Control by quality: proposition of a typology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pujo, P; Pillet, M

The application of Quality tools and methods in industrial management has always had a fundamental impact on the control of production. It influences the behavior of the actors concerned, while introducing the necessary notions and formalizations, especially for production systems with little or no automation, which constitute a large part of the industrial activity. Several quality approaches are applied in the workshop and are implemented at the level of the control. In this paper, the authors present a typology of the various approaches that have successively influenced control, such as statistical process control, quality assurance, and continuous improvement. First the authors present a parallel between production control and quality organizational structure. They note the duality between control, which is aimed at increasing productivity, and quality, which aims to satisfy the needs of the customer. They also note the hierarchical organizational structure of these two systems of management with, at each level, the notion of a feedback loop. This notion is fundamental to any kind of decision making. The paper is organized around the operational, tactical, and strategic levels, by describing for each level the main methods and tools for control by quality. The overview of these tools and methods starts at the operational level, with the Statistical Process Control, the Taguchi technique, and the "six sigma" approach. On the tactical level, we find a quality system approach, with a documented description of the procedures introduced in the firm. The management system can refer here to Quality Assurance, Total Productive Maintenance, or Management by Total Quality. The formalization through procedures of the rules of decision governing the process control enhances the validity of these rules. This leads to the enhancement of their reliability and to their consolidation. All this counterbalances the human, intrinsically fluctuating, behavior of the control

Making Quality Sense: A Guide to Quality, Tools and Techniques, Awards and the Thinking Behind Them.

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Jane

This document is intended to guide further education colleges and work-based learning providers through some of the commonly used tools, techniques, and theories of quality management. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) various ways of defining quality; methods used by organizations to achieve quality (quality control, quality…

Assessing Educational Processes Using Total-Quality-Management Measurement Tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Macchia, Peter, Jr.

1993-01-01

Discussion of the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) assessment tools in educational settings highlights and gives examples of fishbone diagrams, or cause and effect charts; Pareto diagrams; control charts; histograms and check sheets; scatter diagrams; and flowcharts. Variation and quality are discussed in terms of continuous process…

DNA methylation analysis as novel tool for quality control in regenerative medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Rapko, Stephen; Baron, Udo; Hoffmüller, Ulrich; Model, Fabian; Wolfe, Leslie; Olek, Sven

2007-09-01

Cell-based regenerative medicine, including tissue engineering, is a novel approach to reconstituting tissues that do not spontaneously heal, such as damaged cartilage, and to curing diseases caused by malfunctioning cells. Typically, manufacturing processes to generate cartilage for replacement therapies involve isolation and expansion of cells from cartilage biopsies. A challenge in the field is potential contamination by other cell types (e.g., fibroblast-like cells), which can overgrow the desired cells during culturing and may ultimately compromise clinical efficacy. No standard analytical system has been absolutely effective in ensuring the identity of these cell-based products. Therefore, we tested deoxyribonucleic acid methylation analysis as a quality assessment tool, applying it to Genzyme's Carticel product, a chondrocyte implant that the Food and Drug Administration has approved. We identified 7 potent discriminators by assaying candidate genomic regions derived from methylation discovery approaches and literature searches regarding a functional role of genes in chondrocyte biology. Using a support vector machine, we trained an optimal cell type classifier that was absolutely effective in discriminating chondrocytes from synovial membrane derived cells, the major potential contaminant of chondrocyte cultures. The abundant marker availability and high quality of this assay format also suggest it as a potential quality control test for other cell types grown or manipulated in vitro.

Perceptual tools for quality-aware video networks

Science.gov (United States)

Bovik, A. C.

2014-01-01

Monitoring and controlling the quality of the viewing experience of videos transmitted over increasingly congested networks (especially wireless networks) is a pressing problem owing to rapid advances in video-centric mobile communication and display devices that are straining the capacity of the network infrastructure. New developments in automatic perceptual video quality models offer tools that have the potential to be used to perceptually optimize wireless video, leading to more efficient video data delivery and better received quality. In this talk I will review key perceptual principles that are, or could be used to create effective video quality prediction models, and leading quality prediction models that utilize these principles. The goal is to be able to monitor and perceptually optimize video networks by making them "quality-aware."

Single-case synthesis tools I: Comparing tools to evaluate SCD quality and rigor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Kathleen N; Ledford, Jennifer R; Severini, Katherine E; Pustejovsky, James E; Barton, Erin E; Lloyd, Blair P

2018-03-03

Tools for evaluating the quality and rigor of single case research designs (SCD) are often used when conducting SCD syntheses. Preferred components include evaluations of design features related to the internal validity of SCD to obtain quality and/or rigor ratings. Three tools for evaluating the quality and rigor of SCD (Council for Exceptional Children, What Works Clearinghouse, and Single-Case Analysis and Design Framework) were compared to determine if conclusions regarding the effectiveness of antecedent sensory-based interventions for young children changed based on choice of quality evaluation tool. Evaluation of SCD quality differed across tools, suggesting selection of quality evaluation tools impacts evaluation findings. Suggestions for selecting an appropriate quality and rigor assessment tool are provided and across-tool conclusions are drawn regarding the quality and rigor of studies. Finally, authors provide guidance for using quality evaluations in conjunction with outcome analyses when conducting syntheses of interventions evaluated in the context of SCD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF QUALITY TOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duško Pavletić

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The paper is dealing with one segment of broader research of universality an systematicness in application of seven basic quality tools (7QC tools, which is possible to use in different areas: power plant, process industry, government, health and tourism services. The aim of the paper was to show on practical examples that there is real possibility of application of 7QC tools. Furthermore, the research has to show to what extent are selected tools in usage and what reasons of avoiding their broader application are. The simple example of successful application of the quality tools are shown on selected company in process industry.

Average of delta: a new quality control tool for clinical laboratories.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Graham R D

2016-01-01

Average of normals is a tool used to control assay performance using the average of a series of results from patients' samples. Delta checking is a process of identifying errors in individual patient results by reviewing the difference from previous results of the same patient. This paper introduces a novel alternate approach, average of delta, which combines these concepts to use the average of a number of sequential delta values to identify changes in assay performance. Models for average of delta and average of normals were developed in a spreadsheet application. The model assessed the expected scatter of average of delta and average of normals functions and the effect of assay bias for different values of analytical imprecision and within- and between-subject biological variation and the number of samples included in the calculations. The final assessment was the number of patients' samples required to identify an added bias with 90% certainty. The model demonstrated that with larger numbers of delta values, the average of delta function was tighter (lower coefficient of variation). The optimal number of samples for bias detection with average of delta was likely to be between 5 and 20 for most settings and that average of delta outperformed average of normals when the within-subject biological variation was small relative to the between-subject variation. Average of delta provides a possible additional assay quality control tool which theoretical modelling predicts may be more valuable than average of normals for analytes where the group biological variation is wide compared with within-subject variation and where there is a high rate of repeat testing in the laboratory patient population. © The Author(s) 2015.

Developing methods of controlling quality costs

OpenAIRE

Gorbunova A. V.; Maximova O. N.; Ekova V. A.

2017-01-01

The article examines issues of managing quality costs, problems of applying economic methods of quality control, implementation of progressive methods of quality costs management in enterprises with the view of improving the efficiency of their evaluation and analysis. With the aim of increasing the effectiveness of the cost management mechanism, authors introduce controlling as a tool of deviation analysis from the standpoint of the process approach. A list of processes and corresponding eva...

A mask quality control tool for the OSIRIS multi-object spectrograph

Science.gov (United States)

López-Ruiz, J. C.; Vaz Cedillo, Jacinto Javier; Ederoclite, Alessandro; Bongiovanni, Ángel; González Escalera, Víctor

2012-09-01

OSIRIS multi object spectrograph uses a set of user-customised-masks, which are manufactured on-demand. The manufacturing process consists of drilling the specified slits on the mask with the required accuracy. Ensuring that slits are on the right place when observing is of vital importance. We present a tool for checking the quality of the process of manufacturing the masks which is based on analyzing the instrument images obtained with the manufactured masks on place. The tool extracts the slit information from these images, relates specifications with the extracted slit information, and finally communicates to the operator if the manufactured mask fulfills the expectations of the mask designer. The proposed tool has been built using scripting languages and using standard libraries such as opencv, pyraf and scipy. The software architecture, advantages and limits of this tool in the lifecycle of a multiobject acquisition are presented.

Statistical Process Control: A Quality Tool for a Venous Thromboembolic Disease Registry.

Science.gov (United States)

Posadas-Martinez, Maria Lourdes; Rojas, Liliana Paloma; Vazquez, Fernando Javier; De Quiros, Fernan Bernaldo; Waisman, Gabriel Dario; Giunta, Diego Hernan

2016-01-01

We aim to describe Statistical Control Process as a quality tool for the Institutional Registry of Venous Thromboembolic Disease (IRTD), a registry developed in a community-care tertiary hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The IRTD is a prospective cohort. The process of data acquisition began with the creation of a computerized alert generated whenever physicians requested imaging or laboratory study to diagnose venous thromboembolism, which defined eligible patients. The process then followed a structured methodology for patient's inclusion, evaluation, and posterior data entry. To control this process, process performance indicators were designed to be measured monthly. These included the number of eligible patients, the number of included patients, median time to patient's evaluation, and percentage of patients lost to evaluation. Control charts were graphed for each indicator. The registry was evaluated in 93 months, where 25,757 patients were reported and 6,798 patients met inclusion criteria. The median time to evaluation was 20 hours (SD, 12) and 7.7% of the total was lost to evaluation. Each indicator presented trends over time, caused by structural changes and improvement cycles, and therefore the central limit suffered inflexions. Statistical process control through process performance indicators allowed us to control the performance of the registry over time to detect systematic problems. We postulate that this approach could be reproduced for other clinical registries.

VGI QUALITY CONTROL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. C. Fonte

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a framework for considering quality control of volunteered geographic information (VGI. Different issues need to be considered during the conception, acquisition and post-acquisition phases of VGI creation. This includes items such as collecting metadata on the volunteer, providing suitable training, giving corrective feedback during the mapping process and use of control data, among others. Two examples of VGI data collection are then considered with respect to this quality control framework, i.e. VGI data collection by National Mapping Agencies and by the most recent Geo-Wiki tool, a game called Cropland Capture. Although good practices are beginning to emerge, there is still the need for the development and sharing of best practice, especially if VGI is to be integrated with authoritative map products or used for calibration and/or validation of land cover in the future.

Visualization and Quality Control Web Tools for CERES Products

Science.gov (United States)

Mitrescu, C.; Doelling, D. R.

2017-12-01

The NASA CERES project continues to provide the scientific communities a wide variety of satellite-derived data products such as observed TOA broadband shortwave and longwave observed fluxes, computed TOA and Surface fluxes, as well as cloud, aerosol, and other atmospheric parameters. They encompass a wide range of temporal and spatial resolutions, suited to specific applications. CERES data is used mostly by climate modeling communities but also by a wide variety of educational institutions. To better serve our users, a web-based Ordering and Visualization Tool (OVT) was developed by using Opens Source Software such as Eclipse, java, javascript, OpenLayer, Flot, Google Maps, python, and others. Due to increased demand by our own scientists, we also implemented a series of specialized functions to be used in the process of CERES Data Quality Control (QC) such as 1- and 2-D histograms, anomalies and differences, temporal and spatial averaging, side-by-side parameter comparison, and others that made the process of QC far easier and faster, but more importantly far more portable. With the integration of ground site observed surface fluxes we further facilitate the CERES project to QC the CERES computed surface fluxes. An overview of the CERES OVT basic functions using Open Source Software, as well as future steps in expanding its capabilities will be presented at the meeting.

An atlas of artefacts: a teaching tool for scintillation camera quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busemann Sokole, E.; Graham, L.S.; Todd-Pokropek, A.; Wegst, A.; Robilotta, C.C.

2002-01-01

. Because subtle loss of image quality is difficult to detect in SPECT images, simulations have been included that demonstrate effects of sub-optimal calibrations (e.g. centre-of-rotation offset, non-uniformity) or sub-optimal clinical situations. Conclusions: This artefact atlas covers many different situations and variants that may be encountered. It is intended as a teaching tool to help identify artefacts in quality control and clinical images. Regular updates are essential. The IAEA intends to produce a hardcopy of this artefact atlas, and eventually make it available on CD-ROM. The author and editor (EBS) is indebted to all those who submitted images and contributed to the review process

Tools for Real-Time Control Systems Co-Design - A Survey

OpenAIRE

Henriksson, Dan; El-Khoury, Jad; Årzén, Karl-Erik; Törngren, Martin; Redell, Ola

2005-01-01

This report presents a survey of current simulation tools in the area of integrated control and real-time systems design. Each tool is presented with a quick overview followed by a more detailed section describing comparative aspects of the tool. These aspects describe the context and purpose of the tool (scenarios, development stages, activities, and qualities/constraints being addressed) and the actual tool technology (tool architecture, inputs, outputs, modeling content, extensibility and ...

Patient-specific dosimetric endpoints based treatment plan quality control in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Ting; Zhou, Linghong; Staub, David; Chen, Mingli; Lu, Weiguo; Tian, Zhen; Jia, Xun; Li, Yongbao; Jiang, Steve B; Gu, Xuejun

2015-01-01

In intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), the optimal plan for each patient is specific due to unique patient anatomy. To achieve such a plan, patient-specific dosimetric goals reflecting each patient’s unique anatomy should be defined and adopted in the treatment planning procedure for plan quality control. This study is to develop such a personalized treatment plan quality control tool by predicting patient-specific dosimetric endpoints (DEs). The incorporation of patient specific DEs is realized by a multi-OAR geometry-dosimetry model, capable of predicting optimal DEs based on the individual patient’s geometry. The overall quality of a treatment plan is then judged with a numerical treatment plan quality indicator and characterized as optimal or suboptimal. Taking advantage of clinically available prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans, we built and evaluated our proposed plan quality control tool. Using our developed tool, six of twenty evaluated plans were identified as sub-optimal plans. After plan re-optimization, these suboptimal plans achieved better OAR dose sparing without sacrificing the PTV coverage, and the dosimetric endpoints of the re-optimized plans agreed well with the model predicted values, which validate the predictability of the proposed tool. In conclusion, the developed tool is able to accurately predict optimally achievable DEs of multiple OARs, identify suboptimal plans, and guide plan optimization. It is a useful tool for achieving patient-specific treatment plan quality control. (paper)

The 7 basic tools of quality applied to radiological safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez F, J.A.

1991-01-01

This work seeks to establish a series of correspondences among the search of the quality and the optimization of the doses received by the occupationally exposed personnel. There are treated about the seven basic statistic tools of the quality: the Pareto technique, Cause effect diagrams, Stratification, Verification sheet, Histograms, Dispersion diagrams and Graphics and control frames applied to the Radiological Safety

Quality assurance as a management tool in decommissioning activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arter, D.R.

1982-01-01

Quality assurance practices have been applied to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for many years. These practices are just as useful to the back end of the nuclear energy cycle as they are to the front end. The Department of Energy requires the application of quality assurance to all of its projects and programs. Quality assurance as a management tool consists of three fundamental elements: planning, execution and control. These elements should be applied to decommissioning activities by all parties, such that limited funds are wisely spent and the public is adequately protected

Development of a software tool for the management of quality control in a helical tomotherapy unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Repiso, S.; Hernandez Rodriguez, J.; Martin Rincon, C.; Ramos Pacho, J. A.; Verde Velasco, J. M.; Delgado Aparacio, J. M.; Perez Alvarez, M. e.; Gomez Gonzalez, N.; Cons Perez, V.; Saez Beltran, M.

2013-01-01

The large amount of data and information that is managed in units of external radiotherapy quality control tests makes necessary the use of tools that facilitate, on the one hand, the management of measures and results in real time, and on other tasks of management, file, query and reporting of stored data. This paper presents an application of software of own development which is used for the integral management of the helical TomoTherapy unit in the aspects related to the roles and responsibilities of the hospital Radiophysics. (Author)

Quality control of the documentation process in electronic economic activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krutova A.S.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available It is proved that the main tool that will provide adequate information resources e economic activities of social and economic relations are documenting quality control processes as the basis of global information space. Directions problems as formation evaluation information resources in the process of documentation, namely development tools assess the efficiency of the system components – qualitative assessment; development of mathematical modeling tools – quantitative evaluation. A qualitative assessment of electronic documentation of economic activity through exercise performance, efficiency of communication; document management efficiency; effectiveness of flow control operations; relationship management effectiveness. The concept of quality control process documents electronically economic activity to components which include: the level of workflow; forms adequacy of information; consumer quality documents; quality attributes; type of income data; condition monitoring systems; organizational level process documentation; attributes of quality, performance quality consumer; type of management system; type of income data; condition monitoring systems. Grounded components of the control system electronic document subjects of economic activity. Detected components IT-audit management system economic activity: compliance audit; audit of internal control; detailed multilevel analysis; corporate risk assessment methodology. The stages and methods of processing electronic transactions economic activity during condition monitoring of electronic economic activity.

QC-ART: A tool for real-time quality control assessment of mass spectrometry-based proteomics data.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanfill, Bryan A; Nakayasu, Ernesto S; Bramer, Lisa M; Thompson, Allison M; Ansong, Charles K; Clauss, Therese; Gritsenko, Marina A; Monroe, Matthew E; Moore, Ronald J; Orton, Daniel J; Piehowski, Paul D; Schepmoes, Athena A; Smith, Richard D; Webb-Robertson, Bobbie-Jo; Metz, Thomas O; TEDDY Study Group, The Environmental Determinants Of Diabetes In The Young

2018-04-17

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based proteomics studies of large sample cohorts can easily require from months to years to complete. Acquiring consistent, high-quality data in such large-scale studies is challenging because of normal variations in instrumentation performance over time, as well as artifacts introduced by the samples themselves, such as those due to collection, storage and processing. Existing quality control methods for proteomics data primarily focus on post-hoc analysis to remove low-quality data that would degrade downstream statistics; they are not designed to evaluate the data in near real-time, which would allow for interventions as soon as deviations in data quality are detected.  In addition to flagging analyses that demonstrate outlier behavior, evaluating how the data structure changes over time can aide in understanding typical instrument performance or identify issues such as a degradation in data quality due to the need for instrument cleaning and/or re-calibration.  To address this gap for proteomics, we developed Quality Control Analysis in Real-Time (QC-ART), a tool for evaluating data as they are acquired in order to dynamically flag potential issues with instrument performance or sample quality.  QC-ART has similar accuracy as standard post-hoc analysis methods with the additional benefit of real-time analysis.  We demonstrate the utility and performance of QC-ART in identifying deviations in data quality due to both instrument and sample issues in near real-time for LC-MS-based plasma proteomics analyses of a sample subset of The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young cohort. We also present a case where QC-ART facilitated the identification of oxidative modifications, which are often underappreciated in proteomic experiments. Published under license by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Process-Based Quality (PBQ) Tools Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cummins, J.L.

2001-12-03

The objective of this effort is to benchmark the development of process-based quality tools for application in CAD (computer-aided design) model-based applications. The processes of interest are design, manufacturing, and quality process applications. A study was commissioned addressing the impact, current technologies, and known problem areas in application of 3D MCAD (3-dimensional mechanical computer-aided design) models and model integrity on downstream manufacturing and quality processes. The downstream manufacturing and product quality processes are profoundly influenced and dependent on model quality and modeling process integrity. The goal is to illustrate and expedite the modeling and downstream model-based technologies for available or conceptual methods and tools to achieve maximum economic advantage and advance process-based quality concepts.

A Statistical Project Control Tool for Engineering Managers

Science.gov (United States)

Bauch, Garland T.

2001-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the use of a Statistical Project Control Tool (SPCT) for managing engineering projects. A literature review pointed to a definition of project success, (i.e., A project is successful when the cost, schedule, technical performance, and quality satisfy the customer.) The literature review also pointed to project success factors, and traditional project control tools, and performance measures that are detailed in the report. The essential problem is that with resources becoming more limited, and an increasing number or projects, project failure is increasing, there is a limitation of existing methods and systematic methods are required. The objective of the work is to provide a new statistical project control tool for project managers. Graphs using the SPCT method plotting results of 3 successful projects and 3 failed projects are reviewed, with success and failure being defined by the owner.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT AS A STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOL

OpenAIRE

DEVRİM İÇTENBAŞ, Burcu; ERYILMAZ, Hande

2011-01-01

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) uses a house of quality to translate customer requirements into engineering specifications. QFD has been widely used as a tool to develop new products. It has been adopted in the fields of education quality, service quality, software development and marketing planning. The tool has recently been applied in strategic planning .In this study authors reviewed current research which uses QFD as a strategic planning tool and described how QFD methods can be ...

Developing methods of controlling quality costs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorbunova A. V.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines issues of managing quality costs, problems of applying economic methods of quality control, implementation of progressive methods of quality costs management in enterprises with the view of improving the efficiency of their evaluation and analysis. With the aim of increasing the effectiveness of the cost management mechanism, authors introduce controlling as a tool of deviation analysis from the standpoint of the process approach. A list of processes and corresponding evaluation criteria in the quality management system of enterprises is introduced. Authors also introduce the method of controlling quality costs and propose it for the practical application, which allows them to determine useful and unnecessary costs at the existing operating plant. Implementing the proposed recommendations in the system of cost management at an enterprise will allow to improve productivity of processes operating and reduce wasted expense on the quality of the process on the basis of determining values of useful and useless costs of quality according to criteria of processes functioning in the system of quality management.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF PRODUCT DEFECTS USING QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna MIDOR

2014-10-01

Full Text Available To stay or strengthen its position on the market, a modern business needs to follow the principles of quality control in its actions. Especially important is the Zero Defects concept developed by Philip Crosby, which means flawless production. The concept consists in preventing the occurrence of defects and flaws in all production stages. To achieve that, we must, among other things, make use of quality management tools. This article presents an analysis of the reasons for the return of damaged or faulty goods in the automotive industry by means of quality management tools such as the Ishikawa diagram and Pareto analysis, which allow us to identify the causes of product defectiveness. Based on the results, preventive measures have been proposed. The actions presented in this article and the results of the analysis prove the effectiveness of the aforementioned quality management tools.

A Comparison of Power Quality Controllers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Černek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on certain types of FACTS (Flexibile AC Transmission System controllers, which can be used for improving the power quality at the point of connection with the power network. It focuses on types of controllers that are suitable for use in large buildings, rather than in transmission networks. The goal is to compare the features of the controllers in specific tasks, and to clarify which solution is best for a specific purpose. It is in some cases better and cheaper to use a combination of controllers than a single controller. The paper also presents the features of a shunt active harmonic compensator, which is a very modern power quality controller that can be used in many cases, or in combination with other controllers. The comparison was made using a matrix diagram that, resulted from mind mapsand other analysis tools. The paper should help engineers to choose the best solution for improving the power quality in a specific power network at distribution level.

Quality Index Method - An objective tool for determination of sensory quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyldig, Grethe; Green-Petersen, Ditte

2004-01-01

Sensory evaluation is one of the most important methods for assessing freshness and quality in the fish sector and in fish-inspection services. Sensory methods performed in a proper way are a rapid and accurate tool providing unique information about food. Traditionally, sensory methods have been...... seen as a subjective assessment of quality. However, sensory methods can be turned into an objective tool. European fisheries research institutes have developed such a tool, by which sensory assessment is performed in a systematic way with an objective quality assessment method called the Quality Index...... Method (QIM). It is foreseen that the QIM will be useful to give feedback to fishermen concerning the quality of their catch, which may in turn influence better handling on board. The QIM is a promising method for quick and reliable assessment of the freshness of fish. It is expected to become...

HPTLC Fingerprint Analysis: A Quality Control for Authentication of Herbal Phytochemicals

Science.gov (United States)

Ram, Mauji; Abdin, M. Z.; Khan, M. A.; Jha, Prabhakar

Authentication and consistent quality are the basic requirement for Indian traditional medicine (TIM), Chinese traditional herbal medicine (TCHM), and their commercial products, regardless of the kind of research conducted to modernize the TIM and TCHM. The complexities of TIM and TCHM challenge the current official quality control mode, for which only a few biochemical markers were selected for identification and quantitative assay. Referring too many unknown factors existed in TIM and TCHM, it is impossible and unnecessary to pinpoint qualitatively and quantitatively every single component contained in the herbal drug. Chromatographic fingerprint is a rational option to meet the need for more effective and powerful quality assessment to TIM and TCHM. The optimized chromatographic fingerprint is not only an alternative analytical tool for authentication, but also an approach to express the various pattern of chemical ingredients distribution in the herbal drugs and preserve such "database" for further multifaced sustainable studies. Analytical separation techniques, for example, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) were among the most popular methods of choice used for quality control of raw material and finished herbal product. Fingerprint analysis approach using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) has become the most potent tool for quality control of herbal medicines because of its simplicity and reliability. It can serve as a tool for identification, authentication, and quality control of herbal drugs. In this chapter, attempts are being made to expand the use of HPTLC and at the same time create interest among prospective researcher in herbal analysis. The developed method can be used as a quality control tool for rapid authentication from a wide variety of herbal samples. Some examples demonstrated the role of fingerprinting in quality control and assessment.

HPLC for quality control of polyimides

Science.gov (United States)

Young, P. R.; Sykes, G. F.

1979-01-01

High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) as a quality control tool for polyimide resins and prepregs are presented. A data base to help establish accept/reject criteria for these materials was developed. This work is intended to supplement, not replace, standard quality control tests normally conducted on incoming resins and prepregs. To help achieve these objectives, the HPLC separation of LARC-160 polyimide precursor resin was characterized. Room temperature resin aging effects were studied. Graphite reinforced composites made from fresh and aged resin were fabricated and tested to determine if changes observed by HPLC were significant.

APPROACHES AND TOOLS FOR QUALITY EXAMINATION OF E-LEARNING TOOLS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina P. Lavrentieva

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article highlights the scientific and methodological approaches to quality examination of e-learning tools for general education. There are considered terms of the research, described the essence of the main components and stages of the examination. A methodology for quality estimation tools elaboration is described that should be based on identifying criteria and parameters of evaluation. Complex of psycho-pedagogical and ergonomic requirements that should be used in organizing expertise is justified and the most expedient ways of their implementation are examined.

Quality control of a virtual simulation installation. SFPM report nr 25, August 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foulquier, Jean-Noel; Allieres, Norbert; Batalla, Alain; Beaumont, Stephane; Di Bartolo, Cristelle; Khodri, Mustapha; Tauziede, Jean-Marc; Dedieu, Veronique; Bramoule, Celine; Caselles, Olivier; Lacaze, Brigitte; Mazurier, Jocelyne

2009-08-01

This report is a notably comprehensive guide for the different controls which can be performed on devices present in a Virtual Simulation installation. After a brief historical recall, the authors present the definition and organisation of a virtual simulation, the different components of a virtual simulation installation, and the different steps of virtual simulation process. Then, they address the quality control of the scanner-simulator (linearity and periodicity of controls, patient table or support, tolerance levels and periodicity of controls of this support). They address tracking systems (quality control of laser systems), the quality control of virtual simulation tools (iso-centre contouring and positioning, ballistic tools, tolerance levels, control periodicity), the quality control of data transfer or objects (elements to be analysed during an image transfer, tolerance levels and control periodicity), the imager quality control, and tests phantoms (the physical and digital phantoms)

Quality control tools applied to a PV microgrid in Ecuador

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camino-Villacorta, M.; Egido-Aguilera, M.A. [Ciudad Univ., Madrid (Spain). Inst. de Energia Solar - UPM; Gamez, J.; Arranz-Piera, P. [Trama Tecnoambiental (TTA), Barcelona (Spain)

2010-07-01

The Instituto de Energia Solar has been dealing with quality control issues for rural electrification for many years. In the framework of project DOSBE (Development of Electricity Service Operators for Poverty Alleviation in Ecuador and Peru), a technical toolkit has been developed to implement adapted integral quality control procedures for photovoltaic systems (covering all components and equipment, installation and servicing), applicable at a local and regional scale, with the overall aim of increasing the confidence in photovoltaic systems. This toolkit was applied in the evaluation of an existing microgrid in Ecuador, which is described in this paper. The toolkit and the detailed results of its application are presented in a published document which is being widely distributed among the stakeholders of rural electrification in Ecuador and Peru. It can be downloaded from the web page of the DOSBE project: www.dosbe.org (orig.)

Analysis of an industrial production suspension of Bacillus lentus subtilisin crystals by powder diffraction: a powerful quality-control tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frankær, Christian Grundahl; Moroz, Olga V.; Turkenburg, Johan P.

2014-01-01

. A controlled crystallization experiment with a highly purified Savinase sample allowed the growth of single crystals of the form identified by XRPD; their structure was solved and refined to a resolution of 1.17 Å with an R of 9.2% and an Rfree of 11.8%. Thus, there are at least three polymorphs present...... in the production suspension, albeit with the 1ndq -like microcrystals predominating. It is shown how the two techniques can provide invaluable and complementary information for such a production suspension and it is proposed that XRPD provides an excellent quality-control tool for such suspensions....

Tool for the verification of geometrical parameters and constancy of image quality in radiology equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayo, P.; Verdu Martin, G.; Rodenas Escriba, F.; Marin Peinado, B.; Camapyo Esteban Nogueira, J. M.; Diez Domingo, S.; Villaescusa Blanca, J. I.; Hernando Gonzalez, I.; Ruiz Manzano, P.; Rivas Ballarin, M. A.; Melcho Iniguez, M.; Asensio Martinez, M. I.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the application of an innovative tool developed for the detailed quality control of diagnostic equipment. We have tried to validate such a tool for verification of geometrical parameters and the evaluation of the constancy of the image quality in radiology equipment, evaluating their usefulness by various services of Radio physics and radiation protection of different hospitals. (Author)

Process-Based Quality (PBQ) Tools Development; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummins, J.L.

2001-01-01

The objective of this effort is to benchmark the development of process-based quality tools for application in CAD (computer-aided design) model-based applications. The processes of interest are design, manufacturing, and quality process applications. A study was commissioned addressing the impact, current technologies, and known problem areas in application of 3D MCAD (3-dimensional mechanical computer-aided design) models and model integrity on downstream manufacturing and quality processes. The downstream manufacturing and product quality processes are profoundly influenced and dependent on model quality and modeling process integrity. The goal is to illustrate and expedite the modeling and downstream model-based technologies for available or conceptual methods and tools to achieve maximum economic advantage and advance process-based quality concepts

Sigma metrics as a tool for evaluating the performance of internal quality control in a clinical chemistry laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, B Vinodh; Mohan, Thuthi

2018-01-01

Six Sigma is one of the most popular quality management system tools employed for process improvement. The Six Sigma methods are usually applied when the outcome of the process can be measured. This study was done to assess the performance of individual biochemical parameters on a Sigma Scale by calculating the sigma metrics for individual parameters and to follow the Westgard guidelines for appropriate Westgard rules and levels of internal quality control (IQC) that needs to be processed to improve target analyte performance based on the sigma metrics. This is a retrospective study, and data required for the study were extracted between July 2015 and June 2016 from a Secondary Care Government Hospital, Chennai. The data obtained for the study are IQC - coefficient of variation percentage and External Quality Assurance Scheme (EQAS) - Bias% for 16 biochemical parameters. For the level 1 IQC, four analytes (alkaline phosphatase, magnesium, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol) showed an ideal performance of ≥6 sigma level, five analytes (urea, total bilirubin, albumin, cholesterol, and potassium) showed an average performance of sigma level and for level 2 IQCs, same four analytes of level 1 showed a performance of ≥6 sigma level, and four analytes (urea, albumin, cholesterol, and potassium) showed an average performance of sigma level. For all analytes sigma level, the quality goal index (QGI) was 1.2 indicated inaccuracy. This study shows that sigma metrics is a good quality tool to assess the analytical performance of a clinical chemistry laboratory. Thus, sigma metric analysis provides a benchmark for the laboratory to design a protocol for IQC, address poor assay performance, and assess the efficiency of existing laboratory processes.

Quality control in diagnostic immunohistochemistry: integrated on-slide positive controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragoni, A; Gambella, A; Pigozzi, S; Grigolini, M; Fiocca, R; Mastracci, L; Grillo, F

2017-11-01

Standardization in immunohistochemistry is a priority in modern pathology and requires strict quality control. Cost containment has also become fundamental and auditing of all procedures must take into account both these principles. Positive controls must be routinely performed so that their positivity guarantees the appropriateness of the immunohistochemical procedure. The aim of this study is to develop a low cost (utilizing a punch biopsy-PB-tool) procedure to construct positive controls which can be integrated in the patient's tissue slide. Sixteen frequently used control blocks were selected and multiple cylindrical samples were obtained using a 5-mm diameter punch biopsy tool, separately re-embedding them in single blocks. For each diagnostic immunoreaction requiring a positive control, an integrated PB-control section (cut from the appropriate PB-control block) was added to the top right corner of the diagnostic slide before immunostaining. This integrated control technique permitted a saving of 4.75% in total direct lab costs and proved to be technically feasible and reliable. Our proposal is easy to perform and within the reach of all pathology labs, requires easily available tools, its application costs is less than using external paired controls and ensures that a specific control for each slide is always available.

Azimuthally acoustic logging tool to evaluate cementing quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Junqiang; Ju, Xiaodong; Qiao, Wenxiao; Men, Baiyong; Wang, Ruijia; Wu, Jinping

2014-01-01

An azimuthally sensitive acoustic bond tool (AABT) uses a phased arc array transmitter that can provide directionally focused radiation. The acoustic sonde consists of a phased arc array transmitter and two monopole receivers, the spaces from the transmitter being 0.91 m and 1.52 m, respectively. The transmitter includes eight transducer sub-units. By controlling the high-voltage firing signal phase for each transmitter, the radiation energy of the phased arc array transducer can be focused in a single direction. Compared with conventional monopole and dipole transmitters, the new transmitter provides cement quality evaluation with azimuthal sensitivity, which is not possible with conventional cement bond log/variable density log tools. Laboratory measurements indicate that the directivity curves for the phased arc array and those computed theoretically are consistent and show good agreement. We acquire measurements from a laboratory cistern and from the field to validate the reliability and applicability of the AABT. Results indicate that the AABT accurately evaluates the azimuthal cement quality of case-cement interfaces by imaging the amplitude of the first-arrival wave. This tool visualizes the size, position and orientation of channeling and holes. In the case of good case-cement bonding, the AABT also evaluates the azimuthal cementing quality of the cement formation interface by imaging the amplitude of formation waves. (paper)

Criteria and tools for scientific software quality measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tseng, M Y [Previse Inc., Willowdale ON (Canada)

1995-12-01

Not all software used in the nuclear industry needs the rigorous formal verification, reliability testing and quality assessment that are being applied to safety critical software. Recently, however, there is increasing recognition that systematic and objective quality assessment of the scientific software used in design and safety analyses of nuclear facilities is necessary to support safety and licensing decisions. Because of the complexity and large size of these programs and the resource constraints faced by the AECB reviewer, it is desirable that appropriate automated tools are used wherever practical. To objectively assess the quality of software, a set of attributes of a software product by which its quality is described and evaluated must be established. These attributes must be relevant to the application domain of software under evaluation. To effectively assess the quality of software, metrics defining quantitative scale and method appropriate to determine the value of attributes need to be applied. To cost-effectively perform the evaluation, use of suitable automated tools is desirable. In this project, criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific software are presented; metrics for which those criteria can be evaluated are identified; a survey of automated tools to measure those metrics was conducted and the most appropriate tool (QA Fortran) was acquired; and the tool usage was demonstrated on three sample programs. (author) 5 refs.

Criteria and tools for scientific software quality measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tseng, M.Y.

1995-12-01

Not all software used in the nuclear industry needs the rigorous formal verification, reliability testing and quality assessment that are being applied to safety critical software. Recently, however, there is increasing recognition that systematic and objective quality assessment of the scientific software used in design and safety analyses of nuclear facilities is necessary to support safety and licensing decisions. Because of the complexity and large size of these programs and the resource constraints faced by the AECB reviewer, it is desirable that appropriate automated tools are used wherever practical. To objectively assess the quality of software, a set of attributes of a software product by which its quality is described and evaluated must be established. These attributes must be relevant to the application domain of software under evaluation. To effectively assess the quality of software, metrics defining quantitative scale and method appropriate to determine the value of attributes need to be applied. To cost-effectively perform the evaluation, use of suitable automated tools is desirable. In this project, criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific software are presented; metrics for which those criteria can be evaluated are identified; a survey of automated tools to measure those metrics was conducted and the most appropriate tool (QA Fortran) was acquired; and the tool usage was demonstrated on three sample programs. (author) 5 refs

Innovative Stormwater Quality Tools by SARA for Holistic Watershed Master Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, S. M.; Su, Y. C.; Hummel, P. R.

2016-12-01

Stormwater management strategies such as Best Management Practices (BMP) and Low-Impact Development (LID) have increasingly gained attention in urban runoff control, becoming vital to holistic watershed master plans. These strategies can help address existing water quality impairments and support regulatory compliance, as well as guide planning and management of future development when substantial population growth and urbanization is projected to occur. However, past efforts have been limited to qualitative planning due to the lack of suitable tools to conduct quantitative assessment. The San Antonio River Authority (SARA), with the assistance of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) and AQUA TERRA Consultants (a division of RESPEC), developed comprehensive hydrodynamic and water quality models using the Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) for several urban watersheds in the San Antonio River Basin. These models enabled watershed management to look at water quality issues on a more refined temporal and spatial scale than the limited monitoring data. They also provided a means to locate and quantify potential water quality impairments and evaluate the effects of mitigation measures. To support the models, a suite of software tools were developed. including: 1) SARA Timeseries Utility Tool for managing and processing of large model timeseries files, 2) SARA Load Reduction Tool to determine load reductions needed to achieve screening levels for each modeled constituent on a sub-basin basis, and 3) SARA Enhanced BMP Tool to determine the optimal combination of BMP types and units needed to achieve the required load reductions. Using these SARA models and tools, water quality agencies and stormwater professionals can determine the optimal combinations of BMP/LID to accomplish their goals and save substantial stormwater infrastructure and management costs. The tools can also help regulators and permittees evaluate the feasibility of achieving compliance

Statistical quality control a loss minimization approach

CERN Document Server

Trietsch, Dan

1999-01-01

While many books on quality espouse the Taguchi loss function, they do not examine its impact on statistical quality control (SQC). But using the Taguchi loss function sheds new light on questions relating to SQC and calls for some changes. This book covers SQC in a way that conforms with the need to minimize loss. Subjects often not covered elsewhere include: (i) measurements, (ii) determining how many points to sample to obtain reliable control charts (for which purpose a new graphic tool, diffidence charts, is introduced), (iii) the connection between process capability and tolerances, (iv)

Developing a consumer evaluation tool of weight control strategy advertisements on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Luevorasirikul, Kanokrat; Gray, Nicola J; Anderson, Claire W

2008-06-01

To develop two evaluation tools for weight loss and weight gain advertisements on the Internet in order to help consumers to evaluate the quality of information within these advertisements. One hundred websites identified by Internet search engines for weight loss and weight gain strategies (50 websites each) were evaluated using two specific scoring instruments, developed by adapting questions from the 'DISCERN' tool and reviewing all related weight control guidelines and advertising regulations. The validity and reliability of the adapted tools were tested. Our evaluation tools rated the information from most websites as poor quality (70%). In the case of weight loss strategies, statements about rapid (18%) and permanent (28%) weight loss caused concern as well as lack of sensible advice about dieting and a lack of product warnings (84%). Safety concerns relating to weight gain products were the lack of warnings about side effects in products containing steroids and creatine (92%). The adapted tools exhibited acceptable validity and reliability. Quality of information within weight control advertisements on the Internet was generally poor. Problems of false claims, little advice on healthy ways to modify weight and few warnings on side effects have been highlighted in this study.

