Marketing quality and value to the managed care market.

PubMed

Kazmirski, G

1998-11-01

Quantifying quality and marketing care delivery have been long-term challenges in the health care market. Insurers, employers, other purchasers of care, and providers face a constant challenge in positioning their organizations in a proactive, competitive niche. Tools that measure patient's self-reported perception of health care needs and expectations have increased the ability to quantify quality of care delivery. When integrated with case management and disease management strategies, outcomes reporting and variance analysis tracking can be packaged to position a provider in a competitive niche.

The Three R's of Utility Savings: Rate Reduction, Rebates and Retrofit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petiunas, Raymond V.

1993-01-01

An effective way to increase electricity energy savings for school districts is to integrate rate case participation (rate reduction) with conservation and load-management efforts (rebates) and retrofit operations, to obtain a total energy cost reduction package. Describes how a Pennsylvania consortium of school districts saved its member…

Introduction to Software Packages. [Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankel, Sheila, Ed.; And Others

This document provides an introduction to applications computer software packages that support functional managers in government and encourages the use of such packages as an alternative to in-house development. A review of current application areas includes budget/project management, financial management/accounting, payroll, personnel,…

Integrating environmental management into food safety and food packaging in Malaysia: review of the food regulation 1985

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nordin, N. H.; Hara, H.; Kaida, N.

2017-05-01

Food safety is an important issue that is related to public safety to prevent the toxicity threats of the food. Management through legal approach has been used in Malaysia as one of the predominant approaches to manage the environment. In this regard, the Food Regulation 1985 has been one of the mechanisms of environmental management through legal approach in controlling the safety of packaged food in food packaging industry in Malaysia. The present study aims to analyse and to explain the implementation of the Food Regulation 1985 in controlling the safety of packaged food in Malaysia and to integrate the concept of environmental management into the food safety issue. Qualitative analysis on the regulation document revealed that there are two main themes, general and specific, while their seven sub themes are included harmful packages, safety packages, reuse packages, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), alcoholic bottle, toys, money and others and iron powder. The implementation of the Food Regulation 1985 in controlling the safety of packaged food should not be regarded solely for regulation purposes but should be further developed for a broader sense of food safety from overcoming the food poisoning.

A case study of packaging waste collection systems in Portugal - Part II: Environmental and economic analysis.

PubMed

Pires, Ana; Sargedas, João; Miguel, Mécia; Pina, Joaquim; Martinho, Graça

2017-03-01

An understanding of the environmental impacts and costs related to waste collection is needed to ensure that existing waste collection schemes are the most appropriate with regard to both environment and cost. This paper is Part II of a three-part study of a mixed packaging waste collection system (curbside plus bring collection). Here, the mixed collection system is compared to an exclusive curbside system and an exclusive bring system. The scenarios were assessed using life cycle assessment and an assessment of costs to the waste management company. The analysis focuses on the collection itself so as to be relevant to waste managers and decision-makers who are involved only in this step of the packaging life cycle. The results show that the bring system has lower environmental impacts and lower economic costs, and is capable of reducing the environmental impacts of the mixed system. However, a sensitivity analysis shows that these results could differ if the curbside collection were to be optimized. From economic and environmental perspectives, the mixed system has few advantages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Do I Manage? An Introduction to Management. An Introductory Package to the Certificate in Management Studies. Revision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

North West Regional Management Centre, Chorley (England).

This book was originally produced in England as part of a self-instructional package designed as an introduction to the course for the Certificate in Management Studies. The package includes a number of self-assessed activities and is expected to take about 20 hours to complete. The course materials are organized in three sections covering the…

Compiling, costing and funding complex packages of home-based health care.

PubMed

Noyes, Jane; Lewis, Mary

2007-06-01

Nurses play a central role in putting together complex packages of care to support children with complex healthcare needs and their families in the community. However, there is little evidence or guidance to support this area of practice. At present, the process of compiling a care package and obtaining funding takes too long, causing significant delays in discharge and great frustration for parents, children and professionals. This article presents a combination of best practice guidance and, where possible, evidence-based principles that can be adapted and applied to an individual case irrespective of the child's diagnosis. The aim is to assist nurses and other healthcare professionals in organising funding for packages of care, bringing about the desired outcomes of successful discharge and appropriate community support. To work effectively as keyworkers for these children and families nurses need knowledge and skills in relation to: multidisciplinary assessment frameworks and processes, identifying appropriate models of service provision, costing care packages and approaches to obtaining funding. A further article next month will address risk management and clinical governance issues in delivering complex home-based care.

78 FR 2416 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Rybix® (Tramadol Hydrochloride) Tablets

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-11

... for the management of moderate to moderately severe pain in adults. The active pharmaceutical... fiberboard drums. The fourth stage of French manufacturing is packaging in child- resistant blister packs...) in the case of an article which consists in whole or in part of materials from another country or...

How would case managers' practice change in a consumer-directed care environment in Australia?

PubMed

You, Emily Chuanmei; Dunt, David; Doyle, Colleen

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore case managers' perceived changes in their practice in the future when consumer-directed care (CDC) is widely implemented in Australia's community aged care system. Purposeful sampling was used and semi-structured individual and group interviews were conducted between September 2012 and March 2013. Participants were drawn from a list of all case managers who administered publicly funded community aged care packages in Victoria, Australia. Empowerment theory was used to guide the analysis and interpretation of the data. The thematic analysis revealed that case managers had mixed views about CDC. They also perceived changes in case managers' practice in the future when CDC is widely implemented. These might specifically include: first, case managers would not directly manage clients' budgets. While some case managers were concerned about losing power for this change, others believed that they would still have important financial roles to perform, such as setting rules, providing financial support and monitoring clients' use of budgets. Second, case managers would focus on performing roles in providing information, and empowering, facilitating and educating clients. These would help to strengthen clients' capacities and assist them to self-manage their care. Third, case managers would work in partnership with clients through frequent or skilful communication, mutual goal setting and goal facilitation. Fourth, case managers would manage more clients. In addition, they would provide less support to each individual client and perform less care co-ordination role. The findings suggest case managers paying attention to power balance regarding budget management in a CDC environment. Furthermore, they might frequently or skilfully communicate with, empower, facilitate and educate clients; work together with them to set up goals; and facilitate them to achieve goals. New research using empowerment theory to examine the actual practice of case managers in a well-established CDC system is warranted. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Feasibility study of strengthening the public-private partnership for tuberculosis case detection in Bandung City, Indonesia.

PubMed

Lestari, Bony Wiem; Arisanti, Nita; Siregar, Adiatma Y M; Sihaloho, Estro Dariatno; Budiman, Gelar; Hill, Philip C; Alisjahbana, Bachti; McAllister, Susan

2017-08-14

Private practitioner's (PPs) collaboration for detection, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) is recommended by the World Health Organization and encouraged by the Indonesian National TB control programme. TB case management by PPs, however, are mostly not in line with current guidelines. Therefore, we developed an intervention package for PPs comprising of TB training, implementation of a mobile phone application for notification of TB cases and a 6-month regular follow-up with PPs. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention package to increase TB case detection and notification rates among PPs in five community health centre areas in Bandung City, Indonesia. A total of 87 PPs were registered within the study area of whom 17 attended the training and 12 had the mobile phone application successfully installed. The remaining five PPs had phones that did not support the application. During the follow-up period, five PPs registered patients with TB symptoms and cases into the application. A total of 36 patients with TB symptoms were identified and 17 were confirmed TB positive.

Essential interventions: implementation strategies and proposed packages of care

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In an effort to accelerate progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 and 5, provision of essential reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) interventions is being considered. Not only should a state-of-the-art approach be taken for services delivered to the mother, neonate and to the child, but services must also be deployed across the household to hospital continuum of care approach and in the form of packages. The paper proposed several packages for improved maternal, newborn and child health that can be delivered across RMNCH continuum of care. These packages include: supportive care package for women to promote awareness related to healthy pre-pregnancy and pregnancy interventions; nutritional support package for mother to improve supplementation of essential nutrients and micronutrients; antenatal care package to detect, treat and manage infectious and noninfectious diseases and promote immunization; high risk care package to manage preeclampsia and eclampsia in pregnancy; childbirth package to promote support during labor and importance of skilled birth attendance during labor; essential newborn care package to support healthy newborn care practices; and child health care package to prevent and manage infections. This paper further discussed the implementation strategies for employing these interventions at scale. PMID:25178110

An educational package that supports laycarers to safely manage breakthrough subcutaneous injections for home-based palliative care patients: development and evaluation of a service quality improvement.

PubMed

Healy, Sue; Israel, Fiona; Charles, Margaret A; Reymond, Liz

2013-06-01

Palliative care services strive to support people to live and die well in their chosen environment, with optimal symptom control and a pattern of care supportive of laycarers. The likelihood of patients remaining at home often depends upon laycarers, who may be required to manage subcutaneous medications. This study reports the development, trial and evaluation of a package that teaches laycarers to manage subcutaneous medications used for symptom control in home-based patients. The package was developed by palliative care stakeholders and comprises an educational session, delivered by nurses, and a range of demonstrative, audiovisual and written resources. The package was trialled across 24 sites and was evaluated by 76 laycarers (pre- and post-use) and 53 nurses (at study completion). Outcomes of primary interest were perceived global usefulness of the package and rated relevance of components. Laycarers and nurses rated the usefulness and relevance of the package highly - all means were above 5 on a 7-point scale. Also, laycarers were invited to comment on the package, and three focus groups for 26 nurses explored post hoc issues following package implementation. In terms of the palliative patient's illness trajectory, consensus was that the time for package introduction depended upon each particular clinical situation and laycarer. Nursing opinion was divided concerning whether it is safe and appropriate for laycarers to manage subcutaneous injections. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that the package supports laycarers to manage subcutaneous medications. This has important implications for families, services and health-care systems.

Marginal cost curves for water footprint reduction in irrigated agriculture: guiding a cost-effective reduction of crop water consumption to a permit or benchmark level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukalla, Abebe D.; Krol, Maarten S.; Hoekstra, Arjen Y.

2017-07-01

Reducing the water footprint (WF) of the process of growing irrigated crops is an indispensable element in water management, particularly in water-scarce areas. To achieve this, information on marginal cost curves (MCCs) that rank management packages according to their cost-effectiveness to reduce the WF need to support the decision making. MCCs enable the estimation of the cost associated with a certain WF reduction target, e.g. towards a given WF permit (expressed in m3  ha-1 per season) or to a certain WF benchmark (expressed in m3  t-1 of crop). This paper aims to develop MCCs for WF reduction for a range of selected cases. AquaCrop, a soil-water-balance and crop-growth model, is used to estimate the effect of different management packages on evapotranspiration and crop yield and thus the WF of crop production. A management package is defined as a specific combination of management practices: irrigation technique (furrow, sprinkler, drip or subsurface drip); irrigation strategy (full or deficit irrigation); and mulching practice (no, organic or synthetic mulching). The annual average cost for each management package is estimated as the annualized capital cost plus the annual costs of maintenance and operations (i.e. costs of water, energy and labour). Different cases are considered, including three crops (maize, tomato and potato); four types of environment (humid in UK, sub-humid in Italy, semi-arid in Spain and arid in Israel); three hydrologic years (wet, normal and dry years) and three soil types (loam, silty clay loam and sandy loam). For each crop, alternative WF reduction pathways were developed, after which the most cost-effective pathway was selected to develop the MCC for WF reduction. When aiming at WF reduction one can best improve the irrigation strategy first, next the mulching practice and finally the irrigation technique. Moving from a full to deficit irrigation strategy is found to be a no-regret measure: it reduces the WF by reducing water consumption at negligible yield reduction while reducing the cost for irrigation water and the associated costs for energy and labour. Next, moving from no to organic mulching has a high cost-effectiveness, reducing the WF significantly at low cost. Finally, changing from sprinkler or furrow to drip or subsurface drip irrigation reduces the WF, but at a significant cost.

Project Management Consultancy (PMC) procurement approach: Supplier's evaluation and selection dilemma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Azimi, Mohd Azrulfitri; Pozin, Mohd Affendi Ahmad; Osman, Wan Nadri; Anuar, Herman Shah

2016-08-01

Project Management Consultancy (PMC) is part of the management oriented procurement method in which a sole consultant is hired by the client to deal with the contactors in place of the client. Appointing contractors in this method or approach looks to be interesting as client could play a pivotal role in evaluating and selecting the supplier/contractor for the work package. In some cases, client gives the authority for the PMC to hire the supplier/contractor of their choice while in some cases the client is the one who made the decision. This research paper seeks to investigate the dilemma arises from this situation and for the purpose of this research, a real case study was studied to assess the impacts of such dilemma to the performance of the project. Recommendations on how to tackle the dilemma will also be addressed in the later part of this research paper.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of FreshCase technology to extend the storage life of whole-muscle pork and ground pork sausage.

PubMed

Yang, X; Woerner, D R; McCullough, K R; Hasty, J D; Geornaras, I; Smith, G C; Sofos, J N; Belk, K E

2016-11-01

The objective of this study was to identify the maximum time of refrigerated storage before aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria grew to a level indicative of spoilage (7 log cfu/g) or other indicators of spoilage were observed for whole-muscle pork and ground pork sausage packaged using FreshCase technology. Pork chops and pork sausage were packaged using conventional vacuum packaging without nitrite in film (Control) or using FreshCase technology and were compared with respect to microbial counts, pH, instrumental color measurements, lipid oxidation level, and sensory properties. The storage life was 45 d for pork chops stored in FreshCase packages at 1°C and 19 d for ground pork sausage stored under the same condition. Results indicated that both pork chops and sausage stored in FreshCase packages retained redder color ( < 0.05) than those stored in Control packages. No differences ( > 0.05) existed between Control and FreshCase packaged samples for any off-odor detection for either pork chops or sausage. Moreover, levels of oxidative rancidity in all packages had low thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values. The results indicated that FreshCase technology can be used to extend storage life of pork products without having adverse effects on pork quality.

Options for reducing food waste by quality-controlled logistics using intelligent packaging along the supply chain.

PubMed

Heising, Jenneke K; Claassen, G D H; Dekker, Matthijs

2017-10-01

Optimising supply chain management can help to reduce food waste. This paper describes how intelligent packaging can be used to reduce food waste when used in supply chain management based on quality-controlled logistics (QCL). Intelligent packaging senses compounds in the package that correlate with the critical quality attribute of a food product. The information on the quality of each individual packaged food item that is provided by the intelligent packaging can be used for QCL. In a conceptual approach it is explained that monitoring food quality by intelligent packaging sensors makes it possible to obtain information about the variation in the quality of foods and to use a dynamic expiration date (IP-DED) on a food package. The conceptual approach is supported by quantitative data from simulations on the effect of using the information of intelligent packaging in supply chain management with the goal to reduce food waste. This simulation shows that by using the information on the quality of products that is provided by intelligent packaging, QCL can substantially reduce food waste. When QCL is combined with dynamic pricing based on the predicted expiry dates, a further waste reduction is envisaged.

National Meat Case Study 2004: Product labeling information, branding, and packaging trends.

PubMed

Reicks, A L; Brooks, J C; Kelly, J M; Kuecker, W G; Boillot, K; Irion, R; Miller, M F

2008-12-01

Fresh meat retail cases in 104 supermarkets across 5 regions of the United States were audited for the use of packaging types and materials, branding, and cooking/nutritional information. Frequency means were separated for species of beef, ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, and veal. Traditional polyvinyl chloride overwrap was used on 47.0% of packages in the fresh meat case nationwide and was the most frequent packaging type for beef, ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal. The use of modified atmosphere packaging was greatest (P < 0.001) in ground beef (33.2%) and turkey (45.1%) products. The 3 most common tray colors in the fresh meat retail case on a national level were white (39.6%), yellow (22.4%), and black (11.5%). Foam trays were used in 72.6% of all packages in the retail meat case. In 2004, 60.2% of all packages were case-ready. Chicken (94.8%) and turkey (95.6%) products utilized case-ready packaging systems more (P < 0.001) than any other species. On a national level, 50.1% of all products carried a national brand, 12.2% carried a store brand, and the remaining 37.7% of products in the fresh meat case in 2004 were not branded. Chicken was most (P < 0.001) likely to carry a natural brand label. Labels with cooking instructions were found most (P < 0.001) on pork (37.3%) and turkey products (48.1%). Chicken (20.4%) and turkey products (20.7%) were most (P < 0.001) likely to have the cooking instructions printed on the packaging material compared with all other species. Labels with nutritional information were most (P < 0.001) likely to be found on turkey products (55.7%) in the fresh meat case compared with any other species. On the national level, 6.1% of all packages reported in the fresh meat case in 2004 were value-added.

Computer Aided Management for Information Processing Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akman, Ibrahim; Kocamustafaogullari, Kemal

1995-01-01

Outlines the nature of information processing projects and discusses some project management programming packages. Describes an in-house interface program developed to utilize a selected project management package (TIMELINE) by using Oracle Data Base Management System tools and Pascal programming language for the management of information system…

Possibilities of Land Administration Domain Model (ladm) Implementation in Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babalola, S. O.; Rahman, A. Abdul; Choon, L. T.; Van Oosterom, P. J. M.

2015-10-01

LADM covers essential information associated components of land administration and management including those over water and elements above and below the surface of the earth. LADM standard provides an abstract conceptual model with three packages and one sub-package. LADM defined terminology for a land administration system that allows a shared explanation of different formal customary or informal tenures. The standard provides the basis for national and regional profiles and enables the combination of land management information from different sources in a coherent manner. Given this, this paper started with the description of land and land administration in Nigeria. The pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial era with organization structure was discussed. This discussion is important to present an understanding of the background of any improvement needed for the LADM implementation in Nigeria. The LADM, ISO 19152 and the packages of LADM was discussed, and the comparison of the different aspects of each package and classes were made with Nigerian land administration and the cadastral system. In the comparison made, it was discovered that the concept is similar to LADM packages in Nigerian land administration. Although, the terminology may not be the same in all cases. Having studied conceptualization and the application of LADM, as a model that has essential information associated with components of the land administration. Including those on the land, over water as well as elements above and below the surface of the earth and discovered that the standard is suitable for the country. The model can, therefore, be adopted into Nigerian land administration system by mapping in some of the concepts of LADM.

[Cost of mother-child care in Morelos State].

PubMed

Cahuana-Hurtado, Lucero; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra; Bertozzi, Stefano

2004-01-01

To compare the cost of maternal and child health care (current model) to that of the WHO Mother-Baby Package if it were implemented. A pilot cross-sectional case study was conducted in September 2001 in Sanitary District No. III, Morelos State, Mexico. Two rural health centers, an urban health center, and a general hospital, all managed by the Ministry of Health, were selected for the study. The Mother-Baby Package Costing Spreadsheet was used to estimate the total cost and cost per intervention for the current model and for the Mother-Baby Package model. The total cost of the Mother-Baby Package was twice the cost of the current model. Of the 18 interventions evaluated, the highest proportion of total costs corresponded to antenatal care and normal delivery. Personnel costs represented more than half of the total costs. The Mother-Baby Package Costing Spreadsheet is a practical tool to estimate and compare costs and is useful to guide the distribution of financial resources allocated to maternal and child healthcare. However, this model has limited application unless it is adapted to the structure of each healthcare system. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.

Documentation for the State Variables Package for the Groundwater-Management Process of MODFLOW-2005 (GWM-2005)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlfeld, David P.; Barlow, Paul M.; Baker, Kristine M.

2011-01-01

Many groundwater-management problems are concerned with the control of one or more variables that reflect the state of a groundwater-flow system or a coupled groundwater/surface-water system. These system state variables include the distribution of heads within an aquifer, streamflow rates within a hydraulically connected stream, and flow rates into or out of aquifer storage. This report documents the new State Variables Package for the Groundwater-Management Process of MODFLOW-2005 (GWM-2005). The new package provides a means to explicitly represent heads, streamflows, and changes in aquifer storage as state variables in a GWM-2005 simulation. The availability of these state variables makes it possible to include system state in the objective function and enhances existing capabilities for constructing constraint sets for a groundwater-management formulation. The new package can be used to address groundwater-management problems such as the determination of withdrawal strategies that meet water-supply demands while simultaneously maximizing heads or streamflows, or minimizing changes in aquifer storage. Four sample problems are provided to demonstrate use of the new package for typical groundwater-management applications.

CF6 jet engine performance improvement: New fan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fasching, W. A.

1980-01-01

As part of the NASA sponsored engine component improvement program, and fan package was developed to reduce fuel consumption in current CF6 turbofan aircraft engine. The new fan package consist of an improved fan blade, reduced fan tip clearance due to a fan case stiffener, and a smooth fan casing tip shroud. CF6 engine performance and acoustic tests demonstrated the predicted 1.8% improvement in cruise sfc without an increase in engine noise. Power management thrust/fan speed characteristics were defined. Mechanical and structural integrity was demonstrated in model fan rotor photoelastic stress tests, full-size fan blade bench fatigue tests, and CF6 engine bird ingestion, crosswind, and cyclic endurance tests. The fan was certified in the CF6-500c2/E2 engines and is in commerical service on the Boeing 747-200, Douglas DC-10-30, and Atrbus industrie A300B aircraft.

Development of a scalable mental healthcare plan for a rural district in Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Fekadu, Abebaw; Hanlon, Charlotte; Medhin, Girmay; Alem, Atalay; Selamu, Medhin; Giorgis, Tedla W.; Shibre, Teshome; Teferra, Solomon; Tegegn, Teketel; Breuer, Erica; Patel, Vikram; Tomlinson, Mark; Thornicroft, Graham; Prince, Martin; Lund, Crick

2016-01-01

Background Developing evidence for the implementation and scaling up of mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) like Ethiopia is an urgent priority. Aims To outline a mental healthcare plan (MHCP), as a scalable template for the implementation of mental healthcare in rural Ethiopia. Method A mixed methods approach was used to develop the MHCP for the three levels of the district health system (community, health facility and healthcare organisation). Results The community packages were community case detection, community reintegration and community inclusion. The facility packages included capacity building, decision support and staff well-being. Organisational packages were programme management, supervision and sustainability. Conclusions The MHCP focused on improving demand and access at the community level, inclusive care at the facility level and sustainability at the organisation level. The MHCP represented an essential framework for the provision of integrated care and may be a useful template for similar LMIC. PMID:26447174

Patient population management: taking the leap from variance analysis to outcomes measurement.

PubMed

Allen, K M

1998-01-01

Case managers today at BCHS have a somewhat different role than at the onset of the Collaborative Practice Model. They are seen throughout the organization as: Leaders/participants on cross-functional teams. Systems change agents. Integrating/merging with quality services and utilization management. Outcomes managers. One of the major cross-functional teams is in the process of designing a Care Coordinator role. These individuals will, as one of their functions, assume responsibility for daily patient care management activities. A variance tracking program has come into the Utilization Management (UM) department as part of a software package purchased to automate UM work activities. This variance program could potentially be used by the new care coordinators as the role develops. The case managers are beginning to use a Decision Support software, (Transition Systems Inc.) in the collection of data that is based on a cost accounting system and linked to clinical events. Other clinical outcomes data bases are now being used by the case manager to help with the collection and measurement of outcomes information. Hoshin planning will continue to be a framework for defining and setting the targets for clinical and financial improvements throughout the organization. Case managers will continue to be involved in many of these system-wide initiatives. In the words of Galileo, 1579, "You need to count what's countable, measure what's measurable, and what's not measurable, make measurable."

Goal-Setting: Guidelines for Diagnosis and Rehabilitation Program Development: Trainer's Guide. Advanced Facilitative Case Management Series, Training Package II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roessler, Richard T.; Rubin, Stanford E.

This guide is the introductory volume for the second in a series of instructor-assisted training modules for rehabilitation counselors, supervisors, and graduate students. This trainer's guide for the second module focuses on the counseling skills needed for rehabilitation of the severely disabled and provides the trainer with the information and…

Randomised controlled trial of educational package on management of menorrhagia in primary care: the Anglia menorrhagia education study

PubMed Central

Fender, Guy R K; Prentice, Andrew; Gorst, Tess; Nixon, Richard M; Duffy, Stephen W; Day, Nicholas E; Smith, Stephen K

1999-01-01

Objective To determine whether an educational package could influence the management of menorrhagia, increase the appropriateness of choice of non-hormonal treatment, and reduce referral rates from primary to secondary care. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting General practices in East Anglia. Subjects 100 practices (348 doctors) in primary care were recruited and randomised to intervention (54) and control (46). Interventions An educational package based on principles of “academic detailing” with independent academics was given in small practice based interactive groups with a visual presentation, a printed evidence based summary, a graphic management flow chart, and a follow up meeting at 6 months. Outcome measures All practices recorded consultation details, treatments offered, and outcomes for women with regular heavy menstrual loss (menorrhagia) over 1 year. Results 1001 consultation data sheets for menorrhagia were returned. There were significantly fewer referrals (20% v 29%; odds ratio 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.41 to 0.99) and a significantly higher use of tranexamic acid (odds ratio 2.38; 1.61 to 3.49) in the intervention group but no overall difference in norethisterone treatment compared with controls. There were more referrals when tranexamic acid was given with norethisterone than when it was given alone. Those practices reporting fewer than 10 cases showed the highest increase in prescribing of tranexamic acid. Conclusions The educational package positively influenced referral for menorrhagia and treatment with appropriate non-hormonal drugs. Key messagesMenorrhagia (regular excessive menstruation) affects many women and treatment is a considerable use of resourcesAppropriate non-hormonal treatments are not always offered before referral, which often results in therapeutic surgeryAn educational package with independent academics in small informal groups presenting visual, graphic, and written material can positively influence doctors’ behaviourIncreasing appropriate non-hormonal treatments for menorrhagia results in fewer referrals PMID:10231255

Death by heroin intoxication in a body pusher with an innovative packaging technique: case report and review of the literature.

PubMed

Visentin, Sindi; Bevilacqua, Greta; Giraudo, Chiara; Dengo, Caterina; Nalesso, Alessandro; Montisci, Massimo

2017-11-01

Death due to mechanical or chemical intoxication of heroin body packers, thanks to the continuous improvement in packaging techniques, are increasingly rare, and almost all the cases reported in the literature refer to drug swallowers. A case of fatal acute heroin intoxication in a body pusher with an unreported packaging technique is presented, and previous deaths due to heroin body packing are reviewed, taking into consideration imaging techniques performed, cause of death, toxicological analysis on biological and non-biological samples, as well as number, position and type of drug packages identified at the dissection of the body. The innovative packaging technique found in the present case, constituted by an external multilayer cellophane casing containing 16 smaller packages of hardened heroin powder, each one covered with cigarette paper and multiple layers of heat-sealed cellophane, was probably used to avoid both chemical complications of package rupture and to create a package with morphological and radiological features different from those reported by previous studies. Drug dealers, in fact, are continually looking for packaging methods that, besides being safer, minimize the risk of detection at the radiological examinations performed, thus increasing the number of false negative findings. The identification of new types of package is therefore important, in order to identify packages that do not have the typical radiological signs, both in order to protect the patient's health and to avoid the non-recognition of a drug carrier. Despite the presence of multilayer composition of both the smaller and the bigger external coverage, these new types of package did not guarantee the greater safety of the drug dealer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing Acceptability of a Diagnostic and Malaria Treatment Package Delivered by Community Health Workers in Malaria-Endemic Settings of Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda.

PubMed

Jegede, Ayodele S; Oshiname, Frederick O; Sanou, Armande K; Nsungwa-Sabiiti, Jesca; Ajayi, IkeOluwapo O; Siribié, Mohamadou; Afonne, Chinenye; Sermé, Luc; Falade, Catherine O

2016-12-15

 The efficacy of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and rectal artesunate for severe malaria in children is proven. However, acceptability of a package of interventions that included use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), ACTs, and rectal artesunate when provided by community health workers (CHWs) is uncertain. This study assessed acceptability of use of CHWs for case management of malaria using RDTs, ACTs, and rectal artesunate.  The study was carried out in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda in 2015 toward the end of an intervention using CHWs to provide diagnosis and treatment. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with parents of sick children, community leaders, and health workers to understand whether they accepted the package for case management of malaria using CHWs. Transcripts from FGDs and KII recordings were analyzed using content analysis. The findings were described, interpreted, and reported in the form of narratives.  Treatment of malaria using the CHWs was acceptable to caregivers and communities. The CHWs were perceived to be accessible, diligent, and effective. There were no physical, social, or cultural barriers to accessing the CHWs' services. Respondents were extremely positive about the intervention and were concerned that CHWs had limited financial and nonfinancial incentives that would reduce their motivation and willingness to continue.  Treatment of malaria using CHWs was fully accepted. CHWs should be compensated, trained, and well supervised.  ISRCTN13858170. © 2016 World Health Organization; licensee Oxford Journals.

Medicare's "Global" terrorism: where is the pay for performance?

PubMed

Reed, R Lawrence; Luchette, Fred A; Esposito, Thomas J; Pyrz, Karen; Gamelli, Richard L

2008-02-01

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) payment policies for surgical operations are based on a global package concept. CMS' physician fee schedule splits the global package into preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative components of each procedure. We hypothesized that these global package component valuations were often lower than comparable evaluation and management (E&M) services and that billing for E&M services instead of the operation could often be more profitable. Our billing database and Trauma Registry were queried for the operative procedures and hospital lengths of stay for trauma patients during the past 5 years. Determinations of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative payments were calculated for 10-day and 90-day global packages, comparing them to CMS payments for comparable E&M codes. Of 90-day and 10-day Current Procedural Terminology codes, 88% and 100%, respectively, do not pay for the comprehensive history and physical that trauma patients usually receive, whereas 41% and 98%, respectively, do not even meet payment levels for a simple history and physical. Of 90-day global package procedures, 70% would have generated more revenue had comprehensive daily visits been billed instead of the operation ($3,057,500 vs. $1,658,058). For 10-day global package procedures, 56% would have generated more revenue with merely problem-focused daily visits instead of the operation ($161,855 vs. $156,318). Medicare's global surgical package underpays E&M services in trauma patients. In most cases, trauma surgeons would fare better by not billing for operations to receive higher reimbursement for E&M services that are considered "bundled" in the global package payment.

Management of packaging waste in Poland--development agenda and accession to the EU.

PubMed

Grodzińska-Jurczak, Małgorzata; Zakowska, Hanna; Read, Adam

2004-06-01

In recent years the issue of the municipal waste in Poland has become increasingly topical, with a considerable rise in the waste generation, much of which can be attributed to a boom in product packaging (mainly plastic). The annual production of plastics packaging has been constantly increasing over the last 20 to 30 years, and now exceeds 3.7 million tons. Due to a lack of processing technologies and poorly developed selective segregation system, packaging waste is still treated as a part of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, most of which is landfilled. As a result of Poland's access to the European Union, previous legal regulations governing municipal waste management have been harmonized with those binding on the member countries. One of the main changes, the most revolutionary one, is to make entrepreneurs liable for environmental risks resulting from the introduction of packaging to the market, and for its recycling. In practice, all entrepreneurs are to ensure recovery, and recycling, of used packaging from products introduced to the market at the required level. In recent year, the required recycling levels were fulfilled for all types of materials but mainly by large institutions using grouped and transport packaging waste for that matter. Household packaging gathered in the selective segregation system at the municipalities was practically left alone. This paper is an attempt to describe the system and assess the first year of functioning of the new, revamped system of packaging waste management in Poland. Recommendations are made relating to those features that need to be included in packaging waste management systems in order to maximize their sustainability and harmonization with the EU legal system.

smwrBase—An R package for managing hydrologic data, version 1.1.1

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lorenz, David L.

2015-12-09

This report describes an R package called smwrBase, which consists of a collection of functions to import, transform, manipulate, and manage hydrologic data within the R statistical environment. Functions in the package allow users to import surface-water and groundwater data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System database and other sources. Additional functions are provided to transform, manipulate, and manage hydrologic data in ways necessary for analyzing the data.

Software for Managing Personal Files.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundeen, Gerald

1989-01-01

Discusses the special characteristics of personal file management software and compares four microcomputer software packages: Notebook II with Bibliography and Convert, Pro-Cite with Biblio-Links, askSam, and Reference Manager. Each package is evaluated in terms of the user interface, file maintenance, retrieval capabilities, output, and…

Equine Management and Production. Teacher Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This package contains the instructor's manual, instructor's resource package, and student workbook for a 1-year introductory course in equine management and production. The course emphasizes the skills needed to manage small one- or two-horse facilities and to enter postsecondary equine education programs. The instructor's manual presents basic…

Academic Web Authoring Mulitmedia Development and Course Management Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halloran, Margaret E.

2005-01-01

Course management software enables faculty members to learn one software package for web-based curriculum, assessment, synchronous and asynchronous discussions, collaborative work, multimedia and interactive resource development. There are as many as 109 different course management software packages on the market and several studies have evaluated…

LakeMetabolizer: An R package for estimating lake metabolism from free-water oxygen using diverse statistical models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winslow, Luke; Zwart, Jacob A.; Batt, Ryan D.; Dugan, Hilary; Woolway, R. Iestyn; Corman, Jessica; Hanson, Paul C.; Read, Jordan S.

2016-01-01

Metabolism is a fundamental process in ecosystems that crosses multiple scales of organization from individual organisms to whole ecosystems. To improve sharing and reuse of published metabolism models, we developed LakeMetabolizer, an R package for estimating lake metabolism from in situ time series of dissolved oxygen, water temperature, and, optionally, additional environmental variables. LakeMetabolizer implements 5 different metabolism models with diverse statistical underpinnings: bookkeeping, ordinary least squares, maximum likelihood, Kalman filter, and Bayesian. Each of these 5 metabolism models can be combined with 1 of 7 models for computing the coefficient of gas exchange across the air–water interface (k). LakeMetabolizer also features a variety of supporting functions that compute conversions and implement calculations commonly applied to raw data prior to estimating metabolism (e.g., oxygen saturation and optical conversion models). These tools have been organized into an R package that contains example data, example use-cases, and function documentation. The release package version is available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN), and the full open-source GPL-licensed code is freely available for examination and extension online. With this unified, open-source, and freely available package, we hope to improve access and facilitate the application of metabolism in studies and management of lentic ecosystems.

Waste Management Information System (WMIS) User Guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R. E. Broz

2008-12-22

This document provides the user of the Waste Management Information System (WMIS) instructions on how to use the WMIS software. WMIS allows users to initiate, track, and close waste packages. The modular design supports integration and utilization of data throuh the various stages of waste management. The phases of the waste management work process include generation, designation, packaging, container management, procurement, storage, treatment, transportation, and disposal.

Minimum package for cross-border TB control and care in the WHO European region: a Wolfheze consensus statement

PubMed Central

Dara, Masoud; de Colombani, Pierpaolo; Petrova-Benedict, Roumyana; Centis, Rosella; Zellweger, Jean-Pierre; Sandgren, Andreas; Heldal, Einar; Sotgiu, Giovanni; Jansen, Niesje; Bahtijarevic, Rankica; Migliori, Giovanni Battista

2012-01-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) European region estimates that more than 400,000 tuberculosis (TB) cases occur in Europe, a large proportion of them among migrants. A coordinated public health mechanism to guarantee TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care across borders is not in place. A consensus paper describing the minimum package of cross-border TB control and care was prepared by a task force following a literature review, and with input from the national TB control programme managers of the WHO European region and the Wolfheze 2011 conference. A literature review focused on the subject of TB in migrants was carried out, selecting documents published during the 11-yr period 2001–2011. Several issues were identified in cross-border TB control and care, varying from the limited access to early TB diagnosis, to the lack of continuity of care and information during migration, and the availability of, and access to, health services in the new country. The recommended minimum package addresses the current shortcomings and intends to improve the situation by covering several areas: political commitment (including the implementation of a legal framework for TB cross-border collaboration), financial mechanisms and adequate health service delivery (prevention, infection control, contact management, diagnosis and treatment, and psychosocial support). PMID:22653772

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Driscoll, Frederick; Platt, Andrew; Sirnivas, Senu

This project was performed under the Work for Others—Funds in Agreement FIA-14-1793 between Statoil and the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). To support the development of a 6-MW spar-mounted offshore wind turbine, Statoil funded NREL to perform tasks in the following three categories: 1. Design and analysis 2. Wake modeling 3. Concept resource assessment. This summarizes the document reports on the design and analysis work package, which built a FAST [Jonkman & Buhl, 2005] computer model of the Hywind 6-MW floating wind turbine system and uses this tool to evaluate themore » performance of a set of design load cases (DLCs). The FAST model was also used in Work Package 2: Wake Modeling.« less

Quantitative Evaluation of 3 DBMS: ORACLE, SEED AND INGRES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sylto, R.

1984-01-01

Characteristics required for NASA scientific data base management application are listed as well as performance testing objectives. Results obtained for the ORACLE, SEED, and INGRES packages are presented in charts. It is concluded that vendor packages can manage 130 megabytes of data at acceptable load and query rates. Performance tests varying data base designs and various data base management system parameters are valuable to applications for choosing packages and critical to designing effective data bases. An applications productivity increases with the use of data base management system because of enhanced capabilities such as a screen formatter, a reporter writer, and a data dictionary.

Omics Metadata Management Software v. 1 (OMMS)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Our application, the Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS), answers both needs, empowering experimentalists to generate intuitive, consistent metadata, and to perform bioinformatics analyses and information management tasks via a simple and intuitive web-based interface. Several use cases with short-read sequence datasets are provided to showcase the full functionality of the OMMS, from metadata curation tasks, to bioinformatics analyses and results management and downloading. The OMMS can be implemented as a stand alone-package for individual laboratories, or can be configured for web-based deployment supporting geographically dispersed research teams. Our software was developed with open-source bundles, is flexible, extensible and easily installedmore » and run by operators with general system administration and scripting language literacy.« less

An adaptable toolkit to assess commercial fishery costs and benefits related to marine protected area network design.

PubMed

Daigle, Rémi M; Monaco, Cristián J; Elgin, Ashley K

2015-01-01

Around the world, governments are establishing Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks to meet their commitments to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. MPAs are often used in an effort to conserve biodiversity and manage fisheries stocks. However, their efficacy and effect on fisheries yields remain unclear. We conducted a case-study on the economic impact of different MPA network design strategies on the Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) fisheries in Canada. The open-source R package that we developed to analyze this case study can be customized to conduct similar analyses for other systems. We used a spatially-explicit individual-based model of population growth and dispersal coupled with a fisheries management and harvesting component. We found that MPA networks that both protect the target species' habitat and were spatially optimized to improve population connectivity had the highest net present value (i.e., were most profitable for the fishing industry). These higher profits were achieved primarily by reducing the distance travelled for fishing and reducing the probability of a moratorium event. These findings add to a growing body of knowledge demonstrating the importance of incorporating population connectivity in the MPA planning process, as well as the ability of this R package to explore ecological and economic consequences of alternative MPA network designs.

The Environmental Data Initiative data repository: Trustworthy practices that foster preservation, fitness, and reuse for environmental and ecological data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Servilla, M. S.; Brunt, J.; Costa, D.; Gries, C.; Grossman-Clarke, S.; Hanson, P. C.; O'Brien, M.; Smith, C.; Vanderbilt, K.; Waide, R.

2017-12-01

The Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) is an outgrowth of more than 30 years of information management experience and technology from LTER Network data practitioners. EDI builds upon the PASTA data repository software used by the LTER Network Information System and manages more than 42,000 data packages, containing tabular data, imagery, and other formats. Development of the repository was a community process beginning in 2009 that included numerous working groups for generating use cases, system requirements, and testing of completed software, thereby creating a vested interested in its success and transparency in design. All software is available for review on GitHub, and refinements and new features are ongoing. Documentation is also available on Read-the-docs, including a comprehensive description of all web-service API methods. PASTA is metadata driven and uses the Ecological Metadata Language (EML) standard for describing environmental and ecological data; a simplified Dublin Core document is also available for each data package. Data are aggregated into packages consisting of metadata and other related content described by an OAI-ORE document. Once archived, each data package becomes immutable and permanent; updates are possible through the addition of new revisions. Components of each data package are accessible through a unique identifier, while the entire data package receives a DOI that is registered in DataCite. Preservation occurs through a combination of DataONE synchronization/replication and by a series of local and remote backup strategies, including daily uploads to AWS Glacier storage. Checksums are computed for all data at initial upload, with random verification occurring on a continuous basis, thus ensuring the integrity of data. PASTA incorporates a series of data quality tests to ensure that data are correctly documented with EML before data are archived; data packages that fail any test are forbidden in the repository. These tests are a measure data fitness, which ultimately increases confidence in data reuse and synthesis. The EDI data repository is recognized by multiple organizations, including EarthCube's Council of Data Facilities, the United States Geological Survey, FAIRsharing.org, re3data.org, and is a PLOS and Nature recommended data repository.

Community-driven computational biology with Debian Linux.

PubMed

Möller, Steffen; Krabbenhöft, Hajo Nils; Tille, Andreas; Paleino, David; Williams, Alan; Wolstencroft, Katy; Goble, Carole; Holland, Richard; Belhachemi, Dominique; Plessy, Charles

2010-12-21

The Open Source movement and its technologies are popular in the bioinformatics community because they provide freely available tools and resources for research. In order to feed the steady demand for updates on software and associated data, a service infrastructure is required for sharing and providing these tools to heterogeneous computing environments. The Debian Med initiative provides ready and coherent software packages for medical informatics and bioinformatics. These packages can be used together in Taverna workflows via the UseCase plugin to manage execution on local or remote machines. If such packages are available in cloud computing environments, the underlying hardware and the analysis pipelines can be shared along with the software. Debian Med closes the gap between developers and users. It provides a simple method for offering new releases of software and data resources, thus provisioning a local infrastructure for computational biology. For geographically distributed teams it can ensure they are working on the same versions of tools, in the same conditions. This contributes to the world-wide networking of researchers.

Failure of surgical treatment in methamphetamine body-stuffers.

PubMed

Bahrami-Motlagh, Hooman; Hassanian-Moghaddam, Hossein; Behnam, Behdad; Arab-Ahmadi, Mehran

2015-05-01

Body stuffing is defined as ingestion of unpackaged or packaged illicit drugs in a quick process. The drugs have usually been wrapped loosely in cellophane, plastic bags, paper, or aluminum foil. Methamphetamine toxicity is a dangerous state that occurs during methamphetamine leakage from the ingested packages in the gastrointestinal tract. This is usually occurring with cocaine and heroin, but methamphetamine body stuffing may less commonly happen, as well. Accordingly, management of methamphetamine body-stuffers is an important subject that has remained a controversy in clinical and legal aspects. We have reported two body-stuffer cases who underwent exploratory laparotomy. Although surgery was done, it was not useful to exit packs and even led to severe methamphetamine toxicity. These cases show that surgical treatment may be ineffective and even harmful in body-stuffers. On the other hand, this report suggests that pre and post-operation abdominal CT-scan is necessary for evaluating surgical treatment in patients who are still symptomatic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Quality Assurance Measures for Radioactive Material Transport Packages not Requiring Competent Authority Design Approval - 13282

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Komann, Steffen; Groeke, Carsten; Droste, Bernhard

The majority of transports of radioactive materials are carried out in packages which don't need a package design approval by a competent authority. Low-active radioactive materials are transported in such packages e.g. in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and in the nuclear industry as well. Decommissioning of NPP's leads to a strong demand for packages to transport low and middle active radioactive waste. According to IAEA regulations the 'non-competent authority approved package types' are the Excepted Packages and the Industrial Packages of Type IP-1, IP-2 and IP-3 and packages of Type A. For these types of packages an assessment bymore » the competent authority is required for the quality assurance measures for the design, manufacture, testing, documentation, use, maintenance and inspection (IAEA SSR 6, Chap. 306). In general a compliance audit of the manufacturer of the packaging is required during this assessment procedure. Their regulatory level in the IAEA regulations is not comparable with the 'regulatory density' for packages requiring competent authority package design approval. Practices in different countries lead to different approaches within the assessment of the quality assurance measures in the management system as well as in the quality assurance program of a special package design. To use the package or packaging in a safe manner and in compliance with the regulations a management system for each phase of the life of the package or packaging is necessary. The relevant IAEA-SSR6 chap. 801 requires documentary verification by the consignor concerning package compliance with the requirements. (authors)« less

Thermal management of LEDs: package to system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arik, Mehmet; Becker, Charles A.; Weaver, Stanton E.; Petroski, James

2004-01-01

Light emitting diodes, LEDs, historically have been used for indicators and produced low amounts of heat. The introduction of high brightness LEDs with white light and monochromatic colors have led to a movement towards general illumination. The increased electrical currents used to drive the LEDs have focused more attention on the thermal paths in the developments of LED power packaging. The luminous efficiency of LEDs is soon expected to reach over 80 lumens/W, this is approximately 6 times the efficiency of a conventional incandescent tungsten bulb. Thermal management for the solid-state lighting applications is a key design parameter for both package and system level. Package and system level thermal management is discussed in separate sections. Effect of chip packages on junction to board thermal resistance was compared for both SiC and Sapphire chips. The higher thermal conductivity of the SiC chip provided about 2 times better thermal performance than the latter, while the under-filled Sapphire chip package can only catch the SiC chip performance. Later, system level thermal management was studied based on established numerical models for a conceptual solid-state lighting system. A conceptual LED illumination system was chosen and CFD models were created to determine the availability and limitations of passive air-cooling.

[Cocaine smuggling in the gastrointestinal tract--the case report with the review of literature].

PubMed

Ciszowski, Krzysztof; Hydzik, Piotr; Waldman, Wojciech; Sein Anand, Jacek

2005-01-01

Body-packing is the way of psychoactive substances smuggling by swallowing of carefully prepared packages with drugs into the gastrointestinal tract or by insertion them into the vagina or the rectum, especially in order to avoid finding them by the custom service. Cocaine, as well as opiates, is the one of the most often smuggled drugs by so called body-packers. In the present study the first case of the body-packer from Malopolska region in Poland, who was observed in the Toxicology Department of the Collegium Medicum UJ, was described. The 29-year-old man swallowed 60 packages containing cocaine with a total net weight of about 500 grams. The plain abdominal radiography revealed multiple shadows of foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract, but the results of blood and urine cocaine measurements were negative. During the 37-hours stay in our department the patient was monitored (blood pressure, heart rate, temperature), laxatives and oral fluids were administered. All the packages were evacuated through the natural way and it was followed up by the control abdominal radiography. No symptoms of acute cocaine intoxication or any other complications were observed. According to the case there is also the thorough review of literature presented including the kinds of body-packing, the diagnostic methods used in recognizing of body-packers and the ways of their treatment taking into consideration the conservative management as well as surgical methods.

Computer Managed Instruction: An Application in Teaching Introductory Statistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Walter W.

1985-01-01

This paper describes a computer managed instruction package for teaching introductory or advanced statistics. The instructional package is described and anecdotal information concerning its performance and student responses to its use over two semesters are given. (Author/BL)

Case study: Is the 'catch-all-plastics bin' useful in unlocking the hidden resource potential in the residual waste collection system?

PubMed

Kranzinger, Lukas; Schopf, Kerstin; Pomberger, Roland; Punesch, Elisabeth

2017-02-01

Austria's performance in the collection of separated waste is adequate. However, the residual waste still contains substantial amounts of recyclable materials - for example, plastics, paper and board, glass and composite packaging. Plastics (lightweight packaging and similar non-packaging materials) are detected at an average mass content of 13% in residual waste. Despite this huge potential, only 3% of the total amount of residual waste (1,687,000 t y -1 ) is recycled. This implies that most of the recyclable materials contained in the residual waste are destined for thermal recovery and are lost for recycling. This pilot project, commissioned by the Land of Lower Austria, applied a holistic approach, unique in Europe, to the Lower Austrian waste management system. It aims to transfer excess quantities of plastic packaging and non-packaging recyclables from the residual waste system to the separately collected waste system by introducing a so-called 'catch-all-plastics bin'. A quantity flow model was constructed and the results showed a realistic increase in the amount of plastics collected of 33.9 wt%. This equals a calculated excess quantity of 19,638 t y -1 . The increased plastics collection resulted in a positive impact on the climate footprint (CO 2 equivalent) in line with the targets of EU Directive 94/62/EG (Circular Economy Package) and its Amendments. The new collection system involves only moderate additional costs.

Argillite And Crystalline Disposal Research: Accomplishments And Path-Forward.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McMahon, Kevin A.; Jove-Colon, Carlos F.; Wang, Yifeng

The intention of this document is to provide a path-forward for research and development (R&D) for two host rock media-specific (argillite and crystalline) disposal research work packages within the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC). The two work packages, Argillite Disposal R&D and Crystalline Disposal R&D, support the achievement of the overarching mission and objectives of the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Technologies Program. These two work packages cover many of the fundamental technical issues that will have multiple implications to other disposal research work packages by bridging knowledge gaps to support the development of the safetymore » case. The path-forward begins with the assumption of target dates that are set out in the January 2013 DOE Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (http://energy.gov/downloads/strategy-management-and-disposal-used-nuclear-fuel-and-high-levelradioactive- waste). The path-forward will be maintained as a living document and will be updated as needed in response to available funding and the progress of multiple R&D tasks in the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign and the Fuel Cycle Technologies Program. This path forward is developed based on the report of “Used Fuel Disposition Campaign Disposal Research and Development Roadmap (FCR&D-USED- 2011-000065 REV0)” (DOE, 2011). This document delineates the goals and objectives of the UFDC R&D program, needs for generic disposal concept design, and summarizes the prioritization of R&D issues.« less

Evaluation of Standard Loose Plastic Packaging for the Management of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebriondiae)

PubMed Central

Hassan, Muhammad Waqar; Gulraize; Ali, Usman; Ur Rehman, Fazal; Najeeb, Hafsa; Sohail, Maryam; Irsa, Bakhtawar; Muzaffar, Zubaria; Chaudhry, Muhammad Shafiq

2016-01-01

Three standard foodstuff plastic packaging namely polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinylchloride (PVC) were evaluated for management of lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Resistance parameters in packaging were recorded as punctures, holes, penetrations, sealing defects, and invasions with two thicknesses and tested for two lengths of time. Damages like punctures, holes and penetrations by both insects were more in PE packaging however R. dominica made more penetrations in PP than in PE. For both insects sealing defects and invasions were predominant in PVC than in others. Thickness did not affect significantly damage types but significantly more holes and penetrations by R. dominica were in less thickness. Punctures and holes by R. dominica were more after less time period but other damages in packaging were more after more time period. However for T. castaneum all sorts of damages were seen more after more time period. Overall categorization between two insects showed R. dominica made more penetrations and T. castaneum made more invasions compared with their counterparts. Pictures were taken under camera fitted microscope to magnify punctures and holes in different packaging and thicknesses. Insect mortality due to phosphine was more in PP and PE packaging and least in PVC packaging and thickness effect was marginal. T. castaneum mortality was significantly more after 48 h than after 24 h. Damages extent in packaging and fumigation results showed PP to be the best of three packaging materials to manage these insects. PMID:27638958

Savannah River Site Eastern Transportation Hub: A Concept For a DOE Eastern Packaging, Staging and Maintenance Center - 13143

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

England, Jeffery L.; Adams, Karen; Maxted, Maxcine

2013-07-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to de-inventory sites and consolidate hazardous materials for processing and disposal. The DOE administers a wide range of certified shipping packages for the transport of hazardous materials to include Special Nuclear Material (SNM), radioactive materials, sealed sources and radioactive wastes. A critical element to successful and safe transportation of these materials is the availability of certified shipping packages. There are over seven thousand certified packagings (i.e., Type B/Type AF) utilized within the DOE for current missions. The synergistic effects of consolidated maintenance, refurbishment, testing, certification, and costing of these services would allow formore » efficient management of the packagings inventory and to support anticipated future in-commerce shipping needs. The Savannah River Site (SRS) receives and ships radioactive materials (including SNM) and waste on a regular basis for critical missions such as consolidated storage, stabilization, purification, or disposition using H-Canyon and HB-Line. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has the technical capability and equipment for all aspects of packaging management. SRS has the only active material processing facility in the DOE complex and is one of the sites of choice for nuclear material consolidation. SRS is a logical location to perform maintenance and periodic testing of the DOE fleet of certified packagings. This initiative envisions a DOE Eastern Packaging Staging and Maintenance Center (PSMC) at the SRS and a western hub at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), an active DOE Regional Disposal Site. The PSMC's would be the first place DOE would go to meet their radioactive packaging needs and the primary locations projects would go to disposition excess packaging for beneficial reuse. These two hubs would provide the centralized management of a packaging fleet rather than the current approach to design, procure, maintain and dispose of packagings on a project-by-project basis. This initiative provides significant savings in packaging costs and acceleration of project schedules. In addition to certified packaging, the PSMC would be well suited for select designs of 7A Type A packaging and Industrial Packaging. (authors)« less

Using Data to Improve Programs: Assessment of a Data Quality and Use Intervention Package for Integrated Community Case Management in Malawi.

PubMed

Hazel, Elizabeth; Chimbalanga, Emmanuel; Chimuna, Tiyese; Nsona, Humphreys; Mtimuni, Angella; Kaludzu, Ernest; Gilroy, Kate; Guenther, Tanya

2017-09-27

Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) have been providing integrated community case management (iCCM) for sick children in Malawi since 2008. HSAs report monthly iCCM program data but, at the time of this study, little of it was being used for service improvement. Additionally, HSAs and facility health workers did not have the tools to compile and visualize the data they collected to make evidence-based program decisions. From 2012 to 2013, we worked with Ministry of Health staff and partners to develop and pilot a program in Dowa and Kasungu districts to improve data quality and use at the health worker level. We developed and distributed wall chart templates to display and visualize data, provided training to 426 HSAs and supervisors on data analysis using the templates, and engaged health workers in program improvement plans as part of a data quality and use (DQU) package. We assessed the package through baseline and endline surveys of the HSAs and facility and district staff in the study areas, focusing specifically on availability of reporting forms, completeness of the forms, and consistency of the data between different levels of the health system as measured through results verification ratio (RVR). We found evidence of significant improvements in reporting consistency for suspected pneumonia illness (from overreporting cases at baseline [RVR=0.82] to no reporting inconsistency at endline [RVR=1.0]; P =.02). Other non-significant improvements were measured for fever illness and gender of the patient. Use of the data-display wall charts was high; almost all HSAs and three-fourths of the health facilities had completed all months since January 2013. Some participants reported the wall charts helped them use data for program improvement, such as to inform community health education activities and to better track stock-outs. Since this study, the DQU package has been scaled up in Malawi and expanded to 2 other countries. Unfortunately, without the sustained support and supervision provided in this project, use of the tools in the Malawi scale-up is lower than during the pilot period. Nevertheless, this pilot project shows community and facility health workers can use data to improve programs at the local level given the opportunity to access and visualize the data along with supervision support. © Hazel et al.

49 CFR 173.63 - Packaging exceptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... vehicle, freight container, or cargo-only aircraft; (2) Off-shore down-hole tool pallet carried on an off... tubing 12 feet long or longer may be packed as follows in which case they are excepted from the packaging... delay charges) may be packed as follows in which case they are excepted from the packaging requirements...

