Sootblowing optimization for improved boiler performance

DOEpatents

James, John Robert; McDermott, John; Piche, Stephen; Pickard, Fred; Parikh, Neel J

2013-07-30

A sootblowing control system that uses predictive models to bridge the gap between sootblower operation and boiler performance goals. The system uses predictive modeling and heuristics (rules) associated with different zones in a boiler to determine an optimal sequence of sootblower operations and achieve boiler performance targets. The system performs the sootblower optimization while observing any operational constraints placed on the sootblowers.

Implementing a Parallel Image Edge Detection Algorithm Based on the Otsu-Canny Operator on the Hadoop Platform

PubMed Central

Wang, Min; Tian, Yun

2018-01-01

The Canny operator is widely used to detect edges in images. However, as the size of the image dataset increases, the edge detection performance of the Canny operator decreases and its runtime becomes excessive. To improve the runtime and edge detection performance of the Canny operator, in this paper, we propose a parallel design and implementation for an Otsu-optimized Canny operator using a MapReduce parallel programming model that runs on the Hadoop platform. The Otsu algorithm is used to optimize the Canny operator's dual threshold and improve the edge detection performance, while the MapReduce parallel programming model facilitates parallel processing for the Canny operator to solve the processing speed and communication cost problems that occur when the Canny edge detection algorithm is applied to big data. For the experiments, we constructed datasets of different scales from the Pascal VOC2012 image database. The proposed parallel Otsu-Canny edge detection algorithm performs better than other traditional edge detection algorithms. The parallel approach reduced the running time by approximately 67.2% on a Hadoop cluster architecture consisting of 5 nodes with a dataset of 60,000 images. Overall, our approach system speeds up the system by approximately 3.4 times when processing large-scale datasets, which demonstrates the obvious superiority of our method. The proposed algorithm in this study demonstrates both better edge detection performance and improved time performance. PMID:29861711

Aerodynamic Performance Measurements for a Forward Swept Low Noise Fan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fite, E. Brian

2006-01-01

One source of noise in high tip speed turbofan engines, caused by shocks, is called multiple pure tone noise (MPT's). A new fan, called the Quiet High Speed Fan (QHSF), showed reduced noise over the part speed operating range, which includes MPT's. The QHSF showed improved performance in most respects relative to a baseline fan; however, a partspeed instability discovered during testing reduced the operating range below acceptable limits. The measured QHSF adiabatic efficiency on the fixed nozzle acoustic operating line was 85.1 percent and the baseline fan 82.9 percent, a 2.2 percent improvement. The operating line pressure rise at design point rotational speed and mass flow was 1.764 and 1.755 for the QHSF and baseline fan, respectively. Weight flow at design point speed was 98.28 lbm/sec for the QHSF and 97.97 lbm/sec for the baseline fan. The operability margin for the QHSF approached 0 percent at the 75 percent speed operating condition. The baseline fan maintained sufficient margin throughout the operating range as expected. Based on the stage aerodynamic measurements, this concept shows promise for improved performance over current technology if the operability limitations can be solved.

Using shadow page cache to improve isolated drivers performance.

PubMed

Zheng, Hao; Dong, Xiaoshe; Wang, Endong; Chen, Baoke; Zhu, Zhengdong; Liu, Chengzhe

2015-01-01

With the advantage of the reusability property of the virtualization technology, users can reuse various types and versions of existing operating systems and drivers in a virtual machine, so as to customize their application environment. In order to prevent users' virtualization environments being impacted by driver faults in virtual machine, Chariot examines the correctness of driver's write operations by the method of combining a driver's write operation capture and a driver's private access control table. However, this method needs to keep the write permission of shadow page table as read-only, so as to capture isolated driver's write operations through page faults, which adversely affect the performance of the driver. Based on delaying setting frequently used shadow pages' write permissions to read-only, this paper proposes an algorithm using shadow page cache to improve the performance of isolated drivers and carefully study the relationship between the performance of drivers and the size of shadow page cache. Experimental results show that, through the shadow page cache, the performance of isolated drivers can be greatly improved without impacting Chariot's reliability too much.

Using Shadow Page Cache to Improve Isolated Drivers Performance

PubMed Central

Dong, Xiaoshe; Wang, Endong; Chen, Baoke; Zhu, Zhengdong; Liu, Chengzhe

2015-01-01

With the advantage of the reusability property of the virtualization technology, users can reuse various types and versions of existing operating systems and drivers in a virtual machine, so as to customize their application environment. In order to prevent users' virtualization environments being impacted by driver faults in virtual machine, Chariot examines the correctness of driver's write operations by the method of combining a driver's write operation capture and a driver's private access control table. However, this method needs to keep the write permission of shadow page table as read-only, so as to capture isolated driver's write operations through page faults, which adversely affect the performance of the driver. Based on delaying setting frequently used shadow pages' write permissions to read-only, this paper proposes an algorithm using shadow page cache to improve the performance of isolated drivers and carefully study the relationship between the performance of drivers and the size of shadow page cache. Experimental results show that, through the shadow page cache, the performance of isolated drivers can be greatly improved without impacting Chariot's reliability too much. PMID:25815373

Digital electronic engine control history

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putnam, T. W.

1984-01-01

Full authority digital electronic engine controls (DEECs) were studied, developed, and ground tested because of projected benefits in operability, improved performance, reduced maintenance, improved reliability, and lower life cycle costs. The issues of operability and improved performance, however, are assessed in a flight test program. The DEEC on a F100 engine in an F-15 aircraft was demonstrated and evaluated. The events leading to the flight test program are chronicled and important management and technical results are identified.

PubMed Central

SARTINI, M.; PANATTO, D.; PERDELLI, F.; CRISTINA, M.L.

2013-01-01

Summary An experimental study was conducted in a hospital in Liguria (northern Italy) on two groups of patients with the same disease severity who were undergoing the same type of surgery (primary hemiarthroplasty). Our aim was to assessing the results of a quality- improvement scheme implemented in the operating room. The quality-improvement protocol involved analyzing a set of parameters concerning the operating team's behavior and environmental conditions that could be attributed to the operating team itself. A program of training and sanitary education was carried to rectify any improper behavior of the operating staff. Two hundred and six hip-joint replacement operations (primary hip hemiarthroplasty - ICD9-CM 81.51) all conducted in the same operating room were studied: 103 patients, i.e. operations performed before the quality-improvement scheme and 103 patients, i.e. operations performed after the quality improvement scheme; all were comparable in terms of type of surgery and severity. The scheme resulted in an improvement in both behavioral and environmental parameters and an 80% reduction in the level of microbial air contamination (p < 0.001). Patient outcomes improved in terms of average postoperative hospitalization time, the occurrence and duration of fever (>37.5°C) and microbiological contamination of surgical wounds. From an economic point of view, facility efficiency increased by 28.57%, average hospitalization time decreased (p<0.001) and a theoretical increase of € 1,441,373.58 a year in revenues was achieved. PMID:24396985

Development of Novel PEM Membrane and Multiphase CD Modeling of PEM Fuel Cell

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

K. J. Berry; Susanta Das

2009-12-30

To understand heat and water management phenomena better within an operational proton exchange membrane fuel cell's (PEMFC) conditions, a three-dimensional, two-phase computational fluid dynamic (CFD) flow model has been developed and simulated for a complete PEMFC. Both liquid and gas phases are considered in the model by taking into account the gas flow, diffusion, charge transfer, change of phase, electro-osmosis, and electrochemical reactions to understand the overall dynamic behaviors of species within an operating PEMFC. The CFD model is solved numerically under different parametric conditions in terms of water management issues in order to improve cell performance. The results obtainedmore » from the CFD two-phase flow model simulations show improvement in cell performance as well as water management under PEMFCs operational conditions as compared to the results of a single phase flow model available in the literature. The quantitative information obtained from the two-phase model simulation results helped to develop a CFD control algorithm for low temperature PEM fuel cell stacks which opens up a route in designing improvement of PEMFC for better operational efficiency and performance. To understand heat and water management phenomena better within an operational proton exchange membrane fuel cell's (PEMFC) conditions, a three-dimensional, two-phase computational fluid dynamic (CFD) flow model has been developed and simulated for a complete PEMFC. Both liquid and gas phases are considered in the model by taking into account the gas flow, diffusion, charge transfer, change of phase, electro-osmosis, and electrochemical reactions to understand the overall dynamic behaviors of species within an operating PEMFC. The CFD model is solved numerically under different parametric conditions in terms of water management issues in order to improve cell performance. The results obtained from the CFD two-phase flow model simulations show improvement in cell performance as well as water management under PEMFCs operational conditions as compared to the results of a single phase flow model available in the literature. The quantitative information obtained from the two-phase model simulation results helped to develop a CFD control algorithm for low temperature PEM fuel cell stacks which opens up a route in designing improvement of PEMFC for better operational efficiency and performance.« less

Electrolytes for Use in High Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries with Wide Operating Temperature Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, Marshall C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; West, W. C.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Huang, C.; Soler, J.; Krause, F. C.

2011-01-01

Objectives of this work are: (1) Develop advanced Li -ion electrolytes that enable cell operation over a wide temperature range (i.e., -30 to +60C). (2) Improve the high temperature stability and lifetime characteristics of wide operating temperature electrolytes. (3) Improve the high voltage stability of these candidate electrolytes systems to enable operation up to 5V with high specific energy cathode materials. (4) Define the performance limitations at low and high temperature extremes, as well as, life limiting processes. (5) Demonstrate the performance of advanced electrolytes in large capacity prototype cells.

Improved methods for the measurement and modeling of PV module and system performance for all operating conditions

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

King, D.L.

1995-11-01

The objective of this work was to develop improved performance model for modules and systems for for all operating conditions for use in module specifications, system and BOS component design, and system rating or monitoring. The approach taken was to identify and quantify the influence of dominant factors of solar irradiance, cell temperature, angle-of-incidence; and solar spectrum; use outdoor test procedures to separate the effects of electrical, thermal, and optical performance; use fundamental cell characteristics to improve analysis; and combine factors in simple model using the common variables.

Improving Operational System Performance of Internet of Things (IoT) in Indonesia Telecomunication Company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dachyar, M.; Risky, S. A.

2014-06-01

Telecommunications company have to improve their business performance despite of the increase customers every year. In Indonesia, the telecommunication company have provided best services, improving operational systems by designing a framework for operational systems of the Internet of Things (IoT) other name of Machine to Machine (M2M). This study was conducted with expert opinion which further processed by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to obtain important factor for organizations operational systems, and the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to determine factors of organization which found drives the biggest power. This study resulted, the greatest weight of SLA & KPI handling problems. The M2M current dashboard and current M2M connectivity have power to affect other factors and has important function for M2M operations roomates system which can be effectively carried out.

Electrolytes for Use in High Energy Lithium-ion Batteries with Wide Operating Temperature Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, Marshall C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; West, W. C.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Huang, C.; Soler, J.; Krause, F. C.

2012-01-01

Met programmatic milestones for program. Demonstrated improved performance with wide operating temperature electrolytes containing ester co-solvents (i.e., methyl butyrate) containing electrolyte additives in A123 prototype cells: Previously demonstrated excellent low temperature performance, including 11C rates at -30 C and the ability to perform well down to -60 C. Excellent cycle life at room temperature has been displayed, with over 5,000 cycles being demonstrated. Good high temperature cycle life performance has also been achieved. Demonstrated improved performance with methyl propionate-containing electrolytes in large capacity prototype cells: Demonstrated the wide operating temperature range capability in large cells (12 Ah), successfully scaling up technology from 0.25 Ah size cells. Demonstrated improved performance at low temperature and good cycle life at 40 C with methyl propionate-based electrolyte containing increasing FEC content and the use of LiBOB as an additive. Utilized three-electrode cells to investigate the electrochemical characteristics of high voltage systems coupled with wide operating temperature range electrolytes: From Tafel polarization measurements on each electrode, it is evident the NMC-based cathode displays poor lithium kinetics (being the limiting electrode). The MB-based formulations containing LiBOB delivered the best rate capability at low temperature, which is attributed to improved cathode kinetics. Whereas, the use of lithium oxalate as an additive lead to the highest reversible capacity and lower irreversible losses.

The effects of for-profit multihospital system ownership on hospital financial and operating performance.

PubMed

Lynch, J R; McCue, M J

1990-11-01

The financial and operating performance of independent not-for-profit hospitals acquired by US for-profit multi-hospital systems in 10 Southern states between the years 1978 and 1982 was explored. The impact of system ownership on acquired hospitals was investigated by comparing the average financial performance of hospitals in the two years immediately prior to acquisition to the average for 1984 and 1985 and by comparing changes in the performance of acquired hospitals with changes in matched independent facilities. Findings suggest that for-profit multi-hospital systems were able to improve many of the financial and operating problems of acquired facilities. In comparison to independent not-for-profit hospitals, acquired hospitals were found to increase access to long-term debt, make improvements to plant and equipment, improve profitability, and increase efficiency to a greater extent. Prices in acquired hospitals rose more than those in independents and liquidity decreased to a greater extent.

Measurement of SIFT operating system overhead

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palumbo, D. L.; Butler, R. W.

1985-01-01

The overhead of the software implemented fault tolerance (SIFT) operating system was measured. Several versions of the operating system evolved. Each version represents different strategies employed to improve the measured performance. Three of these versions are analyzed. The internal data structures of the operating systems are discussed. The overhead of the SIFT operating system was found to be of two types: vote overhead and executive task overhead. Both types of overhead were found to be significant in all versions of the system. Improvements substantially reduced this overhead; even with these improvements, the operating system consumed well over 50% of the available processing time.

40 CFR 63.175 - Quality improvement program for valves.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... program for technology review as specified in paragraph (e) of this section. If the owner or operator... quality improvement program of technology review and improvement: (1) The owner or operator shall comply... designs or technologies that have poorer than average emission performance and those that have better than...

40 CFR 63.175 - Quality improvement program for valves.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... program for technology review as specified in paragraph (e) of this section. If the owner or operator... quality improvement program of technology review and improvement: (1) The owner or operator shall comply... designs or technologies that have poorer than average emission performance and those that have better than...

40 CFR 63.175 - Quality improvement program for valves.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... program for technology review as specified in paragraph (e) of this section. If the owner or operator... quality improvement program of technology review and improvement: (1) The owner or operator shall comply... designs or technologies that have poorer than average emission performance and those that have better than...

Characteristics of a 30-cm thruster operated with small hole accelerator grid ion optics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vahrenkamp, R. P.

1976-01-01

Small hole accelerator grid ion optical systems have been tested as a possible means of improving 30-cm ion thruster performance. The effects of small hole grids on the critical aspects of thruster operation including discharge chamber performance, doubly-charged ion concentration, effluent beam characteristics, and plasma properties have been evaluated. In general, small hole accelerator grids are beneficial in improving thruster performance while maintaining low double ion ratios. However, extremely small accelerator aperture diameters tend to degrade beam divergence characteristics. A quantitative discussion of these advantages and disadvantages of small hole accelerator grids, as well as resulting variations in thruster operation characteristics, is presented.

Performance monitoring for safe and livable communities : fusing data, to improve arterial operations for all users.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

Measuring or analyzing transportation system performance occupies a large transportation professionals time. So, improving performance : measurement methods in terms of accuracy and cost are important contributions. This research documents develop...

A monitoring tool for performance improvement in plastic surgery at the individual level.

PubMed

Maruthappu, Mahiben; Duclos, Antoine; Orgill, Dennis; Carty, Matthew J

2013-05-01

The assessment of performance in surgery is expanding significantly. Application of relevant frameworks to plastic surgery, however, has been limited. In this article, the authors present two robust graphic tools commonly used in other industries that may serve to monitor individual surgeon operative time while factoring in patient- and surgeon-specific elements. The authors reviewed performance data from all bilateral reduction mammaplasties performed at their institution by eight surgeons between 1995 and 2010. Operative time was used as a proxy for performance. Cumulative sum charts and exponentially weighted moving average charts were generated using a train-test analytic approach, and used to monitor surgical performance. Charts mapped crude, patient case-mix-adjusted, and case-mix and surgical-experience-adjusted performance. Operative time was found to decline from 182 minutes to 118 minutes with surgical experience (p < 0.001). Cumulative sum and exponentially weighted moving average charts were generated using 1995 to 2007 data (1053 procedures) and tested on 2008 to 2010 data (246 procedures). The sensitivity and accuracy of these charts were significantly improved by adjustment for case mix and surgeon experience. The consideration of patient- and surgeon-specific factors is essential for correct interpretation of performance in plastic surgery at the individual surgeon level. Cumulative sum and exponentially weighted moving average charts represent accurate methods of monitoring operative time to control and potentially improve surgeon performance over the course of a career.

Ergonomics Climate Assessment: A measure of operational performance and employee well-being.

PubMed

Hoffmeister, Krista; Gibbons, Alyssa; Schwatka, Natalie; Rosecrance, John

2015-09-01

Ergonomics interventions have the potential to improve operational performance and employee well-being. We introduce a framework for ergonomics climate, the extent to which an organization emphasizes and supports the design and modification of work to maximize both performance and well-being outcomes. We assessed ergonomics climate at a large manufacturing facility twice during a two-year period. When the organization used ergonomics to promote performance and well-being equally, and at a high level, employees reported less work-related pain. A larger discrepancy between measures of operational performance and employee well-being was associated with increased reports of work-related pain. The direction of this discrepancy was not significantly related to work-related pain, such that it didn't matter which facet was valued more. The Ergonomics Climate Assessment can provide companies with a baseline assessment of the overall value placed on ergonomics and help prioritize areas for improving operational performance and employee well-being. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

[Osteogenesis imperfecta--operative treatment on lower extremities in children with osteogenesis imperfecta].

PubMed

Sułko, Jerzy; Radło, Wojciech

2005-01-01

The group of 141 children with osteogenesis imperfecta was treated in Orthopaedic Department of the University Children Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 77 (54.6%) children from this group, we operated on lower extremities. Prophylactic operations, that were intramedullary Rush rodding, we performed in 19 cases (14 femurs and 11 tibias). Sofield-Millar procedures we performed in 58 children. We operated 321 times - there are 4 operations on average in one child. Average follow-up period was 6.7 years. We operated 473 long bones: 234 femurs and 239 tibias. We did 479 osteotomies. First operations were done at the age of 9 years on average (1.5-21 years). Further operations, 3 in each patient on average, we performed in period 37 months from one to another on tibias and 49 months on femurs. In all operated children we achieved full axis correction and their activity after operation improved. In order to assess that, we used the Bleck scale. In general, before operation, 54 (70%) children did not walk, and, in contrast, after operations 53 (69%) started walking. Operative treatment of the lower extremities in children with osteogenesis imperfecta improves their clinical physical abilities, quality of life and allows increase in activities.

Testing Report: Littleford-Day Dryer Operation: Dryer Operation Impacts of Proposed MIS Mitigation Changes

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

Shimskey, Rick W.; Buchmiller, William C.; Elmore, Monte R.

2007-06-01

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed a series of tests using the Littleford Day 22-liter dryer during investigations that evaluated changes in the melter-feed composition for the Demonstration Bulk Vitrification System. During testing, a new melter-feed formulation was developed that improved dryer performance while improving the retention of waste salts in the melter feed during vitrification.

Combinatorial optimization problem solution based on improved genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peng

2017-08-01

Traveling salesman problem (TSP) is a classic combinatorial optimization problem. It is a simplified form of many complex problems. In the process of study and research, it is understood that the parameters that affect the performance of genetic algorithm mainly include the quality of initial population, the population size, and crossover probability and mutation probability values. As a result, an improved genetic algorithm for solving TSP problems is put forward. The population is graded according to individual similarity, and different operations are performed to different levels of individuals. In addition, elitist retention strategy is adopted at each level, and the crossover operator and mutation operator are improved. Several experiments are designed to verify the feasibility of the algorithm. Through the experimental results analysis, it is proved that the improved algorithm can improve the accuracy and efficiency of the solution.

Evaluation of g seat augmentation of fixed-base/moving base simulation for transport landings under two visually imposed runway width conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrish, R. V.; Steinmetz, G. G.

1983-01-01

Vertical-motion cues supplied by a g-seat to augment platform motion cues in the other five degrees of freedom were evaluated in terms of their effect on objective performance measures obtained during simulated transport landings under visual conditions. In addition to evaluating the effects of the vertical cueing, runway width and magnification effects were investigated. The g-seat was evaluated during fixed base and moving-base operations. Although performance with the g-seat only improved slightly over that with fixed-base operation, combined g-seat platform operation showed no improvement over improvement over platform-only operation. When one runway width at one magnification factor was compared with another width at a different factor, the visual results indicated that the runway width probably had no effect on pilot-vehicle performance. The new performance differences that were detected may be more readily attributed to the extant (existing throughout) increase in vertical velocity induced by the magnification factor used to change the runway width, rather than to the width itself.

Radiology operations: what you don't know could be costing you millions.

PubMed

Joffe, Sam; Drew, Donna; Bansal, Manju; Hase, Michael

2007-01-01

Rapid growth in advanced imaging procedures has left hospital radiology departments struggling to keep up with demand, resulting in loss of patients to facilities that can offer service more quickly. While the departments appear to be working at full capacity, an operational analysis of over 400 hospital radiology departments in the US by GE Healthcare has determined that, paradoxically, many departments are in fact underutilized and operating for below their potential capacity. While CT cycle time in hospitals that were studied averaged 35 minutes, top performing hospitals operated the same equipment at a cycle time of 15 minutes, yielding approximately double the throughput volume. Factors leading to suboptimal performance include accounting metrics that mask true performance, leadership focus on capital investment rather than operations, under staffing, under scheduling, poorly aligned incentives, a fragmented view of operations, lack of awareness of latent opportunities, and lack of sufficient skills and processes to implement improvements. The study showed how modest investments in radiology operations can dramatically improve access to services and profitability.

Relationship between hospital financial performance and publicly reported outcomes.

PubMed

Nguyen, Oanh Kieu; Halm, Ethan A; Makam, Anil N

2016-07-01

Hospitals that have robust financial performance may have improved publicly reported outcomes. To assess the relationship between hospital financial performance and publicly reported outcomes of care, and to assess whether improved outcome metrics affect subsequent hospital financial performance. Observational cohort study. Hospital financial data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in California in 2008 and 2012 were linked to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website. Hospital financial performance was measured by net revenue by operations, operating margin, and total margin. Outcomes were 30-day risk-standardized mortality and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), congestive heart failure (CHF), and pneumonia (PNA). Among 279 hospitals, there was no consistent relationship between measures of financial performance in 2008 and publicly reported outcomes from 2008 to 2011 for AMI and PNA. However, improved hospital financial performance (by any of the 3 measures) was associated with a modest increase in CHF mortality rates (ie, 0.26% increase in CHF mortality rate for every 10% increase in operating margin [95% confidence interval: 0.07%-0.45%]). Conversely, there were no significant associations between outcomes from 2008 to 2011 and subsequent financial performance in 2012 (P > 0.05 for all). Robust financial performance is not associated with improved publicly reported outcomes for AMI, CHF, and PNA. Financial incentives in addition to public reporting, such as readmissions penalties, may help motivate hospitals with robust financial performance to further improve publicly reported outcomes. Reassuringly, improved mortality and readmission rates do not necessarily lead to loss of revenue. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:481-488. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Experimental research made during a city cycle on the feasibility of electrically charged SI engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocsis, Levente B.; Burnete, Nicolae

2014-06-01

The paper presents experimental research on performance improvements in a city cycle (operating mostly transient) of a compact class vehicle equipped with a turbocharged SI engine which had attached an electric charger, to improve engine response at low operational speeds. During tests, functional parameters, energy consumption of the electric charger and vehicle performances were measured while driving in two operating conditions: with active and inactive electric charger. The tests were carried out on a well-defined path, in the same driving style, by the same driver.

Fault Diagnosis with Multi-State Alarms in a Nuclear Power Control Simulation

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

Stuart A. Ragsdale; Roger Lew; Ronald L. Boring

2014-09-01

This research addresses how alarm systems can increase operator performance within nuclear power plant operations. The experiment examined the effects of two types of alarm systems (two-state and three-state alarms) on alarm compliance and diagnosis for two types of faults differing in complexity. We hypothesized the use of three-state alarms would improve performance in alarm recognition and fault diagnoses over that of two-state alarms. Sensitivity and criterion based on the Signal Detection Theory were used to measure performance. We further hypothesized that operator trust would be highest when using three-state alarms. The findings from this research showed participants performed bettermore » and had more trust in three-state alarms compared to two-state alarms. Furthermore, these findings have significant theoretical implications and practical applications as they apply to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear power plant operations.« less

Free-Mass and Interface Configurations of Hammering Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi (Inventor); Sherrit, Stewart (Inventor); Badescu, Mircea (Inventor); Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Inventor); Askins, Steve (Inventor); Ostlund, Patrick (Inventor)

2015-01-01

The design of the free-mass in an ultrasonic driller/corer (USDC) has been refined in order to improve the performance and operational reliability of the system. In one embodiment, the improvements in performance and operational reliability include decreasing the impact surface area of the free-mass to increase the transfer of impact energy from the piezoelectric transducer and reductions in the likelihood that the system will jam.

Experimental analysis of robot-assisted needle insertion into porcine liver.

PubMed

Wang, Wendong; Shi, Yikai; Goldenberg, Andrew A; Yuan, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Peng; He, Lijing; Zou, Yingjie

2015-01-01

How to improve placement accuracy of needle insertion into liver tissue is of paramount interest to physicians. A robot-assisted system was developed to experimentally demonstrate its advantages in needle insertion surgeries. Experiments of needle insertion into porcine liver tissue were performed with conic tip needle (diameter 8 mm) and bevel tip needle (diameter 1.5 mm) in this study. Manual operation was designed to compare the performance of the presented robot-assisted system. The real-time force curves show outstanding advantages of robot-assisted operation in improving the controllability and stability of needle insertion process by comparing manual operation. The statistics of maximum force and average force further demonstrates robot-assisted operation causes less oscillation. The difference of liver deformation created by manual operation and robot-assisted operation is very low, 1 mm for average deformation and 2 mm for maximum deformation. To conclude, the presented robot-assisted system can improve placement accuracy of needle by stably control insertion process.

Low-temperature operation of a Buck DC/DC converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Biswajit; Gerber, Scott S.; Patterson, Richard L.; Myers, Ira T.

1995-01-01

Low-temperature (77 K) operation of a 42/28 V, 175 W, 50 kHz PWM Buck DC/DC converter designed with commercially available components is reported. Overall, the converter losses decreased at 77 K compared to room temperature operation. A full-load efficiency of 97 percent was recorded at liquid-nitrogen temperature, compared to 95.8 percent at room temperature. Power MOSFET operation improved significantly where as the output rectifier operation deteriorated at low-temperature. The performance of the output filter inductor and capacitor did not change significantly at 77 K compared to room temperature performance. It is possible to achieve high-density and high efficiency power conversion at low-temperatures due to improved electronic, electrical and thermal properties of materials.

Autonomous Diagnostic Imaging Performed by Untrained Operators using Augmented Reality as a Form of "Just-in-Time" Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, D. S.; Wang, L.; Laurie, S. S.; Lee, S. M. C.; Fleischer, A. C.; Gibson, C. R.; Stenger, M. B.

2017-01-01

We will address the Human Factors and Performance Team, "Risk of performance errors due to training deficiencies" by improving the JIT training materials for ultrasound and OCT imaging by providing advanced guidance in a detailed, timely, and user-friendly manner. Specifically, we will (1) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR that guides non-experts through an abdominal trauma ultrasound protocol; (2) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR to guide an untrained operator through the acquisition of OCT images; (3) evaluate the quality of abdominal ultrasound and OCT images acquired by untrained operators using AR guidance compared to images acquired using traditional JIT techniques (laptop-based training conducted before image acquisition); and (4) compare the time required to complete imaging studies using AR tutorials with images acquired using current JIT practices to identify areas for time efficiency improvements. Two groups of subjects will be recruited to participate in this study. Operator-subjects, without previous experience in ultrasound or OCT, will be asked to perform both procedures using either the JIT training with AR technology or the traditional JIT training via laptop. Images acquired by inexperienced operator-subjects will be scored by experts in that imaging modality for diagnostic and research quality; experts will be blinded to the form of JIT used to acquire the images. Operator-subjects also will be asked to submit feedback to improve the training modules used during the scans to improve future training modules. Scanned-subjects will be a small group individuals from whom all images will be acquired.

Autonomous Diagnostic Imaging Performed by Untrained Operator Using Augmented Reality as a Form of "Just-in-Time" Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, David S.; Wang, Lui; Laurie, Steven S.; Lee, Stuart M. C.; Stenger, Michael B.

2017-01-01

We will address the Human Factors and Performance Team, "Risk of performance errors due to training deficiencies" by improving the JIT training materials for ultrasound and OCT imaging by providing advanced guidance in a detailed, timely, and user-friendly manner. Specifically, we will (1) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR that guides non-experts through an abdominal trauma ultrasound protocol; (2) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR to guide an untrained operator through the acquisition of OCT images; (3) evaluate the quality of abdominal ultrasound and OCT images acquired by untrained operators using AR guidance compared to images acquired using traditional JIT techniques (laptop-based training conducted before image acquisition); and (4) compare the time required to complete imaging studies using AR tutorials with images acquired using current JIT practices to identify areas for time efficiency improvements. Two groups of subjects will be recruited to participate in this study. Operator-subjects, without previous experience in ultrasound or OCT, will be asked to perform both procedures using either the JIT training with AR technology or the traditional JIT training via laptop. Images acquired by inexperienced operator-subjects will be scored by experts in that imaging modality for diagnostic and research quality; experts will be blinded to the form of JIT used to acquire the images. Operator-subjects also will be asked to submit feedback to improve the training modules used during the scans to improve future training modules. Scanned-subjects will be a small group individuals from whom all images will be acquired.

Experience measuring performance improvement in multiphase picture archiving and communications systems implementations.

PubMed

Reed, G; Reed, D H

1999-05-01

When planning a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) implementation and determining which equipment will be implemented in earlier and later phases, collection and analysis of selected data will aid in setting implementation priorities. If baseline data are acquired relative to performance objectives, the same information used for implementation planning can be used to measure performance improvement and outcomes. The main categories of data to choose from are: (1) financial data; (2) productivity data; (3) operational parameters; (4) clinical data; and (5) information about customer satisfaction. In the authors' experience, detailed workflow data have not proved valuable in measuring PACS performance and outcomes. Reviewing only one category of data in planning will not provide adequate basis for targeting operational improvements that will lead to the most significant gains. Quality improvement takes into account all factors in production: human capacity, materials, operating capital and assets. Once we have identified key areas of focus for quality improvement in each phase, we can translate objectives into implementation requirements and finally into detailed functional and performance requirements. Here, Integration Resources reports its experience measuring PACS performance relative to phased implementation strategies for three large medical centers. Each medical center had its own objectives for overcoming image management, physical/geographical, and functional/technical barriers. The report outlines (1) principal financial and nonfinancial measures used as performance indicators; (2) implementation strategies chosen by each of the three medical centers; and (3) the results of those strategies as compared with baseline data.

Energy harvesting influences electrochemical performance of microbial fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lobo, Fernanda Leite; Wang, Xin; Ren, Zhiyong Jason

2017-07-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can be effective power sources for remote sensing, wastewater treatment and environmental remediation, but their performance needs significant improvement. This study systematically analyzes how active harvesting using electrical circuits increased MFC system outputs as compared to passive resistors not only in the traditional maximal power point (MPP) but also in other desired operating points such as the maximum current point (MCP) and the maximum voltage point (MVP). Results show that active harvesting in MPP increased power output by 81-375% and active harvesting in MCP increased Coulombic efficiency by 207-805% compared with resisters operated at the same points. The cyclic voltammograms revealed redox potential shifts and supported the performance data. The findings demonstrate that active harvesting is a very effective approach to improve MFC performance across different operating points.

Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance on-orbit

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morfitt, Ron; Barsi, Julia A.; Levy, Raviv; Markham, Brian L.; Micijevic, Esad; Ong, Lawrence; Scaramuzza, Pat; Vanderwerff, Kelly

2015-01-01

Expectations of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) radiometric performance onboard Landsat-8 have been met or exceeded. The calibration activities that occurred prior to launch provided calibration parameters that enabled ground processing to produce imagery that met most requirements when data were transmitted to the ground. Since launch, calibration updates have improved the image quality even more, so that all requirements are met. These updates range from detector gain coefficients to reduce striping and banding to alignment parameters to improve the geometric accuracy. This paper concentrates on the on-orbit radiometric performance of the OLI, excepting the radiometric calibration performance. Topics discussed in this paper include: signal-to-noise ratios that are an order of magnitude higher than previous Landsat missions; radiometric uniformity that shows little residual banding and striping, and continues to improve; a dynamic range that limits saturation to extremely high radiance levels; extremely stable detectors; slight nonlinearity that is corrected in ground processing; detectors that are stable and 100% operable; and few image artifacts.

40 CFR 60.4310 - What types of operations are exempt from these standards of performance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... turbine emission control techniques and combustion turbine efficiency improvements are exempt from the NOX... Standards of Performance for Stationary Combustion Turbines Applicability § 60.4310 What types of operations are exempt from these standards of performance? (a) Emergency combustion turbines, as defined in § 60...

40 CFR 60.4310 - What types of operations are exempt from these standards of performance?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... turbine emission control techniques and combustion turbine efficiency improvements are exempt from the NOX... Standards of Performance for Stationary Combustion Turbines Applicability § 60.4310 What types of operations are exempt from these standards of performance? (a) Emergency combustion turbines, as defined in § 60...

Multivariable manual control with simultaneous visual and auditory presentation of information. [for improved compensatory tracking performance of human operator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uhlemann, H.; Geiser, G.

1975-01-01

Multivariable manual compensatory tracking experiments were carried out in order to determine typical strategies of the human operator and conditions for improvement of his performance if one of the visual displays of the tracking errors is supplemented by an auditory feedback. Because the tracking error of the system which is only visually displayed is found to decrease, but not in general that of the auditorally supported system, it was concluded that the auditory feedback unloads the visual system of the operator who can then concentrate on the remaining exclusively visual displays.

Review of a single surgeon's stapedotomy cases performed with a nickel titanium prosthesis over a 14-year period.

PubMed

Justicz, Natalie; Strickland, Kaitlyn F; Motamedi, Kevin K; Mattox, Douglas E

2017-04-01

Stapes surgery with a nickel titanium prosthesis is a safe and well-tolerated procedure that leads to a significant improvement in hearing outcomes. To identify the efficacy and safety of stapedotomy procedures performed with a nickel titanium prosthesis for patients with otosclerosis. A review of 431 unique stapedotomies performed over 14 years by a single surgeon at an academic tertiary care center yielded 312 cases with nickel titanium prosthesis that met inclusion criteria of otosclerosis diagnosis, initial surgery in operative ear, and presence of pre-operative and post-operative audiograms. Pure-tone averages (PTA) at baseline and 8 weeks after surgery were calculated over four frequencies; 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz. Average air-bone gaps (ABG) were calculated from pre-operative and post-operative audiograms. Average pre-operative baseline PTA was 56.7 dB in the affected ear. Post-operative PTA was 30.1 dB, a 26.6 dB improvement. Initial average ABG was 29.7 dB, while post-operative ABG averaged 5.4 dB, a 24.2 dB improvement. Surgical success (closure of ABG within 10 dB) was achieved in 263 (84%) patients. Rate of surgical success was not correlated with age, gender, race, or affected ear. Complications included recurrent conductive hearing loss (14), progressive SNHL (4), and post-operative BPPV (3).

Manufacture of conical springs with elastic medium technology improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurguzov, S. A.; Mikhailova, U. V.; Kalugina, O. B.

2018-01-01

This article considers the manufacturing technology improvement by using an elastic medium in the stamping tool forming space to improve the conical springs performance characteristics and reduce the costs of their production. Estimation technique of disk spring operational properties is developed by mathematical modeling of the compression process during the operation of a spring. A technique for optimizing the design parameters of a conical spring is developed, which ensures a minimum voltage value when operated in the edge of the spring opening.

Development of a Higher Fidelity Model for the Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, Bruce; Anderson, Molly

2014-01-01

Significant improvements have been made to the ACM model of the CDS, enabling accurate predictions of dynamic operations with fewer assumptions. The model has been utilized to predict how CDS performance would be impacted by changing operating parameters, revealing performance trade-offs and possibilities for improvement. CDS efficiency is driven by the THP coefficient of performance, which in turn is dependent on heat transfer within the system. Based on the remaining limitations of the simulation, priorities for further model development include: center dot Relaxing the assumption of total condensation center dot Incorporating dynamic simulation capability for the buildup of dissolved inert gasses in condensers center dot Examining CDS operation with more complex feeds center dot Extending heat transfer analysis to all surfaces

Wicket gate trailing-edge blowing: A method for improving off-design hydroturbine performance by adjusting the runner inlet swirl angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, B. J.; Cimbala, J. M.; Wouden, A. M.

2014-03-01

At their best efficiency point (BEP), hydroturbines operate at very high efficiency. However, with the ever-increasing penetration of alternative electricity generation, it has become common to operate hydroturbines at off-design conditions in order to maintain stability in the electric power grid. This paper demonstrates a method for improving hydroturbine performance during off-design operation by injecting water through slots at the trailing edges of the wicket gates. The injected water causes a change in bulk flow direction at the inlet of the runner. This change in flow angle from the wicket gate trailing-edge jets provides the capability of independently varying the flow rate and swirl angle through the runner, which in current designs are both determined by the wicket gate opening angle. When properly tuned, altering the flow angle results in a significant improvement in turbine efficiency during off-design operation.

Motivation for documentation.

PubMed

Graham, Denise H

2004-11-01

The quality improvement plan relies on controlling quality of care through improving the process or system as a whole. Your ongoing data collection is paramount to the process of system-wide improvement and performance, enhancement of financial performance, operational performance and overall service performance and satisfaction. The threat of litigation and having to defend yourself from a claim of wrongdoing still looms every time your wheels turn. Your runsheet must serve and protect you. Look at the NFPA 1710 standard, which was enacted to serve and protect firefighters. This standard was enacted with their personal safety and well-being as the principle behind staffing requirements. At what stage of draft do you suppose the NFPA 1710 standard would be today if the relative data were collected sporadically or were not tracked for each service-related death? It may have taken many more service-related deaths to effect change for a system-wide improvement in operational performance. Every call merits documentation and data collection. Your data are catalysts for change.

Long-term performance of a 20-L continuous flow microbial fuel cell for treatment of brewery wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Mengqian; Chen, Shing; Babanova, Sofia; Phadke, Sujal; Salvacion, Michael; Mirhosseini, Auvid; Chan, Shirley; Carpenter, Kayla; Cortese, Rachel; Bretschger, Orianna

2017-07-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been shown as a promising technology for wastewater treatment. Integration of MFCs into current wastewater treatment plant have potential to reduce the operational cost and improve the treatment performance, and scaling up MFCs will be essential. However, only a few studies have reported successful scale up attempts. Fabrication cost, treatment performance and operational lifetime are critical factors to optimize before commercialization of MFCs. To test these factors, we constructed a 20 L MFC system containing two 10 L MFC reactors and operated the system with brewery wastewater for nearly one year. Several operational conditions were tested, including different flowrates, applied external resistors, and poised anodic potentials. The condition resulting in the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency (94.6 ± 1.0%) was a flow rate of 1 mL min-1 (HRT = 313 h) and an applied resistor of 10 Ω across each MFC circuit. Results from each of the eight stages of operation (325 days total) indicate that MFCs can sustain treatment rates over a long-term period and are robust enough to sustain performance even after system perturbations. possible ways to improve MFC performance were discussed for future studies.

Optimization of Mud Hammer Drilling Performance--A Program to Benchmark the Viability of Advanced Mud Hammer Drilling

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

Arnis Judzis

2006-03-01

Operators continue to look for ways to improve hard rock drilling performance through emerging technologies. A consortium of Department of Energy, operator and industry participants put together an effort to test and optimize mud driven fluid hammers as one emerging technology that has shown promise to increase penetration rates in hard rock. The thrust of this program has been to test and record the performance of fluid hammers in full scale test conditions including, hard formations at simulated depth, high density/high solids drilling muds, and realistic fluid power levels. This paper details the testing and results of testing two 7more » 3/4 inch diameter mud hammers with 8 1/2 inch hammer bits. A Novatek MHN5 and an SDS Digger FH185 mud hammer were tested with several bit types, with performance being compared to a conventional (IADC Code 537) tricone bit. These tools functionally operated in all of the simulated downhole environments. The performance was in the range of the baseline ticone or better at lower borehole pressures, but at higher borehole pressures the performance was in the lower range or below that of the baseline tricone bit. A new drilling mode was observed, while operating the MHN5 mud hammer. This mode was noticed as the weight on bit (WOB) was in transition from low to high applied load. During this new ''transition drilling mode'', performance was substantially improved and in some cases outperformed the tricone bit. Improvements were noted for the SDS tool while drilling with a more aggressive bit design. Future work includes the optimization of these or the next generation tools for operating in higher density and higher borehole pressure conditions and improving bit design and technology based on the knowledge gained from this test program.« less

Informatics in radiology: automated Web-based graphical dashboard for radiology operational business intelligence.

PubMed

Nagy, Paul G; Warnock, Max J; Daly, Mark; Toland, Christopher; Meenan, Christopher D; Mezrich, Reuben S

2009-11-01

Radiology departments today are faced with many challenges to improve operational efficiency, performance, and quality. Many organizations rely on antiquated, paper-based methods to review their historical performance and understand their operations. With increased workloads, geographically dispersed image acquisition and reading sites, and rapidly changing technologies, this approach is increasingly untenable. A Web-based dashboard was constructed to automate the extraction, processing, and display of indicators and thereby provide useful and current data for twice-monthly departmental operational meetings. The feasibility of extracting specific metrics from clinical information systems was evaluated as part of a longer-term effort to build a radiology business intelligence architecture. Operational data were extracted from clinical information systems and stored in a centralized data warehouse. Higher-level analytics were performed on the centralized data, a process that generated indicators in a dynamic Web-based graphical environment that proved valuable in discussion and root cause analysis. Results aggregated over a 24-month period since implementation suggest that this operational business intelligence reporting system has provided significant data for driving more effective management decisions to improve productivity, performance, and quality of service in the department.

Improved Wide Operating Temperature Range of LiNiCoAiO2-based Li-ion Cells with Methyl Propionate-based Electrolytes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, Marshall C.; Tomcsi, Michael R.; Hwang, C.; Whitcanack, L. D.; Bugga, Ratnakumar V.; Nagata, Mikito; Visco, Vince; Tsukamoto, Hisashi

2012-01-01

Demonstration of wide operating temperature range Li-ion electrolytes Methyl propionate-based wide operating temperature range electrolytes were demonstrated to provide dramatic improvement of the low temperature capability of Quallion prototype Li-ion cells (MCMB-LiNiCoAlO2). Some formulations were observed to deliver over 60% of the room temperature capacity using a 5C rate at - 40oC !! Represents over a 4-fold improvement over the baseline electrolyte system. Demonstrated operational capability of a number of systems over a wide temperature range (-40 to +70 C) Demonstrated reasonably good long term cycle life performance at high temperature (i.e., at +40deg and +50 C) A number of formulations containing electrolytes additives (i.e., FEC, VC, LiBOB, and lithium oxalate) have been shown to have enhanced lithium kinetics at low temperature and promising high temperature resilience. Demonstrated good performance in larger capacity (12 Ah) Quallion Li-ion cells with methyl propionate-based electrolytes. Current efforts focused upon performing life studies and the impact upon low temperature capability.

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

Hagen, E.W.

This report reviews and evaluates the performance of the compressed-air and pressurized-nitrogen gas systems in commercial nuclear power units. The information was collected from readily available operating experiences, licensee event reports, system designs in safety analysis reports, and regulatory documents. The results are collated and analyzed for significance and impact on power plant safety performance. Under certain circumstances, the fail-safe philosophy for a piece of equipment or subsystem of the compressed-air systems initiated a series of actions culminating in reactor transient or unit scram. However, based on this study of prevailing operating experiences, reclassifying the compressed-gas systems to a highermore » safety level will neither prevent (nor mitigate) the reoccurrences of such happenings nor alleviate nuclear power plant problems caused by inadequate maintenance, operating procedures, and/or practices. Conversely, because most of the problems were derived from the sources listed previously, upgrading of both maintenance and operating procedures will not only result in substantial improvement in the performance and availability of the compressed-air (and backup nitrogen) systems but in improved overall plant performance.« less

Recent Space Shuttle crew compartment design improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, Jerry R.

1986-01-01

Significant design changes to the Space Shuttle waste management system (WMS) and its related personal hygiene support provisions (PHSP) have been made recently to improve overall operational performance and human factors interfaces. The WMS design improvements involve increased urinal flow, individual urinals, and provisions for manually compacting feces and cleanup materials to ensure adequate mission capacity. The basic arrangement and stowage of the PHSP used during waste management operations were extensively changed to better serve habitability concerns and operations needs, and to improve the hygiene of WMS operations. This paper describes these changes and the design, development, and flight test evaluation. In addition, provisions for an eighth crewmember and a new four-tier sleep station are described.

Performance after rotator cuff tear and operative treatment: a case-control study of major league baseball pitchers.

PubMed

Namdari, Surena; Baldwin, Keith; Ahn, Albert; Huffman, G Russell; Sennett, Brian J

2011-01-01

Little is known about pitching performance or lack of it among Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers who undergo operative treatment of rotator cuff tears. To assess pitching performance outcomes in MLB players who needed operative treatment of rotator cuff tears and to compare performance in these athletes with that in a control group of MLB players. Case-control study. Publicly available player profiles, press releases, and team injury reports. Thirty-three MLB pitchers with documented surgery to treat rotator cuff tears and 117 control pitchers who did not have documented rotator cuff tears were identified. Major League Baseball pitching attrition and performance variables. Players who underwent rotator cuff surgery were no more likely not to play than control players. Performance variables of players who underwent surgery improved after surgery but never returned to baseline preoperative status. Players who needed rotator cuff surgery typically were more experienced and had better earned run averages than control players. Pitchers who had symptomatic rotator cuff tears that necessitated operative treatment tended to decline gradually in performance leading up to their operations and to improve gradually over the next 3 seasons. In contrast to what we expected, they did not have a greater attrition rate than their control counterparts; however, their performances did not return to preoperative levels over the course of the study.

