combinations as well as the general practitioners' satisfaction in relation to the performance of the QC. A significant improvement in the treatment of asthma was observed in both trial arms. However, there was only a slight improvement regarding inappropriate drug combinations. There were no relevant differences between the group with open benchmark (B-QC) and traditional quality circles (T-QC). The physicians' satisfaction with the QC performance was significantly higher in the T-QCs. General practitioners seem to take a critical perspective about open benchmarking in quality circles. Caution should be used when implementing benchmarking in a quality circle as it did not improve healthcare when compared to the traditional procedure with anonymised comparisons. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

The application of quality control circle in neurosurgery ICU nurses in raising compliance of the head of a bed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Na LI

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore the application of quality control circle in raising compliance of the head of a bed in neurosurgery ICU nurses. Methods: The quality control circle was made up of 4 ICU nurses, determine the subject in order to improve the neurosurgery ICU nurses in raising compliance of the head of a bed, according to the QCC activity steps to formulate plans, including grasp the current situation, goal setting, through analysis, circle members develop strategy and plan implementation and review, finally compared the situation before and after neurosurgery ICU nurses raised bed activities compliance. Results: After implementation of QCC, neurosurgery ICU nurses raised bed to 30 ~ 45 degrees. After activities, circle members in the team cooperation ability, cohesion, to accept new things ability, and innovative thinking ability and to raise the understanding of the relevant knowledge of the head of a bed has improved significantly. Conclusion: The application of quality management circle activity improves the neurosurgery ICU nurses effectively raise the compliance of the head of a bed, improve the comprehensive quality of the clinical nurses.

Applying the Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes Circle of Success to improving and sustaining quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakerjian, Debra; Zisberg, Anna

2013-01-01

Looking forward to the Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) program to be implemented and required in 2014, and as nursing home staff provide care for residents with increasingly complex health issues, knowledge of how to implement quality improvement (QI) is imperative. The nursing home administrator and director of nursing (DON) provide overall leadership, but it is the primary responsibility of the DON and other registered nurse staff to implement and manage the day to day QI process. This article describes potential roles of nursing leaders and key components of a QI project using a pressure ulcer case study exemplar to illustrate a quality improvement process. The authors suggest specific methods that RN leaders can employ using the Advancing Excellence Campaign Circle of Success as an organizing framework along with evidence-based resources. Nursing home leaders could use this article as a guideline for implementing any clinical quality improvement process. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Quality Circles in a College of Further Education. Manchester Monographs 31.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Tim

Quality circles (QCs) are small volunteer groups of workers who meet weekly with a trained leader operating to a strict code of conduct. They use techniques of brainstorming, cause and effect classification, pareto analysis, and presentation to consider work-related problems and recommend solutions to management. QCs have been tried in educational…

Quality circles--new wave or fad?

Science.gov (United States)

Herkimer, A G

1984-07-01

The American healthcare industry must avoid the dangers of commitment to bureaucratic organizational thinking and be willing to experiment with Theory Z and quality circles. Productivity depends on trust, subtlety and intimacy. The industry must acknowledge that management style and organizational form are nothing more than facets of the larger organization of society. The ultimate goal should be to understand how the structure of society and the management of healthcare organizations can be coordinated. The common thread in Japanese life is intimacy. The caring, support, and disciplined unselfishness which makes life possible come through close social relationships. Accordingly, there is (or at least, there should be) a common thread in this nation's healthcare industry--the desire to render quality health care in an effective and efficient manner. The underlying messages are many, but they are not overwhelming. Perhaps the first message to healthcare managers is that a healthcare delivery system can realize the full potential of its employees only if it invests in their training and then shares with them the power to influence decisions. Without training, the invitation to participate in decision making will lead only to frustration and conflict. Without a sharing of decision-making power, an investment in training will be both frustrating and wasteful.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Establishment of a Quality Circles Program and Its Effect on Employee Attitudes, Morale, and Performance at an Army Medical Treatment Facility.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-08-01

more times. Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa , a professor at the University of Tokyo and a board member of JUSE, used the efforts of Dr. Juran as the background for...his later work with quality circles. Dr. Ishikawa and the JUSE are generally credited with formalizing the modern Japanese quality circle technique in

Using Quality Circles to Enhance Student Involvement and Course Quality in a Large Undergraduate Food Science and Human Nutrition Course

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, S. J.; Parmer, M. S.; Bohn, D. M.

2005-01-01

Large undergraduate classes are a challenge to manage, to engage, and to assess, yet such formidable classes can flourish when student participation is facilitated. One method of generating authentic student involvement is implementation of quality circles by means of a Student Feedback Committee (SFC), which is a volunteer problem-solving and…

Creativity and Innovation in the Context of Team-work: an Evaluation in the Self-management Cells and Quality Control Circles of Ambev S.C. Branch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeska Nahas Guimarães

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is about changes in the business world. The main goal is to study the implications related to people’s creativity expression owing to work organization in small groups in the Ambev S.C. branch. This is a qualitative study based on a case study. 21 self-management circles and 18 quality control circles in the organization were found. The self management circles are responsible for achieving the organizational main goals and the quality control circles to bring best practices and new ideas. The result shows that quality control circles are more powerful than the self management circles as a space to develop people creativity and organizational innovation. It is relevant to stress that in the CCQs there are more multidisciplinary and common purpose guided to a collective objective desired by all the members of the team. On the other hand, in the CGA´s there are more discipline to accept the common tactics to people reach the objectives of the group and the corporative aims. The conclusion is that the changes in the business environment make the small work group very important to a company’s creativity and a fundamental strategy differentiation in the process of work organization in the context of the business world.

Inside Larry's Circle

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Alice

2009-01-01

Last spring, students from several North Carolina middle schools were invited to participate in the annual Celebrate the Arts festival in Columbus Country. Larry Hewett, a local art teacher, had been selected to instruct the middle-school students. Larry's River Rock Circles project was made as the starting point for the Celebrate the Arts…

Come together – research circles as learning arenas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovhus, Randi Boelskifte

A presentation of an example of training through research circles. A training project that include teachers in compulsory school and researchers from Aarhus University and VIA University College. The presentation is based on a practice development project. First a short presentation of the projec...

CHARACTERISTICS OF HYDROCARBON EXPLOITATION IN ARCTIC CIRCLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanja Lež

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The existence of large quantities of hydrocarbons is supposed within the Arctic Circle. Assumed quantities are 25% of the total undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves on Earth, mostly natural gas. Over 500 major and minor gas accumulations within the Arctic Circle were discovered so far, but apart from Snøhvit gas field, there is no commercial exploitation of natural gas from these fields. Arctic gas projects are complicated, technically hard to accomplish, and pose a great threat to the return of investment, safety of people and equipment and for the ecosystem. Russia is a country that is closest to the realization of the Arctic gas projects that are based on the giant gas fields. The most extreme weather conditions in the seas around Greenland are the reason why this Arctic region is the least explored and furthest from the realization of any gas project (the paper is published in Croatian .

Circle diffeomorphisms forced by expanding circle maps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Homburg, A.J.

2012-01-01

We discuss the dynamics of skew product maps defined by circle diffeomorphisms forced by expanding circle maps. We construct an open class of such systems that are robustly topologically mixing and for which almost all points in the same fiber converge under iteration. This property follows from the

Practical Environmental Education and Local Contribution in the Environmental Science Laboratory Circle in the College of Science and Technology in Nihon University

Science.gov (United States)

Taniai, Tetsuyuki; Ito, Ken-Ichi; Sakamaki, Hiroshi

In this paper, we presented a method and knowledge about a practical and project management education and local contribution obtained through the student activities of “Environmental science laboratory circle in the College of Science and technology in Nihon University” from 1991 to 2001. In this circle, four major projects were acted such as research, protection, clean up and enlightenment projects. Due to some problems from inside or outside of this circle, this circle projects have been stopped. The diffusion and popularization of the internet technology will help to resolve some of these problems.

Linear Determination of a Camera's Intrinsic Parameters Using Two Intersecting Circles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Chen

2014-03-01

Full Text Available An approach using two intersecting circles is proposed as a linear approach for determining a camera's intrinsic parameters. The two intersecting coplanar circles have four intersection points in the projective plane: two real points and two circular points. In the image plane, the diagonal triangle - on which the image of the four intersection points composes a complete quadrangle - is a self-polar triangle for the projection curves of the circles. The vertex of the self-polar triangle is the null space of the degenerate conic formed by the image of the four intersection points. By solving the three vertices of the self-polar triangle using the image coordinates of the two real intersection points, the degenerate conic can be obtained. The image of the two circular points is then computed from the intersection points of the degenerate conic. Using the image of the circular points from the three images of the same planar pattern with different directions, the intrinsic parameters can be linearly determined.

Quality control circles: will they work at Sandia. Findings from a review of 66 sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeys, G.H.

1982-01-01

Quality Control Circles (QCC's) meet regularly to solve limited, but important, problems related directly to their work. The QCC is organized so that the worker becomes involved in problem solving and quality awareness in meaningful and creative ways. Participation is voluntary. This concept has been successfully used in Japan for two decades. QCC's are now being implemented at an accelerating rate world-wide. There are questions as to QCC's applicability in the United States and in particular with respect to an R and D facility such as Sandia. This paper summarizes information about the QCC concept with respect to its implementation and applicability to Sandia. Information was extracted from 66 sources as noted in an Annotated Bibliography. Analysis techniques used by QCC's were utilized in the construction of this paper, especially with the Annotated Bibliography.

General minisum circle location

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Körner, Mark; Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik

2009-01-01

In our paper we approximate a set of given points by a general circle. More precisely, we consider the problem of locating and scaling the unit ball of some given norm k1 with respect to xed points on the plane such that the sum of weighted distances between the circle and the xed points is minim......In our paper we approximate a set of given points by a general circle. More precisely, we consider the problem of locating and scaling the unit ball of some given norm k1 with respect to xed points on the plane such that the sum of weighted distances between the circle and the xed points...

Diversity Study Circles in Teacher Education Practice: An Experiential Learning Project

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, Glenda

2008-01-01

This paper addresses the dilemma of trying to prepare primarily white preservice teachers for educational arenas in which they will interface with students of colour and many who are socially disadvantaged. This paper describes how diversity study circles can be integrated as integral to education that is multicultural in the development of…

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamara Gvozdenovic

2008-03-01

Full Text Available One of the main trends is standardization of project management. Some of the most important bodies of knowledge in project management, which were created by professional associations for project management are given in this paper. The main of the project management, apart from minimization of time, resources and costs, is to finish the project in the required quality, i.e. it is very important during the whole process of project management to provide realizing the project without any deviations from the previously set quality standards. Basic processes of project quality management are: quality planning, quality assurance and quality control.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program. Proceedings of the IREAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No. 20: The Utility of Quality Circles and Productivity Teams in U.S. Shipbuilding

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Harper, Stephen E

1982-01-01

.... The average return on investment for quality circles is 6 to 1. QC's are a simple, but effective, technique for problem solving which involves employees and increases motivation, communication, and productivity...

Flat panel detector-based cone beam computed tomography with a circle-plus-two-arcs data acquisition orbit: Preliminary phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ning Ruola; Tang Xiangyang; Conover, David; Yu Rongfeng

2003-01-01

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been investigated in the past two decades due to its potential advantages over a fan beam CT. These advantages include (a) great improvement in data acquisition efficiency, spatial resolution, and spatial resolution uniformity, (b) substantially better utilization of x-ray photons generated by the x-ray tube compared to a fan beam CT, and (c) significant advancement in clinical three-dimensional (3D) CT applications. However, most studies of CBCT in the past are focused on cone beam data acquisition theories and reconstruction algorithms. The recent development of x-ray flat panel detectors (FPD) has made CBCT imaging feasible and practical. This paper reports a newly built flat panel detector-based CBCT prototype scanner and presents the results of the preliminary evaluation of the prototype through a phantom study. The prototype consisted of an x-ray tube, a flat panel detector, a GE 8800 CT gantry, a patient table and a computer system. The prototype was constructed by modifying a GE 8800 CT gantry such that both a single-circle cone beam acquisition orbit and a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit can be achieved. With a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit, a complete set of cone beam projection data can be obtained, consisting of a set of circle projections and a set of arc projections. Using the prototype scanner, the set of circle projections were acquired by rotating the x-ray tube and the FPD together on the gantry, and the set of arc projections were obtained by tilting the gantry while the x-ray tube and detector were at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, respectively. A filtered backprojection exact cone beam reconstruction algorithm based on a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit was used for cone beam reconstruction from both the circle and arc projections. The system was first characterized in terms of the linearity and dynamic range of the detector. Then the uniformity, spatial resolution and low contrast resolution were assessed using

Research circles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Thomsen, Rie; Möller, Jonas

lifelong guidance policies. This paper presents `research circles´ as a way to develop guidance practices through long-term research relationships between practice and research. Research circles support a bottom up approach to policy development just like ELGPN considers to be necessary and required...... of their habitual pedagogical role and enables them to observe and analyze their own practice. In conclusion, this methodological approach to the development of guidance practices introduces a combination between theory and practice that meets current needs of practice, policy and research....

Quality Control in construction.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-01-01

behavioral scientists. In 1962, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa gave shape to the form of training which featured intradepartmental groups of ten or so workers seated...and Japanese circles bears closer scrutiny. 4.3.1 Japanese Ingredients of Quality The founder of quality circles, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa , gives six...around 51 a table; hence the name Quality Control Circle. 4 Dr. 0 Ishikawa was an engineering professor at Tokyo University, and the circles were

Activity know-how and doctrine of QC circle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1976-09-15

This books introduces activity know-how of QC circle giving descriptions of basic of QC circle activities, introduction operation and development and mind of QC circle activities, method for beginning of QC circle activity like, way order, motivation of introduction of QC circle activity, propel method of QC circle activities, such as leadership, brain storming, and rule of QC circle activity, management and propel method for improvement, development of QC circle activities. It also deals with doctrine of basic of QC circle, purpose, self improvement and group activity.

Activity know-how and doctrine of QC circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-09-01

This books introduces activity know-how of QC circle giving descriptions of basic of QC circle activities, introduction operation and development and mind of QC circle activities, method for beginning of QC circle activity like, way order, motivation of introduction of QC circle activity, propel method of QC circle activities, such as leadership, brain storming, and rule of QC circle activity, management and propel method for improvement, development of QC circle activities. It also deals with doctrine of basic of QC circle, purpose, self improvement and group activity.

Evaluating Quality Circles in U.S. Industry: A Feasibility Study.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-06-30

are the following: whether the ,.-~. .- "i. 24 circle is cost-effective, whether it deals with long-range rather than crisis problems, whether the...Chapter 4. The evolution of the Japanese instruments took into consideration the nature of the Japanese work setting. To assist in the transculturation ...crises rather than implementing long-term change? Name____________________ Short-term, Long-Term, Title______________________ crisis on-going oriented

Domain Discretization and Circle Packings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dias, Kealey

A circle packing is a configuration of circles which are tangent with one another in a prescribed pattern determined by a combinatorial triangulation, where the configuration fills a planar domain or a two-dimensional surface. The vertices in the triangulation correspond to centers of circles...... to domain discretization problems such as triangulation and unstructured mesh generation techniques. We wish to ask ourselves the question: given a cloud of points in the plane (we restrict ourselves to planar domains), is it possible to construct a circle packing preserving the positions of the vertices...... and constrained meshes having predefined vertices as constraints. A standard method of two-dimensional mesh generation involves conformal mapping of the surface or domain to standardized shapes, such as a disk. Since circle packing is a new technique for constructing discrete conformal mappings, it is possible...

Locating a circle on a sphere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Schöbel, Anita

2003-01-01

We consider the problem of locating a spherical circle with respect to existing facilities on a sphere, such that the sum of weighted distances between the circle and the facilities is minimized, or such that the maximum weighted distance is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and we...... give solution procedures. When the circle to be located is restricted to be a great circle, some simplifications are possible....

CIRCLE Enhancement After Myopic SMILE.

Science.gov (United States)

Siedlecki, Jakob; Luft, Nikolaus; Mayer, Wolfgang J; Siedlecki, Martin; Kook, Daniel; Meyer, Bertram; Bechmann, Martin; Wiltfang, Rainer; Priglinger, Siegfried G; Dirisamer, Martin

2018-05-01

To report the outcomes of enhancement after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) using the VisuMax CIRCLE option (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Jena, Germany), which converts the SMILE cap into a femtosecond LASIK flap for secondary excimer laser application. Of 2,065 SMILE procedures, 22 eyes (1.1%) re-treated with CIRCLE with a follow-up of 3 months were included in the analysis. SMILE was performed in the usual manner. For re-treatment, the CIRCLE procedure was performed with pattern D flap creation on the VisuMax system and subsequent excimer laser ablation with a Zeiss MEL 90 laser (Carl Zeiss Meditec) with plano target in all cases. Spherical equivalent was -5.56 ± 2.22 diopters (D) before SMILE and -0.51 ± 1.08 D before CIRCLE. CIRCLE enhancement was performed after a mean of 10.0 ± 7.9 months, allowed for safe flap lifting in all eyes, and resulted in a final manifest refraction spherical equivalent of 0.18 ± 0.31 D at 3 months (P line of UDVA. Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) remained unchanged at all time points (before vs after CIRCLE, P = .40). Two eyes (9.1 %) lost one line of CDVA; no eye lost two or more lines. The safety and efficacy indices were 1.03 and 0.97 at 3 months. The CIRCLE procedure represents an effective re-treatment option after SMILE. Compared to surface ablation re-treatment after SMILE, CIRCLE seems to offer advantages in respect to speed of visual recovery, safety, and predictability, but at the price of flap creation. [J Refract Surg. 2018;34(5):304-309.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

On a conjecture concerning helly circle graphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Durán Guillermo

2003-01-01

Full Text Available We say that G is an e-circle graph if there is a bijection between its vertices and straight lines on the cartesian plane such that two vertices are adjacent in G if and only if the corresponding lines intersect inside the circle of radius one. This definition suggests a method for deciding whether a given graph G is an e-circle graph, by constructing a convenient system S of equations and inequations which represents the structure of G, in such a way that G is an e-circle graph if and only if S has a solution. In fact, e-circle graphs are exactly the circle graphs (intersection graphs of chords in a circle, and thus this method provides an analytic way for recognizing circle graphs. A graph G is a Helly circle graph if G is a circle graph and there exists a model of G by chords such that every three pairwise intersecting chords intersect at the same point. A conjecture by Durán (2000 states that G is a Helly circle graph if and only if G is a circle graph and contains no induced diamonds (a diamond is a graph formed by four vertices and five edges. Many unsuccessful efforts - mainly based on combinatorial and geometrical approaches - have been done in order to validate this conjecture. In this work, we utilize the ideas behind the definition of e-circle graphs and restate this conjecture in terms of an equivalence between two systems of equations and inequations, providing a new, analytic tool to deal with it.

[Theme: Achieving Quality Laboratory Projects.[.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinn, Glen C.; And Others

1983-01-01

The theme articles present strategies for achieving quality laboratory projects in vocational agriculture. They describe fundamentals of the construction of quality projects and stress the importance of quality instruction. (JOW)

Vicious Circles in Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Masuch, Michael

1985-01-01

After examining some elementary notions of action theory and cybernetics, this article analyzes the dynamics, clustering, and survival chances of vicious circles. It argues that the action perspective implies that many structural suboptimalities of organizations are caused by vicious circles. Eleven figures and 105 references are provided. (DCS)

Project Leadership and Quality Performance of Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SPG Buba

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The construction industry in Nigeria, is pigeonholed by poor quality of construction products as a result of the inherent corruption in the country. Lack of purposeful leadership and inappropriate choice of leadership styles in the industry have been attributed to project failure. Abandoned and failed projects are more predominant in the public sector which litters every corner of the country. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of leadership styles on quality performance criteria of public projects in Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 43 questionnaires were distributed to 3 key groups of respondents (Quantity Surveyors, Builders, and Architects who are project managers in Nigeria. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. Likert Scale was used to measure the independent variables (leadership style: facilitative, coaching, delegating and directing; and the level of achievement of projects based on the dependent variables (quality and function performance criteria which are: achieving highest aesthetic quality; and functional building that fits its purpose. Findings: The study revealed that Directing is the major leadership style used by project managers in Nigeria. Amongst the leadership styles which has the most impact on quality performance indicators is also directing which has the most relative influence on achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose. Conclusion/Recommendation/Way forward: The underlying relationship between Directing leadership styles and the performance criteria of achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose will be beneficial to the Nigerian construction environment.

Information flow through the disaster circle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egedorf, Maren Marie; Villanueva Holm-Nielsen, Pablo

The traditional view of the disaster circle is phase based. Disaster and development professionals recognize that the actions carried out in the various phases of the disaster management cycle are overlapping and build upon each other, having resilience as the overall goal. However information does...... not necessarily flow across the phases of the circle in an effective manner. This is particularly true for the information that crosses the disaster point of the circle. Organisations carry out assessments, surveys and baselines for various purposes, at various points of time in the disaster circle. Output...

Polygons and Their Circles

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Paul

2009-01-01

In order to find its circumference, Archimedes famously boxed the circle between two polygons. Ending the first of a series of articles (MT179) with an aside, Francis Lopez-Real reverses the situation to ask: Which polygons can be boxed between two circles? (The official term for such polygons is "bicentric".) The sides of these polygons are…

Locating a circle on a sphere

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Schöbel, Anita

2007-01-01

We consider the problem of locating a spherical circle with respect to existing facilities on a sphere, such that the sum of distances between the circle and the facilities is minimized or such that the maximum distance is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and we give solution...... procedures. When the circle to be located is restricted to be a great circle, some simplifications are possible. The models may be used in preliminary studies on the location of large linear facilities on the earth's surface, such as superhighways, pipelines, and transmission lines, or in totally different...

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Citizen Science Projects

Science.gov (United States)

The Quality Assurance Project Plan is necessary for every project that collects or uses environmental data. It documents the project planning process and serves as a blueprint for how your project will run.

Fairy circle landscapes under the sea

KAUST Repository

Ruiz-Reynés, Daniel

2017-08-03

Short-scale interactions yield large-scale vegetation patterns that, in turn, shape ecosystem function across landscapes. Fairy circles, which are circular patches bare of vegetation within otherwise continuous landscapes, are characteristic features of semiarid grasslands. We report the occurrence of submarine fairy circle seascapes in seagrass meadows and propose a simple model that reproduces the diversity of seascapes observed in these ecosystems as emerging from plant interactions within the meadow. These seascapes include two extreme cases, a continuous meadow and a bare landscape, along with intermediate states that range from the occurrence of persistent but isolated fairy circles, or solitons, to seascapes with multiple fairy circles, banded vegetation, and

Fairy circle landscapes under the sea

KAUST Repository

Ruiz-Reyné s, Daniel; Gomila, Damià ; Sintes, Tomà s; Herná ndez-Garcí a, Emilio; Marbà , Nú ria; Duarte, Carlos M.

2017-01-01

Short-scale interactions yield large-scale vegetation patterns that, in turn, shape ecosystem function across landscapes. Fairy circles, which are circular patches bare of vegetation within otherwise continuous landscapes, are characteristic features of semiarid grasslands. We report the occurrence of submarine fairy circle seascapes in seagrass meadows and propose a simple model that reproduces the diversity of seascapes observed in these ecosystems as emerging from plant interactions within the meadow. These seascapes include two extreme cases, a continuous meadow and a bare landscape, along with intermediate states that range from the occurrence of persistent but isolated fairy circles, or solitons, to seascapes with multiple fairy circles, banded vegetation, and

Yoctomole electrochemical genosensing of Ebola virus cDNA by rolling circle and circle to circle amplification.

Science.gov (United States)

Carinelli, S; Kühnemund, M; Nilsson, M; Pividori, M I

2017-07-15

This work addresses the design of an Ebola diagnostic test involving a simple, rapid, specific and highly sensitive procedure based on isothermal amplification on magnetic particles with electrochemical readout. Ebola padlock probes were designed to detect a specific L-gene sequence present in the five most common Ebola species. Ebola cDNA was amplified by rolling circle amplification (RCA) on magnetic particles. Further re-amplification was performed by circle-to-circle amplification (C2CA) and the products were detected in a double-tagging approach using a biotinylated capture probe for immobilization on magnetic particles and a readout probe for electrochemical detection by square-wave voltammetry on commercial screen-printed electrodes. The electrochemical genosensor was able to detect as low as 200 ymol, corresponding to 120 cDNA molecules of L-gene Ebola virus with a limit of detection of 33 cDNA molecules. The isothermal double-amplification procedure by C2CA combined with the electrochemical readout and the magnetic actuation enables the high sensitivity, resulting in a rapid, inexpensive, robust and user-friendly sensing strategy that offers a promising approach for the primary care in low resource settings, especially in less developed countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"Take Me to the Mathematical Circle!"

OpenAIRE

Veilande, Ingrida

2012-01-01

Preparing the students for various mathematical contests are the key goals of mathematical circles in Latvian schools. The reason why mathematical circles for students of primary schools are organised rather seldom is that problem sets of Olympiads are mainly created for students of 5th to 12th grades. The young participants of circles have to be introduced with the basic principles of Olimpiads mathematics too.

Circle Time Revisited: How Do Preschool Classrooms Use This Part of the Day?

Science.gov (United States)

Bustamante, Andres S.; Hindman, Annemarie H.; Champagne, Carly R.; Wasik, Barbara A.

2018-01-01

Circle time is a near universally used preschool activity; however, little research has explored its nature, content, and quality. This study examined activity types, teacher and child talk, child engagement, and classroom quality in a sample of public preschool classrooms in an urban, high-poverty school district. Results demonstrated that…

Introducing Nine-Point Circle to Junior High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Fiangga, S.; Azizah, M. A. N.; Rini, R. N. K.; Hidayanti, A. N.

2018-01-01

The concept of circles is an ancient concept that has appeared since Ancient Egypt from which this concept gives many significant contributions in mathematics’ development until now. Nevertheless, the concept of circles hides many uncover mysterious features that are of applications in mathematics. One of the mysterious features is the Nine-Point Circle. This Nine-point circle is also known as Euler’s circle, six-point circle, Feuerbach’s circle, the twelve-point circle, and many others. Because of these different names, there have been misunderstand among mathematicians about the Nine-Point Circle’s history. Besides, the discussion of Nine-Point Circle can be used to be an initial material to explain elementary geometry topic in junior high school’s level curriculum of 2013. Therefore, this concept needs to be delivered to the students as a geometry introduction. A possible form of the integration historical aspect of Nine-point circle is suggested in this paper as well as its importance in the curriculum of 2013.

Darboux cyclides and webs from circles

KAUST Repository

Pottmann, Helmut

2012-01-01

Motivated by potential applications in architecture, we study Darboux cyclides. These algebraic surfaces of order ≤4 are a superset of Dupin cyclides and quadrics, and they carry up to six real families of circles. Revisiting the classical approach to these surfaces based on the spherical model of 3D Möbius geometry, we provide computational tools for the identification of circle families on a given cyclide and for the direct design of those. In particular, we show that certain triples of circle families may be arranged as so-called hexagonal webs, and we provide a complete classification of all possible hexagonal webs of circles on Darboux cyclides. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Locating a minisum circle in the plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Schöbel, Anita

2009-01-01

We consider the problem of locating a circle with respect to existing facilities in the plane such that the sum of weighted distances between the circle and the facilities is minimized, i.e., we approximate a set of given points by a circle regarding the sum of weighted distances. If the radius...

Project Specific Quality Assurance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, K.S.

1995-01-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) identifies the Westinghouse Hanford Co. (WHC) Quality Assurance (QA) program requirements for all contractors involved in the planning and execution of the design, construction, testing and inspection of the 200 Area Effluent BAT/AKART Implementation, Project W-291

Robust Circle Detection Using Harmony Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaco Fourie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Automatic circle detection is an important element of many image processing algorithms. Traditionally the Hough transform has been used to find circular objects in images but more modern approaches that make use of heuristic optimisation techniques have been developed. These are often used in large complex images where the presence of noise or limited computational resources make the Hough transform impractical. Previous research on the use of the Harmony Search (HS in circle detection showed that HS is an attractive alternative to many of the modern circle detectors based on heuristic optimisers like genetic algorithms and simulated annealing. We propose improvements to this work that enables our algorithm to robustly find multiple circles in larger data sets and still work on realistic images that are heavily corrupted by noisy edges.

A Novel Pairwise Comparison-Based Method to Determine Radiation Dose Reduction Potentials of Iterative Reconstruction Algorithms, Exemplified Through Circle of Willis Computed Tomography Angiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellmann, Stephan; Kammerer, Ferdinand; Brand, Michael; Allmendinger, Thomas; May, Matthias S; Uder, Michael; Lell, Michael M; Kramer, Manuel

2016-05-01

The aim of this study was to determine the dose reduction potential of iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms in computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the circle of Willis using a novel method of evaluating the quality of radiation dose-reduced images. This study relied on ReconCT, a proprietary reconstruction software that allows simulating CT scans acquired with reduced radiation dose based on the raw data of true scans. To evaluate the performance of ReconCT in this regard, a phantom study was performed to compare the image noise of true and simulated scans within simulated vessels of a head phantom. That followed, 10 patients scheduled for CTA of the circle of Willis were scanned according to our institute's standard protocol (100 kV, 145 reference mAs). Subsequently, CTA images of these patients were reconstructed as either a full-dose weighted filtered back projection or with radiation dose reductions down to 10% of the full-dose level and Sinogram-Affirmed Iterative Reconstruction (SAFIRE) with either strength 3 or 5. Images were marked with arrows pointing on vessels of different sizes, and image pairs were presented to observers. Five readers assessed image quality with 2-alternative forced choice comparisons. In the phantom study, no significant differences were observed between the noise levels of simulated and true scans in filtered back projection, SAFIRE 3, and SAFIRE 5 reconstructions.The dose reduction potential for patient scans showed a strong dependence on IR strength as well as on the size of the vessel of interest. Thus, the potential radiation dose reductions ranged from 84.4% for the evaluation of great vessels reconstructed with SAFIRE 5 to 40.9% for the evaluation of small vessels reconstructed with SAFIRE 3. This study provides a novel image quality evaluation method based on 2-alternative forced choice comparisons. In CTA of the circle of Willis, higher IR strengths and greater vessel sizes allowed higher degrees of radiation dose

New holographic limit of AdS5(multiply-in-circle sign)S5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatsuda, Machiko; Siegel, Warren

2003-01-01

We reexamine the projective light cone limit of the gauge-invariant Green-Schwarz action on five-dimensional anti-de Sitter (multiply-in-circle sign) the five-sphere. It implies the usual holography for AdS 5 , but also (a complex) one for S 5 . The result is N=4 projective superspace, which unlike N=4 harmonic superspace can describe N=4 super Yang-Mills theory off shell

Site quality management of engineering projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Yiqun

2008-01-01

Site quality management of an engineering project of NPIC was introduced in this paper. Requirements on organization and management, interfaces, and management of interior and exterior communication were put forward, by description of quality planning, process management, process monitoring and summarizing for the engineering projects. By the management of personnel, specifications and procedures, and the control of equipment, material and work surroundings, not only the safety is ensured, but also the quality and schedule of the engineering project were guaranteed, and so the expected quality goals were achieved. (author)

The CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project Quality Assurance Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fix, N.J.

2008-01-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are working on the CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project (hereafter referred to as the Columbia River Project). This is a follow-on project, funded by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC (CHPRC), to the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Columbia River Protection Project. The work scope consists of a number of CHPRC funded, related projects that are managed under a master project (project number 55109). All contract releases associated with the Fluor Hanford Columbia River Project (Fluor Hanford, Inc. Contract 27647) and the CHPRC Columbia River Project (Contract 36402) will be collected under this master project. Each project within the master project is authorized by a CHPRC contract release that contains the project-specific statement of work. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Columbia River Project staff

The CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fix, N. J.

2008-11-30

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are working on the CHPRC Columbia River Protection Project (hereafter referred to as the Columbia River Project). This is a follow-on project, funded by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, LLC (CHPRC), to the Fluor Hanford, Inc. Columbia River Protection Project. The work scope consists of a number of CHPRC funded, related projects that are managed under a master project (project number 55109). All contract releases associated with the Fluor Hanford Columbia River Project (Fluor Hanford, Inc. Contract 27647) and the CHPRC Columbia River Project (Contract 36402) will be collected under this master project. Each project within the master project is authorized by a CHPRC contract release that contains the project-specific statement of work. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Columbia River Project staff.

Campania Region's Educational Quality Facilities Project

Science.gov (United States)

Ponti, Giorgio

2009-01-01

This article describes the Educational Quality Facilities project undertaken by Italy's Campania Region to provide quality facilities to all of its communities basing new spaces on the "Flexible Learning Module". The objectives of the five-year project are to: build and equip new educational spaces; improve the quality of existing…

Project Hanford management contract quality improvement project management plan; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ADAMS, D.E.

1999-01-01

On July 13, 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) Manager transmitted a letter to Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. (FDH) describing several DOE-RL identified failed opportunities for FDH to improve the Quality Assurance (QA) Program and its implementation. In addition, DOE-RL identified specific Quality Program performance deficiencies. FDH was requested to establish a periodic reporting mechanism for the corrective action program. In a July 17, 1998 response to DOE-RL, FDH agreed with the DOE concerns and committed to perform a comprehensive review of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) QA Program during July and August, 1998. As a result, the Project Hanford Management Contract Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) (FDH-3508) was issued on October 21, 1998. The plan identified corrective actions based upon the results of an in-depth Quality Program Assessment. Immediately following the scheduled October 22, 1998, DOE Office of Enforcement and Investigation (EH-10) Enforcement Conference, FDH initiated efforts to effectively implement the QIP corrective actions. A Quality Improvement Project (QI Project) leadership team was assembled to prepare a Project Management Plan for this project. The management plan was specifically designed to engage a core team and the support of representatives from FDH and the major subcontractors (MSCs) to implement the QIP initiatives; identify, correct, and provide feedback as to the root cause for deficiency; and close out the corrective actions. The QI Project will manage and communicate progress of the process

The SDM 3 Circle Model: A Literature Synthesis and Adaptation for Shared Decision Making in the Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Rennke, Stephanie; Yuan, Patrick; Monash, Brad; Blankenburg, Rebecca; Chua, Ian; Harman, Stephanie; Sakai, Debbie S; Khan, Adeena; Hilton, Joan F; Shieh, Lisa; Satterfield, Jason

2017-12-01

Patient engagement through shared decision-making (SDM) is increasingly seen as a key component for patient safety, patient satisfaction, and quality of care. Current SDM models do not adequately account for medical and environmental contexts, which may influence medical decisions in the hospital. We identified leading SDM models and reviews to inductively construct a novel SDM model appropriate for the inpatient setting. A team of medicine and pediatric hospitalists reviewed the literature to integrate core SDM concepts and processes and iteratively constructed a synthesized draft model. We then solicited broad SDM expert feedback on the draft model for validation and further refinement. The SDM 3 Circle Model identifies 3 core categories of variables that dynamically interact within an "environmental frame." The resulting Venn diagram includes overlapping circles for (1) patient/family, (2) provider/team, and (3) medical context. The environmental frame includes all external, contextual factors that may influence any of the 3 circles. Existing multistep SDM process models were then rearticulated and contextualized to illustrate how a shared decision might be made. The SDM 3 Circle Model accounts for important environmental and contextual characteristics that vary across settings. The visual emphasis generated by each "circle" and by the environmental frame direct attention to often overlooked interactive forces and has the potential to more precisely define, promote, and improve SDM. This model provides a framework to develop interventions to improve quality and patient safety through SDM and patient engagement for hospitalists. © 2017 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Project Quality Plan

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandborg-Petersen, Ulrik; Øhrstrøm, Peter

This document defines the procedures, standards, and strategies which will be used to ensure high standards of quality of the work produced within the HANDS project. It contains the following sections...

Darboux cyclides and webs from circles

KAUST Repository

Pottmann, Helmut; Shi, Ling; Skopenkov, Mikhail

2012-01-01

to these surfaces based on the spherical model of 3D Möbius geometry, we provide computational tools for the identification of circle families on a given cyclide and for the direct design of those. In particular, we show that certain triples of circle families may

Project quality assurance plant: Sodium storage facility, project F-031

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shultz, J.W.; Shank, D.R.

1994-11-01

The Sodium Storage Facility Project Quality Assurance Plan delineates the quality assurance requirements for construction of a new facility, modifications to the sodium storage tanks, and tie-ins to the FFTF Plant. This plan provides direction for the types of verifications necessary to satisfy the functional requirements within the project scope and applicable regulatory requirements determined in the Project Functional Design Criteria (FDC), WHC-SD-FF-FDC-009

Workers' Objectives in Quality Improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Brossard, Michel

1990-01-01

A case study of quality circles in an appliance factory found that circle members and nonmembers obtained better working conditions by improving quality through the direct impact of their work on the company's market position. The study of the quality improvement process shows that workers seek more than psychological rewards for their…

The "Us" in Discuss: Grouping in Literature Circles

Science.gov (United States)

Batchelor, Katherine

2012-01-01

This article describes one middle school teacher's use of literature circles using heterogeneous grouping. It begins with a brief rationale for using literature circles in the language arts classroom. Next, it describes techniques to form literature circles. Then, it shares how to build and establish a supportive environment within each group. It…

Developing Soft Skills Using "Literature Circles"

Science.gov (United States)

Azmi, Mohd Nazri Bin Latiff

2013-01-01

This study investigates the impact of the implementation of "Literature Circles" in an Active Learning classroom in relations to developing soft skills among university students. The use of Literature Circles is a well-known strategy in teaching the students to be more creative, independent, and think out of the box. A group of…

The Virtuous Circles of Clinical Information Systems: a Modern Utopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Degoulet, P

2016-11-10

Clinical information systems (CIS) are developed with the aim of improving both the efficiency and the quality of care. This position paper is based on the hypothesis that such vision is partly a utopian view of the emerging eSociety. Examples are drawn from 15 years of experience with the fully integrated Georges Pompidou University Hospital (HEGP) CIS and temporal data series extracted from the data warehouses of Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) acute care hospitals which share the same administrative organization as HEGP. Three main virtuous circles are considered: user satisfaction vs. system use, system use vs. cost efficiency, and system use vs quality of care. In structural equation models (SEM), the positive bidirectional relationship between user satisfaction and use was only observed in the early HEGP CIS deployment phase (first four years) but disappeared in late post-adoption (≥8 years). From 2009 to 2013, financial efficiency of 20 AP-HP hospitals evaluated with stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) models diminished by 0.5% per year. The lower decrease of efficiency observed between the three hospitals equipped with a more mature CIS and the 17 other hospitals was of the same order of magnitude than the difference observed between pediatric and non-pediatric hospitals. Outcome quality benefits that would bring evidence to the system use vs. quality loop are unlikely to be obtained in a near future since they require integration with population-based outcome measures including mortality, morbidity, and quality of life that may not be easily available. Barriers to making the transformation of the utopian part of the CIS virtuous circles happen should be overcome to actually benefit the emerging eSociety.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander; Hö binger, Mathias; Wallner, Johannes; Pottmann, Helmut

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry. © 2009 ACM.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander

2009-12-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces\\' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces\\' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry. © 2009 ACM.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander; Hö binger, Mathias; Wallner, Johannes; Pottmann, Helmut

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry.

The circle equation over finite fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aabrandt, Andreas; Hansen, Vagn Lundsgaard

2017-01-01

Interesting patterns in the geometry of a plane algebraic curve C can be observed when the defining polynomial equation is solved over the family of finite fields. In this paper, we examine the case of C the classical unit circle defined by the circle equation x2 + y2 = 1. As a main result, we es...

Locating a general minisum 'circle' on a plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Körner, Mark-Christoph

2011-01-01

We approximate a set of given points in the plane by the boundary of a convex and symmetric set which is the unit circle of some norm. This generalizes previous work on the subject which considers Euclidean circles only. More precisely, we examine the problem of locating and scaling the unit circle...... of some given norm k with respect to given points on the plane such that the sum of weighted distances (as measured by the same norm k) between the circumference of the circle and the points is minimized. We present general results and are able to identify a finite dominating set in the case that k...