Entity- Version 1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hart, Brian; Oppel, Fred; Rigdon, Brian

2012-09-13

This package contains classes that capture high-level aspects of characters and vehicles. Vehicles manage seats and riders. Vehicles and characters now can be configured to compose different behaviors and have certain capabilities, by adding them through xml data. These behaviors and capabilities are not included in this package, but instead are part of other packages such as mobility behavior, path planning, sight, sound. Entity is not dependent on these other packages. This package also contains the icons used for Umbra applications Dante Scenario Editor, Dante Tabletop and OpShed. This assertion includes a managed C++ wrapper code (EntityWrapper) to enable C#more » applications, such as Dante Scenario Editor, Dante Tabletop, and OpShed, to incorporate this library.« less

In-Package Chemistry Abstraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

E. Thomas

2004-11-09

This report was developed in accordance with the requirements in ''Technical Work Plan for: Regulatory Integration Modeling and Analysis of the Waste Form and Waste Package'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171583]). The purpose of the in-package chemistry model is to predict the bulk chemistry inside of a breached waste package and to provide simplified expressions of that chemistry as function of time after breach to Total Systems Performance Assessment for the License Application (TSPA-LA). The scope of this report is to describe the development and validation of the in-package chemistry model. The in-package model is a combination of two models, amore » batch reactor model that uses the EQ3/6 geochemistry-modeling tool, and a surface complexation model that is applied to the results of the batch reactor model. The batch reactor model considers chemical interactions of water with the waste package materials and the waste form for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) waste packages and codisposed waste packages that contain both high-level waste glass (HLWG) and DOE spent fuel. The surface complexation model includes the impact of fluid-surface interactions (i.e., surface complexation) on the resulting fluid composition. The model examines two types of water influx: (1) the condensation of water vapor that diffuses into the waste package, and (2) seepage water that enters the waste package from the drift as a liquid. (1) Vapor Influx Case: The condensation of vapor onto the waste package internals is simulated as pure H2O and enters at a rate determined by the water vapor pressure for representative temperature and relative humidity conditions. (2) Water Influx Case: The water entering a waste package from the drift is simulated as typical groundwater and enters at a rate determined by the amount of seepage available to flow through openings in a breached waste package. TSPA-LA uses the vapor influx case for the nominal scenario for simulations where the waste package has been breached but the drip shield remains intact, so all of the seepage flow is diverted from the waste package. The chemistry from the vapor influx case is used to determine the stability of colloids and the solubility of radionuclides available for transport by diffusion, and to determine the degradation rates for the waste forms. TSPA-LA uses the water influx case for the seismic scenario, where the waste package has been breached and the drip shield has been damaged such that seepage flow is actually directed into the waste package. The chemistry from the water influx case that is a function of the flow rate is used to determine the stability of colloids and the solubility of radionuclides available for transport by diffusion and advection, and to determine the degradation rates for the CSNF and HLW glass. TSPA-LA does not use this model for the igneous scenario. Outputs from the in-package chemistry model implemented inside TSPA-LA include pH, ionic strength, and total carbonate concentration. These inputs to TSPA-LA will be linked to the following principle factors: dissolution rates of the CSNF and HLWG, dissolved concentrations of radionuclides, and colloid generation.« less

The bare essentials. Release of LOM report leaves HHS to determine what should be covered by health benefits packages.

PubMed

Zigmond, Jessica

2011-10-10

In the wake of an IOM report on the criteria HHS should use to determine what benefits will be "essential" under reform, various stakeholders are weighing in. The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems would like "enabling" services--such as language, transportation and case-management services--included, because they help make medical care more effective, says Xiaoyi Huang, left, of the NAPH.

Creative Thinking Package

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Clive

1972-01-01

A look at the latest package from a British managment training organization, which explains and demonstrates creative thinking techniques, including brainstorming. The package, designed for groups of twelve or more, consists of tapes, visuals, and associated exercises. (Editor/JB)

NY TBO Research: Integrated Demand Management (IDM): IDM Concept, Tools, and Training Package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Nancy

2016-01-01

A series of human-in-the-loop simulation sessions were conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) to evaluate a new traffic management concept called Integrated Demand Management (IDM). The simulation explored how to address chronic equity, throughput and delay issues associated with New Yorks high-volume airports by operationally integrating three current and NextGen capabilities the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP), Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) and Required Time of Arrival (RTA) in order to better manage traffic demand within the National Air Traffic System. A package of presentation slides was developed to describe the concept, tools, and training materials used in the simulation sessions. The package will be used to outbrief our stakeholders by both presenting orally and disseminating of the materials via email.

Plant Equipment Package Modernization Program. Volume 4-1. Model Lines. Shell, HE, M483/M107-155MM Case, Cartridge, M115B1, M148A1B1, M150B1-105MM Shell, HEAT-T, M456A1-105MM Fuze, PD, M739

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-04-01

Cartridge, M115B1, M148A1B1, M15#1B1-15MM J .. Shell, HEAT-T, M456A1-105MM Fuze, PD, M739 # prepared for Project Manager Munitions Production Base...ENGINEERS PLANT EQUIPMENT PACKAGE MODERNIZATION PROGRAM Volume 4-1 Report No. 75-86-R-4- MODEL LINE DEVELOPMENT FUZE,PD, M739 prepared for Project...In preparing the model line for the manufacture of piece parts for the M739 fuze, a number of facts became obvious and affect the detailed de- [ sign

Practical Problems with Medication Use that Older People Experience: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Notenboom, Kim; Beers, Erna; van Riet-Nales, Diana A; Egberts, Toine C G; Leufkens, Hubert G M; Jansen, Paul A F; Bouvy, Marcel L

2014-01-01

Objectives To identify the practical problems that older people experience with the daily use of their medicines and their management strategies to address these problems and to determine the potential clinical relevance thereof. Design Qualitative study with semistructured face-to-face interviews. Setting A community pharmacy and a geriatric outpatient ward. Participants Community-dwelling people aged 70 and older (N = 59). Measurements Participants were interviewed at home. Two researchers coded the reported problems and management strategies independently according to a coding scheme. An expert panel classified the potential clinical relevance of every identified practical problem and associated management strategy using a 3-point scale. Results Two hundred eleven practical problems and 184 management strategies were identified. Ninety-five percent of the participants experienced one or more practical problems with the use of their medicines: problems reading and understanding the instructions for use, handling the outer packaging, handling the immediate packaging, completing preparation before use, and taking the medicine. For 10 participants, at least one of their problems, in combination with the applied management strategy, had potential clinical consequences and 11 cases (5% of the problems) had the potential to cause moderate or severe clinical deterioration. Conclusion Older people experience a number of practical problems using their medicines, and their strategies to manage these problems are sometimes suboptimal. These problems can lead to incorrect medication use with clinically relevant consequences. The findings pose a challenge for healthcare professionals, drug developers, and regulators to diminish these problems. PMID:25516030

76 FR 28045 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-13

...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget Approval; Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for... Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements'' has been...

Applying Service-Oriented Architecture on The Development of Groundwater Modeling Support System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C. Y.; WANG, Y.; Chang, L. C.; Tsai, J. P.; Hsiao, C. T.

2016-12-01

Groundwater simulation has become an essential step on the groundwater resources management and assessment. There are many stand-alone pre- and post-processing software packages to alleviate the model simulation loading, but the stand-alone software do not consider centralized management of data and simulation results neither do they provide network sharing functions. Hence, it is difficult to share and reuse the data and knowledge (simulation cases) systematically within or across companies. Therefore, this study develops a centralized and network based groundwater modeling support system to assist model construction. The system is based on service-oriented architecture and allows remote user to develop their modeling cases on internet. The data and cases (knowledge) are thus easy to manage centralized. MODFLOW is the modeling engine of the system, which is the most popular groundwater model in the world. The system provides a data warehouse to restore groundwater observations, MODFLOW Support Service, MODFLOW Input File & Shapefile Convert Service, MODFLOW Service, and Expert System Service to assist researchers to build models. Since the system architecture is service-oriented, it is scalable and flexible. The system can be easily extended to include the scenarios analysis and knowledge management to facilitate the reuse of groundwater modeling knowledge.

Specifying a State Guaranteed Health Benefits package for Kazakhstan: lessons for emerging economies and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Jones, Michael; Chanturidze, Tata; Franzen, Sam; Manu, Alex; Naylor, Mike

2017-10-01

The Government of Kazakhstan is engaged in a "root and branch" modernisation of the health care sector. One aspect of the raft of modernisation programmes was to revisit the State Guaranteed Health Benefits Package, with the aim to review citizen entitlements to healthcare. This paper reviews the ongoing evolution of the planning of the health benefits package in Kazakhstan, with the main challenges encountered, and critical lessons learned, to be considered for similar attempts elsewhere. The main conclusions are that: the design process requires a blend of technical and socio-political analysis, because it attracts public interest, and therefore political risks; the scale and burden of analysis need to be kept to manageable proportions; and the relationship between the benefits package and funding modalities needs to be carefully managed by the State, to ensure access to declared entitlements to all members, including the most vulnerable, while keeping the package financially feasible. © 2017 The Authors. International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2017 The Authors. International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Role of Packaging in Solid Waste Management 1966 to 1976.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darnay, Arsen; Franklin, William E.

The goals of waste processors and packagers obviously differ: the packaging industry seeks durable container material that will be unimpaired by external factors. Until recently, no systematic analysis of the relationship between packaging and solid waste disposal had been undertaken. This three-part document defines these interactions, and the…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hart, William Eugene

These slides describe different strategies for installing Python software. Although I am a big fan of Python software development, robust strategies for software installation remains a challenge. This talk describes several different installation scenarios. The Good: the user has administrative privileges - Installing on Windows with an installer executable, Installing with Linux application utility, Installing a Python package from the PyPI repository, and Installing a Python package from source. The Bad: the user does not have administrative privileges - Using a virtual environment to isolate package installations, and Using an installer executable on Windows with a virtual environment. The Ugly:more » the user needs to install an extension package from source - Installing a Python extension package from source, and PyCoinInstall - Managing builds for Python extension packages. The last item referring to PyCoinInstall describes a utility being developed for the COIN-OR software, which is used within the operations research community. COIN-OR includes a variety of Python and C++ software packages, and this script uses a simple plug-in system to support the management of package builds and installation.« less

Security Package for the VAX

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marks, V. J.; Benigue, C. E.

1983-01-01

Four programs deal with intruders and resource managment. Package available from COSMIC provides DEC VAX-11/780 with certain "deterent" security features. Although packages is not comprehensive security system, of interest for any VAX installation where security is concern.

76 FR 368 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-04

...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Announcement of Office of Management and Budget Approval... Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements..., Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements'' has been approved by the Office of...

Power2: Relapse Management with Adolescents Who Stutter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blood, Gordon W.

1995-01-01

This article describes a cognitive-behavioral treatment package for relapse management in adolescents who stutter. The package includes game-based training techniques in problem solving, communication skills, and assertiveness; coping responses for stuttering episodes; and realistic expectations for fluency and relapse. Follow-up results with…

27 CFR 30.45 - Withdrawal gauge for packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... thorough mixing of the rinse water and the spirits and before return of the spirits to the rinsed packages... returned to the packages. In the case of metal packages the tare established at the time of filling may be...

Life cycle assessment of a packaging waste recycling system in Portugal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferreira, S.; Cabral, M.; Cruz, N.F. da, E-mail: nunocruz@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Highlights: • We modeled a real packaging waste recycling system. • The analysis was performed using the life cycle assessment methodology. • The 2010 situation was compared with scenarios where the materials were not recycled. • The “Baseline” scenario seems to be more beneficial to the environment. - Abstract: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used to assess the environmental impacts associated with an activity or product life cycle. It has also been applied to assess the environmental performance related to waste management activities. This study analyses the packaging waste management system of a local public authority in Portugal. Themore » operations of selective and refuse collection, sorting, recycling, landfilling and incineration of packaging waste were considered. The packaging waste management system in operation in 2010, which we called “Baseline” scenario, was compared with two hypothetical scenarios where all the packaging waste that was selectively collected in 2010 would undergo the refuse collection system and would be sent directly to incineration (called “Incineration” scenario) or to landfill (“Landfill” scenario). Overall, the results show that the “Baseline” scenario is more environmentally sound than the hypothetical scenarios.« less

Enhanced thermaly managed packaging for III-nitride light emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudsieh, Nicolas

In this Dissertation our work on `enhanced thermally managed packaging of high power semiconductor light sources for solid state lighting (SSL)' is presented. The motivation of this research and development is to design thermally high stable cost-efficient packaging of single and multi-chip arrays of III-nitrides wide bandgap semiconductor light sources through mathematical modeling and simulations. Major issues linked with this technology are device overheating which causes serious degradation in their illumination intensity and decrease in the lifetime. In the introduction the basics of III-nitrides WBG semiconductor light emitters are presented along with necessary thermal management of high power cingulated and multi-chip LEDs and laser diodes. This work starts at chip level followed by its extension to fully packaged lighting modules and devices. Different III-nitride structures of multi-quantum well InGaN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN based LEDs and LDs were analyzed using advanced modeling and simulation for different packaging designs and high thermal conductivity materials. Study started with basic surface mounted devices using conventional packaging strategies and was concluded with the latest thermal management of chip-on-plate (COP) method. Newly discovered high thermal conductivity materials have also been incorporated for this work. Our study also presents the new approach of 2D heat spreaders using such materials for SSL and micro LED array packaging. Most of the work has been presented in international conferences proceedings and peer review journals. Some of the latest work has also been submitted to well reputed international journals which are currently been reviewed for publication. .

Language, Literacy and Numeracy in National Training Packages: Case Studies in Aged Care and Hospitality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haines, Christine; Brand, Jennie Bickmore

The implementation and effectiveness of the inclusion of literacy and numeracy in industry training packages was examined in case studies of three programs in Western Australia. Two were certificate programs in cooking and food and beverage as specified in the hospitality training package, and the third was an aged care program based on the…

The Frictionless Data Package: Data Containerization for Automated Scientific Workflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shepherd, A.; Fils, D.; Kinkade, D.; Saito, M. A.

2017-12-01

As cross-disciplinary geoscience research increasingly relies on machines to discover and access data, one of the critical questions facing data repositories is how data and supporting materials should be packaged for consumption. Traditionally, data repositories have relied on a human's involvement throughout discovery and access workflows. This human could assess fitness for purpose by reading loosely coupled, unstructured information from web pages and documentation. In attempts to shorten the time to science and access data resources across may disciplines, expectations for machines to mediate the process of discovery and access is challenging data repository infrastructure. This challenge is to find ways to deliver data and information in ways that enable machines to make better decisions by enabling them to understand the data and metadata of many data types. Additionally, once machines have recommended a data resource as relevant to an investigator's needs, the data resource should be easy to integrate into that investigator's toolkits for analysis and visualization. The Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) supports NSF-funded OCE and PLR investigators with their project's data management needs. These needs involve a number of varying data types some of which require multiple files with differing formats. Presently, BCO-DMO has described these data types and the important relationships between the type's data files through human-readable documentation on web pages. For machines directly accessing data files from BCO-DMO, this documentation could be overlooked and lead to misinterpreting the data. Instead, BCO-DMO is exploring the idea of data containerization, or packaging data and related information for easier transport, interpretation, and use. In researching the landscape of data containerization, the Frictionlessdata Data Package (http://frictionlessdata.io/) provides a number of valuable advantages over similar solutions. This presentation will focus on these advantages and how the Frictionlessdata Data Package addresses a number of real-world use cases faced for data discovery, access, analysis and visualization.

Knee-deep and rising: America's recycling crisis.

PubMed

Lodge, G C; Rayport, J F

1991-01-01

Every year, Americans generate 180 million tons of solid waste, 70% of which goes into landfills. Since 1979, the United States has exhausted more than two-thirds of its landfills; another one-fifth will close over the next five years. Solving the problem will require a new understanding between industry and government--an understanding that combines industry competence and government authority. But the two sides are mired in an unfortunate combination of good intentions and failed systems. A classic example that epitomizes the problem is the recycling of plastics. Two stories capture the sense of chaos that pervades the recycling of plastics. The first is a comedy of errors played out in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the city council passed a measure that would have banned all plastic packaging from the city. In this case, the government acted without the competence of industry. The second story involves McDonald's decision to abandon its polystyrene packaging and switch to plastic-coated paper. In this case, a single business's approach to recycling proved fruitless because of the lack of government authority. According to the authors, five principles provide the underpinnings to a new solid-waste management infrastructure: business and government are partners; the infrastructure is a system and must operate in balance; economics and politics must act as partners; all levels of government have roles to play; and generating less trash and recycling more depends on a workable system. Setting up the system will require an infrastructure that balances supply and demand, an advisory committee to manage the infrastructure, and a management system that uses incentives and disincentives to balance the system.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of FreshCase technology to extend the storage life of whole muscle beef and ground beef.

PubMed

Yang, X; Woerner, D R; Hasty, J D; McCullough, K R; Geornaras, I; Sofos, J N; Belk, K E

2016-11-01

The objective of this study was to identify the maximum time of refrigerated storage before aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria (APB) grew to a level indicative of spoilage (7 log cfu/g) or other indicators of spoilage were observed for whole muscle beef and ground beef packaged using FreshCase technology. Storage life for beef steaks stored in FreshCase packages at 4°C was 36 d, with ground beef stored in FreshCase packages at 4°C lasting 10 d. Additionally, greater ( < 0.05) a* (redness) values were detected in FreshCase packaged samples of both beef steaks and ground beef over storage time. At the point of spoilage, off-odors were detected at very low levels in all samples along with low thiobarbituric acid values (< 2 mg malonaldehyde/kg). Therefore, use of FreshCase technology in whole muscle beef and ground beef is a viable option to extend storage life.

RBioCloud: A Light-Weight Framework for Bioconductor and R-based Jobs on the Cloud.

PubMed

Varghese, Blesson; Patel, Ishan; Barker, Adam

2015-01-01

Large-scale ad hoc analytics of genomic data is popular using the R-programming language supported by over 700 software packages provided by Bioconductor. More recently, analytical jobs are benefitting from on-demand computing and storage, their scalability and their low maintenance cost, all of which are offered by the cloud. While biologists and bioinformaticists can take an analytical job and execute it on their personal workstations, it remains challenging to seamlessly execute the job on the cloud infrastructure without extensive knowledge of the cloud dashboard. How analytical jobs can not only with minimum effort be executed on the cloud, but also how both the resources and data required by the job can be managed is explored in this paper. An open-source light-weight framework for executing R-scripts using Bioconductor packages, referred to as `RBioCloud', is designed and developed. RBioCloud offers a set of simple command-line tools for managing the cloud resources, the data and the execution of the job. Three biological test cases validate the feasibility of RBioCloud. The framework is available from http://www.rbiocloud.com.

Wide Area Recovery and Resiliency Program (WARRP) Knowledge Enhancement Events: Waste Management Workshop After Action Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

approximately 2,300 curies of 137Cs (CsCl), and 1.5 tons of Ammonium nitrate / Fuel oil (ANFO). The explosive and the shielded CsCl sources are packaged into...previous findings. Experts also presented case studies on Hurricane Katrina, The British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill, Fukushima Japan, Foot and Mouth...containers, conduct environmental monitoring. The waste streams were very organized into distinct categories. 1) oil , gasoline, pesticides, 2) batteries

Greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste shipping package/container identification and requirements study. National Low-Level Waste Management Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tyacke, M.

1993-08-01

This report identifies a variety of shipping packages (also referred to as casks) and waste containers currently available or being developed that could be used for greater-than-Class C (GTCC) low-level waste (LLW). Since GTCC LLW varies greatly in size, shape, and activity levels, the casks and waste containers that could be used range in size from small, to accommodate a single sealed radiation source, to very large-capacity casks/canisters used to transport or dry-store highly radioactive spent fuel. In some cases, the waste containers may serve directly as shipping packages, while in other cases, the containers would need to be placedmore » in a transport cask. For the purpose of this report, it is assumed that the generator is responsible for transporting the waste to a Department of Energy (DOE) storage, treatment, or disposal facility. Unless DOE establishes specific acceptance criteria, the receiving facility would need the capability to accept any of the casks and waste containers identified in this report. In identifying potential casks and waste containers, no consideration was given to their adequacy relative to handling, storage, treatment, and disposal. Those considerations must be addressed separately as the capabilities of the receiving facility and the handling requirements and operations are better understood.« less

General specifications for the development of a USL NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Bassari, Jinous; Triantafyllopoulos, Spiros

1984-01-01

The University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) NASA PC R and D statistical analysis support package is designed to be a three-level package to allow statistical analysis for a variety of applications within the USL Data Base Management System (DBMS) contract work. The design addresses usage of the statistical facilities as a library package, as an interactive statistical analysis system, and as a batch processing package.

An econometric analysis of regional differences in household waste collection: the case of plastic packaging waste in Sweden.

PubMed

Hage, Olle; Söderholm, Patrik

2008-01-01

The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging materials. This paper investigates the main determinants of collection rates of household plastic packaging waste in Swedish municipalities. This is done by the use of a regression analysis based on cross-sectional data for 252 Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that local policies, geographic/demographic variables, socio-economic factors and environmental preferences all help explain inter-municipality collection rates. For instance, the collection rate appears to be positively affected by increases in the unemployment rate, the share of private houses, and the presence of immigrants (unless newly arrived) in the municipality. The impacts of distance to recycling industry, urbanization rate and population density on collection outcomes turn out, though, to be both statistically and economically insignificant. A reasonable explanation for this is that the monetary compensation from the material companies to the collection entrepreneurs vary depending on region and is typically higher in high-cost regions. This implies that the plastic packaging collection in Sweden may be cost ineffective. Finally, the analysis also shows that municipalities that employ weight-based waste management fees generally experience higher collection rates than those municipalities in which flat and/or volume-based fees are used.

An econometric analysis of regional differences in household waste collection: The case of plastic packaging waste in Sweden

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hage, Olle; Soederholm, Patrik

2008-07-01

The Swedish producer responsibility ordinance mandates producers to collect and recycle packaging materials. This paper investigates the main determinants of collection rates of household plastic packaging waste in Swedish municipalities. This is done by the use of a regression analysis based on cross-sectional data for 252 Swedish municipalities. The results suggest that local policies, geographic/demographic variables, socio-economic factors and environmental preferences all help explain inter-municipality collection rates. For instance, the collection rate appears to be positively affected by increases in the unemployment rate, the share of private houses, and the presence of immigrants (unless newly arrived) in the municipality. Themore » impacts of distance to recycling industry, urbanization rate and population density on collection outcomes turn out, though, to be both statistically and economically insignificant. A reasonable explanation for this is that the monetary compensation from the material companies to the collection entrepreneurs vary depending on region and is typically higher in high-cost regions. This implies that the plastic packaging collection in Sweden may be cost ineffective. Finally, the analysis also shows that municipalities that employ weight-based waste management fees generally experience higher collection rates than those municipalities in which flat and/or volume-based fees are used.« less

Community-driven computational biology with Debian Linux

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The Open Source movement and its technologies are popular in the bioinformatics community because they provide freely available tools and resources for research. In order to feed the steady demand for updates on software and associated data, a service infrastructure is required for sharing and providing these tools to heterogeneous computing environments. Results The Debian Med initiative provides ready and coherent software packages for medical informatics and bioinformatics. These packages can be used together in Taverna workflows via the UseCase plugin to manage execution on local or remote machines. If such packages are available in cloud computing environments, the underlying hardware and the analysis pipelines can be shared along with the software. Conclusions Debian Med closes the gap between developers and users. It provides a simple method for offering new releases of software and data resources, thus provisioning a local infrastructure for computational biology. For geographically distributed teams it can ensure they are working on the same versions of tools, in the same conditions. This contributes to the world-wide networking of researchers. PMID:21210984

treeman: an R package for efficient and intuitive manipulation of phylogenetic trees.

PubMed

Bennett, Dominic J; Sutton, Mark D; Turvey, Samuel T

2017-01-07

Phylogenetic trees are hierarchical structures used for representing the inter-relationships between biological entities. They are the most common tool for representing evolution and are essential to a range of fields across the life sciences. The manipulation of phylogenetic trees-in terms of adding or removing tips-is often performed by researchers not just for reasons of management but also for performing simulations in order to understand the processes of evolution. Despite this, the most common programming language among biologists, R, has few class structures well suited to these tasks. We present an R package that contains a new class, called TreeMan, for representing the phylogenetic tree. This class has a list structure allowing phylogenetic trees to be manipulated more efficiently. Computational running times are reduced because of the ready ability to vectorise and parallelise methods. Development is also improved due to fewer lines of code being required for performing manipulation processes. We present three use cases-pinning missing taxa to a supertree, simulating evolution with a tree-growth model and detecting significant phylogenetic turnover-that demonstrate the new package's speed and simplicity.

9 CFR 381.144 - Packaging materials.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., from the packaging supplier under whose brand name and firm name the material is marketed to the... distinguishing brand name or code designation appearing on the packaging material shipping container; must....13) will be acceptable. The management of the establishment must maintain a file containing...

Design Evolution Study - Aging Options

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P. McDaniel

The purpose of this study is to identify options and issues for aging commercial spent nuclear fuel received for disposal at the Yucca Mountain Mined Geologic Repository. Some early shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel to the repository may be received with high-heat-output (younger) fuel assemblies that will need to be managed to meet thermal goals for emplacement. The capability to age as much as 40,000 metric tons of heavy metal of commercial spent nuclear he1 would provide more flexibility in the design to manage this younger fuel and to decouple waste receipt and waste emplacement. The following potential agingmore » location options are evaluated: (1) Surface aging at four locations near the North Portal; (2) Subsurface aging in the permanent emplacement drifts; and (3) Subsurface aging in a new subsurface area. The following aging container options are evaluated: (1) Complete Waste Package; (2) Stainless Steel inner liner of the waste package; (3) Dual Purpose Canisters; (4) Multi-Purpose Canisters; and (5) New disposable canister for uncanistered commercial spent nuclear fuel. Each option is compared to a ''Base Case,'' which is the expected normal waste packaging process without aging. A Value Engineering approach is used to score each option against nine technical criteria and rank the options. Open issues with each of the options and suggested future actions are also presented. Costs for aging containers and aging locations are evaluated separately. Capital costs are developed for direct costs and distributable field costs. To the extent practical, unit costs are presented. Indirect costs, operating costs, and total system life cycle costs will be evaluated outside of this study. Three recommendations for aging commercial spent nuclear fuel--subsurface, surface, and combined surface and subsurface are presented for further review in the overall design re-evaluation effort. Options that were evaluated but not recommended are: subsurface aging in a new subsurface area (high cost); surface aging in the complete waste package (risk to the waste package and impact on the Waste Handling Facility); and aging in the stainless steel liner (impact on the waste package design and new high risk operations added to the waste packaging process). The selection of a design basis for aging will be made in conjunction with the other design re-evaluation studies.« less

AMModels: An R package for storing models, data, and metadata to facilitate adaptive management

PubMed Central

Katz, Jonathan E.

2018-01-01

Agencies are increasingly called upon to implement their natural resource management programs within an adaptive management (AM) framework. This article provides the background and motivation for the R package, AMModels. AMModels was developed under R version 3.2.2. The overall goal of AMModels is simple: To codify knowledge in the form of models and to store it, along with models generated from numerous analyses and datasets that may come our way, so that it can be used or recalled in the future. AMModels facilitates this process by storing all models and datasets in a single object that can be saved to an .RData file and routinely augmented to track changes in knowledge through time. Through this process, AMModels allows the capture, development, sharing, and use of knowledge that may help organizations achieve their mission. While AMModels was designed to facilitate adaptive management, its utility is far more general. Many R packages exist for creating and summarizing models, but to our knowledge, AMModels is the only package dedicated not to the mechanics of analysis but to organizing analysis inputs, analysis outputs, and preserving descriptive metadata. We anticipate that this package will assist users hoping to preserve the key elements of an analysis so they may be more confidently revisited at a later date. PMID:29489825

AMModels: An R package for storing models, data, and metadata to facilitate adaptive management.

PubMed

Donovan, Therese M; Katz, Jonathan E

2018-01-01

Agencies are increasingly called upon to implement their natural resource management programs within an adaptive management (AM) framework. This article provides the background and motivation for the R package, AMModels. AMModels was developed under R version 3.2.2. The overall goal of AMModels is simple: To codify knowledge in the form of models and to store it, along with models generated from numerous analyses and datasets that may come our way, so that it can be used or recalled in the future. AMModels facilitates this process by storing all models and datasets in a single object that can be saved to an .RData file and routinely augmented to track changes in knowledge through time. Through this process, AMModels allows the capture, development, sharing, and use of knowledge that may help organizations achieve their mission. While AMModels was designed to facilitate adaptive management, its utility is far more general. Many R packages exist for creating and summarizing models, but to our knowledge, AMModels is the only package dedicated not to the mechanics of analysis but to organizing analysis inputs, analysis outputs, and preserving descriptive metadata. We anticipate that this package will assist users hoping to preserve the key elements of an analysis so they may be more confidently revisited at a later date.

Some design constraints required for the use of generic software in embedded systems: Packages which manage abstract dynamic structures without the need for garbage collection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Charles S.

1986-01-01

The embedded systems running real-time applications, for which Ada was designed, require their own mechanisms for the management of dynamically allocated storage. There is a need for packages which manage their own internalo structures to control their deallocation as well, due to the performance implications of garbage collection by the KAPSE. This places a requirement upon the design of generic packages which manage generically structured private types built-up from application-defined input types. These kinds of generic packages should figure greatly in the development of lower-level software such as operating systems, schedulers, controllers, and device driver; and will manage structures such as queues, stacks, link-lists, files, and binary multary (hierarchical) trees. Controlled to prevent inadvertent de-designation of dynamic elements, which is implicit in the assignment operation A study was made of the use of limited private type, in solving the problems of controlling the accumulation of anonymous, detached objects in running systems. The use of deallocator prodecures for run-down of application-defined input types during deallocation operations during satellites.

Calculation Package for the Analysis of Performance of Cells 1-6, with Underdrain, of the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility Oak Ridge, Tennessee

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gonzales D.

2010-03-30

This calculation package presents the results of an assessment of the performance of the 6 cell design of the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF). The calculations show that the new cell 6 design at the EMWMF meets the current WAC requirement. QA/QC steps were taken to verify the input/output data for the risk model and data transfer from modeling output files to tables and calculation.

Analysis of efficiency of waste reverse logistics for recycling.

PubMed

Veiga, Marcelo M

2013-10-01

Brazil is an agricultural country with the highest pesticide consumption in the world. Historically, pesticide packaging has not been disposed of properly. A federal law requires the chemical industry to provide proper waste management for pesticide-related products. A reverse logistics program was implemented, which has been hailed a great success. This program was designed to target large rural communities, where economy of scale can take place. Over the last 10 years, the recovery rate has been very poor in most small rural communities. The objective of this study was to analyze the case of this compulsory reverse logistics program for pesticide packaging under the recent Brazilian Waste Management Policy, which enforces recycling as the main waste management solution. This results of this exploratory research indicate that despite its aggregate success, the reverse logistics program is not efficient for small rural communities. It is not possible to use the same logistic strategy for small and large communities. The results also indicate that recycling might not be the optimal solution, especially in developing countries with unsatisfactory recycling infrastructure and large transportation costs. Postponement and speculation strategies could be applied for improving reverse logistics performance. In most compulsory reverse logistics programs, there is no economical solution. Companies should comply with the law by ranking cost-effective alternatives.

Development of integrated radioactive waste packaging and conditioning solutions in the UK

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sibley, Peter; Butter, Kevin; Zimmerman, Ian

2013-07-01

In order to offer a more cost effective, safer and efficient Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) management service, EnergySolutions EU Ltd. and Gesellschaft fur Nuklear-Service mbH (GNS) have been engaged in the development of integrated radioactive waste retrieval, packaging and conditioning solutions in the UK. Recognising the challenges surrounding regulatory endorsement and on-site implementation in particular, this has resulted in an alternative approach to meeting customer, safety regulator and disposability requirements. By working closely with waste producers and the organisation(s) responsible for endorsing radioactive waste management operations in the UK, our proposed solutions are now being implemented. By combining GNS' off-the-shelf,more » proven Ductile Cast Iron Containers (DCICs) and water removal technologies, with EnergySolutions EU Ltd.'s experience and expertise in waste retrieval, safety case development and disposability submissions, a fully integrated service offering has been developed. This has involved significant effort to overcome technical challenges such as onsite equipment deployment, active commissioning, conditioning success criteria and disposability acceptance. Our experience in developing such integrated solutions has highlighted the importance of working in collaboration with all parties to achieve a successful and viable outcome. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure reliable, safe and effective delivery of waste management solutions. (authors)« less

How Do Physical Therapists in the United Kingdom Manage Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis? Results of a Cross-Sectional Survey.

PubMed

Holden, Melanie A; Bennell, Kim L; Whittle, Rebecca; Chesterton, Linda; Foster, Nadine E; Halliday, Nicola A; Spiers, Libby N; Mason, Elizabeth M; Quicke, Jonathan G; Mallen, Christian D

2018-06-01

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is common, painful, and disabling. Physical therapists have an important role in managing patients with hip OA; however, little is known about their current management approach and whether it aligns with clinical guideline recommendations. The objective of this study is to describe United Kingdom (UK) physical therapists' current management of patients with hip OA and to determine whether it aligns with clinical guidelines. The design is a cross-section questionnaire. A questionnaire was mailed to 3126 physical therapists in the UK that explored physical therapists' self-reported management of a patient with hip OA using a case vignette and clinical management questions. The response rate was 52.7% (n = 1646). In total, 1148 (69.7%) physical therapists had treated a patient with hip OA in the last 6 months and were included in the analyses. A treatment package was commonly provided incorporating advice, exercise (strength training 95.9%; general physical activity 85.4%), and other nonpharmacological modalities, predominantly manual therapy (69.6%), and gait retraining (66.4%). There were some differences in reported management between physical therapists based in the National Health Service (NHS) and non-NHS-based physical therapists, including fewer treatment sessions being provided by NHS-based therapists. Limitations include the potential for nonresponder bias and, in clinical practice, physical therapists may manage patients with hip OA differently. UK-based physical therapists commonly provide a package of care for patients with hip OA that is broadly in line with current clinical guidelines, including advice, exercise, and other nonpharmacological treatments. There were some differences in clinical practice between NHS and non-NHS-based physical therapists, but whether these differences impact on clinical outcomes remains unknown.

Instrumental meat quality of veal calves reared under three management systems and color evolution of meat stored in three packaging systems.

PubMed

Ripoll, G; Albertí, P; Casasús, I; Blanco, M

2013-02-01

This study evaluated the meat quality of grazing suckling calves (GR), suckling plus supplemented calves (SUP) and weaned calves finished on concentrates (FIN) and the color evolution of meat packaged in film (FILM), modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and vacuum packaging (VAC). Intramuscular fat was quite low for all treatments and GR meat had greater percentages of PUFA and lower SFA, MUFA and n6/n3 than SUP and FIN. FIN and SUP meat had more L* and was more tender when aged than GR. GR meat was tough and dark. The packaging system was more influential on meat color than the feeding management. VAC had the lowest values of metmyoglobin when aged. MAP had the greatest L* and hue angle and the lowest redness after 13 d of aging, thus MAP was the packaging with the shortest shelf life. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Packaging waste recycling in Europe: is the industry paying for it?

PubMed

da Cruz, Nuno Ferreira; Ferreira, Sandra; Cabral, Marta; Simões, Pedro; Marques, Rui Cunha

2014-02-01

This paper describes and examines the schemes established in five EU countries for the recycling of packaging waste. The changes in packaging waste management were mainly implemented since the Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste entered into force. The analysis of the five systems allowed the authors to identify very different approaches to cope with the same problem: meet the recovery and recycling targets imposed by EU law. Packaging waste is a responsibility of the industry. However, local governments are generally in charge of waste management, particularly in countries with Green Dot schemes or similar extended producer responsibility systems. This leads to the need of establishing a system of financial transfers between the industry and the local governments (particularly regarding the extra costs involved with selective collection and sorting). Using the same methodological approach, the authors also compare the costs and benefits of recycling from the perspective of local public authorities for France, Portugal and Romania. Since the purpose of the current paper is to take note of who is paying for the incremental costs of recycling and whether the industry (i.e. the consumer) is paying for the net financial costs of packaging waste management, environmental impacts are not included in the analysis. The work carried out in this paper highlights some aspects that are prone to be improved and raises several questions that will require further research. In the three countries analyzed more closely in this paper the industry is not paying the net financial cost of packaging waste management. In fact, if the savings attained by diverting packaging waste from other treatment (e.g. landfilling) and the public subsidies to the investment on the "recycling system" are not considered, it seems that the industry should increase the financial support to local authorities (by 125% in France, 50% in Portugal and 170% in Romania). However, in France and Portugal the industry is paying local authorities more than just the incremental costs of recycling (full costs of selective collection and sorting minus the avoided costs). To provide a more definitive judgment on the fairness of the systems it will be necessary to assess the cost efficiency of waste management operators (and judge whether operators are claiming costs or eliciting "prices"). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

`spup' - An R Package for Analysis of Spatial Uncertainty Propagation and Application to Trace Gas Emission Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawicka, K.; Breuer, L.; Houska, T.; Santabarbara Ruiz, I.; Heuvelink, G. B. M.

2016-12-01

Computer models have become a crucial tool in engineering and environmental sciences for simulating the behaviour of complex static and dynamic systems. However, while many models are deterministic, the uncertainty in their predictions needs to be estimated before they are used for decision support. Advances in uncertainty propagation analysis and assessment have been paralleled by a growing number of software tools for uncertainty analysis, but none has gained recognition for a universal applicability, including case studies with spatial models and spatial model inputs. Due to the growing popularity and applicability of the open source R programming language we undertook a project to develop an R package that facilitates uncertainty propagation analysis in spatial environmental modelling. In particular, the `spup' package provides functions for examining the uncertainty propagation starting from input data and model parameters, via the environmental model onto model predictions. The functions include uncertainty model specification, stochastic simulation and propagation of uncertainty using Monte Carlo techniques, as well as several uncertainty visualization functions. Here we will demonstrate that the 'spup' package is an effective and easy-to-use tool to be applied even in a very complex study case, and that it can be used in multi-disciplinary research and model-based decision support. As an example, we use the ecological LandscapeDNDC model to analyse propagation of uncertainties associated with spatial variability of the model driving forces such as rainfall, nitrogen deposition and fertilizer inputs. The uncertainty propagation is analysed for the prediction of emissions of N2O and CO2 for a German low mountainous, agriculturally developed catchment. The study tests the effect of spatial correlations on spatially aggregated model outputs, and could serve as an advice for developing best management practices and model improvement strategies.

Power Extension Package (PEP) system definition extension, orbital service module systems analysis study. Volume 12: PEP data item descriptions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Contractor information requirements necessary to support the power extension package project of the space shuttle program are specified for the following categories of data: project management; configuration management; systems engineering and test; manufacturing; reliability, quality assurance and safety; logistics; training; and operations.

The role of assessment packages for diagnostic consultations: A conversation analytic perspective.

PubMed

Rossen, Camilla B; Buus, Niels; Stenager, Egon; Stenager, Elsebeth

2015-05-01

This article reports a conversation analysis of assessment package consultations. Healthcare delivery packages belong to a highly structured mode of healthcare delivery, in which specific courses of healthcare interventions related to assessment and treatment are predefined, both as to timing and content. Assessment packages are widely used in an increasing number of medical specialities; however, there is a lack of knowledge about how packaged assessment influences the interaction between doctor and patient. In this study, we investigate the final consultation in assessment packages, which is when the final clarification of the patient's symptoms takes place. The primary data of the study were eight audio recordings of consultations, and the secondary data were ethnographic field descriptions. In most consultations, packaged assessment was a resource as it provided fast and efficient clarification. In most cases, clarification was treated as good news since it either confirmed the absence of a serious disease or resulted in a diagnosis leading to relevant treatment offers. However, in some cases, clarification was not perceived as good news. This was the case in consultations with patients whose goal was to leave the consultation with clarification in the form of a definite diagnosis, but who were not offered such clarification. These patients negotiated the outcome of the consultation by applying implicit and explicit pressure, which induced the doctors to disregard the boundaries of the package and offer the patient more tests. The study highlights some of the problems related to introducing narrow, specialized package assessment. © The Author(s) 2014.

DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR THE DEFENSE HIGH-LEVEL WASTE DISPOSAL CONTAINER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

G. Radulesscu; J.S. Tang

The purpose of ''Design Analysis for the Defense High-Level Waste Disposal Container'' analysis is to technically define the defense high-level waste (DHLW) disposal container/waste package using the Waste Package Department's (WPD) design methods, as documented in ''Waste Package Design Methodology Report'' (CRWMS M&O [Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor] 2000a). The DHLW disposal container is intended for disposal of commercial high-level waste (HLW) and DHLW (including immobilized plutonium waste forms), placed within disposable canisters. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-managed spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in disposable canisters may also be placed in a DHLW disposal container alongmore » with HLW forms. The objective of this analysis is to demonstrate that the DHLW disposal container/waste package satisfies the project requirements, as embodied in Defense High Level Waste Disposal Container System Description Document (SDD) (CRWMS M&O 1999a), and additional criteria, as identified in Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report (CRWMS M&Q 2000b, Table 4). The analysis briefly describes the analytical methods appropriate for the design of the DHLW disposal contained waste package, and summarizes the results of the calculations that illustrate the analytical methods. However, the analysis is limited to the calculations selected for the DHLW disposal container in support of the Site Recommendation (SR) (CRWMS M&O 2000b, Section 7). The scope of this analysis is restricted to the design of the codisposal waste package of the Savannah River Site (SRS) DHLW glass canisters and the Training, Research, Isotopes General Atomics (TRIGA) SNF loaded in a short 18-in.-outer diameter (OD) DOE standardized SNF canister. This waste package is representative of the waste packages that consist of the DHLW disposal container, the DHLW/HLW glass canisters, and the DOE-managed SNF in disposable canisters. The intended use of this analysis is to support Site Recommendation reports and to assist in the development of WPD drawings. Activities described in this analysis were conducted in accordance with the Development Plan ''Design Analysis for the Defense High-Level Waste Disposal Container'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c) with no deviations from the plan.« less

Proceedings of the Introducing Requirements Management into Organizations Workshop: Requirements Management Transition Packages November 11-13, 1996.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-04-25

the community, as with the Systems Engineering Capability Maturity Model ? • Should it be built by a small working group ? • What role should... collaborating on the development of the transition package concept for requirements management with two organizations. When participants in the workshop...34 learning " and approaches it as a qualitative activity among qualified peers [Spendolini 92]. In the spirit of this style of

Computer software tool REALM for sustainable water allocation and management.

PubMed

Perera, B J C; James, B; Kularathna, M D U

2005-12-01

REALM (REsource ALlocation Model) is a generalised computer simulation package that models harvesting and bulk distribution of water resources within a water supply system. It is a modeling tool, which can be applied to develop specific water allocation models. Like other water resource simulation software tools, REALM uses mass-balance accounting at nodes, while the movement of water within carriers is subject to capacity constraints. It uses a fast network linear programming algorithm to optimise the water allocation within the network during each simulation time step, in accordance with user-defined operating rules. This paper describes the main features of REALM and provides potential users with an appreciation of its capabilities. In particular, it describes two case studies covering major urban and rural water supply systems. These case studies illustrate REALM's capabilities in the use of stochastically generated data in water supply planning and management, modelling of environmental flows, and assessing security of supply issues.

Integrated data management for clinical studies: automatic transformation of data models with semantic annotations for principal investigators, data managers and statisticians.

PubMed

Dugas, Martin; Dugas-Breit, Susanne

2014-01-01

Design, execution and analysis of clinical studies involves several stakeholders with different professional backgrounds. Typically, principle investigators are familiar with standard office tools, data managers apply electronic data capture (EDC) systems and statisticians work with statistics software. Case report forms (CRFs) specify the data model of study subjects, evolve over time and consist of hundreds to thousands of data items per study. To avoid erroneous manual transformation work, a converting tool for different representations of study data models was designed. It can convert between office format, EDC and statistics format. In addition, it supports semantic annotations, which enable precise definitions for data items. A reference implementation is available as open source package ODMconverter at http://cran.r-project.org.

Packaging perspective, 1910-1985

Treesearch

John W. Koning; James F. Laundrie

1985-01-01

For 75 years the Forest Products Laboratory has been concerned for the wise use of wood. One of the major uses of wood is packaging. This report summarizes the research reports completed in packaging and relates the output in terms of forest management and return on the taxpayer’s investment.

Modern software approaches applied to a Hydrological model: the GEOtop Open-Source Software Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cozzini, Stefano; Endrizzi, Stefano; Cordano, Emanuele; Bertoldi, Giacomo; Dall'Amico, Matteo

2017-04-01

The GEOtop hydrological scientific package is an integrated hydrological model that simulates the heat and water budgets at and below the soil surface. It describes the three-dimensional water flow in the soil and the energy exchange with the atmosphere, considering the radiative and turbulent fluxes. Furthermore, it reproduces the highly non-linear interactions between the water and energy balance during soil freezing and thawing, and simulates the temporal evolution of snow cover, soil temperature and moisture. The core components of the package were presented in the 2.0 version (Endrizzi et al, 2014), which was released as Free Software Open-source project. However, despite the high scientific quality of the project, a modern software engineering approach was still missing. Such weakness hindered its scientific potential and its use both as a standalone package and, more importantly, in an integrate way with other hydrological software tools. In this contribution we present our recent software re-engineering efforts to create a robust and stable scientific software package open to the hydrological community, easily usable by researchers and experts, and interoperable with other packages. The activity takes as a starting point the 2.0 version, scientifically tested and published. This version, together with several test cases based on recent published or available GEOtop applications (Cordano and Rigon, 2013, WRR, Kollet et al, 2016, WRR) provides the baseline code and a certain number of referenced results as benchmark. Comparison and scientific validation can then be performed for each software re-engineering activity performed on the package. To keep track of any single change the package is published on its own github repository geotopmodel.github.io/geotop/ under GPL v3.0 license. A Continuous Integration mechanism by means of Travis-CI has been enabled on the github repository on master and main development branches. The usage of CMake configuration tool and the suite of tests (easily manageable by means of ctest tools) greatly reduces the burden of the installation and allows us to enhance portability on different compilers and Operating system platforms. The package was also complemented by several software tools which provide web-based visualization of results based on R plugins, in particular "shiny" (Chang at al, 2016), "geotopbricks" and "geotopOptim2" (Cordano et al, 2016) packages, which allow rapid and efficient scientific validation of new examples and tests. The software re-engineering activities are still under development. However, our first results are promising enough to eventually reach a robust and stable software project that manages in a flexible way a complex state-of-the-art hydrological model like GEOtop and integrates it into wider workflows.

A Brief Report on the Effects of a Self-Management Treatment Package on Stereotypic Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Timothy R.

2009-01-01

We evaluated the effects of a self-management treatment package (SMTP) on the stereotypic behavior of an adolescent with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Latency to stereotypy was systematically increased in the training setting (academic) and the effectiveness of the SMTP was evaluated within a multiple-probe…

An Interactive Computer Aided Electrical Engineering Education Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavati, Cicero Romao

This paper describes an educational package to help the learning process. A case study is presented of an energy distribution course in the Electrical Engineering Department at the Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES). The advantages of the developed package are shown by comparing it with the traditional academic book. This package presents…

Development of pre-deployment primary healthcare training for Combat Medical Technicians.

PubMed

Parsons, Iain T; Rawden, M P; Wheatley, R J

2014-09-01

To develop and run a primary healthcare (PHC) refresher package to address the range of clinical presentations to Combat Medical Technicians (CMTs) on deployment and improve their confidence and capability in providing PHC for Op Herrick 18, with particular regard to the first month of deployment. A regimental level, two-and-a-half day refresher package was developed following analysis of PHC conditions most likely to be seen on Op HERRICK 18. It consisted of lectures and skill stations with written and case-based assessment phases to demonstrate effective and safe use of CMT clinical protocols on simulated patients. Internal feedback assessed the CMT's subjective understanding of each individual section. A qualitative questionnaire was used to retrospectively evaluate the package after 1 month of deployment. Immediate feedback showed that the refresher training was well received. Following the first month of deployment, CMTs who had attended the PHC refresher package felt more confident in managing PHC patients and felt they had received training for the majority of PHC conditions witnessed during their deployment in comparison with CMTs who had not. By delivering a training package acceptable to the majority of medics, we have increased the confidence and capability of CMTs in delivering PHC within the context of their protocols and prepared them for their first month of deployment. It suggests that PHC delivery can be improved by such a package and consideration should be given to formalising this into a military training qualification. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

AMModels: An R package for storing models, data, and metadata to facilitate adaptive management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Donovan, Therese M.; Katz, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Agencies are increasingly called upon to implement their natural resource management programs within an adaptive management (AM) framework. This article provides the background and motivation for the R package, AMModels. AMModels was developed under R version 3.2.2. The overall goal of AMModels is simple: To codify knowledge in the form of models and to store it, along with models generated from numerous analyses and datasets that may come our way, so that it can be used or recalled in the future. AMModels facilitates this process by storing all models and datasets in a single object that can be saved to an .RData file and routinely augmented to track changes in knowledge through time. Through this process, AMModels allows the capture, development, sharing, and use of knowledge that may help organizations achieve their mission. While AMModels was designed to facilitate adaptive management, its utility is far more general. Many R packages exist for creating and summarizing models, but to our knowledge, AMModels is the only package dedicated not to the mechanics of analysis but to organizing analysis inputs, analysis outputs, and preserving descriptive metadata. We anticipate that this package will assist users hoping to preserve the key elements of an analysis so they may be more confidently revisited at a later date.

NOBLAST and JAMBLAST: New Options for BLAST and a Java Application Manager for BLAST results.

PubMed

Lagnel, Jacques; Tsigenopoulos, Costas S; Iliopoulos, Ioannis

2009-03-15

NOBLAST (New Options for BLAST) is an open source program that provides a new user-friendly tabular output format for various NCBI BLAST programs (Blastn, Blastp, Blastx, Tblastn, Tblastx, Mega BLAST and Psi BLAST) without any use of a parser and provides E-value correction in case of use of segmented BLAST database. JAMBLAST using the NOBLAST output allows the user to manage, view and filter the BLAST hits using a number of selection criteria. A distribution package of NOBLAST and JAMBLAST including detailed installation procedure is freely available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/JAMBLAST/ and http://sourceforge.net/projects/NOBLAST. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Use of Life Cycle Assessment in Environmental Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, Stuart; Evans, David

2002-01-01

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to develop strategic policies that can lead to a minimization of the environmental burden resulting from the provision of services or the manufacture, use, and disposal of products within the economy. We accomplish this aim by presenting a case study that evaluates the greenhouse gas contributions of each stage in the life cycle of containerboard packaging and the potential impact on emissions of various policy options available to decision-makers. Our analysis showed that, in general, the most useful strategy was to recycle the used packaging. However, our analysis also indicated that when measures are taken to eliminate sources of methane emissions, then recycling is no longer beneficial from a greenhouse perspective. This is because the process energy required in the form of gas and electricity is substantially greater for containerboard manufactured from recycled material than it is for virgin fiber.

Approving for a community aged care package: experiences and perceptions of six metropolitan aged care assessment service teams.

PubMed

Stephens, Delwyne; Wells, Yvonne; Gardner, Ian

2011-06-01

To establish whether the experiences and perceptions of different metropolitan Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS) teams when approving people for Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs) were similar. Six semi-structured 30-minute group interviews were completed. ACAS team approval processes for CACPs were similar. The primary criterion for approval was need for case management. Many factors, however, impinged on the approval process. Barriers to making approvals included long waiting times, a lack of confidence in the priority rating system, and consideration of whether a person was better off with Home and Community Care services because of the impact of the Australian Government's Cost Recovery policy. ACAS teams have competing considerations when approving a person for a CACP. In particular, structural barriers, such as cost recovery policies, can have a significant negative impact on approval decisions. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 ACOTA.

Optimization of Personnel Assignment Problem Based on Traveling Time by Using Hungarian Methods: Case Study on the Central Post Office Bandung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Supian, Sudradjat; Wahyuni, Sri; Nahar, Julita; Subiyanto

2018-01-01

In this paper, traveling time workers from the central post office Bandung in delivering the package to the destination location was optimized by using Hungarian method. Sensitivity analysis against data changes that may occur was also conducted. The sampled data in this study are 10 workers who will be assigned to deliver mail package to 10 post office delivery centers in Bandung that is Cikutra, Padalarang, Ujung Berung, Dayeuh Kolot, Asia- Africa, Soreang, Situ Saeur, Cimahi, Cipedes and Cikeruh. The result of this research is optimal traveling time from 10 workers to 10 destination locations. The optimal traveling time required by the workers is 387 minutes to reach the destination. Based on this result, manager of the central post office Bandung can make optimal decisions to assign tasks to their workers.

Development of sustainable waste management toward zero landfill waste for the petrochemical industry in Thailand using a comprehensive 3R methodology: A case study.

PubMed

Usapein, Parnuwat; Chavalparit, Orathai

2014-06-01

Sustainable waste management was introduced more than ten years ago, but it has not yet been applied to the Thai petrochemical industry. Therefore, under the philosophy of sustainable waste management, this research aims to apply the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) concept at the petrochemical factory level to achieve a more sustainable industrial solid waste management system. Three olefin plants in Thailand were surveyed for the case study. The sources and types of waste and existing waste management options were identified. The results indicate that there are four sources of waste generation: (1) production, (2) maintenance, (3) waste treatment, and (4) waste packaging, which correspond to 45.18%, 36.71%, 9.73%, and 8.37% of the waste generated, respectively. From the survey, 59 different types of industrial wastes were generated from the different factory activities. The proposed 3R options could reduce the amount of landfill waste to 79.01% of the amount produced during the survey period; this reduction would occur over a period of 2 years and would result in reduced disposal costs and reduced consumption of natural resources. This study could be used as an example of an improved waste management system in the petrochemical industry. © The Author(s) 2014.

A microelectronics approach for the ROSETTA surface science package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandau, Rainer (Editor); Alkalaj, Leon

1996-01-01

In relation to the Rosetta surface science package, the benefits of the application of advanced microelectronics packaging technologies and other output from the Mars environmental survey (MESUR) integrated microelectronics study are reported on. The surface science package will be designed to operate for tens of hours. Its limited mass and power consumption make necessary a highly integrated design with all the instruments and subunits operated from a centralized control and information management subsystem.