Randomized clinical trial to evaluate mental practice in enhancing advanced laparoscopic surgical performance.

PubMed

Louridas, M; Bonrath, E M; Sinclair, D A; Dedy, N J; Grantcharov, T P

2015-01-01

Mental practice, the cognitive rehearsal of a task without physical movement, is known to enhance performance in sports and music. Investigation of this technique in surgery has been limited to basic operations. The purpose of this study was to develop mental practice scripts, and to assess their effect on advanced laparoscopic skills and surgeon stress levels in a crisis scenario. Twenty senior surgical trainees were randomized to either conventional training or mental practice groups, the latter being trained by an expert performance psychologist. Participants' skills were assessed while performing a porcine laparoscopic jejunojejunostomy as part of a crisis scenario in a simulated operating room, using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) and bariatric OSATS (BOSATS) instruments. Objective and subjective stress parameters were measured, as well as non-technical skills using the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons rating tool. An improvement in OSATS (P = 0.003) and BOSATS (P = 0.003) scores was seen in the mental practice group compared with the conventional training group. Seven of ten trainees improved their technical performance during the crisis scenario, whereas four of the ten conventionally trained participants deteriorated. Mental imagery ability improved significantly following mental practice training (P = 0.011), but not in the conventional group (P = 0.083). No differences in objective or subjective stress levels or non-technical skills were evident. Mental practice improves technical performance for advanced laparoscopic tasks in the simulated operating room, and allows trainees to maintain or improve their performance despite added stress. © 2014 BJS Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Functional Quality Criterion of Rock Handling Mechanization at Open-pit Mines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronov, Yuri; Voronov, Artyoni

2017-11-01

Overburden and mining operations at open-pit mines are performed mainly by powerful shovel-truck systems (STSs). One of the main problems of the STSs is a rather low level of their operating quality, mainly due to unjustified over-trucking. In this article, a functional criterion for assessing the qualify of the STS operation at open-pit mines is formulated, derived and analyzed. We introduce the rationale and general principles for the functional criterion formation, its general form, as well as variations for various STS structures: a mixed truck fleet and a homogeneous shovel fleet, a mixed shove! fleet and a homogeneous truck fleet, mixed truck and shovel fleets. The possibility of assessing the quality of the STS operation is of great importance for identifying the main directions for improving their operational performance and operating quality, optimizing the main performance indicators by the qualify criterion, and. as a result, for possible saving of material and technical resources for open-pit mining. Improvement of the quality of the STS operation also allows increasing the mining safety and decreasing the atmosphere pollution - by means of possible reducing of the number of the operating trucks.

Using an Intelligent Tutor and Math Fluency Training to Improve Math Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arroyo, Ivon; Royer, James M.; Woolf, Beverly P.

2011-01-01

This article integrates research in intelligent tutors with psychology studies of memory and math fluency (the speed to retrieve or calculate answers to basic math operations). It describes the impact of computer software designed to improve either strategic behavior or math fluency. Both competencies are key to improved performance and both…

Reverse alignment "mirror image" visualization as a laparoscopic training tool improves task performance.

PubMed

Dunnican, Ward J; Singh, T Paul; Ata, Ashar; Bendana, Emma E; Conlee, Thomas D; Dolce, Charles J; Ramakrishnan, Rakesh

2010-06-01

Reverse alignment (mirror image) visualization is a disconcerting situation occasionally faced during laparoscopic operations. This occurs when the camera faces back at the surgeon in the opposite direction from which the surgeon's body and instruments are facing. Most surgeons will attempt to optimize trocar and camera placement to avoid this situation. The authors' objective was to determine whether the intentional use of reverse alignment visualization during laparoscopic training would improve performance. A standard box trainer was configured for reverse alignment, and 34 medical students and junior surgical residents were randomized to train with either forward alignment (DIRECT) or reverse alignment (MIRROR) visualization. Enrollees were tested on both modalities before and after a 4-week structured training program specific to their modality. Student's t test was used to determine differences in task performance between the 2 groups. Twenty-one participants completed the study (10 DIRECT, 11 MIRROR). There were no significant differences in performance time between DIRECT or MIRROR participants during forward or reverse alignment initial testing. At final testing, DIRECT participants had improved times only in forward alignment performance; they demonstrated no significant improvement in reverse alignment performance. MIRROR participants had significant time improvement in both forward and reverse alignment performance at final testing. Reverse alignment imaging for laparoscopic training improves task performance for both reverse alignment and forward alignment tasks. This may be translated into improved performance in the operating room when faced with reverse alignment situations. Minimal lab training can account for drastic adaptation to this environment.

Simulation Evaluation of Equivalent Vision Technologies for Aerospace Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Wilz, Susan J.; Arthur, Jarvis J.

2009-01-01

A fixed-based simulation experiment was conducted in NASA Langley Research Center s Integration Flight Deck simulator to investigate enabling technologies for equivalent visual operations (EVO) in the emerging Next Generation Air Transportation System operating environment. EVO implies the capability to achieve or even improve on the safety of current-day Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations, maintain the operational tempos of VFR, and perhaps even retain VFR procedures - all independent of the actual weather and visibility conditions. Twenty-four air transport-rated pilots evaluated the use of Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS) and eXternal Vision Systems (XVS) technologies as enabling technologies for future all-weather operations. The experimental objectives were to determine the feasibility of XVS/SVS/EVS to provide for all weather (visibility) landing capability without the need (or ability) for a visual approach segment and to determine the interaction of XVS/EVS and peripheral vision cues for terminal area and surface operations. Another key element of the testing investigated the pilot's awareness and reaction to non-normal events (i.e., failure conditions) that were unexpectedly introduced into the experiment. These non-normal runs served as critical determinants in the underlying safety of all-weather operations. Experimental data from this test are cast into performance-based approach and landing standards which might establish a basis for future all-weather landing operations. Glideslope tracking performance appears to have improved with the elimination of the approach visual segment. This improvement can most likely be attributed to the fact that the pilots didn't have to simultaneously perform glideslope corrections and find required visual landing references in order to continue a landing. Lateral tracking performance was excellent regardless of the display concept being evaluated or whether or not there were peripheral cues in the side window. Although workload ratings were significantly less when peripheral cues were present compared to when there were none, these differences appear to be operationally inconsequential. Larger display concepts tested in this experiment showed significant situation awareness (SA) improvements and workload reductions compared to smaller display concepts. With a fixed display size, a color display was more influential in SA and workload ratings than a collimated display.

Optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation for greenhouse gas mitigation.

PubMed

Kim, Dongwook; Bowen, James D; Ozelkan, Ertunga C

2015-11-01

This study deals with the determination of optimal operation of a wastewater treatment system for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, and pollution loads in the effluent. To do this, an integrated performance index that includes three objectives was established to assess system performance. The ASMN_G model was used to perform system optimization aimed at determining a set of operational parameters that can satisfy three different objectives. The complex nonlinear optimization problem was simulated using the Nelder-Mead Simplex optimization algorithm. A sensitivity analysis was performed to identify influential operational parameters on system performance. The results obtained from the optimization simulations for six scenarios demonstrated that there are apparent trade-offs among the three conflicting objectives. The best optimized system simultaneously reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 31%, reduced operating cost by 11%, and improved effluent quality by 2% compared to the base case operation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving Inspection and Maintenance Performance and On-board Diagnostics Monitor Readiness Memo

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EPA memorandum transmits an updated list of vehicles that exhibit issues related to OBD (on board diagnostics) monitor readiness and makes suggestions for how Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) programs can improve operational performance by addressing

Basis for the development of sustainable optimisation indicators for activated sludge wastewater treatment plants in the Republic of Ireland.

PubMed

Gordon, G T; McCann, B P

2015-01-01

This paper describes the basis of a stakeholder-based sustainable optimisation indicator (SOI) system to be developed for small-to-medium sized activated sludge (AS) wastewater treatment plants (WwTPs) in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Key technical publications relating to best practice plant operation, performance audits and optimisation, and indicator and benchmarking systems for wastewater services are identified. Optimisation studies were developed at a number of Irish AS WwTPs and key findings are presented. A national AS WwTP manager/operator survey was carried out to verify the applied operational findings and identify the key operator stakeholder requirements for this proposed SOI system. It was found that most plants require more consistent operational data-based decision-making, monitoring and communication structures to facilitate optimised, sustainable and continuous performance improvement. The applied optimisation and stakeholder consultation phases form the basis of the proposed stakeholder-based SOI system. This system will allow for continuous monitoring and rating of plant performance, facilitate optimised operation and encourage the prioritisation of performance improvement through tracking key operational metrics. Plant optimisation has become a major focus due to the transfer of all ROI water services to a national water utility from individual local authorities and the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.

Best Practices in Photovoltaic System Operations and Maintenance: 2nd Edition

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

Whaley, Cass

This best practices guide encourages high-quality system deployment and operation that improves lifetime project performance and energy production while reducing, or at least optimizing, costs to deliver an operation and maintenance program.

Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) Report to the OMI Science Team

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Dominic M.

2017-01-01

This PowerPoint presentation will discuss Aura's current spacecraft and OMI insturment status, highlight any performance trends and impacts to OMI operations, identify any operational changes and express concerns or potential process improvements.

Making the most of data: An information selection and assessment framework to improve water systems operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliani, M.; Pianosi, F.; Castelletti, A.

2015-11-01

Advances in Environmental monitoring systems are making a wide range of data available at increasingly higher temporal and spatial resolution. This creates an opportunity to enhance real-time understanding of water systems conditions and to improve prediction of their future evolution, ultimately increasing our ability to make better decisions. Yet, many water systems are still operated using very simple information systems, typically based on simple statistical analysis and the operator's experience. In this work, we propose a framework to automatically select the most valuable information to inform water systems operations supported by quantitative metrics to operationally and economically assess the value of this information. The Hoa Binh reservoir in Vietnam is used to demonstrate the proposed framework in a multiobjective context, accounting for hydropower production and flood control. First, we quantify the expected value of perfect information, meaning the potential space for improvement under the assumption of exact knowledge of the future system conditions. Second, we automatically select the most valuable information that could be actually used to improve the Hoa Binh operations. Finally, we assess the economic value of sample information on the basis of the resulting policy performance. Results show that our framework successfully select information to enhance the performance of the operating policies with respect to both the competing objectives, attaining a 40% improvement close to the target trade-off selected as potentially good compromise between hydropower production and flood control.

Improving generalized inverted index lock wait times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borodin, A.; Mirvoda, S.; Porshnev, S.; Ponomareva, O.

2018-01-01

Concurrent operations on tree like data structures is a cornerstone of any database system. Concurrent operations intended for improving read\\write performance and usually implemented via some way of locking. Deadlock-free methods of concurrency control are known as tree locking protocols. These protocols provide basic operations(verbs) and algorithm (ways of operation invocations) for applying it to any tree-like data structure. These algorithms operate on data, managed by storage engine which are very different among RDBMS implementations. In this paper, we discuss tree locking protocol implementation for General inverted index (Gin) applied to multiversion concurrency control (MVCC) storage engine inside PostgreSQL RDBMS. After that we introduce improvements to locking protocol and provide usage statistics about evaluation of our improvement in very high load environment in one of the world’s largest IT company.

Optimizing the balance between task automation and human manual control in simulated submarine track management.

PubMed

Chen, Stephanie I; Visser, Troy A W; Huf, Samuel; Loft, Shayne

2017-09-01

Automation can improve operator performance and reduce workload, but can also degrade operator situation awareness (SA) and the ability to regain manual control. In 3 experiments, we examined the extent to which automation could be designed to benefit performance while ensuring that individuals maintained SA and could regain manual control. Participants completed a simulated submarine track management task under varying task load. The automation was designed to facilitate information acquisition and analysis, but did not make task decisions. Relative to a condition with no automation, the continuous use of automation improved performance and reduced subjective workload, but degraded SA. Automation that was engaged and disengaged by participants as required (adaptable automation) moderately improved performance and reduced workload relative to no automation, but degraded SA. Automation engaged and disengaged based on task load (adaptive automation) provided no benefit to performance or workload, and degraded SA relative to no automation. Automation never led to significant return-to-manual deficits. However, all types of automation led to degraded performance on a nonautomated task that shared information processing requirements with automated tasks. Given these outcomes, further research is urgently required to establish how to design automation to maximize performance while keeping operators cognitively engaged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of Integration of Information Communication Technology in Teaching on Students' Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mbugua, Stephen Ngugi; Kiboss, Joel; Tanui, Edward

2015-01-01

Teachers must understand the context within which students' performance improvement takes place. Operational effectiveness and strategy are both essential to superior performance and strategy execution is crucial for quality and better students' academic result. ICT can be a catalyst by providing tools which teachers use to improve teaching and…

Recent Studies on Methanol Crossover in Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valdez, T. I.; Narayanan, S. R.

2000-01-01

In this work, the effects of methanol crossover and airflow rates on the cathode potential of an operating direct methanol fuel cell are explored. Techniques for quantifying methanol crossover in a fuel cell and for separating the electrical performance of each electrode in a fuel cell are discussed. The effect of methanol concentration on cathode potential has been determined to be significant. The cathode is found to be mass transfer limited when operating on low flow rate air and high concentrations of methanol. Improvements in cathode structure and operation at low methanol concentration have been shown to result in improved cell performance.

Queue and stack sorting algorithm optimization and performance analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Mingzhu; Wang, Xiaobao

2018-04-01

Sorting algorithm is one of the basic operation of a variety of software development, in data structures course specializes in all kinds of sort algorithm. The performance of the sorting algorithm is directly related to the efficiency of the software. A lot of excellent scientific research queue is constantly optimizing algorithm, algorithm efficiency better as far as possible, the author here further research queue combined with stacks of sorting algorithms, the algorithm is mainly used for alternating operation queue and stack storage properties, Thus avoiding the need for a large number of exchange or mobile operations in the traditional sort. Before the existing basis to continue research, improvement and optimization, the focus on the optimization of the time complexity of the proposed optimization and improvement, The experimental results show that the improved effectively, at the same time and the time complexity and space complexity of the algorithm, the stability study corresponding research. The improvement and optimization algorithm, improves the practicability.

Cross-industry benchmarking: is it applicable to the operating room?

PubMed

Marco, A P; Hart, S

2001-01-01

The use of benchmarking has been growing in nonmedical industries. This concept is being increasingly applied to medicine as the industry strives to improve quality and improve financial performance. Benchmarks can be either internal (set by the institution) or external (use other's performance as a goal). In some industries, benchmarking has crossed industry lines to identify breakthroughs in thinking. In this article, we examine whether the airline industry can be used as a source of external process benchmarking for the operating room.

Application Performance Analysis and Efficient Execution on Systems with multi-core CPUs, GPUs and MICs: A Case Study with Microscopy Image Analysis

PubMed Central

Teodoro, George; Kurc, Tahsin; Andrade, Guilherme; Kong, Jun; Ferreira, Renato; Saltz, Joel

2015-01-01

We carry out a comparative performance study of multi-core CPUs, GPUs and Intel Xeon Phi (Many Integrated Core-MIC) with a microscopy image analysis application. We experimentally evaluate the performance of computing devices on core operations of the application. We correlate the observed performance with the characteristics of computing devices and data access patterns, computation complexities, and parallelization forms of the operations. The results show a significant variability in the performance of operations with respect to the device used. The performances of operations with regular data access are comparable or sometimes better on a MIC than that on a GPU. GPUs are more efficient than MICs for operations that access data irregularly, because of the lower bandwidth of the MIC for random data accesses. We propose new performance-aware scheduling strategies that consider variabilities in operation speedups. Our scheduling strategies significantly improve application performance compared to classic strategies in hybrid configurations. PMID:28239253

Office of Operations R&D

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-30

The Office of Operations Research and Development (R&D) produces technology and tools to improve transportation system productivity, efficiency, and performance by proactively anticipating congestion and managing traffic.

Using triggered operations to offload collective communication operations.

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

Barrett, Brian W.; Hemmert, K. Scott; Underwood, Keith Douglas

2010-04-01

Efficient collective operations are a major component of application scalability. Offload of collective operations onto the network interface reduces many of the latencies that are inherent in network communications and, consequently, reduces the time to perform the collective operation. To support offload, it is desirable to expose semantic building blocks that are simple to offload and yet powerful enough to implement a variety of collective algorithms. This paper presents the implementation of barrier and broadcast leveraging triggered operations - a semantic building block for collective offload. Triggered operations are shown to be both semantically powerful and capable of improving performance.

Optimizing Robinson Operator with Ant Colony Optimization As a Digital Image Edge Detection Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanti Nasution, Tarida; Zarlis, Muhammad; K. M Nasution, Mahyuddin

2017-12-01

Edge detection serves to identify the boundaries of an object against a background of mutual overlap. One of the classic method for edge detection is operator Robinson. Operator Robinson produces a thin, not assertive and grey line edge. To overcome these deficiencies, the proposed improvements to edge detection method with the approach graph with Ant Colony Optimization algorithm. The repairs may be performed are thicken the edge and connect the edges cut off. Edge detection research aims to do optimization of operator Robinson with Ant Colony Optimization then compare the output and generated the inferred extent of Ant Colony Optimization can improve result of edge detection that has not been optimized and improve the accuracy of the results of Robinson edge detection. The parameters used in performance measurement of edge detection are morphology of the resulting edge line, MSE and PSNR. The result showed that Robinson and Ant Colony Optimization method produces images with a more assertive and thick edge. Ant Colony Optimization method is able to be used as a method for optimizing operator Robinson by improving the image result of Robinson detection average 16.77 % than classic Robinson result.

Millimeter-wave irradiation heating for operation of doped CeO2 electrolyte-supported single solid oxide fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che Abdullah, Salmie Suhana Binti; Teranishi, Takashi; Hayashi, Hidetaka; Kishimoto, Akira

2018-01-01

High operation temperature of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) results in high cell and operation cost, time consuming and fast cell degradation. Developing high performance SOFC that operates at lower temperature is required. Here we demonstrate 24 GHz microwave as a rapid heating source to replace conventional heating method for SOFC operation using 20 mol% Sm doped CeO2 electrolyte-supported single cell. The tested cell shows improvement of 62% in maximum power density at 630 °C under microwave heating. This improvement governs by bulk conductivity of the electrolyte. Investigation of ionic transference number reveals that the value is unchanged under microwave irradiation, confirming the charge carrier is dominated by oxygen ion species. This work shows a potential new concept of high performance as well as cost and energy effective SOFC.

Improved Wide Operating Temperature Range of Li-Ion Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, Marshall C.; Bugga, Ratnakumar V.

2013-01-01

Future NASA missions aimed at exploring the Moon, Mars, and the outer planets require rechargeable batteries that can operate over a wide temperature range (-60 to +60 C) to satisfy the requirements of various applications including landers, rovers, penetrators, CEV, CLV, etc. This work addresses the need for robust rechargeable batteries that can operate well over a wide temperature range. The Department of Energy (DoE) has identified a number of technical barriers associated with the development of Liion rechargeable batteries for PHEVs. For this reason, DoE has interest in the development of advanced electrolytes that will improve performance over a wide range of temperatures, and lead to long life characteristics (5,000 cycles over a 10-year life span). There is also interest in improving the high-voltage stability of these candidate electrolyte systems to enable the operation of up to 5 V with high specific energy cathode materials. Currently, the state-of-the-art lithium-ion system has been demonstrated to operate over a wide range of temperatures (-40 to +40 C); however, the rate capability at the lower temperatures is very poor. In addition, the low-temperature performance typically deteriorates rapidly upon being exposed to high temperatures. A number of electrolyte formulations were developed that incorporate the use of electrolyte additives to improve the high-temperature resilience, low-temperature power capability, and life characteristics of methyl propionate (MP)-based electrolyte solutions. These electrolyte additives include mono-fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), lithium oxalate, vinylene carbonate (VC), and lithium bis(oxalate borate) (LiBOB), which have previously been shown to result in improved high-temperature resilience of all carbonate-based electrolytes. These MP-based electrolytes with additives have been shown to have improved performance in experiments with MCMB-LiNiCoAlO2 cells.

MODIS Instrument Operation and Calibration Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xiong, X.; Angal, A.; Madhavan, S.; Link, D.; Geng, X.; Wenny, B.; Wu, A.; Chen, H.; Salomonson, V.

2014-01-01

Terra and Aqua MODIS have successfully operated for over 14 and 12 years since their respective launches in 1999 and 2002. The MODIS on-orbit calibration is performed using a set of on-board calibrators, which include a solar diffuser for calibrating the reflective solar bands (RSB) and a blackbody for the thermal emissive bands (TEB). On-orbit changes in the sensor responses as well as key performance parameters are monitored using the measurements of these on-board calibrators. This paper provides an overview of MODIS on-orbit operation and calibration activities, and instrument long-term performance. It presents a brief summary of the calibration enhancements made in the latest MODIS data collection 6 (C6). Future improvements in the MODIS calibration and their potential applications to the S-NPP VIIRS are also discussed.

Operating room efficiency improvement after implementation of a postoperative team assessment.

PubMed

Porta, Christopher R; Foster, Andrew; Causey, Marlin W; Cordier, Patricia; Ozbirn, Roger; Bolt, Stephen; Allison, Dennis; Rush, Robert

2013-03-01

Operating room time is highly resource intensive, and delays can be a source of lost revenue and surgeon frustration. Methods to decrease these delays are important not only for patient care, but to maximize operating room resource utilization. The purpose of this study was to determine the root cause of operating room delays in a standardized manner to help improve overall operating room efficiency. We performed a single-center prospective observational study analyzing operating room utilization and efficiency after implementing an executive-driven standardized postoperative team debriefing system from January 2010 to December 2010. A total of 11,342 procedures were performed over the 1-y study period (elective 86%, urgent 11%, and emergent 3%), with 1.3 million min of operating room time, 865,864 min of surgeon operative time (62.5%), and 162,958 min of anesthesia time (11.8%). Overall, the average operating room delay was 18 min and varied greatly based on the surgical specialty. The longest delays were due to need for radiology (40 min); other significant delays were due to supply issues (22.7 min), surgeon issues (18 min), nursing issues (14 min), and room turnover (14 min). Over the 1-y period, there was a decrease in mean delay duration, averaging a decrease in delay of 0.147 min/mo with an overall 9% decrease in the mean delay times. With regard to overall operating room utilization, there was a 39% decrease in overall un-utilized available OR time that was due to delays, improving efficiency by 2334 min (212 min/mo). During this study interval no sentinel events occurred in the operating room. A standardized postoperative debrief tracking system is highly beneficial in identifying and reducing overall operative delays and improving operating room utilization. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Real-Time Assessment of Robot Performance during Remote Exploration Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

degraded instruments (i.e., instrument performance) and to improve plant performance (e.g., increase thermal efficiency). Such degraded instrument...activities. Lidar is used for 3D terrain mapping. During reconnaissance, the rover acquires multiple scans to construct a panorama at specified...Metric Interpretation Operational Use Panorama in Progress Should be true while taking a panorama RO: indicates whether Lidar is functioning

Performance Basis for Airborne Separation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wing, David J.

2008-01-01

Emerging applications of Airborne Separation Assistance System (ASAS) technologies make possible new and powerful methods in Air Traffic Management (ATM) that may significantly improve the system-level performance of operations in the future ATM system. These applications typically involve the aircraft managing certain components of its Four Dimensional (4D) trajectory within the degrees of freedom defined by a set of operational constraints negotiated with the Air Navigation Service Provider. It is hypothesized that reliable individual performance by many aircraft will translate into higher total system-level performance. To actually realize this improvement, the new capabilities must be attracted to high demand and complexity regions where high ATM performance is critical. Operational approval for use in such environments will require participating aircraft to be certified to rigorous and appropriate performance standards. Currently, no formal basis exists for defining these standards. This paper provides a context for defining the performance basis for 4D-ASAS operations. The trajectory constraints to be met by the aircraft are defined, categorized, and assessed for performance requirements. A proposed extension of the existing Required Navigation Performance (RNP) construct into a dynamic standard (Dynamic RNP) is outlined. Sample data is presented from an ongoing high-fidelity batch simulation series that is characterizing the performance of an advanced 4D-ASAS application. Data of this type will contribute to the evaluation and validation of the proposed performance basis.

Domain Adaption of Parsing for Operative Notes

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Pakhomov, Serguei; Ryan, James O.; Melton, Genevieve B.

2016-01-01

Background Full syntactic parsing of clinical text as a part of clinical natural language processing (NLP) is critical for a wide range of applications, such as identification of adverse drug reactions, patient cohort identification, and gene interaction extraction. Several robust syntactic parsers are publicly available to produce linguistic representations for sentences. However, these existing parsers are mostly trained on general English text and often require adaptation for optimal performance on clinical text. Our objective was to adapt an existing general English parser for the clinical text of operative reports via lexicon augmentation, statistics adjusting, and grammar rules modification based on a set of biomedical text. Method The Stanford unlexicalized probabilistic context-free grammar (PCFG) parser lexicon was expanded with SPECIALIST lexicon along with statistics collected from a limited set of operative notes tagged with a two of POS taggers (GENIA tagger and MedPost). The most frequently occurring verb entries of the SPECIALIST lexicon were adjusted based on manual review of verb usage in operative notes. Stanford parser grammar production rules were also modified based on linguistic features of operative reports. An analogous approach was then applied to the GENIA corpus to test the generalizability of this approach to biomedical text. Results The new unlexicalized PCFG parser extended with the extra lexicon from SPECIALIST along with accurate statistics collected from an operative note corpus tagged with GENIA POS tagger improved the parser performance by 2.26% from 87.64% to 89.90%. There was a progressive improvement with the addition of multiple approaches. Most of the improvement occurred with lexicon augmentation combined with statistics from the operative notes corpus. Application of this approach on the GENIA corpus showed that parsing performance was boosted by 3.81% with a simple new grammar and the addition of the GENIA corpus lexicon. Conclusion Using statistics collected from clinical text tagged with POS taggers along with proper modification of grammars and lexicons of an unlexicalized PCFG parser can improve parsing performance. PMID:25661593

Sentinel-3 SAR Altimetry over Coastal and Open Ocean: performance assessment and improved retrieval methods in the ESA SCOOP Project.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benveniste, J.; Cotton, D.; Moreau, T.; Raynal, M.; Varona, E.; Cipollini, P.; Cancet, M.; Martin, F.; Fenoglio-Marc, L.; Naeije, M.; Fernandes, J.; Lazaro, C.; Restano, M.; Ambrózio, A.

2017-12-01

The ESA Sentinel-3 satellite, launched in February 2016 as a part of the Copernicus programme, is the second satellite to operate a SAR mode altimeter. The Sentinel 3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL) is based on the heritage from Cryosat-2, but this time complemented by a Microwave Radiometer (MWR) to provide a wet troposphere correction, and operating at Ku and C-Bands to provide an accurate along-track ionospheric correction. The SRAL is operated in SAR mode over the whole ocean and promises increased performance w.r.t. conventional altimetry. SCOOP (SAR Altimetry Coastal & Open Ocean Performance) is a project funded under the ESA SEOM (Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions) Programme Element, started in September 2015, to characterise the expected performance of Sentinel-3 SRAL SAR mode altimeter products, in the coastal zone and open-ocean, and then to develop and evaluate enhancements to the baseline processing scheme in terms of improvements to ocean measurements. There is also a work package to develop and evaluate an improved Wet Troposphere correction for Sentinel-3, based on the measurements from the on-board MWR, further enhanced mostly in the coastal and polar regions using third party data, and provide recommendations for use. In this presentation we present results from the SCOOP project that demonstrate the excellent performance of SRAL in terms of measurement precision, and we illustrate the development and testing of new processing approaches designed specifically to improve performance close to the coast. The SCOOP test data sets and relevant documentation are available to external researchers on application to the project team. At the end of the project recommendations for further developments and implementations will be provided through a scientific roadmap.

High operation temperature of HgCdTe photodiodes by bulk defect passivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boieriu, Paul; Velicu, S.; Bommena, R.; Buurma, C.; Blisset, C.; Grein, C.; Sivananthan, S.; Hagler, P.

2013-01-01

Spatial noise and the loss of photogenerated current due material non-uniformities limit the performance of long wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe detector arrays. Reducing the electrical activity of defects is equivalent to lowering their density, thereby allowing detection and discrimination over longer ranges. Infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) in other spectral bands will also benefit from detectivity and uniformity improvements. Larger signal-to-noise ratios permit either improved accuracy of detection/discrimination when an IRFPA is employed under current operating conditions, or provide similar performance with the IRFPA operating under less stringent conditions such as higher system temperature, increased system jitter or damaged read out integrated circuit (ROIC) wells. The bulk passivation of semiconductors with hydrogen continues to be investigated for its potential to become a tool for the fabrication of high performance devices. Inductively coupled plasmas have been shown to improve the quality and uniformity of semiconductor materials and devices. The retention of the benefits following various aging conditions is discussed here.

Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell technology program, phase 2/2A. [testing and evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Test evaluations were performed on a fabricated single solid polymer electrolyte cell unit. The cell operated at increased current density and at higher performance levels. This improved performance was obtained through a combination of increased temperature, increased reactant pressures, improved activation techniques and improved thermal control over the baseline cell configuration. The cell demonstrated a higher acid content membrane which resulted in increased performance. Reduced catalyst loading and low cost membrane development showed encouraging results.

Apply TQM to E-Government Outsourcing Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huai, Jinmei

This paper developed an approach to e-government outsourcing quality management. E-government initiatives have rapidly increased in the last decades and the success of these activities will largely depend on their operation quality. As an instrument to improve operation quality, outsourcing can be applied to e-government. This paper inspected process of e-government outsourcing and discussed how to improve the outsourcing performance through total quality management (TQM). The characteristics and special requirements of e-government outsourcing were analyzed as the basis for discussion. Then the principles and application of total quality management were interpreted. Finally the process of improving performance of e-government was analyzed in the context of outsourcing.

Control of an Omni-directional Power-assisted Cart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maeda, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Shigeki; Kitano, Hitoshi; Yamashita, Hideki; Fukunaga, Hideo

This paper describes an easy-to-operate, omni-directional cart. This cart includes power assist technology that acts for both the longitudinal and rotational motions of the cart. Two objectives are set for this development. The first objective is to overcome the difficulty of shifting the cart laterally. Therefore, the equation for calculating the cart turning speed is modified so that the moment, which is driven by the operating force in the right/left direction, is offset. As a result, it becomes possible to stabilize the balance between the operating force in the right/left direction and the operating moment, and improve the operating performance. The second objective is to overcome the other difficulty whereby, during the one-hand pull-operation, the cart tended to run off course to the right/left. To solve this problem, we add a positional control in the right/left direction. As a result, we reduce the lateral deviation of the cart, and improve the operating performance.

Improving learning performance with happiness by interactive scenarios.

PubMed

Chuang, Chi-Hung; Chen, Ying-Nong; Tsai, Luo-Wei; Lee, Chun-Chieh; Tsai, Hsin-Chun

2014-01-01

Recently, digital learning has attracted a lot of researchers to improve the problems of learning carelessness, low learning ability, lack of concentration, and difficulties in comprehending the logic of math. In this study, a digital learning system based on Kinect somatosensory system is proposed to make children and teenagers happily learn in the course of the games and improve the learning performance. We propose two interactive geometry and puzzle games. The proposed somatosensory games can make learners feel curious and raise their motivation to find solutions for boring problems via abundant physical expressions and interactive operations. The players are asked to select particular operation by gestures and physical expressions within a certain time. By doing so, the learners can feel the fun of game playing and train their logic ability before they are aware. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed somatosensory system can effectively improve the students' learning performance.

Improving Learning Performance with Happiness by Interactive Scenarios

PubMed Central

Chuang, Chi-Hung; Chen, Ying-Nong; Tsai, Luo-Wei; Lee, Chun-Chieh; Tsai, Hsin-Chun

2014-01-01

Recently, digital learning has attracted a lot of researchers to improve the problems of learning carelessness, low learning ability, lack of concentration, and difficulties in comprehending the logic of math. In this study, a digital learning system based on Kinect somatosensory system is proposed to make children and teenagers happily learn in the course of the games and improve the learning performance. We propose two interactive geometry and puzzle games. The proposed somatosensory games can make learners feel curious and raise their motivation to find solutions for boring problems via abundant physical expressions and interactive operations. The players are asked to select particular operation by gestures and physical expressions within a certain time. By doing so, the learners can feel the fun of game playing and train their logic ability before they are aware. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed somatosensory system can effectively improve the students' learning performance. PMID:24558331

Operating Room Performance Improves after Proficiency-Based Virtual Reality Cataract Surgery Training.

PubMed

Thomsen, Ann Sofia Skou; Bach-Holm, Daniella; Kjærbo, Hadi; Højgaard-Olsen, Klavs; Subhi, Yousif; Saleh, George M; Park, Yoon Soo; la Cour, Morten; Konge, Lars

2017-04-01

To investigate the effect of virtual reality proficiency-based training on actual cataract surgery performance. The secondary purpose of the study was to define which surgeons benefit from virtual reality training. Multicenter masked clinical trial. Eighteen cataract surgeons with different levels of experience. Cataract surgical training on a virtual reality simulator (EyeSi) until a proficiency-based test was passed. Technical performance in the operating room (OR) assessed by 3 independent, masked raters using a previously validated task-specific assessment tool for cataract surgery (Objective Structured Assessment of Cataract Surgical Skill). Three surgeries before and 3 surgeries after the virtual reality training were video-recorded, anonymized, and presented to the raters in random order. Novices (non-independently operating surgeons) and surgeons having performed fewer than 75 independent cataract surgeries showed significant improvements in the OR-32% and 38%, respectively-after virtual reality training (P = 0.008 and P = 0.018). More experienced cataract surgeons did not benefit from simulator training. The reliability of the assessments was high with a generalizability coefficient of 0.92 and 0.86 before and after the virtual reality training, respectively. Clinically relevant cataract surgical skills can be improved by proficiency-based training on a virtual reality simulator. Novices as well as surgeons with an intermediate level of experience showed improvement in OR performance score. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved high operating temperature MCT MWIR modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutz, H.; Breiter, R.; Figgemeier, H.; Schallenberg, T.; Schirmacher, W.; Wollrab, R.

2014-06-01

High operating temperature (HOT) IR-detectors are a key factor to size, weight and power (SWaP) reduced IR-systems. Such systems are essential to provide infantrymen with low-weight handheld systems with increased battery lifetimes or most compact clip-on weapon sights in combination with high electro-optical performance offered by cooled IR-technology. AIM's MCT standard n-on-p technology with vacancy doping has been optimized over many years resulting in MWIR-detectors with excellent electro-optical performance up to operating temperatures of ~120K. In the last years the effort has been intensified to improve this standard technology by introducing extrinsic doping with Gold as an acceptor. As a consequence the dark current could considerably be suppressed and allows for operation at ~140K with good e/o performance. More detailed investigations showed that limitation for HOT > 140K is explained by consequences from rising dark current rather than from defective pixel level. Recently, several crucial parameters were identified showing great promise for further optimization of HOT-performance. Among those, p-type concentration could successfully be reduced from the mid 1016 / cm3 to the lower 1015/ cm3 range. Since AIM is one of the leading manufacturers of split linear cryocoolers, an increase in operating temperature will directly lead to IR-modules with improved SWaP characteristics by making use of the miniature members of its SX cooler family with single piston and balancer technology. The paper will present recent progress in the development of HOT MWIR-detector arrays at AIM and show electro-optical performance data in comparison to focal plane arrays produced in the standard technology.

The Improvement of Particle Swarm Optimization: a Case Study of Optimal Operation in Goupitan Reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Haichen; Qin, Tao; Wang, Weiping; Lei, Xiaohui; Wu, Wenhui

2018-02-01

Due to the weakness in holding diversity and reaching global optimum, the standard particle swarm optimization has not performed well in reservoir optimal operation. To solve this problem, this paper introduces downhill simplex method to work together with the standard particle swarm optimization. The application of this approach in Goupitan reservoir optimal operation proves that the improved method had better accuracy and higher reliability with small investment.

Performance and cost improvements in the display control module for DVE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, J.; Lorimer, S.,

2009-05-01

The DCM for the Drivers Vision Enhancer system is the display part of a relatively low cost IR imaging system for land-vehicles. Recent changes to operational needs, associated with asymmetrical warfare have added daytime operations to the uses for this mature system. This paper will discuss cost/performance tradeoffs and provide thoughts for "DVE of the future" in light of these new operational needs for the system.

The new design of final optics assembly on SG-III prototype facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ping; Zhao, Runchang; Wang, Wei; Jia, Huaiting; Chen, Liangmin; Su, Jingqin

2014-09-01

To improve the performance of SG-III prototype facility (TIL-Technical Integration Line), final optics assembly (FOA) is re-designed. It contains that stray light and focusing ghosts are optimized, operational performance and environments are improved and the total thickness of optics is reduced. With the re-designed FOA, Some performance advantages are achieved. First, the optics damages are mitigated obviously, especially crystals and Focus lens; Second, stray light and focusing ghosts are controlled better that organic contamination sources inside FOA are eliminated; Third, maintenance and operation are more convenient for the atoms environment; Fourth, the focusable power on target is increased for lower B-integral.

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Model in Operation Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, Meilisa; Efendi, Syahril; Zarlis, Muhammad

2018-01-01

Quality management is an effective system in operation management to develops, maintains, and improves quality from groups of companies that allow marketing, production, and service at the most economycal level as well as ensuring customer satisfication. Many companies are practicing quality management to improve their bussiness performance. One of performance measurement is through measurement of efficiency. One of the tools can be used to assess efficiency of companies performance is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The aim of this paper is using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to assess efficiency of quality management. In this paper will be explained CCR, BCC, and SBM models to assess efficiency of quality management.

Beam shaping to improve the free-electron laser performance at the Linac Coherent Light Source

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

Ding, Y.; Bane, K. L. F.; Colocho, W.

2016-10-27

A new operating mode has been developed for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) in which we shape the longitudinal phase space of the electron beam. This mode of operation is realized using a horizontal collimator located in the middle of the first bunch compressor to truncate the head and tail of the beam. With this method, the electron beam longitudinal phase space and current profile are reshaped, and improvement in lasing performance can be realized. As a result, we present experimental studies at the LCLS of the beam shaping effects on the free-electron laser performance.

Discussion on joint operation of wind farm and pumped-storage hydroplant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Caifang; Wu, Yichun; Liang, Hao; Li, Miao

2017-12-01

Due to the random fluctuations in wind power, large amounts of grid integration will have a negative impact on grid operation and the consumers. The joint operation with pumped-storage hydroplant with good peak shaving performance can effectively reduce the negative impact on the safety and economic operation of power grid, and improve the utilization of wind power. In addition, joint operation can achieve the optimization of green power and improve the comprehensive economic benefits. Actually, the rational profit distribution of joint operation is the premise of sustainable and stable cooperation. This paper focuses on the profit distribution of joint operation, and applies improved shapely value method, which taking the investments and the contributions of each participant in the cooperation into account, to determine the profit distribution. Moreover, the distribution scheme can provide an effective reference for the actual joint operation of wind farm and pumped-storage hydroplant.

Performance of a spacecraft DC-DC converter breadboard modified for low temperature operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerber, Scott S.; Stell, Chris; Patterson, Richard; Ray, Biswajit

1996-01-01

A 1OW 3OV/5.OV push-pull dc-dc converter breadboard, designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with a +50 C to +5 C operating range for the Cassini space probe, was characterized for lower operating temperatures. The breadboard converter which failed to operate for temperatures below -125 C was then modified to operate at temperatures approaching that of liquid nitrogen (LN2). Associated with this low operating temperature range (greater than -196 C) was a variety of performance problems such as significant change in output voltage, converter switching instability, and failure to restart at temperatures below -154 C. An investigation into these problems yielded additional modifications to the converter which improved low temperature performance even further.

Impact of attributed audit on procedural performance in cardiac electrophysiology catheter laboratory.

PubMed

Sawhney, V; Volkova, E; Shaukat, M; Khan, F; Segal, O; Ahsan, S; Chow, A; Ezzat, V; Finlay, M; Lambiase, P; Lowe, M; Dhinoja, M; Sporton, S; Earley, M J; Hunter, R J; Schilling, R J

2018-06-01

Audit has played a key role in monitoring and improving clinical practice. However, audit often fails to drive change as summative institutional data alone may be insufficient to do so. We hypothesised that the practice of attributed audit, wherein each individual's procedural performance is presented will have a greater impact on clinical practice. This hypothesis was tested in an observational study evaluating improvement in fluoroscopy times for AF ablation. Retrospective analyses of fluoroscopy times in AF ablations at the Barts Heart Centre (BHC) from 2012-2017. Fluoroscopy times were compared pre- and post- the introduction of attributed audit in 2012 at St Bartholomew's Hospital (SBH). In order to test the hypothesis, this concept was introduced to a second group of experienced operators from the Heart Hospital (HH) as part of a merger of the two institutions in 2015 and change in fluoroscopy times recorded. A significant drop in fluoroscopy times (33.3 ± 9.14 to 8.95 ± 2.50, p < 0.0001) from 2012-2014 was noted after the introduction of attributed audit. At the time of merger, a significant difference in fluoroscopy times between operators from the two centres was seen in 2015. Each operator's procedural performance was shared openly at the audit meeting. Subsequent audits showed a steady decrease in fluoroscopy times for each operator with the fluoroscopy time (min, mean±SD) decreasing from 13.29 ± 7.3 in 2015 to 8.84 ± 4.8 (p < 0.0001) in 2017 across the entire group. Systematic improvement in fluoroscopy times for AF ablation procedures was noted byevaluating individual operators' performance. Attributing data to physicians in attributed audit can promptsignificant improvement and hence should be adopted in clinical practice.

Common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for wastewater management from a cluster of small scale tanneries.

PubMed

Pathe, P P; Kumar, M Suresh; Kharwade, M R; Kaul, S N

2004-05-01

Effluent treatment plants need land for construction, capital cost, power and specialized manpower for their operation and maintenance. Because of these constraints, small scale tanneries can not afford to have their own effluent treatment facilities and therefore, combined effluent from all tanneries are to be brought to a centralized place for treatment. This facility is called a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP). For operation and maintenance of CETP, small scale tanners formed a co-operative society. The expenses for operation and maintenance of CETP are being shared by participating tanneries. Wastewater management for the cluster of small scale tanneries was studied in details and various measures were incorporated to improve performance of the CETP and also to improve treated effluent quality to confirm standard prescribed by regulatory agencies. Performance of existing CETP was evaluated. Based on the results, bench scale laboratory treatability studies were conducted for improvement in treated effluent quality and also to suggest appropriate modifications to the CETP. These studies are detailed in this paper.

Statistical process control: separating signal from noise in emergency department operations.

PubMed

Pimentel, Laura; Barrueto, Fermin

2015-05-01

Statistical process control (SPC) is a visually appealing and statistically rigorous methodology very suitable to the analysis of emergency department (ED) operations. We demonstrate that the control chart is the primary tool of SPC; it is constructed by plotting data measuring the key quality indicators of operational processes in rationally ordered subgroups such as units of time. Control limits are calculated using formulas reflecting the variation in the data points from one another and from the mean. SPC allows managers to determine whether operational processes are controlled and predictable. We review why the moving range chart is most appropriate for use in the complex ED milieu, how to apply SPC to ED operations, and how to determine when performance improvement is needed. SPC is an excellent tool for operational analysis and quality improvement for these reasons: 1) control charts make large data sets intuitively coherent by integrating statistical and visual descriptions; 2) SPC provides analysis of process stability and capability rather than simple comparison with a benchmark; 3) SPC allows distinction between special cause variation (signal), indicating an unstable process requiring action, and common cause variation (noise), reflecting a stable process; and 4) SPC keeps the focus of quality improvement on process rather than individual performance. Because data have no meaning apart from their context, and every process generates information that can be used to improve it, we contend that SPC should be seriously considered for driving quality improvement in emergency medicine. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

S-NPP VIIRS Calibration and Performance Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xiong, X.; Cao, C.; Lei, N.; Chiang, K.; Blonski, S.; Butler, J.; Wang, Z.

2016-01-01

The first VIIRS instrument has successfully operated for more than 4 years on-board the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) spacecraft. The sensor data records (SDR) derived from VIIRS on-orbit observations have been used to produce many environment data records (EDR), enabling a wide range of applications by the users from operational and research community. This paper provides an overview of instrument operations and its calibration activities, and presents an update of its radiometric performance, in terms of on-orbit changes in sensor spectral band responses and noise characterization. It also describes the effort made to improve sensor calibration, and the strategies developed in support of producing consistent SDR and, consequently, the EDR with improved quality.

Fitness characteristics of a suburban special weapons and tactics team.

PubMed

Pryor, Riana R; Colburn, Deanna; Crill, Matthew T; Hostler, David P; Suyama, J

2012-03-01

Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operators are specialized law enforcement officers who traditionally perform their duties with higher anticipated workloads because of additional body armor, weapons, and equipment used for enhanced operations and protection. This elevated workload increases the need for SWAT operators to improve or maintain their physical fitness to consistently perform routine operations. Typical tasks require trunk rotation, overhead upper extremity use, upper and lower body strength use, and long waiting periods followed by explosive movements while wearing additional equipment. Eleven male SWAT operators from 1 SWAT team performed flexibility, strength, power, and aerobic capacity tests and a variety of job-related tasks. Data were compared with age- and gender-based normative data. Fitness testing revealed that officers ranked high on tests of muscular strength (leg strength, 90th percentile; bench press, 85th percentile); however, body composition (55th percentile), core body strength, and flexibility ranked lower. Furthermore, aerobic capacity and muscular power had a wide range of scores and were also not ideal to support maximal performance during routine operations. These data can assist exercise specialists choose fitness programs specifically for job-related tasks of SWAT operators when creating fitness programs. Fitness programming for law enforcement should focus on improving aerobic fitness, flexibility, core strength, and muscular power while maintaining muscular strength to meet the needs of these specialized officers.