Meromorphic Vector Fields and Circle Packings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dias, Kealey

The objective of the Ph.D. project is to initiate a classification of bifurcations of meromorphic vector fields and to clarify their relation to circle packings. Technological applications are to image analysis and to effective grid generation using discrete conformal mappings. The two branches...... of dynamical systems, continuous and discrete, correspond to the study of differential equations (vector fields) and iteration of mappings respectively. In holomorphic dynamics, the systems studied are restricted to those described by holomorphic (complex analytic) functions or meromorphic (allowing poles...... as singularities) functions. There already exists a well-developed theory for iterative holomorphic dynamical systems, and successful relations found between iteration theory and flows of vector fields have been one of the main motivations for the recent interest in holomorphic vector fields. Restricting...

Tank waste remediation system characterization project quality policies. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trimble, D.J.

1995-01-01

These Quality Policies (QPs) describe the Quality Management System of the Tank Waste Characterization Project (hereafter referred to as the Characterization Project), Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS), Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC). The Quality Policies and quality requirements described herein are binding on all Characterization Project organizations. To achieve quality, the Characterization Project management team shall implement this Characterization Project Quality Management System

Engaging Clinical Nurses in Quality Improvement Projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Susan; Stichler, Jaynelle F

2015-10-01

Clinical nurses have the knowledge and expertise required to provide efficient and proficient patient care. Time and knowledge deficits can prevent nurses from developing and implementing quality improvement or evidence-based practice projects. This article reviews a process for professional development of clinical nurses that helped them to define, implement, and analyze quality improvement or evidence-based practice projects. The purpose of this project was to educate advanced clinical nurses to manage a change project from inception to completion, using the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) Change Acceleration Process as a framework. One-to-one mentoring and didactic in-services advanced the knowledge, appreciation, and practice of advanced practice clinicians who completed multiple change projects. The projects facilitated clinical practice changes, with improved patient outcomes; a unit cultural shift, with appreciation of quality improvement and evidence-based projects; and engagement with colleagues. Project outcomes were displayed in poster presentations at a hospital exposition for knowledge dissemination. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Three-charge black holes on a circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmark, Troels; Obers, Niels A.; Roenne, Peter B.; Kristjansson, Kristjan R.

2007-01-01

We study phases of five-dimensional three-charge black holes with a circle in their transverse space. In particular, when the black hole is localized on the circle we compute the corrections to the metric and corresponding thermodynamics in the limit of small mass. When taking the near-extremal limit, this gives the corrections to the finite entropy of the extremal three-charge black hole as a function of the energy above extremality. For the partial extremal limit with two charges sent to infinity and one finite we show that the first correction to the entropy is in agreement with the microscopic entropy by taking into account that the number of branes shift as a consequence of the interactions across the transverse circle. Beyond these analytical results, we also numerically obtain the entire phase of non- and near-extremal three- and two-charge black holes localized on a circle. More generally, we find in this paper a rich phase structure, including a new phase of three-charge black holes that are non-uniformly distributed on the circle. All these three-charge black hole phases are found via a map that relates them to the phases of five-dimensional neutral Kaluza-Klein black holes

Circles South East: the first 10 years 2002-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Andrew; Williams, Dominic; Wilson, Chris; Wilson, Robin J

2014-07-01

This article describes the first 10 years of the implementation of Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles) in the management of sexual offenders in South-East England by Circles South East (CSE). The Circles of 71 core members are reviewed in detail, with reference to demographic data, offense and sentencing histories, risk assessment data, and considerations regarding Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. A group of 71 comparison subjects who were referred to CSE and deemed suitable for but did not receive the service was identified. Follow-up behaviors of both groups are examined (including all forms of reconviction, breach of orders, and prison recall). Over a comparable follow-up period of 55 months, the incidence of violent and contact sexual reconviction in the comparison group was significantly higher than for the Circles cohort. Comparisons are made between expected and actual levels of sexual reconviction, with the Circles cohort showing lower than expected rate of sexual reconviction but not to a statistically significant degree. © The Author(s) 2013.

Are Namibian "fairy circles" the consequence of self-organizing spatial vegetation patterning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael D Cramer

Full Text Available Causes of over-dispersed barren "fairy circles" that are often surrounded by ca. 0.5 m tall peripheral grasses in a matrix of shorter (ca. 0.2 m tall grasses in Namibian grasslands remain mysterious. It was hypothesized that the fairy circles are the consequence of self-organizing spatial vegetation patterning arising from resource competition and facilitation. We examined the edaphic properties of fairy circles and variation in fairy circle size, density and landscape occupancy (% land surface with edaphic properties and water availability at a local scale (<50 km and with climate and vegetation characteristics at a regional scale. Soil moisture in the barren fairy circles declines from the center towards the periphery and is inversely correlated with soil organic carbon, possibly indicating that the peripheral grass roots access soil moisture that persists into the dry season within fairy circles. Fairy circle landscape occupancy is negatively correlated with precipitation and soil [N], consistent with fairy circles being the product of resource-competition. Regional fairy circle presence/absence is highly predictable using an empirical model that includes narrow ranges of vegetation biomass, precipitation and temperature seasonality as predictor variables, indicating that fairy circles are likely a climate-dependent emergent phenomenon. This dependence of fairy circle occurrence on climate explains why fairy circles in some locations may appear and disappear over time. Fairy circles are only over-dispersed at high landscape occupancies, indicating that inter-circle competition may determine their spacing. We conclude that fairy circles are likely to be an emergent arid-grassland phenomenon that forms as a consequence of peripheral grass resource-competition and that the consequent barren circle may provide a resource-reservoir essential for the survival of the larger peripheral grasses and provides a habitat for fossicking fauna.

Quality assurance program plan fuel supply shutdown project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalf, I.L.

1998-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program plan (QAPP) describes how the Fuel Supply Shutdown (FSS) project organization implements the quality assurance requirements of HNF-MP-599, Project Hanford Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) and the B and W Hanford Company Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP), FSP-MP-004. The QAPP applies to facility structures, systems, and components and to activities (e.g., design, procurement, testing, operations, maintenance, etc.) that could affect structures, systems, and components. This QAPP also provides a roadmap of applicable Project Hanford Policies and Procedures (PHPP) which may be utilized by the FSS project organization to implement the requirements of this QAPP

Circles of Support and Personalization: Exploring the Economic Case

Science.gov (United States)

Wistow, Gerald; Perkins, Margaret; Knapp, Martin; Bauer, Annette; Bonin, Eva-Maria

2016-01-01

Circles of Support aim to enable people with learning disabilities (and others) to live full lives as part of their communities. As part of a wider study of the economic case for community capacity building conducted from 2012 to 2014, we conducted a mixed methods study of five Circles in North West England. Members of these Circles were…

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Tamara Gvozdenovic; Mirjana Miljanovic; Aleksandar Jegdic; Zeljko Crnogorcic

2008-01-01

One of the main trends is standardization of project management. Some of the most important bodies of knowledge in project management, which were created by professional associations for project management are given in this paper. The main of the project management, apart from minimization of time, resources and costs, is to finish the project in the required quality, i.e. it is very important during the whole process of project management to provide realizing the project without any deviatio...

Three Concentric Circles: Young Chinese English Learners' Perceptions of Purposeful Audiences

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jack Jinghui

2015-01-01

English learners have more access to communicate with different purposeful audiences across the Three Concentric Circles of English (Kachu, 1985): the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. However, young language learners' purposeful audience as a focus of communication has not been emphasized as much as other linguistic…

Research Circles - a method for developing guidance practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2012-01-01

This video reports on our work with using research circles to improve our understanding of how to provide guidance and counseling to help young people in danger of dropping out of school. The video is based on the paper: Research Circles -- a method for developing guidance practices, and was pres......This video reports on our work with using research circles to improve our understanding of how to provide guidance and counseling to help young people in danger of dropping out of school. The video is based on the paper: Research Circles -- a method for developing guidance practices......, and was presented at the Conference for Social Justice, Prosperity and Sustainable Employment 2012 by assistant professor Helle Merete Nordentoft from DPU (http://edu.au.dk/). The film communicating the research paper was created by Mie Nørgaard...

Experiences with IAEA project: TC Regional Project on Quality Control and Quality Assurance for Nuclear Analytical Techniques (RER/2/004)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glavic-Cindro, Denis; Korun, Matjaz

2002-01-01

In the TC Regional Project on Quality Control and Quality Assurance for Nuclear Analytical Techniques RER/2/004, 12 laboratories from east and central European countries participated. Within this project 4 workshops, 2 audit inspections and 2 proficiency tests were organized. The aim of this project was to help these laboratories to implement quality assurance system based on the ISO 17025 standard and to help them on the way towards accreditation. (author)

A quality control circle process to improve implementation effect of prevention measures for high-risk patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Haixia; Li, Guohong; Xu, Cuirong; Ju, Changping; Suo, Peiheng

2017-12-01

The aim of the study was to analyse the influence of prevention measures on pressure injuries for high-risk patients and to establish the most appropriate methods of implementation. Nurses assessed patients using a checklist and factors influencing the prevention of a pressure injury determined by brain storming. A specific series of measures was drawn up and an estimate of risk of pressure injury determined using the Braden Scale, analysis of nursing documents, implementation of prevention measures for pressure sores and awareness of the system both before and after carrying out a quality control circle (QCC) process. The overall scores of implementation of prevention measures ranged from 74.86 ± 14.24 to 87.06 ± 17.04, a result that was statistically significant (P prevention measure scores ranged from 11.48 ± 4.18 to 13.96 ± 3.92. Differences in all of the above results are statistically significant (P prevention measures for patients who are vulnerable to pressure sores and is of practical importance to their prevention and control. © 2017 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of Pilates method and conversation circles on the health of older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davi da Silva Duarte

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Health education practices associated with oriented exercises have potential beneficial effect on health promotion and prevention of chronic diseases. Objective: This study aimed to verify the effect of an intervention protocol using Pilates and conversation circles on the functional autonomy and quality of life of older adults in the context of the primary health care of Taió, SC, Brazil. Methods: This study applied a single case experimental design (ABAB, with 24 participants aged 60 years or older who changed phases with and without interventions performed with Pilates sessions and conversation circles. At the end of each phase, anamnesis interview applied with the WHOQOL-OLD inventory and the GDLAM protocol were individually performed. Results: Interventions were associated with increased functional parameters and quality of life as well as to reduced body mass index. Participants also reported improvement in emotional conditions, body harmony and global mobility. Conclusion: The Pilates Method assured increased functionality of the volunteers, and further studies should be carried out to evaluate the subjective indicators.

Locating a circle on the plane using the minimax criterion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Schoebel, Anita

2006-01-01

We consider the problem of locating a circle with respect to existing facilities on the plane, such that the largest weighted distance between the circle and the facilities is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and a solution procedure proposed.......We consider the problem of locating a circle with respect to existing facilities on the plane, such that the largest weighted distance between the circle and the facilities is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and a solution procedure proposed....

D'Nealian Handwriting versus Circle-Stick Print.

Science.gov (United States)

Thurber, Donald N.

This paper argues against teaching children to make letters using circle-stick writing. It contends that the circle-stick method requires continued pen/pencil lifts hindering rhythm or flow in the writing process and that there is little carry-over value into cursive writing as the two scripts are totally different. D'Nealian print, one type of…

Locating a circle on the plane using the minimax criterion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik; Schöbel, Anita

2009-01-01

We consider the problem of locating a circle with respect to existing facilities on the plane, such that the largest weighted distance between the circumference of the circle and the facilities is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and a solution procedure proposed......We consider the problem of locating a circle with respect to existing facilities on the plane, such that the largest weighted distance between the circumference of the circle and the facilities is minimized. The problem properties are analyzed, and a solution procedure proposed...

Implementing quality/productivity improvement initiatives in an engineering environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ruda, R. R.

1985-01-01

Quality/Productivity Improvement (QPI) initiatives in the engineering environment at McDonnell Douglas-Houston include several different, distinct activities, each having its own application, yet all targeted toward one common goal - making continuous improvement a way of life. The chief executive and the next two levels of management demonstrate their commitment to QPI with hands-on involvement in several activities. Each is a member of a QPI Council which consists of six panels - Participative Management, Communications, Training, Performance/Productivity, Human Resources Management and Strategic Management. In addition, each manager conducts Workplace Visits and Bosstalks, to enhance communications with employees and to provide a forum for the identification of problems - both real and perceived. Quality Circles and Project Teams are well established within McConnel Douglas as useful and desirable employee involvement teams. The continued growth of voluntary membership in the circles program is strong evidence of the employee interest and management support that have developed within the organization.

The Groundwater Performance Assessment Project Quality Assurance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luttrell, Stuart P.

2006-01-01

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has monitored groundwater on the Hanford Site since the 1940s to help determine what chemical and radiological contaminants have made their way into the groundwater. As regulatory requirements for monitoring increased in the 1980s, there began to be some overlap between various programs. DOE established the Groundwater Performance Assessment Project (groundwater project) in 1996 to ensure protection of the public and the environment while improving the efficiency of monitoring activities. The groundwater project is designed to support all groundwater monitoring needs at the site, eliminate redundant sampling and analysis, and establish a cost-effective hierarchy for groundwater monitoring activities. This document provides the quality assurance guidelines that will be followed by the groundwater project. This QA Plan is based on the QA requirements of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance, and 10 CFR 830, Subpart A--General Provisions/Quality Assurance Requirements as delineated in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Standards-Based Management System. In addition, the groundwater project is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA/240/B-01/003, QA/R-5). The groundwater project has determined that the Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Requirements Documents (HASQARD, DOE/RL-96-68) apply to portions of this project and to the subcontractors. HASQARD requirements are discussed within applicable sections of this plan

Forming Circle Formations of Anonymous Mobile Agents With Order Preservation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Chen; Xie, Guangming; Cao, Ming

2013-01-01

We propose distributed control laws for a group of anonymous mobile agents to form desired circle formations when the agents move in the one-dimensional space of a circle. The agents are modeled by kinematic points. They share the common knowledge of the orientation of the circle, but are oblivious

ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMY VICIOUS CIRCLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MEDAR LUCIAN ION

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Education for sustainable development, involves training honest, active, social and creative persons for ensuring the link between environment, society, economy and politics. Trained entrepreneurs in sustainable development, are the engine system which can bring an economic prosperity. Lack of entrepreneurial education in the last 25 years has led accentuated conditions to avoiding economic development in all reference fields where added value can be achieved. Running away from excessive taxation led to the establishment of vicious circles in the economy. Vicious circles of the economy can be found in saving, tax policy, productive investment and the informal economy. Through this study will present the importance of entrepreneurship education in the real economy and some specifications to exit entrepreneurs from vicious circles of the economy.

Students’ Scientific Circle of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Polishchuk

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The students’ scientific circle is the kind of teaching obstetrics and gynaecology in a higher medical institution. The circle is an elective form of learning that allows the students to get deeper knowledge of a subject and to perfect themselves in the issues of diagnostics in obstetrics and gynaecology as well as to acquaint themselves with basic medical techniques. It helps identify students who are capable of scientific research and allows the students to improve their ability to analytical perception of professional information, the ability to present it to the audience, ask and answer the questions publicly. The article presents the results of practical and research activities of obstetric and gynaecologic section of the students’ scientific circle of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University.

The Acoustic Reality of the Kachruvian Circles: A Rhythmic Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Ee Ling

2010-01-01

This paper investigates whether the rhythmic properties of varieties of English found in each of the concentric circles of Kachru's model can, in any way, be elucidated by the "Three Circles" model. A measurement and comparison of the rhythm of three varieties of English: British English (from the Inner Circle), Singapore English (from…

Methodology of quality improvement projects for the Texas Medicare population.

Science.gov (United States)

Pendergrass, P W; Abel, R L; Bing, M; Vaughn, R; McCauley, C

1998-07-01

The Texas Medical Foundation, the quality improvement organization for the state of Texas, develops local quality improvement projects for the Medicare population. These projects are developed as part of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program undertaken by the Health Care Financing Administration. The goal of a local quality improvement project is to collaborate with providers to identify and reduce the incidence of unintentional variations in the delivery of care that negatively impact outcomes. Two factors are critical to the success of a quality improvement project. First, as opposed to peer review that is based on implicit criteria, quality improvement must be based on explicit criteria. These criteria represent key steps in the delivery of care that have been shown to improve outcomes for a specific disease. Second, quality improvement must be performed in partnership with the health care community. As such, the health care community must play an integral role in the design and evaluation of a quality improvement project and in the design and implementation of the resulting quality improvement plan. Specifically, this article provides a historical perspective for the transition from peer review to quality improvement. It discusses key steps used in developing and implementing local quality improvement projects including topic selection, quality indicator development, collaborator recruitment, and measurement of performance/improvement. Two Texas Medical Foundation projects are described to highlight the current methodology and to illustrate the impact of quality improvement projects.

The rolling circle amplification and next generation sequencing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rolling circle amplification is a simple approach of enriching populations of single-stranded DNA plant begomovirus genomes (genus, Begomovirus; family, Geminiviridae). This is an innovative approach that utilizes the robustness of the bacteriophage phi29 DNA polymerase used in circle amplification, together with deep ...

[A design of refractometer based on blur circle].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yikui; Huang, Shenghai; Ye, Huifang; Zou, Ruitao; Tong, Gengmin; Zhuo, Ran

2011-03-01

Design a convenient and stable eye refractometer based on the theory of blur circle. Analyze the retinal blur circle in both Emsly reduced eye model and Liou & Brennan 1997 eye model by ZEMAX. Design the coefficients including PD (pupil diameter) and NO' (length between node point and fovea) with the purpose of improving the accuracy. At last, compare the clinical optometry data from this refractor with the data obtained from optometry hospital in Wenzhou. The blur circle diameters are nearly the same in both reduced eye model and the Liou & Brennan 1997 eye model. With the PD = 4 mm and NO' = 20 mm, the refractor shows a fine accuracy in optometry. The paired t test shows that the myopia group and the astigmatism axial direction group have no statistical difference between the data from the blur circle refractor and the hospital (P > 0.05), while the astigmatism degree group has the result of P = 0.41 which may be caused by the poor cooperation of pediatric patients. 80% of the astigmatism degree data differ from the data from the hospital in less than 0.75D. The blur circle refractor, with the features of convenience and fine accuracy, is promised to be a new style of refractometer in the future.

Membandingkan Bilangan Pecahan Menggunakan Fraction Circle terhadap Pemahaman Konsep Siswa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renny Sendra Wahyuni

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Penelitian bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan lintasan belajar siswa dalam memahami konsep pembelajaran membandingkan bilangan pecahan dengan menggunakan fraction circle melalui pendekatan PMRI. Penelitian dilaksanakan di SD Negeri 146 Palembang. Metode yang digunakan adalah design research melalui tahap-tahap preparing for the experiment, teaching experiment, dan retrospective analysis. Penelitian ini menunjukkan peranan fraction circle sebagai model yang mendorong peserta didik menemukan pemahaman konsep membandingkan bilangan pecahan dengan menggunakan pendekatan PMRI. Kata Kunci: pecahan, fraction circle, design research, PMRI This study aims to design a learning trajectory to help students understand the concept of rational numbers through fashion context. The study aims to describe students learning trajectory in understanding the concept of comparing fractions through fraction circle with PMRI approach. The research was conducted in SD Negeri 146 Palembang. The method used in this research is design research which consists of three stages: preparing for the experiment, teaching experiment, and retrospective analysis. The result shows the role fraction circle as a model to encourage students to understand the concept of comparing fractions using PMRI approach. Keywords: fractions, fraction circle, design research, PMRI

The nine-year sustained cost-containment impact of swiss pilot physicians-pharmacists quality circles.

Science.gov (United States)

Niquille, Anne; Ruggli, Martine; Buchmann, Michel; Jordan, Dominique; Bugnon, Olivier

2010-04-01

Six pioneer physicians-pharmacists quality circles (PPQCs) located in the Swiss canton of Fribourg (administratively corresponding to a state in the US) were under the responsibility of 6 trained community pharmacists moderating the prescribing process of 24 general practitioners (GPs). PPQCs are based on a multifaceted collaborative process mediated by community pharmacists for improving compliance with clinical guidelines within GPs' prescribing practices. To assess, over a 9-year period (1999-2007), the cost-containment impact of the PPQCs. The key elements of PPQCs are a structured continuous quality improvement and education process; local networking; feedback of comparative and detailed data regarding costs, drug choice, and frequency of prescribed drugs; and structured independent literature review for interdisciplinary continuing education. The data are issued from the community pharmacy invoices to the health insurance companies. The study analyzed the cost-containment impact of the PPQCs in comparison with GPs working in similar conditions of care without particular collaboration with pharmacists, the percentage of generic prescriptions for specific cardiovascular drug classes, and the percentage of drug costs or units prescribed for specific cardiovascular drugs. For the 9-year period, there was a 42% decrease in the drug costs in the PPQC group as compared to the control group, representing a $225,000 (USD) savings per GP only in 2007. These results are explained by better compliance with clinical and pharmacovigilance guidelines, larger distribution of generic drugs, a more balanced attitude toward marketing strategies, and interdisciplinary continuing education on the rational use of drugs. The PPQC work process has yielded sustainable results, such as significant cost savings, higher penetration of generics and reflection on patient safety, and the place of "new" drugs in therapy. The PPQCs may also constitute a solid basis for implementing more

Quasi-human seniority-order algorithm for unequal circles packing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Dingju

2016-01-01

In the existing methods for solving unequal circles packing problems, the initial configuration is given arbitrarily or randomly, but the impact of different initial configurations for existing packing algorithm to the speed of existing packing algorithm solving unequal circles packing problems is very large. The quasi-human seniority-order algorithm proposed in this paper can generate a better initial configuration for existing packing algorithm to accelerate the speed of existing packing algorithm solving unequal circles packing problems. In experiments, the quasi-human seniority-order algorithm is applied to generate better initial configurations for quasi-physical elasticity methods to solve the unequal circles packing problems, and the experimental results show that the proposed quasi-human seniority-order algorithm can greatly improve the speed of solving the problem.

The three circle method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garncarek, Z.

1989-01-01

The three circle method in its general form is presented. The method is especially useful for investigation of shapes of agglomerations of objects. An example of its applications to investigation of galaxies distribution is given. 17 refs. (author)

Quality Assurance Project Plan Development Tool

Science.gov (United States)

This tool contains information designed to assist in developing a Quality Assurance (QA) Project Plan that meets EPA requirements for projects that involve surface or groundwater monitoring and/or the collection and analysis of water samples.

How to Begin a Quality Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Samuel A; Harel, Ziv; McQuillan, Rory; Weizman, Adam V; Thomas, Alison; Chertow, Glenn M; Nesrallah, Gihad; Bell, Chaim M; Chan, Christopher T

2016-05-06

Quality improvement involves a combined effort among health care staff and stakeholders to diagnose and treat problems in the health care system. However, health care professionals often lack training in quality improvement methods, which makes it challenging to participate in improvement efforts. This article familiarizes health care professionals with how to begin a quality improvement project. The initial steps involve forming an improvement team that possesses expertise in the quality of care problem, leadership, and change management. Stakeholder mapping and analysis are useful tools at this stage, and these are reviewed to help identify individuals who might have a vested interest in the project. Physician engagement is a particularly important component of project success, and the knowledge that patients/caregivers can offer as members of a quality improvement team should not be overlooked. After a team is formed, an improvement framework helps to organize the scientific process of system change. Common quality improvement frameworks include Six Sigma, Lean, and the Model for Improvement. These models are contrasted, with a focus on the Model for Improvement, because it is widely used and applicable to a variety of quality of care problems without advanced training. It involves three steps: setting aims to focus improvement, choosing a balanced set of measures to determine if improvement occurs, and testing new ideas to change the current process. These new ideas are evaluated using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, where knowledge is gained by testing changes and reflecting on their effect. To show the real world utility of the quality improvement methods discussed, they are applied to a hypothetical quality improvement initiative that aims to promote home dialysis (home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis). This provides an example that kidney health care professionals can use to begin their own quality improvement projects. Copyright © 2016 by the American

Heritability of circle of Willis variations in families with intracranial aneurysms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mayte Sánchez van Kammen

Full Text Available Intracranial aneurysms more often occur in the same arterial territory within families. Several aneurysm locations are associated with specific circle of Willis variations. We investigated whether the same circle of Willis variations are more likely to occur in first-degree relatives than in unrelated individuals.We assessed four circle of Willis variations (classical, A1-asymmetry, incomplete posterior communicating artery and fetal circulation in two independent groups of families with familial aneurysms and ≥2 first-degree relatives with circle of Willis imaging on MRA/CTA. In each (index family we determined the proportion of first-degree relatives with the same circle of Willis variation as the proband and compared it to the proportion of first-degree relatives of a randomly selected unrelated (comparison family who had the same circle of Willis variation as the index family's proband. Concordance in index families and comparison families was compared with a conditional logistic events/trials model. The analysis was simulated 1001 times; we report the median concordances, odds ratios (ORs, and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI. The groups were analysed separately and together by meta-analysis.We found a higher overall concordance in circle of Willis configuration in index families than in comparison families (meta-analysis, 244 families: OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.6-3.0 mostly attributable to a higher concordance in incomplete posterior communicating artery (meta-analysis: OR 2.8, 95%CI 1.8-4.3. No association was found for the other three circle of Willis variations.In two independent groups of families with familial aneurysms, the incomplete PcomA variation occurred more often within than between families suggesting heritability of this circle of Willis variation. Further studies should investigate genetic variants associated with circle of Willis formation.

Literature Circles in 18. Century; As a Cultural Centers of Istanbul: The Role of "Literature Circles" in the Transmission of The Cultural Heritage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zehra ÖKSÜZ

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to explore the particular examples of literature circles which were seen as wisdom centre and were influential in 18th century Ottoman social and cultural life. This study foc uses on the literature circles in the capital of Ottomans and examines their roles in the transmission of cultural heritage. Mahfil, which means the meeting place, became the centre of literature activities which are performed in a particular place. This li terature circles gained the status of being a prestigious literature and art centre which witnessed the creation of significant works in 18th. They functioned as a transmitter of culture in terms of the works studied and role model literary figures. Patron age tradition promoted the progress of literary activities in the circles. With regard to their significant contribution to the Ottoman culture and civilization, literature circles emerged at the patronage of Sultan III. Ahmed, Sultan III. Selim, Sadrazam Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Paşa, Sadrazam Koca Râgıb Paşa, Hoca Neş’et Efendi, Şeyh Gâlib, Hoca Süleyman Vahyî. Therefore, it is essential to study these circles in terms of its importance as being home to important literary figures with a sophisticated sen se of art.

ECO TECH LINK: PT3 Grant Builds Technology Circles in the K-18 Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinger, Katie; Duckett, Jane; Medrano, Maria; Crow, Nedra; Stowers, Gwen

Through the vehicle of the PT3 grant program, ECO TECH LINK has built a strong consortium to support technology circles of government, education and business in order to raise student achievement scores, shorten the time it takes to earn a teaching credential, and enhance the quality of teacher credential courses. The ECO TECH LINK grant enables…

Models to support students’ understanding of measuring area of circles

Science.gov (United States)

Rejeki, S.; Putri, R. I. I.

2018-01-01

Many studies showed that enormous students got confused about the concepts of measuring area of circles. The main reason is because mathematics classroom practices emphasized on memorizing formulas rather than understanding concepts. Therefore, in this study, a set of learning activities were designed as an innovation in learning area measurement of circles. The activities involved two models namely grid paper and reshaping which are respectively as a means and a strategy to support students’ learning of area measurement of circles. Design research was used as the research approach to achieve the aim. Thirty-eight of 8th graders in Indonesia were involved in this study. In this study, together with the contextual problems, the grid paper and reshaping sectors, which used as the models in this learning, helped the students to gradually develop their understanding of the area measurement of circles. The grid papers plays important role in comparing and estimating areas. Whereas, the reshaping sectors might support students’ understanding of the circumference and the area measurement of circles. Those two models could be the tool for promoting the informal theory of area measurement. Besides, the whole activities gave important role on distinguishing the area and perimeter of circles.

Dynamics on the Circle

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 8; Issue 11. Dynamics on the Circle - Interval Dynamics and Rotation Number. Siddhartha Gadgil. General Article Volume 8 Issue 11 November 2003 pp 25-36. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link:

Kastor-Traschen black holes, null geodesics and conformal circles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casey, Stephen

2012-01-01

The Kastor-Traschen metric is a time-dependent solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations with positive cosmological constant Λ which can be used to describe an arbitrary number of charged dynamical black holes. In this paper, we consider the null geodesic structure of this solution, in particular, focusing on the projection to the space of orbits of the timelike conformal retraction. It is found that these projected light rays arise as integral curves of a system of third-order ordinary differential equations. This system is not uniquely defined, however, and we use the inherent freedom to construct a new system whose integral curves coincide with the projection of distinguished null curves of Kastor-Traschen arising from a magnetic flow. We discuss our results in the one-centre case and demonstrate a link to conformal circles in the limit Λ → 0. We also show how to construct analytic expressions for the projected null geodesics of this metric by exploiting a well-known diffeomorphism between the K-T metric and extremal Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter. We make some remarks about the two-centre solution and demonstrate a link with the one-centre case. (paper)

Pre-big-bang cosmology and circles in the cosmic microwave background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, William; Wilson-Ewing, Edward

2011-01-01

We examine the possibility that circles in the cosmic microwave background could be formed by the interaction of a gravitational wave pulse emitted in some pre-big-bang phase of the universe with the last scattering surface. We derive the expected size distribution of such circles, as well as their typical ring width and (for concentric circles) angular separation. We apply these results, in particular, to conformal cyclic cosmology, ekpyrotic cosmology as well as loop quantum cosmology with and without inflation in order to determine how the predicted geometric properties of these circles would vary from one model to the other, and thus, if detected, could allow us to differentiate between various pre-big-bang cosmological models. We also obtain a relation between the angular ring width and the angular radius of such circles that can be used in order to determine whether or not circles observed in the cosmic microwave background are due to energetic pre-big-bang events.

Project Specific Quality Assurance Plan Project (QAPP) W-211 Initial Tank Retrieval Systems (ITRS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HALL, L.R.

2000-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Project Hanford Quality Assurance Program is implemented by CH2M HILL Hanford Group Inc (CHG) for managing the Initial Tank Retrieval Systems (ITRS), Project W-211. This QAPP is responsive to the CHG Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) (LMH-MP-599) which provides direction for compliance to 10 CFR 830 120, ''Nuclear Safety Management, Quality Assurance Requirements'', and DOE Order 5700 6C, ''Quality Assurance'' Project W-211 modifies existing facilities and provides systems for retrieval of radioactive wastes from selected double-shell tanks (DST). The contents of these tanks are a combination of supernatant liquids and settled solids. To retrieve waste from the tanks, it is first necessary to mix the liquid and solids prior to transferring the slurry to alternative storage or treatment facilities. The ITRS will provide systems to mobilize the settled solids and transfer the wastes out of the tanks. In so doing, ITRS provides feed for future processing plants, allows for consolidation of tank solids to manage space within existing DST storage capacity, and supports continued safe storage of tank waste. This project includes the design, procurement, construction, startup and turnover of these retrieval systems This QAPP identifies organizational structures and responsibilities. Implementing procedures used by CHG project management can be found in the CHG Quality Assurance Program (CHG QAP) Implementation Matrix located in HNF-IP-0842, Volume XI, Attachment Proposed verification and inspection activities for critical items within the scope of project W-211 are identified in Attachment 1 W-211. Project participants will identify the implementing procedures used by their organization within their QAF'Ps. This project specific QAPP is used to identify requirements in addition to the QAPD and provide, by reference, additional information to other project documents

Project Management and Total Quality Management : Complementary or confused?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selma KATLANE BEN MLOUKA

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Quality management and project management appear as themes of strategic management today. The adoption of the project management constitutes a new way in organizing the production. It helps to cope with the complexity of the environment, to reduce the product life cycles and to make working arrangements more flexible. It should also adapt to the ICT revolution and restructuring of enterprises due to the dematerialisation of structures and transactions. Quality management, applied to more operations and strongly influenced by the quantitative approach seems compatible with project management. Indeed, the two paradigms emphasize the importance of customer satisfaction, teamwork, the role of leadership and the continuous improvement of processes and products. This paper aims to revisit the principles of relationship between total quality management and project management. Having shown the importance of incorporating fine patterns and project quality in business organization, we will explain how the ability to generate, select and conduct projects in an oriented accountability of management is able to enroll in a total quality.

Role of quality assurance vs project manager's responsibility for waste projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solecki, J.

1989-01-01

This paper takes a project manager's perspective and discusses the role of the quality assurance organization in the development, implementation and interface related to the QA program for waste projects. The author describes the role which the QA program plays in allowing project management to assure that the project manager knows what is placed in the repository and the characteristics of the surrounding environment meet closure requirements

Quality planning in Construction Project

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, I.; Shafiq, Nasir; Nuruddin, M. F.

2017-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate deeper on the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of quality planning, identifying the common problems encountered in quality planning, practices and ways for improvements in quality planning for construction projects. This paper involves data collected from construction company representatives across Malaysia that are obtained through semi-structured interviews as well as questionnaire distributions. Results shows that design of experiments (average index: 4.61), inspection (average index: 4.45) and quality audit as well as other methods (average index: 4.26) rank first, second and third most important factors respectively.

Empirical Evaluation of Different Feature Representations for Social Circles Detection

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-16

study and compare the performance on the available labelled Facebook data from the Kaggle competition on learning social circles in networks . We...Kaggle competition on learning social circles in networks [5]. The data consist of hand- labelled friendship egonets from Facebook and a set of 57...16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Social circles detection is a special case of community detection in social network that is currently attracting a

Measuring the quality of clinical audit projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Millard, A D

2000-11-01

The aim of the study was to develop and pilot a scale measuring the quality of audit projects through audit project reports. Statements about clinical audit projects were selected from existing instruments assessing the quality of clinical audit projects to form a Likert scale. Audit facilitators based in Scottish health boards and trusts piloted the scale. The participants were known to have over 2 years of experience of supporting clinical audit. The response at first test was 11 of 14 and at the second test 27 of 46. Audit facilitators tested the draft scale by expressing their strength of agreement or disagreement with each statement for three reports. Validity and reliability were assessed by test - re-test, item - total, and total - global indicator correlation. Of the 20 statements, 15 had satisfactory correlation with scale totals. Scale totals had good correlation with global indicators. Test re-test correlation was modest. The wide range of responses means further research is needed to measure the consistency of audit facilitators' interpretations, perhaps comparing a trained group with an untrained group. There may be a need for a separate scale for reaudits. Educational impact is distinct from project impact generally. It may be more meaningful to treat the selection of projects and aims, methodology and impact separately as subscales and take a project profiling approach rather than attempting to produce a global quality index.

The Value of the Math Circle for Gifted Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Barbara; Henry, Julie; McCarthy, Dianne; Tripp, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Math Circles are designed to allow students to explore mathematics using a problem-solving/inquiry approach. Many of the students attending our Math Circle are mathematically talented and curious. This study examines the perspectives of the students and their families in determining why students attend Math Circle, what they enjoy about Math…

Shock circle model for ejector performance evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Yinhai; Cai, Wenjian; Wen, Changyun; Li, Yanzhong

2007-01-01

In this paper, a novel shock circle model for the prediction of ejector performance at the critical mode operation is proposed. By introducing the 'shock circle' at the entrance of the constant area chamber, a 2D exponential expression for velocity distribution is adopted to approximate the viscosity flow near the ejector inner wall. The advantage of the 'shock circle' analysis is that the calculation of ejector performance is independent of the flows in the constant area chamber and diffuser. Consequently, the calculation is even simpler than many 1D modeling methods and can predict the performance of critical mode operation ejectors much more accurately. The effectiveness of the method is validated by two experimental results reported earlier. The proposed modeling method using two coefficients is shown to produce entrainment ratio, efficiency and coefficient of performance (COP) accurately and much closer to experimental results than those of 1D analysis methods

A localization algorithm of adaptively determining the ROI of the reference circle in image

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zeen; Zhang, Jun; Zhang, Daimeng; Liu, Xiaomao; Tian, Jinwen

2018-03-01

Aiming at solving the problem of accurately positioning the detection probes underwater, this paper proposed a method based on computer vision which can effectively solve this problem. The theory of this method is that: First, because the shape information of the heat tube is similar to a circle in the image, we can find a circle which physical location is well known in the image, we set this circle as the reference circle. Second, we calculate the pixel offset between the reference circle and the probes in the picture, and adjust the steering gear through the offset. As a result, we can accurately measure the physical distance between the probes and the under test heat tubes, then we can know the precise location of the probes underwater. However, how to choose reference circle in image is a difficult problem. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that can adaptively confirm the area of reference circle. In this area, there will be only one circle, and the circle is the reference circle. The test results show that the accuracy of the algorithm of extracting the reference circle in the whole picture without using ROI (region of interest) of the reference circle is only 58.76% and the proposed algorithm is 95.88%. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm can effectively improve the efficiency of the tubes detection.

Peer-driven quality improvement among health workers and traditional birth attendants in Sierra Leone: linkages between providers' organizational skills and relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins-Steele, Ariel; Waller, Kathryn; Fotso, Jean Christophe; Vesel, Linda

2015-01-01

Sierra Leone has among the poorest maternal and child health indicators in the world and investments in public health have been predominately to increase demand for services, with fewer initiatives targeting supply side factors that influence health workers' work environment. This paper uses data from the Quality Circles project in a rural district of Sierra Leone to achieve three objectives. First, we examine the effect of the intervention on organizational skills and relationships among coworkers as well as between health workers and traditional birth attendants. Second, we examine whether changes in organizational skills are associated with changes in relationships among and between formal and informal health providers and between health providers and clients. Third, we aim to further understand these changes through the perspectives of health workers and traditional birth attendants. The Quality Circles project was implemented in Kailahun District in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone from August 2011 to June 2013, with adjacent Tonkolili District serving as the control site. Using a mixed-methods approach, the evaluation included a quantitative survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with health workers and traditional birth attendants. Mean values of the variables of interest were compared across sub-populations, and correlation analyses were performed between changes in organizational skills and changes in relationships. The results demonstrate that the Quality Circles intervention had positive effects on organizational skills and relationships. Furthermore, improvements in all organizational skill variables - problem-solving, strategizing and negotiation skills - were strongly associated with a change in the overall relationship variable. The Quality Circles approach has the potential to support health workers to improve their organizational skills and relationships, which in turn can contribute to improving the interpersonal dimensions of

Peer-driven quality improvement among health workers and traditional birth attendants in Sierra Leone: linkages between providers’ organizational skills and relationships

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Background Sierra Leone has among the poorest maternal and child health indicators in the world and investments in public health have been predominately to increase demand for services, with fewer initiatives targeting supply side factors that influence health workers’ work environment. This paper uses data from the Quality Circles project in a rural district of Sierra Leone to achieve three objectives. First, we examine the effect of the intervention on organizational skills and relationships among coworkers as well as between health workers and traditional birth attendants. Second, we examine whether changes in organizational skills are associated with changes in relationships among and between formal and informal health providers and between health providers and clients. Third, we aim to further understand these changes through the perspectives of health workers and traditional birth attendants. Methods The Quality Circles project was implemented in Kailahun District in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone from August 2011 to June 2013, with adjacent Tonkolili District serving as the control site. Using a mixed-methods approach, the evaluation included a quantitative survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with health workers and traditional birth attendants. Mean values of the variables of interest were compared across sub-populations, and correlation analyses were performed between changes in organizational skills and changes in relationships. Results The results demonstrate that the Quality Circles intervention had positive effects on organizational skills and relationships. Furthermore, improvements in all organizational skill variables – problem-solving, strategizing and negotiation skills – were strongly associated with a change in the overall relationship variable. Conclusions The Quality Circles approach has the potential to support health workers to improve their organizational skills and relationships, which in turn can contribute

The Inner Circle Revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grau Larsen, Anton; Ellersgaard, Christoph

2018-01-01

in social networks, we identify a cohesive core group of 171 individuals within a corporate elite of 6154 board members of the top 1037 Danish corporations. A high degree of social homogeneity in gender, social background, education and career position underlines the cohesion of the inner circle. By mapping...