A Model of Risk Analysis in Analytical Methodology for Biopharmaceutical Quality Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Cleyton Lage; Herrera, Miguel Angel De La O; Lemes, Elezer Monte Blanco

2018-01-01

One key quality control parameter for biopharmaceutical products is the analysis of residual cellular DNA. To determine small amounts of DNA (around 100 pg) that may be in a biologically derived drug substance, an analytical method should be sensitive, robust, reliable, and accurate. In principle, three techniques have the ability to measure residual cellular DNA: radioactive dot-blot, a type of hybridization; threshold analysis; and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Quality risk management is a systematic process for evaluating, controlling, and reporting of risks that may affects method capabilities and supports a scientific and practical approach to decision making. This paper evaluates, by quality risk management, an alternative approach to assessing the performance risks associated with quality control methods used with biopharmaceuticals, using the tool hazard analysis and critical control points. This tool provides the possibility to find the steps in an analytical procedure with higher impact on method performance. By applying these principles to DNA analysis methods, we conclude that the radioactive dot-blot assay has the largest number of critical control points, followed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and threshold analysis. From the analysis of hazards (i.e., points of method failure) and the associated method procedure critical control points, we conclude that the analytical methodology with the lowest risk for performance failure for residual cellular DNA testing is quantitative polymerase chain reaction. LAY ABSTRACT: In order to mitigate the risk of adverse events by residual cellular DNA that is not completely cleared from downstream production processes, regulatory agencies have required the industry to guarantee a very low level of DNA in biologically derived pharmaceutical products. The technique historically used was radioactive blot hybridization. However, the technique is a challenging method to implement in a quality

Information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Vanessa; Rosecler Bez el Boukhari, Marta

2007-11-01

This article describes information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories. The quality of laboratory analyses is of fundamental importance for health professionals in aiding appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Information systems allow the automation of internal quality management processes, using standard sample tests, Levey-Jennings charts and Westgard multirule analysis. This simplifies evaluation and interpretation of quality tests and reduces the possibility of human error. This study proposes the development of an information system with appropriate functions and costs for the automation of internal quality control in small and medium-sized clinical laboratories. To this end, it evaluates the functions and usability of two commercial software products designed for this purpose, identifying the positive features of each, so that these can be taken into account during the development of the proposed system.

Information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitz, Vanessa; Boukhari, Marta Rosecler Bez el

2007-01-01

This article describes information systems as a quality management tool in clinical laboratories. The quality of laboratory analyses is of fundamental importance for health professionals in aiding appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Information systems allow the automation of internal quality management processes, using standard sample tests, Levey-Jennings charts and Westgard multirule analysis. This simplifies evaluation and interpretation of quality tests and reduces the possibility of human error. This study proposes the development of an information system with appropriate functions and costs for the automation of internal quality control in small and medium-sized clinical laboratories. To this end, it evaluates the functions and usability of two commercial software products designed for this purpose, identifying the positive features of each, so that these can be taken into account during the development of the proposed system

A case study: application of statistical process control tool for determining process capability and sigma level.

Science.gov (United States)

Chopra, Vikram; Bairagi, Mukesh; Trivedi, P; Nagar, Mona

2012-01-01

Statistical process control is the application of statistical methods to the measurement and analysis of variation process. Various regulatory authorities such as Validation Guidance for Industry (2011), International Conference on Harmonisation ICH Q10 (2009), the Health Canada guidelines (2009), Health Science Authority, Singapore: Guidance for Product Quality Review (2008), and International Organization for Standardization ISO-9000:2005 provide regulatory support for the application of statistical process control for better process control and understanding. In this study risk assessments, normal probability distributions, control charts, and capability charts are employed for selection of critical quality attributes, determination of normal probability distribution, statistical stability, and capability of production processes, respectively. The objective of this study is to determine tablet production process quality in the form of sigma process capability. By interpreting data and graph trends, forecasting of critical quality attributes, sigma process capability, and stability of process were studied. The overall study contributes to an assessment of process at the sigma level with respect to out-of-specification attributes produced. Finally, the study will point to an area where the application of quality improvement and quality risk assessment principles for achievement of six sigma-capable processes is possible. Statistical process control is the most advantageous tool for determination of the quality of any production process. This tool is new for the pharmaceutical tablet production process. In the case of pharmaceutical tablet production processes, the quality control parameters act as quality assessment parameters. Application of risk assessment provides selection of critical quality attributes among quality control parameters. Sequential application of normality distributions, control charts, and capability analyses provides a valid statistical

Standardization of tests of quality control with the aid of quality tools used in management systems of processes at the Sector of Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da Cas, E.V.; Weis, G.L.; Bahunhardt, T.; Shuch, L.A.; Lopes, L.F.D.

2009-01-01

This work tries to standardize the tests of quality control at the Sector of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital of Santa Maria, using tools of the quality used in systems of management of processes such as, PDCA, brainstorming, diagram of cause and effect (Ishikawa), 5W2H, verifying list and fluxogram. The tests of quality control refer to the scintillation camera (center of rotation, intrinsic uniformity, intrinsic spatial resolution and linearity, energy resolution for each radionuclide), to the dose calibrator (accuracy, reproducibility and linearity), to the Geiger-Mueller detector (reproducibility of the detector). (author)

Development of a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies: reliability and validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Andreas; Raphael, Karen G; Glaros, Alan; Axelsson, Susanna; Arima, Taro; Ernberg, Malin; Farella, Mauro; Lobbezoo, Frank; Manfredini, Daniele; Michelotti, Ambra; Svensson, Peter; List, Thomas

2013-01-01

To combine empirical evidence and expert opinion in a formal consensus method in order to develop a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies in systematic reviews. Tool development comprised five steps: (1) preliminary decisions, (2) item generation, (3) face-validity assessment, (4) reliability and discriminitive validity assessment, and (5) instrument refinement. The kappa value and phi-coefficient were calculated to assess inter-observer reliability and discriminative ability, respectively. Following preliminary decisions and a literature review, a list of 52 items to be considered for inclusion in the tool was compiled. Eleven experts were invited to join a Delphi panel and 10 accepted. Four Delphi rounds reduced the preliminary tool-Quality-Assessment Tool for Experimental Bruxism Studies (Qu-ATEBS)- to 8 items: study aim, study sample, control condition or group, study design, experimental bruxism task, statistics, interpretation of results, and conflict of interest statement. Consensus among the Delphi panelists yielded good face validity. Inter-observer reliability was acceptable (k = 0.77). Discriminative validity was excellent (phi coefficient 1.0; P reviews of experimental bruxism studies, exhibits face validity, excellent discriminative validity, and acceptable inter-observer reliability. Development of quality assessment tools for many other topics in the orofacial pain literature is needed and may follow the described procedure.

Application of Metabolomics to Quality Control of Natural Product Derived Medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyung-Min; Jeon, Jun-Yeong; Lee, Byeong-Ju; Lee, Hwanhui; Choi, Hyung-Kyoon

2017-11-01

Metabolomics has been used as a powerful tool for the analysis and quality assessment of the natural product (NP)-derived medicines. It is increasingly being used in the quality control and standardization of NP-derived medicines because they are composed of hundreds of natural compounds. The most common techniques that are used in metabolomics consist of NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS in combination with multivariate statistical analyses including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Currently, the quality control of the NP-derived medicines is usually conducted using HPLC and is specified by one or two indicators. To create a superior quality control framework and avoid adulterated drugs, it is necessary to be able to determine and establish standards based on multiple ingredients using metabolic profiling and fingerprinting. Therefore, the application of various analytical tools in the quality control of NP-derived medicines forms the major part of this review. Veregen ® (Medigene AG, Planegg/Martinsried, Germany), which is the first botanical prescription drug approved by US Food and Drug Administration, is reviewed as an example that will hopefully provide future directions and perspectives on metabolomics technologies available for the quality control of NP-derived medicines.

Control Strategy Tool (CoST)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The EPA Control Strategy Tool (CoST) is a software tool for projecting potential future control scenarios, their effects on emissions and estimated costs. This tool...

Management Model for efficient quality control in new buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. E. Rodríguez-Jiménez

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The management of the quality control of each building process is usually set up in Spain from different levels of demand. This work tries to obtain a model of reference, to compare the quality control of the building process of a specific product (building, and to be able to evaluate its warranty level. In the quest of this purpose, we take credit of specialized sources and 153 real cases of Quality Control were carefully revised using a multi-judgment method. Applying different techniques to get a specific valuation (impartial of the input parameters through Delphi’s method (17 experts query, whose matrix treatment with the Fuzzy-QFD tool condenses numerical references through a weighted distribution of the selected functions and their corresponding conditioning factors. The model thus obtained (M153 is useful in order to have a quality control reference to meet the expectations of the quality.

Quality assurance and quality control for radiotherapy/medical oncology in Europe: guideline development and implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Valentini, V; Glimelius, B; Frascino, V

2013-09-01

The past two decades have brought tremendous changes to the practice of radiation oncology and medical oncology. To manage all the complexities related to the new technologies and the new drugs, the radiation and medical oncologists have to enhance their clinical action and professional skill profile. To accomplish this they have to find reliable tools in the quality of their medical practice and in future research activities. Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) for radiation and medical oncologists mean to clarify the different components of the clinical decision, to supervise with proper methodology the required steps needed to accomplish the agreed outcomes and to control them. Quality for radiation and medical oncology means to supervise each clinical and technical component of the whole process to guarantee that all steps together will arrive at the final and best possible outcome. Key components are guidelines, specialization and a multidisciplinary approach. The research of global quality could represent a further complexity, but it is the best tool to give a perspective and a chance to further improvements of our disciplines and to promote better outcome in all cancer patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Six Sigma Quality Management System and Design of Risk-based Statistical Quality Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Westgard, James O; Westgard, Sten A

2017-03-01

Six sigma concepts provide a quality management system (QMS) with many useful tools for managing quality in medical laboratories. This Six Sigma QMS is driven by the quality required for the intended use of a test. The most useful form for this quality requirement is the allowable total error. Calculation of a sigma-metric provides the best predictor of risk for an analytical examination process, as well as a design parameter for selecting the statistical quality control (SQC) procedure necessary to detect medically important errors. Simple point estimates of sigma at medical decision concentrations are sufficient for laboratory applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

TRAINING SYSTEM OF FUTURE SPECIALISTS: QUALITY CONTROL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir A. Romanov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the investigation is development of innovative strategy of quality control training of engineers and skilled workers (hereinafter – future specialists in educational professional organizations on the principles of social partnership.Methods. Theoretic: theoretic and methodological analysis, polytheoretic synthesis, modeling. Empirical: research and generalization of the system, process and competence – based approaches experience, experiment, observation, surveys, expert evaluation, SWOT-analysis as a method of strategic planning which is to identify the internal and external factors (socio-cultural of the organization surrounding.Results. The strategy of the development of the process of quality control training in educational professional organizations and a predictive model of the system of quality control training for future engineers and workers have been created on the analysis and synthesis of a quantitative specification of the quality, the obtained experience and success in control training of future specialists in educational professional organizations in recent economic and educational conditions.Scientific novelty. There has been built a predicative model of quality control training of future specialists to meet modern standards and the principles of social partnership; the control algorithm of the learning process, developed in accordance with the standards (international of quality ISO in the implementation of the quality control systems of the process approach (matrix-based responsibility, competence and remit of those responsible for the education process in the educational organization, the «problem» terms and diagnostic tools for assessing the quality of professional training of future specialists. The perspective directions of innovation in the control of the quality of future professionals training have been determined; the parameters of a comprehensive analysis of the state of the system to ensure the

Software Quality Control at Belle II

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, M.; Kuhr, T.; Hauth, T.; Gebard, T.; Kristof, M.; Pulvermacher, C.; Belle Software Group, II

2017-10-01

Over the last seven years the software stack of the next generation B factory experiment Belle II has grown to over one million lines of C++ and Python code, counting only the part included in offline software releases. There are several thousand commits to the central repository by about 100 individual developers per year. To keep a coherent software stack of high quality that it can be sustained and used efficiently for data acquisition, simulation, reconstruction, and analysis over the lifetime of the Belle II experiment is a challenge. A set of tools is employed to monitor the quality of the software and provide fast feedback to the developers. They are integrated in a machinery that is controlled by a buildbot master and automates the quality checks. The tools include different compilers, cppcheck, the clang static analyzer, valgrind memcheck, doxygen, a geometry overlap checker, a check for missing or extra library links, unit tests, steering file level tests, a sophisticated high-level validation suite, and an issue tracker. The technological development infrastructure is complemented by organizational means to coordinate the development.

Quality improvement tools and processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Catherine Y

2015-04-01

The Model for Improvement and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle is a popular quality improvement (QI) tool for health care providers to successfully lead QI projects and redesign care processes. This tool has several distinct components that must be addressed in sequence to organize and critically evaluate improvement activities. Unlike other health sciences clinical research, QI projects and research are based on dynamic hypotheses that develop into observable, serial tests of change with continuous collection and feedback of performance data to stakeholders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced methodology of focus control and monitoring on scanner tool

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yen-Jen; Kim, Young Ki; Hao, Xueli; Gomez, Juan-Manuel; Tian, Ye; Kamalizadeh, Ferhad; Hanson, Justin K.

2017-03-01

As the demand of the technology node shrinks from 14nm to 7nm, the reliability of tool monitoring techniques in advanced semiconductor fabs to achieve high yield and quality becomes more critical. Tool health monitoring methods involve periodic sampling of moderately processed test wafers to detect for particles, defects, and tool stability in order to ensure proper tool health. For lithography TWINSCAN scanner tools, the requirements for overlay stability and focus control are very strict. Current scanner tool health monitoring methods include running BaseLiner to ensure proper tool stability on a periodic basis. The focus measurement on YIELDSTAR by real-time or library-based reconstruction of critical dimensions (CD) and side wall angle (SWA) has been demonstrated as an accurate metrology input to the control loop. The high accuracy and repeatability of the YIELDSTAR focus measurement provides a common reference of scanner setup and user process. In order to further improve the metrology and matching performance, Diffraction Based Focus (DBF) metrology enabling accurate, fast, and non-destructive focus acquisition, has been successfully utilized for focus monitoring/control of TWINSCAN NXT immersion scanners. The optimal DBF target was determined to have minimized dose crosstalk, dynamic precision, set-get residual, and lens aberration sensitivity. By exploiting this new measurement target design, 80% improvement in tool-to-tool matching, >16% improvement in run-to-run mean focus stability, and >32% improvement in focus uniformity have been demonstrated compared to the previous BaseLiner methodology. Matching control and monitoring on multiple illumination conditions, opens an avenue to significantly reduce Focus-Exposure Matrix (FEM) wafer exposure for new product/layer best focus (BF) setup.

Internal quality control: planning and implementation strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Westgard, James O

2003-11-01

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

ATR-FTIR as a potential tool for controlling high quality vinegar categories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ríos-Reina, Rocío; Callejón, Raquel M.; Oliver-Pozo, Celia

2017-01-01

potential as a rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive tool for characterizing different categories of high-quality vinegars. Spectra from 67 wine vinegars belonging to the PDOs “Vinagre de Jerez” and “Vinagre Condado de Huelva”, including their different established categories, were analyzed in the 4000......–600 cm−1 infrared region. Changes associated to categories were observed in the region 1800–900 cm−1. These changes were assigned to certain compounds that increase during aging (e.g. acetic acids, alcohols, esters) or are characteristic of Pedro Ximenez category (e.g. sugars, furfural). Principal...

Quality control and quality assurance of micromegas readout boards for the ATLAS New Small Wheel

CERN Document Server

Nanda, Amit

2016-01-01

The resistive anode boards of the Micromegas detectors for ATLAS NSW upgrade, will be produced in industries. The anode boards will be thoroughly evaluated at CERN following a detailed quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC) procedure. The report describes thoroughly the procedures and the design of a small QC tool for easier measurements of electrical properties of the readout boards.

Using Quality Tools and Methodologies to Improve a Hospital's Quality Position.

Science.gov (United States)

Branco, Daniel; Wicks, Angela M; Visich, John K

2017-01-01

The authors identify the quality tools and methodologies most frequently used by quality-positioned hospitals versus nonquality hospitals. Northeastern U.S. hospitals in both groups received a brief, 12-question survey. The authors found that 93.75% of the quality hospitals and 81.25% of the nonquality hospitals used some form of process improvement methodologies. However, there were significant differences between the groups regarding the impact of quality improvement initiatives on patients. The findings indicate that in quality hospitals the use of quality improvement initiatives had a significantly greater positive impact on patient satisfaction and patient outcomes when compared to nonquality hospitals.

High Accuracy Nonlinear Control and Estimation for Machine Tool Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papageorgiou, Dimitrios

Component mass production has been the backbone of industry since the second industrial revolution, and machine tools are producing parts of widely varying size and design complexity. The ever-increasing level of automation in modern manufacturing processes necessitates the use of more...... sophisticated machine tool systems that are adaptable to different workspace conditions, while at the same time being able to maintain very narrow workpiece tolerances. The main topic of this thesis is to suggest control methods that can maintain required manufacturing tolerances, despite moderate wear and tear....... The purpose is to ensure that full accuracy is maintained between service intervals and to advice when overhaul is needed. The thesis argues that quality of manufactured components is directly related to the positioning accuracy of the machine tool axes, and it shows which low level control architectures...

Quality control of CANDU6 fuel element in fabrication process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Yinxie; Zhang Jie

2012-01-01

To enhance the fine control over all aspects of the production process, improve product quality, fuel element fabrication process for CANDU6 quality process control activities carried out by professional technical and management technology combined mode, the quality of the fuel elements formed around CANDU6 weak links - - end plug , and brazing processes and procedures associated with this aspect of strict control, in improving staff quality consciousness, strengthening equipment maintenance, improved tooling, fixtures, optimization process test, strengthen supervision, fine inspection operations, timely delivery carry out aspects of the quality of information and concerns the production environment, etc., to find the problem from the improvement of product quality and factors affecting the source, and resolved to form the active control, comprehensive and systematic analysis of the problem of the quality management concepts, effectively reducing the end plug weld microstructure after the failure times and number of defects zirconium alloys brazed, improved product quality, and created economic benefits expressly provided, while staff quality consciousness and attention to detail, collaboration department, communication has been greatly improved and achieved very good management effectiveness. (authors)

Catch Index : Development of a tool for measurement the quality of the catch handling at sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schelvis-Smit, A.A.M.; Luten, J.B.

2003-01-01

Correct fish handling on board of vessels is essential for the quality of the fish throughout the complete fishery chain. Developments in the fishery sector with respect to quality control, traceability and remote trade demand a tool to access the performance of fish handling by fishermen. Therefore

Quack: A quality assurance tool for high throughput sequence data.

Science.gov (United States)

Thrash, Adam; Arick, Mark; Peterson, Daniel G

2018-05-01

The quality of data generated by high-throughput DNA sequencing tools must be rapidly assessed in order to determine how useful the data may be in making biological discoveries; higher quality data leads to more confident results and conclusions. Due to the ever-increasing size of data sets and the importance of rapid quality assessment, tools that analyze sequencing data should quickly produce easily interpretable graphics. Quack addresses these issues by generating information-dense visualizations from FASTQ files at a speed far surpassing other publicly available quality assurance tools in a manner independent of sequencing technology. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality Control in Production Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prístavka Miroslav

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The tools for quality management are used for quality improvement throughout the whole Europe and developed countries. Simple statistics are considered one of the most basic methods. The goal was to apply the simple statistical methods to practice and to solve problems by using them. Selected methods are used for processing the list of internal discrepancies within the organization, and for identification of the root cause of the problem and its appropriate solution. Seven basic quality tools are simple graphical tools, but very effective in solving problems related to quality. They are called essential because they are suitable for people with at least basic knowledge in statistics; therefore, they can be used to solve the vast majority of problems.

Data quality control and tools in passive seismic experiments exemplified on the Czech broadband seismic pool MOBNET in the AlpArray collaborative project

Science.gov (United States)

Vecsey, Luděk; Plomerová, Jaroslava; Jedlička, Petr; Munzarová, Helena; Babuška, Vladislav; AlpArray Working Group

2017-12-01

This paper focuses on major issues related to the data reliability and network performance of 20 broadband (BB) stations of the Czech (CZ) MOBNET (MOBile NETwork) seismic pool within the AlpArray seismic experiments. Currently used high-resolution seismological applications require high-quality data recorded for a sufficiently long time interval at seismological observatories and during the entire time of operation of the temporary stations. In this paper we present new hardware and software tools we have been developing during the last two decades while analysing data from several international passive experiments. The new tools help to assure the high-quality standard of broadband seismic data and eliminate potential errors before supplying data to seismological centres. Special attention is paid to crucial issues like the detection of sensor misorientation, timing problems, interchange of record components and/or their polarity reversal, sensor mass centring, or anomalous channel amplitudes due to, for example, imperfect gain. Thorough data quality control should represent an integral constituent of seismic data recording, preprocessing, and archiving, especially for data from temporary stations in passive seismic experiments. Large international seismic experiments require enormous efforts from scientists from different countries and institutions to gather hundreds of stations to be deployed in the field during a limited time period. In this paper, we demonstrate the beneficial effects of the procedures we have developed for acquiring a reliable large set of high-quality data from each group participating in field experiments. The presented tools can be applied manually or automatically on data from any seismic network.

History plotting tool for Data Quality Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giordano, D.; Le Bihan, A.-C.; Pierro, A.; De Mattia, M.

2010-01-01

The size and complexity of the CMS detector makes the Data Quality Monitoring (DQM) system very challenging. Given the high granularity of the CMS sub-detectors, several approaches and tools have been developed to monitor the detector performance closely. We describe here the History DQM, a tool allowing the detector performance monitoring over time.

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.

Quality Controlling CMIP datasets at GFDL

Science.gov (United States)

Horowitz, L. W.; Radhakrishnan, A.; Balaji, V.; Adcroft, A.; Krasting, J. P.; Nikonov, S.; Mason, E. E.; Schweitzer, R.; Nadeau, D.

2017-12-01

As GFDL makes the switch from model development to production in light of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), GFDL's efforts are shifted to testing and more importantly establishing guidelines and protocols for Quality Controlling and semi-automated data publishing. Every CMIP cycle introduces key challenges and the upcoming CMIP6 is no exception. The new CMIP experimental design comprises of multiple MIPs facilitating research in different focus areas. This paradigm has implications not only for the groups that develop the models and conduct the runs, but also for the groups that monitor, analyze and quality control the datasets before data publishing, before their knowledge makes its way into reports like the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Assessment Reports. In this talk, we discuss some of the paths taken at GFDL to quality control the CMIP-ready datasets including: Jupyter notebooks, PrePARE, LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl): technology-driven tracker system to monitor the status of experiments qualitatively and quantitatively, provide additional metadata and analysis services along with some in-built controlled-vocabulary validations in the workflow. In addition to this, we also discuss the integration of community-based model evaluation software (ESMValTool, PCMDI Metrics Package, and ILAMB) as part of our CMIP6 workflow.

Psychometric Properties of Quality of Life Assessment Tools in Morbid Obesity: A Review of Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Negar Yazdani

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Since studies have demonstrated that morbid obesity can exponentially impair quality of life, the measurement of quality of life is paramount to monitoring the effects of treatment and influences the development of clinical pathways, service provision, healthcare expenditures, and public health policy. Accordingly, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers must rely on valid instruments. Aim: This study aimed to review and critique the psychometric properties of some specific tools by COSMIN checklist and their application among morbidly obese individuals. Method: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Ovid, Elsevier, and ScienceDirect by using the keywords related to the Quality of Life Questionnaire, namely “morbid obesity”, “tool”, and “scale”, to retrieve articles published during 1989-2017. Then, the psychometric properties of the selected tools were assessed using the COSMIN checklist. Results: Most of the tools had not reported complete and desirable psychometrics properties. Demonstration of responsiveness from independent randomized controlled trials was not available in two of the eight questionnaires. These tools also did not report proper definition of interpretability. However, the data obtained by COSMIN checklist showed that Laval questionnaire is a proper scale for measuring quality of life in obese individuals, which can be recommended to researchers. Implications for Practice: Although Laval questionnaire was found a proper tool for measuring the quality of life among morbid obese patients, developing an instrument suitable for different societies with varied cultural and social characteristics is suggested because socio-cultural factors can influence the quality of life.

Statistical methods for quality assurance basics, measurement, control, capability, and improvement

CERN Document Server

Vardeman, Stephen B

2016-01-01

This undergraduate statistical quality assurance textbook clearly shows with real projects, cases and data sets how statistical quality control tools are used in practice. Among the topics covered is a practical evaluation of measurement effectiveness for both continuous and discrete data. Gauge Reproducibility and Repeatability methodology (including confidence intervals for Repeatability, Reproducibility and the Gauge Capability Ratio) is thoroughly developed. Process capability indices and corresponding confidence intervals are also explained. In addition to process monitoring techniques, experimental design and analysis for process improvement are carefully presented. Factorial and Fractional Factorial arrangements of treatments and Response Surface methods are covered. Integrated throughout the book are rich sets of examples and problems that help readers gain a better understanding of where and how to apply statistical quality control tools. These large and realistic problem sets in combination with the...

[Development of quality assurance/quality control web system in radiotherapy].

Science.gov (United States)

Okamoto, Hiroyuki; Mochizuki, Toshihiko; Yokoyama, Kazutoshi; Wakita, Akihisa; Nakamura, Satoshi; Ueki, Heihachi; Shiozawa, Keiko; Sasaki, Koji; Fuse, Masashi; Abe, Yoshihisa; Itami, Jun

2013-12-01

Our purpose is to develop a QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) web system using a server-side script language such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), which can be useful as a tool to share information about QA/QC in radiotherapy. The system proposed in this study can be easily built in one's own institute, because HTML can be easily handled. There are two desired functions in a QA/QC web system: (i) To review the results of QA/QC for a radiotherapy machine, manuals, and reports necessary for routinely performing radiotherapy through this system. By disclosing the results, transparency can be maintained, (ii) To reveal a protocol for QA/QC in one's own institute using pictures and movies relating to QA/QC for simplicity's sake, which can also be used as an educational tool for junior radiation technologists and medical physicists. By using this system, not only administrators, but also all staff involved in radiotherapy, can obtain information about the conditions and accuracy of treatment machines through the QA/QC web system.

Association between product quality control and process quality control of bulk milk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velthuis, A.; Asseldonk, van M.A.P.M.

2010-01-01

Assessment of dairy-milk quality is based on product quality control (testing bulk-milk samples) and process quality control (auditing dairy farms). It is unknown whether process control improves product quality. To quantify possible association between product control and process control a

Software simulation: a tool for enhancing control system design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sze, B.; Ridgway, G.H.

2008-01-01

The creation, implementation and management of engineering design tools are important to the quality and efficiency of any large engineering project. Some of the most complicated tools to develop are system simulators. The development and implementation of system simulators to support replacement fuel handling control systems is of particular interest to the Canadian nuclear industry given the current age of installations and the risk of obsolescence to many utilities. The use of such simulator tools has been known to significantly improve successful deployment of new software packages and maintenance-related software changes while reducing the time required for their overall development. Moreover, these simulation systems can also serve as operator training stations and provide a virtual environment for site engineers to test operational changes before they are uploaded to the actual system. (author)

Quality Control Applications

CERN Document Server

Chorafas, Dimitris N

2013-01-01

Quality control is a constant priority in electrical, mechanical, aeronautical, and nuclear engineering – as well as in the vast domain of electronics, from home appliances to computers and telecommunications. Quality Control Applications provides guidance and valuable insight into quality control policies; their methods, their implementation, constant observation and associated technical audits. What has previously been a mostly mathematical topic is translated here for engineers concerned with the practical implementation of quality control. Once the fundamentals of quality control are established, Quality Control Applications goes on to develop this knowledge and explain how to apply it in the most effective way. Techniques are described and supported using relevant, real-life, case studies to provide detail and clarity for those without a mathematical background. Among the many practical examples, two case studies dramatize the importance of quality assurance: A shot-by-shot analysis of the errors made ...

C++ software quality in the ATLAS experiment: tools and experience

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Haugh, S.; Kluth, S.; Seuster, R.; Snyder, S.; Obreshkov, E.; Roe, S.; Sherwood, P.; Stewart, G. A.

2017-10-01

In this paper we explain how the C++ code quality is managed in ATLAS using a range of tools from compile-time through to run time testing and reflect on the substantial progress made in the last two years largely through the use of static analysis tools such as Coverity®, an industry-standard tool which enables quality comparison with general open source C++ code. Other available code analysis tools are also discussed, as is the role of unit testing with an example of how the GoogleTest framework can be applied to our codebase.

C++ software quality in the ATLAS experiment: tools and experience

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00236968; The ATLAS collaboration; Kluth, Stefan; Seuster, Rolf; Snyder, Scott; Obreshkov, Emil; Roe, Shaun; Sherwood, Peter; Stewart, Graeme

2017-01-01

In this paper we explain how the C++ code quality is managed in ATLAS using a range of tools from compile-time through to run time testing and reflect on the substantial progress made in the last two years largely through the use of static analysis tools such as Coverity®, an industry-standard tool which enables quality comparison with general open source C++ code. Other available code analysis tools are also discussed, as is the role of unit testing with an example of how the GoogleTest framework can be applied to our codebase.

From quality control to quality systems in x-ray radiology. Step by step approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gendrutis Morkunas; Julius Ziliukas

2007-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. Quality systems in x-ray radiology as in any area of medical exposure is an important tool of optimization of radiation protection. Creation of these systems is related with a number of problems: limited resources, lack of knowledge and experience, negative attitude of hospitals staff and administration, lack of advice from outside. Problems related with transitionary period might be softened by the step by step approach. The following steps might be indicated: providing information on quality systems to hospital staff and administration, simple quality control procedures done by outside experts in hospitals, preparation of quality related procedures by hospital staff, practical implementation of quality control procedures done by hospital staff, preparation of quality manual by hospital staff, its integration into common quality system of hospital (if it is available) and constant development, measurements of performance indicators (e.g., patients' doses) and introduction of corrective measures if necessary, dissemination of experience by expert organizations and more advanced hospitals. These steps are to be discussed in the presentations based on Lithuanian experience since 1998.

Quality Risk Management: Putting GMP Controls First.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Kevin; Greene, Anne; Zwitkovits, Michael; Calnan, Nuala

2012-01-01

This paper presents a practical way in which current approaches to quality risk management (QRM) may be improved, such that they better support qualification, validation programs, and change control proposals at manufacturing sites. The paper is focused on the treatment of good manufacturing practice (GMP) controls during QRM exercises. It specifically addresses why it is important to evaluate and classify such controls in terms of how they affect the severity, probability of occurrence, and detection ratings that may be assigned to potential failure modes or negative events. It also presents a QRM process that is designed to directly link the outputs of risk assessments and risk control activities with qualification and validation protocols in the GMP environment. This paper concerns the need for improvement in the use of risk-based principles and tools when working to ensure that the manufacturing processes used to produce medicines, and their related equipment, are appropriate. Manufacturing processes need to be validated (or proven) to demonstrate that they can produce a medicine of the required quality. The items of equipment used in such processes need to be qualified, in order to prove that they are fit for their intended use. Quality risk management (QRM) tools can be used to support such qualification and validation activities, but their use should be science-based and subject to as little subjectivity and uncertainty as possible. When changes are proposed to manufacturing processes, equipment, or related activities, they also need careful evaluation to ensure that any risks present are managed effectively. This paper presents a practical approach to how QRM may be improved so that it better supports qualification, validation programs, and change control proposals in a more scientific way. This improved approach is based on the treatment of what are called good manufacturing process (GMP) controls during those QRM exercises. A GMP control can be considered

Sequencing quality assessment tools to enable data-driven informatics for high throughput genomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Mark Leggett

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The processes of quality assessment and control are an active area of research at The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC. Unlike other sequencing centres that often concentrate on a certain species or technology, TGAC applies expertise in genomics and bioinformatics to a wide range of projects, often requiring bespoke wet lab and in silico workflows. TGAC is fortunate to have access to a diverse range of sequencing and analysis platforms, and we are at the forefront of investigations into library quality and sequence data assessment. We have developed and implemented a number of algorithms, tools, pipelines and packages to ascertain, store, and expose quality metrics across a number of next-generation sequencing platforms, allowing rapid and in-depth cross-platform QC bioinformatics. In this review, we describe these tools as a vehicle for data-driven informatics, offering the potential to provide richer context for downstream analysis and to inform experimental design.

Implementing self sustained quality control procedures in a clinical laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatri, Roshan; K C, Sanjay; Shrestha, Prabodh; Sinha, J N

2013-01-01

Quality control is an essential component in every clinical laboratory which maintains the excellence of laboratory standards, supplementing to proper disease diagnosis, patient care and resulting in overall strengthening of health care system. Numerous quality control schemes are available, with combinations of procedures, most of which are tedious, time consuming and can be "too technical" whereas commercially available quality control materials can be expensive especially for laboratories in developing nations like Nepal. Here, we present a procedure performed at our centre with self prepared control serum and use of simple statistical tools for quality assurance. The pooled serum was prepared as per guidelines for preparation of stabilized liquid quality control serum from human sera. Internal Quality Assessment was performed on this sample, on a daily basis which included measurement of 12 routine biochemical parameters. The results were plotted on Levey-Jennings charts and analysed with quality control rules, for a period of one month. The mean levels of biochemical analytes in self prepared control serum were within normal physiological range. This serum was evaluated every day along with patients' samples. The results obtained were plotted on control charts and analysed using common quality control rules to identify possible systematic and random errors. Immediate mitigation measures were taken and the dispatch of erroneous reports was avoided. In this study we try to highlight on a simple internal quality control procedure which can be performed by laboratories, with minimum technology, expenditure, and expertise and improve reliability and validity of the test reports.

C++ Software Quality in the ATLAS Experiment: Tools and Experience

CERN Document Server

Kluth, Stefan; The ATLAS collaboration; Obreshkov, Emil; Roe, Shaun; Seuster, Rolf; Snyder, Scott; Stewart, Graeme

2016-01-01

The ATLAS experiment at CERN uses about six million lines of code and currently has about 420 developers whose background is largely from physics. In this paper we explain how the C++ code quality is managed using a range of tools from compile-time through to run time testing and reflect on the great progress made in the last year largely through the use of static analysis tools such as Coverity®, an industry-standard tool which enables quality comparison with general open source C++ code. Other tools including cppcheck, Include-What-You-Use and run-time 'sanitizers' are also discussed.

The software improvement process - tools and rules to encourage quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sigerud, K.; Baggiolini, V.

2012-01-01

The Applications section of the CERN accelerator controls group has decided to apply a systematic approach to quality assurance (QA), the 'Software Improvement Process' - SIP. This process focuses on three areas: the development process itself, suitable QA tools, and how to practically encourage developers to do QA. For each stage of the development process we have agreed on the recommended activities and deliverables, and identified tools to automate and support the task. For example we do more code reviews. As peer reviews are resource intensive, we only do them for complex parts of a product. As a complement, we are using static code checking tools, like FindBugs and Checkstyle. We also encourage unit testing and have agreed on a minimum level of test coverage recommended for all products, measured using Clover. Each of these tools is well integrated with our IDE (Eclipse) and give instant feedback to the developer about the quality of their code. The major challenges of SIP have been to 1) agree on common standards and configurations, for example common code formatting and Javadoc documentation guidelines, and 2) how to encourage the developers to do QA. To address the second point, we have successfully implemented 'SIP days', i.e. one day dedicated to QA work to which the whole group of developers participates, and 'Top/Flop' lists, clearly indicating the best and worst products with regards to SIP guidelines and standards, for example test coverage. This paper presents the SIP initiative in more detail, summarizing our experience since two years and our future plans. (authors)

PACS quality control and automatic problem notifier

Science.gov (United States)

Honeyman-Buck, Janice C.; Jones, Douglas; Frost, Meryll M.; Staab, Edward V.

1997-05-01

One side effect of installing a clinical PACS Is that users become dependent upon the technology and in some cases it can be very difficult to revert back to a film based system if components fail. The nature of system failures range from slow deterioration of function as seen in the loss of monitor luminance through sudden catastrophic loss of the entire PACS networks. This paper describes the quality control procedures in place at the University of Florida and the automatic notification system that alerts PACS personnel when a failure has happened or is anticipated. The goal is to recover from a failure with a minimum of downtime and no data loss. Routine quality control is practiced on all aspects of PACS, from acquisition, through network routing, through display, and including archiving. Whenever possible, the system components perform self and between platform checks for active processes, file system status, errors in log files, and system uptime. When an error is detected or a exception occurs, an automatic page is sent to a pager with a diagnostic code. Documentation on each code, trouble shooting procedures, and repairs are kept on an intranet server accessible only to people involved in maintaining the PACS. In addition to the automatic paging system for error conditions, acquisition is assured by an automatic fax report sent on a daily basis to all technologists acquiring PACS images to be used as a cross check that all studies are archived prior to being removed from the acquisition systems. Daily quality control is preformed to assure that studies can be moved from each acquisition and contrast adjustment. The results of selected quality control reports will be presented. The intranet documentation server will be described with the automatic pager system. Monitor quality control reports will be described and the cost of quality control will be quantified. As PACS is accepted as a clinical tool, the same standards of quality control must be established

Air Traffic Control Tools Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomáš Noskievič

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Undoubtedly air transport in today’s world wouldn’t be able to exist without any air traffic control service. As the air transport has been coming through major changes and it has been expanding, it is assumed that its volume will be doubled in the next 15 years. Air traffic control uses strictly organised procedures to ensure safe course of air operations. With the skies covered with more airplanes every year, new tools must be introduced to allow the controllers to manage this rising amount of flying aircraft and to keep the air transport safe. This paper provides a comprehensive and organized material, which describes the newest tools and systems used by air traffic control officers. It proposes improvements for further research and development of ATC tools.