Implementation and evaluation of a dilation and evacuation simulation training curriculum.

PubMed

York, Sloane L; McGaghie, William C; Kiley, Jessica; Hammond, Cassing

2016-06-01

To evaluate obstetrics and gynecology resident physicians' performance following a simulation curriculum on dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures. This study included two phases: simulation curriculum development and resident physician performance evaluation following training on a D&E simulator. Trainees participated in two evaluations. Simulation training evaluated participants performing six cases on a D&E simulator, measuring procedural time and a 26-step checklist of D&E steps. The operative training portion evaluated residents' performance after training on the simulator using mastery learning techniques. Intra-operative evaluation was based on a 21-step checklist score, Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS), and percentage of cases completed. Twenty-two residents participated in simulation training, demonstrating improved performance from cases one and two to cases five and six, as measured by checklist score and procedural time (p<.001 and p=.001, respectively). Of 10 participants in the operative training, all performed at least three D&Es, while seven performed at least six cases. While checklist scores did not change significantly from the first to sixth case (mean for first case: 18.3; for sixth case: 19.6; p=.593), OSATS ratings improved from case one (19.7) to case three (23.5; p=.001) and to case six (26.8; p=.005). Trainees completed approximately 71.6% of their first case (range: 21.4-100%). By case six, the six participants performed 81.2% of the case (range: 14.3-100%). D&E simulation using a newly-developed uterine model and simulation curriculum improves resident technical skills. Simulation training with mastery learning techniques transferred to high level of performance in OR using checklist. The OSATS measured skills and showed improvement in performance with subsequent cases. Implementation of a D&E simulation curriculum offers potential for improved surgical training and abortion provision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Process mapping as a framework for performance improvement in emergency general surgery.

PubMed

DeGirolamo, Kristin; D'Souza, Karan; Hall, William; Joos, Emilie; Garraway, Naisan; Sing, Chad Kim; McLaughlin, Patrick; Hameed, Morad

2017-12-01

Emergency general surgery conditions are often thought of as being too acute for the development of standardized approaches to quality improvement. However, process mapping, a concept that has been applied extensively in manufacturing quality improvement, is now being used in health care. The objective of this study was to create process maps for small bowel obstruction in an effort to identify potential areas for quality improvement. We used the American College of Surgeons Emergency General Surgery Quality Improvement Program pilot database to identify patients who received nonoperative or operative management of small bowel obstruction between March 2015 and March 2016. This database, patient charts and electronic health records were used to create process maps from the time of presentation to discharge. Eighty-eight patients with small bowel obstruction (33 operative; 55 nonoperative) were identified. Patients who received surgery had a complication rate of 32%. The processes of care from the time of presentation to the time of follow-up were highly elaborate and variable in terms of duration; however, the sequences of care were found to be consistent. We used data visualization strategies to identify bottlenecks in care, and they showed substantial variability in terms of operating room access. Variability in the operative care of small bowel obstruction is high and represents an important improvement opportunity in general surgery. Process mapping can identify common themes, even in acute care, and suggest specific performance improvement measures.

Process mapping as a framework for performance improvement in emergency general surgery.

PubMed

DeGirolamo, Kristin; D'Souza, Karan; Hall, William; Joos, Emilie; Garraway, Naisan; Sing, Chad Kim; McLaughlin, Patrick; Hameed, Morad

2018-02-01

Emergency general surgery conditions are often thought of as being too acute for the development of standardized approaches to quality improvement. However, process mapping, a concept that has been applied extensively in manufacturing quality improvement, is now being used in health care. The objective of this study was to create process maps for small bowel obstruction in an effort to identify potential areas for quality improvement. We used the American College of Surgeons Emergency General Surgery Quality Improvement Program pilot database to identify patients who received nonoperative or operative management of small bowel obstruction between March 2015 and March 2016. This database, patient charts and electronic health records were used to create process maps from the time of presentation to discharge. Eighty-eight patients with small bowel obstruction (33 operative; 55 nonoperative) were identified. Patients who received surgery had a complication rate of 32%. The processes of care from the time of presentation to the time of follow-up were highly elaborate and variable in terms of duration; however, the sequences of care were found to be consistent. We used data visualization strategies to identify bottlenecks in care, and they showed substantial variability in terms of operating room access. Variability in the operative care of small bowel obstruction is high and represents an important improvement opportunity in general surgery. Process mapping can identify common themes, even in acute care, and suggest specific performance improvement measures.

Clinical laboratory as an economic model for business performance analysis

PubMed Central

Buljanović, Vikica; Patajac, Hrvoje; Petrovečki, Mladen

2011-01-01

Aim To perform SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a clinical laboratory as an economic model that may be used to improve business performance of laboratories by removing weaknesses, minimizing threats, and using external opportunities and internal strengths. Methods Impact of possible threats to and weaknesses of the Clinical Laboratory at Našice General County Hospital business performance and use of strengths and opportunities to improve operating profit were simulated using models created on the basis of SWOT analysis results. The operating profit as a measure of profitability of the clinical laboratory was defined as total revenue minus total expenses and presented using a profit and loss account. Changes in the input parameters in the profit and loss account for 2008 were determined using opportunities and potential threats, and economic sensitivity analysis was made by using changes in the key parameters. The profit and loss account and economic sensitivity analysis were tools for quantifying the impact of changes in the revenues and expenses on the business operations of clinical laboratory. Results Results of simulation models showed that operational profit of €470 723 in 2008 could be reduced to only €21 542 if all possible threats became a reality and current weaknesses remained the same. Also, operational gain could be increased to €535 804 if laboratory strengths and opportunities were utilized. If both the opportunities and threats became a reality, the operational profit would decrease by €384 465. Conclusion The operational profit of the clinical laboratory could be significantly reduced if all threats became a reality and the current weaknesses remained the same. The operational profit could be increased by utilizing strengths and opportunities as much as possible. This type of modeling may be used to monitor business operations of any clinical laboratory and improve its financial situation by implementing changes in the next fiscal period. PMID:21853546

Clinical laboratory as an economic model for business performance analysis.

PubMed

Buljanović, Vikica; Patajac, Hrvoje; Petrovecki, Mladen

2011-08-15

To perform SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of a clinical laboratory as an economic model that may be used to improve business performance of laboratories by removing weaknesses, minimizing threats, and using external opportunities and internal strengths. Impact of possible threats to and weaknesses of the Clinical Laboratory at Našice General County Hospital business performance and use of strengths and opportunities to improve operating profit were simulated using models created on the basis of SWOT analysis results. The operating profit as a measure of profitability of the clinical laboratory was defined as total revenue minus total expenses and presented using a profit and loss account. Changes in the input parameters in the profit and loss account for 2008 were determined using opportunities and potential threats, and economic sensitivity analysis was made by using changes in the key parameters. The profit and loss account and economic sensitivity analysis were tools for quantifying the impact of changes in the revenues and expenses on the business operations of clinical laboratory. Results of simulation models showed that operational profit of €470 723 in 2008 could be reduced to only €21 542 if all possible threats became a reality and current weaknesses remained the same. Also, operational gain could be increased to €535 804 if laboratory strengths and opportunities were utilized. If both the opportunities and threats became a reality, the operational profit would decrease by €384 465. The operational profit of the clinical laboratory could be significantly reduced if all threats became a reality and the current weaknesses remained the same. The operational profit could be increased by utilizing strengths and opportunities as much as possible. This type of modeling may be used to monitor business operations of any clinical laboratory and improve its financial situation by implementing changes in the next fiscal period.

International Space Station Major Constituent Analyzer On-Orbit Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Ben D.; Erwin, Phillip M.; Thoresen, Souzan; Granahan, John; Matty, Chris

2012-01-01

The Major Constituent Analyzer is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on the International Space Station. A number of limited-life components require periodic changeout, including the ORU 02 analyzer and the ORU 08 Verification Gas Assembly. Over the past two years, two ORU 02 analyzer assemblies have operated nominally while two others have experienced premature on-orbit failures. These failures as well as nominal performances demonstrate that ORU 02 performance remains a key determinant of MCA performance and logistical support. It can be shown that monitoring several key parameters can maximize the capacity to monitor ORU health and properly anticipate end of life. Improvements to ion pump operation and ion source tuning are expected to improve lifetime performance of the current ORU 02 design.

Assessing performance of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) using Cognitive Task Analysis.

PubMed

Saitwal, Himali; Feng, Xuan; Walji, Muhammad; Patel, Vimla; Zhang, Jiajie

2010-07-01

Many Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems fail to provide user-friendly interfaces due to the lack of systematic consideration of human-centered computing issues. Such interfaces can be improved to provide easy to use, easy to learn, and error-resistant EHR systems to the users. To evaluate the usability of an EHR system and suggest areas of improvement in the user interface. The user interface of the AHLTA (Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application) was analyzed using the Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) method called GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules) and an associated technique called KLM (Keystroke Level Model). The GOMS method was used to evaluate the AHLTA user interface by classifying each step of a given task into Mental (Internal) or Physical (External) operators. This analysis was performed by two analysts independently and the inter-rater reliability was computed to verify the reliability of the GOMS method. Further evaluation was performed using KLM to estimate the execution time required to perform the given task through application of its standard set of operators. The results are based on the analysis of 14 prototypical tasks performed by AHLTA users. The results show that on average a user needs to go through 106 steps to complete a task. To perform all 14 tasks, they would spend about 22 min (independent of system response time) for data entry, of which 11 min are spent on more effortful mental operators. The inter-rater reliability analysis performed for all 14 tasks was 0.8 (kappa), indicating good reliability of the method. This paper empirically reveals and identifies the following finding related to the performance of AHLTA: (1) large number of average total steps to complete common tasks, (2) high average execution time and (3) large percentage of mental operators. The user interface can be improved by reducing (a) the total number of steps and (b) the percentage of mental effort, required for the tasks. 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An insight into actual energy use and its drivers in high-performance buildings

DOE PAGES

Li, Cheng; Hong, Tianzhen; Yan, Da

2014-07-12

Using portfolio analysis and individual detailed case studies, we studied the energy performance and drivers of energy use in 51 high-performance office buildings in the U.S., Europe, China, and other parts of Asia. Portfolio analyses revealed that actual site energy use intensity (EUI) of the study buildings varied by a factor of as much as 11, indicating significant variation in real energy use in HPBs worldwide. Nearly half of the buildings did not meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2004 energy target, raising questions about whether a building’s certification as high performing accuratelymore » indicates that a building is energy efficient and suggesting that improvement in the design and operation of HPBs is needed to realize their energy-saving potential. We studied the influence of climate, building size, and building technologies on building energy performance and found that although all are important, none are decisive factors in building energy use. EUIs were widely scattered in all climate zones. There was a trend toward low energy use in small buildings, but the correlation was not absolute; some small HPBs exhibited high energy use, and some large HPBs exhibited low energy use. We were unable to identify a set of efficient technologies that correlated directly to low EUIs. In two case studies, we investigated the influence of occupant behavior as well as operation and maintenance on energy performance and found that both play significant roles in realizing energy savings. We conclude that no single factor determines the actual energy performance of HPBs, and adding multiple efficient technologies does not necessarily improve building energy performance; therefore, an integrated design approach that takes account of climate, technology, occupant behavior, and operations and maintenance practices should be implemented to maximize energy savings in HPBs. As a result, these findings are intended to help architects, engineers, operators, and policy makers improve the design and operation of HPBs.« less

Operating rules for multireservoir systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Rodrigo; Loucks, Daniel P.

1997-04-01

Multireservoir operating policies are usually defined by rules that specify either individual reservoir desired (target) storage volumes or desired (target) releases based on the time of year and the existing total storage volume in all reservoirs. This paper focuses on the use of genetic search algorithms to derive these multireservoir operating policies. The genetic algorithms use real-valued vectors containing information needed to define both system release and individual reservoir storage volume targets as functions of total storage in each of multiple within-year periods. Elitism, arithmetic crossover, mutation, and "en bloc" replacement are used in the algorithms to generate successive sets of possible operating policies. Each policy is then evaluated using simulation to compute a performance index for a given flow series. The better performing policies are then used as a basis for generating new sets of possible policies. The process of improved policy generation and evaluation is repeated until no further improvement in performance is obtained. The proposed algorithm is applied to example reservoir systems used for water supply and hydropower.

Diagnostic Utility of the Social Skills Improvement System Performance Screening Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krach, S. Kathleen; McCreery, Michael P.; Wang, Ye; Mohammadiamin, Houra; Cirks, Christen K.

2017-01-01

Researchers investigated the diagnostic utility of the Social Skills Improvement System: Performance Screening Guide (SSIS-PSG). Correlational, regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and conditional probability analyses were run to compare ratings on the SSIS-PSG subscales of Prosocial Behavior, Reading Skills, and Math Skills, to…

Continuation of research into software for space operations support: Conversion of the display manager to X Windows/Motif, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collier, Mark D.; Killough, Ronnie; Martin, Nancy L.

1990-01-01

NASA is currently using a set of applications called the Display Builder and Display Manager. They run on Concurrent systems and heavily depend on the Graphic Kernel System (GKS). At this time however, these two applications would more appropriately be developed in X Windows, in which a low X is used for all actual text and graphics display and a standard widget set (such as Motif) is used for the user interface. Use of the X Windows will increase performance, improve the user interface, enhance portability, and improve reliability. Prototype of X Window/Motif based Display Manager provides the following advantages over a GKS based application: improved performance by using a low level X Windows, display of graphic and text will be more efficient; improved user interface by using Motif; Improved portability by operating on both Concurrent and Sun workstations; and Improved reliability.

The Objectives of NASA's Living with a Star Space Environment Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barth, Janet L.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Brewer, Dana; Kauffman, Billy; Howard, Regan; Griffin, Geoff; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

NASA is planning to fly a series of Space Environment Testbeds (SET) as part of the Living With A Star (LWS) Program. The goal of the testbeds is to improve and develop capabilities to mitigate and/or accommodate the affects of solar variability in spacecraft and avionics design and operation. This will be accomplished by performing technology validation in space to enable routine operations, characterize technology performance in space, and improve and develop models, guidelines and databases. The anticipated result of the LWS/SET program is improved spacecraft performance, design, and operation for survival of the radiation, spacecraft charging, meteoroid, orbital debris and thermosphere/ionosphere environments. The program calls for a series of NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) to be issued to solicit flight validation experiments, improvement in environment effects models and guidelines, and collateral environment measurements. The selected flight experiments may fly on the SET experiment carriers and flights of opportunity on other commercial and technology missions. This paper presents the status of the project so far, including a description of the types of experiments that are intended to fly on SET-1 and a description of the SET-1 carrier parameters.

40 CFR 125.98 - As the Director, what must I do to comply with the requirements of this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... technologies, operational measures, or restoration measures should be included in the permit to meet the... evaluate the performance of the design and construction technologies, operational measures, and/or... construction technologies, operational measure, and/or restoration measures, and/or improved operation and...

Primary and Secondary Lithium Batteries Capable of Operating at Low Temperatures for Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; West, W. C.; Brandon, E. J.

2011-01-01

Objectives and Approach: (1) Develop advanced Li ]ion electrolytes that enable cell operation over a wide temperature range (i.e., -60 to +60 C). Improve the high temperature stability and lifetime characteristics of wide operating temperature electrolytes. (2) Define the performance limitations at low and high temperature extremes, as well as, life limiting processes. (3) Demonstrate the performance of advanced electrolytes in large capacity prototype cells.

Preoperative surgical rehearsal using cadaveric fresh tissue surgical simulation increases resident operative confidence.

PubMed

Weber, Erin L; Leland, Hyuma A; Azadgoli, Beina; Minneti, Michael; Carey, Joseph N

2017-08-01

Rehearsal is an essential part of mastering any technical skill. The efficacy of surgical rehearsal is currently limited by low fidelity simulation models. Fresh cadaver models, however, offer maximal surgical simulation. We hypothesize that preoperative surgical rehearsal using fresh tissue surgical simulation will improve resident confidence and serve as an important adjunct to current training methods. Preoperative rehearsal of surgical procedures was performed by plastic surgery residents using fresh cadavers in a simulated operative environment. Rehearsal was designed to mimic the clinical operation, complete with a surgical technician to assist. A retrospective, web-based survey was used to assess resident perception of pre- and post-procedure confidence, preparation, technique, speed, safety, and anatomical knowledge on a 5-point scale (1= not confident, 5= very confident). Twenty-six rehearsals were performed by 9 residents (PGY 1-7) an average of 4.7±2.1 days prior to performance of the scheduled operation. Surveys demonstrated a median pre-simulation confidence score of 2 and a post-rehearsal score of 4 (P<0.01). The perceived improvement in confidence and performance was greatest when simulation was performed within 3 days of the scheduled case. All residents felt that cadaveric simulation was better than standard preparation methods of self-directed reading or discussion with other surgeons. All residents believed that their technique, speed, safety, and anatomical knowledge improved as a result of simulation. Fresh tissue-based preoperative surgical rehearsal was effectively implemented in the residency program. Resident confidence and perception of technique improved. Survey results suggest that cadaveric simulation is beneficial for all levels of residents. We believe that implementation of preoperative surgical rehearsal is an effective adjunct to surgical training at all skill levels in the current environment of decreased work hours.

Pre-irradiation testing and analysis to support the LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-04 unfueled rodlet irradiation

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

Isabella J van Rooyen

2012-09-01

Nuclear fuel performance is a significant driver of nuclear power plant operational performance, safety, economics and waste disposal requirements. The Advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) Nuclear Fuel Development Pathway focuses on improving the scientific knowledge basis to enable the development of high-performance, high burn-up fuels with improved safety and cladding integrity and improved nuclear fuel cycle economics. To achieve significant improvements, fundamental changes are required in the areas of nuclear fuel composition, cladding integrity, and fuel/cladding interaction.

Pre-irradiation testing and analysis to support the LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-04 unfueled rodlet irradiation

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

Isabella J van Rooyen

2013-01-01

Nuclear fuel performance is a significant driver of nuclear power plant operational performance, safety, economics and waste disposal requirements. The Advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) Nuclear Fuel Development Pathway focuses on improving the scientific knowledge basis to enable the development of high-performance, high burn-up fuels with improved safety and cladding integrity and improved nuclear fuel cycle economics. To achieve significant improvements, fundamental changes are required in the areas of nuclear fuel composition, cladding integrity, and fuel/cladding interaction.

Performance monitoring can boost turboexpander efficiency

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

McIntire, R.

1982-07-05

This paper discusses ways of improving the productivity of the turboexpander/refrigeration system's radial expander and radial compressor through systematic review of component performance. It reviews several techniques to determine the performance of an expander and compressor. It suggests that any performance improvement program requires quantifying the performance of separate components over a range of operating conditions; estimating the increase in performance associated with any hardware change; and developing an analytical (computer) model of the entire system by using the performance curve of individual components. The model is used to quantify the economic benefits of any change in the system, eithermore » a change in operating procedures or a hardware modification. Topics include proper ways of using antisurge control valves and modifying flow rate/shaft speed (Q/N). It is noted that compressor efficiency depends on the incidence angle of blade at the rotor leading edge and the angle of the incoming gas stream.« less

[Surface Cleaning and Disinfection in the Hospital. Improvement by Objective Monitoring and Intervention].

PubMed

Woltering, R; Hoffmann, G; Isermann, J; Heudorf, U

2016-11-01

Background and Objective: An assessment of cleaning and disinfection in hospitals by the use of objective surveillance and review of mandatory corrective measures was undertaken. Methods: A prospective examination of the cleaning and disinfection of surfaces scheduled for daily cleaning in 5 general care hospitals by use of an ultraviolet fluorescence targeting method (UVM) was performed, followed by structured educational and procedural interventions. The survey was conducted in hospital wards, operating theatres and intensive care units. Cleaning performance was measured by complete removal of UVM. Training courses and reinforced self-monitoring were implemented after the first evaluation. 6 months later, we repeated the assessment for confirmation of success. Results: The average cleaning performance was 34% (31/90) at base-line with significant differences between the 5 hospitals (11-67%). The best results were achieved in intensive care units (61%) and operating theatres (58%), the worst results in hospital wards (22%). The intervention significantly improved cleaning performance up to an average of 69% (65/94; +34.7%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 21.2-48.3; p<0.05), with differences between the hospitals (20-95%). The largest increase was achieved in hospital wards (+45%; CI 29.2-60.8; p<0.05). Improvements in operating theatres (+22.9%; CI 10.9-56.7) and intensive care units (+5.6%; CI 25.8-36.9) were statistically not significant. Conclusions: The monitoring of cleaning and disinfection of surfaces by fluorescence targeting is appropriate for evaluating hygiene regulations. An intervention can lead to a significant improvement of cleaning performance. As part of a strategy to improve infection control in hospitals, fluorescence targeting enables a simple inexpensive and effective surveillance of the cleaning performance and corrective measures. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Examination of a carton sealing line using a thermographic scanner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinfeld, Jack M.

1999-03-01

The study of the operation and performance of natural gas fired sealing lines for polyethylene coated beverage containers was performed. Both thermal and geometric data was abstracted from the thermal scans and used to characterize the performance of the sealing line. The impact of process operating variables such as line speed and carton to carton spacing was studied. Recommendations for system improvements, instrumentation and process control were made.

Improving safety in pavement field testing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-09-15

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) collects pavement condition and performance data each year, using both site-specific equipment that requires temporary traffic control (TTC) operations (either moving or closed operations) and full-size...

Noise and correlations in a microwave-mechanical-optical transducer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higginbotham, Andrew P.; Burns, Peter S.; Peterson, Robert W.; Urmey, Maxwell D.; Kampel, Nir S.; Menke, Timothy; Cicak, Katarina; Simmonds, Raymond W.; Regal, Cindy A.; Lehnert, Konrad W.

Viewed as resources for quantum information processing, microwave and optical fields offer complementary strengths. We simultaneously couple one mode of a micromechanical oscillator to a resonant microwave circuit and a high-finesse optical cavity. In previous work, this system was operated as a classical converter between microwave and optical signals at 4 K, operating with 10% efficiency and 1500 photons of added noise. To improve noise performance, we now operate the converter at 0.1 K. We have observed order-of-magnitude improvement in noise performance, and quantified effects from undesired interactions between the laser and superconducting circuit. Correlations between the microwave and optical fields have also been investigated, serving as a precursor to upcoming quantum operation. We acknowledge support from AFOSR MURI Grant FA9550-15-1-0015 and PFC National Science Foundation Grant 1125844.

Towards highly stable polymer electronics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolka, Mark; Nasrallah, Iyad; Broch, Katharina; Sadhanala, Aditya; Hurhangee, Michael; McCulloch, Iain; Sirringhaus, Henning

2016-11-01

Due to their ease of processing, organic semiconductors are promising candidates for applications in high performance flexible displays and fast organic electronic circuitry. Recently, a lot of advances have been made on organic semiconductors exhibiting surprisingly high performance and carrier mobilities exceeding those of amorphous silicon. However, there remain significant concerns about their operational and environmental stability, particularly in the context of applications that require a very high level of threshold voltage stability, such as active-matrix addressing of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. Here, we report a novel technique for dramatically improving the operational stress stability, performance and uniformity of high mobility polymer field-effect transistors by the addition of specific small molecule additives to the polymer semiconductor film. We demonstrate for the first time polymer FETs that exhibit stable threshold voltages with threshold voltage shifts of less than 1V when subjected to a constant current operational stress for 1 day under conditions that are representative for applications in OLED active matrix displays. The approach constitutes in our view a technological breakthrough; it also makes the device characteristics independent of the atmosphere in which it is operated, causes a significant reduction in contact resistance and significantly improves device uniformity. We will discuss in detail the microscopic mechanism by which the molecular additives lead to this significant improvement in device performance and stability.

Developments to Increase the Performance, Operational Versatility and Automation of a Lunar Surface Manipulation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorsey, John T.; Jones, Thomas C.; Doggett, William R.; Roithmayr, Carlos M.; King, Bruce D.; Mikulas, Marting M.

2009-01-01

The objective of this paper is to describe and summarize the results of the development efforts for the Lunar Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) with respect to increasing the performance, operational versatility, and automation. Three primary areas of development are covered, including; the expansion of the operational envelope and versatility of the current LSMS test-bed, the design of a second generation LSMS, and the development of automation and remote control capability. The first generation LSMS, which has been designed, built, and tested both in lab and field settings, is shown to have increased range of motion and operational versatility. Features such as fork lift mode, side grappling of payloads, digging and positioning of lunar regolith, and a variety of special end effectors are described. LSMS operational viability depends on bei nagble to reposition its base from an initial position on the lander to a mobility chassis or fixed locations around the lunar outpost. Preliminary concepts are presented for the second generation LSMS design, which will perform this self-offload capability. Incorporating design improvements, the second generation will have longer reach and three times the payload capability, yet it will have approximately equivalent mass to the first generation. Lastly, this paper covers improvements being made to the control system of the LSMS test-bed, which is currently operated using joint velocity control with visual cues. These improvements include joint angle sensors, inverse kinematics, and automated controls.

Experimental investigations, modeling, and analyses of high-temperature devices for space applications: Part 1. Final report, June 1996--December 1998

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

Tournier, J.; El-Genk, M.S.; Huang, L.

1999-01-01

The Institute of Space and Nuclear Power Studies at the University of New Mexico has developed a computer simulation of cylindrical geometry alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter cells using a standard Fortran 77 computer code. The objective and use of this code was to compare the experimental measurements with computer simulations, upgrade the model as appropriate, and conduct investigations of various methods to improve the design and performance of the devices for improved efficiency, durability, and longer operational lifetime. The Institute of Space and Nuclear Power Studies participated in vacuum testing of PX series alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter cells and developedmore » the alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter Performance Evaluation and Analysis Model. This computer model consisted of a sodium pressure loss model, a cell electrochemical and electric model, and a radiation/conduction heat transfer model. The code closely predicted the operation and performance of a wide variety of PX series cells which led to suggestions for improvements to both lifetime and performance. The code provides valuable insight into the operation of the cell, predicts parameters of components within the cell, and is a useful tool for predicting both the transient and steady state performance of systems of cells.« less

Experimental investigations, modeling, and analyses of high-temperature devices for space applications: Part 2. Final report, June 1996--December 1998

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

Tournier, J.; El-Genk, M.S.; Huang, L.

1999-01-01

The Institute of Space and Nuclear Power Studies at the University of New Mexico has developed a computer simulation of cylindrical geometry alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter cells using a standard Fortran 77 computer code. The objective and use of this code was to compare the experimental measurements with computer simulations, upgrade the model as appropriate, and conduct investigations of various methods to improve the design and performance of the devices for improved efficiency, durability, and longer operational lifetime. The Institute of Space and Nuclear Power Studies participated in vacuum testing of PX series alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter cells and developedmore » the alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter Performance Evaluation and Analysis Model. This computer model consisted of a sodium pressure loss model, a cell electrochemical and electric model, and a radiation/conduction heat transfer model. The code closely predicted the operation and performance of a wide variety of PX series cells which led to suggestions for improvements to both lifetime and performance. The code provides valuable insight into the operation of the cell, predicts parameters of components within the cell, and is a useful tool for predicting both the transient and steady state performance of systems of cells.« less

Future of operating rooms.

PubMed

Reijnen, Michel M P J; Zeebregts, Clark J; Meijerink, Wilhelmus J H J

2005-01-01

Operating-room design has not changed significantly since the modern era of surgery began. Minimal invasive, endoscopic, procedures, and evolution of technology will affect operating-room design in the near future. Poor ergonomics has always been one of the major drawbacks of endoscopic surgery. Use of retractable arms and monitors will improve ergonomics of the operating team. Developments in telecommunication will allow surgeons to communicate with colleagues and experts during the procedure in virtually any location around the world, which increases teaching possibilities and procedural safety. Introduction and further development of intraoperative imaging, including real-time, three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions of patient, and computer-aided surgery offer surgeons the opportunity to train the planned surgical procedure. Moreover, they will improve control and supervision of the procedure in learning situations. The last decade's robotics have made their introduction into the operating rooms. They improve control over the operating-room environment and will facilitate the performance of more complex procedures. However, high costs and lack of force feedback remain its major drawbacks. Improvements of robotic techniques and its implementation into the operating rooms will further guide their design into highly specialized operating units.

Upgrades to the ISS Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew J.; Carter, Donald L.; Schunk, Richard G.; Pruitt, Jennifer M.

2016-01-01

The International Space Station Water Recovery System (WRS) is comprised of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications can reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multifiltration Bed, develop improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor, evaluate optimum operation of UPA through parametric testing, and improve reliability of the UPA fluids pump and Distillation Assembly.

Niobium Application, Metallurgy and Global Trends in Pressure Vessel Steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jansto, Steven G.

Niobium-containing high strength steel materials have been developed for a variety of pressure vessel applications. Through the application of these Nb-bearing steels in demanding applications, the designer and end user experience improved toughness at low temperature, excellent fatigue resistance and fracture toughness and excellent weldability. These enhancements provide structural engineers the opportunity to further improve the pressure vessel design and performance. The Nb-microalloy alloy designs also result in reduced operational production cost at the steel operation, thereby embracing the value-added attribute Nb provides to both the producer and the end user throughout the supply chain. For example, through the adoption of these Nb-containing structural materials, several design-manufacturing companies are considering improved designs which offer improved manufacturability, lower overall cost and better life cycle performance.

Lockheed L-1011 Test Station on-board in support of the Adaptive Performance Optimization flight res

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

This console and its compliment of computers, monitors and commmunications equipment make up the Research Engineering Test Station, the nerve center for a new aerodynamics experiment being conducted by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The equipment is installed on a modified Lockheed L-1011 Tristar jetliner operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va., for Dryden's Adaptive Performance Optimization project. The experiment seeks to improve the efficiency of long-range jetliners by using small movements of the ailerons to improve the aerodynamics of the wing at cruise conditions. About a dozen research flights in the Adaptive Performance Optimization project are planned over the next two to three years. Improving the aerodynamic efficiency should result in equivalent reductions in fuel usage and costs for airlines operating large, wide-bodied jetliners.

Cognitive Readiness Assessment and Reporting: An Open Source Mobile Framework for Operational Decision Support and Performance Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heric, Matthew; Carter, Jenn

2011-01-01

Cognitive readiness (CR) and performance for operational time-critical environments are continuing points of focus for military and academic communities. In response to this need, we designed an open source interactive CR assessment application as a highly adaptive and efficient open source testing administration and analysis tool. It is capable…

An Automatic Drag-and-Drop Assistive Program Developed to Assistive People with Developmental Disabilities to Improve Drag-and-Drop Efficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shih, Ching-Hsiang; Huang, Hsun-Chin; Liao, Yung-Kun; Shih, Ching-Tien; Chiang, Ming-Shan

2010-01-01

The latest researches adopted software technology to improve pointing performance; however, Drag-and-Drop (DnD) operation is also commonly used in modern GUI programming. This study evaluated whether two children with developmental disabilities would be able to improve their DnD performance, through an Automatic DnD Assistive Program (ADnDAP). At…

Integrating enzyme immobilization and protein engineering: An alternative path for the development of novel and improved industrial biocatalysts.

PubMed

Bernal, Claudia; Rodríguez, Karen; Martínez, Ronny

2018-06-09

Enzyme immobilization often achieves reusable biocatalysts with improved operational stability and solvent resistance. However, these modifications are generally associated with a decrease in activity or detrimental modifications in catalytic properties. On the other hand, protein engineering aims to generate enzymes with increased performance at specific conditions by means of genetic manipulation, directed evolution and rational design. However, the achieved biocatalysts are generally generated as soluble enzymes, -thus not reusable- and their performance under real operational conditions is uncertain. Combined protein engineering and enzyme immobilization approaches have been employed as parallel or consecutive strategies for improving an enzyme of interest. Recent reports show efforts on simultaneously improving both enzymatic and immobilization components through genetic modification of enzymes and optimizing binding chemistry for site-specific and oriented immobilization. Nonetheless, enzyme engineering and immobilization are usually performed as separate workflows to achieve improved biocatalysts. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent research aiming to integrate enzyme immobilization and protein engineering and propose strategies to further converge protein engineering and enzyme immobilization efforts into a novel "immobilized biocatalyst engineering" research field. We believe that through the integration of both enzyme engineering and enzyme immobilization strategies, novel biocatalysts can be obtained, not only as the sum of independently improved intrinsic and operational properties of enzymes, but ultimately tailored specifically for increased performance as immobilized biocatalysts, potentially paving the way for a qualitative jump in the development of efficient, stable biocatalysts with greater real-world potential in challenging bioprocess applications. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

SPOT satellite family: Past, present, and future of the operations in the mission and control center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Philippe, Pacholczyk

1993-01-01

SPOT sun-synchronous remote sensing satellites are operated by CNES since February 1986. Today, the SPOT mission and control center (CCM) operates SPOT1, SPOT2, and is ready to operate SPOT3. During these seven years, the way to operate changed and the CCM, initially designed for the control of one satellite, has been modified and upgraded to support these new operating modes. All these events have shown the performances and the limits of the system. A new generation of satellite (SPOT4) will continue the remote sensing mission during the second half of the 90's. Its design takes into account the experience of the first generation and supports several improvements. A new generation of control center (CMP) has been developed and improves the efficiency, quality, and reliability of the operations. The CMP is designed for operating two satellites at the same time during launching, in-orbit testing, and operating phases. It supports several automatic procedures and improves data retrieval and reporting.

Electronic Performance Support for Operational Systems: A Case Study of the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Randall W., Jr.; Cooper, Lynne P.

1993-01-01

For complex operational systems, help needs to come from the inside out. It is often not realistic to call a help desk for problems that need immediate attention, especially for tasks that put a heavy cognitive load on the system operator. This session addresses the issues associated with providing electronic performance support for operational systems, including situations where the system is already fielded and can only change through evolution rather than revolution. We present a case study based on our experiences in developing the Link Monitor and Control Operator Assistant for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). The goals of the Operator Assistant are to improve the operability of the system and increase the efficiency of mission operations.

Aerospace safety advisory panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Data acquired on the actual flight experience with the various subsystems are assessed. These subsystems include: flight control and performance, structural integrity, orbiter landing gear, lithium batteries, EVA and prebreathing, and main engines. Improvements for routine operations are recommended. Policy issues for operations and flight safety for aircraft operations are discussed.

Financial performance among adult day centers: results of a national demonstration program.

PubMed

Reifler, B V; Henry, R S; Rushing, J; Yates, M K; Cox, N J; Bradham, D D; McFarlane, M

1997-02-01

This paper describes the financial performance (defined as percent of total expenses covered by net operating revenue) of 16 adult day centers participating in a national demonstration program on day services for people with dementia, including examination of possible predictors of financial performance. Participating sites submitted quarterly financial and utilization reports to the National Program Office. Descriptive statistics summarize the factors believed to influence financial performance. Sites averaged meeting 35% of expenses from self-pay and 29% from government (mainly Medicaid) revenue, totaling 64% of all (cash plus in-kind) expenses met by operating revenue. Examination of center characteristics suggests that factors related to meeting consumer needs, such as being open a full day (i.e., 7:30 am to 6:00 pm) rather than shorter hours, and providing transportation, may be related to improved utilization and, thus, improved financial performance. Higher fees were not related to lower enrollment, census, or revenue. Adult day centers are able to achieve financial viability through a combination of operating (i.e., fee-for-service) and non-operating revenue. Operating revenue is enhanced by placing emphasis on consumer responsiveness, such as being open a full day. Because higher fees were not related to lower utilization, centers should set fees to reflect actual costs. The figure of 64% of expenses met by operating revenue is conservative inasmuch as sites included in-kind revenue as expenses in their budgeting calculations, and percent of cash expenses met by operating revenue would be higher (approximately 75% for this group of centers).

Fine tuning GPS clock estimation in the MCS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hutsell, Steven T.

1995-01-01

With the completion of a 24 operational satellite constellation, GPS is fast approaching the critical milestone, Full Operational Capability (FOC). Although GPS is well capable of providing the timing accuracy and stability figures required by system specifications, the GPS community will continue to strive for further improvements in performance. The GPS Master Control Station (MCS) recently demonstrated that timing improvements are always composite Clock, and hence, Kalman Filter state estimation, providing a small improvement to user accuracy.

International Space Station Major Constituent Analyzer On-Orbit Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Ben D.; Erwin, Phillip M.; Thoresen, Souzan; Wiedemann, Rachel; Matty, Chris

2015-01-01

The Major Constituent Analyzer is a mass spectrometer based system that measures the major atmospheric constituents on the International Space Station. A number of limited-life components require periodic change-out, including the ORU 02 analyzer and the ORU 08 Verification Gas Assembly. Improvements to ion pump operation and ion source tuning have improved lifetime performance of the current ORU 02 design. The most recent ORU 02 analyzer assemblies, as well as ORU 08, have operated nominally. For ORU 02, the ion source filaments and ion pump lifetime continue to be key determinants of MCA performance and logistical support. Monitoring several key parameters provides the capacity to monitor ORU health and properly anticipate end of life.

Innovation in internship preparation: an operative anatomy course increases senior medical students' knowledge and confidence.

PubMed

Tocco, Nikki; Brunsvold, Melissa; Kabbani, Loay; Lin, Jules; Stansfield, Brent; Mueller, Dean; Minter, Rebecca M

2013-08-01

An operative anatomy course was developed within the construct of a surgical internship preparatory curriculum. This course provided fourth-year medical students matching into a surgical residency the opportunity to perform intern-level procedures on cadavers under the guidance of surgical faculty members. Senior medical students performed intern-level procedures on cadavers with the assistance of faculty surgeons. Students' confidence, anxiety, and procedural knowledge were evaluated both preoperatively and postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative data were compared both collectively and based on individual procedures. Student confidence and procedural knowledge significantly increased and anxiety significantly decreased when preoperative and postoperative data were compared (P < .05). Students reported moderate to significant improvement in their ability to perform a variety of surgical tasks. The consistent improvement in confidence, knowledge, and anxiety justifies further development of an operative anatomy course, with future assessment of the impact on performance in surgical residency. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Up-and-down designs for phase I clinical trials

PubMed Central

Liu, Suyu; Cai, Chunyan; Ning, Jing

2014-01-01

Various up-and-down designs have been proposed to improve the operating characteristics of the traditional “3+3” design, but they have been of limited use in practice. A major impediment to the adoption of the improved up-and-down designs is a lack of general guidance and a comprehensive assessment of the operating characteristics of these designs under practical clinical settings. To fill this gap, we review six up-and-down designs: the “3+3” design, accelerated titration design, biased coin design, k-in-a-row design, group up-and-down design and cumulative group up-and-down design. We conduct comprehensive simulation studies to evaluate their operating characteristics under various practical settings, and compare their performance to a theoretical optimal bound of nonparametric designs. The results show that the cumulative group up-and-down design has the best overall performance in terms of selecting the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), assigning patients to the MTD and patient safety. Its performance is generally close to the upper bound of nonparametric designs, but improvement seems possible in some cases. PMID:23856381

The balanced scorecard--measures that drive performance.

PubMed

Kaplan, R S; Norton, D P

1992-01-01

Frustrated by the inadequacies of traditional performance measurement systems, some managers have abandoned financial measures like return on equity and earnings per share. "Make operational improvements and the numbers will follow," the argument goes. But managers do not want to choose between financial and operational measures. Executives want a balanced presentation of measures that allow them to view the company from several perspectives simultaneously. During a year-long research project with 12 companies at the leading edge of performance measurement, the authors developed a "balanced scorecard," a new performance measurement system that gives top managers a fast but comprehensive view of the business. The balanced scorecard includes financial measures that tell the results of actions already taken. And it complements those financial measures with three sets of operational measures having to do with customer satisfaction, internal processes, and the organization's ability to learn and improve--the activities that drive future financial performance. Managers can create a balanced scorecard by translating their company's strategy and mission statements into specific goals and measures. To create the part of the scorecard that focuses on the customer perspective, for example, executives at Electronic Circuits Inc. established general goals for customer performance: get standard products to market sooner, improve customers' time-to-market, become customers' supplier of choice through partnerships, and develop innovative products tailored to customer needs. Managers translated these elements of strategy into four specific goals and identified a measure for each.

On the use of controls for subsonic transport performance improvement: Overview and future directions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilyard, Glenn; Espana, Martin

1994-01-01

Increasing competition among airline manufacturers and operators has highlighted the issue of aircraft efficiency. Fewer aircraft orders have led to an all-out efficiency improvement effort among the manufacturers to maintain if not increase their share of the shrinking number of aircraft sales. Aircraft efficiency is important in airline profitability and is key if fuel prices increase from their current low. In a continuing effort to improve aircraft efficiency and develop an optimal performance technology base, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center developed and flight tested an adaptive performance seeking control system to optimize the quasi-steady-state performance of the F-15 aircraft. The demonstrated technology is equally applicable to transport aircraft although with less improvement. NASA Dryden, in transitioning this technology to transport aircraft, is specifically exploring the feasibility of applying adaptive optimal control techniques to performance optimization of redundant control effectors. A simulation evaluation of a preliminary control law optimizes wing-aileron camber for minimum net aircraft drag. Two submodes are evaluated: one to minimize fuel and the other to maximize velocity. This paper covers the status of performance optimization of the current fleet of subsonic transports. Available integrated controls technologies are reviewed to define approaches using active controls. A candidate control law for adaptive performance optimization is presented along with examples of algorithm operation.

Method for improving fuel cell performance

DOEpatents

Uribe, Francisco A.; Zawodzinski, Thomas

2003-10-21

A method is provided for operating a fuel cell at high voltage for sustained periods of time. The cathode is switched to an output load effective to reduce the cell voltage at a pulse width effective to reverse performance degradation from OH adsorption onto cathode catalyst surfaces. The voltage is stepped to a value of less than about 0.6 V to obtain the improved and sustained performance.

Measuring Command Post Operations in a Decisive Action Training Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

Research Report 2001 Measuring Command Post Operations in a Decisive Action Training Environment Michelle N...September 2014 - September 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Measuring Command Post Operations in a Decisive Action Training Environment 5a...Readiness Training Center Warrior Leadership Council, we explored whether a guide on Command Post (CP) Operations could improve performance during

Improved Electrophoresis Cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, P. H.; Snyder, R. S.

1982-01-01

Several proposed modifications are expected to improve performance of a continous-flow electrophoresis cell. Changes would allow better control of buffer flow and would increase resolution by suppressing thermal gradients. Improved electrophoresis device would have high resolution and be easy to operate. Improvements would allow better flow control and heat dissipation.

Design of a Kaplan turbine for a wide range of operating head -Curved draft tube design and model test verification-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KO, Pohan; MATSUMOTO, Kiyoshi; OHTAKE, Norio; DING, Hua

2016-11-01

As for turbomachine off-design performance improvement is challenging but critical for maximising the performing area. In this paper, a curved draft tube for a medium head Kaplan type hydro turbine is introduced and discussed for its significant effect on expanding operating head range. Without adding any extra structure and working fluid for swirl destruction and damping, a carefully designed outline shape of draft tube with the selected placement of center-piers successfully supresses the growth of turbulence eddy and the transport of the swirl to the outlet. Also, more kinetic energy is recovered and the head lost is improved. Finally, the model test results are also presented. The obvious performance improvement was found in the lower net head area, where the maximum efficiency improvement was measured up to 20% without compromising the best efficiency point. Additionally, this design results in a new draft tube more compact in size and so leads to better construction and manufacturing cost performance for prototype. The draft tube geometry parameter designing process was concerning the best efficiency point together with the off-design points covering various water net heads and discharges. The hydraulic performance and flow behavior was numerically previewed and visualized by solving Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with Shear Stress Transport turbulence model. The simulation was under the assumption of steady-state incompressible turbulence flow inside the flow passage, and the inlet boundary condition was the carefully simulated flow pattern from the runner outlet. For confirmation, the corresponding turbine efficiency performance of the entire operating area was verified by model test.

Theory and implementation of summarization: Improving sensor interpretation for spacecraft operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swartwout, Michael Alden

New paradigms in space missions require radical changes in spacecraft operations. In the past, operations were insulated from competitive pressures of cost, quality and time by system infrastructures, technological limitations and historical precedent. However, modern demands now require that operations meet competitive performance goals. One target for improvement is the telemetry downlink, where significant resources are invested to acquire thousands of measurements for human interpretation. This cost-intensive method is used because conventional operations are not based on formal methodologies but on experiential reasoning and incrementally adapted procedures. Therefore, to improve the telemetry downlink it is first necessary to invent a rational framework for discussing operations. This research explores operations as a feedback control problem, develops the conceptual basis for the use of spacecraft telemetry, and presents a method to improve performance. The method is called summarization, a process to make vehicle data more useful to operators. Summarization enables rational trades for telemetry downlink by defining and quantitatively ranking these elements: all operational decisions, the knowledge needed to inform each decision, and all possible sensor mappings to acquire that knowledge. Summarization methods were implemented for the Sapphire microsatellite; conceptual health management and system models were developed and a degree-of-observability metric was defined. An automated tool was created to generate summarization methods from these models. Methods generated using a Sapphire model were compared against the conventional operations plan. Summarization was shown to identify the key decisions and isolate the most appropriate sensors. Secondly, a form of summarization called beacon monitoring was experimentally verified. Beacon monitoring automates the anomaly detection and notification tasks and migrates these responsibilities to the space segment. A set of experiments using Sapphire demonstrated significant cost and time savings compared to conventional operations. Summarization is based on rational concepts for defining and understanding operations. Therefore, it enables additional trade studies that were formerly not possible and also can form the basis for future detailed research into spacecraft operations.

An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept Leveraging Big Data/Analytics for NAS Performance Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, William; Chachad, Girish; Hochstetler, Ronald

2016-01-01

The Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) concept was developed to improve the gate turnaround performance at the airport by leveraging relevant historical data to support optimization of airport gate operations, which include: taxi to the gate, gate services, push back, taxi to the runway, and takeoff, based on available resources, constraints, and uncertainties. By analyzing events of gate operations, primary performance dependent attributes of these events were identified for the historical data analysis such that performance models can be developed based on uncertainties to support descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive functions. A system architecture was developed to examine system requirements in support of such a concept. An IGTM prototype was developed to demonstrate the concept using a distributed network and collaborative decision tools for stakeholders to meet on time pushback performance under uncertainties.