Guided Discovery of the Nine-Point Circle Theorem and Its Proof

Science.gov (United States)

Buchbinder, Orly

2018-01-01

The nine-point circle theorem is one of the most beautiful and surprising theorems in Euclidean geometry. It establishes an existence of a circle passing through nine points, all of which are related to a single triangle. This paper describes a set of instructional activities that can help students discover the nine-point circle theorem through…

Organ Donation European Quality System: ODEQUS project methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Manyalich, M; Guasch, X; Gomez, M P; Páez, G; Teixeira, L

2013-01-01

Differences in the number of organ donors among hospitals cannot be explained only by the number of intensive care unit beds used or neurologic patients treated. The figures obtained are influenced by the organizational structure of the donation process and how efficient it is. The Organ Donation European Quality System (ODEQUS) is a 3-year project (from October 2010 to September 2013) co-financed by the European Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC20091108) which aims to define a methodology to evaluate organ procurement performance at the hospital level. ODEQUS's specific objectives are to identify quality criteria and to develop quality indicators in three types of organ donation (after brain death, after cardiac death, and living donation). Those tools will be useful for hospitals' self-assessment as well as for developing an international auditing model. A consortium has been established involving 14 associated partners from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as five collaborating partners from Greece, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, and Turkey. The project has been established in three steps: 1) Design of a survey about the use of quality tools in a wide sample of European hospitals; 2) Development of quality criteria and quality indicators by the project experts. The main fields considered have been organizational structures, clinical procedures, and outcomes; and 3) Elaboration of an evaluation system to test the quality indicators in 11 European hospitals. Two types of training have been designed and performed: one concerns the development of quality criteria and quality indicators, whereas another is focused on how to use evaluation tools. Following this methodology, the project has so far identified 131 quality criteria and developed 31 quality indicators. Currently, the quality indicators are being tested in 11 selected hospitals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights

Assessing the influence of project management on quality during the early phases of construction projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ljevo Žanesa

2018-12-01

Full Text Available Although the quality of a process affects the quality of the end product, there is currently an insignif­icant amount of knowledge about the quality of project management (PM processes that directly affect the quality of the delivered product (constructed building. This study presents a proposal for modeling the impact of the quality of the PM process on the quality of the con­structed building. The quality of the PM process is rep­resented by the main quality factors and product quality indicators. It presents the results of the interviews that were conducted and study cases that were analyzed in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a variety of project partici­pants (with different managerial perspectives in terms of the indicators of quality of the delivered product. All par­ticipants, regardless of managerial perspective, believe that the most important indicator of the quality of prod­ucts for each phase of the project is “customer satisfaction in the end phase”, the measurement of which is different for each project phase that is presented. The results of the factor analysis of the definition and the planning phases show that 11 variables, namely, the quality factors of the PM process, can be grouped into three new factors, which is described as 66.61% (77.046% of the basic set of vari­ables.

The magic circle and the puzzle piece

OpenAIRE

Juul, Jesper

2008-01-01

In a common description, to play a game is to step inside a concrete or metaphorical magic circle where special rules apply. In video game studies, this description has received an inordinate amount of criticism which the paper argues has two primary sources: 1. a misreading of the basic concept of the magic circle and 2. a somewhat rushed application of traditional theoretical concerns onto games. The paper argues that games studies must move beyond conventional criticisms of binary distinct...

Talking Circles for Adolescent Girls in an Urban High School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Schumacher

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Restorative Practices (RP in schools is a new and emerging field. Meeting in Circles to build friendships, develop emotional literacy skills, resolve conflict, or learn interactively are some of the core components of these programs. This article describes a 2-year study of 12 weekly Talking Circles organized under the auspices of a RP program in an urban high school with 60 adolescent girls. Primary data sources included 257 hr of participant observations in Talking Circles and individual, semi-structured interviews with 31 students. The Relational Cultural model, rooted in the work of Jean Baker Miller, served as the conceptual framework for understanding teens’ interactions within the Circle’s unique set of social conditions in a school environment. Findings demonstrated that Talking Circles provided a safe space for peers helping peers, and that the girls improved their listening, anger management, and empathic skills, which led to greater self-efficacy. It appears that Talking Circles could provide another venue for developing social-emotional literacy skills and growth-fostering relationships in schools.

Parhelic-like circle from light scattering in Plateau borders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tufaile, A., E-mail: tufaile@usp.br; Tufaile, A.P.B.

2015-03-06

We are reporting a new simple optical element to generate halos. We have observed interesting patterns of light scattering in Plateau borders in foams. In analogy to the atmospheric phenomena known as parhelic circle, sun dogs, and sun pillars, we have named the features of the patterns observed as parlaseric circle, laser dogs, and laser pillars. The triangular symmetry of the Plateau borders is analogous to the hexagonal symmetry of ice crystals which produce these atmospheric phenomena. Working with one Plateau border at a time, we have observed wave optics phenomena that are not perceived in the atmospheric phenomena, such as diffraction and interference. - Highlights: • We obtained halo formation from light scattering in a Plateau border using an experiment. • We explained halo formation using geometrical theory of diffraction. • An optical element based on a Plateau border is proposed. • We compared some aspects of the parhelic circle with the parlaseric circle.

Stone circles: form and soil kinematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hallet, Bernard

2013-01-01

Distinct surface patterns are ubiquitous and diverse in soils of polar and alpine regions, where the ground temperature oscillates about 0°C. They constitute some of the most striking examples of clearly visible, abiotic self-organization in nature. This paper outlines the interplay of frost-related physical processes that produce these patterns spontaneously and presents unique data documenting subsurface soil rotational motion and surface displacement spanning 20 years in well-developed circles of soil outlined by gravel ridges. These sorted circles are particularly attractive research targets for a number of reasons that provide focus for this paper: (i) their exceptional geometric regularity captures the attention of any observer; (ii) they are currently forming and evolving, hence the underlying processes can be monitored readily, especially because they are localized near the ground surface on a scale of metres, which facilitates comprehensive characterization; and (iii) a recent, highly successful numerical model of sorted circle development helps to draw attention to particular field observations that can be used to assess the model, its assumptions and parameter choices, and to the considerable potential for synergetic field and modelling studies.

Up-Stream Dissolved Oxygen TMDL Project Quality Assurance ProjectPlan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stringfellow, William T.

2005-05-13

A quality assurance project plan (QAPP) for the execution of an ecosystem level monitoring and research program examining algal ecology in highly impaired rivers. Procedures for executing both field and laboratory surface water quality and flow analysis are described. The procedures described here are compatible with the California Surface Water Ambient Monitoring program (SWAMP).

The Study on quality control of nuclear power installation project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jie

2008-01-01

The quality planning, quality assurance and quality control are discussed by applying the quality control (QC) theory and combining the real situation of the Qinshan II project. This paper is practical and plays an active role in instruction of project quality control by applying the above QC theory and control techniques. (authors)

The Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Quality Assurance Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fix, Anne

2007-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has conducted interim groundwater remedial activities on the Hanford Site since the mid-1990s for several groundwater contamination plumes. DOE established the Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Project (Technologies Project) in 2006 to evaluate alternative treatment technologies. The objectives for the technology project are as follows: develop a 300 Area polyphosphate treatability test to immobilize uranium, design and test infiltration of a phosphate/apatite technology for Sr-90 at 100-N, perform carbon tetrachloride and chloroform attenuation parameter studies, perform vadose zone chromium characterization and geochemistry studies, perform in situ biostimulation of chromium studies for a reducing barrier at 100-D, and perform a treatability test for phytoremediation for Sr-90 at 100-N. This document provides the quality assurance guidelines that will be followed by the Technologies Project. This Quality Assurance Project Plan is based on the quality assurance requirements of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance, and 10 CFR 830, Subpart A--Quality Assurance Requirements as delineated in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory?s Standards-Based Management System. In addition, the technology project is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA/240/B-01/003, QA/R-5). The Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Requirements Documents (HASQARD, DOE/RL-96-68) apply to portions of this project and to the subcontractors. HASQARD requirements are discussed within applicable sections of this plan.

Voice of the voiceless: The legacy of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hazel O. Ayanga

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle formally came into existence in 1989 in Accra, Ghana. Under the charismatic leadership of Mercy Amba Oduyoye, the Circle sought to be the voice of African Christian women at the grass roots level. To this end research and publication was and still is one of the major pillars and activities of the Circle. The main objective of the Circle is �to write and publish theological literature written by African women from their own experience of religion and culture on this continent�. In this regard the Circle has been and continues to be the voice for and on behalf of the African woman in religion, culture and theology. However, 25 years down the line there is need for an evaluation of the legacy of the Circle. How has the Circle been a voice for the voiceless, a mentoring instrument for women venturing into the academia? This article seeks to do this evaluation by examining the activities of the Circle including research publication.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article seeks to evaluate the achievements of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in relation to the Circle�s stated objectives. The article picks up the notion of the Circle theologians as the voice of the voiceless women of Africa. The general approach of the article brings together discussions on social issues like gender, poverty and marginalisation as well as language. Theological and religious perspectives on these issues are understood from a Circle point of view.Keywords: women; voice; voicelessness; poverty; gender; The Circle; theology

Geometric fit of a point set by generalized circles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Körner, Mark-Christopher; Brimberg, Jack; Juel, Henrik

2010-01-01

In our paper we approximate a set of given points by a general circle. More precisely, given two norms k 1 and k 2 and a set of points in the plane, we consider the problem of locating and scaling the unit circle of norm k 1 such that the sum of weighted distances between the circumference...... of the circle and the given points is minimized, where the distance is measured by a norm k 2. We present results for the general case. In the case that k 1 and k 2 are both polyhedral norms, we are able to solve the problem by investigating a finite candidate set....

Tank waste remediation system characterization project quality policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Board, D.C.

1997-01-01

This quality plan describes the system used by Characterization Project management to achieve quality. This plan is comprised of eleven quality policies which, when taken together, form a management system deployed to achieve quality. This quality management system is based on the customer's quality requirements known as the 'RULE', 10 CFR 830.120, Quality Assurance

Experimental study of circle grid fractal pattern on turbulent intensity in pipe flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manshoor, B; Zaman, I; Othman, M F; Khalid, Amir

2013-01-01

Fractal turbulence is deemed much more efficient than grid turbulence in terms of a turbulence generation. In this paper, the hotwire experimental results for the circle grids fractal pattern as a turbulent generator will be presented. The self-similar edge characteristic of the circle grid fractal pattern is thought to play a vital role in the enhancement of turbulent intensity. Three different beta ratios of perforated plates based on circle grids fractal pattern were used in the experimental work and each paired with standard circle grids with similar porosity. The objectives were to study the fractal scaling influence on the flow and also to explore the potential of the circle grids fractal pattern in enhancing the turbulent intensity. The results provided an excellent insight of the fractal generated turbulence and the fractal flow physics. Across the circle grids fractal pattern, the pressure drop was lower but the turbulent intensity was higher than those across the paired standard circle grids

Nuclear power project construction quality acceptance standards Implementation and discussion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai Shifu

2013-01-01

Project quality construction acceptance is an important element of nuclear power project quality management. Based on characteristics of NPP construction and refer to national construction quality acceptance code and industry regulation, this paper introduces and discusses NPP construction quality acceptance regulation improvement and implementation under current situation. (authors)

Ghost circles in lattice Aubry-Mather theory

Science.gov (United States)

Mramor, Blaz; Rink, Bob

Monotone lattice recurrence relations such as the Frenkel-Kontorova lattice, arise in Hamiltonian lattice mechanics, as models for ferromagnetism and as discretization of elliptic PDEs. Mathematically, they are a multi-dimensional counterpart of monotone twist maps. Such recurrence relations often admit a variational structure, so that the solutions x:Z→R are the stationary points of a formal action function W(x). Given any rotation vector ω∈R, classical Aubry-Mather theory establishes the existence of a large collection of solutions of ∇W(x)=0 of rotation vector ω. For irrational ω, this is the well-known Aubry-Mather set. It consists of global minimizers and it may have gaps. In this paper, we study the parabolic gradient flow {dx}/{dt}=-∇W(x) and we will prove that every Aubry-Mather set can be interpolated by a continuous gradient-flow invariant family, the so-called 'ghost circle'. The existence of these ghost circles is known in dimension d=1, for rational rotation vectors and Morse action functions. The main technical result of this paper is therefore a compactness theorem for lattice ghost circles, based on a parabolic Harnack inequality for the gradient flow. This implies the existence of lattice ghost circles of arbitrary rotation vectors and for arbitrary actions. As a consequence, we can give a simple proof of the fact that when an Aubry-Mather set has a gap, then this gap must be filled with minimizers, or contain a non-minimizing solution.

Quality assurance program plan for SNF characterization support project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanke, J.M.

1997-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Characterization Support Project. This QAPP has been developed specifically for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Characterization Support Project, per Letter of Instruction (LOI) from Duke Engineering and Services Company, letter No. DESH-9655870, dated Nov. 22, 1996. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP) and LOI. These activities include installation of sectioning equipment and furnace, surface and subsurface examinations, sectioning for metallography, and element drying and conditioning testing, as well as project related operations within the 327 facility as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities are covered in other appropriate QA-PPS. In addition, this QAPP supports the related quality assurance activities addressed in CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping,1261 and HSRCM-1, Hanford Site Radiological Control Manual. The 327 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a Babcock and Wilcox Hanford Company (BVMC) managed facility. During this transition process existing procedures and documents will be utilized until replaced by BVMC procedures and documents. These documents conform to the requirements found in PNL-MA-70, Quality Assurance Manual and PNL-MA-8 1, Hazardous Materials Shipping Manual. The Quality Assurance Program Index (QAPI) contained in Table 1 provides a matrix which shows how project activities relate to IO CFR 830.120 and 5700.6C criteria. Quality Assurance program requirements will be addressed separate from the requirements specified in this document. Other Hanford Site organizations/companies may be utilized in support of this project and the subject organizations are

Quantum localisation on the circle

Science.gov (United States)

Fresneda, Rodrigo; Gazeau, Jean Pierre; Noguera, Diego

2018-05-01

Covariant integral quantisation using coherent states for semi-direct product groups is implemented for the motion of a particle on the circle. In this case, the phase space is the cylinder, which is viewed as a left coset of the Euclidean group E(2). Coherent states issued from fiducial vectors are labeled by points in the cylinder and depend also on extra parameters. We carry out the corresponding quantisations of the basic classical observables, particularly the angular momentum and the 2π-periodic discontinuous angle function. We compute their corresponding lower symbols. The quantum localisation on the circle is examined through the properties of the angle operator yielded by our procedure, its spectrum and lower symbol, its commutator with the quantum angular momentum, and the resulting Heisenberg inequality. Comparison with other approaches to the long-standing question of the quantum angle is discussed.

Circles, Materiality and Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Chorney, Sean

2017-01-01

This paper approaches the concept of the circle through the framework of mathematics-as-becoming. This paper focuses specifically on how a concept can be thought of as a process, and on the implications that this might have for mathematics learning. Contrary to long-standing assumptions about mathematical concepts as ideal, inert, Platonic forms,…

Circling motion and screen edges as an alternative input method for on-screen target manipulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ka, Hyun W; Simpson, Richard C

2017-04-01

To investigate a new alternative interaction method, called circling interface, for manipulating on-screen objects. To specify a target, the user makes a circling motion around the target. To specify a desired pointing command with the circling interface, each edge of the screen is used. The user selects a command before circling the target. To evaluate the circling interface, we conducted an experiment with 16 participants, comparing the performance on pointing tasks with different combinations of selection method (circling interface, physical mouse and dwelling interface) and input device (normal computer mouse, head pointer and joystick mouse emulator). A circling interface is compatible with many types of pointing devices, not requiring physical activation of mouse buttons, and is more efficient than dwell-clicking. Across all common pointing operations, the circling interface had a tendency to produce faster performance with a head-mounted mouse emulator than with a joystick mouse. The performance accuracy of the circling interface outperformed the dwelling interface. It was demonstrated that the circling interface has the potential as another alternative pointing method for selecting and manipulating objects in a graphical user interface. Implications for Rehabilitation A circling interface will improve clinical practice by providing an alternative pointing method that does not require physically activating mouse buttons and is more efficient than dwell-clicking. The Circling interface can also work with AAC devices.

Projection pursuit water quality evaluation model based on chicken swam algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhe

2018-03-01

In view of the uncertainty and ambiguity of each index in water quality evaluation, in order to solve the incompatibility of evaluation results of individual water quality indexes, a projection pursuit model based on chicken swam algorithm is proposed. The projection index function which can reflect the water quality condition is constructed, the chicken group algorithm (CSA) is introduced, the projection index function is optimized, the best projection direction of the projection index function is sought, and the best projection value is obtained to realize the water quality evaluation. The comparison between this method and other methods shows that it is reasonable and feasible to provide decision-making basis for water pollution control in the basin.

The Chicken and the Egg: Inviting Response and Talk through Socratic Circles

Science.gov (United States)

Styslinger, Mary E.; Pollock, Timothy

2010-01-01

This collaborative inquiry answers the following questions: 1) What is the nature of talk during Socratic Circles? 2) What is student response to talk? 3) How might knowing more about student response to talk and the nature of talk improve teaching during Socratic Circles? The article first describes the process of implementing Socratic Circles,…

Growing a Circle of Courage Culture: One School's Journey

Science.gov (United States)

Espiner, Deborah; Guild, Diane

2010-01-01

Mt. Richmond Special School is the first Circle of Courage school in New Zealand. The school reflects the richness of the cultural and learning diversity found in many New Zealand schools. Located in the heart of South Auckland, the school's 130 students represent a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The universal values in the Circle of Courage…

On a Family of Circles

Science.gov (United States)

Feeman, Timothy G.

2011-01-01

We generalize a standard example from precalculus and calculus texts to give a simple description in polar coordinates of any circle that passes through the origin. We discuss an occurrence of this formula in the context of medical imaging. (Contains 1 figure.)

Large hadron collider (LHC) project quality assurance plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gullo, Lisa; Karpenko, Victor; Robinson, Kem; Turner, William; Wong, Otis

2002-09-30

The LHC Quality Assurance Plan is a set of operating principles, requirements, and practices used to support Berkeley Lab's participation in the Large Hadron Collider Project. The LHC/QAP is intended to achieve reliable, safe, and quality performance in the LHC project activities. The LHC/QAP is also designed to fulfill the following objectives: (1) The LHC/QAP is Berkeley Lab's QA program document that describes the elements necessary to integrate quality assurance, safety management, and conduct of operations into the Berkeley Lab's portion of the LHC operations. (2) The LHC/QAP provides the framework for Berkeley Lab LHC Project administrators, managers, supervisors, and staff to plan, manage, perform, and assess their Laboratory work. (3) The LHC/QAP is the compliance document that conforms to the requirements of the Laboratory's Work Smart Standards for quality assurance (DOE O 414.1, 10 CFR 830.120), facility operations (DOE O 5480.19), and safety management (DOE P 450.4).

Large hadron collider (LHC) project quality assurance plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gullo, Lisa; Karpenko, Victor; Robinson, Kem; Turner, William; Wong, Otis

2002-01-01

The LHC Quality Assurance Plan is a set of operating principles, requirements, and practices used to support Berkeley Lab's participation in the Large Hadron Collider Project. The LHC/QAP is intended to achieve reliable, safe, and quality performance in the LHC project activities. The LHC/QAP is also designed to fulfill the following objectives: (1) The LHC/QAP is Berkeley Lab's QA program document that describes the elements necessary to integrate quality assurance, safety management, and conduct of operations into the Berkeley Lab's portion of the LHC operations. (2) The LHC/QAP provides the framework for Berkeley Lab LHC Project administrators, managers, supervisors, and staff to plan, manage, perform, and assess their Laboratory work. (3) The LHC/QAP is the compliance document that conforms to the requirements of the Laboratory's Work Smart Standards for quality assurance (DOE O 414.1, 10 CFR 830.120), facility operations (DOE O 5480.19), and safety management (DOE P 450.4)

Edges and vertices in a unique signed circle in a signed graph

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Behr

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We examine the conditions under which a signed graph contains an edge or a vertex that is contained in a unique negative circle or a unique positive circle. For an edge in a unique signed circle, the positive and negative case require the same structure on the underlying graph, but the requirements on the signature are different. We characterize the structure of the underlying graph necessary to support such an edge in terms of bridges of a circle. We then use the results from the edge version of the problem to help solve the vertex version.

Quality Management System at Construction Project: A Questionnaire Survey

OpenAIRE

P.P.Mane; J.R.Patil

2015-01-01

The best quality, time and cost are the important aspects of successful construction project which fulfills the main goal of construction industry. The quality management has to provide the environment within which related tools, techniques and procedures can be deployed effectively leading to operational success for a construction project. The role of quality management for a construction company is not an isolated activity, but intertwined with all the operational and managerial...

Approaching the Practice Quality Improvement Project in Interventional Radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, Stephen P; White, Benjamin; Sutphin, Patrick D; Pillai, Anil K; Kalva, Sanjeeva P; Toomay, Seth M

2015-12-01

An important component of maintenance of certification and quality improvement in radiology is the practice quality improvement (PQI) project. In this article, the authors describe several methodologies for initiating and completing PQI projects. Furthermore, the authors illustrate several tools that are vital in compiling, analyzing, and presenting data in an easily understandable and reproducible manner. Last, they describe two PQI projects performed in an interventional radiology division that have successfully improved the quality of care for patients. Using the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) quality improvement framework, interventional radiology throughput has been increased, to lessen mediport wait times from 43 to 8 days, and mediport infection rates have decreased from more than 2% to less than 0.4%. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plutonium immobilization project development and testing technical project office quality assurance program description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gould, T.H.; MacLean, L.M.; Ziemba, J.M.

1999-01-01

The Plutonium Immobilization Project (PIP) is one of several fissile materials disposition projects managed by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (OFMD). The PIP is expected to evolve from the current Development and Testing (D and T) effort, to design, to construction, and finally to operations. Overall management and technical management of the D and T effort resides at the Lead Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), through the LLNL Manager, Fissile Materials Disposition Program (FMDP). Day to day project activities are managed by the D and T Technical Project Office (TPO), which reports to the LLNL Manager, FMDP. The D and T TPO consists of the Technical Manager, the TPO Quality Assurance (QA) Program Manager, and TPO Planning and Support Staff. This Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) defines the QA policies and controls that will be implemented by these TPO personnel in their management of D and T activities. This QAPD is consistent with and responsive to the Department of Energy Fissile Materials Disposition Program Quality Assurance Requirements Document (FMDP QARD). As the Project and upper level requirement's documents evolve, this QAPD will be updated as necessary to accurately define and describe the QA Program and Management of the PIP. The TPO has a policy that all development and testing activities be planned, performed and assessed in accordance with its customer's requirements, needs and expectations, and with a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. The TPO QAPD describes implementation requirements which, when completed, will ensure that the project development and testing activities conform to the appropriate QA requirements. For the program to be effective, the TPO QA Program Manager will ensure that each site participating in D and T activities has developed a QAPD, which meets the customer's requirements, and has a designated quality leader in place. These customer

The role of Circle women in curbing violence against women and girls in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sylvia Owusu-Ansah

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article looks at the role Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle have played in the struggle to end or reduce the rate at which violence against women and girls occurs in West Africa by highlighting the contributions of older Circle women, especially the initiator of the Circle, Mercy Amba Oduyoye. The initiator of the Circle and other older Circle women have left a remarkable legacy that needs to continue by the current and future generations of the Circle. The background information examines the leadership and mentorship of Mercy Amba Oduyoye and the impact she has made in the lives of African women. The essay then looks at the types of violence that women face in West Africa with the specific contributions of Circle women in the struggle to end violence against women and girls. It then argues that Circle women have played very significant roles both in setting the pace and giving the platform for women activities to minimise gender-based violence against women and girls. Circle women have written and presented papers that have addressed many challenges including HIV and/or AIDS, Girl Child trafficking, Marriage of Minors, and almost all kinds of violence against women and girls. Currently, religious violence threatens the fabric of African nations causing insecurity and panic, women and girls being the most vulnerable. The challenge to the present and future Circle members is to contribute in significant ways towards religious harmony in Africa and beyond. The Circle acknowledges the leadership role of women and encourages them to spearhead the liberation of women as well as empower them to be able to aspire to get to the top or become independent. No one understands what someone else feels better than the person experiencing the ordeal. Women can better understand what they go through and also have the passion to strive towards liberation.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: In this article, the

Content-aware photo collage using circle packing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zongqiao; Lu, Lin; Guo, Yanwen; Fan, Rongfei; Liu, Mingming; Wang, Wenping

2014-02-01

In this paper, we present a novel approach for automatically creating the photo collage that assembles the interest regions of a given group of images naturally. Previous methods on photo collage are generally built upon a well-defined optimization framework, which computes all the geometric parameters and layer indices for input photos on the given canvas by optimizing a unified objective function. The complex nonlinear form of optimization function limits their scalability and efficiency. From the geometric point of view, we recast the generation of collage as a region partition problem such that each image is displayed in its corresponding region partitioned from the canvas. The core of this is an efficient power-diagram-based circle packing algorithm that arranges a series of circles assigned to input photos compactly in the given canvas. To favor important photos, the circles are associated with image importances determined by an image ranking process. A heuristic search process is developed to ensure that salient information of each photo is displayed in the polygonal area resulting from circle packing. With our new formulation, each factor influencing the state of a photo is optimized in an independent stage, and computation of the optimal states for neighboring photos are completely decoupled. This improves the scalability of collage results and ensures their diversity. We also devise a saliency-based image fusion scheme to generate seamless compositive collage. Our approach can generate the collages on nonrectangular canvases and supports interactive collage that allows the user to refine collage results according to his/her personal preferences. We conduct extensive experiments and show the superiority of our algorithm by comparing against previous methods.

Age and personal values: Similar value circles with shifting priorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Borg, Ingwer; Hertel, Guido; Hermann, Dieter

2017-11-01

This study examined the relationship of personal values to age using data from two representative surveys. We hypothesized that individuals organize personal values, regardless of their age, as a circle with the same order of values on this circle but that older persons are closer to conservation and more remote from openness to change and closer to self-transcendence and more distant from self-enhancement. The structural stability of the value circle over age was largely confirmed across and within individuals. Different age groups exhibited a tendency to more strongly cluster those values that they rated as relatively important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The vicious circle of perceived stigmatization, depressiveness, anxiety, and low quality of life in substituted heroin addicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Frischknecht, Ulrich; Beckmann, Bettina; Heinrich, Milena; Kniest, Anja; Nakovics, Helmut; Kiefer, Falk; Mann, Karl; Hermann, Derik

2011-01-01

Perceived stigmatization of drug addicts may interact with negative mood states and thus may contribute to the maintenance of addictive behavior. Opiate maintenance patients (n = 106) and an unselected comparison group (n = 144) rated self-report questionnaires about perceived stigmatization, quality of life (QoL), depressiveness, anxiety, self-esteem, addiction characteristics, and social support. 63% of opiate maintenance patients felt discriminated in contrast to 16% of the comparison group. Perceived stigmatization was rated higher by opiate maintenance patients, and all domains of QoL were rated lower, even when statistically controlling depressiveness, anxiety and social factors. Perceived stigmatization was correlated to depressiveness, anxiety, low self-esteem and low QoL, but not addiction characteristics and social support. Structural equation models revealed anxiety and the pathway depressiveness enhancing feelings of being stigmatized resulting in low self-esteem to explain 74% of variance in mental QoL, whereas anxiety and a pathway stigmatization inducing depressiveness leading to low self-esteem explained 49% of variance in physical QoL. A vicious circle of stigmatization, negative affective states and low QoL was confirmed. In addition to societal antistigma campaigns, antidepressive and anxiolytic therapy might have the potential to diminish feelings of being stigmatized and to improve QoL. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Queuing systems on a circle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kroese, Dirk; Schmidt, Volker

1993-01-01

Consider a ring on which customers arrive according to a Poisson process. Arriving customers drop somewhere on the circle and wait there for a server who travels on the ring. Whenever this server encounters a customer, he stops and serves the customer according to an arbitrary service time

Effect of stern hull shape on turning circle of ships

Science.gov (United States)

Jaswar, Maimun, A.; Wahid, M. A.; Priyanto, A.; Zamani, Pauzi, Saman

2012-06-01

Many factors such as: stern hull shape, length, draught, trim, propulsion system and external forces affecting the drift angle influence rate of turn and size of turning circle of ships. This paper discusses turning circle characteristics of U and V stern hull shape of Very Large Crude Oil Carrier (VLCC) ships. The ships have same principal dimension such as length, beam, and draught. The turning circle characteristics of the VLCC ships are simulated at 35 degree of rudder angle. In the analysis, firstly, turning circle performance of U-type VLCC ship is simulated. In the simulation, initial ship speed is determined using given power and rpm. Hydrodynamic derivatives coefficients are determined by including effect of fullness of aft run. Using the obtained, speed and hydrodynamic coefficients, force and moment acting on hull, force and moment induced by propeller, force and moment induced by rudder are determined. Finally, ship trajectory, ratio of speed, yaw angle and drift angle are determined. Results of simulation results of the VLCC ship are compared with the experimental one as validation. Using the same method, V-type VLCC is simulated and the simulation results are compared with U-type VLCC ship. Results shows the turning circle of U-type is larger than V-type due to effect stern hul results of simulation are.

The Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fix, N. J.

2008-03-12

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are working on the Columbia River Protection Supplemental Technologies Project. This project is a U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management-funded initiative designed to develop new methods, strategies, and technologies for characterizing, modeling, remediating, and monitoring soils and groundwater contaminated with metals, radionuclides, and chlorinated organics. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by the Technologies Project staff.

UMTRA project technical assistance contractor quality assurance implementation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-03-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Technical Assistance contractor (TAC) Quality Assurance Implementation Plan (QAIP) outlines the primary requirements for integrating quality functions for TAC technical activities applied to the surface and ground water phases of the UMTRA Project. The QAIP is subordinate to the latest issue of the UMTRA Project TAC Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) (DOE, 1993a), which was developed using US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5700.6C quality assurance (QA) criteria. The QAIP addresses technical aspects of the TAC UMTRA Project surface and ground water programs. All QA issues in the QAIP shall comply with requirements contained in the TAC QAPP (DOE, 1933a). Because industry standards for data acquisition and data control are not addressed in DOE Order 5700.6C, the QAIP has been formatted to the 14 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) QA requirements. DOE Order 5700.6C criteria that are not contained in the CERCLA requirements are added to the QAIP as additional requirements in Sections 15.0 through 18.0. Project documents that contain CERCLA requirements and 5700.6 criteria shall be referenced in this document to avoid duplication. Referenced documents are not included in this QAIP but are available through the UMTRA Project Document Control Center

Anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and cerebrovascular accidents in transitional Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edlira Harizi (Shemsi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: The purpose of this study was twofold: i in a case-control design, to determine the relationship between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and cerebrovascular accidents; ii to assess the association between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and aneurisms among patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Albania in 2013-2014, including 100 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and 100 controls (individuals without cerebrovascular accidents. Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage underwent a CT angiography procedure, whereas individuals in the control group underwent a magnetic resonance angiography procedure. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between cerebrovascular accidents and the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis. Conversely, Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the prevalence of aneurisms between subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with and without anatomical variations of the circle of Willis. Results: Among patients, there were 22 (22% cases with anatomical variations of the circle of Willis compared with 10 (10% individuals in the control group (P=0.033. There was no evidence of a statistically significant difference in the types of the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis between patients and controls (P=0.402. In age- and-sex adjusted logistic regression models, there was evidence of a significant positive association between cerebrovascular accidents and the anatomical variations of the circle of Willis (OR=1.87, 95%CI=1.03-4.68, P=0.048. Within the patients’ group, of the 52 cases with aneurisms, there were 22 (42.3% individuals with anatomical variations of the circle of Willis compared with no individuals with anatomical variations among the 48 patients without aneurisms (P<0.001. Conclusion: This study provides useful evidence on the association between anatomical variations of the circle of Willis and

Violence in the eye of adolescents: education intervention with Culture Circles.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandão Neto, Waldemar; Silva, Marta Angélica Iossi; de Aquino, Jael Maria; de Lima, Luciane Soares; Monteiro, Estela Maria Leite Meirelles

2015-01-01

to apply the methodology of Culture Circles on adolescents as a strategy for health education of nurses in the construction of the collective knowledge of the thematic violence. action research type and qualitative study. Participants were 11 adolescents from a public school in Recife, PE, Brazil. Data production in Culture Circles included the participant observation with field diary, photographic recording and filming, as well as the photovoice technique. The analysis was performed by triangulating data in dialogue with the literature. it was shown that the problematizing action provided by the Culture Circle made possible to create situations in which adolescents felt invited to critically refl ect on the phenomenon of violence in all its complexity. the health education intervention, performed by Culture Circles, added learning and mutual growth subsidizing nursing care actions that excel at leadership and autonomy of adolescents.

ERD UMTRA Project quality assurance program plan, Revision 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

This document is the revised Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) dated September, 1995 for the Environmental Restoration Division (ERD) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRA). Quality Assurance requirements for the ERD UMTRA Project are based on the criteria outlined in DOE Order 5700.6C or applicable sections of 10 CFR 830.120. QA requirements contained in this QAPP shall apply to all personnel, processes, and activities, including planning, scheduling, and cost control, performed by the ERD UMTRA Project and its contractors

Recumbent Stone Circles

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggles, Clive L. N.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, British archaeoastronomers were striving to bridge the interpretative gulf between the "megalithic observatories" of Alexander Thom and an archaeological mainstream that, generally speaking, was hostile to any mention of astronomy in relation to the megalithic monuments of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain. The Scottish recumbent stone circles (RSCs) came to represent an example where sounder methodology could overcome many of the data selection issues that had beset earlier studies and, with due restraint, produce credible interpretations. Systematic studies of their orientations consistently concluded that the RSCs had a strong lunar connection, and it was widely envisaged that they were the setting for ceremonies associated with the appearance of the moon over the recumbent stone. Other evidence such as the presence of white quartz and the spatial distribution of cupmarks appeared to back up this conclusion. New archaeological investigations since 1999 have challenged and modified these conclusions, confirming in particular that the circles were built to enclose cairns rather than to demarcate open spaces. Yet the restricted pattern of orientations of these structures could only have been achieved by reference to the basic diurnal motions of the skies, and orientation in relation to simple observations of the midsummer moon remains the most likely reading of the alignment evidence taken as a whole. On the other hand, a consideration of the broader context, which includes the nearby Clava cairns, highlights instead the symbolic importance of the sun.

Circle of willis and its variations; morphometric study in adult human cadavers

OpenAIRE

Raghavendra, Shirol VS, Daksha Dixit, Anil Kumar Reddy Y, Desai SP

2014-01-01

Background and Objectives: Circle of Willis plays a vital role in collateral circulation and redistribution of blood to all areas of the brain. Variation in circle of Willis is known to cause grave disorders like cerebrovascular disorders, subarachnoid haemorrhage, cerebral aneurysm and schizophrenia. The objectives of the present study are to study the formation and branching pattern of circle of Willis and also to study the distribution of variations. MATERIALS & Methods: The study was cond...

The National Shipbuilding Research Program, Analytical Quality Circles

Science.gov (United States)

1986-09-01

standard tools for quality control, in English, see “Guide to Quality Control” by Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa , Asian Productivity Organization, Aoyama Dai-ichi...factors affect work evaluation is shown schemati- cally by Characteristic-Factor Diagrams (also called Fishbone or Ishikawa Diagrams), see Figure 2-5

CP violation in Z circle → τ+τ-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, J.M.

1998-01-01

Test of CP invariance in the reaction Z circle → τ + τ - on the Z circle peak is performed using the data sample recorded by the four Collaboration at LEP and SLD. From the non-observation of CP violation upper limits on the real (vertical stroke Re(d r W ) vertical stroke) and imaginary (vertical stroke Im(d r W ) vertical stroke) parts of the weak dipole moment of the τ lepton at 95% C.L. are derived. Results on measurements on weak magnetic moment is also reported. (orig.)

Circles Disturbed The Interplay of Mathematics and Narrative

CERN Document Server

Doxiadis, Apostolos

2012-01-01

Circles Disturbed brings together important thinkers in mathematics, history, and philosophy to explore the relationship between mathematics and narrative. The book's title recalls the last words of the great Greek mathematician Archimedes before he was slain by a Roman soldier--"Don't disturb my circles"--words that seem to refer to two radically different concerns: that of the practical person living in the concrete world of reality, and that of the theoretician lost in a world of abstraction. Stories and theorems are, in a sense, the natural languages of these two worlds--stories represent

Study Circles as a Method of Informing the Adult Population on Radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kralj, M.

2002-01-01

Public acceptance of the radioactive waste disposal facilities is difficult to achieve. Analysis of the reasons that underlie public rejection of radioactive waste disposal facilities shows that people are not adequately informed about the proposal. They also have a lot of prejudices due to the lack of knowledge and understanding about basic facts on radioactivity and environmental processes. ARAO has proposed that the topic of radioactivity and radioactive waste be included in the program of study circles in order to promote knowledge and understanding of these issues among the adult population in several Slovenian communities. Study circles are self-organized adult learning groups in the local community environment. Two study circles were initially proposed: one in Krsko, the community with a nuclear facility, and one in Radovljica, a community without a nuclear facility. Because of troubles with the unexpected politicization of nuclear issues, the study circle in Krsko was postponed to the later term, so that only the study circle in the community without the nuclear installation was active. The members were found by personal invitations. They worked on different issues dealing with radiation, mainly with the application of radiation and radioactive substances in medicine. Through the study circle activities the interest in radiation issues increased. The members reported that they disseminated their interest and acquired knowledge to their family members and friends. Our experience shows that self-learning in small groups, promoting discussions and the confrontation of different opinions, results in an increase in objective knowledge. Therefore, study circles can provide a good basis for confidence building in the nuclear technology.(author)

A game magically circling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ejsing-Duun, Stine

2011-01-01

This chapter analyses the relationship between players, the game world, and the ordinary world in alternative reality games (ARGs) and location-based games (LBGs). These games use technology to create a game world in the everyday scene. The topic of this chapter is the concept of the 'magic circle......', which defines the relationship between play and the ordinary world, and how this concept relates to a new kind of game....

77 FR 55691 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Circle Town, MT

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-11

... (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Circle Town County..., at Circle Town County Airport, to accommodate IFR aircraft executing new RNAV (GPS) standard..., Washington on August 30, 2012. Steven L. Vale, Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service...

Finding the Maximal Area of Bounded Polygons in a Circle

Science.gov (United States)

Rokach, Arie

2005-01-01

The article deals with the area of polygons that are inscribed in a given circle. Naturally, the following question arises: Among all n-polygons that are inscribed in a given circle, which one has the biggest area? Intuitively, it may be guessed that is suitable for secondary students, and without any use id calculus, but only using very…

Structural Equation Model for Evaluating Factors Affecting Quality of Social Infrastructure Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Hussain

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The quality of the constructed social infrastructure project has been considered a necessary measure for the sustainability of projects. Studies on factors affecting project quality have used various techniques and methods to explain the relationships between particular variables. Unexpectedly, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM has acquired very little concern in factors affecting project quality studies. To address this limitation in the body of knowledge, the objective of this study was to apply the SEM approach and build a model that explained and identified the critical factors affecting quality in social infrastructure projects. The authors developed a quantitative approach using smart-PLS version 3.2.7. This study shed light on the views of different experts based on their experience in public construction projects in Pakistan. Particularly, the authors aimed to find out the relationships between construction, stakeholders, materials, design, and external factors, and how these relate to project quality. The findings of this study revealed that the R2 value of the model was scored at 0.749, which meant that the five exogenous latent constructs collectively explained 74.9% of the variance in project quality. The Goodness-of-Fit of the model was 0.458. The construction related factor was the most important out of the five constructs. This study determined that better planning and monitoring and evaluation should be developed to better address and control the quality defects by decision-makers, project managers as well as contractors. These findings might support practitioners and decision makers to focus on quality related problems that might occur in their current or future projects.

Quality assurance program plan for cesium legacy project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanke, J.M.

1997-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the Cesium Legacy Project. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP). These activities include all aspects of cask transportation, project related operations within the 324 Building, and waste management as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities (i.e. 324 Building Operations, Central Waste Complex Operations, etc.) are covered in other appropriate QAPPs. The 324 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) managed facility. During this transition process existing PNNL procedures and documents will be utilized until replaced by BWHC procedures and documents

Migraine without aura is not associated with incomplete circle of Willis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ezzatian-Ahar, Shabnam; Amin, Faisal Mohammad; Obaid, Hayder Ghani

2014-01-01

the prevalence of incomplete circle of Willis in migraineurs and controls. In the present study we compared the prevalence of incomplete circle of Willis in female migraine patients without aura to female healthy non-migraine controls.Using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance angiography we recorded three...