Combining Workstation Design and Performance Management to Increase Ergonomically Correct Computer Typing Postures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Culig, Kathryn M.; Dickinson, Alyce M.; Lindstrom-Hazel, Debra; Austin, John

2008-01-01

The effects of workstation changes and a performance management (PM) package on seven typing postures were examined for seven office workers. Workstation adjustments were implemented first. Two participants increased five safe postures by 50% or more. The effects of a PM package on postures that did not improve by 50% were then examined using a…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, K.; Tsai, H.; Decision and Information Sciences

The technical basis for extending the Model 9977 shipping package periodic maintenance beyond the one-year interval to a maximum of five years is based on the performance of the O-ring seals and the environmental conditions. The DOE Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has tasked Argonne National Laboratory to develop a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) temperature monitoring system for use by the facility personnel at DAF/NTS. The RFID temperature monitoring system, depicted in the figure below, consists of the Mk-1 RFId tags, a reader, and a control computer mounted on a mobile platform that can operate as a stand-alone system, or it canmore » be connected to the local IT network. As part of the Conditions of Approval of the CoC, the user must complete the prescribed training to become qualified and be certified for operation of the RFID temperature monitoring system. The training course will be administered by Argonne National Laboratory on behalf of the Headquarters Certifying Official. This is a complete documentation package for the RFID temperature monitoring system of the Model 9977 packagings at NTS. The documentation package will be used for training and certification. The table of contents are: Acceptance Testing Procedure of MK-1 RFID Tags for DOE/EM Nuclear Materials Management Applications; Acceptance Testing Result of MK-1 RFID Tags for DOE/EM Nuclear Materials Management Applications; Performance Test of the Single Bolt Seal Sensor for the Model 9977 Packaging; Calibration of Built-in Thermistors in RFID Tags for Nevada Test Site; Results of Calibration of Built-in Thermistors in RFID Tags; Results of Thermal Calibration of Second Batch of MK-I RFID Tags; Procedure for Installing and Removing MK-1 RFID Tag on Model 9977 Drum; User Guide for RFID Reader and Software for Temperature Monitoring of Model 9977 Drums at NTS; Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP) for the ARG-US System; Quality Category for the RFID Temperature Monitoring System; The Documentation Package for the RFID Temperature Monitoring System; Software Test Plan and Results for ARG-US OnSite; Configuration Management Plan (CMP) for the ARG-US System; Requirements Management Plan for the ARG-US System; and Design Management Plan for ARG-US.« less

Industry-Education Partnerships: Vocational Education Resource Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evaluation and Training Inst., Los Angeles, CA.

Designed to assist community college administrators and faculty in enhancing vocational education programs and services, this Vocational Education Resource Package presents case studies of four partnerships between California community colleges and industry and offers guidelines for developing successful partnerships. The case studies focus on:…

Estimates of Dietary Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) from Light Metal Packaging using Food Consumption and Packaging usage Data: A Refined Deterministic Approach and a Fully Probabilistic (FACET) Approach

PubMed Central

Oldring, P.K.T.; Castle, L.; O'Mahony, C.; Dixon, J.

2013-01-01

The FACET tool is a probabilistic model to estimate exposure to chemicals in foodstuffs, originating from flavours, additives and food contact materials. This paper demonstrates the use of the FACET tool to estimate exposure to BPA (bisphenol A) from light metal packaging. For exposure to migrants from food packaging, FACET uses industry-supplied data on the occurrence of substances in the packaging, their concentrations and construction of the packaging, which were combined with data from a market research organisation and food consumption data supplied by national database managers. To illustrate the principles, UK packaging data were used together with consumption data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) dietary survey for 19–64 year olds for a refined deterministic verification. The UK data were chosen mainly because the consumption surveys are detailed, data for UK packaging at a detailed level were available and, arguably, the UK population is composed of high consumers of packaged foodstuffs. Exposures were run for each food category that could give rise to BPA from light metal packaging. Consumer loyalty to a particular type of packaging, commonly referred to as packaging loyalty, was set. The BPA extraction levels used for the 15 types of coating chemistries that could release BPA were in the range of 0.00005–0.012 mg dm−2. The estimates of exposure to BPA using FACET for the total diet were 0.0098 (mean) and 0.0466 (97.5th percentile) mg/person/day, corresponding to 0.00013 (mean) and 0.00059 (97.5th percentile) mg kg−1 body weight day−1 for consumers of foods packed in light metal packaging. This is well below the current EFSA (and other recognised bodies) TDI of 0.05 mg kg−1 body weight day. These probabilistic estimates were compared with estimates using a refined deterministic approach drawing on the same input data. The results from FACET for the mean, 95th and 97.5th percentile exposures to BPA lay between the lowest and the highest estimates from the refined deterministic calculations. Since this should be the case, for a fully probabilistic compared with a deterministic approach, it is concluded that the FACET tool has been verified in this example. A recent EFSA draft opinion on exposure to BPA from different sources showed that canned foods were a major contributor and compared results from various models, including those from FACET. The results from FACET were overall conservative. PMID:24405320

27 CFR 19.490 - Numbering of packages and cases filled in processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... cases filled in processing. 19.490 Section 19.490 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND... Marks Marking Requirements for Spirits § 19.490 Numbering of packages and cases filled in processing. (a... any series reaches “1,000,000”, the proprietor may begin a new series with “1” but must add an...

Automated work packages architecture: An initial set of human factors and instrumentation and controls requirements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agarwal, Vivek; Oxstrand, Johanna H.; Le Blanc, Katya L.

The work management process in current fleets of national nuclear power plants is so highly dependent on large technical staffs and quality of work instruction, i.e., paper-based, that this puts nuclear energy at somewhat of a long-term economic disadvantage and increase the possibility of human errors. Technologies like mobile portable devices and computer-based procedures can play a key role in improving the plant work management process, thereby increasing productivity and decreasing cost. Automated work packages are a fundamentally an enabling technology for improving worker productivity and human performance in nuclear power plants work activities because virtually every plant work activitymore » is accomplished using some form of a work package. As part of this year’s research effort, automated work packages architecture is identified and an initial set of requirements identified, that are essential and necessary for implementation of automated work packages in nuclear power plants.« less

Plain packaging of cigarettes: do we have sufficient evidence?

PubMed Central

Smith, Collin N; Kraemer, John D; Johnson, Andrea C; Mays, Darren

2015-01-01

Tobacco industry marketing is a primary factor influencing cigarette smoking behavior and the cigarette pack has become an important marketing vehicle for tobacco companies. Standardized “plain” cigarette packaging is advocated as a public health policy to prevent and reduce morbidity and mortality caused by smoking by reducing youth smoking initiation and promoting cessation among smokers. Plain packaging was implemented in Australia in December 2012, and several other countries are considering doing so, but each faces foreseeable legal resistance from opponents to such measures. Tobacco companies have challenged these public health policies, citing international trade agreements and intellectual property laws. Decision-making in these court cases will hinge in part on whether the evidence indicates the public health benefits of plain packaging outweigh any potential harm to tobacco manufacturers’ interests. We reviewed the available evidence in support of plain packaging, finding evidence from observational, experimental, and population-based studies. Results indicate that plain packaging can reduce positive perceptions of smoking and dissuade tobacco use. Governments deciding to implement plain cigarette packaging measures can rely on this evidence to help make a strong case that plain packaging plays an important role in the context of comprehensive smoking prevention efforts. PMID:25897269

Management and Economic Implications of Bundling and Block Booking of Television and Cable Programming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Picard, Robert G.

Bundling, a practice which has increased dramatically in the television and cable industries in recent years, occurs when program distributors package groups of movies and episodes of series, and then sell licenses to use these packages to TV stations and cable channels. Typically, such bundled packages include both highly desirable and less…

14 CFR Appendix E to Part 60 - Qualification Performance Standards for Quality Management Systems for Flight Simulation Training...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... data made available to the NSPM (the validation data package) includes the aircraft manufacturer's... longer in business), and if appropriate, with the person who supplied the aircraft data package for the FFS for the purposes of receiving notification of data package changes. E1.13. A policy, process, or...

14 CFR Appendix E to Part 60 - Qualification Performance Standards for Quality Management Systems for Flight Simulation Training...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... data made available to the NSPM (the validation data package) includes the aircraft manufacturer's... longer in business), and if appropriate, with the person who supplied the aircraft data package for the FFS for the purposes of receiving notification of data package changes. E1.13. A policy, process, or...

Production patterns of packaging waste categories generated at typical Mediterranean residential building worksites.

PubMed

González Pericot, N; Villoria Sáez, P; Del Río Merino, M; Liébana Carrasco, O

2014-11-01

The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste has been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) system administration guide. Version 1.2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burford, M.J.; Burnett, R.A.; Curtis, L.M.

The Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) is an emergency management planning and analysis tool that is being developed under the direction of the US Army Chemical biological Defense Command. The FEMIS System Administration Guide defines FEMIS hardware and software requirements and gives instructions for installing the FEMIS system package. System administrators, database administrators, and general users can use this guide to install, configure, and maintain the FEMIS client software package. This document provides a description of the FEMIS environment; distribution media; data, communications, and electronic mail servers; user workstations; and system management.

Hendra virus in Queensland, Australia, during the winter of 2011: veterinarians on the path to better management strategies.

PubMed

Mendez, Diana; Buttner, Petra; Speare, Rick

2014-11-01

Following the emergence of Hendra virus (HeV), private veterinarians have had to adopt additional infection control strategies to manage this zoonosis. Between 1994 and 2010, seven people became infected with HeV, four fatally. All infected people were at a higher risk of exposure from contact with horses as they were either veterinary personnel, assisting veterinarians, or working in the horse industry. The management of emerging zoonoses is best approached from a One Health perspective as it benefits biosecurity as well as a public health, including the health of those most at risk, in this case private veterinarians. In 2011 we conducted a cross-sectional study of private veterinarians registered in Queensland and providing veterinary services to horses. The aim of this study was to gauge if participants had adopted recommendations for improved infection control, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the development of HeV specific management strategies during the winter of 2011. A majority of participants worked in practices that had a formal HeV management plan, mostly based on the perusal of official guidelines and an HeV field kit. The use of PPE increased as the health status of an equine patient decreased, demonstrating that many participants evaluated the risk of exposure to HeV appropriately; while others remained at risk of HeV infection by not using the appropriate PPE even when attending a sick horse. This study took place after Biosecurity Queensland had sent a comprehensive package about HeV management to all private veterinarians working in Queensland. However, those who had previous HeV experience through the management of suspected cases or had attended a HeV specific professional education programme in the previous 12 months were more likely to use PPE than those who had not. This may indicate that for private veterinarians in Queensland personal experience and face-to-face professional education sessions may be more effective in the improvement of HeV management than passive education via information packages. The role of different education pathways in the sustainable adoption of veterinary infection control measures should be further investigated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DNA Packaging in Bacteriophage: Is Twist Important?

PubMed Central

Spakowitz, Andrew James; Wang, Zhen-Gang

2005-01-01

We study the packaging of DNA into a bacteriophage capsid using computer simulation, specifically focusing on the potential impact of twist on the final packaged conformation. We perform two dynamic simulations of packaging a polymer chain into a spherical confinement: one where the chain end is rotated as it is fed, and one where the chain is fed without end rotation. The final packaged conformation exhibits distinct differences in these two cases: the packaged conformation from feeding with rotation exhibits a spool-like character that is consistent with experimental and previous theoretical work, whereas feeding without rotation results in a folded conformation inconsistent with a spool conformation. The chain segment density shows a layered structure, which is more pronounced for packaging with rotation. However, in both cases, the conformation is marked by frequent jumps of the polymer chain from layer to layer, potentially influencing the ability to disentangle during subsequent ejection. Ejection simulations with and without Brownian forces show that Brownian forces are necessary to achieve complete ejection of the polymer chain in the absence of external forces. PMID:15805174

DNA packaging in bacteriophage: is twist important?

PubMed

Spakowitz, Andrew James; Wang, Zhen-Gang

2005-06-01

We study the packaging of DNA into a bacteriophage capsid using computer simulation, specifically focusing on the potential impact of twist on the final packaged conformation. We perform two dynamic simulations of packaging a polymer chain into a spherical confinement: one where the chain end is rotated as it is fed, and one where the chain is fed without end rotation. The final packaged conformation exhibits distinct differences in these two cases: the packaged conformation from feeding with rotation exhibits a spool-like character that is consistent with experimental and previous theoretical work, whereas feeding without rotation results in a folded conformation inconsistent with a spool conformation. The chain segment density shows a layered structure, which is more pronounced for packaging with rotation. However, in both cases, the conformation is marked by frequent jumps of the polymer chain from layer to layer, potentially influencing the ability to disentangle during subsequent ejection. Ejection simulations with and without Brownian forces show that Brownian forces are necessary to achieve complete ejection of the polymer chain in the absence of external forces.

The performance of material management in health care organizations.

PubMed

Dacosta-Claro, Ivan

2002-01-01

This paper studies the hospital supply chain. The analysis of the operational and financial data of hospital administrative structures has permitted the discovery of the characteristics of work carried out by the employees and the different strategies used by the managers. Firstly, hospital supply chains must be classified into two groups influenced by medical factors (short-term and long-term hospitals). Secondly, two different management approaches can be observed when the supply chain operations are analysed. The first approach assigns a larger budget priority to inventory control, packages reception and internal distribution. Thus, the purchasing services have relatively fewer resources. In the second approach, contract negotiation and product ordering processes are enforced by the deployment of, relatively, more personnel. In both cases, the central store service performs merchandise reception and distribution according to the strategies determined by the purchasing service.

Integrated software system for low level waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Worku, G.

1995-12-31

In the continually changing and uncertain world of low level waste management, many generators in the US are faced with the prospect of having to store their waste on site for the indefinite future. This consequently increases the set of tasks performed by the generators in the areas of packaging, characterizing, classifying, screening (if a set of acceptance criteria applies), and managing the inventory for the duration of onsite storage. When disposal sites become available, it is expected that the work will require re-evaluating the waste packages, including possible re-processing, re-packaging, or re-classifying in preparation for shipment for disposal undermore » the regulatory requirements of the time. In this day and age, when there is wide use of computers and computer literacy is at high levels, an important waste management tool would be an integrated software system that aids waste management personnel in conducting these tasks quickly and accurately. It has become evident that such an integrated radwaste management software system offers great benefits to radwaste generators both in the US and other countries. This paper discusses one such approach to integrated radwaste management utilizing some globally accepted radiological assessment software applications.« less

Hermetic electronics package with dual-sided electrical feedthrough configuration

DOEpatents

Shah, Kedar G.; Pannu, Satinderpall S.

2016-11-22

A hermetic electronics package includes a metal case with opposing first and second open ends, with each end connected to a first feedthrough construction and a second feedthrough construction. Each feedthrough contruction has an electrically insulating substrate and an array of electrically conductive feedthroughs extending therethrough, with the electrically insulating substrates connected to the opposing first and second open ends, respectively, of the metal case so as to form a hermetically sealed enclosure. A set of electronic components are located within the hermetically sealed enclosure and are operably connected to the feedthroughs of the first and second feedthrough constructions so as to electrically communicate outside the package from opposite sides of the package.

Using VCL as an Aspect-Oriented Approach to Requirements Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amálio, Nuno; Kelsen, Pierre; Ma, Qin; Glodt, Christian

Software systems are becoming larger and more complex. By tackling the modularisation of crosscutting concerns, aspect orientation draws attention to modularity as a means to address the problems of scalability, complexity and evolution in software systems development. Aspect-oriented modelling (AOM) applies aspect-orientation to the construction of models. Most existing AOM approaches are designed without a formal semantics, and use multi-view partial descriptions of behaviour. This paper presents an AOM approach based on the Visual Contract Language (VCL): a visual language for abstract and precise modelling, designed with a formal semantics, and comprising a novel approach to visual behavioural modelling based on design by contract where behavioural descriptions are total. By applying VCL to a large case study of a car-crash crisis management system, the paper demonstrates how modularity of VCL's constructs, at different levels of granularity, help to tackle complexity. In particular, it shows how VCL's package construct and its associated composition mechanisms are key in supporting separation of concerns, coarse-grained problem decomposition and aspect-orientation. The case study's modelling solution has a clear and well-defined modular structure; the backbone of this structure is a collection of packages encapsulating local solutions to concerns.

The Micro TIPS - Cases - Programmed Learning Course Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (Scotland). Esmee Fairbairn Economics Research Centre.

Part of an economic education series, the course package is designed to teach basic concepts and principles of microeconomics and how they can be applied to various world problems. For use with college students, learning is gained through lectures, tutorials, textbooks, programmed text, cases, and TIPS (Teaching Information Processing System).…

The challenge of international consensus: defining an opioid essential prescription package.

PubMed

Vignaroli, Ernesto; Wenk, Roberto

2012-09-01

To describe a new strategy that aimed to facilitate opioid prescription for better pain management. The International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care recently develop a single prescription package (drugs and dosing) with one opioid, one laxative, and one antiemetic for the initiation of opioid treatment in cancer pain and other life-threatening conditions, with the intention to facilitate opioid use, improve patient compliance, and reduce adverse effects. The opioid essential prescription package was an international project designed to ensure that opioids are better tolerated by reducing the adverse effects of opioids, which could lead to more sustained improvements in pain management.

The kinship2 R package for pedigree data.

PubMed

Sinnwell, Jason P; Therneau, Terry M; Schaid, Daniel J

2014-01-01

The kinship2 package is restructured from the previous kinship package. Existing features are now enhanced and new features added for handling pedigree objects. Pedigree plotting features have been updated to display features on complex pedigrees while adhering to pedigree plotting standards. Kinship matrices can now be calculated for the X chromosome. Other methods have been added to subset and trim pedigrees while maintaining the pedigree structure. We make the kinship2 package available for R on the Contributed R Archives Network (CRAN), where data management is built-in and other packages can use the pedigree object.

Design requirements for SRB production control system. Volume 3: Package evaluation, modification and hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The software package evaluation was designed to analyze commercially available, field-proven, production control or manufacturing resource planning management technology and software package. The analysis was conducted by comparing SRB production control software requirements and conceptual system design to software package capabilities. The methodology of evaluation and the findings at each stage of evaluation are described. Topics covered include: vendor listing; request for information (RFI) document; RFI response rate and quality; RFI evaluation process; and capabilities versus requirements.

Mesoscale and severe storms (Mass) data management and analysis system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hickey, J. S.; Karitani, S.; Dickerson, M.

1984-01-01

Progress on the Mesoscale and Severe Storms (MASS) data management and analysis system is described. An interactive atmospheric data base management software package to convert four types of data (Sounding, Single Level, Grid, Image) into standard random access formats is implemented and integrated with the MASS AVE80 Series general purpose plotting and graphics display data analysis software package. An interactive analysis and display graphics software package (AVE80) to analyze large volumes of conventional and satellite derived meteorological data is enhanced to provide imaging/color graphics display utilizing color video hardware integrated into the MASS computer system. Local and remote smart-terminal capability is provided by installing APPLE III computer systems within individual scientist offices and integrated with the MASS system, thus providing color video display, graphics, and characters display of the four data types.

The Ndynamics package—Numerical analysis of dynamical systems and the fractal dimension of boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avellar, J.; Duarte, L. G. S.; da Mota, L. A. C. P.; de Melo, N.; Skea, J. E. F.

2012-09-01

A set of Maple routines is presented, fully compatible with the new releases of Maple (14 and higher). The package deals with the numerical evolution of dynamical systems and provide flexible plotting of the results. The package also brings an initial conditions generator, a numerical solver manager, and a focusing set of routines that allow for better analysis of the graphical display of the results. The novelty that the package presents an optional C interface is maintained. This allows for fast numerical integration, even for the totally inexperienced Maple user, without any C expertise being required. Finally, the package provides the routines to calculate the fractal dimension of boundaries (via box counting). New version program summary Program Title: Ndynamics Catalogue identifier: %Leave blank, supplied by Elsevier. Licensing provisions: no. Programming language: Maple, C. Computer: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M330 @ 2.13 GHz. Operating system: Windows 7. RAM: 3.0 GB Keywords: Dynamical systems, Box counting, Fractal dimension, Symbolic computation, Differential equations, Maple. Classification: 4.3. Catalogue identifier of previous version: ADKH_v1_0. Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 119 (1999) 256. Does the new version supersede the previous version?: Yes. Nature of problem Computation and plotting of numerical solutions of dynamical systems and the determination of the fractal dimension of the boundaries. Solution method The default method of integration is a fifth-order Runge-Kutta scheme, but any method of integration present on the Maple system is available via an argument when calling the routine. A box counting [1] method is used to calculate the fractal dimension [2] of the boundaries. Reasons for the new version The Ndynamics package met a demand of our research community for a flexible and friendly environment for analyzing dynamical systems. All the user has to do is create his/her own Maple session, with the system to be studied, and use the commands on the package to (for instance) calculate the fractal dimension of a certain boundary, without knowing or worrying about a single line of C programming. So the package combines the flexibility and friendly aspect of Maple with the fast and robust numerical integration of the compiled (for example C) basin. The package is old, but the problems it was designed to dealt with are still there. Since Maple evolved, the package stopped working, and we felt compelled to produce this version, fully compatible with the latest version of Maple, to make it again available to the Maple user. Summary of revisions Deprecated Maple Packages and Commands: Paraphrasing the Maple in-built help files, "Some Maple commands and packages are deprecated. A command (or package) is deprecated when its functionality has been replaced by an improved implementation. The newer command is said to supersede the older one, and use of the newer command is strongly recommended". So, we have examined our code to see if some of these occurrences could be dangerous for it. For example, the "readlib" command is unnecessary, and we have removed its occurrences from our code. We have checked and changed all the necessary commands in order for us to be safe in respect to danger from this source. Another change we had to make was related to the tools we have implemented in order to use the interface for performing the numerical integration in C, externally, via the use of the Maple command "ssystem". In the past, we had used, for the external C integration, the DJGPP system. But now we present the package with (free) Borland distribution. The compilation and compiling commands are now slightly changed. For example, to compile only, we had used "gcc-c"; now, we use "bcc32-c", etc. All this installation (Borland) is explained on a "README" file we are submitting here to help the potential user. Restrictions Besides the inherent restrictions of numerical integration methods, this version of the package only deals with systems of first-order differential equations. Unusual features This package provides user-friendly software tools for analyzing the character of a dynamical system, whether it displays chaotic behaviour, and so on. Options within the package allow the user to specify characteristics that separate the trajectories into families of curves. In conjunction with the facilities for altering the user's viewpoint, this provides a graphical interface for the speedy and easy identification of regions with interesting dynamics. An unusual characteristic of the package is its interface for performing the numerical integrations in C using a fifth-order Runge-Kutta method (default). This potentially improves the speed of the numerical integration by some orders of magnitude and, in cases where it is necessary to calculate thousands of graphs in regions of difficult integration, this feature is very desirable. Besides that tool, somewhat more experienced users can produce their own C integrator and, by using the commands available in the package, use it as the C integrator provided with the package as long as the new integrator manages the input and output in the same format as the default one does. Running time This depends strongly on the dynamical system. With an Intel® Core™ i3 CPU M330 @ 2.13 GHz, the integration of 50 graphs, for a system of two first-order equations, typically takes less than a second to run (with the C integration interface). Without the C interface, it takes a few seconds. In order to calculate the fractal dimension, where we typically use 10,000 points to integrate, using the C interface it takes from 20 to 30 s. Without the C interface, it becomes really impractical, taking, sometimes, for the same case, almost an hour. For some cases, it takes many hours.

Optimizing biomass blends for manufacturing molded packaging materials using mycelium

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics and is commonly produced in three forms: 1) Extruded polystyrene – disposable utensils, CD/DVD cases, yogurt containers, smoke alarm housing, etc.; 2) Expanded polystyrene foam – molded packaging materials and packaging "peanuts"; 3) Extruded polys...

78 FR 46953 - CDC and ATSDR Use of the SF-424 Research and Related Forms (Application Packages) in Grants.gov...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-02

... Use of the SF-424 Research and Related Forms (Application Packages) in Grants.gov and the eRA Commons... Management and Budget approved form sets available through Grants.gov . CDC and other agencies serviced by eRA use the `Competition ID' field of Grants.gov application packages for quick and easy...

IN-PACKAGE CHEMISTRY ABSTRACTION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

E. Thomas

2005-07-14

This report was developed in accordance with the requirements in ''Technical Work Plan for Postclosure Waste Form Modeling'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 173246]). The purpose of the in-package chemistry model is to predict the bulk chemistry inside of a breached waste package and to provide simplified expressions of that chemistry as a function of time after breach to Total Systems Performance Assessment for the License Application (TSPA-LA). The scope of this report is to describe the development and validation of the in-package chemistry model. The in-package model is a combination of two models, a batch reactor model, which uses the EQ3/6more » geochemistry-modeling tool, and a surface complexation model, which is applied to the results of the batch reactor model. The batch reactor model considers chemical interactions of water with the waste package materials, and the waste form for commercial spent nuclear fuel (CSNF) waste packages and codisposed (CDSP) waste packages containing high-level waste glass (HLWG) and DOE spent fuel. The surface complexation model includes the impact of fluid-surface interactions (i.e., surface complexation) on the resulting fluid composition. The model examines two types of water influx: (1) the condensation of water vapor diffusing into the waste package, and (2) seepage water entering the waste package as a liquid from the drift. (1) Vapor-Influx Case: The condensation of vapor onto the waste package internals is simulated as pure H{sub 2}O and enters at a rate determined by the water vapor pressure for representative temperature and relative humidity conditions. (2) Liquid-Influx Case: The water entering a waste package from the drift is simulated as typical groundwater and enters at a rate determined by the amount of seepage available to flow through openings in a breached waste package.« less

An open-source software package for multivariate modeling and clustering: applications to air quality management.

PubMed

Wang, Xiuquan; Huang, Guohe; Zhao, Shan; Guo, Junhong

2015-09-01

This paper presents an open-source software package, rSCA, which is developed based upon a stepwise cluster analysis method and serves as a statistical tool for modeling the relationships between multiple dependent and independent variables. The rSCA package is efficient in dealing with both continuous and discrete variables, as well as nonlinear relationships between the variables. It divides the sample sets of dependent variables into different subsets (or subclusters) through a series of cutting and merging operations based upon the theory of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The modeling results are given by a cluster tree, which includes both intermediate and leaf subclusters as well as the flow paths from the root of the tree to each leaf subcluster specified by a series of cutting and merging actions. The rSCA package is a handy and easy-to-use tool and is freely available at http://cran.r-project.org/package=rSCA . By applying the developed package to air quality management in an urban environment, we demonstrate its effectiveness in dealing with the complicated relationships among multiple variables in real-world problems.

Software Review. Macintosh Laboratory Automation: Three Software Packages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jezl, Barbara Ann

1990-01-01

Reviewed are "LABTECH NOTEBOOK,""LabVIEW," and "Parameter Manager pmPLUS/pmTALK." Each package is described including functions, uses, hardware, and costs. Advantages and disadvantages of this type of laboratory approach are discussed. (CW)

Practically prepared? Pre-intern student views following an education package.

PubMed

McKenzie, Susan; Mellis, Craig

2017-01-01

Graduating medical students enter their internship with varied levels of practical experience in procedural skills. To address this problem, many medical schools have introduced intensive skill training courses immediately prior to graduation. This study examines the impact of a pre-intern (PrInt) education package, consisting of a short intensive course, followed by a one-month clinical attachment. In September 2014, all PrInt students (n = 53) at the Central Clinical School (Sydney, NSW, Australia) attended three days of intensive training. This included a didactic introduction, case-based scenarios, and interactive workshops. This was followed by four weeks of targeted, experiential learning during a clinical attachment (PrInt term). Immediately prior to training and following PrInt, all students were invited to complete a six-domain questionnaire containing 40 subscale closed questions to assess their knowledge, experience, and confidence in key practical skills essential for a successful internship. A total of 41/53 (77%) students completed an identical questionnaire prior to PrInt, and 37/53 (70%) immediately following PrInt. Respondents reported statistically significant increases in their experience, ability, knowledge, and confidence in a number of domains. The key changes were the following: knowledge of pharmacy skills (mean improvement = 26.48, confidence interval 95% [CI 95%] = 17.29-35.66, p ≤ 0.0001) and management of procedural skills (mean = 24.46, CI 95% = 16.58-32.34, p ≤ 0.0001). Despite the positive overall increase in most domains, some subscale results remained low following the educational package; only 44% students had inserted a nasogastric tube; only 44% reported confidence in commencing patients on warfarin; and only 42% in managing a hospital emergency. Surprisingly, there was a slight decline both in confidence in communicating with members of the hospital team (10%) and in awareness of the causes of hypoglycemia (7%). Final year students perceived substantial benefit from an educational package specifically aimed at improving their practical skills immediately prior to internship.

Practically prepared? Pre-intern student views following an education package

PubMed Central

McKenzie, Susan; Mellis, Craig

2017-01-01

Background Graduating medical students enter their internship with varied levels of practical experience in procedural skills. To address this problem, many medical schools have introduced intensive skill training courses immediately prior to graduation. This study examines the impact of a pre-intern (PrInt) education package, consisting of a short intensive course, followed by a one-month clinical attachment. Methods In September 2014, all PrInt students (n = 53) at the Central Clinical School (Sydney, NSW, Australia) attended three days of intensive training. This included a didactic introduction, case-based scenarios, and interactive workshops. This was followed by four weeks of targeted, experiential learning during a clinical attachment (PrInt term). Immediately prior to training and following PrInt, all students were invited to complete a six-domain questionnaire containing 40 subscale closed questions to assess their knowledge, experience, and confidence in key practical skills essential for a successful internship. Results A total of 41/53 (77%) students completed an identical questionnaire prior to PrInt, and 37/53 (70%) immediately following PrInt. Respondents reported statistically significant increases in their experience, ability, knowledge, and confidence in a number of domains. The key changes were the following: knowledge of pharmacy skills (mean improvement = 26.48, confidence interval 95% [CI 95%] = 17.29–35.66, p ≤ 0.0001) and management of procedural skills (mean = 24.46, CI 95% = 16.58–32.34, p ≤ 0.0001). Despite the positive overall increase in most domains, some subscale results remained low following the educational package; only 44% students had inserted a nasogastric tube; only 44% reported confidence in commencing patients on warfarin; and only 42% in managing a hospital emergency. Surprisingly, there was a slight decline both in confidence in communicating with members of the hospital team (10%) and in awareness of the causes of hypoglycemia (7%). Conclusion Final year students perceived substantial benefit from an educational package specifically aimed at improving their practical skills immediately prior to internship. PMID:28184172

Factor Stability of the Organizational Assessment Package.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

AD-AI7 122 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT CENTER MAXWELL--ETC F/6ř/1 FACTOR STABILITY OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT PACKAGE.(U) UCAUG 82...the Leadership AM Manaemenat D Center (LIUC), NaxwllI Alir Force Base,, AlIbama, report a cinpltt project documented by literature review references... Leadership and Management Development Center (ATC) Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama 36112 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE

''Do-it-yourself'' software program calculates boiler efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-03-01

An easy-to-use software package is described which runs on the IBM Personal Computer. The package calculates boiler efficiency, an important parameter of operating costs and equipment wellbeing. The program stores inputs and calculated results for 20 sets of boiler operating data, called cases. Cases can be displayed and modified on the CRT screen through multiple display pages or copied to a printer. All intermediate calculations are performed by this package. They include: steam enthalpy; water enthalpy; air humidity; gas, oil, coal, and wood heat capacity; and radiation losses.

Problems experienced by older people when opening medicine packaging.

PubMed

Philbert, Daphne; Notenboom, Kim; Bouvy, Marcel L; van Geffen, Erica C G

2014-06-01

Medicine packages can cause problems in daily practice, especially among older people. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of problems experienced by older people when opening medicine packaging and to investigate how patients manage these problems. A convenience sample of 30 community pharmacies participated in this study. They selected a systematic sample of 30 patients over 65 years old with a recent omeprazole prescription, and a questionnaire was administered by telephone for at least 10 patients per pharmacy. A total of 317 patients completed the questionnaire. They received their omeprazole in a bottle (n = 179, 56.5%), push-through blister pack (n = 102, 32.2%) or peel-off blister pack (n = 36, 11.4%). Some 28.4% of all patients experienced one or more problems with opening their omeprazole packaging; most problems occurred with peel-off blisters (n = 24, 66.7% of all respondents using peel-off blisters), followed by push-through blisters (n = 34, 33.3%) and finally bottles (n = 32, 17.9%). The risk of experiencing problems with peel-off blisters and push-through blisters was higher [relative risk 3.7 (95% confidence interval 2.5-5.5) and 1.9 (1.2-2.8), respectively] than the risk of experiencing problems with opening bottles. Two-thirds of respondents reported management strategies for their problems. Most were found for problems opening bottles (n = 24, 75%), followed by push-through blisters (n = 24, 70.6%) and peel-off blisters (n = 14, 58.3%). One in four patients over 65 experienced difficulties opening their omeprazole packaging and not all of them reported a management strategy for their problems. Manufacturers are advised to pay more attention to the user-friendliness of product packaging. In addition, it is important that pharmacy staff clearly instruct patients on how to open their medicine packaging, or assist them in choosing the most appropriate packaging. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Packaging waste recycling in Europe: Is the industry paying for it?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferreira da Cruz, Nuno, E-mail: nunocruz@ist.utl.pt; Ferreira, Sandra; Cabral, Marta

Highlights: • We study the recycling schemes of France, Germany, Portugal, Romania and the UK. • The costs and benefits of recycling are compared for France, Portugal and Romania. • The balance of costs and benefits depend on the perspective (strictly financial/economic). • Financial supports to local authorities ought to promote cost-efficiency. - Abstract: This paper describes and examines the schemes established in five EU countries for the recycling of packaging waste. The changes in packaging waste management were mainly implemented since the Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste entered into force. The analysis of the five systems allowedmore » the authors to identify very different approaches to cope with the same problem: meet the recovery and recycling targets imposed by EU law. Packaging waste is a responsibility of the industry. However, local governments are generally in charge of waste management, particularly in countries with Green Dot schemes or similar extended producer responsibility systems. This leads to the need of establishing a system of financial transfers between the industry and the local governments (particularly regarding the extra costs involved with selective collection and sorting). Using the same methodological approach, the authors also compare the costs and benefits of recycling from the perspective of local public authorities for France, Portugal and Romania. Since the purpose of the current paper is to take note of who is paying for the incremental costs of recycling and whether the industry (i.e. the consumer) is paying for the net financial costs of packaging waste management, environmental impacts are not included in the analysis. The work carried out in this paper highlights some aspects that are prone to be improved and raises several questions that will require further research. In the three countries analyzed more closely in this paper the industry is not paying the net financial cost of packaging waste management. In fact, if the savings attained by diverting packaging waste from other treatment (e.g. landfilling) and the public subsidies to the investment on the “recycling system” are not considered, it seems that the industry should increase the financial support to local authorities (by 125% in France, 50% in Portugal and 170% in Romania). However, in France and Portugal the industry is paying local authorities more than just the incremental costs of recycling (full costs of selective collection and sorting minus the avoided costs). To provide a more definitive judgment on the fairness of the systems it will be necessary to assess the cost efficiency of waste management operators (and judge whether operators are claiming costs or eliciting “prices”)« less

Net costs of health worker rural incentive packages: an example from the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

PubMed

Keuffel, Eric; Jaskiewicz, Wanda; Paphassarang, Chanthakhath; Tulenko, Kate

2013-11-01

Many developing countries are examining whether to institute incentive packages that increase the share of health workers who opt to locate in rural settings; however, uncertainty exists with respect to the expected net cost (or benefit) from these packages. We utilize the findings from the discrete choice experiment surveys applied to students training to be health professionals and costing analyses in Lao People's Democratic Republic to model the anticipated effect of incentive packages on new worker location decisions and direct costs. Incorporating evidence on health worker density and health outcomes, we then estimate the expected 5-year net cost (or benefit) of each incentive packages for 3 health worker cadres--physicians, nurses/midwives, and medical assistants. Under base case assumptions, the optimal incentive package for each cadre produced a 5-year net benefit (maximum net benefit for physicians: US$ 44,000; nurses/midwives: US$ 5.6 million; medical assistants: US$ 485,000). After accounting for health effects, the expected net cost of select incentive packages would be substantially less than the original estimate of direct costs. In the case of Lao People's Democratic Republic, incentive packages that do not invest in capital-intensive components generally should produce larger net benefits. Combining discrete choice experiment surveys, costing surveys and cost-benefit analysis methods may be replicated by other developing countries to calculate whether health worker incentive packages are viable policy options.

Integrated Baseline System (IBS). Version 1.03, System Management Guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, J.R.; Bailey, S.; Bower, J.C.

This IBS System Management Guide explains how to install or upgrade the Integrated Baseline System (IBS) software package. The IBS is an emergency management planning and analysis tool that was developed under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This guide includes detailed instructions for installing the IBS software package on a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX computer from the IBS distribution tapes. The installation instructions include procedures for both first-time installations and upgrades to existing IBS installations. To ensure that the system manager has the background necessary for successful installation of the IBS package, this guide alsomore » includes information on IBS computer requirements, software organization, and the generation of IBS distribution tapes. When special utility programs are used during IBS installation and setups, this guide refers you to the IBS Utilities Guide for specific instructions. This guide also refers you to the IBS Data Management Guide for detailed descriptions of some IBS data files and structures. Any special requirements for installation are not documented here but should be included in a set of installation notes that come with the distribution tapes.« less

Risk Management of Microelectronics: The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Sampson, Michael J.

2005-01-01

This viewgraph information provides information on how the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program evaluates the reliability of technologies for Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) parts, and their suitability for spacecraft applications.

Preconception care: delivery strategies and packages for care

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The notion of preconception care aims to target the existing risks before pregnancy, whereby resources may be used to improve reproductive health and optimize knowledge before conceiving. The preconception period provides an opportunity to intervene earlier to optimize the health of potential mothers (and fathers) and to prevent harmful exposures from affecting the developing fetus. These interventions include birth spacing and preventing teenage pregnancy, promotion of contraceptive use, optimization of weight and micronutrient status, prevention and management of infectious diseases, and screening for and managing chronic conditions. Given existing interventions and the need to organize services to optimize delivery of care in a logical and effective manner, interventions are frequently co-packaged or bundled together. This paper highlights packages of preconception interventions that can be combined and co-delivered to women through various delivery channels and provides a logical framework for development of such packages in varying contexts. PMID:25415178

BatTool: an R package with GUI for assessing the effect of White-nose syndrome and other take events on Myotis spp. of bats

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Myotis species of bats such as the Indiana Bat and Little Brown Bat are facing population declines because of White-nose syndrome (WNS). These species also face threats from anthropogenic activities such as wind energy development. Population models may be used to provide insights into threats facing these species. We developed a population model, BatTool, as an R package to help decision makers and natural resource managers examine factors influencing the dynamics of these species. The R package includes two components: 1) a deterministic and stochastic model that are accessible from the command line and 2) a graphical user interface (GUI). Results BatTool is an R package allowing natural resource managers and decision makers to understand Myotis spp. population dynamics. Through the use of a GUI, the model allows users to understand how WNS and other take events may affect the population. The results are saved both graphically and as data files. Additionally, R-savvy users may access the population functions through the command line and reuse the code as part of future research. This R package could also be used as part of a population dynamics or wildlife management course. Conclusions BatTool provides access to a Myotis spp. population model. This tool can help natural resource managers and decision makers with the Endangered Species Act deliberations for these species and with issuing take permits as part of regulatory decision making. The tool is available online as part of this publication. PMID:24955110

BatTool: an R package with GUI for assessing the effect of White-nose syndrome and other take events on Myotis spp. of bats

USGS Publications Warehouse

Erickson, Richard A.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Szymanski, Jennifer A.

2014-01-01

Background: Myotis species of bats such as the Indiana Bat and Little Brown Bat are facing population declines because of White-nose syndrome (WNS). These species also face threats from anthropogenic activities such as wind energy development. Population models may be used to provide insights into threats facing these species. We developed a population model, BatTool, as an R package to help decision makers and natural resource managers examine factors influencing the dynamics of these species. The R package includes two components: 1) a deterministic and stochastic model that are accessible from the command line and 2) a graphical user interface (GUI). Results: BatTool is an R package allowing natural resource managers and decision makers to understand Myotis spp. population dynamics. Through the use of a GUI, the model allows users to understand how WNS and other take events may affect the population. The results are saved both graphically and as data files. Additionally, R-savvy users may access the population functions through the command line and reuse the code as part of future research. This R package could also be used as part of a population dynamics or wildlife management course. Conclusions: BatTool provides access to a Myotis spp. population model. This tool can help natural resource managers and decision makers with the Endangered Species Act deliberations for these species and with issuing take permits as part of regulatory decision making. The tool is available online as part of this publication.

BatTool: an R package with GUI for assessing the effect of White-nose syndrome and other take events on Myotis spp. of bats.

PubMed

Erickson, Richard A; Thogmartin, Wayne E; Szymanski, Jennifer A

2014-01-01

Myotis species of bats such as the Indiana Bat and Little Brown Bat are facing population declines because of White-nose syndrome (WNS). These species also face threats from anthropogenic activities such as wind energy development. Population models may be used to provide insights into threats facing these species. We developed a population model, BatTool, as an R package to help decision makers and natural resource managers examine factors influencing the dynamics of these species. The R package includes two components: 1) a deterministic and stochastic model that are accessible from the command line and 2) a graphical user interface (GUI). BatTool is an R package allowing natural resource managers and decision makers to understand Myotis spp. population dynamics. Through the use of a GUI, the model allows users to understand how WNS and other take events may affect the population. The results are saved both graphically and as data files. Additionally, R-savvy users may access the population functions through the command line and reuse the code as part of future research. This R package could also be used as part of a population dynamics or wildlife management course. BatTool provides access to a Myotis spp. population model. This tool can help natural resource managers and decision makers with the Endangered Species Act deliberations for these species and with issuing take permits as part of regulatory decision making. The tool is available online as part of this publication.

Ensuring the Quality of Data Packages in the LTER Network Provenance Aware Synthesis Tracking Architecture Data Management System and Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Servilla, M. S.; O'Brien, M.; Costa, D.

2013-12-01

Considerable ecological research performed today occurs through the analysis of data downloaded from various repositories and archives, often resulting in derived or synthetic products generated by automated workflows. These data are only meaningful for research if they are well documented by metadata, lest semantic or data type errors may occur in interpretation or processing. The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network now screens all data packages entering its long-term archive to ensure that each package contains metadata that is complete, of high quality, and accurately describes the structure of its associated data entity and the data are structurally congruent to the metadata. Screening occurs prior to the upload of a data package into the Provenance Aware Synthesis Tracking Architecture (PASTA) data management system through a series of quality checks, thus preventing ambiguously or incorrectly documented data packages from entering the system. The quality checks within PASTA are designed to work specifically with the Ecological Metadata Language (EML), the metadata standard adopted by the LTER Network to describe data generated by their 26 research sites. Each quality check is codified in Java as part of the ecological community-supported Data Manager Library, which is a resource of the EML specification and used as a component of the PASTA software stack. Quality checks test for metadata quality, data integrity, or metadata-data congruence. Quality checks are further classified as either conditional or informational. Conditional checks issue a 'valid', 'warning' or 'error' response. Only an 'error' response blocks the data package from upload into PASTA. Informational checks only provide descriptive content pertaining to a particular facet of the data package. Quality checks are designed by a group of LTER information managers and reviewed by the LTER community before deploying into PASTA. A total of 32 quality checks have been deployed to date. Quality checks can be customized through a configurable template, which includes turning checks 'on' or 'off' and setting the severity of conditional checks. This feature is important to other potential users of the Data Manager Library who wish to configure its quality checks in accordance with the standards of their community. Executing the complete set of quality checks produces a report that describes the result of each check. The report is an XML document that is stored by PASTA for future reference.

Assessing the appropriateness of information on childhood fever in thermometer package leaflets: a systematic audit of thermometers available in the UK.

PubMed

Hernandez, Jose; Nicholson, Brian D; Thompson, Matthew

2015-06-01

Thermometers are found in most parents' homes, but little is known about the quality and accuracy of the information they provide, nor its consistency with current guidelines for managing fever. To compare information included with commonly available thermometers with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance for management of feverish illness in children. Systematic thermometer sampling from UK retailers between February 2013 and May 2013. Information was extracted from device packaging and leaflets on details and type of thermometer, instructions for use, normal ranges, and fever thresholds cited. This was compared with key parental recommendations from the 2013 NICE guidance on feverish illness in children. Associations were explored between cost of device and level of information. There were 123 thermometers identified (ranging from £0.99 to £69.99), none of which made explicit reference to NICE guidance. Most (n = 81, 65.9%) recommended use at a body site consistent with NICE guidance, but only 17 (13.8%) defined fever using the correct threshold (≥38.0°C), and few (n = 12, 9.8%) included advice on fever management, of which four suggested actions not advised by NICE. There was no association between thermometer cost and provision of information consistent with NICE guidance. Parents and caregivers have access to a large number of thermometers, yet they lack evidence-based information about fever detection and management, and in some cases contain misleading information. This represents a missed opportunity to disseminate best practices from guidelines for management of fever in children, and thermometer manufacturers are urged to include information consistent with current guidance. © British Journal of General Practice 2015.

Influence of different materials on the thermal behavior of a CDIP-8 ceramic package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weide, Kirsten; Keck, Christian

1999-08-01

The temperature distribution inside a package is determined by the heat transfer from the package to the ambient, depending on the heat conductivities of the different used materials. With the help of finite element simulations the thermal behavior of the package can be characterized. In precise simulations convection and radiation effects have to be taken into account. In this paper the influence of different materials like the ceramic, the pin and die attach material and adhesive material between the chip and the die attach on the thermal resistance of the ceramic package will be investigated. A finite element model of the ceramic package including a voltage regulator on the chip was created. The simulations were carried out with the finite element program ANSYS. An easy way to take the radiation effect into account, which normally is difficult to handle in the simulation, will be shown. The results of the simulations are verified by infrared measurements. A comparison of the thermal resistance between the best case and worst case for different package materials was done. The thermal conductivity of the ceramic material shows the strongest influence on the thermal resistance.

Novel technique for tracking manpower and work packages: a useful tool for the team and management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gill, R.; Gracia, G.; Lupton, R. H.; O'Mullane, W.

2014-08-01

In these times of austerity it is becoming more and more important to justify the need for manpower to management. Additionally, with the fast pace of today's projects the need for tools that facilitate teams to not only plan, but also track their work, are essential. The practice of planning work packages and the associated manpower has been about for a while but little is done to really cross-check that planning against reality. In this paper these elements are brought together through a number of tools that make up the end to end process of planning, tracking and reporting of work package progress and manpower usage.

malERA: An updated research agenda for combination interventions and modelling in malaria elimination and eradication

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper summarises key advances and priorities since the 2011 presentation of the Malaria Eradication Research Agenda (malERA), with a focus on the combinations of intervention tools and strategies for elimination and their evaluation using modelling approaches. With an increasing number of countries embarking on malaria elimination programmes, national and local decisions to select combinations of tools and deployment strategies directed at malaria elimination must address rapidly changing transmission patterns across diverse geographic areas. However, not all of these approaches can be systematically evaluated in the field. Thus, there is potential for modelling to investigate appropriate ‘packages’ of combined interventions that include various forms of vector control, case management, surveillance, and population-based approaches for different settings, particularly at lower transmission levels. Modelling can help prioritise which intervention packages should be tested in field studies, suggest which intervention package should be used at a particular level or stratum of transmission intensity, estimate the risk of resurgence when scaling down specific interventions after local transmission is interrupted, and evaluate the risk and impact of parasite drug resistance and vector insecticide resistance. However, modelling intervention package deployment against a heterogeneous transmission background is a challenge. Further validation of malaria models should be pursued through an iterative process, whereby field data collected with the deployment of intervention packages is used to refine models and make them progressively more relevant for assessing and predicting elimination outcomes. PMID:29190295

Estimates of dietary exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from light metal packaging using food consumption and packaging usage data: a refined deterministic approach and a fully probabilistic (FACET) approach.

PubMed

Oldring, P K T; Castle, L; O'Mahony, C; Dixon, J

2014-01-01

The FACET tool is a probabilistic model to estimate exposure to chemicals in foodstuffs, originating from flavours, additives and food contact materials. This paper demonstrates the use of the FACET tool to estimate exposure to BPA (bisphenol A) from light metal packaging. For exposure to migrants from food packaging, FACET uses industry-supplied data on the occurrence of substances in the packaging, their concentrations and construction of the packaging, which were combined with data from a market research organisation and food consumption data supplied by national database managers. To illustrate the principles, UK packaging data were used together with consumption data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) dietary survey for 19-64 year olds for a refined deterministic verification. The UK data were chosen mainly because the consumption surveys are detailed, data for UK packaging at a detailed level were available and, arguably, the UK population is composed of high consumers of packaged foodstuffs. Exposures were run for each food category that could give rise to BPA from light metal packaging. Consumer loyalty to a particular type of packaging, commonly referred to as packaging loyalty, was set. The BPA extraction levels used for the 15 types of coating chemistries that could release BPA were in the range of 0.00005-0.012 mg dm(-2). The estimates of exposure to BPA using FACET for the total diet were 0.0098 (mean) and 0.0466 (97.5th percentile) mg/person/day, corresponding to 0.00013 (mean) and 0.00059 (97.5th percentile) mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) for consumers of foods packed in light metal packaging. This is well below the current EFSA (and other recognised bodies) TDI of 0.05 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1). These probabilistic estimates were compared with estimates using a refined deterministic approach drawing on the same input data. The results from FACET for the mean, 95th and 97.5th percentile exposures to BPA lay between the lowest and the highest estimates from the refined deterministic calculations. Since this should be the case, for a fully probabilistic compared with a deterministic approach, it is concluded that the FACET tool has been verified in this example. A recent EFSA draft opinion on exposure to BPA from different sources showed that canned foods were a major contributor and compared results from various models, including those from FACET. The results from FACET were overall conservative.

Information Metacatalog for a Grid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolano, Paul

2007-01-01

SWIM is a Software Information Metacatalog that gathers detailed information about the software components and packages installed on a grid resource. Information is currently gathered for Executable and Linking Format (ELF) executables and shared libraries, Java classes, shell scripts, and Perl and Python modules. SWIM is built on top of the POUR framework, which is described in the preceding article. SWIM consists of a set of Perl modules for extracting software information from a system, an XML schema defining the format of data that can be added by users, and a POUR XML configuration file that describes how these elements are used to generate periodic, on-demand, and user-specified information. Periodic software information is derived mainly from the package managers used on each system. SWIM collects information from native package managers in FreeBSD, Solaris, and IRX as well as the RPM, Perl, and Python package managers on multiple platforms. Because not all software is available, or installed in package form, SWIM also crawls the set of relevant paths from the File System Hierarchy Standard that defines the standard file system structure used by all major UNIX distributions. Using these two techniques, the vast majority of software installed on a system can be located. SWIM computes the same information gathered by the periodic routines for specific files on specific hosts, and locates software on a system given only its name and type.

An Open-source Meteorological Operational System and its Installation in Portuguese- speaking Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almeida, W. G.; Ferreira, A. L.; Mendes, M. V.; Ribeiro, A.; Yoksas, T.

2007-05-01

CPTEC, a division of Brazil’s INPE, has been using several open-source software packages for a variety of tasks in its Data Division. Among these tools are ones traditionally used in research and educational communities such as GrADs (Grid Analysis and Display System from the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA)), the Local Data Manager (LDM) and GEMPAK (from Unidata), andl operational tools such the Automatic File Distributor (AFD) that are popular among National Meteorological Services. In addition, some tools developed locally at CPTEC are also being made available as open-source packages. One package is being used to manage the data from Automatic Weather Stations that INPE operates. This system uses only open- source tools such as MySQL database, PERL scripts and Java programs for web access, and Unidata’s Internet Data Distribution (IDD) system and AFD for data delivery. All of these packages are get bundled into a low-cost and easy to install and package called the Meteorological Data Operational System. Recently, in a cooperation with the SICLIMAD project, this system has been modified for use by Portuguese- speaking countries in Africa to manage data from many Automatic Weather Stations that are being installed in these countries under SICLIMAD sponsorship. In this presentation we describe the tools included-in and and architecture-of the Meteorological Data Operational System.

RAGG - R EPISODIC AGGREGATION PACKAGE

EPA Science Inventory

The RAGG package is an R implementation of the CMAQ episodic model aggregation method developed by Constella Group and the Environmental Protection Agency. RAGG is a tool to provide climatological seasonal and annual deposition of sulphur and nitrogen for multimedia management. ...

GENERAL PURPOSE ADA PACKAGES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klumpp, A. R.

1994-01-01

Ten families of subprograms are bundled together for the General-Purpose Ada Packages. The families bring to Ada many features from HAL/S, PL/I, FORTRAN, and other languages. These families are: string subprograms (INDEX, TRIM, LOAD, etc.); scalar subprograms (MAX, MIN, REM, etc.); array subprograms (MAX, MIN, PROD, SUM, GET, and PUT); numerical subprograms (EXP, CUBIC, etc.); service subprograms (DATE_TIME function, etc.); Linear Algebra II; Runge-Kutta integrators; and three text I/O families of packages. In two cases, a family consists of a single non-generic package. In all other cases, a family comprises a generic package and its instances for a selected group of scalar types. All generic packages are designed to be easily instantiated for the types declared in the user facility. The linear algebra package is LINRAG2. This package includes subprograms supplementing those in NPO-17985, An Ada Linear Algebra Package Modeled After HAL/S (LINRAG). Please note that LINRAG2 cannot be compiled without LINRAG. Most packages have widespread applicability, although some are oriented for avionics applications. All are designed to facilitate writing new software in Ada. Several of the packages use conventions introduced by other programming languages. A package of string subprograms is based on HAL/S (a language designed for the avionics software in the Space Shuttle) and PL/I. Packages of scalar and array subprograms are taken from HAL/S or generalized current Ada subprograms. A package of Runge-Kutta integrators is patterned after a built-in MAC (MIT Algebraic Compiler) integrator. Those packages modeled after HAL/S make it easy to translate existing HAL/S software to Ada. The General-Purpose Ada Packages program source code is available on two 360K 5.25" MS-DOS format diskettes. The software was developed using VAX Ada v1.5 under DEC VMS v4.5. It should be portable to any validated Ada compiler and it should execute either interactively or in batch. The largest package requires 205K of main memory on a DEC VAX running VMS. The software was developed in 1989, and is a copyrighted work with all copyright vested in NASA.

Evaluation of Biomass Residual Substrate Blends for Eco-Friendly Packaging and Insulation Sheets/Panels

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics and is commonly produced in three forms: 1) Extruded polystyrene – disposable utensils, CD/DVD cases, yogurt containers, smoke alarm housing, etc.; 2) Expanded polystyrene foam – molded packaging materials and packaging "peanuts"; and 3) Extruded p...

Optimization of biomass blends in the manufacture of molded packaging materials produced using fungal mycelium

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics and is commonly produced in three forms: 1) Extruded polystyrene – disposable utensils, CD/DVD cases, yogurt containers, smoke alarm housing, etc.; 2) Expanded polystyrene foam – molded packaging materials and packaging "peanuts"; 3) Extruded polys...