A European Quality Control Programme as a cooperative tool between users and a diagnostic company.

Science.gov (United States)

Costongs, G M; Janson, P C

1993-12-01

Achievement of appropriate precision is a major challenge for the clinical laboratory, particularly in specialized fields such as enzymology and immunochemistry. Especially in immunochemistry, where accuracy can only poorly be checked because of a lack of reference methods and a multitude of detectable epitopes, precision remains an important index of quality. In immunochemical methods there are three main sources of variation: differences in methodology, lot-to-lot variation and performance of the assay, the latter including the skill of the technicians and instrument performance. The results of a European Quality Control Programme for the users of one type of automated immunoassay analyser were compared with a similar Italian Quality Control Programme for users of different immunometric techniques. The precisions (%CV) of the two programmes were compared, as well as the number of values lying within one half of the biological variation of the analysed serum components. Feedback between users and manufacturers leads to a clear improvement in analysis performance, so that most of the considered values come to lie within the acceptable limits of 1/2 of the biological variation. It is concluded that both national and international quality control programmes are very useful for indicating the intrinsic quality of the quantities used in the clinical laboratory.

Quality control of the software in the JT-60 computer control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaji, Nobuaki; Kurihara, Kenichi; Kimura, Toyoaki

1990-07-01

The JT-60 Control System should be improved corresponding to the experimental requirements. In order to keep the integrity of the system even in the modification the concept of quality control (QC) was introduced in the software development. What we have done for QC activity are (1) to establish standard procedures of the software development, (2) to develop support tools for grasping the present status of the program structure, and (3) to develop a document system, and a source program management system. This paper reports these QC activities and their problems for the JT-60 control system. (author)

Quality control of pesticide products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-07-15

In light of an established need for more efficient analytical procedures, this publication, which documents the findings of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) on “Quality Control of Pesticide Products”, simplifies the existing protocol for pesticide analysis while simultaneously upholding existing standards of quality. This publication includes both a report on the development work done in the CRP and a training manual for use by pesticide analysis laboratories. Based on peer reviewed and internationally recognized methods published by the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) and the Collaborative International Pesticides Analytical Council (CIPAC), this report provides laboratories with versatile tools to enhance the analysis of pesticide chemicals and to extend the scope of available analytical repertoires. Adoption of the proposed analytical methodologies promises to reduce laboratories’ use of solvents and the time spent on reconfiguration and set-up of analytical equipment.

Quality control of pesticide products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-07-01

In light of an established need for more efficient analytical procedures, this publication, which documents the findings of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) on “Quality Control of Pesticide Products”, simplifies the existing protocol for pesticide analysis while simultaneously upholding existing standards of quality. This publication includes both a report on the development work done in the CRP and a training manual for use by pesticide analysis laboratories. Based on peer reviewed and internationally recognized methods published by the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) and the Collaborative International Pesticides Analytical Council (CIPAC), this report provides laboratories with versatile tools to enhance the analysis of pesticide chemicals and to extend the scope of available analytical repertoires. Adoption of the proposed analytical methodologies promises to reduce laboratories’ use of solvents and the time spent on reconfiguration and set-up of analytical equipment

Developing Cyberinfrastructure Tools and Services for Metadata Quality Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Mecum, B.; Gordon, S.; Habermann, T.; Jones, M. B.; Leinfelder, B.; Powers, L. A.; Slaughter, P.

2016-12-01

Metadata and data quality are at the core of reusable and reproducible science. While great progress has been made over the years, much of the metadata collected only addresses data discovery, covering concepts such as titles and keywords. Improving metadata beyond the discoverability plateau means documenting detailed concepts within the data such as sampling protocols, instrumentation used, and variables measured. Given that metadata commonly do not describe their data at this level, how might we improve the state of things? Giving scientists and data managers easy to use tools to evaluate metadata quality that utilize community-driven recommendations is the key to producing high-quality metadata. To achieve this goal, we created a set of cyberinfrastructure tools and services that integrate with existing metadata and data curation workflows which can be used to improve metadata and data quality across the sciences. These tools work across metadata dialects (e.g., ISO19115, FGDC, EML, etc.) and can be used to assess aspects of quality beyond what is internal to the metadata such as the congruence between the metadata and the data it describes. The system makes use of a user-friendly mechanism for expressing a suite of checks as code in popular data science programming languages such as Python and R. This reduces the burden on scientists and data managers to learn yet another language. We demonstrated these services and tools in three ways. First, we evaluated a large corpus of datasets in the DataONE federation of data repositories against a metadata recommendation modeled after existing recommendations such as the LTER best practices and the Attribute Convention for Dataset Discovery (ACDD). Second, we showed how this service can be used to display metadata and data quality information to data producers during the data submission and metadata creation process, and to data consumers through data catalog search and access tools. Third, we showed how the centrally

Effect of process control mode on weld quality of friction stir welded plates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shazly, Mostafa; Sorour, Sherif; Alian, Ahmed R. [Faculty of Engineering, The British University in Egypt, Cairo (Egypt)

2016-01-15

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process which requires no filler material where the heat input is generated by frictional energy between the tool and workpiece. The objective of the present work is to conduct a fully coupled thermomechanical finite element analysis based on Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation for both 'Force-Controlled' and 'Displacement-Controlled' FSW process to provide more detailed insight of their effect on the resulting joint quality. The developed finite element models use Johnson- Cook material model and temperature dependent physical properties for the welded plates. Efforts on proper modeling of the underlying process physics are done focusing on the heat generation of the tool/workpiece interface to overcome the shortcomings of previous investigations. Finite elements results show that 'Force-Controlled' FSW process provides better joint quality especially at higher traveling speed of the tool which comes to an agreement with published experimental results.

qcML: an exchange format for quality control metrics from mass spectrometry experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Walzer, Mathias; Pernas, Lucia Espona; Nasso, Sara; Bittremieux, Wout; Nahnsen, Sven; Kelchtermans, Pieter; Pichler, Peter; van den Toorn, Henk W P; Staes, An; Vandenbussche, Jonathan; Mazanek, Michael; Taus, Thomas; Scheltema, Richard A; Kelstrup, Christian D; Gatto, Laurent; van Breukelen, Bas; Aiche, Stephan; Valkenborg, Dirk; Laukens, Kris; Lilley, Kathryn S; Olsen, Jesper V; Heck, Albert J R; Mechtler, Karl; Aebersold, Ruedi; Gevaert, Kris; Vizcaíno, Juan Antonio; Hermjakob, Henning; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Martens, Lennart

2014-08-01

Quality control is increasingly recognized as a crucial aspect of mass spectrometry based proteomics. Several recent papers discuss relevant parameters for quality control and present applications to extract these from the instrumental raw data. What has been missing, however, is a standard data exchange format for reporting these performance metrics. We therefore developed the qcML format, an XML-based standard that follows the design principles of the related mzML, mzIdentML, mzQuantML, and TraML standards from the HUPO-PSI (Proteomics Standards Initiative). In addition to the XML format, we also provide tools for the calculation of a wide range of quality metrics as well as a database format and interconversion tools, so that existing LIMS systems can easily add relational storage of the quality control data to their existing schema. We here describe the qcML specification, along with possible use cases and an illustrative example of the subsequent analysis possibilities. All information about qcML is available at http://code.google.com/p/qcml. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

qcML: An Exchange Format for Quality Control Metrics from Mass Spectrometry Experiments*

Science.gov (United States)

Walzer, Mathias; Pernas, Lucia Espona; Nasso, Sara; Bittremieux, Wout; Nahnsen, Sven; Kelchtermans, Pieter; Pichler, Peter; van den Toorn, Henk W. P.; Staes, An; Vandenbussche, Jonathan; Mazanek, Michael; Taus, Thomas; Scheltema, Richard A.; Kelstrup, Christian D.; Gatto, Laurent; van Breukelen, Bas; Aiche, Stephan; Valkenborg, Dirk; Laukens, Kris; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Olsen, Jesper V.; Heck, Albert J. R.; Mechtler, Karl; Aebersold, Ruedi; Gevaert, Kris; Vizcaíno, Juan Antonio; Hermjakob, Henning; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Martens, Lennart

2014-01-01

Quality control is increasingly recognized as a crucial aspect of mass spectrometry based proteomics. Several recent papers discuss relevant parameters for quality control and present applications to extract these from the instrumental raw data. What has been missing, however, is a standard data exchange format for reporting these performance metrics. We therefore developed the qcML format, an XML-based standard that follows the design principles of the related mzML, mzIdentML, mzQuantML, and TraML standards from the HUPO-PSI (Proteomics Standards Initiative). In addition to the XML format, we also provide tools for the calculation of a wide range of quality metrics as well as a database format and interconversion tools, so that existing LIMS systems can easily add relational storage of the quality control data to their existing schema. We here describe the qcML specification, along with possible use cases and an illustrative example of the subsequent analysis possibilities. All information about qcML is available at http://code.google.com/p/qcml. PMID:24760958

Satisfaction monitoring for quality control in campground management

Science.gov (United States)

Wilbur F. LaPage; Malcolm I. Bevins

1981-01-01

A 4-year study of camper satisfaction indicates that satisfaction monitoring is a useful tool for campground managers to assess their performance and achieve a high level of quality control in their service to the public. An indication of camper satisfaction with campground management is gained from a report card on which a small sample of visitors rates 14 elements of...

Implementation of an advanced hybrid MPC-PID control system using PAT tools into a direct compaction continuous pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing pilot plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Ravendra; Sahay, Abhishek; Karry, Krizia M; Muzzio, Fernando; Ierapetritou, Marianthi; Ramachandran, Rohit

2014-10-01

It is desirable for a pharmaceutical final dosage form to be manufactured through a quality by design (QbD)-based approach rather than a quality by testing (QbT) approach. An automatic feedback control system coupled with PAT tools that is part of the QbD paradigm shift, has the potential to ensure that the pre-defined end product quality attributes are met in a time and cost efficient manner. In this work, an advanced hybrid MPC-PID control architecture coupled with real time inline/online monitoring tools and principal components analysis (PCA) based additional supervisory control layer has been proposed for a continuous direct compaction tablet manufacturing process. The advantages of both MPC and PID have been utilized in a hybrid scheme. The control hardware and software integration and implementation of the control system has been demonstrated using feeders and blending unit operation of a continuous tablet manufacturing pilot plant and an NIR based PAT tool. The advanced hybrid MPC-PID control scheme leads to enhanced control loop performance of the critical quality attributes in comparison to a regulatory (e.g. PID) control scheme indicating its potential to improve pharmaceutical product quality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Metric Tool for Predicting Source Code Quality from a PDL Design

OpenAIRE

Henry, Sallie M.; Selig, Calvin

1987-01-01

The software crisis has increased the demand for automated tools to assist software developers in the production of quality software. Quality metrics have given software developers a tool to measure software quality. These measurements, however, are available only after the software has been produced. Due to high cost, software managers are reluctant, to redesign and reimplement low quality software. Ideally, a life cycle which allows early measurement of software quality is a necessary ingre...

Ensuring quality control of forensic accounting for efficient and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study focuses on ensuring quality control of forensic accounting for efficient and effective corporate management. Over the years, fraud has taken the center stage in every discussion whether in business or social. “3m” have been identified to be the tool used to effect this crime namely; misappropriation, misapplication ...

A quality assessment tool for markup-based clinical guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Shalom, Erez; Shahar, Yuval; Taieb-Maimon, Meirav; Lunenfeld, Eitan

2008-11-06

We introduce a tool for quality assessment of procedural and declarative knowledge. We developed this tool for evaluating the specification of mark-up-based clinical GLs. Using this graphical tool, the expert physician and knowledge engineer collaborate to perform scoring, using pre-defined scoring scale, each of the knowledge roles of the mark-ups, comparing it to a gold standard. The tool enables scoring the mark-ups simultaneously at different sites by different users at different locations.

Quality Management, Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Blood Establishments

OpenAIRE

Bolbate, N

2008-01-01

Quality terms and the roots of the matter are analyzed according to European Committee’s recommendations. Essence of process and product quality control as well as essence of quality assurance is described. Quality system’s structure including quality control, quality assurance and management is justified in the article.

SAQC: SNP Array Quality Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Ling-Hui

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP arrays containing hundreds of thousands of SNPs from the human genome have proven useful for studying important human genome questions. Data quality of SNP arrays plays a key role in the accuracy and precision of downstream data analyses. However, good indices for assessing data quality of SNP arrays have not yet been developed. Results We developed new quality indices to measure the quality of SNP arrays and/or DNA samples and investigated their statistical properties. The indices quantify a departure of estimated individual-level allele frequencies (AFs from expected frequencies via standardized distances. The proposed quality indices followed lognormal distributions in several large genomic studies that we empirically evaluated. AF reference data and quality index reference data for different SNP array platforms were established based on samples from various reference populations. Furthermore, a confidence interval method based on the underlying empirical distributions of quality indices was developed to identify poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples. Analyses of authentic biological data and simulated data show that this new method is sensitive and specific for the detection of poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples. Conclusions This study introduces new quality indices, establishes references for AFs and quality indices, and develops a detection method for poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples. We have developed a new computer program that utilizes these methods called SNP Array Quality Control (SAQC. SAQC software is written in R and R-GUI and was developed as a user-friendly tool for the visualization and evaluation of data quality of genome-wide SNP arrays. The program is available online (http://www.stat.sinica.edu.tw/hsinchou/genetics/quality/SAQC.htm.

Exploration and classification of chromatographic fingerprints as additional tool for identification and quality control of several Artemisia species.

Science.gov (United States)

Alaerts, Goedele; Pieters, Sigrid; Logie, Hans; Van Erps, Jürgen; Merino-Arévalo, Maria; Dejaegher, Bieke; Smeyers-Verbeke, Johanna; Vander Heyden, Yvan

2014-07-01

The World Health Organization accepts chromatographic fingerprints as a tool for identification and quality control of herbal medicines. This is the first study in which the distinction, identification and quality control of four different Artemisia species, i.e. Artemisia vulgaris, A. absinthium, A. annua and A. capillaris samples, is performed based on the evaluation of entire chromatographic fingerprint profiles developed with identical experimental conditions. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with Diode Array Detection (DAD) was used to develop the fingerprints. Application of factorial designs leads to methanol/water (80:20 (v/v)) as the best extraction solvent for the pulverised plant material and to a shaking bath for 30 min as extraction method. Further, so-called screening, optimisation and fine-tuning phases were performed during fingerprint development. Most information about the different Artemisia species, i.e. the highest number of separated peaks in the fingerprint, was acquired on four coupled Chromolith columns (100 mm × 4.6 mm I.D.). Trifluoroacetic acid 0.05% (v/v) was used as mobile-phase additive in a stepwise linear methanol/water gradient, i.e. 5, 34, 41, 72 and 95% (v/v) methanol at 0, 9, 30, 44 and 51 min, where the last mobile phase composition was kept isocratic till 60 min. One detection wavelength was selected to perform data analysis. The lowest similarity between the fingerprints of the four species was present at 214 nm. The HPLC/DAD method was applied on 199 herbal samples of the four Artemisia species, resulting in 357 fingerprints. The within- and between-day variation of the entire method, as well as the quality control fingerprints obtained during routine analysis, were found acceptable. The distinction of these Artemisia species was evaluated based on the entire chromatographic profiles, developed by a shared method, and visualised in score plots by means of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) exploratory data

Consequent use of IT tools as a driver for cost reduction and quality improvements

Science.gov (United States)

Hein, Stefan; Rapp, Roberto; Feustel, Andreas

2013-10-01

The semiconductor industry drives a lot of efforts in the field of cost reductions and quality improvements. The consequent use of IT tools is one possibility to support these goals. With the extensions of its 150mm Fab to 200mm Robert Bosch increased the systematic use of data analysis and Advanced Process Control (APC).

NGS QC Toolkit: a toolkit for quality control of next generation sequencing data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravi K Patel

Full Text Available Next generation sequencing (NGS technologies provide a high-throughput means to generate large amount of sequence data. However, quality control (QC of sequence data generated from these technologies is extremely important for meaningful downstream analysis. Further, highly efficient and fast processing tools are required to handle the large volume of datasets. Here, we have developed an application, NGS QC Toolkit, for quality check and filtering of high-quality data. This toolkit is a standalone and open source application freely available at http://www.nipgr.res.in/ngsqctoolkit.html. All the tools in the application have been implemented in Perl programming language. The toolkit is comprised of user-friendly tools for QC of sequencing data generated using Roche 454 and Illumina platforms, and additional tools to aid QC (sequence format converter and trimming tools and analysis (statistics tools. A variety of options have been provided to facilitate the QC at user-defined parameters. The toolkit is expected to be very useful for the QC of NGS data to facilitate better downstream analysis.

Effectiveness of a medication-adherence tool: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hilbink-Smolders, M.; Lacroix, J.; Bremer-van der Heiden, L.; Halteren, A. van; Teichert, M.; Lieshout, J. van

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Research shows that more than half of the people taking medication for a chronic condition are non-adherent. Nonadherence hinders disease control with a burden on patient quality of life and healthcare systems. We developed a tool that provides insight into nonadherence risks and

Effectiveness of a medication-adherence tool : Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hilbink, Mirrian; Lacroix, Joyca; Bremer-van der Heiden, Linda; van Halteren, Aart; Teichert, Martina; van Lieshout, Jan

2016-01-01

Background: Research shows that more than half of the people taking medication for a chronic condition are non-adherent. Nonadherence hinders disease control with a burden on patient quality of life and healthcare systems. We developed a tool that provides insight into nonadherence risks and

INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND INHALATION EXPOSURE - SIMULATION TOOL KIT

Science.gov (United States)

A Microsoft Windows-based indoor air quality (IAQ) simulation software package is presented. Named Simulation Tool Kit for Indoor Air Quality and Inhalation Exposure, or IAQX for short, this package complements and supplements existing IAQ simulation programs and is desi...

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.

HVAC SYSTEMS AS A TOOL IN CONTROLLING INDOOR AIR QUALITY: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a review of literature on the use of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to control indoor air quality (IAQ). Although significant progress has been made in reducing the energy consumption of HVAC systems, their effect on indoor a...

Quality control in diagnostic mammography: myths, realities and their importance in the final image quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora Rodriguez, Patricia

2011-01-01

Mammography is the most used tool for early detection of breast cancer and reduce mortality from this cause. Studies with ionizing radiation it is important that be justified and provide a quality image to make the diagnosis, to get more benefits and fewer risks. The problem is the difficult to obtain an image of the breast. Therefore, the commitment to quality mammography is to maximize the contrast, definition, resolution and reliability, thus minimizing noise and dose. A mammogram performed without quality don't detect early breast cancer and the study doesn't have sense. Quality mammography requires trained and experienced staff, modern equipment and in good conditions, correct positioning, right technical factors and appropriate viewing conditions. In addition, quality programs are required to reach to ensure quality, control in testing techniques and image quality. (author) [es

Effectiveness of the Assessment of Burden of COPD (ABC) tool on health-related quality of life in patients with COPD: a cluster randomised controlled trial in primary and hospital care

Science.gov (United States)

Slok, Annerika H M; Kotz, Daniel; van Breukelen, Gerard; Chavannes, Niels H; Rutten-van Mölken, Maureen P M H; Kerstjens, Huib A M; van der Molen, Thys; Asijee, Guus M; Dekhuijzen, P N Richard; Holverda, Sebastiaan; Salomé, Philippe L; Goossens, Lucas M A; Twellaar, Mascha; in ‘t Veen, Johannes C C M; van Schayck, Onno C P

2016-01-01

Objective Assessing the effectiveness of the Assessment of Burden of COPD (ABC) tool on disease-specific quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) measured with the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), compared with usual care. Methods A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, in 39 Dutch primary care practices and 17 hospitals, with 357 patients with COPD (postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio <0.7) aged ≥40 years, who could understand and read the Dutch language. Healthcare providers were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention group applied the ABC tool, which consists of a short validated questionnaire assessing the experienced burden of COPD, objective COPD parameter (eg, lung function) and a treatment algorithm including a visual display and treatment advice. The control group provided usual care. Researchers were blinded to group allocation during analyses. Primary outcome was the number of patients with a clinically relevant improvement in SGRQ score between baseline and 18-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC; a measurement of perceived quality of care). Results At 18-month follow-up, 34% of the 146 patients from 27 healthcare providers in the intervention group showed a clinically relevant improvement in the SGRQ, compared with 22% of the 148 patients from 29 healthcare providers in the control group (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.08 to 3.16). No difference was found on the CAT (−0.26 points (scores ranging from 0 to 40); 95% CI −1.52 to 0.99). The PACIC showed a higher improvement in the intervention group (0.32 points (scores ranging from 1 to 5); 95% CI 0.14 to 0.50). Conclusions This study showed that use of the ABC tool may increase quality of life and perceived quality of care. Trial registration number NTR3788; Results. PMID:27401361

Review of quality assessment tools for family planning programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sprockett, Andrea

2017-03-01

Measuring and tracking the quality of healthcare is a critical part of improving service delivery, clinic efficiency and health outcomes. However, no standardized or widely accepted tool exists to assess the quality of clinic-based family planning services in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this literature review was to identify widely used public domain quality assessment tools with existing or potential application in clinic-based family planning programmes. Using PubMed, PopLine, Google Scholar and Google, key terms such as ‘quality assessment tool’, ‘quality assessment method’, ‘quality measurement’, ‘LMIC’, ‘developing country’, ‘family planning’ and ‘reproductive health’ were searched for articles, identifying 20 relevant tools. Tools were assessed to determine the type of quality components assessed, divided into structure and process components, level of application (national or facility), health service domain that can be assessed by the tool, cost and current use of the tool. Tools were also assessed for shortcomings based on application in a low- and middle-income clinic-based family planning programme, including personnel required, re-assessment frequency, assessment of structure, process and outcome quality, comparability of data over time and across facilities and ability to benchmark clinic results to a national benchmark. No tools met all criteria, indicating a critical gap in quality assessment for low- and middle-income family planning programmes. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, agreed on in the Sustainable Development Goals and to improve system-wide healthcare quality, we must develop and widely adopt a standardized quality assessment tool.

Modelling raw water quality: development of a drinking water management tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Kübeck, Ch; van Berk, W; Bergmann, A

2009-01-01

Ensuring future drinking water supply requires a tough management of groundwater resources. However, recent practices of economic resource control often does not involve aspects of the hydrogeochemical and geohydraulical groundwater system. In respect of analysing the available quantity and quality of future raw water, an effective resource management requires a full understanding of the hydrogeochemical and geohydraulical processes within the aquifer. For example, the knowledge of raw water quality development within the time helps to work out strategies of water treatment as well as planning finance resources. On the other hand, the effectiveness of planed measurements reducing the infiltration of harmful substances such as nitrate can be checked and optimized by using hydrogeochemical modelling. Thus, within the framework of the InnoNet program funded by Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, a network of research institutes and water suppliers work in close cooperation developing a planning and management tool particularly oriented on water management problems. The tool involves an innovative material flux model that calculates the hydrogeochemical processes under consideration of the dynamics in agricultural land use. The program integrated graphical data evaluation is aligned on the needs of water suppliers.

Work organisation and quality control in a welding robotic cell

OpenAIRE

Moniz, António

1993-01-01

In this paper is analyzed the work organization and the forms of quality control in a robotic welding station in a company of office equipment and metal components manufacturing. The robotic cell is recent and works in two shifts. Quality and production rationalization implied in this firms the adoption of a strategy of organization of teamwork, and it is supported the collaborative tools to decrease the possibilities for errors and to improve means and methods of manufacturing. The analysis ...

Fricke dosimetry as a tool to quality control of photodynamic therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Suzana O.; Souza, Vivianne L.B., E-mail: vlsouza@cnen.gov.br, E-mail: suzirecifeusa@hotmail.com [Centro Regional de Ciências Nucleares do Nordeste (CRNE-NE/CNEN-PE), Recife, PE (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) consists of the association of a photosensitizing agent with a light source in order to cause cellular necrosis. Methylene blue, toluidine blue and malachite green are photosensitizers derived from dyes that are widely accepted in medicine, as they have low toxicity and are low cost. PDT is an alternative treatment for cancer, with significant advantages over procedures such as surgery/chemotherapy. Our laboratory has studied the Fricke solution doped with photosensitizers in an approach to obtain a quality control for PDT. The Fricke solution was prepared with ammoniacal ferrous sulfate, sodium chloride and sulfuric acid in water. The solutions modified with photosensitizers were prepared by adding 0.1 g/100 mL of the dyes. A volume of 2.6 ml of the Fricke solution modified with photosensitizers were transferred to test tubes and irradiated. The irradiated solutions had their optical densities measured in a spectrophotometer. The samples were irradiated with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) in acrylic phantoms. The FATA samples irradiated with LED showed the sensitivity of the dosimeters to red, blue, green and yellow light. A calibration curve with correlation coefficient of 0.9884 for the red light was obtained; 0.9752 for blue light; 0.9644 for the green light and 0.9768 for the yellow light. The fact that a sensitivity of the dosimeters to the LED has been occurred indicates that the PDT could be realized with LED, with lower costs than with laser. This work suggested that FATA dosimeters can be used for quality control of PDT. (author)

Fricke dosimetry as a tool to quality control of photodynamic therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Suzana O.; Souza, Vivianne L.B.

2017-01-01

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) consists of the association of a photosensitizing agent with a light source in order to cause cellular necrosis. Methylene blue, toluidine blue and malachite green are photosensitizers derived from dyes that are widely accepted in medicine, as they have low toxicity and are low cost. PDT is an alternative treatment for cancer, with significant advantages over procedures such as surgery/chemotherapy. Our laboratory has studied the Fricke solution doped with photosensitizers in an approach to obtain a quality control for PDT. The Fricke solution was prepared with ammoniacal ferrous sulfate, sodium chloride and sulfuric acid in water. The solutions modified with photosensitizers were prepared by adding 0.1 g/100 mL of the dyes. A volume of 2.6 ml of the Fricke solution modified with photosensitizers were transferred to test tubes and irradiated. The irradiated solutions had their optical densities measured in a spectrophotometer. The samples were irradiated with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) in acrylic phantoms. The FATA samples irradiated with LED showed the sensitivity of the dosimeters to red, blue, green and yellow light. A calibration curve with correlation coefficient of 0.9884 for the red light was obtained; 0.9752 for blue light; 0.9644 for the green light and 0.9768 for the yellow light. The fact that a sensitivity of the dosimeters to the LED has been occurred indicates that the PDT could be realized with LED, with lower costs than with laser. This work suggested that FATA dosimeters can be used for quality control of PDT. (author)

Principles and Practices for Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Berwyn E.

1999-01-01

Quality assurance and quality control are vital parts of highway runoff water-quality monitoring projects. To be effective, project quality assurance must address all aspects of the project, including project management responsibilities and resources, data quality objectives, sampling and analysis plans, data-collection protocols, data quality-control plans, data-assessment procedures and requirements, and project outputs. Quality control ensures that the data quality objectives are achieved as planned. The historical development and current state of the art of quality assurance and quality control concepts described in this report can be applied to evaluation of data from prior projects.

Quality control in quantitative computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jessen, K.A.; Joergensen, J.

1989-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) has for several years been an indispensable tool in diagnostic radiology, but it is only recently that extraction of quantitative information from CT images has been of practical clinical value. Only careful control of the scan parameters, and especially the scan geometry, allows useful information to be obtained; and it can be demonstrated by simple phantom measurements how sensitive a CT system can be to variations in size, shape and position of the phantom in the gantry aperture. Significant differences exist between systems that are not manifested in normal control of image quality and general performance tests. Therefore an actual system has to be analysed for its suitability for quantitative use of the images before critical clinical applications are justified. (author)

Checking quality control?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodersen, Lars

2005-01-01

How is quality control doing within the community of GIS, web-services based on geo-information, GI etc.?......How is quality control doing within the community of GIS, web-services based on geo-information, GI etc.?...

Crop quality control system: a tool to control the visual quality of pot plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkshoorn-Dekker, M.W.C.

2002-01-01

Key words: quality, growth, model, leaf unfolding rate, internode, plant height, plant width, leaf area, temperature, plant spacing, season, light, development, image processing, grading, neural network, pot plant, Ficus benjamina

Specialized software for optimization of the quality control of the mammography units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoeva, M.; Vassileva, J.

2004-01-01

Quality control is essential to ensure the equipment used is reliable and consistent in order to maintain radiation does as low as reasonably achievable whilst optimizing image quality and performance in mammography. The effectiveness of mammographic screening is highly dependent on the consistent production of high quality diagnostic images. Mammography is highly dependent on the equipment status, which requires an effective Quality Control (QC) program to provide tools for continuous assessment of the equipment performance and also data storage and analysis of the protocols' data. The objective of this paper is to present the specialized software for Quality Control of the Mammography Units, as tool providing additional functionality for optimizations of the Mammography QC data storage and management. The PC program was developed according to the requirements stated in the European protocol for Quality Control of the Mammography Screening and the data collected as a result of its application in several Bulgarian hospitals. The Structured Analysis method was used in order to perform a case, which resulted in the development of the specialized software with a database module, providing the following functionality: Data Storage, Preliminary Data Processing and Post-Processing, Manual Data Entry, Data Import from XLS format, Data Export to XLS format, Printing, Data Filters, Automated Calculation, Automated Graphical Representation, Archiving The development of specialized QC software with a database for mammography units facilitates the process of QC data storage and handling and minimizes the errors. The electronic format for data storage is especially useful in case of long-term storage and periodical data analysis/access. The integrated data processing functionality and the automated import/export features based on standard platform increase the compatibility of the data. (authors)

Automated speech quality monitoring tool based on perceptual evaluation

OpenAIRE

Vozňák, Miroslav; Rozhon, Jan

2010-01-01

The paper deals with a speech quality monitoring tool which we have developed in accordance with PESQ (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality) and is automatically running and calculating the MOS (Mean Opinion Score). Results are stored into database and used in a research project investigating how meteorological conditions influence the speech quality in a GSM network. The meteorological station, which is located in our university campus provides information about a temperature,...

Quality control and in-service inspection technology for hybrid-composite girder bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-08-01

This report describes efforts to develop quality control tools and in-service inspection technologies for the fabrication and construction of Hybrid Composite Beams (HCBs). HCBs are a new bridge technology currently being evaluated by the Missouri De...

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)

Current Quality-of-Life Tools Available for Use in Contact Dermatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Swietlik, Jacquelyn; Reeder, Margo

2016-01-01

Contact dermatitis is a common dermatologic condition that can cause significant impairment in patients' overall quality of life (QoL). This impact is separate and potentially more clinically relevant than one's disease "severity" in contact dermatitis and should be consistently addressed by dermatologists. Despite this, QoL tools specific to contact dermatitis are lacking, and there is little consistency in the literature regarding the tool used to evaluate clinical response to therapies. Measurements currently available to evaluate disease-related QoL in contact dermatitis fit into 1 of the following 3 general types: generic health-related QoL measures, dermatology-related QoL measures, or specific dermatologic disease-related QoL measures. This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of existing QoL tools used in contact dermatitis including: Short Form Survey 36, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Skindex-29, Skindex-16, Dermatology-Specific Quality of Life, and Fragrance Quality of Life Index.

Tools for surveying and improving the quality of life: people with special needs in focus.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyningen-Süess, Ursula; Oberholzer, David; Stalder, René; Brügger, Urs

2012-01-01

This article seeks to describe online tools for surveying and improving quality of life for people with disabilities living in assisted living centers and special education service organizations. Ensuring a decent quality of life for disabled people is an important welfare state goal. Using well-accepted quality of life conceptions, online diagnostic and planning tools were developed during an Institute for Education, University of Zurich, research project. The diagnostic tools measure, evaluate and analyze disabled people's quality of life. The planning tools identify factors that can affect their quality of life and suggest improvements. Instrument validity and reliability are not tested according to the standard statistical procedures. This will be done at a more advanced stage of the project. Instead, the tool is developed, refined and adjusted in cooperation with practitioners who are constantly judging it according to best practice standards. The tools support staff in assisted living centers and special education service organizations. These tools offer comprehensive resources for surveying, quantifying, evaluating, describing and simulating quality of life elements.

Evaluation of Modern Tools of Controlling at the Enterprise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prokopenko Olga V.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Theoretical and practical aspects of the use of tools for operational and strategic controlling at the enterprise are studied. There carried out a detailed analysis of modern tools of controlling with the subsequent identification of operational and strategic controlling tools that are most adapted for the application at domestic enterprises. Furthermore, the study highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed tools for managers to choose the most effective ones for the implementation of operational and strategic controlling. For each enterprise managers should form its own set of controlling tools considering its individual characteristics and existing problems. Prospects for further research are practical application of the recommended tools and implementation of further analysis of the obtained results in terms of the effect from the introduction of specific controlling tools.

Quality of life after iatrogenic bile duct injury: a case control study.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hogan, Aisling M

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVE: To compare quality of life (QOL) of patients following iatrogenic bile duct injuries (BDI) to matched controls. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: BDI complicate approximately 0.3% of all cholecystectomy procedures. The literature regarding impact on quality of life is conflicted as assessment using clinical determinants alone is insufficient. METHODS: The medical outcomes study short form 36 (SF-36), a sensitive tool for quantification of life quality outcome, was used. The study group of iatrogenic BDI was compared with an age- and sex-matched group who underwent uncomplicated cholecystectomy. Telephone questionnaire using the SF-36 quality of life tool was administered to both groups at a median postoperative time of 12 years 8 months (range, 2 months -20 years). RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients were referred with BDI but due to mortality (n = 10) and unavailability (n = 6) 62 participated. The age- and sex-matched control cohort had undergone uncomplicated cholecystectomy (n = 62). Comparison between groups revealed that 7 of 8 variables examined were statistically similar to those of the control group (physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health perceptions, vitality and social functioning, and mental health index). Mean role emotional scores were slightly worse in the BDI group (46 vs. 50) but the significance was borderline (P = 0.045). Subgroup analysis by method of intervention for BDI did not demonstrate significant differences. CONCLUSION: Quality of life of surviving patients following BDI compares favorably to that after uncomplicated laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS APPLYING IN THE STRATEGY OF LOGISTICS SERVICES QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Czajkowska

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Combination of factors such as: properly organized logistics process, lack of nonconformities, transport damages avoiding and transport in accordance Just In Time idea significantly reduces costs and streamlines the entire production process. This paper proposes the quality management tool for the logistics services assessment based on the results obtained in the selected company operating in Eastern Europe. Customers’ expectations and perceptions were compared using the SERVQUAL method that concerns the service quality assessment in five areas such as: materiality, reliability, promptness, competency and empathy. The research method SERVQUAL allows assessing the service quality level and identifying company areas that requires corrective actions within the improvement process.

Framing quality improvement tools and techniques in healthcare the case of improvement leaders' guides.

Science.gov (United States)

Millar, Ross

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of how quality improvement tools and techniques are framed within healthcare settings. The paper employs an interpretive approach to understand how quality improvement tools and techniques are mobilised and legitimated. It does so using a case study of the NHS Modernisation Agency Improvement Leaders' Guides in England. Improvement Leaders' Guides were framed within a service improvement approach encouraging the use of quality improvement tools and techniques within healthcare settings. Their use formed part of enacting tools and techniques across different contexts. Whilst this enactment was believed to support the mobilisation of tools and techniques, the experience also illustrated the challenges in distributing such approaches. The paper provides an important contribution in furthering our understanding of framing the "social act" of quality improvement. Given the ongoing emphasis on quality improvement in health systems and the persistent challenges involved, it also provides important information for healthcare leaders globally in seeking to develop, implement or modify similar tools and distribute leadership within health and social care settings.

Quality control of intelligence research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Yan; Xin Pingping; Wu Jian

2014-01-01

Quality control of intelligence research is the core issue of intelligence management, is a problem in study of information science This paper focuses on the performance of intelligence to explain the significance of intelligence research quality control. In summing up the results of the study on the basis of the analysis, discusses quality control methods in intelligence research, introduces the experience of foreign intelligence research quality control, proposes some recommendations to improve quality control in intelligence research. (authors)

Bone quality: educational tools for patients, physicians, and educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Junaid; Spitzer, Allison B; Kennelly, Ann M; Tosi, Laura L

2011-08-01

Defining bone quality remains elusive. From a patient perspective bone quality can best be defined as an individual's likelihood of sustaining a fracture. Fracture risk indicators and performance measures can help clinicians better understand individual fracture risk. Educational resources such as the Web can help clinicians and patients better understand fracture risk, communicate effectively, and make decisions concerning diagnosis and treatment. We examined four questions: What tools can be used to identify individuals at high risk for fracture? What clinical performance measures are available? What strategies can help ensure that patients at risk for fracture are identified? What are some authoritative Web sites for educating providers and patients about bone quality? Using Google, PUBMED, and trademark names, we reviewed the literature using the terms "bone quality" and "osteoporosis education." Web site legitimacy was evaluated using specific criteria. Educational Web sites were limited to English-language sites sponsored by nonprofit organizations The Fracture Risk Assessment Tool® (FRAX®) and the Fracture Risk Calculator (FRC) are reliable means of assessing fracture risk. Performance measures relating to bone health were developed by the AMA convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® and are included in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. In addition, quality measures have been developed by the Joint Commission. Strategies for identifying individuals at risk include designating responsibility for case finding and intervention, evaluating secondary causes of osteoporosis, educating patients and providers, performing cost-effectiveness evaluation, and using information technology. An abundance of authoritative educational Web sites exists for providers and patients. Effective clinical indicators, performance measures, and educational tools to better understand and identify fracture risk are now available. The next challenge is to

Interaction between production control and quality control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bij, van der J.D.; Ekert, van J.H.W.