The Prague Linguistic Circle and Dialectics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sládek, Ondřej

-, č. 19 (2017), s. 352-357 E-ISSN 2037-2426 Institutional support: RVO:68378068 Keywords : The Prague Linguistic Circle * Jan Mukařovský * Structuralism * Structural Poetics * Dialectics Subject RIV: AJ - Letters, Mass-media, Audiovision OBOR OECD: Specific literatures

A project management quality cost information system for the construction industry

OpenAIRE

Love, PED; Irani, Z

2003-01-01

A prototype Project Management Quality Cost System (PROMQACS) was developed to determine quality costs in construction projects. The structure and information requirements that are needed to provide a classification system of quality costs were identified and discussed. The developed system was tested and implemented in two case study construction projects to determine the information and management issues needed to develop PROMQACS into a software program. In addition, the system was used to...

Promoting retention, enabling success: Discovering the potential of student support circles.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Janice; Walters, Caroline; Toohill, Jocelyn; Sidebotham, Mary

2016-09-01

Retention of students is critical to education programs and future workforce. A mixed methods study evaluated student engagement within a Bachelor of Midwifery program and connection with career choice through participation in student support circles. Centred on the Five Senses of Success Framework (sense of capability, purpose, identity, resourcefulness and connectedness) and including four stages of engagement (creating space, preparing self, sharing stories, focused conversations), the circles support and develop student and professional identity. Of 80 students 43 (54%) provided responses to a two item survey assessed against a five point Likert scale to determine utility. Using a nominal group technique, student's voices gave rich insight into the personal and professional growth that participation in the student support circles provided. Evaluated as helpful to first year students in orientating to university study and early socialisation into the profession, the circles appear to influence the development of a strong sense of professional identity and personal midwifery philosophy based on the relational nature of the midwife being with woman rather than doing midwifery. This suggests that student support circles positively influence perceptions and expectations, contributing to a shared sense of purpose and discipline connection, for enhancing student retention and future workforce participation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2. A Circle of ideas

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 1; Issue 2. Geometry A Circle of Ideas. Kapil H Paranjape. Series Article Volume 1 Issue 2 February 1996 pp 26-31. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/reso/001/02/0026-0031. Author Affiliations.

UMTRA Project Office quality assurance program plan. Revision 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project was established to accomplish remedial actions at inactive uranium mill tailings sites. The UMTRA Project's mission is to stabilize and control the residual radioactive materials at designated sites in a safe and environmentally sound manner so as to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public. Because these efforts may involve possible risks to public health and safety, a quality assurance (QA) program that conforms to the applicable criteria has been established to control the quality of the work. This document, the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP), brings into one document the essential criteria to be applied on a selective basis, depending upon the nature of the activity being conducted, and describes how those criteria shall be applied to the UMTRA Project. QA requirements contained in this QAPP shall apply to all personnel, processes, and activities, including planning, scheduling, and cost control, performed by the UMTRA Project Office and its contractors

Circles of Support and Accountability for Sex Offenders: A Systematic Review of Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Martin; Brown, Susan; Völlm, Birgit

2017-08-01

We conducted a systematic review of studies reporting on the effectiveness of Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles). Circles use volunteers to provide support for sex offenders living in the community. We searched 10 databases up to the end of 2013 and identified 3 relevant outcome studies. An additional 12 papers or reports were identified by searching reference lists, Google, and contacting key authors and Circles providers to obtain unpublished data. These 15 studies comprised one randomized controlled trial, three retrospective cohorts with matched controls, and 11 case series. The majority reported measures of recidivism, particularly reconviction. The 4 studies with controls generally reported that participation in Circles was associated with lower recidivism although there were few statistically significant differences. Few studies examined changes in risk or psychosocial outcomes. A number of methodological issues are discussed. Longer term, prospective follow-up studies with control groups are required to address these issues.

Absent collateral function of the circle of Willis as risk factor for ischemic stroke

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoksbergen, A. W. J.; Legemate, D. A.; Csiba, L.; Csáti, G.; Síró, P.; Fülesdi, B.

2003-01-01

Background. Autopsy studies show a higher prevalence of circle of Willis anomalies in brains with signs of ischemic infarction. Our goal was to examine the collateral function of the circle of Willis in ischemic stroke patients and to assess in a case-control study if a collateral deficient circle

The Arithmetic of Elliptic Fibrations in Gauge Theories on a Circle

CERN Document Server

Grimm, Thomas W.; Klevers, Denis

2016-01-01

The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional ...

Quality Assurance program plan - plutonium stabilization and handling project W-460

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SCHULTZ, J.W.

1999-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) identifies Project Quality Assurance (QA) program requirements for all parties participating in the design, procurement, demolition, construction, installation, inspection and testing for Project W-460

Uranium resource evaluation project quality assurance evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimes, J.G.

1981-01-01

This evaluation was conducted over an eight-month period from February 4 through October 1, 1980. During this time, field sampling was suspended for an indefinite time period while the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program underwent restructuring. In addition, the Uranium Resource Evaluation (URE) Project archives are being restructured. Since it is difficult to evaluate quality assurance needs of a program that is undergoing drastic change and because sections of the evaluation were well along before these changes were announced, this evaluation reflects the situation as it was during February 1980. The following quality assurance related programs are continuing to date: (1) periodic checks of field sampling procedures by the Supervising Field Geologist and the Director of Field Operations; (2) verification of field form information and laboratory analytical data verification for all geochemical surveys; (3) URE Project laboratory quality control program (all elements routinely analyzed); and (4) Ames interlaboratory quality control program (uranium only). UCC-ND was given the responsibility of conducting a Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) survey in the Central United States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). During 1979 and 1980, 13 detailed surveys were conducted by the URE Project in the Central and Western United States to characterize the hydrogeochemistry, stream sediment geochemistry, and/or radiometric patterns of known or potential uranium occurrences. Beginning in 1980, the HSSR surveys were modified to the Regional Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment (RHSS) surveys

Exploring Writing Circles as Innovative, Collaborative Writing Structures with Teacher Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth; Blanch, Norine; Gurjar, Nandita

2017-01-01

Writing circles are "small groups... meeting regularly to share drafts, choose common writing topics, practice positive response, and in general, help each other become better writers" (Vopat, 2009, p. 6). In this exploratory study, writing circles were employed with elementary teacher candidates in hopes of enhancing their perceptions…

The Students’ Scientific Circle in Pediatric Dentistry as a Form of Students’ Research Work at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University

OpenAIRE

Kostiuk, I. R.

2014-01-01

Participation in the activity of scientific circle is one of the forms of students’ research work. The leader should  not only interpret the science and serve as a data carrier, but he should be able to organize systemic individual activity of the future scientists. Constant active search for opportunities to improve the quality of educational process in order to train highly qualified dental specialists is conducted according to the credit-module system. As scientific circle is one of the mo...

Quality assurance in the Antares laser fusion construction project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reichelt, W.H.

1984-01-01

The Antares CO 2 laser facility came on line in November 1983 as an experimental physics facility; it is the world's largest CO 2 laser fusion system. Antares is a major component of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program. Antares is a one-of-a-kind laser system that is used in an experimental environment. Given limited project funds and tight schedules, the quality assurance program was tailored to achieve project goals without imposing oppressive constraints. The discussion will review the Antares quality assurance program and the utility of various portions to completion of the project

Multimodal determination of Rayleigh dispersion and attenuation curves using the circle fit method

Science.gov (United States)

Verachtert, R.; Lombaert, G.; Degrande, G.

2018-03-01

This paper introduces the circle fit method for the determination of multi-modal Rayleigh dispersion and attenuation curves as part of a Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) experiment. The wave field is transformed to the frequency-wavenumber (fk) domain using a discretized Hankel transform. In a Nyquist plot of the fk-spectrum, displaying the imaginary part against the real part, the Rayleigh wave modes correspond to circles. The experimental Rayleigh dispersion and attenuation curves are derived from the angular sweep of the central angle of these circles. The method can also be applied to the analytical fk-spectrum of the Green's function of a layered half-space in order to compute dispersion and attenuation curves, as an alternative to solving an eigenvalue problem. A MASW experiment is subsequently simulated for a site with a regular velocity profile and a site with a soft layer trapped between two stiffer layers. The performance of the circle fit method to determine the dispersion and attenuation curves is compared with the peak picking method and the half-power bandwidth method. The circle fit method is found to be the most accurate and robust method for the determination of the dispersion curves. When determining attenuation curves, the circle fit method and half-power bandwidth method are accurate if the mode exhibits a sharp peak in the fk-spectrum. Furthermore, simulated and theoretical attenuation curves determined with the circle fit method agree very well. A similar correspondence is not obtained when using the half-power bandwidth method. Finally, the circle fit method is applied to measurement data obtained for a MASW experiment at a site in Heverlee, Belgium. In order to validate the soil profile obtained from the inversion procedure, force-velocity transfer functions were computed and found in good correspondence with the experimental transfer functions, especially in the frequency range between 5 and 80 Hz.

Title IV Quality Control Project, Stage II. Management Option II: Delivery System Quality Improvements.

Science.gov (United States)

Advanced Technology, Inc., Reston, VA.

Stage Two of the Title IV Quality Control Project is an integrated study of quality in five related Federal financial aid programs for postsecondary students. Section 1 of the paper establishes a framework for defining quality improvements, in order to identify the types of changes that would tend to improve quality across all facets of the…

The impact of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians: French zone on church and African theology issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasie M. Maponda

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We can understand that the Circle must work on two dimensions to provide a future for new woman theology in Africa. The first dimension is based on the intuitive fundamental and innovative sense of a woman from Ghana, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, that leads to the creation of the Circle: she impulsed the idea that women should make their own theology from their dailylife experiences and their subjectivity as women, in order to think on faith and Gospel in a different way. It is necessary to question that intuitive sense. The second dimension aims to revisit the great personalities of African woman theologians of the Circle. What are the essential points of their research? How has the research changed African theology? I particularly think of Musimbi Kanyoro, Nyambura Njoroge and Musa Dub� in the Africa English zone and Helene Yinda, Liz Vuadi, Kasa Dovi and Bernadette Mbuyi Beya in Africa French zone. The essence of their thinking is still actual and that is why they are good enough to project in to the future.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article presents the history of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians from creation to now. Issues related to traditional culture, gender and sexual-based violence, gender-based injustice, and HIV and AIDS are discussed under different approaches such as the biblical approach, hermeneutical approach, ethical approach, historical approach and practical approach. The impact of African Women Theologians speaking French will be particularly highlighted.Keywords: theology; women theologians; women empowerment; HIV/AIDS; gender

Effluent monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan for radioactive airborne emissions data. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frazier, T.P.

1995-12-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan addresses the quality assurance requirements for compiling Hanford Site radioactive airborne emissions data. These data will be reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Energy, and the Washington State Department of Health. Effluent Monitoring performs compliance assessments on radioactive airborne sampling and monitoring systems. This Quality Assurance Project Plan is prepared in compliance with interim guidelines and specifications. Topics include: project description; project organization and management; quality assurance objectives; sampling procedures; sample custody; calibration procedures; analytical procedures; monitoring and reporting criteria; data reduction, verification, and reporting; internal quality control; performance and system audits; corrective actions; and quality assurance reports

Area of Common Overlap of Three Circles

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fewell, M. P

2006-01-01

.... The results presented here have general significance in the corpus of menstruation formulae, and could be of specific use in any quantitative application of the three-circle Venn diagram such as for...

The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonacci, Grazia; Reed, Julie E; Lennox, Laura; Barlow, James

2018-05-01

Introduction Process mapping provides insight into systems and processes in which improvement interventions are introduced and is seen as useful in healthcare quality improvement projects. There is little empirical evidence on the use of process mapping in healthcare practice. This study advances understanding of the benefits and success factors of process mapping within quality improvement projects. Methods Eight quality improvement projects were purposively selected from different healthcare settings within the UK's National Health Service. Data were gathered from multiple data-sources, including interviews exploring participants' experience of using process mapping in their projects and perceptions of benefits and challenges related to its use. These were analysed using inductive analysis. Results Eight key benefits related to process mapping use were reported by participants (gathering a shared understanding of the reality; identifying improvement opportunities; engaging stakeholders in the project; defining project's objectives; monitoring project progress; learning; increased empathy; simplicity of the method) and five factors related to successful process mapping exercises (simple and appropriate visual representation, information gathered from multiple stakeholders, facilitator's experience and soft skills, basic training, iterative use of process mapping throughout the project). Conclusions Findings highlight benefits and versatility of process mapping and provide practical suggestions to improve its use in practice.

Qinshan Phase III (CANDU) nuclear power project quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Lingen; Du Jinxiang

2001-01-01

The completion and implementation of quality assurance system of Qinshan Phase III (CANDU) nuclear power project are presented. Some comments and understanding with consideration of the project characteristics are put forward

Environmental Assessment: Disposition of Chiefs’ Circle Residential Structures

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

five structures ranged from Page 4 of 5  $200,000 (with bricks removed) to $500,000 (with bricks intact). Mike Ford, CEO of NewTown Macon, echoed Mr...feasibility 25-Jul-08 and practicality of moving the Chief’s Circle duplexes Mike Ford NewTown Macon 23-Jul-08 478-722-9909 President of NewTown Macon...Daniel.Chavira@ Gave a tour of Chiefs’ Circle huntcompanies.com Not interested in using the houses Bob Sharples RAFB 26-Oct-10 robert.sharples

CLASSIFICATION AND COMPUTER SIMULATION OF CONSTRUCTIVE PROBLEM IN THE PLANE GEOMETRY: METHOD OF CIRCLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan H. Lenchuk

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Presented article concerns construction problems in plane geometry. Solved the problem of the formation of students' stereotypes efficient, economical in time visual representation of algorithms for solving problems on the modern computer screens. Used universal author’s method of fragmented typing tasks on the method of circles. Allocated rod-type problem with its subsequent filling with ingredients. Previously developed educational software (partially, GeoGebra ensure optimal realization of the construction. Their dynamic characteristics and constructive capabilities - quality visual- shaped stages of "evidence" and "research".

Quality management in an international nuclear power plant project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brion, J.; Crustin, J.

1975-01-01

SNR (Schneller Natriumgekuehlter Reaktor) is the fast reactor power plant being erected at Kalkar, Federal German Republic. Quality management in this project is a contractual obligation. Quality management is subdivided into quality engineering, set of actions performed before manufacturing, and quality control, set of material controls performed during fabrication. The two successive phases of the quality management are presented. The difficulties and improvment possibilities are discussed [fr

Waste Management Project Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HORHOTA, M.J.

2000-01-01

The Waste Management Project (WMP) is committed to excellence in our work and to delivering quality products and services to our customers, protecting our employees and the public and to being good stewards of the environment. We will continually strive to understand customer requirements, perform services, and activities that meet or exceed customer expectations, and be cost-effective in our performance. The WMP maintains an environment that fosters continuous improvement in our processes, performance, safety and quality. The achievement of quality will require the total commitment of all WMP employees to our ethic that Quality, Health and Safety, and Regulatory Compliance must come before profits. The successful implementation of this policy and ethic requires a formal, documented management quality system to ensure quality standards are established and achieved in all activities. The following principles are the foundation of our quality system. Senior management will take full ownership of the quality system and will create an environment that ensures quality objectives are met, standards are clearly established, and performance is measured and evaluated. Line management will be responsible for quality system implementation. Each organization will adhere to all quality system requirements that apply to their function. Every employee will be responsible for their work quality, to work safely and for complying with the policies, procedures and instructions applicable to their activities. Quality will be addressed and verified during all phases of our work scope from proposal development through closeout including contracts or projects. Continuous quality improvement will be an ongoing process. Our quality ethic and these quality principles constantly guide our actions. We will meet our own quality expectations and exceed those of our customers with vigilance, commitment, teamwork, and persistence

Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) Waste Management Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

HORHOTA, M.J.

2000-12-21

The Waste Management Project (WMP) is committed to excellence in our work and to delivering quality products and services to our customers, protecting our employees and the public and to being good stewards of the environment. We will continually strive to understand customer requirements, perform services, and activities that meet or exceed customer expectations, and be cost-effective in our performance. The WMP maintains an environment that fosters continuous improvement in our processes, performance, safety and quality. The achievement of quality will require the total commitment of all WMP employees to our ethic that Quality, Health and Safety, and Regulatory Compliance must come before profits. The successful implementation of this policy and ethic requires a formal, documented management quality system to ensure quality standards are established and achieved in all activities. The following principles are the foundation of our quality system. Senior management will take full ownership of the quality system and will create an environment that ensures quality objectives are met, standards are clearly established, and performance is measured and evaluated. Line management will be responsible for quality system implementation. Each organization will adhere to all quality system requirements that apply to their function. Every employee will be responsible for their work quality, to work safely and for complying with the policies, procedures and instructions applicable to their activities. Quality will be addressed and verified during all phases of our work scope from proposal development through closeout including contracts or projects. Continuous quality improvement will be an ongoing process. Our quality ethic and these quality principles constantly guide our actions. We will meet our own quality expectations and exceed those of our customers with vigilance, commitment, teamwork, and persistence.

Interference of guiding modes in 'traffic' circle waveguides composed of dielectric spherical particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polishchuk, I.Ya.; Gozman, M.I.; Samoylova, O.M.; Burin, A.L.

2009-01-01

The interference of guiding polariton modes propagating through the waveguide composed of dielectric spherical particles forming a 'traffic' circle docked by two linear entrance and exit chains is investigated. The dependence of intensity of the polariton wave on the position of the particle on the circle was studied using the multisphere Mie scattering formalism. We show that, if the frequency of light belongs to the pass-band of the circular part of this waveguide, the electromagnetic waves may be considered as two optical beams running along the circle in opposite directions and interfering with each other. Indeed, the obtained intensity behavior can be represented as a simple superposition of two waves propagating along the circle in opposite directions. The applications of this interference are discussed

The core of C*-algebras associated with circle maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannesen, Benjamin Randeris

2017-01-01

The relationship between dynamical systems and operator algebras is one that has been fruitful and mutually beneficial and is by now both well-established, -aged and -matured. This thesis contribute in developing the relationship between dynamical systems, groupoids and operator algebra for circle...... dynamics. Another aspect of this thesis are the results solely about dynamics on the unit circle. The reader is supposed to be well versed in C*-algebras and K-theory (and classification). The reader is not assumed to be familiar with dynamical system theory nor with groupoids....

A simple algorithm for computing the smallest enclosing circle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skyum, Sven

1991-01-01

Presented is a simple O(n log n) algorithm for computing the smallest enclosing circle of a convex polygon. It can be easily extended to algorithms that compute the farthest-and the closest-point Voronoi diagram of a convex polygon within the same time bound.......Presented is a simple O(n log n) algorithm for computing the smallest enclosing circle of a convex polygon. It can be easily extended to algorithms that compute the farthest-and the closest-point Voronoi diagram of a convex polygon within the same time bound....

SF Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund: Projects and Accomplishments

Science.gov (United States)

San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund (SFBWQIF) projects listed here are part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irene Farnham

2011-05-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) provides the overall quality assurance (QA) program requirements and general quality practices to be applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) Underground Test Area (UGTA) Sub-Project (hereafter the Sub-Project) activities. The requirements in this QAPP are consistent with DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance (DOE, 2005); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA, 2002); and EPA Guidance on the Development, Evaluation, and Application of Environmental Models (EPA, 2009). The QAPP Revision 0 supersedes DOE--341, Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 4.

THE QUALITY OF GROWTH: PERAN TEKNOLOGI DAN INVESTASI HUMAN CAPITAL SEBAGAI PEMACU PERTUMBUHAN EKONOMI BERKUALITAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Eko Prasetyo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the process of developing economy in a whole and continuously, the macro economy stability of acountry is an essential prerequisite for producing a quality economic growth. For achieving the qualityeconomic growth, there should be a continuous capital human investment and the use of continuousscience and technology (IPTEK. The process of developing economy will be able to transform thesociety condition from vicious circle to virtuous circle condition if the growth of economy is qualified..Keywords: Quality of growth; human capital, technology and virtuous circle.

Normal Isocurvature Surfaces and Special Isocurvature Circles (SIC)

Science.gov (United States)

Manoussakis, Gerassimos; Delikaraoglou, Demitris

2010-05-01

An isocurvature surface of a gravity field is a surface on which the value of the plumblines' curvature is constant. Here we are going to study the isocurvature surfaces of the Earth's normal gravity field. The normal gravity field is a symmetric gravity field therefore the isocurvature surfaces are surfaces of revolution. But even in this case the necessary relations for their study are not simple at all. Therefore to study an isocurvature surface we make special assumptions to form a vector equation which will hold only for a small coordinate patch of the isocurvature surface. Yet from the definition of the isocurvature surface and the properties of the normal gravity field is possible to express very interesting global geometrical properties of these surfaces without mixing surface differential calculus. The gradient of the plumblines' curvature function is vertical to an isocurvature surface. If P is a point of an isocurvature surface and "Φ" is the angle of the gradient of the plumblines' curvature with the equatorial plane then this direction points to the direction along which the curvature of the plumbline decreases / increases the most, and therefore is related to the strength of the normal gravity field. We will show that this direction is constant along a line of curvature of the isocurvature surface and this line is an isocurvature circle. In addition we will show that at each isocurvature surface there is at least one isocurvature circle along which the direction of the maximum variation of the plumblines' curvature function is parallel to the equatorial plane of the ellipsoid of revolution. This circle is defined as a Special Isocurvature Circle (SIC). Finally we shall prove that all these SIC lye on a special surface of revolution, the so - called SIC surface. That is to say, a SIC is not an isolated curve in the three dimensional space.

On circle map coupled map lattice

CERN Document Server

Ahmed, E

2002-01-01

Circle map in one and two dimensions is studied. Both its stability, synchronization using bounded control and persistence is discussed. This work is expected to be applicable in ecology where spatial effects are known to be important. Also it will be relevant to systems where delay effects are not negligible.

Waring's Problem and the Circle Method

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

other interests include classical music and mountaineering. the problems they worked on. Their proof of a slightly. Keywords weaker form of Ramanujan's original formula was pub-. Waring's problem, circle method, ... arc is fairly simple while it is the minor arc estimation that accounts for the 'major' amount of work involved!

Small circles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ling, Richard; Bjelland, Johannes; Sundsøy, Pål

2014-01-01

and spatial movement is highly predictable and that the majority of calls and text messages are sent to only four to six different persons. This article extends this research by examining both tie strength and the distance between the interlocutors in urban and rural settings. The findings show that even......This article examines how we use mobile telephony to maintain our physically and socially closest social circle. The analysis is based on traffic data gathered from Norway using approximately 24 million calls and texts made by private individuals. Previous research has shown that our temporal...... as information and communication technologies (ICTs) potentially put the world at our fingertips, the mobile phone is an instrument of a more limited geographical and social sphere. Approximately two-thirds of our calls/texts go to strong ties that are within a 25-km radius....

Ninety to Nothing: a PDSA quality improvement project.

Science.gov (United States)

Prybutok, Gayle Linda

2018-05-14

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a successful quality improvement project in an acute care hospital focused on reducing the time of the total patient visit in the emergency department. Design/methodology/approach A multidisciplinary quality improvement team, using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) Cycle, analyzed the emergency department care delivery process and sequentially made process improvements that contributed to project success. Findings The average turnaround time goal of 90 minutes or less per visit was achieved in four months, and the organization enjoyed significant collateral benefits both internal to the organization and for its customers. Practical implications This successful PDSA process can be duplicated by healthcare organizations of all sizes seeking to improve a process related to timely, high-quality patient care delivery. Originality/value Extended wait time in hospital emergency departments is a universal problem in the USA that reduces the quality of the customer experience and that delays necessary patient care. This case study demonstrates that a structured quality improvement process implemented by a multidisciplinary team with the authority to make necessary process changes can successfully redefine the norm.

Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donnelly, Lane F.

2017-01-01

Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success. (orig.)

Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donnelly, Lane F. [Texas Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Houston, TX (United States)

2017-06-15

Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success. (orig.)

Avoiding failure: tools for successful and sustainable quality-improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Lane F

2017-06-01

Involvement in successful and sustained quality improvement can be a very rewarding experience. However, it can be very difficult work. Up to 70% of attempted organizational change is not sustained. There are many reasons why quality-improvement projects might not be successful. In this article, the author reviews items associated with an increased or decreased likelihood of success. Such items have been categorized as structural issues, human issues and environmental context. This paper is intended to serve those embarking on quality-improvement projects as a resource to help position them for success.

Circle of willis and its variations; morphometric study in adult human cadavers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raghavendra, Shirol VS, Daksha Dixit, Anil Kumar Reddy Y, Desai SP

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Circle of Willis plays a vital role in collateral circulation and redistribution of blood to all areas of the brain. Variation in circle of Willis is known to cause grave disorders like cerebrovascular disorders, subarachnoid haemorrhage, cerebral aneurysm and schizophrenia. The objectives of the present study are to study the formation and branching pattern of circle of Willis and also to study the distribution of variations. MATERIALS & Methods: The study was conducted on 50 adult brain specimens. Each brain was removed in one piece by dissection and the circle of Willis was observed for its formation, pattern and variations. Results: Among the 50 specimens studied, 28 cases (56% had a normal pattern of circle of Willis and variations were observed in the remaining 22 cases (44%. More number of variations was observed on the right side than on the left side. The most common variation observed was hypoplastic posterior communicating artery (7 cases, 31.8%. Posterior communicating artery was found to be the most variable vessel while middle cerebral artery was the least variable vessel. Interpretation and Conclusion: The results with respect to the circle of Willis and all its component arteries were consistent with the results in the available literature. The only exception was the increased incidence of absence of both the anterior and posterior communicating arteries. This finding is of clinical significance to neurologists and neurosurgeons in this geographical location of north Karnataka. A higher incidence of variations in the communicating arteries is likely to manifest as a higher incidence in disorders like migraine, schizophrenia and cerebrovascular disorders due to compromised collateral circulation and poor redistribution of blood.

Project specific quality assurance plan for Project W-178, 219-S secondary containment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckles, D.I.

1994-01-01

The scope of this Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) is to provide a system of Quality Assurance reviews and verifications on the design, procurement and construction of the 219-S Secondary Containment Upgrade. The reviews and verifications will be on activities associated with design, procurement, and construction of the Secondary Containment Upgrade which includes, but is not limited to demolition, removal, new tank installation, tank 103 isolation, tank cell refurbishment, electrical, instrumentation, piping/tubing including supports, pump and valves, and special coatings. The full project scope is defined in the project Functional Design Criteria (FDC), SD-W178-FDC-001, and all activities must be in compliance with this FDC and related design documentation

QRL closes the circle

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

Installation of the cryogenic distribution line (QRL) on sector 1-2, the last to be equipped. Installation began on the last sector of the cryogenic distribution line (QRL) about three weeks ahead of the revised schedule. Besides the recent start on sector 1-2, two other sectors are still being installed. QRL installation is expected to be complete by October. Installation of a single sector involves placing 325 elements and making almost 2000 internal welds. The average time now needed for installing each sector is about four and a half months, compared to the 11 months it took to install the first sector. 'Now people are very well trained and they know they can go fast with a good quality,' said QRL project engineer Germana Riddone. As proof of that quality, QRL technicians can look at the results of the latest pressure test on sector 5-6. There were no internal leaks in the sector and out of 1000 external interconnections there were only three leaks. The QRL project was hampered early on by technical prob...

The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grimm, Thomas W. [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik,Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Institute for Theoretical Physics,Utrecht University, Leuvenlaan 4, 3584 CE Utrecht (Netherlands); Center for Extreme Matter and Emergent Phenomena,Utrecht University, Leuvenlaan 4, 3584 CE Utrecht (Netherlands); Kapfer, Andreas [Max-Planck-Institut für Physik,Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany); Klevers, Denis [Theory Group, Physics Department, CERN,CH-1211, Geneva 23 (Switzerland)

2016-06-20

The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

Science.gov (United States)

Grimm, Thomas W.; Kapfer, Andreas; Klevers, Denis

2016-06-01

The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

The arithmetic of elliptic fibrations in gauge theories on a circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimm, Thomas W.; Kapfer, Andreas; Klevers, Denis

2016-01-01

The geometry of elliptic fibrations translates to the physics of gauge theories in F-theory. We systematically develop the dictionary between arithmetic structures on elliptic curves as well as desingularized elliptic fibrations and symmetries of gauge theories on a circle. We show that the Mordell-Weil group law matches integral large gauge transformations around the circle in Abelian gauge theories and explain the significance of Mordell-Weil torsion in this context. We also use Higgs transitions and circle large gauge transformations to introduce a group law for genus-one fibrations with multi-sections. Finally, we introduce a novel arithmetic structure on elliptic fibrations with non-Abelian gauge groups in F-theory. It is defined on the set of exceptional divisors resolving the singularities and divisor classes of sections of the fibration. This group structure can be matched with certain integral non-Abelian large gauge transformations around the circle when studying the theory on the lower-dimensional Coulomb branch. Its existence is required by consistency with Higgs transitions from the non-Abelian theory to its Abelian phases in which it becomes the Mordell-Weil group. This hints towards the existence of a new underlying geometric symmetry.

Migraine with aura is associated with an incomplete circle of willis: results of a prospective observational study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brett Cucchiara

Full Text Available To compare the prevalence of an incomplete circle of Willis in patients with migraine with aura, migraine without aura, and control subjects, and correlate circle of Willis variations with alterations in cerebral perfusion.Migraine with aura, migraine without aura, and control subjects were prospectively enrolled in a 1∶1∶1 ratio. Magnetic resonance angiography was performed to examine circle of Willis anatomy and arterial spin labeled perfusion magnetic resonance imaging to measure cerebral blood flow. A standardized template rating system was used to categorize circle of Willis variants. The primary pre-specified outcome measure was the frequency of an incomplete circle of Willis. The association between circle of Willis variations and cerebral blood flow was also analyzed.170 subjects were enrolled (56 migraine with aura, 61 migraine without aura, 53 controls. An incomplete circle of Willis was significantly more common in the migraine with aura compared to control group (73% vs. 51%, p = 0.02, with a similar trend for the migraine without aura group (67% vs. 51%, p = 0.08. Using a quantitative score of the burden of circle of Willis variants, migraine with aura subjects had a higher burden of variants than controls (p = 0.02. Compared to those with a complete circle, subjects with an incomplete circle had greater asymmetry in hemispheric cerebral blood flow (p = 0.05. Specific posterior cerebral artery variants were associated with greater asymmetries of blood flow in the posterior cerebral artery territory.An incomplete circle of Willis is more common in migraine with aura subjects than controls, and is associated with alterations in cerebral blood flow.

CircleBoard-Pro: Concrete manipulative-based learning cycle unit for learning geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Jamhari, Wongkia, Wararat

2018-01-01

Currently, a manipulative is commonly used in mathematics education as a supported tool for teaching and learning. With engaging natural interaction of a concrete manipulative and advantages of a learning cycle approach, we proposed the concrete manipulative-based learning cycle unit to promote mathematics learning. Our main objectives are to observe possibilities on the use of a concrete manipulative in learning geometry, and to assess students' understanding of a specific topic, angle properties in a circle, of secondary level students. To meet the first objective, the concrete manipulative, called CricleBoard-Pro, was designed. CircleBoard-Pro is built for easy to writing on or deleting from, accurate angle measurement, and flexible movement. Besides, learning activities and worksheets were created for helping students to learn angle properties in a circle. Twenty eighth graders on a lower secondary school in Indonesia were voluntarily involved to learn mathematics using CircleBoard-Pro with the designed learning activities and worksheets. We informally observed students' performance by focusing on criteria of using manipulative tools in learning mathematics while the learning activities were also observed in terms of whether they work and which step of activities need to be improved. The results of this part showed that CircleBoard-Pro complied the criteria of the use of the manipulative in learning mathematics. Nevertheless, parts of learning activities and worksheets need to be improved. Based on the results of the observation, CircleBoard-Pro, learning activities, and worksheets were merged together and became the CircleBoardPro embedded on 5E (Engage - Explore - Explain - Elaborate - Evaluate) learning cycle unit. Then, students understanding were assessed to reach the second objective. Six ninth graders from an Indonesian school in Thailand were recruited to participate in this study. Conceptual tests for both pre-and post-test, and semi

Comparing Interactions in Literature Circles in Both Online and in Class Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Skeen, Christel Ghrist

2014-01-01

Discourse analysis of literature circles can lead educators to understand the different types of interactions taking place as students talk about text. Social and academic interactions exist in both face-to-face and online discussions of reading material. This study examines two different settings of literature circles and compares interactions of…

Scaling the quality of clinical audit projects: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Millard, A D

1999-06-01

To pilot the development of a scale measuring the quality of audit projects through audit project reports. Statements about clinical audit projects were selected from existing instruments, assessing the quality of clinical audit projects, to form a Likert scale. The audit facilitators were based in Scottish health boards and trusts. The participants were audit facilitators known to have over 2 years experience of supporting clinical audit. The response at first test was 11 out of 14 and at the second test it was 27 out of 46. The draft scale was tested by 27 audit facilitators who expressed their strength of agreement or disagreement with each statement for three reports. Validity was assessed by test-re-test, item-total, and total-global indicator correlations. Of the 20 statements, 15 had satisfactory correlations with scale totals. Scale totals had good correlations with global indicators. Test-re-test correlation was modest. The wide range of responses means further research is needed to measure the consistency of audit facilitators' interpretations, perhaps comparing a trained group with an untrained group. There may be a need for a separate scale for reaudits. Educational impact is distinct from project impact generally. It may be more meaningful to treat the selection of projects and aims, methodology and impact separately as subscales and take a project profiling approach rather than attempting to produce a global quality index.

Development and application of new quality model for software projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Karnavel, K; Dillibabu, R

2014-01-01

The IT industry tries to employ a number of models to identify the defects in the construction of software projects. In this paper, we present COQUALMO and its limitations and aim to increase the quality without increasing the cost and time. The computation time, cost, and effort to predict the residual defects are very high; this was overcome by developing an appropriate new quality model named the software testing defect corrective model (STDCM). The STDCM was used to estimate the number of remaining residual defects in the software product; a few assumptions and the detailed steps of the STDCM are highlighted. The application of the STDCM is explored in software projects. The implementation of the model is validated using statistical inference, which shows there is a significant improvement in the quality of the software projects.

NIF Projects Controls and Information Systems Software Quality Assurance Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fishler, B

2011-03-18

Quality achievement for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) is the responsibility of the NIF Projects line organization as described in the NIF and Photon Science Directorate Quality Assurance Plan (NIF QA Plan). This Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP) is subordinate to the NIF QA Plan and establishes quality assurance (QA) activities for the software subsystems within Controls and Information Systems (CIS). This SQAP implements an activity level software quality assurance plan for NIF Projects as required by the LLNL Institutional Software Quality Assurance Program (ISQAP). Planned QA activities help achieve, assess, and maintain appropriate quality of software developed and/or acquired for control systems, shot data systems, laser performance modeling systems, business applications, industrial control and safety systems, and information technology systems. The objective of this SQAP is to ensure that appropriate controls are developed and implemented for management planning, work execution, and quality assessment of the CIS organization's software activities. The CIS line organization places special QA emphasis on rigorous configuration control, change management, testing, and issue tracking to help achieve its quality goals.

NIF Projects Controls and Information Systems Software Quality Assurance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fishler, B.

2011-01-01

Quality achievement for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) is the responsibility of the NIF Projects line organization as described in the NIF and Photon Science Directorate Quality Assurance Plan (NIF QA Plan). This Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP) is subordinate to the NIF QA Plan and establishes quality assurance (QA) activities for the software subsystems within Controls and Information Systems (CIS). This SQAP implements an activity level software quality assurance plan for NIF Projects as required by the LLNL Institutional Software Quality Assurance Program (ISQAP). Planned QA activities help achieve, assess, and maintain appropriate quality of software developed and/or acquired for control systems, shot data systems, laser performance modeling systems, business applications, industrial control and safety systems, and information technology systems. The objective of this SQAP is to ensure that appropriate controls are developed and implemented for management planning, work execution, and quality assessment of the CIS organization's software activities. The CIS line organization places special QA emphasis on rigorous configuration control, change management, testing, and issue tracking to help achieve its quality goals.

In the vicious circle of fear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zischka, A.

1980-01-01

Fear is the great driving force, the basic effect, without which there would be no adaption to new living conditions, and no provision for the future. But fear has a positive influence only as long as it does not gain the upper hand, for then it makes human beings blind and stifles activity. What is important, and will remain so, is the equilibrium between fear and courage, caution and the desire for action, optimism und pessimism. This equilibrium has now been disturbed in the western countries - and only here. Our present fears give rise to hardly any positive measures, but prevent provision for the future. We are threatened with failure due to the manipulated conversion of fear from the maintenance of life to an effect which destroys life. In this way we got into a vicious circle of fear: we must try to weaken the imagined dangers by emphasising the true conditions. The author discusses how the viscious circle can be broken. (orig.) 891 UA/orig. 892 MKO [de

Using SQUIRE 2.0 as a Guide for Planning Your Quality Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Stausmire, Julie M; Ulrich, Charla

2017-12-01

This article is the third of a 4-part quality improvement resource series for critical care nurses interested in implementing system process or performance improvement projects. Part 1 defined the differences between research and quality improvement. Part 2 discussed how nurses and managers could identify meaningful quality improvement projects that will make a real difference in their critical care unit while fitting within their time constraints and resources. Part 3 uses the recently revised Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence guidelines as a basis for designing, implementing, documenting, and publishing quality improvement projects. © 2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Everything within a Circle Is One Thing

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2017-12-19

Byron Breedlove, EID managing editor, discuses and reads his December 2017 cover essay, Everything within a Circle is One Thing.  Created: 12/19/2017 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 12/19/2017.

Dynamics and bifurcations of random circle diffeomorphisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zmarrou, H.; Homburg, A.J.

2008-01-01

We discuss iterates of random circle diffeomorphisms with identically distributed noise, where the noise is bounded and absolutely continuous. Using arguments of B. Deroin, V.A. Kleptsyn and A. Navas, we provide precise conditions under which random attracting fixed points or random attracting

Software Quality Assurance in Software Projects: A Study of Pakistan

OpenAIRE

Faisal Shafique Butt; Sundus Shaukat; M. Wasif Nisar; Ehsan Ullah Munir; Muhammad Waseem; Kashif Ayyub

2013-01-01

Software quality is specific property which tells what kind of standard software should have. In a software project, quality is the key factor of success and decline of software related organization. Many researches have been done regarding software quality. Software related organization follows standards introduced by Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) to achieve good quality software. Quality is divided into three main layers which are Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Software Qu...

Assessing local resources and culture before instituting quality improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, C Matthew

2014-12-01

The planning phases of quality improvement projects are commonly overlooked. Disorganized planning and implementation can escalate chaos, intensify resistance to change, and increase the likelihood of failure. Two important steps in the planning phase are (1) assessing local resources available to aid in the quality improvement project and (2) evaluating the culture in which the desired change is to be implemented. Assessing local resources includes identifying and engaging key stakeholders and evaluating if appropriate expertise is available for the scope of the project. This process also involves engaging informaticists and gathering available IT tools to plan and automate (to the extent possible) the data-gathering, analysis, and feedback steps. Culture in a department is influenced by the ability and willingness to manage resistance to change, build consensus, span boundaries between stakeholders, and become a learning organization. Allotting appropriate time to perform these preparatory steps will increase the odds of successfully performing a quality improvement project and implementing change. Copyright © 2014 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of educational services in the field of Project management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zlatko Barilović

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The growth and development of any business system depends on effectively and successfully implemented projects. Considering that the number of projects worldwide has been constantly increasing, developing project skills in individuals which will be involved in a project is of crucial importance. In the Republic of Croatia, the number of institutions offering education programmes in project management has been steadily growing. Each of these institutions will have to build its competitiveness on the marketing concept. Lately, the quality of educational services has been recognized as an increasingly important element of marketing. One of the education programmes in the field of project management in Croatia is the Specialist Graduate Professional Study Programme in Project Management offered at the Baltazar Adam Krčelić College of Business and Management in Zaprešić. In this paper the authors examine the competitiveness of the above education programme through a survey on the quality of educational service conducted in 2012 with a sample of 202 students with the aim of further defining the guidelines for improvement of its market competitiveness

Reactivation of chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus-6 by telomeric circle formation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhupesh K Prusty

Full Text Available More than 95% of the human population is infected with human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6 during early childhood and maintains latent HHV-6 genomes either in an extra-chromosomal form or as a chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (ciHHV-6. In addition, approximately 1% of humans are born with an inheritable form of ciHHV-6 integrated into the telomeres of chromosomes. Immunosuppression and stress conditions can reactivate latent HHV-6 replication, which is associated with clinical complications and even death. We have previously shown that Chlamydia trachomatis infection reactivates ciHHV-6 and induces the formation of extra-chromosomal viral DNA in ciHHV-6 cells. Here, we propose a model and provide experimental evidence for the mechanism of ciHHV-6 reactivation. Infection with Chlamydia induced a transient shortening of telomeric ends, which subsequently led to increased telomeric circle (t-circle formation and incomplete reconstitution of circular viral genomes containing single viral direct repeat (DR. Correspondingly, short t-circles containing parts of the HHV-6 DR were detected in cells from individuals with genetically inherited ciHHV-6. Furthermore, telomere shortening induced in the absence of Chlamydia infection also caused circularization of ciHHV-6, supporting a t-circle based mechanism for ciHHV-6 reactivation.