[Global eradication of dracunculiasis is a reality nowadays].

PubMed

Litvinov, S K; Migliorini, L; Chernikova, E A; Lutsevich, O A

2014-01-01

Global efforts to eradicate dracunculiasis have continued to progress with only 542 cases reported in 2012 versus almost 1 million cases in the 1980s when the initiative was launched. The disease is still endemic, but in only four countries: South Sudan (541 cases), Chad (10 cases), Mali (4 cases), and Ethiopia (4 cases). The International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication declared that 180 countries were free of the disease by 2013. Dracunculiasis was first eradicated in the former USSR in 1931 when its last case was registered due to the successful implementation of a package of appropriate measures (case detection and management, vector control, and health education, including water filtration from open water sources and behavioral changes). These approaches were actively taken into account when developing the global strategy for dracunculiasis. The World Health Organization has set a goal to eradicate the disease by 2015. However, despite the fact that the global situation looks very optimistic, the time for completing the program will be most likely postponed due to a few operational challenges remaining in the still endemic countries, in South Sudan in particular.

Trade-off between blue and grey water footprint of crop production at different nitrogen application rates under various field management practices.

PubMed

Chukalla, Abebe D; Krol, Maarten S; Hoekstra, Arjen Y

2018-06-01

In irrigated crop production, nitrogen (N) is often applied at high rates in order to maximize crop yield. With such high rates, the blue water footprint (WF) per unit of crop is low, but the N-related grey WF per unit of crop yield is relatively high. This study explores the trade-off between blue and grey WF at different N-application rates (from 25 to 300 kg N ha -1  y -1 ) under various field management practices. We first analyse this trade-off under a reference management package (applying inorganic-N, conventional tillage, full irrigation). Next, we estimate the economically optimal N-application rate when putting a price to pollution. Finally, we consider the blue-grey WF trade-off for other management packages, a combination of inorganic-N or organic-N with conventional tillage or no-tillage, and full or deficit irrigation. We use the APEX model to simulate soil water and N balances and crop growth. As a case study, we consider irrigated maize on loam soil for the period 1998-2012 in a semi-arid environment in Spain. The results for the reference package show that increasing N application from 50 to 200 kg N ha -1 , with crop yield growing by a factor 3, involves a trade-off, whereby the blue WF per tonne declines by 60% but the N-related grey WF increases by 210%. Increasing N application from 25 to 50 kg N ha -1 , with yield increasing by a factor 2, is a no-regret move, because blue and grey WFs per tonne are reduced by 40% and 8%, respectively. Decreasing N application from 300 to 200 kg N ha -1 is a no-regret move as well. The minimum blue WF per tonne is found at N application of 200 kg N ha -1 , with a price of 8 $ kg -1 of N load to water pollution the economically optimal N-application rate is 150 kg N ha -1 . Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Managing Neonatal and Early Childhood Syndromic Sepsis in Sub-District Hospitals in Resource Poor Settings: Improvement in Quality of Care through Introduction of a Package of Interventions in Rural Bangladesh.

PubMed

Rahman, Ahmed Ehsanur; Iqbal, Afrin; Hoque, D M Emdadul; Moinuddin, Md; Zaman, Sojib Bin; Rahman, Qazi Sadeq-Ur; Begum, Tahmina; Chowdhury, Atique Iqbal; Haider, Rafiqul; Arifeen, Shams El; Kissoon, Niranjan; Larson, Charles P

2017-01-01

Sepsis is dysregulated systemic inflammatory response which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. With an estimated 30 million cases per year, it is a global public health concern. Severe infections leading to sepsis account for more than half of all under five deaths and around one quarter of all neonatal deaths annually. Most of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries and could be averted by rapid assessment and appropriate treatment. Evidence suggests that service provision and quality of care pertaining to sepsis management in resource poor settings can be improved significantly with minimum resource allocation and investments. Cognizant of the stark realities, a project titled 'Interrupting Pathways to Sepsis Initiative' (IPSI) introduced a package of interventions for improving quality of care pertaining to sepsis management at 2 sub-district level public hospitals in rural Bangladesh. We present here the quality improvement process and achievements regarding some fundamental steps of sepsis management which include rapid identification and admission, followed by assessment for hypoxemia, hypoglycaemia and hypothermia, immediate resuscitation when required and early administration of parenteral broad spectrum antibiotics. Key components of the intervention package include identification of structural and functional gaps through a baseline environmental scan, capacity development on protocolized management through training and supportive supervision by onsite 'Program Coaches', facilitating triage and rapid transfer of patients through 'Welcoming Persons' and enabling rapid treatment through 'Task Shifting' from on-call physicians to on-duty paramedics in the emergency department and on-call physicians to on-duty nurses in the inpatient department. From August, 2013 to March, 2015, 1,262 under-5 children were identified as syndromic sepsis in the emergency departments; of which 82% were admitted. More neonates (30%) were referred to higher level facilities than post-neonates (6%) (p<0.05). Immediately after admission, around 99% were assessed for hypoxemia, hypoglycaemia and hypothermia. Around 21% were hypoxemic (neonate-37%, post-neonate-18%, p<0.05), among which 94% received immediate oxygenation. Vascular access was established in 78% cases and 85% received recommended broad spectrum antibiotics parenterally within 1 hour of admission. There was significant improvement in the rate of establishing vascular access and choice of recommended first line parenteral antibiotic over time. After arrival in the emergency department, the median time taken for identification of syndromic sepsis and completion of admission procedure was 6 minutes. The median time taken for completion of assessment for complications was 15 minutes and administration of first dose of broad spectrum antibiotics was 35 minutes. There were only 3 inpatient deaths during the reporting period. Needs based health systems strengthening, supportive-supervision and task shifting can improve the quality and timeliness of in-patient management of syndromic sepsis in resource limited settings.

[Definition of "Safety and Hygiene Packages" as a management model for the Hospital Hygiene Service (HHS)].

PubMed

Raponi, Matteo; Damiani, Gianfranco; Vincenti, Sara; Wachocka, Malgorzata; Boninti, Federica; Bruno, Stefania; Quaranta, Gianluigi; Moscato, Umberto; Boccia, Stefania; Ficarra, Maria Giovanna; Specchia, Maria Lucia; Posteraro, Brunella; Berloco, Filippo; Celani, Fabrizio; Ricciardi, Walter; Laurenti, Patrizia

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research is to identify and formalize the Hospital Hygiene Service activities and products, evaluating them in a cost accounting management view. The ultimate aim, is to evaluate the financial adverse events prevention impact, in an Hospital Hygiene Service management. A three step methodology based on affinity grouping activities, was employed. This methodology led us to identify 4 action areas, with 23 related productive processes, and 86 available safety packages. Owing to this new methodology, we was able to implement a systematic evaluation of the furnished services.

Production patterns of packaging waste categories generated at typical Mediterranean residential building worksites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

González Pericot, N., E-mail: natalia.gpericot@upm.es; Villoria Sáez, P., E-mail: paola.villoria@upm.es; Del Río Merino, M., E-mail: mercedes.delrio@upm.es

2014-11-15

Highlights: • On-site segregation level: 1.80%; training and motivation strategies were not effective. • 70% Cardboard waste: from switches and sockets during the building services stage. • 40% Plastic waste: generated during structures and partition works due to palletizing. • >50% Wood packaging waste, basically pallets, generated during the envelope works. - Abstract: The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste hasmore » been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites.« less

Application of indoor noise prediction in the real world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, David N.

2002-11-01

Predicting indoor noise in industrial workrooms is an important part of the process of designing industrial plants. Predicted levels are used in the design process to determine compliance with occupational-noise regulations, and to estimate levels inside the walls in order to predict community noise radiated from the building. Once predicted levels are known, noise-control strategies can be developed. In this paper an overview of over 20 years of experience is given with the use of various prediction approaches to manage noise in Unilever plants. This work has applied empirical and ray-tracing approaches separately, and in combination, to design various packaging and production plants and other facilities. The advantages of prediction methods in general, and of the various approaches in particular, will be discussed. A case-study application of prediction methods to the optimization of noise-control measures in a food-packaging plant will be presented. Plans to acquire a simplified prediction model for use as a company noise-screening tool will be discussed.

KSC-06pd1289

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Operations and Checkout Building, Michele Perchonok stows packages of food that the STS-121 crew will eat on the 12-day mission. Perchonok is a NASA Subsystem manager for Shuttle Food Systems from Johnson Space Center. Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. A supplementary food supply (pantry) consisting of two extra days per person is stowed aboard the space shuttle for each flight. Pantry items are flown in addition to the menu in case the flight is unexpectedly extended because of bad weather at the landing site or for some other unforeseen reason. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1290

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Operations and Checkout Building, Michele Perchonok closes a container of food packages that the STS-121 crew will eat on the 12-day mission. Perchonok is a NASA Subsystem manager for Shuttle Food Systems from Johnson Space Center. Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. A supplementary food supply (pantry) consisting of two extra days per person is stowed aboard the space shuttle for each flight. Pantry items are flown in addition to the menu in case the flight is unexpectedly extended because of bad weather at the landing site or for some other unforeseen reason. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1288

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Operations and Checkout Building, Michele Perchonok stows packages of food that the STS-121 crew will eat on the 12-day mission. Perchonok is a NASA Subsystem manager for Shuttle Food Systems from Johnson Space Center. Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. A supplementary food supply (pantry) consisting of two extra days per person is stowed aboard the space shuttle for each flight. Pantry items are flown in addition to the menu in case the flight is unexpectedly extended because of bad weather at the landing site or for some other unforeseen reason. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Common Ada Missile Packages. Phase 2. (CAMP-2). Volume 2. 11th Missile Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

report describes the work performed, Ihe results obtained, and the conclusions reached during the Common Ada Missile Packages Phase-2 (CAMP-2) contract ... contract was performed between Sep- tember 1985. and March 1988. The MDAC-STL CAMP program manager was: Dr. Daniel G. McNicholl Technology Branch...j DEC Code Management System X X Software Development Files x x Development Status Database x ! X i Smart Cade Counter X j

YAMM - Yet Another Menu Manager

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mazer, Alan S.; Weidner, Richard J.

1991-01-01

Yet Another Menu Manager (YAMM) computer program an application-independent menuing package of software designed to remove much difficulty and save much time inherent in implementation of front ends of large packages of software. Provides complete menuing front end for wide variety of applications, with provisions for independence from specific types of terminals, configurations that meet specific needs of users, and dynamic creation of menu trees. Consists of two parts: description of menu configuration and body of application code. Written in C.

The Computer: An Effective Research Assistant

PubMed Central

Gancher, Wendy

1984-01-01

The development of software packages such as data management systems and statistical packages has made it possible to process large amounts of research data. Data management systems make the organization and manipulation of such data easier. Floppy disks ease the problem of storing and retrieving records. Patient information can be kept confidential by limiting access to computer passwords linked with research files, or by using floppy disks. These attributes make the microcomputer essential to modern primary care research. PMID:21279042

When siting works, Canada-style.

PubMed

Rabe, B G

1992-01-01

Hazardous waste management poses increasing problems for Canadian provinces and American states, given the vast quantities and types of wastes generated and the virtual inability to open new storage, treatment, or disposal facilities. The Canadian experience is very similar to the American one in many respects, except for the fact that three provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec) have devised alternative approaches to siting that appear successful in moving beyond the political gridlock so common on this issue. In each of these cases, traditional, top-down approaches to siting have been eschewed in favor of a more comprehensive approach that includes extensive public participation, economic and social compensation packages, formal partnerships between public and private organizations, and direct links between siting proposals and other aspects of waste management, including waste reduction, recycling, and export/import control.

Improving the Reverse Logistics Respecting Principles of Sustainable Development in an Industrial Company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fidlerová, Helena; Mĺkva, Miroslava

2016-06-01

Reverse logistics, the movement of materials back up the supply chain, is recognised by many organisations as an opportunity for adding value. The paper considers the theoretical framework and the conception of reverse logistics in literature and practice. The objective of the article is to propose tangible solutions which eliminate the imbalances in reverse logistics and improve the waste management in the company. The case study focuses on the improvement in the process of waste packaging in the context of sustainable development as a part of reverse logistics in the surveyed industrial company in Slovakia.

spMC: an R-package for 3D lithological reconstructions based on spatial Markov chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sartore, Luca; Fabbri, Paolo; Gaetan, Carlo

2016-09-01

The paper presents the spatial Markov Chains (spMC) R-package and a case study of subsoil simulation/prediction located in a plain site of Northeastern Italy. spMC is a quite complete collection of advanced methods for data inspection, besides spMC implements Markov Chain models to estimate experimental transition probabilities of categorical lithological data. Furthermore, simulation methods based on most known prediction methods (as indicator Kriging and CoKriging) were implemented in spMC package. Moreover, other more advanced methods are available for simulations, e.g. path methods and Bayesian procedures, that exploit the maximum entropy. Since the spMC package was developed for intensive geostatistical computations, part of the code is implemented for parallel computations via the OpenMP constructs. A final analysis of this computational efficiency compares the simulation/prediction algorithms by using different numbers of CPU cores, and considering the example data set of the case study included in the package.

INTERFACING SAS TO ORACLE IN THE UNIX ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

SAS is an EPA standard data and statistical analysis software package while ORACLE is EPA's standard data base management system software package. RACLE has the advantage over SAS in data retrieval and storage capabilities but has limited data and statistical analysis capability....

Challenges of communicating integrated water resource management in Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marimbe, Simbiso; Manzungu, Emmanuel

With the promulgation of the 1998 Water Act the Government of Zimbabwe took a decisive step to reform the country’s water sector, to bring it in line with contemporary socio-political realities obtaining in the country, and in tune with the philosophy of integrated water resources management. Researchers have reported a lack of awareness of the reforms, particularly among the black communities, who were considered not just as one of the target of the reforms, but the beneficiaries. This paper analyses why this has been the case. The paper makes a case for differentiating communication from information dissemination. Information refers to a set of data packaged for delivery to a receiver while communication involves a dialogue. This paper critiques communication strategies used to communicate water reforms in Zimbabwe, applying recent developments in communication theories. The argument in the paper is that there was a failure to communicate although there was some success in dissemination information about the reforms. If the situation is to be reversed then methods that involve audience analysis may have to be used. Such methods tend to be expensive and time consuming--however, there is no substitute to this if integrated water resources management is to be institutionalised among the various stakeholders.

Generic health/safety/environment cases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kelland, A.N.; Primrose, M.; Pickles, J.C.

1996-12-31

A desire to implement HSE Management Systems including HSE Cases in all Shell companies operations prompted the development of a relational data base software package (THESIS) to provide a structured way of preparing an HSE Case. The software includes features which facilitate the management of {open_quotes}Keeping the Case Alive{close_quotes}, enabling the dissemination of tasks and hazard information to the workplace. During the software development it was recognized that a significant reduction could be made in the resources which would be required to prepare an HSE Case for each and every operation by the building of {open_quotes}Generic HSE Cases{close_quotes} addressing specificmore » activities which were repeated across the Company`s operations. This was recognized to be particularly valid for the smaller Single String Venture type of operations. The activities selected for the initial Generic HSE Case development include Land Drilling Operations, Land Seismic Acquisition, and Land Transport. To establish the Generic HSE Case, the THESIS data base is populated with data for a generic operation, identifying all the hazards and activities associated with that operation including all the associated controls, with established formats for the textual sections. In effect, the Generic Case defines the standards required for that type of operation. To generate an operation specific HSE Case, the Generic Case thereafter requires to be modified/adapted so that it represents the actual situation in the operation which it defines. This process includes itemization of all the operation specific details, and may involve the inclusion/deletion of any additional/existing activities or hazards together with their associated controls.« less

Custodial Management in the Information Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Jim, Sr.

1999-01-01

Explains how computerizing the custodial department can be achieved through bar coding, hand-held readers, and the appropriate software packages. Software programs that aid cleaning management, track assets, and manage stock are discussed. (GR)

Obstetric Fistula in Burundi: a comprehensive approach to managing women with this neglected disease

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In Burundi, the annual incidence of obstetric fistula is estimated to be 0.2-0.5% of all deliveries, with 1000–2000 new cases per year. Despite this relatively high incidence, national capacity for identifying and managing obstetric fistula is very limited. Thus, in July 2010, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) set up a specialised Obstetric Fistula Centre in Gitega (Gitega Fistula Centre, GFC), the only permanent referral centre for obstetric fistula in Burundi. A comprehensive model of care is offered including psychosocial support, conservative and surgical management, post-operative care and follow-up. We describe this model of care, patient outcomes and the operational challenges. Methods Descriptive study using routine programme data. Results Between July 2010 and December 2011, 470 women with obstetric fistula presented for the first time at GFC, of whom 458 (98%) received treatment. Early urinary catheterization (conservative management) was successful in four out of 35 (11%) women. Of 454 (99%) women requiring surgical management, 394 (87%) were discharged with a closed fistula, of whom 301 (76%) were continent of urine and/or faeces, while 93 (24%) remained incontinent of urine and/or faeces. In 59 (13%) cases, the fistula was complex and could not be closed. Outcome status was unknown for one woman. Median duration of stay at GFC was 39 days (Interquartile range IQR, 31–51 days). The main operational challenges included: i) early case finding and recruitment for conservative management, ii) national capacity building in obstetric fistula surgical repair, and iii) assessing the psychosocial impact of this model. Conclusion In a rural African setting, it is feasible to implement a comprehensive package of fistula care using a dedicated fistula facility, and satisfactory surgical repair outcomes can be achieved. Several operational challenges are discussed. PMID:23965150

Tools for automated acoustic monitoring within the R package monitoR

USGS Publications Warehouse

Katz, Jonathan; Hafner, Sasha D.; Donovan, Therese

2016-01-01

The R package monitoR contains tools for managing an acoustic-monitoring program including survey metadata, template creation and manipulation, automated detection and results management. These tools are scalable for use with small projects as well as larger long-term projects and those with expansive spatial extents. Here, we describe typical workflow when using the tools in monitoR. Typical workflow utilizes a generic sequence of functions, with the option for either binary point matching or spectrogram cross-correlation detectors.

Distributed analysis at LHCb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Mike; Egede, Ulrik; Paterson, Stuart; LHCb Collaboration

2011-12-01

The distributed analysis experience to date at LHCb has been positive: job success rates are high and wait times for high-priority jobs are low. LHCb users access the grid using the GANGA job-management package, while the LHCb virtual organization manages its resources using the DIRAC package. This clear division of labor has benefitted LHCb and its users greatly; it is a major reason why distributed analysis at LHCb has been so successful. The newly formed LHCb distributed analysis support team has also proved to be a success.

Kinematics Simulation Analysis of Packaging Robot with Joint Clearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y. W.; Meng, W. J.; Wang, L. Q.; Cui, G. H.

2018-03-01

Considering the influence of joint clearance on the motion error, repeated positioning accuracy and overall position of the machine, this paper presents simulation analysis of a packaging robot — 2 degrees of freedom(DOF) planar parallel robot based on the characteristics of high precision and fast speed of packaging equipment. The motion constraint equation of the mechanism is established, and the analysis and simulation of the motion error are carried out in the case of turning the revolute clearance. The simulation results show that the size of the joint clearance will affect the movement accuracy and packaging efficiency of the packaging robot. The analysis provides a reference point of view for the packaging equipment design and selection criteria and has a great significance on the packaging industry automation.

Apparatus and method for skin packaging articles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madsen, B.; Pozsony, E. R.; Collin, E. E. (Inventor)

1973-01-01

A system for skin packaging articles including a loading zone for positioning articles to be packaged upon a substrate, a thermoplastic film heating and vacuum operated skin packaging zone for covering the articles with film laminated to the substrate and a slitting zone for separating and trimming the individual skin packaged articles. The articles are passed to the successive zones. The loading zone may be adapted for conveyorized instead of hand loading. In some cases, where only transverse cutting of the film web is necessary, it may be desirable to eliminate the slitting zone and remove the skin packaged article or articles directly from the packaging zone. A conveniently located operating panel contains controls for effecting automatic, semiautomatic or manual operation of the entire system of any portions in any manner desired.

Chip-scale thermal management of high-brightness LED packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arik, Mehmet; Weaver, Stanton

2004-10-01

The efficiency and reliability of the solid-state lighting devices strongly depend on successful thermal management. Light emitting diodes, LEDs, are a strong candidate for the next generation, general illumination applications. LEDs are making great strides in terms of lumen performance and reliability, however the barrier to widespread use in general illumination still remains the cost or $/Lumen. LED packaging designers are pushing the LED performance to its limits. This is resulting in increased drive currents, and thus the need for lower thermal resistance packaging designs. As the power density continues to rise, the integrity of the package electrical and thermal interconnect becomes extremely important. Experimental results with high brightness LED packages show that chip attachment defects can cause significant thermal gradients across the LED chips leading to premature failures. A numerical study was also carried out with parametric models to understand the chip active layer temperature profile variation due to the bump defects. Finite element techniques were utilized to evaluate the effects of localized hot spots at the chip active layer. The importance of "zero defects" in one of the more popular interconnect schemes; the "epi down" soldered flip chip configuration is investigated and demonstrated.

ED-WAVE tool design approach: Case of a textile wastewater treatment plant in Blantyre, Malawi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chipofya, V.; Kraslawski, A.; Avramenko, Y.

The ED-WAVE tool is a PC based package for imparting training on wastewater treatment technologies. The system consists of four modules viz. Reference Library, Process Builder, Case Study Manager, and Treatment Adviser. The principles of case-based design and case-based reasoning as applied in the ED-WAVE tool are utilised in this paper to evaluate the design approach of the wastewater treatment plant at Mapeto David Whitehead & Sons (MDW&S) textile and garments factory, Blantyre, Malawi. The case being compared with MDW&S in the ED-WAVE tool is Textile Case 4 in Sri Lanka (2003). Equalisation, coagulation and rotating biological contactors is the sequencing of treatment units at Textile Case 4 in Sri Lanka. Screening, oxidation ditches and sedimentation is the sequencing of treatment units at MDW&S textile and garments factory. The study suggests that aerobic biological treatment is necessary in the treatment of wastewater from a textile and garments factory. MDW&S incorporates a sedimentation process which is necessary for the removal of settleable matter before the effluent is discharged to the municipal wastewater treatment plant. The study confirmed the practical use of the ED-WAVE tool in the design of wastewater treatment systems, where after encountering a new situation; already collected decision scenarios (cases) are invoked and modified in order to arrive at a particular design alternative. What is necessary, however, is to appropriately modify the case arrived at through the Case Study Manager in order to come up with a design appropriate to the local situation taking into account technical, socio-economic and environmental aspects.

The Literacy Factor: Adding Value to Training. Investigation of the Inclusion of Literacy in Training Packages in the Food Processing Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanguinetti, Jill

The effects of the inclusion of literacy and numeracy competencies within Australia's food processing industry training package were examined in two case studies of training at two food processing facilities in Victoria. The first case study involved a large pasta factory that had approximately 270 employees and a contract with a registered…

International Inventory of Software Packages in the Information Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keren, Carl, Ed.; Sered, Irina, Ed.

Designed to provide guidance in selecting appropriate software for library automation, information storage and retrieval, or management of bibliographic databases, this inventory describes 188 computer software packages. The information was obtained through a questionnaire survey of 600 software suppliers and developers who were asked to describe…

41 CFR 102-192.155 - What should our agency-wide mail management policy statement cover?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... accountability, postage expenditure data, and commercial payment processes; (c) Your approach to performance..., and commingling to obtain postage savings; (e) Tracking incoming packages and accountable mail; (f) Maintaining centralized control of outgoing mail, especially outgoing express packages and letters; (g...

The relationship between soil management and the Sustainable Development Goals: the case of global banana production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoorvogel, Jetse; Segura, Rafael; Erima, Rockefeller

2017-04-01

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a good example of the increasing demand on our soil resources. Our soil resources play a central role in multiple SDGs while talking about poverty (SDG 1), food security (SDG 2), clean energy through biofuels (SDG 7), climate mitigation (SDG 13), and land degradation (SDG 15). This means that basic decisions on soil management are now placed in the context of multiple soil functions. A good example is the global production of bananas and plantains with a total harvested area of almost 10 million ha. While the export bananas played a central role in economic development, an even larger share of the production plays a role in food security. Nevertheless, the production is also criticized due the intensive use of agricultural chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) and the risk of soil degradation in the monoculture plantations. Decisions on soil management are context specific and depending on the environment. In this study we will analyse and discuss three production environments from the Philippines, Uganda, and Costa Rica. The role of the SDGs in the regions is very different. Where SDG 1 and SDG15 play an important role in the Costa Rican situation, SDG 2 is more important in Uganda and the Philippines. Decisions on soil management strongly depend on the agro-ecology with the available technological packages. The technological packages include low external input farming, organic farming, precision agriculture, and so-called best management practices. While producers take decisions at the field and farm level, we are now increasingly forced for joined action at the regional level with the rapid spread of highly virulent crop diseases. The SDGs have major consequences for soil management but this study shows that, at the same time, they cannot be translated one-to-one to the farm level at which the management decisions are taken. Therefore, off-farm effects and externalities are often not considered in farm management except if they are explicitly being targeted by policies or other interventions. Specific attention is required to analyse the aggregated effect of soil management decisions at the regional level.

Sexually transmitted disease syndromic case management through public sector facilities: development and assessment study in Punjab Pakistan.

PubMed

Khan, Muhammad Amir; Javed, Wajiha; Ahmed, Maqsood; Walley, John; Munir, Muhammad Arif

2014-01-01

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a priority health problem. We proposed a prospective study in two districts of Punjab, using an intervention package, which included guidelines and protocols on syndrome-based management of STIs, adapted in light of technical guidelines from the National AIDS Control Program and the World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to assess the operational effectiveness of STI case management guidelines and to assess factors that determine the adherence to guidelines for management of STIs at public health facilities in Pakistan. A prospective study lasting 18 months (January 2008 to June 2009), which reviewed early implementation experiences of updated case management guidelines for delivery of syndrome-based STI/reproductive tract infection care, through public-sector health care facilities. The project was implemented in two districts of Punjab, Sargodha and Jhang. A Cox regression model with stratification was done. The prevalence of STI was 26 per 100,000 patients. In women, the reported symptoms were 80% vaginal discharge and 12% abdominal pain. Forty-four percent of men had a genital ulcer and 29% of men had genital discharge. Age of participants ranged from 13 to 60 years. The study comprised 28.6% men and 71.4% women. The majority of the population attending these clinics was from rural areas (70%). The variables independently associated with adherence to guidelines were availability of male paramedic, age of patient, and type of diagnosis made. There was an important interaction (effect modification) present between the area of health facility and patient sex. Screening, diagnosis, and treatment costs for many STIs are expensive and thus an easier, low-cost, syndrome-based public health strategy is the adoption of the proposed STI syndrome case management guidelines. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Localized heating/bonding techniques in MEMS packaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mabesa, J. R., Jr.; Scott, A. J.; Wu, X.; Auner, G. W.

2005-05-01

Packaging is used to protect and enable intelligent sensor systems utilized in manned/unmanned ground vehicle systems/subsystems. Because Micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) are used often in these sensor or actuation products, it must interact with the surrounding environment, which may be in direct conflict with the desire to isolate the electronics for improved reliability/durability performance. For some very simple devices, performance requirements may allow a high degree of isolation from the environment (e.g., stints and accelerometers). Other more complex devices (i.e. chemical and biological analysis systems, particularly in vivo systems) present extremely complex packaging requirements. Power and communications to MEMS device arrays are also extremely problematic. The following describes the research being performed at the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Tank and Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC), in collaboration with Wayne State University, in Detroit, MI. The focus of the packaging research is limited to six main categories: a) provision for feed-through for electrical, optical, thermal, and fluidic interfaces; b) environmental management including atmosphere, hermiticity, and temperature; c) control of stress and mechanical durability; d) management of thermal properties to minimize absorption and/or emission; e) durability and structural integrity; and f) management of RF/magnetic/electrical and optical interference and/or radiation properties and exposure.

Waste Generator Instructions: Key to Successful Implementation of the US DOE's 435.1 for Transuranic Waste Packaging Instructions (LA-UR-12-24155) - 13218

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

French, David M.; Hayes, Timothy A.; Pope, Howard L.

In times of continuing fiscal constraints, a management and operation tool that is straightforward to implement, works as advertised, and virtually ensures compliant waste packaging should be carefully considered and employed wherever practicable. In the near future, the Department of Energy (DOE) will issue the first major update to DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management. This update will contain a requirement for sites that do not have a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) waste certification program to use two newly developed technical standards: Contact-Handled Defense Transuranic Waste Packaging Instructions and Remote-Handled Defense Transuranic Waste Packaging Instructions. The technical standards aremore » being developed from the DOE O 435.1 Notice, Contact-Handled and Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Packaging, approved August 2011. The packaging instructions will provide detailed information and instruction for packaging almost every conceivable type of transuranic (TRU) waste for disposal at WIPP. While providing specificity, the packaging instructions leave to each site's own discretion the actual mechanics of how those Instructions will be functionally implemented at the floor level. While the Technical Standards are designed to provide precise information for compliant packaging, the density of the information in the packaging instructions necessitates a type of Rosetta Stone that translates the requirements into concise, clear, easy to use and operationally practical recipes that are waste stream and facility specific for use by both first line management and hands-on operations personnel. The Waste Generator Instructions provide the operator with step-by-step instructions that will integrate the sites' various operational requirements (e.g., health and safety limits, radiological limits or dose limits) and result in a WIPP certifiable waste and package that can be transported to and emplaced at WIPP. These little known but widely productive Waste Generator Instructions (WGIs) have been used occasionally in the past at large sites for treatment and packaging of TRU waste. The WGIs have resulted in highly efficient waste treatment, packaging and certification for disposal of TRU waste at WIPP. For example, a single WGI at LANL, combined with an increase in gram loading, resulted in a mind boggling 6,400% increase in waste loading for {sup 238}Pu heat source waste. In fact, the WGI combined with a new Contact Handled (CH) TRU Waste Content (TRUCON) Code provided a massive increase in shippable wattage per Transuranic Package Transporter-II (TRUPACT-II) over the previously used and more restrictive TRUCON Code that have been used previously for the heat source waste. In fact, the use of the WGI process at LANL's TA-55 facility reduced non-compliant drums for WIPP certification and disposal from a 13% failure rate down to a 0.5% failure rate and is expected to further reduce the failure rate to zero drums per year. The inherent value of the WGI is that it can be implemented in a site's current procedure issuance process and it provides documented proof of what actions were taken for each waste stream packaged. The WGI protocol provides a key floor-level operational component to achieve goal alignment between actual site operations, the WIPP TRU waste packaging instructions, and DOE O 435.1. (authors)« less

Options and recommendations for a web database of material and construction inspection.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-02-01

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has been using software developed in-house for their : materials management and construction project management needs. The primary packages under : review MISTIC (Materials Management) and ICORS (Const...

--No Title--

Science.gov Websites

interoperability emerging infrastructure for data management on computational grids Software Packages Services : ATLAS: Management and Steering: Computing Management Board Software Project Management Board Database Model Group Computing TDR: 4.5 Event Data 4.8 Database and Data Management Services 6.3.4 Production and

48 CFR 846.302-73 - Noncompliance with packaging, packing and/or marking requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Noncompliance with packaging, packing and/or marking requirements. 846.302-73 Section 846.302-73 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 846...

COLDMON -- Cold File Analysis Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rawlinson, D. J.

The COLDMON package has been written to allow system managers to identify those items of software that are not used (or used infrequently) on their systems. It consists of a few command procedures and a Fortran program to analyze the results. It makes use of the AUDIT facility and security ACLs in VMS.

Principles of Pesticide Use, Handling, and Application: Instructional Modules for Vocational Agriculture Education. Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis Associates, Inc., College Park, MD.

This training package is designed to present the basic principles of pesticide use, handling, and application. Included in this package is information on federal laws and regulations, personal safety, environmental implications, storage and disposal considerations, proper application procedures, and fundamentals of pest management. Successful…

Principles of Pesticide Use, Handling, and Application: Instructional Modules for Vocational Agriculture Education. Teacher Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis Associates, Inc., College Park, MD.

The training package is designed to present the basic principles of pesticide use, handling, and application. Included in this package is information on Federal laws and regulations, personal safety, environmental implications, storage and disposal considerations, proper application procedures, and fundamentals of pest management. Successful…

The Blue Tube.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallisch, Bill; Taylor, Bob

The "Blue Tube" is a 2-part academic package developed at the U.S. Air Force Academy consisting of an English course in communication and writing skills and a management course in advertising and marketing; the two courses are interrelated through student assignments in television production. The first part of the package includes…

48 CFR 211.275-2 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... that— (1) Contain items in any of the following classes of supply, as defined in DoD 4140.1-R, DoD Supply Chain Materiel Management Regulation, AP1.1.11: (i) Subclass of Class I—Packaged operational... administrative and housekeeping supplies and equipment. (iii) Class IIIP—Packaged petroleum, lubricants, oils...

Soil, Plant, and Crop Science. Teacher Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This package contains an instructor's manual, an instructor's resource package, and a student workbook for a course in agricultural production and management as it relates to crop production. The module contains 17 units of instruction, each of which contains some or all of the following components: objective sheet, instructor's guide, information…

Maximizing Enrollment Yield through Financial Aid Packaging Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaulding, Randy; Olswang, Steven

2005-01-01

Using institutional data, this paper presents a model to enable researchers and enrollment managers to assess the effectiveness of financial aid packaging policies in light of student characteristics and institutional market position. The model uses discriminant analysis and a series of hypothetical financial aid award scenarios to predict the…

Ballistic V50 Evaluation of TIMET Ti108

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-02-01

complete penetration (CP) or partial penetration (PP). Since a CP was determined on the initial shots of both projectiles, the impact velocities...Ti-108 Material Target Data Shot Time: Results X-Ray Times Residual Velocity: Phantom Velocity: Launch Package: Total (grams) Case Size: Expected...H16168-5 Ti-108 Material Target Data Shot Time: Results X-Ray Times Residual Velocity: Phantom Velocity: Launch Package: Total (grams) Case Size

Literacy and Numeracy on the Motorway: A Case Study of the Effects of the Inclusion of Literacy and Numeracy Competencies within the Civil Construction Industry Training Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Ann; Searle, Jean

The effects of the inclusion of literacy and numeracy competencies within Australia's civil construction industry training package were examined in a case study in Queensland. Data were collected through the following activities: interviews with trainers, workplace teachers, and workers; observations of training at an on-site training session on…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gordon, S.

During the period from fiscal year (FY) 2009 to FY 2011, there were a total of 21 incidents involving radioactively contaminated shipment trailers and 9 contaminated waste packages received at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS). During this time period, the EnergySolutions (ES) Clive, Utah, disposal facility had a total of 18 similar incidents involving trailer and package contamination issues. As a result of the increased occurrence of such incidents, DOE Environmental Management Headquarters (EM/HQ) Waste Management organization (EM-30) requested that the Energy Facility Contractors’ Group (EFCOG) Waste Management Working Group (WMWG) conductmore » a detailed review of these incidents and report back to EM-30 regarding the results of this review, including providing any recommendations formulated as a result of the evaluation of current site practices involving handling and management of radioactive material and waste shipments.« less

cisPath: an R/Bioconductor package for cloud users for visualization and management of functional protein interaction networks.

PubMed

Wang, Likun; Yang, Luhe; Peng, Zuohan; Lu, Dan; Jin, Yan; McNutt, Michael; Yin, Yuxin

2015-01-01

With the burgeoning development of cloud technology and services, there are an increasing number of users who prefer cloud to run their applications. All software and associated data are hosted on the cloud, allowing users to access them via a web browser from any computer, anywhere. This paper presents cisPath, an R/Bioconductor package deployed on cloud servers for client users to visualize, manage, and share functional protein interaction networks. With this R package, users can easily integrate downloaded protein-protein interaction information from different online databases with private data to construct new and personalized interaction networks. Additional functions allow users to generate specific networks based on private databases. Since the results produced with the use of this package are in the form of web pages, cloud users can easily view and edit the network graphs via the browser, using a mouse or touch screen, without the need to download them to a local computer. This package can also be installed and run on a local desktop computer. Depending on user preference, results can be publicized or shared by uploading to a web server or cloud driver, allowing other users to directly access results via a web browser. This package can be installed and run on a variety of platforms. Since all network views are shown in web pages, such package is particularly useful for cloud users. The easy installation and operation is an attractive quality for R beginners and users with no previous experience with cloud services.

cisPath: an R/Bioconductor package for cloud users for visualization and management of functional protein interaction networks

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background With the burgeoning development of cloud technology and services, there are an increasing number of users who prefer cloud to run their applications. All software and associated data are hosted on the cloud, allowing users to access them via a web browser from any computer, anywhere. This paper presents cisPath, an R/Bioconductor package deployed on cloud servers for client users to visualize, manage, and share functional protein interaction networks. Results With this R package, users can easily integrate downloaded protein-protein interaction information from different online databases with private data to construct new and personalized interaction networks. Additional functions allow users to generate specific networks based on private databases. Since the results produced with the use of this package are in the form of web pages, cloud users can easily view and edit the network graphs via the browser, using a mouse or touch screen, without the need to download them to a local computer. This package can also be installed and run on a local desktop computer. Depending on user preference, results can be publicized or shared by uploading to a web server or cloud driver, allowing other users to directly access results via a web browser. Conclusions This package can be installed and run on a variety of platforms. Since all network views are shown in web pages, such package is particularly useful for cloud users. The easy installation and operation is an attractive quality for R beginners and users with no previous experience with cloud services. PMID:25708840

Guide to purchasing electricity and gas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cunningham, P.R.; Burrell, D.

1999-09-01

An issue which now faces all energy users is understanding the specifics of the impact of the deregulation of the electric and natural gas industries. This book was written to help one understand the forces behind deregulation, and how one can use this knowledge now to negotiate lower utility rates, even if deregulation has not been fully implemented in one`s area. Readers will learn how coordinating new rate packages with the management of in-house loads can multiply savings. Essential ingredients to successful negotiation are clearly outlined, including assessing the alternatives for both load management and supply, understanding interruptible rate options,more » doing homework on ongoing deregulation activities, finding out who makes the decisions and working directly with them, and hands-on involvement in fine tuning the final contract. Case studies are also included.« less

Transportation Management Workshop: Proceedings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-10-01

This report is a compilation of discussions presented at the Transportation Management Workshop held in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Topics include waste packaging, personnel training, robotics, transportation routing, certification, containers, and waste classification.

An Analysis of an R&D Program Selection Process at the Aeronautical Systems Division.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-01

Without the help of the Defense Wide Management and Support panel members, this research effort would have been impossible. They provided valuable personal ...decision packages. Next, the DWMS panel members were interviewed in order to obtain their personal interpretation of the evaluation cri- teria used by...packages (McCandless, 1978:46). The state of Georgia had over 11,000 packages to evaluate, and it would be impossible for one person to evaluate all the

Thermal Analysis of the Mound One Kilowatt Package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Or, Chuen T.

The Mound One Kilowatt (1 KW) package was designed for the shipment of plutonium (Pu-238) with not more than 1 kW total heat dissipation. To comply with regulations, the Mound 1 kW package has to pass all the requirements under Normal Conditions of Transport (NCT; 38 degrees C ambient temperature) and Hypothetical Accident Conditions (HAC; package engulfed in fire for 30 minutes). Analytical and test results were presented in the Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) for the Mound 1 kW package, revision 1, April 1991. Some issues remained unresolved in that revision. In March 1992, Fairchild Space and Defensemore » Corporation was commissioned by the Department of Energy to perform the thermal analyses. 3-D thermal models were created to perform the NCT and HAC analyses. Four shipping configurations in the SARP revision 3 were analyzed. They were: (1) The GPHS graphite impact shell (GIS) in the threaded product can (1000 W total heat generation); (2) The fueled clads in the welded product can (1000 W total heat generation); (3) The General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) module (750 W total heat generation); and (4) The Multi-Hundred Watt (MHW) spheres (810 W total heat generation). Results from the four cases show that the GIS or fuel clad in the product can is the worse case. The temperatures predicted under NCT and HAC in all four cases are within the design limits. The use of helium instead of argon as cover gas provides a bigger safety margin. There is a duplicate copy.« less

StreamThermal: A software package for calculating thermal metrics from stream temperature data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tsang, Yin-Phan; Infante, Dana M.; Stewart, Jana S.; Wang, Lizhu; Tingly, Ralph; Thornbrugh, Darren; Cooper, Arthur; Wesley, Daniel

2016-01-01

Improving quality and better availability of continuous stream temperature data allows natural resource managers, particularly in fisheries, to understand associations between different characteristics of stream thermal regimes and stream fishes. However, there is no convenient tool to efficiently characterize multiple metrics reflecting stream thermal regimes with the increasing amount of data. This article describes a software program packaged as a library in R to facilitate this process. With this freely-available package, users will be able to quickly summarize metrics that describe five categories of stream thermal regimes: magnitude, variability, frequency, timing, and rate of change. The installation and usage instruction of this package, the definition of calculated thermal metrics, as well as the output format from the package are described, along with an application showing the utility for multiple metrics. We believe this package can be widely utilized by interested stakeholders and greatly assist more studies in fisheries.

Correspondence Analysis-Theory and Application in Management Accounting Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duller, Christine

2010-09-01

Correspondence analysis is an explanatory data analytic technique and is used to identify systematic relations between categorical variables. It is related to principal component analysis and the results provide information on the structure of categorical variables similar to the results given by a principal component analysis in case of metric variables. Classical correspondence analysis is designed two-dimensional, whereas multiple correspondence analysis is an extension to more than two variables. After an introductory overview of the idea and the implementation in standard software packages (PASW, SAS, R) an example in recent research is presented, which deals with strategic management accounting in family and non-family enterprises in Austria, where 70% to 80% of all enterprises can be classified as family firms. Although there is a growing body of literature focusing on various management issues in family firms, so far the state of the art of strategic management accounting in family firms is an empirically under-researched subject. In relevant literature only the (empirically untested) hypothesis can be found, that family firms tend to have less formalized management accounting systems than non-family enterprises. Creating a correspondence analysis will help to identify the underlying structure, which is responsible for differences in strategic management accounting.

CASE/A - COMPUTER AIDED SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS, ECLSS/ATCS SERIES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bacskay, A.

1994-01-01

Design and analysis of Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and Active Thermal Control Systems (ATCS) for spacecraft missions requires powerful software that is flexible and responsive to the demands of particular projects. CASE/A is an interactive trade study and analysis tool designed to increase productivity during all phases of systems engineering. The graphics-based command-driven package provides a user-friendly environment in which the engineer can analyze the performance and interface characteristics of an ECLS/ATC system. The package is useful during all phases of a spacecraft design program, from initial conceptual design trade studies to the actual flight, including pre-flight prediction and in-flight anomaly analysis. The CASE/A program consists of three fundamental parts: 1) the schematic management system, 2) the database management system, and 3) the simulation control and execution system. The schematic management system allows the user to graphically construct a system model by arranging icons representing system components and connecting the components with physical fluid streams. Version 4.1 contains 51 fully coded and documented default component routines. New components can be added by the user through the "blackbox" component option. The database management system supports the storage and manipulation of component data, output data, and solution control data through interactive edit screens. The simulation control and execution system initiates and controls the iterative solution process, displaying time status and any necessary diagnostic messages. In addition to these primary functions, the program provides three other important functional areas: 1) model output management, 2) system utility commands, and 3) user operations logic capacity. The model output management system provides tabular and graphical output capability. Complete fluid constituent mass fraction and properties data (mass flow, pressure, temperature, specific heat, density, and viscosity) is generated at user-selected output intervals and stored for reference. The Integrated Plot Utility (IPU) provides plotting capability for all data output. System utility commands are provided to enable the user to operate more efficiently in the CASE/A environment. The user is able to customize a simulation through optional operations FORTRAN logic. This user-developed code is compiled and linked with a CASE/A model and enables the user to control and timeline component operating parameters during various phases of the iterative solution process. CASE/A provides for transient tracking of the flow stream constituents and determination of their thermodynamic state throughout an ECLSS/ATCS simulation, performing heat transfer, chemical reaction, mass/energy balance, and system pressure drop analysis based on user-specified operating conditions. The program tracks each constituent through all combination and decomposition states while maintaining a mass and energy balance on the overall system. This allows rapid assessment of ECLSS designs, the impact of alternate technologies, and impacts due to changes in metabolic forcing functions, consumables usage, and system control considerations. CASE/A is written in FORTRAN 77 for the DEC VAX/VMS computer series, and requires 12Mb of disk storage and a minimum paging file quota of 20,000 pages. The program operates on the Tektronix 4014 graphics standard and VT100 text standard. The program requires a Tektronix 4014 or later graphics terminal, third party composite graphics/text terminal, or personal computer loaded with appropriate VT100/TEK 4014 emulator software. The use of composite terminals or personal computers with popular emulation software is recommended for enhanced CASE/A operations and general ease of use. The program is available on an unlabeled 9-track 6250 BPI DEC VAX BACKUP format magnetic tape. CASE/A development began in 1985 under contract to NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. The latest version (4.1) was released in 1990. Tektronix and TEK 4014 are trademarks of Tektronix, Inc. VT100 is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.

A comparison of InVivoStat with other statistical software packages for analysis of data generated from animal experiments.

PubMed

Clark, Robin A; Shoaib, Mohammed; Hewitt, Katherine N; Stanford, S Clare; Bate, Simon T

2012-08-01

InVivoStat is a free-to-use statistical software package for analysis of data generated from animal experiments. The package is designed specifically for researchers in the behavioural sciences, where exploiting the experimental design is crucial for reliable statistical analyses. This paper compares the analysis of three experiments conducted using InVivoStat with other widely used statistical packages: SPSS (V19), PRISM (V5), UniStat (V5.6) and Statistica (V9). We show that InVivoStat provides results that are similar to those from the other packages and, in some cases, are more advanced. This investigation provides evidence of further validation of InVivoStat and should strengthen users' confidence in this new software package.

RNA packaging device of double-stranded RNA bacteriophages, possibly as simple as hexamer of P4 protein.

PubMed

Kainov, Denis E; Pirttimaa, Markus; Tuma, Roman; Butcher, Sarah J; Thomas, George J; Bamford, Dennis H; Makeyev, Eugene V

2003-11-28

Genomes of complex viruses have been demonstrated, in many cases, to be packaged into preformed empty capsids (procapsids). This reaction is performed by molecular motors translocating nucleic acid against the concentration gradient at the expense of NTP hydrolysis. At present, the molecular mechanisms of packaging remain elusive due to the complex nature of packaging motors. In the case of the double-stranded RNA bacteriophage phi 6 from the Cystoviridae family, packaging of single-stranded genomic precursors requires a hexameric NTPase, P4. In the present study, the purified P4 proteins from two other cystoviruses, phi 8 and phi 13, were characterized and compared with phi 6 P4. All three proteins are hexameric, single-stranded RNA-stimulated NTPases with alpha/beta folds. Using a direct motor assay, we found that phi 8 and phi 13 P4 hexamers translocate 5' to 3' along ssRNA, whereas the analogous activity of phi 6 P4 requires association with the procapsid. This difference is explained by the intrinsically high affinity of phi 8 and phi 13 P4s for nucleic acids. The unidirectional translocation results in RNA helicase activity. Thus, P4 proteins of Cystoviridae exhibit extensive similarity to hexameric helicases and are simple models for studying viral packaging motor mechanisms.

Transfer of computer software technology through workshops: The case of fish bioenergetics modeling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, B.L.

1992-01-01

A three-part program is proposed to promote the availability and use of computer software packages to fishery managers and researchers. The approach consists of journal articles that announce new technologies, technical reports that serve as user's guides, and hands-on workshops that provide direct instruction to new users. Workshops, which allow experienced users to directly instruct novices in software operation and application are important, but often neglected. The author's experience with organizing and conducting bioenergetics modeling workshops suggests the optimal workshop would take 2 days, have 10-15 participants, one computer for every two users, and one instructor for every 5-6 people.

Managing Advanced HIV Disease in a Public Health Approach

PubMed Central

Ford, Nathan; Meintjes, Graeme; Calmy, Alexandra; Bygrave, Helen; Migone, Chantal; Vitoria, Marco; Penazzato, Martina; Vojnov, Lara; Doherty, Meg; Asero, Patricia; Bologna, Rosa; Chakroun, Mohamed; Chambal, Lucia; Chiller, Tom; Conradie, Francesca; Eholie, Serge; Frigati, Lisa; Gibb, Diana; Goemaere, Eric; Govender, Nelesh; Grant, Alison; Kumarasamy, Nagalingeswaran; Lalloo, David; Le, Thuy; Letang, Emilio; Mbori-Ngacha, Dorothy; Mfinanga, Sayoki; Nacher, Mathieu; Ribakare, Muhayimpundu; Siegfried, Nandi; Sikwese, Kenly; Tun, Nini; Vidal, Jose E

2018-01-01

Abstract In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines for the management of advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease within a public health approach. Recent data suggest that more than a third of people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) do so with advanced HIV disease, and an increasing number of patients re-present to care at an advanced stage of HIV disease following a period of disengagement from care. These guidelines recommend a standardized package of care for adults, adolescents, and children, based on the leading causes of morbidity and mortality: tuberculosis, severe bacterial infections, cryptococcal meningitis, toxoplasmosis, and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. A package of targeted interventions to reduce mortality and morbidity was recommended, based on results of 2 recent randomized trials that both showed a mortality reduction associated with delivery of a simplified intervention package. Taking these results and existing recommendations into consideration, WHO recommends that a package of care be offered to those presenting with advanced HIV disease; depending on age and CD4 cell count, the package may include opportunistic infection screening and prophylaxis, including fluconazole preemptive therapy for those who are cryptococcal antigen positive and without evidence of meningitis. Rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence interventions should also be proposed to everyone presenting with advanced HIV disease. PMID:29514232

Managing Advanced HIV Disease in a Public Health Approach.

PubMed

Ford, Nathan; Meintjes, Graeme; Calmy, Alexandra; Bygrave, Helen; Migone, Chantal; Vitoria, Marco; Penazzato, Martina; Vojnov, Lara; Doherty, Meg

2018-03-04

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines for the management of advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease within a public health approach. Recent data suggest that more than a third of people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) do so with advanced HIV disease, and an increasing number of patients re-present to care at an advanced stage of HIV disease following a period of disengagement from care. These guidelines recommend a standardized package of care for adults, adolescents, and children, based on the leading causes of morbidity and mortality: tuberculosis, severe bacterial infections, cryptococcal meningitis, toxoplasmosis, and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. A package of targeted interventions to reduce mortality and morbidity was recommended, based on results of 2 recent randomized trials that both showed a mortality reduction associated with delivery of a simplified intervention package. Taking these results and existing recommendations into consideration, WHO recommends that a package of care be offered to those presenting with advanced HIV disease; depending on age and CD4 cell count, the package may include opportunistic infection screening and prophylaxis, including fluconazole preemptive therapy for those who are cryptococcal antigen positive and without evidence of meningitis. Rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence interventions should also be proposed to everyone presenting with advanced HIV disease.

Antifungal properties of gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde and application in active food packaging of bread and cheese spread foodstuffs.

PubMed

Balaguer, Mari Pau; Lopez-Carballo, Gracia; Catala, Ramon; Gavara, Rafael; Hernandez-Munoz, Pilar

2013-09-16

Gliadin films incorporating 1.5, 3 and 5% cinnamaldehyde (g/100g protein) were tested against food-spoilage fungi Penicillium expansum and Aspergillus niger in vitro, and were employed in an active food packaging system for sliced bread and cheese spread. Gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde were highly effective against fungal growth. P. expansum and A. niger were completely inhibited after storage in vitro for 10 days in the presence of films incorporating 3% cinnamaldehyde. Indeed 1.5% cinnamaldehyde was sufficient in the case of P. expansum. The amount of cinnamaldehyde retained in films after storage for 45 days at 20 °C and 0% RH was also sufficient in most cases to prevent fungal growth in vitro. Active food packaging with gliadin films incorporating 5% cinnamaldehyde increased the shelf-life of both sliced bread and cheese spread. Mold growth was observed on sliced bread after 27 days of storage at 23 °C with active packaging, whereas in the control bread packaged without the active film fungal growth appeared around the fourth day. In the cheese spread, no fungi were observed after 26 days of storage at 4 °C when the product was packaged with the active film. However, growth of fungi was observed in control packaged cheese after 16 days of storage. This work demonstrates a noteworthy potential of these novel bioplastics incorporating natural antimicrobial compounds as innovative solutions to be used in active food packaging to extend shelf-life of food products. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A PC-Based Free Text DSS for Health Care

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grams, Ralph R.; Buchanan, Paul; Massey, James K.; Jin, Ming

1987-01-01

A free Decision Support System(DST) has been constructed for health care professional that allows the analysis of complex medical cases and the creation of diagnostic list of potential diseases for clinical evaluation.The system uses a PC-based text management system specifically designed for desktop operation. The texts employed in the decision support package include the Merck Manual (published by Merck Sharpe & Dohme) and Control of Communicable Diseas in Man (published by the American Public Health Association). The background and design of the database are discussed along with a structured analysis procedure for handling free text DSS system. A case study is presented to show the application of this technology and conclusions are drawn in the summary that point to expanded areas of professional intention and new frontiers yet to be explored in this rapidly progressing field.

76 FR 54808 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-02

... the Independent Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level Radioactive Waste and Reactor-Related... receive, transfer, package and possess power reactor spent fuel, high-level waste, and other radioactive..., package, and possess power reactor spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, and other associated...

Fundamentals of Research in Accounting. Teacher's Notes, Transparencies, Bibliography, Exercises. Teaching Packages #6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ostrow, Rona; Rothstein, Pauline M.

The purpose of this bibliographic instruction package is to help a non-library instructor prepare undergraduate students to find and use books, indexes, abstracts, periodical articles, and other printed reference sources in a search for published information in many areas of accounting, including tax practice, auditing, and business management.…

Painting a picture across the landscape with ModelMap

Treesearch

Brian Cooke; Elizabeth Freeman; Gretchen Moisen; Tracey Frescino

2017-01-01

Scientists and statisticians working for the Rocky Mountain Research Station have created a software package that simplifies and automates many of the processes needed for converting models into maps. This software package, called ModelMap, has helped a variety of specialists and land managers to quickly convert data into easily understood graphical images. The...

78 FR 20096 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... Means Parents in School Application Package AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), Office of... of Collection: Child Care Access Means Parents in School Application Package. OMB Control Number... Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 8,750 Abstract: The Child Care Access Means Parents In School...

Education and Training Packages for CAD/CAM.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, I. C.