1999-01-01

Describes a qualitative study on interaction between systems for production control and quality control within industrial organisations. Production control and quality control interact in a sense. Good performance for one aspect often influences or frustrates the performance of the other. As far as

A CIS (Clinical Information System) Quality Evaluation Tool for Nursing Care Services

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Seon Ah

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a tool to evaluate the quality of a clinical information system (CIS) conceived by nurses and conduct a pilot test with the developed tool as an initial assessment. CIS quality is required for successful implementation in information technology (IT) environments. The study started with the realization that…

Surface topography analysis for dimensional quality control of replication at the micrometre scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balcon, M.; Marinello, F.; Tosello, Guido

2011-01-01

Replication of geometrical features and surfaces are present at different production levels, from realization of moulds to final product. Geometrical features must be reproduced within specification limits, to ensure product functionality . In order to control the replication quality, mould...... and replica surfaces must be quantitatively analysed and compared. In the present work, reference simulated surfaces were considered and studied in order to evaluate the effectiveness and traceability of different analysis tools for replication quality control. Topographies were analysed simulating different...

Digital test objects (D.T.O.) for treatment planning systems quality control in external beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denis, E.

2008-04-01

This work presents the conception and implementation of new automatic and quantitative quality assessment methods for geometric treatment planning in external radiotherapy. Treatment planning Systems (T.P.S.) quality control is mandatory in France and in the world because of encountered risks but the physical tools recommended to lead this quality control are not adapted to the situation. We present a new methodology for control quality based on the definition of Digital Test Objects (D.T.O.) that are directly introduced in the T.P.S. without acquisition device. These D.T.O. are consistently defined in a continuous and discrete modes. The T.P.S. responses to input D.T.O. are compared to theoretical results thanks to figures of merit specifically designed for each elementary control. The tests we carried out during this study allow to validate our solutions for the quality assessment of the auto-contouring, auto-margining, isocenter computation, collimator conformation and digitally reconstructed radiograph generation tools, as well as our solutions for marker positioning, collimator and displayed bean rotation, incidence, divergence and dimensions. Quality assessment solutions we propose are then fast and effective (no acquisition by the device, reduced manipulations), and more precise thanks to the continuous-discrete equivalence realized at the beginning of the modelling

Quality Control of Biotechnological Inputs DetectingMycoplasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristiane Netto

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work was to study the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR as a tool of quality control of bovine sera and cellular cultures used in the biotechnological industry. A total of 46 samples of bovine sera derived from two slaughterhouses and 33 samples of BHK21 cells derived from two biotechnological industries were evaluated using the primers GPO-3 (sense and MGSO (antisense. The PCR technique sensibility analysis showed that 280 bp were amplified for the quantities of 50 ng to 0.006 ng of Micoplasma DNA. The primers specificity was confirmed in the test using Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilisand Candida albicans; except by the positive control, none of the samples showed amplification. The presence of Mycoplasma in bovine sera and in the cultures of BHK21 cells showed that 56.5 and 15.2%, respectively, were contaminated. Thus, it was possible to conclude that PCR was a fast and confident technique to detect mycoplasma and that it could be used to control the quality of immunobiological products and inputs, such as sera and cultures of BHK21 cells.

QUAST: quality assessment tool for genome assemblies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurevich, Alexey; Saveliev, Vladislav; Vyahhi, Nikolay; Tesler, Glenn

2013-04-15

Limitations of genome sequencing techniques have led to dozens of assembly algorithms, none of which is perfect. A number of methods for comparing assemblers have been developed, but none is yet a recognized benchmark. Further, most existing methods for comparing assemblies are only applicable to new assemblies of finished genomes; the problem of evaluating assemblies of previously unsequenced species has not been adequately considered. Here, we present QUAST-a quality assessment tool for evaluating and comparing genome assemblies. This tool improves on leading assembly comparison software with new ideas and quality metrics. QUAST can evaluate assemblies both with a reference genome, as well as without a reference. QUAST produces many reports, summary tables and plots to help scientists in their research and in their publications. In this study, we used QUAST to compare several genome assemblers on three datasets. QUAST tables and plots for all of them are available in the Supplementary Material, and interactive versions of these reports are on the QUAST website. http://bioinf.spbau.ru/quast . Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Internal quality control: best practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinns, Helen; Pitkin, Sarah; Housley, David; Freedman, Danielle B

2013-12-01

There is a wide variation in laboratory practice with regard to implementation and review of internal quality control (IQC). A poor approach can lead to a spectrum of scenarios from validation of incorrect patient results to over investigation of falsely rejected analytical runs. This article will provide a practical approach for the routine clinical biochemistry laboratory to introduce an efficient quality control system that will optimise error detection and reduce the rate of false rejection. Each stage of the IQC system is considered, from selection of IQC material to selection of IQC rules, and finally the appropriate action to follow when a rejection signal has been obtained. The main objective of IQC is to ensure day-to-day consistency of an analytical process and thus help to determine whether patient results are reliable enough to be released. The required quality and assay performance varies between analytes as does the definition of a clinically significant error. Unfortunately many laboratories currently decide what is clinically significant at the troubleshooting stage. Assay-specific IQC systems will reduce the number of inappropriate sample-run rejections compared with the blanket use of one IQC rule. In practice, only three or four different IQC rules are required for the whole of the routine biochemistry repertoire as assays are assigned into groups based on performance. The tools to categorise performance and assign IQC rules based on that performance are presented. Although significant investment of time and education is required prior to implementation, laboratories have shown that such systems achieve considerable reductions in cost and labour.

Quality Control Procedure Based on Partitioning of NMR Time Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Staniszewski

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The quality of the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS depends on the stability of magnetic resonance (MR system performance and optimal hardware functioning, which ensure adequate levels of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR as well as good spectral resolution and minimal artifacts in the spectral data. MRS quality control (QC protocols and methodologies are based on phantom measurements that are repeated regularly. In this work, a signal partitioning algorithm based on a dynamic programming (DP method for QC assessment of the spectral data is described. The proposed algorithm allows detection of the change points—the abrupt variations in the time series data. The proposed QC method was tested using the simulated and real phantom data. Simulated data were randomly generated time series distorted by white noise. The real data were taken from the phantom quality control studies of the MRS scanner collected for four and a half years and analyzed by LCModel software. Along with the proposed algorithm, performance of various literature methods was evaluated for the predefined number of change points based on the error values calculated by subtracting the mean values calculated for the periods between the change-points from the original data points. The time series were checked using external software, a set of external methods and the proposed tool, and the obtained results were comparable. The application of dynamic programming in the analysis of the phantom MRS data is a novel approach to QC. The obtained results confirm that the presented change-point-detection tool can be used either for independent analysis of MRS time series (or any other or as a part of quality control.

Distributed Engine Control Empirical/Analytical Verification Tools

Science.gov (United States)

DeCastro, Jonathan; Hettler, Eric; Yedavalli, Rama; Mitra, Sayan

2013-01-01

NASA's vision for an intelligent engine will be realized with the development of a truly distributed control system featuring highly reliable, modular, and dependable components capable of both surviving the harsh engine operating environment and decentralized functionality. A set of control system verification tools was developed and applied to a C-MAPSS40K engine model, and metrics were established to assess the stability and performance of these control systems on the same platform. A software tool was developed that allows designers to assemble easily a distributed control system in software and immediately assess the overall impacts of the system on the target (simulated) platform, allowing control system designers to converge rapidly on acceptable architectures with consideration to all required hardware elements. The software developed in this program will be installed on a distributed hardware-in-the-loop (DHIL) simulation tool to assist NASA and the Distributed Engine Control Working Group (DECWG) in integrating DCS (distributed engine control systems) components onto existing and next-generation engines.The distributed engine control simulator blockset for MATLAB/Simulink and hardware simulator provides the capability to simulate virtual subcomponents, as well as swap actual subcomponents for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) analysis. Subcomponents can be the communication network, smart sensor or actuator nodes, or a centralized control system. The distributed engine control blockset for MATLAB/Simulink is a software development tool. The software includes an engine simulation, a communication network simulation, control algorithms, and analysis algorithms set up in a modular environment for rapid simulation of different network architectures; the hardware consists of an embedded device running parts of the CMAPSS engine simulator and controlled through Simulink. The distributed engine control simulation, evaluation, and analysis technology provides unique

TU-FG-201-05: Varian MPC as a Statistical Process Control Tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carver, A; Rowbottom, C

2016-01-01

Purpose: Quality assurance in radiotherapy requires the measurement of various machine parameters to ensure they remain within permitted values over time. In Truebeam release 2.0 the Machine Performance Check (MPC) was released allowing beam output and machine axis movements to be assessed in a single test. We aim to evaluate the Varian Machine Performance Check (MPC) as a tool for Statistical Process Control (SPC). Methods: Varian’s MPC tool was used on three Truebeam and one EDGE linac for a period of approximately one year. MPC was commissioned against independent systems. After this period the data were reviewed to determine whether or not the MPC was useful as a process control tool. Analyses on individual tests were analysed using Shewhart control plots, using Matlab for analysis. Principal component analysis was used to determine if a multivariate model was of any benefit in analysing the data. Results: Control charts were found to be useful to detect beam output changes, worn T-nuts and jaw calibration issues. Upper and lower control limits were defined at the 95% level. Multivariate SPC was performed using Principal Component Analysis. We found little evidence of clustering beyond that which might be naively expected such as beam uniformity and beam output. Whilst this makes multivariate analysis of little use it suggests that each test is giving independent information. Conclusion: The variety of independent parameters tested in MPC makes it a sensitive tool for routine machine QA. We have determined that using control charts in our QA programme would rapidly detect changes in machine performance. The use of control charts allows large quantities of tests to be performed on all linacs without visual inspection of all results. The use of control limits alerts users when data are inconsistent with previous measurements before they become out of specification. A. Carver has received a speaker’s honorarium from Varian

Quality assurance and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1987-01-01

The practice of nuclear diagnostic imaging requires an appropriate quality assurance program to attain high standards of efficiency and reliability. The International Atomic Energy Agency defines the term quality assurance as ''the closeness with which the outcome of a given procedure approaches some ideal, free from all errors and artifacts.'' The term quality control is used in reference to the specific measures taken to ensure that one particular aspect of the procedure is satisfactory. Therefore, quality assurance is a hospital-wide concept that should involve all aspects of clinical practice. Quality control is concerned with the submission of requests for procedures; the scheduling of patients; the preparation and dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals; the protection of patients, staff, and the general public against radiation hazards and accidents caused by radioactive materials or by faulty equipment; the setting up, use, and maintenance of electronic instruments; the methodology of the actual procedures; the analysis and interpretation of data; the reporting of results; and, finally, the keeping of records. The chapter discusses each of these areas

DTIPrep: Quality Control of Diffusion-Weighted Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ipek eOguz

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the last decade, diffusion MRI (dMRI studies of the human and animal brain have been used to investigate a multitude of pathologies and drug-related effects in neuroscience research. Study after study identifies white matter (WM degeneration as a crucial biomarker for all these diseases. The tool of choice for studying WM is dMRI. However, dMRI has inherently low signal-to-noise ratio and its acquisition requires a relatively long scan time; in fact, the high loads required occasionally stress scanner hardware past the point of physical failure. As a result, many types of artifacts implicate the quality of diffusion imagery. Using these complex scans containing artifacts without quality control (QC can result in considerable error and bias in the subsequent analysis, negatively affecting the results of research studies using them. However, dMRI QC remains an under-recognized issue in the dMRI community as there are no user-friendly tools commonly available to comprehensively address the issue of dMRI QC. As a result, current dMRI studies often perform a poor job at dMRI QC.Thorough QC of diffusion MRI will reduce measurement noise and improve reproducibility, and sensitivity in neuroimaging studies; this will allow researchers to more fully exploit the power of the dMRI technique and will ultimately advance neuroscience. Therefore, in this manuscript, we present our open-source software, DTIPrep, as a unified, user friendly platform for thorough quality control of dMRI data. These include artifacts caused by eddy-currents, head motion, bed vibration and pulsation, venetian blind artifacts, as well as slice-wise and gradient-wise intensity inconsistencies. This paper summarizes a basic set of features of DTIPrep described earlier and focuses on newly added capabilities related to directional artifacts and bias analysis.

[Methodological quality and reporting quality evaluation of randomized controlled trials published in China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica].

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Dan-Dan; Xie, Yan-Ming; Liao, Xing; Zhi, Ying-Jie; Jiang, Jun-Jie; Chen, Wei

2018-02-01

To evaluate the methodological quality and reporting quality of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) published in China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, we searched CNKI and China Journal of Chinese Materia webpage to collect RCTs since the establishment of the magazine. The Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs. The CONSORT 2010 list was adopted as reporting quality evaluating tool. Finally, 184 RCTs were included and evaluated methodologically, of which 97 RCTs were evaluated with reporting quality. For the methodological evaluating, 62 trials(33.70%) reported the random sequence generation; 9(4.89%) trials reported the allocation concealment; 25(13.59%) trials adopted the method of blinding; 30(16.30%) trials reported the number of patients withdrawing, dropping out and those lost to follow-up;2 trials （1.09%） reported trial registration and none of the trial reported the trial protocol; only 8(4.35%) trials reported the sample size estimation in details. For reporting quality appraising, 3 reporting items of 25 items were evaluated with high-quality,including: abstract, participants qualified criteria, and statistical methods; 4 reporting items with medium-quality, including purpose, intervention, random sequence method, and data collection of sites and locations; 9 items with low-quality reporting items including title, backgrounds, random sequence types, allocation concealment, blindness, recruitment of subjects, baseline data, harms, and funding;the rest of items were of extremely low quality(the compliance rate of reporting item<10%). On the whole, the methodological and reporting quality of RCTs published in the magazine are generally low. Further improvement in both methodological and reporting quality for RCTs of traditional Chinese medicine are warranted. It is recommended that the international standards and procedures for RCT design should be strictly followed to conduct high-quality trials

The role of quality tools in assessing reliability of the internet for health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanif, Faisal; Read, Janet C; Goodacre, John A; Chaudhry, Afzal; Gibbs, Paul

2009-12-01

The Internet has made it possible for patients and their families to access vast quantities of information that previously would have been difficult for anyone but a physician or librarian to obtain. Health information websites, however, are recognised to differ widely in quality and reliability of their content. This has led to the development of various codes of conduct or quality rating tools to assess the quality of health websites. However, the validity and reliability of these quality tools and their applicability to different health websites also varies. In principle, rating tools should be available to consumers, require a limited number of elements to be assessed, be assessable in all elements, be readable and be able to gauge the readability and consistency of information provided from a patient's view point. This article reviews the literature on the trends of the Internet use for health and analyses various codes of conduct/ethics or 'quality tools' available to monitor the quality of health websites from a patient perspective.

Nucleonic gauging: a tool for process and quality control at Tata Steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandey, J.C.; Manish Raj; Panda, B.N.

1998-01-01

In recent years, there has been much progress in utilizing nuclear sources for process and quality control in Integrated Steel Plants. Tata Steel has also taken interest in implementing these gauging techniques and at present 92 such gauges are in use for measuring level, thickness, density, moisture and ash content at various locations of Tata Steel. These gauges function on line and non contact with the material to be inspected and are designed to withstand the hostile Steel Plant Environment. The paper highlights use of different gauges at Tata Steel. (author)

[A quality evaluation tableau for health institutions: an educational tool].

Science.gov (United States)

Moll, Marie Christine; Decavel, Frédérique; Merlet, Christine

2009-09-01

For a few years, health institutions have had to comply with the certification and the need to establish the new governance. Thanks to the accreditation version 2 (obtained in 2005), the elaboration of the hospital project (adopted in October, 2006) and the organization in poles since 2006, the quality oriented management became a priority axis at the University Hospital of Angers. The strategic adaptation to quality requirements leads to develop the hospital management, more especially at the level of the clinical, medico technical and administrative poles. The elements of the hospital project including the part about the quality, risk and evaluation aim at being adapted by every pole according to the level of its project. This adaptation which is imposed to each pole manager requires a practical and educational accompaniment allowing at the same time to realize a diagnosis of the progress of the quality approach, a measure of the impact of the global impregnation within the institution and a comparison between pole. A eight axis dashboard with criteria and a user guide were developed from certification ISO 9001, the EFQM manual and the certification manual version 2 of the Healthcare High Authorities. The criteria are transcribed in an EXCEL grid ready to use. Succeeding in estimating your own quality system means that you demonstrate the maturity of the quality approach. The results of this evaluation confirmed those of the certification. The dashboard is a management structuring tool at the service of the multidisciplinary team. Two considerations emerge from these results: First of all, for the hospital top management, the axes to be improved emerge as a priority to determine and target the next annual action plans. The results also allow to support the auto evaluation for the certification version 2010 planned in January of the same year. It is a pragmatic tool which allows auto evaluation and comparison to estimate the pole performances. It is a strategic

[On-site quality control of acupuncture randomized controlled trial: design of content and checklist of quality control based on PICOST].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hong-Jiao; He, Li-Yun; Liu, Zhi-Shun; Sun, Ya-Nan; Yan, Shi-Yan; Liu, Jia; Zhao, Ye; Liu, Bao-Yan

2014-02-01

To effectively guarantee quality of randomized controlld trial (RCT) of acupuncture and develop reasonable content and checklist of on-site quality control, influencing factors on quality of acupuncture RCT are analyzed and scientificity of quality control content and feasibility of on-site manipulation are put into overall consideration. Based on content and checklist of on-site quality control in National 11th Five-Year Plan Project Optimization of Comprehensive Treatment Plan for TCM in Prevention and Treatment of Serious Disease and Clinical Assessment on Generic Technology and Quality Control Research, it is proposed that on-site quality control of acupuncture RCT should be conducted with PICOST (patient, intervention, comparison, out come, site and time) as core, especially on quality control of interveners' skills and outcome assessment of blinding, and checklist of on-site quality control is developed to provide references for undertaking groups of the project.

Exercise training restores cardiac protein quality control in heart failure.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliane C Campos

Full Text Available Exercise training is a well-known coadjuvant in heart failure treatment; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying its beneficial effects remain elusive. Despite the primary cause, heart failure is often preceded by two distinct phenomena: mitochondria dysfunction and cytosolic protein quality control disruption. The objective of the study was to determine the contribution of exercise training in regulating cardiac mitochondria metabolism and cytosolic protein quality control in a post-myocardial infarction-induced heart failure (MI-HF animal model. Our data demonstrated that isolated cardiac mitochondria from MI-HF rats displayed decreased oxygen consumption, reduced maximum calcium uptake and elevated H₂O₂ release. These changes were accompanied by exacerbated cardiac oxidative stress and proteasomal insufficiency. Declined proteasomal activity contributes to cardiac protein quality control disruption in our MI-HF model. Using cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes, we showed that either antimycin A or H₂O₂ resulted in inactivation of proteasomal peptidase activity, accumulation of oxidized proteins and cell death, recapitulating our in vivo model. Of interest, eight weeks of exercise training improved cardiac function, peak oxygen uptake and exercise tolerance in MI-HF rats. Moreover, exercise training restored mitochondrial oxygen consumption, increased Ca²⁺-induced permeability transition and reduced H₂O₂ release in MI-HF rats. These changes were followed by reduced oxidative stress and better cardiac protein quality control. Taken together, our findings uncover the potential contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and cytosolic protein quality control disruption to heart failure and highlight the positive effects of exercise training in re-establishing cardiac mitochondrial physiology and protein quality control, reinforcing the importance of this intervention as a non-pharmacological tool for heart failure therapy.

Automatic analysis of image quality control for Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) devices in external radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torfeh, Tarraf

2009-01-01

On-board imagers mounted on a radiotherapy treatment machine are very effective devices that improve the geometric accuracy of radiation delivery. However, a precise and regular quality control program is required in order to achieve this objective. Our purpose consisted of developing software tools dedicated to an automatic image quality control of IGRT devices used in external radiotherapy: 2D-MV mode for measuring patient position during the treatment using high energy images, 2D-kV mode (low energy images) and 3D Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) MV or kV mode, used for patient positioning before treatment. Automated analysis of the Winston and Lutz test was also proposed. This test is used for the evaluation of the mechanical aspects of treatment machines on which additional constraints are carried out due to the on-board imagers additional weights. Finally, a technique of generating digital phantoms in order to assess the performance of the proposed software tools is described. Software tools dedicated to an automatic quality control of IGRT devices allow reducing by a factor of 100 the time spent by the medical physics team to analyze the results of controls while improving their accuracy by using objective and reproducible analysis and offering traceability through generating automatic monitoring reports and statistical studies. (author) [fr

Statistical process control: An approach to quality assurance in the production of vitrified nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulsipher, B.A.; Kuhn, W.L.

1987-01-01

Current planning for liquid high-level nuclear wastes existing in the United States includes processing in a liquid-fed ceramic melter to incorporate it into a high-quality glass, and placement in a deep geologic repository. The nuclear waste vitrification process requires assurance of a quality product with little or no final inspection. Statistical process control (SPC) is a quantitative approach to one quality assurance aspect of vitrified nuclear waste. This method for monitoring and controlling a process in the presence of uncertainties provides a statistical basis for decisions concerning product quality improvement. Statistical process control is shown to be a feasible and beneficial tool to help the waste glass producers demonstrate that the vitrification process can be controlled sufficiently to produce an acceptable product. This quantitative aspect of quality assurance could be an effective means of establishing confidence in the claims to a quality product

Statistical process control: An approach to quality assurance in the production of vitrified nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulsipher, B.A.; Kuhn, W.L.

1987-02-01

Current planning for liquid high-level nuclear wastes existing in the US includes processing in a liquid-fed ceramic melter to incorporate it into a high-quality glass, and placement in a deep geologic repository. The nuclear waste vitrification process requires assurance of a quality product with little or no final inspection. Statistical process control (SPC) is a quantitative approach to one quality assurance aspect of vitrified nuclear waste. This method for monitoring and controlling a process in the presence of uncertainties provides a statistical basis for decisions concerning product quality improvement. Statistical process control is shown to be a feasible and beneficial tool to help the waste glass producers demonstrate that the vitrification process can be controlled sufficiently to produce an acceptable product. This quantitative aspect of quality assurance could be an effective means of establishing confidence in the claims to a quality product. 2 refs., 4 figs

Evaluation tools of quality control for patients submitted to IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavor, Milton

2011-01-01

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is currently been implemented in a rapidly growing number of centers in Brazil. As consequence many institutions are now facing the problem of performing a comprehensive quality control program before and during the implementation of IMRT in the clinical routine practice. The aim of this work is to evaluate and propose a methodology for quality assurance in IMRT treatments. An ionization chamber and a two-dimensional array detector were performed to assess the absolute value of the total dose of all fields in one specific point. The relative total dose distribution of all fields was measured with a radiochromic film and a two-dimensional array at one depth in a phantom. A comparison between measured and calculated dose distributions was performed using the gamma-index method, assessing the percentage of points that meet the criteria of +-3% dose difference and +-3 mm distance to agreement. As a result of 113 tested IMRT beams using ionization chamber and 81 using two-dimensional array, the proposal was to take an action level of about +- 5% compared to the treatment planning systems and measurements, for the verification of the dose in a single point at the low gradient dose region. Analysis of the two-dimensional array measurements showed that the gamma value was <1 for 97.7% of the data and for the film the gamma value was <1 for 96.6% of the data. This can be concluded that for an accurate delivery of dose in 'sliding-window' IMRT with micro multileaf collimator, the absolute value of the total dose and the relative total dose distribution should be checked by absolute and relative dosimetry respectively. (author)

Software Quality Assessment Tool Based on Meta-Models

OpenAIRE

Doneva Rositsa; Gaftandzhieva Silvia; Doneva Zhelyana; Staevsky Nevena

2015-01-01

In the software industry it is indisputably essential to control the quality of produced software systems in terms of capabilities for easy maintenance, reuse, portability and others in order to ensure reliability in the software development. But it is also clear that it is very difficult to achieve such a control through a ‘manual’ management of quality.There are a number of approaches for software quality assurance based typically on software quality models (e.g. ISO 9126, McCall’s, Boehm’s...

A Novel Chaos-Based Voice Controlled FTP Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Maruf Ozturk

2015-08-01

Full Text Available To manage file transfer operation various tools have been developed so far. However these tools can not respond adequately for conduct a secure transfer. Also few works have been done using encrypted voice controlled system yet. By regarding this lack we investigate how to built a useful and secure tool. This work presents a novel improved voice controlled FTP tool Wb-CFTP using chaotic system. A chaotic system called as logistic map is associated with Wb-FTP designed on the basis of Asp.Net and C. Here we depict the prominence of encryption in voice controlled systems.

Software product quality control

CERN Document Server

Wagner, Stefan

2013-01-01

Quality is not a fixed or universal property of software; it depends on the context and goals of its stakeholders. Hence, when you want to develop a high-quality software system, the first step must be a clear and precise specification of quality. Yet even if you get it right and complete, you can be sure that it will become invalid over time. So the only solution is continuous quality control: the steady and explicit evaluation of a product's properties with respect to its updated quality goals.This book guides you in setting up and running continuous quality control in your environment. Star

Importance of implementing an analytical quality control system in a core laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques-Garcia, F; Garcia-Codesal, M F; Caro-Narros, M R; Contreras-SanFeliciano, T

2015-01-01

The aim of the clinical laboratory is to provide useful information for screening, diagnosis and monitoring of disease. The laboratory should ensure the quality of extra-analytical and analytical process, based on set criteria. To do this, it develops and implements a system of internal quality control, designed to detect errors, and compare its data with other laboratories, through external quality control. In this way it has a tool to detect the fulfillment of the objectives set, and in case of errors, allowing corrective actions to be made, and ensure the reliability of the results. This article sets out to describe the design and implementation of an internal quality control protocol, as well as its periodical assessment intervals (6 months) to determine compliance with pre-determined specifications (Stockholm Consensus(1)). A total of 40 biochemical and 15 immunochemical methods were evaluated using three different control materials. Next, a standard operation procedure was planned to develop a system of internal quality control that included calculating the error of the analytical process, setting quality specifications, and verifying compliance. The quality control data were then statistically depicted as means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation, as well as systematic, random, and total errors. The quality specifications were then fixed and the operational rules to apply in the analytical process were calculated. Finally, our data were compared with those of other laboratories through an external quality assurance program. The development of an analytical quality control system is a highly structured process. This should be designed to detect errors that compromise the stability of the analytical process. The laboratory should review its quality indicators, systematic, random and total error at regular intervals, in order to ensure that they are meeting pre-determined specifications, and if not, apply the appropriate corrective actions

Quality assurance and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaden, W.

1986-01-01

General preconditions and methods for QA work in the nuclear field are analysed. The application of general QA principles to actual situations is illustrated by examples in the fields of engineering and of the manufacturing of mechanical and electrical components. All QA measures must be fitted to the complexity and relevance of the work steps, which are under consideration. The key to good product quality is the control of working processes. The term 'controlled process' is discussed in detail and examples of feed back systems are given. The main QA measures for the operation of nuclear power plants include the establishment of a Quality Assurance Program, training and qualification of personnel, procurement control, inspection and tests, reviews and audits. These activities are discussed. (orig.)

SOFTWARE TOOL FOR LASER CUTTING PROCESS CONTROL – SOLVING REAL INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miloš Madić

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Laser cutting is one of the leading non-conventional machining technologies with a wide spectrum of application in modern industry. It order to exploit a number of advantages that this technology offers for contour cutting of materials, it is necessary to carefully select laser cutting conditions for each given workpiece material, thickness and desired cut qualities. In other words, there is a need for process control of laser cutting. After a comprehensive analysis of the main laser cutting parameters and process performance characteristics, the application of the developed software tool “BRUTOMIZER” for off-line control of CO2 laser cutting process of three different workpiece materials (mild steel, stainless steel and aluminum is illustrated. Advantages and abilities of the developed software tool are also illustrated.

Quality control in nuclear medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leme, P.R.

1983-01-01

The following topics are discussed: objectives of the quality control in nuclear medicine; the necessity of the quality control in nuclear medicine; guidelines and recommendations. An appendix is given concerning the guidelines for the quality control and instrumentation in nuclear medicine. (M.A.) [pt

NEAMS Nuclear Waste Management IPSC: evaluation and selection of tools for the quality environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchard, Julie F.; Stubblefield, William Anthony; Vigil, Dena M.; Edwards, Harold Carter

2011-01-01

The objective of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Nuclear Waste Management Integrated Performance and Safety Codes (NEAMS Nuclear Waste Management IPSC) is to provide an integrated suite of computational modeling and simulation (M and S) capabilities to quantitatively assess the long-term performance of waste forms in the engineered and geologic environments of a radioactive-waste storage facility or disposal repository. These M and S capabilities are to be managed, verified, and validated within the NEAMS Nuclear Waste Management IPSC quality environment. M and S capabilities and the supporting analysis workflow and simulation data management tools will be distributed to end-users from this same quality environment. The same analysis workflow and simulation data management tools that are to be distributed to end-users will be used for verification and validation (V and V) activities within the quality environment. This strategic decision reduces the number of tools to be supported, and increases the quality of tools distributed to end users due to rigorous use by V and V activities. This report documents an evaluation of the needs, options, and tools selected for the NEAMS Nuclear Waste Management IPSC quality environment. The objective of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Nuclear Waste Management Integrated Performance and Safety Codes (NEAMS Nuclear Waste Management IPSC) program element is to provide an integrated suite of computational modeling and simulation (M and S) capabilities to assess quantitatively the long-term performance of waste forms in the engineered and geologic environments of a radioactive-waste storage facility or disposal repository. This objective will be fulfilled by acquiring and developing M and S capabilities, and establishing a defensible level of confidence in these M and S capabilities. The foundation for assessing the

40 CFR 75.21 - Quality assurance and quality control requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality assurance audit or any other audit, the system is out-of-control. The owner or operator shall... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Quality assurance and quality control... assurance and quality control requirements. (a) Continuous emission monitoring systems. The owner or...

Quality control of radiopharmaceuticals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristensen, K.

1981-01-01

Quality assurance was introduced in the pharmaceutical field long before it was used in many other areas, and the term quality control has been used in a much broader sense than merely analytical quality control. The term Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) has been used to describe the system used for producing safe and effective drugs of a uniform quality. GMP has also been used for the industrial production of radiopharmaceuticals. For the preparation and control of radiopharmaceuticals in hospitals a similar system has been named Good Radiopharmacy Practice (GRP). It contains the same elements as GMP but takes into account the special nature of this group of drugs. Data on the assessment of the quality of radiopharmaceuticals in relation to present standards are reviewed. The general conclusion is that the quality of radiopharmaceuticals appears comparable to that of other drugs. It seems possible to establish the production of radiopharmaceuticals, generators and preparation kits in such a way that analytical control of the final product at the hospital may be limited provided the final preparation work is carried out in accordance with GRP principles. The elements of GRP are reviewed. (author)

Commercial jet fuel quality control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strauss, K.H.

1995-05-01

The paper discusses the purpose of jet fuel quality control between the refinery and the aircraft. It describes fixed equipment, including various types of filters, and the usefulness and limitations of this equipment. Test equipment is reviewed as are various surveillance procedures. These include the Air Transport Association specification ATA 103, the FAA Advisory Circular 150/5230-4, the International Air Transport Association Guidance Material for Fuel Quality Control and Fuelling Service and the Guidelines for Quality Control at Jointly Operated Fuel Systems. Some past and current quality control problems are briefly mentioned.

SPECT quality control tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robilotta, C.C.; Rebelo, M.F.S.; Oliveira, M.A.; Abe, R.

1987-01-01

Quality control tests of tomographic system composed by a rotatory chamber (CGR Gammatomome T-9000) and a microcomputer are presented. Traditional quality control tests for scintilation chambers and specific tests for tomographic systems are reported. (M.A.C.) [pt

Is Low-field NMR a Complementary Tool to GC-MS in Quality Control of Essential Oils? A Case Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krause, Andre; Wu, Yu; Tian, Runtao; Beek, van Teris A.

2018-01-01

High-field NMR is an expensive and important quality control technique. In recent years, cheaper and simpler low-field NMR has become available as a new quality control technique. In this study, 60 MHz 1 H-NMR was compared with GC-MS and refractometry for the detection of adulteration of essential

FQC Dashboard: integrates FastQC results into a web-based, interactive, and extensible FASTQ quality control tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Joseph; Pirrung, Meg; McCue, Lee Ann

2017-06-09

FQC is software that facilitates large-scale quality control of FASTQ files by carrying out a QC protocol, parsing results, and aggregating quality metrics within and across experiments into an interactive dashboard. The dashboard utilizes human-readable configuration files to manipulate the pages and tabs, and is extensible with CSV data.

Automation support for mobile app quality assurance - a tool landscape

OpenAIRE

Braun, Susanne; Elberzhager, Frank; Holl, Konstantin

2017-01-01

Competitive pressure in app stores, as well as direct and transparent feedback of app store reviews have resulted in an increased demand for outstanding app quality and user experience. At the same time, reduced time-to-market, decreased budgets and time available for quality assurance, and careful user experience design have to be considered. In response, an enormous market for mobile app quality and user experience measurement tools has grown around the mobile app store ecosystems. Develope...

Development of Tools for Ensuring the Quality of Labor Potential of Industrial Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruslan Skrynkovskyy

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to deepen theoretical and methodological provisions and to develop tools for ensuring the quality of labor potential of industrial enterprises. It was established that the basis of the development of tools for quality assurance of labor potential (within the framework of the development of industrial enterprises lies the system of goals of managerial diagnostics of an industrial enterprise, which includes such key diagnostic objectives as: 1 diagnostics of the effectiveness of controlling the internal business processes of the enterprise; 2 diagnostics of the effectiveness of the typical organizational structure of enterprise management; 3 diagnostics of the efficiency of standardization of the work of linear and functional managers and specialists at the enterprise; 4 diagnostics of the enterprise in the areas of vocational education, labor activity and motivation, innovation work and social development; 5 diagnostics of management policies in the areas of social responsibility, information security and labor protection; 6 diagnostics of the level of conflict in the team at the enterprise 7 diagnosis of the effectiveness of the use of information technology in the management of the enterprise. It was determined that effective management of the quality of labor potential of the personnel (on the basis of its objective assessment is one of the key conditions that determines the success of industrial enterprises. The prospect of further research in this direction is improving the system of diagnostics and planning of reserves for improving the quality of labor potential of an industrial enterprise in crisis conditions.

Application of ESE Data and Tools to Air Quality Management: Services for Helping the Air Quality Community use ESE Data (SHAirED)

Science.gov (United States)

Falke, Stefan; Husar, Rudolf

2011-01-01

The goal of this REASoN applications and technology project is to deliver and use Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) data and tools in support of air quality management. Its scope falls within the domain of air quality management and aims to develop a federated air quality information sharing network that includes data from NASA, EPA, US States and others. Project goals were achieved through a access of satellite and ground observation data, web services information technology, interoperability standards, and air quality community collaboration. In contributing to a network of NASA ESE data in support of particulate air quality management, the project will develop access to distributed data, build Web infrastructure, and create tools for data processing and analysis. The key technologies used in the project include emerging web services for developing self describing and modular data access and processing tools, and service oriented architecture for chaining web services together to assemble customized air quality management applications. The technology and tools required for this project were developed within DataFed.net, a shared infrastructure that supports collaborative atmospheric data sharing and processing web services. Much of the collaboration was facilitated through community interactions through the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Air Quality Workgroup. The main activities during the project that successfully advanced DataFed, enabled air quality applications and established community-oriented infrastructures were: develop access to distributed data (surface and satellite), build Web infrastructure to support data access, processing and analysis create tools for data processing and analysis foster air quality community collaboration and interoperability.

Quality assurance and quality control of nuclear engineering during construction phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhihua; Deng Yue; Liu Yaoguang; Xu Xianqi; Zhou Shan; Qian Dazhi; Zhang Yang

2007-01-01

The quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) is a very important work in the nuclear engineering. This paper starts with how to establish quality assurance system of nuclear engineering construction phase, then introduces several experiments and techniques such as the implementation of quality assurance program, the quality assurance and quality control of contractors, the quality surveillance and control of supervisory companies, quality assurance audit and surveillance of builders. (authors)

Proposal of a control and quality guarantee program in radiotherapy and radiodiagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tovar Rodas, J.A.

1998-01-01

In Guatemala, as regards guarantee and control of quality in the radiotherapy and radiodiagnostic areas, doesn't have until the moment, properly established, an action plan to carry out in systematic form, a program that it satisfies the design requirements and operation in an installation of this nature. However, it is well-known that the techniques that involve the employment of the ionizing radiations are powerful tools for their applications in industry, investigation and medicine; their use should be optimized and the associate risks should be evaluated to prevent them and to limit them. At the moment, the first actions of a guarantee program and quality control are carried out in the radiotherapy area for the intervention of the Secondary Laboratory of Dosimetric Calibration, but the quick growth of this area and the high number of radiodiagnosis facilities that work in the country, they outline the necessity to develop a methodology that solves the problem that is presented by the lack of controls of quality in these practices partly. The present work, presents in first plane the objectives, antecedents, forms of development, available resources and the necessities that are had in each area for the setting in march of the Quality Guarantee Program in Radiotherapy and of the Quality Control Program in Radiodiagnosis

Borehole tool outrigger arm displacement control mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, A.G.

1985-01-01

As the outrigger arms of a borehole logging tool are flexed inwardly and outwardly according to the diameter of the borehole opening through which they pass, the corresponding axial displacements of the ends of the arms are controlled to determine the axial positions of the arms relative to the tool. Specifically, as the arm ends move, they are caused to rotate by a cam mechanism. The stiffness of the arms causes the arm ends to rotate in unison, and the exact positions of the arms on the tool are then controlled by the differential movements of the arm ends in the cams

Training, Quality Assurance Factors, and Tools Investigation: a Work Report and Suggestions on Software Quality Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Pen-Nan

1991-01-01

Previously, several research tasks have been conducted, some observations were obtained, and several possible suggestions have been contemplated involving software quality assurance engineering at NASA Johnson. These research tasks are briefly described. Also, a brief discussion is given on the role of software quality assurance in software engineering along with some observations and suggestions. A brief discussion on a training program for software quality assurance engineers is provided. A list of assurance factors as well as quality factors are also included. Finally, a process model which can be used for searching and collecting software quality assurance tools is presented.

Current aspects in the development of the quality control in the conventional X-ray diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoeva, M.; Velkova, K.