Improving Quality Assurance with CDIO Self-Evaluation: Experiences From a Nordic Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kontio, Juha; Roslöf, Janne; Edström, Kristina

2012-01-01

The main goal of the Nordic project Quality Assurance in Higher Education was to develop and implement a self-evaluation model in the participating Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to support their quality assurance work and continuous curriculum development. Furthermore, the project aimed...... programme and new ideas and support for quality assurance work in other higher education institutes have been produced....

Identifying Contractors’ Planned Quality Costs in Indonesian Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puti F. Marzuki

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In a very competitive construction industry, quality costs have to be measured to be able to identify potential quality problem areas and to focus attention on work output improvement opportunities. The awareness of contractors on the importance of quality costs could be reflected in the extent of their quality costs planning. This paper presents an identification of planned quality costs in three construction projects executed by two large Indonesian contractors, a state-owned company and a private company in Jakarta. The objective is to enable the contractors to elaborate their quality costs planning and thereby improve their work output based on the findi ngs. Quality costs are first grouped into three categories: prevention, appraisal, and failure costs. Based on the works of previous researchers, a list of quality management activities that should be covered in each quality costs category is then created. The contractors’ planned quality costs data for each category are identified and collected through interviews and questionnaire surveys that refer to the list. Quality costs are expressed as a percentage of contract value. It is revealed that although large contractors already have certain knowledge on quality costs in construction projects, these costs are not planned in a structured way through an analysis of systematic quality costs records. Through cost categorization it is also shown that higher prevention and appraisal costs lead to lower failure costs. It is then concluded that a lot of work is still to be done by the contractors to set up a quality costs recording system which can serve as a basis for their quality improvement planning.

Discriminants and functional equations for polynomials orthogonal on the unit circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ismail, M.E.H.; Witte, N.S.

2000-01-01

We derive raising and lowering operators for orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle and find second order differential and q-difference equations for these polynomials. A general functional equation is found which allows one to relate the zeros of the orthogonal polynomials to the stationary values of an explicit quasi-energy and implies recurrences on the orthogonal polynomial coefficients. We also evaluate the discriminants and quantized discriminants of polynomials orthogonal on the unit circle

The Existence and Structure of Rotational Systems in the Circle

OpenAIRE

Ramanathan, Jayakumar

2018-01-01

By a rotational system, we mean a closed subset X of the circle, T=R/Z, together with a continuous transformation f:X→X with the requirements that the dynamical system (X,f) be minimal and that f respect the standard orientation of T. We show that infinite rotational systems (X,f), with the property that map f has finite preimages, are extensions of irrational rotations of the circle. Such systems have been studied when they arise as invariant subsets of certain specific mappings, F:T→T. Beca...

Research on quality assurance classification methodology for domestic AP1000 nuclear power projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai Jinhua; Jiang Huijie; Li Jingyan

2012-01-01

To meet the quality assurance classification requirements of domestic nuclear safety codes and standards, this paper analyzes the quality assurance classification methodology of domestic AP1000 nuclear power projects at present, and proposes the quality assurance classification methodology for subsequent AP1000 nuclear power projects. (authors)

A mathematical model for crashing projects by considering time, cost, quality and risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amin Mahmoudi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Employers are looking for reducing execution time and maintaining the quality of the projects that are the main objective of the projects. In this article, we focus on crashing projects by con-sidering different factors such as cost, time, quality and risk. For the proposed integer linear model, cost of conformance and cost of non-conformance are considered as parts of the costs of quality of deliverables in projects. The cost of conformance consists of the costs of training the project team, inspection and test of deliverables. The cost of non-conformance also includes costs of rework and scrap. Project risk management is one of the important aspects of the pro-jects. The present study also considers the impact of risks, which is highly applicable in projects with a high level of uncertainty. Results are presented using integer programming approach with the aim of minimizing the costs of the project.

Co-Constructing Knowledge through NGO-Driven Circle Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerbæk, Jonas

This presentation revolves around the question of what degree of control, if any, the users participating in NGO-driven development programs may have over their own development. Based on a multi-sited ethnography of NGO organizing and communication that I conducted in the period of 2010 to 2015......, and with a special analytical focus on the facilitating role of frontline NGO workers in rural East Africa, this presentation discusses enabling and constraining aspects of using circle work to co-produce knowledge in international development. More particularly I am focusing an approach to circle work called......, then participatory approaches such as REFLECT can be used not only to drive changes locally but also bolster the global participatory agenda of defining development practices and politics from the bottom and up...

Near-facility environmental monitoring quality assurance project plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinney, S.M.

1997-01-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan addresses the quality assurance requirements for the activities associated with the preoperational and near facility environmental monitoring performed by Waste Management Federal Services, Inc., Northwest Operations and supersedes WHC-EP-0538-2. This plan applies to all sampling and monitoring activities performed by waste management Federal Services, Inc., Northwest Operations in implementing facility environmental monitoring at the Hanford Site

Collateral Circles in Carotid Artery Occlusion. A Comparative Study between CW Doppler and contrast angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giraldi, C; Marconi, F; Parenti, G; Lenzi, B; Canapicchi, R; Padolecchia, R

1986-01-01

In order to evaluate the presence and efficacy of the different collateral circles, 98 patients with occlusion of the internal carotid artery between its origin and the origin of the ophtalmic artery, has been examined. Before contrast angiography, each patients was submitted to a Doppler examination with test of compression on the exsternal and common carotid arteries. The information on the collateral circles (Willis and pre-Willis) deriving from the Doppler examination seems to be interesting and more accurate. On the contrary, angiography allows a better visualisation of the extention of intercranial circles. These data show that the Doppler and angiographic techniques are complementary one to the other in the study of the collateral circles.

Evaluating Quality in Educational Spaces: OECD/CELE Pilot Project

Science.gov (United States)

von Ahlefeld, Hannah

2009-01-01

CELE's International Pilot Project on Evaluating Quality in Educational Spaces aims to assist education authorities, schools and others to maximise the use of and investment in learning environments. This article provides an update on the pilot project, which is currently being implemented in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal and the United…

Linearly Recurrent Circle Map Subshifts and an Application to Schrödinger Operators

CERN Document Server

Adamczewski, B

2001-01-01

We discuss circle map sequences and subshifts generated by them. We give a characterization of those sequences among them which are linearly recurrent. As an application we deduce zero-measure spectrum for a class of discrete one-dimensional Schrödinger operators with potentials generated by circle maps.

Squaring the Circle: Attempting Peace in Northern Ireland

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Marchi, Gina

1997-01-01

Finding a political framework for self-government in Northern Ireland that will be supported by both nationalists and unionists is referred to as a modern day attempt to do the impossible-to 'square the circle...

Quality assurance plan for the Objective Supply Capability Adaptive Redesign (OSCAR) project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, K.A.; Rasch, K.A.; Reid, R.W.

1996-11-01

This document establishes the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for the National Guard Bureau Objective Supply Capability Adaptive Redesign (OSCAR) project activities under the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) management. It defines the requirements and assigns responsibilities for ensuring, with a high degree of confidence, that project objectives will be achieved as planned. The QAP outlined herein is responsive to and meets the Quality Assurance Program standards for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation and ORNL and the ORNL Computing, Robotics, and Education Directorate (CRE). This document is intended to be in compliance with DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance Program, and the ORNL Standard Practice Procedure, SPP X-QA-8, Quality Assurance for ORNL Computing Software. This standard allows individual organizations to apply the stated requirements in a flexible manner suitable to the type of activity involved. Section I of this document provides an introduction to the OSCAR project QAP; Sections 2 and 3 describe the specific aspects of quality assurance as applicable to the OSCAR project. Section 4 describes the project approach to risk management. The Risk Management Matrix given in Appendix A is a tool to assess, prioritize, and prevent problems before they occur. Therefore, the matrix will be reviewed and revised on a periodic basis.

Sphalerons of O(3) nonlinear sigma model on a circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funakubo, Koichi; Otsuki, Shoichiro; Toyoda, Fumihiko.

1989-09-01

A series of saddle point solutions of O(3) nonlinear sigma model with symmetry breaking term in 1 + 1 dimensions are obtained by imposing boundary condition either periodic or partially antiperiodic (O(3) sphalerons on a circle). Under the periodic boundary condition, classical features of the O(3) sphalerons are similar to scalar sphalerons of φ 4 model on a circle by Manton and Samols. Under the partially antiperiodic boundary condition, the lowest of the O(3) sphalerons coincides in the limit of infinite spatial domain with the O(3) sphaleron by Mottola and Wipf. In particular, zero and negative modes of them are examined in detail. An estimate of transition rate over the lowest O(3) sphaleron at finite temperature is made, and some remarks on simulating the transition on a lattice are given. One to one correspondence between these O(3) sphalerons on a circle and a series of (possible) classical solutions of SU(2) gauge-Higgs model, to which the electroweak sphaleron S and new sphaleron S* belong, is discussed. (author)

Design Factors Influencing Quality of Building Projects in Nigeria: Consultants' Perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukumon Oyedele

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Various factors identified from the literature that caninfluence quality of building projects in Nigeria have beenstudied by means of questionnaire survey sent to architects,engineers and quantity surveyors in the industry. From atotal response of 107 consultants, the importance of eachfactor was obtained via severity and frequency responsesof the factors. Data analysis includes comparisons ofranking among consultants using severity, frequency andimportance indexes, correlation analysis, and percentagerank agreement factor (PRAF to measure the agreement inthe importance ranking among the consultants.Correlation results between the professionals are architects/quantity surveyors (0.75, architects/engineers (0.21 ,and engineers/quantity surveyors (0.24. The percentagerank agreement factor (PRAF shows that the five mostimportant factors affecting quality are 'design changes'(78.9%; 'inadequate involvement of other professionalsduring the design stage' (78.9%; 'insufficient andunrealistic constraints of project cost' (71.1 %; 'poor levelof commitment to quality improvement among designprofessionals' (63.2%; and 'making design decisions oncost and not value of work' (55.3%. The results of this studywould provide feedback for the clients, project and qualitymangers and all the consultants in the industry, so thateffective management of quality can be ensured from theconceptual-design stage of the project.

Josephson junctions and circle maps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bak, P; Bohr, T; Jensen, M H; Christiansen, P V

1984-01-01

The return map of a differential equation for the current driven Josephson junction, or the damped driven pendulum, is shown numerically to be a circle map. Phase locking, noise and hysteresis, can thus be understood in a simple and coherent way. The transition to chaos is related to the development of a cubic inflection point. Recent theoretical results on universal behavior at the transition to chaos can readily be checked experimentally by studying I-V characteristics. 17 references, 1 figure.

Leadership Quality for Malaysia Construction Leader to Steer a Success Construction Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngah Nasaruddin Nur Ain

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Issues that dominate the construction industry for the long time such as time overrun, cost overrun, quality of construction and also safety during the construction process are difficult to resolve because of several factors involved which amongst them are leadership quality in the industry. Solving these issues can make the industry more sustainable in nature. This paper presents the need of leadership quality among construction parties involved to steer a construction project successfully. Literature work found that 11 leadership qualities to ensure construction project success. From the frequency analysis, five most dominant leadership qualities are team building, communication skill, visioning, planning & strategy skill, and decision making. Beside the literature, this study also seeks an opinion from a senior leader of a successful construction company regarding the need of these qualities amongst parties to resolve the construction issues. The results from an interview session indicate that he fully agreed with the need of all the qualities in the construction industry. This shows that there is a strong relationship between solving the issues with the leadership quality in ensuring construction project success. These qualities should be further investigated to acquire a better representation of leadership quality in resolving construction issues for Malaysia construction industry.

Improving of Quality Control and Quality Assurance in 14C and 3H Laboratory; Participation in the IAEA Model Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obelic, B.

2001-01-01

Full text: Users of laboratory's analytical results are increasingly requiring demonstrable proofs of the reliability and credibility of the results using internationally accepted standards, because the economic, ecological, medical and legal decisions based on laboratory results need to be accepted nationally and internationally. Credibility, respect and opportunities of the laboratories are improved when objective evidence on the reliability and quality of the results can be given. This is achieved through inculcation of a quality culture through definition of well-defined procedures and controls and operational checks characteristic of quality assurance and quality control (Q A/QC). IAEA launched in 1999 a two-and-a-half year model project entitled Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Nuclear Analytical Techniques with participation of laboratories using alpha, beta and/or gamma spectrometry from CEE and NIS countries. The project started to introduce and implement QA principles in accordance with the ISO-17025 guide, leading eventually to a level at which the QA system is self-sustainable and might be appropriate for formal accreditation or certification by respective national authorities. Activities within the project consist of semi-annual reports, two training workshops, two inspection visits of the laboratories by IAEA experts and proficiency tests. The following topics were considered: organisation requirements, acceptance criteria and non-conformance management of QC, internal and external method validation, statistical analyses and uncertainty evaluation, standard operation procedures and quality manual documentation. 14 C and 3 H Laboratory of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute has been one of ten laboratories participating in the Project. In the Laboratory all the procedures required in the quality control were included implicitly, while during the Model Project much effort has been devoted to elaboration of explicit documentation. Since the beginning

Rolling circle amplification of metazoan mitochondrialgenomes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simison, W. Brian; Lindberg, D.R.; Boore, J.L.

2005-07-31

Here we report the successful use of rolling circle amplification (RCA) for the amplification of complete metazoan mt genomes to make a product that is amenable to high-throughput genome sequencing techniques. The benefits of RCA over PCR are many and with further development and refinement of RCA, the sequencing of organellar genomics will require far less time and effort than current long PCR approaches.

3-D Reservoir and Stochastic Fracture Network Modeling for Enhanced Oil Recovery, Circle Ridge Phosphoria/Tensleep Reservoir, and River Reservation, Arapaho and Shoshone Tribes, Wyoming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

La Pointe, Paul R.; Hermanson, Jan

2002-09-09

The goal of this project is to improve the recovery of oil from the Circle Ridge Oilfield, located on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, through an innovative integration of matrix characterization, structural reconstruction, and the characterization of the fracturing in the reservoir through the use of discrete fracture network models.

Spherical Projection Based Straight Line Segment Extraction for Single Station Terrestrial Laser Point Cloud

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Fan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Due to the discrete distribution computing errors and lack of adaptability are ubiquitous in the current straight line extraction for TLS data methods. A 3D straight line segment extraction method is proposed based on spherical projection for single station terrestrial laser point clouds. Firstly, horizontal and vertical angles of each laser point are calculated by means of spherical coordinates, intensity panoramic image according to the two angles is generated. Secondly, edges which include straight line features are detected from intensity panoramic image by using of edge detection algorithm. Thirdly, great circles are detected from edges of panoramic image using spherical Hough transform. According to the axiom that a straight line segment in 3D space is a spherical great circle after spherical projection, detecting great circles from spherical projected data sets is essentially detecting straight line segments from 3D data sets without spherical projection. Finally, a robust 3D straight line fitting method is employed to fitting the straight lines and calculating parameters of the straight line segments. Experiments using different data sets and comparison with other methods show the accuracy and applicability of the proposed method.

Great circle solution to polarization-based quantum communication (QC) in optical fiber

Science.gov (United States)

Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth; Peterson, Charles Glen; Newell, Raymond Thorson; Hughes, Richard John

2016-03-15

Birefringence in optical fibers is compensated by applying polarization modulation at a receiver. Polarization modulation is applied so that a transmitted optical signal has states of polarization (SOPs) that are equally spaced on the Poincare sphere. Fiber birefringence encountered in propagation between a transmitter and a receiver rotates the great circle on the Poincare sphere that represents the polarization bases used for modulation. By adjusting received polarizations, polarization components of the received optical signal can be directed to corresponding detectors for decoding, regardless of the magnitude and orientation of the fiber birefringence. A transmitter can be configured to transmit in conjugate polarization bases whose SOPs can be represented as equidistant points on a great circle so that the received SOPs are mapped to equidistant points on a great circle and routed to corresponding detectors.

Quality assurance program plan for 324 Building B-Cell safety cleanout project (BCCP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanke, J.M.

1997-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides information on how the Quality Assurance Program is implemented for the 324 Building B-Cell Safety Cleanout Project (BCCP). This QAPP is responsive to the Westinghouse Hanford Company Quality Assurance Program and Implementation Plan, WHC-SP-1131, for 10 CFR 830.120, Nuclear Safety Management, Quality Assurance Requirements; and DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance. This QAPP supersedes PNNL PNL-MA-70 QAP Quality Assurance Plan No. WTC-050 Rev. 2, issue date May 3, 1996. This QAPP has been developed specifically for the BCCP. It applies to those items and tasks which affect the completion of activities identified in the work breakdown structure of the Project Management Plan (PMP). These activities include all aspects of decontaminating B-Cell and project related operations within the 324 Building as it relates to the specific activities of this project. General facility activities (i.e. 324 Building Operations) are covered in the Building 324 QAPP. In addition, this QAPP supports the related quality assurance activities addressed in CM-2-14, Hazardous Material Packaging and Shipping, and HSRCM-1, Hanford Site Radiological Control Manual, The 324 Building is currently transitioning from being a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) managed facility to a B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) managed facility. During this transition process existing, PNNL procedures and documents will be utilized until replaced by BWHC procedures and documents. These documents conform to the requirements found in PNL-MA-70, Quality Assurance Manual and PNL-MA-8 1, Hazardous Materials Shipping Manual. The Quality Assurance Program Index (QAPI) contained in Table 1 provides a matrix which shows how project activities relate to 10 CFR 83 0.120 and 5700.6C criteria. Quality Assurance program requirements will be addressed separate from the requirements specified in this document. Other Hanford Site organizations/companies may be

Circles-in-the-sky searches and observable cosmic topology in a flat universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mota, B.; Reboucas, M. J.; Tavakol, R.

2010-01-01

In a universe with a detectable nontrivial spatial topology, the last scattering surface contains pairs of matching circles with the same distribution of temperature fluctuations--the so-called circles-in-the-sky. Searches for nearly antipodal circles-in-the-sky in maps of cosmic microwave background radiation have so far been unsuccessful. This negative outcome, along with recent theoretical results concerning the detectability of nearly flat compact topologies, is sufficient to exclude a detectable nontrivial topology for most observers in very nearly flat positively and negatively curved universes, whose total matter-energy density satisfies 0 tot -1| -5 . Here, we investigate the consequences of these searches for observable nontrivial topologies if the Universe turns out to be exactly flat (Ω tot =1). We demonstrate that in this case, the conclusions deduced from such searches can be radically different. We show that, although there is no characteristic topological scale in the flat manifolds, for all multiply-connected orientable flat manifolds, it is possible to directly study the action of the holonomies in order to obtain a general upper bound on the angle that characterizes the deviation from antipodicity of pairs of matching circles associated with the shortest closed geodesic. This bound is valid for all observers and all possible values of the compactification length parameters. We also show that in a flat universe, there are observers for whom the circles-in-the-sky searches already undertaken are insufficient to exclude the possibility of a detectable nontrivial spatial topology. It is remarkable how such small variations in the spatial curvature of the Universe, which are effectively indistinguishable geometrically, can have such a drastic effect on the detectability of cosmic topology. Another important outcome of our results is that they offer a framework with which to make statistical inferences from future circles-in-the-sky searches on whether

Providing a Full Circle of Support to Teachers in an Inclusive Elementary School

Science.gov (United States)

Waldron, Nancy L.; Redd, Lacy

2011-01-01

Providing a full circle of support to teachers in an inclusive elementary school, the Newberry Elementary School (NES) principal and staff have worked for 5 years to ensure the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. The authors would like to share their perceptions of how this full circle (the multiple systems) of…

CircleRides: developing an older adult transportation application and evaluating feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinz, Melinda; Kelly, Norene

2015-05-01

The purpose of the current study was to assess perceptions of CircleRides, a paper prototype of a service website designed to meet older adult transportation needs. Researchers used purposive sampling to conduct two focus groups comprised of older adults to obtain feedback on the CircleRides prototype at the beginning of its iterative design process. One focus group was conducted in a continuing care retirement community (n = 13) and the other in an independent living community for older adults (n = 11). The study assessed perceptions of the CircleRides prototype as well as self-reported older adult transportation preferences and needs. Three themes emerged from the data: (a) trust and concern, (b) socialization, and (c) flexibility and options. Researchers found that participants are interested in transportation options; however, concern exists about trusting a new system or prototype that has not established a reputation. Findings from the current study offer lessons learned for future iterations and for creating transportation prototypes for older adults. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Determination of the synthetic hydroxyapatite life circle used in dental practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teodorović Nevenka

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Dental materials are specific materials that were developed as a general materials for specific aplication in oral environment. To determinate the functional properties of this materials, we are obligated to use nonstandard approach and specific methods. In this study, two methodologies of material testing-artificial agging and quantification of visual informations for life circle assessment of hydroxyapatite (Hap based materials, were used. Hap was chemically synthetized which produced the material with high purity and crystallinity. Artificially produced Hap is used in stomatology for repair of bone tissue, as a filling for periodontal defects, and as a preservative augmentation for alveolar ridges. In the mean time those materials are used for definitive root canal obturation in endodontic therapy procedure as an apical plug or as complete filling material. This research was focused on the analysis of the bonding properties of the Hap based materials to the root canal walls. The methodology of artificial agging was used together with the quantification of visual informations in purpose to quantify the Hap bonding properties and bonding quality. Experiments were done in-vitro, with the artificia saliva as the agressive agent. The experimental tooths were analyzed by the high resolution optical microscope for the morphological characterisation of the bonding layer. The model for the bond life circle assessment was developed. Hap based materials proved that has favorable properties for the dental use. The presented results proved that the combination of two methodologies (artificial agging and quantification of visual informations could be used as the tool for analyzing the material-dentine interaction.

On the minimal travel time needed to collect n items on a circle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Litvak, Nelly; van Zwet, Willem R.

2004-01-01

Consider n items located randomly on a circle of length 1. The locations of the items are assumed to be independent and uniformly distributed on [0,1). A picker starts at point 0 and has to collect all n items by moving along the circle at unit speed in either direction. In this paper we study the

On the minimal travel time needed to collect $n$ items on a circle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Litvak, Nelli; van Zwet, Willem R.; van der Geer, Sarah; Wegkamp, Marten

2012-01-01

Consider $n$ items located randomly on a circle of length 1. The locations of the items are assumed to be independent and uniformly distributed on $[0,1)$. A picker starts at point 0 and has to collect all n items by moving along the circle at unit speed in either direction. In this paper we study

On the minimal travel time needed to collect n items on a circle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Litvak, Nelli; van Zwet, W.R.

2002-01-01

Consider n items located randomly on a circle of length 1. The locations of the items are assumed to be independent and uniformly distributed on [0, 1). A picker starts at point 0, and he has to collect all n items by moving along the circle at unit speed in either direction. In this paper we study

Univocally determining the cosmic topology from the detection of circles in the sky

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mota, Bruno; Tavakol, Reza

2011-01-01

Full text: While the topology of the spatial sections of the Universe is at present not specified by any known fundamental theory, it may in principle be determined through observations. In particular, a detectable non-trivial topology will generate pairs of matching circles of temperature fluctuations in maps of the cosmic microwave background, the so-called circles-in-the-sky. Each matching circle pair corresponds to an element of the holonomy group that determines the topology. However, generically, a complete set of generators for the holonomy group will not be detected, so it is not clear that the topology can be uniquely determined from such an observation. With that in mind, in the present work we seek to determine I) If, and how, the angular parameters of a correlated circle pair in a CMB map determines univocally the element in the holonomy group generating such correlation, irrespective of the observer's position in the manifold II) If, or to what extent, the detection of one or more elements of the spatial section's holonomy group univocally specifies the topology of the 3-manifold describing spatial sections of the Universe, and determines out position in it. III) If, or to what extent, the detection of one or more elements of the spatial section's holonomy group univocally specifies the geometry (namely, the sign of the curvature) of the 3-manifold describing spatial sections of the Universe IV) How the (possibly partial) determination of the topology of the 3-manifold describing spatial sections of the Universe from the detection of correlated circle pairs, combined with some other measure of its compactification lengths, constrains the cosmological density parameters. We show explicitly that, for many cases of flat manifolds, the full holonomy group, and by extension the full topology, can be completely determined, or severely constrained, by the determination of the geometrical parameters of a single matching circles pair associated with a non

Automatic Detection and Quantification of WBCs and RBCs Using Iterative Structured Circle Detection Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yazan M. Alomari

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Segmentation and counting of blood cells are considered as an important step that helps to extract features to diagnose some specific diseases like malaria or leukemia. The manual counting of white blood cells (WBCs and red blood cells (RBCs in microscopic images is an extremely tedious, time consuming, and inaccurate process. Automatic analysis will allow hematologist experts to perform faster and more accurately. The proposed method uses an iterative structured circle detection algorithm for the segmentation and counting of WBCs and RBCs. The separation of WBCs from RBCs was achieved by thresholding, and specific preprocessing steps were developed for each cell type. Counting was performed for each image using the proposed method based on modified circle detection, which automatically counted the cells. Several modifications were made to the basic (RCD algorithm to solve the initialization problem, detecting irregular circles (cells, selecting the optimal circle from the candidate circles, determining the number of iterations in a fully dynamic way to enhance algorithm detection, and running time. The validation method used to determine segmentation accuracy was a quantitative analysis that included Precision, Recall, and F-measurement tests. The average accuracy of the proposed method was 95.3% for RBCs and 98.4% for WBCs.

Quality improvement primer part 1: Preparing for a quality improvement project in the emergency department.

Science.gov (United States)

Chartier, Lucas B; Cheng, Amy H Y; Stang, Antonia S; Vaillancourt, Samuel

2018-01-01

Emergency medicine (EM) providers work in a fast-paced and often hectic environment that has a high risk for patient safety incidents and gaps in the quality of care. These challenges have resulted in opportunities for frontline EM providers to play a role in quality improvement (QI) projects. QI has developed into a mature field with methodologies that can dramatically improve the odds of having a successful project with a sustainable impact. However, this expertise is not yet commonly taught during professional training. In this first of three articles meant as a QI primer for EM clinicians, we will introduce QI methodology and strategic planning using a fictional case study as an example. We will review how to identify a QI problem, define components of an effective problem statement, and identify stakeholders and core change team members. We will also describe three techniques used to perform root cause analyses-Ishikawa diagrams, Pareto charts and process mapping-and how they relate to preparing for a QI project. The next two papers in this series will focus on the execution of the QI project itself using rapid-cycle testing and on the evaluation and sustainability of QI projects.

Project officer's perspective: quality assurance as a management tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiby, J

1993-06-01

Advances in the management of health programs in less developed countries (LDC) have not kept pace with the progress of the technology used. The US Agency for International Development mandated the Quality Assurance Project (QAP) to provide quality improvement technical assistance to primary health care systems in LDCs while developing appropriate quality assurance (QA) strategies. The quality of health care in recent years in the US and Europe focused on the introduction of management techniques developed for industry into health systems. The experience of the QAP and its predecessor, the PRICOR Project, shows that quality improvement techniques facilitate measurement of quality of care. A recently developed WHO model for the management of the sick child provides scientifically based standards for actual care. Since 1988, outside investigators measuring how LDC clinicians perform have revealed serious deficiencies in quality compared with the program's own standards. This prompted developed of new QA management initiatives: 1) communicating standards clearly to the program staff; 2) actively monitoring actual performance corresponds to these standards; and 3) taking action to improve performance. QA means that managers are expected to monitor service delivery, undertake problem solving, and set specific targets for quality improvement. Quality improvement methods strengthen supervision as supervisors can objectively assess health worker performance. QA strengthens the management functions that support service delivery, e.g., training, records management, finance, logistics, and supervision. Attention to quality can contribute to improved health worker motivation and effective incentive programs by recognition for a job well done and opportunities for learning new skills. These standards can also address patient satisfaction. QA challenges managers to aim for the optimal level of care attainable.

Software metrics: The key to quality software on the NCC project

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Patricia J.

1993-01-01

Network Control Center (NCC) Project metrics are captured during the implementation and testing phases of the NCCDS software development lifecycle. The metrics data collection and reporting function has interfaces with all elements of the NCC project. Close collaboration with all project elements has resulted in the development of a defined and repeatable set of metrics processes. The resulting data are used to plan and monitor release activities on a weekly basis. The use of graphical outputs facilitates the interpretation of progress and status. The successful application of metrics throughout the NCC project has been instrumental in the delivery of quality software. The use of metrics on the NCC Project supports the needs of the technical and managerial staff. This paper describes the project, the functions supported by metrics, the data that are collected and reported, how the data are used, and the improvements in the quality of deliverable software since the metrics processes and products have been in use.

A surface containing a line and a circle through each point is a quadric

KAUST Repository

Nilov, Fedor K.; Skopenkov, Mikhail

2012-01-01

We prove that a surface in 3-dimensional Euclidean space containing a line and a circle through each point is a quadric. We also give some particular results on the classification of surfaces containing several circles through each point. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

A surface containing a line and a circle through each point is a quadric

KAUST Repository

Nilov, Fedor K.

2012-06-20

We prove that a surface in 3-dimensional Euclidean space containing a line and a circle through each point is a quadric. We also give some particular results on the classification of surfaces containing several circles through each point. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Citizenship as individual responsibility through personal investment - an ethnographic study in a study circle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annika Pastuhov

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to shed light on how the democratic ideal of institutionalised Nordic popular education is realised through an ethnographic field study in an English as a foreign language study circle. The study focuses on how participants express their citizenship when taking part in the study circle. Citizenship is viewed as a dynamic concept comprising the aspects of 'being' and 'acting' and constructed in and through social interaction. The study circle is arranged as a classroom practice: The study circle leader organises the activities, while the participants engage in exercises and attempt to learn correct usage. Through their participation, the participants take individual responsibility for what they see as their lack of sufficient knowledge of English. The participants describe their participation as a personal and voluntary investment in themselves. In light of the study, the individual stance is discussed as limiting possibilities for responsibility and thus expressions of citizenship.

Ground-water quality assessment of the central Oklahoma Aquifer, Oklahoma; project description

Science.gov (United States)

Christenson, S.C.; Parkhurst, D.L.

1987-01-01

In April 1986, the U.S. Geological Survey began a pilot program to assess the quality of the Nation's surface-water and ground-water resources. The program, known as the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, is designed to acquire and interpret information about a variety of water-quality issues. The Central Oklahoma aquifer project is one of three ground-water pilot projects that have been started. The NAWQA program also incudes four surface-water pilot projects. The Central Oklahoma aquifer project, as part of the pilot NAWQA program, will develop and test methods for performing assessments of ground-water quality. The objectives of the Central Oklahoma aquifer assessment are: (1) To investigate regional ground-water quality throughout the aquifer in the manner consistent with the other pilot ground-water projects, emphasizing the occurrence and distribution of potentially toxic substances in ground water, including trace elements, organic compounds, and radioactive constituents; (2) to describe relations between ground-water quality, land use, hydrogeology, and other pertinent factors; and (3) to provide a general description of the location, nature, and possible causes of selected prevalent water-quality problems within the study unit; and (4) to describe the potential for water-quality degradation of ground-water zones within the study unit. The Central Oklahoma aquifer, which includes in descending order the Garber Sandstone and Wellington Formation, the Chase Group, the Council Grove Group, the Admire Group, and overlying alluvium and terrace deposits, underlies about 3,000 square miles of central Oklahoma and is used extensively for municipal, industrial, commercial, and domestic water supplies. The aquifer was selected for study by the NAWQA program because it is a major source for water supplies in central Oklahoma and because it has several known or suspected water-quality problems. Known problems include concentrations of arsenic, chromium

Results of pilot project on introducing quality control of mammographic equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasileva, Zh.; Lichev, A.; Dimov, A.; Kostova, E.; Dimov, G.

2003-01-01

Objective:The results from a pilot project, realized in the framework of the PHARE Project 'Radiation Protection and Safety in Medical Use of the Ionizing Radiation'. The main goal of the project is the elaboration a quality control program for mammographic equipment and its implementation in 4 radiological units in the country. Another task is to examine the possibility for conducting a mammographic screening using this equipment. Material and methods: The developed quality control program has the following components: test parameters; criteria for intervention; minimal frequency of measurement. Methodologies for measurement of the parameters and assessment of the results in accordance with the European Protocol for physical and technical aspects of the mammographic screening. Standard protocols have been elaborated. Results: The quality program has been tested for three month at different hospitals. Conclusions: Optimization and strict control of the process of film development are needed. The exposure equipment. The quality control program should be implemented on all mammographic equipment in the country. For the performance of mammographic screening a strict selection of the equipment is necessary

Accurate episomal HIV 2-LTR circles quantification using optimized DNA isolation and droplet digital PCR.

Science.gov (United States)

Malatinkova, Eva; Kiselinova, Maja; Bonczkowski, Pawel; Trypsteen, Wim; Messiaen, Peter; Vermeire, Jolien; Verhasselt, Bruno; Vervisch, Karen; Vandekerckhove, Linos; De Spiegelaere, Ward

2014-01-01

In HIV-infected patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), the detection of episomal HIV 2-LTR circles is a potential marker for ongoing viral replication. Quantification of 2-LTR circles is based on quantitative PCR or more recently on digital PCR assessment, but is hampered due to its low abundance. Sample pre-PCR processing is a critical step for 2-LTR circles quantification, which has not yet been sufficiently evaluated in patient derived samples. We compared two sample processing procedures to more accurately quantify 2-LTR circles using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Episomal HIV 2-LTR circles were either isolated by genomic DNA isolation or by a modified plasmid DNA isolation, to separate the small episomal circular DNA from chromosomal DNA. This was performed in a dilution series of HIV-infected cells and HIV-1 infected patient derived samples (n=59). Samples for the plasmid DNA isolation method were spiked with an internal control plasmid. Genomic DNA isolation enables robust 2-LTR circles quantification. However, in the lower ranges of detection, PCR inhibition caused by high genomic DNA load substantially limits the amount of sample input and this impacts sensitivity and accuracy. Moreover, total genomic DNA isolation resulted in a lower recovery of 2-LTR templates per isolate, further reducing its sensitivity. The modified plasmid DNA isolation with a spiked reference for normalization was more accurate in these low ranges compared to genomic DNA isolation. A linear correlation of both methods was observed in the dilution series (R2=0.974) and in the patient derived samples with 2-LTR numbers above 10 copies per million peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), (R2=0.671). Furthermore, Bland-Altman analysis revealed an average agreement between the methods within the 27 samples in which 2-LTR circles were detectable with both methods (bias: 0.3875±1.2657 log10). 2-LTR circles quantification in HIV-infected patients proved to be more

Circle Maps and C*-algebras

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Thomas Lundsgaard; Thomsen, Klaus

2015-01-01

We consider a construction of $C^*$-algebras from continuous piecewise monotone maps on the circle which generalizes the crossed product construction for homeomorphisms and more generally the construction of Renault, Deaconu and Anantharaman-Delaroche for local homeomorphisms. Assuming that the map...... is surjective and not locally injective we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the simplicity of the $C^*$-algebra and show that it is then a Kirchberg algebra. We provide tools for the calculation of the K-theory groups and turn them into an algorithmic method for Markov maps....

Experimental research on energy circled fraction of continuous phase plates in focal spot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yuanhang; Yang Chunlin; Wen Shenglin; Shi Qikai; Wang Jian

2013-01-01

In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research process, the form of focal spot is extremely crucial. Especially in the indirect driven implosion, energy circled fraction is higher than 95% in focal spot. Based on the offline test platform, the focusing spot of continuous phase plates with different application error is clearly imaged on CCD. By experimental analysis, it is found that the beam rotation error, caliber error, translational error and inclination error have a high tolerance in affecting focal plane of CPP. Energy circled fraction is higher than 95%, the range is less than 0.5%. Nevertheless, the waterfront aberration seriously affects the shaping ability of the CPP. Clearly, the main factor of reducing energy circled fraction to less than 90% is waterfront aberration. (authors)

UMTRA project technical assistance contractor quality assurance implementation plan for surface and ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) Quality Assurance Implementation Plan (QAIP) outlines the primary requirements for integrating quality functions for TAC technical activities applied to the surface and ground water phases of the UMTRA Project. The QAIP is subordinate to the latest issue of the UMTRA Project TAC Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP). The QAIP addresses technical aspects of the TAC UMTRA Project surface and ground water programs. The QAIP is authorized and approved by the TAC Project Manager and QA manager. The QA program is designed to use monitoring, audit, and surveillance functions as management tools to ensure that all Project organization activities are carried out in a manner that will protect public health and safety, promote the success of the UMTRA Project and meet or exceed contract requirements

Using Focused Laboratory Management and Quality Improvement Projects to Enhance Resident Training and Foster Scholarship

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Bradley A.; Klutts, J. Stacey; Jensen, Chris S.; Briggs, Angela S.; Robinson, Robert A.; Bruch, Leslie A.; Karandikar, Nitin J.

2017-01-01

Training in patient safety, quality, and management is widely recognized as an important element of graduate medical education. These concepts have been intertwined in pathology graduate medical education for many years, although training programs face challenges in creating explicit learning opportunities in these fields. Tangibly involving pathology residents in management and quality improvement projects has the potential to teach and reinforce key concepts and further fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education goals for pursuing projects related to patient safety and quality improvement. In this report, we present our experience at a pathology residency program (University of Iowa) in engaging pathology residents in projects related to practical issues of laboratory management, process improvement, and informatics. In this program, at least 1 management/quality improvement project, typically performed during a clinical chemistry/management rotation, was required and ideally resulted in a journal publication. The residency program also initiated a monthly management/informatics series for pathology externs, residents, and fellows that covers a wide range of topics. Since 2010, all pathology residents at the University of Iowa have completed at least 1 management/quality improvement project. Many of the projects involved aspects of laboratory test utilization, with some projects focused on other areas such as human resources, informatics, or process improvement. Since 2012, 31 peer-reviewed journal articles involving effort from 26 residents have been published. Multiple projects resulted in changes in ongoing practice, particularly within the hospital electronic health record. Focused management/quality improvement projects involving pathology residents can result in both meaningful quality improvement and scholarly output. PMID:28913416

Using Focused Laboratory Management and Quality Improvement Projects to Enhance Resident Training and Foster Scholarship.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasowski, Matthew D; Ford, Bradley A; Klutts, J Stacey; Jensen, Chris S; Briggs, Angela S; Robinson, Robert A; Bruch, Leslie A; Karandikar, Nitin J

2017-01-01

Training in patient safety, quality, and management is widely recognized as an important element of graduate medical education. These concepts have been intertwined in pathology graduate medical education for many years, although training programs face challenges in creating explicit learning opportunities in these fields. Tangibly involving pathology residents in management and quality improvement projects has the potential to teach and reinforce key concepts and further fulfill Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education goals for pursuing projects related to patient safety and quality improvement. In this report, we present our experience at a pathology residency program (University of Iowa) in engaging pathology residents in projects related to practical issues of laboratory management, process improvement, and informatics. In this program, at least 1 management/quality improvement project, typically performed during a clinical chemistry/management rotation, was required and ideally resulted in a journal publication. The residency program also initiated a monthly management/informatics series for pathology externs, residents, and fellows that covers a wide range of topics. Since 2010, all pathology residents at the University of Iowa have completed at least 1 management/quality improvement project. Many of the projects involved aspects of laboratory test utilization, with some projects focused on other areas such as human resources, informatics, or process improvement. Since 2012, 31 peer-reviewed journal articles involving effort from 26 residents have been published. Multiple projects resulted in changes in ongoing practice, particularly within the hospital electronic health record. Focused management/quality improvement projects involving pathology residents can result in both meaningful quality improvement and scholarly output.