Modernization and Activation of the NASA Ames 11- by 11-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kmak, Frank J.

2000-01-01

The Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) was modernized to improve performance, capability, productivity, and reliability. Automation systems were installed in all three UPWT tunnel legs and the Auxiliaries facility. Major improvements were made to the four control rooms, model support systems, main drive motors, and main drive speed control. Pressure vessel repairs and refurbishment to the electrical distribution system were also completed. Significant changes were made to improve test section flow quality in the 11-by 11-Foot Transonic leg. After the completion of the construction phase of the project, acceptance and checkout testing was performed to demonstrate the capabilities of the modernized facility. A pneumatic test of the tunnel circuit was performed to verify the structural integrity of the pressure vessel before wind-on operations. Test section turbulence, flow angularity, and acoustic parameters were measured throughout the tunnel envelope to determine the effects of the tunnel flow quality improvements. The new control system processes were thoroughly checked during wind-off and wind-on operations. Manual subsystem modes and automated supervisory modes of tunnel operation were validated. The aerodynamic and structural performance of both the new composite compressor rotor blades and the old aluminum rotor blades was measured. The entire subsonic and supersonic envelope of the 11-by 11-Foot Transonic leg was defined up to the maximum total pressure.

Improving Problem-Solving Performance of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yakubova, Gulnoza; Taber-Doughty, Teresa

2017-01-01

The effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to improve the problem-solving performance of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) during vocational tasks was examined. A multiple-probe across-students design was used to illustrate the effectiveness of point-of-view video modeling paired with practice sessions and a self-operated cue…

User Documentation; POTW EXPERT v1.1; An Advisory System for Improving the Performance of Wastewater Treatment Facilities

EPA Science Inventory

POTW Expert is a PCX-based software program modeled after EPA/s Handbook Retrofitting POTWs (EPA-625/6-89/020) (formerly, Handbook for Improving POTW Performance Using the Composite Correction Program Approach). POTW Expert assists POTW owners and operators, state and local regu...

Coupled electrochemical and heat/mass transport characteristics in passive direct methanol fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Rong

This thesis presents both experimental and theoretical investigations of coupled heat/mass transfer and electrochemical characteristics in the passive DMFC. Unlike active fuel cells, which can be operated under stabilized operating conditions, the discharging behavior of the passive DMFC usually varies with time, as the methanol concentration in the fuel reservoir decreases with time. This poses a difficulty in characterizing the performance of the passive DMFC under relatively stable operating conditions. In this work, we found that the performance of the passive DMFC became relatively stable as the cell operating temperature rose to a relatively stable value. This finding indicates that the performance of the passive DMFC can be characterized by collecting polarization data at the instance when the cell operating temperature under the open-circuit condition rises to a relatively stable value. With this proposed standard of passive DMFC performance characterization, the effects of two important parameters, including methanol concentration and cell orientation, on the passive DMFC performance were then investigated. It is found that the cell performance increased with methanol concentration. Unlike previous studies that attributed the improved performance as a result of increasing methanol concentration to the reduced anode mass transport polarization, our experimental results revealed that the improved cell performance was primarily due to the increased cell operating temperature as a result of the increased rate of methanol crossover with high methanol concentration operation. We also found that the performance was sensitive to the cell orientation. The vertical operation always yielded better performance than did the horizontal operation. This can be attributed to the increased operating temperature as a result of a higher rate of methanol crossover, which resulted from the stronger natural convection in the vertical orientation. These parametric studies indicated that the thermal management is a key factor for improving the performance of the passive DMFC. To enhance oxygen transport on the air-breathing cathode and to reduce the heat loss from the cathode, a porous current collector for the passive DMFC was proposed to replace conventional perforated-plate current collectors. Because of its high specific area of transport and effectiveness in removing the liquid water as a result of the capillary action in the porous structure, the porous current collector enables a significant enhancement of oxygen supply to the fuel cell. In addition, because of the lower effective thermal conductivity of the porous structure, the heat loss from the fuel cell to ambient air can be reduced. The experimental results showed that the passive DMFC having the porous current collector yielded much higher and much more stable performance than did the cell having the conventional perforated-plate current collector with high methanol concentration operation. As a following up to oxygen transport enhancement, a new design of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was proposed, in which the conventional cathode gas diffusion layer (CGDL) is eliminated while utilizing a porous metal structure for transporting oxygen and collecting current. We show theoretically that the new MEA enables a higher mass transfer rate of oxygen and thus better performance. Moreover, the measured polarization and constant-current discharging behavior showed that the passive DMFC with the new MEA yielded higher and much more stable performance than did the cell having the conventional MEA. Besides the experimental investigations, to further theoretically study the thermal effect on the cell performance, a one-dimension single-phase model is developed by considering inherently coupled heat and mass transport along with the electrochemical reactions occurring in passive DMFCs. The analytical solutions predicting the performance of this type of fuel cell operating with different methanol concentrations are obtained. It was further revealed that the improved performance with higher methanol concentrations is due primarily to the increased operating temperature resulting from the exothermic reaction between the permeated methanol and oxygen on the cathode. In addition, to further reflect the effect of two-phase heat and mass transport on the performance of the passive DMFC, we then developed a two-phase two-dimensional thermal model. With this model, the effects of methanol concentration, open ratio and channel and rib width on cell performance were investigated. It was found that although the larger open ratio and smaller channel and rib width exhibit the lower cell operating temperature as a result of the lower heat generation rate, the cell performance is still higher as a result of the increased mass transfer rate on both the anode and cathode. Keywords: Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell; Cell Performance; Thermal Effect; Open-circuit Condition; Methanol Concentration; Cell Orientation; Metal Foam, Effective Thermal Conductivity; Oxygen Transport; Mass Transfer Resistance; Two-phase Transport; Open Ratio; Channel and Rib Width.

Combustion Characteristics Analysis of Improved Combustor Structure of Micro Turbine Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hai

2018-05-01

In order to improve the performance of micro combustor, the 60 slots of the original combustor were modified into 120 slots for the MIT 6-wafer micro-combustor. The performance of the micro combustor with the improved and original design was compared through numerical simulation, and stable operating ranges was studied. It was found that the improved combustor can stabilize the flame under the condition of higher fuel/air mixture mass flow rate.

Virtual reality training for surgical trainees in laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Nagendran, Myura; Gurusamy, Kurinchi Selvan; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Loizidou, Marilena; Davidson, Brian R

2013-08-27

Standard surgical training has traditionally been one of apprenticeship, where the surgical trainee learns to perform surgery under the supervision of a trained surgeon. This is time-consuming, costly, and of variable effectiveness. Training using a virtual reality simulator is an option to supplement standard training. Virtual reality training improves the technical skills of surgical trainees such as decreased time for suturing and improved accuracy. The clinical impact of virtual reality training is not known. To assess the benefits (increased surgical proficiency and improved patient outcomes) and harms (potentially worse patient outcomes) of supplementary virtual reality training of surgical trainees with limited laparoscopic experience. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Science Citation Index Expanded until July 2012. We included all randomised clinical trials comparing virtual reality training versus other forms of training including box-trainer training, no training, or standard laparoscopic training in surgical trainees with little laparoscopic experience. We also planned to include trials comparing different methods of virtual reality training. We included only trials that assessed the outcomes in people undergoing laparoscopic surgery. Two authors independently identified trials and collected data. We analysed the data with both the fixed-effect and the random-effects models using Review Manager 5 analysis. For each outcome we calculated the mean difference (MD) or standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals based on intention-to-treat analysis. We included eight trials covering 109 surgical trainees with limited laparoscopic experience. Of the eight trials, six compared virtual reality versus no supplementary training. One trial compared virtual reality training versus box-trainer training and versus no supplementary training, and one trial compared virtual reality training versus box-trainer training. There were no trials that compared different forms of virtual reality training. All the trials were at high risk of bias. Operating time and operative performance were the only outcomes reported in the trials. The remaining outcomes such as mortality, morbidity, quality of life (the primary outcomes of this review) and hospital stay (a secondary outcome) were not reported. Virtual reality training versus no supplementary training: The operating time was significantly shorter in the virtual reality group than in the no supplementary training group (3 trials; 49 participants; MD -11.76 minutes; 95% CI -15.23 to -8.30). Two trials that could not be included in the meta-analysis also showed a reduction in operating time (statistically significant in one trial). The numerical values for operating time were not reported in these two trials. The operative performance was significantly better in the virtual reality group than the no supplementary training group using the fixed-effect model (2 trials; 33 participants; SMD 1.65; 95% CI 0.72 to 2.58). The results became non-significant when the random-effects model was used (2 trials; 33 participants; SMD 2.14; 95% CI -1.29 to 5.57). One trial could not be included in the meta-analysis as it did not report the numerical values. The authors stated that the operative performance of virtual reality group was significantly better than the control group. Virtual reality training versus box-trainer training: The only trial that reported operating time did not report the numerical values. In this trial, the operating time in the virtual reality group was significantly shorter than in the box-trainer group. Of the two trials that reported operative performance, only one trial reported the numerical values. The operative performance was significantly better in the virtual reality group than in the box-trainer group (1 trial; 19 participants; SMD 1.46; 95% CI 0.42 to 2.50). In the other trial that did not report the numerical values, the authors stated that the operative performance in the virtual reality group was significantly better than the box-trainer group. Virtual reality training appears to decrease the operating time and improve the operative performance of surgical trainees with limited laparoscopic experience when compared with no training or with box-trainer training. However, the impact of this decreased operating time and improvement in operative performance on patients and healthcare funders in terms of improved outcomes or decreased costs is not known. Further well-designed trials at low risk of bias and random errors are necessary. Such trials should assess the impact of virtual reality training on clinical outcomes.

Augmented reality user interface for mobile ground robots with manipulator arms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vozar, Steven; Tilbury, Dawn M.

2011-01-01

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology in which real-world visual data is combined with an overlay of computer graphics, enhancing the original feed. AR is an attractive tool for teleoperated UGV UIs as it can improve communication between robots and users via an intuitive spatial and visual dialogue, thereby increasing operator situational awareness. The successful operation of UGVs often relies upon both chassis navigation and manipulator arm control, and since existing literature usually focuses on one task or the other, there is a gap in mobile robot UIs that take advantage of AR for both applications. This work describes the development and analysis of an AR UI system for a UGV with an attached manipulator arm. The system supplements a video feed shown to an operator with information about geometric relationships within the robot task space to improve the operator's situational awareness. Previous studies on AR systems and preliminary analyses indicate that such an implementation of AR for a mobile robot with a manipulator arm is anticipated to improve operator performance. A full user-study can determine if this hypothesis is supported by performing an analysis of variance on common test metrics associated with UGV teleoperation.

Performance evaluation of haptic hand-controllers in a robot-assisted surgical system.

PubMed

Zareinia, Kourosh; Maddahi, Yaser; Ng, Canaan; Sepehri, Nariman; Sutherland, Garnette R

2015-12-01

This paper presents the experimental evaluation of three commercially available haptic hand-controllers to evaluate which was more suitable to the participants. Two surgeons and seven engineers performed two peg-in-hole tasks with different levels of difficulty. Each operator guided the end-effector of a Kuka manipulator that held surgical forceps and was equipped with a surgical microscope. Sigma 7, HD(2) and PHANToM Premium 3.0 hand-controllers were compared. Ten measures were adopted to evaluate operators' performances with respect to effort, speed and accuracy in completing a task, operator improvement during the tests, and the force applied by each haptic device. The best performance was observed with the Premium 3.0; the hand-piece was able to be held in a similar way to that used by surgeons to hold conventional tools. Hand-controllers with a linkage structure similar to the human upper extremity take advantage of the inherent human brain connectome, resulting in improved surgeon performance during robotic-assisted surgery. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introducing the CERT (Trademark) Resiliency Engineering Framework: Improving the Security and Sustainability Processes

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

business processes and services. 4. Security operations management addresses the day-to-day activities that the organization performs to protect the...Management TM – Technology Management Security Operations Management SOM – Security Operations Management 5.7.2 Important Operations Competency...deals with the provision of access rights to informa- tion and technical assets SOM – Security Operations Management , which addresses the fundamental

Operational and environmental performance in China's thermal power industry: Taking an effectiveness measure as complement to an efficiency measure.

PubMed

Wang, Ke; Zhang, Jieming; Wei, Yi-Ming

2017-05-01

The trend toward a more fiercely competitive and strictly environmentally regulated electricity market in several countries, including China has led to efforts by both industry and government to develop advanced performance evaluation models that adapt to new evaluation requirements. Traditional operational and environmental efficiency measures do not fully consider the influence of market competition and environmental regulations and, thus, are not sufficient for the thermal power industry to evaluate its operational performance with respect to specific marketing goals (operational effectiveness) and its environmental performance with respect to specific emissions reduction targets (environmental effectiveness). As a complement to an operational efficiency measure, an operational effectiveness measure not only reflects the capacity of an electricity production system to increase its electricity generation through the improvement of operational efficiency, but it also reflects the system's capability to adjust its electricity generation activities to match electricity demand. In addition, as a complement to an environmental efficiency measure, an environmental effectiveness measure not only reflects the capacity of an electricity production system to decrease its pollutant emissions through the improvement of environmental efficiency, but it also reflects the system's capability to adjust its emissions abatement activities to fulfill environmental regulations. Furthermore, an environmental effectiveness measure helps the government regulator to verify the rationality of its emissions reduction targets assigned to the thermal power industry. Several newly developed effectiveness measurements based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) were utilized in this study to evaluate the operational and environmental performance of the thermal power industry in China during 2006-2013. Both efficiency and effectiveness were evaluated from the three perspectives of operational, environmental, and joint adjustments to each electricity production system. The operational and environmental performance changes over time were also captured through an effectiveness measure based on the global Malmquist productivity index. Our empirical results indicated that the performance of China's thermal power industry experienced significant progress during the study period and that policies regarding the development and regulation of the thermal power industry yielded the expected effects. However, the emissions reduction targets assigned to China's thermal power industry are loose and conservative. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A clinical audit cycle of post-operative hypothermia in dogs.

PubMed

Rose, N; Kwong, G P S; Pang, D S J

2016-09-01

Use of clinical audits to assess and improve perioperative hypothermia management in client-owned dogs. Two clinical audits were performed. In Audit 1 data were collected to determine the incidence and duration of perioperative hypothermia (defined as rectal temperatures <37·0°C). The results from Audit 1 were used to reach consensus on changes to be implemented to improve temperature management, including re-defining hypothermia as rectal temperature <37·5°C. Audit 2 was performed after 1 month with changes in place. Audit 1 revealed a high incidence of post-operative hypothermia (88·0%) and prolonged time periods (7·5 hours) to reach normothermia. Consensus changes were to use a forced air warmer on all dogs and measure rectal temperatures hourly post-operatively until temperature ≥37·5°C. After 1 month with the implemented changes, Audit 2 identified a significant reduction in the time to achieve a rectal temperature of ≥37·5°C, with 75% of dogs achieving this goal by 3·5 hours. The incidence of hypothermia at tracheal extubation remained high in Audit 2 (97·3% with a rectal temperature <37·5°C). Post-operative hypothermia was improved through simple changes in practice, showing that clinical audit is a useful tool for monitoring post-operative hypothermia and improving patient care. Overall management of perioperative hypothermia could be further improved with earlier intervention. © 2016 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

The Use of Human Factors Simulation to Conserve Operations Expense

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, George S.; Dischinger, H. Charles, Jr.; Wu, Hsin-I.

1999-01-01

In preparation for on-orbit operations, NASA performs experiments aboard a KC-135 which performs parabolic maneuvers, resulting in short periods of microgravity. While considerably less expensive than space operations, the use of this aircraft is costly. Simulation of tasks to be performed during the flight can allow the participants to optimize hardware configuration and crew interaction prior to flight. This presentation will demonstrate the utility of such simulation. The experiment simulated is the fluid dynamics of epoxy components which may be used in a patch kit in the event of meteoroid damage to the International Space Station. Improved configuration and operational efficiencies were reflected in early and increased data collection.

Neurological surgery: the influence of physical and mental demands on humans performing complex operations.

PubMed

Bourne, Sarah K; Walcott, Brian P; Sheth, Sameer A; Coumans, Jean-Valery C E

2013-03-01

Performing neurological surgery is an inherently demanding task on the human body, both physically and mentally. Neurosurgeons routinely perform "high stakes" operations in the setting of mental and physical fatigue. These conditions may be not only the result of demanding operations, but also influential to their outcome. Similar to other performance-based endurance activities, training is paramount to successful outcomes. The inflection point, where training reaches the point of diminishing returns, is intensely debated. For the neurosurgeon, this point must be exploited to the maximum, as patients require both the best-trained and best-performing surgeon. In this review, we explore the delicate balance of training and performance, as well as some routinely used adjuncts to improve human performance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ISS Increments 3 and 4 Test Report: For the Active Rack Isolation System ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quraishi, Naveed; Allen, Jim; Bushnell, Glenn; Fialho, Ian

2003-01-01

The purpose of ARIS-ICE is to improve, optimize then operationally test and document the performance of the ARIS system on the International Space Station. The ICE program required testing across a full 3 increments (2 through 4). This paper represents the operational report summarizing our accomplishments through the third and fourth increment of testing. The main objectives and results of the increment two testing are discussed in The Increment two Operational Report. This report can be obtained from the ISS Payloads Office or from (http://iss-www.isc.nasa.gov/sslissapt/payofc/OZ3/ARIS.html). In summary these were to ensure the smooth and successful activation of the system and correct operational issues related to long term testing. Then the follow on increment 3 & 4 testing encompassed the majority of the on orbit performance assessments and improvements made to the ARIS system. The intent here is to report these preliminary results of the increment 3 & 4 ARIS-ICE testing as well as the ARIS system improvements made for our users and customers.

2000 Assessment of Amtrak's Financial Performance and Requirements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-09-19

In 1997, Congress passed the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act (ARAA), which established a deadline of 2002 for Amtrak to improve operations sufficiently to eliminate its need for further Federal operating subsidies. After 2002, no funds authorize...

Automated classification of focal breast lesions according to S-detect: validation and role as a clinical and teaching tool.

PubMed

Di Segni, Mattia; de Soccio, Valeria; Cantisani, Vito; Bonito, Giacomo; Rubini, Antonello; Di Segni, Gabriele; Lamorte, Sveva; Magri, Valentina; De Vito, Corrado; Migliara, Giuseppe; Bartolotta, Tommaso Vincenzo; Metere, Alessio; Giacomelli, Laura; de Felice, Carlo; D'Ambrosio, Ferdinando

2018-06-01

To assess the diagnostic performance and the potential as a teaching tool of S-detect in the assessment of focal breast lesions. 61 patients (age 21-84 years) with benign breast lesions in follow-up or candidate to pathological sampling or with suspicious lesions candidate to biopsy were enrolled. The study was based on a prospective and on a retrospective phase. In the prospective phase, after completion of baseline US by an experienced breast radiologist and S-detect assessment, 5 operators with different experience and dedication to breast radiology performed elastographic exams. In the retrospective phase, the 5 operators performed a retrospective assessment and categorized lesions with BI-RADS 2013 lexicon. Integration of S-detect to in-training operators evaluations was performed by giving priority to S-detect analysis in case of disagreement. 2 × 2 contingency tables and ROC analysis were used to assess the diagnostic performances; inter-rater agreement was measured with Cohen's k; Bonferroni's test was used to compare performances. A significance threshold of p = 0.05 was adopted. All operators showed sensitivity > 90% and varying specificity (50-75%); S-detect showed sensitivity > 90 and 70.8% specificity, with inter-rater agreement ranging from moderate to good. Lower specificities were improved by the addition of S-detect. The addition of elastography did not lead to any improvement of the diagnostic performance. S-detect is a feasible tool for the characterization of breast lesions; it has a potential as a teaching tool for the less experienced operators.

It's Just (Academic) Business: A Use Case in Improving Informatics Operations with Business Intelligence.

PubMed

McIntosh, Leslie D; Zabarovskaya, Connie; Uhlmansiek, Mary

2015-01-01

Academic biomedical informatics cores are beholden to funding agencies, institutional administration, collaborating researchers, and external agencies for ongoing funding and support. Services provided and translational research outcomes are increasingly important to monitor, report and analyze, to demonstrate value provided to the organization and the greater scientific community. Thus, informatics operations are also business operations. As such, adopting business intelligence practices offers an opportunity to improve the efficiency of evaluation efforts while fulfilling reporting requirements. Organizing informatics development documentation, service requests, and work performed with adaptable tools have greatly facilitated these and related business activities within our informatics center. Through the identification and measurement of key performance indicators, informatics objectives and results are now quickly and nimbly assessed using dashboards. Acceptance of the informatics operation as a business venture and the adoption of business intelligence strategies has allowed for data-driven decision making, faster corrective action, and greater transparency for interested stakeholders.

Water electrolysis system refurbishment and testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenough, B. M.

1972-01-01

The electrolytic oxygen generator for the back-up water electrolysis system in a 90-day manned test was refurbished, improved and subjected to a 182-day bench test. The performance of the system during the test demonstrated the soundness of the basic electrolysis concept, the high development status of the automatic controls which allowed completely hands-off operation, and the capability for orbital operation. Some design improvements are indicated.

Multiport backside-illuminated CCD imagers for high-frame-rate camera applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Peter A.; Sauer, Donald J.; Hseuh, Fu-Lung; Shallcross, Frank V.; Taylor, Gordon C.; Meray, Grazyna M.; Tower, John R.; Harrison, Lorna J.; Lawler, William B.

1994-05-01

Two multiport, second-generation CCD imager designs have been fabricated and successfully tested. They are a 16-port 512 X 512 array and a 32-port 1024 X 1024 array. Both designs are back illuminated, have on-chip CDS, lateral blooming control, and use a split vertical frame transfer architecture with full frame storage. The 512 X 512 device has been operated at rates over 800 frames per second. The 1024 X 1024 device has been operated at rates over 300 frames per second. The major changes incorporated in the second-generation design are, reduction in gate length in the output area to give improved high-clock-rate performance, modified on-chip CDS circuitry for reduced noise, and optimized implants to improve performance of blooming control at lower clock amplitude. This paper discusses the imager design improvements and presents measured performance results at high and moderate frame rates. The design and performance of three moderate frame rate cameras are discussed.

Performance and Life Tests of a Regenerative Blower for EVA Suit Ventilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Izenson, Michael G.; Chen, Weibo; McCormick, John; Paul, Heather L.; Jennings, Mallory A.

2012-01-01

Ventilation fans for future space suits must meet demanding performance specifications, satisfy stringent safety requirements for operation in an oxygen atmosphere, and be able to increase output to operate in buddy mode. A regenerative blower is an attractive choice due to its ability to meet these requirements at low operating speed. This paper describes progress in the development and testing of a regenerative blower designed to meet requirements for ventilation subsystems in future space suits. The blower includes a custom-designed motor that has significantly improved its efficiency. We have measured the blower s head/flow performance and power consumption under conditions that simulate both the normal and buddy mode operating points. We have operated the blower for TBD hours and demonstrated safe operation in an oxygen test loop at prototypical pressures. We also demonstrated operation with simulated lunar dust.

Performance and Life Tests of a Regenerative Blower for EVA Suit Ventilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Izenson, Mike; Chen, Weibo; Paul, Heather L.; Jennings, Mallory A.

2011-01-01

Ventilation fans for future space suits must meet demanding performance specifications, satisfy stringent safety requirements for operation in an oxygen atmosphere, and be able to increase output to operate in buddy mode. A regenerative blower is an attractive choice due to its ability to meet these requirements at low operating speed. This paper describes progress in the development and testing of a regenerative blower designed to meet requirements for ventilation subsystems in a future space suit Portable Life Support Systems (PLSS). The blower assembly includes a custom-designed motor that has significantly improved in efficiency during this development effort. The blower was tested at both nominal and buddy mode operating points and head/flow performance and power consumption were measured. The blower was operated for over 1000 hours to demonstrate safe operation in an oxygen test loop at prototypical pressures. In addition, the blower demonstrated operation with the introduction of simulated lunar dust.

Impact of lean six sigma process improvement methodology on cardiac catheterization laboratory efficiency.

PubMed

Agarwal, Shikhar; Gallo, Justin J; Parashar, Akhil; Agarwal, Kanika K; Ellis, Stephen G; Khot, Umesh N; Spooner, Robin; Murat Tuzcu, Emin; Kapadia, Samir R

2016-03-01

Operational inefficiencies are ubiquitous in several healthcare processes. To improve the operational efficiency of our catheterization laboratory (Cath Lab), we implemented a lean six sigma process improvement initiative, starting in June 2010. We aimed to study the impact of lean six sigma implementation on improving the efficiency and the patient throughput in our Cath Lab. All elective and urgent cardiac catheterization procedures including diagnostic coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary interventions, structural interventions and peripheral interventions performed between June 2009 and December 2012 were included in the study. Performance metrics utilized for analysis included turn-time, physician downtime, on-time patient arrival, on-time physician arrival, on-time start and manual sheath-pulls inside the Cath Lab. After implementation of lean six sigma in the Cath Lab, we observed a significant improvement in turn-time, physician downtime, on-time patient arrival, on-time physician arrival, on-time start as well as sheath-pulls inside the Cath Lab. The percentage of cases with optimal turn-time increased from 43.6% in 2009 to 56.6% in 2012 (p-trend<0.001). Similarly, the percentage of cases with an aggregate on-time start increased from 41.7% in 2009 to 62.8% in 2012 (p-trend<0.001). In addition, the percentage of manual sheath-pulls performed in the Cath Lab decreased from 60.7% in 2009 to 22.7% in 2012 (p-trend<0.001). The current longitudinal study illustrates the impact of successful implementation of a well-known process improvement initiative, lean six sigma, on improving and sustaining efficiency of our Cath Lab operation. After the successful implementation of this continuous quality improvement initiative, there was a significant improvement in the selected performance metrics namely turn-time, physician downtime, on-time patient arrival, on-time physician arrival, on-time start as well as sheath-pulls inside the Cath Lab. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The experience in operation and improving the Orlan-type space suits.

PubMed

Abramov, I P

1995-07-01

Nowadays significant experience has been gained in Russia concerning extravehicular activity (EVA) with cosmonauts wearing a semi-rigid space suit of the "Orlan" type. The conditions for the cosmonauts' vital activities, the operational and ergonomic features of the space suit and its reliability are the most critical factors defining the efficiency of the scheduled operation to be performed by the astronaut and his safety. As the missions performed by the cosmonauts during EVA become more and more elaborate, the requirements for EVA space suits and their systems become more and more demanding, resulting in their consistent advancement. This paper provides certain results of the space suit's operation and analysis of its major problems as applied to the Salyut and MIR orbiting stations. The modification steps of the space suit in the course of operation (Orlan-D, Orlan-DM, Orlan-DMA) and its specific features are presented. The concept of the suited cosmonauts' safety is described as well as trends for future space suit improvements.

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

Sevik, James; Wallner, Thomas; Pamminger, Michael

The efficiency improvement and emissions reduction potential of lean and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)-dilute operation of spark-ignition gasoline engines is well understood and documented. However, dilute operation is generally limited by deteriorating combustion stability with increasing inert gas levels. The combustion stability decreases due to reduced mixture flame speeds resulting in significantly increased combustion initiation periods and burn durations. A study was designed and executed to evaluate the potential to extend lean and EGR-dilute limits using a low-energy transient plasma ignition system. The low-energy transient plasma was generated by nanosecond pulses and its performance compared to a conventional transistorized coilmore » ignition (TCI) system operated on an automotive, gasoline direct-injection (GDI) single-cylinder research engine. The experimental assessment was focused on steady-state experiments at the part load condition of 1500 rpm 5.6 bar indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), where dilution tolerance is particularly critical to improving efficiency and emission performance. Experimental results suggest that the energy delivery process of the low-energy transient plasma ignition system significantly improves part load dilution tolerance by reducing the early flame development period. Statistical analysis of relevant combustion metrics was performed in order to further investigate the effects of the advanced ignition system on combustion stability. Results confirm that at select operating conditions EGR tolerance and lean limit could be improved by as much as 20% (from 22.7 to 27.1% EGR) and nearly 10% (from λ = 1.55 to 1.7) with the low-energy transient plasma ignition system.« less

Maximizing DOD’s Untapped Potential to Improve Business Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-14

Maximizing DOD’s Untapped Potential to Improve Business Performance DOD Performance Breakthrough Convention Lansdowne, VA October 14, 2009...Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss business operations at the...I recognize that business practices at DOD are not going to change overnight. But this conference can help this process by encouraging an exchange

The Case for Unit-Based Teams: A Model for Front-line Engagement and Performance Improvement

PubMed Central

Cohen, Paul M; Ptaskiewicz, Mark; Mipos, Debra

2010-01-01

Unit-based teams (UBTs)—defined as natural work groups of physicians, managers, and frontline staff who work collaboratively to solve problems, improve performance, and enhance quality—were established by the 2005 national agreement between Kaiser Permanente (KP) and the Coalition of KP Unions. They use established performance-improvement techniques and employee-engagement principles (including social-movement theory) to achieve clinical and operational goals. UBT members identify performance gaps and opportunities within their purview—issues they can address in the course of the day-to-day work, such as workflow or process improvement. By focusing on clear, agreed-on goals, UBTs encourage greater accountability and allow members to perform their full scope of work. UBTs are designed to deliver measurable benefits in clinical outcomes and operations, patient-experience enhancements, and physician-team performance or work life. For many physicians, UBTs will require new ways of engaging with their teams. However, evidence suggests that with organizational and physician support, these teams can achieve their goals. This article presents case examples of successful UBTs' outcomes; physicians' comments on their experience working with teams; an overview of UBTs' employee-engagement principles; and advice on how physicians can support and participate in the work of such teams. PMID:20740124

[A project to improve the validity rate for nursing staff operating single door autoclave sterilizers].

PubMed

Chen, Chun-Hung; Li, Cheng-Chang; Chou, Chuan-Yu; Chen, Shu-Hwa

2009-08-01

This project was designed to improve the low validity rate for nurses responsible to operate single door autoclave sterilizers in the operating room. By investigating the current status, we found that the nursing staff validity rate of cognition on the autoclave sterilizer was 85%, and the practice operating check validity rate was only 80%. Such was due to a lack of in-service education. Problems with operation included: 1. Unsafe behaviors - not following standard procedure, lacking relevant operating knowledge and absence of a check form; 2. Unsafe environment - the conveying steam piping was typically not covered and lacked operation marks. Recommended improvement measures included: 1. holding in-service education; 2. generating an operation procedure flow chart; 3. implementing obstacle eliminating procedures; 4. covering piping to prevent fire and burns; 5. performing regular checks to ensure all procedures are followed. Following intervention, nursing staff cognition rose from 85% to 100%, while the operation validity rate rose from 80% to 100%. These changes ensure a safer operating room environment, and helps facilities move toward a zero accident rate in the healthcare environment.

Cadaver-Based Simulation Increases Resident Confidence, Initial Exposure to Fundamental Techniques, and May Augment Operative Autonomy.

PubMed

Kim, Steven C; Fisher, Jeremy G; Delman, Keith A; Hinman, Johanna M; Srinivasan, Jahnavi K

Surgical simulation is an important adjunct in surgical education. The majority of operative procedures can be simplified to core components. This study aimed to quantify a cadaver-based simulation course utility in improving exposure to fundamental maneuvers, resident and attending confidence in trainee capability, and if this led to earlier operative independence. A list of fundamental surgical procedures was established by a faculty panel. Residents were assigned to a group led by a chief resident. Residents performed skills on cadavers appropriate for PGY level. A video-recorded examination where they narrated and demonstrated a task independently was then graded by attendings using standardized rubrics. Participants completed surveys regarding improvements in knowledge and confidence. The course was conducted at the Emory University School of Medicine and the T3 Laboratories in Atlanta, GA. A total of 133 residents and 41 attendings participated in the course. 133 (100%) participating residents and 32 (78%) attendings completed surveys. Resident confidence in completing the assigned skill independently increased from 3 (2-3) to 4 (3-4), p < 0.01. Residents stated that a median of 40% (interquartile range: 20%-60%) of procedures were performed for the first time in the course, and the same number had been performed only in the course. The percentage of skills attendings believed residents could perform independently increased from 40% (40%-60%) to 60% (60%->80%), p < 0.04. Attendings were more likely to grant autonomy in the operating room after this exercise (4 [3-5]). A cadaveric skills course focused on fundamental maneuvers with objective confirmation of success is a viable adjunct to clinical operative experience. Residents were formally exposed to fundamental surgical maneuvers earlier as a result of this course. This activity improved both resident and attending confidence in trainee operative skill, resulting in increased attending willingness to grant a higher level of autonomy in the operating room. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-Term Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems (II&C) Modernization Future Vision and Strategy

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

Kenneth Thomas

2012-02-01

Life extension beyond 60 years for the U.S operating nuclear fleet requires that instrumentation and control (I&C) systems be upgraded to address aging and reliability concerns. It is impractical for the legacy systems based on 1970's vintage technology operate over this extended time period. Indeed, utilities have successfully engaged in such replacements when dictated by these operational concerns. However, the replacements have been approached in a like-for-like manner, meaning that they do not take advantage of the inherent capabilities of digital technology to improve business functions. And so, the improvement in I&C system performance has not translated to bottom-line performancemore » improvement for the fleet. Therefore, wide-scale modernization of the legacy I&C systems could prove to be cost-prohibitive unless the technology is implemented in a manner to enable significant business innovation as a means of off-setting the cost of upgrades. A Future Vision of a transformed nuclear plant operating model based on an integrated digital environment has been developed as part of the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) research pathway, under the Light Water Reactor (LWR) Sustainability Program. This is a research and development program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), performed in close collaboration with the nuclear utility industry, to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. DOE's program focus is on longer-term and higher-risk/reward research that contributes to the national policy objectives of energy security and environmental security . The Advanced II&C research pathway is being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The Future Vision is based on a digital architecture that encompasses all aspects of plant operations and support, integrating plant systems, plant work processes, and plant workers in a seamless digital environment to enhance nuclear safety, increase productivity, and improve overall plant performance. The long-term goal is to transform the operating model of the nuclear power plants (NPP)s from one that is highly reliant on a large staff performing mostly manual activities to an operating model based on highly integrated technology with a smaller staff. This digital transformation is critical to addressing an array of issues facing the plants, including aging of legacy analog systems, potential shortage of technical workers, ever-increasing expectations for nuclear safety improvement, and relentless pressure to reduce cost. The Future Vision is based on research is being conducted in the following major areas of plant function: (1) Highly integrated control rooms; (2) Highly automated plant; (3) Integrated operations; (4) Human performance improvement for field workers; and (5) Outage safety and efficiency. Pilot projects will be conducted in each of these areas as the means for industry to collectively integrate these new technologies into nuclear plant work activities. The pilot projects introduce new digital technologies into the nuclear plant operating environment at host operating plants to demonstrate and validate them for production usage. In turn, the pilot project technologies serve as the stepping stones to the eventual seamless digital environment as described in the Future Vision.« less

Long-Term Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems (II&C) Modernization Future Vision and Strategy

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

Kenneth Thomas; Bruce Hallbert

2013-02-01

Life extension beyond 60 years for the U.S operating nuclear fleet requires that instrumentation and control (I&C) systems be upgraded to address aging and reliability concerns. It is impractical for the legacy systems based on 1970’s vintage technology operate over this extended time period. Indeed, utilities have successfully engaged in such replacements when dictated by these operational concerns. However, the replacements have been approached in a like-for-like manner, meaning that they do not take advantage of the inherent capabilities of digital technology to improve business functions. And so, the improvement in I&C system performance has not translated to bottom-line performancemore » improvement for the fleet. Therefore, wide-scale modernization of the legacy I&C systems could prove to be cost-prohibitive unless the technology is implemented in a manner to enable significant business innovation as a means of off-setting the cost of upgrades. A Future Vision of a transformed nuclear plant operating model based on an integrated digital environment has been developed as part of the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) research pathway, under the Light Water Reactor (LWR) Sustainability Program. This is a research and development program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), performed in close collaboration with the nuclear utility industry, to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. DOE’s program focus is on longer-term and higher-risk/reward research that contributes to the national policy objectives of energy security and environmental security . The Advanced II&C research pathway is being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The Future Vision is based on a digital architecture that encompasses all aspects of plant operations and support, integrating plant systems, plant work processes, and plant workers in a seamless digital environment to enhance nuclear safety, increase productivity, and improve overall plant performance. The long-term goal is to transform the operating model of the nuclear power plants (NPP)s from one that is highly reliant on a large staff performing mostly manual activities to an operating model based on highly integrated technology with a smaller staff. This digital transformation is critical to addressing an array of issues facing the plants, including aging of legacy analog systems, potential shortage of technical workers, ever-increasing expectations for nuclear safety improvement, and relentless pressure to reduce cost. The Future Vision is based on research is being conducted in the following major areas of plant function: 1. Highly integrated control rooms 2. Highly automated plant 3. Integrated operations 4. Human performance improvement for field workers 5. Outage safety and efficiency. Pilot projects will be conducted in each of these areas as the means for industry to collectively integrate these new technologies into nuclear plant work activities. The pilot projects introduce new digital technologies into the nuclear plant operating environment at host operating plants to demonstrate and validate them for production usage. In turn, the pilot project technologies serve as the stepping stones to the eventual seamless digital environment as described in the Future Vision.« less

A predictive model of nuclear power plant crew decision-making and performance in a dynamic simulation environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coyne, Kevin Anthony

The safe operation of complex systems such as nuclear power plants requires close coordination between the human operators and plant systems. In order to maintain an adequate level of safety following an accident or other off-normal event, the operators often are called upon to perform complex tasks during dynamic situations with incomplete information. The safety of such complex systems can be greatly improved if the conditions that could lead operators to make poor decisions and commit erroneous actions during these situations can be predicted and mitigated. The primary goal of this research project was the development and validation of a cognitive model capable of simulating nuclear plant operator decision-making during accident conditions. Dynamic probabilistic risk assessment methods can improve the prediction of human error events by providing rich contextual information and an explicit consideration of feedback arising from man-machine interactions. The Accident Dynamics Simulator paired with the Information, Decision, and Action in a Crew context cognitive model (ADS-IDAC) shows promise for predicting situational contexts that might lead to human error events, particularly knowledge driven errors of commission. ADS-IDAC generates a discrete dynamic event tree (DDET) by applying simple branching rules that reflect variations in crew responses to plant events and system status changes. Branches can be generated to simulate slow or fast procedure execution speed, skipping of procedure steps, reliance on memorized information, activation of mental beliefs, variations in control inputs, and equipment failures. Complex operator mental models of plant behavior that guide crew actions can be represented within the ADS-IDAC mental belief framework and used to identify situational contexts that may lead to human error events. This research increased the capabilities of ADS-IDAC in several key areas. The ADS-IDAC computer code was improved to support additional branching events and provide a better representation of the IDAC cognitive model. An operator decision-making engine capable of responding to dynamic changes in situational context was implemented. The IDAC human performance model was fully integrated with a detailed nuclear plant model in order to realistically simulate plant accident scenarios. Finally, the improved ADS-IDAC model was calibrated, validated, and updated using actual nuclear plant crew performance data. This research led to the following general conclusions: (1) A relatively small number of branching rules are capable of efficiently capturing a wide spectrum of crew-to-crew variabilities. (2) Compared to traditional static risk assessment methods, ADS-IDAC can provide a more realistic and integrated assessment of human error events by directly determining the effect of operator behaviors on plant thermal hydraulic parameters. (3) The ADS-IDAC approach provides an efficient framework for capturing actual operator performance data such as timing of operator actions, mental models, and decision-making activities.

A Hierarchical structure of key performance indicators for operation management and continuous improvement in production systems

PubMed Central

Kang, Ningxuan; Zhao, Cong; Li, Jingshan; Horst, John A.

2018-01-01

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical for manufacturing operation management and continuous improvement (CI). In modern manufacturing systems, KPIs are defined as a set of metrics to reflect operation performance, such as efficiency, throughput, availability, from productivity, quality and maintenance perspectives. Through continuous monitoring and measurement of KPIs, meaningful quantification and identification of different aspects of operation activities can be obtained, which enable and direct CI efforts. A set of 34 KPIs has been introduced in ISO 22400. However, the KPIs in a manufacturing system are not independent, and they may have intrinsic mutual relationships. The goal of this paper is to introduce a multi-level structure for identification and analysis of KPIs and their intrinsic relationships in production systems. Specifically, through such a hierarchical structure, we define and layer KPIs into levels of basic KPIs, comprehensive KPIs and their supporting metrics, and use it to investigate the relationships and dependencies between KPIs. Such a study can provide a useful tool for manufacturing engineers and managers to measure and utilize KPIs for CI. PMID:29398722

A Hierarchical structure of key performance indicators for operation management and continuous improvement in production systems.

PubMed

Kang, Ningxuan; Zhao, Cong; Li, Jingshan; Horst, John A

2016-01-01

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical for manufacturing operation management and continuous improvement (CI). In modern manufacturing systems, KPIs are defined as a set of metrics to reflect operation performance, such as efficiency, throughput, availability, from productivity, quality and maintenance perspectives. Through continuous monitoring and measurement of KPIs, meaningful quantification and identification of different aspects of operation activities can be obtained, which enable and direct CI efforts. A set of 34 KPIs has been introduced in ISO 22400. However, the KPIs in a manufacturing system are not independent, and they may have intrinsic mutual relationships. The goal of this paper is to introduce a multi-level structure for identification and analysis of KPIs and their intrinsic relationships in production systems. Specifically, through such a hierarchical structure, we define and layer KPIs into levels of basic KPIs, comprehensive KPIs and their supporting metrics, and use it to investigate the relationships and dependencies between KPIs. Such a study can provide a useful tool for manufacturing engineers and managers to measure and utilize KPIs for CI.

A Review of the CMOS Buried Double Junction (BDJ) Photodetector and its Applications

PubMed Central

Feruglio, Sylvain; Lu, Guo-Neng; Garda, Patrick; Vasilescu, Gabriel

2008-01-01

A CMOS Buried Double Junction PN (BDJ) photodetector consists of two vertically-stacked photodiodes. It can be operated as a photodiode with improved performance and wavelength-sensitive response. This paper presents a review of this device and its applications. The CMOS implementation and operating principle are firstly described. This includes the description of several key aspects directly related to the device performances, such as surface reflection, photon absorption and electron-hole pair generation, photocurrent and dark current generation, etc. SPICE modelling of the detector is then presented. Next, design and process considerations are proposed in order to improve the BDJ performance. Finally, several BDJ-detector-based image sensors provide a survey of their applications. PMID:27873887

Retrofit device to improve vapor compression cooling system performance by dynamic blower speed modulation

DOEpatents

Roth, Robert Paul; Hahn, David C.; Scaringe, Robert P.

2015-12-08

A device and method are provided to improve performance of a vapor compression system using a retrofittable control board to start up the vapor compression system with the evaporator blower initially set to a high speed. A baseline evaporator operating temperature with the evaporator blower operating at the high speed is recorded, and then the device detects if a predetermined acceptable change in evaporator temperature has occurred. The evaporator blower speed is reduced from the initially set high speed as long as there is only a negligible change in the measured evaporator temperature and therefore a negligible difference in the compressor's power consumption so as to obtain a net increase in the Coefficient of Performance.

Progress in the utilization of an oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloy for small engine turbine blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beatty, T. G.; Millan, P. P.

1984-01-01

The conventional means of improving gas turbine engine performance typically involves increasing the turbine inlet temperature; however, at these higher operational temperatures the high pressure turbine blades require air-cooling to maintain durability. Air-cooling imposes design, material, and economic constraints not only on the turbine blades but also on engine performance. The use of uncooled turbine blades at increased operating temperatures can offer significantly improved performance in small gas turbine engines. A program to demonstrate uncooled MA6000 high pressure turbine blades in a GTEC TFE731 turbofan engine is being conducted. The project goals include demonstration of the advantages of using uncooled MA6000 turbine blades as compared with cast directionally solidified MAR-M 247 blades.

Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation (CVHA) Technology : Simulation of Benefits and Operational Issues

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-01

The past few years have witnessed a rapidly growing market in assistive driving technologies, designed to improve safety and operations by supporting driver performance. Often referred to as cooperative vehiclehighway automation (CVHA) systems, th...

Analysis of technology requirements and potential demand for general aviation avionics systems for operation in the 1980's

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohn, D. M.; Kayser, J. H.; Senko, G. M.; Glenn, D. R.

1974-01-01

Avionics systems are identified which promise to reduce economic constraints and provide significant improvements in performance, operational capability and utility for general aviation aircraft in the 1980's.

Operational Evaluation of Do Not Block the Box Campaigns in Georgia

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-04-23

The overarching objective of this research is to provide the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Perimeter Community Improvement District (PCID) with an evaluation of the operational performance impacts of implementing a Do Not Blo...

An Application of Six Sigma to Reduce Supplier Quality Cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaikwad, Lokpriya Mohanrao; Teli, Shivagond Nagappa; Majali, Vijay Shashikant; Bhushi, Umesh Mahadevappa

2016-01-01

This article presents an application of Six Sigma to reduce supplier quality cost in manufacturing industry. Although there is a wider acceptance of Six Sigma in many organizations today, there is still a lack of in-depth case study of Six Sigma. For the present research the case study methodology was used. The company decided to reduce quality cost and improve selected processes using Six Sigma methodologies. Regarding the fact that there is a lack of case studies dealing with Six Sigma especially in individual manufacturing organization this article could be of great importance also for the practitioners. This paper discusses the quality and productivity improvement in a supplier enterprise through a case study. The paper deals with an application of Six Sigma define-measure-analyze-improve-control methodology in an industry which provides a framework to identify, quantify and eliminate sources of variation in an operational process in question, to optimize the operation variables, improve and sustain performance viz. process yield with well-executed control plans. Six Sigma improves the process performance (process yield) of the critical operational process, leading to better utilization of resources, decreases variations and maintains consistent quality of the process output.