1986-01-01

Discusses educational efforts in the fields of Computer Assisted Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Describes two educational training initiatives underway in the United Kingdom, one of which is a resource materials package for teachers of CAD/CAM at the undergraduate level, and the other a training course for managers of CAD/CAM systems. (TW)

75 FR 457 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-05

...: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: ``10 CFR Part 71, Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material''. 3. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0008. 4. The form number if applicable: NA. 5... establish requirements for packaging, preparation for shipment, and transportation of licensed material, and...

41 CFR 102-192.140 - What are your general responsibilities as a Federal mail center manager?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... transmission of data in lieu of mail, reducing the number of handwritten addresses on outgoing mail, and other... processing activities at the facility, including all regularly scheduled, small package, and expedited... security office, the Postal Inspection Service, or other appropriate authority; (k) Track incoming packages...

Development of an air flow calorimeter prototype for the measurement of thermal power released by large radioactive waste packages.

PubMed

Razouk, R; Beaumont, O; Failleau, G; Hay, B; Plumeri, S

2018-03-01

The estimation and control of the thermal power released by the radioactive waste packages are a key parameter in the management of radioactive waste geological repository sites. In the framework of the European project "Metrology for decommissioning nuclear facilities," the French National Agency of Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA) collaborates with Laboratoire National de Métrologie et D'essais in order to measure the thermal power up to 500 W of typical real size radioactive waste packages (of at least 0.175 m 3 ) with an uncertainty better than 5% by using a measurement method traceable to the international system of units. One of the selected metrological approaches is based on the principles of air flow calorimetry. This paper describes in detail the development of the air flow calorimeter prototype as well as the design of a radioactive waste package simulator used for its calibration. Results obtained from the calibration of the calorimeter and from the determination of thermal powers are presented here with an investigation of the measurement uncertainties.

Leveraging socially networked mobile ICT platforms for the last-mile delivery problem.

PubMed

Suh, Kyo; Smith, Timothy; Linhoff, Michelle

2012-09-04

Increasing numbers of people are managing their social networks on mobile information and communication technology (ICT) platforms. This study materializes these social relationships by leveraging spatial and networked information for sharing excess capacity to reduce the environmental impacts associated with "last-mile" package delivery systems from online purchases, particularly in low population density settings. Alternative package pickup location systems (PLS), such as a kiosk on a public transit platform or in a grocery store, have been suggested as effective strategies for reducing package travel miles and greenhouse gas emissions, compared to current door-to-door delivery models (CDS). However, our results suggest that a pickup location delivery system operating in a suburban setting may actually increase travel miles and emissions. Only once a social network is employed to assist in package pickup (SPLS) are significant reductions in the last-mile delivery distance and carbon emissions observed across both urban and suburban settings. Implications for logistics management's decades-long focus on improving efficiencies of dedicated distribution systems through specialization, as well as for public policy targeting carbon emissions of the transport sector are discussed.

Development of an air flow calorimeter prototype for the measurement of thermal power released by large radioactive waste packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razouk, R.; Beaumont, O.; Failleau, G.; Hay, B.; Plumeri, S.

2018-03-01

The estimation and control of the thermal power released by the radioactive waste packages are a key parameter in the management of radioactive waste geological repository sites. In the framework of the European project "Metrology for decommissioning nuclear facilities," the French National Agency of Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA) collaborates with Laboratoire National de Métrologie et D'essais in order to measure the thermal power up to 500 W of typical real size radioactive waste packages (of at least 0.175 m3) with an uncertainty better than 5% by using a measurement method traceable to the international system of units. One of the selected metrological approaches is based on the principles of air flow calorimetry. This paper describes in detail the development of the air flow calorimeter prototype as well as the design of a radioactive waste package simulator used for its calibration. Results obtained from the calibration of the calorimeter and from the determination of thermal powers are presented here with an investigation of the measurement uncertainties.

Managing Risk Assessment in Science Departments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forlin, Peter; Forlin, Chris

1997-01-01

Describes a health-and-safety risk-management audit in four Queensland, Australia high schools. One major outcome of this research project is the development of a comprehensive risk-management policy in compliance with the law. Other outcomes include the preparation of a professional-development package in risk-management policy for use as a…

Training Packages: The Scientific Management of Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, John

The theory of scientific management was established as a way to increase workers' productivity. The following are among the key principles underpinning scientific management: task simplification and division of labor boost productivity; management must control the planning of work down to its minutiae; and remuneration should be based on output.…

An Object-Oriented Serial DSMC Simulation Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hongli; Cai, Chunpei

2011-05-01

A newly developed three-dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulation package, named GRASP ("Generalized Rarefied gAs Simulation Package"), is reported in this paper. This package utilizes the concept of simulation engine, many C++ features and software design patterns. The package has an open architecture which can benefit further development and maintenance of the code. In order to reduce the engineering time for three-dimensional models, a hybrid grid scheme, combined with a flexible data structure compiled by C++ language, are implemented in this package. This scheme utilizes a local data structure based on the computational cell to achieve high performance on workstation processors. This data structure allows the DSMC algorithm to be very efficiently parallelized with domain decomposition and it provides much flexibility in terms of grid types. This package can utilize traditional structured, unstructured or hybrid grids within the framework of a single code to model arbitrarily complex geometries and to simulate rarefied gas flows. Benchmark test cases indicate that this package has satisfactory accuracy for complex rarefied gas flows.

Solid industrial wastes and their management in Asegra (Granada, Spain)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Casares, M.L.; Ulierte, N.; Mataran, A.

ASEGRA is an industrial area in Granada (Spain) with important waste management problems. In order to properly manage and control waste production in industry, one must know the quantity, type, and composition of industrial wastes, as well as the management practices of the companies involved. In our study, questionnaires were used to collect data regarding methods of waste management used in 170 of the 230 businesses in the area of study. The majority of these companies in ASEGRA are small or medium-size, and belong to the service sector, transport, and distribution. This was naturally a conditioning factor in both themore » type and management of the wastes generated. It was observed that paper and cardboard, plastic, wood, and metals were the most common types of waste, mainly generated from packaging (49% of the total volume), as well as material used in containers and for wrapping products. Serious problems were observed in the management of these wastes. In most cases they were disposed of by dumping, and very rarely did businesses resort to reuse, recycling or valorization. Smaller companies encountered greater difficulties when it came to effective waste management. The most frequent solution for the disposal of wastes in the area was dumping.« less

Automated Work Packages Prototype: Initial Design, Development, and Evaluation. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oxstrand, Johanna Helene; Ahmad Al Rashdan; Le Blanc, Katya Lee

The goal of the Automated Work Packages (AWP) project is to demonstrate how to enhance work quality, cost management, and nuclear safety through the use of advanced technology. The work described in this report is part of the digital architecture for a highly automated plant project of the technical program plan for advanced instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies. This report addresses the DOE Milestone M2LW-15IN0603112: Describe the outcomes of field evaluations/demonstrations of the AWP prototype system and plant surveillance and communication framework requirements at host utilities. A brief background to the need for AWP research is provided, thenmore » two human factors field evaluation studies are described. These studies focus on the user experience of conducting a task (in this case a preventive maintenance and a surveillance test) while using an AWP system. The remaining part of the report describes an II&C effort to provide real time status updates to the technician by wireless transfer of equipment indications and a dynamic user interface.« less

13 CFR 120.824 - Professional management and staff.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Professional management and staff. 120.824 Section 120.824 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS..., management, marketing, packaging, processing, closing, servicing or liquidation services provided by...

Evaluation of an E-learning resource on approach to the first unprovoked seizure.

PubMed

Le Marne, Fleur A; McGinness, Hannah; Slade, Rob; Cardamone, Michael; Balbir Singh, Shirleen; Connolly, Anne M; Bye, Ann Me

2016-09-01

To develop and evaluate an online educational package instructing paediatricians and trainees in the diagnosis and management of a first unprovoked seizure in children. The E-learning content was created following a comprehensive literature review that referenced current international guidelines. Rigorous consultation with local paediatric neurologists, paediatricians and epilepsy nurses was undertaken. A series of learning modules was created and sequenced to reflect steps needed to achieve optimal diagnosis and management in a real-life situation of a child presenting with a paroxysmal event. Paediatric registrars and advanced trainees from the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network were assessed before and after using the E-learning Resource. Measures included general epilepsy knowledge, case-based scenario knowledge; self-rated measures of satisfaction with instruction and confidence regarding clinical approach to the child with first unprovoked seizure; and open ended questions evaluating the usefulness of the E-learning resource. Performance on measures of general epilepsy knowledge and on the seizure-related case scenarios improved significantly following completion of the E-learning as did self-rated satisfaction with instruction and confidence across all aspects of managing first seizure. The E-learning resource has been validated as a useful educational resource regarding the first afebrile unprovoked seizure for paediatricians. © 2016 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Technological challenges of addressing new and more complex migrating products from novel food packaging materials.

PubMed

Munro, Ian C; Haighton, Lois A; Lynch, Barry S; Tafazoli, Shahrzad

2009-12-01

The risk assessment of migration products resulting from packaging material has and continues to pose a difficult challenge. In most jurisdictions, there are regulatory requirements for the approval or notification of food contact substances that will be used in packaging. These processes generally require risk assessment to ensure safety concerns are addressed. The science of assessing food contact materials was instrumental in the development of the concept of Threshold of Regulation and the Threshold of Toxicological Concern procedures. While the risk assessment process is in place, the technology of food packaging continues to evolve to include new initiatives, such as the inclusion of antimicrobial substances or enzyme systems to prevent spoilage, use of plastic packaging intended to remain on foods as they are being cooked, to the introduction of more rigid, stable and reusable materials, and active packaging to extend the shelf-life of food. Each new technology brings with it the potential for exposure to new and possibly novel substances as a result of migration, interaction with other chemical packaging components, or, in the case of plastics now used in direct cooking of products, degradation products formed during heating. Furthermore, the presence of trace levels of certain chemicals from packaging that were once accepted as being of low risk based on traditional toxicology studies are being challenged on the basis of reports of adverse effects, particularly with respect to endocrine disruption, alleged to occur at very low doses. A recent example is the case of bisphenol A. The way forward to assess new packaging technologies and reports of very low dose effects in non-standard studies of food contact substances is likely to remain controversial. However, the risk assessment paradigm is sufficiently robust and flexible to be adapted to meet these challenges. The use of the Threshold of Regulation and the Threshold of Toxicological Concern concepts may play a critical role in the risk assessment of new food packaging technologies in the future.

The StratusLab cloud distribution: Use-cases and support for scientific applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floros, E.

2012-04-01

The StratusLab project is integrating an open cloud software distribution that enables organizations to setup and provide their own private or public IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) computing clouds. StratusLab distribution capitalizes on popular infrastructure virtualization solutions like KVM, the OpenNebula virtual machine manager, Claudia service manager and SlipStream deployment platform, which are further enhanced and expanded with additional components developed within the project. The StratusLab distribution covers the core aspects of a cloud IaaS architecture, namely Computing (life-cycle management of virtual machines), Storage, Appliance management and Networking. The resulting software stack provides a packaged turn-key solution for deploying cloud computing services. The cloud computing infrastructures deployed using StratusLab can support a wide range of scientific and business use cases. Grid computing has been the primary use case pursued by the project and for this reason the initial priority has been the support for the deployment and operation of fully virtualized production-level grid sites; a goal that has already been achieved by operating such a site as part of EGI's (European Grid Initiative) pan-european grid infrastructure. In this area the project is currently working to provide non-trivial capabilities like elastic and autonomic management of grid site resources. Although grid computing has been the motivating paradigm, StratusLab's cloud distribution can support a wider range of use cases. Towards this direction, we have developed and currently provide support for setting up general purpose computing solutions like Hadoop, MPI and Torque clusters. For what concerns scientific applications the project is collaborating closely with the Bioinformatics community in order to prepare VM appliances and deploy optimized services for bioinformatics applications. In a similar manner additional scientific disciplines like Earth Science can take advantage of StratusLab cloud solutions. Interested users are welcomed to join StratusLab's user community by getting access to the reference cloud services deployed by the project and offered to the public.

puma: a Bioconductor package for propagating uncertainty in microarray analysis.

PubMed

Pearson, Richard D; Liu, Xuejun; Sanguinetti, Guido; Milo, Marta; Lawrence, Neil D; Rattray, Magnus

2009-07-09

Most analyses of microarray data are based on point estimates of expression levels and ignore the uncertainty of such estimates. By determining uncertainties from Affymetrix GeneChip data and propagating these uncertainties to downstream analyses it has been shown that we can improve results of differential expression detection, principal component analysis and clustering. Previously, implementations of these uncertainty propagation methods have only been available as separate packages, written in different languages. Previous implementations have also suffered from being very costly to compute, and in the case of differential expression detection, have been limited in the experimental designs to which they can be applied. puma is a Bioconductor package incorporating a suite of analysis methods for use on Affymetrix GeneChip data. puma extends the differential expression detection methods of previous work from the 2-class case to the multi-factorial case. puma can be used to automatically create design and contrast matrices for typical experimental designs, which can be used both within the package itself but also in other Bioconductor packages. The implementation of differential expression detection methods has been parallelised leading to significant decreases in processing time on a range of computer architectures. puma incorporates the first R implementation of an uncertainty propagation version of principal component analysis, and an implementation of a clustering method based on uncertainty propagation. All of these techniques are brought together in a single, easy-to-use package with clear, task-based documentation. For the first time, the puma package makes a suite of uncertainty propagation methods available to a general audience. These methods can be used to improve results from more traditional analyses of microarray data. puma also offers improvements in terms of scope and speed of execution over previously available methods. puma is recommended for anyone working with the Affymetrix GeneChip platform for gene expression analysis and can also be applied more generally.

Designing for action: adapting and implementing a community-based newborn care package to affect national change in Uganda.

PubMed

Waiswa, Peter; Namazzi, Gertrude; Kerber, Kate; Peterson, Stefan

2015-01-01

There is a lack of literature on how to adapt new evidence-based interventions for maternal and newborn care into local health systems and policy for rapid scale-up, particularly for community-based interventions in low-income settings. The Uganda Newborn Study (UNEST) was a cluster randomised control trial to test a community-based care package which was rapidly taken up at national level. Understanding this process may help inform other studies looking to design and evaluate with scale-up in mind. This study aimed to describe the process of using evidence to design a community-based maternal and newborn care package in rural eastern Uganda, and to determine the dissemination and advocacy approaches used to facilitate rapid policy change and national uptake. We reviewed UNEST project literature including meeting reports and minutes, supervision reports, and annual and midterm reports. National stakeholders, project and district staff were interviewed regarding their role in the study and perceptions of what contributed to uptake of the package under evaluation. Data related to UNEST formative research, study design, implementation and policy influence were extracted and analysed. An advisory committee of key players in development of maternal and newborn policies and programmes in Uganda was constituted from many agencies and disciplines. Baseline qualitative and quantitative data collection was done at district, community and facility level to examine applicability of aspects of a proposed newborn care package to the local setting. Data were summarised and presented to stakeholders to adapt the intervention that was ultimately tested. Quarterly monitoring of key activities and events around the interventions were used to further inform implementation. The UNEST training package, home visit schedule and behaviour change counselling materials were incorporated into the national Village Health Team and Integrated Community Case Management packages while the study was ongoing. Designing interventions for national scale-up requires strategies and planning from the outset. Use of evidence alongside engagement of key stakeholders and targeted advocacy about the burden and potential solutions is important when adapting interventions to local health systems and communities. This approach has the potential to rapidly translate research into policy, but care must be taken not to exceed available evidence while seizing the policy opportunity.

A system dynamics approach for hospital waste management in a city in a developing country: the case of Nablus, Palestine.

PubMed

Al-Khatib, Issam A; Eleyan, Derar; Garfield, Joy

2016-09-01

Hospitals and health centers provide a variety of healthcare services and normally generate hazardous waste as well as general waste. General waste has a similar nature to that of municipal solid waste and therefore could be disposed of in municipal landfills. However, hazardous waste poses risks to public health, unless it is properly managed. The hospital waste management system encompasses many factors, i.e., number of beds, number of employees, level of service, population, birth rate, fertility rate, and not in my back yard (NIMBY) syndrome. Therefore, this management system requires a comprehensive analysis to determine the role of each factor and its influence on the whole system. In this research, a hospital waste management simulation model is presented based on the system dynamics technique to determine the interaction among these factors in the system using a software package, ithink. This model is used to estimate waste segregation as this is important in the hospital waste management system to minimize risk to public health. Real data has been obtained from a case study of the city of Nablus, Palestine to validate the model. The model exhibits wastes generated from three types of hospitals (private, charitable, and government) by considering the number of both inpatients and outpatients depending on the population of the city under study. The model also offers the facility to compare the total waste generated among these different types of hospitals and anticipate and predict the future generated waste both infectious and non-infectious and the treatment cost incurred.

Package of care for active management in labour for reducing caesarean section rates in low-risk women.

PubMed

Brown, Heather C; Paranjothy, Shantini; Dowswell, Therese; Thomas, Jane

2013-09-16

Approximately 15% of women have caesarean sections (CS) and while the rate varies, the number is increasing in many countries. This is of concern because higher CS rates do not confer additional health gain but may adversely affect maternal health and have implications for future pregnancies. Active management of labour has been proposed as a means of reducing CS rates. This refers to a package of care including strict diagnosis of labour, routine amniotomy, oxytocin for slow progress and one-to-one support in labour. To determine whether active management of labour reduces CS rates in low-risk women and improves satisfaction. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (16 April 2013). Randomised controlled trials comparing low-risk women receiving a predefined package of care (active management) with women receiving routine (variable) care. Trials where slow progress had been diagnosed before entry into the trial were excluded. At least two review authors extracted data. We assessed included studies for risk of bias. We included seven trials, with a total of 5390 women. The quality of studies was mixed. The CS rate was slightly lower in the active management group compared with the group that received routine care, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.01). However, in one study there was a large number of post-randomisation exclusions. On excluding this study, CS rates in the active management group were statistically significantly lower than in the routine care group (RR 0.77 95% CI 0.63 to 0.94). More women in the active management group had labours lasting less than 12 hours, but there was wide variation in length of labour within and between trials. There were no differences between groups in use of analgesia, rates of assisted vaginal deliveries or maternal or neonatal complications. Only one trial examined maternal satisfaction; the majority of women (over 75%) in both groups were very satisfied with care. Active management is associated with small reductions in the CS rate, but it is highly prescriptive and interventional. It is possible that some components of the active management package are more effective than others. Further work is required to determine the acceptability of active management to women in labour.

Implementation and use of direct-flow connections in a coupled ground-water and surface-water model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swain, Eric D.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's MODFLOW finite-difference ground-water flow model has been coupled with three surface-water packages - the MODBRANCH, River, and Stream packages - to simulate surface water and its interaction with ground water. Prior to the development of the coupling packages, the only interaction between these modeling packages was that leakage values could be passed between MODFLOW and the three surface-water packages. To facilitate wider and more flexible uses of the models, a computer program was developed and added to MODFLOW to allow direct flows or stages to be passed between any of the packages and MODFLOW. The flows or stages calculated in one package can be set as boundary discharges or stages to be used in another package. Several modeling packages can be used in the same simulation depending upon the level of sophistication needed in the various reaches being modeled. This computer program is especially useful when any of the River, Stream, or MODBRANCH packages are used to model a river flowing directly into or out of wetlands in direct connection with the aquifer and represented in the model as an aquifer block. A field case study is shown to illustrate an application.

Behavioral Management of Exercise Training in Vascular Headache Patients: An Investigation of Exercise Adherence and Headache Activity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitterling, James M.; And Others

1988-01-01

A behavioral package was used to shape and maintain adherence of five adult females with recurring vascular headache to a program of aerobic exercise training. Results demonstrated a functional relationship between the behavioral package and exercise adherence, as well as clinically significant collateral reductions in vascular headache activity…

Developing a Multimedia Package for University Teaching and Learning--Lessons Learnt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maheshwari, B.

2011-01-01

A team of staff at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) were involved in developing a multimedia package, called Sustainable Water Use in Agriculture (SWAG), to assist the first and second year students to learn about the use, management and conservation of water in agriculture. A range of media techniques including text, sound, diagrams,…

An Evaluation of the Learning of Undergraduates Using E-Learning in a Tertiary Institution in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, James N. K.; Cheng, Xiangqian

2008-01-01

In recent years, tertiary institutions in developed countries have made extensive use of Course Management Systems (CMSs), software packages designed to help educators create online learning communities. To date, however, such packages have been little used in higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. In this article, we describe the…

Investigation of Expandable Polymeric Microspheres for Packaging Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-06

FILMS COST REDUCTION OLEFIN POLYMERS COSTS PACKAGING MICROSPHERES WASTE DISPOSAL WEIGHT...MANAGEMENT THERMAL INSULATION DENSITY SOLID WASTES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THERMOPLASTIC POLYMERS POLYMERS ...research. The purpose was to provide information on the incorporation of hollow, expandable  polymeric microspheres  into  thermoplastic   polymers   to

How Institutions Respond to Training Packages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boorman, Andrew

The impact of the transition to training packages (TPs) on institutionally based training in Australia was examined. Information was gathered from 14 case studies of registered trade organizations (RTOs) delivering qualifications to institutionally based students in TPs in the following areas: administration, beauty therapy, community services,…

Meteorological Instruction Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

At Florida State University and the Naval Postgraduate School, meteorology students have the opportunity to apply theoretical studies to current weather phenomena, even prepare forecasts and see how their predictions stand up utilizing GEMPAK. GEMPAK can display data quickly in both conventional and non-traditional ways, allowing students to view multiple perspectives of the complex three-dimensional atmospheric structure. With GEMPAK, mathematical equations come alive as students do homework and laboratory assignments on the weather events happening around them. Since GEMPAK provides data on a 'today' basis, each homework assignment is new. At the Naval Postgraduate School, students are now using electronically-managed environmental data in the classroom. The School's Departments of Meteorology and Oceanography have developed the Interactive Digital Environment Analysis (IDEA) Laboratory. GEMPAK is the IDEA Lab's general purpose display package; the IDEA image processing package is a modified version of NASA's Device Management System. Bringing the graphic and image processing packages together is NASA's product, the Transportable Application Executive (TAE).

EXP-PAC: providing comparative analysis and storage of next generation gene expression data.

PubMed

Church, Philip C; Goscinski, Andrzej; Lefèvre, Christophe

2012-07-01

Microarrays and more recently RNA sequencing has led to an increase in available gene expression data. How to manage and store this data is becoming a key issue. In response we have developed EXP-PAC, a web based software package for storage, management and analysis of gene expression and sequence data. Unique to this package is SQL based querying of gene expression data sets, distributed normalization of raw gene expression data and analysis of gene expression data across experiments and species. This package has been populated with lactation data in the international milk genomic consortium web portal (http://milkgenomics.org/). Source code is also available which can be hosted on a Windows, Linux or Mac APACHE server connected to a private or public network (http://mamsap.it.deakin.edu.au/~pcc/Release/EXP_PAC.html). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Innovative Soft-Sided Waste Packaging System Implementation at a Small Department of Energy Environmental Restoration/Waste Management (ER/WM) Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolf, J.

2002-02-28

Weiss Associates (WA) performs a broad range of environmental restoration/waste management (ER/WM) activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the former Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR), University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Over the last three years, the LEHR ER/WM program transitioned from a baseline packaging system of steel, 2.7 cubic meter (3.5-cubic yard) B-25 boxes to a 7.0 cubic meter (9.1-cubic yard) soft-sided container (Lift Liner) system. The transition increased efficiencies in processing, packaging, and storage, and when combined with decreased procurement costs, achieved a $402,000 cost savings (Table I). Additional disposal costs between $128,600 andmore » $182,600 were avoided by minimizing void space. Future cost savings by the end of fiscal year 2003 are projected between $250,640 and $1,003,360.« less

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... management assistance declaration, the State may submit an application package for a grant to the Regional... Mitigation Plan. As a requirement of receiving funding under a fire management assistance grant, a State, or... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Application and approval...

Thermal Interface Materials Selection and Application Guidelines: In Perspective of Xilinx Virtex-5QV Thermal Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suh, Jong-ook; Dillon, R. Peter; Tseng, Stephen

2015-01-01

The heat from high-power microdevices for space, such as Xilinx Virtex 4 and 5 (V4 and V5), has to be removed mainly through conduction in the space vacuum environment. The class-Y type packages are designed to remove the heat from the top of the package, and the most effective method to remove heat from the class-Y type packages is to attach a heat transfer device on the lid of the package and to transfer the heat to frame or chassis. When a heat transfer device is attached to the package lid, the surfaces roughness of the package lid and the heat transfer device reduces the effective contact area between the two. The reduced contact area results in increased thermal contact resistance, and a thermal interface material is required to reduce the thermal contact resistance by filling in the gap between the surfaces of the package lid and the heat transfer device. The current report describes JPL's FY14 NEPP task study on property requirements of TIM and impact of TIM properties on the packaging reliability. The current task also developed appratuses to investigate the performances of TIMs in the actual mission environment.

DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR THE NAVAL SNF WASTE PACKAGE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

T.L. Mitchell

2000-05-31

The purpose of this analysis is to demonstrate the design of the naval spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste package (WP) using the Waste Package Department's (WPD) design methodologies and processes described in the ''Waste Package Design Methodology Report'' (CRWMS M&O [Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor] 2000b). The calculations that support the design of the naval SNF WP will be discussed; however, only a sub-set of such analyses will be presented and shall be limited to those identified in the ''Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c). The objective of this analysis is to describe themore » naval SNF WP design method and to show that the design of the naval SNF WP complies with the ''Naval Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Container System Description Document'' (CRWMS M&O 1999a) and Interface Control Document (ICD) criteria for Site Recommendation. Additional criteria for the design of the naval SNF WP have been outlined in Section 6.2 of the ''Waste Package Design Sensitivity Report'' (CRWMS M&O 2000c). The scope of this analysis is restricted to the design of the naval long WP containing one naval long SNF canister. This WP is representative of the WPs that will contain both naval short SNF and naval long SNF canisters. The following items are included in the scope of this analysis: (1) Providing a general description of the applicable design criteria; (2) Describing the design methodology to be used; (3) Presenting the design of the naval SNF waste package; and (4) Showing compliance with all applicable design criteria. The intended use of this analysis is to support Site Recommendation reports and assist in the development of WPD drawings. Activities described in this analysis were conducted in accordance with the technical product development plan (TPDP) ''Design Analysis for the Naval SNF Waste Package (CRWMS M&O 2000a).« less

SWOT analysis of program design and implementation: a case study on the reduction of maternal mortality in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Qudratullah; Danesh, Homayoon; Makharashvili, Vasil; Mishkin, Kathryn; Mupfukura, Lovemore; Teed, Hillary; Huff-Rousselle, Maggie

2016-07-01

This case study analyzes the design and implementation of the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) in Afghanistan by synthesizing the literature with a focus on maternal health services. The authors are a group of graduate students in the Brandeis University International Health Policy and Management Program and Sustainable International Development Program who used the experience in Afghanistan to analyze an example of successfully implementing policy; two of the authors are Afghan physicians with direct experience in implementing the BPHS. Data is drawn from a literature review, and a unique aspect of the case study is the application of the business-oriented SWOT analysis to the design and implementation of the program that successfully targeted lowering maternal mortality in Afghanistan. It provides a useful example of how SWOT analysis can be used to consider the reasons for, or likelihood of, successful or unsuccessful design and implementation of a policy or program. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Standardised tobacco packaging: a health policy case study of corporate conflict expansion and adaptation

PubMed Central

Hatchard, Jenny L; Fooks, Gary J; Gilmore, Anna B

2016-01-01

Objectives To investigate opposition to standardised tobacco packaging in the UK. To increase understanding of how transnational corporations are adapting to changes in their access to policymakers precipitated by Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Design Case study web-based documentary analysis, using NVivo V.10. Examination of relationships between opponents of standardised packaging and transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) and of the volume, nature, transparency and timing of their activities. Setting UK standardised packaging policy debate 2011–2013. Participants Organisations selected on basis of opposition to, or facilitation thereof, standardised tobacco packaging in the UK; 422 associated documents. Results Excluding tobacco manufacturing and packaging companies (n=12), 109 organisations were involved in opposing standardised packaging, 82 (75%) of which had a financial relationship with 1 or more TTC. These 82 organisations (43 actively opposing the measure, 39 facilitating opposition) were responsible for 60% of the 404 activities identified, including the majority of public communications and research production. TTCs were directly responsible for 28% of total activities, predominantly direct lobbying, but also financially underwrote third party research, communication, mass recruitment and lobbying. Active organisations rarely reported any financial relationship with TTCs when undertaking opposition activities. Conclusions The multifaceted opposition to standardised packaging was primarily undertaken by third parties with financial relationships with major tobacco manufacturers. Low levels of transparency regarding these links created a misleading impression of diverse and widespread opposition. Countries should strengthen implementation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC by systematically requiring conflict of interest declarations from all organisations participating in political or media debates on tobacco control. PMID:27855104

Standardised tobacco packaging: a health policy case study of corporate conflict expansion and adaptation.

PubMed

Hatchard, Jenny L; Fooks, Gary J; Gilmore, Anna B

2016-10-07

To investigate opposition to standardised tobacco packaging in the UK. To increase understanding of how transnational corporations are adapting to changes in their access to policymakers precipitated by Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Case study web-based documentary analysis, using NVivo V.10. Examination of relationships between opponents of standardised packaging and transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) and of the volume, nature, transparency and timing of their activities. UK standardised packaging policy debate 2011-2013. Organisations selected on basis of opposition to, or facilitation thereof, standardised tobacco packaging in the UK; 422 associated documents. Excluding tobacco manufacturing and packaging companies (n=12), 109 organisations were involved in opposing standardised packaging, 82 (75%) of which had a financial relationship with 1 or more TTC. These 82 organisations (43 actively opposing the measure, 39 facilitating opposition) were responsible for 60% of the 404 activities identified, including the majority of public communications and research production. TTCs were directly responsible for 28% of total activities, predominantly direct lobbying, but also financially underwrote third party research, communication, mass recruitment and lobbying. Active organisations rarely reported any financial relationship with TTCs when undertaking opposition activities. The multifaceted opposition to standardised packaging was primarily undertaken by third parties with financial relationships with major tobacco manufacturers. Low levels of transparency regarding these links created a misleading impression of diverse and widespread opposition. Countries should strengthen implementation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC by systematically requiring conflict of interest declarations from all organisations participating in political or media debates on tobacco control. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Novel Techniques for Millimeter-Wave Packages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, Martin I.; Lee, Karen A.; Kolawa, Elzbieta A.; Lowry, Lynn E.; Tulintseff, Ann N.

1995-01-01

A new millimeter-wave package architecture with supporting electrical, mechanical and material science experiment and analysis is presented. This package is well suited for discrete devices, monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) and multichip module (MCM) applications. It has low-loss wide-band RF transitions which are necessary to overcome manufacturing tolerances leading to lower per unit cost Potential applications of this new packaging architecture which go beyond the standard requirements of device protection include integration of antennas, compatibility to photonic networks and direct transitions to waveguide systems. Techniques for electromagnetic analysis, thermal control and hermetic sealing were explored. Three dimensional electromagnetic analysis was performed using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm and experimentally verified for millimeter-wave package input and output transitions. New multi-material system concepts (AlN, Cu, and diamond thin films) which allow excellent surface finishes to be achieved with enhanced thermal management have been investigated. A new approach utilizing block copolymer coatings was employed to hermetically seal packages which met MIL STD-883.

Effect of low-carbohydrate claims on consumer perceptions about food products' healthfulness and helpfulness for weight management.

PubMed

Labiner-Wolfe, Judith; Jordan Lin, Chung-Tung; Verrill, Linda

2010-01-01

Evaluate effect of low-carbohydrate claims on consumer perceptions about food products' healthfulness and helpfulness for weight management. Experiment in which participants were randomly assigned 1 of 12 front-of-package claim conditions on bread or a frozen dinner. Seven of the 12 conditions also included Nutrition Facts (NF) information. Internet. 4,320 members of a national on-line consumer panel. Exposure to images of a food package. Ratings on Likert scales about perceived healthfulness, helpfulness for weight management, and caloric content. Mean ratings by outcome measure, condition, and product were calculated. Ratings were also used as the dependent measure in analysis of variance models. Participants who saw front-of-package-only conditions rated products bearing low-carbohydrate claims as more helpful for weight management and lower in calories than the same products without a claim. Those who saw the bread with low-carbohydrate claims also rated it as more healthful than those who saw no claim. When the NF label was available and products had the same nutrition profile, participants rated products with low-carbohydrate claims the same as those with no claim. Consumers who do not use the NF panel may interpret low-carbohydrate claims to have meaning beyond the scope of the claim itself. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Recent developments in intelligent packaging for enhancing food quality and safety.

PubMed

Sohail, Muhammad; Sun, Da-Wen; Zhu, Zhiwei

2018-03-07

The role of packaging cannot be denied in the life cycle of any food product. Intelligent packaging is an emerging technology in the food packaging sector. Although it still needs its full emergence in the market, its importance has been proved for the maintenance of food quality and safety. The present review describes several aspects of intelligent packaging. It first highlights different tools used in intelligent packaging and elucidates the role of these packaging devices for maintaining the quality of different food items in terms of controlling microbial growth and gas concentration, and for providing convenience and easiness to its users in the form of time temperature indication. This review also discusses other intelligent packaging solutions in supply chain management of food products to control theft and counterfeiting conducts and broaden the image of the food companies in terms of branding and marketing. Overall, intelligent packaging can ensure food quality and safety in the food industry, however there are still some concerns over this emerging technology including high cost and legal aspects, and thus future work should be performed to overcome these problems for further promoting its applications in the food industry. Moreover, work should also be carried out to combine several single intelligent packaging devices into a single one, so that most of the benefits from this emerging technology can be achieved.

Paperless Work Package Application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kilgore, Jr., William R.; Morrell, Jr., Otto K.; Morrison, Dan

2014-07-31

Paperless Work Package (PWP) System is a computer program process that takes information from Asset Suite, provides a platform for other electronic inputs, Processes the inputs into an electronic package that can be downloaded onto an electronic work tablet or laptop computer, provides a platform for electronic inputs into the work tablet, and then transposes those inputs back into Asset Suite and to permanent SRS records. The PWP System will basically eliminate paper requirements from the maintenance work control system. The program electronically relays the instructions given by the planner to work on a piece of equipment which is currentlymore » relayed via a printed work package. The program does not control/approve what is done. The planner will continue to plan the work package, the package will continue to be routed, approved, and scheduled. The supervisor reviews and approves the work to be performed and assigns work to individuals or to a work group. (The supervisor conducts pre job briefings with the workers involved in the job) The Operations Manager (Work Controlling Entity) approves the work package electronically for the work that will be done in his facility prior to work starting. The PWP System will provide the package in an electronic form. All the reviews, approvals, and safety measures taken by people outside the electronic package does not change from the paper driven work packages.« less

77 FR 16551 - Standards for Private Laboratory Analytical Packages and Introduction to Laboratory Related...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

... Food Modernization Safety Act for Private Laboratory Managers AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS... Food Modernization Safety Act for Private Laboratory Managers.'' The topic to be discussed is the...

Office Computer Software: A Comprehensive Review of Software Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Secretary, 1992

1992-01-01

Describes types of software including system software, application software, spreadsheets, accounting software, graphics packages, desktop publishing software, database, desktop and personal information management software, project and records management software, groupware, and shareware. (JOW)

The Roles of Knowledge Professionals for Knowledge Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Seonghee

This paper starts by exploring the definition of knowledge and knowledge management; examples of acquisition, creation, packaging, application, and reuse of knowledge are provided. It then considers the partnership for knowledge management and especially how librarians as knowledge professionals, users, and technology experts can contribute to…

44 CFR 334.6 - Department and agency responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Department and agency responsibilities. 334.6 Section 334.6 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... crisis. Costed Option Packages will be developed for actions that may be necessary in the early warning...

An Introduction to Research and the Computer: A Self-Instructional Package.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasu, Ellen Storey; Palmer, Richard I.

This self-instructional package includes learning objectives, definitions, exercises, and feedback for learning some basic concepts and skills involved in using computers for analyzing data and understanding basic research terminology. Learning activities are divided into four sections: research and research hypotheses; variables, cases, and…

A GREEN'S FUNCTION APPROACH FOR DETERMINING DOSE RATES FOR SMALL GRAM QUANTITIES IN SHIPPING PACKAGINGS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nathan, S.

The Small Gram Quantity (SGQ) concept is based on the understanding that small amounts of hazardous materials, in this case radioactive materials (RAM), are significantly less hazardous than large amounts of the same materials. This paper describes a methodology designed to estimate an SGQ for several neutron and gamma emitting isotopes that can be shipped in a package in compliance with 10 CFR Part 71 external radiation level limits regulations. The neutron and photon sources were calculated using both ORIGEN-S and RASTA. The response from a unit source in each neutron and photon group was calculated using MCNP5 with eachmore » unshielded and shielded container configuration. Effects of self-shielding on both neutron and photon response were evaluated by including either plutonium oxide or iron in the source region for the case with no shielded container. For the cases of actinides mixed with light elements, beryllium is the bounding light element. The added beryllium (10 to 90 percent of the actinide mass) in the cases studied represents between 9 and 47 percent concentration of the total mixture mass. For beryllium concentrations larger than 50 percent, the increase in the neutron source term and dose rate tend to increase at a much lower rate than at concentrations lower than 50%. The intimately mixed actinide-beryllium form used in these models is very conservative and thus the limits presented in this report are practical bounds on the mass that can be safely shipped. The calculated dose rate from one gram of each isotope was then used to determin the maximum amount of a single isotope that could be shipped in the Model 9977 Package (or packagings having the same or larger external dimensions as well as similar structural materials) and have the external radiation level within the regulatory dose limits at the surface of the package. The estimates of the mass limits presented would also serve as conservative limits for both the Models 9975 and 9978 packages. If a package contains a mixture of isotopes, the acceptability for shipment can be determined by a sum of fractions approach. It should be noted that the SGQ masses presented in this report represent limits that would comply with the external radiation limits under 10CFR Part 71. They do not necessarily bound lower limits that may be required to comply with other factors such as heat load of the package.« less

Management of MSW in Spain and recovery of packaging steel scrap.

PubMed

Tayibi, Hanan; Peña, Carmen; López, Félix A; López-Delgado, Aurora

2007-01-01

Packaging steel is more advantageously recovered and recycled than other packaging material due to its magnetic properties. The steel used for packaging is of high quality, and post-consumer waste therefore produces high-grade ferrous scrap. Recycling is thus an important issue for reducing raw material consumption, including iron ore, coal and energy. Household refuse management consists of collection/disposal, transport, and processing and treatment - incineration and composting being the most widely used methods in Spain. Total Spanish MSW production exceeds 21 million tons per year, of which 28.1% and 6.2% are treated in compost and incineration plants, respectively. This paper presents a comprehensive study of incineration and compost plants in Spain, including a review of the different processes and technologies employed and the characteristics and quality of the recovered ferrous scrap. Of the total amount of packaging steel scrap recovered from MSW, 38% comes from compost plants and 14% from incineration plants. Ferrous scrap from incineration plants presents a high degree of chemical alteration as a consequence of the thermal process to which the MSW is subjected, particularly the conditions in which the slag is cooled, and accordingly its quality diminishes. Fragmentation and magnetic separation processes produce an enhancement of the scrap quality. Ferrous scrap from compost plants has a high tin content, which negatively affects its recycling. Cleaning and detinning processes are required prior to recycling.

Beneficial effects of polyethylene packages containing micrometer-sized silver particles on the quality and shelf life of dried barberry (Berberis vulgaris).

PubMed

Motlagh, N Valipoor; Mosavian, M T Hamed; Mortazavi, S A; Tamizi, A

2012-01-01

In this research, the effects of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) packages containing micrometer-sized silver particles (LDPE-Ag) on microbial and sensory factors of dried barberry were investigated in comparison with the pure LDPE packages. LDPE-Ag packages with 1% and 2% concentrations of silver particles statistically caused a decrease in the microbial growth of barberry, especially in the case of mold and total bacteria count, compared with the pure LDPE packages. The taste, aroma, appearance, and total acceptance were evaluated by trained panelists using the 9-point hedonic scale. This test showed improvement of all these factors in the samples related to packages containing 1% and 2% concentrations of silver particles in comparison with other samples. Low-density polyethylene package containing micrometer-sized silver particles had beneficial effects on the sensory and microbial quality of barberry when compared with normal packing material. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

Technology transfer package on seismic base isolation - Volume II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-02-14

This Technology Transfer Package provides some detailed information for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors about seismic base isolation. Intended users of this three-volume package are DOE Design and Safety Engineers as well as DOE Facility Managers who are responsible for reducing the effects of natural phenomena hazards (NPH), specifically earthquakes, on their facilities. The package was developed as part of DOE's efforts to study and implement techniques for protecting lives and property from the effects of natural phenomena and to support the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. Volume II contains the proceedings for the Shortmore » Course on Seismic Base Isolation held in Berkeley, California, August 10-14, 1992.« less

An Electronic Clinical Decision Support Tool to Assist Primary Care Providers in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management: Development and Mixed Methods Evaluation

PubMed Central

Joshi, Rohina; Webster, Ruth J; Groenestein, Patrick; Usherwood, Tim P; Heeley, Emma; Turnbull, Fiona M; Lipman, Alexandra; Patel, Anushka A

2009-01-01

Background Challenges remain in translating the well-established evidence for management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk into clinical practice. Although electronic clinical decision support (CDS) systems are known to improve practitioner performance, their development in Australian primary health care settings is limited. Objectives Study aims were to (1) develop a valid CDS tool that assists Australian general practitioners (GPs) in global CVD risk management, and (2) preliminarily evaluate its acceptability to GPs as a point-of-care resource for both general and underserved populations. Methods CVD risk estimation (based on Framingham algorithms) and risk-based management advice (using recommendations from six Australian guidelines) were programmed into a software package. Tool validation: Data from 137 patients attending a physician’s clinic were analyzed to compare the tool’s risk scores with those obtained from an independently programmed algorithm in a separate statistics package. The tool’s management advice was compared with a physician’s recommendations based on a manual review of the guidelines. Field test: The tool was then tested with 21 GPs from eight general practices and three Aboriginal Medical Services. Customized CDS-based recommendations were generated for 200 routinely attending patients (33% Aboriginal) using information extracted from the health record by a research assistant. GPs reviewed these recommendations during each consultation. Changes in CVD risk factor measurement and management were recorded. In-depth interviews with GPs were conducted. Results Validation testing: The tool’s risk assessment algorithm correlated very highly with the independently programmed version in the separate statistics package (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.999). For management advice, there were only two cases of disagreement between the tool and the physician. Field test: GPs found 77% (153/200) of patient outputs easy to understand and agreed with screening and prescribing recommendations in 72% and 64% of outputs, respectively; 26% of patients had their CVD risk factor history updated; 73% had at least one CVD risk factor measured or tests ordered. For people assessed at high CVD risk (n = 82), 10% and 9%, respectively, had lipid-lowering and BP-lowering medications commenced or dose adjustments made, while 7% newly commenced anti-platelet medications. Three key qualitative findings emerged: (1) GPs found the tool enabled a systematic approach to care; (2) the tool greatly influenced CVD risk communication; (3) successful implementation into routine care would require integration with practice software, minimal data entry, regular revision with updated guidelines, and a self-auditing feature. There were no substantive differences in study findings for Aboriginal Medical Services GPs, and the tool was generally considered appropriate for use with Aboriginal patients. Conclusion A fully-integrated, self-populating, and potentially Internet-based CDS tool could contribute to improved global CVD risk management in Australian primary health care. The findings from this study will inform a large-scale trial intervention. PMID:20018588

An electronic clinical decision support tool to assist primary care providers in cardiovascular disease risk management: development and mixed methods evaluation.

PubMed

Peiris, David P; Joshi, Rohina; Webster, Ruth J; Groenestein, Patrick; Usherwood, Tim P; Heeley, Emma; Turnbull, Fiona M; Lipman, Alexandra; Patel, Anushka A

2009-12-17

Challenges remain in translating the well-established evidence for management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk into clinical practice. Although electronic clinical decision support (CDS) systems are known to improve practitioner performance, their development in Australian primary health care settings is limited. Study aims were to (1) develop a valid CDS tool that assists Australian general practitioners (GPs) in global CVD risk management, and (2) preliminarily evaluate its acceptability to GPs as a point-of-care resource for both general and underserved populations. CVD risk estimation (based on Framingham algorithms) and risk-based management advice (using recommendations from six Australian guidelines) were programmed into a software package. Tool validation: Data from 137 patients attending a physician's clinic were analyzed to compare the tool's risk scores with those obtained from an independently programmed algorithm in a separate statistics package. The tool's management advice was compared with a physician's recommendations based on a manual review of the guidelines. Field test: The tool was then tested with 21 GPs from eight general practices and three Aboriginal Medical Services. Customized CDS-based recommendations were generated for 200 routinely attending patients (33% Aboriginal) using information extracted from the health record by a research assistant. GPs reviewed these recommendations during each consultation. Changes in CVD risk factor measurement and management were recorded. In-depth interviews with GPs were conducted. Validation testing: the tool's risk assessment algorithm correlated very highly with the independently programmed version in the separate statistics package (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.999). For management advice, there were only two cases of disagreement between the tool and the physician. Field test: GPs found 77% (153/200) of patient outputs easy to understand and agreed with screening and prescribing recommendations in 72% and 64% of outputs, respectively; 26% of patients had their CVD risk factor history updated; 73% had at least one CVD risk factor measured or tests ordered. For people assessed at high CVD risk (n = 82), 10% and 9%, respectively, had lipid-lowering and BP-lowering medications commenced or dose adjustments made, while 7% newly commenced anti-platelet medications. Three key qualitative findings emerged: (1) GPs found the tool enabled a systematic approach to care; (2) the tool greatly influenced CVD risk communication; (3) successful implementation into routine care would require integration with practice software, minimal data entry, regular revision with updated guidelines, and a self-auditing feature. There were no substantive differences in study findings for Aboriginal Medical Services GPs, and the tool was generally considered appropriate for use with Aboriginal patients. A fully-integrated, self-populating, and potentially Internet-based CDS tool could contribute to improved global CVD risk management in Australian primary health care. The findings from this study will inform a large-scale trial intervention.

Plastic flexible films waste management - A state of art review.

PubMed

Horodytska, O; Valdés, F J; Fullana, A

2018-04-21

Plastic flexible films are increasingly used in many applications due to their lightness and versatility. In 2014, the amount of plastic films represented 34% of total plastic packaging produced in UK. The flexible film waste generation rises according to the increase in number of applications. Currently, in developed countries, about 50% of plastics in domestic waste are films. Moreover, about 615,000 tonnes of agricultural flexible waste are generated in the EU every year. A review of plastic films recycling has been conducted in order to detect the shortcomings and establish guidelines for future research. This paper reviews plastic films waste management technologies from two different sources: post-industrial and post-consumer. Clean and homogeneous post-industrial waste is recycled through closed-loop or open-loop mechanical processes. The main differences between these methods are the quality and the application of the recycled materials. Further research should be focused on closing the loops to obtain the highest environmental benefits of recycling. This could be accomplished through minimizing the material degradation during mechanical processes. Regarding post-consumer waste, flexible films from agricultural and packaging sectors have been assessed. The agricultural films and commercial and industrial flexible packaging are recycled through open-loop mechanical recycling due to existing selective waste collection routes. Nevertheless, the contamination from the use phase adversely affects the quality of recycled plastics. Therefore, upgrading of current washing lines is required. On the other hand, household flexible packaging shows the lowest recycling rates mainly because of inefficient sorting technologies. Delamination and compatibilization methods should be further developed to ensure the recycling of multilayer films. Finally, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies on waste management have been reviewed. A lack of thorough LCA on plastic films waste management systems was identified. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and implementation of relational databases relevant to the diverse needs of a tuberculosis case contact study in the Gambia.

PubMed

Jeffries, D J; Donkor, S; Brookes, R H; Fox, A; Hill, P C

2004-09-01

The data requirements of a large multidisciplinary tuberculosis case contact study are complex. We describe an ACCESS-based relational database system that meets our rigorous requirements for data entry and validation, while being user-friendly, flexible, exportable, and easy to install on a network or stand alone system. This includes the development of a double data entry package for epidemiology and laboratory data, semi-automated entry of ELISPOT data directly from the plate reader, and a suite of new programmes for the manipulation and integration of flow cytometry data. The double entered epidemiology and immunology databases are combined into a separate database, providing a near-real-time analysis of immuno-epidemiological data, allowing important trends to be identified early and major decisions about the study to be made and acted on. This dynamic data management model is portable and can easily be applied to other studies.

Strategies to promote adherence to treatment by pulmonary tuberculosis patients: a systematic review.

PubMed

Suwankeeree, Wongduan; Picheansathian, Wilawan

2014-03-01

The objective of this study is to review and synthesise the best available research evidence that investigates the effectiveness of strategies to promote adherence to treatment by patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The search sought to find published and unpublished studies. The search covered articles published from 1990 to 2010 in English and Thai. The database search included Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Science Direct, Current Content Connect, Thai Nursing Research Database, Thai thesis database, Digital Library of Thailand Research Fund, Research of National Research Council of Thailand and Database of Office of Higher Education Commission. Studies were additionally identified from reference lists of all studies retrieved. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials that explored different strategies to promote adherence to TB treatment of patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB and also included quasiexperimental studies. Two of the investigators independently assessed the studies and then extracted and summarised data from eligible studies. Extracted data were entered into Review Manager software and analysed. A total of 7972 newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients participated in 10 randomised controlled trials and eight quasiexperimental studies. The studies reported on the effectiveness of a number of specific interventions to improve adherence to TB treatment among newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients. These interventions included directly observed treatment (DOT) coupled with alternative patient supervision options, case management with DOT, short-course directly observed treatment, the intensive triad-model programme and an intervention package aimed at improved counselling and communication, decentralisation of treatment, patient choice of a DOT supporter and reinforcement of supervision activities. This review found evidence of beneficial effects from the DOT with regard to the medication adherence among TB patients in terms of cure rate and success rate. However, no beneficial effect was found from DOT intervention with increasing completion rate. In addition, the combined interventions to improve adherence to tuberculosis treatment included case management with directly observed treatment short-course program, the intensive triad-model programme and intervention package. These interventions should be implemented by healthcare providers and tailored to local contexts and circumstances, wherever appropriate.

Remote sensing procurement package: A management report for state and local governments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

An overview of the remote sensing procurement process is presented for chief executives, senior administrators, and other local and state officials responsible for purchasing remote sensing products, services, or equipment. Guidelines are provided for planning, organizing, staffing, and implementing such a procurement project. Other sections of the four-volume package are described and their benefits examined.

Onsite transportation of radioactive materials at the Savannah River Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watkins, R.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) Transportation Safety Document (TSD) defines the onsite packaging and transportation safety program at SRS and demonstrates its compliance with Department of Energy (DOE) transportation safety requirements, to include DOE Order 460.1C, DOE Order 461.2, Onsite Packaging and Transfer of Materials of National Security Interest, and 10 CFR 830, Nuclear Safety Management (Subpart B).

Maestro Workflow Conductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Di Natale, Francesco

2017-06-01

MaestroWF is a Python tool and software package for loading YAML study specifications that represents a simulation campaign. The package is capable of parameterizing a study, pulling dependencies automatically, formatting output directories, and managing the flow and execution of the campaign. MaestroWF also provides a set of abstracted objects that can also be used to develop user specific scripts for launching simulation campaigns.

The LMS Development for a Blended EFL e-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okada, Takeshi; Sakamoto, Yasunobu; Sugiura, Kensuke

2014-01-01

This paper illustrates the general idea of an on-going project for the development of a new blended e-learning package for the English as a foreign language (EFL) reading instruction in Japanese universities. The authors want to draw the attention of the readers to the Learning Management System (LMS) of the package and focus on the role a new…

The Inside Story [Learning Packages for Exploratory Career Education--7th and 8th Grades: Teacher and Student Editions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemp, Louie E., Comp.

The four learning packages for exploratory career education are designed for use at the seventh and eighth grade levels. Each unit includes coordinated teacher and student editions. The units are: Culinary Cubs, focusing on occupations in the areas of food management, production, and services, with special reference to dietitians; Mini Nursery,…

The Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) Volume 2: Office Procedures

Treesearch

Richard M. Cissel; Thomas A. Black; Kimberly A. T. Schreuders; Ajay Prasad; Charles H. Luce; David G. Tarboton; Nathan A. Nelson

2012-01-01

An important first step in managing forest roads for improved water quality and aquatic habitat is the performance of an inventory. The Geomorphic Roads Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) was developed as a tool for making a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the effects of forest roads on watersheds. This manual describes the data analysis and process of a...

Status of Progress Made Toward Preliminary Design Concepts for the Inventory in Select Media for DOE-Managed HLW/SNF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matteo, Edward N.; Hardin, Ernest L.; Hadgu, Teklu

As the title suggests, this report provides a summary of the status and progress for the Preliminary Design Concepts Work Package. Described herein are design concepts and thermal analysis for crystalline and salt host media. The report concludes that thermal management of defense waste, including the relatively small subset of high thermal output waste packages, is readily achievable. Another important conclusion pertains to engineering feasibility, and design concepts presented herein are based upon established and existing elements and/or designs. The multipack configuration options for the crystalline host media pose the greatest engineering challenges, as these designs involve large, heavy wastemore » packages that pose specific challenges with respect to handling and emplacement. Defense-related Spent Nuclear Fuel (DSNF) presents issues for post-closure criticality control, and a key recommendation made herein relates to the need for special packaging design that includes neutron-absorbing material for the DSNF. Lastly, this report finds that the preliminary design options discussed are tenable for operational and post-closure safety, owing to the fact that these concepts have been derived from other published and well-studied repository designs.« less

Training Package Implementation: Innovative and Flexible Approaches.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyers, Dave; Blom, Kaaren

The implementation of training packages (TPs) in Australian workplaces was examined through case studies of the use of TPs in nontraditional trade areas by six innovative registered training organizations (RTOs) across Australia. The study focused on the extent to which new and flexible approaches to learning, training delivery, and assessment…

Panel II: Packaging Capital for Business and Industry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appalachia, 1984

1984-01-01

Case studies demonstrate four capital packaging approaches: a comprehensive statewide enterprise program for Pennsylvania; a county-based industrial development fund in Chautauqua County, New York; an employee buyout in Saratoga Springs, New York; and establishment of a small venture capital company in the Kentucky Highlands with Office of…

A Comprehensive Computer Package for Ambulatory Surgical Facilities

PubMed Central

Kessler, Robert R.

1980-01-01

Ambulatory surgical centers are a cost effective alternative to hospital surgery. Their increasing popularity has contributed to heavy case loads, an accumulation of vast amounts of medical and financial data and economic pressures to maintain a tight control over “cash flow”. Computerization is now a necessity to aid ambulatory surgical centers to maintain their competitive edge. An on-line system is especially necessary as it allows interactive scheduling of surgical cases, immediate access to financial data and rapid gathering of medical and statistical information. This paper describes the significant features of the computer package in use at the Salt Lake Surgical Center, which processes 500 cases per month.