2004-01-01

The role of the X-ray diagnostic radiology as one of the main factors forming the general public dose is indisputable. Following the requirement for justification of the application of X-rays for medical purposes, certain criteria for assessment of the parameters of the X-ray diagnostic equipment are formed and maximum permissible values defined. The latter are developed by the international and national radiation protection organizations and introduced both in the international and national legislation. The importance of the quality assurance concept for the radiation protection of the patient and staff in diagnostic radiology turned the quality control into main toll for obtaining high quality images with minimum dose to the patient and staff. X-ray diagnostics is one of the most common methods used in the medical practice. This is the main reason for the increase of the quality control protocols, winch makes their handling difficult. The latest developments in this area bring forward the idea for the development of specialized quality control software, which is capable of: 1) full or semi-automated calculation and assessment of the parameters of the X-ray diagnostic units; 2) tools for data handling and access; 3) tools for data analysis based on predefined procedures

Proper Quality Control of Formulated Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccines in Countries with Prophylactic Vaccination is Necessary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jamal, S.M.; Shah, S.I.; Ali, Q.; Mehmood, A.; Afzal, M.; Dekker, A.

2014-01-01

Vaccination is considered as an important tool to control foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). A good quality vaccine containing relevant serotypes and matching strains is a pre-requisite for vaccination to be effective. The present study investigated the quality of different brands of FMD vaccine

SU-E-T-103: Development and Implementation of Web Based Quality Control Software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Studinski, R; Taylor, R; Angers, C; La Russa, D; Clark, B

2014-01-01

Purpose: Historically many radiation medicine programs have maintained their Quality Control (QC) test results in paper records or Microsoft Excel worksheets. Both these approaches represent significant logistical challenges, and are not predisposed to data review and approval. It has been our group's aim to develop and implement web based software designed not just to record and store QC data in a centralized database, but to provide scheduling and data review tools to help manage a radiation therapy clinics Equipment Quality control program. Methods: The software was written in the Python programming language using the Django web framework. In order to promote collaboration and validation from other centres the code was made open source and is freely available to the public via an online source code repository. The code was written to provide a common user interface for data entry, formalize the review and approval process, and offer automated data trending and process control analysis of test results. Results: As of February 2014, our installation of QAtrack+ has 180 tests defined in its database and has collected ∼22 000 test results, all of which have been reviewed and approved by a physicist via QATrack+'s review tools. These results include records for quality control of Elekta accelerators, CT simulators, our brachytherapy programme, TomoTherapy and Cyberknife units. Currently at least 5 other centres are known to be running QAtrack+ clinically, forming the start of an international user community. Conclusion: QAtrack+ has proven to be an effective tool for collecting radiation therapy QC data, allowing for rapid review and trending of data for a wide variety of treatment units. As free and open source software, all source code, documentation and a bug tracker are available to the public at https://bitbucket.org/tohccmedphys/qatrackplus/

SU-E-T-103: Development and Implementation of Web Based Quality Control Software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studinski, R; Taylor, R; Angers, C; La Russa, D; Clark, B [The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Ctr., Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2014-06-01

Purpose: Historically many radiation medicine programs have maintained their Quality Control (QC) test results in paper records or Microsoft Excel worksheets. Both these approaches represent significant logistical challenges, and are not predisposed to data review and approval. It has been our group's aim to develop and implement web based software designed not just to record and store QC data in a centralized database, but to provide scheduling and data review tools to help manage a radiation therapy clinics Equipment Quality control program. Methods: The software was written in the Python programming language using the Django web framework. In order to promote collaboration and validation from other centres the code was made open source and is freely available to the public via an online source code repository. The code was written to provide a common user interface for data entry, formalize the review and approval process, and offer automated data trending and process control analysis of test results. Results: As of February 2014, our installation of QAtrack+ has 180 tests defined in its database and has collected ∼22 000 test results, all of which have been reviewed and approved by a physicist via QATrack+'s review tools. These results include records for quality control of Elekta accelerators, CT simulators, our brachytherapy programme, TomoTherapy and Cyberknife units. Currently at least 5 other centres are known to be running QAtrack+ clinically, forming the start of an international user community. Conclusion: QAtrack+ has proven to be an effective tool for collecting radiation therapy QC data, allowing for rapid review and trending of data for a wide variety of treatment units. As free and open source software, all source code, documentation and a bug tracker are available to the public at https://bitbucket.org/tohccmedphys/qatrackplus/.

A Quality Assessment Tool for Non-Specialist Users of Regression Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Argyrous, George

2015-01-01

This paper illustrates the use of a quality assessment tool for regression analysis. It is designed for non-specialist "consumers" of evidence, such as policy makers. The tool provides a series of questions such consumers of evidence can ask to interrogate regression analysis, and is illustrated with reference to a recent study published…

40 CFR 51.359 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Quality control. 51.359 Section 51.359....359 Quality control. Quality control measures shall insure that emission testing equipment is calibrated and maintained properly, and that inspection, calibration records, and control charts are...

Image quality in conventional chest radiography. Evaluation using the postprocessing tool Diamond View

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemann, Tilo; Reisinger, Clemens; Rau, Philipp; Schwarz, Jochen; Ruis-Lopez, Laura; Bongartz, Georg

2010-01-01

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the postprocessing tool Diamond View (Siemens AG Medical Solutions, Germany) on image quality in conventional chest radiography. Evaluation of image quality remains a challenge in conventional radiography. Based on the European Commission quality criteria we evaluated the improvement of image quality when applying the new postprocessing tool Diamond View (Siemens AG Medical solutions, Germany) to conventional chest radiographs. Three different readers prospectively evaluated 102 digital image pairs of chest radiographs. Statistical analysis was performed with a p value <0.05 considered as significant. Images were evaluated on basis of the modified imaging Quality Criteria by the Commission of the European Communities. Each of the 11 image quality criteria was evaluated separately using a five point classification. Statistical analysis showed an overall tendency for improved image quality for Diamond View (DV) for all criteria. Significant differences could be found in most of the criteria. In conclusion DV improves image quality in conventional chest radiographs.

Assessing the quality of websites providing information on multiple sclerosis: evaluating tools and comparing sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Harland, Juliet; Bath, Peter

2007-09-01

The quality of health information available on the Internet has proved difficult to assess objectively. The Internet's growing popularity as a source of health information, accompanied by the lack of regulation of websites, has resulted in research that has developed and tested tools to evaluate health website quality. However, only a few studies have tested the validity and reliability of these tools. There is a lack of consensus about appropriate indicators with which to operationalize the concept of quality health information. This study aimed to contribute to this research by testing the validity and reliability of existing tools, through their application to websites that provided information about multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, a specific tool for evaluating multiple sclerosis information was developed, contributing to the debate about suitable criteria for measuring the ;quality' of health information on the web.

Performance indicators: A tool for continuous quality improvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nidhi M Bhatnagar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Performance monitoring is an important tool which can be used for setting priorities for process improvement. At our centre, we have been monitoring every step in the processes, right from inventory of consumables (both critical and routine to number of donors reactive for TTI. We conducted a study to measure the impact of monitoring Performance Indicators and how it could be used as a tool for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI. Materials and Methods: The present study was a retrospective study where the performance indicator (PI data of blood bank was analyzed for over four years. For certain parameters, benchmarks or thresholds were set that represented warning limits or action limits. The yearly data were collated from monthly data. "Shifts" or "Trends", if any, were identified and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA taken accordingly. At the end, outcomes of the analysis were charted. Results: After the yearly data evaluation, outcomes obtained were used to plan, correct and amend processes and systems in the blood center. It was observed that the workload of the center showed an upward trend. This helped us to plan for the purchase of consumables and management of manpower. The monitoring of usage and discard of blood helped in the efficient management of blood stocks. The need for any new equipment could also be judged by the trends in workload. Conclusion: Performance indicators are indispensible tools which various stakeholders in the Blood Transfusion centres should implement to improve on quality performance.

Performance indicators: A tool for continuous quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatnagar, Nidhi M; Soni, Shital; Gajjar, Maitrey; Shah, Mamta; Shah, Sangita; Patel, Vaidehi

2016-01-01

Performance monitoring is an important tool which can be used for setting priorities for process improvement. At our centre, we have been monitoring every step in the processes, right from inventory of consumables (both critical and routine) to number of donors reactive for TTI. We conducted a study to measure the impact of monitoring Performance Indicators and how it could be used as a tool for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). The present study was a retrospective study where the performance indicator (PI) data of blood bank was analyzed for over four years. For certain parameters, benchmarks or thresholds were set that represented warning limits or action limits. The yearly data were collated from monthly data. Shifts or Trends, if any, were identified and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) taken accordingly. At the end, outcomes of the analysis were charted. After the yearly data evaluation, outcomes obtained were used to plan, correct and amend processes and systems in the blood center. It was observed that the workload of the center showed an upward trend. This helped us to plan for the purchase of consumables and management of manpower. The monitoring of usage and discard of blood helped in the efficient management of blood stocks. The need for any new equipment could also be judged by the trends in workload. Performance indicators are indispensible tools which various stakeholders in the Blood Transfusion centres should implement to improve on quality performance.

Quality assurance: image production and film quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Aziz Mhd Ramli

2004-01-01

The contents of this chapter are follows - Factors Affecting Image Quality and Patient Dose: Quality Control in Diagnostic Radiology, Mechanical Safety, Electrical Safety, Radiation Protection, Performance and Safety Standard, Calibration of QC Test Tools

Analysis of quality control protocol implementation of equipment in radiotherapy services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calcina, Carmen S. Guzman; Lima, Luciana P. de; Rubo, Rodrigo A.; Ferraz, Eduardo; Almeida, Adelaide de

2000-01-01

Considering the importance of the Quality Assurance in the radiotherapy services, there was an interest to make tests' evaluation for a Quality Control for the cobalt equipment, linear accelerator and simulator as a classification and comparison. The work proposed is a suggestion that can serve as tool for medical physicists that are starting to work in the radiotherapy area and for the most experts. The discussions were made by the gathering of local tests and official protocols, resulting in a minimum protocol as a suggestion for a routine work, emphasizing the periodicity and level of tolerance of each one of the tests. (author)

Quality of clinical brain tumor MR spectra judged by humans and machine learning tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Kyathanahally, Sreenath P; Mocioiu, Victor; Pedrosa de Barros, Nuno; Slotboom, Johannes; Wright, Alan J; Julià-Sapé, Margarida; Arús, Carles; Kreis, Roland

2018-05-01

To investigate and compare human judgment and machine learning tools for quality assessment of clinical MR spectra of brain tumors. A very large set of 2574 single voxel spectra with short and long echo time from the eTUMOUR and INTERPRET databases were used for this analysis. Original human quality ratings from these studies as well as new human guidelines were used to train different machine learning algorithms for automatic quality control (AQC) based on various feature extraction methods and classification tools. The performance was compared with variance in human judgment. AQC built using the RUSBoost classifier that combats imbalanced training data performed best. When furnished with a large range of spectral and derived features where the most crucial ones had been selected by the TreeBagger algorithm it showed better specificity (98%) in judging spectra from an independent test-set than previously published methods. Optimal performance was reached with a virtual three-class ranking system. Our results suggest that feature space should be relatively large for the case of MR tumor spectra and that three-class labels may be beneficial for AQC. The best AQC algorithm showed a performance in rejecting spectra that was comparable to that of a panel of human expert spectroscopists. Magn Reson Med 79:2500-2510, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Network-based production quality control

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yongjin; Tseng, Bill; Chiou, Richard

2007-09-01

This study investigates the feasibility of remote quality control using a host of advanced automation equipment with Internet accessibility. Recent emphasis on product quality and reduction of waste stems from the dynamic, globalized and customer-driven market, which brings opportunities and threats to companies, depending on the response speed and production strategies. The current trends in industry also include a wide spread of distributed manufacturing systems, where design, production, and management facilities are geographically dispersed. This situation mandates not only the accessibility to remotely located production equipment for monitoring and control, but efficient means of responding to changing environment to counter process variations and diverse customer demands. To compete under such an environment, companies are striving to achieve 100%, sensor-based, automated inspection for zero-defect manufacturing. In this study, the Internet-based quality control scheme is referred to as "E-Quality for Manufacturing" or "EQM" for short. By its definition, EQM refers to a holistic approach to design and to embed efficient quality control functions in the context of network integrated manufacturing systems. Such system let designers located far away from the production facility to monitor, control and adjust the quality inspection processes as production design evolves.

Towards sustainability in cold chains: Development of a quality, energy and environmental assessment tool (QEEAT)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gwanpua, S.G.; Verboven, P.; Brown, T.; Leducq, D.; Verlinden, B.E.; Evans, J.; Van Der Sluis, S.; Wissink, E.B.; Taoukis, P.; Gogou, E.; Stahl, V.; El Jabri, M.; Thuault, D.; Claussen, I.; Indergård, E.; M. Nicolai, B.; Alvarez, G.; Geeraerd, A.H.

2014-01-01

Quantification of the impact of refrigeration technologies in terms of the quality of refrigerated food, energy usage, and environmental impact is essential to assess cold chain sustainability. In this paper, we present a software tool QEEAT (Quality, Energy and Environmental Assessment Tool) for

Evaluation of quality control in the college of medical radiological sciences, conventional x-ray department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babiker, Esameldeen Mohamed Tom

2002-02-01

Quality control in diagnostic radiography aims to ensure continuous production of diagnostic images with optimum quality, using minimum necessary dose to the patients and staff. Therefore an ineffective quality control program can lead to poor quality images that can impair diagnosis, increase operating costs and contribute to unnecessary radiation exposure to both patients and staff. Apply basic quality control program is responsibility of each x-ray facility, and to achieve maximum benefits, all levels of management and technical staff must support and participate in operating the programme. The main parameters to be monitored during the quality control programme include: dose consistency, k Vp accuracy, k Vp variations, exposure timer accuracy, besides checking image receptors, recording system and processing conditions. The aims of this project is to evaluate the quality control in the x-ray department of the college of medical radiologic sciences. The evaluation was an experimental study done by checking the operational status of the radiographic equipment, beside data collection using questionnaires regarding quality control. In the applied experiments the results show that there is a noted variation in the accuracy of k Vp, exposure timer and also in the dose consistency. The obtained results from image receptors and processing system showed noted variations too. The results of the questionnaire and direct interviewing showed other causes of quality degradation such as absence of test tools, the status of the equipment, absence of regular quality control testing, in addition to absence of an organized team to deal with quality. (Author)

[Compatibility of different quality control systems].

Science.gov (United States)

Invernizzi, Enrico

2002-01-01

Management of the good laboratory practice (GLP) quality system presupposes its linking to a basic recognized and approved quality system, from which it can draw on management procedures common to all quality systems, such as the ISO 9000 set of norms. A quality system organized in this way can also be integrated with other dedicated quality systems, or parts of them, to obtain principles or management procedures for specific topics. The aim of this organization is to set up a reliable, recognized quality system compatible with the principles of GLP and other quality management systems, which provides users with a simplified set of easily accessible management tools and answers. The organization of this quality system is set out in the quality assurance programme, which is actually the document in which the test facility incorporates the GLP principles into its own quality organization.

Lot quality assurance sampling to monitor supplemental immunization activity quality: an essential tool for improving performance in polio endemic countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Alexandra E; Okayasu, Hiromasa; Nzioki, Michael M; Wadood, Mufti Z; Chabot-Couture, Guillaume; Quddus, Arshad; Walker, George; Sutter, Roland W

2014-11-01

Monitoring the quality of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) is a key tool for polio eradication. Regular monitoring data, however, are often unreliable, showing high coverage levels in virtually all areas, including those with ongoing virus circulation. To address this challenge, lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) was introduced in 2009 as an additional tool to monitor SIA quality. Now used in 8 countries, LQAS provides a number of programmatic benefits: identifying areas of weak coverage quality with statistical reliability, differentiating areas of varying coverage with greater precision, and allowing for trend analysis of campaign quality. LQAS also accommodates changes to survey format, interpretation thresholds, evaluations of sample size, and data collection through mobile phones to improve timeliness of reporting and allow for visualization of campaign quality. LQAS becomes increasingly important to address remaining gaps in SIA quality and help focus resources on high-risk areas to prevent the continued transmission of wild poliovirus. © Crown copyright 2014.

RNA-SeQC: RNA-seq metrics for quality control and process optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

DeLuca, David S; Levin, Joshua Z; Sivachenko, Andrey; Fennell, Timothy; Nazaire, Marc-Danie; Williams, Chris; Reich, Michael; Winckler, Wendy; Getz, Gad

2012-06-01

RNA-seq, the application of next-generation sequencing to RNA, provides transcriptome-wide characterization of cellular activity. Assessment of sequencing performance and library quality is critical to the interpretation of RNA-seq data, yet few tools exist to address this issue. We introduce RNA-SeQC, a program which provides key measures of data quality. These metrics include yield, alignment and duplication rates; GC bias, rRNA content, regions of alignment (exon, intron and intragenic), continuity of coverage, 3'/5' bias and count of detectable transcripts, among others. The software provides multi-sample evaluation of library construction protocols, input materials and other experimental parameters. The modularity of the software enables pipeline integration and the routine monitoring of key measures of data quality such as the number of alignable reads, duplication rates and rRNA contamination. RNA-SeQC allows investigators to make informed decisions about sample inclusion in downstream analysis. In summary, RNA-SeQC provides quality control measures critical to experiment design, process optimization and downstream computational analysis. See www.genepattern.org to run online, or www.broadinstitute.org/rna-seqc/ for a command line tool.

Radiopharmaceutical quality control-Pragmatic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbier, Y.

1994-01-01

The quality control must be considered in a practical manner. The radiopharmaceuticals are drugs. They must satisfy the quality assurance control. These products are then conform to Pharmacopeia. But sometimes the user must control some data especially radiochemical purity and pH value. On all the administered solutions four controls are compulsory: radionuclide identity, administered radioactivity, organoleptic character and pH

7 CFR 981.42 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control. 981.42 Section 981.42 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Regulating Handling Quality Control § 981.42 Quality control. (a) Incoming. Except as provided in this...

Improvement of Selected Logistics Processes Using Quality Engineering Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Zasadzień, Michał; Žarnovský, Jozef

2018-03-01

Increase in the number of orders, the increasing quality requirements and the speed of order preparation require implementation of new solutions and improvement of logistics processes. Any disruption that occurs during execution of an order often leads to customer dissatisfaction, as well as loss of his/her confidence. The article presents a case study of the use of quality engineering methods and tools to improve the e-commerce logistic process. This made it possible to identify and prioritize key issues, identify their causes, and formulate improvement and prevention measures.

Quality control of dosemeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendes, L.

1984-01-01

Nuclear medicine laboratories are required to assay samples of radioactivity to be administered to patients. Almost universally, these assays are acomplished by use of a well ionization chamber isotope calibrator. The Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (Institute for Radiological Protection and Dosimetry) of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (National Commission for Nuclear Energy) is carrying out a National Quality Control Programme in Nuclear Medicine, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The assessment of the current needs and practices of quality control in the entire country of Brazil includes Dose Calibrators and Scintilation Cameras, but this manual is restricted to the former. Quality Control Procedures for these Instruments are described in this document together with specific recommendations and assessment of its accuracy. (Author) [pt

Control cards as a statistical quality control resource

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar Živan Drenovac

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This paper proves that applying of statistical methods can significantly contribute increasing of products and services quality, as well as increasing of institutions rating. Determining of optimal, apropos anticipatory and limitary values, is based on sample`s statistical analyze. Control cards represent very confident instrument, which is simple for use and efficient for control of process, by which process is maintained in set borders. Thus, control cards can be applied in quality control of procesess of weapons and military equipment production, maintenance of technical systems, as well as for seting of standards and increasing of quality level for many other activities.

Protocol for quality control of scanners used in the simulation of radiotherapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanes, Yaima; Alfonso, Rodolfo; Silvestre, Ileana

2009-01-01

Computed Tomography (CT) has become the tool fundamental imaging of modern radiation therapy, to locate targets and critical organs and dose planning. Tomographs used for these purposes require strict assurance program quality, which differs in many aspects of monitoring required for diagnostic use only with intention. The aim of this work has been the design and validation of a quality control protocol applicable to any TAC used for simulation, radiotherapy planning. (author)

7 CFR 930.44 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control. 930.44 Section 930.44 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Control § 930.44 Quality control. (a) Quality standards. The Board may establish, with the approval of the...

Quality control analysis at the hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristensen, K.

1979-01-01

Quality control analysis is an integral part of quality assurance. In a system as with radiopharmaceuticals where part of the finishing of the product takes place at individual hospitals, the need for quality control analysis at the hospital can be discussed. Data are presented that stresses the importance of quality control by the manufacturer as a basis for limitation of such work at hospitals. A simplified programme is proposed

Recent applications of Chemical Imaging to pharmaceutical process monitoring and quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowen, A A; O'Donnell, C P; Cullen, P J; Bell, S E J

2008-05-01

Chemical Imaging (CI) is an emerging platform technology that integrates conventional imaging and spectroscopy to attain both spatial and spectral information from an object. Vibrational spectroscopic methods, such as Near Infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy, combined with imaging are particularly useful for analysis of biological/pharmaceutical forms. The rapid, non-destructive and non-invasive features of CI mark its potential suitability as a process analytical tool for the pharmaceutical industry, for both process monitoring and quality control in the many stages of drug production. This paper provides an overview of CI principles, instrumentation and analysis. Recent applications of Raman and NIR-CI to pharmaceutical quality and process control are presented; challenges facing CI implementation and likely future developments in the technology are also discussed.

Development of a plug in for image j for the quality control of a scanner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otal Palacin, A.; Fuentemilla Urio, N.; Olasolo Alonso, J.; Martin Albina, M. L.; Miquelez Alonso, S.; Lozares Cordero, S.; Pellejero, S.; Maneru Camara, F.; Rubio Arroniz, A.; Soto Prados, P.

2013-01-01

The increase in the quality of radiology equipment requirements necessitates that give us tools efficient that they simplify the more possible tasks of analysis of the data obtained in the quality controls. We can choose by solutions based on commercial software or otherwise try to develop our own to measure of our needs. For this reason we have developed a plug-in for the ImageJ program that automates the work of analysis of image quality in the Navarro health service scanners. (Author)

Soft qualities in healthcare. Method and tools for soft qualities design in hospitals' built environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Capolongo, S; Bellini, E; Nachiero, D; Rebecchi, A; Buffoli, M

2014-01-01

The design of hospital environments is determined by functional requirements and technical regulations, as well as numerous protocols, which define the structure and system characteristics that such environments need to achieve. In order to improve people's well-being and the quality of their experience within public hospitals, design elements (soft qualities) are added to those 'necessary' features. The aim of this research has been to experiment a new design process and also to create health care spaces with high environmental quality and capable to meet users' emotional and perceptual needs. Such needs were investigated with the help of qualitative research tools and the design criteria for one of these soft qualities - colour - were subsequently defined on the basis of the findings. The colour scheme design for the new San Paolo Hospital Emergency Department in Milan was used as case study. Focus groups were fundamental in defining the project's goals and criteria. The issues raised have led to believe that the proper procedure is not the mere consultation of the users in order to define the goals: users should rather be involved in the whole design process and become co-agents of the choices that determine the environment characteristics, so as to meet the quality requirements identified by the users themselves. The case study has shown the possibility of developing a designing methodology made by three steps (or operational tools) in which users' groups are involved in the choices, loading to plan the environments where compliance with expectations is already implied and verified by means of the process itself. Thus, the method leads to the creation of soft qualities in Healthcare.

Quality tools and resources to support organisational improvement integral to high-quality primary care: a systematic review of published and grey literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Janamian, Tina; Upham, Susan J; Crossland, Lisa; Jackson, Claire L

2016-04-18

To conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify existing online primary care quality improvement tools and resources to support organisational improvement related to the seven elements in the Primary Care Practice Improvement Tool (PC-PIT), with the identified tools and resources to progress to a Delphi study for further assessment of relevance and utility. Systematic review of the international published and grey literature. CINAHL, Embase and PubMed databases were searched in March 2014 for articles published between January 2004 and December 2013. GreyNet International and other relevant websites and repositories were also searched in March-April 2014 for documents dated between 1992 and 2012. All citations were imported into a bibliographic database. Published and unpublished tools and resources were included in the review if they were in English, related to primary care quality improvement and addressed any of the seven PC-PIT elements of a high-performing practice. Tools and resources that met the eligibility criteria were then evaluated for their accessibility, relevance, utility and comprehensiveness using a four-criteria appraisal framework. We used a data extraction template to systematically extract information from eligible tools and resources. A content analysis approach was used to explore the tools and resources and collate relevant information: name of the tool or resource, year and country of development, author, name of the organisation that provided access and its URL, accessibility information or problems, overview of each tool or resource and the quality improvement element(s) it addresses. If available, a copy of the tool or resource was downloaded into the bibliographic database, along with supporting evidence (published or unpublished) on its use in primary care. This systematic review identified 53 tools and resources that can potentially be provided as part of a suite of tools and resources to support primary care practices in

Cleaning and excavating tool for control rod canopy seals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucera, R.A.

1991-01-01

This patent describes a device for servicing a weld site about the periphery of a control rod drive mechanism. It comprises a housing adapted to be rotated about the periphery of the control rod drive mechanism; a carriage reciprocably received within the housing; first movement means for reciprocating the carriage in a first direction; a tool attachment reciprocably received within the carriage; and second movement means for reciprocating the tool in a second direction; wherein the tool attachment is positioned relative to the control rod drive mechanism by the first and second movement means

14 CFR 21.139 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control. 21.139 Section 21.139... PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCTS AND PARTS Production Certificates § 21.139 Quality control. The applicant must show that he has established and can maintain a quality control system for any product, for which he...

33 CFR 385.21 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Quality control. 385.21 Section... Processes § 385.21 Quality control. (a) The Corps of Engineers and the non-Federal sponsor shall prepare a quality control plan, in accordance with applicable Corps of Engineers regulations, for each product that...

Application of miniaturized near-infrared spectroscopy for quality control of extemporaneous orodispersible films.

Science.gov (United States)

Foo, Wen Chin; Widjaja, Effendi; Khong, Yuet Mei; Gokhale, Rajeev; Chan, Sui Yung

2018-02-20

Extemporaneous oral preparations are routinely compounded in the pharmacy due to a lack of suitable formulations for special populations. Such small-scale pharmacy preparations also present an avenue for individualized pharmacotherapy. Orodispersible films (ODF) have increasingly been evaluated as a suitable dosage form for extemporaneous oral preparations. Nevertheless, as with all other extemporaneous preparations, safety and quality remain a concern. Although the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) recommends analytical testing of compounded preparations for quality assurance, pharmaceutical assays are typically not routinely performed for such non-sterile pharmacy preparations, due to the complexity and high cost of conventional assay methods such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Spectroscopic methods including Raman, infrared and near-infrared spectroscopy have been successfully applied as quality control tools in the industry. The state-of-art benchtop spectrometers used in those studies have the advantage of superior resolution and performance, but are not suitable for use in a small-scale pharmacy setting. In this study, we investigated the application of a miniaturized near infrared (NIR) spectrometer as a quality control tool for identification and quantification of drug content in extemporaneous ODFs. Miniaturized near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is suitable for small-scale pharmacy applications in view of its small size, portability, simple user interface, rapid measurement and real-time prediction results. Nevertheless, the challenge with miniaturized NIR spectroscopy is its lower resolution compared to state-of-art benchtop equipment. We have successfully developed NIR spectroscopy calibration models for identification of ODFs containing five different drugs, and quantification of drug content in ODFs containing 2-10mg ondansetron (OND). The qualitative model for drug identification produced 100% prediction accuracy. The quantitative

Related regulation of quality control of industrial products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-04-01

This book introduce related regulation of quality control of industrial products, which includes regulations of industrial products quality control, enforcement ordinance of industrial products quality control, enforcement regulation of quality control of industrial products, designated items with industrial production quality indication, industrial production quality test, and industrial production quality test organization and management tips of factory quality by grade.

Integrated Tools for Future Distributed Engine Control Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Culley, Dennis; Thomas, Randy; Saus, Joseph

2013-01-01

Turbine engines are highly complex mechanical systems that are becoming increasingly dependent on control technologies to achieve system performance and safety metrics. However, the contribution of controls to these measurable system objectives is difficult to quantify due to a lack of tools capable of informing the decision makers. This shortcoming hinders technology insertion in the engine design process. NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a Hardware-inthe- Loop (HIL) platform and analysis tool set that will serve as a focal point for new control technologies, especially those related to the hardware development and integration of distributed engine control. The HIL platform is intended to enable rapid and detailed evaluation of new engine control applications, from conceptual design through hardware development, in order to quantify their impact on engine systems. This paper discusses the complex interactions of the control system, within the context of the larger engine system, and how new control technologies are changing that paradigm. The conceptual design of the new HIL platform is then described as a primary tool to address those interactions and how it will help feed the insertion of new technologies into future engine systems.

Quality control guarantees the safety of radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aaltonen, P.

1994-01-01

While radiotherapy equipment has seen some decisive improvements in the last few decades, the technology has also become more complicated. The advanced equipment produces increasingly good treatment results, but the condition of the equipment must be controlled efficiently so as to eliminate any defects that might jeopardise patient safety. The quality assurance measures that are taken to show that certain equipment functions as required are known as quality control. The advanced equipment and stricter requirements set for the precision of radiotherapy have meant that more attention must be paid to quality control. The present radiation legislation stipulates that radiotherapy equipment must undergo regular quality control. The implementation of the quality control is supervised by the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (STUK). Hospitals carry out quality control in accordance with a programme approved by STUK, and STUK inspectors periodically visit hospitals to check the results of quality control. (orig.)

Development of a software tool for the management of quality control in a helical tomotherapy unit; Desarrollo de una herramienta de software para la gestion integral del control de calidad en una unidad de tomoterapia helicoidal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia Repiso, S.; Hernandez Rodriguez, J.; Martin Rincon, C.; Ramos Pacho, J. A.; Verde Velasco, J. M.; Delgado Aparacio, J. M.; Perez Alvarez, M. e.; Gomez Gonzalez, N.; Cons Perez, V.; Saez Beltran, M.

2013-07-01

The large amount of data and information that is managed in units of external radiotherapy quality control tests makes necessary the use of tools that facilitate, on the one hand, the management of measures and results in real time, and on other tasks of management, file, query and reporting of stored data. This paper presents an application of software of own development which is used for the integral management of the helical TomoTherapy unit in the aspects related to the roles and responsibilities of the hospital Radiophysics. (Author)

QUALITY SERVICES EVALUATION MODEL BASED ON DEDICATED SOFTWARE TOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANDREEA CRISTINA IONICĂ

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper we introduced a new model, called Service Quality (SQ, which combines QFD and SERVQUAL methods. This model takes from the SERVQUAL method the five dimensions of requirements and three of characteristics and from the QFD method the application methodology. The originality of the SQ model consists in computing a global index that reflects the customers’ requirements accomplishment level by the quality characteristics. In order to prove the viability of the SQ model, there was developed a software tool that was applied for the evaluation of a health care services provider.

University Ranking, an Important Quality-Assurance Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crina Rădulescu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available “University Rankings” - or “League Tables”, as they are known in the United Kingdom – have in ashort period of time become an important feature in policy-making and practice in higher education. They arenow a global phenomenon serving different purposes for different and varied audiences. Even if they are notnecessarily universally appreciated, there is an increasing understanding that they have become the “third armof the quality-assurance tool, together with accreditation, government regulation and licensing" and they areclearly here to stay. Indisputably university ranking has changed the way higher education institutions andtheir activities are being presented, perceived and assessed at the institutional, local, national and internationallevels.In our research we will try to answer some questions concerning this topic: is university ranking aninflexible tool, which favors traditional universities, with resources and experience?; what types ofperformance indicators, procedure and ethical considerations should be included in a conceptual frameworkor typology for higher education ranking systems?

Quality and reliability control on assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, H.

1976-01-01

Taking as an example electronic assemblies in printed circuit board engineering, quality control during manufacture is dealt with. After giving a survey of four phases of quality and reliability control, some specific methods of quality control are dealt with by means of a flowchart, and by some examples the necessity and the success of these measures are shown. (RW) [de

Results of a multicentre randomised controlled trial of statistical process control charts and structured diagnostic tools to reduce ward-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: the CHART Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, E; Harper, P; Loveday, H; Gilmour, H; Jones, S; Benneyan, J; Hood, J; Pratt, R

2008-10-01

Statistical process control (SPC) charts have previously been advocated for infection control quality improvement. To determine their effectiveness, a multicentre randomised controlled trial was undertaken to explore whether monthly SPC feedback from infection control nurses (ICNs) to healthcare workers of ward-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (WA-MRSA) colonisation or infection rates would produce any reductions in incidence. Seventy-five wards in 24 hospitals in the UK were randomised into three arms: (1) wards receiving SPC chart feedback; (2) wards receiving SPC chart feedback in conjunction with structured diagnostic tools; and (3) control wards receiving neither type of feedback. Twenty-five months of pre-intervention WA-MRSA data were compared with 24 months of post-intervention data. Statistically significant and sustained decreases in WA-MRSA rates were identified in all three arms (Pcontrol wards, but with no significant difference between the control and intervention arms (P=0.23). There were significantly more post-intervention 'out-of-control' episodes (P=0.021) in the control arm (averages of 0.60, 0.28, and 0.28 for Control, SPC and SPC+Tools wards, respectively). Participants identified SPC charts as an effective communication tool and valuable for disseminating WA-MRSA data.

Quality Control in Mammography: Image Quality and Patient Doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciraj Bjelac, O.; Arandjic, D.; Boris Loncar, B.; Kosutic, D.

2008-01-01

Mammography is method of choice for early detection of breast cancer. The purpose of this paper is preliminary evaluation the mammography practice in Serbia, in terms of both quality control indicators, i.e. image quality and patient doses. The survey demonstrated considerable variations in technical parameters that affect image quality and patients doses. Mean glandular doses ranged from 0.12 to 2.8 mGy, while reference optical density ranged from 1.2 to 2.8. Correlation between image contrast and mean glandular doses was demonstrated. Systematic implementation of quality control protocol should provide satisfactory performance of mammography units and maintain satisfactory image quality and keep patient doses as low as reasonably practicable. (author)

Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupont, Corinne; Occelli, Pauline; Deneux-Tharaux, Catherine; Touzet, Sandrine; Duclos, Antoine; Bouvier-Colle, Marie-Hélène; Rudigoz, René-Charles; Huissoud, Cyril

2014-07-01

Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement To use statistical process control charts to describe trends in the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery. This assessment was performed 7 years after we initiated a continuous quality improvement programme that began with regular criteria-based audits Observational descriptive study, in a French maternity unit in the Rhône-Alpes region. Quarterly clinical audit meetings to analyse all cases of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery and provide feedback on quality of care with statistical process control tools. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of severe PPH after vaginal delivery and its quarterly monitoring with a control chart. The secondary outcomes included the global quality of care for women with severe postpartum haemorrhage, including the performance rate of each recommended procedure. Differences in these variables between 2005 and 2012 were tested. From 2005 to 2012, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage declined significantly, from 1.2% to 0.6% of vaginal deliveries (pcontrol limits, that is, been out of statistical control. The proportion of cases that were managed consistently with the guidelines increased for all of their main components. Implementation of continuous quality improvement efforts began seven years ago and used, among other tools, statistical process control charts. During this period, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery has been reduced by 50%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assembly and Quality Control of the LHC Cryostats at CERN Motivations, Means, Results and Lessons Learnt

CERN Document Server

Poncet, A; Parma, V; Strubin, P; Tock, JP; Tommasini, D

2007-01-01

In 2001, the project management decided to perform at CERN the final assembly of the LHC superconducting magnets with cryostat parts and cold masses produced by European Industry in large series. This industrial-like production has required a very significant investment in tooling, production facilities, engineering and quality control efforts, in contractual partnership with a consortium of firms. This unusual endeavour of a limited lifetime represented more than 850,000 working hours spanning over five years, the work being done on a result-oriented basis by the contractor. This paper presents the reasons for having conducted this project at CERN, summarizes the work breakdown structure, the production means and methods, the infrastructure specially developed, the tooling, logistics and quality control aspects of the work performed and the results achieved, in analytical form. Finally, the lessons learnt are outlined.

Temporal aspects of surface water quality variation using robust statistical tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustapha, Adamu; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin; Ramli, Mohammad Firuz; Juahir, Hafizan

2012-01-01

Robust statistical tools were applied on the water quality datasets with the aim of determining the most significance parameters and their contribution towards temporal water quality variation. Surface water samples were collected from four different sampling points during dry and wet seasons and analyzed for their physicochemical constituents. Discriminant analysis (DA) provided better results with great discriminatory ability by using five parameters with (P < 0.05) for dry season affording more than 96% correct assignation and used five and six parameters for forward and backward stepwise in wet season data with P-value (P < 0.05) affording 68.20% and 82%, respectively. Partial correlation results revealed that there are strong (r(p) = 0.829) and moderate (r(p) = 0.614) relationships between five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids (TS) and dissolved solids (DS) controlling for the linear effect of nitrogen in the form of ammonia (NH(3)) and conductivity for dry and wet seasons, respectively. Multiple linear regression identified the contribution of each variable with significant values r = 0.988, R(2) = 0.976 and r = 0.970, R(2) = 0.942 (P < 0.05) for dry and wet seasons, respectively. Repeated measure t-test confirmed that the surface water quality varies significantly between the seasons with significant value P < 0.05.

7 CFR 58.928 - Quality control tests.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control tests. 58.928 Section 58.928... Procedures § 58.928 Quality control tests. All dairy products and other ingredients shall be subject to inspection for quality and condition throughout each processing operation. Quality control tests shall be...

Expert database system for quality control

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Anne J.; Li, Zhi-Cheng

1993-09-01

There are more competitors today. Markets are not homogeneous they are fragmented into increasingly focused niches requiring greater flexibility in the product mix shorter manufacturing production runs and above allhigher quality. In this paper the author identified a real-time expert system as a way to improve plantwide quality management. The quality control expert database system (QCEDS) by integrating knowledge of experts in operations quality management and computer systems use all information relevant to quality managementfacts as well as rulesto determine if a product meets quality standards. Keywords: expert system quality control data base

Sequence Quality Analysis Tool for HIV Type 1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase

OpenAIRE

DeLong, Allison K.; Wu, Mingham; Bennett, Diane; Parkin, Neil; Wu, Zhijin; Hogan, Joseph W.; Kantor, Rami

2012-01-01

Access to antiretroviral therapy is increasing globally and drug resistance evolution is anticipated. Currently, protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) sequence generation is increasing, including the use of in-house sequencing assays, and quality assessment prior to sequence analysis is essential. We created a computational HIV PR/RT Sequence Quality Analysis Tool (SQUAT) that runs in the R statistical environment. Sequence quality thresholds are calculated from a large dataset (46,802...