The "hospital central laboratory": automation, integration and clinical usefulness.

PubMed

Zaninotto, Martina; Plebani, Mario

2010-07-01

Recent technological developments in laboratory medicine have led to a major challenge, maintaining a close connection between the search of efficiency through automation and consolidation and the assurance of effectiveness. The adoption of systems that automate most of the manual tasks characterizing routine activities has significantly improved the quality of laboratory performance; total laboratory automation being the paradigm of the idea that "human-less" robotic laboratories may allow for better operation and insuring less human errors. Furthermore, even if ongoing technological developments have considerably improved the productivity of clinical laboratories as well as reducing the turnaround time of the entire process, the value of qualified personnel remains a significant issue. Recent evidence confirms that automation allows clinical laboratories to improve analytical performances only if trained staff operate in accordance with well-defined standard operative procedures, thus assuring continuous monitoring of the analytical quality. In addition, laboratory automation may improve the appropriateness of test requests through the use of algorithms and reflex testing. This should allow the adoption of clinical and biochemical guidelines. In conclusion, in laboratory medicine, technology represents a tool for improving clinical effectiveness and patient outcomes, but it has to be managed by qualified laboratory professionals.

Lithium Batteries and Supercapacitors Capable of Operating at Low Temperatures for Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; West, W. C.; Brandon, E. J.

2012-01-01

Demonstrated improved performance with wide operating temperature electrolytes containing ester co - solvents (i.e., methyl propionate and ethyl butyrate) in a number of prototype cells: center dot Successfully scaled up low temperature technology to 12 Ah size prismatic Li - ion cells (Quallion, LCC), and demonstrated good performance down to - 60 o C. center dot Demonstrated wide operating temperature range performance ( - 60 o to +60 o C) in A123 Systems LiFePO 4 - based lithium - ion cells containing methyl butyrate - based low temperature electrolytes. These systems were also demonstrated to have excellent cycle life performance at ambient temperatures, as well as the ability to be cycled up to high temperatures.

OR2020: The Operating Room of the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-05-01

25 3.3 Technical Requirements: Standards and Tools for Improved Operating R oom Process Integration...Image processing and visualization tools must be made available to the operating room. 5. Communications issues must be addressed and aim toward...protocols for effectively performing advanced surgeries and using telecommunications-ready tools as needed. The following recommendations were made

Installation, Operation, and Operator's Maintenance of Diesel-Engine-Driven Generator Sets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, contains three study units dealing with the skills needed by individuals responsible for the installation, operation, and maintenance of diesel engine-driven generator sets. The first two units cover…

Utilizing Commercial Real Estate Owner and Investor Data to Analyze the Financial Performance of Energy Efficient, High-Performance Office Buildings

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

Cloutier, Deborah; Hosseini, Farshid; White, Andrew

Evidence has shown that owning and operating energy-efficient, high-performance, “green” properties results in multiple benefits including lower utility bills, higher rents, improved occupancy, and greater net operating income. However, it is difficult to isolate and control moderating factors to identify the specific drivers behind improved financial performance and value to investors that results from sustainability in real estate. DOE is interested in facilitating deeper investigation of the correlation between energy efficiency and financial performance, reducing data acquisition and matching challenges, and developing a stronger understanding of how sustainable design and energy efficiency impact value. DOE commissioned this pilot study tomore » test the logistical and empirical procedures required to establish a Commercial Real Estate Data Aggregation & Trends Analysis lab, determine the potential benefits available through the lab, and contribute to the existing body of evidence in this field.« less

A multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible microgrid based on sliding-mode direct voltage and hierarchical controls.

PubMed

Zhang, Qinjin; Liu, Yancheng; Zhao, Youtao; Wang, Ning

2016-03-01

Multi-mode operation and transient stability are two problems that significantly affect flexible microgrid (MG). This paper proposes a multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible MG based on a three-layer hierarchical structure. The proposed structure is composed of autonomous, cooperative, and scheduling controllers. Autonomous controller is utilized to control the performance of the single micro-source inverter. An adaptive sliding-mode direct voltage loop and an improved droop power loop based on virtual negative impedance are presented respectively to enhance the system disturbance-rejection performance and the power sharing accuracy. Cooperative controller, which is composed of secondary voltage/frequency control and phase synchronization control, is designed to eliminate the voltage/frequency deviations produced by the autonomous controller and prepare for grid connection. Scheduling controller manages the power flow between the MG and the grid. The MG with the improved hierarchical control scheme can achieve seamless transitions from islanded to grid-connected mode and have a good transient performance. In addition the presented work can also optimize the power quality issues and improve the load power sharing accuracy between parallel VSIs. Finally, the transient performance and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme are evaluated by theoretical analysis and simulation results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive control schemes for improving dynamic performance of efficiency-optimized induction motor drives.

PubMed

Kumar, Navneet; Raj Chelliah, Thanga; Srivastava, S P

2015-07-01

Model Based Control (MBC) is one of the energy optimal controllers used in vector-controlled Induction Motor (IM) for controlling the excitation of motor in accordance with torque and speed. MBC offers energy conservation especially at part-load operation, but it creates ripples in torque and speed during load transition, leading to poor dynamic performance of the drive. This study investigates the opportunity for improving dynamic performance of a three-phase IM operating with MBC and proposes three control schemes: (i) MBC with a low pass filter (ii) torque producing current (iqs) injection in the output of speed controller (iii) Variable Structure Speed Controller (VSSC). The pre and post operation of MBC during load transition is also analyzed. The dynamic performance of a 1-hp, three-phase squirrel-cage IM with mine-hoist load diagram is tested. Test results are provided for the conventional field-oriented (constant flux) control and MBC (adjustable excitation) with proposed schemes. The effectiveness of proposed schemes is also illustrated for parametric variations. The test results and subsequent analysis confer that the motor dynamics improves significantly with all three proposed schemes in terms of overshoot/undershoot peak amplitude of torque and DC link power in addition to energy saving during load transitions. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergency department operations dictionary: results of the second performance measures and benchmarking summit.

PubMed

Welch, Shari J; Stone-Griffith, Suzanne; Asplin, Brent; Davidson, Steven J; Augustine, James; Schuur, Jeremiah D

2011-05-01

The public, payers, hospitals, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are demanding that emergency departments (EDs) measure and improve performance, but this cannot be done unless we define the terms used in ED operations. On February 24, 2010, 32 stakeholders from 13 professional organizations met in Salt Lake City, Utah, to standardize ED operations metrics and definitions, which are presented in this consensus paper. Emergency medicine (EM) experts attending the Second Performance Measures and Benchmarking Summit reviewed, expanded, and updated key definitions for ED operations. Prior to the meeting, participants were provided with the definitions created at the first summit in 2006 and relevant documents from other organizations and asked to identify gaps and limitations in the original work. Those responses were used to devise a plan to revise and update the definitions. At the summit, attendees discussed and debated key terminology, and workgroups were created to draft a more comprehensive document. These results have been crafted into two reference documents, one for metrics and the operations dictionary presented here. The ED Operations Dictionary defines ED spaces, processes, patient populations, and new ED roles. Common definitions of key terms will improve the ability to compare ED operations research and practice and provide a common language for frontline practitioners, managers, and researchers. © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Performance of ITER as a burning plasma experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, M.; Mukhovatov, V.; Federici, G.; Gribov, Y.; Kukushkin, A.; Murakami, Y.; Polevoi, A.; Pustovitov, V.; Sengoku, S.; Sugihara, M.

2004-02-01

Recent performance analysis has improved confidence in achieving Q (= fusion power/auxiliary heating power)geq 10 in inductive operation in ITER. Performance analysis based on empirical scalings shows the feasibility of achieving Q geq 10 in inductive operation, particularly with improved modelling of helium exhaust. Analysis has also indicated the possibility that ITER can potentially demonstrate Q ~ 50, enabling studies of self-heated plasmas. Theory-based core modelling indicates the need for a high pedestal temperature (3.2-5.3 keV) to achieve Q geq 10, which is in the range of projections with presently available pedestal scalings. Pellet injection from the high-field side would be useful in enhancing Q and reducing edge localized mode (ELM) heat load in high plasma current operation. If the ELM heat load is not acceptable, it could be made tolerable by further tilting the target plate. Steady state operation scenarios at Q = 5 have been developed with modest requirements on confinement improvement and beta (HH98(y,2) geq 1.3 and bgrN geq 2.6). Stabilization of the resistive wall modes (RWMs), required in such regimes, is feasible with the present saddle coils and power supplies with double-wall structures taken into account. Recent analysis shows a potential of high power steady state operation with a fusion power of 0.7 GW at Q ~ 8. Achievement of the required bgrN ~ 3.6 by RWM stabilization is a possibility. Further analysis is also needed on reduction of the divertor target heat load.

A combined teamwork training and work standardisation intervention in operating theatres: controlled interrupted time series study.

PubMed

Morgan, Lauren; Pickering, Sharon P; Hadi, Mohammed; Robertson, Eleanor; New, Steve; Griffin, Damian; Collins, Gary; Rivero-Arias, Oliver; Catchpole, Ken; McCulloch, Peter

2015-02-01

Teamwork training and system standardisation have both been proposed to reduce error and harm in surgery. Since the approaches differ markedly, there is potential for synergy between them. Controlled interrupted time series with a 3 month intervention and observation phases before and after. Operating theatres conducting elective orthopaedic surgery in a single hospital system (UK Hospital Trust). Teamwork training based on crew resource management plus training and follow-up support in developing standardised operating procedures. Focus of subsequent standardisation efforts decided by theatre staff. Paired observers watched whole procedures together. We assessed non-technical skills using NOTECHS II, technical performance using glitch rate and compliance with WHO checklist using a simple quality tool. We measured complication and readmission rates and hospital stay using hospital administrative records. Before/after change was compared in the active and control groups using two-way ANOVA and regression models. 1121 patients were operated on before and 1100 after intervention. 44 operations were observed before and 50 afterwards. Non-technical skills (p=0.002) and WHO compliance (p<0.001) improved significantly after the intervention in the active versus the control group. Glitch count improved in both groups and there was no significant effect on clinical outcomes. Combined training in teamwork and system improvement causes marked improvements in team behaviour and WHO performance, but not technical performance or outcome. These findings are consistent with the synergistic hypothesis, but larger controlled studies with a strong implementation strategy are required to test potential outcome effects. 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.

Mentoring console improves collaboration and teaching in surgical robotics.

PubMed

Hanly, Eric J; Miller, Brian E; Kumar, Rajesh; Hasser, Christopher J; Coste-Maniere, Eve; Talamini, Mark A; Aurora, Alexander A; Schenkman, Noah S; Marohn, Michael R

2006-10-01

One of the most significant limitations of surgical robots has been their inability to allow multiple surgeons and surgeons-in-training to engage in collaborative control of robotic surgical instruments. We report the initial experience with a novel two-headed da Vinci surgical robot that has two collaborative modes: the "swap" mode allows two surgeons to simultaneously operate and actively swap control of the robot's four arms, and the "nudge" mode allows them to share control of two of the robot's arms. The utility of the mentoring console operating in its two collaborative modes was evaluated through a combination of dry laboratory exercises and animal laboratory surgery. The results from surgeon-resident collaborative performance of complex three-handed surgical tasks were compared to results from single-surgeon and single-resident performance. Statistical significance was determined using Student's t-test. Collaborative surgeon-resident swap control reduced the time to completion of complex three-handed surgical tasks by 25% compared to single-surgeon operation of a four-armed da Vinci (P < 0.01) and by 34% compared to single-resident operation (P < 0.001). While swap mode was found to be most helpful during parts of surgical procedures that require multiple hands (such as isolation and division of vessels), nudge mode was particularly useful for guiding a resident's hands during crucially precise steps of an operation (such as proper placement of stitches). The da Vinci mentoring console greatly facilitates surgeon collaboration during robotic surgery and improves the performance of complex surgical tasks. The mentoring console has the potential to improve resident participation in surgical robotics cases, enhance resident education in surgical training programs engaged in surgical robotics, and improve patient safety during robotic surgery.

Identification of High Performance, Low Environmental Impact Materials and Processes Using Systematic Substitution (SyS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhooge, P. M.; Nimitz, J. S.

2001-01-01

Process analysis can identify opportunities for efficiency improvement including cost reduction, increased safety, improved quality, and decreased environmental impact. A thorough, systematic approach to materials and process selection is valuable in any analysis. New operations and facilities design offer the best opportunities for proactive cost reduction and environmental improvement, but existing operations and facilities can also benefit greatly. Materials and processes that have been used for many years may be sources of excessive resource use, waste generation, pollution, and cost burden that should be replaced. Operational and purchasing personnel may not recognize some materials and processes as problems. Reasons for materials or process replacement may include quality and efficiency improvements, excessive resource use and waste generation, materials and operational costs, safety (flammability or toxicity), pollution prevention, compatibility with new processes or materials, and new or anticipated regulations.

An improved genetic algorithm and its application in the TSP problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zheng; Qin, Jinlei

2011-12-01

Concept and research actuality of genetic algorithm are introduced in detail in the paper. Under this condition, the simple genetic algorithm and an improved algorithm are described and applied in an example of TSP problem, where the advantage of genetic algorithm is adequately shown in solving the NP-hard problem. In addition, based on partial matching crossover operator, the crossover operator method is improved into extended crossover operator in order to advance the efficiency when solving the TSP. In the extended crossover method, crossover operator can be performed between random positions of two random individuals, which will not be restricted by the position of chromosome. Finally, the nine-city TSP is solved using the improved genetic algorithm with extended crossover method, the efficiency of whose solution process is much higher, besides, the solving speed of the optimal solution is much faster.

Multidimensional evaluation of performance with experimental application of balanced scorecard: a two year experience

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In today's dynamic health-care system, organizations such as hospitals are required to improve their performance for multiple stakeholders and deliver an integrated care that means to work effectively, be innovative and organize efficiently. Achieved goals and levels of quality can be successfully measured by a multidimensional approach like Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The aim of the study was to verify the opportunity to introduce BSC framework to measure performance in St. Anna University Hospital of Ferrara, applying it to the Clinical Laboratory Operative Unit in order to compare over time performance results and achievements of assigned targets. Methods In the first experience with BSC we distinguished four perspectives, according to Kaplan and Norton, identified Key Performance Areas and Key Performance Indicators, set standards and weights for each objective, collected data for all indicators, recognized cause-and-effect relationships in a strategic map. One year later we proceeded with the next data collection and analysed the preservation of framework aptitude to measure Operative Unit performance. In addition, we verified the ability to underline links between strategic actions belonging to different perspectives in producing outcomes changes. Results The BSC was found to be effective for underlining existing problems and identifying opportunities for improvements. The BSC also revealed the specific perspective contribution to overall performance enhancement. After time results comparison was possible depending on the selection of feasible and appropriate key performance indicators, which was occasionally limited by data collection problems. Conclusions The first use of BSC to compare performance at Operative Unit level, in course of time, suggested this framework can be successfully adopted for results measuring and revealing effective health factors, allowing health-care quality improvements. PMID:21586111

Multidimensional evaluation of performance with experimental application of balanced scorecard: a two year experience.

PubMed

Lupi, Silvia; Verzola, Adriano; Carandina, Gianni; Salani, Manuela; Antonioli, Paola; Gregorio, Pasquale

2011-05-17

In today's dynamic health-care system, organizations such as hospitals are required to improve their performance for multiple stakeholders and deliver an integrated care that means to work effectively, be innovative and organize efficiently. Achieved goals and levels of quality can be successfully measured by a multidimensional approach like Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The aim of the study was to verify the opportunity to introduce BSC framework to measure performance in St. Anna University Hospital of Ferrara, applying it to the Clinical Laboratory Operative Unit in order to compare over time performance results and achievements of assigned targets. In the first experience with BSC we distinguished four perspectives, according to Kaplan and Norton, identified Key Performance Areas and Key Performance Indicators, set standards and weights for each objective, collected data for all indicators, recognized cause-and-effect relationships in a strategic map. One year later we proceeded with the next data collection and analysed the preservation of framework aptitude to measure Operative Unit performance. In addition, we verified the ability to underline links between strategic actions belonging to different perspectives in producing outcomes changes. The BSC was found to be effective for underlining existing problems and identifying opportunities for improvements. The BSC also revealed the specific perspective contribution to overall performance enhancement. After time results comparison was possible depending on the selection of feasible and appropriate key performance indicators, which was occasionally limited by data collection problems. The first use of BSC to compare performance at Operative Unit level, in course of time, suggested this framework can be successfully adopted for results measuring and revealing effective health factors, allowing health-care quality improvements.

DIFFERENTIAL ANALYZER

DOEpatents

Sorensen, E.G.; Gordon, C.M.

1959-02-10

Improvements in analog eomputing machines of the class capable of evaluating differential equations, commonly termed differential analyzers, are described. In general form, the analyzer embodies a plurality of basic computer mechanisms for performing integration, multiplication, and addition, and means for directing the result of any one operation to another computer mechanism performing a further operation. In the device, numerical quantities are represented by the rotation of shafts, or the electrical equivalent of shafts.

IBS and Potential Luminosity Improvement for RHIC Operation Below Transition Energy

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

Fedotov,A.

There is a strong interest in low-energy RHIC operations in the single-beam total energy range of 2.5-25 GeV/nucleon [1-3]. Collisions in this energy range, much of which is below nominal RHIC injection energy, will help to answer one of the key questions in the field of QeD about the existence and location of a critical point on the QCD phase diagram [4]. There have been several short test runs during 2006-2008 RHIC operations to evaluate RHIC operational challenges at these low energies [5]. Beam lifetimes observed during the test runs were limited by machine nonlinearities. This performance limit can bemore » improved with sufficient machine tuning. The next luminosity limitation comes from transverse and longitudinal Intra-beam Scattering (IBS), and ultimately from the space-charge limit. Detailed discussion of limiting beam dynamics effects and possible luminosity improvement with electron cooling can be found in Refs. [6-8]. For low-energy RHIC operation, particle losses from the RF bucket are of particular concern since the longitudinal beam size is comparable to the existing RF bucket at low energies. However, operation below transition energy allows us to exploit an Intra-beam Scattering (IBS) feature that drives the transverse and longitudinal beam temperatures towards equilibrium by minimizing the longitudinal diffusion rate using a high RF voltage. Simulation studies were performed with the goal to understand whether one can use this feature of IBS to improve luminosity of RHIC collider at low-energies. This Note presents results of simulations which show that additional luminosity improvement for low-energy RHIC project may be possible with high RF voltage from a 56 MHz superconducting RF cavity that is presently under development for RHIC.« less

Aircraft Photovoltaic Power-Generating System.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doellner, Oscar Leonard

Photovoltaic cells, appropriately cooled and operating in the combustion-created high radiant-intensity environment of gas-turbine and jet engines, may replace the conventional (gearbox-driven) electrical power generators aboard jet aircraft. This study projects significant improvements not only in aircraft electrical power-generating-system performance, but also in overall aircraft performance. Jet -engine design modifications incorporating this concept not only save weight (and thus fuel), but are--in themselves --favorable to jet-engine performance. The dissertation concentrates on operational, constructional, structural, thermal, optical, radiometrical, thin-film, and solid-state theoretical aspects of the overall project. This new electrical power-generating system offers solid-state reliability with electrical power-output capability comparable to that of existing aircraft electromechanical power-generating systems (alternators and generators). In addition to improvements in aircraft performance, significant aircraft fuel- and weight-saving advantages are projected.

Ionomer equivalent weight structuring in the cathode catalyst layer of automotive fuel cells: Effect on performance, current density distribution and electrochemical impedance spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herden, Susanne; Hirschfeld, Julian A.; Lohri, Cyrill; Perchthaler, Markus; Haase, Stefan

2017-10-01

To improve the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with segmented cathode electrodes have been manufactured. Electrodes with a higher and lower ionomer equivalent weight (EW) were used and analyzed using current density and temperature distribution, polarization curve, temperature sweep and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. These were performed using automotive metallic bipolar plates and operating conditions. Measurement data were used to manufacture an optimized segmented cathode electrode. We were able to show that our results are transferable from a small scale hardware to automotive application and that an ionomer EW segmentation of the cathode leads to performance improvement in a broad spectrum of operating conditions. Furthermore, we confirmed our results by using in-situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

[Natural orifice trans-luminal endoscopic surgery (notes)--a new era in general surgery].

PubMed

Elazary, Ram; Horgan, Santiago; Talamini, Mark A; Rivkind, Avraham I; Mintz, Yoav

2008-10-01

Four years ago, a new surgical technique was presented, the natural orifice trans-luminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). This technique provides an incisionless operation. The surgical devices are inserted into the peritoneal cavity through the gastrointestinal or the urogenital tracts. Today, a cholecystectomy can be performed using an advanced endoscope inserted through the stomach or the vagina. The advantages of NOTES are: reduced post operative pain, no hernias, no surgical wounds infections and better cosmetic results. The disadvantages are: difficulties in achieving safe enterotomy closure or a leak proof anastomosis, it necessitates performing more operations compared to open or laparoscopic operations in order to obtain the skills for performing these operations, and difficulties of acquiring satisfactory endoscopic vision due to lack of advanced technology. Several NOTES operations have already been performed in humans. However, many other surgical procedures were tested in laboratory animals. Development and improvement of surgical devices may promote this surgical modality in the future.

Performance indicators for quality in surgical and laboratory services at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Tanzania.

PubMed

Mbembati, Naboth A; Mwangu, Mugwira; Muhondwa, Eustace P Y; Leshabari, Melkizedek M

2008-04-01

Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), a teaching and national referral hospital, is undergoing major reforms to improve the quality of health care. We performed a retrospective descriptive study using a set of performance indicators for the surgical and laboratory services of MNH in years 2001 and 2002, to help monitor and evaluate the impact of reforms on the quality of health care during and after the reform process. Hospital records were reviewed and information recorded for planned and postponed operations, laboratory equipment, reagents, laboratory tests and quality assurance programmes. In the year 2001 a total of 4332 non-emergency operations were planned, 3313 operations were performed and 1019 (23.5%) operations were postponed. In the year 2002, 4301 non-emergency operations were planned, 3046 were performed and 1255 (29%) were postponed. The most common reasons for operation postponement were "time-barred", interference by emergency operations, no show of patients and inoperable anaesthetic machines. Equipment problems and supply and staff shortages together accounted for one quarter of postponements. In the laboratory, a lack of equipment prevented some tests, but quality assurance was performed for most tests. Current surgical services at MNH are inadequate; operating theatres require modern, functioning equipment and adequate supplies of consumables to provide satisfactory care.

Post-Learning Sleep Transiently Boosts Context Specific Operant Extinction Memory.

PubMed

Borquez, Margarita; Contreras, María P; Vivaldi, Ennio; Born, Jan; Inostroza, Marion

2017-01-01

Operant extinction is learning to supress a previously rewarded behavior. It is known to be strongly associated with the specific context in which it was acquired, which limits the therapeutic use of operant extinction in behavioral treatments, e.g., of addiction. We examined whether sleep influences contextual memory of operant extinction over time, using two different recall tests (Recent and Remote). Rats were trained in an operant conditioning task (lever press) in context A, then underwent extinction training in context B, followed by a 3-h retention period that contained either spontaneous morning sleep, morning sleep deprivation, or spontaneous evening wakefulness. A recall test was performed either immediately after the 3-h experimental retention period (Recent recall) or after 48 h (Remote), in the extinction context B and in a novel context C. The two main findings were: (i) at the Recent recall test, sleep in comparison with sleep deprivation and spontaneous wakefulness enhanced extinction memory but, only in the extinction context B; (ii) at the Remote recall, extinction performance after sleep was enhanced in both contexts B and C to an extent comparable to levels at Recent recall in context B. Interestingly, extinction performance at Remote recall was also improved in the sleep deprivation groups in both contexts, with no difference to performance in the sleep group. Our results suggest that 3 h of post-learning sleep transiently facilitate the context specificity of operant extinction at a Recent recall. However, the improvement and contextual generalization of operant extinction memory observed in the long-term, i.e., after 48 h, does not require immediate post-learning sleep.

Capability of the Maximax&Maximin selection operator in the evolutionary algorithm for a nurse scheduling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramli, Razamin; Tein, Lim Huai

2016-08-01

A good work schedule can improve hospital operations by providing better coverage with appropriate staffing levels in managing nurse personnel. Hence, constructing the best nurse work schedule is the appropriate effort. In doing so, an improved selection operator in the Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) strategy for a nurse scheduling problem (NSP) is proposed. The smart and efficient scheduling procedures were considered. Computation of the performance of each potential solution or schedule was done through fitness evaluation. The best so far solution was obtained via special Maximax&Maximin (MM) parent selection operator embedded in the EA, which fulfilled all constraints considered in the NSP.

A Risk Management Architecture for Emergency Integrated Aircraft Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGlynn, Gregory E.; Litt, Jonathan S.; Lemon, Kimberly A.; Csank, Jeffrey T.

2011-01-01

Enhanced engine operation--operation that is beyond normal limits--has the potential to improve the adaptability and safety of aircraft in emergency situations. Intelligent use of enhanced engine operation to improve the handling qualities of the aircraft requires sophisticated risk estimation techniques and a risk management system that spans the flight and propulsion controllers. In this paper, an architecture that weighs the risks of the emergency and of possible engine performance enhancements to reduce overall risk to the aircraft is described. Two examples of emergency situations are presented to demonstrate the interaction between the flight and propulsion controllers to facilitate the enhanced operation.

48 CFR 970.0370-2 - Contract clause.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Improper Business Practices and Personal....5203-1, Management Controls, in all management and operating contracts. (b) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 970.5203-2, Performance Improvement and Collaboration, in all management and...

Using convolutional decoding to improve time delay and phase estimation in digital communications

DOEpatents

Ormesher, Richard C [Albuquerque, NM; Mason, John J [Albuquerque, NM

2010-01-26

The time delay and/or phase of a communication signal received by a digital communication receiver can be estimated based on a convolutional decoding operation that the communication receiver performs on the received communication signal. If the original transmitted communication signal has been spread according to a spreading operation, a corresponding despreading operation can be integrated into the convolutional decoding operation.

Progress of long pulse operation with high performance plasma in KSTAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Young; Kstar Team

2015-11-01

Recent KSTAR experiments showed the sustained H-mode operation up to the pulse duration of 46 s at the plasma current of 600 kA. The long-pulse H-mode operation has been supported by long-pulse capable neutral beam injection (NBI) system with high NB current drive efficiency attributed by highly tangential injections of three beam sources. In next phase, aiming to demonstrate the long pulse stationary high performance plasma operation, we are attempting the long pulse inductive operation at the higher performance (MA plasma current, high normalized beta, and low q95) for the final goal of demonstration of ITER-like baseline scenario in KSTAR with progressive improvement of the plasma shape control and higher neutral beam injection power. This paper presents the progress of long pulse operation and the analysis of energy confinement time and non-inductive current drive in KSTAR.

Design and validation of an improved graphical user interface with the 'Tool ball'.

PubMed

Lee, Kuo-Wei; Lee, Ying-Chu

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is introduce the design of an improved graphical user interface (GUI) and verifies the operational efficiency of the proposed interface. Until now, clicking the toolbar with the mouse is the usual way to operate software functions. In our research, we designed an improved graphical user interface - a tool ball that is operated by a mouse wheel to perform software functions. Several experiments are conducted to measure the time needed to operate certain software functions with the traditional combination of "mouse click + tool button" and the proposed integration of "mouse wheel + tool ball". The results indicate that the tool ball design can accelerate the speed of operating software functions, decrease the number of icons on the screen, and enlarge the applications of the mouse wheel. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Personal Computer and Workstation Operating Systems Tutorial

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-01

to a RAM area where it is executed by the CPU. The program consists of instructions that perform operations on data. The CPU will perform two basic...memory to improve system performance. More often the user will buy a new fixed disk so the computer will hold more programs internally. The trend today...MHZ. Another way to view how fast the information is going into the register is in a time domain rather than a frequency domain knowing that time and

Spaceborne construction and operations planning - Decision rules for selecting EVA, telerobot, and combined work-systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey H.

1992-01-01

An approach is presented for selecting an appropriate work-system for performing construction and operations tasks by humans and telerobots. The decision to use extravehicular activity (EVA) performed by astronauts, extravehicular robotics (EVR), or a combination of EVA and EVR is determined by the ratio of the marginal costs of EVA, EVR, and IVA. The approach proposed here is useful for examining cost trade-offs between tasks and performing trade studies of task improvement techniques (human or telerobotic).

Improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB among people living with HIV: the role of operational research

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Operational research is necessary to improve the access to and delivery of tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions for people living with HIV. We conducted an extensive review of the literature and reports from recent expert consultations and research-related meetings organized by the World Health Organization and the Stop TB Partnership to identify a TB/HIV operational research agenda. We present critical operational research questions in a series of key areas: optimizing TB prevention by enhancing the uptake of isoniazid preventive therapy and the implementation of infection control measures; assessing the effectiveness of existing diagnostic tools and scaling up new technologies; improving service delivery models; and reducing risk factors for mortality among TB patients living with HIV. We discuss the potential impact that addressing the operational research questions may have on improving programmes’ performance, assessing new strategies or interventions for TB control, or informing global or national policy formulation. Financial resources to implement these operational research questions should be mobilized from existing and new funding mechanisms. National TB and HIV/AIDS programmes should develop their operational research agendas based on these questions, and conduct the research that they consider crucial for improving TB and HIV control in their settings in collaboration with research stakeholders. PMID:21967874

Influence of operating conditions on the optimum design of electric vehicle battery cooling plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarrett, Anthony; Kim, Il Yong

2014-01-01

The efficiency of cooling plates for electric vehicle batteries can be improved by optimizing the geometry of internal fluid channels. In practical operation, a cooling plate is exposed to a range of operating conditions dictated by the battery, environment, and driving behaviour. To formulate an efficient cooling plate design process, the optimum design sensitivity with respect to each boundary condition is desired. This determines which operating conditions must be represented in the design process, and therefore the complexity of designing for multiple operating conditions. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of different operating conditions on the optimum cooling plate design. Three important performance measures were considered: temperature uniformity, mean temperature, and pressure drop. It was found that of these three, temperature uniformity was most sensitive to the operating conditions, especially with respect to the distribution of the input heat flux, and also to the coolant flow rate. An additional focus of the study was the distribution of heat generated by the battery cell: while it is easier to assume that heat is generated uniformly, by using an accurate distribution for design optimization, this study found that cooling plate performance could be significantly improved.

Extended Operation Testing of Stirling Convertors in Support of Stirling Radioisotope Power System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Edward J.; Schreiber, Jeffre G.; Wilson, Scott D.; oriti, Salvatore M.; Cornell, Peggy; Schifer, Nicholas

2008-01-01

100 We class Stirling convertors began extended operation testing at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in 2003 with a pair of Technology Demonstration Convertors (TDCs) operating in air. Currently, the number of convertors on extended operation test has grown to 12, including both TDCs and Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs) operating both in air and in thermal vacuum. Additional convertors and an electrically heated radioisotope generator will be put on test in the near future. This testing has provided data to support life and reliability estimates and the quality improvements and design changes that have been made to the convertor. The convertors operated 24/7 at the nominal amplitude and power levels. Performance data were recorded on an hourly basis. Techniques to monitor the convertors for change in internal operation included gas analysis, vibration measurements and acoustic emission measurements. This data provided a baseline for future comparison. This paper summarizes the results of over 145,000 hours of TDC testing and 40,000 hours of ASC testing and discusses trends in the data. Data shows the importance of improved materials, hermetic sealing, and quality processes in maintaining convertor performance over long life.

Extended Operation Testing of Stirling Convertors in Support of Stirling Radioisotope Power System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Edward J.; Schreiber, Jeffrey G.; Wilson, Scott D.; Oriti, Salvatore M.; Cornell, Peggy; Schifer, Nicholas

2009-01-01

100 We class Stirling convertors began extended operation testing at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in 2003 with a pair of Technology Demonstration Convertors (TDCs) operating in air. Currently, the number of convertors on extended operation test has grown to 12, including both TDCs and Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs) operating both in air and in thermal vacuum. Additional convertors and an electrically heated radioisotope generator will be put on test in the near future. This testing has provided data to support life and reliability estimates and the quality improvements and design changes that have been made to the convertor. The convertors operated 24/7 at the nominal amplitude and power levels. Performance data were recorded on an hourly basis. Techniques to monitor the convertors for change in internal operation included gas analysis, vibration measurements, and acoustic emission measurements. This data provided a baseline for future comparison. This paper summarizes the results of over 145,000 hr of TDC testing and 40,000 hr of ASC testing and discusses trends in the data. Data shows the importance of improved materials, hermetic sealing, and quality processes in maintaining convertor performance over long life.

Node-Expansion Operators for the UCT Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yajima, Takayuki; Hashimoto, Tsuyoshi; Matsui, Toshiki; Hashimoto, Junichi; Spoerer, Kristian

Recent works on the MCTS and UCT framework in the domain of Go focused on introducing knowledge to the playout and on pruning variations from the tree, but so far node expansion has not been investigated. In this paper we show that delaying expansion according to the number of the siblings delivers a gain of more than 92% when compared to normal expansion. We propose three improvements; one that uses domain knowledge and two that are domain-independent methods. Experimental results show that all advanced operators significantly improve the UCT performance when compared to the basic delaying expansion. From the results we may conclude that the new expansion operators are an appropriate means to improve the UCT algorithm.

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

Thomas, Kenneth; Oxstrand, Johanna

The Digital Architecture effort is a part of the Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Light-Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program conducted at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The LWRS program is performed in close collaboration with industry research and development (R&D) programs that provides the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants (NPPs). One of the primary missions of the LWRS program is to help the U.S. nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of the plants and extension of the current operating licenses. Therefore,more » a major objective of the LWRS program is the development of a seamless digital environment for plant operations and support by integrating information from plant systems with plant processes for nuclear workers through an array of interconnected technologies. In order to get the most benefits of the advanced technology suggested by the different research activities in the LWRS program, the nuclear utilities need a digital architecture in place to support the technology. A digital architecture can be defined as a collection of information technology (IT) capabilities needed to support and integrate a wide-spectrum of real-time digital capabilities for nuclear power plant performance improvements. It is not hard to imagine that many processes within the plant can be largely improved from both a system and human performance perspective by utilizing a plant wide (or near plant wide) wireless network. For example, a plant wide wireless network allows for real time plant status information to easily be accessed in the control room, field workers’ computer-based procedures can be updated based on the real time plant status, and status on ongoing procedures can be incorporated into smart schedules in the outage command center to allow for more accurate planning of critical tasks. The goal of the digital architecture project is to provide a long-term strategy to integrate plant systems, plant processes, and plant workers. This include technologies to improve nuclear worker efficiency and human performance; to offset a range of plant surveillance and testing activities with new on-line monitoring technologies; improve command, control, and collaboration in settings such as outage control centers and work execution centers; and finally to improve operator performance with new operator aid technologies for the control room. The requirements identified through the activities in the Digital Architecture project will be used to estimate the amount of traffic on the network and hence estimating the minimal bandwidth needed.« less

Amplifier improvement circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturman, J.

1968-01-01

Stable input stage was designed for the use with a integrated circuit operational amplifier to provide improved performance as an instrumentation-type amplifier. The circuit provides high input impedance, stable gain, good common mode rejection, very low drift, and low output impedance.

Improving rural emergency medical services (EMS) through transportation system enhancements.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

Improved emergency medical services (EMS) will impact traffic safety and public health in rural : communities. Better planned, designed, and operated roadway networks that connect hospitals with : communities in need will enhance EMS performance. To ...

Extended Temperature Solar Cell Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.; Jenkins, Phillip; Scheiman, David; Rafaelle, Ryne

2004-01-01

Future NASA missions will require solar cells to operate both in regimes closer to the sun, and farther from the sun, where the operating temperatures will be higher and lower than standard operational conditions. NASA Glenn is engaged in testing solar cells under extended temperature ranges, developing theoretical models of cell operation as a function of temperature, and in developing technology for improving the performance of solar cells for both high and low temperature operation.

Improvement of Productivity in TIG Welding Plant by Equipment Design in Orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gnanavel, C.; Saravanan, R.; Chandrasekaran, M.; Jayakanth, J. J.

2017-03-01

Measurements and improvements are very indispensable task at all levels of management. Here some samples are, at operator level: Measuring operating parameters to ensure OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and measuring Q components performance to ensure quality, at supervisory level: measuring operator’s performance to ensure labour utility at managerial level: production and productivity measurements and at top level capital and capacity utilization. An often accepted statement is “Improvement is impossible without measurement”. Measurements often referred as observation. The case study was conducted at Government Boiler factory in India. The scientific approach followed for indentifying non value added activities. Personalised new equipment designed and installed to achieve productivity improvement of 85% for a day. The new equipment can serve 360o around its axis hence it simplified loading and unloading procedures as well as reduce their times and ensured effective space and time.

Arsenic and Antimony Removal from Drinking Water by Adsorptive Media - U.S. EPA Demonstration Project at South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District (STMGID), NV, Final Performance Evaluation Report

EPA Science Inventory

This report documents the activities performed during and the results obtained from the operation of an arsenic and antimony removal technology demonstrated at the South Truckee Meadows General Improvement District (STMGID) in Washoe County, NV. The objectives of the project wer...

Improved refractory performance through partnership

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

Linck, F.E.; Peters, D.

1995-12-31

From the early designs and construction of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers, many improvements have been made based upon observations of performance. Included in these improvements have been the refractory linings. The early refractory linings were subjected to extreme fluctuations in temperatures as the units experienced up and down conditions. As the designs were improved refractory failures were mostly due to the operating conditions and other mechanical stresses rather than continual shutdowns and startups. More recent problems observed with refractory linings are localized areas of high erosion, corrosion and cracking which result in hot spots and eventual shutdowns for repair.more » Today the objective of refractory suppliers and installers is to strive towards planned shutdowns rather than emergency shutdowns. This can be accomplished through partnerships between operations, material suppliers and installers. In essence, the concept is a cooperative effort between these groups to solve the variety of refractory problems in order to achieve longer refractory lining performance and less chance for emergency shutdowns. The reliability of the refractory lining is dependent on the successful combination of the material selected, proper design and the installation of the refractory material. Where these three elements combine, the lining has the best chance of performing its intended purpose.« less

Off-Design Performance of a Streamline-Traced, External-Compression Supersonic Inlet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slater, John W.

2017-01-01

A computational study was performed to explore the aerodynamic performance of a streamline-traced, external-compression inlet designed for Mach 1.664 at off-design conditions of freestream Mach number, angle-of-attack, and angle-of-sideslip. Serious degradation of the inlet performance occurred for negative angles-of-attack and angles-of-sideslip greater than 3 degrees. At low subsonic speeds, the swept leading edges of the inlet created a pair of vortices that propagated to the engine face. Increasing the bluntness of the cowl lip showed no real improvement in the inlet performance at the low speeds, but did improve the inlet performance at the design conditions. Reducing the inlet flow rate improved the inlet performance, but at the likely expense of reduced thrust of the propulsion system. Deforming the cowl lip for low-speed operation of the inlet increased the inlet capture area and improved the inlet performance.

Network performance analysis and management for cyber-physical systems and their applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emfinger, William A.

With increased public interest in protecting the environment, scientists and engineers aim to improve energy conversion efficiency. Thermoelectrics offer many advantages as thermal management technology. When compared to vapor compression refrigeration, above approximately 200 to 600 watts, cost in dollars per watt as well as COP are not advantageous for thermoelectrics. The goal of this work was to determine if optimized pulse supercooling operation could improve cooling capacity or efficiency of a thermoelectric device. The basis of this research is a thermal-electrical analogy based modeling study using SPICE. Two models were developed. The first model, a standalone thermocouple with no attached mass to be cooled. The second, a system that includes a module attached to a heat generating mass. With the thermocouple study, a new approach of generating response surfaces with characteristic parameters was applied. The current pulse height and pulse on-time was identified for maximizing Net Transient Advantage, a newly defined metric. The corresponding pulse height and pulse on-time was utilized for the system model. Along with the traditional steady state starting current of Imax, Iopt was employed. The pulse shape was an isosceles triangle. For the system model, metrics new to pulse cooling were Qc, power consumption and COP. The effects of optimized current pulses were studied by changing system variables. Further studies explored time spacing between pulses and temperature distribution in the thermoelement. It was found net Q c over an entire pulse event can be improved over Imax steady operation but not over steady I opt operation. Qc can be improved over Iopt operation but only during the early part of the pulse event. COP is reduced in transient pulse operation due to the different time constants of Qc and Pin. In some cases lower performance interface materials allow more Qc and better COP during transient operation than higher performance interface materials. Important future work might look at developing innovative ways of biasing Joule heat to Th..

Inheriting the Learner's View: A Google Glass-Based Wearable Computing Platform for Improving Surgical Trainee Performance.

PubMed

Brewer, Zachary E; Fann, Hutchinson C; Ogden, W David; Burdon, Thomas A; Sheikh, Ahmad Y

2016-01-01

It is speculated that, in operative environments, real-time visualization of the trainee's viewpoint by the instructor may improve performance and teaching efficacy. We hypothesized that introduction of a wearable surgical visualization system allowing the instructor to visualize otherwise "blind" areas in the operative field could improve trainee performance in a simulated operative setting. A total of 11 surgery residents (4 in general surgery training and 7 in an integrated 6-year cardiothoracic surgery program) participated in the study. Google (Mountain View, CA) Glass hardware running proprietary software from CrowdOptic (San Francisco, CA) was utilized for creation of the wearable surgical visualization system. Both the learner and trainer wore the system, and video was streamed from the learner's system in real time to the trainer, who directed the learner to place needles in a simulated operative field. Subjects placed a total of 5 needles in each of 4 quadrants. A composite error score was calculated based on the accuracy of needle placement in relation to the intended needle trajectories as described by the trainer. Time to task completion (TTC) was also measured and participants completed an exit questionnaire. All residents completed the protocol tasks and the survey. Introduction of the wearable surgical visualization system did not affect mean time to task completion (278 ± 50 vs. 282 ± 69 seconds, p = NS). However, mean composite error score fell significantly once the wearable system was deployed (18 ± 5 vs. 15 ± 4, p < 0.05), demonstrating improved accuracy of needle placement. Most of the participants deemed the device unobtrusive, easy to operate, and useful for communication and instruction. This study suggests that wearable surgical visualization systems allowing for adoption of the learner's perspective may be a useful educational adjunct in the training of surgeons. Further evaluations of the efficacy of wearable technology in the operating room environment are warranted. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S.-H.; Afanador, R.; Barnhart, D. L.; Crofford, M.; Degraff, B. D.; Doleans, M.; Galambos, J.; Gold, S. W.; Howell, M. P.; Mammosser, J.; McMahan, C. J.; Neustadt, T. S.; Peters, C.; Saunders, J. W.; Strong, W. H.; Vandygriff, D. J.; Vandygriff, D. M.

2017-04-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenance activities for cryomodules are introduced.

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

DOE PAGES

Kim, Sang-Ho; Afanador, Ralph; Barnhart, Debra L.; ...

2017-02-04

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenancemore » activities for cryomodules are introduced.« less

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

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

Kim, Sang-Ho; Afanador, Ralph; Barnhart, Debra L.

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenancemore » activities for cryomodules are introduced.« less

The chief nurse executive role in large healthcare systems.

PubMed

Englebright, Jane; Perlin, Jonathan

2008-01-01

Community hospitals are most frequently led by nonclinicians. Although some may have employed physician leaders, most often clinical leadership is provided by a chief nurse executive (CNE) or chief nursing officer. Clinical leadership of community hospital and health systems may similarly be provided by a system-level nursing executive or, often, by a council of facility CNEs. The increasingly competitive healthcare environment in which value-based purchasing of healthcare and pay-for-performance programs demand improved clinical performance for financial success has led to reconsideration of whether a council model can provide either the leadership or adequate attention to clinical (and operational) improvement. In turn, community hospitals and health systems look to CNE or chief nursing officer roles at the highest level of the organization as resources that are able to segue between the clinical and operational domains, translating clinical performance demands into operating strategies and tactics. This article explores CNE characteristics required for success in these increasingly responsible and visible roles.

Energy efficient engine component development and integration program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The objective of the Energy Efficient Engine Component Development and Integration program is to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate the technology for achieving lower installed fuel consumption and lower operating costs in future commercial turbofan engines. Minimum goals have been set for a 12 percent reduction in thrust specific fuel consumption (TSFC), 5 percent reduction in direct operating cost (DOC), and 50 percent reduction in performance degradation for the Energy Efficient Engine (flight propulsion system) relative to the JT9D-7A reference engine. The Energy Efficienct Engine features a twin spool, direct drive, mixed flow exhaust configuration, utilizing an integrated engine nacelle structure. A short, stiff, high rotor and a single stage high pressure turbine are among the major enhancements in providing for both performance retention and major reductions in maintenance and direct operating costs. Improved clearance control in the high pressure compressor and turbines, and advanced single crystal materials in turbine blades and vanes are among the major features providing performance improvement. Highlights of work accomplished and programs modifications and deletions are presented.

Are short-term focused training courses on a phantom model using porcine gall bladder useful for trainees in acquiring basic laparoscopic skills?

PubMed

Bansal, Virinder Kumar; Panwar, Rajesh; Misra, Mahesh C; Bhattacharjee, Hemanga K; Jindal, Vikas; Loli, Athiko; Goswami, Amit; Krishna, Asuri; Tamang, Tseten

2012-04-01

The best training method in laparoscopic surgery has not been defined. We evaluated the efficacy of laparoscopic skills acquisition in a short-term focused program. Two hundred fifty-six participants undergoing training on a phantom model were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 had no exposure and group 2 had performed a few laparoscopic surgeries. Acquisition of laparoscopic skills was assessed by operation time and the modified Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) scale. A questionnaire was sent to the participants after 3 to 6 months for assessment of impact of training. There was a statistically significant improvement in the assessed parameters and in the mean score of all 5 domains of GOALS. The participants in group 2 performed better than those in group 1 in the first case. The difference between both the groups disappeared after the training. Participants who responded to the questionnaire felt that training helped them in improving their performance in the operation theater.