An Empirical Study of Logistics Organization, Electronic Linkage, and Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

utilization of transportation resources, and improved quality management. Researchers have proposed an information technology (IT) implementation model for...management, more efficient utilization of transportation resources, and improved quality management. Researchers have proposed an information...coordination of (1) facility structure, (2) forecasting and order management, (3) transportation , (4) inventory, and (5) warehousing and packaging. The

Security Operations Curriculum Package: BS in Global Security and Intelligence Studies, Security Operations Management Track, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ. BS in Security Operations Management, Model Curriculum

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-24

Operations Management Track in the established B.S. in Global Security and Intelligence Studies Degree offered at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University...and a model 4 -year college curriculum for a BS degree in Security Operations Management

77 FR 23130 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Northern Sierra and Sacramento...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-18

... taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD) and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) portions of the California...) Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District. (i) Flexible Package Printing, Flat Wood Paneling Coatings...

75 FR 59266 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-27

...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations... submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork...

75 FR 60463 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-30

...] Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment...: Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for... Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Fax...

Extend Instruction outside the Classroom: Take Advantage of Your Learning Management System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Lauren A.

2010-01-01

Numerous institutions of higher education have implemented a learning management system (LMS) or are considering doing so. This web-based software package provides self-service and quick (often personalized) access to content in a dynamic environment. Learning management systems support administrative, reporting, and documentation activities. LMSs…

Changing Course Management Systems: Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smart, Kathy A.; Meyer, Katrina A.

2005-01-01

During 2003, the North Dakota University System began to be concerned about the cost of supporting multiple course management systems. Since 1997, the 11 NDUS institutions had used 9 different course management packages, including one homegrown product (HTMLeZ) and such proprietary products as Blackboard, WebCT, and e-College. The University of…

T.I.M.S: TaqMan Information Management System, tools to organize data flow in a genotyping laboratory

PubMed Central

Monnier, Stéphanie; Cox, David G; Albion, Tim; Canzian, Federico

2005-01-01

Background Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping is a major activity in biomedical research. The Taqman technology is one of the most commonly used approaches. It produces large amounts of data that are difficult to process by hand. Laboratories not equipped with a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) need tools to organize the data flow. Results We propose a package of Visual Basic programs focused on sample management and on the parsing of input and output TaqMan files. The code is written in Visual Basic, embedded in the Microsoft Office package, and it allows anyone to have access to those tools, without any programming skills and with basic computer requirements. Conclusion We have created useful tools focused on management of TaqMan genotyping data, a critical issue in genotyping laboratories whithout a more sophisticated and expensive system, such as a LIMS. PMID:16221298

The LARSYS educational package: Instructor's notes. [instructional materials for training people to analyze remotely sensed data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindenlaub, J. C.; Davis, S. M.

1974-01-01

Materials are presented for assisting instructors in teaching the LARSYS Educational Package, which is a set of instructional materials to train people to analyze remotely sensed multispectral data. The seven units of the package are described. These units are: quantitative remote sensing, overview of the LARSYS software system, the 2780 remote terminal, demonstration of LARSYS on the 2780 remote terminal, exercises, guide to multispectral data analysis, and a case study using LARSYS for analysis of LANDSAT data.

Packaging system with cleaning channel and method of making the same

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Lu

A packaging structure and method for surface mount integrated circuits reduces electrochemical migration (ECM) problems by including one or more cleaning channels to effectively and efficiently remove flux residue that may otherwise remain lodged in gaps between the surface mount package and the printed circuit board. A cleaning channel may be formed along a bottom surface of the surface mount package (i.e., the surface facing the printed circuit board), or along a portion of a top surface of the printed circuit board. In either case, the inclusion of a cleaning channel enlarges the gap between the bottom surface of themore » surface mount package and the printed circuit board and creates a path for contaminants to be flushed out during a cleaning process.« less

[Practical advices in choosing local anesthesia tools in dentistry. Management of carpule's quality in local anesthesia in dentistry].

PubMed

Kuzin, A V

2014-01-01

The equipment for local anesthesia is described in this article. Practical recommendations for the selection of the injection needle length, size, bevel type is given. Using dental needle for local anesthesia should be guided by the "one injection - one needle" rule, as a needle tends to deform by even the slightest contact with jawbone. Some of the shortcomings of carpule quality may be detected before use: signs of cup corrosion, the presence of sediment, air bubbles, rubber plunger disposition. In the case of such defects being identified all the package should not be used. The use of such carpule in clinical practice is unsafe.

Case study of the effectiveness of passive grease trap for management on domestic kitchen waste water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nidzamuddin, M. Y.; Juffrizal, K.; Mustapha, F.; Zulfattah, Z. M.; Tan, C. F.; Taha, M. M.; Hidayah, I.; Hilwa, M. Z.

2015-05-01

Household waste, generally known as trash or garbage is mostly includes food wastes, product packaging, and other miscellaneous inorganic wastes that are coming from domestic household. Grease waste such as oil and fats can contaminate water and also clot on pipes provoking blockages. Thus, waste water from kitchen sink need a proper way of filtration. Grease trap developed in this paper is viable in trapping the grease residue. The experiments have been conducted in controlled environment and the objectives are to investigate the effectiveness of grease trap by proving the existence of retention time and the expected ratio of collected water and oil during experiment process using a prototype model.

Demonstration of an Integrated Pest Management Program for Wheat in Tajikistan.

PubMed

Landis, Douglas A; Saidov, Nurali; Jaliov, Anvar; El Bouhssini, Mustapha; Kennelly, Megan; Bahlai, Christie; Landis, Joy N; Maredia, Karim

2016-01-01

Wheat is an important food security crop in central Asia but frequently suffers severe damage and yield losses from insect pests, pathogens, and weeds. With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, a team of scientists from three U.S. land-grant universities in collaboration with the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas and local institutions implemented an integrated pest management (IPM) demonstration program in three regions of Tajikistan from 2011 to 2014. An IPM package was developed and demonstrated in farmer fields using a combination of crop and pest management techniques including cultural practices, host plant resistance, biological control, and chemical approaches. The results from four years of demonstration/research indicated that the IPM package plots almost universally had lower pest abundance and damage and higher yields and were more profitable than the farmer practice plots. Wheat stripe rust infestation ranged from 30% to over 80% in farmer practice plots, while generally remaining below 10% in the IPM package plots. Overall yield varied among sites and years but was always at least 30% to as much as 69% greater in IPM package plots. More than 1,500 local farmers-40% women-were trained through farmer field schools and field days held at the IPM demonstration sites. In addition, students from local agricultural universities participated in on-site data collection. The IPM information generated by the project was widely disseminated to stakeholders through peer-reviewed scientific publications, bulletins and pamphlets in local languages, and via Tajik national television.

Insurance Benefit Preferences of the Low-income Uninsured

PubMed Central

Danis, Marion; Biddle, Andrea K; Goold, Susan Dorr

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE A frequently cited obstacle to universal insurance is the lack of consensus about what benefits to offer in an affordable insurance package. This study was conducted to assess the feasibility of providing uninsured patients the opportunity to define their own benefit package within cost constraints. DESIGN Structured group exercises SETTING Community setting PARTICIPANTS Uninsured individuals recruited from clinical and community settings in central North Carolina. MEASUREMENTS Insurance choices were measured using a simulation exercise, CHAT (Choosing Healthplans All Together). Participants designed managed care plans, individually and as groups, by selecting from 15 service categories having varied levels of restriction (e.g., formulary, copayments) within the constraints of a fixed monthly premium comparable to the typical per member/per month managed care premium paid by U.S. employers. MAIN RESULTS Two hundred thirty-four individuals who were predominantly male (70%), African American (55%), and socioeconomically disadvantaged (53% earned <$15,000 annually) participated in 22 groups and were able to design health benefit packages individually and in groups. All 22 groups chose to cover hospitalization, pharmacy, dental, and specialty care, and 21 groups chose primary care and mental health. Although individuals' choices differed from their groups' selections, 86% of participants were willing to abide by group choices. CONCLUSIONS Groups of low-income uninsured individuals are able to identify acceptable benefit packages that are comparable in cost but differ in benefit design from managed care contracts offered to many U.S. employees today. PMID:11841528

Automatic computation of the travelling wave solutions to nonlinear PDEs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Songxin; Jeffrey, David J.

2008-05-01

Various extensions of the tanh-function method and their implementations for finding explicit travelling wave solutions to nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) have been reported in the literature. However, some solutions are often missed by these packages. In this paper, a new algorithm and its implementation called TWS for solving single nonlinear PDEs are presented. TWS is implemented in MAPLE 10. It turns out that, for PDEs whose balancing numbers are not positive integers, TWS works much better than existing packages. Furthermore, TWS obtains more solutions than existing packages for most cases. Program summaryProgram title:TWS Catalogue identifier:AEAM_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEAM_v1_0.html Program obtainable from:CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions:Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.:1250 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.:78 101 Distribution format:tar.gz Programming language:Maple 10 Computer:A laptop with 1.6 GHz Pentium CPU Operating system:Windows XP Professional RAM:760 Mbytes Classification:5 Nature of problem:Finding the travelling wave solutions to single nonlinear PDEs. Solution method:Based on tanh-function method. Restrictions:The current version of this package can only deal with single autonomous PDEs or ODEs, not systems of PDEs or ODEs. However, the PDEs can have any finite number of independent space variables in addition to time t. Unusual features:For PDEs whose balancing numbers are not positive integers, TWS works much better than existing packages. Furthermore, TWS obtains more solutions than existing packages for most cases. Additional comments:It is easy to use. Running time:Less than 20 seconds for most cases, between 20 to 100 seconds for some cases, over 100 seconds for few cases. References: [1] E.S. Cheb-Terrab, K. von Bulow, Comput. Phys. Comm. 90 (1995) 102. [2] S.A. Elwakil, S.K. El-Labany, M.A. Zahran, R. Sabry, Phys. Lett. A 299 (2002) 179. [3] E. Fan, Phys. Lett. 277 (2000) 212. [4] W. Malfliet, Amer. J. Phys. 60 (1992) 650. [5] W. Malfliet, W. Hereman, Phys. Scripta 54 (1996) 563. [6] E.J. Parkes, B.R. Duffy, Comput. Phys. Comm. 98 (1996) 288.

Emission factors of air toxics from semiconductor manufacturing in Korea.

PubMed

Eom, Yun-Sung; Hong, Ji-Hyung; Lee, Suk-Jo; Lee, Eun-Jung; Cha, Jun-Seok; Lee, Dae-Gyun; Bang, Sun-Ae

2006-11-01

The development of local, accurate emission factors is very important for the estimation of reliable national emissions and air quality management. For that, this study is performed for pollutants released to the atmosphere with source-specific emission tests from the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The semiconductor manufacturing industry is one of the major sources of air toxics or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs); thus, understanding the emission characteristics of the emission source is a very important factor in the development of a control strategy. However, in Korea, there is a general lack of information available on air emissions from the semiconductor industry. The major emission sources of air toxics examined from the semiconductor manufacturing industry were wet chemical stations, coating applications, gaseous operations, photolithography, and miscellaneous devices in the wafer fabrication and semiconductor packaging processes. In this study, analyses of emission characteristics, and the estimations of emission data and factors for air toxics, such as acids, bases, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds from the semiconductor manufacturing process have been performed. The concentration of hydrogen chloride from the packaging process was the highest among all of the processes. In addition, the emission factor of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) for the packaging process was higher than that of the wafer fabrication process. Emission factors estimated in this study were compared with those of Taiwan for evaluation, and they were found to be of similar level in the case of TVOCs and fluorine compounds.

Teaching children with autism appropriate play in unsupervised environments using a self-management treatment package.

PubMed Central

Stahmer, A C; Schreibman, L

1992-01-01

The present study used a self-management treatment package to teach 3 children with autism, who exhibited inappropriate play behaviors, to play appropriately in the absence of a treatment provider. After self-management training, generalization and maintenance of the behavior change were assessed. Because of the detrimental effects of self-stimulation (arm flapping, spinning toys, twirling, etc.) on learning, the relationship between self-stimulatory behaviors and appropriate play was measured. Results indicated that the children learned to exhibit appropriate play skills in unsupervised settings, appropriate play skills generalized to new settings, and 2 of the children maintained their gains at 1-month follow-up. In addition, self-stimulatory behaviors decreased as appropriate play increased. Treatment implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:1634432

Multimedia content management in MPEG-21 framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, John R.

2002-07-01

MPEG-21 is an emerging standard from MPEG that specifies a framework for transactions of multimedia content. MPEG-21 defines the fundamental concept known as a digital item, which is the unit of transaction in the multimedia framework. A digital item can be used to package content for such as a digital photograph, a video clip or movie, a musical recording with graphics and liner notes, a photo album, and so on. The packaging of the media resources, corresponding identifiers, and associated metadata is provided in the declaration of the digital item. The digital item declaration allows for more effective transaction, distribution, and management of multimedia content and corresponding metadata, rights expressions, variations of media resources. In this paper, we describe various challenges for multimedia content management in the MPEG-21 framework.

Managing the computational chemistry big data problem: the ioChem-BD platform.

PubMed

Álvarez-Moreno, M; de Graaf, C; López, N; Maseras, F; Poblet, J M; Bo, C

2015-01-26

We present the ioChem-BD platform ( www.iochem-bd.org ) as a multiheaded tool aimed to manage large volumes of quantum chemistry results from a diverse group of already common simulation packages. The platform has an extensible structure. The key modules managing the main tasks are to (i) upload of output files from common computational chemistry packages, (ii) extract meaningful data from the results, and (iii) generate output summaries in user-friendly formats. A heavy use of the Chemical Mark-up Language (CML) is made in the intermediate files used by ioChem-BD. From them and using XSL techniques, we manipulate and transform such chemical data sets to fulfill researchers' needs in the form of HTML5 reports, supporting information, and other research media.

Household hazardous waste quantification, characterization and management in China's cities: a case study of Suzhou.

PubMed

Gu, Binxian; Zhu, Weimo; Wang, Haikun; Zhang, Rongrong; Liu, Miaomiao; Chen, Yangqing; Wu, Yi; Yang, Xiayu; He, Sheng; Cheng, Rong; Yang, Jie; Bi, Jun

2014-11-01

A four-stage systematic tracking survey of 240 households was conducted from the summer of 2011 to the spring of 2012 in a Chinese city of Suzhou to determine the characteristics of household hazardous waste (HHW) generated by the city. Factor analysis and a regression model were used to study the major driving forces of HHW generation. The results indicate that the rate of HHW generation was 6.16 (0.16-31.74, 95% CI) g/person/day, which accounted for 2.23% of the household solid waste stream. The major waste categories contributing to total HHW were home cleaning products (21.33%), medicines (17.67%) and personal care products (15.19%). Packaging and containers (one-way) and products (single-use) accounted for over 80% of total HHW generation, implying a considerable potential to mitigate HHW generation by changing the packaging design and materials used by manufacturing enterprises. Strong correlations were observed between HHW generation (g/person/day) and the driving forces group of "household structure" and "consumer preferences" (among which the educational level of the household financial manager has the greatest impact). Furthermore, the HHW generation stream in Suzhou suggested the influence of another set of variables, such as local customs and culture, consumption patterns, and urban residential life-style. This study emphasizes that HHW should be categorized at its source (residential households) as an important step toward controlling the HHW hazards of Chinese cities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Container Management During Desert Shield/Storm: An Analysis and Critique of Lessons Learned

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-15

across the distribution spectrum.14 These issues were grouped into five major categories: Containerization and Packaging, Distribution Management , Automation...of containers is needed, according to TDAP. Distribution - Management issues. The Desert Shield experience identified three general distribution ...recommended the formation of a 19 Theater Distribution Management Center from the assets of the Movement Control Agency (MCA) and Material Management

Groundwater Data Package for Hanford Assessments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thorne, Paul D.; Bergeron, Marcel P.; Williams, Mark D.

2006-01-31

This report presents data and interpreted information that supports the groundwater module of the System Assessment Capability (SAC) used in Hanford Assessments. The objective of the groundwater module is to predict movement of radioactive and chemical contaminants through the aquifer to the Columbia River or other potential discharge locations. This data package is being revised as part of the deliverables under the Characterization of Systems Project (#49139) aimed at providing documentation for assessments being conducted under the Hanford Assessments Project (#47042). Both of these projects are components of the Groundwater Remediation and Closure Assessments Projects, managed by the Management andmore » Integration Project (#47043).« less

PACKAGING CERTIFICATION PROGRAM METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING DOSE RATES FOR SMALL GRAM QUANTITIES IN SHIPPING PACKAGINGS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nathan, S.; Loftin, B.; Abramczyk, G.

The Small Gram Quantity (SGQ) concept is based on the understanding that small amounts of hazardous materials, in this case radioactive materials (RAM), are significantly less hazardous than large amounts of the same materials. This paper describes a methodology designed to estimate an SGQ for several neutron and gamma emitting isotopes that can be shipped in a package compliant with 10 CFR Part 71 external radiation level limits regulations. These regulations require packaging for the shipment of radioactive materials, under both normal and accident conditions, to perform the essential functions of material containment, subcriticality, and maintain external radiation levels withinmore » the specified limits. By placing the contents in a helium leak-tight containment vessel, and limiting the mass to ensure subcriticality, the first two essential functions are readily met. Some isotopes emit sufficiently strong photon radiation that small amounts of material can yield a large dose rate outside the package. Quantifying the dose rate for a proposed content is a challenging issue for the SGQ approach. It is essential to quantify external radiation levels from several common gamma and neutron sources that can be safely placed in a specific packaging, to ensure compliance with federal regulations. The Packaging Certification Program (PCP) Methodology for Determining Dose Rate for Small Gram Quantities in Shipping Packagings provides bounding shielding calculations that define mass limits compliant with 10 CFR 71.47 for a set of proposed SGQ isotopes. The approach is based on energy superposition with dose response calculated for a set of spectral groups for a baseline physical packaging configuration. The methodology includes using the MCNP radiation transport code to evaluate a family of neutron and photon spectral groups using the 9977 shipping package and its associated shielded containers as the base case. This results in a set of multipliers for 'dose per particle' for each spectral group. For a given isotope, the source spectrum is folded with the response for each group. The summed contribution from all isotopes determines the total dose from the RAM in the container.« less

Optimisation of the Management of Higher Activity Waste in the UK - 13537

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walsh, Ciara; Buckley, Matthew

2013-07-01

The Upstream Optioneering project was created in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (UK) to support the development and implementation of significant opportunities to optimise activities across all the phases of the Higher Activity Waste management life cycle (i.e. retrieval, characterisation, conditioning, packaging, storage, transport and disposal). The objective of the Upstream Optioneering project is to work in conjunction with other functions within NDA and the waste producers to identify and deliver solutions to optimise the management of higher activity waste. Historically, optimisation may have occurred on aspects of the waste life cycle (considered here to include retrieval, conditioning, treatment, packaging, interimmore » storage, transport to final end state, which may be geological disposal). By considering the waste life cycle as a whole, critical analysis of assumed constraints may lead to cost savings for the UK Tax Payer. For example, it may be possible to challenge the requirements for packaging wastes for disposal to deliver an optimised waste life cycle. It is likely that the challenges faced in the UK are shared in other countries. It is therefore likely that the opportunities identified may also apply elsewhere, with the potential for sharing information to enable value to be shared. (authors)« less

Open Vessel Data Management (OpenVDM) - Open-source Middleware to Assist Vessel Operators Produce Consistent Cruise Data Packages for Archival and Monitor Data Quality.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinner, J. W., IV

2016-02-01

Data from shipboard oceanographic sensors come in various formats and collection typically requires multiple data acquisition software packages running on multiple workstations throughout the vessel. Technicians must then corral all or a subset of the resulting data files so that they may be used by shipboard scientists. On many vessels the process of corralling files into a single cruise data package may change from cruise to cruise or even from technician to technician. It is these inconsistencies in the final cruise data packages that pose the greatest challenge when attempting to automate the process of cataloging cruise data for submission to data archives. A second challenge with the management of shipboard data is ensuring it's quality. Problems with sensors may go unnoticed simply because the technician/scientist was unaware the data from a sensor was absent, invalid, or out of range. The Open Vessel Data Management project (OpenVDM) is a ship-wide data management solution developed to address these issues. In the past three years OpenVDM has successfully demonstrated it's ability to adapt to the needs of vessels with different capabilities/missions while delivering a consistent cruise data package to scientists and adhering to the recommendations and best practices set forth by 3rd party data management groups such as R2R. In the last year OpenVDM has implemented a plugin architecture for monitoring data quality. This allowed vessel operators to develop custom data quality tests tailored to their vessel's unique raw datasets. Data quality test are performed in near-real-time and the results are readily available within a web-interface. This plugin architecture allows 3rd party data quality workgroups like SAMOS to migrate their data quality tests to the vessel and provide immediate determination of data quality. OpenVDM is currently operating aboard three vessels. The R/V Endeavor, operated by the University of Rhode Island, is a regional-class UNOLS research vessel operating under the traditional NFS, P.I. driven model. The E/V Nautilus, operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust specializes in ROV-based, telepresence-enabled oceanographic research. The R/V Falkor operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute is an ocean research platform focusing on cutting-edge technology development.

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: Reducing Wasted Food: How Packaging Can Help

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a webinar page for the Sustainable Management of Materials (SMM) Web Academy webinar titled Let’s WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community

Simulating traffic for incident management and ITS investment decisions

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-08-01

UTPS-type models were designed to adequately support planning activities typical of the 1960s and 1970s. However, these packages were not designed to model intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and support incident management planning. To ov...

Integrated Learning Management Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Sharon; Cossarin, Mary; Doxsee, Harry; Schwartz, Linda

2004-01-01

Four integrated learning management packages were reviewed: "CentraOne", "IntraLearn", "Lyceum", and "Silicon Chalk". These products provide different combinations of synchronous and asynchronous tools. The current report examines the products in relation to their specific value for distance educators and students.

Gbm.auto: A software tool to simplify spatial modelling and Marine Protected Area planning

PubMed Central

Officer, Rick; Clarke, Maurice; Reid, David G.; Brophy, Deirdre

2017-01-01

Boosted Regression Trees. Excellent for data-poor spatial management but hard to use Marine resource managers and scientists often advocate spatial approaches to manage data-poor species. Existing spatial prediction and management techniques are either insufficiently robust, struggle with sparse input data, or make suboptimal use of multiple explanatory variables. Boosted Regression Trees feature excellent performance and are well suited to modelling the distribution of data-limited species, but are extremely complicated and time-consuming to learn and use, hindering access for a wide potential user base and therefore limiting uptake and usage. BRTs automated and simplified for accessible general use with rich feature set We have built a software suite in R which integrates pre-existing functions with new tailor-made functions to automate the processing and predictive mapping of species abundance data: by automating and greatly simplifying Boosted Regression Tree spatial modelling, the gbm.auto R package suite makes this powerful statistical modelling technique more accessible to potential users in the ecological and modelling communities. The package and its documentation allow the user to generate maps of predicted abundance, visualise the representativeness of those abundance maps and to plot the relative influence of explanatory variables and their relationship to the response variables. Databases of the processed model objects and a report explaining all the steps taken within the model are also generated. The package includes a previously unavailable Decision Support Tool which combines estimated escapement biomass (the percentage of an exploited population which must be retained each year to conserve it) with the predicted abundance maps to generate maps showing the location and size of habitat that should be protected to conserve the target stocks (candidate MPAs), based on stakeholder priorities, such as the minimisation of fishing effort displacement. Gbm.auto for management in various settings By bridging the gap between advanced statistical methods for species distribution modelling and conservation science, management and policy, these tools can allow improved spatial abundance predictions, and therefore better management, decision-making, and conservation. Although this package was built to support spatial management of a data-limited marine elasmobranch fishery, it should be equally applicable to spatial abundance modelling, area protection, and stakeholder engagement in various scenarios. PMID:29216310

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morley, Steven

The PyForecastTools package provides Python routines for calculating metrics for model validation, forecast verification and model comparison. For continuous predictands the package provides functions for calculating bias (mean error, mean percentage error, median log accuracy, symmetric signed bias), and for calculating accuracy (mean squared error, mean absolute error, mean absolute scaled error, normalized RMSE, median symmetric accuracy). Convenience routines to calculate the component parts (e.g. forecast error, scaled error) of each metric are also provided. To compare models the package provides: generic skill score; percent better. Robust measures of scale including median absolute deviation, robust standard deviation, robust coefficient ofmore » variation and the Sn estimator are all provided by the package. Finally, the package implements Python classes for NxN contingency tables. In the case of a multi-class prediction, accuracy and skill metrics such as proportion correct and the Heidke and Peirce skill scores are provided as object methods. The special case of a 2x2 contingency table inherits from the NxN class and provides many additional metrics for binary classification: probability of detection, probability of false detection, false alarm ration, threat score, equitable threat score, bias. Confidence intervals for many of these quantities can be calculated using either the Wald method or Agresti-Coull intervals.« less

Effectiveness of some recent antimicrobial packaging concepts.

PubMed

Vermeiren, L; Devlieghere, F; Debevere, J

2002-01-01

A new type of active packaging is the combination of food-packaging materials with antimicrobial substances to control microbial surface contamination of foods. For both migrating and non-migrating antimicrobial materials, intensive contact between the food product and packaging material is required and therefore potential food applications include especially vacuum or skin-packaged products, e.g. vacuum-packaged meat, fish, poultry or cheese. Several antimicrobial compounds have been combined with different types of carriers (plastic and rubber articles, paper-based materials, textile fibrils and food-packaging materials). Until now, however, few antimicrobial concepts have found applications as a food-packaging material. Antimicrobial packaging materials cannot legally be used in the EU at the moment. The potential use would require amendments of several different legal texts involving areas such as food additives, food packaging, hygiene, etc. The main objective of this paper is to provide a state of the art about the different types of antimicrobial concepts, their experimental development and commercialization, and to present a case study summarizing the results of investigations on the feasibility of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-film containing triclosan to inhibit microbial growth on food surfaces and consequently prolong shelf-life or improve microbial food safety. In contrast with the strong antimicrobial effect in in-vitro simulated vacuum-packaged conditions against the psychrotrophic food pathogen L. monocytogenes, the 1000 mg kg(-1) containing triclosan film did not effectively reduce spoilage bacteria and growth of L. monocytogenes on refrigerated vacuum-packaged chicken breasts stored at 7 degrees C.

KMWin--a convenient tool for graphical presentation of results from Kaplan-Meier survival time analysis.

PubMed

Gross, Arnd; Ziepert, Marita; Scholz, Markus

2012-01-01

Analysis of clinical studies often necessitates multiple graphical representations of the results. Many professional software packages are available for this purpose. Most packages are either only commercially available or hard to use especially if one aims to generate or customize a huge number of similar graphical outputs. We developed a new, freely available software tool called KMWin (Kaplan-Meier for Windows) facilitating Kaplan-Meier survival time analysis. KMWin is based on the statistical software environment R and provides an easy to use graphical interface. Survival time data can be supplied as SPSS (sav), SAS export (xpt) or text file (dat), which is also a common export format of other applications such as Excel. Figures can directly be exported in any graphical file format supported by R. On the basis of a working example, we demonstrate how to use KMWin and present its main functions. We show how to control the interface, customize the graphical output, and analyse survival time data. A number of comparisons are performed between KMWin and SPSS regarding graphical output, statistical output, data management and development. Although the general functionality of SPSS is larger, KMWin comprises a number of features useful for survival time analysis in clinical trials and other applications. These are for example number of cases and number of cases under risk within the figure or provision of a queue system for repetitive analyses of updated data sets. Moreover, major adjustments of graphical settings can be performed easily on a single window. We conclude that our tool is well suited and convenient for repetitive analyses of survival time data. It can be used by non-statisticians and provides often used functions as well as functions which are not supplied by standard software packages. The software is routinely applied in several clinical study groups.

KMWin – A Convenient Tool for Graphical Presentation of Results from Kaplan-Meier Survival Time Analysis

PubMed Central

Gross, Arnd; Ziepert, Marita; Scholz, Markus

2012-01-01

Background Analysis of clinical studies often necessitates multiple graphical representations of the results. Many professional software packages are available for this purpose. Most packages are either only commercially available or hard to use especially if one aims to generate or customize a huge number of similar graphical outputs. We developed a new, freely available software tool called KMWin (Kaplan-Meier for Windows) facilitating Kaplan-Meier survival time analysis. KMWin is based on the statistical software environment R and provides an easy to use graphical interface. Survival time data can be supplied as SPSS (sav), SAS export (xpt) or text file (dat), which is also a common export format of other applications such as Excel. Figures can directly be exported in any graphical file format supported by R. Results On the basis of a working example, we demonstrate how to use KMWin and present its main functions. We show how to control the interface, customize the graphical output, and analyse survival time data. A number of comparisons are performed between KMWin and SPSS regarding graphical output, statistical output, data management and development. Although the general functionality of SPSS is larger, KMWin comprises a number of features useful for survival time analysis in clinical trials and other applications. These are for example number of cases and number of cases under risk within the figure or provision of a queue system for repetitive analyses of updated data sets. Moreover, major adjustments of graphical settings can be performed easily on a single window. Conclusions We conclude that our tool is well suited and convenient for repetitive analyses of survival time data. It can be used by non-statisticians and provides often used functions as well as functions which are not supplied by standard software packages. The software is routinely applied in several clinical study groups. PMID:22723912

Evaluating performances of simplified physically based landslide susceptibility models.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capparelli, Giovanna; Formetta, Giuseppe; Versace, Pasquale

2015-04-01

Rainfall induced shallow landslides cause significant damages involving loss of life and properties. Prediction of shallow landslides susceptible locations is a complex task that involves many disciplines: hydrology, geotechnical science, geomorphology, and statistics. Usually to accomplish this task two main approaches are used: statistical or physically based model. This paper presents a package of GIS based models for landslide susceptibility analysis. It was integrated in the NewAge-JGrass hydrological model using the Object Modeling System (OMS) modeling framework. The package includes three simplified physically based models for landslides susceptibility analysis (M1, M2, and M3) and a component for models verifications. It computes eight goodness of fit indices (GOF) by comparing pixel-by-pixel model results and measurements data. Moreover, the package integration in NewAge-JGrass allows the use of other components such as geographic information system tools to manage inputs-output processes, and automatic calibration algorithms to estimate model parameters. The system offers the possibility to investigate and fairly compare the quality and the robustness of models and models parameters, according a procedure that includes: i) model parameters estimation by optimizing each of the GOF index separately, ii) models evaluation in the ROC plane by using each of the optimal parameter set, and iii) GOF robustness evaluation by assessing their sensitivity to the input parameter variation. This procedure was repeated for all three models. The system was applied for a case study in Calabria (Italy) along the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway, between Cosenza and Altilia municipality. The analysis provided that among all the optimized indices and all the three models, Average Index (AI) optimization coupled with model M3 is the best modeling solution for our test case. This research was funded by PON Project No. 01_01503 "Integrated Systems for Hydrogeological Risk Monitoring, Early Warning and Mitigation Along the Main Lifelines", CUP B31H11000370005, in the framework of the National Operational Program for "Research and Competitiveness" 2007-2013.

Effectiveness of reactive case detection for malaria elimination in three archetypical transmission settings: a modelling study.

PubMed

Gerardin, Jaline; Bever, Caitlin A; Bridenbecker, Daniel; Hamainza, Busiku; Silumbe, Kafula; Miller, John M; Eisele, Thomas P; Eckhoff, Philip A; Wenger, Edward A

2017-06-12

Reactive case detection could be a powerful tool in malaria elimination, as it selectively targets transmission pockets. However, field operations have yet to demonstrate under which conditions, if any, reactive case detection is best poised to push a region to elimination. This study uses mathematical modelling to assess how baseline transmission intensity and local interconnectedness affect the impact of reactive activities in the context of other possible intervention packages. Communities in Southern Province, Zambia, where elimination operations are currently underway, were used as representatives of three archetypes of malaria transmission: low-transmission, high household density; high-transmission, low household density; and high-transmission, high household density. Transmission at the spatially-connected household level was simulated with a dynamical model of malaria transmission, and local variation in vectorial capacity and intervention coverage were parameterized according to data collected from the area. Various potential intervention packages were imposed on each of the archetypical settings and the resulting likelihoods of elimination by the end of 2020 were compared. Simulations predict that success of elimination campaigns in both low- and high-transmission areas is strongly dependent on stemming the flow of imported infections, underscoring the need for regional-scale strategies capable of reducing transmission concurrently across many connected areas. In historically low-transmission areas, treatment of clinical malaria should form the cornerstone of elimination operations, as most malaria infections in these areas are symptomatic and onward transmission would be mitigated through health system strengthening; reactive case detection has minimal impact in these settings. In historically high-transmission areas, vector control and case management are crucial for limiting outbreak size, and the asymptomatic reservoir must be addressed through reactive case detection or mass drug campaigns. Reactive case detection is recommended only for settings where transmission has recently been reduced rather than all low-transmission settings. This is demonstrated in a modelling framework with strong out-of-sample accuracy across a range of transmission settings while including methodologies for understanding the most resource-effective allocations of health workers. This approach generalizes to providing a platform for planning rational scale-up of health systems based on locally-optimized impact according to simplified stratification.

Summary of International Waste Management Programs (LLNL Input to SNL L3 MS: System-Wide Integration and Site Selection Concepts for Future Disposition Options for HLW)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greenberg, Harris R.; Blink, James A.; Halsey, William G.

2011-08-11

The Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) within the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Fuel Cycle Technology (FCT) program has been tasked with investigating the disposal of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level nuclear waste (HLW) for a range of potential waste forms and geologic environments. This Lessons Learned task is part of a multi-laboratory effort, with this LLNL report providing input to a Level 3 SNL milestone (System-Wide Integration and Site Selection Concepts for Future Disposition Options for HLW). The work package number is: FTLL11UF0328; the work package title is: Technical Bases / Lessons Learned;more » the milestone number is: M41UF032802; and the milestone title is: “LLNL Input to SNL L3 MS: System-Wide Integration and Site Selection Concepts for Future Disposition Options for HLW”. The system-wide integration effort will integrate all aspects of waste management and disposal, integrating the waste generators, interim storage, transportation, and ultimate disposal at a repository site. The review of international experience in these areas is required to support future studies that address all of these components in an integrated manner. Note that this report is a snapshot of nuclear power infrastructure and international waste management programs that is current as of August 2011, with one notable exception. No attempt has been made to discuss the currently evolving world-wide response to the tragic consequences of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11, 2011, leaving more than 15,000 people dead and more than 8,000 people missing, and severely damaging the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex. Continuing efforts in FY 2012 will update the data, and summarize it in an Excel spreadsheet for easy comparison and assist in the knowledge management of the study cases.« less

The Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) Volume 1: Data Collection Method

Treesearch

Thomas A. Black; Richard M. Cissel; Charles H. Luce

2012-01-01

An important first step in managing forest roads for improved water quality and aquatic habitat is the performance of an inventory. The Geomorphic Roads Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP) was developed as a tool for making a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the effects of forest roads on watersheds. This manual describes the data collection and process of a...

Case Management of Severe Malaria - A Forgotten Practice: Experiences from Health Facilities in Uganda

PubMed Central

Achan, Jane; Tibenderana, James; Kyabayinze, Daniel; Mawejje, Henry; Mugizi, Rukaaka; Mpeka, Betty; Talisuna, Ambrose; D'Alessandro, Umberto

2011-01-01

Introduction Severe malaria is a life-threatening medical emergency and requires prompt and effective treatment to prevent death. There is paucity of published information on current practices of severe malaria case management in sub-Saharan Africa; we evaluated the management practices for severe malaria in Ugandan health facilities Methods and Findings We did a cross sectional survey, using multi-stage sampling methods, of health facilities in 11 districts in the eastern and mid-western parts of Uganda. The study instruments were adapted from the WHO hospital care assessment tools. Between June and August 2009, 105 health facilities were surveyed and 181 health workers and 868 patients/caretakers interviewed. None of the inpatient facilities had all seven components of a basic care package for the management of severe malaria consistently available during the 3 months prior to the survey. Referral practices were appropriate for <10% (18/196) of the patients. Prompt care at any health facility was reported by 29% (247/868) of patients. Severe malaria was correctly diagnosed in 27% of patients (233).Though the quinine dose and regimen was correct in the majority (611/868, 70.4%) of patients, it was administered in the correct volumes of 5% dextrose in only 18% (147/815). Most patients (80.1%) had several doses of quinine administered in one single 500 ml bottle of 5% dextrose. Medications were purchased by 385 (44%) patients and medical supplies by 478 patients (70.6%). Conclusions Management of severe malaria in Ugandan health facilities was sub-optimal. These findings highlight the challenges of correctly managing severe malaria in resource limited settings. Priority areas for improvement include triage and emergency care, referral practises, quality of diagnosis and treatment, availability of medicines and supplies, training and support supervision. PMID:21390301

Victorian paramedics' encounters and management of women in labour: an epidemiological study.

PubMed

McLelland, Gayle; Morgans, Amee; McKenna, Lisa

2015-02-05

Although it is generally accepted that paramedics attend unexpected births, there is a paucity of literature about their management of women in labour. This study aimed to investigate the caseload of women in labour attended by a statewide ambulance service in Australia during one year and the management provided by paramedics. Retrospective clinical data collected on-scene by paramedics via in-field electronic patient care records were provided by Ambulance Victoria. Patient case reports were electronically extracted from the Ambulance Victoria's Clinical Data Warehouse via comprehensive filtering followed by manual sorting. Descriptive statistics were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v.19). Over a 12-month period, paramedics were called to 1517 labouring women. Two thirds of women were at full-term gestation, and 40% of pre-term pregnancies were less than 32 weeks gestation. Paramedics documented 630 case reports of women in early labour and a further 767 in established labour. There were 204 women thought to be second stage labour, including 134 who progressed to childbirth under paramedic care. When paramedics assisted with births, the on-scene time was significantly greater than those patients transported in labour. Pain relief was provided significantly more often to women in established labour than in early labour. Oxygen was given to significantly more women in preterm labour. While paramedics performed a range of procedures including intravenous cannulation, administration of analgesia and oxygen, most women required minimal intervention. Paramedics needed to manage numerous obstetric and medical complications during their management. Paramedics provide emergency care and transportation for women in labour. Most of the women were documented to be at term gestation with minimal complications. To enable appropriate decision making about management and transportation, paramedics require a range of clinical assessment skills comprising essential knowledge about antenatal and intrapartum care.

The Basis System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dubois, P.F.

1989-05-16

This paper discusses the basis system. Basis is a program development system for scientific programs. It has been developed over the last five years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where it is now used in about twenty major programming efforts. The Basis System includes two major components, a program development system and a run-time package. The run-time package provides the Basis Language interpreter, through which the user does input, output, plotting, and control of the program's subroutines and functions. Variables in the scientific packages are known to this interpreter, so that the user may arbitrarily print, plot, and calculatemore » with, any major program variables. Also provided are facilities for dynamic memory management, terminal logs, error recovery, text-file i/o, and the attachment of non-Basis-developed packages.« less

Circular economy of plastic packaging: Current practice and perspectives in Austria.

PubMed

Van Eygen, Emile; Laner, David; Fellner, Johann

2018-02-01

Plastics, especially from packaging, have gained increasing attention in waste management, driving many policy initiatives to improve the circularity of these materials in the economy to increase resource efficiency. In this context, the EU has proposed increasing targets to encourage the recycling of (plastic) packaging. To accurately calculate the recycling rates, detailed information on the flows of plastic packaging is needed. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the waste management system for plastic packaging in Austria in 2013 using material flow analysis, taking into account the used product types and the polymer composition. The results show that 300,000 ± 3% t/a (35 kg/cap·a) of waste plastic packaging were produced, mainly composed of large and small films and small hollow bodies, including PET bottles. Correspondingly, the polymer composition of the waste stream was dominated by LDPE (46% ± 6%), PET (19% ± 4%) and PP (14% ± 6%). 58% ± 3% was collected separately, and regarding the final treatment, 26% ± 7% of the total waste stream was recovered as re-granulates, whereas the rest was thermally recovered in waste-to-energy plants (40% ± 3%) and the cement industry (33% ± 6%). The targets set by the EU and Austria were reached comfortably, although to reach the proposed future target major technological steps regarding collection and sorting will be needed. However, the current calculation point of the targets, i.e. on the input side of the recycling plant, is not deemed to be fully in line with the overall objective of the circular economy, namely to keep materials in the economy and prevent losses. It is therefore recommended that the targets be calculated with respect to the actual output of the recycling process, provided that the quality of the output products is maintained, to accurately assess the performance of the waste management system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Logistics Management Systems in Desert Shield/Desert Storm - How Well Did They Do?

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-07

were grovped into five major categories: Containerization and Packaging; Distribution Management ; Automation/Communications; Peace versus War Operations...incorporated into normal operating procedures. Distribution ManaQement. Distribution management was plagued with confusion throughout DS\\DS. This...to carrier terminals, depots and vendors. TDS recommendations to address the distribution management issue focused on: 1. Authorization of direct

Package of care for active management in labour for reducing caesarean section rates in low-risk women

PubMed Central

Brown, Heather C; Paranjothy, Shantini; Dowswell, Therese; Thomas, Jane

2014-01-01

Background Approximately 15% of women have caesarean sections (CS) and while the rate varies, the number is increasing in many countries. This is of concern because higher CS rates do not confer additional health gain but may adversely affect maternal health and have implications for future pregnancies. Active management of labour has been proposed as a means of reducing CS rates. This refers to a package of care including strict diagnosis of labour, routine amniotomy, oxytocin for slow progress and one to one support in labour. Objectives To determine whether active management of labour reduces CS rates in low-risk women and improves satisfaction. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register (February 2008), MEDLINE (1966 to December 2007), EMBASE (1980 to 2007), MIDIRS (1985 to 2007) and CINAHL (1982 to 2007). Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials comparing low-risk women receiving a predefined package of care (active management) with women receiving routine (variable) care. Trials where slow progress had been diagnosed before entry into the trial were excluded. Data collection and analysis At least two review authors extracted data. We assessed included studies for risk of bias. Main results We included seven trials, with a total of 5390 women. The quality of studies was mixed. The CS rate was slightly lower in the active management group compared to the group that received routine care, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.01). However, in one study there was a large number of post-randomisation exclusions. On excluding this study, CS rates in the active management group were statistically significantly lower than in the routine care group (RR 0.77 95% CI 0.63 to 0.94). More women in the active management group had labours lasting less than twelve hours, but there was wide variation in length of labour within and between trials. There were no differences between groups in use of analgesia, rates of assisted vaginal deliveries or maternal or neonatal complications. Only one trial examined maternal satisfaction; the majority of women (over 75%) in both groups were very satisfied with care. Authors’ conclusions Active management is associated with small reductions in the CS rate, but it is highly prescriptive and interventional. It is possible that some components of the active management package are more effective than others. Further work is required to determine the acceptability of active management to women in labour. PMID:18843671

21 CFR 201.62 - Declaration of net quantity of contents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... generally parallel to the base on which the package rests as it is designed to be displayed: Provided, That...: Provided, That in the case of drugs packed in containers designed to deliver the drug under pressure, the... contrast (by typography, layout, color, embossing, or molding) to other matter on the package; except that...

21 CFR 201.62 - Declaration of net quantity of contents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... generally parallel to the base on which the package rests as it is designed to be displayed: Provided, That...: Provided, That in the case of drugs packed in containers designed to deliver the drug under pressure, the... contrast (by typography, layout, color, embossing, or molding) to other matter on the package; except that...

78 FR 63217 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-23

... Division of Dockets Management and on the Internet at http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0730] Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment...

The Samurai or the Cowboy? Toward an American Model of Quality Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beck, Mark W.

1994-01-01

The Japanese model of business management and Total Quality Management principles being applied to higher education as well as businesses are often ineffective because of the application of packaged ideas without consideration of the subtleties of individual organizations. The cowboy model of teamwork stresses the individual's role and better fits…

pyam: Python Implementation of YaM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myint, Steven; Jain, Abhinandan

2012-01-01

pyam is a software development framework with tools for facilitating the rapid development of software in a concurrent software development environment. pyam provides solutions for development challenges associated with software reuse, managing multiple software configurations, developing software product lines, and multiple platform development and build management. pyam uses release-early, release-often development cycles to allow developers to integrate their changes incrementally into the system on a continual basis. It facilitates the creation and merging of branches to support the isolated development of immature software to avoid impacting the stability of the development effort. It uses modules and packages to organize and share software across multiple software products, and uses the concepts of link and work modules to reduce sandbox setup times even when the code-base is large. One sidebenefit is the enforcement of a strong module-level encapsulation of a module s functionality and interface. This increases design transparency, system stability, and software reuse. pyam is written in Python and is organized as a set of utilities on top of the open source SVN software version control package. All development software is organized into a collection of modules. pyam packages are defined as sub-collections of the available modules. Developers can set up private sandboxes for module/package development. All module/package development takes place on private SVN branches. High-level pyam commands support the setup, update, and release of modules and packages. Released and pre-built versions of modules are available to developers. Developers can tailor the source/link module mix for their sandboxes so that new sandboxes (even large ones) can be built up easily and quickly by pointing to pre-existing module releases. All inter-module interfaces are publicly exported via links. A minimal, but uniform, convention is used for building modules.

Should Countries Set an Explicit Health Benefits Package? The Case of the English National Health Service.

PubMed

Smith, Peter C; Chalkidou, Kalipso

2017-01-01

A fundamental debate in the transition towards universal health coverage concerns whether to establish an explicit health benefits package to which all citizens are entitled, and the level of detail in which to specify that package. At one extreme, the treatments to be funded, and the circumstances in which patients qualify for the treatment, might be specified in great detail, and be entirely mandatory. This would make clinicians little more than automata, carrying out prescribed practice. At the other extreme, priorities may be expressed in very broad terms, with no compulsion or other incentives to encourage adherence. The paper examines the arguments for and against setting an explicit benefits package, and discusses the circumstances in which increased detail in specification are most appropriate. The English National Health Service is used as a case study, based on institutional history, official documents and research literature. Although the English NHS does not explicitly specify a health benefits package, it is in some respects establishing an 'intelligent' package, based on instruments such as an essential medicines list, clinical guidelines, provider payment and performance reporting, which acknowledges gaps in evidence and variations in local resource constraints. Further moves towards a more explicit specification are likely to yield substantial benefits in most health systems. Considerations in determining the 'hardness' of benefits package specification might include the quality of information about the costs and benefits of treatments, the heterogeneity of patient needs and preferences, the financing regime in place, and the nature of supply side constraints. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating the impact of enterprise resource planning project management decisions on post-implementation maintenance costs: a case study using simulation modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fryling, Meg

2010-11-01

Organisations often make implementation decisions with little consideration for the maintenance phase of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, resulting in significant recurring maintenance costs. Poor cost estimations are likely related to the lack of an appropriate framework for enterprise-wide pre-packaged software maintenance, which requires an ongoing relationship with the software vendor (Markus, M.L., Tanis, C., and Fenema, P.C., 2000. Multisite ERP implementation. CACM, 43 (4), 42-46). The end result is that critical project decisions are made with little empirical data, resulting in substantial long-term cost impacts. The product of this research is a formal dynamic simulation model that enables theory testing, scenario exploration and policy analysis. The simulation model ERPMAINT1 was developed by combining and extending existing frameworks in several research domains, and by incorporating quantitative and qualitative case study data. The ERPMAINT1 model evaluates tradeoffs between different ERP project management decisions and their impact on post-implementation total cost of ownership (TCO). Through model simulations a variety of dynamic insights were revealed that could assist ERP project managers. Major findings from the simulation show that upfront investments in mentoring and system exposure translate to long-term cost savings. The findings also indicate that in addition to customisations, add-ons have a significant impact on TCO.

Key Findings from the U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience Workshop on Development and Application of Downscaling Climate Projections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunkel, K.; Dissen, J.; Easterling, D. R.; Kulkarni, A.; Akhtar, F. H.; Hayhoe, K.; Stoner, A. M. K.; Swaminathan, R.; Thrasher, B. L.

2017-12-01

s part of the Department of State U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience (PCR), scientists from NOAA NCEI, CICS-NC, Texas Tech University (TTU), Stanford University (SU), and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) held a workshop at IITM in Pune, India during 7-9 March 2017 on the development, techniques and applications of downscaled climate projections. Workshop participants from TTU, SU, and IITM presented state-of-the-art climate downscaling techniques using the ARRM method, NASA NEX climate products, CORDEX-South Asia and analysis tools for resilience planning and sustainable development. PCR collaborators in attendance included Indian practitioners, researchers and other NGO including the WRI Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and NIH. The scientific techniques were provided to workshop participants in a software package written in R by TTU scientists and several sessions were devoted to hands-on experience with the software package. The workshop further examined case studies on the use of downscaled climate data for decision making in a range of sectors, including human health, agriculture, and water resources management as well as to inform the development of the India State Action Plans. This talk will discuss key outcomes including information needs for downscaling climate projections, importance of QA/QC of the data, key findings from select case studies, and the importance of collaborations and partnerships to apply downscaling projections to help inform the development of the India State Action Plans.

NASA Leads Demo for Drone Traffic Management Tech

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-06-30

During the latest NASA-led demonstrations of technologies that could be part of an automated traffic management system for drones, pilots sent their vehicles beyond visual line-of-sight in simulated infrastructure inspections, search and rescue support, and package delivery.

Surveillance of paediatric exposures to liquid laundry detergent pods in Italy

PubMed Central

Settimi, Laura; Giordano, Felice; Lauria, Laura; Celentano, Anna; Sesana, Fabrizio; Davanzo, Franca

2018-01-01

Objective To analyse paediatric exposures to pod and traditional laundry detergents in Italy and changes in exposure trends. Methods Analyses of a series of patients aged <5 years and exposed to laundry detergents between September 2010 and June 2015, identified by the National Poison Control in Milan. Results In comparison with patients exposed to traditional laundry detergents (n=1150), a higher proportion of those exposed to pods (n=1649) were managed in hospital (68% vs 42%), had clinical effects (75% vs 22%) and moderate/high severity outcomes (13% vs <1%). Exposure rates were stable over time for traditional detergents (average 0.65 cases/day), but an abrupt decline in major company pods was seen in December 2012, 4 months after the introduction of opaque outer packaging (from 1.03 to 0.36 cases/day and from 1.88 to 0.86 cases/million units sold). The odds of clinical effects was higher for exposure to pods than for traditional detergents (OR=10.8; 95% CI 9.0 to 12.9). Among patients exposed to pods, the odds of moderate/high severity outcomes was four times higher for children aged <1 years than for the other age groups (OR=3.9; 95% CI 2.2 to 7.0). Ten children exposed to laundry detergent pods had high severity outcomes while no children exposed to traditional laundry detergents developed high severity effects. Conclusions The study confirms that exposure to laundry detergent pods is more dangerous than exposure to traditional detergents. In Italy, 4 months after the introduction of opaque outer packaging by a major company, product-specific exposure rates decreased sharply, suggesting that reducing visibility of laundry detergent pods may be an effective preventive measure. Further efforts are needed to improve safety. PMID:28188147

An intelligent agent for optimal river-reservoir system management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rieker, Jeffrey D.; Labadie, John W.

2012-09-01

A generalized software package is presented for developing an intelligent agent for stochastic optimization of complex river-reservoir system management and operations. Reinforcement learning is an approach to artificial intelligence for developing a decision-making agent that learns the best operational policies without the need for explicit probabilistic models of hydrologic system behavior. The agent learns these strategies experientially in a Markov decision process through observational interaction with the environment and simulation of the river-reservoir system using well-calibrated models. The graphical user interface for the reinforcement learning process controller includes numerous learning method options and dynamic displays for visualizing the adaptive behavior of the agent. As a case study, the generalized reinforcement learning software is applied to developing an intelligent agent for optimal management of water stored in the Truckee river-reservoir system of California and Nevada for the purpose of streamflow augmentation for water quality enhancement. The intelligent agent successfully learns long-term reservoir operational policies that specifically focus on mitigating water temperature extremes during persistent drought periods that jeopardize the survival of threatened and endangered fish species.

A Spanish model for quantification and management of construction waste.

PubMed

Solís-Guzmán, Jaime; Marrero, Madelyn; Montes-Delgado, Maria Victoria; Ramírez-de-Arellano, Antonio

2009-09-01

Currently, construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) is a worldwide issue that concerns not only governments but also the building actors involved in construction activity. In Spain, a new national decree has been regulating the production and management of C&D waste since February 2008. The present work describes the waste management model that has inspired this decree: the Alcores model implemented with good results in Los Alcores Community (Seville, Spain). A detailed model is also provided to estimate the volume of waste that is expected to be generated on the building site. The quantification of C&D waste volume, from the project stage, is essential for the building actors to properly plan and control its disposal. This quantification model has been developed by studying 100 dwelling projects, especially their bill of quantities, and defining three coefficients to estimate the demolished volume (CT), the wreckage volume (CR) and the packaging volume (CE). Finally, two case studies are included to illustrate the usefulness of the model to estimate C&D waste volume in both new construction and demolition projects.

Simulation supported scenario analysis for water resources planning: a case study in northern italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Facchi, A.; Gandolfi, C.; Ortuani, B.; Maggi, D.

2003-04-01

The work presents the results of a comprehensive modelling study of surface and groundwater systems, including the interaction between irrigation and groundwater resources, for the Muzza-Bassa Lodigiana irrigation district, placed in the southern part of the densely-settled Lombardia plain (northern Italy). The area, of approximately 700 km2, has been selected as: a) it is representative of agricultural and irrigation practices in a wide portion of the plain of Lombardia; b) it has well defined hydrogeological borders, represented by the Adda, Po, and Lambro rivers (respectively East, South and West) and by the Muzza canal (North). The objective of the study is to assess the impact of land use and irrigation water availability on the distribution of crop water consumption in space and time, as well as on the groundwater resources in this wide portion of the Lombardia plain. To achieve this goal, a number of realistic management scenarios, currently under discussion with the regional water authority, have been taken into account. A standard 'base case' has been defined to allow comparative analysis of the results of different scenarios. To carry out the research, an integrated, distributed, catchment-scale simulation package, already developed and applied to the study area, has been used. The simulation system is based on the integration of two hydrological models - a conceptual vadose zone model and the groundwater model MODFLOW. An interface performs the explicit coupling in space and time between the two models. A GIS manages all the information relevant to the study area, as well as all the input, the spatially distributed parameters and the output of the system. The simulation package has been verified for the years 1999-2000 using land use derived from remote-sensed images, reported water availability for irrigation, observed water stage in rivers as well as groundwater level in the alluvial aquifer system.

Packaging Software Assets for Reuse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattmann, C. A.; Marshall, J. J.; Downs, R. R.