Development of a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies: reliability and validity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dawson, A.; Raphael, K.G.; Glaros, A.; Axelsson, S.; Arima, T.; Ernberg, M.; Farella, M.; Lobbezoo, F.; Manfredini, D.; Michelotti, A.; Svensson, P.; List, T.

2013-01-01

AIMS: To combine empirical evidence and expert opinion in a formal consensus method in order to develop a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies in systematic reviews. METHODS: Tool development comprised five steps: (1) preliminary decisions, (2) item generation, (3) face-validity

IT-tool Concept for Design and Intelligent Motion Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conrad, Finn; Hansen, Poul Erik; Sørensen, Torben

2000-01-01

The paper presents results obtained from a Danish mechatronic research program focusing on intelligent motion control as well as results from the Esprit project SWING on IT-tools for rapid prototyping of fluid power components and systems. A mechatronic test facility with digital controllers for ....... Furthermore, a developed IT-tool concept for controller and system design utilising the ISO 10303 STEP Standard is proposed....

7 CFR 58.335 - Quality control tests.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control tests. 58.335 Section 58.335... Procedures § 58.335 Quality control tests. All milk, cream and related products are subject to inspection for quality and condition throughout each processing operation. Quality control tests shall be made on flow...

Quality control of radiopharmaceuticals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdera, E.S.

1994-01-01

The quality control of radiopharmaceuticals is based in physics, physics-chemical and biological controls. Between the different controls can be enumerated the following: visual aspect,side, number of particle beams,activity,purity,ph,isotonicity,sterility,radioinmunoessay,toxicity,stability and clinical essay

7 CFR 58.642 - Quality control tests.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control tests. 58.642 Section 58.642... Procedures § 58.642 Quality control tests. All mix ingredients shall be subject to inspection for quality and condition throughout each processing operation. Quality control tests shall be made on flow line samples as...

Standardization of tests of quality control with the aid of quality tools used in management systems of processes at the Sector of Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul;Padronizacao de testes de controle de qualidade com o auxilio de ferramentas da qualidade utilizadas em sistemas de gerenciamento de processos, junto ao Setor de Medicina Nuclear do Hospital Universitario de Santa Maria, RS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Da Cas, E.V.; Weis, G.L.; Bahunhardt, T.; Shuch, L.A. [Hospital Universitario de Santa Maria, RS (Brazil). Servico de Fisica Medica; Lopes, L.F.D. [Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), RS (Brazil). Dept. de Estatistica. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia de Producao

2009-07-01

This work tries to standardize the tests of quality control at the Sector of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital of Santa Maria, using tools of the quality used in systems of management of processes such as, PDCA, brainstorming, diagram of cause and effect (Ishikawa), 5W2H, verifying list and fluxogram. The tests of quality control refer to the scintillation camera (center of rotation, intrinsic uniformity, intrinsic spatial resolution and linearity, energy resolution for each radionuclide), to the dose calibrator (accuracy, reproducibility and linearity), to the Geiger-Mueller detector (reproducibility of the detector). (author)

Quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mould, R.F.

1983-09-01

The proceedings of a conference held by the Hospital Physicists' Association in London 1983 on the quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation are presented. Section I deals with the performance of the Anger gamma camera including assessment during manufacture, acceptance testing, routine testing and long-term assessment of results. Section II covers interfaces, computers, the quality control problems of emission tomography and the quality of software. Section III deals with radionuclide measurement and impurity assessment and Section IV the presentation of images and the control of image quality. (U.K.)

Dynamic principle for ensemble control tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Samoletov, A; Vasiev, B

2017-11-28

Dynamical equations describing physical systems in contact with a thermal bath are commonly extended by mathematical tools called "thermostats." These tools are designed for sampling ensembles in statistical mechanics. Here we propose a dynamic principle underlying a range of thermostats which is derived using fundamental laws of statistical physics and ensures invariance of the canonical measure. The principle covers both stochastic and deterministic thermostat schemes. Our method has a clear advantage over a range of proposed and widely used thermostat schemes that are based on formal mathematical reasoning. Following the derivation of the proposed principle, we show its generality and illustrate its applications including design of temperature control tools that differ from the Nosé-Hoover-Langevin scheme.

Evaluating control displays with the Engineering Control Analysis Tool (ECAT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plott, B.

2006-01-01

In the Nuclear Power Industry increased use of automated sensors and advanced control systems is expected to reduce and/or change manning requirements. However, critical questions remain regarding the extent to which safety will be compromised if the cognitive workload associated with monitoring multiple automated systems is increased. Can operators/engineers maintain an acceptable level of performance if they are required to supervise multiple automated systems and respond appropriately to off-normal conditions? The interface to/from the automated systems must provide the information necessary for making appropriate decisions regarding intervention in the automated process, but be designed so that the cognitive load is neither too high nor too low for the operator who is responsible for the monitoring and decision making. This paper will describe a new tool that was developed to enhance the ability of human systems integration (HSI) professionals and systems engineers to identify operational tasks in which a high potential for human overload and error can be expected. The tool is entitled the Engineering Control Analysis Tool (ECAT). ECAT was designed and developed to assist in the analysis of: Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), operator task requirements, human error probabilities, workload prediction, potential control and display problems, and potential panel layout problems. (authors)

Evaluating control displays with the Engineering Control Analysis Tool (ECAT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plott, B. [Alion Science and Technology, MA and D Operation, 4949 Pearl E. Circle, 300, Boulder, CO 80301 (United States)

2006-07-01

In the Nuclear Power Industry increased use of automated sensors and advanced control systems is expected to reduce and/or change manning requirements. However, critical questions remain regarding the extent to which safety will be compromised if the cognitive workload associated with monitoring multiple automated systems is increased. Can operators/engineers maintain an acceptable level of performance if they are required to supervise multiple automated systems and respond appropriately to off-normal conditions? The interface to/from the automated systems must provide the information necessary for making appropriate decisions regarding intervention in the automated process, but be designed so that the cognitive load is neither too high nor too low for the operator who is responsible for the monitoring and decision making. This paper will describe a new tool that was developed to enhance the ability of human systems integration (HSI) professionals and systems engineers to identify operational tasks in which a high potential for human overload and error can be expected. The tool is entitled the Engineering Control Analysis Tool (ECAT). ECAT was designed and developed to assist in the analysis of: Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), operator task requirements, human error probabilities, workload prediction, potential control and display problems, and potential panel layout problems. (authors)

Controlling open quantum systems: tools, achievements, and limitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, Christiane P

2016-01-01

The advent of quantum devices, which exploit the two essential elements of quantum physics, coherence and entanglement, has sparked renewed interest in the control of open quantum systems. Successful implementations face the challenge of preserving relevant nonclassical features at the level of device operation. A major obstacle is decoherence, which is caused by interaction with the environment. Optimal control theory is a tool that can be used to identify control strategies in the presence of decoherence. Here we review recent advances in optimal control methodology that allow typical tasks in device operation for open quantum systems to be tackled and discuss examples of relaxation-optimized dynamics. Optimal control theory is also a useful tool to exploit the environment for control. We discuss examples and point out possible future extensions. (topical review)

INFORMATION SYSTEM QUALITY CONTROL KNOWLEDGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir Nikolaevich Babeshko

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The development of the educational system is associated with the need to control the quality of educational services. Quality control knowledge is an important part of the scientific process. The penetration of computers into all areas of activities changing approaches and technologies that previously they were used.

A new tool for quality of multimedia estimation based on network behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslav Frnda

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a software tool capable of predicting the final quality of triple play services by using the most common assessment metrics. The quality of speech and video in network environment is a growing concern of all the internet service providers to carry the multimedia traffic without the excessive delays and losses, which degrade the quality of multimedia as it is perceived by the end users. Prediction mathematical model is based on results obtained from many performed testing scenarios simulating real behavior in the network. Based on the proposed model, speech or video quality is calculated with regard to policies applied for packet processing by routers and to the level of total network utilization. The application cannot only predict QoS parameters but also generate the source code of particular QoS policy setting according to the user interaction and apply the policy to the routers in the network. Contribution of the work consists of a new software tool enables network administrators and designers to improve and optimize network traffic efficiently.

2. Product quality control and assurance system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

Product quality control and assurance are dealt with in relation to reliability in nuclear power engineering. The topics treated include product quality control in nuclear power engineering, product quality assurance of nuclear power plant equipment, quality assurance programs, classification of selected nuclear power equipment, and standards relating to quality control and assurance and to nuclear power engineering. Particular attention is paid to Czechoslovak and CMEA standards. (P.A.). 2 figs., 1 tab., 12 refs

A new generation of tools for search, recovery and quality evaluation of World Wide Web medical resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguillo, I

2000-01-01

Although the Internet is already a valuable information resource in medicine, there are important challenges to be faced before physicians and general users will have extensive access to this information. As a result of a research effort to compile a health-related Internet directory, new tools and strategies have been developed to solve key problems derived from the explosive growth of medical information on the Net and the great concern over the quality of such critical information. The current Internet search engines lack some important capabilities. We suggest using second generation tools (client-side based) able to deal with large quantities of data and to increase the usability of the records recovered. We tested the capabilities of these programs to solve health-related information problems, recognising six groups according to the kind of topics addressed: Z39.50 clients, downloaders, multisearchers, tracing agents, indexers and mappers. The evaluation of the quality of health information available on the Internet could require a large amount of human effort. A possible solution may be to use quantitative indicators based on the hypertext visibility of the Web sites. The cybermetric measures are valid for quality evaluation if they are derived from indirect peer review by experts with Web pages citing the site. The hypertext links acting as citations need to be extracted from a controlled sample of quality super-sites.

Determination and evaluation of air quality control. Manual of ambient air quality control in Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lahmann, E.

1997-07-01

Measurement of air pollution emissions and ambient air quality are essential instruments for air quality control. By undertaking such measurements, pollutants are registered both at their place of origin and at the place where they may have an effect on people or the environment. Both types of measurement complement each other and are essential for the implementation of air quality legislation, particularly, in compliance with emission and ambient air quality limit values. Presented here are similar accounts of measurement principles and also contains as an Appendix a list of suitability-tested measuring devices which is based on information provided by the manufacturers. In addition, the guide of ambient air quality control contains further information on discontinuous measurement methods, on measurement planning and on the assessment of ambient air quality data. (orig./SR)

Innovative Tools for Water Quality/Quantity Management: New York City's Operations Support Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, L.; Schaake, J. C.; Day, G. N.; Porter, J.; Sheer, D. P.; Pyke, G.

2011-12-01

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) manages New York City's water supply, which is comprised of over 20 reservoirs and supplies more than 1 billion gallons of water per day to over 9 million customers. Recently, DEP has initiated design of an Operations Support Tool (OST), a state-of-the-art decision support system to provide computational and predictive support for water supply operations and planning. This presentation describes the technical structure of OST, including the underlying water supply and water quality models, data sources and database management, reservoir inflow forecasts, and the functionalities required to meet the needs of a diverse group of end users. OST is a major upgrade of DEP's current water supply - water quality model, developed to evaluate alternatives for controlling turbidity in NYC's Catskill reservoirs. While the current model relies on historical hydrologic and meteorological data, OST can be driven by forecasted future conditions. It will receive a variety of near-real-time data from a number of sources. OST will support two major types of simulations: long-term, for evaluating policy or infrastructure changes over an extended period of time; and short-term "position analysis" (PA) simulations, consisting of multiple short simulations, all starting from the same initial conditions. Typically, the starting conditions for a PA run will represent those for the current day and traces of forecasted hydrology will drive the model for the duration of the simulation period. The result of these simulations will be a distribution of future system states based on system operating rules and the range of input ensemble streamflow predictions. DEP managers will analyze the output distributions and make operation decisions using risk-based metrics such as probability of refill. Currently, in the developmental stages of OST, forecasts are based on antecedent hydrologic conditions and are statistical in nature. The

30 CFR 74.6 - Quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Quality control. 74.6 Section 74.6 Mineral... of the CMDPSU will be maintained in production through adequate quality control procedures, MSHA and... DUST SAMPLING DEVICES Approval Requirements for Coal Mine Dust Personal Sampler Unit § 74.6 Quality...

Quality Function Deployment – QFD As a Strategic Marketing Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rumeninng Abrantes dos Santos

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The Quality Function Deployment (QFD is a structured method that aims to convert the needs and desires of customers in product quality characteristics. From its origins, more than forty years ago, it has been applied in various organizations in product development and improvement of existing products. This paper aims to show how QFD can be used as a strategic marketing tool. The research method is qualitative with bibliographical research. The results indicate that the use of the attributes of the "House of Quality" in the various sales stages is a market differentiation strategy and a wide applicability of QFD in marketing, transcending the boundaries of product design and production areas.

Measuring and improving the quality of postoperative epidural analgesia for major abdominal surgery using statistical process control charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Fiona; Haigh, Carol

2013-10-01

To explore and improve the quality of continuous epidural analgesia for pain relief using Statistical Process Control tools. Measuring the quality of pain management interventions is complex. Intermittent audits do not accurately capture the results of quality improvement initiatives. The failure rate for one intervention, epidural analgesia, is approximately 30% in everyday practice, so it is an important area for improvement. Continuous measurement and analysis are required to understand the multiple factors involved in providing effective pain relief. Process control and quality improvement Routine prospectively acquired data collection started in 2006. Patients were asked about their pain and side effects of treatment. Statistical Process Control methods were applied for continuous data analysis. A multidisciplinary group worked together to identify reasons for variation in the data and instigated ideas for improvement. The key measure for improvement was a reduction in the percentage of patients with an epidural in severe pain. The baseline control charts illustrated the recorded variation in the rate of several processes and outcomes for 293 surgical patients. The mean visual analogue pain score (VNRS) was four. There was no special cause variation when data were stratified by surgeons, clinical area or patients who had experienced pain before surgery. Fifty-seven per cent of patients were hypotensive on the first day after surgery. We were able to demonstrate a significant improvement in the failure rate of epidurals as the project continued with quality improvement interventions. Statistical Process Control is a useful tool for measuring and improving the quality of pain management. The applications of Statistical Process Control methods offer the potential to learn more about the process of change and outcomes in an Acute Pain Service both locally and nationally. We have been able to develop measures for improvement and benchmarking in routine care that

Immediate outcome indicators in perioperative care: a controlled intervention study on quality improvement in hospitals in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosse, Goetz; Mtatifikolo, Ferdinand; Abels, Wiltrud; Strosing, Christian; Breuer, Jan-Philipp; Spies, Claudia

2013-01-01

Outcome assessment is the standard for evaluating the quality of health services worldwide. In this study, outcome has been divided into immediate and final outcome. Aim was to compare an intervention hospital with a Continuous Quality Improvement approach to a control group using benchmark assessments of immediate outcome indicators in surgical care. Results were compared to final outcome indicators. Surgical care quality in six hospitals in Tanzania was assessed from 2006-2011, using the Hospital Performance Assessment Tool. Independent observers assessed structural, process and outcome quality using checklists based on evidence-based guidelines. The number of surgical key procedures over the benchmark of 80% was compared between the intervention hospital and the control group. Results were compared to Case Fatality Rates. In the intervention hospital, in 2006, two of nine key procedures reached the benchmark, one in 2009, and four in 2011. In the control group, one of nine key procedures reached the benchmark in 2006, one in 2009, and none in 2011. Case Fatality Rate for all in-patients in the intervention hospital was 5.5% (n = 12,530) in 2006, 3.5% (n = 21,114) in 2009 and 4.6% (n = 18,840) in 2011. In the control group it was 3.1% (n = 17,827) in 2006, 4.2% (n = 13,632) in 2009 and 3.8% (n = 17,059) in 2011. Results demonstrated that quality assurance improved performance levels in both groups. After the introduction of Continuous Quality Improvement, performance levels improved further in the intervention hospital while quality in the district hospital did not. Immediate outcome indicators appeared to be a better steering tool for quality improvement compared to final outcome indicators. Immediate outcome indicators revealed a need for improvement in pre- and postoperative care. Quality assurance programs based on immediate outcome indicators can be effective if embedded in Continuous Quality Improvement. Nevertheless, final outcome

Experience of quality control for material accountancy analysis in Pu fuel facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumi, Mika; Satoh, Mitsuhiro; Ohnishi, Sumitaka; Suzuki, Toru

2003-01-01

Destructive analysis for material accountancy purpose should maintain higher precision referring the International Target Value (ITV). Quality control for the analysis is effective tool to maintain the analytical precision in routine analysis as well as to improve its performance. Since isotope dilution mass spectrometry for the determination of Plutonium and Uranium content and its isotopic composition has launched in the laboratory of Plutonium Fuel Center (PFC) of JNC, comprehensive quality control system has gradually growing up, which currently consists of bias detecting, random error monitoring and human error preventing system. Preventing analysis bias is the most important to maintain long-term performance of measurement. To make bias detecting capability robust, PFC is participating to several intercomparison programs regarding DA samples. Random error monitoring system is another important system to maintain high performance of each routine analysis operation, which composes functions to detect abnormal dispersion of each result and to confirm the state of health of operation of mass spectrometers by measurement of standard materials. To avoid human error during operation process, introduction of computer control system as much extent as possible is practical approach. In this paper, the comprehensive quality control system is introduced and the experiences gained so far are summarized for discussion. (author)

Quality control and primo-diagnosis of transurethral bladder resections with full-field OCT

Science.gov (United States)

Montagne, P.; Ducesne, I.; Anract, J.; Yang, C.; Sibony, M.; Beuvon, F.; Delongchamps, N. B.; Dalimier, E.

2017-02-01

Transurethral resections are commonly used for bladder cancer diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Cancer staging relies largely on the analysis of muscle in the resections; however, muscle presence is uncertain at the time of the resection. An extemporaneous quality control tool would be of great use to certify the presence of muscle in the resection, and potentially formulate a primo-diagnosis, in order to ensure optimum patient care. Full-field optical coherence tomography (FFOCT) offers a fast and non-destructive method of obtaining images of biological tissues at ultrahigh resolution (1μm in all 3 directions), approaching traditional histological sections. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of FFOCT for the quality control and the primo-diagnosis of transurethral bladder resections. Over 70 transurethral bladder resections were imaged with FFOCT within minutes, shortly after excision, and before histological preparation. Side-by-side comparison with histology allowed to establish reading criteria for the presence of muscle and cancer in particular. Images of 24 specimens were read blindly by three non-pathologists readers: two resident urologists and a junior bio-medical engineer, who were asked to notify the presence of muscle and tumor. Results showed that after appropriate training, 96% accuracy could be obtained on both tumour and muscle detection. FFOCT is a fast and nondestructive imaging technique that provides analysis results concordant with histology. Its implementation as a quality control and primo-diagnosis tool for transurethral bladder resections in the urology suite is feasible and lets envision high value for the patient.

[Quality control in herbal supplements].

Science.gov (United States)

Oelker, Luisa

2005-01-01

Quality and safety of food and herbal supplements are the result of a whole of different elements as good manufacturing practice and process control. The process control must be active and able to individuate and correct all possible hazards. The main and most utilized instrument is the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system the correct application of which can guarantee the safety of the product. Herbal supplements need, in addition to standard quality control, a set of checks to assure the harmlessness and safety of the plants used.

Operational and Strategic Controlling Tools in Microenterprises - Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Konsek-Ciechońska, Justyna

2017-12-01

Globalisation and increasing requirements of the environment cause the executives and supervisors to search for more and more perfect solutions, allowing them to streamline and improve the effectiveness of company operations. One of such tools, used more and more often, is controlling, the role of which has substantially increased in the recent years. It is already implemented not only in large companies with foreign capital, but also in increasingly smaller entities, which begin to notice the positive effects of the implications of the principles and tools of controlling - both operational and strategic. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the practical side of controlling tools that can be used for the purposes of operations conducted by microenterprises.

Continuous integration and quality control for scientific software

Science.gov (United States)

Neidhardt, A.; Ettl, M.; Brisken, W.; Dassing, R.

2013-08-01

Modern software has to be stable, portable, fast and reliable. This is going to be also more and more important for scientific software. But this requires a sophisticated way to inspect, check and evaluate the quality of source code with a suitable, automated infrastructure. A centralized server with a software repository and a version control system is one essential part, to manage the code basis and to control the different development versions. While each project can be compiled separately, the whole code basis can also be compiled with one central “Makefile”. This is used to create automated, nightly builds. Additionally all sources are inspected automatically with static code analysis and inspection tools, which check well-none error situations, memory and resource leaks, performance issues, or style issues. In combination with an automatic documentation generator it is possible to create the developer documentation directly from the code and the inline comments. All reports and generated information are presented as HTML page on a Web server. Because this environment increased the stability and quality of the software of the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell tremendously, it is now also available for scientific communities. One regular customer is already the developer group of the DiFX software correlator project.

Distributed sensor architecture for intelligent control that supports quality of control and quality of service.

Science.gov (United States)

Poza-Lujan, Jose-Luis; Posadas-Yagüe, Juan-Luis; Simó-Ten, José-Enrique; Simarro, Raúl; Benet, Ginés

2015-02-25

This paper is part of a study of intelligent architectures for distributed control and communications systems. The study focuses on optimizing control systems by evaluating the performance of middleware through quality of service (QoS) parameters and the optimization of control using Quality of Control (QoC) parameters. The main aim of this work is to study, design, develop, and evaluate a distributed control architecture based on the Data-Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS) communication standard as proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG). As a result of the study, an architecture called Frame-Sensor-Adapter to Control (FSACtrl) has been developed. FSACtrl provides a model to implement an intelligent distributed Event-Based Control (EBC) system with support to measure QoS and QoC parameters. The novelty consists of using, simultaneously, the measured QoS and QoC parameters to make decisions about the control action with a new method called Event Based Quality Integral Cycle. To validate the architecture, the first five Braitenberg vehicles have been implemented using the FSACtrl architecture. The experimental outcomes, demonstrate the convenience of using jointly QoS and QoC parameters in distributed control systems.

Distributed Sensor Architecture for Intelligent Control that Supports Quality of Control and Quality of Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose-Luis Poza-Lujan

2015-02-01

Full Text Available This paper is part of a study of intelligent architectures for distributed control and communications systems. The study focuses on optimizing control systems by evaluating the performance of middleware through quality of service (QoS parameters and the optimization of control using Quality of Control (QoC parameters. The main aim of this work is to study, design, develop, and evaluate a distributed control architecture based on the Data-Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS communication standard as proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG. As a result of the study, an architecture called Frame-Sensor-Adapter to Control (FSACtrl has been developed. FSACtrl provides a model to implement an intelligent distributed Event-Based Control (EBC system with support to measure QoS and QoC parameters. The novelty consists of using, simultaneously, the measured QoS and QoC parameters to make decisions about the control action with a new method called Event Based Quality Integral Cycle. To validate the architecture, the first five Braitenberg vehicles have been implemented using the FSACtrl architecture. The experimental outcomes, demonstrate the convenience of using jointly QoS and QoC parameters in distributed control systems.

Quality control education in the community college

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, J. Griffen; Wilson, Steve

1966-01-01

This paper describes the Quality Control Program at Daytona Beach Junior College, including course descriptions. The program in quality control required communication between the college and the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC). The college has machinery established for certification of the learning process, and the society has the source of teachers who are competent in the technical field and who are the employers of the educational products. The associate degree for quality control does not have a fixed program, which can serve all needs, any more than all engineering degrees have identical programs. The main ideas which would be common to all quality control programs are the concept of economic control of a repetitive process and the concept of developing individual potentialities into individuals who are needed and productive.

Development of a quality management system for borehole investigations. (1) Quality assurance and quality control methodology for hydraulic packer testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Shinji; Kunimaru, Takanori; Ota, Kunio; Frieg, Bernd

2011-01-01

A quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) system for the hydraulic packer tests has been established based on the surface-based investigations at JAEA's underground research laboratories in Mizunami and Horonobe. The established QA/QC system covers field investigations (data acquisition) and data analysis. For the field investigations, the adopted procedure is selection of a test section based on a detail fluid logging and checking with tally list, followed by inspection of test tools such as pressure transducers and shut-in valves, etc., test method selection using a 'sequential hydraulic test' for deciding appropriate method, and finally data quality confirmation by pressure changes and derivatives on a log-log plots during testing. Test event logs should also be described during testing for traceability. For the test data analysis, a quick analysis for rough estimation of hydraulic parameters, and a detailed analysis using type curve and/or numerical analyses are conducted stepwise. The established QA/QC system has been applied to the recent borehole investigations and its efficiency has been confirmed. (author)

The concentration-discharge slope as a tool for water quality management.

Science.gov (United States)

Bieroza, M Z; Heathwaite, A L; Bechmann, M; Kyllmar, K; Jordan, P

2018-07-15

Recent technological breakthroughs of optical sensors and analysers have enabled matching the water quality measurement interval to the time scales of stream flow changes and led to an improved understanding of spatially and temporally heterogeneous sources and delivery pathways for many solutes and particulates. This new ability to match the chemograph with the hydrograph has promoted renewed interest in the concentration-discharge (c-q) relationship and its value in characterizing catchment storage, time lags and legacy effects for both weathering products and anthropogenic pollutants. In this paper we evaluated the stream c-q relationships for a number of water quality determinands (phosphorus, suspended sediments, nitrogen) in intensively managed agricultural catchments based on both high-frequency (sub-hourly) and long-term low-frequency (fortnightly-monthly) routine monitoring data. We used resampled high-frequency data to test the uncertainty in water quality parameters (e.g. mean, 95th percentile and load) derived from low-frequency sub-datasets. We showed that the uncertainty in water quality parameters increases with reduced sampling frequency as a function of the c-q slope. We also showed that different sources and delivery pathways control c-q relationship for different solutes and particulates. Secondly, we evaluated the variation in c-q slopes derived from the long-term low-frequency data for different determinands and catchments and showed strong chemostatic behaviour for phosphorus and nitrogen due to saturation and agricultural legacy effects. The c-q slope analysis can provide an effective tool to evaluate the current monitoring networks and the effectiveness of water management interventions. This research highlights how improved understanding of solute and particulate dynamics obtained with optical sensors and analysers can be used to understand patterns in long-term water quality time series, reduce the uncertainty in the monitoring data and to

Content, Quality, and Assessment Tools of Physician-Rating Websites in 12 Countries: Quantitative Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothenfluh, Fabia; Schulz, Peter J

2018-06-14

Websites on which users can rate their physician are becoming increasingly popular, but little is known about the website quality, the information content, and the tools they offer users to assess physicians. This study assesses these aspects on physician-rating websites in German- and English-speaking countries. The objective of this study was to collect information on websites with a physician rating or review tool in 12 countries in terms of metadata, website quality (transparency, privacy and freedom of speech of physicians and patients, check mechanisms for appropriateness and accuracy of reviews, and ease of page navigation), professional information about the physician, rating scales and tools, as well as traffic rank. A systematic Web search based on a set of predefined keywords was conducted on Google, Bing, and Yahoo in August 2016. A final sample of 143 physician-rating websites was analyzed and coded for metadata, quality, information content, and the physician-rating tools. The majority of websites were registered in the United States (40/143) or Germany (25/143). The vast majority were commercially owned (120/143, 83.9%), and 69.9% (100/143) displayed some form of physician advertisement. Overall, information content (mean 9.95/25) as well as quality were low (mean 18.67/47). Websites registered in the United Kingdom obtained the highest quality scores (mean 26.50/47), followed by Australian websites (mean 21.50/47). In terms of rating tools, physician-rating websites were most frequently asking users to score overall performance, punctuality, or wait time in practice. This study evidences that websites that provide physician rating should improve and communicate their quality standards, especially in terms of physician and user protection, as well as transparency. In addition, given that quality standards on physician-rating websites are low overall, the development of transparent guidelines is required. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the

A planning quality evaluation tool for prostate adaptive IMRT based on machine learning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Xiaofeng; Ge Yaorong; Li Taoran; Thongphiew, Danthai; Yin Fangfang; Wu, Q Jackie

2011-01-01

Purpose: To ensure plan quality for adaptive IMRT of the prostate, we developed a quantitative evaluation tool using a machine learning approach. This tool generates dose volume histograms (DVHs) of organs-at-risk (OARs) based on prior plans as a reference, to be compared with the adaptive plan derived from fluence map deformation. Methods: Under the same configuration using seven-field 15 MV photon beams, DVHs of OARs (bladder and rectum) were estimated based on anatomical information of the patient and a model learned from a database of high quality prior plans. In this study, the anatomical information was characterized by the organ volumes and distance-to-target histogram (DTH). The database consists of 198 high quality prostate plans and was validated with 14 cases outside the training pool. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to DVHs and DTHs to quantify their salient features. Then, support vector regression (SVR) was implemented to establish the correlation between the features of the DVH and the anatomical information. Results: DVH/DTH curves could be characterized sufficiently just using only two or three truncated principal components, thus, patient anatomical information was quantified with reduced numbers of variables. The evaluation of the model using the test data set demonstrated its accuracy ∼80% in prediction and effectiveness in improving ART planning quality. Conclusions: An adaptive IMRT plan quality evaluation tool based on machine learning has been developed, which estimates OAR sparing and provides reference in evaluating ART.

CONTROL DE CALIDAD DE HERRAMIENTAS DE CORTE CON REMOCIÓN MÍNIMA DE MATERIAL QUALITY CONTROL OF CUTTING TOOLS WITH MINIMUM MATERIAL REMOVAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jandrey Maldaner

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Debido a la mejora de las tecnologías de mecanizado, es necesario que las herramientas satisfagan las demandas requeridas. Una condición especial, para poder describir con seguridad el corte con remoción mínima de material, es el conocimiento de los valores característicos de la superficie y de la geometría. Las herramientas poseen una influencia substancial en la calidad de las piezas producidas, así como en la estabilidad y en la seguridad del proceso de mecanizado. Aunque hay una gran cantidad de herramientas para el corte con remoción mínima de material, se presenta como ejemplo la investigación con medición óptica y la obtención de los valores característicos para dientes de sierras de cinta.Due to improved machine cutting technologies it is necessary that tools fulfil the required performance. A special condition, for minimal machine cutting removal, is the knowledge of surface and geometry characteristic values. These tools represent both a substantial influence on the quality of the manufactured pieces and on stability and working safety of the cutting process. Since there is a large number of tools for minimal removal of material, examples of optical measurement and examination of characteristic values by the belt saw teeth are presented.

Development of the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set (QI-MQCS): a tool for critical appraisal of quality improvement intervention publications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hempel, Susanne; Shekelle, Paul G; Liu, Jodi L; Sherwood Danz, Margie; Foy, Robbie; Lim, Yee-Wei; Motala, Aneesa; Rubenstein, Lisa V

2015-12-01

Valid, reliable critical appraisal tools advance quality improvement (QI) intervention impacts by helping stakeholders identify higher quality studies. QI approaches are diverse and differ from clinical interventions. Widely used critical appraisal instruments do not take unique QI features into account and existing QI tools (eg, Standards for QI Reporting Excellence) are intended for publication guidance rather than critical appraisal. This study developed and psychometrically tested a critical appraisal instrument, the QI Minimum Quality Criteria Set (QI-MQCS) for assessing QI-specific features of QI publications. Approaches to developing the tool and ensuring validity included a literature review, in-person and online survey expert panel input, and application to empirical examples. We investigated psychometric properties in a set of diverse QI publications (N=54) by analysing reliability measures and item endorsement rates and explored sources of disagreement between reviewers. The QI-MQCS includes 16 content domains to evaluate QI intervention publications: Organisational Motivation, Intervention Rationale, Intervention Description, Organisational Characteristics, Implementation, Study Design, Comparator Description, Data Sources, Timing, Adherence/Fidelity, Health Outcomes, Organisational Readiness, Penetration/Reach, Sustainability, Spread and Limitations. Median inter-rater agreement for QI-MQCS items was κ 0.57 (83% agreement). Item statistics indicated sufficient ability to differentiate between publications (median quality criteria met 67%). Internal consistency measures indicated coherence without excessive conceptual overlap (absolute mean interitem correlation=0.19). The critical appraisal instrument is accompanied by a user manual detailing What to consider, Where to look and How to rate. We developed a ready-to-use, valid and reliable critical appraisal instrument applicable to healthcare QI intervention publications, but recognise scope for

14 CFR 145.211 - Quality control system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control system. 145.211 Section 145...) SCHOOLS AND OTHER CERTIFICATED AGENCIES REPAIR STATIONS Operating Rules § 145.211 Quality control system. (a) A certificated repair station must establish and maintain a quality control system acceptable to...

18 CFR 12.40 - Quality control programs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Quality control... PROJECT WORKS Other Responsibilities of Applicant or Licensee § 12.40 Quality control programs. (a... meeting any requirements or standards set by the Regional Engineer. If a quality control program is...

GCE Data Toolbox for MATLAB - a software framework for automating environmental data processing, quality control and documentation

Science.gov (United States)

Sheldon, W.; Chamblee, J.; Cary, R. H.

2013-12-01

Environmental scientists are under increasing pressure from funding agencies and journal publishers to release quality-controlled data in a timely manner, as well as to produce comprehensive metadata for submitting data to long-term archives (e.g. DataONE, Dryad and BCO-DMO). At the same time, the volume of digital data that researchers collect and manage is increasing rapidly due to advances in high frequency electronic data collection from flux towers, instrumented moorings and sensor networks. However, few pre-built software tools are available to meet these data management needs, and those tools that do exist typically focus on part of the data management lifecycle or one class of data. The GCE Data Toolbox has proven to be both a generalized and effective software solution for environmental data management in the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER). This open source MATLAB software library, developed by the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER program, integrates metadata capture, creation and management with data processing, quality control and analysis to support the entire data lifecycle. Raw data can be imported directly from common data logger formats (e.g. SeaBird, Campbell Scientific, YSI, Hobo), as well as delimited text files, MATLAB files and relational database queries. Basic metadata are derived from the data source itself (e.g. parsed from file headers) and by value inspection, and then augmented using editable metadata templates containing boilerplate documentation, attribute descriptors, code definitions and quality control rules. Data and metadata content, quality control rules and qualifier flags are then managed together in a robust data structure that supports database functionality and ensures data validity throughout processing. A growing suite of metadata-aware editing, quality control, analysis and synthesis tools are provided with the software to support managing data using graphical forms and command-line functions, as well as

Computer controlled quality of analytical measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, J.P.; Huff, G.A.

1979-01-01

A PDP 11/35 computer system is used in evaluating analytical chemistry measurements quality control data at the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant. This computerized measurement quality control system has several features which are not available in manual systems, such as real-time measurement control, computer calculated bias corrections and standard deviation estimates, surveillance applications, evaluaton of measurement system variables, records storage, immediate analyst recertificaton, and the elimination of routine analysis of known bench standards. The effectiveness of the Barnwell computer system has been demonstrated in gathering and assimilating the measurements of over 1100 quality control samples obtained during a recent plant demonstration run. These data were used to determine equaitons for predicting measurement reliability estimates (bias and precision); to evaluate the measurement system; and to provide direction for modification of chemistry methods. The analytical chemistry measurement quality control activities represented 10% of the total analytical chemistry effort

Quality assurance, quality control and quality audit in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vassileva, J.

2009-01-01

Full text:The lecture aims to present contemporary view of quality assurance in X-Ray diagnosis and its practical realization in Bulgaria. In the lecture the concepts of quality assurance, quality control and clinical audit will be defined and their scope will be considered. An answer of the following questions will be given: why is it necessary to determine the dose of patient in X-ray studies, what is the reference dose level and how it is used for dosimetric quantity which characterized the patient's exposure in X-ray, mammography and CT scans and how they are measured, who conducted the measurement and how to keep the records, what are the variations of doses in identical tests and what defines them? The findings from a national survey of doses in diagnostic radiology, conducted in 2008-2009 and the developed new national reference levels will be presented. The main findings of the first tests of radiological equipment and the future role of quality control as well as the concept of conducting clinical audit and its role in quality assurance are also presented. Quality assurance of the diagnostic process with minimal exposure of patients is a strategic goal whose realization requires understanding, organization and practical action, both nationally and in every hospital. To achieve this the important role of education and training of physicians, radiological technicians and medical physicists is enhanced

[Evaluation of the quality control system in blood transfusion service].

Science.gov (United States)

Jovanović, R

2000-01-01

Implementation of quality system improvement at the Blood Transfusion Institute Novi Sad, included adjustments in practice to the request of ISO 9001 standard. Quality improvement must be a permanent activity of the Institute. The audit is a management tool for monitoring the quality assurance system and is either a quality audit or a medical audit. A well planned, comprehensive quality audit covers each activity of the Blood Transfusion Institute. The procedures may be internal or external. Quality manager is responsible for annual internal quality audits. The purpose of internal audits is to check the efficiency of the quality system in terms of realization of quality policy, fulfullment of designed targets and implementation of quality system documents. An internal quality audit is performed in accordance with the procedure and audit findings are reported to the management in a form of internal quality report as a part of quality system review. The findings must be communicated to all persons responsible for the controlled area. Quality manager can initiate an internal quality audit whenever it is realized that problems about the quality system have occurred. Audits are conducted by the quality manager or an audit team. The accurate list of internal auditors is kept in the Institute archive. Medical audit carried out by a transfusion committee, evaluates the quality of blood transfusion for determining the degree of compliance with established local or national guidelines, in order to promote optimal transfusion practice. Audits are not only used for determining further quality management activities, but also make basis for creating and maintenance of excellent relations with product and service users. Considering all this, Blood Transfusion Institute exceeds the requirements of ISO 9000 standards series.

A flexible tool for hydraulic and water quality performance analysis of green infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Massoudieh, A.; Alikhani, J.

2017-12-01

Models that allow for design considerations of green infrastructure (GI) practices to control stormwater runoff and associated contaminants have received considerable attention in recent years. To be used to evaluate the effect design configurations on the long-term performance of GIs, models should be able to consider processes within GIs with good fidelity. In this presentation, a sophisticated, yet flexible tool for hydraulic and water quality assessment of GIs will be introduced. The tool can be used by design engineers and researchers to capture and explore the effect of design factors and properties of the media employed in the performance of GI systems at a relatively small scale. We deemed it essential to have a flexible GI modeling tool that is capable of simulating GI system components and specific biogeochemical processes affecting contaminants such as evapotranspiration, plant uptake, reactions, and particle-associated transport accurately while maintaining a high degree of flexibility to account for the myriad of GI alternatives. The mathematical framework for a stand-alone GI performance assessment tool has been developed and will be demonstrated. The process-based model framework developed here can be used to model a diverse range of GI practices such as stormwater ponds, green roofs, retention ponds, bioretention systems, infiltration trench, permeable pavement and other custom-designed combinatory systems. An example of the application of the system to evaluate the performance of a rain-garden system will be demonstrated.