Project quality management critical success factors for buildings

CERN Document Server

Low, Sui Pheng

2014-01-01

The book presents the development of the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS), Singapore’s de facto quality performance measurement system, explains the application of the Quality Management System (QMS) to manage CONQUAS and identifies 33 critical success factors (CSFs) for achieving high CONQUAS scores. Through CONQUAS, the reader benefits from understanding how the Singapore government developed and implemented the first objective system for measuring what many building professionals have perceived to be elusive quality standards in the construction industry. The book presents both the theoretical concepts as well as the practical aspects to achieving strategic Project Quality Management that is anchored on the CSFs to building best practices. To realistically reflect the practical aspects and challenging issues faced by stakeholders in the construction industry, questionnaire surveys were conducted with building professionals to distinguish the importance level and extent of adoption of the ...

Quality Management in Project Management Consulting. A Case Study in an International Consulting Company

OpenAIRE

Ceptureanu, Eduard-Gabriel; Ceptureanu, Sebastian-Ion; Luchian, Cristian-Eugen; Luchian, Iuliana

2017-01-01

The present paper addresses quality management from the specific perspective of project management consulting service providers, in the framework of large infrastructure projects. Because of their supposed superiority in knowledge and experience, project management consultants have an ultimate responsibility for the proper implementing of the project. Therefore, quality management in consulting organizations should focus on critical success factors. As there is no consensus yet regarding the ...

Innovations in projecting emissions for air quality modeling ...

Science.gov (United States)

Air quality modeling is used in setting air quality standards and in evaluating their costs and benefits. Historically, modeling applications have projected emissions and the resulting air quality only 5 to 10 years into the future. Recognition that the choice of air quality management strategy has climate change implications is encouraging longer modeling time horizons. However, for multi-decadal time horizons, many questions about future conditions arise. For example, will current population, economic, and land use trends continue, or will we see shifts that may alter the spatial and temporal pattern of emissions? Similarly, will technologies such as building-integrated solar photovoltaics, battery storage, electric vehicles, and CO2 capture emerge as disruptive technologies - shifting how we produce and use energy - or will these technologies achieve only niche markets and have little impact? These are some of the questions that are being evaluated by researchers within the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development. In this presentation, Dr. Loughlin will describe a range of analytical approaches that are being explored. These include: (i) the development of alternative scenarios of the future that can be used to evaluate candidate management strategies over wide-ranging conditions, (ii) the application of energy system models to project emissions decades into the future and to assess the environmental implications of new technologies, (iii) and methodo

Dedicated breast CT: radiation dose for circle-plus-line trajectory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vedantham, Srinivasan; Shi, Linxi; Karellas, Andrew; Noo, Frederic

2012-01-01

Purpose: Dedicated breast CT prototypes used in clinical investigations utilize single circular source trajectory and cone-beam geometry with flat-panel detectors that do not satisfy data-sufficiency conditions and could lead to cone beam artifacts. Hence, this work investigated the glandular dose characteristics of a circle-plus-line trajectory that fulfills data-sufficiency conditions for image reconstruction in dedicated breast CT. Methods: Monte Carlo-based computer simulations were performed using the GEANT4 toolkit and was validated with previously reported normalized glandular dose coefficients for one prototype breast CT system. Upon validation, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to determine the normalized glandular dose coefficients as a function of x-ray source position along the line scan. The source-to-axis of rotation distance and the source-to-detector distance were maintained constant at 65 and 100 cm, respectively, in all simulations. The ratio of the normalized glandular dose coefficient at each source position along the line scan to that for the circular scan, defined as relative normalized glandular dose coefficient (RD g N), was studied by varying the diameter of the breast at the chest wall, chest-wall to nipple distance, skin thickness, x-ray beam energy, and glandular fraction of the breast. Results: The RD g N metric when stated as a function of source position along the line scan, relative to the maximum length of line scan needed for data sufficiency, was found to be minimally dependent on breast diameter, chest-wall to nipple distance, skin thickness, glandular fraction, and x-ray photon energy. This observation facilitates easy estimation of the average glandular dose of the line scan. Polynomial fit equations for computing the RD g N and hence the average glandular dose are provided. Conclusions: For a breast CT system that acquires 300-500 projections over 2π for the circular scan, the addition of a line trajectory with equal

Cerebral cross-perfusion and the Circle of Willis: does physiology trump anatomy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Musicki K

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Korana Musicki,1 Katherine Victoria Hurst,1,2 Zoltán Molnár,3 Elizabeth Hardy,4 Ashok Handa,1,2 1Department of Vascular Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, 2Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, 3Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, 4Vascular Studies Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK Introduction: Cerebral cross-perfusion is essential for ipsilateral brain viability during unilateral insult. Aortic arch and great vessel procedures depend on its function for safe practice, unless adjuncts like shunts are used. This paper assesses the contribution of cerebrovascular anatomy against physiology in determining requisite hemispheric perfusion during carotid endarterectomy (CEA.Materials and methods: A review of shunting requirements for CEAs under locoregional anesthesia (LA at the John Radcliffe Hospital during 1999–2013 was performed. A PubMed search for “Circle of Willis” was screened for all original articles defining cerebrovascular anatomy by postmortem or angiography.Results: Over 14 years, 1137 CEAs were performed under cervical plexus block; during this period, the departmental standard of practice evolved from exclusively general anesthesia to predominantly LA. CEAs performed under LA during the early phase (1999–2003 had a shunt rate of 15.1%, compared to 20% as predicted by stump pressures alone. However, shunting decreased as higher perioperative systolic pressures were routinely practiced; shunt rates were 8.0% during the intermediate (2004–2007 and 6.4% during the later (2008–2013 phase. By comparison, 25 articles characterizing 6414 brains report an intact circle of Willis in 33–35% of people, with a complete hemi-circle anteriorly (77% seen more commonly than posteriorly (42%, and 11–16% deficient in both hemi-circles with no cross-flow.Conclusion: Cerebral cross-perfusion is fundamental for safe CEA. Anatomy of the circle of Willis alone does not itself determine adequacy

Looking under Kachru's (1982, 1985 three circles model of World Englishes: the hidden reality and current challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Robert Schmitz

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the pioneering model of World Englishes formulated by Kachru in the early 1980s that allocates the presence of English into three concentric circles: first of all, the inner circle (Great Britain, the USA where the language functions as an L1 (or native language; secondly, the outer circle (India, Nigeria where the language was forced upon the subjugated people by Britain; thirdly, the expanding circle (China, Brazil where English is studied as a foreign language. Researchers in the area of language studies tend to put too much store in Kachru's model expecting it to expose the different circles: (i the proficiency level of the speakers, (ii the variation that exists in the different dialects of the language, and (iii how the many users appropriate the language to perform their daily routine. Pung (2009 suggests "going beyond" the three circle model with his proposal of a Conical Model of English (CME, while Park and Wee (2009, p.402 state that models have no "magical efficacy in challenging dominant ideologies of English" and that change in the world is not brought about by models but my people. Based on Park and Lee's caution with regard to models, and in lieu of Pung's "going beyond" the well-known Kachruvian model, the thrust of this article is to look specifically under the inner circle, that is, the supposed "native speaker domain". It will be argued in this paper that the circles function as a palimpsest erasing and ignoring what happened in the past linguistically, historically and culturally before the appearance of English in the spaces that the language occupies at the present time in the inner, outer, and expanding circles. An examination of days gone-by, with a focus on Kachru's inner circle, can present a mirror to examine: (i bilingual (multilingual biases, (ii migration of peoples and treatment of immigrants, (iii respect (or lack of for the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities, and (iv the hegemony of

Color image quality in projection displays: a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, Monica; Hardeberg, Jon Y.; Nussbaum, Peter

2005-01-01

Recently the use of projection displays has increased dramatically in different applications such as digital cinema, home theatre, and business and educational presentations. Even if the color image quality of these devices has improved significantly over the years, it is still a common situation for users of projection displays that the projected colors differ significantly from the intended ones. This study presented in this paper attempts to analyze the color image quality of a large set of projection display devices, particularly investigating the variations in color reproduction. As a case study, a set of 14 projectors (LCD and DLP technology) at Gjovik University College have been tested under four different conditions: dark and light room, with and without using an ICC-profile. To find out more about the importance of the illumination conditions in a room, and the degree of improvement when using an ICC-profile, the results from the measurements was processed and analyzed. Eye-One Beamer from GretagMacbeth was used to make the profiles. The color image quality was evaluated both visually and by color difference calculations. The results from the analysis indicated large visual and colorimetric differences between the projectors. Our DLP projectors have generally smaller color gamut than LCD projectors. The color gamuts of older projectors are significantly smaller than that of newer ones. The amount of ambient light reaching the screen is of great importance for the visual impression. If too much reflections and other ambient light reaches the screen, the projected image gets pale and has low contrast. When using a profile, the differences in colors between the projectors gets smaller and the colors appears more correct. For one device, the average ΔE*ab color difference when compared to a relative white reference was reduced from 22 to 11, for another from 13 to 6. Blue colors have the largest variations among the projection displays and makes them

Handwriting: three-dimensional kinetic synergies in circle drawing movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Alexander W; Karol, Sohit; Park, Jaebum; Kim, Yoon Hyuk; Shim, Jae Kun

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate central nervous system (CNS) strategies for controlling multifinger forces during a circle-drawing task. Subjects drew 30 concentric, discontinuous clockwise and counter clockwise circles, at self and experimenter-set paces. The three-dimensional trajectory of the pen's center of mass and the three-dimensional forces and moments of force at each contact between the hand and the pen were recorded. Uncontrolled Manifold Analysis was used to quantify the synergies between pen-hand contact forces in radial, tangential and vertical directions. Results showed that synergies in the radial and tangential components were significantly stronger than in the vertical component. Synergies in the clockwise direction were significantly stronger than the counterclockwise direction in the radial and vertical components. Pace was found to be insignificant under any condition.

The Obstruction criterion for non existence of Invariant Circles and Renormalization.

CERN Document Server

De la Llave, R

2003-01-01

We formulate a conjecture which supplements the standard renormalization scenario for the breakdown of golden circle in twist maps. We show rigorously that if the conjecture was true then: a) The stable manifold of the non-trivial fixed point would indeed be a boundary between the existence of smooth invariant tori and hyperbolic orbits with golden mean rotation number. In particular, the boundary of the set of twist maps with a torus with a golden mean rotation number would include a smooth submanifold in the space of analytic mappings. b) The obstruction criterion of [Olvera-Simo] would be sharp in the universality class of the renormalization group. c) The criterion of [Greene-79] for existence of invariant circles if and only if there the residues of approximating orbits are finite would be valid for maps in the universality class. d) If there is no invariant circle, there are hyperbolic sets with golden mean rotation number. We also provide numerical evidence which suggests that the conjecture is true an...

Influence of the South-North Water Diversion Project and the mitigation projects on the water quality of Han River.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Y P; Zhang, H P; Chen, L; Zhao, J F

2008-11-15

Situated in the central part of China, the Han River Basin is undergoing rapid social and economic development with some human interventions to be made soon which will profoundly influence the water environment of the basin. The integrated MIKE 11 model system comprising of a rainfall-runoff model (NAM), a non-point load evaluation model (LOAD), a hydrodynamic model (MIKE 11 HD) and a water quality model (ECOLab) was applied to investigate the impact of the Middle Route of the South-North Water Diversion Project on the Han River and the effectiveness of the 2 proposed mitigation projects, the 22 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the Yangtze-Han Water Diversion Project. The study concludes that business as usual will lead to a continuing rapid deterioration of the water quality of the Han River. Implementation of the Middle Route of the South-North Water Diversion Project in 2010 will bring disastrous consequence in the form of the remarkably elevated pollution level and high risk of algae bloom in the middle and lower reaches. The proposed WWTPs will merely lower the pollution level in the reach by around 10%, while the Yangtze-Han Water Diversion Project can significantly improve the water quality in the downstream 200-km reach. The results reveal that serious water quality problem will emerge in the middle reach between Xiangfan and Qianjiang in the future. Implementation of the South-North Water Diversion Project (phase II) in 2030 will further exacerbate the problem. In order to effectively improve the water quality of the Han River, it is suggested that nutrient removal processes should be adopted in the proposed WWTPs, and the pollution load from the non-point sources, especially the load from the upstream Henan Province, should be effectively controlled.

Air quality environmental assessment of the Horseshoe Bay Terminal Improvement Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-09-01

The proposed improvement project for British Columbia's Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal incorporates specific measures to protect the air quality of the area, the environment and public health. The ferry terminal handles over 2.5 million vehicles and 7 million passengers per year. The upgrades are intended to improve terminal operations, increase safety and reduce traffic congestion through residential and commercial portions of the Horseshoe Bay area as well as Highway 99 traffic. The toll booths will be relocated about 25 m further away from the nearby elementary school to further protect air quality at the school. A study was conducted in which vehicular emissions from the operation of the ferry terminal prior to the proposed improvement project were modelled to predict the effect of vehicular emissions on ambient air quality levels in the area and to ensure that maximum acceptable objectives are met for gaseous air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, as well as inhalable and fine particulates. The British Columbia Ferry Corp. will work jointly with the Greater Vancouver Regional District to install continuous monitors for at least one year after the project is completed. Based on the analysis of the report, the air quality in the Horseshoe Bay area would not suffer major adverse environmental or public health affects from the proposed improvement project.

Mode-locking in an infinite set of coupled circle maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alstroem, P.; Ritala, R.K.

1986-06-01

We show that the mode-locking in coupled circle maps with random phases is very different from that in a single circle map. A finite nonlinearity K c is needed for a step to appear. The width of the step behaves as (K-K c ) 2 . The complete mode-locking (at K=1 for uncoupled maps) behaves singularly as the coupling is turned on. We argue that our model describes the mode-locking in charge-density-wave materials. Our results are in qualitative agreement with experimental observations by Sherwin and Zettl that only few true steps exist in I-V characteristics and that in addition to these there are some 'incomplete' steps. (orig.)

Complex motion of elevators in piecewise map model combined with circle map

Science.gov (United States)

Nagatani, Takashi

2013-11-01

We study the dynamic behavior in the elevator traffic controlled by capacity when the inflow rate of passengers into elevators varies periodically with time. The dynamics of elevators is described by the piecewise map model combined with the circle map. The motion of the elevators depends on the inflow rate, its period, and the number of elevators. The motion in the piecewise map model combined with the circle map shows a complex behavior different from the motion in the piecewise map model.

PNNL Apatite Investigation at 100-NR-2 Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fix, N. J.

2009-04-02

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy, Fluor Hanford, Inc., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the Washington Department of Ecology agreed that the long-term strategy for groundwater remediation at the 100-N Area would include apatite sequestration as the primary treatment, followed by a secondary treatment if necessary. Since then, the agencies have worked together to agree on which apatite sequestration technology has the greatest chance of reducing strontium-90 flux to the Columbia River. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by staff working on the PNNL Apatite Investigation at 100-NR-2 Project. The plan is designed to be used exclusively by project staff.

Faculty Development and Quality Assurance in the EU ERAMIS Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agathe Merceron

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the ERAMIS project is to create a
network of Masters degrees “Informatics as a Second
Competence” in nine beneficiary universities of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Russia. This contribution presents how
faculty development is organized and quality assurance
implemented inside this project.

The Impact of Organization, Project and Governance Variables on Software Quality and Project Success

OpenAIRE

Abbas, Noura; Gravell, Andy; Wills, Gary

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a statistically tested evidence about how quality and success rate are correlated with variables reflecting the organization and aspects of its project’s governance, namely retrospectives and metrics. The results presented in this paper are based on the Agile Projects Governance Survey that collected 129 responses. This paper discuss the deep analysis of this survey, and the main findings suggest that when applying agile software development, the quality of software i...

Gas generation matrix depletion quality assurance project plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is to provide the necessary expertise, experience, equipment and instrumentation, and management structure to: Conduct the matrix depletion experiments using simulated waste for quantifying matrix depletion effects; and Conduct experiments on 60 cylinders containing simulated TRU waste to determine the effects of matrix depletion on gas generation for transportation. All work for the Gas Generation Matrix Depletion (GGMD) experiment is performed according to the quality objectives established in the test plan and under this Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPjP)

Impact of a quality improvement project on deceased organ donor management

Science.gov (United States)

Olmos, Andrea; Feiner, John; Hirose, Ryutaro; Swain, Sharon; Blasi, Annabel; Roberts, John P.; Niemann, Claus U.

2017-01-01

Context Donors showed poor glucose control in the period between declaration of brain death and organ recovery. The level of hyperglycemia in the donors was associated with a decline in terminal renal function. Objective To determine whether implementation of a quality improvement project improved glucose control and preserved renal function in deceased organ donors. Methods Data collected retrospectively included demographics, medical history, mechanism of death, laboratory values, and data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. Results After implementation of the quality improvement project, deceased donors had significantly lower mean glucose concentrations (mean [SD], 162 [44] vs 212 [42] mg/dL; P donor cohorts from before and after the quality improvement project were analyzed together, mean glucose concentration remained a significant predictor of terminal creatinine level (P donors indicated that higher terminal creatinine level was associated with delayed graft function in recipients (P donor glucose homeostasis, and the data confirm that poor glucose homeostasis is associated with worsening terminal renal function. PMID:26645930

Scaling laws for mode lockings in circle maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cvitanovic, P.; Shraiman, B.; Soederberg, B.

1985-06-01

The self-similar structure of mode lockings for circle maps is studied by means of the associated Farey trees. We investigate numerically several classes of scaling relations implicit in the Farey organization of mode lockings and discuss the extent to which they lead to universal scaling laws. (orig.)

San Pablo Bay Tidal Marsh Enhancement and Water Quality Improvement Project

Science.gov (United States)

Information about the SFBWQP San Pablo Bay Tidal Marsh Enhancement and Water Quality Improvement Project, part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.

Impact of a quality improvement project to strengthen infection ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of a quality improvement project to strengthen infection prevention and control training at rural healthcare facilities. ... African Journal of Health Professions Education. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search ...

Circles of Tobacco Wisdom: learning about traditional and commercial tobacco with Native elders.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeau, Melanie; Blake, Norby; Poupart, John; Rhodes, Kristine; Forster, Jean L

2012-11-01

Circles of Tobacco Wisdom (CTW) was an elder-led, community-based project that aimed to enhance tobacco control in the American Indian community. Its goal was to provide elders with the knowledge, opportunities, and support to enable them to assume leadership of a tobacco control movement that was grounded in the ceremonial traditions of tobacco use. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of the pilot intervention on participants. The design of this pilot study intervention was a single group, pre-post comparison, with a pre-post survey, monthly check-ins, and a post-1-year focus group. Twelve elders were included in the pre- and post-analyses. All twelve elders were women who self-identified as American Indian (mean age = 64). The CTW elders participated in monthly talking circles, quarterly learning sessions, and a post-1-year focus group, and took part in other learning, support, and community action opportunities. Data were collected from December 2008 through November 2009 and analyzed throughout the process. American Indian Elders' tobacco-related knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors were measured while participating in the CTW project. Knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and behavior changes were seen with cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke, and ceremonial tobacco use and risk perception. After 6 months, the number of people the elders had talked with about tobacco increased, elders were more likely to have a discussion on tobacco at a community event, and their comfort level talking about commercial and traditional tobacco also increased. A number of themes also were identified in the focus group: feeling more comfortable talking about tobacco issues, learning a lot about traditional and commercial tobacco, and realizing the dangers of smoking. Elders increased their knowledge about commercial and traditional tobacco and changed related attitudes as a result of CTW. Further, American Indian Elders perceived that CTW was effective

Bounds on the distribution of the number of gaps when circles and lines are covered by fragments: Theory and practical application to genomic and metagenomic projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marchesi Julian R

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The question of how a circle or line segment becomes covered when random arcs are marked off has arisen repeatedly in bioinformatics. The number of uncovered gaps is of particular interest. Approximate distributions for the number of gaps have been given in the literature, one motivation being ease of computation. Error bounds for these approximate distributions have not been given. Results We give bounds on the probability distribution of the number of gaps when a circle is covered by fragments of fixed size. The absolute error in the approximation is typically on the order of 0.1% at 10× coverage depth. The method can be applied to coverage problems on the interval, including edge effects, and applications are given to metagenomic libraries and shotgun sequencing.

Near-Facility Environmental Monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MCKINNEY, S.M.

2000-01-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan addresses the quality assurance requirements for the activities associated with the preoperational and near-facility environmental monitoring directed by Waste Management Technical Services and supersedes HNF-EP-0538-4. This plan applies to all sampling and monitoring activities performed by Waste Management Technical Services in implementing near-facility environmental monitoring at the Hanford Site. This Quality Assurance Project Plan is required by U.S. Department of Energy Order 5400.1 (DOE 1990) as a part of the Environmental Monitoring Plan (DOE-RL 1997) and is used to define: Environmental measurement and sampling locations used to monitor environmental contaminants near active and inactive facilities and waste storage and disposal sites; Procedures and equipment needed to perform the measurement and sampling; Frequency and analyses required for each measurement and sampling location; Minimum detection level and accuracy; Quality assurance components; and Investigation levels. Near-facility environmental monitoring for the Hanford Site is conducted in accordance with the requirements of U.S. Department of Energy Orders 5400.1 (DOE 1990), 5400.5 (DOE 1993), 5484.1 (DOE 1990), and 435.1 (DOE 1999), and DOE/EH-O173T (DOE 1991). It is Waste Management Technical Services' objective to manage and conduct near-facility environmental monitoring activities at the Hanford Site in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner that is in compliance with the letter and spirit of these regulations and other environmental regulations, statutes, and standards

Effectiveness of Quality Management System (QMS) on Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

Behnam Neyestani

2016-01-01

Quality management system (QMS) provides generic guidance and requirements for establishing an appropriate quality management procedure, in order to lower cost, increase productivity, customer's satisfaction, and market share in the organizations since the last two-decade. In construction industry, it can assist the companies to achieve successfully their objectives, and ensure that all phases of construction project consistently meet client's requirements (need). The main aim of this article...

Application of project design peer review to improve quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClure, F.E.

1989-01-01

DOE ORDER 5481.1B Safety Analysis and Review Systems and DOE ORDER 6430.1A General Design Criteria require that the design of facilities shall incorporate the necessary Quality Assurance review requirements to assure that the established program quality assurance objectives are met in the design criteria and the construction documents. The use of Project Design Peer Review to satisfy these requirements is presented. The University of California manages the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Los Alamos National Scientific Laboratory. The 1988 University Seismic Safety Policy requires the use of independent Project Design Peer Review in its capital improvement and seismic reconstruction program

Analyzing compound and project progress through multi-objective-based compound quality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Nissink, J Willem M; Degorce, Sébastien

2013-05-01

Compound-quality scoring methods designed to evaluate multiple drug properties concurrently are useful to analyze and prioritize output from drug-design efforts. However, formalized multiparameter optimization approaches are not widely used in drug design. We rank molecules synthesized in drug-discovery projects using simple and aggregated desirability functions reflecting medicinal chemistry 'rules'. Our quality score deals transparently with missing data, a key requirement in drug-hunting projects where data availability is often limited. We further estimate confidence in the interpretation of such a compound-quality measure. Scores and associated confidences provide systematic insight in the quality of emerging chemical equity. Tracking quality of synthetic output over time yields valuable insight into the progress of drug-design teams, with potential applications in risk and resource management of a drug portfolio.

Optimal weights for circle fitting with discrete granular data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernov, N.; Kolganova, E.; Ososkov, G.

1995-01-01

The problem of the data approximation measured along a circle by modern detectors in high energy physics, as for example, RICH (Ring Imaging Cherenkov) is considered. Such detectors having the discrete cell structure register the energy dissipation produced by a passing elementary particle not in a single point, but in several adjacent cells where all this energy is distributed. The presence of background hits makes inapplicable circle fitting methods based on the least square fit due to their noise sensitivity. In this paper it's shown that the efficient way to overcome these problems of the curve fitting is the robust fitting technique based on a reweighted least square method with optimally chosen weights, obtained by the use of maximum likelihood estimates. Results of numerical experiments are given proving the high efficiency of the suggested method. 9 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

Inclusive Teaching Circles: Mechanisms for Creating Welcoming Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Sharon; Wallace, Sherri L.; Schack, Gina; Thomas, M. Shelley; Lewis, Linda; Wilson, Linda; Miller, Shawnise; D'Antoni, Joan

2010-01-01

This essay examines the Inclusive Teaching Circle (ITC) as a mechanism for faculty development in creating instructional tools that embrace an inclusive pedagogy reflecting diversity, cultural competence and social justice. We describe one group's year-long participation in an ITC at a large, metropolitan research university in the south. Next, we…

Is Russell's vicious circle principle false or meaningless?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fleischhacker, L.E.

1979-01-01

P. Vardy asserts the thesis that the vicious circle principle has the same structure as Russell's paradox. But structure is not the thing itself. It is the thing objectivated from the wiewpoint of a mathematician. So this structure can be expressed in a mathematical formalism, e. g. the Λ-calculus.

Sensitive Blu-ray detection of clustered rolling circle products for molecular Diagnostics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlford, Annika; Donolato, Marco; Antunes, Paula Soares Martins

2014-01-01

In this paper we present a method for low cost and rapid sensing of nucleic acids (NA) for infectious diagnostics, where isothermal rolling circle amplification (RCA) products, specifically generated by the presence of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), are bound to magnetic nanopart......In this paper we present a method for low cost and rapid sensing of nucleic acids (NA) for infectious diagnostics, where isothermal rolling circle amplification (RCA) products, specifically generated by the presence of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), are bound to magnetic...

Groundwater quality data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, May 2012 through December 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Terri L.; Desimone, Leslie A.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Barlow, Jeannie R.; Kulongoski, Justin T.; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Kingsbury, James A.; Belitz, Kenneth

2016-06-20

Groundwater-quality data were collected from 748 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Program from May 2012 through December 2013. The data were collected from four types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which assess the quality of groundwater used for public water supply; land-use study networks, which assess land-use effects on shallow groundwater quality; major aquifer study networks, which assess the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply; and enhanced trends networks, which evaluate the time scales during which groundwater quality changes. Groundwater samples were analyzed for a large number of water-quality indicators and constituents, including major ions, nutrients, trace elements, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and radionuclides. These groundwater quality data are tabulated in this report. Quality-control samples also were collected; data from blank and replicate quality-control samples are included in this report.

D6.4 Implementation: Project Knowledge Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dolog, Peter; Durao, Frederico; Jahn, Karsten

2009-01-01

This report presents the prototype for the project knowledge management in Logica. We describe the related theories and our approach, the ‘circle of knowledge’. According to our analysis it results in the data-based import or update process between two specialized applications, one for project...... management and one for knowledge sharing. We describe the applications involved and the features used. The main component here is a templating mechanism in the KiWi system....

Pengaruh Penerapan Metode Socratic Circles Disertai Media Gambar Terhadap Kemampuan Berpikir Kreatif Siswa

OpenAIRE

Afidah, Ihda Nuria; Santosa, Slamet; Indrowati, Meti

2012-01-01

- This research aims to ascertain whether or not the application Socratic Circles method with images media affects the student's creative thinking skill.This research is considered quasi-experiment research. The research was designed using Posttest-Only Control Group Design by applying Socratic Circles method with images media in experimental group and lectures methods, discussions, and presentations in control group. The population of this research were all strudents in X grade of SMA Nege...

White Blood Cell Segmentation by Circle Detection Using Electromagnetism-Like Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Cuevas

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Medical imaging is a relevant field of application of image processing algorithms. In particular, the analysis of white blood cell (WBC images has engaged researchers from fields of medicine and computer vision alike. Since WBCs can be approximated by a quasicircular form, a circular detector algorithm may be successfully applied. This paper presents an algorithm for the automatic detection of white blood cells embedded into complicated and cluttered smear images that considers the complete process as a circle detection problem. The approach is based on a nature-inspired technique called the electromagnetism-like optimization (EMO algorithm which is a heuristic method that follows electromagnetism principles for solving complex optimization problems. The proposed approach uses an objective function which measures the resemblance of a candidate circle to an actual WBC. Guided by the values of such objective function, the set of encoded candidate circles are evolved by using EMO, so that they can fit into the actual blood cells contained in the edge map of the image. Experimental results from blood cell images with a varying range of complexity are included to validate the efficiency of the proposed technique regarding detection, robustness, and stability.

The Archaeoastronomy of Tomnaverie Recumbent Stone Circle: A Comparison of Methodologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liz Henty

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The way we view the past is constantly modified by new evidence and methodological advances. Archaeological data is gleaned from the ground and archaeoastronomical evidence considers the use of the sky in relation to the archaeological record. Since the beginning of the 20th  century the two disciplines of archaeology and archaeoastronomy have flirted with one another but there has never been a satisfactory marriage. This paper looks at the Recumbent Stone Circles (RSCs of north-east Scotland to examine the methodologies, and compare the results, of both disciplines. The RSCs are a distinctive type of stone circle characterised by a large recumbent stone which is flanked on either side by a tall pillar. This recumbent arrangement is almost invariably located in the south-west of the circle. RSCs are generally located near the summits of low hills and enjoy clear horizon views. Over the years they have been the subject of extensive research. This research will be reviewed and Tomnaverie RSC will be singled out as a special case study to examine whether there still needs to be a divide between the disciplines.

White Blood Cell Segmentation by Circle Detection Using Electromagnetism-Like Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Oliva, Diego; Díaz, Margarita; Zaldivar, Daniel; Pérez-Cisneros, Marco; Pajares, Gonzalo

2013-01-01

Medical imaging is a relevant field of application of image processing algorithms. In particular, the analysis of white blood cell (WBC) images has engaged researchers from fields of medicine and computer vision alike. Since WBCs can be approximated by a quasicircular form, a circular detector algorithm may be successfully applied. This paper presents an algorithm for the automatic detection of white blood cells embedded into complicated and cluttered smear images that considers the complete process as a circle detection problem. The approach is based on a nature-inspired technique called the electromagnetism-like optimization (EMO) algorithm which is a heuristic method that follows electromagnetism principles for solving complex optimization problems. The proposed approach uses an objective function which measures the resemblance of a candidate circle to an actual WBC. Guided by the values of such objective function, the set of encoded candidate circles are evolved by using EMO, so that they can fit into the actual blood cells contained in the edge map of the image. Experimental results from blood cell images with a varying range of complexity are included to validate the efficiency of the proposed technique regarding detection, robustness, and stability. PMID:23476713

Influence of a Mathematics Teachers' Circle on Elementary Teachers' Use of Problem Solving

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, Mary L.; Watson, Virginia; Rogers, Beth; Head, Catherine

2017-01-01

Math teachers' circles are a form of professional development that is recommended by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in their publication Mathematical Education of Teachers II (2012). However, little research has been published on how effective math teachers' circles are in advancing the mathematical knowledge of teachers and…

IMPLEMENTATION OF WORK LIFE QUALITY PROGRAMS WITH THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Lúcia Granja Coutinho

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The research studies the implementation of Quality of Working Life (QWL programs using project management techniques. Quality of Work Life projects have undergone a constant increase in scope to the point where they currently involve such diverse themes as change in dietary habits, exercise, stress management, socio environmental responsibility, and adult education. The major focus of this research is to analyze the processes and knowledge areas of project management being used to deal with this increased scope. The managerial processes identified were divided into categories of preparation, structuring, execution, and conclusion. The knowledge areas studied were: communication, risks, human resources, and acquisitions. The firms studied included mid to large sized firms located in the north, southeast and south of Brazil. We interviewed managers, directors, CEOs, plant managers, and line managers as part of this effort. The results suggest that the project management practices used were ad hoc and based on day to day needs. They also suggest that sound project management practices are applicable to QWL programs in the firms we studied.

Development of a Multi-Domain Assessment Tool for Quality Improvement Projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbluth, Glenn; Burman, Natalie J; Ranji, Sumant R; Boscardin, Christy K

2017-08-01

Improving the quality of health care and education has become a mandate at all levels within the medical profession. While several published quality improvement (QI) assessment tools exist, all have limitations in addressing the range of QI projects undertaken by learners in undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education. We developed and validated a tool to assess QI projects with learner engagement across the educational continuum. After reviewing existing tools, we interviewed local faculty who taught QI to understand how learners were engaged and what these faculty wanted in an ideal assessment tool. We then developed a list of competencies associated with QI, established items linked to these competencies, revised the items using an iterative process, and collected validity evidence for the tool. The resulting Multi-Domain Assessment of Quality Improvement Projects (MAQIP) rating tool contains 9 items, with criteria that may be completely fulfilled, partially fulfilled, or not fulfilled. Interrater reliability was 0.77. Untrained local faculty were able to use the tool with minimal guidance. The MAQIP is a 9-item, user-friendly tool that can be used to assess QI projects at various stages and to provide formative and summative feedback to learners at all levels.

L2 Quality as a Competitive Edge - Project Presentation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ditlevsen, Marianne Grove; Kastberg, Peter

2000-01-01

In our paper we would like to present an interdisciplinary project "L2 as a Competitive Edge". We'll be doing this by first giving you a project overview in section 0. The overview will then in the section 1 and 2 be followed by a presentation of two of the most interesting themes, serving as point...... of departure for further discussion. The two themes are "The evaluation of language quality" and "Method - an Integrated Approach"....

Improvement of image quality using interpolated projection data estimation method in SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaki, Akihiro; Soma, Tsutomu; Murase, Kenya; Kojima, Akihiro; Asao, Kimie; Kamada, Shinya; Matsumoto, Masanori

2009-01-01

General data acquisition for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is performed in 90 or 60 directions, with a coarse pitch of approximately 4-6 deg for a rotation of 360 deg or 180 deg, using a gamma camera. No data between adjacent projections will be sampled under these circumstances. The aim of the study was to develop a method to improve SPECT image quality by generating lacking projection data through interpolation of data obtained with a coarse pitch such as 6 deg. The projection data set at each individual degree in 360 directions was generated by a weighted average interpolation method from the projection data acquired with a coarse sampling angle (interpolated projection data estimation processing method, IPDE method). The IPDE method was applied to the numerical digital phantom data, actual phantom data and clinical brain data with Tc-99m ethyle cysteinate dimer (ECD). All SPECT images were reconstructed by the filtered back-projection method and compared with the original SPECT images. The results confirmed that streak artifacts decreased by apparently increasing a sampling number in SPECT after interpolation and also improved signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of the root mean square uncertainty value. Furthermore, the normalized mean square error values, compared with standard images, had similar ones after interpolation. Moreover, the contrast and concentration ratios increased their effects after interpolation. These results indicate that effective improvement of image quality can be expected with interpolation. Thus, image quality and the ability to depict images can be improved while maintaining the present acquisition time and image quality. In addition, this can be achieved more effectively than at present even if the acquisition time is reduced. (author)

Understanding map projections: Chapter 15

Science.gov (United States)

Usery, E. Lynn; Kent, Alexander J.; Vujakovic, Peter

2018-01-01

It has probably never been more important in the history of cartography than now that people understand how maps work. With increasing globalization, for example, world maps provide a key format for the transmission of information, but are often poorly used. Examples of poor understanding and use of projections and the resultant maps are many; for instance, the use of rectangular world maps in the United Kingdom press to show Chinese and Korean missile ranges as circles, something which can only be achieved on equidistant projections and then only from one launch point (Vujakovic, 2014).

Uncertainty budget for optical coordinate measurements of circle diameter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morace, Renate Erica; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard; De Chiffre, Leonardo

2004-01-01

An uncertainty analysis for circle diameter measurements using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) equipped with an optical probe is presented in this paper. A mathematical model for data evaluation and uncertainty assessment was formulated in accordance with Guide to the Expression of Uncertain...

Visual Thinking, Algebraic Thinking, and a Full Unit-Circle Diagram.

Science.gov (United States)

Shear, Jonathan

1985-01-01

The study of trigonometric functions in terms of the unit circle offer an example of how students can learn algebraic relations and operations while using visually oriented thinking. Illustrations are included. (MNS)

ISTC projects devoted to improving laser beam quality

Science.gov (United States)

Malakhov, Yu. I.

2007-05-01

Short overview is done about the activity of ISTC in a direction concerned with improving powerful laser beam quality by means of nonlinear and linear adaptive optics methods. Completed projects #0591 and #1929 resulted in the development of a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) phase conjugation mirror of superhigh fidelity employing the kinoform optical elements (rasters of small lenses) of new generation designed for pulsed or pulse-periodic lasers with nanosecond scale pulse duration. Project #2631 is devoted to development of an adaptive optical system for phase registration and correction of laser beams with wave front vortices. The principles of operation of conventional adaptive systems are based on the assumption that the phase is a smooth continuous function in space. Therefore the solution of the Project tasks will assume a new step in adaptive optics.

The Soils and Groundwater – EM-20 S&T Roadmap Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fix, N. J.

2008-02-11

The Soils and Groundwater – EM-20 Science and Technology Roadmap Project is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management-funded initiative designed to develop new methods, strategies and technology for characterizing, modeling, remediating, and monitoring soils and groundwater contaminated with metals, radionuclides, and chlorinated organics. This Quality Assurance Project Plan provides the quality assurance requirements and processes that will be followed by EM-20 Roadmap Project staff.

ISTC Projects from RFNC-VNIIEF Devoted to Improving Laser Beam Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Starikov, F.; Kochemasov, G.

Information is given about the Projects # 1929 and # 2631 supported by ISTC and concerned with improving laser beam quality and interesting for adaptive optics community. One of them, Project # 1929 has been recently finished. It has been devoted to development of an SBS phase conjugation mirror of superhigh conjugation quality employing the kinoform optics for high-power lasers with nanosecond scale pulse duration. With the purpose of reaching ideal PC fidelity, the SBS mirror includes the raster of small lenses that has been traditionally used as the lenslet in Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor in adaptive optics. The second of them, Project # 2631, is concerned with the development of an adaptive optical system for phase correction of laser beams with wavefront vortex. The principles of operation of modern adaptive systems are based on the assumption that the phase is a smooth continuous function in space. Therefore the solution of the Project tasks will assume a new step in adaptive optics.

A vicious circle in chronic lymphoedema pathophysiology?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cucchi, F; Rossmeislova, L; Simonsen, L

2017-01-01

Chronic lymphoedema is a disease caused by a congenital or acquired damage to the lymphatic system and characterized by complex chains of pathophysiologic events such as lymphatic fluid stasis, chronic inflammation, lymphatic vessels impairment, adipose tissue deposition and fibrosis. These event....... Together, these observations indicate strong reciprocal relationship between lymphatics and adipose tissue and suggest a possible key role of the adipocyte in the pathophysiology of chronic lymphoedema's vicious circle....

Veterans Affairs facility performance on Washington Circle indicators and casemix-adjusted effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Alex H S; Humphreys, Keith; Finney, John W

2007-12-01

Self-administered Addiction Severity Index (ASI) data were collected on 5,723 patients who received substance abuse treatment in 1 of 110 programs located at 73 Veterans Affairs facilities. The associations between each of three Washington Circle (WC) performance indicator scores (identification, initiation, and engagement) and their casemix-adjusted facility-level improvement in ASI drug and alcohol composites 7 months after intake were estimated. Higher initiation rates were not associated with facility-level improvement in ASI alcohol composite scores but were modestly associated with greater improvements in ASI drug composite scores. Identification and engagement rates were unrelated to 7-month outcomes. WC indicators focused on the early stages of treatment may tap necessary but insufficient processes for patients with substance use disorder to achieve good posttreatment outcomes. Ideally, the WC indicators would be supplemented with other measures of treatment quality.

Regional technical cooperation model project, IAEA - RER/2/2004 ''quality control and quality assurance for nuclear analytical techniques'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arikan, P.