2010-12-01

The reuse of existing software assets such as code, architecture, libraries, and modules in current software and systems development projects can provide many benefits, including reduced costs, in time and effort, and increased reliability. Many reusable assets are currently available in various online catalogs and repositories, usually broken down by disciplines such as programming language (Ibiblio for Maven/Java developers, PyPI for Python developers, CPAN for Perl developers, etc.). The way these assets are packaged for distribution can play a role in their reuse - an asset that is packaged simply and logically is typically easier to understand, install, and use, thereby increasing its reusability. A well-packaged asset has advantages in being more reusable and thus more likely to provide benefits through its reuse. This presentation will discuss various aspects of software asset packaging and how they can affect the reusability of the assets. The characteristics of well-packaged software will be described. A software packaging domain model will be introduced, and some existing packaging approaches examined. An example case study of a Reuse Enablement System (RES), currently being created by near-term Earth science decadal survey missions, will provide information about the use of the domain model. Awareness of these factors will help software developers package their reusable assets so that they can provide the most benefits for software reuse.

[The body packer syndrome].

PubMed

Clément, R; Fornes, P; Lecomte, D

2001-02-17

Ingestion of illicit drug packages is a well known method for transportation. These packages are prone to rupture causing overdose. The body packer syndrome may be overlooked in medical practice as illustrated by the following case report. A 19-year old male had convulsions followed by cardiac arrest during a flight. He was resuscitated in the plane, but he died a few hours after admission in intensive care unit. Chest and abdominal X-rays were considered normal. Cocaïne métabolites were found in his urine. The death was considered suspicious. X-rays performed before medicolegal autopsy showed numerous packages in his digestive tract. Thirty-six packages were found in the stomach and intestine. Two were ruptured in the stomach. The cause of death was cocaïne overdose caused by package rupture. The packages are usually visible on an standard abdomen X-ray. The drug is often wrapped in latex membranes or condoms. The air is trapped between the condoms by the nodes, forming two crescents visible on the X-ray. Surgery is preferred to laxatives when the packages are fragile with a high risk of rupture.

Effect of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil combined with different packaging conditions to extend the shelf life of refrigerated beef meat.

PubMed

Sirocchi, Veronica; Devlieghere, Frank; Peelman, Nanou; Sagratini, Gianni; Maggi, Filippo; Vittori, Sauro; Ragaert, Peter

2017-04-15

Rosemary essential oil (REO) contains bioactives having antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This work investigated the effect of REO combined with modified atmosphere packaging conditions (MAP), in our case, aerobic, vacuum or high O 2 , to extend the shelf life of beef. Beef slices were wrapped in special three-layer sheets of packaging material, some with a coating of REO (active packaging, AP), and some without REO (non active packaging, NAP), and stored at 4°C for 20days. The use of REO proved efficacious in every storage condition, as seen in the lower counts of psychrotrophics, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp., and Enterobacteriaceae in AP meat compared to NAP meat. Sensory and colourimetric analyses showed that the best packaging conditions were high-O 2 atmosphere in combination with REO. Based on microbiological data, shelf life of beef was 5-6days for AP samples packaged under aerobic conditions and 14-15days for AP samples in high-O 2 conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) as an adjunct to pharmacokinetic analysis.

PubMed

Mather, L E; Austin, K L

1983-01-01

Computer techniques for numerical analysis are well known to pharmacokineticists. Powerful techniques for data file management have been developed by social scientists but have, in general, been ignored by pharmacokineticists because of their apparent lack of ability to interface with pharmacokinetic programs. Extensive use has been made of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for its data handling capabilities, but at the same time, techniques have been developed within SPSS to interface with pharmacokinetic programs of the users' choice and to carry out a variety of user-defined pharmacokinetic tasks within SPSS commands, apart from the expected variety of statistical tasks. Because it is based on a ubiquitous package, this methodology has all of the benefits of excellent documentation, interchangeability between different types and sizes of machines and true portability of techniques and data files. An example is given of the total management of a pharmacokinetic study previously reported in the literature by the authors.

Fracture mechanics based design for radioactive material transport packagings -- Historical review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, J.A.; Salzbrenner, D.; Sorenson, K.

1998-04-01

The use of a fracture mechanics based design for the radioactive material transport (RAM) packagings has been the subject of extensive research for more than a decade. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has played an important role in the research and development of the application of this technology. Ductile iron has been internationally accepted as an exemplary material for the demonstration of a fracture mechanics based method of RAM packaging design and therefore is the subject of a large portion of the research discussed in this report. SNL`s extensive research and development program, funded primarily by the U. S. Department ofmore » Energy`s Office of Transportation, Energy Management and Analytical Services (EM-76) and in an auxiliary capacity, the office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, is summarized in this document along with a summary of the research conducted at other institutions throughout the world. In addition to the research and development work, code and standards development and regulatory positions are also discussed.« less

Miniature spectrally selective dosimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, R. R.; Macconochie, I. O.; Poole, B. D., Jr. (Inventor)

1980-01-01

A miniature spectrally selective dosimeter capable of measuring selected bandwidths of radiation exposure on small mobile areas is described. This is achieved by the combination of photovoltaic detectors, electrochemical integrators (E-cells) and filters in a small compact case which can be easily attached in close proximity to and substantially parallel to the surface being measured. In one embodiment two photovoltaic detectors, two E-cells, and three filters are packaged in a small case with attaching means consisting of a safety pin. In another embodiment, two detectors, one E-cell, three filters are packaged in a small case with attaching means consisting of a clip to clip over a side piece of an eye glass frame.

Long-term lumen depreciation behavior and failure modes of multi-die array LEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayawardena, Asiri; Marcus, Daniel; Prugue, Ximena; Narendran, Nadarajah

2013-09-01

One of the main advantages of multi-die array light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is their high flux density. However, a challenge for using such a product in lighting fixture applications is the heat density and the need for thermal management to keep the junction temperatures of all the dies low for long-term reliable performance. Ten multi-die LED array samples for each product from four different manufacturers were subjected to lumen maintenance testing (as described in IES-LM-80-08), and their resulting lumen depreciation and failure modes were studied. The products were tested at the maximum case (or pin) temperature reported by the respective manufacturer by appropriately powering the LEDs. In addition, three samples for each product from two different manufacturers were subjected to rapid thermal cycling, and the resulting lumen depreciation and failure modes were studied. The results showed that the exponential lumen decay model using long-term lumen maintenance data as recommended in IES TM-21 does not fit for all package types. The failure of a string of dies and single die failure in a string were observed in some of the packages.

Meals for the Elderly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

NASA is drawing upon its food-preparation expertise to assist in solving a problem affecting a large segment of the American population. In preparation for manned space flight programs, NASA became experienced in providing astronauts simple, easily-prepared, nutritious meals. That experience now is being transferred to the public sector in a cooperative project managed by Johnson Space Center. Called Meal System for the Elderly, the project seeks to fill a gap by supplying nutritionally balanced meal packages to those who are unable to participate in existing meal programs. Many such programs are conducted by federal, state and private organizations, including congregate hot meal services and home-delivered "meals on wheels." But more than 3.5 million elderly Americans are unable to take advantage of these benefits. In some cases, they live in rural areas away from available services; in others, they are handicapped, temporarily ill, or homebound for other reasons. Meal System for the Elderly, a cooperative program in which the food-preparation expertise NASA acquired in manned space projects is being utilized to improve the nutritional status of elderly people. The program seeks to fill a gap by supplying nutritionally-balanced food packages to the elderly who are unable to participate b existing meal service programs.

Can we restrict the health care menu?

PubMed

Klein, R

1994-02-01

The case of Britain's National Health Service is used to illuminate the cross-national debate about whether the availability of health care should be restricted and, if so, how this should be done. Traditionally, the NHS relied on implicit rationing by clinicians within budgetary constraints set by government. However, the logic of the 1989 reforms appeared to require explicit decisions about the packages of health care to be provided to local populations. In practice, purchasers have refused to define such packages. Explicit rationing remains very much the exception. Exploring the reasons for this suggests that defining a restricted menu of health care, by adopting a cost-utility approach and excluding specific procedures or forms of treatment on the Oregon model, is only one of many policy options. There is a large repertory of policy tools for balancing demands and resources, ranging from diluting the intensity of treatment to its earlier termination. Given that health care is characterised by uncertainty, lack of information about outcomes and patient heterogeneity, it may therefore be more 'rational' to diffuse decision-making among clinicians and managers than to try to move towards a centrally determined menu of entitlements.

KSC-06pd1287

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Operations and Checkout Building, Michele Perchonok packs the meals that the STS-121 crew will eat on the 12-day mission. Perchonok is a NASA Subsystem manager for Shuttle Food Systems from Johnson Space Center. Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. A supplementary food supply (pantry) consisting of two extra days per person is stowed aboard the space shuttle for each flight. Pantry items are flown in addition to the menu in case the flight is unexpectedly extended because of bad weather at the landing site or for some other unforeseen reason. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd1286

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-29

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Operations and Checkout Building, Michele Perchonok packs the meals that the STS-121 crew will eat on the 12-day mission. Perchonok is a NASA Subsystem manager for Shuttle Food Systems from Johnson Space Center. Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. A supplementary food supply (pantry) consisting of two extra days per person is stowed aboard the space shuttle for each flight. Pantry items are flown in addition to the menu in case the flight is unexpectedly extended because of bad weather at the landing site or for some other unforeseen reason. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Controlling Blown Pack Spoilage Using Anti-Microbial Packaging

PubMed Central

Reid, Rachael; Tyuftin, Andrey A.; Kerry, Joe P.; Whyte, Paul; Bolton, Declan

2017-01-01

Active (anti-microbial) packaging was prepared using three different formulations; Auranta FV; Inbac-MDA and sodium octanoate at two concentrations (2.5 and 3.5 times their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC, the lowest concentration that will inhibit the visible growth of the organisms) against Clostridium estertheticum, DSMZ 8809). Inoculated beef samples were packaged using the active packaging and monitored for 100 days storage at 2 °C for blown pack spoilage. The time to the onset of blown pack spoilage was significantly (p < 0.01) increased using Auranta FV and sodium octanoate (caprylic acid sodium salt) at both concentrations. Moreover, sodium octanoate packs had significantly (p < 0.01) delayed blown pack spoilage as compared to Auranta FV. It was therefore concluded that Auranta FV or sodium octanoate, incorporated into the packaging materials used for vacuum packaged beef, would inhibit blown pack spoilage and in the case of the latter, well beyond the 42 days storage period currently required for beef primals. PMID:28805679

Controlling Blown Pack Spoilage Using Anti-Microbial Packaging.

PubMed

Reid, Rachael; Bolton, Declan; Tiuftin, Andrey A; Kerry, Joe P; Fanning, Séamus; Whyte, Paul

2017-08-12

Active (anti-microbial) packaging was prepared using three different formulations; Auranta FV; Inbac-MDA and sodium octanoate at two concentrations (2.5 and 3.5 times their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC, the lowest concentration that will inhibit the visible growth of the organisms) against Clostridium estertheticum , DSMZ 8809). Inoculated beef samples were packaged using the active packaging and monitored for 100 days storage at 2 °C for blown pack spoilage. The time to the onset of blown pack spoilage was significantly ( p < 0.01) increased using Auranta FV and sodium octanoate (caprylic acid sodium salt) at both concentrations. Moreover, sodium octanoate packs had significantly ( p < 0.01) delayed blown pack spoilage as compared to Auranta FV. It was therefore concluded that Auranta FV or sodium octanoate, incorporated into the packaging materials used for vacuum packaged beef, would inhibit blown pack spoilage and in the case of the latter, well beyond the 42 days storage period currently required for beef primals.

Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS).

PubMed

Perez-Arriaga, Martha O; Wilson, Susan; Williams, Kelly P; Schoeniger, Joseph; Waymire, Russel L; Powell, Amy Jo

2015-01-01

Next-generation sequencing projects have underappreciated information management tasks requiring detailed attention to specimen curation, nucleic acid sample preparation and sequence production methods required for downstream data processing, comparison, interpretation, sharing and reuse. The few existing metadata management tools for genome-based studies provide weak curatorial frameworks for experimentalists to store and manage idiosyncratic, project-specific information, typically offering no automation supporting unified naming and numbering conventions for sequencing production environments that routinely deal with hundreds, if not thousands of samples at a time. Moreover, existing tools are not readily interfaced with bioinformatics executables, (e.g., BLAST, Bowtie2, custom pipelines). Our application, the Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS), answers both needs, empowering experimentalists to generate intuitive, consistent metadata, and perform analyses and information management tasks via an intuitive web-based interface. Several use cases with short-read sequence datasets are provided to validate installation and integrated function, and suggest possible methodological road maps for prospective users. Provided examples highlight possible OMMS workflows for metadata curation, multistep analyses, and results management and downloading. The OMMS can be implemented as a stand alone-package for individual laboratories, or can be configured for webbased deployment supporting geographically-dispersed projects. The OMMS was developed using an open-source software base, is flexible, extensible and easily installed and executed. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov.

Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS)

PubMed Central

Perez-Arriaga, Martha O; Wilson, Susan; Williams, Kelly P; Schoeniger, Joseph; Waymire, Russel L; Powell, Amy Jo

2015-01-01

Next-generation sequencing projects have underappreciated information management tasks requiring detailed attention to specimen curation, nucleic acid sample preparation and sequence production methods required for downstream data processing, comparison, interpretation, sharing and reuse. The few existing metadata management tools for genome-based studies provide weak curatorial frameworks for experimentalists to store and manage idiosyncratic, project-specific information, typically offering no automation supporting unified naming and numbering conventions for sequencing production environments that routinely deal with hundreds, if not thousands of samples at a time. Moreover, existing tools are not readily interfaced with bioinformatics executables, (e.g., BLAST, Bowtie2, custom pipelines). Our application, the Omics Metadata Management Software (OMMS), answers both needs, empowering experimentalists to generate intuitive, consistent metadata, and perform analyses and information management tasks via an intuitive web-based interface. Several use cases with short-read sequence datasets are provided to validate installation and integrated function, and suggest possible methodological road maps for prospective users. Provided examples highlight possible OMMS workflows for metadata curation, multistep analyses, and results management and downloading. The OMMS can be implemented as a stand alone-package for individual laboratories, or can be configured for webbased deployment supporting geographically-dispersed projects. The OMMS was developed using an open-source software base, is flexible, extensible and easily installed and executed. The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov. Availability The OMMS can be obtained at http://omms.sandia.gov PMID:26124554

MODFLOW-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey Modular Ground-Water Model -Documentation of the Hydrogeologic-Unit Flow (HUF) Package

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderman, E.R.; Hill, M.C.

2000-01-01

This report documents the Hydrogeologic-Unit Flow (HUF) Package for the groundwater modeling computer program MODFLOW-2000. The HUF Package is an alternative internal flow package that allows the vertical geometry of the system hydrogeology to be defined explicitly within the model using hydrogeologic units that can be different than the definition of the model layers. The HUF Package works with all the processes of MODFLOW-2000. For the Ground-Water Flow Process, the HUF Package calculates effective hydraulic properties for the model layers based on the hydraulic properties of the hydrogeologic units, which are defined by the user using parameters. The hydraulic properties are used to calculate the conductance coefficients and other terms needed to solve the ground-water flow equation. The sensitivity of the model to the parameters defined within the HUF Package input file can be calculated using the Sensitivity Process, using observations defined with the Observation Process. Optimal values of the parameters can be estimated by using the Parameter-Estimation Process. The HUF Package is nearly identical to the Layer-Property Flow (LPF) Package, the major difference being the definition of the vertical geometry of the system hydrogeology. Use of the HUF Package is illustrated in two test cases, which also serve to verify the performance of the package by showing that the Parameter-Estimation Process produces the true parameter values when exact observations are used.

Demonstration of an Integrated Pest Management Program for Wheat in Tajikistan

PubMed Central

Landis, Douglas A.; Saidov, Nurali; Jaliov, Anvar; El Bouhssini, Mustapha; Kennelly, Megan; Bahlai, Christie; Landis, Joy N.; Maredia, Karim

2016-01-01

Wheat is an important food security crop in central Asia but frequently suffers severe damage and yield losses from insect pests, pathogens, and weeds. With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, a team of scientists from three U.S. land-grant universities in collaboration with the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas and local institutions implemented an integrated pest management (IPM) demonstration program in three regions of Tajikistan from 2011 to 2014. An IPM package was developed and demonstrated in farmer fields using a combination of crop and pest management techniques including cultural practices, host plant resistance, biological control, and chemical approaches. The results from four years of demonstration/research indicated that the IPM package plots almost universally had lower pest abundance and damage and higher yields and were more profitable than the farmer practice plots. Wheat stripe rust infestation ranged from 30% to over 80% in farmer practice plots, while generally remaining below 10% in the IPM package plots. Overall yield varied among sites and years but was always at least 30% to as much as 69% greater in IPM package plots. More than 1,500 local farmers—40% women—were trained through farmer field schools and field days held at the IPM demonstration sites. In addition, students from local agricultural universities participated in on-site data collection. The IPM information generated by the project was widely disseminated to stakeholders through peer-reviewed scientific publications, bulletins and pamphlets in local languages, and via Tajik national television. PMID:28446990

Bibliographies without Tears: Bibliography-Managers Round-Up.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Science Software Quarterly, 1984

1984-01-01

Reviews and compares "Sci-Mate,""Reference Manager," and "BIBLIOPHILE" software packages used for storage and retrieval tasks involving bibliographic data. Each program handles search tasks well; major differences are in the amount of flexibility in customizing the database structure, their import and export…

An Investigation of the Combat Attitudes of Air Force Civil Engineers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-01

Leadership Management and Development Center (LMDC) at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, to develop the Potential for Combat Effectiveness Model (PCEM) and its...Barracks, PA: US Army War College. Leadership Management Development Center. (1986). Organizational Assessment Package Survey# Factors and Variables

ENVIRONMENTAL METHODS TESTING SITE PROJECT: DATA MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES PLAN

EPA Science Inventory

The Environmental Methods Testing Site (EMTS) Data Management Procedures Plan identifies the computer hardware and software resources used in the EMTS project. It identifies the major software packages that are available for use by principal investigators for the analysis of data...

Food losses, shelf life extension and environmental impact of a packaged cheesecake: A life cycle assessment.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Michele Mario; Meleddu, Marta; Piga, Antonio

2017-01-01

Packaging is associated with a high environmental impact. This is also the case in the food industry despite packaging being necessary for maintaining food quality, safety assurance and preventing food waste. The aim of the present study was to identify improvements in food packaging solutions able to minimize environmental externalities while maximizing the economic sustainability. To this end, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the environmental performance of new packaging solutions. The environmental impact of packaging and food losses and the balance between the two were examined in relation to a cheesecake that is normally packaged in low density polyethylene film and has a limited shelf life due to microbial growth. A shelf life extension was sought via application of the well-established modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technique. Samples for MAP (N 2 /CO 2 : 70/30) were placed inside multilayer gas barrier trays, which were then wrapped with a multilayer gas and water barrier film (i.e. AerPack packaging); control batches were packaged in gas barrier recycled polyethylene terephthalate (XrPet) trays and wrapped with a XrPet film. Samples were then stored at 20°C and inspected at regular intervals for chemical-physical, microbiological and sensory parameters. Results show that the new packaging solution could considerably extend the shelf life of cheesecakes, thereby reducing food waste and decreasing the overall environmental impact. Moreover, the new packaging allows one to minimize transport costs and to generate economies of scale in manufacturing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interfaces between statistical analysis packages and the ESRI geographic information system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masuoka, E.

1980-01-01

Interfaces between ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) data files and real valued data files written to facilitate statistical analysis and display of spatially referenced multivariable data are described. An example of data analysis which utilized the GIS and the statistical analysis system is presented to illustrate the utility of combining the analytic capability of a statistical package with the data management and display features of the GIS.

Technical and Regulatory Considerations in Using Freight Containers as Industrial Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hawk, Mark B; Opperman, Erich; Natali, Ronald

2008-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM), is actively pursuing activities to reduce the radiological risk and clean up the environmental legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons programmes. The EM has made significant progress in recent years in the clean-up and closure of sites and is also focusing on longer term activities necessary for the completion of the clean-up programme. The packaging and transportation of contaminated demolition debris and low level waste materials in a safe and cost effective manner are essential in completing this mission. Toward this end, the US Department of Transportation's Final Rulemore » on Hazardous Materials Regulation issued on 26 January 2004, included a new provision authorising the use of freight containers (e.g. 20 and 40 ft ISO containers) as industrial packages type 2 or 3. This paper will discuss the technical and regulatory considerations in using these newly authorised and large packages for the packaging and transportation of low level waste materials.« less

Moving towards Universal Health Coverage through the Development of Integrated Service Delivery Packages for Primary Health Care in the Solomon Islands

PubMed Central

Whiting, Stephen; Postma, Sjoerd; Jamshaid de Lorenzo, Ayesha; Aumua, Audrey

2016-01-01

The Solomon Islands Government is pursuing integrated care with the goal of improving the quality of health service delivery to rural populations. Under the auspices of Universal Health Coverage, integrated service delivery packages were developed which defined the clinical and public health services that should be provided at different levels of the health system. The process of developing integrated service delivery packages helped to identify key policy decisions the government needed to make in order to improve service quality and efficiency. The integrated service delivery packages have instigated the revision of job descriptions and are feeding into the development of a human resource plan for health. They are also being used to guide infrastructure development and health system planning and should lead to better management of resources. The integrated service delivery packages have become a key tool to operationalise the government’s policy to move towards a more efficient, equitable, quality and sustainable health system. PMID:28321177

Organizational Development for Thornlea; A Communication Package and Some Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croft, John C.

1970-01-01

This case study discusses assumptions and objectives of organizational development (OD) in general, some background of a school which recently participated in a very brief taste of OD, some essential features of the package itself and some results, and some implications. Comments follow by Gilbert D. Moore, State University of New York, Buffalo,…

The Case of the Disappearing E-Book: Academic Libraries and Subscription Packages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2015-01-01

One of the standard models for e-book licensing in academic libraries is the subscription package. This study is a one-year analysis of "disappeared" titles from ebrary's Academic Complete™ collection. During 2013, 3462 titles were deleted. Deleted titles were mainly recent publications (published within the last ten years), with a high…

Evaluating Documents: The Case of Patient Package Inserts. Technical Report No. 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krug, Robert E.

To illustrate the types of factors that must be considered in evaluating public documents, this paper analyzes a number of possible outcomes resulting from one type of document, the patient package insert (PPI) designed to provide consumers of prescription drugs with information about the drugs. It first outlines the intended sequence for a PPI:…

Preserving Knowledge: The Case for Alkaline Paper. ARL Briefing Package Number 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Research Libraries, Washington, DC.

This briefing package consists of a compilation of over 15 papers, fact sheets, and other materials focusing on the use of acid-free papers in books and other publications. The document contains the following: Executive Summary and List of Contents; Some Frequently Asked Questions; "Paper Preservation in Library Collections: Basic Information.…

Second-Degree Price Discrimination: A Graphical and Mathematical Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gotlibovski, Chemi; Kahana, Nava

2009-01-01

The authors use a relatively simple diagram accompanied by mathematical analysis to compare two pricing strategies: price-quantity packages and a two-part tariff. This is done both from the monopolist's point of view and from the welfare point of view. The authors show that in the case of two consumer types, the price-quantity packages strategy…

Author Correction: Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery.

PubMed

Stolaroff, Joshuah K; Samaras, Constantine; O'Neill, Emma R; Lubers, Alia; Mitchell, Alexandra S; Ceperley, Daniel

2018-03-08

In the original version of this Article, the first sentence of the sixth paragraph of the "Comparing emissions" section, the Results originally incorrectly read as 'In the base case, delivery of a small (0.5 kg) package with the small quadrotor drone has lower impacts than delivery by diesel truck, ranging from a 59% reduction in GHGs in California, to a 17% reduction in Missouri'. The correct version states '54%' instead of '59%' and '23%' instead of '17%'.The fourth sentence of the same paragraph originally incorrectly read as 'In the base case, delivery of a medium-sized (8 kg) package has 17% lower GHGs than delivery by truck in California, is about equivalent to delivery trucks for the U.S. average electricity mix, but has 77% higher GHGs than truck delivery in Missouri, which has a carbon-intensive electricity grid'. The correct version states 'In the base case, delivery of a medium-sized (8 kg) package has 9% lower GHGs than delivery by truck in California, is about 24% higher than delivery trucks for the U.S. average electricity mix, and has 50% higher GHGs than truck delivery in Missouri, which has a carbon-intensive electricity grid.The last sentence of the seventh paragraph of the same section originally incorrectly read as 'Because of the importance of electricity used to power the octocopter, charging with low-carbon electricity of 200 g GHG/kWh can reduce delivered package GHGs by 34% compared to diesel trucks'. The correct version states '37%' instead of '34%'.These errors have been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Death by 'ice': fatal methamphetamine intoxication of a body packer case detected by postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and validated by autopsy.

PubMed

Bin Abdul Rashid, Saiful Nizam; Rahim, Amir Saad Abdul; Thali, Michael J; Flach, Patricia M

2013-03-01

Fatal acute methamphetamine (MA) poisoning in cases of internal drug trafficking is rarely described in the literature. This case study reports an MA 'body packer' who died from fatal methamphetamine intoxication due to leaking drug packages in the alimentary tract. The deceased was examined by postmortem computed tomography (PMCT), and the results were correlated to subsequent autopsy and toxicological findings. The deceased was arrested by the police when he was found disoriented in the city of Kuala Lumpur. He was transferred to the emergency department on suspicion of drug abuse. The initial drug screening was reactive for amphetamines. Shortly after admission to the hospital, he died despite rigorous resuscitation attempts. The postmortem plain chest and abdominal radiographs revealed multiple suspicious opacities in the gastrointestinal tract attributable to body packages. An unenhanced whole body PMCT revealed twenty-five drug packages, twenty-four in the stomach and one in the transverse colon. At least two were disintegrating, and therefore leaking. The autopsy findings were consistent with the PMCT results. Toxicology confirmed the diagnosis of fatal methamphetamine intoxication.

27 CFR 26.206 - Marking packages and cases.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., rectifier, or bottler shall serially number each case, barrel, cask, or similar container of distilled... distiller, rectifier, or bottler shall plainly print, stamp, or stencil with durable coloring material, in...

New and revised fire effects tools for fire management

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Greg Dillon; Stacy Drury; Robin Innes; Penny Morgan; Duncan Lutes; Susan J. Prichard; Jane Smith; Eva Strand

2014-01-01

Announcing the release of new software packages for application in wildland fire science and management, two fields that are already fully saturated with computer technology, may seem a bit too much to many managers. However, there have been some recent releases of new computer programs and revisions of existing software and information tools that deserve mention...

Diagnosis and Design for School Improvement: Using a Distributed Perspective to Lead and Manage Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spillane, James P.; Coldren, Amy Franz

2011-01-01

This practical resource highlights the critical importance of diagnosis and design in the work of leading and managing for school improvement. The authors maintain that today's school leaders and managers, under intense pressure to improve student learning, cannot simply adopt and implement pre-packaged reforms manufactured outside the school.…

Diagnostic packages can be assigned accurately in emergency departments. A multi-centre cohort study.

PubMed

Nørgaard, Birgitte; Mogensen, Christian Backer; Teglbjærg, Lars Stubbe; Brabrand, Mikkel; Lassen, Annmarie Touborg

2016-06-01

In the Region of Southern Denmark, the emergency departments categorise patients based on presenting symptoms and a proposed diagnostic package (n = 40) within each category. The diagnostic packages describe relevant clinical information and standard laboratory and other investigations to be performed. Allocation to the right diagnostic package is assumed to be associated with a higher quality. The aim of this study was to describe to which degree the assigned symptom-based diagnostic packages are related to relevant discharge diagnoses. This was a descriptive cohort study. The analysis was based on data on assigned diagnostic package, patient discharge diagnosis, hospital, gender, age, time of admission and discharge, length of stay, diagnostic package assigned, discharge diagnosis and co-morbidity. An acceptable standard for what would be an appropriate primarily diagnostic package was developed using a modified Delphi method. A total of 16,543 patient contacts were identified. Women constituted 52.2% (n = 8,925) of the patients. The median age was 64 years and the median length of stay was one day. All diagnostic packages were represented. A total of 68% of the included patients had been assigned an acceptable diagnostic package (95% confidence interval: 67.2-68.7). We found an appropriate use of one of 30 diagnostic packages in more than 50% of the cases. We found that 68% of the included patients were assigned an acceptable diagnostic package and that about 80% of all acute pathways were covered by 14 diagnostic packages. The study was funded by Region of Southern Denmark. The study was registered with the Danish Data Protection Agency (No. 2008-58-0035). No further approval was required.

A convenient and adaptable package of DNA sequence analysis programs for microcomputers.

PubMed Central

Pustell, J; Kafatos, F C

1982-01-01

We describe a package of DNA data handling and analysis programs designed for microcomputers. The package is convenient for immediate use by persons with little or no computer experience, and has been optimized by trial in our group for a year. By typing a single command, the user enters a system which asks questions or gives instructions in English. The system will enter, alter, and manage sequence files or a restriction enzyme library. It generates the reverse complement, translates, calculates codon usage, finds restriction sites, finds homologies with various degrees of mismatch, and graphs amino acid composition or base frequencies. A number of options for data handling and printing can be used to produce figures for publication. The package will be available in ANSI Standard FORTRAN for use with virtually any FORTRAN compiler. PMID:6278412

Assessment of the implementation of the primary health care package at selected sites in South Africa.

PubMed

Heunis, J C; van Rensburg, H C J; Claassens, D L

2006-11-01

A major objective of public health policy in South Africa is to develop a district-based health service focused on the delivery of primary health care. The primary health care package has been developed to promote the delivery of a number of services at the primary level. This paper assesses the implementation of the package in eight historically disadvantaged urban renewal nodes singled out for accelerated development through the government's urban renewal strategy. Data were gathered by way of interviews with primary health care facility managers and programme co-ordinators and through physical observations at facilities. The findings show that while some facilities were able to offer clients most of the services specified by the package, many others were unable do so. The urban renewal nodes differed noticeably in this respect.

Probablistic Analyses of Waste Package Quantities Impacted by Potential Igneous Disruption at Yucca Mountain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, M. G.; Iuzzolina, H.

2005-12-01

A probabilistic analysis was conducted to estimate ranges for the numbers of waste packages that could be damaged in a potential future igneous event through a repository at Yucca Mountain. The analysis includes disruption from an intrusive igneous event and from an extrusive volcanic event. This analysis supports the evaluation of the potential consequences of future igneous activity as part of the total system performance assessment for the license application for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP). The first scenario, igneous intrusion, investigated the case where one or more igneous dikes intersect the repository. A swarm of dikes was characterized by distributions of length, width, azimuth, and number of dikes and the spacings between them. Through the use in part of a latin hypercube simulator and a modified video game engine, mathematical relationships were built between those parameters and the number of waste packages hit. Corresponding cumulative distribution function curves (CDFs) for the number of waste packages hit under several different scenarios were calculated. Variations in dike thickness ranges, as well as in repository magma bulkhead positions were examined through sensitivity studies. It was assumed that all waste packages in an emplacement drift would be impacted if that drift was intersected by a dike. Over 10,000 individual simulations were performed. Based on these calculations, out of a total of over 11,000 planned waste packages distributed over an area of approximately 5.5 km2 , the median number of waste packages impacted was roughly 1/10 of the total. Individual cases ranged from 0 waste packages to the entire inventory being impacted. The igneous intrusion analysis involved an explicit characterization of dike-drift intersections, built upon various distributions that reflect the uncertainties associated with the inputs. The second igneous scenario, volcanic eruption (eruptive conduits), considered the effects of conduits formed in association with a volcanic eruption through the repository. Mathematical relations were built between the resulting conduit areas and the fraction of the repository area occupied by waste packages. This relation was used in conjunction with a joint distribution incorporating variability in eruptive conduit diameters and in the number of eruptive conduits that could intersect the repository.

Material flow analysis for an industry - A case study in packaging

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amey, E.B.; Sandgren, K.

1996-01-01

The basic materials used in packaging are glass, metals (primarily aluminum and steel), an ever-growing range of plastics, paper and paperboard, wood, textiles for bags, and miscellaneous other materials (such as glues, inks, and other supplies). They are fabricated into rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible containers. The most common forms of these containers include cans, drums, bottles, cartons, boxes, bags, pouches, and wraps. Packaging products are, for the most part, low cost, bulky products that are manufactured close to their customers. There is virtually no import or export of packaging products. A material flow analysis can be developed that looks at all inputs to an industrial sector, inventories the losses in processing, and tracks the fate of the material after its useful life. An example is presented that identifies the material inputs to the packaging industry, and addresses the ultimate fate of the materials used. ?? 1996 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

[A research of letter color visibility in package insert information using simulator].

PubMed

Kamimura, Naoki; Kinoshita, Noriyuki; Onaga, Midori; Watanabe, Yurika; Ijuin, Kazushige; Shikamura, Yoshiaki; Negishi, Kenichi; Kaiho, Fusao; Ohta, Takafumi

2012-01-01

Package insert of pharmaceutical drug is one of the most prioritized information for pharmacists to secure safety of patients. However, the color of character, size, font and so on are various company by company product to product from a viewpoint of visibility. It may be cause a serious accident in case visibility is unclear, although it is the most important information. Moreover, package insert with high visibility is required for color vision defectives from a viewpoint of a universal design. Then, the authors selected the package insert which has the boxed warning in the ethical pharmaceutical currently stored mostly in the present health insurance pharmacy and quantified the red color using the color meter. We advocate the state of a suitable package insert from a viewpoint of a universal design, whether the red color is high visible or not for color vision defectives using simulator.

Development of an e-learning package for sepsis care.

PubMed

Davis, Anna; Henderson, James; Langmack, Gill

Severe sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK. This article describes the collaborative development and implementation of an interactive online learning package to understand the key role nurses have in recognising and then starting to apply the Sepsis Six care bundle in clinical practice. The e-learning package, developed in a UK teaching hospital, uses a case study approach to address the knowledge that is required to be able to recognise sepsis, to understand the processes that occur and the ongoing care and treatment required. The package is relevant to final-year student nurses, newly registered nurses in preceptorship and other health professionals involved in assessing and treating patients who may be developing sepsis.

An evaluation of the Leading an Empowered Organisation programme.

PubMed

Cooper, Simon J

To evaluate outcomes from the NHS leadership development programme Leading an Empowered Organisation (LEO). A prospective case study based on a pre- and post-course quantitative analysis with interpretative methodological support. Role conflict, whether nurse or manager, was apparent in nurses' perceptions of their roles. Respondents claimed many positive leadership attributes but lacked assertiveness and the skills for handling conflict. The LEO programme had a statistically significant effect on workplace leadership performance and positive benefits related to communication competence, articulation of goals, networking, assertiveness, zones of responsibility and problem solving. LEO is having an effect on workplace performance. However it could be improved by considering the package holistically, including not only the course content, but the entry level, pre-course preparation and post-course mentorship.

Power Extension Package (PEP) system definition extension, orbital service module systems analysis study. Volume 10: PEP project plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Contents: project plan summary; project and mission objectives; related studies and technology support activities; technical summary; management; procurement approach; project definition items and schedule; resources; management review; controlled items; and safety, reliability, and quality assurance.

Making Childhood Asthma Management Education Happen in the Community: Translating Health Behavioral Research into Local Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krutzch, Christine B.; And Others

1987-01-01

A technology transfer project for getting initial community adoption of childhood asthma management programs is described. The evolution of the project, including development of programs, packaging considerations, establishment of partnerships, implementation, and evaluation are discussed. (Author/CH)

Buffer Management Simulation in ATM Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yaprak, E.; Xiao, Y.; Chronopoulos, A.; Chow, E.; Anneberg, L.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a simulation of a new dynamic buffer allocation management scheme in ATM networks. To achieve this objective, an algorithm that detects congestion and updates the dynamic buffer allocation scheme was developed for the OPNET simulation package via the creation of a new ATM module.

ZBB--a new skill for the financial manager.

PubMed

Thompson, G B; Pyhrr, P A

1979-03-01

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a management decision-making tool currently gaining wide acceptance. ZBB is a budgeting approach which is useful for planning, controlling and coordinating financial and human resources. It involves the re-evaluation of all budgeted activities in terms of priorities established by the management. The traditional process of incremental budgeting differs from ZBB in that only the planned changes are evaluated in the former. In incremental budgeting, the base budget is considered authorized and required little attention. The ZBB process focuses on the whol budget. This is accomplished by: (1) identifying decision units; (2) evaluating each decision unit in terms of performance, costs, benefits, and alternate means of accomplishiing the objectives; (3) ranking the decision packages; and (4) preparing a budget for the highest priority decision packages. The effect of the ZBB approach is that new high priority programs may be funded by eliminating or reducing existing lower-priority programs. ZBB is viewed as a logical process which can combine many of the elements of good management.

Packaging signals in single-stranded RNA viruses: nature's alternative to a purely electrostatic assembly mechanism.

PubMed

Stockley, Peter G; Twarock, Reidun; Bakker, Saskia E; Barker, Amy M; Borodavka, Alexander; Dykeman, Eric; Ford, Robert J; Pearson, Arwen R; Phillips, Simon E V; Ranson, Neil A; Tuma, Roman

2013-03-01

The formation of a protective protein container is an essential step in the life-cycle of most viruses. In the case of single-stranded (ss)RNA viruses, this step occurs in parallel with genome packaging in a co-assembly process. Previously, it had been thought that this process can be explained entirely by electrostatics. Inspired by recent single-molecule fluorescence experiments that recapitulate the RNA packaging specificity seen in vivo for two model viruses, we present an alternative theory, which recognizes the important cooperative roles played by RNA-coat protein interactions, at sites we have termed packaging signals. The hypothesis is that multiple copies of packaging signals, repeated according to capsid symmetry, aid formation of the required capsid protein conformers at defined positions, resulting in significantly enhanced assembly efficiency. The precise mechanistic roles of packaging signal interactions may vary between viruses, as we have demonstrated for MS2 and STNV. We quantify the impact of packaging signals on capsid assembly efficiency using a dodecahedral model system, showing that heterogeneous affinity distributions of packaging signals for capsid protein out-compete those of homogeneous affinities. These insights pave the way to a new anti-viral therapy, reducing capsid assembly efficiency by targeting of the vital roles of the packaging signals, and opens up new avenues for the efficient construction of protein nanocontainers in bionanotechnology.

Package leaflets of the most consumed medicines in Portugal: safety and regulatory compliance issues. A descriptive study.

PubMed

Pires, Carla; Vigário, Marina; Cavaco, Afonso

2015-01-01

Package leaflets are necessary for safe use of medicines. The aims of the present study were: 1) to assess the compliance between the content of the package leaflets and the specifications of the pharmaceutical regulations; and 2) to identify potential safety issues for patients. Qualitative descriptive study, involving all the package leaflets of branded medicines from the three most consumed therapeutic groups in Portugal, analyzed in the Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, School of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon. A checklist validated through an expert consensus process was used to gather the data. The content of each package leaflet in the sample was classified as compliant or non-compliant with compulsory regulatory issues (i.e. stated dosage and descriptions of adverse reactions) and optional regulatory issues (i.e. adverse reaction frequency, symptoms and procedures in cases of overdose). A total of 651 package leaflets were identified. Overall, the package leaflets were found to be compliant with the compulsory regulatory issues. However, the optional regulatory issues were only addressed in around half of the sample of package leaflets, which made it possible to identify some situations of potentially compromised drug safety. Ideally, the methodologies for package leaflet approval should be reviewed and optimized as a way of ensuring the inclusion of the minimum essential information for safe use of medicines.

Alcohol Warning Label Perceptions: Do Warning Sizes and Plain Packaging Matter?

PubMed

Al-Hamdani, Mohammed; Smith, Steven M

2017-01-01

There is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of stringent alcohol warning labels. Our experiment tested whether increasing the size of an alcohol health warning lowers product-based ratings. We examined whether plain packaging lowers ratings of alcohol products and the consumers who use them, increases ratings of bottle "boringness," and enhances warning recognition compared with branded packaging. A total of 440 adults (51.7% female) viewed one of three warning sizes (50%, 75%, or 90% of label surface) on either a plain or branded bottle of distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Participants also rated alcohol bottles on product-based (assessing the product itself), consumer-based (assessing perceptions of consumers of the product), and bottle boringness ratings, and then attempted to recognize the correct warning out of four choices. As expected, the size of warning labels lowered product-based ratings. Similarly, plain packaging lowered product-based and consumer-based ratings and increased bottle boringness but only for wine bottles. Further, plain packaging increased the odds of warning recognition on bottles of distilled spirits. This study shows that plain packaging and warning size (similar to the graphic warnings on cigarette packages) affect perceptions about alcohol bottles. It also shows that plain packaging increases the likelihood for correct health warning recognition, which builds the case for alcohol warning and packaging research and policy.

A case of deep infection after instrumentation in dorsal spinal surgery: the management with antibiotics and negative wound pressure without removal of fixation.

PubMed

Dobran, Mauro; Mancini, Fabrizio; Nasi, Davide; Scerrati, Massimo

2017-07-28

Until today the role of spinal instrumentation in the presence of a wound infection has been widely discussed and recently many authors leave the hardware in place with appropriate antibiotic therapy. This is a case of a 65-year-old woman suffering from degenerative scoliosis and osteoporotic multiple vertebral collapses treated with posterior dorsolumbar stabilisation with screws and rods. Four months later, skin necrosis and infection appeared in the cranial wound with exposure of the rods. A surgical procedure of debridement of the infected tissue and package with a myocutaneous trapezius muscle flap was performed. One week after surgery, negative pressure wound therapy was started on the residual skin defect. The wound healed after 2 months. The aim of this case report is to focus on the utility of this method even in the case of hardware exposure and infection. This may help avoid removing instrumentation and creating instability. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Tests of a Semi-Analytical Case 1 and Gelbstoff Case 2 SeaWiFS Algorithm with a Global Data Set

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carder, Kendall L.; Hawes, Steve K.; Lee, Zhongping

1997-01-01

A semi-analytical algorithm was tested with a total of 733 points of either unpackaged or packaged-pigment data, with corresponding algorithm parameters for each data type. The 'unpackaged' type consisted of data sets that were generally consistent with the Case 1 CZCS algorithm and other well calibrated data sets. The 'packaged' type consisted of data sets apparently containing somewhat more packaged pigments, requiring modification of the absorption parameters of the model consistent with the CalCOFI study area. This resulted in two equally divided data sets. A more thorough scrutiny of these and other data sets using a semianalytical model requires improved knowledge of the phytoplankton and gelbstoff of the specific environment studied. Since the semi-analytical algorithm is dependent upon 4 spectral channels including the 412 nm channel, while most other algorithms are not, a means of testing data sets for consistency was sought. A numerical filter was developed to classify data sets into the above classes. The filter uses reflectance ratios, which can be determined from space. The sensitivity of such numerical filters to measurement resulting from atmospheric correction and sensor noise errors requires further study. The semi-analytical algorithm performed superbly on each of the data sets after classification, resulting in RMS1 errors of 0.107 and 0.121, respectively, for the unpackaged and packaged data-set classes, with little bias and slopes near 1.0. In combination, the RMS1 performance was 0.114. While these numbers appear rather sterling, one must bear in mind what mis-classification does to the results. Using an average or compromise parameterization on the modified global data set yielded an RMS1 error of 0.171, while using the unpackaged parameterization on the global evaluation data set yielded an RMS1 error of 0.284. So, without classification, the algorithm performs better globally using the average parameters than it does using the unpackaged parameters. Finally, the effects of even more extreme pigment packaging must be examined in order to improve algorithm performance at high latitudes. Note, however, that the North Sea and Mississippi River plume studies contributed data to the packaged and unpackaged classess, respectively, with little effect on algorithm performance. This suggests that gelbstoff-rich Case 2 waters do not seriously degrade performance of the semi-analytical algorithm.

Homecare marketing and product management.

PubMed

Wells, J B

1985-09-01

Entirely too much lip service is paid to marketing and product management in the health sector with too little action. Home health to one degree or another is guilty of this. Successful home health organizations will capitalize on the power of traditional marketing and product management approaches. Product, pricing, packaging, position, and penetration may be foreign concepts. But marketing is built on these concepts and they are key to product definition and management.

Analysis of the waste selective collection at drop-off systems: Case study including the income level and the seasonal variation.

PubMed

Gallardo, A; Carlos, M; Colomer, F J; Edo-Alcón, N

2018-01-01

There are several factors which have an influence in the selective collection of the municipal waste. To define a selective collection system, the waste generation pattern should be firstly determined and these factors should be analyzed in depth. This paper tries to analyze the economic income level and the seasonal variation on the collection and the purity of light-packaging waste to determine actions to improve the waste management plan of a town. In the first stage of the work, waste samples of the light-packaging containers were collected in two zones of the town with different economic characteristics in different seasons during one year. In the second stage, the samples were characterized to analyze the composition and purity of the waste. They were firstly separated into four fractions: metals; plastic; beverage cartons; and misplaced materials. The misplaced fraction was in its turn separated into cardboard, rubber and leather, inert waste, organic matter, paper, hazardous waste, clothes and shoes, glass and others. The plastic fraction was separated into five types of plastics and the metal fraction into three. In the third stage, the data have been analyzed and conclusions have been extracted. The main result is that the quality of the light-packaging fraction collected in these zones during both seasons were similar. This methodology can be extrapolated to towns with similar characteristics. It will be useful when implementing a system to collect the waste selectively and to develop actions to achieve a good participation in the selective collection of the waste.

Quantifying High Frequency Skill and Relative Cost of Two Physics Packages for an Operational Spectral Wave Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, K. L.; Siqueira, S. A.; Rogers, W. E.

2017-12-01

Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) is one of the two phase-averaged spectral models used by the U.S. Navy for forecasting waves. The source term package available during SWAN's first validation for operational use in 2002 is referred to here as "SWAN-ST1". Since then, improvements to the source term package were implemented (SWAN-ST6). One outcome of the new package is better skill within the higher frequencies of the spectrum, where SWAN-ST1 gives non-physical response to changes in wind speed and non-physical response to presence of swell in the lower frequencies. However, SWAN-ST6 is typically 25% more expensive computationally than SWAN-ST1, so it is worthwhile to estimate its benefit to operational cases, where computation time is a primary concern. To validate SWAN-ST6 and quantify its improvement over SWAN-ST1, we apply the model to two geographic regions—the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM) and Southern California (SoCal) coasts. The NGoM case is typified by smaller fetch and smaller swell contribution. We analyze the NGoM case for a year (2010 July-2011 Aug.); and the SoCal application for summer (2016 July-Aug.) and winter (2017 Jan.-Feb.) seasons. We compare results to available buoy data. The wave parameter mean square slope (MSS) is included in this study, since it is sensitive to accuracy (or lack thereof) at higher frequencies, as it is weighted by frequency to the fourth power. Model-data comparisons for the NGoM case show little benefit to using SWAN-ST6; both models highly correlate with observations, a result attributable to a) the lack of swell and b) the fact that the shorter dominant periods in this basin imply that available buoys typically measure very little of the spectral tail (e.g. 2 to 4 times the peak frequency). Model-data comparisons for the SoCal test case show that SWAN-ST6 performs at least as well but most often better than SWAN-ST1. The improvement is almost negligible for the lower order moments, significant wave height and period, which are less sensitive to the spectral tail. However, SWAN-ST6 in the SoCal case dramatically improves the comparisons of MSS relative to SWAN-ST1. Thus, results show that, in cases where the wave climate and frequency range of buoy data permit validation of the spectral tail, skill of MSS prediction is dramatically improved with the new source term package.

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition

PubMed Central

Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Anand, Shuchi; Watkins, David; Gaziano, Thomas; Wu, Yangfeng; Mbanya, Jean Claude; Nugent, Rachel

2018-01-01

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders (CVRDs) are the leading causes of adult death worldwide, and substantial inequalities in care of patients with CVRDs exist between countries of high income and countries of low and middle income. Based on current trends, the UN Sustainable Development Goal to reduce premature mortality due to CVRDs by a third by 2030 will be challenging for many countries of low and middle income. We did systematic literature reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to identify priority interventions. We summarise the key findings and present a costed essential package of interventions to reduce risk of and manage CVRDs. On a population level, we recommend tobacco taxation, bans on trans fats, and compulsory reduction of salt in manufactured food products. We suggest primary health services be strengthened through the establishment of locally endorsed guidelines and ensured availability of essential medications. The policy interventions and health service delivery package we suggest could serve as the cornerstone for the management of CVRDs, and afford substantial financial risk protection for vulnerable households. We estimate that full implementation of the essential package would cost an additional US$21 per person in the average low-income country and $24 in the average lower-middle-income country. The essential package we describe could be a starting place for low-income and middle-income countries developing universal health coverage packages. Interventions could be rolled out as disease burden demands and budgets allow. Our outlined interventions provide a pathway for countries attempting to convert the UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments into tangible action. PMID:29108723

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, K.; Tsai, H.; Liu, Y. Y.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of today's most rapidly growing technologies in the automatic data collection industry. Although commercial applications are already widespread, the use of this technology for managing nuclear materials is only in its infancy. Employing an RFID system has the potential to offer an immense payback: enhanced safety and security, reduced need for manned surveillance, real-time access to status and event history data, and overall cost-effectiveness. The Packaging Certification Program (PCP) in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-63), is developing an RFID system for nuclearmore » materials management. The system consists of battery-powered RFID tags with onboard sensors and memories, a reader network, application software, a database server and web pages. The tags monitor and record critical parameters, including the status of seals, movement of objects, and environmental conditions of the nuclear material packages in real time. They also provide instant warnings or alarms when preset thresholds for the sensors are exceeded. The information collected by the readers is transmitted to a dedicated central database server that can be accessed by authorized users across the DOE complex via a secured network. The onboard memory of the tags allows the materials manifest and event history data to reside with the packages throughout their life cycles in storage, transportation, and disposal. Data security is currently based on Advanced Encryption Standard-256. The software provides easy-to-use graphical interfaces that allow access to all vital information once the security and privilege requirements are met. An innovative scheme has been developed for managing batteries in service for more than 10 years without needing to be changed. A miniature onboard dosimeter is being developed for applications that require radiation surveillance. A field demonstration of the RFID system was recently conducted to assess its performance. The preliminary results of the demonstration are reported in this paper.« less

An effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis of a hospital-based discharge transition program for elderly Medicare recipients.

PubMed

Saleh, Shadi S; Freire, Chris; Morris-Dickinson, Gwendolyn; Shannon, Trip

2012-06-01

To investigate the business case of postdischarge care transition (PDCT) among Medicare beneficiaries by conducting a cost-benefit analysis. Randomized controlled trial. A general hospital in upstate New York State. Elderly Medicare beneficiaries being treated from October 2008 through December 2009 were randomly selected to receive services as part of a comprehensive PDCT program (intervention--173 patients) or regular discharge process (control--160 patients) and followed for 12 months. The intervention comprised five activities: development of a patient-centered health record, a structured discharge preparation checklist of critical activities, delivery of patient self-activation and management sessions, follow-up appointments, and coordination of data flow. Cost-benefit ratio of the PDCT program; self-management skills and abilities. The 1-year readmission analysis revealed that control participants were more likely to be readmitted than intervention participants (58.2% vs 48.2%; P = .08); with most of that difference observed in the 91 to 365 days after discharge. Findings from the cost-benefit analysis revealed a cost-benefit ratio of 1.09, which indicates that, for every $1 spent on the program, a saving of $1.09 was realized. In addition, participating in a care transition program significantly enhanced self-management skills and abilities. Postdischarge care transition programs have a dual benefit of enhancing elderly adults' self-management skills and abilities and producing cost savings. This study builds a case for the inclusion of PDCT programs as a reimbursable service in benefit packages. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

27 CFR 19.596 - Marks on packages of spirits filled on bonded premises.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... filled in production or storage. Except as otherwise provided in this part, packages of spirits filled in production or storage shall be marked with: (1) The name of the producer, or his trade name as required by... spirits or, in the case of distillates removed under § 19.322, the kind of distillates such as “Grape...

27 CFR 26.79 - Inspection or gauge and computation of tax.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... shall: (a) In the case of spirits in packages, prepare a gauge record as provided in § 26.164a in... quantity of spirits described on Form 5110.51, he shall amend and initial the data in part I of the form. The revenue agent shall deliver all copies of Form 5110.51 and any accompanying package gauge record...

27 CFR 26.79 - Inspection or gauge and computation of tax.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... shall: (a) In the case of spirits in packages, prepare a gauge record as provided in § 26.164a in... quantity of spirits described on Form 5110.51, he shall amend and initial the data in part I of the form. The revenue agent shall deliver all copies of Form 5110.51 and any accompanying package gauge record...

27 CFR 26.79 - Inspection or gauge and computation of tax.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... shall: (a) In the case of spirits in packages, prepare a gauge record as provided in § 26.164a in... quantity of spirits described on Form 5110.51, he shall amend and initial the data in part I of the form. The revenue agent shall deliver all copies of Form 5110.51 and any accompanying package gauge record...

27 CFR 26.79 - Inspection or gauge and computation of tax.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... shall: (a) In the case of spirits in packages, prepare a gauge record as provided in § 26.164a in... quantity of spirits described on Form 5110.51, he shall amend and initial the data in part I of the form. The revenue agent shall deliver all copies of Form 5110.51 and any accompanying package gauge record...

27 CFR 26.79 - Inspection or gauge and computation of tax.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... shall: (a) In the case of spirits in packages, prepare a gauge record as provided in § 26.164a in... quantity of spirits described on Form 5110.51, he shall amend and initial the data in part I of the form. The revenue agent shall deliver all copies of Form 5110.51 and any accompanying package gauge record...

Evaluating the effect of the Helping Mothers Survive Bleeding after Birth (HMS BAB) training in Tanzania and Uganda: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Hanson, Claudia; Pembe, Andrea B; Alwy, Fadhlun; Atuhairwe, Susan; Leshabari, Sebalda; Morris, Jessica; Kaharuza, Frank; Marrone, Gaetano

2017-07-06

Postpartum haemorrhage complicates approximately 10% of all deliveries and contributes to at least a quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide. The competency-based Helping Mothers Survive Bleeding after Birth (HMS BAB) training was developed to support evidence-based management of postpartum haemorrhage. This one-day training includes low-cost MamaNatalie® birthing simulators and addresses both prevention and first-line treatment of haemorrhage. While evidence is accumulating that the training improves health provider's knowledge, skills and confidence, evidence is missing as to whether this translates into improved practices and reduced maternal morbidity and mortality. This cluster-randomised trial aims to assess whether this training package - involving a one-day competency-based HMS BAB in-facility training provided by certified trainers followed by 8 weeks of in-service peer-based practice - has an effect on the occurrence of haemorrhage-related morbidity and mortality. In Tanzania and Uganda we randomise 20 and 18 districts (clusters) respectively, with half receiving the training intervention. We use unblinded matched-pair randomisation to balance district health system characteristics and the main outcome, which is in-facility severe morbidity due to haemorrhage defined by the World Health Organizationation-promoted disease and management-based near-miss criteria. Data are collected continuously in the intervention and comparison districts throughout the 6-month baseline and the 9-month intervention phase, which commences after the training intervention. Trained facility midwives or clinicians review severe maternal complications to identify near misses on a daily basis. They abstract the case information from case notes and enter it onto programmed tablets where it is uploaded. Intention-to-treat analysis will be used, taking the matched design into consideration using paired t test statistics to compare the outcomes between the intervention and comparison districts. We also assess the impact pathway from the effects of the training on the health provider's skills, care and interventions and health system readiness. This trial aims to generate evidence on the effect and limitations of this well-designed training package supported by birthing simulations. While the lack of blinding of participants and data collectors provides an inevitable limitation of this trial, the additional evaluation along the pathway of implementation will provide solid evidence on the effects of this HMS BAB training package. Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, PACTR201604001582128 . Registered on 12 April 2016.