"Measuring Operational Effectiveness of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (IIL) and the Impact of Critical Facilities Inclusion in the Process."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodell, Eric A.

2013-01-01

Information Technology (IT) professionals use the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) process to better manage their business operations, measure performance, improve reliability and lower costs. This study examined the operational results of those data centers using ITIL against those that do not, and whether the results change…

The development of an integrated Indonesian health care model using Kano's model, quality function deployment and balanced scorecard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonny, Zagloed, Teuku Yuri M.

2017-11-01

This paper aims to present an integrated health care model for Indonesian health care industry. Based on previous researches, there are two health care models in the industry such as decease- and patient-centered care models. In their developments, the patient-centered care model is widely applied due to its capability in reducing cost and improving quality simultaneously. However, there is still no comprehensive model resulting in cost reduction, quality improvement, patient satisfaction and hospital profitability simultaneously. Therefore, this research is intended to develop that model. In doing so, first, a conceptual model using Kano's Model, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is developed to generate several important elements of the model as required by stakeholders. Then, a case study of an Indonesian hospital is presented to evaluate the validity of the model using correlation analysis. As a result, it can be concluded that the model is validated implying several managerial insights among its elements such as l) leadership (r=0.85) and context of the organization (r=0.77) improve operations; 2) planning (r=0.96), support process (r=0.87) and continual improvement (r=0.95) also improve operations; 3) operations improve customer satisfaction (r=0.89) and financial performance (r=0.93) and 4) customer satisfaction improves the financial performance (0.98).

Force-reflection and shared compliant control in operating telemanipulators with time delay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Won S.; Hannaford, Blake; Bejczy, Antal K.

1992-01-01

The performance of an advanced telemanipulation system in the presence of a wide range of time delays between a master control station and a slave robot is quantified. The contemplated applications include multiple satellite links to LEO, geosynchronous operation, spacecraft local area networks, and general-purpose computer-based short-distance designs. The results of high-precision peg-in-hole tasks performed by six test operators indicate that task performance decreased linearly with introduced time delays for both kinesthetic force feedback (KFF) and shared compliant control (SCC). The rate of this decrease was substantially improved with SCC compared to KFF. Task performance at delays above 1 s was not possible using KFF. SCC enabled task performance for such delays, which are realistic values for ground-controlled remote manipulation of telerobots in space.

Improving transportation systems management and operations (TSM&O), capability maturity model workshop white paper : performance measurement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-04-01

Research done through the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) determined that agencies with the most effective transportation systems management and operations (TSM&O) activities were differentiated not by budgets or technical skills a...

Morgantown People Mover (MPM) Operating, Availability, and Maintenance History : October 1976 through June 1978

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-10-01

The report covers the period of operation, dependability, and maintenance history of the Morgantown system (now known as the Morgantown People Mover - MPM) from October 1976 through June 1978. System performance in general improved greatly during thi...

Reconstructive operations for the upper limb after brachial plexus palsy.

PubMed

Rühmann, Oliver; Schmolke, Stephan; Bohnsack, Michael; Carls, Jörg; Flamme, Christian; Wirth, Carl Joachim

2004-07-01

Limited function due to paralysis following brachial plexus lesions can be improved by secondary operations of the bony and soft tissue. Between April 1994 and December 2000, 109 patients suffering from arm-plexus lesions underwent a total of 144 reconstructive operations guided by our concept of integrated therapy. The average age at the time of surgery was 32 years (range: 15-59). The following operations were performed: shoulder arthrodesis (23), trapezius transfer (74), rotation osteotomy of humerus (9), triceps to biceps transposition (9), transposition of forearm flexors or extensors (8), latissimus transfer (7), pectoralis transfer (1), teres major transfer (1), transposition of flexor carpi ulnaris to the tendons of extensor digitorum (10), and wrist arthrodesis (2). Prospectively, in all patients, the grade of muscle power of the affected upper extremity was evaluated prior to surgery. The follow-up period for all 144 operations was, on average, 22 months (range: 6-74). By means of operative measures, almost all patients obtained an improvement of shoulder function (100%) and stability (>90%), elbow flexion (85%), and hand, finger, and thumb (100%). When muscles malfunction after brachial plexus lesions, one should take into account the individual neuromuscular defect, passive joint function, and bony deformities; different procedures such as muscle transpositions, arthrodeses, and corrective osteotomies can then be performed to improve function of the upper extremity. Each form of operative treatment presents patients with certain benefits and all are integrated into a total treatment plan for the affected extremity.

Procedures for Developing Evidence-Informed Performance Checklists for Improving Early Childhood Intervention Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunst, Carl J.

2017-01-01

A conceptualization-operationalization-measurement framework is described for developing evidence-informed early childhood intervention performance checklists. Performance checklists include lists of practice indicators where the indicators, taken together, operationally define particular types of intervention practices that, when used as…

Two-D results on human operator perception

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siapkara, A. A.; Sheridan, T. B.

1981-01-01

The application of multidimensional scaling methodology in human factors engineering is presented. The nonorthogonality of internally perceived task variables is exhibited for first and second order plants with both dependent and independent task variables. Directions of operator preference are shown for actual performance, pilot opinion rating, and subjective measures of fatigue, adaptability, and system recognition. Improvement of performance in second order systems is exhibited by the use of bang-bang feedback information. Dissimilarity measures for system comparison are suggested in order to account for human operator rotations and subjective sense of time.

Troubleshooting crude vacuum tower overhead ejector systems

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

Lines, J.R.; Frens, L.L.

1995-03-01

Routinely surveying tower overhead vacuum systems can improve performance and product quality. These vacuum systems normally provide reliable and consistent operation. However, process conditions, supplied utilities, corrosion, erosion and fouling all have an impact on ejector system performance. Refinery vacuum distillation towers use ejector systems to maintain tower top pressure and remove overhead gases. However, as with virtually all refinery equipment, performance may be affected by a number of variables. These variables may act independently or concurrently. It is important to understand basic operating principles of vacuum systems and how performance is affected by: utilities, corrosion and erosion, fouling, andmore » process conditions. Reputable vacuum-system suppliers have service engineers that will come to a refinery to survey the system and troubleshoot performance or offer suggestions for improvement. A skilled vacuum-system engineer may be needed to diagnose and remedy system problems. The affect of these variables on performance is discussed. A case history is described of a vacuum system on a crude tower in a South American refinery.« less

Performance Demonstration of Mcmb-LiNiCoO2 Cells Containing Electrolytes Designed for Wide Operating Temperature Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Whicanack, L. D.; Smith, K. A.; Santee, S.; Puglia, F. J.; Gitzendanner, R.

2009-01-01

With the intent of improving the performance of Li-ion cells over a wide operating temperature range, we have investigated the use of co-solvents to improve the properties of electrolyte formulations. In the current study, we have focused upon evaluating promising electrolytes which have been incorporated into large capacity (7 Ah) prototype Li-ion cells, fabricated by Yardney Technical Products, Inc. The electrolytes selected for performance evaluation include the use of a number of esters as co-solvents, including methyl propionate (MP), ethyl propionate (EP), ethyl butyrate (EB), propyl butyrate (PB), and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl butyrate (TFEB). The performance of the prototype cells containing the ester-based electrolytes was compared with an extensive data base generated on cells containing previously developed all carbonate-based electrolytes. A number of performance tests were performed, including determining (i) the discharge rate capacity over a wide range of temperatures, (ii) the charge characteristics, (iii) the cycle life characteristics under various conditions, and (iv) the impedance characteristics.

Emergency Locator Transmitter Survivability and Reliability Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stimson, Chad M.; Littell, Justin D.; Mazzuca, Lisa M.; Foster, Anthony W.; Theodorakos, George J.

2017-01-01

A comprehensive study of Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) performance was conducted over a three year period concluding in 2016 in support of the Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission Office at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The study began with a review of reported performance cited in a collection of works published as early as 1980 as well as analysis of a focused set of contemporary aviation crash reports. Based on initial research findings, a series of subscale and fullscale system tests were performed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) with the goals of investigating ELT system failure modes and developing recommended improvements to the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Minimum Operational Performance Specification (MOPS) that will result in improved system performance. Enhanced performance of ELT systems in aviation accidents will reduce unnecessary loss of human life and make SAR operations safer and less costly by reducing the amount of time required to locate accident sites.

Does rating the operation videos with a checklist score improve the effect of E-learning for bariatric surgical training? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

De La Garza, Javier Rodrigo; Kowalewski, Karl-Friedrich; Friedrich, Mirco; Schmidt, Mona Wanda; Bruckner, Thomas; Kenngott, Hannes Götz; Fischer, Lars; Müller-Stich, Beat-Peter; Nickel, Felix

2017-03-21

Laparoscopic training has become an important part of surgical education. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is the most common bariatric procedure performed. Surgeons must be well trained prior to operating on a patient. Multimodality training is vital for bariatric surgery. E-learning with videos is a standard approach for training. The present study investigates whether scoring the operation videos with performance checklists improves learning effects and transfer to a simulated operation. This is a monocentric, two-arm, randomized controlled trial. The trainees are medical students from the University of Heidelberg in their clinical years with no prior laparoscopic experience. After a laparoscopic basic virtual reality (VR) training, 80 students are randomized into one of two arms in a 1:1 ratio to the checklist group (group A) and control group without a checklist (group B). After all students are given an introduction of the training center, VR trainer and laparoscopic instruments, they start with E-learning while watching explanations and videos of RYGB. Only group A will perform ratings with a modified Bariatric Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (BOSATS) scale checklist for all videos watched. Group B watches the same videos without rating. Both groups will then perform an RYGB in the VR trainer as a primary endpoint and small bowel suturing as an additional test in the box trainer for evaluation. This study aims to assess if E-learning and rating bariatric surgical videos with a modified BOSATS checklist will improve the learning curve for medical students in an RYGB VR performance. This study may help in future laparoscopic and bariatric training courses. German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00010493 . Registered on 20 May 2016.

Man-machine interface requirements - advanced technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remington, R. W.; Wiener, E. L.

1984-01-01

Research issues and areas are identified where increased understanding of the human operator and the interaction between the operator and the avionics could lead to improvements in the performance of current and proposed helicopters. Both current and advanced helicopter systems and avionics are considered. Areas critical to man-machine interface requirements include: (1) artificial intelligence; (2) visual displays; (3) voice technology; (4) cockpit integration; and (5) pilot work loads and performance.

Project Startup: Evaluating the Performance of Electric Buses

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

2016-04-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is evaluating the in-service performance of fast-charge battery electric buses compared to compressed natural gas (CNG) buses operated by Foothill Transit in West Covina, California. Launched in 2015 in collaboration with the California Air Resources Board, this study aims to improve understanding of the overall use and effectiveness of fast-charge electric buses and associated charging infrastructure in transit operation.

Rhinoplasty and the aesthetic of the smile.

PubMed

de Benito, J; Fernandez Sanza, I

1995-01-01

The resection of the columella and nasal depressor muscles is a simple operation to perform and one which allows an improvement in the facial physiognomy of many patients. This operation can be done alone or in conjunction with the classic rhinoplasty, thus achieving an improvement in the aesthetics of the smile. It has also been proved, contrary to common belief, that the action of these muscles has no connection with physiological breathing mechanisms.

TeamSTEPPS Improves Operating Room Efficiency and Patient Safety.

PubMed

Weld, Lancaster R; Stringer, Matthew T; Ebertowski, James S; Baumgartner, Timothy S; Kasprenski, Matthew C; Kelley, Jeremy C; Cho, Doug S; Tieva, Erwin A; Novak, Thomas E

2016-09-01

The objective was to evaluate the effect of TeamSTEPPS on operating room efficiency and patient safety. TeamSTEPPS consisted of briefings attended by all health care personnel assigned to the specific operating room to discuss issues unique to each case scheduled for that day. The operative times, on-time start rates, and turnover times of all cases performed by the urology service during the initial year with TeamSTEPPS were compared to the prior year. Patient safety issues identified during postoperative briefings were analyzed. The mean case time was 12.7 minutes less with TeamSTEPPS (P < .001). The on-time first-start rate improved by 21% with TeamSTEPPS (P < .001). The mean room turnover time did not change. Patient safety issues declined from an initial rate of 16% to 6% at midyear and remained stable (P < 0.001). TeamSTEPPS was associated with improved operating room efficiency and diminished patient safety issues in the operating room. © The Author(s) 2015.

Updating the Synchrotron Radiation Monitor at TLS

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

Kuo, C. H.; Hsu, S. Y.; Wang, C. J.

2007-01-19

The synchrotron radiation monitor provides useful information to support routine operation and physics experiments using the beam. Precisely knowing the profile of the beam helps to improve machine performance. The synchrotron radiation monitor at the Taiwan Light Source (TLS) was recently upgraded. The optics and modeling were improved to increase the accuracy of measurement in the small beam size. A high-performance IEEE-1394 digital CCD camera was used to improve the quality of images and extend the dynamic range of measurement. The image analysis is also improved. This report summarizes status and results.

Ideas for Future GPS Timing Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hutsell, Steven T.

1996-01-01

Having recently met stringent criteria for full operational capability (FOC) certification, the Global Positioning System (GPS) now has higher customer expectations than ever before. In order to maintain customer satisfaction, and the meet the even high customer demands of the future, the GPS Master Control Station (MCS) must play a critical role in the process of carefully refining the performance and integrity of the GPS constellation, particularly in the area of timing. This paper will present an operational perspective on several ideas for improving timing in GPS. These ideas include the desire for improving MCS - US Naval Observatory (USNO) data connectivity, an improved GPS-Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) prediction algorithm, a more robust Kalman Filter, and more features in the GPS reference time algorithm (the GPS composite clock), including frequency step resolution, a more explicit use of the basic time scale equation, and dynamic clock weighting. Current MCS software meets the exceptional challenge of managing an extremely complex constellation of 24 navigation satellites. The GPS community will, however, always seek to improve upon this performance and integrity.

The design and operating characteristics of an advanced 30-kW ammonia arcjet engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deininger, William D.; Pivirotto, Thomas J.; Brophy, John R.

1987-01-01

Experimental investigations were conducted to evaluate the effects of a contoured nozzle and modified cathode shape on ammonia arcjet engine performance. The contoured nozzle performance data were compared to the performance data of an arcjet which had a 38-deg included-angle, conical nozzle. Thrust improvements of up to 10 percent were demonstrated which corresponded to 3 percent improvements in specific impulse and 10 percent improvements in thrust efficiency. Performance characterizations for the modified cathode tip were conducted with the contoured nozzle arcjet. A uniform 15 percent decrease in arc voltage was demonstrated over a mass flow range of 0.175 to 0.350 g/s. A 4 percent improvement in thrust efficiency was noted at 22.0 kW.

Individualized deliberate practice on a virtual reality simulator improves technical performance of surgical novices in the operating room: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Palter, Vanessa N; Grantcharov, Teodor P

2014-03-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individualized deliberate practice on a virtual reality (VR) simulator results in improved technical performance in the operating room. Training on VR simulators has been shown to improve technical performance in the operating room (OR). Currently described VR curricula consist of trainees practicing the same tasks until expert proficiency is reached. It has yet to be investigated whether the individualized deliberate practice, where curricula tasks vary depending on prior levels of technical proficiency, would translate into the OR. This single-blinded prospective trial randomized 16 novice surgical residents to a deliberate practice (DP) group and a conventional residency training group. Both groups performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the OR that was video-recorded. Technical performance of DP group residents in the OR was assessed using 3 validated assessment tools. A score of less than 60% on any component of the assessment tool resulted in the trainee practicing a specific task on the VR simulator. The DP group practiced on the simulator as per their individualized schedule. Both groups then performed another laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A blinded expert assessed the OR recordings using a validated global rating scale. Although both groups had similar technical abilities preintervention [DP: median score, 13.5 (9.3-15.0); control: median score, 14.5 (9.3-17.8); P = 0.45], the DP residents had a superior technical performance postintervention [DP: median score, 17.0 (15.3-18.5); control: median score, 12.5 (7.5-14.0); P = 0.03]. Of 8 DP residents, 6 practiced 5 basic VR tasks (median 1 trial to pass), and 7 of 8 practiced 2 advanced tasks (median 4 trials to pass). A curriculum of deliberate individualized practice on a VR simulator improves technical performance in the OR. This has implications to greatly improve the feasibility of implementing simulation-based curricula in residency training programs, rather then having them being limited to research protocols.

An integrated computer-based procedure for teamwork in digital nuclear power plants.

PubMed

Gao, Qin; Yu, Wenzhu; Jiang, Xiang; Song, Fei; Pan, Jiajie; Li, Zhizhong

2015-01-01

Computer-based procedures (CBPs) are expected to improve operator performance in nuclear power plants (NPPs), but they may reduce the openness of interaction between team members and harm teamwork consequently. To support teamwork in the main control room of an NPP, this study proposed a team-level integrated CBP that presents team members' operation status and execution histories to one another. Through a laboratory experiment, we compared the new integrated design and the existing individual CBP design. Sixty participants, randomly divided into twenty teams of three people each, were assigned to the two conditions to perform simulated emergency operating procedures. The results showed that compared with the existing CBP design, the integrated CBP reduced the effort of team communication and improved team transparency. The results suggest that this novel design is effective to optim team process, but its impact on the behavioural outcomes may be moderated by more factors, such as task duration. The study proposed and evaluated a team-level integrated computer-based procedure, which present team members' operation status and execution history to one another. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional procedure design, the integrated design reduces the effort of team communication and improves team transparency.

Application of agent-based system for bioprocess description and process improvement.

PubMed

Gao, Ying; Kipling, Katie; Glassey, Jarka; Willis, Mark; Montague, Gary; Zhou, Yuhong; Titchener-Hooker, Nigel J

2010-01-01

Modeling plays an important role in bioprocess development for design and scale-up. Predictive models can also be used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing to assist decision-making either to maintain process consistency or to identify optimal operating conditions. To predict the whole bioprocess performance, the strong interactions present in a processing sequence must be adequately modeled. Traditionally, bioprocess modeling considers process units separately, which makes it difficult to capture the interactions between units. In this work, a systematic framework is developed to analyze the bioprocesses based on a whole process understanding and considering the interactions between process operations. An agent-based approach is adopted to provide a flexible infrastructure for the necessary integration of process models. This enables the prediction of overall process behavior, which can then be applied during process development or once manufacturing has commenced, in both cases leading to the capacity for fast evaluation of process improvement options. The multi-agent system comprises a process knowledge base, process models, and a group of functional agents. In this system, agent components co-operate with each other in performing their tasks. These include the description of the whole process behavior, evaluating process operating conditions, monitoring of the operating processes, predicting critical process performance, and providing guidance to decision-making when coping with process deviations. During process development, the system can be used to evaluate the design space for process operation. During manufacture, the system can be applied to identify abnormal process operation events and then to provide suggestions as to how best to cope with the deviations. In all cases, the function of the system is to ensure an efficient manufacturing process. The implementation of the agent-based approach is illustrated via selected application scenarios, which demonstrate how such a framework may enable the better integration of process operations by providing a plant-wide process description to facilitate process improvement. Copyright 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers

Expeditious reconciliation for practical quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakassis, Anastase; Bienfang, Joshua C.; Williams, Carl J.

2004-08-01

The paper proposes algorithmic and environmental modifications to the extant reconciliation algorithms within the BB84 protocol so as to speed up reconciliation and privacy amplification. These algorithms have been known to be a performance bottleneck 1 and can process data at rates that are six times slower than the quantum channel they serve2. As improvements in single-photon sources and detectors are expected to improve the quantum channel throughput by two or three orders of magnitude, it becomes imperative to improve the performance of the classical software. We developed a Cascade-like algorithm that relies on a symmetric formulation of the problem, error estimation through the segmentation process, outright elimination of segments with many errors, Forward Error Correction, recognition of the distinct data subpopulations that emerge as the algorithm runs, ability to operate on massive amounts of data (of the order of 1 Mbit), and a few other minor improvements. The data from the experimental algorithm we developed show that by operating on massive arrays of data we can improve software performance by better than three orders of magnitude while retaining nearly as many bits (typically more than 90%) as the algorithms that were designed for optimal bit retention.

Enhancement of a UASB-septic tank performance for decentralised treatment of strong domestic sewage.

PubMed

Mahmoud, Nidal; van Lier, Jules B

2011-01-01

The possibility of enhancing the process performance of the UASB-septic tank for treating strong sewage in Palestine by means of inoculating the reactor with well adapted anaerobic sludge and/or adding a packing media to the upper part of the reactor, creating an anaerobic hybrid (AH)-septic tank, was investigated. To achieve these objectives, two community onsite UASB-septic tank and AH-septic tank were operated in parallel at 2 days HRT for around 8 months overlapping the cold and hot periods of the year in Palestine. The achieved removal efficiencies of CODtot in the UASB-septic tank and AH-septic tank during the first months of operation, coinciding with the cold period and the subsequent hot period, were respectively 50 (+/- 15)% and 48 (+/- 15)% and 66 (+/- 8)% and 55 (+/- 8)%. This shows that the UASB-septic tank performed significantly better (p < 0.05) than the AH-septic tank after rather long periods of operation. The difference in the CODtot removal efficiency was mainly due to the better CODss removal efficiencies in the UASB-septic tank. The removal efficiencies over the last 50 days of operation for CODtot, CODsus, CODcol and CODdis were 70, 72, 77 and 55% and 53, 54, 78 and 45% for the UASB-septic tank and AH-septic tank, respectively. Comparing the here achieved COD removal efficiencies with previously reported efficiencies of UASB-septic tanks operated in Palestine shows that the reactor performance in terms of COD removal and conversion, during the first 8 months of operation, has improved substantially by being started with well adapted anaerobic sludge, simulating and predicting long-term performance. Adding packing media did not lead to an improvement.

Total Quality Management Implementation Plan.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

Quality Management Implementation Plan 6. AUTHOR(S) 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Defense General...E 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES TOM (Total Quality Management ), Continuous Process Improvement,_________ Depot Operations, Supply Support 16

Use of lean and six sigma methodology to improve operating room efficiency in a high-volume tertiary-care academic medical center.

PubMed

Cima, Robert R; Brown, Michael J; Hebl, James R; Moore, Robin; Rogers, James C; Kollengode, Anantha; Amstutz, Gwendolyn J; Weisbrod, Cheryl A; Narr, Bradly J; Deschamps, Claude

2011-07-01

Operating rooms (ORs) are resource-intense and costly hospital units. Maximizing OR efficiency is essential to maintaining an economically viable institution. OR efficiency projects often focus on a limited number of ORs or cases. Efforts across an entire OR suite have not been reported. Lean and Six Sigma methodologies were developed in the manufacturing industry to increase efficiency by eliminating non-value-added steps. We applied Lean and Six Sigma methodologies across an entire surgical suite to improve efficiency. A multidisciplinary surgical process improvement team constructed a value stream map of the entire surgical process from the decision for surgery to discharge. Each process step was analyzed in 3 domains, ie, personnel, information processed, and time. Multidisciplinary teams addressed 5 work streams to increase value at each step: minimizing volume variation; streamlining the preoperative process; reducing nonoperative time; eliminating redundant information; and promoting employee engagement. Process improvements were implemented sequentially in surgical specialties. Key performance metrics were collected before and after implementation. Across 3 surgical specialties, process redesign resulted in substantial improvements in on-time starts and reduction in number of cases past 5 pm. Substantial gains were achieved in nonoperative time, staff overtime, and ORs saved. These changes resulted in substantial increases in margin/OR/day. Use of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies increased OR efficiency and financial performance across an entire operating suite. Process mapping, leadership support, staff engagement, and sharing performance metrics are keys to enhancing OR efficiency. The performance gains were substantial, sustainable, positive financially, and transferrable to other specialties. Copyright © 2011 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of facilitated introduction of a standard operating procedure into routine processes in the operating theatre: a controlled interrupted time series.

PubMed

Morgan, Lauren; New, Steve; Robertson, Eleanor; Collins, Gary; Rivero-Arias, Oliver; Catchpole, Ken; Pickering, Sharon P; Hadi, Mohammed; Griffin, Damian; McCulloch, Peter

2015-02-01

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) should improve safety in the operating theatre, but controlled studies evaluating the effect of staff-led implementation are needed. In a controlled interrupted time series, we evaluated three team process measures (compliance with WHO surgical safety checklist, non-technical skills and technical performance) and three clinical outcome measures (length of hospital stay, complications and readmissions) before and after a 3-month staff-led development of SOPs. Process measures were evaluated by direct observation, using Oxford Non-Technical Skills II for non-technical skills and the 'glitch count' for technical performance. All staff in two orthopaedic operating theatres were trained in the principles of SOPs and then assisted to develop standardised procedures. Staff in a control operating theatre underwent the same observations but received no training. The change in difference between active and control groups was compared before and after the intervention using repeated measures analysis of variance. We observed 50 operations before and 55 after the intervention and analysed clinical data on 1022 and 861 operations, respectively. The staff chose to structure their efforts around revising the 'whiteboard' which documented and prompted tasks, rather than directly addressing specific task problems. Although staff preferred and sustained the new system, we found no significant differences in process or outcome measures before/after intervention in the active versus the control group. There was a secular trend towards worse outcomes in the postintervention period, seen in both active and control theatres. SOPs when developed and introduced by frontline staff do not necessarily improve operative processes or outcomes. The inherent tension in improvement work between giving staff ownership of improvement and maintaining control of direction needs to be managed, to ensure staff are engaged but invest energy in appropriate change. 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.

Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell technology program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

Many previously demonstrated improved fuel cell features were consolidated to (1) obtain a better understanding of the observed characteristics of the operating laboratory-sized cells; (2) evaluate appropriate improved fuel cell features in 0.7 sq ft cell hardware; and (3) study the resultant fuel cell capability and determine its impact on various potential fuel cell space missions. The observed performance characteristics of the fuel cell at high temperatures and high current densities were matched with a theoretical model based on the change in Gibbs free energy voltage with respect to temperature and internal resistance change with current density. Excellent agreement between the observed and model performance was obtained. The observed performance decay with operational time on cells with very low noble metal loadings (0.05 mg/sq cm) were shown to be related to loss in surface area. Cells with the baseline amount of noble catalyst electrode loading demonstrated over 40,000 hours of stable performance.

Improvement of human operator vibroprotection system in the utility machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korchagin, P. A.; Teterina, I. A.; Rahuba, L. F.

2018-01-01

The article is devoted to an urgent problem of improving efficiency of road-building utility machines in terms of improving human operator vibroprotection system by determining acceptable values of the rigidity coefficients and resistance coefficients of operator’s cab suspension system elements and those of operator’s seat. Negative effects of vibration result in labour productivity decrease and occupational diseases. Besides, structure vibrations have a damaging impact on the machine units and mechanisms, which leads to reducing an overall service life of the machine. Results of experimental and theoretical research of operator vibroprotection system in the road-building utility machine are presented. An algorithm for the program to calculate dynamic impacts on the operator in terms of different structural and performance parameters of the machine and considering combination of external pertrubation influences was proposed.

Human-Robot Interaction Directed Research Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandor, Aniko; Cross, Ernest V., II; Chang, M. L.

2014-01-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is a discipline investigating the factors affecting the interactions between humans and robots. It is important to evaluate how the design of interfaces and command modalities affect the human's ability to perform tasks accurately, efficiently, and effectively when working with a robot. By understanding the effects of interface design on human performance, workload, and situation awareness, interfaces can be developed to appropriately support the human in performing tasks with minimal errors and with appropriate interaction time and effort. Thus, the results of research on human-robot interfaces have direct implications for the design of robotic systems. This DRP concentrates on three areas associated with interfaces and command modalities in HRI which are applicable to NASA robot systems: 1) Video Overlays, 2) Camera Views, and 3) Command Modalities. The first study focused on video overlays that investigated how Augmented Reality (AR) symbology can be added to the human-robot interface to improve teleoperation performance. Three types of AR symbology were explored in this study, command guidance (CG), situation guidance (SG), and both (SCG). CG symbology gives operators explicit instructions on what commands to input, whereas SG symbology gives operators implicit cues so that operators can infer the input commands. The combination of CG and SG provided operators with explicit and implicit cues allowing the operator to choose which symbology to utilize. The objective of the study was to understand how AR symbology affects the human operator's ability to align a robot arm to a target using a flight stick and the ability to allocate attention between the symbology and external views of the world. The study evaluated the effects type of symbology (CG and SG) has on operator tasks performance and attention allocation during teleoperation of a robot arm. The second study expanded on the first study by evaluating the effects of the type of navigational guidance (CG and SG) on operator task performance and attention allocation during teleoperation of a robot arm through uplinked commands. Although this study complements the first study on navigational guidance with hand controllers, it is a separate investigation due to the distinction in intended operators (i.e., crewmembers versus ground-operators). A third study looked at superimposed and integrated overlays for teleoperation of a mobile robot using a hand controller. When AR is superimposed on the external world, it appears to be fixed onto the display and internal to the operators' workstation. Unlike superimposed overlays, integrated overlays often appear as three-dimensional objects and move as if part of the external world. Studies conducted in the aviation domain show that integrated overlays can improve situation awareness and reduce the amount of deviation from the optimal path. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether these results apply to HRI tasks, such as navigation with a mobile robot. HRP GAPS This HRI research contributes to closure of HRP gaps by providing information on how display and control characteristics - those related to guidance, feedback, and command modalities - affect operator performance. The overarching goals are to improve interface usability, reduce operator error, and develop candidate guidelines to design effective human-robot interfaces.

Reimplantation with a conventional length electrode following residual hearing loss in four hybrid implant recipients

PubMed Central

Carlson, Matthew L; Archibald, David J; Gifford, Rene H; Driscoll, Colin LW; Beatty, Charles W

2014-01-01

Hypothesis Revision surgery using a newer-generation conventional length cochlear implant electrode will provide improved speech perception in patients that initially underwent hybrid electrode implantation and experienced post-operative loss of residual hearing and performance deterioration. Clinical presentation We present four patients who experienced delayed post-operative hearing loss following implantation with the Nucleus Hybrid S8 device and underwent reimplantation with the Nucleus Freedom or Nucleus 5 device using the Contour Advance array. Pure-tone thresholds and speech perception data were retrospectively reviewed. Intervention Four subjects underwent reimplantation with the Nucleus Freedom or Nucleus 5 device after experiencing deteriorating performance related to delayed acoustic hearing loss. Comparison of pre-revision performance to the most recent post-revision performance demonstrated improved speech perception performance in all subjects following reimplantation. Conclusions A small percent of patients will experience a significant loss of residual low-frequency hearing following hybrid implantation thereby becoming completely reliant on a shorter electrode for electrical stimulation. In the current series, reimplantation with a conventional length electrode provided improved speech perception performance in such patients. Revision surgery with a conventional length electrode should be considered in ‘short electrode’ recipients who experience performance deterioration following loss of residual hearing. PMID:22333755

Synthetic Vision Enhanced Surface Operations With Head-Worn Display for Commercial Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Shelton, Kevin J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Norman, R. M.

2007-01-01

Experiments and flight tests have shown that airport surface operations can be enhanced by using synthetic vision and associated technologies, employed on a Head-Up Display (HUD) and head-down display electronic moving maps (EMM). Although HUD applications have shown the greatest potential operational improvements, the research noted that two major limitations during ground operations were its monochrome form and limited, fixed field-of-regard. A potential solution to these limitations may be the application of advanced Head Worn Displays (HWDs) particularly during low-visibility operations wherein surface movement is substantially limited because of the impaired vision of pilots and air traffic controllers. The paper describes the results of ground simulation experiments conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center. The results of the experiments showed that the fully integrated HWD concept provided significantly improved path performance compared to using paper charts alone. When comparing the HWD and HUD concepts, there were no statistically-significant differences in path performance or subjective ratings of situation awareness and workload. Implications and directions for future research are described.

How to achieve and prove performance improvement - 15 years of experience in German wastewater benchmarking.

PubMed

Bertzbach, F; Franz, T; Möller, K

2012-01-01

This paper shows the results of performance improvement, which have been achieved in benchmarking projects in the wastewater industry in Germany over the last 15 years. A huge number of changes in operational practice and also in achieved annual savings can be shown, induced in particular by benchmarking at process level. Investigation of this question produces some general findings for the inclusion of performance improvement in a benchmarking project and for the communication of its results. Thus, we elaborate on the concept of benchmarking at both utility and process level, which is still a necessary distinction for the integration of performance improvement into our benchmarking approach. To achieve performance improvement via benchmarking it should be made quite clear that this outcome depends, on one hand, on a well conducted benchmarking programme and, on the other, on the individual situation within each participating utility.

77 FR 20474 - Delegation of Authority; Delegation of Authority No. 24 to the Chief Operating Officer

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-04

... and performance planning, measurement, analysis, assessment of progress, and use of performance...; long- range budgeting and accounting; hiring and training employees; modernizing information technology..., measurement, analysis, regular assessment of progress and the use of performance information to improve...

O'Hare ASDE-2 radome performance in rain : analysis and improvement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-03-01

The operational performance of the ASDE-2 radar at O'Hare Airport is severely limited during periods of moderate to heavy rainfall. Using the system performance specifications, an estimate has been made of the ASDE-2's tolerance to power loss and deg...

Task Level Job Performance Criteria Development. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiley, Llewellyn N.; Hahn, Clifford P.

This study investigated possibilities for improving identification of job performance requirements by examining job incumbent's performance on separate tasks. Three specialties were studied: 291X0, Telecommunications Operation Specialist; 304X4, Group Radio Communications Equipment Repairman; and 431X1C, Aircraft Maintenance Specialist.…

A synthesis of the "state-of-the-practice for advancing planning and operations integration opportunities within transportation agencies" : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

Federal law requires that metropolitan transportation plans include operations and : management strategies to improve the performance of existing roads, relieve congestion, : and maximize the safety and mobility of people and cargo. Transportation op...

Statistical porcess control in Deep Space Network operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodder, J. A.

2002-01-01

This report describes how the Deep Space Mission System (DSMS) Operations Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (EL) uses Statistical Process Control (SPC) to monitor performance and evaluate initiatives for improving processes on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Deep Space Network (DSN).

Research Perspectives for Material Requirements Planning Systems. Paper No. 434.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, W. L.; Whybark, D. Clay

Material requirements planning (MRP) systems are described as management tools for planning and controlling production operations. A wide variety of industries and production organizations are credited as reporting significant operating improvements in such areas as inventory control, production scheduling, delivery performance, and production…

It’s Just (Academic) Business: A Use Case in Improving Informatics Operations with Business Intelligence

PubMed Central

McIntosh, Leslie D.; Zabarovskaya, Connie; Uhlmansiek, Mary

2015-01-01

Academic biomedical informatics cores are beholden to funding agencies, institutional administration, collaborating researchers, and external agencies for ongoing funding and support. Services provided and translational research outcomes are increasingly important to monitor, report and analyze, to demonstrate value provided to the organization and the greater scientific community. Thus, informatics operations are also business operations. As such, adopting business intelligence practices offers an opportunity to improve the efficiency of evaluation efforts while fulfilling reporting requirements. Organizing informatics development documentation, service requests, and work performed with adaptable tools have greatly facilitated these and related business activities within our informatics center. Through the identification and measurement of key performance indicators, informatics objectives and results are now quickly and nimbly assessed using dashboards. Acceptance of the informatics operation as a business venture and the adoption of business intelligence strategies has allowed for data-driven decision making, faster corrective action, and greater transparency for interested stakeholders. PMID:26306252

Run II of the LHC: The Accelerator Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redaelli, Stefano

2015-04-01

In 2015 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) starts its Run II operation. After the successful Run I at 3.5 TeV and 4 TeV in the 2010-2013 period, a first long shutdown (LS1) was mainly dedicated to the consolidation of the LHC magnet interconnections, to allow the LHC to operate at its design beam energy of 7 TeV. Other key accelerator systems have also been improved to optimize the performance reach at higher beam energies. After a review of the LS1 activities, the status of the LHC start-up progress is reported, addressing in particular the status of the LHC hardware commissioning and of the training campaign of superconducting magnets that will determine the operation beam energy in 2015. Then, the plans for the Run II operation are reviewed in detail, covering choice of initial machine parameters and strategy to improve the Run II performance. Future prospects of the LHC and its upgrade plans are also presented.

Examination of Daily Weather in the NCAR CCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cocke, S. D.

2006-05-01

The NCAR CCM is one of the most extensively studied climate models in the scientific community. However, most studies focus primarily on the long term mean behavior, typically monthly or longer time scales. In this study we examine the daily weather in the GCM by performing a series of daily or weekly 10 day forecasts for one year at moderate (T63) and high (T126) resolution. The model is initialized with operational "AVN" and ECMWF analyses, and model performance is compared to that of major operational centers, using conventional skill scores used by the major centers. Such a detailed look at the CCM at shorter time scales may lead to improvements in physical parameterizations, which may in turn lead to improved climate simulations. One finding from this study is that the CCM has a significant drying tendency in the lower troposphere compared to the operational analyses. Another is that the large scale predictability of the GCM is competitive with most of the operational models, particularly in the southern hemisphere.

[Pancreatoduodenectomy: learning curve within single multi-field center].

PubMed

Kaprin, A D; Kostin, A A; Nikiforov, P V; Egorov, V I; Grishin, N A; Lozhkin, M V; Petrov, L O; Bykasov, S A; Sidorov, D V

2018-01-01

To analyze learning curve by using of immediate results of pancreatoduodenectomy at multi-field oncology institute. For the period 2010-2016 at Abdominal Oncology Department of Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute 120 pancreatoduodenal resections were consistently performed. All patients were divided into two groups: the first 60 procedures (group A) and subsequent 60 operations (group B). Herewith, first 60 operations were performed within the first 4.5 years of study period, the next 60 operations - within remaining 2.5 years. Learning curves showed significantly variable intraoperative blood loss (1100 ml and 725 ml), surgery time (589 min and 513 min) and postoperative hospital-stay (15 days and 13 days) in group A followed by gradual improvement of these values in group B. Incidence of negative resection margin (R0) was also significantly improved in the last 60 operations (70 and 92%, respectively). Despite pancreatoduodenectomy is one of the most difficult surgical interventions in abdominal surgery learning curve will differ from one surgeon to another.

National Weather Service Warning Performance Based on the WSR-88D.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polger, Paul D.; Goldsmith, Barry S.; Przywarty, Richard C.; Bocchieri, Joseph R.

1994-02-01

The National Weather Service (NWS) began operational use of the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) system in March 1991 at Norman, Oklahoma. WSR-88D data have been available to forecasters at five additional offices: Melbourne, Florida, and sterling, Virginia (since January 1992); St. Louis, Missouri, and Dodge City, Kansas (since March 1992); and Houston, Texas (since April 1992). The performance of the severe local storm and flash flood warning programs at the six offices before and after the availability of the WSR-88D was measured quantitatively. The verification procedures and statistical measures used in the quantitative evaluation were those used operationally by the NWS.The statistics show that the warnings improved dramatically when the WSR-88D was in operation. Specifically, the probability of detection of severe weather events increased and the number of false alarms decreased. There was also a marked improvement in the lead time for all severe local storm and flash flood events. These improvements were evident throughout the effective range of the radar. Stratification of severe local storm data by severe thunderstorms versus tornadoes revealed an improvement in the NWS's ability to differentiate between tornadic and nontornadic storms when the WSR-88D was in operation. Four individual cases are examined to illustrate how forecasters used the WSR-88D to achieve the improved results. These cases focus on the unique features of the WSR-88D that provide an advantage over conventional NWS radars.

Idaho National Laboratory Integrated Safety Management System FY 2013 Effectiveness Review and Declaration Report

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

Hunt, Farren

2013-12-01

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) performed an Annual Effectiveness Review of the Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS), per 48 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 970.5223 1, “Integration of Environment, Safety and Health into Work Planning and Execution.” The annual review assessed Integrated Safety Management (ISM) effectiveness, provided feedback to maintain system integrity, and identified target areas for focused improvements and assessments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Results of the FY 2013 annual effectiveness review demonstrate that the INL’s ISMS program is “Effective” and continually improving and shows signs of being significantly strengthened. Although there have been unacceptable serious events in themore » past, there has also been significant attention, dedication, and resources focused on improvement, lessons learned and future prevention. BEA’s strategy of focusing on these improvements includes extensive action and improvement plans that include PLN 4030, “INL Sustained Operational Improvement Plan, PLN 4058, “MFC Strategic Excellence Plan,” PLN 4141, “ATR Sustained Excellence Plan,” and PLN 4145, “Radiological Control Road to Excellence,” and the development of LWP 20000, “Conduct of Research.” As a result of these action plans, coupled with other assurance activities and metrics, significant improvement in operational performance, organizational competence, management oversight and a reduction in the number of operational events is being realized. In short, the realization of the fifth core function of ISMS (feedback and continuous improvement) and the associated benefits are apparent.« less

Signature Tracking for Optimized Nutrition and Training (STRONG)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

manufacture , use, or sell any patented invention that may relate to them. This report was cleared for public release by the 88th Air Base Wing Public...Opportunities for performance augmentation include continuous performance feedback for self- improvement and individualized training regimens in the...the application of advanced physical training methods used by elite athletes to improve fitness in Special Operators; such as functional weight

Human reliability and plant operating efficiency: Are 12-hour work schedules cause for concern

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

Baker, T.L.

1992-01-01

Since the introduction of 12-h shifts to the US nuclear power industry only 8 yr ago, compressed workweek schedules have proliferated among operations departments at a phenomenal rate. Many plants that continue to use 8-h shifts during normal operations routinely change to scheduled 12-h shifts during refueling or maintenance outages. The most critical issue in the use of extended work shifts is whether alertness, physical stamina, or mental performance are compromised to the point of reducing safety or efficiency of nuclear power plant operation. Laboratory and field research sponsored by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health suggests thatmore » alertness, measured by self-ratings, and mental performance, measured by computer-based performance tests, are impaired on 12-h shifts compared with 8-h shifts. In contrast to these findings, plant operating efficiency and operator performance have been rated as improved in two field studies conducted in operating nuclear power plants (Fast Flux Test Facility, Washington and Ontario Hydro, Canada). A recent Electric Power Research Institute review of nuclear industry experience with 12-h shifts also suggests an overwhelmingly positive rating of 12-h schedules from both control room operators and management.« less

Development of High Fidelity Mobility Simulation of an Autonomous Vehicle in an Off-Road Scenario Using Integrated Sensor, Controller, and Multi-Body Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

VEHICLE IN AN OFF-ROAD SCENARIO USING INTEGRATED SENSOR, CONTROLLER, AND MULTI-BODY DYNAMICS Paramsothy Jayakumar , PhD William Smith US Army...environment for a control system, mechanical system dynamics , and sensor simulation for an improved assessment of the vehicle system performance...improve vehicle dynamic performance; we must also evaluate and improve the sensor suite employed on the vehicle, and the controller used to operate

Numerical investigation of design and operational parameters on CHI spheromak performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Bryan, J. B.; Romero-Talamas, C. A.; Woodruff, S.

2016-10-01

Nonlinear, extended-MHD computation with the NIMROD code is used to explore magnetic self-organization and performance with respect to externally controllable parameters in spheromaks formed with coaxial helicity injection. The goal of this study is to inform the design and operational parameters of proposed proof-of-principle spheromak experiment. The calculations explore multiple distinct phases of evolution (including adiabatic magnetic compression), which must be explored and optimized separately. Results indicate that modest changes to the design and operation of past experiments, e.g. SSPX [E.B. Hooper et al. PPCF 2012], could have significantly improved the plasma-current injector coupling efficiency and performance, particularly with respect to peak temperature and lifetime. Though we frequently characterize performance relative to SSPX, we are also exploring fundamentally different designs and modes of operation, e.g. flux compression. This work is supported by DAPRA under Grant No. N66001-14-1-4044.

Realizing the potential of empowerment: the impact of a feedback intervention on the performance of complex technology.

PubMed

Leach, D J; Jackson, P R; Wall, T D

2001-07-15

An empowerment initiative involving enhanced fault-management responsibility for operators of complex technology had not led to expected increases in performance, and investigations suggested that this was due to a lack of appropriate feedback. Thus, a feedback intervention was designed to provide specific, timely feedback on operator-correctable faults. It was hypothesized that the intervention would increase operator self-reliance in operating complex technology and promote system performance. Moreover, given the feedback was continuous from the point of intervention, it was predicted that gains would increase over time. Time series analysis of data on engineer call-outs (self-reliance) and machine utilization (performance) showed clear positive effects of the feedback intervention, with call-outs also showing progressive improvement. Self-report data showed no change over time in motivation, but an increase in knowledge dissemination and a reduction in the likelihood of making expensive mistakes. There were no detrimental effects on operator well being. Implications for theory and practice in the management of complex technology are discussed.

Latest improvements on long wave p on n HgCdTe technology at Sofradir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubaldo, Laurent; Taalat, Rachid; Berthoz, Jocelyn; Maillard, Magalie; Péré-Laperne, Nicolas; Brunner, Alexandre; Guinedor, Pierre; Dargent, L.; Manissadjian, A.; Reibel, Y.; Kerlain, A.

2017-02-01

SOFRADIR is the worldwide leader on the cooled IR detector market for high-performance space, military and security applications thanks to a well mastered Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) technology, and recently thanks to the acquisition of III-V technology: InSb, InGaAs, and QWIP quantum detectors. As a result, strong and continuous development efforts are deployed to deliver cutting edge products with improved performances in terms of spatial and thermal resolution, dark current, quantum efficiency, low excess noise and high operability. The actual trend in quantum IR detector development is the design of very small pixel, with the higher achievable operating temperature whatever the spectral band. Moreover maintaining the detector operability and image quality at higher temperature moreover for long wavelength is a major issue. This paper presents the recent developments achieved at Sofradir to meet this challenge for LW band MCT extrinsic p on n technology with a cut-off wavelength of 9.3μm at 90K. State of the art performances will be presented in terms of dark current, operability and NETD temperature dependency, quantum efficiency, MTF, and RFPN (Residual Fixed Pattern Noise) stability up to 100K.