2002-01-01

An analytical laboratory should produce high quality analytical data through the use of analytical measurements that is accurate, reliable and adequate for the intended purpose. This objective can be accomplished in a cost-effective manner under a planned and documented quality system of activities. It is well-known that serious deficiencies can occur in laboratory operations when insufficient attention is given to the quality of the work. It requires not only a thorough knowledge of the laboratory's purpose and operation, but also the dedication of the management and operating staff to standards of excellence. Laboratories employing nuclear and nuclear-related analytical techniques are sometimes confronted with performance problems which prevent them from becoming accepted and respected by clients, such as industry, government and regulatory bodies, and from being eligible for contracts. The International Standard ISO 17025 has been produced as the result of extensive experience in the implementation of ISO/IEC Guide 25:1990 and EN 45001:1989, which replaces both of them now. It contains all of the requirements that testing and calibration laboratories must meet if they wish to demonstrate that they operate a quality system that is technically competent, and are able to generate technically valid results. The use of ISO 17025 should facilitate cooperation between laboratories and other bodies to assist in the exchange of information and experience, and in the harmonization of standards and procedures. IAEA model project RER/2/004 entitled 'Quality Assurance/Quality Control in Nuclear Analytical Techniques' was initiated in 1999 as a Regional TC project in East European countries to assist Member State laboratories in the region to install a complete quality system according to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard. 12 laboratories from 11 countries plus the Agency's Laboratories in Seibersdorf have been selected as participants to undergo exercises and training with the

Implementation of quality management in early stages of research and development projects at a university.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiehe, Sandra; Wagner, Georg; Schlanstein, Peter; Rosefort, Christiane; Kopp, Rüdger; Bensberg, Ralf; Knipp, Peter; Schmitz-Rode, Thomas; Steinseifer, Ulrich; Arens, Jutta

2014-04-01

The ultimate objective of university research and development projects is usually to create knowledge, but also to successfully transfer results to industry for subsequent marketing. We hypothesized that the university technology transfer requires efficient measures to improve this important step. Besides good scientific practice, foresighted and industry-specific adapted documentation of research processes in terms of a quality management system might improve the technology transfer. In order to bridge the gap between research institute and cooperating industry, a model project has been accompanied by a project specific amount of quality management. However, such a system had to remain manageable and must not constrain the researchers' creativity. Moreover, topics and research team are strongly interdisciplinary, which entails difficulties regarding communication because of different perspectives and terminology. In parallel to the technical work of the model project, an adaptable quality management system with a quality manual, defined procedures, and forms and documents accompanying the research, development and validation was implemented. After process acquisition and analysis the appropriate amount of management for the model project was identified by a self-developed rating system considering project characteristics like size, innovation, stakeholders, interdisciplinarity, etc. Employees were trained according to their needs. The management was supported and the technical documentation was optimized. Finally, the quality management system has been transferred successfully to further projects.

[Results of residual ametropia correction using CIRCLE technology after femtosecond laser SMILE surgery].

Science.gov (United States)

Kostin, O A; Rebrikov, S V; Ovchinnikov, A I; Stepanov, A A; Takhchidi, Kh P

to evaluate functional results of reoperation performed according to the CIRCLE technology and using the VisuMax femtosecond laser and MEL-80 excimer laser in cases of regression of the refractive effect after SMILE surgery. We studied a group of post-SMILE patients. In those, who showed regression of the refractive effect at 1 year, reoperation was performed according to the CIRCLE technology and using the VisuMax femtosecond laser. The corneal flap was separated from the stromal bed and turned aside. Excimer laser ablation of the stromal bed was performed with the MEL 80 machine. The corneal flap was then placed back and rinsed from both sides. Uncorrected (UCVA) and corrected (BCVA) visual acuity as well as spherical equivalent (SE) were estimated before reoperation, on day 1, and at 1 month. After reoperation, BCVA and UCVA improved. Patient refraction became close to emmetropia. Specifically, UCVA was 0.23±0.18 at baseline (i.e. 1 year after SMILE) and 0.93±0.11 after the CIRCLE procedure (pstatistically significant - from 0.95±0.1 to 0.93±0.11 (p>0.05). Reoperation performed according to the CIRCLE technology and using the VisuMax femtosecond laser and MEL-80 excimer laser provides an increase in visual acuity in case of post-SMILE regression of the refractive effect.

Self-calibration of divided circles on the basis of a prime factor algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Probst, R

2008-01-01

A new method for the self-calibration of divided circles is presented which is based on a known prime factor algorithm for the discrete Fourier transform (DFT). The method, called prime factor division (PFD) calibration, is of interest in angle metrology specially for self-calibrating angle encoders, and generally for a significant shortening of the cross-calibration between two divided circles. It requires that the circular division number N can be expressed as a product N = R × S, whereby the factors R and S are relatively prime integer numbers. For the self-calibration of a divided circle, N difference measurements between R angle positions in a regular distribution and one reference angle position determined by S are evaluated by a two-dimensional DFT, yielding the N absolute division errors. The factor R is preferably chosen small, down to a minimum of R = 2, whereas the factor S may be as large as appropriate for the division number N of interest. In the case of a cross-calibration between two divided circles, the PFD method reduces the number of measurements necessary from N 2 to (R + 1) × N. Experimental results are demonstrated for the calibrations of an optical polygon with 24 faces (prime factor product 3 × 8) and a gearwheel with 44 teeth (prime factor product 4 × 11)

MDSplus quality improvement project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fredian, Thomas W., E-mail: twf@psfc.mit.edu [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Stillerman, Joshua [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Manduchi, Gabriele; Rigoni, Andrea [Consorzio RFX, Euratom-ENEA Association, Corso Stati Uniti 4, Padova 35127 (Italy); Erickson, Keith [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08543 (United States)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Project to improve the quality of the MDSplus software package. • Use of modern software technology, compiler options, automake. • Refactoring of older code. • Use of testing tools. - Abstract: MDSplus is a data acquisition and analysis system used worldwide predominantly in the fusion research community. Development began 29 years ago on the OpenVMS operating system. Since that time there have been many new features added and the code has been ported to many different operating systems. There have been contributions to the MDSplus development from the fusion community in the way of feature suggestions, feature implementations, documentation and porting to different operating systems. The bulk of the development and support of MDSplus, however, has been provided by a relatively small core developer group of three or four members. Given the size of the development team and the large number of users much more effort was focused on providing new features for the community than on keeping the underlying code and documentation up to date with the evolving software development standards. To ensure that MDSplus will continue to provide the needs of the community in the future, the MDSplus development team along with other members of the MDSplus user community has commenced on a major quality improvement project. The planned improvements include changes to software build scripts to better use GNU Autoconf and Automake tools, refactoring many of the source code modules using new language features available in modern compilers, using GNU MinGW-w64 to create MS Windows distributions, migrating to a more modern source code management system, improvement of source documentation as well as improvements to the (www.mdsplus.org) web site documentation and layout, and the addition of more comprehensive test suites to apply to MDSplus code builds prior to releasing installation kits to the community. This work should lead to a much more robust product and

MDSplus quality improvement project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredian, Thomas W.; Stillerman, Joshua; Manduchi, Gabriele; Rigoni, Andrea; Erickson, Keith

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Project to improve the quality of the MDSplus software package. • Use of modern software technology, compiler options, automake. • Refactoring of older code. • Use of testing tools. - Abstract: MDSplus is a data acquisition and analysis system used worldwide predominantly in the fusion research community. Development began 29 years ago on the OpenVMS operating system. Since that time there have been many new features added and the code has been ported to many different operating systems. There have been contributions to the MDSplus development from the fusion community in the way of feature suggestions, feature implementations, documentation and porting to different operating systems. The bulk of the development and support of MDSplus, however, has been provided by a relatively small core developer group of three or four members. Given the size of the development team and the large number of users much more effort was focused on providing new features for the community than on keeping the underlying code and documentation up to date with the evolving software development standards. To ensure that MDSplus will continue to provide the needs of the community in the future, the MDSplus development team along with other members of the MDSplus user community has commenced on a major quality improvement project. The planned improvements include changes to software build scripts to better use GNU Autoconf and Automake tools, refactoring many of the source code modules using new language features available in modern compilers, using GNU MinGW-w64 to create MS Windows distributions, migrating to a more modern source code management system, improvement of source documentation as well as improvements to the (www.mdsplus.org) web site documentation and layout, and the addition of more comprehensive test suites to apply to MDSplus code builds prior to releasing installation kits to the community. This work should lead to a much more robust product and

Defining Leadership: Collegiate Women's Learning Circles: A Qualitative Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Preston-Cunningham, Tammie; Elbert, Chanda D.; Dooley, Kim E.

2017-01-01

The researchers employed qualitative methods to evaluate first-year female students' definition of "leadership" through involvement in the Women's Learning Circle. The findings revealed that students defined leadership in two dimensions: traits and behaviors. The qualitative findings explore a multidimensional approach to the voices of…

Legacy Management CERCLA Sites. Quality Assurance Project Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riddle, Donna L.

2007-05-03

S.M. Stoller Corporation is the contractor for the Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) operations. Stoller employs a management system that applies to all programs, projects, and business management systems funded through DOE-LM task orders. The management system incorporates the philosophy, policies, and requirements of health and safety, environmental compliance, and quality assurance (QA) in all aspects of project planning and implementation. Health and safety requirements are documented in the Health and Safety Manual (STO 2), the Radiological Control Manual (STO 3), the Integrated Safety Management System Description (STO 10), and the Drilling Health and Safety Requirements (STO 14). Environmental compliance policy and requirements are documented in the Environmental Management Program Implementation Manual (STO 11). The QA Program is documented in the Quality Assurance Manual (STO 1). The QA Manual (STO 1) implements the specific requirements and philosophy of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance. This manual also includes the requirements of other standards that are regularly imposed by customers, regulators, or other DOE orders. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 830, “Quality Assurance Requirements,” ANSI/ASQC E4-2004, “Quality Systems for Environmental Data and Technology Programs – Requirements with Guidance for Use,” and ISO 14001-2004, “Environmental Management Systems,” have been included. These standards are similar in content. The intent of the QA Manual (STO 1) is to provide a QA management system that incorporates the requirements and philosophy of DOE and other customers within the QA Manual. Criterion 1, “Quality Assurance Program,” identifies the fundamental requirements for establishing and implementing the QA management system; QA Instruction (QAI) 1.1, “QA Program Implementation,” identifies the TAC organizations that have responsibility for

Legacy Management CERCLA Sites. Quality Assurance Project Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

S.M. Stoller Corporation is the contractor for the Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) operations. Stoller employs a management system that applies to all programs, projects, and business management systems funded through DOE-LM task orders. The management system incorporates the philosophy, policies, and requirements of health and safety, environmental compliance, and quality assurance (QA) in all aspects of project planning and implementation. Health and safety requirements are documented in the Health and Safety Manual (STO 2), the Radiological Control Manual (STO 3), the Integrated Safety Management System Description (STO 10), and the Drilling Health and Safety Requirements (STO 14). Environmental compliance policy and requirements are documented in the Environmental Management Program Implementation Manual (STO 11). The QA Program is documented in the Quality Assurance Manual (STO 1). The QA Manual (STO 1) implements the specific requirements and philosophy of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance. This manual also includes the requirements of other standards that are regularly imposed by customers, regulators, or other DOE orders. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 830, 'Quality Assurance Requirements', ANSI/ASQC E4-2004, 'Quality Systems for Environmental Data and Technology Programs - Requirements with Guidance for Use', and ISO 14001-2004, 'Environmental Management Systems', have been included. These standards are similar in content. The intent of the QA Manual (STO 1) is to provide a QA management system that incorporates the requirements and philosophy of DOE and other customers within the QA Manual. Criterion 1, 'Quality Assurance Program', identifies the fundamental requirements for establishing and implementing the QA management system; QA Instruction (QAI) 1.1, 'QA Program Implementation', identifies the TAC organizations that have responsibility for implementing the QA

Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) Waste Management Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

VOLKMAN, D.D.

1999-10-27

This document is the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for Waste Management Federal Services of Hanford, Inc. (WMH), that implements the requirements of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC), HNF-MP-599, Project Hanford Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) document, and the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement with Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement), Sections 6.5 and 7.8. WHM is responsible for the treatment, storage, and disposal of liquid and solid wastes generated at the Hanford Site as well as those wastes received from other US Department of Energy (DOE) and non-DOE sites. WMH operations include the Low-Level Burial Grounds, Central Waste Complex (a mixed-waste storage complex), a nonradioactive dangerous waste storage facility, the Transuranic Storage Facility, T Plant, Waste Receiving and Processing Facility, 200 Area Liquid Effluent Facility, 200 Area Treated Effluent Disposal Facility, the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility, the 242-A Evaporator, 300 Area Treatment Effluent Disposal Facility, the 340 Facility (a radioactive liquid waste handling facility), 222-S Laboratory, the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility, and the Hanford TRU Waste Program.

A Proposal to Localize Fermi GBM GRBs Through Coordinated Scanning of the GBM Error Circle via Optical Telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Ukwatta, T. N.; Linnemann, J. T.; Tollefson, K.; Abeysekara, A. U.; Bhat, P. N.; Sonbas, E.; Gehrels, N.

2011-01-01

We investigate the feasibility of implementing a system that will coordinate ground-based optical telescopes to cover the Fermi GBM Error Circle (EC). The aim of the system is to localize GBM detected GRBs and facilitate multi-wavelength follow-up from space and ground. This system will optimize the observing locations in the GBM EC based on individual telescope location, Field of View (FoV) and sensitivity. The proposed system will coordinate GBM EC scanning by professional as well as amateur astronomers around the world. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the feasibility of the project are presented.

The Revival of Research Circles: Meeting the Needs of Modern Aging and the Third Age

Science.gov (United States)

Ostlund, Britt

2008-01-01

This article provides evidence that it is worthwhile to reconsider the traditional research circle method as a means of involving people in the third age in fulfilling their needs to participate in learning activities and make their voices heard. The findings are based on three cases of research circles consistently driven by the interests of the…

Human Variome Project Quality Assessment Criteria for Variation Databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Vihinen, Mauno; Hancock, John M; Maglott, Donna R; Landrum, Melissa J; Schaafsma, Gerard C P; Taschner, Peter

2016-06-01

Numerous databases containing information about DNA, RNA, and protein variations are available. Gene-specific variant databases (locus-specific variation databases, LSDBs) are typically curated and maintained for single genes or groups of genes for a certain disease(s). These databases are widely considered as the most reliable information source for a particular gene/protein/disease, but it should also be made clear they may have widely varying contents, infrastructure, and quality. Quality is very important to evaluate because these databases may affect health decision-making, research, and clinical practice. The Human Variome Project (HVP) established a Working Group for Variant Database Quality Assessment. The basic principle was to develop a simple system that nevertheless provides a good overview of the quality of a database. The HVP quality evaluation criteria that resulted are divided into four main components: data quality, technical quality, accessibility, and timeliness. This report elaborates on the developed quality criteria and how implementation of the quality scheme can be achieved. Examples are provided for the current status of the quality items in two different databases, BTKbase, an LSDB, and ClinVar, a central archive of submissions about variants and their clinical significance. © 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

242-A evaporator quality assurance project plan: Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tucker, B.J.

1994-01-01

The scope of this quality assurance project plan (Plan) is sampling and analytical services including, but not limited to, sample receipt, handling and storage, analytical measurements, submittal of data deliverables, archiving selected portions of samples, returning unneeded sample material to Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), and/or sample disposal associated with candidate feed samples and process condensate compliance samples. Sampling and shipping activities are also included within the scope. The purpose of this project is to provide planning, implementation, and assessment guidance for achieving established data quality objectives measurement parameters. This Plan requires onsite and offsite laboratories to conform to that guidance. Laboratory conformance will help ensure that quality data are being generated and therefore, that the 242-A evaporator is operating in a safe and compliant manner. The 242-A evaporator feed stream originates from double-shell tanks (DSTs) identified as candidate feed tanks. The 242-A evaporator reduces the volume of aqueous waste contained in DSTs by boiling off water and sending it to the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility (LERF) storage basin before further treatment. The slurry product is returned to DSTs. Evaporation results in considerable savings by reducing the volume of mixed waste for disposal

pep-up: a review of the umgeni valley pro.ject evaluation process

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The evaluation process at the Umgeni Valle~ Project is.described. Its evolution, background and ... mental Education circles in Southern Africa. The ... t? the percei~ed need for evaluation of the Umgen1 Valley ProJect. ... This group, insisting that they were facilitating .... Phase : An integrated summary of all fielc and working ...

From Death to Life – The Hydrological Circle of Cosmos and Copulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terje Oestigaard

2008-10-01

Full Text Available When a person dies, how is the soul transferred from the dead body to an infant in a mother's womb? In Hinduism this process in understood and explained metaphorically by the hydrological circle and the interrelatedness of fire and water. The cosmological circle of reincarnation is a life-giving process which includes the life-giving waters; the essence of life. Based on mythology and the sacred scriptures, this process is investigated.Key Words: Hindu Mythology, eroticism, funeral practice, sexualityDOI = 10.3126/dsaj.v2i0.1360Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.2 pp.121-144

Vicious circles of punishment: a reading of Melanie Klein's Envy and gratitude.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Henry F

2008-01-01

Staged as a moral drama, Melanie Klein's Envy and Gratitude (1957) straddles two eras: one reflecting a simpler more concrete, historical method, and the other an approach of greater complexity, focused on the transferential moment. Embedded within the transference are the vicious circles of envy and punishment that are the hallmark of Klein's text. Punishment itself which is always punishment of both self and other, creates its own vicious circle, set in motion by a single act. In the sadomasochistic enactments that result, the moral force of Klein's categories fuels the countertransference. A detailed clinical hour is presented.

Truncated Calogero-Sutherland models on a circle

Science.gov (United States)

Tummuru, Tarun R.; Jain, Sudhir R.; Khare, Avinash

2017-12-01

We investigate a quantum many-body system with particles moving in a circle and subject to two-body and three-body potentials. This class of models, in which the range of interaction r can be set to a certain number of neighbors, extrapolates from a system with interactions up to next-to-nearest neighbors and the celebrated Calogero-Sutherland model. The exact ground state energy and a part of the excitation spectrum have been obtained.

Drawing Euler Diagrams with Circles: The Theory of Piercings.

Science.gov (United States)

Stapleton, Gem; Leishi Zhang; Howse, John; Rodgers, Peter

2011-07-01

Euler diagrams are effective tools for visualizing set intersections. They have a large number of application areas ranging from statistical data analysis to software engineering. However, the automated generation of Euler diagrams has never been easy: given an abstract description of a required Euler diagram, it is computationally expensive to generate the diagram. Moreover, the generated diagrams represent sets by polygons, sometimes with quite irregular shapes that make the diagrams less comprehensible. In this paper, we address these two issues by developing the theory of piercings, where we define single piercing curves and double piercing curves. We prove that if a diagram can be built inductively by successively adding piercing curves under certain constraints, then it can be drawn with circles, which are more esthetically pleasing than arbitrary polygons. The theory of piercings is developed at the abstract level. In addition, we present a Java implementation that, given an inductively pierced abstract description, generates an Euler diagram consisting only of circles within polynomial time.

Multi-Function Waste Tank Facility Quality Assurance Program Plan, Project W-236A. Revision 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, L.R.

1995-05-30

This document describes the Quality Assurance (QA) program for the Multi-Function Waste Tank Facility (MWTF) Project. The purpose of this QA program is to control project activities in such a manner as to achieve the mission of the MWTF Project in a safe and reliable manner. The QA program for the MWTF Project is founded on DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance, and implemented through the use of ASME NQA-1, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Nuclear Facilities (ASME 1989 with addenda la-1989, lb-1991 and lc-1992). This document describes the program and planned actions which the Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) will implement to demonstrate and ensure that the project meets the requirements of DOE Order 5700.6C through the interpretive guidance of ASME NQA-1.

Multi-Function Waste Tank Facility Quality Assurance Program Plan, Project W-236A. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, L.R.

1995-01-01

This document describes the Quality Assurance (QA) program for the Multi-Function Waste Tank Facility (MWTF) Project. The purpose of this QA program is to control project activities in such a manner as to achieve the mission of the MWTF Project in a safe and reliable manner. The QA program for the MWTF Project is founded on DOE Order 5700.6C, Quality Assurance, and implemented through the use of ASME NQA-1, Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Nuclear Facilities (ASME 1989 with addenda la-1989, lb-1991 and lc-1992). This document describes the program and planned actions which the Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) will implement to demonstrate and ensure that the project meets the requirements of DOE Order 5700.6C through the interpretive guidance of ASME NQA-1

The Ikhil Gas Project: developing the first commercial natural gas project north of the Arctic Circle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malin, G. [AltaGas Services Inc., AB (Canada)

2001-07-01

Development of the Ikhil Natural Gas Project by the Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation in partnership with Enbridge and AltaGas Services are described in a step-by-step fashion. A minimum of 11 Bcf of recoverable natural gas reserves have been established to date. The Northwest Territories Power Corporation is committed under a 15-year take-or-pay contract to take the gas, and the Town of Inuvik also has a franchise agreement with the project owners for a 15-year period. Challenges faced and overcome in adapting to the regulatory process, the engineering problems that required special solutions (e.g. ice/snow roads, gravel pad to support wellhead and production facilities, reducing temperature of gas to avoid disturbing the permafrost, sand-padding pipeline to supplement high ice/content material), converting a diesel town to a natural gas town, and installing an underground distribution system in ground that is constantly shifting due to permafrost, are some of the examples discussed. Benefits accruing to local people and businesses during construction and the production phases of the project are described, along with details of an assessment and discussion of lessons learned after two years of operation. Overall, the project is considered to have been an engineering success. Financially, it is too early to judge, but it is expected that with economic development in Inuvik taking off, demand for natural gas and electricity will develop and justify the confidence of the developers.

Pronunciation Issues and Varieties of English from an EIL Perspective: A Survey of Outer and Expanding Circle Learners’ Beliefs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbas Monfared

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In a globalized era where English keeps the position of an international language, learnt and spoken by lots of people from diverse linguistic, cultural and national backgrounds, there is a need for a new perspective towards English as an international language which can bridge notions and cultures. The appearance of varieties of English is the consequence of the global dissemination of English. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data using a semi-structured questionnaire (see Appendix A administered to 60 Iranian learners from expanding circle and 60 Indian learners from outer circle, this study surveyed the developing picture of EIL pronunciation and evaluation of different varieties of English from the perspective of learners from two circles which include the most users of English in the globalized world. The results of the questionnaires supplemented by interviews with leaners from expanding and outer circles revealed that expanding-circle learners like more to have a native-like identity with their preference towards nativism. The implications on the findings on the spread of native speaker norms and the status of ELF and its reflections in learning and teaching in expanding and outer circle countries are discussed.

All projects related to | Page 626 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

Region: South Asia, Central Asia, Far East Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Program: Governance and Justice. Total Funding: CA$ 76,500.00. Reforming Security Sector Governance South Asia. Project. In South Asia, security discourse has traditionally been confined to government circles, ...

Sustainability in the AAP Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Shadman, Kristin A; Ralston, Shawn L; Garber, Matthew D; Eickhoff, Jens; Mussman, Grant M; Walley, Susan C; Rice-Conboy, Elizabeth; Coller, Ryan J

2017-11-01

Adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) bronchiolitis clinical practice guideline recommendations improved significantly through the AAP's multiinstitutional collaborative, the Bronchiolitis Quality Improvement Project (BQIP). We assessed sustainability of improvements at participating institutions for 1 year following completion of the collaborative. Twenty-one multidisciplinary hospital-based teams provided monthly data for key inpatient bronchiolitis measures during baseline and intervention bronchiolitis seasons. Nine sites provided data in the season following completion of the collaborative. Encounters included children younger than 24 months who were hospitalized for bronchiolitis without comorbid chronic illness, prematurity, or intensive care. Changes between baseline-, intervention-, and sustainability-season data were assessed using generalized linear mixed-effects models with site-specific random effects. Differences between hospital characteristics, baseline performance, and initial improvement between sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season were compared. A total of 2275 discharges were reviewed, comprising 995 baseline, 877 intervention, and 403 sustainability- season encounters. Improvements in all key bronchiolitis quality measures achieved during the intervention season were maintained during the sustainability season, and orders for intermittent pulse oximetry increased from 40.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.8-61.1) to 79.2% (95% CI, 58.0- 91.3). Sites that did and did not participate in the sustainability season had similar characteristics. BQIP participating sites maintained improvements in key bronchiolitis quality measures for 1 year following the project's completion. This approach, which provided an evidence-based best-practice toolkit while building the quality-improvement capacity of local interdisciplinary teams, may support performance gains that persist beyond the active phase of the

Squaring the Project Management Circle: Updating the Cost, Schedule, and Performance Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-30

MIT Sloan Management Review . MIT Sloan Management Review . Retrieved from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-new-industrial-engineering-information-technology-and- business-process-redesign/ ...critical variable that must be addressed by project managers . The research methodology consists of a system-focused approach based on an extensive review ...doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.01.004 Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity–A review .

[Child protection network and the intersector implementation of the circle of security as alternatives to medication].

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Ana Laura Martins M M; de Souza, Paulo Haddad; de Oliveira, Mônica Martins; Paraguay, Nestor Luiz Bruzzi B

2014-09-01

To describe the clinical history of a child with aggressive behavior and recurring death-theme speech, and report the experience of the team of authors, who proposed an alternative to medication through the establishment of a protection network and the inter-sector implementation of the circle of security concept. A 5-year-old child has a violent and aggressive behavior at the day-care. The child was diagnosed by the healthcare center with depressive disorder and behavioral disorder, and was medicated with sertraline and risperidone. Side effects were observed, and the medications were discontinued. Despite several actions, such as talks, teamwork, psychological and psychiatric follow-up, the child's behavior remained unchanged. A unique therapeutic project was developed by Universidade Estadual de Campinas' Medical School students in order to establish a connection between the entities responsible for the child's care (daycare center, healthcare center, and family). Thus, the team was able to develop a basic care protection network. The implementation of the inter-sector circle of security, as well as the communication and cooperation among the teams, produced very favorable results in this case. This initiative was shown to be a feasible and effective alternative to the use of medication for this child. Copyright © 2014 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

2008 Niday Perinatal Database quality audit: report of a quality assurance project.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, S; Bottomley, J; Ali, A; Walker, M

2011-12-01

This quality assurance project was designed to determine the reliability, completeness and comprehensiveness of the data entered into Niday Perinatal Database. Quality of the data was measured by comparing data re-abstracted from the patient record to the original data entered into the Niday Perinatal Database. A representative sample of hospitals in Ontario was selected and a random sample of 100 linked mother and newborn charts were audited for each site. A subset of 33 variables (representing 96 data fields) from the Niday dataset was chosen for re-abstraction. Of the data fields for which Cohen's kappa statistic or intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated, 44% showed substantial or almost perfect agreement (beyond chance). However, about 17% showed less than 95% agreement and a kappa or ICC value of less than 60% indicating only slight, fair or moderate agreement (beyond chance). Recommendations to improve the quality of these data fields are presented.

Study on quality assurance for high-level radioactive waste disposal project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takada, Susumu

2005-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed comparatively detailed quality assurance requirements for the high-level radioactive waste disposal systems. Quality assurance is recognized as a key issue for confidence building and smooth implementation of the HLW program in Japan, and Japan is at an initial phase of repository development. Then the quality assurance requirements at site research and site selection, site characterization, and site suitability analysis used in the Yucca Mountain project were examined in detail and comprehensive descriptions were developed using flow charts. Additionally, the applicability to the Japan high-level radioactive waste disposal project was studied. The examination and study were performed for the following QA requirements: The requirements that have the relative importance at site research and site selection, site characterization, and site suitability analysis (such as planning and performing scientific investigations, sample control, data control, model development and use, technical report review, software control, and control of the electric management of data). The requirements that have the relative importance at the whole repository phases (such as quality assurance program, document control, and control of quality assurance records). (author)

Description of the quality system and the organisation of activities at the Halden Reactor Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiseth, Ann Katrine

1996-04-01

The Halden Reactor Project is a joint undertaking of national organisations in 19 countries sponsoring a jointly financed programme under the auspices of the OECD - Nuclear Energy Agency. The quality assurance routines in force at the Halden Reactor Project are based on long term experience and are devised to ensure product quality and meeting of programme goals, customers expectations and authority requirements. Quality is an overall connotation related to all activities carried out at the Project and concerns all individuals performing such activities. It is also related to subcontractors and suppliers of parts and components. The results of the work depend very strongly on the quality level of each component, regardless how small it is. The activities at the Halden Reactor Project are organised in eight technical divisions, one advisory group and one administrative group. This report describes the quality system, the organisation of the activities in the divisions and the technical and administrative infrastructures. The quality system is built according to the international standards ISO 9001 and ISO 9000-3. Iso 9000-3 is ISO 9001 applied to software development, supply and maintenance. (author)

Predictors of Quality Verbal Engagement in Third-Grade Literature Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Chase

2014-01-01

This study investigates how reading ability and personality traits predict the quality of verbal discussions in peer-led literature circles. Third grade literature discussions were recorded, transcribed, and coded. The coded statements and questions were quantified into a quality of engagement score. Through multiple linear regression, the…

Los Alamos National Laboratory transuranic waste quality assurance project plan. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

This Transuranic (TRU) Waste Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPjP) serves as the quality management plan for the characterization of transuranic waste in preparation for certification and transportation. The Transuranic Waste Characterization/Certification Program (TWCP) consists of personnel who sample and analyze waste, validate and report data; and provide project management, quality assurance, audit and assessment, and records management support, all in accordance with established requirements for disposal of TRU waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. This QAPjP addresses how the TWCP meets the quality requirements of the Carlsbad Area Office (CAO) Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD) and the technical requirements of the Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP). The TWCP characterizes and certifies retrievably stored and newly generated TRU waste using the waste selection, testing, sampling, and analytical techniques and data quality objectives (DQOs) described in the QAPP, the Los Alamos National Laboratory Transuranic Waste Certification Plan (Certification Plan), and the CST Waste Management Facilities Waste Acceptance Criteria and Certification [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC)]. At the present, the TWCP does not address remote-handled (RH) waste

Project outline of high quality electron beam generation at Waseda University

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Washio, M.; Hama, Y.; Kashiwagi, S.; Kuroda, R.; Kobuki, T. [Waseda Univ., Advanced Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Shinjuku, Tokyo (Japan); Hirose, T. [Tokyo Metropolitan Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Physics

2000-03-01

High quality electron beam generation project has been started at Waseda University under the grant of Ministry of Education, named High-Tech Research Center Project. In the project, we will install a laser photo-cathode RF Gun system with 1.6 accelerating structure cells of s-band and a stabilized RF power source. This RF Gun is expected to produce single electron bunch up to 1 or 2nC with around 10ps pulse duration. (author)

Project outline of high quality electron beam generation at Waseda University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washio, M.; Hama, Y.; Kashiwagi, S.; Kuroda, R.; Kobuki, T.; Hirose, T.

2000-01-01

High quality electron beam generation project has been started at Waseda University under the grant of Ministry of Education, named High-Tech Research Center Project. In the project, we will install a laser photo-cathode RF Gun system with 1.6 accelerating structure cells of s-band and a stabilized RF power source. This RF Gun is expected to produce single electron bunch up to 1 or 2nC with around 10ps pulse duration. (author)

Project Aether Aurora: STEM outreach near the arctic circle

Science.gov (United States)

Longmier, B. W.; Bering, E. A.

2012-12-01

Project Aether is a program designed to immerse high-school through graduate students to field research in some of the fields of STEM. The program leaders launch high altitude weather balloons in collaboration with schools and students to teach physics concepts, experimental research skills, and to make space exploration accessible to students. A weather balloon lifts a specially designed payload package that is composed of HD cameras, GPS tracking devices, and other science equipment. The payload is constructed and attached to the balloon by the students with low-cost materials. The balloon and payload are launched with FAA clearance from a site chosen based on wind patterns and predicted landing locations. The balloon ascends over 2 hours to a maximum altitude of 100,000 feet where it bursts and allows the payload to slowly descend using a built-in parachute. The balloon's location is monitored during its flight by GPS-satellite relay. Most of the science and video data are recorded on SD cards using an Arduino digitizer. The payload is located using the GPS device. The science data are recovered from the payload and shared with the students. In April 2012, Project Aether leaders conducted a field campaign near Fairbanks Alaska, sending several student-built experiments to an altitude of 30km, underneath several strong auroral displays. Auroral physics experiments that can be done on ultra small balloons (5 cubic meters) include electric field and magnetic fluctuation observations, full spectrum and narrow band optical imaging, GPS monitoring of the total electron content of the ionosphere, x-ray detection and infrared and UV spectroscopy. The actual undergraduate student experiments will be reviewed and some data presented.; Balloon deployment underneath aurora, Fairbanks Alaska, 2012.

The ability to form full-length intron RNA circles is a general property of nuclear group I introns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Henrik; Fiskaa, Tonje; Birgisdottir, Asa Birna

2003-01-01

at the expense of the host. The circularization pathway has distinct structural requirements that differ from those of splicing and appears to be specifically suppressed in vivo. The ability to form full-length circles is found in all types of nuclear group I introns, including those from the Tetrahymena...... ribosomal DNA. The biological function of the full-length circles is not known, but the fact that the circles contain the entire genetic information of the intron suggests a role in intron mobility....

The quantum harmonic oscillator on a circle and a deformed quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rego-Monteiro, M.A.

2001-05-01

We construct a deformed free quantum field theory with an standard Hilbert space based on a deformed Heisenberg algebra. This deformed algebra is a Heisenberg-type algebra describing the first levels of the quantum harmonic oscillator on a circle of large length L. The successive energy levels of this quantum harmonic oscillator on a circle of large length L are interpreted, similarly to the standard quantum one-dimensional harmonic oscillator on an infinite line, as being obtained by the creation of a quantum particle of frequency w at very high energies. (author)

Random walks of a quantum particle on a circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fjeldsoe, N.; Midtdal, J.; Ravndal, F.

1987-07-01

When the quantum planar rotor is put on a lattice, its dynamics can be approximated by random walks on a circle. This allows for fast and accurate Monto Carlo simulations to determine the topological charge of different configurations of the system and thereby the Θ-dependency of the lowest energy levels

The Milky Way and the Local Group: playing with great circles.

Science.gov (United States)

Fusi Pecci, F.; Bellazzini, M.; Ferraro, F. R.

The small group of recently discovered galactic globular clusters (Pal 12, Ter 7, Rup 106, Arp 2) significantly younger than the average cluster population of the Galaxy are shown to lie near great circles passing in the proximity of most satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Assuming that these great circles are in some way preferential planes of interaction between the Galaxy and its companions, the authors identified along one of them another candidate "young" globular cluster, IC 4499. Within this observational framework, the possibility that the sample of young globulars found in the halo of the Galaxy could have been captured from a satellite galaxy or formed during a close interaction between the Milky Way and one of its companions is briefly discussed.

Healthcare quality management in Switzerland--a survey among providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaderli, Reto; Pfortmueller, Carmen A; Businger, Adrian P

2012-04-27

In the last decade assessing the quality of healthcare has become increasingly important across the world. Switzerland lacks a detailed overview of how quality management is implemented and of its effects on medical procedures and patients' concerns. This study aimed to examine the systematics of quality management in Switzerland by assessing the providers and collected parameters of current quality initiatives. In summer 2011 we contacted all of the medical societies in Switzerland, the Federal Office of Public Health, the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) and the head of Swiss medical insurance providers, to obtain detailed information on current quality initiatives. All quality initiatives featuring standardised parameter assessment were included. Of the current 45 initiatives, 19 were powered by medical societies, five by hospitals, 11 by non-medical societies, two by the government, two by insurance companies or related institutions and six by unspecified institutions. In all, 24 medical registers, five seals of quality, five circles of quality, two self-assessment tools, seven superior entities, one checklist and one combined project existed. The cost of treatment was evaluated by four initiatives. A data report was released by 24 quality initiatives. The wide variety and the large number of 45 recorded quality initiatives provides a promising basis for effective healthcare quality management in Switzerland. However, an independent national supervisory authority should be appointed to provide an effective review of all quality initiatives and their transparency and coordination.

Collective motions of globally coupled oscillators and some probability distributions on circle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaćimović, Vladimir [Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put, bb., 81000 Podgorica (Montenegro); Crnkić, Aladin, E-mail: aladin.crnkic@hotmail.com [Faculty of Technical Engineering, University of Bihać, Ljubijankićeva, bb., 77000 Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

2017-06-28

In 2010 Kato and Jones described a new family of probability distributions on circle, obtained as Möbius transformation of von Mises distribution. We present the model demonstrating that these distributions appear naturally in study of populations of coupled oscillators. We use this opportunity to point out certain relations between Directional Statistics and collective motion of coupled oscillators. - Highlights: • We specify probability distributions on circle that arise in Kuramoto model. • We study how the mean-field coupling affects the shape of distribution of phases. • We discuss potential applications in some experiments on cell cycle. • We apply Directional Statistics to study collective dynamics of coupled oscillators.

Circle of Willis variation in a complex stroke presentation: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young Carolyn A

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The impact of circle of Willis anatomical variation upon the presentation of stroke is probably underrecognised. Case presentation A 63-year-old right-handed woman developed a left hemiparesis and right leg weakness sequentially following a road traffic accident (RTA. Despite initial concern about the possibility of cervical spinal cord injury, the final diagnosis was bilateral artery-to-artery embolic cerebral infarction with dominant right internal carotid artery. Conclusion The case illustrates the complex presentation of stroke as a pseudo-cervical cord lesion and the impact of circle of Willis anatomical variation upon the expression of large vessel cerebrovascular disease.

"Socratic Circles are a Luxury": Exploring the Conceptualization of a Dialogic Tool in Three Science Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Copelin, Michelle Renee

Research has shown that dialogic instruction promotes learning in students. Secondary science has traditionally been taught from an authoritative stance, reinforced in recent years by testing policies requiring coverage. Socratic Circles are a framework for student-led dialogic discourse, which have been successfully used in English language arts and social studies classrooms. The purpose of this research was to explore the implementation process of Socratic Circles in secondary science classes where they have been perceived to be more difficult. Focusing on two physical science classes and one chemistry class, this study described the nature and characteristics of Socratic Circles, teachers' dispositions toward dialogic instruction, the nature and characteristics of student discussion, and student motivation. Socratic Circles were found to be a dialogic support that influenced classroom climate, social skills, content connections, and student participation. Teachers experienced conflict between using traditional test driven scripted teaching, and exploring innovation through dialogic instruction. Students experienced opportunities for peer interaction, participation, and deeper discussions in a framework designed to improve dialogic skills. Students in two of the classrooms showed evidence of motivation for engaging in peer-led discussion, and students in one class did not. The class that did not show evidence of motivation had not been given the same scaffolding as the other two classes. Two physical science teachers and one chemistry teacher found that Socratic Circles required more scaffolding than was indicated by their peers in other disciplines such as English and social studies. The teachers felt that student's general lack of background knowledge for any given topic in physical science or chemistry necessitated the building of a knowledge platform before work on a discussion could begin. All three of the teachers indicated that Socratic Circles were a

Total Quality Management: Analysis, Evaluation and Implementation Within ACRV Project Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Raiman, Laura B.

1991-01-01

Total quality management (TQM) is a cooperative form of doing business that relies on the talents of everyone in an organization to continually improve quality and productivity, using teams and an assortment of statistical and measurement tools. The Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) Project Office was identified as an excellent project in which to demonstrate the applications and benefits of TQM processes. As the ACRV Program moves through its various stages of development, it is vital that effectiveness and efficiency be maintained in order to provide the Space Station Freedom (SSF) crew an affordable, on-time assured return to Earth. A critical factor for the success of the ACRV is attaining the maximum benefit from the resources applied to the program. Through a series of four tutorials on various quality improvement techniques, and numerous one-on-one sessions during the SSF's 10-week term in the project office, results were obtained which are aiding the ACRV Office in implementing a disciplined, ongoing process for generating fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide the organization. Significant advances were made in improving the processes for two particular groups - the correspondence distribution team and the WATER Test team. Numerous people from across JSC were a part of the various team activities including engineering, man systems, and safety. The work also included significant interaction with the support contractor to the ACRV Project. The results of the improvement activities can be used as models for other organizations desiring to operate under a system of continuous improvement. In particular, they have advanced the ACRV Project Teams further down the path of continuous improvement, in support of a working philosophy of TQM.