How applicable is uneven-age management in northern forest types?

Treesearch

Stanley M. Filip

1977-01-01

For the proper application and practice of uneven-age management, one must consider residual stocking, maximum tree-size objective, and diameter distribution. All three components are described, and it is shown how they fit into a practical package for application in a timber tract.

From Workstation to Teacher Support System: A Tool to Increase Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, J. Wey

1989-01-01

Describes a teacher support system which is a computer-based workstation that provides support for teachers and administrators by integrating teacher utility programs, instructional management software, administrative packages, and office automation tools. Hardware is described and software components are explained, including database managers,…

75 FR 29786 - Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-27

... plans for managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Pursuant to its authority under... of Energy (DOE) plans for managing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW... the packaging and movement of the waste, how the recent decision to terminate the Yucca Mountain...

Solid Waste Management Practices in EBRP Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Nadine L.

1994-01-01

A Louisiana school district has made tremendous progress toward developing and implementing an environmentally friendly solid waste management program. Packaging changes in school food service, newspaper and aluminum can recycling, and composting of leaf and yard waste have contributed to reduced waste sent to the local landfill. (MLF)

Archive Inventory Management System (AIMS) — A Fast, Metrics Gathering Framework for Validating and Gaining Insight from Large File-Based Data Archives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, R. V.

2018-04-01

The Archive Inventory Management System (AIMS) is a software package for understanding the distribution, characteristics, integrity, and nuances of files and directories in large file-based data archives on a continuous basis.

Streamlining ICAT development through off-the shelf hypermedia systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orey, Michael; Trent, Ann; Young, James; Sanders, Michael

1993-01-01

This project examined the efficacy of building intelligent computer assisted training using an off-the-shelf hypermedia package. In addition, we compared this package to an architecture that had been developed in a previous contract which was based in the C programming language. One person developed a tutor in LinkWay (an off-the-shelf hypermedia system) and another developed the same tutor using the ALM C-based architecture. Development times, ease of use, learner preferences, learner options, and learning effectiveness were compared. In all cases, the off-the-shelf package was shown to be superior to the C-based system.

Deterioration of ZnO/SiO2 diode packages in high humidity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, John; Wagner, Scott

1987-01-01

A case study is reported in which the ZnO/SiO2 glass used to package a power rectifier combined with the design to produce a catastropic corrosion failure of the system. Metallic Zn inclusions, present in the glass, played a critical role in creating a conductive path for corrosion currents. Actual equipment failure was the result of an open circuit trace created by corrosion. It is concluded that the presence of Zn inclusions in the glass of this type of package may result in long-term reliability problems for equipment used in high humidity environments.

Evaluation of CNT Energy Savers Retrofit Packages Implemented in Multifamily Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farley, Jenne; Ruch, Russell

This evaluation explored the feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25%-30% source energy savings through the study of three case studies. There is an urgent need to scale up energy efficiency retrofitting of Chicago's multifamily buildings in order to address rising energy costs and a rapidly depleting rental stock. Aimed at retrofit program administrators and building science professionals, this research project investigates the possibility of using prescriptive retrofit packages as a time- and resource-effective approach to the process of retrofitting multifamily buildings.

Evaluation of CNT Energy Savers Retrofit Packages Implemented in Multifamily Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farley, Jenne; Ruch, Russell

This evaluation explored the feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25%-30% source energy savings through the study of three case studies. There is an urgent need to scale up energy efficiency retrofitting of Chicago's multifamily buildings in order to address rising energy costs and a rapidly depletingrental stock. Aimed at retrofit program administrators and building science professionals, this research project investigates the possibility of using prescriptive retrofit packages as a time- and resource-effective approach to the process of retrofitting multifamily buildings.

An Analysis of Total Quality Management in Aeronautical Systems Division

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

Annual Review ..... ......... . 3-51 Disease 4: Mobility of Top Management ................... .3-52 Disease 5: Running a Company on Visible Figures...range Planning .................... 5-4 Merit Rating Systems and Annual Evaluation of Performance .. ..... ........... 5-4 Mobility of Management...generations of careful quality-conscious buyers. The indus- trial engine ran on the talents of designers, packagers, and advertisers . Turning out new

Food Management System--Daily Production Reports: General Description and Users Guide. Project SIMU-School: Dallas Component.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronshey, Raymond W.; Dunklau, M. William

This booklet describes the Daily Production Reports subsystem of the School Food Management System, a computer program package developed as one part of a family of educational management systems. The Daily Production Reports system produces two major types of reports on a daily basis. Business Analysis Reports display all food service costs, as…

Body-packing as cause of unexpected sudden death.

PubMed

Heinemann, A; Miyaishi, S; Iwersen, S; Schmoldt, A; Püschel, K

1998-03-02

Four fatalities related to smuggling of drugs by body-packing were investigated. The victims were examined at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Hamburg University between 1983 and 1995, two of them due to "sudden" unknown cause of death. All victims were male. Two of them were found already dead in a backyard and in a hotel, two other were emergency cases and died at a hospital. Smuggled substances included cocaine (two cases), heroin and amphetamine/caffeine. In all cases, the cause of death was intoxication caused by torn packages which were detected at autopsy. The maximum weight of the packet's contents was 630 g divided in 90 packages. Only one victim was apparently an intravenous drug-abuser. Hair analysis was performed in three cases and revealed in one case a difference between a concealed and a habitually consumed drug. Toxicological analysis revealed that the substances were quite pure and provided evidence that rather long survival was possible following intoxication in three cases, in two cases supported by hospital treatment in the final stage. The procedural regimen in cases of suspected body-packing is discussed.

Outcomes of Kidney Transplantations Under the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's Type Z Benefit Package at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippines.

PubMed

Pamugas, G E P; Arakama, M-H I; Danguilan, R A; Ledesma, D

2016-04-01

Under the Universal Health Care Program of the Department of Health, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) launched the Case Type Z benefit package for kidney transplantation, providing the largest amount (USD $13,300.00) for any single medical procedure. The objective of this study was to describe under the PHIC Case Type Z Benefit Package for kidney transplantation at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and kidney transplantation outcomes under this package. Included in the benefit were standard risk recipients between 10 and 70 years of age with at least 1 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DR match with the donor, panel-reactive antibody (PRA) less than 20%, and absence of donor-specific antibody (DSA). Previous transplantations, malignancy, hepatitis B and C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positivity, cytomegalovirus (CMV) R-/D+, congestive heart failure, and liver cirrhosis were exclusion criteria. Patients were evaluated by a medical social worker according to their family's financial status. Since June 2012, a total of 261 patients have received the benefit, with 44 under service, 37 with fixed co-pay and 180 with variable co-pay. Of the living donor kidney transplants, 98% had immediate graft function, with 2.3% (6/261) acute rejection rates at 1 year. The total cost of hospitalization was within the benefit for living donor kidney transplants (less than USD 8000.00) but exceeded it in all cases of deceased donor kidney transplants. The successful use of and excellent outcomes under the Case Type Z benefit demonstrated how collaboration among government agencies, health care providers, and pharmaceutical companies could result in a program that improved the access to health care for Filipino patients with end-stage renal disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accessing National Water Model Output for Research and Application: An R package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, M.; Coll, J.

2017-12-01

With the National Water Model becoming operational in August of 2016, the need for a open source way to translate a huge amount of data into actionable intelligence and innovative research is apparent. The first step in doing this is to provide a package for accessing, managing, and writing data in a way that is both interpretable, portable, and useful to the end user in both the R environment, and other applications. This can be as simple as subsetting the outputs and writing to a CSV, but can also include converting discharge output to more meaningful statistics and measurements, and methods to visualize data in ways that are meaningful to a wider audience. The NWM R package presented here aims to serve this need through a suite of functions fit for researchers, first responders, and average citizens. A vignette of how this package can be applied to real-time flood mapping will be demonstrated.

ATLAS software configuration and build tool optimisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rybkin, Grigory; Atlas Collaboration

2014-06-01

ATLAS software code base is over 6 million lines organised in about 2000 packages. It makes use of some 100 external software packages, is developed by more than 400 developers and used by more than 2500 physicists from over 200 universities and laboratories in 6 continents. To meet the challenge of configuration and building of this software, the Configuration Management Tool (CMT) is used. CMT expects each package to describe its build targets, build and environment setup parameters, dependencies on other packages in a text file called requirements, and each project (group of packages) to describe its policies and dependencies on other projects in a text project file. Based on the effective set of configuration parameters read from the requirements files of dependent packages and project files, CMT commands build the packages, generate the environment for their use, or query the packages. The main focus was on build time performance that was optimised within several approaches: reduction of the number of reads of requirements files that are now read once per package by a CMT build command that generates cached requirements files for subsequent CMT build commands; introduction of more fine-grained build parallelism at package task level, i.e., dependent applications and libraries are compiled in parallel; code optimisation of CMT commands used for build; introduction of package level build parallelism, i. e., parallelise the build of independent packages. By default, CMT launches NUMBER-OF-PROCESSORS build commands in parallel. The other focus was on CMT commands optimisation in general that made them approximately 2 times faster. CMT can generate a cached requirements file for the environment setup command, which is especially useful for deployment on distributed file systems like AFS or CERN VMFS. The use of parallelism, caching and code optimisation significantly-by several times-reduced software build time, environment setup time, increased the efficiency of multi-core computing resources utilisation, and considerably improved software developer and user experience.

USING A CONTAINMENT VESSEL LIFTING APPARATUS FOR REMOTE OPERATIONS OF SHIPPING PACKAGES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loftin, Bradley; Koenig, Richard

2013-08-08

The 9977 and the 9975 shipping packages are used in various nuclear facilities within the Department of Energy. These shipping packages are often loaded in designated areas with designs using overhead cranes or A-frames with lifting winches. However, there are cases where loading operations must be performed in remote locations where these facility infrastructures do not exist. For these locations, a lifting apparatus has been designed to lift the containment vessels partially out of the package for unloading operations to take place. Additionally, the apparatus allows for loading and closure of the containment vessel and subsequent pre-shipment testing. This papermore » will address the design of the apparatus and the challenges associated with the design, and it will describe the use of the apparatus.« less

User Participation in Coproduction of Health Innovation: Proposal for a Synergy Project

PubMed Central

Zukauskaite, Elena; Westberg, Niklas

2018-01-01

Background This project concerns advancing knowledge, methods, and logic for user participation in coproduction of health innovations. Such advancement is vital for several reasons. From a user perspective, participation in coproduction provides an opportunity to gain real influence over goal definition, design, and implementation of health innovations, ensuring that the solution developed solves real problems in right ways. From a societal perspective, it’s a mean to improve the efficiency of health care and the implementation of the Patient Act. As for industry, frameworks and knowledge of coproduction offer tools to operate in a complex sector, with great potential for innovation of services and products. Objective The fundamental objective of this project is to advance knowledge and methods of how user participation in the coproduction of health innovations can be applied in order to benefit users, industry, and public sector. Methods This project is a synergy project, which means that the objective will be accomplished through collaboration and meta-analysis between three subprojects that address different user groups, apply different strategies to promote human health, and relate to different parts of the health sector. Furthermore, subprojects focus on distinctive stages in the spectrum of innovation, with the objective to generate knowledge of the innovation process as a whole. The project is organized around three work packages related to three challenges—coproduction, positioning, and realization. Each subproject is designed such that it has its own field of study with clearly identified objectives but also targets work packages to contribute to the project as a whole. The work on the work packages will use case methodology for data collection and analysis based on the subprojects as data sources. More concretely, logic of multiple case studies will be applied with each subproject representing a separate case which is similar to each other in its attention to user participation in coproduction, but different regarding, for example, context and target groups. At the synergy level, the framework methodology will be used to handle and analyze the vast amount of information generated within the subprojects. Results The project period is from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022. Conclusions By addressing the objective of this project, we will create new knowledge on how to manage challenges to health innovation associated with the coproduction process, the positioning of solutions, and realization. PMID:29743159

Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar Series: A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting a Wasted Food Assessment with the Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging Toolkit

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This is a webinar page for the Sustainable Management of Materials (SMM) Web Academy webinar titled Let’s WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community

U.S. Air Force Application of a U.S. Army Transportation Capability Assessment Methodology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

Management Command Transportation Engineering Agency, Newport News VA, July 1986. 22. Lambert, Douglas M. and James R. Stock. Strategic Physical...Distribution Management. Homewood IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1982. 23. Mabe , Capt Richard D. and Lt Col Paul A. Reid. Syllabus and Notetaking Package LOG

Resources for Improving Principal Effectiveness. Annotated Bibliography of Packaged Training Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaddy, C. Stephen

This annotated bibliography of commercially prepared training materials for management and leadership development programs offers 10 topical sections of references applicable to school principal training. Entries were selected by using the following criteria: (1) programs dealing too specifically with management in sales, manufacturing, finance,…

The Machinery of Management: Leadership (MM2). Workforce 2000 Partnership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enterprise State Junior Coll., AL.

This curriculum package on leadership--the machinery of management for supervisors, auditors, and training instructors has been developed by the Workforce 2000 Partnership, a network of industries and educational institutions that provides training in communication, computation, and creative thinking to employees and supervisors in textile,…

The Machinery of Management: Communication III (MM1). Workforce 2000 Partnership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enterprise State Junior Coll., AL.

This curriculum package on communication--the machinery of management for supervisors, auditors, and training instructors has been developed by the Workforce 2000 Partnership, a network of industries and educational institutions that provides training in communication, computation, and creative thinking to employees and supervisors in textile,…

The Machinery of Management: Communication II (MM1). Workforce 2000 Partnership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enterprise State Junior Coll., AL.

This curriculum package on communication--the machinery of management for supervisors, auditors, and training instructors has been developed by the Workforce 2000 Partnership, a network of industries and educational institutions that provides training in communication, computation, and creative thinking to employees and supervisors in textile,…

Open Vessel Data Management (OpenVDM), Open-source Software to Assist Vessel Operators with the Task of Ship-wide Data Management.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinner, J. W., IV

2016-02-01

Data from shipboard oceanographic sensors are collected in various ASCii, binary, open and proprietary formats. Acquiring all of these formats using single, monolithic data acquisition system (DAS) can be cumbersome, complex and difficult to adapt for the ever changing suite of emerging oceanographic sensors. Another approach to the at-sea data acquisition challenge is to utilize multiple DAS software packages and corral the resulting data files with a ship-wide data management system. The Open Vessel Data Management project (OpenVDM) implements this second approach to ship-wide data management and over the last three years has successfully demonstrated it's ability to deliver a consistent cruise data package to scientists while reducing the workload placed on marine technicians. In addition to meeting the at-sea and post-cruise needs of scientists OpenVDM is helping vessel operators better adhere to the recommendations and best practices set forth by 3rd party data management and data quality groups such as R2R and SAMOS. OpenVDM also includes tools for supporting telepresence-enabled ocean research/exploration such as bandwidth-efficient ship-to-shore data transfers, shore-side data access, data visualization and near-real-time data quality tests and data statistics. OpenVDM is currently operating aboard three vessels. The R/V Endeavor, operated by the University of Rhode Island, is a regional-class UNOLS research vessel operating under the traditional NFS, P.I. driven model. The E/V Nautilus, operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust specializes in ROV-based, telepresence-enabled oceanographic research. The R/V Falkor operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute is an ocean research platform focusing on cutting-edge technology development. These three vessels all have different missions, sensor suites and operating models yet all are able to leverage OpenVDM for managing their unique datasets and delivering a more consistent cruise data package to scientists and data archives.

Considerations on the surgical treatment of Duct Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) of the breast from DRG system perspective.

PubMed

Nistor-Ciurba, Codruţ Cosmin; Cheptea, Marilena

2014-01-01

Medical services for the treatment of Duct Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) may be delivered in inpatient or outpatient care conditions. The aim of this study was to identify services recommended during patient hospitalization, and those more suitable for outpatient health care services, as well as measures to optimize the management of these cases from the reimbursement of medical services system perspective. We conducted our study on the case records of the Oncological Institute "Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuţă" Cluj-Napoca (IOCN) over a period of five years (2008-2012). Analysis of the 129 cases of patient hospitalization showed that for the mastectomies performed the mean relative value (VR) for the discharged cases was slightly greater that the referential VR stated in the reimbursement framework contract (VR for IOCN discharged case was 1.2529 vs. 1.2097 referential VR in the contract). VR for the cases discharged after hospitalization in which a local excision had been performed was 0.6778 compared to 0.5482 the referential VR from the reimbursement contract. In the same period, the entity-specific flat-rate reimbursement for local excisions varied from 539 RON to 360 RON, depending on the year. Our study concludes that the treatment of DCIS cases did not negatively influence IOCN funding. In addition, it recommends the negotiation of combined services packages for the lesions that require imaging localization.

Electronic Engineering Notebook: A software environment for research execution, documentation and dissemination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moerder, Dan

1994-01-01

The electronic engineering notebook (EEN) consists of a free form research notebook, implemented in a commercial package for distributed hypermedia, which includes utilities for graphics capture, formatting and display of LaTex constructs, and interfaces to the host operating system. The latter capability consists of an information computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool and a means to associate executable scripts with source objects. The EEN runs on Sun and HP workstations. The EEN, in day-to-day use can be used in much the same manner as the sort of research notes most researchers keep during development of projects. Graphics can be pasted in, equations can be entered via LaTex, etc. In addition, the fact that the EEN is hypermedia permits easy management of 'context', e.g., derivations and data can contain easily formed links to other supporting derivations and data. The CASE tool also permits development and maintenance of source code directly in the notebook, with access to its derivations and data.

Improving access to mental healthcare for displaced Syrians: case studies from Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

PubMed

Hughes, P; Hijazi, Z; Saeed, K

2016-11-01

The conflict in Syria has led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that extends across multiple countries in the area. Mental health services were undeveloped before and now face huge strain and unmet need. The World Health Organization and others have developed a programme to build capacity in the delivery of mental health services in an integrated healthcare package to refugees and displaced people. The tool used for this is the mhGAP Intervention Guide and complementary materials. In this paper we refer to training in Turkey, Iraq and Syria where health professionals were trained to roll out this community-based integrated approach through primary healthcare. We describe field case examples that show the complexity of situations that face refugees, displaced people and those caught in active conflict. Training improved the knowledge and skills for managing mental health disorders in primary healthcare. Further work needs to be done to demonstrate greater access to and utilisation of services, client outcomes and organisational change with this approach.

Tetanus remains a formidable health challenge in Nigeria: The experience from a single Teaching Hospital in Osun State, Nigeria.

PubMed

Mustapha, A F; Eegunranti, B A; Fawale, Mb B

2015-01-01

Tetanus, though an eminently preventable disease still ranks as a leading cause of death in Nigeria as well as in other developing countries. Reported mortality for severe tetanus varies from 20-60% and depends on the availability and quality of intensive care. Farmers and artisans are mostly affected. This retrospective study was carried out to determine the pattern of clinical presentation of tetanus, the immunization status, case fatality rate and factors influencing mortality. Case notes of patients (age > 10 and above) managed for tetanus from 2004-2008 at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Osogbo were retrieved. Demographic, clinical data, laboratory investigation results and response to treatment were collated. The data obtained were analysed using the SPSS version 15 Statistical package. Over the 5-year period,80 cases of tetanus were managed in the medical wards of LAUTECH Hospital Teaching Osogbo. However, the medical records of 12 of them could not be retrieved, leaving 68(85%) for analysis. This comprised of 45 males and 23 females. Tetanus was highest in the third decade of life. The commonest portal of entry was the lower limb (n = 43). Only one subject was fully vaccinated and received booster dose of vaccine. Thirty-one (31)out of the 68 patients died giving a case fatality rate of 51.5%. The mortality of tetanus is still very high from this retrospective study. The rate of immunization against tetanus was dismally low. Active immunization should be given to all Nigerians particularly those in the vulnerable group.

NASA Earth Resources Survey Symposium. Volume 1-A: Agriculture, environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

A number of papers dealing with the practical application of imagery obtained from remote sensors on LANDSAT satellites, the Skylab Earth resources experiment package, and aircraft to problems in agriculture and the environment were presented. Some of the more important topics that were covered included: range management and resources, environmental monitoring and management, crop growth and inventory, land management, multispectral band scanners, forest management, mapping, marshlands, strip mining, water quality and pollution, ecology.

Highly Integrated Quality Assurance – An Empirical Case

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Drake Kirkham; Amy Powell; Lucas Rich

2011-02-01

Highly Integrated Quality Assurance – An Empirical Case Drake Kirkham1, Amy Powell2, Lucas Rich3 1Quality Manager, Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program, Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625 M/S 6122, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-6122 2Quality Engineer, RPS Program, Idaho National Laboratory 3Quality Engineer, RPS Program, Idaho National Laboratory Contact: Voice: (208) 533-7550 Email: Drake.Kirkham@inl.gov Abstract. The Radioisotope Power Systems Program of the Idaho National Laboratory makes an empirical case for a highly integrated Quality Assurance function pertaining to the preparation, assembly, testing, storage and transportation of 238Pu fueled radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Case data represents multiple campaigns including the Pluto/New Horizons mission,more » the Mars Science Laboratory mission in progress, and other related projects. Traditional Quality Assurance models would attempt to reduce cost by minimizing the role of dedicated Quality Assurance personnel in favor of either functional tasking or peer-based implementations. Highly integrated Quality Assurance adds value by placing trained quality inspectors on the production floor side-by-side with nuclear facility operators to enhance team dynamics, reduce inspection wait time, and provide for immediate, independent feedback. Value is also added by maintaining dedicated Quality Engineers to provide for rapid identification and resolution of corrective action, enhanced and expedited supply chain interfaces, improved bonded storage capabilities, and technical resources for requirements management including data package development and Certificates of Inspection. A broad examination of cost-benefit indicates highly integrated Quality Assurance can reduce cost through the mitigation of risk and reducing administrative burden thereby allowing engineers to be engineers, nuclear operators to be nuclear operators, and the cross-functional team to operate more efficiently. Applicability of this case extends to any high-value, long-term project where traceability and accountability are determining factors.« less

An Analysis of Computer Aided Design (CAD) Packages Used at MSFC for the Recent Initiative to Integrate Engineering Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Leigh M.; Parker, Nelson C. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper analyzes the use of Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It examines the effectiveness of recent efforts to standardize CAD practices across MSFC engineering activities. An assessment of the roles played by management, designers, analysts, and manufacturers in this initiative will be explored. Finally, solutions are presented for better integration of CAD across MSFC in the future.

Case management of patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional survey in Chongqing, China.

PubMed

He, Miao; Gao, Jiaqi; Liu, Weiwei; Tang, Xiaojun; Tang, Shenglan; Long, Qian

2017-02-11

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been identified as one of the priority diseases and included in the essential public health service package in China. This study investigated the frequency of follow-up visits and contents of care for case management of patients with Type 2 diabetes in Chongqing located in the western China, in terms of the regional practice guideline; and analyzed factors associated with the use of care. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in two areas in Chongqing. Total 502 participants (out of 664 people eligible) completed the interview. The outcome measures included at least four follow-up visits in a year, annual HbA1c test, blood lipid test and diabetic screening for nephropathy and eyes. Logistic regression analysis was applied to examine the association between participants' demographic and socio-economic characteristics and outcome measures. Over the one-year study period, 65% of participants had four or more follow-up visits. In light of the recommended tests, the proportions of having HbA1c test, blood lipid test and screening for nephropathy and eyes annually were 8, 54, 45 and 44%, respectively. After adjusting for study sites, age, sex, education, type of residence, level of income, the patients who were covered by Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, were enrolled in the targeted disease reimbursement program, and lived with diabetes more than five years were more likely to have regular follow-up visits and the recommended tests. Case management for patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus was not effectively implemented in terms of frequency of follow-up visits and recommended tests over one-year period, as indicated in the regional practice guideline.

Advances in LED packaging and thermal management materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zweben, Carl

2008-02-01

Heat dissipation, thermal stresses and cost are key light-emitting diode (LED) packaging issues. Heat dissipation limits power levels. Thermal stresses affect performance and reliability. Copper, aluminum and conventional polymeric printed circuit boards (PCBs) have high coefficients of thermal expansion, which can cause high thermal stresses. Most traditional low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials like tungsten/copper, which date from the mid 20th century, have thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. An OIDA LED workshop cited a need for better thermal materials. There are an increasing number of low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between that of copper (400 W/m-K) and 1700 W/m-K, and many other low-CTE materials with lower thermal conductivities. Some of these materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high-volume production. High-thermal-conductivity materials enable higher power levels, potentially reducing the number of required LEDs. Advanced thermal materials can constrain PCB CTE and greatly increase thermal conductivity. This paper reviews traditional packaging materials and advanced thermal management materials. The latter provide the packaging engineer with a greater range of options than in the past. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost, using advanced materials to fix manufacturing problems, and future directions, including composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and other thermally conductive materials.

Data Management as a Cluster Middleware Centerpiece

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zero, Jose; McNab, David; Sawyer, William; Cheung, Samson; Duffy, Daniel; Rood, Richard; Webster, Phil; Palm, Nancy; Salmon, Ellen; Schardt, Tom

2004-01-01

Through earth and space modeling and the ongoing launches of satellites to gather data, NASA has become one of the largest producers of data in the world. These large data sets necessitated the creation of a Data Management System (DMS) to assist both the users and the administrators of the data. Halcyon Systems Inc. was contracted by the NASA Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) to produce a Data Management System. The prototype of the DMS was produced by Halcyon Systems Inc. (Halcyon) for the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The system, which was implemented and deployed within a relatively short period of time, has proven to be highly reliable and deployable. Following the prototype deployment, Halcyon was contacted by the NCCS to produce a production DMS version for their user community. The system is composed of several existing open source or government-sponsored components such as the San Diego Supercomputer Center s (SDSC) Storage Resource Broker (SRB), the Distributed Oceanographic Data System (DODS), and other components. Since Data Management is one of the foremost problems in cluster computing, the final package not only extends its capabilities as a Data Management System, but also to a cluster management system. This Cluster/Data Management System (CDMS) can be envisioned as the integration of existing packages.

PR Students, Teachers Welcome Corporate Case Study Packages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broom, Glen M.; Ferguson-De Thorne, Mary Ann

1978-01-01

Reports on an actual public relations problem that was used to introduce students to the practice of corporate public relations. Shows both positive and negative reaction to use of the case study in college classes. (RL)

Bonneville Power Administration Transmission System Vegetation Management Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N /A

Bonneville is responsible for maintaining a network of 24,000 kilometers (km) or 15,000 miles (mi.) of electric transmission lines and 350 substations in a region of diverse vegetation. This vegetation can interfere with electric power flow, pose safety problems for us and the public, and interfere with our ability to maintain these facilities. We need to (1) keep vegetation away from the electric facilities; (2) increase the program efficiency and consistency; (3) review herbicide use (under increased public scrutiny); and (4) maximize the range of tools we can use while minimizing environmental impact (Integrated Vegetation Management). This DEIS establishes Planningmore » Steps for managing vegetation for specific projects (to be tiered to this EIS). In addition to No Action (current practice), alternatives are presented for Rights-of-way, Electric Yards, and Non-electric Facilities (landscaping, work yards). Four vegetation control methods are analyzed: manual, mechanical, herbicide, and biological. Also evaluated are 24 herbicide active ingredients and 4 herbicide application techniques (spot, localized, broadcast, and aerial). For rights-of-way, they consider three sets of alternatives: alternative management approaches (time-driven or establishing low-growing plant communities); alternative method packages; and, if herbicides are in a methods package, alternative vegetation selections (noxious weeds, deciduous, or any vegetation). For electric yards, one herbicide-use alternative is considered. For non-electric facilities, two method package alternatives are considered. For rights-of-way, the environmentally preferred alternative(s) would use manual, mechanical, and biological control methods, as well as spot and localized herbicide applications for noxious and deciduous plant species; the BPA-preferred alternative(s) would add broadcast and aerial herbicide applications, and would use herbicides on any vegetation. Both would factor a management approach that fosters low-growing plant communities.« less

TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS IN USING FREIGHT CONTAINERS AS INDUSTRIAL PACKAGES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Opperman, E; Mark Hawk, M; Ron Natali, R

2007-10-16

The United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM), is actively pursuing activities to reduce the radiological risk and clean up the environmental legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons programs. EM has made significant progress in recent years in the clean-up and closure of sites and is also focusing on longer-term activities necessary for the completion of the clean-up program. The packaging and transportation of contaminated demolition debris and low-level waste (LLW) materials in a safe and cost-effective manner are essential in completing this mission. Toward this end, the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) Final Rulemore » on Hazardous Materials Regulation Final Rule issued January 26, 2004, included a new provision authorizing the use of Freight Containers (e.g., 20 and 40-foot ISO Containers) as Industrial Packages Type 1, 2, or 3 (IP-1, IP-2, and IP-3). This paper will discuss the technical and regulatory considerations in using these newly authorized and large packages for the packaging and transportation of LLW materials.« less

A Classroom of Polymer Factories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Mary E.; Van Natta, Sandra

1998-01-01

Provides an activity in which students create small classroom factories and investigate several aspects of production including design, engineering, quality control, waste management, packaging, shipment, and communication. (DDR)

How much flower-rich habitat is enough for wild pollinators? Answering a key policy question with incomplete knowledge.

PubMed

Dicks, Lynn V; Baude, Mathilde; Roberts, Stuart P M; Phillips, James; Green, Mike; Carvell, Claire

2015-09-01

In 2013, an opportunity arose in England to develop an agri-environment package for wild pollinators, as part of the new Countryside Stewardship scheme launched in 2015. It can be understood as a 'policy window', a rare and time-limited opportunity to change policy, supported by a narrative about pollinator decline and widely supported mitigating actions. An agri-environment package is a bundle of management options that together supply sufficient resources to support a target group of species. This paper documents information that was available at the time to develop such a package for wild pollinators. Four questions needed answering: (1) Which pollinator species should be targeted? (2) Which resources limit these species in farmland? (3) Which management options provide these resources? (4) What area of each option is needed to support populations of the target species? Focussing on wild bees, we provide tentative answers that were used to inform development of the package. There is strong evidence that floral resources can limit wild bee populations, and several sources of evidence identify a set of agri-environment options that provide flowers and other resources for pollinators. The final question could only be answered for floral resources, with a wide range of uncertainty. We show that the areas of some floral resource options in the basic Wild Pollinator and Farmland Wildlife Package (2% flower-rich habitat and 1 km flowering hedgerow), are sufficient to supply a set of six common pollinator species with enough pollen to feed their larvae at lowest estimates, using minimum values for estimated parameters where a range was available. We identify key sources of uncertainty, and stress the importance of keeping the Package flexible, so it can be revised as new evidence emerges about how to achieve the policy aim of supporting pollinators on farmland.

A comparison of six software packages for evaluation of solid lung nodules using semi-automated volumetry: what is the minimum increase in size to detect growth in repeated CT examinations.

PubMed

de Hoop, Bartjan; Gietema, Hester; van Ginneken, Bram; Zanen, Pieter; Groenewegen, Gerard; Prokop, Mathias

2009-04-01

We compared interexamination variability of CT lung nodule volumetry with six currently available semi-automated software packages to determine the minimum change needed to detect the growth of solid lung nodules. We had ethics committee approval. To simulate a follow-up examination with zero growth, we performed two low-dose unenhanced CT scans in 20 patients referred for pulmonary metastases. Between examinations, patients got off and on the table. Volumes of all pulmonary nodules were determined on both examinations using six nodule evaluation software packages. Variability (upper limit of the 95% confidence interval of the Bland-Altman plot) was calculated for nodules for which segmentation was visually rated as adequate. We evaluated 214 nodules (mean diameter 10.9 mm, range 3.3 mm-30.0 mm). Software packages provided adequate segmentation in 71% to 86% of nodules (p < 0.001). In case of adequate segmentation, variability in volumetry between scans ranged from 16.4% to 22.3% for the various software packages. Variability with five to six software packages was significantly less for nodules >or=8 mm in diameter (range 12.9%-17.1%) than for nodules <8 mm (range 18.5%-25.6%). Segmented volumes of each package were compared to each of the other packages. Systematic volume differences were detected in 11/15 comparisons. This hampers comparison of nodule volumes between software packages.

Radar Unix: a complete package for GPR data processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grandjean, Gilles; Durand, Herve

1999-03-01

A complete package for ground penetrating radar data interpretation including data processing, forward modeling and a case history database consultation is presented. Running on an Unix operating system, its architecture consists of a graphical user interface generating batch files transmitted to a library of processing routines. This design allows a better software maintenance and the possibility for the user to run processing or modeling batch files by itself and differed in time. A case history data base is available and consists of an hypertext document which can be consulted by using a standard HTML browser. All the software specifications are presented through a realistic example.

SPOTting Model Parameters Using a Ready-Made Python Package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houska, Tobias; Kraft, Philipp; Chamorro-Chavez, Alejandro; Breuer, Lutz

2017-04-01

The choice for specific parameter estimation methods is often more dependent on its availability than its performance. We developed SPOTPY (Statistical Parameter Optimization Tool), an open source python package containing a comprehensive set of methods typically used to calibrate, analyze and optimize parameters for a wide range of ecological models. SPOTPY currently contains eight widely used algorithms, 11 objective functions, and can sample from eight parameter distributions. SPOTPY has a model-independent structure and can be run in parallel from the workstation to large computation clusters using the Message Passing Interface (MPI). We tested SPOTPY in five different case studies to parameterize the Rosenbrock, Griewank and Ackley functions, a one-dimensional physically based soil moisture routine, where we searched for parameters of the van Genuchten-Mualem function and a calibration of a biogeochemistry model with different objective functions. The case studies reveal that the implemented SPOTPY methods can be used for any model with just a minimal amount of code for maximal power of parameter optimization. They further show the benefit of having one package at hand that includes number of well performing parameter search methods, since not every case study can be solved sufficiently with every algorithm or every objective function.

SPOTting Model Parameters Using a Ready-Made Python Package.

PubMed

Houska, Tobias; Kraft, Philipp; Chamorro-Chavez, Alejandro; Breuer, Lutz

2015-01-01

The choice for specific parameter estimation methods is often more dependent on its availability than its performance. We developed SPOTPY (Statistical Parameter Optimization Tool), an open source python package containing a comprehensive set of methods typically used to calibrate, analyze and optimize parameters for a wide range of ecological models. SPOTPY currently contains eight widely used algorithms, 11 objective functions, and can sample from eight parameter distributions. SPOTPY has a model-independent structure and can be run in parallel from the workstation to large computation clusters using the Message Passing Interface (MPI). We tested SPOTPY in five different case studies to parameterize the Rosenbrock, Griewank and Ackley functions, a one-dimensional physically based soil moisture routine, where we searched for parameters of the van Genuchten-Mualem function and a calibration of a biogeochemistry model with different objective functions. The case studies reveal that the implemented SPOTPY methods can be used for any model with just a minimal amount of code for maximal power of parameter optimization. They further show the benefit of having one package at hand that includes number of well performing parameter search methods, since not every case study can be solved sufficiently with every algorithm or every objective function.

SPOTting Model Parameters Using a Ready-Made Python Package

PubMed Central

Houska, Tobias; Kraft, Philipp; Chamorro-Chavez, Alejandro; Breuer, Lutz

2015-01-01

The choice for specific parameter estimation methods is often more dependent on its availability than its performance. We developed SPOTPY (Statistical Parameter Optimization Tool), an open source python package containing a comprehensive set of methods typically used to calibrate, analyze and optimize parameters for a wide range of ecological models. SPOTPY currently contains eight widely used algorithms, 11 objective functions, and can sample from eight parameter distributions. SPOTPY has a model-independent structure and can be run in parallel from the workstation to large computation clusters using the Message Passing Interface (MPI). We tested SPOTPY in five different case studies to parameterize the Rosenbrock, Griewank and Ackley functions, a one-dimensional physically based soil moisture routine, where we searched for parameters of the van Genuchten-Mualem function and a calibration of a biogeochemistry model with different objective functions. The case studies reveal that the implemented SPOTPY methods can be used for any model with just a minimal amount of code for maximal power of parameter optimization. They further show the benefit of having one package at hand that includes number of well performing parameter search methods, since not every case study can be solved sufficiently with every algorithm or every objective function. PMID:26680783

Instructional System Design for Executive Orientation and Project Management Training Packages, Technical Memorandum No. 3. Interim Report. RF Project No. 3131-A1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Desmond L.; And Others

This memorandum reports on the third phase, the design, of a four-phase project to design project management training materials for local educational agencies. The first section of the memorandum explains some considerations regarding management education and the organization of the report. Section 2 presents the design specifications for the…

Waste management under a life cycle approach as a tool for a circular economy in the canned anchovy industry.

PubMed

Laso, J; Margallo, M; Celaya, J; Fullana, P; Bala, A; Gazulla, C; Irabien, A; Aldaco, R

2016-08-01

The anchovy canning industry has high importance in the Cantabria Region (North Spain) from economic, social and touristic points of view. The Cantabrian canned anchovy is world-renowned owing to its handmade and traditional manufacture. The canning process generates huge amounts of several food wastes, whose suitable management can contribute to benefits for both the environment and the economy, closing the loop of the product life cycle. Life cycle assessment methodology was used in this work to assess the environmental performance of two waste management alternatives: Head and spine valorisation to produce fishmeal and fish oil; and anchovy meat valorisation to produce anchovy paste. Fuel oil production has been a hotspot of the valorisation of heads and spines, so several improvements should be applied. With respect to anchovy meat valorisation, the production of polypropylene and glass for packaging was the least environmentally friendly aspect of the process. Furthermore, the environmental characterisation of anchovy waste valorisation was compared with incineration and landfilling alternatives. In both cases, the valorisation management options were the best owing to the avoided burdens associated with the processes. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the circular economy in the Cantabrian canned anchovy industry. © The Author(s) 2016.

Determination of perfluorocompounds in popcorn packaging by pressurised liquid extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Martínez-Moral, María Pilar; Tena, María Teresa

2012-11-15

The development and characterisation of a method based on reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to a quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF-MS) with negative electrospray ionisation (ESI) to determine perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in packaging is presented in this paper. Analytes were quantitatively recovered from packaging with methanol in only one PLE cycle of 6 min at 100 °C. The UPLC allowed the successful separation of the studied PFCs in less than 4 min. The whole method presented good precision, with RSDs below 8%, LODs from 0.6 to 16 ng g(-1); and excellent recovery values, around 100% in all cases, were achieved. The PLE-UPLC-MS method was applied to the analysis of popcorn packaging for microwave cooking. Besides the most commonly studied PFCs: PFOA and PFOS, the presence of other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) in popcorn packaging is evidenced in this work. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery

DOE PAGES

Stolaroff, Joshuah K.; Samaras, Constantine; O'Neill, Emma R.; ...

2018-02-13

Here, the use of automated, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to deliver commercial packages is poised to become a new industry, significantly shifting energy use in the freight sector. Here we find the current practical range of multi-copters to be about 4 km with current battery technology, requiring a new network of urban warehouses or waystations as support. We show that, although drones consume less energy per package-km than delivery trucks, the additional warehouse energy required and the longer distances traveled by drones per package greatly increase the life-cycle impacts. Still, in most cases examined, the impacts of package delivery bymore » small drone are lower than ground-based delivery. Results suggest that, if carefully deployed, drone-based delivery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use in the freight sector. To realize the environmental benefits of drone delivery, regulators and firms should focus on minimizing extra warehousing and limiting the size of drones.« less

Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stolaroff, Joshuah K.; Samaras, Constantine; O'Neill, Emma R.

Here, the use of automated, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to deliver commercial packages is poised to become a new industry, significantly shifting energy use in the freight sector. Here we find the current practical range of multi-copters to be about 4 km with current battery technology, requiring a new network of urban warehouses or waystations as support. We show that, although drones consume less energy per package-km than delivery trucks, the additional warehouse energy required and the longer distances traveled by drones per package greatly increase the life-cycle impacts. Still, in most cases examined, the impacts of package delivery bymore » small drone are lower than ground-based delivery. Results suggest that, if carefully deployed, drone-based delivery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use in the freight sector. To realize the environmental benefits of drone delivery, regulators and firms should focus on minimizing extra warehousing and limiting the size of drones.« less

Energy use and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of drones for commercial package delivery.

PubMed

Stolaroff, Joshuah K; Samaras, Constantine; O'Neill, Emma R; Lubers, Alia; Mitchell, Alexandra S; Ceperley, Daniel

2018-02-13

The use of automated, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to deliver commercial packages is poised to become a new industry, significantly shifting energy use in the freight sector. Here we find the current practical range of multi-copters to be about 4 km with current battery technology, requiring a new network of urban warehouses or waystations as support. We show that, although drones consume less energy per package-km than delivery trucks, the additional warehouse energy required and the longer distances traveled by drones per package greatly increase the life-cycle impacts. Still, in most cases examined, the impacts of package delivery by small drone are lower than ground-based delivery. Results suggest that, if carefully deployed, drone-based delivery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use in the freight sector. To realize the environmental benefits of drone delivery, regulators and firms should focus on minimizing extra warehousing and limiting the size of drones.

A geometry package for generation of input data for a three-dimensional potential-flow program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halsey, N. D.; Hess, J. L.

1978-01-01

The preparation of geometric data for input to three-dimensional potential flow programs was automated and simplified by a geometry package incorporated into the NASA Langley version of the 3-D lifting potential flow program. Input to the computer program for the geometry package consists of a very sparse set of coordinate data, often with an order of magnitude of fewer points than required for the actual potential flow calculations. Isolated components, such as wings, fuselages, etc. are paneled automatically, using one of several possible element distribution algorithms. Curves of intersection between components are calculated, using a hybrid curve-fit/surface-fit approach. Intersecting components are repaneled so that adjacent elements on either side of the intersection curves line up in a satisfactory manner for the potential-flow calculations. Many cases may be run completely (from input, through the geometry package, and through the flow calculations) without interruption. Use of the package significantly reduces the time and expense involved in making three-dimensional potential flow calculations.

12 CFR 7.5007 - Correspondent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... provision of computer networking packages and related hardware; (b) Data processing services; (c) The sale of software that performs data processing functions; (d) The development, operation, management, and...

12 CFR 7.5007 - Correspondent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... provision of computer networking packages and related hardware; (b) Data processing services; (c) The sale of software that performs data processing functions; (d) The development, operation, management, and...

12 CFR 7.5007 - Correspondent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... provision of computer networking packages and related hardware; (b) Data processing services; (c) The sale of software that performs data processing functions; (d) The development, operation, management, and...

12 CFR 7.5007 - Correspondent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... provision of computer networking packages and related hardware; (b) Data processing services; (c) The sale of software that performs data processing functions; (d) The development, operation, management, and...

Fostering food security in areas of extreme poverty through Integrated Farm Management: the case of Burundi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessler, Aad; van Duivenbooden, Niek; van Beek, Christy

2014-05-01

Extreme poverty in Burundi's rural area and tensions between families with limited access to arable land hinder development towards a more stable and peaceful society. Due to these tensions and a rapid population growth, agricultural land is currently subject to increased degradation and low agricultural productivity. A whole range of other limiting factors contributes to this, such as: poor seed quality, poor nutrient management combined with low soil fertility, inadequate agronomic practices, pests and crop diseases, poorly developed supply chains, health problems, difficult access to credit, and insecurity. Solving one of these problems will not solve the chain that eventually leads to low food production; it will simply move the emphasis to the next constraining factor. An integrated rural development approach is therefore required to break this vicious circle. The project Fanning the Spark, a Public-Private-Partnership between Achmea Foundation, Alterra of Wageningen University and Research Centre, and HealthNet-TPO in Burundi started in September 2013 with an intervention in several rural villages in Gitega. The project's objective is to increase food production at village level, by means of investments in crop production, a family (income) insurance package that protects rural families against the financial consequences of catastrophic events (natural and health) and making micro-credits available. This will enhance farmers' workability and generate income from agricultural activities in order to break the poverty cycle and enhance food security. The insurance package comprises agricultural and health insurances, and will be jointly implemented with the sustainable agriculture component. The latter component focuses on Integrated Farm Management and the use of innovative soil management practices. Farmer-to-farmer training and scaling-up are crucial components, and in the first phase of the project "innovative farmer groups" have a central role in the project. Each innovative farmer formulates and implements an Integrated Farm Management plan. This is a tool for farmers to plan, reflect and learn about sustainable land management, and particularly about the integration of all farm activities and how these contribute together to enhanced food security. Activities considered in these Integrated Farm Management plans are related to agriculture, livestock, infrastructure, agroforestry, soil conservation and training. The first results of the acceptance and impact of the strategy are now available, and in the next phase all innovative farmers will implement their plans and train fellow farmers to start planning their own Integrated Farm Management.

Effects of retail style or food service style packaging type and storage time on sensory characteristics of bacon manufactured from commercially sourced pork bellies.

PubMed

Lowe, B K; Bohrer, B M; Holmer, S F; Boler, D D; Dilger, A C

2014-06-01

Objectives were to characterize differences in pork bellies that were stored frozen for different durations prior to processing and characterize sensory properties of the bacon derived from those bellies when stored in either retail or food service style packaging. Bellies (n = 102) were collected from 4 different time periods, fresh bellies (never frozen) and bellies frozen for 2, 5, or 7 mo, and manufactured into bacon under commercial conditions. Food service bacon was packaged in oxygen-permeable polyvinyl lined boxes layered on wax-covered lined paper and blast frozen (-33 °C) for 45 or 90 d after slicing. Retail bacon was vacuum-packaged in retail packages and refrigerated (2 °C) in the dark for 60 or 120 d after slicing. At the end of respective storage times after slicing, bacon was analyzed for sensory attributes and lipid oxidation. Off-flavor and oxidized odor of bacon increased (P < 0.01) with increasing storage time in both packaging types. Lipid oxidation increased (P < 0.01) as storage time increased from day 0 to day 45 in food service packaged bacon from frozen bellies, but was unchanged (P ≥ 0.07) with time in food service packaged bacon from fresh bellies. Lipid oxidation was also unchanged (P ≥ 0.21) over time in retail packaged bacon, with the exception of bellies frozen for 5 mo, which was increased from day 0 to day 90. Overall, off-flavor, oxidized odor, and lipid oxidation increased as storage time after processing increased. Freezing bellies before processing may exacerbate lipid oxidation as storage time after processing was extended. Bacon can be packaged and managed several different ways before it reaches the consumer. This research simulated food service (frozen) and retail packaged (refrigerated) bacon over a range of storage times after slicing. Off-flavor and oxidized odor increased as storage time after processing increased in both packaging types. Lipid oxidation increased as storage time after slicing increased to a greater extent in food service packaging. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

Experimental study of a passive thermal management system for high-powered lithium ion batteries using porous metal foam saturated with phase change materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, W. Q.; Qu, Z. G.; He, Y. L.; Tao, Y. B.

2014-06-01

A highly efficient thermal strategy to manage a high-powered Li-ion battery package within the required safe temperature range is of great demand for electric vehicles (EVs) applications. A sandwiched cooling structure using copper metal foam saturated with phase change materials was designed. The thermal efficiency of the system was experimentally evaluated and compared with two control cases: a cooling mode with pure phase change materials and an air-cooling mode. The results showed that the thermal management with air natural convection cannot fulfill the safety demand of the Li-ion battery. The use of pure PCM can dramatically reduce the surface temperature and maintain the temperature within an allowable range due to the latent heat absorption and the natural convection of the melted PCM during the melting process. The foam-paraffin composite further reduced the battery's surface temperature and improved the uniformity of the temperature distribution caused by the improvement of the effective thermal conductivity. Additionally, the battery surface temperature increased with an increase in the porosity and the pore density of the metal foam.

Calibrated models as management tools for stream-aquifer systems: the case of central Kansas, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sophocleous, Marios; Perkins, Samuel P.

1993-12-01

We address the problem of declining streamflows in interconnected stream-aquifer systems and explore possible management options to address the problem for two areas of central Kansas: the Arkansas River valley from Kinsley to Great Bend and the lower Rattlesnake Creek-Quivira National Wildlife Refuge area. The approach we followed implements, calibrates, and partially validates for the study areas a stream-aquifer numerical model combined with a parameter estimation package and sensitivity analysis. Hydrologic budgets for both predevelopment and developed conditions indicate significant differences in the hydrologic components of the study areas resulting from development. The predevelopment water budgets give an estimate of natural ground-water recharge, whereas the budgets for developed conditions give an estimate of induced recharge, indicating that major ground-water development changes the recharge-discharge regime of the model areas with time. Such stream-aquifer models serve to link proposed actions to hydrologic effects, as is clearly demonstrated by the effects of various management alternatives on the streamflows of the Arkansas River and Rattlesnake Creek. Thus we show that a possible means of restoring specified streamflows in the area is to implement protective stream corridors with restricted ground-water extraction.

Development and use of mathematical models and software frameworks for integrated analysis of agricultural systems and associated water use impacts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fowler, K. R.; Jenkins, E.W.; Parno, M.; Chrispell, J.C.; Colón, A. I.; Hanson, Randall T.

2016-01-01

The development of appropriate water management strategies requires, in part, a methodology for quantifying and evaluating the impact of water policy decisions on regional stakeholders. In this work, we describe the framework we are developing to enhance the body of resources available to policy makers, farmers, and other community members in their e orts to understand, quantify, and assess the often competing objectives water consumers have with respect to usage. The foundation for the framework is the construction of a simulation-based optimization software tool using two existing software packages. In particular, we couple a robust optimization software suite (DAKOTA) with the USGS MF-OWHM water management simulation tool to provide a flexible software environment that will enable the evaluation of one or multiple (possibly competing) user-defined (or stakeholder) objectives. We introduce the individual software components and outline the communication strategy we defined for the coupled development. We present numerical results for case studies related to crop portfolio management with several defined objectives. The objectives are not optimally satisfied for any single user class, demonstrating the capability of the software tool to aid in the evaluation of a variety of competing interests.

Calibrated models as management tools for stream-aquifer systems: the case of central Kansas, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sophocleous, M.; Perkins, S.P.

1993-01-01

We address the problem of declining streamflows in interconnected stream-aquifer systems and explore possible management options to address the problem for two areas of central Kansas: the Arkansas River valley from Kinsley to Great Bend and the lower Rattlesnake Creek-Quivira National Wildlife Refuge area. The approach we followed implements, calibrates, and partially validates for the study areas a stream-aquifer numerical model combined with a parameter estimation package and sensitivity analysis. Hydrologic budgets for both predevelopment and developed conditions indicate significant differences in the hydrologic components of the study areas resulting from development. The predevelopment water budgets give an estimate of natural ground-water recharge, whereas the budgets for developed conditions give an estimate of induced recharge, indicating that major ground-water development changes the recharge-discharge regime of the model areas with time. Such stream-aquifer models serve to link proposed actions to hydrologic effects, as is clearly demonstrated by the effects of various management alternatives on the streamflows of the Arkansas River and Rattlesnake Creek. Thus we show that a possible means of restoring specified streamflows in the area is to implement protective stream corridors with restricted ground-water extraction. ?? 1993.

Effect of Community-based Behavior Change Communication on Delivery and Newborn Health Care Practices in a Resettlement Colony of Delhi.

PubMed

Parashar, Mamta; Singh, Sv; Kishore, Jugal; Kumar, Ajay; Bhardwaj, Milan

2013-01-01

Neonatal morbidity and mortality in India continue to be high. Among other reasons, newborn care practices are major contributors for such high rates. To assess the effect of behavior change communication (BCC) package among pregnant women regarding neonatal care. Semistructured and pretested schedule was used to interview 200 multigravidas on various aspects of neonatal care. Based on the preliminary data, BCC package was designed and implemented in intervention block in the community. Follow-up was done to find out change in their behavior. Data were analyzed using Epi info and Fischer exact test and chi-square test were applied in the baseline data. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Effect of the BCC package is given in terms of relative risk. BCC package increased 1.76 times higher number of deliveries conducted by trained dais in intervention group. There was significant improvement in using sterile cord tie (P = 0.01), applied nothing to the cord (P < 0.0001) and giving bath to their baby within 6 h of birth (P = 0.02) in intervention group as compared to nonintervention group. Significant difference was found between the two groups with regard to breastfeeding practices of baby. Harmful practices were reduced in the intervention group. Significant improvement was found in intervention group as compared to nonintervention group with regard to knowledge of danger signals, physiological variants, management of breastfeeding-related problems, and awareness of skin-to-skin technique for the management of hypothermic baby. Inadequate knowledge and adverse practices regarding neonatal care among mothers in study areas were found. BCC package had favorable impact on behavior of mothers for neonatal care in intervention group.

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition.

PubMed

Prabhakaran, Dorairaj; Anand, Shuchi; Watkins, David; Gaziano, Thomas; Wu, Yangfeng; Mbanya, Jean Claude; Nugent, Rachel

2018-03-24

Cardiovascular, respiratory, and related disorders (CVRDs) are the leading causes of adult death worldwide, and substantial inequalities in care of patients with CVRDs exist between countries of high income and countries of low and middle income. Based on current trends, the UN Sustainable Development Goal to reduce premature mortality due to CVRDs by a third by 2030 will be challenging for many countries of low and middle income. We did systematic literature reviews of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to identify priority interventions. We summarise the key findings and present a costed essential package of interventions to reduce risk of and manage CVRDs. On a population level, we recommend tobacco taxation, bans on trans fats, and compulsory reduction of salt in manufactured food products. We suggest primary health services be strengthened through the establishment of locally endorsed guidelines and ensured availability of essential medications. The policy interventions and health service delivery package we suggest could serve as the cornerstone for the management of CVRDs, and afford substantial financial risk protection for vulnerable households. We estimate that full implementation of the essential package would cost an additional US$21 per person in the average low-income country and $24 in the average lower-middle-income country. The essential package we describe could be a starting place for low-income and middle-income countries developing universal health coverage packages. Interventions could be rolled out as disease burden demands and budgets allow. Our outlined interventions provide a pathway for countries attempting to convert the UN Sustainable Development Goal commitments into tangible action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.