Employee quality, monitoring environment and internal control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunli Liu

2017-03-01

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

Tools for Developing a Quality Management Program: Proactive Tools (Process Mapping, Value Stream Mapping, Fault Tree Analysis, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rath, Frank

2008-01-01

This article examines the concepts of quality management (QM) and quality assurance (QA), as well as the current state of QM and QA practices in radiotherapy. A systematic approach incorporating a series of industrial engineering-based tools is proposed, which can be applied in health care organizations proactively to improve process outcomes, reduce risk and/or improve patient safety, improve through-put, and reduce cost. This tool set includes process mapping and process flowcharting, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), value stream mapping, and fault tree analysis (FTA). Many health care organizations do not have experience in applying these tools and therefore do not understand how and when to use them. As a result there are many misconceptions about how to use these tools, and they are often incorrectly applied. This article describes these industrial engineering-based tools and also how to use them, when they should be used (and not used), and the intended purposes for their use. In addition the strengths and weaknesses of each of these tools are described, and examples are given to demonstrate the application of these tools in health care settings

Test Analysis Tools to Ensure Higher Quality of On-Board Real Time Software for Space Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Boudillet, O.; Mescam, J.-C.; Dalemagne, D.

2008-08-01

EADS Astrium Space Transportation, in its Les Mureaux premises, is responsible for the French M51 nuclear deterrent missile onboard SW. There was also developed over 1 million of line of code, mostly in ADA, for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) onboard SW and the flight control SW of the ARIANE5 launcher which has put it into orbit. As part of the ATV SW, ASTRIUM ST has developed the first Category A SW ever qualified for a European space application. To ensure that all these embedded SW have been developed with the highest quality and reliability level, specific development tools have been designed to cover the steps of source code verification, automated validation test or complete target instruction coverage verification. Three of such dedicated tools are presented here.

Problems of quality assurance and quality control in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angerstein, W.

1986-01-01

Topical problems of quality assurance and quality control in diagnostic radiology are discussed and possible solutions are shown. Complex units are differentiated with reference to physicians, technicians, organization of labour, methods of examination and indication. Quality control of radiologic imaging systems should involve three stages: (1) simple tests carried out by radiologic technicians, (2) measurements by service technicians, (3) testing of products by the manufacturer and independent governmental or health service test agencies. (author)

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

Establishment for quality control of experimental animal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Hwan; Kim, Soo Kwan; Kim, Tae Kyoung

1999-06-01

Until now, because we have imported experimental animal from foreign experimental animal corporation, we could have saved money by establishing the quality control of animal in barrier system. In order to improve the quality of animal experiment and efficiency of biomedical study, it is indispensable to control many factors that effect in the experiment. Therefore, it is essential to organize the system of laboratory animal care for enhancing reliability and revivability of experimental results. The purpose of the present investigation was to establish the quality control system of experimental animals that we can provide good quality animals according to the experimental condition of each investigator although the exact quality control system to estimate the infection of bacteria and virus easily remains ill-defined yet. Accordingly, we established the useful quality control system for microbiologic monitoring and environmental monitoring to protect experimental animal from harmful bacteria and virus

Establishment for quality control of experimental animal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Hwan; Kim, Soo Kwan; Kim, Tae Kyoung

1999-06-01

Until now, because we have imported experimental animal from foreign experimental animal corporation, we could have saved money by establishing the quality control of animal in barrier system. In order to improve the quality of animal experiment and efficiency of biomedical study, it is indispensable to control many factors that effect in the experiment. Therefore, it is essential to organize the system of laboratory animal care for enhancing reliability and revivability of experimental results. The purpose of the present investigation was to establish the quality control system of experimental animals that we can provide good quality animals according to the experimental condition of each investigator although the exact quality control system to estimate the infection of bacteria and virus easily remains ill-defined yet. Accordingly, we established the useful quality control system for microbiologic monitoring and environmental monitoring to protect experimental animal from harmful bacteria and virus.

Towards sustainability in cold chains : development of a quality, energy and environmental assessment tool (QEEAT)

OpenAIRE

Gwanpua , S.G.; Verboven , P.; Brown , T.; Leducq , D.; Verlinden , B.E.; Evans , J.; Van Der Sluis , S.; Wissink , E.B.; Taoukis , P.; Gogou , E.; Stahl , V.; El Jabri , M.; Thuault , D.; Claussen , I.; Indergard , E.

2014-01-01

International audience; Quantification of the impact of refrigeration technologies in terms of the quality of refrigerated food, energy usage, and environmental impact is essential to assess cold chain sustainability. In this paper, we present a software tool QEEAT (Quality, Energy and Environmental Assessment Tool) for evaluating refrigeration technologies. As a starting point, a reference product was chosen for the different main food categories in the European cold chain. Software code to ...

A tool to determine financial impact of adverse events in health care: healthcare quality calculator.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarbrough, Wendell G; Sewell, Andrew; Tickle, Erin; Rhinehardt, Eric; Harkleroad, Rod; Bennett, Marc; Johnson, Deborah; Wen, Li; Pfeiffer, Matthew; Benegas, Manny; Morath, Julie

2014-12-01

Hospital leaders lack tools to determine the financial impact of poor patient outcomes and adverse events. To provide health-care leaders with decision support for investments to improve care, we created a tool, the Healthcare Quality Calculator (HQCal), which uses institution-specific financial data to calculate impact of poor patient outcomes or quality improvement on present and future margin. Excel and Web-based versions of the HQCal were based on a cohort study framework and created with modular components including major drivers of cost and reimbursement. The Healthcare Quality Calculator (HQCal) compares payment, cost, and profit/loss for patients with and without poor outcomes or quality issues. Cost and payment information for groups with and without quality issues are used by the HQCal to calculate profit or loss. Importantly, institution-specific payment and cost data are used to calculate financial impact and attributable cost associated with poor patient outcomes, adverse events, or quality issues. Because future cost and reimbursement changes can be forecast, the HQCal incorporates a forward-looking component. The flexibility of the HQCal was demonstrated using surgical site infections after abdominal surgery and postoperative surgical airway complications. The Healthcare Quality Calculator determines financial impact of poor patient outcomes and the benefit of initiatives to improve quality. The calculator can identify quality issues that would provide the largest financial benefit if improved; however, it cannot identify specific interventions. The calculator provides a tool to improve transparency regarding both short- and long-term financial consequences of funding, or failing to fund, initiatives to close gaps in quality or improve patient outcomes.

Quality control for dose calibrators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendes, L.C.G.

1984-01-01

Nuclear medicine laboratories are required to assay samples of radioactivity to be administered to patients. Almost universally, these assays are accomplished by use of a well ionization chamber isotope calibrator. The Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (Institute for Radiological Protection and Dosimetry) of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (National Commission for Nuclear Energy) is carrying out a National Quality Control Programme in Nuclear Medicine, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The assessment of the current needs and practices of quality control in the entire country of Brazil includes Dose Calibrators and Scintillation Cameras, but this manual is restricted to the former. Quality Control Procedures for these Instruments are described in this document together with specific recommendations and assessment of its accuracy. (author)

New evaluation tool now available to assess research quality | IDRC ...

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

2016-04-25

Apr 25, 2016 ... New evaluation tool now available to assess research quality ... Ratings on a scale defined by rubrics, to indicate the level at which a project ... Report: The value-for-money discourse: risks and opportunities for research for development ... Copyright · Open access policy · Privacy policy · Research ethics ...

E-nursing documentation as a tool for quality assurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajkovic, Vladislav; Sustersic, Olga; Rajkovic, Uros

2006-01-01

The article presents the results of a project with which we describe the reengineering of nursing documentation. Documentation in nursing is an efficient tool for ensuring quality health care and consequently quality patient treatment along the whole clinical path. We have taken into account the nursing process and patient treatment based on Henderson theoretical model of nursing that consists of 14 basic living activities. The model of new documentation enables tracing, transparency, selectivity, monitoring and analyses. All these factors lead to improvements of a health system as well as to improved safety of patients and members of nursing teams. Thus the documentation was developed for three health care segments: secondary and tertiary level, dispensaries and community health care. The new quality introduced to the documentation process by information and communication technology is presented by a database model and a software prototype for managing documentation.

Tool steel quality and surface finishing of plastic molds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Agnelli Mesquita

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Plastic industry is today in a constant growth, demanding several products from other segments, which includes the plastic molds, mainly used in the injection molding process. Considering all the requirements of plastic molds, the surface finishing is of special interest, as the injected plastic part is able to reproduce any details (and also defects from the mold surface. Therefore, several aspects on mold finishing are important, mainly related to manufacturing conditions - machining, grinding, polishing and texturing, and also related to the tool steel quality, in relation to microstructure homogeneity and non-metallic inclusions (cleanliness. The present paper is then focused on this interrelationship between steel quality and manufacturing process, which are both related to the final quality of plastic mold surfaces. Examples are discussed in terms of surface finishing of plastic molds and the properties or the microstructure of mold steels.

High-volume image quality assessment systems: tuning performance with an interactive data visualization tool

Science.gov (United States)

Bresnahan, Patricia A.; Pukinskis, Madeleine; Wiggins, Michael

1999-03-01

evaluation. Lower-level pass-fail conditions and decision rules were coded into the system. Higher-level image quality states were defined by allowing the users to interactively adjust the system's sensitivity to various image attributes by manipulating graphical controls. Results were presented in easily interpreted bar graphs. These graphs were mouse- sensitive, allowing the user to more fully explore the subsets of data indicated by various color blocks. In order to simplify the performance evaluation and tuning process, users could choose to view the results of (1) the existing system parameter state, (2) the results of any arbitrary parameter values they chose, or (3) the results of a quasi-optimum parameter state, derived by applying a decision rule to a large set of possible parameter states. Giving managers easy- to-use tools for defining the more subjective aspects of quality resulted in a system that responded to contextual cues that are difficult to hard-code. It had the additional advantage of allowing the definition of quality to evolve over time, as users became more knowledgeable as to the strengths and limitations of an automated quality inspection system.

Framework for pharmacy services quality improvement--a bridge to cross the quality chasm. Part I. The opportunity and the tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtiss, Frederic R; Fry, Richard N; Avey, Steven G

2004-01-01

To review the literature on the subject of quality improvement principles and methods applied to pharmacy services and to describe a framework for current and future efforts in pharmacy services quality improvement and effective drug therapy management. The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy produced the Catalog of Pharmacy Quality Indicators in 1997, followed by the Summary of National Pharmacy Quality Measures in February 1999. In April 2002, AMCP introduced Pharmacy's Framework for Drug Therapy Management in the 21st Century. The Framework documents include a self-assessment tool that details more than 250 specific "components" that describe tasks, behaviors, skills, functions, duties, and responsibilities that contribute to meeting customer expectations for effective drug therapy management. There are many opportunities for quality improvement in clinical, service, and cost outcomes related to drug therapy management. These may include patient safety; incidence of medical errors; adverse drug events; patient adherence to therapy; attainment of target goals of blood pressure, glucose, and lipid levels; risk reduction for adverse cardiac events and osteoporotic-related fractures; patient satisfaction; risk of hospitalization or mortality; and cost of care. Health care practitioners can measure improvements in health care quality in several ways including (a) a better patient outcome at the same cost, (b) the same patient outcome at lower cost, (c) a better patient outcome at lower cost, or (d) a significantly better patient outcome at moderately higher cost. Measurement makes effective management possible. A framework of component factors (e.g., tasks) is necessary to facilitate changes in the key processes and critical factors that will help individual practitioners and health care systems meet customer expectations in regard to drug therapy, thus improving these outcomes. Quality improvement in health care services in the United States will be made in incremental

42 CFR 84.256 - Quality control requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Quality control requirements. 84.256 Section 84.256... § 84.256 Quality control requirements. (a) In addition to the construction and performance requirements specified in §§ 84.251, 84.252, 84.253, 84.254, and 84.255, the quality control requirements in paragraphs...

Iterative process control and sensor evaluation for deep drawing tools with integrated piezoelectric actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bäume Tobias

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Due to the design-driven increase in complexity of forming car body parts, it becomes more difficult to ensure a stable forming process. Piezoelectric actuators can influence the material flow of stamping parts effectively. In this article the implementation of piezoelectric actuators in a large scale sheet metal forming tool of a car manufacturer is described. Additionally, it is shown that part quality can be assessed with the help of triangulation laser sensors, which are mounted on the blankholder. The resulting flange draw-in signals were processed and used to adopt the applying actuator force iteratively to reduce the occurrence of cracks. It was shown that process control helped to improve the quality of the stamping parts significantly.

Artificial intelligence-based computer modeling tools for controlling slag foaming in electric arc furnaces

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Eric Lee

Due to increased competition in a world economy, steel companies are currently interested in developing techniques that will allow for the improvement of the steelmaking process, either by increasing output efficiency or by improving the quality of their product, or both. Slag foaming is one practice that has been shown to contribute to both these goals. However, slag foaming is highly dynamic and difficult to model or control. This dissertation describes an effort to use artificial intelligence-based tools (genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, and neural networks) to both model and control the slag foaming process. Specifically, a neural network is trained and tested on slag foaming data provided by a steel plant. This neural network model is then controlled by a fuzzy logic controller, which in turn is optimized by a genetic algorithm. This tuned controller is then installed at a steel plant and given control be a more efficient slag foaming controller than what was previously used by the steel plant.

Chemometrics applied to quality control and metabolomics for traditional Chinese medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shao; Liang, Yi-Zeng; Liu, Hai-Tao

2016-03-15

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) bring a great challenge in quality control and evaluating the efficacy because of their complexity of chemical composition. Chemometric techniques provide a good opportunity for mining more useful chemical information from TCMs. Then, the application of chemometrics in the field of TCMs is spontaneous and necessary. This review focuses on the recent various important chemometrics tools for chromatographic fingerprinting, including peak alignment information features, baseline correction and applications of chemometrics in metabolomics and modernization of TCMs, including authentication and evaluation of the quality of TCMs, evaluating the efficacy of TCMs and essence of TCM syndrome. In the conclusions, the general trends and some recommendations for improving chromatographic metabolomics data analysis are provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International Society of Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM)-ITS reference DNA barcoding database--the quality controlled standard tool for routine identification of human and animal pathogenic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Irinyi, Laszlo; Serena, Carolina; Garcia-Hermoso, Dea; Arabatzis, Michael; Desnos-Ollivier, Marie; Vu, Duong; Cardinali, Gianluigi; Arthur, Ian; Normand, Anne-Cécile; Giraldo, Alejandra; da Cunha, Keith Cassia; Sandoval-Denis, Marcelo; Hendrickx, Marijke; Nishikaku, Angela Satie; de Azevedo Melo, Analy Salles; Merseguel, Karina Bellinghausen; Khan, Aziza; Parente Rocha, Juliana Alves; Sampaio, Paula; da Silva Briones, Marcelo Ribeiro; e Ferreira, Renata Carmona; de Medeiros Muniz, Mauro; Castañón-Olivares, Laura Rosio; Estrada-Barcenas, Daniel; Cassagne, Carole; Mary, Charles; Duan, Shu Yao; Kong, Fanrong; Sun, Annie Ying; Zeng, Xianyu; Zhao, Zuotao; Gantois, Nausicaa; Botterel, Françoise; Robbertse, Barbara; Schoch, Conrad; Gams, Walter; Ellis, David; Halliday, Catriona; Chen, Sharon; Sorrell, Tania C; Piarroux, Renaud; Colombo, Arnaldo L; Pais, Célia; de Hoog, Sybren; Zancopé-Oliveira, Rosely Maria; Taylor, Maria Lucia; Toriello, Conchita; de Almeida Soares, Célia Maria; Delhaes, Laurence; Stubbe, Dirk; Dromer, Françoise; Ranque, Stéphane; Guarro, Josep; Cano-Lira, Jose F; Robert, Vincent; Velegraki, Aristea; Meyer, Wieland

2015-05-01

Human and animal fungal pathogens are a growing threat worldwide leading to emerging infections and creating new risks for established ones. There is a growing need for a rapid and accurate identification of pathogens to enable early diagnosis and targeted antifungal therapy. Morphological and biochemical identification methods are time-consuming and require trained experts. Alternatively, molecular methods, such as DNA barcoding, a powerful and easy tool for rapid monophasic identification, offer a practical approach for species identification and less demanding in terms of taxonomical expertise. However, its wide-spread use is still limited by a lack of quality-controlled reference databases and the evolving recognition and definition of new fungal species/complexes. An international consortium of medical mycology laboratories was formed aiming to establish a quality controlled ITS database under the umbrella of the ISHAM working group on "DNA barcoding of human and animal pathogenic fungi." A new database, containing 2800 ITS sequences representing 421 fungal species, providing the medical community with a freely accessible tool at http://www.isham.org/ and http://its.mycologylab.org/ to rapidly and reliably identify most agents of mycoses, was established. The generated sequences included in the new database were used to evaluate the variation and overall utility of the ITS region for the identification of pathogenic fungi at intra-and interspecies level. The average intraspecies variation ranged from 0 to 2.25%. This highlighted selected pathogenic fungal species, such as the dermatophytes and emerging yeast, for which additional molecular methods/genetic markers are required for their reliable identification from clinical and veterinary specimens. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Assessing organisational culture for quality and safety improvement: a national survey of tools and tool use.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannion, R; Konteh, F H; Davies, H T O

2009-04-01

There is growing international interest in managing organisational culture as a lever for healthcare improvement. This has prompted a practical need to understand what instruments and tools exist for assessing cultures in healthcare contexts. The present study was undertaken to determine the culture assessment tools being used in the English NHS and assess their fitness for purpose. Postal questionnaire survey of clinical governance leads in 275 English NHS organisations, with a response rate of 77%. A third of the organisations were currently using a culture assessment instrument to support their clinical governance activity. Although we found a high degree of satisfaction with existing instruments, in terms of ease of use and relevance, there is an immediate practical need to develop new and better bespoke culture assessment tools to bridge the gap between the cultural domains covered by extant instruments and the broader range of concerns of clinical governance managers. There is growing interest in understanding and shaping local cultures in healthcare, which is not yet matched by widespread use of available instruments. Even though extant tools cover many of the most important cultural attributes identified by clinical governance managers, the over-riding focus of tools in use is on safety rather than a holistic assessment of the dimensions of healthcare quality and performance.

Applying Total Quality Management Tools Using QFD at Higher Education Institutions in Gulf Area (Case Study: ALHOSN University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adnan Al-Bashir

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Human power’s quality plays the key role in the growth and development of societies where the quality of human powers can be enriched with the high quality education provided by the higher education institutions. The higher education institutions are hereby an important sector of any society since it defines the overall quality of human lives. This research will investigate the application of Total Quality Management (TQM tools at the higher education institutions; specifically at ALHOSN University. In this study five tools were implemented at ALHOSN University’s engineering college including: Quality Function Deployment, Affinity Diagrams, Tree Diagrams, Pareto Charts, and Fishbone Diagrams. The research will reveal that the implementation of TQM tools has a great benefit for higher education institutions where they have uncovered many area of potential improvement as well as the main causes of some of the problems the Faculty of Engineering is facing. Also, it will show that the implementation of TQM tools on higher education institution systems will enhance the performance of such institutions.

Quality control as a way to find out doses as low as reasonably practicable in mammography systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, S.F.; Nogueira, M.S.; Peixoto, J.E.; Paraguay, Y.V.

2008-01-01

The breast cancer is the most common neoplasm amongst women. Mammography is an essential tool for diagnosis and early detection of this disease. In order to guarantee the effectiveness of the diagnosis taking into account the patient radiation safety, it is mandatory to perform the quality control tests of the mammographic equipment. The main objective of this work has been to evaluate the relationship between the image quality and the total performance of the medical equipment. Primary data were collected from several radiological facilities during the quality control inspections performed by the local regulatory authorities of the Brazilian health, the National Commission of Nuclear Energy and the Brazilian College of Radiology. The main important functioning parameters were evaluated as well as the image quality using the simulator 'phantom mama'. In spite of the fact that high quality images could suggest delivering large radiation doses to patients it has been demonstrated that it is possible to acquire images with a good quality for clinical diagnosis without delivering high doses if the system is working properly. It has been concluded that following an optimized quality control program could avoid the complex dosimetric studies to guarantee good images quality. (author)

Data Quality Control of the French Permanent Broadband Network in the RESIF Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Grunberg, Marc; Lambotte, Sophie; Engels, Fabien; Dretzen, Remi; Hernandez, Alain

2014-05-01

discrepancies. The results of quality control is visualized through a web interface. This latter gathers data from different information systems to provide a global view on last events that could impact the data (like intervention on site or seismic events, etc.). This work is still an ongoing project. We intend to add more sophisticated procedures to enhanced our data Quality Control. Among them, we will deploy a seismic moment tensor inversion tool for amplitude, time and polarity control and a noise correlation procedure for time drift detections.

Employee quality, monitoring environment and internal control

OpenAIRE

Chunli Liu; Bin Lin; Wei Shu

2017-01-01

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

Online self-assessment as a quality assurance tool in higher professional education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof. Rene Butter

2014-01-01

Theme: Quality Assurance in Higher Education An online tool was developed for (potential) students to assess the congruence between the characteristics of an educational program and student preferences (Butter & Van Raalten, 2010)

Matlab as a robust control design tool

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Irene M.

1994-01-01

This presentation introduces Matlab as a tool used in flight control research. The example used to illustrate some of the capabilities of this software is a robust controller designed for a single stage to orbit air breathing vehicles's ascent to orbit. The global requirements of the controller are to stabilize the vehicle and follow a trajectory in the presence of atmospheric disturbances and strong dynamic coupling between airframe and propulsion.

FQC Dashboard: integrates FastQC results into a web-based, interactive, and extensible FASTQ quality control tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Joseph; Pirrung, Meg; McCue, Lee Ann

2017-06-09

FQC is software that facilitates quality control of FASTQ files by carrying out a QC protocol using FastQC, parsing results, and aggregating quality metrics into an interactive dashboard designed to richly summarize individual sequencing runs. The dashboard groups samples in dropdowns for navigation among the data sets, utilizes human-readable configuration files to manipulate the pages and tabs, and is extensible with CSV data. FQC is implemented in Python 3 and Javascript, and is maintained under an MIT license. Documentation and source code is available at: https://github.com/pnnl/fqc . joseph.brown@pnnl.gov. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program: Benefits of Improving Air Quality in the School Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Program to help schools prevent, identify, and resolve their IAQ problems. This publication describes the program and its advantages, explaining that through simple, low-cost measures, schools can: reduce IAQ-related health risks and…

Quality control with R an ISO standards approach

CERN Document Server

Cano, Emilio L; Prieto Corcoba, Mariano

2015-01-01

Presenting a practitioner's guide to capabilities and best practices of quality control systems using the R programming language, this volume emphasizes accessibility and ease-of-use through detailed explanations of R code as well as standard statistical methodologies. In the interest of reaching the widest possible audience of quality-control professionals and statisticians, examples throughout are structured to simplify complex equations and data structures, and to demonstrate their applications to quality control processes, such as ISO standards. The volume balances its treatment of key aspects of quality control, statistics, and programming in R, making the text accessible to beginners and expert quality control professionals alike. Several appendices serve as useful references for ISO standards and common tasks performed while applying quality control with R.

Quality control test solutions for diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine and health physics with PTW equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froescher, Olga

2007-01-01

Complete test of publication follows. In 1922 PTW-Freiburg was founded to produce and market a revolutionary new electromechanical component for measuring very small electrical charges. Today PTW is the specialist and one of the global market leaders for manufacturing and supplying high-quality products in diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy and health physics. The quality control of X-ray images is influenced by a number of parameters. To maintain a consistent performance of X-ray installations, quality checks have to be conducted regularly. PTW offers a variety of diagnostic test tools for different X-ray devices, and therefore to reduce patient exposure and costs for X-ray departments. PTW's 'Code of Practice' defines in an easy and compact way how to perform quality control measurements on different diagnostic X-ray installations. The necessary equipment for measuring main parameters as well as acceptable limits are mentioned accordingly. The 'Code of Practice' bases on actual standards.

Microbiological quality control of single-walled carbon-nanotubes-coated surfaces experimentally contaminated

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natalizi, T.; Frioni, A.; Passeri, D.; Pantanella, F.

2013-01-01

The emergence of new nanotechnologies involves the spreading of nanoparticles in various fields of human life. Nanoparticles in general and, more specifically, carbon nanotubes have been adopted for many practical approaches i.e.: coatings for medical devices, food process industry and drug delivery. Humans will be increasingly exposed to nanoparticles but the susceptibility of nanostructured materials to microbial colonization in process of manufacturing and storage has not been thoroughly considered. Therefore, the microbiological quality control of nanoparticles plays a pivotal role. Different analytical methods have been attempted for detecting bacterial population contaminating a surface, but no one can be considered fully appropriate. Here, BioTimer Assay (BTA) and conventional sonication followed by colony forming units method (S-CFU) were applied for microbiological quality control of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)-coated surfaces experimentally contaminated with Streptococcus mutans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our results demonstrated that S-CFU is unreliable to actually determine the number of bacteria, contaminating abiotic surfaces, as it does not detach all adherent bacteria and kills part of the bacterial population. Instead, BTA is a reliable method to enumerate bacteria colonizing SWCNTs-coated surfaces and can be considered a useful tool for microbiological quality control of nanomaterials for human use.

quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skujina, A.; Purina, S.; Riekstina, D.

1999-01-01

The optimal objects: soils, spruce needles and bracken ferns were found for the environmental monitoring in the regions of possible radioactive contamination - near SalaspiIs nuclear reactor and Ignalina nuclear power plant. The determination of Sr-90 was based on the radiochemical separation of Sr-90 (=Y-90) by HDEHP extraction and counting the Cerenkov radiation. The quality control of the results was carried out. (authors)

Simulation Evaluation of Controller-Managed Spacing Tools under Realistic Operational Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Callantine, Todd J.; Hunt, Sarah M.; Prevot, Thomas

2014-01-01

Controller-Managed Spacing (CMS) tools have been developed to aid air traffic controllers in managing high volumes of arriving aircraft according to a schedule while enabling them to fly efficient descent profiles. The CMS tools are undergoing refinement in preparation for field demonstration as part of NASA's Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration-1 (ATD-1). System-level ATD-1 simulations have been conducted to quantify expected efficiency and capacity gains under realistic operational conditions. This paper presents simulation results with a focus on CMS-tool human factors. The results suggest experienced controllers new to the tools find them acceptable and can use them effectively in ATD-1 operations.

Modern requirements to quality assurance and control in nuclear fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidinger, H.G.

1999-01-01

This lecture have shown a new type of quality assurance management has already successfully introduced in various industries and now starts to be used increasingly in the nuclear fuel industry. Static authority regulations and a tendency to bureaucratic understanding and handling of these regulations lead to a delayed start and a relatively slow progress of these quality strategies in the nuclear fuel technology. However, the economic pressure of strong competition and increasing demands of the utilities as the user of nuclear fuel result in a more determined introduction also to this area. The different use of statistical methods of two different fuel vendors are shown. Vendor A uses old fashioned methods. The focus is on the expensive final product control and few emphasis is on design of experiments and process control. Consequently, this vendor will have high costs, not only for QC and rejection but also for repair and replace actions after delivery. To the contrary, vendor B invests primarily in the design of experiments and process control. This vendor will profit only from lower direct costs but also from being at the front line of technical development and from enjoying a satisfied and happy customer. Many well examined quality management tools are available today which help not only to improve the quality but also decrease the costs. Still, the progress in using these techniques in nuclear fuel technology is limited and not comparable to the progress in other industries like automobile production or the electronic industry. (author)

Monitoring control program as a tool for regulatory control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva Peres, Sueli da; Lauria, Dejanaira C.; Martins, Nadia S.F.; Rio, Monica A.P.

2008-01-01

Full text: The Institute of Radiation Protection and Dosimetry (IRD) of the Brazilian Commission of Nuclear Energy (CNEN) is responsible for developing, establishing and carrying out an independent assessment to verify the adequacy, effectiveness and accuracy of environmental radiological control carried out by licensed and controlled facilities. This independent assessment is performed by Environmental Monitoring Control Program (MCP). The MCP is a regulatory control and its main goal is to provide public and environment with an appropriate protection level against harmful effects of ionising radiation. The main purpose of the MCP is to verify whether applicable requirements prescribed by legislation are met, the environmental radiological control of the facilities are adequate and effective and the facilities are able to generate valid measuring results. The MCP is carried out in order to evaluate the quality of environmental radiation monitoring programs (EMP) and the effectiveness of their implementation, sampling conditions in the field, changes of environmental aspects in the impact area, adequacy of and adherence to procedures established and other applicable documents, technical competence of the staff and the necessary resources to ensure the required quality of the EMP. The MCP has been performed by activities should include inspecting and auditing of several types of nuclear and radioactive facilities. The inspection programme include the joint sampling program (CCP). The aim of the CCP is to check data of environmental monitoring of operator. The MCP was implemented in 1994. Ever since several problems related to the environmental control performed by operator was identified. The most important of them include problems related to the preparation and analysis of environmental samples, training of personnel, necessary resources, adherence of procedures to the purpose of the monitoring, fulfillment of procedures established, adequacy of the EMP and EMP

Water quality management of aquifer recharge using advanced tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarova, Valentina; Emsellem, Yves; Paille, Julie; Glucina, Karl; Gislette, Philippe

2011-01-01

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) with recycled water or other alternative resources is one of the most rapidly growing techniques that is viewed as a necessity in water-short areas. In order to better control health and environmental effects of MAR, this paper presents two case studies demonstrating how to improve water quality, enable reliable tracing of injected water and better control and manage MAR operation in the case of indirect and direct aquifer recharge. Two water quality management strategies are illustrated on two full-scale case studies, including the results of the combination of non conventional and advanced technologies for water quality improvement, comprehensive sampling and monitoring programs including emerging pollutants, tracer studies using boron isotopes and integrative aquifer 3D GIS hydraulic and hydrodispersive modelling.

Quality assurance and quality control for Hydro-Quebec's ambient air monitoring networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambert, M.; Varfalvy, L.

1993-01-01

Hydro Quebec has three ambient air monitoring networks to determine the contribution of some of its thermal plants to ambient air quality. They are located in Becancour (gas turbines), Iles-de-la-Madeleine (diesel), and Tracy (conventional oil-fired). To ensure good quality results and consistency between networks, a quality assurance/quality control program was set up. A description is presented of the ambient air quality monitoring network and the quality assurance/quality control program. A guide has been created for use by the network operators, discussing objectives of the individual network, a complete description of each network, field operation for each model of instrument in use, treatment of data for each data logger in use, global considerations regarding quality assurance and control, and reports. A brief overview is presented of the guide's purpose and contents, focusing on the field operation section and the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide monitors. 6 figs., 1 tab

Performance and quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paras, P.

1981-01-01

The status and the recent developments of nuclear medicine instrumentation performance, with an emphasis on gamma-camera performance, are discussed as the basis for quality control. New phantoms and techniques for the measurement of gamma-camera performance parameters are introduced and their usefulness for quality control is discussed. Tests and procedures for dose calibrator quality control are included. Also, the principles of quality control, tests, equipment and procedures for each type of instrument are reviewed, and minimum requirements for an effective quality assurance programme for nuclear medicine instrumentation are suggested. (author)

Quality Control Quantification (QCQ): A Tool to Measure the Value of Quality Control Checks in Radiation Oncology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ford, Eric C., E-mail: eford@uw.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Terezakis, Stephanie; Souranis, Annette; Harris, Kendra [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Gay, Hiram; Mutic, Sasa [Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri (United States)

2012-11-01

Purpose: To quantify the error-detection effectiveness of commonly used quality control (QC) measures. Methods: We analyzed incidents from 2007-2010 logged into a voluntary in-house, electronic incident learning systems at 2 academic radiation oncology clinics. None of the incidents resulted in patient harm. Each incident was graded for potential severity using the French Nuclear Safety Authority scoring scale; high potential severity incidents (score >3) were considered, along with a subset of 30 randomly chosen low severity incidents. Each report was evaluated to identify which of 15 common QC checks could have detected it. The effectiveness was calculated, defined as the percentage of incidents that each QC measure could detect, both for individual QC checks and for combinations of checks. Results: In total, 4407 incidents were reported, 292 of which had high-potential severity. High- and low-severity incidents were detectable by 4.0 {+-} 2.3 (mean {+-} SD) and 2.6 {+-} 1.4 QC checks, respectively (P<.001). All individual checks were less than 50% sensitive with the exception of pretreatment plan review by a physicist (63%). An effectiveness of 97% was achieved with 7 checks used in combination and was not further improved with more checks. The combination of checks with the highest effectiveness includes physics plan review, physician plan review, Electronic Portal Imaging Device-based in vivo portal dosimetry, radiation therapist timeout, weekly physics chart check, the use of checklists, port films, and source-to-skin distance checks. Some commonly used QC checks such as pretreatment intensity modulated radiation therapy QA do not substantially add to the ability to detect errors in these data. Conclusions: The effectiveness of QC measures in radiation oncology depends sensitively on which checks are used and in which combinations. A small percentage of errors cannot be detected by any of the standard formal QC checks currently in broad use, suggesting that

Quality Control Quantification (QCQ): A Tool to Measure the Value of Quality Control Checks in Radiation Oncology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, Eric C.; Terezakis, Stephanie; Souranis, Annette; Harris, Kendra; Gay, Hiram; Mutic, Sasa

2012-01-01

Purpose: To quantify the error-detection effectiveness of commonly used quality control (QC) measures. Methods: We analyzed incidents from 2007-2010 logged into a voluntary in-house, electronic incident learning systems at 2 academic radiation oncology clinics. None of the incidents resulted in patient harm. Each incident was graded for potential severity using the French Nuclear Safety Authority scoring scale; high potential severity incidents (score >3) were considered, along with a subset of 30 randomly chosen low severity incidents. Each report was evaluated to identify which of 15 common QC checks could have detected it. The effectiveness was calculated, defined as the percentage of incidents that each QC measure could detect, both for individual QC checks and for combinations of checks. Results: In total, 4407 incidents were reported, 292 of which had high-potential severity. High- and low-severity incidents were detectable by 4.0 ± 2.3 (mean ± SD) and 2.6 ± 1.4 QC checks, respectively (P<.001). All individual checks were less than 50% sensitive with the exception of pretreatment plan review by a physicist (63%). An effectiveness of 97% was achieved with 7 checks used in combination and was not further improved with more checks. The combination of checks with the highest effectiveness includes physics plan review, physician plan review, Electronic Portal Imaging Device-based in vivo portal dosimetry, radiation therapist timeout, weekly physics chart check, the use of checklists, port films, and source-to-skin distance checks. Some commonly used QC checks such as pretreatment intensity modulated radiation therapy QA do not substantially add to the ability to detect errors in these data. Conclusions: The effectiveness of QC measures in radiation oncology depends sensitively on which checks are used and in which combinations. A small percentage of errors cannot be detected by any of the standard formal QC checks currently in broad use, suggesting that further

Quality control quantification (QCQ): a tool to measure the value of quality control checks in radiation oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Eric C; Terezakis, Stephanie; Souranis, Annette; Harris, Kendra; Gay, Hiram; Mutic, Sasa

2012-11-01

To quantify the error-detection effectiveness of commonly used quality control (QC) measures. We analyzed incidents from 2007-2010 logged into a voluntary in-house, electronic incident learning systems at 2 academic radiation oncology clinics. None of the incidents resulted in patient harm. Each incident was graded for potential severity using the French Nuclear Safety Authority scoring scale; high potential severity incidents (score >3) were considered, along with a subset of 30 randomly chosen low severity incidents. Each report was evaluated to identify which of 15 common QC checks could have detected it. The effectiveness was calculated, defined as the percentage of incidents that each QC measure could detect, both for individual QC checks and for combinations of checks. In total, 4407 incidents were reported, 292 of which had high-potential severity. High- and low-severity incidents were detectable by 4.0 ± 2.3 (mean ± SD) and 2.6 ± 1.4 QC checks, respectively (P<.001). All individual checks were less than 50% sensitive with the exception of pretreatment plan review by a physicist (63%). An effectiveness of 97% was achieved with 7 checks used in combination and was not further improved with more checks. The combination of checks with the highest effectiveness includes physics plan review, physician plan review, Electronic Portal Imaging Device-based in vivo portal dosimetry, radiation therapist timeout, weekly physics chart check, the use of checklists, port films, and source-to-skin distance checks. Some commonly used QC checks such as pretreatment intensity modulated radiation therapy QA do not substantially add to the ability to detect errors in these data. The effectiveness of QC measures in radiation oncology depends sensitively on which checks are used and in which combinations. A small percentage of errors cannot be detected by any of the standard formal QC checks currently in broad use, suggesting that further improvements are needed. These data

Frontiers in statistical quality control

CERN Document Server

Wilrich, Peter-Theodor

2004-01-01

This volume treats the four main categories of Statistical Quality Control: General SQC Methodology, On-line Control including Sampling Inspection and Statistical Process Control, Off-line Control with Data Analysis and Experimental Design, and, fields related to Reliability. Experts with international reputation present their newest contributions.

Toward an evidence-based system for innovation support for implementing innovations with quality: tools, training, technical assistance, and quality assurance/quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Wandersman, Abraham; Chien, Victoria H; Katz, Jason

2012-12-01

An individual or organization that sets out to implement an innovation (e.g., a new technology, program, or policy) generally requires support. In the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation, a Support System should work with Delivery Systems (national, state and/or local entities such as health and human service organizations, community-based organizations, schools) to enhance their capacity for quality implementation of innovations. The literature on the Support System [corrected] has been underresearched and under-developedThis article begins to conceptualize theory, research, and action for an evidence-based system for innovation support (EBSIS). EBSIS describes key priorities for strengthening the science and practice of support. The major goal of EBSIS is to enhance the research and practice of support in order to build capacity in the Delivery System for implementing innovations with quality, and thereby, help the Delivery System achieve outcomes. EBSIS is guided by a logic model that includes four key support components: tools, training, technical assistance, and quality assurance/quality improvement. EBSIS uses the Getting To Outcomes approach to accountability to aid the identification and synthesis of concepts, tools, and evidence for support. We conclude with some discussion of the current status of EBSIS and possible next steps, including the development of collaborative researcher-practitioner-funder-consumer partnerships to accelerate accumulation of knowledge on the Support System.