23 CFR 971.214 - Federal lands congestion management system (CMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) Traffic operational improvements; (C) Public transportation improvements; (D) ITS technologies; and (E....214 Section 971.214 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL... level at which transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic interference...

The Power of Process Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fairfield-Sonn, James W.; Morgan, Sandra; Sumukadas, Narendar

2004-01-01

Over the last several decades many systematic management approaches, such as Total Quality Management, aimed at improving organizational performance and employee satisfaction have captured organizations' attention. Given their origins in statistics, operations management, and engineering, many of the concepts and techniques are technical. When…

Improving Retrieval Performance by Relevance Feedback.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salton, Gerard; Buckley, Chris

1990-01-01

Briefly describes the principal relevance feedback methods that have been introduced over the years and evaluates the effectiveness of the methods in producing improved query formulations. Prescriptions are given for conducting text retrieval operations iteratively using relevance feedback. (24 references) (Author/CLB)

Laparoscopic Skills Are Improved With LapMentor™ Training

PubMed Central

Andreatta, Pamela B.; Woodrum, Derek T.; Birkmeyer, John D.; Yellamanchilli, Rajani K.; Doherty, Gerard M.; Gauger, Paul G.; Minter, Rebecca M.

2006-01-01

Objective: To determine if prior training on the LapMentor™ laparoscopic simulator leads to improved performance of basic laparoscopic skills in the animate operating room environment. Summary Background Data: Numerous influences have led to the development of computer-aided laparoscopic simulators: a need for greater efficiency in training, the unique and complex nature of laparoscopic surgery, and the increasing demand that surgeons demonstrate competence before proceeding to the operating room. The LapMentor™ simulator is expensive, however, and its use must be validated and justified prior to implementation into surgical training programs. Methods: Nineteen surgical interns were randomized to training on the LapMentor™ laparoscopic simulator (n = 10) or to a control group (no simulator training, n = 9). Subjects randomized to the LapMentor™ trained to expert criterion levels 2 consecutive times on 6 designated basic skills modules. All subjects then completed a series of laparoscopic exercises in a live porcine model, and performance was assessed independently by 2 blinded reviewers. Time, accuracy rates, and global assessments of performance were recorded with an interrater reliability between reviewers of 0.99. Results: LapMentor™ trained interns completed the 30° camera navigation exercise in significantly less time than control interns (166 ± 52 vs. 220 ± 39 seconds, P < 0.05); they also achieved higher accuracy rates in identifying the required objects with the laparoscope (96% ± 8% vs. 82% ± 15%, P < 0.05). Similarly, on the two-handed object transfer exercise, task completion time for LapMentor™ trained versus control interns was 130 ± 23 versus 184 ± 43 seconds (P < 0.01) with an accuracy rate of 98% ± 5% versus 80% ± 13% (P < 0.001). Additionally, LapMentor™ trained interns outperformed control subjects with regard to camera navigation skills, efficiency of motion, optimal instrument handling, perceptual ability, and performance of safe electrocautery. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that prior training on the LapMentor™ laparoscopic simulator leads to improved resident performance of basic skills in the animate operating room environment. This work marks the first prospective, randomized evaluation of the LapMentor™ simulator, and provides evidence that LapMentor™ training may lead to improved operating room performance. PMID:16772789

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

Bickford, D.F.

During the first two years of radioactive operation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility process, several areas for improvement in melter design were identified. Due to the need for a process that allows continuous melter operation, the down time associated with disruption to melter operation and pouring has significant cost impact. A major objective of this task is to address performance limitations and deficiencies identified by the user.

Proper Edging and Trimming Will Help Improve Lumber Value

Treesearch

Philip A. Araman

1991-01-01

Decisions on where to edge and trim waning edged boards, or to trim other boards, can have a major effect on the performance of a sawmill. Optimum decisions are difficult for a number of reasons, including: complexity of grading rules; operator skills; operator fatigue or lack of interest at times; and, the inability of operators to include lumber prices in decisions....

Practicing for Mars: The International Space Station (ISS) as a Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korth, David H.

2014-01-01

Allows demonstration and development of exploration capabilities to help accomplish future missions sooner with less risk to crew and mission Characteristics of ISS as a testbed High fidelity human operations platform in LEO: Continuously operating habitat and active laboratory. High fidelity systems. Astronauts as test subjects. Highly experienced ground operations teams. Offers a controlled test environment.: Consequences to systems performance and decision making not offered in ground analogs International participation. Continuously improving system looking for new technology and ideas to improve operations. Technology Demos & Critical Systems Maturation. Human Health and Performance. Operations Simulations and Techniques. Exploration prep testing on ISS has been ongoing since 2012. Number of tests increasing with each ISS expedition. One Year Crew Expedition starting in Spring 2015. ROSCOSMOS and NASA are partnering on the Participating Crew are Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly Majority of testing is an extension of current Human Biomedical Research investigations Plan for extending & expanding upon current operations techniques and tech demo studies ESA 10 Day Mission in Fall 2015 ESA astronaut focus on testing exploration technologies Many more opportunities throughout the life of ISS! 4/24/2014 david.h.korth@nasa.gov 4 Exploration testing

Operations Studies of the Gyrotrons on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Storment, Stephen; Lohr, John; Cengher, Mirela; Gorelov, Yuri; Ponce, Dan; Torrezan, Antonio

2017-10-01

The gyrotrons are high power vacuum tubes used in fusion research to provide high power density heating and current drive in precisely localized areas of the plasma. Despite the increasing experience with both the manufacture and operation of these devices, individual gyrotrons with similar design and manufacturing processes can exhibit important operational differences in terms of generated rf power, efficiency and lifetime. This report discusses differences in the performance of several gyrotrons in operation at DIII-D and presents the results of a series of measurements that could lead to improved the performance of single units based on a better understanding of the causes of these differences. The rf power generation efficiency can be different from gyrotron to gyrotron. In addition, the power loading of the collector can feature localized hot spots, where the collector can locally be close to the power deposition limits. Measurements of collector power loading provide maps of the power deposition and can provide understanding of the effect of modulation of the output rf beam on the total loading, leading to improved operational rules increasing the safety margins for the gyrotrons under different operational scenarios. Work supported by US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Performance of an improved thermal neutron activation detector for buried bulk explosives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFee, J. E.; Faust, A. A.; Andrews, H. R.; Clifford, E. T. H.; Mosquera, C. M.

2013-06-01

First generation thermal neutron activation (TNA) sensors, employing an isotopic source and NaI(Tl) gamma ray detectors, were deployed by Canadian Forces in 2002 as confirmation sensors on multi-sensor landmine detection systems. The second generation TNA detector is being developed with a number of improvements aimed at increasing sensitivity and facilitating ease of operation. Among these are an electronic neutron generator to increase sensitivity for deeper and horizontally displaced explosives; LaBr3(Ce) scintillators, to improve time response and energy resolution; improved thermal and electronic stability; improved sensor head geometry to minimize spatial response nonuniformity; and more robust data processing. The sensor is described, with emphasis on the improvements. Experiments to characterize the performance of the second generation TNA in detecting buried landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in culverts are described. Performance results, including comparisons between the performance of the first and second generation systems are presented.

Performance of DBS-Radio using concatenated coding and equalization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gevargiz, J.; Bell, D.; Truong, L.; Vaisnys, A.; Suwitra, K.; Henson, P.

1995-01-01

The Direct Broadcast Satellite-Radio (DBS-R) receiver is being developed for operation in a multipath Rayleigh channel. This receiver uses equalization and concatenated coding, in addition to open loop and closed loop architectures for carrier demodulation and symbol synchronization. Performance test results of this receiver are presented in both AWGN and multipath Rayleigh channels. Simulation results show that the performance of the receiver operating in a multipath Rayleigh channel is significantly improved by using equalization. These results show that fractional-symbol equalization offers a performance advantage over full symbol equalization. Also presented is the base-line performance of the DBS-R receiver using concatenated coding and interleaving.

Analysing the performance of personal computers based on Intel microprocessors for sequence aligning bioinformatics applications.

PubMed

Nair, Pradeep S; John, Eugene B

2007-01-01

Aligning specific sequences against a very large number of other sequences is a central aspect of bioinformatics. With the widespread availability of personal computers in biology laboratories, sequence alignment is now often performed locally. This makes it necessary to analyse the performance of personal computers for sequence aligning bioinformatics benchmarks. In this paper, we analyse the performance of a personal computer for the popular BLAST and FASTA sequence alignment suites. Results indicate that these benchmarks have a large number of recurring operations and use memory operations extensively. It seems that the performance can be improved with a bigger L1-cache.

Mask manufacturing improvement through capability definition and bottleneck line management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strott, Al

1994-02-01

In 1989, Intel's internal mask operation limited itself to research and development activities and re-inspection and pellicle application of externally manufactured masks. Recognizing the rising capital cost of mask manufacturing at the leading edge, Intel's Mask Operation management decided to offset some of these costs by manufacturing more masks internally. This was the beginning of the challenge they set to manufacture at least 50% of Intel's mask volume internally, at world class performance levels. The first step in responding to this challenge was the completion of a comprehensive operation capability analysis. A series of bottleneck improvements by focus teams resulted in an average cycle time improvement to less than five days on all product and less than two days on critical products.

The impact of obesity surgery on musculoskeletal disease.

PubMed

El-Khani, Ussamah; Ahmed, Ahmed; Hakky, Sherif; Nehme, Jean; Cousins, Jonathan; Chahal, Harvinder; Purkayastha, Sanjay

2014-12-01

Obesity is an important modifiable risk factor for musculoskeletal disease. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-compliant systematic review of bariatric surgery on musculoskeletal disease symptoms was performed. One thousand nineteen papers were identified, of which 43 were eligible for data synthesis. There were 79 results across 24 studies pertaining to physical capacity, of which 53 (67 %) demonstrated statistically significant post-operative improvement. There were 75 results across 33 studies pertaining to musculoskeletal pain, of which 42 (56 %) demonstrated a statistically significant post-operative improvement. There were 13 results across 6 studies pertaining to arthritis, of which 5 (38 %) demonstrated a statistically significant post-operative improvement. Bariatric surgery significantly improved musculoskeletal disease symptoms in 39 of the 43 studies. These changes were evident in a follow-up of 1 month to 10 years.

Graphic overlays in high-precision teleoperation: Current and future work at JPL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diner, Daniel B.; Venema, Steven C.

1989-01-01

In space teleoperation additional problems arise, including signal transmission time delays. These can greatly reduce operator performance. Recent advances in graphics open new possibilities for addressing these and other problems. Currently a multi-camera system with normal 3-D TV and video graphics capabilities is being developed. Trained and untrained operators will be tested for high precision performance using two force reflecting hand controllers and a voice recognition system to control two robot arms and up to 5 movable stereo or non-stereo TV cameras. A number of new techniques of integrating TV and video graphics displays to improve operator training and performance in teleoperation and supervised automation are evaluated.

Building High-Performing and Improving Education Systems: Teachers. Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slater, Liz

2013-01-01

There is overwhelming evidence that teachers have the most effect on pupil outcomes (closely followed by the quality of leadership). The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) concluded that: (1) teachers were central to school improvement; (2) in order to improve the quality and fairness of education, teachers had to be…

Improve Performance of Data Warehouse by Query Cache

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gour, Vishal; Sarangdevot, S. S.; Sharma, Anand; Choudhary, Vinod

2010-11-01

The primary goal of data warehouse is to free the information locked up in the operational database so that decision makers and business analyst can make queries, analysis and planning regardless of the data changes in operational database. As the number of queries is large, therefore, in certain cases there is reasonable probability that same query submitted by the one or multiple users at different times. Each time when query is executed, all the data of warehouse is analyzed to generate the result of that query. In this paper we will study how using query cache improves performance of Data Warehouse and try to find the common problems faced. These kinds of problems are faced by Data Warehouse administrators which are minimizes response time and improves the efficiency of query in data warehouse overall, particularly when data warehouse is updated at regular interval.

Method for controlling start-up and steady state performance of a closed split flow recompression brayton cycle

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

Pasch, James Jay

A method of resolving a balanced condition that generates control parameters for start-up and steady state operating points and various component and cycle performances for a closed split flow recompression cycle system. The method provides for improved control of a Brayton cycle thermal to electrical power conversion system. The method may also be used for system design, operational simulation and/or parameter prediction.

Upgrades to the ISS Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew; Takada, Kevin; Carter, Layne

2017-01-01

The ISS Water Recovery System (WRS) includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications can reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to improve the WPA through the use of Reverse Osmosis technology to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multifiltration Bed and improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor to reduce the operational temperature and pressure. For the UPA, this paper discusses progress on various concepts for improving the reliability of the UPA, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, deleting the Separator Plumbing Assembly, and evaluating upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump.

Upgrades to the International Space Station Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayatin, Matthew J.; Pruitt, Jennifer M.; Nur, Mononita; Takada, Kevin C.; Carter, Layne

2017-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) Water Recovery System (WRS) includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications aim to reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to improve the WPA through the use of reverse osmosis membrane technology to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multi-filtration Bed and improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor to reduce the operational temperature and pressure. For the UPA, this paper discusses progress on various concepts for improving the reliability of the system, including the implementation of a more reliable drive belt, improved methods for managing condensate in the stationary bowl of the Distillation Assembly, and evaluating upgrades to the UPA vacuum pump.

Cyclone performance by velocity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cyclones are used almost exclusively in the US cotton ginning industry for emission abatement on pneumatic conveying system exhausts because of their high efficiency, and low capital and operating cost.. Cyclone performance is improved by increasing collection effectiveness or decreasing energy cons...

Automation and robotics human performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mah, Robert W.

1990-01-01

The scope of this report is limited to the following: (1) assessing the feasibility of the assumptions for crew productivity during the intra-vehicular activities and extra-vehicular activities; (2) estimating the appropriate level of automation and robotics to accomplish balanced man-machine, cost-effective operations in space; (3) identifying areas where conceptually different approaches to the use of people and machines can leverage the benefits of the scenarios; and (4) recommending modifications to scenarios or developing new scenarios that will improve the expected benefits. The FY89 special assessments are grouped into the five categories shown in the report. The high level system analyses for Automation & Robotics (A&R) and Human Performance (HP) were performed under the Case Studies Technology Assessment category, whereas the detailed analyses for the critical systems and high leverage development areas were performed under the appropriate operations categories (In-Space Vehicle Operations or Planetary Surface Operations). The analysis activities planned for the Science Operations technology areas were deferred to FY90 studies. The remaining activities such as analytic tool development, graphics/video demonstrations and intelligent communicating systems software architecture were performed under the Simulation & Validations category.

Guest Editorial

DOE PAGES

Deline, Christopher A; van Sark, Wilfried; Georghiou, George E.

2017-08-16

This Special Issue entitled 'Performance Assessment and Condition Monitoring of Photovoltaic Systems for Improved Energy Yield', contains ten papers that discuss various aspects in performance assessment, thus bringing the reader up to date with the present state-of-the-art technologies. In particular, the following topics are addressed: system performance monitoring; operational analysis and design; solar forecasting.

40 CFR 65.116 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., and pump or pump seal designs or technologies that have poorer than average emission performance and...), operating conditions, or pump or pump seal designs associated with poorer than average emission performance... poorer than average performance except as provided in paragraph (d)(6)(v) of this section. The trial...

Overlooking the Descent: Operational Definition, Identification, and Description of School Decline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hochbein, Craig

2011-01-01

Educators, researchers, politicians, and the media have committed considerable time, attention, and effort to chronically low-performing schools. Although many have chided the schools for their unacceptable performance or designed strategies to improve them, few have sought to understand how these schools became chronically low-performing in the…

40 CFR 63.176 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies that have poorer than... shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies that are... average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is one with a leak...

40 CFR 63.176 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies that have poorer than... shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies that are... average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is one with a leak...

40 CFR 63.1035 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... determine the services, operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies... analysis shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies... with poorer than average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is...

40 CFR 63.1035 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... determine the services, operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies... analysis shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies... with poorer than average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is...

40 CFR 63.1035 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... determine the services, operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies... analysis shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies... with poorer than average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is...

40 CFR 63.1035 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... determine the services, operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies... analysis shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies... with poorer than average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is...

40 CFR 63.176 - Quality improvement program for pumps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., operating or maintenance practices, and pump or pump seal designs or technologies that have poorer than... shall also be used to determine if there are superior performing pump or pump seal technologies that are... average emission performance. A superior performing pump or pump seal technology is one with a leak...

Assessing Impact of Dual Sensor Enhanced Flight Vision Systems on Departure Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Etherington, Timothy J.; Severance, Kurt; Bailey, Randall E.

2016-01-01

Synthetic Vision (SV) and Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (EFVS) may serve as game-changing technologies to meet the challenges of the Next Generation Air Transportation System and the envisioned Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) concept - that is, the ability to achieve the safety and operational tempos of current-day Visual Flight Rules operations irrespective of the weather and visibility conditions. One significant obstacle lies in the definition of required equipage on the aircraft and on the airport to enable the EVO concept objective. A motion-base simulator experiment was conducted to evaluate the operational feasibility and pilot workload of conducting departures and approaches on runways without centerline lighting in visibility as low as 300 feet runway visual range (RVR) by use of onboard vision system technologies on a Head-Up Display (HUD) without need or reliance on natural vision. Twelve crews evaluated two methods of combining dual sensor (millimeter wave radar and forward looking infrared) EFVS imagery on pilot-flying and pilot-monitoring HUDs. In addition, the impact of adding SV to the dual sensor EFVS imagery on crew flight performance and workload was assessed. Using EFVS concepts during 300 RVR terminal operations on runways without centerline lighting appears feasible as all EFVS concepts had equivalent (or better) departure performance and landing rollout performance, without any workload penalty, than those flown with a conventional HUD to runways having centerline lighting. Adding SV imagery to EFVS concepts provided situation awareness improvements but no discernible improvements in flight path maintenance.

The performance of NASA research hydrogen masers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinhardt, V. S.; Rueger, L. J.

1980-01-01

Field operable hydrogen masers based on prior maser designs are presented. These units incorporate improvements in magnetic shielding, lower noise electronics, better thermal control, and have a microprocessor for operation, monitoring, and diagnostic functions. They are ruggedly built for transportability and ease of service anywhere in the world.

Operating force information on-line acquisition of a novel slave manipulator for vascular interventional surgery.

PubMed

Zhao, Yan; Guo, Shuxiang; Xiao, Nan; Wang, Yuxin; Li, Youxiang; Jiang, Yuhua

2018-04-02

Vascular interventional surgery has its advantages compared to traditional operation. Master-slave robotic technology can further improve the operation accuracy, efficiency and safety of this complicated and high risk surgery. However, on-line acquisition of operating force information of catheter and guidewire remains to be a significant obstacle on the path to enhancing robotic surgery safety. Thus, a novel slave manipulator is proposed in this paper to realize on-line sensing of guidewire torsional operating torque and axial operation force during robotic assisted operations. A strain sensor is specially designed to detect the small scale torsional operation torque with low rotational frequency. Additionally, the axial operating force is detected via a load cell, which is incorporated into a sliding mechanism to eliminate the influence of friction. For validation, calibration and performance evaluation experiments are conducted. The results indicate that the proposed operation torque and force detection device is effective. Thus, it can provide the foundation for enabling accurate haptic feedback to the surgeon to improve surgical safety.

Performance of a Miniaturized Arcjet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sankovic, John M.; Jacobson, David T.

1995-01-01

Performance measurements were obtained and life-limiting mechanisms were identified on a laboratory-model arcjet thruster designed to operate at a nominal power level of 300 W. The design employed a supersonic-arc-attachment concept and was operated from 200 to 400 W on hydrogen/nitrogen mixtures in ratios simulating fully decomposed hydrazine and ammonia. Power was provided by breadboard power processor. Performance was found to be a strong function of propellant flow rate. Anode losses were essentially constant for the range of mass flow rates tested. It is believed that the performance is dominated by viscous effects. Significantly improved performance was noted with simulated ammonia operation. At 300 W the specific impulse on simulated ammonia was 410 s with an efficiency of 0.34, while simulated hydrazine provided 370 s specific impulse at an efficiency of 0.27.

RTEMS CENTRE- RTEMS Improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Helder; Constantino, Alexandre; Freitas, Daniel; Coutinho, Manuel; Faustino, Sergio; Sousa, Jose; Dias, Luis; Zulianello, Marco

2010-08-01

During the last two years, EDISOFT's RTEMS CENTRE team [1], jointly with the European Space Agency and with the support of the worldwide RTEMS community [2], have been developing an activity to facilitate the qualification of the real-time operating system RTEMS (Real-Time Operating System for Multiprocessor Systems). This paper intends to give a high level visibility of the progress and the results obtained in the RTEMS Improvement [3] activity. The primary objective [4] of the project is to improve the RTEMS product, its documentation and to facilitate the qualification of RTEMS for future space missions, taking into consideration the specific operational requirements. The sections below provide a brief overview of the RTEMS operating system and the activities performed in the RTEMS Improvement project, which includes the selection of API managers to be qualified, the tailoring process, the requirements analysis, the reverse engineering and design of the RTEMS, the quality assurance process, the ISVV activities, the test campaign, the results obtained, the criticality analysis and the facilitation of qualification process.

Aircraft photovoltaic power-generating system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doellner, Oscar Leonard

Photovoltaic cells, appropriately cooled and operating in the combustion-created high radiant-intensity environment of gas-turbine and jet engines, may replace the conventional (gearbox-driven) electrical power generators aboard jet aircraft. This study projects significant improvements not only in aircraft electrical power-generating-system performance, but also in overall aircraft performance. Jet-engine design modifications incorporating this concept not only save weight (and thus fuel), but are - in themselves - favorable to jet-engine performance. The dissertation concentrates on operational, constructional, structural, thermal, optical, radiometrical, thin-film, and solid-state theoretical aspects of the overall project.

Performance analysis of distributed applications using automatic classification of communication inefficiencies

DOEpatents

Vetter, Jeffrey S.

2005-02-01

The method and system described herein presents a technique for performance analysis that helps users understand the communication behavior of their message passing applications. The method and system described herein may automatically classifies individual communication operations and reveal the cause of communication inefficiencies in the application. This classification allows the developer to quickly focus on the culprits of truly inefficient behavior, rather than manually foraging through massive amounts of performance data. Specifically, the method and system described herein trace the message operations of Message Passing Interface (MPI) applications and then classify each individual communication event using a supervised learning technique: decision tree classification. The decision tree may be trained using microbenchmarks that demonstrate both efficient and inefficient communication. Since the method and system described herein adapt to the target system's configuration through these microbenchmarks, they simultaneously automate the performance analysis process and improve classification accuracy. The method and system described herein may improve the accuracy of performance analysis and dramatically reduce the amount of data that users must encounter.

High-Performance, Multi-Node File Copies and Checksums for Clustered File Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolano, Paul Z.; Ciotti, Robert B.

2012-01-01

Modern parallel file systems achieve high performance using a variety of techniques, such as striping files across multiple disks to increase aggregate I/O bandwidth and spreading disks across multiple servers to increase aggregate interconnect bandwidth. To achieve peak performance from such systems, it is typically necessary to utilize multiple concurrent readers/writers from multiple systems to overcome various singlesystem limitations, such as number of processors and network bandwidth. The standard cp and md5sum tools of GNU coreutils found on every modern Unix/Linux system, however, utilize a single execution thread on a single CPU core of a single system, and hence cannot take full advantage of the increased performance of clustered file systems. Mcp and msum are drop-in replacements for the standard cp and md5sum programs that utilize multiple types of parallelism and other optimizations to achieve maximum copy and checksum performance on clustered file systems. Multi-threading is used to ensure that nodes are kept as busy as possible. Read/write parallelism allows individual operations of a single copy to be overlapped using asynchronous I/O. Multinode cooperation allows different nodes to take part in the same copy/checksum. Split-file processing allows multiple threads to operate concurrently on the same file. Finally, hash trees allow inherently serial checksums to be performed in parallel. Mcp and msum provide significant performance improvements over standard cp and md5sum using multiple types of parallelism and other optimizations. The total speed-ups from all improvements are significant. Mcp improves cp performance over 27x, msum improves md5sum performance almost 19x, and the combination of mcp and msum improves verified copies via cp and md5sum by almost 22x. These improvements come in the form of drop-in replacements for cp and md5sum, so are easily used and are available for download as open source software at http://mutil.sourceforge.net.

Pajarito Aerosol Couplings to Ecosystems (PACE) Field Campaign Report

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

Dubey, M

Laboratory (LANL) worked on the Pajarito Aerosol Couplings to Ecosystems (PACE) intensive operational period (IOP). PACE’s primary goal was to demonstrate routine Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) field operations and improve instrumental and operational performance. LANL operated the instruments efficiently and effectively with remote guidance by the instrument mentors. This was the first time a complex suite of instruments had been operated under the ARM model and it proved to be a very successful and cost-effective model to build upon.

Performance of Low Temperature Electrolytes in Experimental and Prototype Li-Ion Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Whitcanack, L. D.

2007-01-01

Due to their attractive properties and proven success, Li-ion batteries have become identified as the battery chemistry of choice for a number of future NASA missions. A number of these applications would be greatly benefited by improved performance of Li-ion technology over a wider operating temperature range, especially at low temperatures, such as future ESMD missions. In many cases, these technology improvements may be mission enabling, and at the very least mission enhancing. In addition to aerospace applications, the DoE has interest in developing advanced Li-ion batteries that can operate over a wide temperature range to enable terrestrial HEV applications. Thus, our focus at JPL in recent years has been to extend the operating temperature range of Li-ion batteries, especially at low temperatures. To accomplish this, the main focus of the research has been devoted to developing improved lithium-ion conducting electrolytes. In the present paper, we would like to present some of the results we have obtained with ethylene carbonate-based electrolytes optimized for low temperature in experimental MCMB-LiNixCo1_x0 2 cells. In addition to obtaining discharge and charge rate performance data at various temperatures, electrochemical measurements were performed on individual electrodes (made possible by the incorporation of Li reference electrodes), including EIS, linear polarization and Tafel polarization measurements. The combination of techniques enables the elucidation of various trends associated with electrolyte composition. In addition to investigating the behavior in experimental cells, the performance of many promising low temperature electrolytes was demonstrated in large capacity, aerospace quality Li-ion prototype cells. These cells were subjected to a number of performance tests, including discharge rate characterization, charge rate characterization, cycle life performance at various temperatures, and power characterization tests.

Development of porous carbon foam polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin; Cunningham, Nicolas

In order to prove the feasibility of using porous carbon foam material in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a single PEMFC is constructed with a piece of 80PPI (pores per linear inch) Reticulated Vitreous Carbon (RVC) foam at a thickness of 3.5 mm employed in the cathode flow-field. The cell performance of such design is compared with that of a conventional fuel cell with serpentine channel design in the cathode and anode flow-fields. Experimental results show that the RVC foam fuel cell not only produces comparative power density to, but also offers interesting benefits over the conventional fuel cell. A 250 h long term test conducted on a RVC foam fuel cell shows that the durability and performance stability of the material is deemed to be acceptable. Furthermore, a parametric study is conducted on single RVC foam fuel cells. Effect of geometrical and material parameters of the RVC foam such as PPI and thickness and operating conditions such as pressure, temperature, and stoichiometric ratio of the reactant gases on the cell performance is experimentally investigated in detail. The single cell with the 80PPI RVC foam exhibits the best performance, especially if the thinnest foam (3.5 mm) is used. The cell performance improves with increasing the operating gauge pressure from 0 kPa to 80 kPa and the operating temperature from 40 °C to 60 °C, but deteriorates as it further increases to 80 °C. The cell performance improves as the stoichiometric ratio of air increases from 1.5 to 4.5; however, the improvement becomes marginal when it is raised above 3.0. On the other hand, changing the stoichiometric ratio of hydrogen does not have a significant impact on the cell performance.

The use of microbial-earthworm ecofilters for wastewater treatment with special attention to influencing factors in performance: A review.

PubMed

Jiang, Luhua; Liu, Yunguo; Hu, Xinjiang; Zeng, Guangming; Wang, Hui; Zhou, Lu; Tan, Xiaofei; Huang, Binyan; Liu, Shaobo; Liu, Simian

2016-01-01

With the unique advantages of lower operational and maintenance cost, the use of microbial-earthworm ecofilters (MEEs) for the wastewater treatment has been increasing rapidly in the recent years. This paper provided an overview of the research activities on the use of MEEs for removing pollutants from various wastewater throughout the world. However, the long-term effective treatment performance and sustainable operation of this system still remain a challenge since the treatment performance would be affected by design parameters, operational conditions, and environmental factors. In order to promote the treatment performance, therefore, this paper also provided and summarized the influencing factors of pollutants removal in MEEs. The design parameters and operational conditions of MEEs include earthworm species and load, filter media type, hydraulic loading rate, nutrient load, packing bed height, chemical factors and temperature. Lastly, this review highlighted the further research on these issues to improve performance and sustainability of MEEs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Life Cycle Assessment of the MBT plant in Ano Liossia, Athens, Greece

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

Abeliotis, Konstadinos, E-mail: kabeli@hua.gr; Kalogeropoulos, Alexandros; Lasaridi, Katia

2012-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We model the operation of an MBT plant in Greece based on LCA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We compare four different MBT operating scenarios (among them and with landfilling). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Utilization of the MBT compost and metals generates the most environmental gains. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thermal exploitation of RDF improves further the environmental performance of the plant. - Abstract: The aim of this paper is the application of Life Cycle Assessment to the operation of the MBT facility of Ano Liossia in the region of Attica in Greece. The regionmore » of Attica is home to almost half the population of Greece and the management of its waste is a major issue. In order to explicitly analyze the operation of the MBT plant, five scenarios were generated. Actual operation data of the MBT plant for the year 2008 were provided by the region of Attica and the LCA modeling was performed via the SimaPro 5.1 software while impact assessment was performed utilizing the Eco-indicator'99 method. The results of our analysis indicate that even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Among the scenarios of MBT operation, the one with complete utilization of the MBT outputs, i.e. compost, RDF, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is the one that generates the most environmental gains. Our analysis indicates that the exploitation of RDF via incineration is the key factor towards improving the environmental performance of the MBT plant. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the MBT plant. Interpretation of results showed that proper operation of the modern waste management systems can lead to substantial reduction of environmental impacts and savings of resources.« less

An Integrated Approach to Thermal Management of International Space Station Logistics Flights, Improving the Efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holladay, Jon; Day, Greg; Roberts, Barry; Leahy, Frank

2003-01-01

The efficiency of re-useable aerospace systems requires a focus on the total operations process rather than just orbital performance. For the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module this activity included special attention to terrestrial conditions both pre-launch and post-landing and how they inter-relate to the mission profile. Several of the efficiencies implemented for the MPLM Mission Engineering were NASA firsts and all served to improve the overall operations activities. This paper will provide an explanation of how various issues were addressed and the resulting solutions. Topics range from statistical analysis of over 30 years of atmospheric data at the launch and landing site to a new approach for operations with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. In each situation the goal was to "tune" the thermal management of the overall flight system for minimizing requirement risk while optimizing power and energy performance.

Space network scheduling benchmark: A proof-of-concept process for technology transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moe, Karen; Happell, Nadine; Hayden, B. J.; Barclay, Cathy

1993-01-01

This paper describes a detailed proof-of-concept activity to evaluate flexible scheduling technology as implemented in the Request Oriented Scheduling Engine (ROSE) and applied to Space Network (SN) scheduling. The criteria developed for an operational evaluation of a reusable scheduling system is addressed including a methodology to prove that the proposed system performs at least as well as the current system in function and performance. The improvement of the new technology must be demonstrated and evaluated against the cost of making changes. Finally, there is a need to show significant improvement in SN operational procedures. Successful completion of a proof-of-concept would eventually lead to an operational concept and implementation transition plan, which is outside the scope of this paper. However, a high-fidelity benchmark using actual SN scheduling requests has been designed to test the ROSE scheduling tool. The benchmark evaluation methodology, scheduling data, and preliminary results are described.

Application of robotic manipulability indices to evaluate thumb performance during smartphone touch operations.

PubMed

Endo, Hiroshi

2015-01-01

This study examined whether manipulability during smartphone thumb-based touch operations could be predicted by the following robotic manipulability indices: the volume and direction of the 'manipulability ellipsoid' (MEd), both of which evaluate the influence of kinematics on manipulability. Limits of the thumb's range of motion were considered in the MEd to improve predictability. Thumb postures at 25 key target locations were measured in 16 subjects. Though there was no correlation between subjective evaluation and the volume of the MEd, high correlation was obtained when motion range limits were taken into account. These limits changed the size of the MEd and improved the accuracy of the manipulability evaluation. Movement directions associated with higher performance could also be predicted. In conclusion, robotic manipulability indices with motion range limits were considered to be useful measures for quantitatively evaluating human hand operations.

Investigation of material improvements to mitigate the abrasive wear mechanism of concrete crosstie rail seat deterioration (RSD).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-11-01

To meet the increasingly stringent design and performance requirements due to increasing cumulative : gross tonnages from heavy-haul freight operations, along with increased high-speed inter-city passenger : rail development, improvements in concrete...

Minimizing hair dispersal: Is this an opportunity for improvement in health care-acquired infection prevention?

PubMed

Mantyh, Christopher R; Xi, Hugo; Pearson, Lena; Perl, Trish M

2017-03-01

We performed a study to understand common practices in surgical site hair removal and barriers to guideline compliance in surgical site hair removal. We found most health care providers in the United States do not remove hair outside of the operating room. Our findings reveal minimizing hair dispersal in the operating room, including improved and innovative ways for collecting clipped loose hair, is a significant area for improvement in surgical quality and health care-acquired infection prevention. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operational algorithm development and refinement approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardanuy, Philip E.

2003-11-01

Next-generation polar and geostationary systems, such as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R, will deploy new generations of electro-optical reflective and emissive capabilities. These will include low-radiometric-noise, improved spatial resolution multi-spectral and hyperspectral imagers and sounders. To achieve specified performances (e.g., measurement accuracy, precision, uncertainty, and stability), and best utilize the advanced space-borne sensing capabilities, a new generation of retrieval algorithms will be implemented. In most cases, these advanced algorithms benefit from ongoing testing and validation using heritage research mission algorithms and data [e.g., the Earth Observing System (EOS)] Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Shuttle Ozone Limb Scattering Experiment (SOLSE)/Limb Ozone Retreival Experiment (LORE). In these instances, an algorithm's theoretical basis is not static, but rather improves with time. Once frozen, an operational algorithm can "lose ground" relative to research analogs. Cost/benefit analyses provide a basis for change management. The challenge is in reconciling and balancing the stability, and "comfort," that today"s generation of operational platforms provide (well-characterized, known, sensors and algorithms) with the greatly improved quality, opportunities, and risks, that the next generation of operational sensors and algorithms offer. By using the best practices and lessons learned from heritage/groundbreaking activities, it is possible to implement an agile process that enables change, while managing change. This approach combines a "known-risk" frozen baseline with preset completion schedules with insertion opportunities for algorithm advances as ongoing validation activities identify and repair areas of weak performance. This paper describes an objective, adaptive implementation roadmap that takes into account the specific maturities of each system"s (sensor and algorithm) technology to provide for a program that contains continuous improvement while retaining its manageability.

Operating microscopes: past, present, and future.

PubMed

Uluç, Kutluay; Kujoth, Gregory C; Başkaya, Mustafa K

2009-09-01

The operating microscope is a fixture of modern surgical facilities, and it is a critically important factor in the success of many of the most complex and difficult surgical interventions used in medicine today. The rise of this key surgical tool reflects advances in understanding the principles of optics and vision that have occurred over centuries. The development of reading spectacles in the late 13th century led to the construction of early compound microscopes in the 16th and 17th centuries by Lippershey, Janssen, Galileo, Hooke, and others. Perhaps surprisingly, Leeuwenhoek's simple microscopes of this era offered improved performance over his contemporaries' designs. The intervening years saw improvements that reduced the spherical and chromatic aberrations present in compound microscopes. By the late 19th century, Carl Zeiss and Ernst Abbe ushered the compound microscope into the beginnings of the modern era of commercial design and production. The introduction of the microscope into the operating room by Nylén in 1921 initiated a revolution in surgical practice that gained momentum throughout the 1950s with multiple refinements, the introduction of the Zeiss OPMI series, and Kurze's application of the microscope to neurosurgery in 1957. Many of the refinements of the last 50 years have greatly improved the handling and practical operation of the surgical microscope, considerations which are equally important to its optical performance. Today's sophisticated operating microscopes allow for advanced real-time angiographic and tumor imaging. In this paper the authors discuss what might be found in the operating rooms of tomorrow.

New PbSnTe heterojunction laser diode structures with improved performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fonstad, C. G.; Kasemset, D.; Hsieh, H. H.; Rotter, S.

1980-01-01

Several recent advances in the state-of-the-art of lead tin telluride double heterojunction laser diodes are summarized. Continuous Wave operation to 120 K and pulsed operation to 166 K with single, lowest order transverse mode emission to in excess of four times threshold at 80 K were achieved in buried stripe lasers fabricated by liquid phase epitaxy in the lattice-matched system, lead-tin telluride-lead telluride selenide. At the same time, liquid phase epitaxy was used to produce PbSnTe distributed feedback lasers with much broader continuous single mode tuning ranges than are available from Fabry-Perot lasers. The physics and philosophy behind these advances is as important as the structures and performance of the specific devices embodying the advances, particularly since structures are continually being evolved and the performance continues to be improved.

Team Training in the Perioperative Arena: A Methodology for Implementation and Auditing Behavior.

PubMed

Rhee, Amanda J; Valentin-Salgado, Yessenia; Eshak, David; Feldman, David; Kischak, Pat; Reich, David L; LoPachin, Vicki; Brodman, Michael

Preventable medical errors in the operating room are most often caused by ineffective communication and suboptimal team dynamics. TeamSTEPPS is a government-funded, evidence-based program that provides tools and education to improve teamwork in medicine. The study hospital implemented TeamSTEPPS in the operating room and merged the program with a surgical safety checklist. Audits were performed to collect both quantitative and qualitative information on time out (brief) and debrief conversations, using a standardized audit tool. A total of 1610 audits over 6 months were performed by live auditors. Performance was sustained at desired levels or improved for all qualitative metrics using χ 2 and linear regression analyses. Additionally, the absolute number of wrong site/side/person surgery and unintentionally retained foreign body counts decreased after TeamSTEPPS implementation.

MSR performance enhancements and modifications at St. Lucie Power Plant

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

Rubano, V.F.; Ugelow, A.G.; Menocal, A.G.

1989-01-01

The St. Lucie Power Plant provides an excellent historical prospective on various moisture separator/reheater improvements. Between the two essentially identical units there is a total of 14 years of operating experience with various moisture separator/reheater configurations, with a combination of four different heat transfer surfaces and three moisture removal configurations. Through various modifications and enhancements, the performance and the reliability of the moisture separator/reheaters at the St. Lucie Power Plant and consequently the overall plant performance has been improved. This improvement has taken place over several years and involves changes in both the heat transfer and moisture removal areas. Thismore » paper provides an overview of the history and description of moisture separator/reheater modifications at the St. Lucie Power Plant with the resulting performance improvements.« less

Increased protein intake in military special operations.

PubMed

Ferrando, Arny A

2013-11-01

Special operations are so designated for the specialized military missions they address. As a result, special operations present some unique metabolic challenges. In particular, soldiers often operate in a negative energy balance in stressful and demanding conditions with little opportunity for rest or recovery. In this framework, findings inferred from the performance literature suggest that increased protein intake may be beneficial. In particular, increased protein intake during negative caloric balance maintains lean body mass and blood glucose production. The addition of protein to mixed macronutrient supplements is beneficial for muscle endurance and power endpoints, and the use of amino acids improves gross and fine motor skills. Increasing protein intake during periods of intense training and/or metabolic demand improves subsequent performance, improves muscular recovery, and reduces symptoms of psychological stress. Consumption of protein before sleep confers the anabolic responses required for the maintenance of lean mass and muscle recovery. A maximal response in muscle protein synthesis is achieved with the consumption of 20-25 g of protein alone. However, higher protein intakes in the context of mixed-nutrient ingestion also confer anabolic benefits by reducing protein breakdown. Restricted rations issued to special operators provide less than the RDA for protein ( ∼ 0.6 g/kg), and these soldiers often rely on commercial products to augment their rations. The provision of reasonable alternatives and/or certification of approved supplements by the U.S. Department of Defense would be prudent.

Gamma ray irradiated AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles with enhanced gas sensor properties

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

Wang, Xiuhua, E-mail: xhwang@mail.ahnu.edu.cn; Shi, Zhijie; Yao, Shangwu

2014-11-15

AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method and irradiated by various doses of gamma ray. The products were characterized with X-ray powder diffraction, UV–vis absorption spectrum and transmission electron microscope. The results revealed that the crystal structure, morphology and size of the samples remained unchanged after irradiation, while the intensity of UV–Vis spectra increased with irradiation dose increasing. In addition, gamma ray irradiation improved the performance of gas sensor based on the AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles including the optimum operating temperature and sensitivity, which might be ascribed to the generation of defects. - Graphical abstract: Gamma ray irradiationmore » improved the performance of gas sensor based on the AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles including sensitivity and optimum operating temperature, which might be ascribed to the generation of defects. - Highlights: • AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles were synthesized and irradiated with gamma ray. • AgFeO{sub 2} nanoparticles were employed to fabricate gas sensors to detect ethanol. • Gamma ray irradiation improved the sensitivity and optimum operating temperature.« less

Complications of Laparoscopy in Connection with Entry Techniques

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Abstract The anatomy of the human being has not changed. However, technical developments in operating materials and methods call for improvements in surgical procedures as well as the management of complications. A fundamental distinction between any operating method and laparoscopy is that, in the latter, the initial entry is usually performed in blind fashion. Blind entry may result in vessel or organ damage, especially in patients who have undergone previous surgery. One of the difficulties associated with the entry is that the damage may not be identified immediately and then necessitate major abdominal repair. Furthermore, the improvement of surgical instruments and techniques enables the surgeon to perform even major operations by the laparoscopic approach. This is associated with renewed learning curves and a high rate of complications due to vascular, bowel, uterine, or bladder damage. The improvement of surgical techniques must be accompanied by advancements in the management of complications. The aim of this review is to address the risks of laparoscopy as well as their correct and professional management. (J GYNECOL SURG 33:81) PMID:28663686

Resurfacing the Jodrell Bank Mk II radio telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, R. E.; Haggis, J. S.; Morrison, I.; Davis, R. J.; Melling, R. J.

The improvement of the short-wavelength performance of the Jodrell Bank Mk II radio telescope is described. A final rms profile error of 0.6 mm was achieved due to the invention of an inexpensive technique of panel construction and measurement combined with the use of radio-astronomical holographic techniques to measure the telescope under actual operating conditions. Some further improvements to extend the short wavelength performance are suggested.

Improvement Design of Parabolic Trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ihsan, S. I.; Safian, M. A. I. M.; Taufek, M. A. M.; Mohiuddin, A. K. M.

2017-03-01

The performance of parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) has been evaluated using different heat transfer working fluids; namely water and SAE20 W50 engine oil. New and slightly improved PTSC was developed to run the experimental study. Under the meteorological conditions of Malaysia, authors found that PTSC can operate at a higher temperature than water collector but the performance efficiency of collector using engine oil is much lower than the water collector.

Army Incentives for the PCMH

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-24

Performance Metrics Community Based Medical Homes Slide 8 of 10 2011 MHS Conference  Increase our primary care market share Net increase in primary... Sharing Knowledge: Achieving Breakthrough Performance 2011 Military Health System Conference Army Incentives for the PCMH 24 January 2011 Mr. Ken...enroll as soon as fully staffed  Operate at economic advantage to DoD Improve ER/ UCC usage rates Improve utilization rates Business Rules Army

High performance cryogenic turboexpanders

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

Agahi, R.R.; Ershaghi, B.; Lin, M.C.

1996-12-31

The use of turboexpanders for deep cryogenic temperatures has been constrained because of thermal efficiency limitations. This limited thermal efficiency was mostly due to mechanical constraints. Recent improvements in analytical techniques, bearing technology, and design features have made it possible to design and operate turboexpanders at more favorable conditions, such as of higher rotational speeds. Several turboexpander installations in helium and hydrogen processes have shown a significant improvement in plant performance over non-turboexpander options.

Quality of life after Brooke ileostomy and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Comparison of performance status.

PubMed Central

Pemberton, J H; Phillips, S F; Ready, R R; Zinsmeister, A R; Beahrs, O H

1989-01-01

Although the clinical results of Brooke ileostomy are good, patients are permanently incontinent of stool and gas. Alternative operations designed to restore enteric continence, such as ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, must not only be as safe and effective as Brooke ileostomy, but should provide an improved quality of life in order to establish long-term acceptability. Ileal pouch-anal anastomosis has been performed safely and good functional results have been reported. The quality of life after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, however, has not been documented. Two hundred ninety-eight ileal pouch patients and 406 Brooke ileostomy patients who had the operations performed for chronic ulcerative colitis or familial adenomatous polyposis formed the basis of the study. After adjusting for age, diagnosis, and reoperation rate, logistic regression analysis of performance scores in seven different categories was used to discriminate between operations. Median follow-up was longer in Brooke ileostomy patients than in ileal pouch patients (104 months vs. 47 months, respectively), and Brooke ileostomy patients were slightly older (38 years vs. 32 years). A great majority of patients in each group were satisfied (93% Brooke ileostomy; 95% ileal pouch-anal anastomosis). Thirty-nine per cent of Brooke ileostomy patients, however, desired a change in the type of ileostomy they had. At 47 months, ileal pouch patients had a median of 5 stools per day and 1 at night, 77% did not experience any daytime incontinence, while 22% reported occasional spotting. In each performance category, the performance score discriminated between operations, with the probability of having had an ileal pouch-anal anastomosis operation increasing with improvement in performance scores (p less than 0.05). We concluded that after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, patients experienced significant advantages in performing daily activities compared to patients with Brooke ileostomy and thus may experience a better quality of life. These results help further to establish ileal pouch-anal anastomosis as a safe, attractive, and valid alternative to Brooke ileostomy. PMID:2539790

An Advanced Framework for Improving Situational Awareness in Electric Power Grid Operation

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

Chen, Yousu; Huang, Zhenyu; Zhou, Ning

With the deployment of new smart grid technologies and the penetration of renewable energy in power systems, significant uncertainty and variability is being introduced into power grid operation. Traditionally, the Energy Management System (EMS) operates the power grid in a deterministic mode, and thus will not be sufficient for the future control center in a stochastic environment with faster dynamics. One of the main challenges is to improve situational awareness. This paper reviews the current status of power grid operation and presents a vision of improving wide-area situational awareness for a future control center. An advanced framework, consisting of parallelmore » state estimation, state prediction, parallel contingency selection, parallel contingency analysis, and advanced visual analytics, is proposed to provide capabilities needed for better decision support by utilizing high performance computing (HPC) techniques and advanced visual analytic techniques. Research results are presented to support the proposed vision and framework.« less

A randomized controlled trial of chair interventions on back and hip pain among sewing machine operators: the los angeles garment study.