The legacy of Circle women�s engagement with the Bible: Reflections from an African male biblical scholar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lovemore Togarasei

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The entry of women into religious and theological studies has revolutionised the modus operandi of these disciplines. Especially with the formation of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians, the study of these disciplines has never been the same. In this article, an attempt is made to consider the legacy of women theologians in the area of biblical interpretation. Specifically, the article looks at how members of the Circle have interpreted the Bible in their quest for a theology that responds to African women�s experiences. The article discusses Circle biblical scholars� methods of interpreting the Bible, what they have managed to achieve, as well as pointing out areas that still call for attention. It concludes that Circle biblical scholars, like all African Biblical Interpretation, are engaged scholars who serve both the need for intellectual growth as well as solving the pressing needs of their societies.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article primarily focuses on how members of the Circle of Concerned Women Theologians have interpreted the Bible in their quest for justice. It therefore engages several disciplines: biblical interpretation, theology, gender, politics, health, and so on.Keywords: African Biblical interpretation; Women theologians; Bible; legacy;engaged Biblical Scholarship

Quality of the restricted variation after projection method with angular momentum projection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, Tomas R.; Egido, J.L.; Robledo, L.M.; Rodriguez-Guzman, R.

2005-01-01

Recently, the restricted angular momentum variation after projection method, using the quadrupole degree of freedom as a variational coordinate in conjunction with effective interactions of the Skyrme or Gogny type, has been used very successfully to study a variety of phenomena concerning the quadrupole degree of freedom. In this paper, we study the quality of such an approach by considering additional degrees of freedom as variational coordinates: the hexadecapole moment and the fluctuations on the quadrupole moment, particle number, and angular momentum operators. The study has been performed with the Gogny interaction (D1S parametrization) for the nuclei 32 Mg and 34 Mg. The results of the angular momentum projection and the subsequent generator coordinate calculations show that the extra degrees of freedom considered are irrelevant for the description of the lowest lying states for each angular momentum

Guidance and Control Software Project Data - Volume 4: Configuration Management and Quality Assurance Documents

Science.gov (United States)

Hayhurst, Kelly J. (Editor)

2008-01-01

The Guidance and Control Software (GCS) project was the last in a series of software reliability studies conducted at Langley Research Center between 1977 and 1994. The technical results of the GCS project were recorded after the experiment was completed. Some of the support documentation produced as part of the experiment, however, is serving an unexpected role far beyond its original project context. Some of the software used as part of the GCS project was developed to conform to the RTCA/DO-178B software standard, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," used in the civil aviation industry. That standard requires extensive documentation throughout the software development life cycle, including plans, software requirements, design and source code, verification cases and results, and configuration management and quality control data. The project documentation that includes this information is open for public scrutiny without the legal or safety implications associated with comparable data from an avionics manufacturer. This public availability has afforded an opportunity to use the GCS project documents for DO-178B training. This report provides a brief overview of the GCS project, describes the 4-volume set of documents and the role they are playing in training, and includes configuration management and quality assurance documents from the GCS project. Volume 4 contains six appendices: A. Software Accomplishment Summary for the Guidance and Control Software Project; B. Software Configuration Index for the Guidance and Control Software Project; C. Configuration Management Records for the Guidance and Control Software Project; D. Software Quality Assurance Records for the Guidance and Control Software Project; E. Problem Report for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software Project; and F. Support Documentation Change Reports for the Guidance and Control Software Project.

Intrinsic Stability of Episomal Circles Formed during Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication

Science.gov (United States)

Pierson, TheodoreC.; Kieffer, Tara L.; Ruff, Christian T.; Buck, Christopher; Gange, Stephen J.; Siliciano, Robert F.

2002-01-01

The development of surrogate markers capable of detecting residual ongoing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy is an important step in understanding viral dynamics and in developing new treatment strategies. In this study, we evaluated the utility of circular forms of the viral genome for the detection of recent infection of cells by HIV-1. We measured the fate of both one-long terminal repeat (1-LTR) and 2-LTR circles following in vitro infection of logarithmically growing CD4+ T cells under conditions in which cell death was not a significant contributing factor. Circular forms of the viral genome were found to be highly stable and to decrease in concentration only as a function of dilution resulting from cell division. We conclude that these DNA circles are not intrinsically unstable in all cell types and suggest that the utility of 2-LTR circle assays in measuring recent HIV-1 infection of susceptible cells in vivo needs to be reevaluated. PMID:11907256

МULTI-STAKEHOLDER MODEL OF EDUCATION PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Юлия Юрьевна ГУСЕВА

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The analysis of approaches to the definition of higher education projects’ stakeholders is conducted. A model of education project quality management with the influence of stakeholders is formed. A mechanism of recognition of new groups of project’s stakeholders on the basis of set theory is offered.

Quality improvement training for core medical and general practice trainees: a pilot study of project participation, completion and journal publication.

Science.gov (United States)

McNab, Duncan; McKay, John; Bowie, Paul

2015-11-01

Small-scale quality improvement projects are expected to make a significant contribution towards improving the quality of healthcare. Enabling doctors-in-training to design and lead quality improvement projects is important preparation for independent practice. Participation is mandatory in speciality training curricula. However, provision of training and ongoing support in quality improvement methods and practice is variable. We aimed to design and deliver a quality improvement training package to core medical and general practice specialty trainees and evaluate impact in terms of project participation, completion and publication in a healthcare journal. A quality improvement training package was developed and delivered to core medical trainees and general practice specialty trainees in the west of Scotland encompassing a 1-day workshop and mentoring during completion of a quality improvement project over 3 months. A mixed methods evaluation was undertaken and data collected via questionnaire surveys, knowledge assessment, and formative assessment of project proposals, completed quality improvement projects and publication success. Twenty-three participants attended the training day with 20 submitting a project proposal (87%). Ten completed quality improvement projects (43%), eight were judged as satisfactory (35%), and four were submitted and accepted for journal publication (17%). Knowledge and confidence in aspects of quality improvement improved during the pilot, while early feedback on project proposals was valued (85.7%). This small study reports modest success in training core medical trainees and general practice specialty trainees in quality improvement. Many gained knowledge of, confidence in and experience of quality improvement, while journal publication was shown to be possible. The development of educational resources to aid quality improvement project completion and mentoring support is necessary if expectations for quality improvement are to be

Software quality assurance on the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matras, J.R.

1993-01-01

The Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) has been involved over the years in the continuing struggle with establishing acceptable Software Quality Assurance (SQA) requirements for the development, modification, and acquisition of computer programs used to support the Mined Geologic Disposal System. These computer programs will be used to produce or manipulate data used directly in site characterization, design, analysis, performance assessment, and operation of repository structures, systems, and components. Scientists and engineers working on the project have claimed that the SQA requirements adopted by the project are too restrictive to allow them to perform their work. This paper will identify the source of the original SQA requirements adopted by the project. It will delineate the approach used by the project to identify concerns voiced by project engineers and scientists regarding the original SQA requirements. It will conclude with a discussion of methods used to address these problems in the rewrite of the original SQA requirements

"I am a different man now” Sex offenders in Circles of Support and Accountability : A prospective study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Höing, M.A.; Vogelvang, B.; Bogaerts, S.

2017-01-01

In Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), a group of trained and supervised volunteers support a sex offender (core member in a circle), with the aim of supporting the core member’s transitions toward full desistance. A prospective, multi-method design was used to explore psychological and

Quality of road construction projects in Sweden between 1990 and 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abukar Warsame

2014-03-01

Full Text Available It has been reported that productivity developments in construction are slow compared to other sectors. Measuring productivity is however not easy and it might have been underestimated due to deficiencies in the index that is used when the value added in current prices is converted into value added at constant prices. A central problem when deflating nominal prices is that the deflation should only take away price changes for identical products and not price changes related to quality changes and improvements necessitated by new environmental conditions and legislation as well as demand for higher safety. The aim of this project is to help fill this gap by looking at the quality changes over time in road construction. A combination of comparative studies and interviews with practitioners from public and private sectors that are involved in road construction projects were conducted. It was found that there had been both direct quality changes in the roads, primarily to improve safety on the roads and for noise protection, and indirect quality changes related to building in more difficult circumstances because of giving higher weight to other social objectives, especially environmental objectives. As these quality increases are not taken into account when productivity is measured, productivity improvements could be underestimated by around 1% per year.

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frazier, T.P.

1994-01-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan addresses the quality assurance requirements for the activities associated with the Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans, which are part of the overall Hanford Site Environmental Protection Plan. This plan specifically applies to the sampling and analysis activities and continuous monitoring performed for all Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan activities conducted by Westinghouse Hanford Company. It is generic in approach and will be implemented in conjunction with the specific requirements of the individual Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans

BANQUET SPEECH Full Circle: Star Ferry to Stardust

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Clifford N.

2008-10-01

Good evening. I'd like to invite you to join me on a journey that could be entitled “Full Circle: Star Ferry to Stardust”. “Star Ferry” represents Hong Kong, my home town, and especially its university - Hong Kong University - as I knew it during the years of World War II. “Stardust” refers to our gathering here to report on our research on possible organic chemistry in space.

Study on quality assurance for high-level radioactive waste disposal project (2). Quality assurance system for the site characterization phase in the Yucca Mountain Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takada, Susumu

2006-01-01

The objective of this report is to assist related organizations in the development of quality assurance systems for a high-level radioactive waste disposal system. This report presents detail information with which related organizations can begin the development of quality assurance systems at an initial phase of repository development for a high-level radioactive waste disposal program, including data qualification, model validation, systems and facilities for quality assurance (e.g., technical data management system, sample management facility, etc.), and QA program applicability (items and activities). These descriptions are based on information in QA program for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP), such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Quality Assurance Requirements and Description (QARD), DOE/RW-0333P, quality implementing procedures, and reports implemented by the procedures. Additionally, this report includes some brief recommendations for developing of quality assurance systems, such as establishment of quality assurance requirements, measures for establishment of QA system. (author)

Circle Solutions, a philosophy and pedagogy for learning positive relationships: What promotes and inhibits sustainable outcomes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florence McCarthy

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Educators are increasingly aware that the efficacy of social and emotional learning (SEL is dependent on implementation factors, not just program content. These include the philosophy underpinning an intervention, the beliefs as well as the skills of facilitators, and the classroom/whole school context in which the intervention takes place. This article outlines the philosophy and pedagogy of Circle Solutions and presents findings from research where 18 undergraduate students supported and developed ‘Circle Time’ in 8 Greater Western Sydney primary schools for a university module on community service. The study indicates that when there is full teacher participation within the principles of the Circle philosophy, together with activeschool support that promotes relational values, the learning outcomes for positive relationship building are more sustainable.

Rich services in interoperable Learning Designs: can the circle be squared?

OpenAIRE

Griffiths, David

2009-01-01

Griffiths, D. (2009). Rich services in interoperable Learning Designs: Can the circle be squared?. Presented at Opening Up Learning Design, European LAMS and Learning Design Conference 2009. July, 6-9, 2009, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

PLÉIADES PROJECT: ASSESSMENT OF GEOREFERENCING ACCURACY, IMAGE QUALITY, PANSHARPENING PERFORMENCE AND DSM/DTM QUALITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Topan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Pléiades 1A and 1B are twin optical satellites of Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation (ORFEO program jointly running by France and Italy. They are the first satellites of Europe with sub-meter resolution. Airbus DS (formerly Astrium Geo runs a MyGIC (formerly Pléiades Users Group program to validate Pléiades images worldwide for various application purposes. The authors conduct three projects, one is within this program, the second is supported by BEU Scientific Research Project Program, and the third is supported by TÜBİTAK. Assessment of georeferencing accuracy, image quality, pansharpening performance and Digital Surface Model/Digital Terrain Model (DSM/DTM quality subjects are investigated in these projects. For these purposes, triplet panchromatic (50 cm Ground Sampling Distance (GSD and VNIR (2 m GSD Pléiades 1A images were investigated over Zonguldak test site (Turkey which is urbanised, mountainous and covered by dense forest. The georeferencing accuracy was estimated with a standard deviation in X and Y (SX, SY in the range of 0.45m by bias corrected Rational Polynomial Coefficient (RPC orientation, using ~170 Ground Control Points (GCPs. 3D standard deviation of ±0.44m in X, ±0.51m in Y, and ±1.82m in Z directions have been reached in spite of the very narrow angle of convergence by bias corrected RPC orientation. The image quality was also investigated with respect to effective resolution, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR and blur coefficient. The effective resolution was estimated with factor slightly below 1.0, meaning that the image quality corresponds to the nominal resolution of 50cm. The blur coefficients were achieved between 0.39-0.46 for triplet panchromatic images, indicating a satisfying image quality. SNR is in the range of other comparable space borne images which may be caused by de-noising of Pléiades images. The pansharpened images were generated by various methods, and are validated by most common

Quality Management in Project Management Consulting. A Case Study in an International Consulting Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The present paper addresses quality management from the specific perspective of project management consulting service providers, in the framework of large infrastructure projects. Because of their supposed superiority in knowledge and experience, project management consultants have an ultimate responsibility for the proper implementing of the project. Therefore, quality management in consulting organizations should focus on critical success factors. As there is no consensus yet regarding the most important aspects of the consulting activity on which depend the achievement of the project aims, there is scope for further investigating this subject. Here, the case of a project management consulting organization involved in large infrastructure projects in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia is analyzed. Data collected through a questionnaire-based survey among international consultants and support personnel suggest that factors related to leadership style and communication skills are more closely tied to the success of the project than more technical aspects. The results constitute an empirical evidence of main success factors for specialized consulting services in project management and can be useful in improving business and project performance and achieving business excellence.

URBAN SPRAWL MODELING, AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND RISK COMMUNICATION: THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT

Science.gov (United States)

The Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl, Air Quality Monitoring, and Communications Project (hereafter called the Northeast Ohio Project) provides local environmental and health information useful to residents, local officials, community planners, and others in a 15 county region in the ...

Product Quality Assurance Project for Teaching of Food Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, S. S.

2004-01-01

Two of the challenges in teaching Food Analysis are bringing relevance to the various chemical and physical analyses discussed and exposing students to the realities of quality assurance in the food industry. In a project to help meet those objectives, each student, with the assistance of a "resource person" from the food industry, completes the…

OECD Health Care Quality Indicator Project. The expert panel on primary care prevention and health promotion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marshall, Martin; Klazinga, Niek; Leatherman, Sheila; Hardy, Charlie; Bergmann, Eckhard; Pisco, Luis; Mattke, Soeren; Mainz, Jan

2006-01-01

PURPOSE: This article describes a project undertaken as part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Healthcare Quality Indicator (HCQI) Project, which aimed to develop a set of quality indicators representing the domains of primary care, prevention and health

Simple methods of aligning four-circle diffractometers with crystal reflections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitsui, Y [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

1979-08-01

Simple methods of aligning four-circle diffractometers with crystal reflections are devised. They provide the methods to check (1) perpendicularity of chi plane to the incident beam, (2) zero point of 2theta and linearity of focus-chi center-receiving aperture and (3) zero point of chi.

Real-time single-molecule observation of rolling-circle DNA replication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tanner, Nathan A.; Loparo, Joseph J.; Hamdan, Samir M.; Jergic, Slobodan; Dixon, Nicholas E.; Oijen, Antoine M. van

2009-01-01

We present a simple technique for visualizing replication of individual DNA molecules in real time. By attaching a rolling-circle substrate to a TIRF microscope-mounted flow chamber, we are able to monitor the progression of single-DNA synthesis events and accurately measure rates and processivities

(In-)Secure messaging with the Silent Circle instant messaging protocol

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verschoor, S.R.; Lange, T.

2016-01-01

Silent Text, the instant messaging application by the company Silent Circle, provides its users with end-to-end encrypted communication on the Blackphone and other smartphones. The underlying protocol, SCimp, has received many extensions during the update to version 2, but has not been subjected to

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nickels, J.M.

1991-06-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan addresses the quality assurance requirements for the Facility Monitoring Plans of the overall site-wide environmental monitoring plan. This plan specifically applies to the sampling and analysis activities and continuous monitoring performed for all Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan activities conducted by Westinghouse Hanford Company. It is generic in approach and will be implemented in conjunction with the specific requirements of individual Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans. This document is intended to be a basic road map to the Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan documents (i.e., the guidance document for preparing Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans, Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan determinations, management plan, and Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans). The implementing procedures, plans, and instructions are appropriate for the control of effluent monitoring plans requiring compliance with US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, state, and local requirements. This Quality Assurance Project Plan contains a matrix of organizational responsibilities, procedural resources from facility or site manuals used in the Facility Effluent Monitoring Plans, and a list of the analytes of interest and analytical methods for each facility preparing a Facility Effluent Monitoring Plan. 44 refs., 1 figs., 2 tabs

Quality control of radioactive waste disposal container for borehole project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamad Pauzi Ismail; Suhairy Sani; Azhar Azmi; Ilham Mukhriz Zainal Abidin

2014-01-01

This paper explained quality control of radioactive disposal container for the borehole project. Non-destructive Testing (NDT) is one of the quality tool used for evaluating the product. The disposal container is made of 316L stainless steel. The suitable NDT method for this object is radiography, ultrasonic, penetrant and eddy current testing. This container will be filled with radioactive capsules and cement mortar is grouted to fill the gap. The results of NDT measurements are explained and discussed. (author)

Influence of volunteer and project characteristics on data quality of biological surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewandowski, Eva; Specht, Hannah

2015-06-01

Volunteer involvement in biological surveys is becoming common in conservation and ecology, prompting questions on the quality of data collected in such surveys. In a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on the quality of data collected by volunteers, we examined the characteristics of volunteers (e.g., age, prior knowledge) and projects (e.g., systematic vs. opportunistic monitoring schemes) that affect data quality with regards to standardization of sampling, accuracy and precision of data collection, spatial and temporal representation of data, and sample size. Most studies (70%, n = 71) focused on the act of data collection. The majority of assessments of volunteer characteristics (58%, n = 93) examined the effect of prior knowledge and experience on quality of the data collected, often by comparing volunteers with experts or professionals, who were usually assumed to collect higher quality data. However, when both groups' data were compared with the same accuracy standard, professional data were more accurate in only 4 of 7 cases. The few studies that measured precision of volunteer and professional data did not conclusively show that professional data were less variable than volunteer data. To improve data quality, studies recommended changes to survey protocols, volunteer training, statistical analyses, and project structure (e.g., volunteer recruitment and retention). © 2015, Society for Conservation Biology.

[Quality of life and life project, two inseparable concepts?].

Science.gov (United States)

Deconstanza, Patrice

2010-01-01

The construction of a life project within a long-stay unit for people living with chronic psychiatric disorders must take into account a dimension of care centred around the quality of life and the care provided "here and now". Here, the concept of care finds its full meaning. The example of a long-stay psychiatric unit.

Combined modal split and assignment model for the multimodal transportation network of the economic circle in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sh. Li

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Economic circles have been formed and developing in China. An economic circle consists of more than one closely adjoining central cities and their influence zones. It is always the major engine for the development of one country’s economy and even for the world economy. A combined modal split and assignment model with deterministic travel demand is proposed for modelling passengers’ choices of intercity bus and train which are two main competing modes in the multimodal transportation network of the economic circle. The generalized travel cost model of highway and railway are used incorporating travel time, ticket fare and passenger’s discomfort. On the highway network, the interactions of private vehicles and intercity buses are asymmetric. Thus, a variational inequality formulation is proposed to describe the combined model. The streamlined diagonalization algorithm is presented to solve the combined model. The multimodal transportation network based on Yangtze River Delta economic circle is presented to illustrate the proposed method. The results show the efficiency of the proposed model.

An anatomical study of normal variations of circle of Willis in 132 fetus, newborn and adult

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bateni F

2009-09-01

Full Text Available "n Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Background: Several studies have investigated the variations in the anatomy of each segment of circle of Willis whereas a few have addressed the variations of this arterial circle as a whole. In this study the entire circle of Willis and its variations were studied in a cohort of Iranian people and compared with previous reports."n"nMethods: Anatomical variations of the circle of Willis in 132 brains of Iranian cadavers (102 male adults and 30 fetuses and infants were studied. The dissection process was digitally filmed for further studies. Using computer software the external diameters of the vessels were measured and the circle variations were classified. The variations of the circle as a whole and segmental variations were compared with previous studies. "n"nResults: Uni-and bilateral hypoplasia of posterior communicating arteries (PcoAs constituted the most common variation in our study which was similar to previous works. Aplasia of the anterior cerebral artery (A1 and the posterior cerebral artery (P1 were not observed. In 3.3% of fetuses and infants and 3% of adult instances both right and left posterior communicating arteries were absent. There was one case of anterior communicating artery (AcoA aplasia in

Centripetal and centrifugal forces in the moral circle: Competing constraints on moral learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jesse; Waytz, Adam; Meindl, Peter; Iyer, Ravi; Young, Liane

2017-10-01

The idea of the moral circle pictures the self in the center, surrounded by concentric circles encompassing increasingly distant possible targets of moral concern, including family, local community, nation, all humans, all mammals, all living things including plants, and all things including inanimate objects. The authors develop the idea of two opposing forces in people's moral circles, with centripetal forces pulling inward, urging greater concern for close others than for distant others, and centrifugal forces pushing outward, resisting "drawing the line" anywhere as a form of prejudice and urging egalitarian concern for all regardless of social distance. Review of the developmental literature shows very early emergence of both moral forces, suggesting at least partly intuitive bases for each. Moral education approaches favoring one force over the other are compared, to show how these forces can provide constraints on moral learning. Finally, the centripetal/centrifugal forces view is applied to current moral debates about empathy and about politics. The authors argue that this view helps us see how intercultural and interpersonal disagreements about morality are based in intrapersonal conflicts shared by all people. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A SEARCH FOR CONCENTRIC CIRCLES IN THE 7 YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE TEMPERATURE SKY MAPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wehus, I. K.; Eriksen, H. K.

2011-01-01

In this Letter, we search for concentric circles with low variance in cosmic microwave background sky maps. The detection of such circles would hint at new physics beyond the current cosmological concordance model, which states that the universe is isotropic and homogeneous, and filled with Gaussian fluctuations. We first describe a set of methods designed to detect such circles, based on matched filters and χ 2 statistics, and then apply these methods to the best current publicly available data, the 7 year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) temperature sky maps. We compare the observations with an ensemble of 1000 Gaussian ΛCDM simulations. Based on these tests, we conclude that the WMAP sky maps are fully compatible with the Gaussian and isotropic hypothesis as measured by low-variance ring statistics.

Technical specification for the Quality Information Management System (QIMS) Pilot Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, R.C.; Claussen, L.M.; Thurston, I.

1992-01-01

This document contains implementation details for the Quality Information Management System (QIMS) Pilot Project, which has been released for VAX/VMS systems using the INGRES RDBMS. The INGRES Applications-By-Forms (ABF) software development tool was used to define the modules and screens which comprise the QIMS Pilot application. These specifications together with the QIMS information model and corresponding database definition constitute the QIMS technical specification and implementation description presented herein. The QIMS Pilot Project represents a completed software product which has been released for production use. Further extension projects are planned which will release new versions for QIMS. These versions will offer expanded and enhanced functionality to meet further customer requirements not accommodated by the QIMS Pilot Project.

Estimation and tracking of AP-diameter of the inferior vena cava in ultrasound images using a novel active circle algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Karami, Ebrahim; Shehata, Mohamed S; Smith, Andrew

2018-05-04

Medical research suggests that the anterior-posterior (AP)-diameter of the inferior vena cava (IVC) and its associated temporal variation as imaged by bedside ultrasound is useful in guiding fluid resuscitation of the critically-ill patient. Unfortunately, indistinct edges and gaps in vessel walls are frequently present which impede accurate estimation of the IVC AP-diameter for both human operators and segmentation algorithms. The majority of research involving use of the IVC to guide fluid resuscitation involves manual measurement of the maximum and minimum AP-diameter as it varies over time. This effort proposes using a time-varying circle fitted inside the typically ellipsoid IVC as an efficient, consistent and novel approach to tracking and approximating the AP-diameter even in the context of poor image quality. In this active-circle algorithm, a novel evolution functional is proposed and shown to be a useful tool for ultrasound image processing. The proposed algorithm is compared with an expert manual measurement, and state-of-the-art relevant algorithms. It is shown that the algorithm outperforms other techniques and performs very close to manual measurement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leadership, Medication Administration, and Knowledge Retention: A Quality Improvement Project

Science.gov (United States)

Treister, Pamela

2017-01-01

A leadership and quality improvement project was undertaken in order to assist undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students in knowledge retention for medication administration during their senior semester in nursing school. Specific changes in curriculum were implemented to assist these undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students at a suburban…

Leadership Quality for Malaysia Construction Leader to Steer a Success Construction Project

OpenAIRE

Ngah Nasaruddin Nur Ain; Abdul Rahman Ismail

2016-01-01

Issues that dominate the construction industry for the long time such as time overrun, cost overrun, quality of construction and also safety during the construction process are difficult to resolve because of several factors involved which amongst them are leadership quality in the industry. Solving these issues can make the industry more sustainable in nature. This paper presents the need of leadership quality among construction parties involved to steer a construction project successfully. ...

Los Alamos National Laboratory Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project 1994 quality program status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolivar, S.L.

1996-03-01

This status report is for calendar year 1994. It summarizes the annual activities and accomplishments of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP or Project) quality assurance program. By identifying the accomplishments of the quality program, a baseline is established that will assist in decision making, improve administrative controls and predictability, and allow us to annually identify adverse trends and to evaluate improvements. This is the fourth annual status report

Los Alamos National Laboratory Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project 1994 quality program status report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolivar, S.L.

1996-03-01

This status report is for calendar year 1994. It summarizes the annual activities and accomplishments of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP or Project) quality assurance program. By identifying the accomplishments of the quality program, a baseline is established that will assist in decision making, improve administrative controls and predictability, and allow us to annually identify adverse trends and to evaluate improvements. This is the fourth annual status report.

Quality and Safety Assurance - Priority Task at Nuclear Power Projects Implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nenkova, B.; Manchev, B.; Tomov, E.

2010-01-01

Quality and safety assurance at implementation of nuclear power engineering projects is important and difficult task for realization. Many problems arise during this process, when many companies from different countries participate, with various kinds of activities and services provided. The scope of activities necessary for quality and safety assurance is therefore quite expanded and diverse. In order to increase the safety and reliability of Kozloduy NPP Plc (KNPP) Units 5 and 6, as well as to bring the units in conformity with the newest international requirements for quality and safety in the field of nuclear energy, a program for their modernization on the basis of different technical studies and assessments was implemented. The Units 5 and 6 Modernization Program of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant was composed of 212 modifications aimed to improve the safety, operability, and reliability of the Units. The Program was realized by stages during yearly planned outages since year 2002 to 2007, without additional outages. A major Program Objective was to extend the Units Life Time in at least 15 Years, under a continuous, safe, and reliable operation. The Modernization Program of Units 5 and 6 of the Bulgarian Nuclear Power Plant in Kozloduy was the first and for the time being the only one in the world, program in the field of nuclear power engineering, by which the full scope of recommendations for improvement of the Kozloduy NPP units was applied. The main goal of the National Electric Company, which is the Employer for the construction of new nuclear facility in Bulgaria, is after completion of all activities regarding construction of Belene NPP the plant to meet or exceed the requirements of the respective national and international quality and safety codes and standards, as well as the IAEA guidelines, as they are established. The objective of this report is to describe different aspects of the quality assurance according to the requirements of quality and

Pythagorean hodograph spline spirals that match G3 Hermite data from circles

KAUST Repository

Li, Zhong; Ait-Haddou, Rachid; Biard, Luc

2015-01-01

A construction is given for a G3 piecewise rational Pythagorean hodograph convex spiral which interpolates two G3 Hermite data associated with two non-concentric circles, one being inside the other. The spiral solution is of degree 7 and is the involute of a G2 convex curve, referred to as the evolute solution, with prescribed length, and composed of two PH quartic curves. Conditions for G3 continuous contact with circles are then studied and it turns out that an ordinary cusp at each end of the evolute solution is required. Thus, geometric properties of a family of PH polynomial quartics, allowing to generate such an ordinary cusp at one end, are studied. Finally, a constructive algorithm is described with illustrative examples.

Pythagorean hodograph spline spirals that match G3 Hermite data from circles

KAUST Repository

Li, Zhong

2015-04-01

A construction is given for a G3 piecewise rational Pythagorean hodograph convex spiral which interpolates two G3 Hermite data associated with two non-concentric circles, one being inside the other. The spiral solution is of degree 7 and is the involute of a G2 convex curve, referred to as the evolute solution, with prescribed length, and composed of two PH quartic curves. Conditions for G3 continuous contact with circles are then studied and it turns out that an ordinary cusp at each end of the evolute solution is required. Thus, geometric properties of a family of PH polynomial quartics, allowing to generate such an ordinary cusp at one end, are studied. Finally, a constructive algorithm is described with illustrative examples.

Construction quality assurance program plan for the WIPP project, Carlsbad, NM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-05-01

The purpose of this plan is to describe the Quality Assurance (QA) Program to be established and implemented by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Project Office (WPO) and by the Major Project Participants: the Architect-Engineer (Bechtel), the Construction Manager (US Army Corps of Engineers), the Scientific Advisor (Sandia National Laboratory), and the Management and Operating Contractor (Westinghouse Electric Corporation). This plan addresses the construction, including site evaluation, design, and turnover phases of WIPP. Other work in progress during the same period is controlled by DOE documents applicable to that work effort. The prime responsibility for ensuring the quality of construction rests with the DOE WIPP Project Office and is implemented through the combined efforts of the Construction Manager, the Construction Contractors, the Management and Operating Contractor, and the Architect-Engineer. Inspection and burden of proof of acceptability rests with the Construction Contractor as defined by the technical provisions of the contract and as otherwise specified by the DOE WIPP Project Office on an individual work-package basis. To the maximum extent possible, acceptance of work will be based upon first-hand witnessing by the Construction Manager and other representatives of the DOE organization

UMTRA project technical assistance contractor quality assurance implementation plan for surface and ground water, Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-11-01

This document contains the Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) Quality Assurance Implementation Plan (QAIP) for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The QAIP outlines the primary requirements for integrating quality functions for TAC technical activities applied to the surface and ground water phases of the UMTRA Project. The QA program is designed to use monitoring, audit, and surveillance activities as management tools to ensure that UMTRA Project activities are carried out in amanner to protect public health and safety, promote the success of the UMTRA Project, and meet or exceed contract requirements

Bundles over Quantum RealWeighted Projective Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Brzeziński

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The algebraic approach to bundles in non-commutative geometry and the definition of quantum real weighted projective spaces are reviewed. Principal U(1-bundles over quantum real weighted projective spaces are constructed. As the spaces in question fall into two separate classes, the negative or odd class that generalises quantum real projective planes and the positive or even class that generalises the quantum disc, so do the constructed principal bundles. In the negative case the principal bundle is proven to be non-trivial and associated projective modules are described. In the positive case the principal bundles turn out to be trivial, and so all the associated modules are free. It is also shown that the circle (coactions on the quantum Seifert manifold that define quantum real weighted projective spaces are almost free.

Circle Maps and the Devil's Staircase in a Chemical Oscillator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brøns, Morten; Gross, P.; Bar-Eli, K.

1996-01-01

We explain numerical results on a periodically perturbed Oregonator by Markman and Bar-Eli (J. Phys. Chem. 98 12248 (1994)). If the dynamics of the system is governed by a family of diffeomorphisms of a circle with a Devil's staircase one will expect the observed behavior, i.e. (1) Only periodic...

Project quality management under EPC mode by the owner of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Hui; Hu Miao

2014-01-01

As the first completely independent nuclear power project in China, Fangjiashan nuclear power project is constructed under EPC mode of general project contracting. This paper, taking the project as an example, aims to explore how the project owners carry out quality management for the installation project during the construction of the nuclear power plant based on EPC mode. It has certain reference value for the management of following nuclear power projects which adopting the EPC construction mode. It will play a positive role in improving China's overall self-management abilities in the nuclear power construction, and lay a solid foundation for follow-up nuclear power construction in China. (authors)

PLANNING QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESSES IN A LARGE SCALE GEOGRAPHICALLY SPREAD HYBRID SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Святослав Аркадійович МУРАВЕЦЬКИЙ

2016-02-01

Full Text Available There have been discussed key points of operational activates in a large scale geographically spread software development projects. A look taken at required QA processes structure in such project. There have been given up to date methods of integration quality assurance processes into software development processes. There have been reviewed existing groups of software development methodologies. Such as sequential, agile and based on RPINCE2. There have been given a condensed overview of quality assurance processes in each group. There have been given a review of common challenges that sequential and agile models are having in case of large geographically spread hybrid software development project. Recommendations were given in order to tackle those challenges.  The conclusions about the best methodology choice and appliance to the particular project have been made.

Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning through an Environmental Water Quality Study

Science.gov (United States)

Juhl, Lorie; Yearsley, Kaye; Silva, Andrew J.

1997-12-01

An interdisciplinary environmental water quality study was designed and conducted to enhance training and employability of chemical and environmental technician students in associate degree programs. Four project objectives were identified as a means to enhance the educational experience and employability of our students: provide experience on analytical instrumentation for organic compounds (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, GC/MS), require interdisciplinary group interactions and problem solving, provide experience with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) procedures, and require cooperation with state agencies/private organizations. Students worked in groups that included representatives from both programs to develop project objectives and a Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) following EPA standards. Input from personnel at Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality and Bureau of Laboratories and from volunteers in an environmental "watch dog" organization called the Henry's Fork Foundation aided students in the development and implementation of their SAP. Subsequently, groups sampled sections of the Henry's Fork River and analyzed for organic, inorganic, and fecal contaminants. Analysis included EPA method 525.2 for pesticides using GC/MS. Data from all river segments was shared and each group submitted a final report analyzing results. Surveys completed by students and instructors indicate that the project is a successful teaching method allowing introduction of new skills as well as review of important technical and employability skills.

The Pitfalls of a "Democracy Promotion" Project for Women of Iraq

Science.gov (United States)

El-Kassem, Nadeen

2008-01-01

"Democracy promotion" as part of a larger project of 'reconstruction' is hailed in mainstream academia and in policy circles as an essential component of rebuilding the state and civil society in post-conflict situations. Here "democracy promotion" refers exclusively to the promotion of political representation and…

Quantum mechanics on the circle and W1+∞

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floreanini, R.; Percacci, R.; Sezgin, E.

1991-08-01

The algebra W 1+∞ , with central charge c = 0, can be identified with the algebra of quantum observables of a particle moving on a circle. Mathematically, it is the universal enveloping algebra of the Euclidean algebra in two dimensions. Similarly, the super-W ∞ algebra is found to be the universal enveloping algebra of the super-Euclidean algebra in two dimensions. (author). 14 refs

Shielded transient self-interaction of a bunch entering a circle from a straight path

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, R.; Bohn, C.L.; Bisognano, J.J.

1997-01-01

When a short (mm-length) bunch with high (nC-regime) charge is transported through a magnetic bending system, self-interaction via coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) and space charge may alter the bunch dynamics significantly. The authors consider a Gaussian rigid-line-charge bunch following a straight-path trajectory into a circle, with the trajectory centered between two infinite, parallel, perfectly conducting plates. Transients associated with CSR and space charge generated from source particles both on the straight path and the circle are calculated, and their net effect on the radiated power is contrasted with that of shielded steady-state CSR

[The Origin of Scientific Notions in the Circle of the Roman Accademiadella Virt¾ around 1550].

Science.gov (United States)

Kulawik, Bernd

2015-06-01

The Origin of Scientific Notions in the Circle of the Roman Accademia della Virtù around 1550. Between c. 1537 and 1555 a group of humanists, clerics, architects and philologists known as the so-called Accademia della Virtù got together in Rome to work on a program which was formulated in a letter by the Sienese humanist Claudio Tolomei in 1542 and published in 1547. Starting out with the intention to understand the only surviving antique book on architecture and architectural theory - Vitruvius' De architectura libri decem - the program describes a series of 24 books, eleven containing the classical text and its translation with commentaries, 13 books systematically illustrating and documenting all known and available material remains from Roman antiquity. This program for a scientific classical archaeology in a modern sense was not only intended to serve the intellectual curiosity of some humanist antiquarians but to help architects and their patrons to develop a new architecture of the same high quality as the idealized Roman examples. To achieve this practical as well as theoretical goal it was obviously necessary to re-create the antique vocabulary of architecture and its rules as well as to unify the contemporary usage of notions and norms in a canon. The first results of this project seem to be the In decem Libros M. Vitruvii Pollionis de Architectura Annotationes by Guillaume Philandrier (Rome, 1544) - up to this day a very valuable explanation of ambiguous parts in the Vitruvian text. Until the 1980s, it was believed that this book was the only outcome of the ambitious project; but then two codices of drawings after antique reliefs were identified as preparations for one of the other 23 volumes - and, because of their systematic approach, regarded as the 'first systematic archaeological book'. Now it seems that there are some other corpora of manuscripts and drawings documenting antique artifacts that should be regarded as results of the Accademia's work

Circles of Health: towards an advanced social network about disabilities of neurological origin.

Science.gov (United States)

Subirats, Laia; Ceccaroni, Luigi; Lopez-Blazquez, Raquel; Miralles, Felip; García-Rudolph, Alejandro; Tormos, Jose M

2013-12-01

This research is concerned with the study of a new social-network platform, which (1) provides people with disabilities of neurological origin, their relatives, health professionals, therapists, carers and institutions with an interoperable platform that supports standard indicators, (2) promotes knowledge democratization and user empowerment, and (3) allows making decisions with a more informed opinion. A new social network, Circles of Health, has been designed, developed and tested by end-users. To allow monitoring the evolution of people's health status and comparing it with other users and with their cohort, anonymized data of 2675 people from comprehensive and multidimensional medical evaluations, carried out yearly from 2006 to 2010, have been standardized to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, integrated into the corresponding medical health records and then used to automatically generate and graphically represent multidimensional indicators. These indicators have been integrated into Circles of Health's social environment, which has been then evaluated via expert and user-experience analyses. Patients used Circles of Health to exchange bio-psycho-social information (medical and otherwise) about their everyday lives. Health professionals remarked that the use of color-coding in graphical representations is useful to quickly diagnose deficiencies, difficulties or barriers in rehabilitation. Most people with disabilities complained about the excessive amount of information and the difficulty in interpreting graphical representations. Health professionals found Circles of Health useful to generate a more integrative understanding of health based on a comprehensive profile of individuals instead of being focused on patient's diseases and injuries. People with disabilities found enriching personal knowledge with the experiences of other users helpful. The number of descriptors used at the same time in the graphical interface

The Significance of Quality Assurance within Model Intercomparison Projects at the World Data Centre for Climate (WDCC)

Science.gov (United States)

Toussaint, F.; Hoeck, H.; Stockhause, M.; Lautenschlager, M.

2014-12-01

The classical goals of a quality assessment system in the data life cycle are (1) to encourage data creators to improve their quality assessment procedures to reach the next quality level and (2) enable data consumers to decide, whether a dataset has a quality that is sufficient for usage in the target application, i.e. to appraise the data usability for their own purpose.As the data volumes of projects and the interdisciplinarity of data usage grow, the need for homogeneous structure and standardised notation of data and metadata increases. This third aspect is especially valid for the data repositories, as they manage data through machine agents. So checks for homogeneity and consistency in early parts of the workflow become essential to cope with today's data volumes.Selected parts of the workflow in the model intercomparison project CMIP5 and the archival of the data for the interdiscipliary user community of the IPCC-DDC AR5 and the associated quality checks are reviewed. We compare data and metadata checks and relate different types of checks to their positions in the data life cycle.The project's data citation approach is included in the discussion, with focus on temporal aspects of the time necessary to comply with the project's requirements for formal data citations and the demand for the availability of such data citations.In order to make different quality assessments of projects comparable, WDCC developed a generic Quality Assessment System. Based on the self-assessment approach of a maturity matrix, an objective and uniform quality level system for all data at WDCC is derived which consists of five maturity quality levels.

From the Weyl quantization of a particle on the circle to number–phase Wigner functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Przanowski, Maciej; Brzykcy, Przemysław; Tosiek, Jaromir

2014-01-01

A generalized Weyl quantization formalism for a particle on the circle is shown to supply an effective method for defining the number–phase Wigner function in quantum optics. A Wigner function for the state ϱ ^ and the kernel K for a particle on the circle is defined and its properties are analysed. Then it is shown how this Wigner function can be easily modified to give the number–phase Wigner function in quantum optics. Some examples of such number–phase Wigner functions are considered

Quality Assurance Program Plan for Project W-379: Spent Nuclear Fuels Canister Storage Building Projec

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, D.W.

1995-01-01

This document describes the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for the Spent Nuclear Fuels (SNF) Canister Storage Building (CSB) Project. The purpose of this QAPP is to control project activities ensuring achievement of the project mission in a safe, consistent and reliable manner