Proteomics Quality Control: Quality Control Software for MaxQuant Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Bielow, Chris; Mastrobuoni, Guido; Kempa, Stefan

2016-03-04

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics coupled to liquid chromatography has matured into an automatized, high-throughput technology, producing data on the scale of multiple gigabytes per instrument per day. Consequently, an automated quality control (QC) and quality analysis (QA) capable of detecting measurement bias, verifying consistency, and avoiding propagation of error is paramount for instrument operators and scientists in charge of downstream analysis. We have developed an R-based QC pipeline called Proteomics Quality Control (PTXQC) for bottom-up LC-MS data generated by the MaxQuant software pipeline. PTXQC creates a QC report containing a comprehensive and powerful set of QC metrics, augmented with automated scoring functions. The automated scores are collated to create an overview heatmap at the beginning of the report, giving valuable guidance also to nonspecialists. Our software supports a wide range of experimental designs, including stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), tandem mass tags (TMT), and label-free data. Furthermore, we introduce new metrics to score MaxQuant's Match-between-runs (MBR) functionality by which peptide identifications can be transferred across Raw files based on accurate retention time and m/z. Last but not least, PTXQC is easy to install and use and represents the first QC software capable of processing MaxQuant result tables. PTXQC is freely available at https://github.com/cbielow/PTXQC .

Quality control and data-handling in multicentre studies: the case of the Multicentre Project for Tuberculosis Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caloto Teresa

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Multicentre Project for Tuberculosis Research (MPTR was a clinical-epidemiological study on tuberculosis carried out in Spain from 1996 to 1998. In total, 96 centres scattered all over the country participated in the project, 19935 "possible cases" of tuberculosis were examined and 10053 finally included. Data-handling and quality control procedures implemented in the MPTR are described. Methods The study was divided in three phases: 1 preliminary phase, 2 field work 3 final phase. Quality control procedures during the three phases are described. Results: Preliminary phase: a organisation of the research team; b design of epidemiological tools; training of researchers. Field work: a data collection; b data computerisation; c data transmission; d data cleaning; e quality control audits; f confidentiality. Final phase: a final data cleaning; b final analysis. Conclusion The undertaking of a multicentre project implies the need to work with a heterogeneous research team and yet at the same time attain a common goal by following a homogeneous methodology. This demands an additional effort on quality control.

Impact of Soil Conservation Measures on Erosion Control and Soil Quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-10-01

This publication summarises the lessons learnt from a FAO/IAEA coordinated research project on the impact of soil conservation measures on erosion control and soil quality over a five-year period across a wide geographic area and range of environments. It demonstrates the new trends in the use of fallout radionuclide-based techniques as powerful tools to assess the effectiveness of soil conservation measures. As a comprehensive reference material it will support IAEA Member States in the use of these techniques to identify practices that can enhance sustainable agriculture and minimize land degradation.

Evaluation of quality control tools for patients submitted to IMRT; Avaliacao das ferramentas de controle da qualidade para pacientes submetidos ao IMRT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lavor, Milton; Rodrigues, Laura N.; Silva, Marco A., E-mail: miltonlavor@gmail.com [Universidade de Sao Paulo (HCFMRP/USP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Hospital das Clinicas. Servico de Radioterapia

2013-04-15

Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is currently being implemented in a rapidly growing number of centers in Brazil. As consequence many institutions are now facing the problem of performing a comprehensive quality control program before and during the implementation of IMRT in the clinical practice. This paper proposes a methodology for quality control and presents the results and evaluations of the data obtained from the proposed methodology. Ionization chamber and two-dimensional array detector were performed in IMRT treatment planning in order to assess the absolute value of the total dose of all fields. The relative total dose distribution of all fields was measured with a radiochromic film and a two-dimensional array in a phantom. A comparison between measured and calculated dose distributions was performed using the gamma-index method, assessing the percentage of points that meet the criteria of ±3% dose difference and ±3mm distance to agreement. As a result and review of 113 tested IMRT beams using ionization chamber and 81 using two-dimensional array, the proposal was to take an action level of about ±5% compared to the treatment planning systems and measurements, for the verification of the dose in a single point at the low gradient dose region. Analysis of the two-dimensional array measurements showed that the gamma value was <1 for 97.7% of the data and for the film the gamma value was <1 for 96.6% of the data. This work can establish action levels required for quality control program proposed and implemented in the Department of Radiotherapy - Hospital das Clinicas in Sao Paulo that allows an accurate delivery of dose in 'sliding-window' IMRT with micro multi leaf collimator. (author)

Technical tools and of information for the quality administration of the water resource

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobar Martinez, John Fernando; Sierra Ramirez, Carlos; Molina Perez, Francisco

2000-01-01

Given the complexity of an aquatic ecosystem and the impossibility of making experiments on a real scale, the water quality engineer represents the different reactions and interactions that happen in these ecosystems using mathematical models. This constitutes a powerful tool that allows prospective studies and helps in the decision-making. On the other hand, the huge volumes of information produced by the geographical space analysis and the large amount of variables involved, make the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) a powerful tool to develop analysis, modeling and simulation tasks on a defined area and the processes related to it. This article presents an integration proposal that permits to associate both, the spatial analysis and the visual representation capabilities of a GIS application with the water quality results obtained from a mathematical model, in such a way that, the interaction of the users of the information get increased, and the development of new tools helps in the decisions making and administrative process in the management of the water resources

Using complaints to enhance quality improvement: developing an analytical tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Sophie Yahui

2012-01-01

This study aims to construct an instrument for identifying certain attributes or capabilities that might enable healthcare staff to use complaints to improve service quality. PubMed and ProQuest were searched, which in turn expanded access to other literature. Three paramount dimensions emerged for healthcare quality management systems: managerial, operational, and technical (MOT). The paper reveals that the managerial dimension relates to quality improvement program infrastructure. It contains strategy, structure, leadership, people and culture. The operational dimension relates to implementation processes: organizational changes and barriers when using complaints to enhance quality. The technical dimension emphasizes the skills, techniques or information systems required to achieve successfully continuous quality improvement. The MOT model was developed by drawing from the relevant literature. However, individuals have different training, interests and experiences and, therefore, there will be variance between researchers when generating the MOT model. The MOT components can be the guidelines for examining whether patient complaints are used to improve service quality. However, the model needs testing and validating by conducting further research before becoming a theory. Empirical studies on patient complaints did not identify any analytical tool that could be used to explore how complaints can drive quality improvement. This study developed an instrument for identifying certain attributes or capabilities that might enable healthcare professionals to use complaints and improve service quality.

Measuring the quality of infection control in Dutch nursing homes using a standardized method; the Infection prevention RIsk Scan (IRIS)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemsen, I.; Nelson-Melching, J.; Hendriks, Y.; Mulders, A.; Verhoeff, S.; Kluytmans-Vandenbergh, M.; Kluytmans, J.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: We developed a standardised method to assess the quality of infection control in Dutch Nursing Home (NH), based on a cross-sectional survey that visualises the results. The method was called the Infection control RIsk Infection Scan (IRIS). We tested the applicability of this new tool in

Easily configured real-time CPOE Pick Off Tool supporting focused clinical research and quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbaum, Benjamin P; Silkin, Nikolay; Miller, Randolph A

2014-01-01

Real-time alerting systems typically warn providers about abnormal laboratory results or medication interactions. For more complex tasks, institutions create site-wide 'data warehouses' to support quality audits and longitudinal research. Sophisticated systems like i2b2 or Stanford's STRIDE utilize data warehouses to identify cohorts for research and quality monitoring. However, substantial resources are required to install and maintain such systems. For more modest goals, an organization desiring merely to identify patients with 'isolation' orders, or to determine patients' eligibility for clinical trials, may adopt a simpler, limited approach based on processing the output of one clinical system, and not a data warehouse. We describe a limited, order-entry-based, real-time 'pick off' tool, utilizing public domain software (PHP, MySQL). Through a web interface the tool assists users in constructing complex order-related queries and auto-generates corresponding database queries that can be executed at recurring intervals. We describe successful application of the tool for research and quality monitoring.

Application of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to the air quality SHERPA modelling tool

Science.gov (United States)

Pisoni, E.; Albrecht, D.; Mara, T. A.; Rosati, R.; Tarantola, S.; Thunis, P.

2018-06-01

Air quality has significantly improved in Europe over the past few decades. Nonetheless we still find high concentrations in measurements mainly in specific regions or cities. This dimensional shift, from EU-wide to hot-spot exceedances, calls for a novel approach to regional air quality management (to complement EU-wide existing policies). The SHERPA (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quality) modelling tool was developed in this context. It provides an additional tool to be used in support to regional/local decision makers responsible for the design of air quality plans. It is therefore important to evaluate the quality of the SHERPA model, and its behavior in the face of various kinds of uncertainty. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis techniques can be used for this purpose. They both reveal the links between assumptions and forecasts, help in-model simplification and may highlight unexpected relationships between inputs and outputs. Thus, a policy steered SHERPA module - predicting air quality improvement linked to emission reduction scenarios - was evaluated by means of (1) uncertainty analysis (UA) to quantify uncertainty in the model output, and (2) by sensitivity analysis (SA) to identify the most influential input sources of this uncertainty. The results of this study provide relevant information about the key variables driving the SHERPA output uncertainty, and advise policy-makers and modellers where to place their efforts for an improved decision-making process.

Quality improvement strategies and tools: A comparative analysis between Italy and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Villa, Stefano; Restuccia, Joseph D; Anessi-Pessina, Eugenio; Rizzo, Marco Giovanni; Cohen, Alan B

2018-01-01

Italian and American hospitals, in two different periods, have been urged by external circumstances to extensively redesign their quality improvement strategies. This paper, through the use of a survey administered to chief quality officers in both countries, aims to identify commonalities and differences between the two systems and to understand which approaches are effective in improving quality of care. In both countries chief quality officers report quality improvement has become a strategic priority, clinical governance approaches, and tools-such as disease-specific quality improvement projects and clinical pathways-are commonly used, and there is widespread awareness that clinical decision making must be supported by protocols and guidelines. Furthermore, the study clearly outlines the critical importance of adopting a system-wide approach to quality improvement. To this extent Italy seems lagging behind compared to US in fact: (i) responsibilities for different dimensions of quality are spread across different organizational units; (ii) quality improvement strategies do not typically involve administrative staff; and (iii) quality performance measures are not disseminated widely within the organization but are reported primarily to top management. On the other hand, in Italy chief quality officers perceive that the typical hospital organizational structure, which is based on clinical directories, allows better coordination between clinical specialties than in the United States. In both countries, the results of the study show that it is not the single methodology/model that makes the difference but how the different quality improvement strategies and tools interact to each other and how they are coherently embedded with the overall organizational strategy.

Guidelines for Quality Control of Equipment Used in Diagnostic Radiology in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, L. van den; Aarts, C.N.M.; Beentjes, L.B.; Dalen, A. van; Elsakkers, P.; Julius, H.W.; Kicken, P.J.H.; Meer, F. van der; Teeuwisse, W.; Thijssen, M.A.O.; Zoetelief, J.

1998-01-01

The Dutch working group on 'Quality Criteria for Equipment Used in Diagnostic Radiology' has formulated guidelines providing technical criteria for equipment used in conventional diagnostic radiology. These guidelines are applicable to the technical parameters having a major impact on image quality and patient dose and include methods for testing. The following parameters are included: tube voltage, automatic exposure control, film processing, film-screen combination, light tightness and illumination of the dark room, half-value layer and filtration, light field, grid, focal spot size, viewing boxes and geometrical indicators. Each guideline consists of the following chapters: (1) Scope and field of application, (2) Background information, (3) Test procedure, (4) Test frequency, (5) Registration of observations, (6) Evaluation and interpretation, (7) Test report. Chapter 3 includes both the principles of the test method and a step by step description of the procedures. The principles of the test procedure provide a basis for adaptation to local circumstances. The step by step test procedure allows a quality control measurement to be performed with limited physical knowledge of the equipment. Chapter 6 includes limiting values. Draft guidelines were evaluated in practice in 20 hospitals. The final document has been accepted by the professional societies in the Netherlands and the Dutch Minister of Health as a reference set of tools to perform Quality Control of equipment used for conventional diagnostic radiology. (author)

7 CFR 58.733 - Quality control tests.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Quality control tests. 58.733 Section 58.733... Procedures § 58.733 Quality control tests. (a) Chemical analyses. The following chemical analyses shall be... pasteurization by means of the phosphatase test, as well as any other tests necessary to assure good quality...

Descriptive study of the quality control in mammography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaona, E.; Perdigon C, G.M.; Casian C, G.A.; Azorin N, J.; Diaz G, J.A.I.; Arreola, M.

2005-01-01

The goal of mammography is to provide contrast between a lesion that is possible residing within the breast and normal surrounding tissue. Quality control is essential for maintaining the contrast imaging performance of a mammography system and incorporate tests that are relevant in that they are predictive of future degradation of contrast imaging performance. These tests will also be done at frequency that is high enough to intercept most drifts in quality imaging or performance before they become diagnostically significant. The quality control study has as objective to describe the results of the assessment of quality imaging elements (film optical density, contrast (density difference), uniformity, resolution and noise) of 62 mammography departments without quality control program and comparison these results with a mammography reference department with a quality control program. When comparing the results they allow seeing the clinical utility of to have a quality control program to reduce the errors of mammography interpretation. (Author)

DTIPrep: quality control of diffusion-weighted images.

Science.gov (United States)

Oguz, Ipek; Farzinfar, Mahshid; Matsui, Joy; Budin, Francois; Liu, Zhexing; Gerig, Guido; Johnson, Hans J; Styner, Martin

2014-01-01

In the last decade, diffusion MRI (dMRI) studies of the human and animal brain have been used to investigate a multitude of pathologies and drug-related effects in neuroscience research. Study after study identifies white matter (WM) degeneration as a crucial biomarker for all these diseases. The tool of choice for studying WM is dMRI. However, dMRI has inherently low signal-to-noise ratio and its acquisition requires a relatively long scan time; in fact, the high loads required occasionally stress scanner hardware past the point of physical failure. As a result, many types of artifacts implicate the quality of diffusion imagery. Using these complex scans containing artifacts without quality control (QC) can result in considerable error and bias in the subsequent analysis, negatively affecting the results of research studies using them. However, dMRI QC remains an under-recognized issue in the dMRI community as there are no user-friendly tools commonly available to comprehensively address the issue of dMRI QC. As a result, current dMRI studies often perform a poor job at dMRI QC. Thorough QC of dMRI will reduce measurement noise and improve reproducibility, and sensitivity in neuroimaging studies; this will allow researchers to more fully exploit the power of the dMRI technique and will ultimately advance neuroscience. Therefore, in this manuscript, we present our open-source software, DTIPrep, as a unified, user friendly platform for thorough QC of dMRI data. These include artifacts caused by eddy-currents, head motion, bed vibration and pulsation, venetian blind artifacts, as well as slice-wise and gradient-wise intensity inconsistencies. This paper summarizes a basic set of features of DTIPrep described earlier and focuses on newly added capabilities related to directional artifacts and bias analysis.

Quality-control design for surface-water sampling in the National Water-Quality Network

Science.gov (United States)

Riskin, Melissa L.; Reutter, David C.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Mueller, David K.

2018-04-10

The data-quality objectives for samples collected at surface-water sites in the National Water-Quality Network include estimating the extent to which contamination, matrix effects, and measurement variability affect interpretation of environmental conditions. Quality-control samples provide insight into how well the samples collected at surface-water sites represent the true environmental conditions. Quality-control samples used in this program include field blanks, replicates, and field matrix spikes. This report describes the design for collection of these quality-control samples and the data management needed to properly identify these samples in the U.S. Geological Survey’s national database.

Models, methods and software tools to evaluate the quality of informational and educational resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavrilov, S.I.

2011-01-01

The paper studies the modern methods and tools to evaluate the quality of data systems, which allows determining the specificity of informational and educational resources (IER). The author has developed a model of IER quality management at all stages of the life cycle and an integrated multi-level hierarchical system of IER quality assessment, taking into account both information properties and targeted resource assignment. The author presents a mathematical and algorithmic justification of solving the problem of IER quality management, and offers data system to assess the IER quality [ru

Concrete and steel construction quality control and assurance

CERN Document Server

El-Reedy, Mohamed A

2014-01-01

Starting with the receipt of materials and continuing all the way through to the final completion of the construction phase, Concrete and Steel Construction: Quality Control and Assurance examines all the quality control and assurance methods involving reinforced concrete and steel structures. This book explores the proper ways to achieve high-quality construction projects, and also provides a strong theoretical and practical background. It introduces information on quality techniques and quality management, and covers the principles of quality control. The book presents all of the quality control and assurance protocols and non-destructive test methods necessary for concrete and steel construction projects, including steel materials, welding and mixing, and testing. It covers welding terminology and procedures, and discusses welding standards and procedures during the fabrication process, as well as the welding codes. It also considers the total quality management system based on ISO 9001, and utilizes numer...

COLLABORATIVE TRIAL AND QUALITY CONTROL IN CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narsito Narsito

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract                                                             This paper deals with some practical problems related to the quality of analytical chemical data usually met in practice. Special attention is given to the topic of quality control in analytical chemistry, since analytical data is one of the primary information from which some important scientifically based decision are to be made. The present paper starts with brief description on some fundamental aspects associated with quality of analytical data, such as sources of variation of analytical data, criteria for quality of analytical method, quality assurance in chemical analysis. The assessment of quality parameter for analytical method like the use of standard materials as well as standard methods is given. Concerning with the quality control of analytical data, the use of several techniques, such as control samples and control charts, in monitoring analytical data in quality control program are described qualitatively.  In the final part of this paper, some important remarks for the preparation of collaborative trials, including the evaluation of accuracy and reproducibility of analytical method are also given Keywords: collaborative trials, quality control, analytical data Abstract                                                             This paper deals with some practical problems related to the quality of analytical chemical data usually met in practice. Special attention is given to the topic of quality control in analytical chemistry, since analytical data is one of the primary information from which some important scientifically based decision are to be made. The present paper starts with brief description on some fundamental aspects associated with quality of analytical data, such as sources of variation of analytical data, criteria for quality of

42 CFR 84.40 - Quality control plans; filing requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Quality control plans; filing requirements. 84.40... Control § 84.40 Quality control plans; filing requirements. As a part of each application for approval or... proposed quality control plan which shall be designed to assure the quality of respiratory protection...

30 CFR 28.30 - Quality control plans; filing requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Quality control plans; filing requirements. 28... PROTECTION FOR TRAILING CABLES IN COAL MINES Quality Control § 28.30 Quality control plans; filing... part, each applicant shall file with MSHA a proposed quality control plan which shall be designed to...

Protein quality control in the nucleus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sofie V.; Poulsen, Esben Guldahl; Rebula, Caio A.

2014-01-01

to aggregate, cells have evolved several elaborate quality control systems to deal with these potentially toxic proteins. First, various molecular chaperones will seize the misfolded protein and either attempt to refold the protein or target it for degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome system...... to be particularly active in protein quality control. Thus, specific ubiquitin-protein ligases located in the nucleus, target not only misfolded nuclear proteins, but also various misfolded cytosolic proteins which are transported to the nucleus prior to their degradation. In comparison, much less is known about...... these mechanisms in mammalian cells. Here we highlight recent advances in our understanding of nuclear protein quality control, in particular regarding substrate recognition and proteasomal degradation....

21 CFR 211.22 - Responsibilities of quality control unit.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Responsibilities of quality control unit. 211.22... Personnel § 211.22 Responsibilities of quality control unit. (a) There shall be a quality control unit that... have been fully investigated. The quality control unit shall be responsible for approving or rejecting...

40 CFR 81.112 - Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.112 Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... Quality Control Region: Region 1. 81.107Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality Control Region: Region 2. 81...

Implementation of the trauma registry as a tool for quality improvement in trauma care in a brazilian hospital: the first 12 months

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JOSÉ GUSTAVO PARREIRA

Full Text Available ABSTRACTObjective:to analyze the implementation of a trauma registry in a university teaching hospital delivering care under the unified health system (SUS, and its ability to identify points for improvement in the quality of care provided.Methods:the data collection group comprised students from medicine and nursing courses who were holders of FAPESP scholarships (technical training 1 or otherwise, overseen by the coordinators of the project. The itreg (ECO Sistemas-RJ/SBAIT software was used as the database tool. Several quality "filters" were proposed to select those cases for review in the quality control process.Results:data for 1344 trauma patients were input to the itreg database between March and November 2014. Around 87.0% of cases were blunt trauma patients, 59.6% had RTS>7.0 and 67% ISS<9. Full records were available for 292 cases, which were selected for review in the quality program. The auditing filters most frequently registered were laparotomy four hours after admission and drainage of acute subdural hematomas four hours after admission. Several points for improvement were flagged, such as control of overtriage of patients, the need to reduce the number of negative imaging exams, the development of protocols for achieving central venous access, and management of major TBI.Conclusion: the trauma registry provides a clear picture of the points to be improved in trauma patient care, however, there are specific peculiarities for implementing this tool in the Brazilian milieu.

40 CFR 81.88 - Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.88 Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (Montana) has been renamed the Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control... to by Montana authorities as follows: Sec. 481.168Great Falls Intrastate Air Quality Control Region...

Intra- and Intercellular Quality Control Mechanisms of Mitochondria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshimitsu Kiriyama

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Mitochondria function to generate ATP and also play important roles in cellular homeostasis, signaling, apoptosis, autophagy, and metabolism. The loss of mitochondrial function results in cell death and various types of diseases. Therefore, quality control of mitochondria via intra- and intercellular pathways is crucial. Intracellular quality control consists of biogenesis, fusion and fission, and degradation of mitochondria in the cell, whereas intercellular quality control involves tunneling nanotubes and extracellular vesicles. In this review, we outline the current knowledge on the intra- and intercellular quality control mechanisms of mitochondria.

Fuel cycle and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoll, W.

1979-01-01

The volume of the fuel cycle is described in its economic importance and its through put, as it is envisaged for the Federal Republic of Germany. Definitions are given for quality continuing usefulness of an object and translated into quality criteria. Requirements on performance of fuel elements are defined. The way in which experimental results are translated into mass production of fuel rods, is described. The economic potential for further quality effort is derived. Future ways of development for quality control organisation and structure are outlined. (Auth.)

Data warehousing as a tool for quality management in oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölzer, S; Tafazzoli, A G; Altmann, U; Wächter, W; Dudeck, J

1999-01-01

At present, physicians are constrained by their limited skills to integrate and understand the growing amount of electronic medical information. To handle, extract, integrate, analyse and take advantage of the gathered information regarding the quality of patient care, the concept of a data warehouse seems to be especially interesting in medicine. Medical data warehousing allows the physicians to take advantage of all the operational data they have been collecting over the years. Our purpose is to build a data warehouse in order to use all available information about cancer patients. We think that with the sensible use of this tool, there are economic benefits for the Society and an improvement of quality of medical care for patients.

A Tool for the Evaluation of Irrigation Water Quality in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucia Bortolini

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In the Mediterranean arid and semi-arid regions, large amounts of low quality waters could be used for crop irrigation, but the adoption of articulated classifications with too rigid quality limits can often reduce the recoverable quantities of water and make the monitoring of water quality too much expensive. Therefore, an evaluation of irrigation water quality based on only a few crucial parameters, which consider the crop species to be irrigated and the type of irrigation system and management adopted, can be an easy and flexible method for maximizing the reuse of wastewater and low-quality water for agricultural purposes. In this view, an irrigation water quality tool (IWQT was developed to support farmers of arid and semi-arid regions on evaluating the use of low quality water for crop irrigation. The most significant and cheapest parameters of irrigation water quality were identified and clustered in three quality classes according to their effects on crop yield and soil fertility (agronomic quality indicators, human health (hygiene and health quality indicators, and irrigation systems (management quality indicators. According to IWQT parameters, a tool reporting a series of recommendations, including water treatment types, was implemented to guide farmers on the use of low quality irrigation water.

Preparation of an estuarine sediment quality control material for the determination of trace metals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatje Vanessa

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Quality Control Materials (QCM have being used routinely in daily laboratory work as a tool to fill the gap between need and availability of Certified Reference Materials (CRM. The QCM are a low-cost alternative to CRMs, and they are in high demand, especially, for the implementation of quality control systems in laboratories of several areas. This paper describes the preparation of a QCM for the determination of trace metals in estuarine sediments and the results of an interlaboratory exercise. Homogeneity and stability studies were performed and analysis of variance was carried out with the results. No statistical significant differences were observed in the concentrations of Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn between- or within bottle results. Neither the storage nor temperature affected the results. Therefore, the QCM produced is considered homogeneous and stable and can be used for statistical control charts, evaluation of reproducibility and interlaboratory exercises.

Improving Escalation of Care: Development and Validation of the Quality of Information Transfer Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Maximilian J; Arora, Sonal; Pucher, Philip H; Reissis, Yannis; Hull, Louise; Huddy, Jeremy R; King, Dominic; Darzi, Ara

2016-03-01

To develop and provide validity and feasibility evidence for the QUality of Information Transfer (QUIT) tool. Prompt escalation of care in the setting of patient deterioration can prevent further harm. Escalation and information transfer skills are not currently measured in surgery. This study comprised 3 phases: the development (phase 1), validation (phase 2), and feasibility analysis (phase 3) of the QUIT tool. Phase 1 involved identification of core skills needed for successful escalation of care through literature review and 33 semistructured interviews with stakeholders. Phase 2 involved the generation of validity evidence for the tool using a simulated setting. Thirty surgeons assessed a deteriorating postoperative patient in a simulated ward and escalated their care to a senior colleague. The face and content validity were assessed using a survey. Construct and concurrent validity of the tool were determined by comparing performance scores using the QUIT tool with those measured using the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) tool. Phase 3 was conducted using direct observation of escalation scenarios on surgical wards in 2 hospitals. A 7-category assessment tool was developed from phase 1 consisting of 24 items. Twenty-one of 24 items had excellent content validity (content validity index >0.8). All 7 categories and 18 of 24 (P validity. The correlation between the QUIT and SBAR tools used was strong indicating concurrent validity (r = 0.694, P information transfer skills than nurses when faced with a deteriorating patient. A validated tool to assess information transfer for deteriorating surgical patients was developed and tested using simulation and real-time clinical scenarios. It may improve the quality and safety of patient care on the surgical ward.

Design and implementation of a control structure for quality products in a crude oil atmospheric distillation column.

Science.gov (United States)

Sotelo, David; Favela-Contreras, Antonio; Sotelo, Carlos; Jiménez, Guillermo; Gallegos-Canales, Luis

2017-11-01

In recent years, interest for petrochemical processes has been increasing, especially in refinement area. However, the high variability in the dynamic characteristics present in the atmospheric distillation column poses a challenge to obtain quality products. To improve distillates quality in spite of the changes in the input crude oil composition, this paper details a new design of a control strategy in a conventional crude oil distillation plant defined using formal interaction analysis tools. The process dynamic and its control are simulated on Aspen HYSYS ® dynamic environment under real operating conditions. The simulation results are compared against a typical control strategy commonly used in crude oil atmospheric distillation columns. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of total quality tools in the operational process modernization and optimization of large hydroelectric power plants; Aplicacao de ferramentas da qualidade total na modernizacao e otimizacao de processos operacionais de grandes usinas hidreletricas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potenza, Luiz Frederico; Kassem, Faisal Ali; Medlo, Gerson Ricardo; Santos, Valdemir Chalito dos [Companhia Paranaense de Energia (COPEL), Capitao Leonidas Marques, PR (Brazil). Superintendencia de Gerencia da Manutencao. Area de Operacao e Manutencao Salto Caxias]. E-mail: potenza@mail.copel.br

1998-07-01

This work highlights a practical example of Total Quality tools application, and as the institutional changes advances, the necessity of being better and more competitive becomes evident. By using Total Quality Control tools in the modernization and optimization of operational processes for large hydroelectric power plants of the COPEL-Brazil this work contributes for the continuous increasing of the customers satisfaction and the profitability of the company.

7 CFR 58.141 - Alternate quality control program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Alternate quality control program. 58.141 Section 58... Service 1 Quality Specifications for Raw Milk § 58.141 Alternate quality control program. When a plant has in operation an acceptable quality program, at the producer level, which is approved by the...

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djakovic, D.

2016-01-01

performing receipt control of complete units had found many deficiencies, excessive distortions, heat tints and corrosion spots. Heat tints could cause corrosion, which could accelerate in a harsh environment conditions. The reason for the faults identified in both cases was improper human performance. These findings confirm the need to control human performance factor in addition to standard quality control activities. Best tools to be used in such cases beside QC inspections are QNOD observations. The third specific maintenance case was a replacement of pressurizer spray control valve during the last outage. This was a complex activity on Safety Class 1 equipment. The QC department had to perform welding control and non-destructive examination of welds in very demanding radiological conditions. This activity affected the plant ISI program and pre-service inspection of the welds had to be performed. Activities affecting quality shall be accomplished under suitably controlled conditions and well performed maintenance of safety related components followed by successful QC control are essential for nuclear safety. (author).

Quality control of 11C-carfentanil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xiaojun; Zhang Jinming; Tian Jiahe; Xiang Xiaohui

2013-01-01

To study the quality control of 11 C-Carfentanil injection, physical, chemical and biological identification were used. The chemical and radiochemical purity of 11 C-Carfentanil Injection were detected by HPLC and Flower Count system; measured the quantity of product by LC-MS, specific activity was calculated later; The PTS was used to detect endotoxin, and other quality control methods were put up to guarantee the security of its clinical application. The produce appeared colorless and transparent, the radiochemical purity was more than 98%, content of the endotoxin was less than 5 EU/mL. The result showed that 11 C-Carfentanil injection had fulfilled pharmaceutical quality control request and could be applied safely to animal experiment and clinical diagnosis. (authors)

The Poka-Yoke method as an improving quality tool of operations in the process

OpenAIRE

M. Dudek-Burlikowska; D. Szewieczek

2009-01-01

Purpose: A new approach for the implementation of quality philosophy Zero Quality Defects with usage of the Poka-Yoke method in the polish organization has been presented.Design/methodology/approach: The possibility of usage of mistake proofing device is connected with monitoring and improvement of operations in the process.Findings: At the present time the organizations should implement quality tools, techniques, methods which support the prevention strategy and should pay attention to impro...

Practical Applications of Quality Tools in Polish Manufacturing Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Starzyńska Beata

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Modern companies have found themselves in a situation where the ability for the dynamic adaptation to the changing market conditions is a key competitive advantage. Therefore they are continually searching for intensive ways of improvement of their processes and products. The basis for the implementation of such strategy is the efficient use of information resources. In quality management, appropriate tools and techniques equip decision-makers with information, necessary to take: correction, corrective, preventive, and finally – improvement actions.

Quality control for some digital fluoroscopy equipment used in Sudan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nayledam, A. I.

2009-07-01

The aim of this work was to perform quality control (QC) for six digital fluoroscopy units used for cardiovascular and interventional radiology procedures. Measurement were based on the QC protocol developed in the framework of European Commission (EU) DIMOND111 project. Measurement made included: beam quality (half-value layer, HVL), peak tube voltage (kVp) accuracy, automatic exposure control (Aec) and patient dose in terms of entrance surface air kerma rate plus image intensifier input air kerma rate. Dose measurements were made using Calibrated dose rate meter. Field limitation and source to skin distant measurement in addition to evaluation radiation protection tools for occupation exposure were performed. Image quality was evaluated in terms of spatial resolution and Contrast detail detectability. Patient dose measurements was performed using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) patient equivalent phantom whereas image quality was assessed using Haunter Type 53 spatial frequency grating and TO10 contrast detail phantom. The results show that the measured HVL and peak tube voltage were within the recommended limits of 10% in four fluoroscopy units. Entrance surface air kerma rate measured ranged from 6.1 to 250 mGy/min for fluoroscopy units operated in pulsed, continuous and cine mode of operation. These results were obtained using varying thicknesses of PMMA phantom. Most values are in reasonable agreement with internationally established reference levels with exception to one fluoroscopy unit where doses were remarkably high. Field limitation and minimum source to skin distance were well within the recommended limits of 30 cm for all fluoroscopy units. The limiting resolution was ranged from 1.0 to 2.2 Lp /mm for image intensifier field diameters between 7 ad 23 cm. The results of present study can be used as baseline for future quality assurance measurements. (Author)

Water quality control system and water quality control method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itsumi, Sachio; Ichikawa, Nagayoshi; Uruma, Hiroshi; Yamada, Kazuya; Seki, Shuji

1998-01-01

In the water quality control system of the present invention, portions in contact with water comprise a metal material having a controlled content of iron or chromium, and the chromium content on the surface is increased than that of mother material in a state where compression stresses remain on the surface by mechanical polishing to form an uniform corrosion resistant coating film. In addition, equipments and/or pipelines to which a material controlling corrosion potential stably is applied on the surface are used. There are disposed a cleaning device made of a material less forming impurities, and detecting intrusion of impurities and removing them selectively depending on chemical species and/or a cleaning device for recovering drain from various kinds of equipment to feedwater, connecting a feedwater pipeline and a condensate pipeline and removing impurities and corrosion products. Then, water can be kept to neutral purified water, and the concentrations of oxygen and hydrogen in water are controlled within an optimum range to suppress occurrence of corrosion products. (N.H.)

Rapid evaluation and quality control of next generation sequencing data with FaQCs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Chien-Chi; Chain, Patrick S G

2014-11-19

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies that parallelize the sequencing process and produce thousands to millions, or even hundreds of millions of sequences in a single sequencing run, have revolutionized genomic and genetic research. Because of the vagaries of any platform's sequencing chemistry, the experimental processing, machine failure, and so on, the quality of sequencing reads is never perfect, and often declines as the read is extended. These errors invariably affect downstream analysis/application and should therefore be identified early on to mitigate any unforeseen effects. Here we present a novel FastQ Quality Control Software (FaQCs) that can rapidly process large volumes of data, and which improves upon previous solutions to monitor the quality and remove poor quality data from sequencing runs. Both the speed of processing and the memory footprint of storing all required information have been optimized via algorithmic and parallel processing solutions. The trimmed output compared side-by-side with the original data is part of the automated PDF output. We show how this tool can help data analysis by providing a few examples, including an increased percentage of reads recruited to references, improved single nucleotide polymorphism identification as well as de novo sequence assembly metrics. FaQCs combines several features of currently available applications into a single, user-friendly process, and includes additional unique capabilities such as filtering the PhiX control sequences, conversion of FASTQ formats, and multi-threading. The original data and trimmed summaries are reported within a variety of graphics and reports, providing a simple way to do data quality control and assurance.

Internal quality control of PCR-based genotyping methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

2002-01-01

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

40 CFR 81.36 - Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.36 Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Phoenix-Tucson Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality...

[Importance of quality control of baciloscopy in laboratories that perform diagnosis of tuberculosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Sardiñas, Misleidis; García, Grechen; Rosarys Martínez, María; Díaz, Raúl; Mederos, Lilian M

2016-06-01

Baciloscopy is the primary tool for pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis, being this technique the most used internationally in the search for infectious cases. Quality control is the process of the rechecking smears by a highly qualified observer. To evaluate and highlight the importance of quality control of smear microscopy in the Provincial Laboratories diagnosticians of Tuberculosis in Cuba. This study was conducted at the National Reference Laboratory and Research in Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Mycobacteria in the Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kouri", Havana, Cuba, Were evaluated 2676 smears received from January 2013 to December 2014, from Provincial Centers of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology of Cuba, including the special municipality Isla de la Juventud. 2,664 (99.5%) were concordant smears, the correlation obtained for the positive smears were 96.5% and 99.8% for negative. Were identified12 reading errors: 7 (3.5%) false positive and 5 (0.2%) false negatives. Slides were classified with adequate quality of smears in 2039 (76.2%), showed difficulties in realizing the extension in 1464 (54.7%) and staining were adequate in 2343 (87.6%). The kappa index was 0.9674. Although there was good agreement between observations it is recommended to improve the quality of extended, maintain staff training program that performs this activity, like regular supervision by specialists, to further improve the quality of diagnosis.

Quality control and quality assurance in individual monitoring of ionising radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutt, J.C.; Lindborg, L.

1994-01-01

This paper describes the programmes and approaches that are to be considered in developing and introducing quality assurance and quality control procedures in individual monitoring services. Quality assurance and quality control in individual monitoring services are essential to maintain quality and are of increasing importance in order to meet the requirements of national regulations and international standards and guidelines. It is recommended here that all organisations offering individual monitoring services should run their services based on the principles of Quality System as given in the European Standard EN45001 and maintain a property resources QA/QC programme as an integral part of their operations. All aspects of QA/QC in individual monitoring services starting from the initial selection, installation, calibration, and operation to the final products including dose reporting, dose record keeping, dealing with customers' complaints and product liability issues have been discussed. (Author)

A Method to Optimize Geometric Errors of Machine Tool based on SNR Quality Loss Function and Correlation Analysis

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Cai Ligang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Instead improving the accuracy of machine tool by increasing the precision of key components level blindly in the production process, the method of combination of SNR quality loss function and machine tool geometric error correlation analysis to optimize five-axis machine tool geometric errors will be adopted. Firstly, the homogeneous transformation matrix method will be used to build five-axis machine tool geometric error modeling. Secondly, the SNR quality loss function will be used for cost modeling. And then, machine tool accuracy optimal objective function will be established based on the correlation analysis. Finally, ISIGHT combined with MATLAB will be applied to optimize each error. The results show that this method is reasonable and appropriate to relax the range of tolerance values, so as to reduce the manufacturing cost of machine tools.

Many roads may lead to Rome: Selected features of quality control within environmental assessment systems in the US, NL, CA, and UK

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Günther, Markus, E-mail: markus.guenther@tu-berlin.de; Geißler, Gesa; Köppel, Johann

2017-01-15

As there is no one-and-only concept on how to precisely define and establish quality control (QC) or quality assurance (QA) in the making of environmental assessments (EA), this paper presents selected features of international approaches that address quality in EA systems in the USA, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Based on explanative case studies, we highlight the embedding of specific quality control features within the EA systems, the objectives and processes, and relevant transparency challenges. Such features of QC/QA approaches can be considered in cases where substantial quality control and assurance efforts are still missing. Yet further research needs to be conducted on the efficacy of these approaches, which remains beyond the scope of this study. - Highlights: • We present four tools for quality control and assurance from different EA systems. • Approaches vary in institutional setting, objectives, procedures, and transparency. • Highlighted features might provide guidance in cases where QC/QA is still lacking.

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