PubMed

Wang, Pin-Chieh; Ritz, Beate R; Janowitz, Ira; Harrison, Robert J; Yu, Fei; Chan, Jacqueline; Rempel, David M

2008-03-01

Determine whether an adjustable chair with a curved or a flat seat pan improved monthly back and hip pain scores in sewing machine operators. This 4-month intervention study randomized 293 sewing machine operators with back and hip pain. The participants in the control group received a placebo intervention, and participants in the intervention groups received the placebo intervention and one of the two intervention chairs. Compared with the control group, mean pain improvement for the flat chair intervention was 0.43 points (95% CI = 0.34, 0.51) per month, and mean pain improvement for the curved chair intervention was 0.25 points (95% CI = 0.16, 0.34) per month. A height-adjustable task chair with a swivel function can reduce back and hip pain in sewing machine operators. The findings may be relevant to workers who perform visual- and hand-intensive manufacturing jobs.

Electrolysis Performance Improvement Concept Study (EPICS) flight experiment phase C/D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, F. H.; Lee, M. G.

1995-01-01

The overall purpose of the Electrolysis Performance Improvement Concept Study flight experiment is to demonstrate and validate in a microgravity environment the Static Feed Electrolyzer concept as well as investigate the effect of microgravity on water electrolysis performance. The scope of the experiment includes variations in microstructural characteristics of electrodes and current densities in a static feed electrolysis cell configuration. The results of the flight experiment will be used to improve efficiency of the static feed electrolysis process and other electrochemical regenerative life support processes by reducing power and expanding the operational range. Specific technologies that will benefit include water electrolysis for propulsion, energy storage, life support, extravehicular activity, in-space manufacturing and in-space science in addition to other electrochemical regenerative life support technologies such as electrochemical carbon dioxide and oxygen separation, electrochemical oxygen compression and water vapor electrolysis. The Electrolysis Performance Improvement Concept Study flight experiment design incorporates two primary hardware assemblies: the Mechanical/Electrochemical Assembly and the Control/Monitor Instrumentation. The Mechanical/Electrochemical Assembly contains three separate integrated electrolysis cells along with supporting pressure and temperature control components. The Control/Monitor Instrumentation controls the operation of the experiment via the Mechanical/Electrochemical Assembly components and provides for monitoring and control of critical parameters and storage of experimental data.

[Evaluation and improvement of the management of informed consent in the emergency department].

PubMed

del Pozo, P; García, J A; Escribano, M; Soria, V; Campillo-Soto, A; Aguayo-Albasini, J L

2009-01-01

To assess the preoperative management in our emergency surgical service and to improve the quality of the care provided to patients. In order to find the causes of non-compliance, the Ishikawa Fishbone diagram was used and eight assessment criteria were chosen. The first assessment includes 120 patients operated on from January to April 2007. Corrective measures were implemented, which consisted of meetings and conferences with doctors and nurses, insisting on the importance of the informed consent as a legal document which must be signed by patients, and the obligation of giving a copy to patients or relatives. The second assessment includes the period from July to October 2007 (n=120). We observed a high non-compliance of C1 signing of surgical consent (CRITERION 1: all patients or relatives have to sign the surgical informed consent for the operation to be performed [27.5%]) and C2 giving a copy of the surgical consent (CRITERION 2: all patients or relatives must have received a copy of the surgical informed consent for the Surgery to be performed [72.5%]) and C4 anaesthetic consent copy (CRITERION 4: all patients or relatives must have received a copy of the Anaesthesia informed consent corresponding to the operation performed [90%]). After implementing corrective measures a significant improvement was observed in the compliance of C2 and C4. In C1 there was an improvement without statistical significance. The carrying out of an improvement cycle enabled the main objective of this paper to be achieved: to improve the management of informed consent and the quality of the care and information provided to our patients.

Dual Liquid Flyback Booster for the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blum, C.; Jones, P.; Meinders, B.

1998-01-01

Liquid Flyback Boosters provide an opportunity to improve shuttle safety, increase performance, and reduce operating costs. The objective of the LFBB study is to establish the viability of a LFBB configuration to integrate into the shuffle vehicle and meet the goals of the Space Shuttle upgrades program. The design of a technically viable LFBB must integrate into the shuffle vehicle with acceptable impacts to the vehicle elements, i.e. orbiter and external tank and the shuttle operations infrastructure. The LFBB must also be capable of autonomous return to the launch site. The smooth integration of the LFBB into the space shuttle vehicle and the ability of the LFBB to fly back to the launch site are not mutually compatible capabilities. LFBB wing configurations optimized for ascent must also provide flight quality during the powered return back to the launch site. This paper will focus on the core booster design and ascent performance. A companion paper 'Conceptual Design for a Space Shuttle Liquid Flyback Booster' will focus on the flyback system design and performance. The LFBB study developed design and aerodynamic data to demonstrate the viability of a dual booster configuration to meet the shuttle upgrade goals, i.e. enhanced safety, improved performance and reduced operations costs.

Dual Liquid Flyback Booster for the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blum, C.; Jones, Patti; Meinders, B.

1998-01-01

Liquid Flyback Boosters provide an opportunity to improve shuttle safety, increase performance, and reduce operating costs. The objective of the LFBB study is to establish the viability of a LFBB configuration to integrate into the shuttle vehicle and meet the goals of the Space Shuttle upgrades program. The design of a technically viable LFBB must integrate into the shuttle vehicle with acceptable impacts to the vehicle elements, i.e. orbiter and external tank and the shuttle operations infrastructure. The LFBB must also be capable of autonomous return to the launch site. The smooth integration of the LFBB into the space shuttle vehicle and the ability of the LFBB to fly back to the launch site are not mutually compatible capabilities. LFBB wing configurations optimized for ascent must also provide flight quality during the powered return back to the launch site. This paper will focus on the core booster design and ascent performance. A companion paper, "Conceptual Design for a Space Shuttle Liquid Flyback Booster" will focus on the flyback system design and performance. The LFBB study developed design and aerodynamic data to demonstrate the viability of a dual booster configuration to meet the shuttle upgrade goals, i.e. enhanced safety, improved performance and reduced operations costs.

Application of auditory signals to the operation of an agricultural vehicle: results of pilot testing.

PubMed

Karimi, D; Mondor, T A; Mann, D D

2008-01-01

The operation of agricultural vehicles is a multitask activity that requires proper distribution of attentional resources. Human factors theories suggest that proper utilization of the operator's sensory capacities under such conditions can improve the operator's performance and reduce the operator's workload. Using a tractor driving simulator, this study investigated whether auditory cues can be used to improve performance of the operator of an agricultural vehicle. Steering of a vehicle was simulated in visual mode (where driving error was shown to the subject using a lightbar) and in auditory mode (where a pair of speakers were used to convey the driving error direction and/or magnitude). A secondary task was also introduced in order to simulate the monitoring of an attached machine. This task included monitoring of two identical displays, which were placed behind the simulator, and responding to them, when needed, using a joystick. This task was also implemented in auditory mode (in which a beep signaled the subject to push the proper button when a response was needed) and in visual mode (in which there was no beep and visual, monitoring of the displays was necessary). Two levels of difficulty of the monitoring task were used. Deviation of the simulated vehicle from a desired straight line was used as the measure of performance in the steering task, and reaction time to the displays was used as the measure of performance in the monitoring task. Results of the experiments showed that steering performance was significantly better when steering was a visual task (driving errors were 40% to 60% of the driving errors in auditory mode), although subjective evaluations showed that auditory steering could be easier, depending on the implementation. Performance in the monitoring task was significantly better for auditory implementation (reaction time was approximately 6 times shorter), and this result was strongly supported by subjective ratings. The majority of the subjects preferred the combination of visual mode for the steering task and auditory mode for the monitoring task.

Effects of a laboratory-based skills curriculum on laparoscopic proficiency: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Coleman, Robert L; Muller, Carolyn Y

2002-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect and validity of an intensive laboratory-based laparoscopic skills training curriculum on operative proficiency in obstetrics and gynecology residents. This was a prospective, randomized, block-design trial of postgraduate year 3 and 4 residents. The following study schedule was used: week 1 (pre-randomization) included an orientation to study objectives, the administration of a laparoscopic experience questionnaire, timed video-laparoscopic drills (5 total), and the performance of a video-recorded laparoscopic partial salpingectomy; during weeks 2 and 3, the skills group residents repeated the laparoscopic drills 30 minutes daily for 10 days, and the control group residents had no formal practice sessions; during week 4, the week 1 evaluation was repeated. Operative proficiency was quantified by the Global Skills Assessment Tool through blinded, independent scoring of videotapes. Twenty-six residents (skills group, 12; control group, 14) consented to the trial. Patient-related issues excluded 8 residents (30%). At week 1, no significant differences existed in previous laparoscopic experience, timed video skills, or resident operative proficiency (Global Skills Assessment Tool score) between cohorts. At week 4, both groups significantly improved their timed drill test scores. The percent reduction in time from baseline was of greater magnitude in the skills group versus control group (51% vs 18%,P <.0001). Laparoscopic performance also improved in both cohorts (P =.002). However, only the skills group demonstrated significant intra-cohort improvement from baseline (mean, 4.9 points; P =.015; 95% CI, 1-7.5). A core curriculum of intensive video laparoscopic skills training improves not only technical but also operative performance among postgraduate year 3 and 4 residents.

26 CFR 31.3306(k)-1 - Agricultural labor.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of any such farms or its tools or equipment..., shearing, feeding, caring for, training, or management of livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, or... performed by an employee in the employ of any person in connection with any of the following operations...

Improved Orbiter Waste Collection System Study, Appendix D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Basic requirements for a space shuttle orbiter waste collection system are established. They are intended to be an aid in the development and procurement of a representative flight test article. Orbiter interface requirements, performance requirements, flight crew operational requirements, flight environmental requirements, and ground operational and environmental requirements are considered.

EnergySmart Schools Tips: Retrofitting, Operating, and Maintaining Existing Buildings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Energy, 2010

2010-01-01

Combining preventative operations and maintenance (O&M) with strategic retrofitting of building systems improves a school's energy performance. For schools with limited resources and experience, "quick wins" in O&M and retrofitting provide a valuable starting point to energy management. As a next step, strategically prioritizing long- and…

Virtual sea border

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferriere, D.; Rucinski, A.; Jankowski, T.

2007-04-01

Establishing a Virtual Sea Border by performing a real-time, satellite-accessible Internet-based bio-metric supported threat assessment of arriving foreign-flagged cargo ships, their management and ownership, their arrival terminal operator and owner, and rewarding proven legitimate operators with an economic incentive for their transparency will simultaneously improve port security and maritime transportation efficiencies.

Engineer Equipment Operator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marine Corps Inst., Washington, DC.

This student guide, one of a series of correspondence training courses designed to improve the job performance of members of the Marine Corps, deals with the skills needed by engineer equipment operators. Addressed in the seven individual units of the course are the following topics: introduction to Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) 1345…

Improving Program Performance through Management Information. A Workbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bienia, Nancy

Designed specifically for state and local managers and supervisors who plan, direct, and operate child support enforcement programs, this workbook provides a four-part, step-by-step process for identifying needed information and methods of using the information to operate an effective program. The process consists of: (1) determining what…

Characteristics of the group of radiologists that benefits the most using Breast Screen Reader Assessment Strategy (BREAST)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesan, A.; Alakhras, M.; Brennan, P. C.; Lee, W.; Tapia, K.; Mello-Thoms, C.

2018-03-01

Purpose: To determine the impact of Breast Screen Reader Assessment Strategy (BREAST) over time in improving radiologists' breast cancer detection performance, and to identify the group of radiologists that benefit the most by using BREAST as a training tool. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six radiologists who completed three case-sets offered by BREAST were included in this study. The case-sets were arranged in radiologists' chronological order of completion and five performance measures (sensitivity, specificity, location sensitivity, receiver operating characteristics area under the curve (ROC AUC) and jackknife alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic (JAFROC) figure-of-merit (FOM)), available from BREAST, were compared between case-sets to determine the level of improvement achieved. The radiologists were then grouped based on their characteristics and the above performance measures between the case-sets were compared. Paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with statistical significance set at p < 0.05 were used to compare the performance measures. Results: Significant improvement was demonstrated in radiologists' case-set performance in terms of location sensitivity and JAFROC FOM over the years, and radiologists' location sensitivity and JAFROC FOM showed significant improvement irrespective of their characteristics. In terms of ROC AUC, significant improvement was shown for radiologists who were reading screen mammograms for more than 7 years and spent more than 9 hours per week reading mammograms. Conclusion: Engaging with case-sets appears to enhance radiologists' performance suggesting the important value of initiatives such as BREAST. However, such performance enhancement was not shown for everyone, highlighting the need to tailor the BREAST platform to benefit all radiologists.

The effects of Crew Resource Mangement (CRM) training in airline maintenance: Results following three years' experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, J. C.; Robertson, M. M.

1995-01-01

This report describes three years' evaluation of the effects of one airline's Crew Resources Management (CRM) training operation for maintenance. This evaluation focuses on the post-training attitudes of maintenance managers' and technical support professionals, their reported behaviors, and the safety, efficiency and dependable maintenance performance of their units. The results reveal a strong positive effect of the training. The overall program represents the use of CRM training as a long-term commitment to improving performance through effective communication at all levels in airline maintenance operations. The initial findings described in our previous progress reports are reinforced and elaborated here. The current results benefit from the entire pre-post training survey, which now represents total attendance of all managers and staff professionals. Additionally there are now full results from the two-month, six-month, and 12-month follow-up questionnaires, together with as many as 33 months of post-training performance data, using several indicators. In this present report, we examine participants' attitudes, their reported behaviors following the training, the performance of their work units, and the relationships among these variables. Attitudes include those measured immediately before and after the training as well as participants' attitudes months after their training. Performance includes measures, by work units, of on-time flight departures, on-schedule maintenance releases, occupational and aircraft safety, and efficient labor costs. We report changes in these performance measures following training, as well their relationships with the training participants' attitudes. Highlights of results from this training program include increased safety and improved costs associated with positive attitudes about the use of more assertive communication, and the improved management of stress. Improved on-time performance is also related to those improved attitudes, as well as favorable attitudes about participative management.

United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine: Warfighter research focusing on the past 25 years.

PubMed

Pandolf, Kent B; Francesconi, Ralph; Sawka, Michael N; Cymerman, Allen; Hoyt, Reed W; Young, Andrew J; Zambraski, Edward J

2011-12-01

The United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 1, 2011. This article reviews its history, evolution, and transition of its research programs as well as its scientific and military accomplishments, emphasizing the past 25 yr. During the 1990s, USARIEM published a series of pocket guides providing guidance for sustaining Warfighter health and performance in Southwest Asia, Somalia, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Haiti. Issues identified during Operation Desert Storm elicited research that improved nutritional guidelines for protracted desert operations; safer use of nuclear, chemical, and biological protective clothing; equipment, development, and fielding of efficient microclimate cooling systems; and effective evaluation of pharmaceuticals to protect soldiers from chemical and biological threats. During the first decade of the 21st century, USARIEM and the Department of the Army published official medical/performance doctrines for operations in the heat and cold and at high altitude. The current Global War on Terrorism focused research to improve doctrines for hot, cold, and high-altitude operations, reduce musculoskeletal training injuries, provide improved field nutrition, more efficient planning for operational water requirements, and improve both military clothing and materiel. This article also describes the critically important interactions and communications between USARIEM and deployed units and the benefits to Warfighters from this association. This report presents USARIEM's unique and world-class facilities, organizational changes, scientific and support personnel, and major research accomplishments, including the publication of 2,200 scientific papers over the past 25 yr.

Improving Water Resources System Operation by Direct Use of Hydroclimatic Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelletti, A.; Pianosi, F.

2011-12-01

It is generally agreed that more information translates into better decisions. For instance, the availability of inflow predictions can improve reservoir operation; soil moisture data can be exploited to increase irrigation efficiency; etc. However, beyond this general statement, many theoretical and practical questions remain open. Provided that not all information sources are equally relevant, how does their value depend on the physical features of the water system and on the purposes of the system operation? What is the minimum lead time needed for anticipatory management to be effective? How does uncertainty in the information propagates through the modelling chain from hydroclimatic data through descriptive and decision models, and finally affect the decision? Is the data-predictions-decision paradigm truly effective or would it be better to directly use hydroclimatic data to take optimal decisions, skipping the intermediate step of hydrological forecasting? In this work we investigate these issues by application to the management of a complex water system in Northern Vietnam, characterized by multiple, conflicting objectives including hydropower production, flood control and water supply. First, we quantify the value of hydroclimatic information as the improvement in the system performances that could be attained under the (ideal) assumption of perfect knowledge of all future meteorological and hydrological input. Then, we assess and compare the relevance of different candidate information (meteorological or hydrological observations; ground or remote data; etc.) for the purpose of system operation by novel Input Variable Selection techniques. Finally, we evaluate the performance improvement made possible by the use of such information in re-designing the system operation.

Stress training improves performance during a stressful flight.

PubMed

McClernon, Christopher K; McCauley, Michael E; O'Connor, Paul E; Warm, Joel S

2011-06-01

This study investigated whether stress training introduced during the acquisition of simulator-based flight skills enhances pilot performance during subsequent stressful flight operations in an actual aircraft. Despite knowledge that preconditions to aircraft accidents can be strongly influenced by pilot stress, little is known about the effectiveness of stress training and how it transfers to operational flight settings. For this study, 30 participants with no flying experience were assigned at random to a stress-trained treatment group or a control group. Stress training consisted of systematic pairing of skill acquisition in a flight simulator with stress coping mechanisms in the presence of a cold pressor. Control participants received identical flight skill acquisition training but without stress training. Participants then performed a stressful flying task in a Piper Archer aircraft. Stress-trained research participants flew the aircraft more smoothly, as recorded by aircraft telemetry data, and generally better, as recorded by flight instructor evaluations, than did control participants. Introducing stress coping mechanisms during flight training improved performance in a stressful flying task. The results of this study indicate that stress training during the acquisition of flight skills may serve to enhance pilot performance in stressful operational flight and, therefore, might mitigate the contribution of pilot stress to aircraft mishaps.

Studies to design and develop improved remote manipulator systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, J. W.; Sword, A. J.

1973-01-01

Remote manipulator control considered is based on several levels of automatic supervision which derives manipulator commands from an analysis of sensor states and task requirements. Principle sensors are manipulator joint position, tactile, and currents. The tactile sensor states can be displayed visually in perspective or replicated in the operator's control handle of perceived by the automatic supervisor. Studies are reported on control organization, operator performance and system performance measures. Unusual hardware and software details are described.

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

Wasner, Evan; Bearden, Sean; Žutić, Igor, E-mail: zigor@buffalo.edu

Digital operation of lasers with injected spin-polarized carriers provides an improved operation over their conventional counterparts with spin-unpolarized carriers. Such spin-lasers can attain much higher bit rates, crucial for optical communication systems. The overall quality of a digital signal in these two types of lasers is compared using eye diagrams and quantified by improved Q-factors and bit-error-rates in spin-lasers. Surprisingly, an optimal performance of spin-lasers requires finite, not infinite, spin-relaxation times, giving a guidance for the design of future spin-lasers.

Services Acquisition in the Department of Defense: Analysis of Operational and Performance Data to Identify Drivers of Success

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-24

improving the disclosure of CPARS program office Audit results (Black et al., 2014, pp. 48–49). Acquisition Research Program Graduate School of...improving the disclosure of CPARS program office audit results (Black et al., 2014, pp. 44–49). Recommendations Based on our conclusions, we identified...Fitzsimmons, J. A., & Fitzsimmons, M. J. (2006). Service management: Operations, strategy, and information technology (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw -Hill

Performance Evaluation of the Prototype Model NEXT Ion Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, Daniel A.; Soulas, George C.; Patterson, Michael J.

2008-01-01

The performance testing results of the first prototype model NEXT ion engine, PM1, are presented. The NEXT program has developed the next generation ion propulsion system to enhance and enable Discovery, New Frontiers, and Flagship-type NASA missions. The PM1 thruster exhibits operational behavior consistent with its predecessors, the engineering model thrusters, with substantial mass savings, enhanced thermal margins, and design improvements for environmental testing compliance. The dry mass of PM1 is 12.7 kg. Modifications made in the thruster design have resulted in improved performance and operating margins, as anticipated. PM1 beginning-of-life performance satisfies all of the electric propulsion thruster mission-derived technical requirements. It demonstrates a wide range of throttleability by processing input power levels from 0.5 to 6.9 kW. At 6.9 kW, the PM1 thruster demonstrates specific impulse of 4190 s, 237 mN of thrust, and a thrust efficiency of 0.71. The flat beam profile, flatness parameters vary from 0.66 at low-power to 0.88 at full-power, and advanced ion optics reduce localized accelerator grid erosion and increases margins for electron backstreaming, impingement-limited voltage, and screen grid ion transparency. The thruster throughput capability is predicted to exceed 750 kg of xenon, an equivalent of 36,500 hr of continuous operation at the full-power operating condition.

The Business of Art Education: A Fairytale Adventure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buda, Sharon; Fedorenko, Jan; Sheridan, Mary A.

2012-01-01

School reform initiatives designed to improve school quality require strong leadership, strategic planning, data analysis, and systemized performance accountability. Utilizing school reforms includes rethinking curriculum and instruction to improve quality and promote equality, restructuring school operations with a focus on both the students and…

Realization of process improvement at a diagnostic radiology department with aid of simulation modeling.

PubMed

Oh, Hong-Choon; Toh, Hong-Guan; Giap Cheong, Eddy Seng

2011-11-01

Using the classical process improvement framework of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), the diagnostic radiology department of a tertiary hospital identified several patient cycle time reduction strategies. Experimentation of these strategies (which included procurement of new machines, hiring of new staff, redesign of queue system, etc.) through pilot scale implementation was impractical because it might incur substantial expenditure or be operationally disruptive. With this in mind, simulation modeling was used to test these strategies via performance of "what if" analyses. Using the output generated by the simulation model, the team was able to identify a cost-free cycle time reduction strategy, which subsequently led to a reduction of patient cycle time and achievement of a management-defined performance target. As healthcare professionals work continually to improve healthcare operational efficiency in response to rising healthcare costs and patient expectation, simulation modeling offers an effective scientific framework that can complement established process improvement framework like PDSA to realize healthcare process enhancement. © 2011 National Association for Healthcare Quality.

Health insurers' financial performance and quality improvement expenditures in the Affordable Care Act's second year.

PubMed

McCue, Michael J; Hall, Mark

2015-02-01

The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to rebate any amounts less than 80%-85% of their premiums that they fail to spend on medical claims or quality improvement. This study uses the new comprehensive reporting under this law to examine changes in insurers' financial performance and differences in their quality improvement expenditures. In the ACA's second year (2012), insurers' median medical loss ratios continued to increase and their median administrative cost ratios dropped, producing moderate operating margins in the group markets but a small operating loss in the individual market, at the median. For-profit insurers showed larger changes, in general, than did nonprofits. For quality improvement, insurers reported spending a significantly greater amount per member in their government plans than they did on their self-insured members, with spending on commercial insurance being in between these two extremes. The magnitude and source of these differences varied by corporate ownership. © The Author(s) 2014.

Automated Identification of Initial Storm Electrification and End-of-Storm Electrification Using Electric Field Mill Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maier, Launa M.; Huddleston, Lisa L.

2017-01-01

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) operations are located in a region which experiences one of the highest lightning densities across the United States. As a result, on average, KSC loses almost 30 minutes of operational availability each day for lightning sensitive activities. KSC is investigating using existing instrumentation and automated algorithms to improve the timeliness and accuracy of lightning warnings. Additionally, the automation routines will be warning on a grid to minimize under-warnings associated with not being located in the center of the warning area and over-warnings associated with encompassing too large an area. This study discusses utilization of electric field mill data to provide improved warning times. Specifically, this paper will demonstrate improved performance of an enveloping algorithm of the electric field mill data as compared with the electric field zero crossing to identify initial storm electrification. End-of-Storm-Oscillation (EOSO) identification algorithms will also be analyzed to identify performance improvement, if any, when compared with 30 minutes after the last lightning flash.

Relative to open surgery, minimally-invasive renal and ureteral pediatric surgery offers no improvement in 30-day complications, yet requires longer operative time: Data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatrics.

PubMed

Colaco, Marc; Hester, Austin; Visser, William; Rasper, Alison; Terlecki, Ryan

2018-05-01

Performance of minimally-invasive surgery (MIS) is increasing relative to open surgery. We sought to compare the contemporary rates of short-term complications of open versus laparoscopic renal and ureteral surgery in pediatric patients. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatrics database was performed of all cases in 2014 identified using CPT procedure codes for nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy (PN), ureteroneocystostomy (UNC), and pyeloplasty, and reviewed for postoperative complications. Univariate analysis was performed to determine 30-day complications, with comparison between open and MIS approaches. Receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis was performed to determine differences in body surface area (BSA) and age for open versus MIS. Review identified 207 nephrectomies, 72 PN, 920 UNC, and 625 pyeloplasties. MIS was associated with older age and larger BSA except for cases of UNC. Apart from PN, operative durations were longer with MIS. However, only PN was associated with significantly longer length of hospital stay (LOS). There was no difference in incidence of all other 30-day complications. When evaluating BSA via ROC, the area under the curve (AUC) was found to be 0.730 and was significant. Children with a BSA greater than 0.408 m 2 were more likely to have MIS (sensitivity, 66.9%; specificity, 69.3%). Regarding age, the AUC was 0.732. Children older than 637.5 days were more likely to have MIS (sensitivity, 72.8%; specificity, 63.3%). Pediatric MIS is associated with longer operative time for nephrectomy, but shorter LOS following PN. Surgical approach was not associated with difference in short-term complications.

Experimental Investigation of a Morphing Nacelle Ducted Fan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kondor, Shayne A.; Moore, Mark

2005-01-01

The application of Circulation Control to the nacelle of a shrouded fan is proposed as a means to enhance off-design performance of the shrouded fan. Typically, a fixed geometry shroud is efficient at a single operating condition. Modifying circulation about the fixed geometry is proposed as a means to virtually morph the shroud without moving surfaces. This approach will enhance off-design-point performance with minimal complexity, weight, and cost. Termed the Morphing Nacelle, this concept provides an attractive propulsion option for Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, such conceptual Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) configurations proposed by NASA. An experimental proof of concept investigation of the Morphing Nacelle is detailed in this paper. A powered model shrouded fan model was constructed with Circulation Control (CC) devices integrated in the inlet and exit of the nacelle. Both CC devices consisted of an annular jet slot directing a jet sheet tangent to a curved surface, generally described as a Coanda surface. The model shroud was tailored for axial flight, with a diffusing inlet, but was operated off-design condition as a static lifting fan. Thrust stand experiments were conducted to determine if the CC devices could effectively improve off-design performance of the shrouded fan. Additional tests were conducted to explore the effectiveness of the CC devices a means to reduce peak static pressure on the ground below a lifting fan. Experimental results showed that off-design static thrust performance of the model was improved when the CC devices were employed under certain conditions. The exhaust CC device alone, while effective in diffusing the fan exhaust and improving weight flow into shroud inlet, tended to diminish performance of the fan with increased CC jet momentum. The inlet CC device was effective at reattaching a normally stalled inlet flow condition, proving an effective means of enhancing performance. A more dramatic improvement in static thrust was obtained when the inlet and exit CC devices were operated in unison, but only over a limited range of CC jet momentum. Operating the nacelle inlet and exit CC devices together proved very effective in reducing peak ground plane static pressure, while maintaining static thrust. The Morphing Nacelle concept proved effective at enhancing off-design performance of the model; however, additional investigation is necessary to generalize the results.

Watch what happens: using a web-based multimedia platform to enhance intraoperative learning and development of clinical reasoning.

PubMed

Fingeret, Abbey L; Martinez, Rebecca H; Hsieh, Christine; Downey, Peter; Nowygrod, Roman

2016-02-01

We aim to determine whether observed operations or internet-based video review predict improved performance in the surgery clerkship. A retrospective review of students' usage of surgical videos, observed operations, evaluations, and examination scores were used to construct an exploratory principal component analysis. Multivariate regression was used to determine factors predictive of clerkship performance. Case log data for 231 students revealed a median of 25 observed cases. Students accessed the web-based video platform a median of 15 times. Principal component analysis yielded 4 factors contributing 74% of the variability with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient of .83. Multivariate regression predicted shelf score (P < .0001), internal clinical skills examination score (P < .0001), subjective evaluations (P < .001), and video website utilization (P < .001) but not observed cases to be significantly associated with overall performance. Utilization of a web-based operative video platform during a surgical clerkship is an independently associated with improved clinical reasoning, fund of knowledge, and overall evaluation. Thus, this modality can serve as a useful adjunct to live observation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance tests of a two phase ejector

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

Harrell, G.S.; Kornhauser, A.A.

1995-12-31

The ejector expansion refrigeration cycle is a modified vapor compression cycle in which a two phase ejector is used to recover a portion of the work otherwise lost in the expansion valve. The ejector improves cycle performance by increasing compressor inlet pressure and by lowering the quality of liquid entering the evaporator. Theoretically, a cooling COP improvement of approximately 23% is achievable for a typical refrigerating cycle and an ideal ejector. If the ejector performed as well as typical single phase ejectors an improvement of 12% could be achieved. Previous tests have demonstrated a smaller 3.7% improvement; the difference ismore » in the poor performance of the two phase ejector. The purpose of this research is to understand the operating characteristics of the two phase ejector and to devise design improvements. A two phase ejector test rig has been constructed and tested. Preliminary data show performance superior to previously tested two phase ejectors, but still inferior to single phase ejectors. Ejector performance corresponds to refrigeration cycle COP improvements ranging from 3.9% to 7.6%.« less

A case study of packaging waste collection systems in Portugal - Part I: Performance and operation analysis.

PubMed

Martinho, Graça; Gomes, Ana; Santos, Pedro; Ramos, Mário; Cardoso, João; Silveira, Ana; Pires, Ana

2017-03-01

The need to increase packaging recycling rates has led to the study and analysis of recycling schemes from various perspectives, including technical, economic, social, and environmental. This paper is part one of a three-part study devoted to comparing two recyclable packaging waste collection systems operating in western Portugal: a mixed collection system, where curbside and drop-off collections are operated simultaneously (but where the curbside system was introduced after the drop-off system), and an exclusive drop-off system. This part of the study focuses on analyzing the operation and performance of the two waste collection systems. The mixed collection system is shown to yield higher material separation rates, higher recycling rates, and lower contamination rates compared with the exclusive drop-off system, a result of the curbside component in the former system. However, the operational efficiency of the curbside collection in the mixed system is lower than the drop-off collection in the mixed system and the exclusive drop-off system, mainly because of inefficiency of collection. A key recommendation is to ensure that the systems should be optimized in an attempt to improve performance. Optimization should be applied not only to logistical aspects but also to citizens' participation, which could be improved by conducting curbside collection awareness campaigns in the neighborhoods that have a mixed system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrastable Silicon Cavity in a Continuously Operating Closed-Cycle Cryostat at 4 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Robinson, J. M.; Sonderhouse, L.; Oelker, E.; Benko, C.; Hall, J. L.; Legero, T.; Matei, D. G.; Riehle, F.; Sterr, U.; Ye, J.

2017-12-01

We report on a laser locked to a silicon cavity operating continuously at 4 K with 1 ×10-16 instability and a median linewidth of 17 mHz at 1542 nm. This is a tenfold improvement in short-term instability, and a 1 04 improvement in linewidth, over previous sub-10-K systems. Operating at low temperatures reduces the thermal noise floor and, thus, is advantageous toward reaching an instability of 10-18, a long-sought goal of the optical clock community. The performance of this system demonstrates the technical readiness for the development of the next generation of ultrastable lasers that operate with an ultranarrow linewidth and long-term stability without user intervention.

Comparative Performance Analysis of Intel Xeon Phi, GPU, and CPU: A Case Study from Microscopy Image Analysis

PubMed Central

Teodoro, George; Kurc, Tahsin; Kong, Jun; Cooper, Lee; Saltz, Joel

2014-01-01

We study and characterize the performance of operations in an important class of applications on GPUs and Many Integrated Core (MIC) architectures. Our work is motivated by applications that analyze low-dimensional spatial datasets captured by high resolution sensors, such as image datasets obtained from whole slide tissue specimens using microscopy scanners. Common operations in these applications involve the detection and extraction of objects (object segmentation), the computation of features of each extracted object (feature computation), and characterization of objects based on these features (object classification). In this work, we have identify the data access and computation patterns of operations in the object segmentation and feature computation categories. We systematically implement and evaluate the performance of these operations on modern CPUs, GPUs, and MIC systems for a microscopy image analysis application. Our results show that the performance on a MIC of operations that perform regular data access is comparable or sometimes better than that on a GPU. On the other hand, GPUs are significantly more efficient than MICs for operations that access data irregularly. This is a result of the low performance of MICs when it comes to random data access. We also have examined the coordinated use of MICs and CPUs. Our experiments show that using a performance aware task strategy for scheduling application operations improves performance about 1.29× over a first-come-first-served strategy. This allows applications to obtain high performance efficiency on CPU-MIC systems - the example application attained an efficiency of 84% on 192 nodes (3072 CPU cores and 192 MICs). PMID:25419088

Operationality Improvement Control of Electric Power Assisted Wheelchair by Fuzzy Algorithm Considering Posture Angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murakami, Hiroki; Seki, Hirokazu; Minakata, Hideaki; Tadakuma, Susumu

This paper describes a novel operationality improvement control for electric power assisted wheelchairs. “Electric power assisted wheelchair” which assists the driving force by electric motors is expected to be widely used as a mobility support system for elderly people and disabled people, however, the performance of the straight and circular road driving must be further improved because the two wheels drive independently. This paper proposes a novel operationality improvement control by fuzzy algorithm to realize the stable driving on straight and circular roads. The suitable assisted torque of the right and left wheels is determined by fuzzy algorithm based on the posture angular velocity, the posture angle of the wheelchair, the human input torque proportion and the total human torque of the right and left wheels. Some experiments on the practical roads show the effectiveness of the proposed control system.

Improving the environmental and performance characteristics of vehicles by introducing the surfactant additive into gasoline.

PubMed

Magaril, Elena; Magaril, Romen

2016-09-01

The operation of modern vehicles requires the introduction of package of fuel additives to ensure the required level of operating characteristics, some of which cannot be achieved by current oil refining methods. The use of additives allows flexibility of impact on the properties of the fuel at minimal cost, increasing the efficiency and environmental safety of vehicles. Among the wide assortment of additives available on the world market, many are surfactants. It has been shown that the introduction of some surfactants into gasoline concurrently reduces losses from gasoline evaporation, improves the mixture formation during injection of gasoline into the engine and improves detergent and anticorrosive properties. The surfactant gasoline additive that provides significant improvement in the quality of gasoline used and environmental and operating characteristics of vehicles has been developed and thoroughly investigated. The results of studies confirming the efficiency of the gasoline additive application are herein presented.

Quality management of nuchal translucency ultrasound measurement in Australia.

PubMed

Nisbet, Debbie; Robertson, Ann; Mannil, Blessy; Pincham, Vanessa; Mclennan, Andrew

2018-02-22

Nuchal translucency measurement has an established role in first trimester screening. Accurate measurement requires that technical guidelines are followed. Performance can be monitored by auditing the distribution of measurements obtained in a series of cases. The primary aim is to develop an accessible, theory-based educational program for individuals whose distribution of measurements at audit falls outside an acceptable range, and assess operator performance following this intervention. Operators whose nuchal translucency measurement distributions fall outside a normal range (38-65% above the median) were expected to undergo a teleconference tutorial. Accessible from anywhere in Australia, the one hour tutorials were run by a senior sonographer (to explain technical ultrasound aspects) and the audit program manager (to explain the audit process). In 2011, 83 operators attended the teleconference tutorials. Compared to a random comparison group of operators meeting standard in 2011, teleconference tutorial attendees were significantly more likely to: (i) operate in rural or regional, rather than metropolitan, centres (P = 0.001); (ii) be less experienced (P < 0.0005); and (iii) have lower annual scan numbers (P = 0.0012). Improvement in nuchal translucency measurement quality was seen after one audit cycle and was maintained over subsequent years. The mean percentage of the study cohort reaching standard over the five-year audit was 77.8% which was not statistically different from the average for the comparison cohort of all other audited operators (79.3%; P = 0.61). Teleconference tutorials are a convenient, accessible and effective way to obtain immediate and sustained improvement in operator performance. © 2018 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

A Multidisciplinary Research Framework on Green Schools: Infrastructure, Social Environment, Occupant Health, and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magzamen, Sheryl; Mayer, Adam P.; Barr, Stephanie; Bohren, Lenora; Dunbar, Brian; Manning, Dale; Reynolds, Stephen J.; Schaeffer, Joshua W.; Suter, Jordan; Cross, Jennifer E.

2017-01-01

Background: Sustainable school buildings hold much promise to reducing operating costs, improve occupant well-being and, ultimately, teacher and student performance. However, there is a scarcity of evidence on the effects of sustainable school buildings on health and performance indicators. We sought to create a framework for a multidisciplinary…

QUEST FOR A NEW WORKING POINT IN RHIC.

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

TOMAS,R.BAI,M.FISCHER,W.PTITSYN,V.SATOGATA,T.ROSER,T.

2004-07-05

The beam-beam interaction is a limiting factor in RHIC's performance, particularly in proton operation. Changing the working point is a strategy to alleviate the beam-beam effect and improve the performance of the machine. Experiments at injection energy and simulations have been performed for a set of working points to determine the best candidates.

[Cleanliness in the operating room].

PubMed

Suzuki, Toshiyasu

2010-05-01

With regard to recent findings in the cleanliness of the operating room, concerning handwashing and performing operations, the traditional method of excessive scrubbing using a brush is not effective, and handwashing using only an alcohol-containing antiseptic hand rub (rubbing method) has become common practice. Use of a brush has already been abolished in some medical institutions. In addition, sterilized water used for handwashing when performing operations has no scientific basis and use of tap water is considered sufficient. Furthermore, the concept of operating room zoning has also undergone a dramatic change. It was discovered that a layout focusing on work efficiency is more desirable than the one that follows an excessively rigid zoning pattern. One-footwear System not requiring change of shoes also has various advantages in improving the efficiency of the operation room, and this is thought to become commonplace in the future.

Interface-designed Membranes with Shape-controlled Patterns for High-performance Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeon, Yukwon; Kim, Dong Jun; Koh, Jong Kwan; Ji, Yunseong; Kim, Jong Hak; Shul, Yong-Gun

2015-11-01

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is a promising zero-emission power generator for stationary/automotive applications. However, key issues, such as performance and costs, are still remained for an economical commercialization. Here, we fabricated a high-performance membrane electrode assembly (MEA) using an interfacial design based on well-arrayed micro-patterned membranes including circles, squares and hexagons with different sizes, which are produced by a facile elastomeric mold method. The best MEA performance is achieved using patterned Nafion membrane with a circle 2 μm in size, which exhibited a very high power density of 1906 mW/cm2 at 75 °C and Pt loading of 0.4 mg/cm2 with 73% improvement compared to the commercial membrane. The improved performance are attributed to the decreased MEA resistances and increased surface area for higher Pt utilization of over 80%. From these enhanced properties, it is possible to operate at lower Pt loading of 0.2 mg/cm2 with an outstanding performance of 1555 mW/cm2 and even at air/low humidity operations.

Performance improvement of continuous-variable quantum key distribution with an entangled source in the middle via photon subtraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Ying; Liao, Qin; Wang, Yijun; Huang, Duan; Huang, Peng; Zeng, Guihua

2017-03-01

A suitable photon-subtraction operation can be exploited to improve the maximal transmission of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) in point-to-point quantum communication. Unfortunately, the photon-subtraction operation faces solving the improvement transmission problem of practical quantum networks, where the entangled source is located in the third part, which may be controlled by a malicious eavesdropper, instead of in one of the trusted parts, controlled by Alice or Bob. In this paper, we show that a solution can come from using a non-Gaussian operation, in particular, the photon-subtraction operation, which provides a method to enhance the performance of entanglement-based (EB) CVQKD. Photon subtraction not only can lengthen the maximal transmission distance by increasing the signal-to-noise rate but also can be easily implemented with existing technologies. Security analysis shows that CVQKD with an entangled source in the middle (ESIM) from applying photon subtraction can well increase the secure transmission distance in both direct and reverse reconciliations of the EB-CVQKD scheme, even if the entangled source originates from an untrusted part. Moreover, it can defend against the inner-source attack, which is a specific attack by an untrusted entangled source in the framework of ESIM.

Use of a Prototype Airborne Separation Assurance System for Resolving Near-Term Conflicts During Autonomous Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barhydt, Richard; Eischeid, Todd M.; Palmer, Michael T.; Wing, David J.

2003-01-01

NASA is currently investigating a new concept of operations for the National Airspace System, designed to improve capacity while maintaining or improving current levels of safety. This concept, known as Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management (DAGTM), allows appropriately equipped autonomous aircraft to maneuver freely for flight optimization while resolving conflicts with other traffic and staying out of special use airspace and hazardous weather. In order to perform these tasks, pilots use prototype conflict detection, prevention, and resolution tools, collectively known as an Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS). While ASAS would normally allow pilots to resolve conflicts before they become hazardous, evaluation of system performance in sudden, near-term conflicts is needed in order to determine concept feasibility. An experiment was conducted in NASA Langley's Air Traffic Operations Lab to evaluate the prototype ASAS for enabling pilots to resolve near-term conflicts and examine possible operational effects associated with the use of lower separation minimums. Sixteen commercial airline pilots flew a total of 32 traffic scenarios that required them to use prototype ASAS tools to resolve close range pop-up conflicts. Required separation standards were set at either 3 or 5 NM lateral spacing, with 1000 ft vertical separation being used for both cases. Reducing the lateral separation from 5 to 3 NM did not appear to increase operational risk, as indicated by the proximity to the intruder aircraft. Pilots performed better when they followed tactical guidance cues provided by ASAS than when they didn't follow the guidance. In an effort to improve compliance rate, ASAS design changes are currently under consideration. Further studies will of evaluate these design changes and consider integration issues between ASAS and existing Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS).

Informatics in radiology: use of a C-arm fluoroscopy simulator to support training in intraoperative radiography.

PubMed

Bott, Oliver Johannes; Dresing, Klaus; Wagner, Markus; Raab, Björn-Werner; Teistler, Michael

2011-01-01

Mobile image intensifier systems (C-arms) are used frequently in orthopedic and reconstructive surgery, especially in trauma and emergency settings, but image quality and radiation exposure levels may vary widely, depending on the extent of the C-arm operator's knowledge and experience. Current training programs consist mainly of theoretical instruction in C-arm operation, the physical foundations of radiography, and radiation avoidance, and are largely lacking in hands-on application. A computer-based simulation program such as that tested by the authors may be one way to improve the effectiveness of C-arm training. In computer simulations of various scenarios commonly encountered in the operating room, trainees using the virtX program interact with three-dimensional models to test their knowledge base and improve their skill levels. Radiographs showing the simulated patient anatomy and surgical implants are "reconstructed" from data computed on the basis of the trainee's positioning of models of a C-arm, patient, and table, and are displayed in real time on the desktop monitor. Trainee performance is signaled in real time by color graphics in several control panels and, on completion of the exercise, is compared in detail with the performance of an expert operator. Testing of this computer-based training program in continuing medical education courses for operating room personnel showed an improvement in the overall understanding of underlying principles of intraoperative radiography performed with a C-arm, with resultant higher image quality, lower overall radiation exposure, and greater time efficiency. Supplemental material available at http://radiographics.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/rg.313105125/-/DC1. Copyright © RSNA, 2011.

Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Bay area : developing regional objectives and performance measures to improve system operations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) uses an objectives-driven, performance-based approach in its transportation planning for the San Francisco Bay Area. This approach focuses attention on transportation investments of highest priority. T...

Effects of methylphenidate on acute math performance in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Grizenko, Natalie; Cai, Emmy; Jolicoeur, Claude; Ter-Stepanian, Mariam; Joober, Ridha

2013-11-01

Examine the short-term (acute) effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on math performance in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and what factors predict improvement in math performance. One hundred ninety-eight children with ADHD participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized crossover MPH trial. Math response to MPH was determined through administration of math problems adjusted to their academic level during the Restricted Academic Situation Scale (RASS). Student t tests were conducted to assess change in math performance with psychostimulants. Correlation between change on the RASS and change on the math performance was also examined. Linear regression was performed to determine predictor variables. Children with ADHD improved significantly in their math with MPH (P < 0.001). The degree of improvement on the RASS (which evaluates motor activity and orientation to task) and on math performance on MPH was highly correlated. A child's age at baseline and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)-Numerical Operations standard scores at baseline accounted for 15% of variances for acute math improvement. MPH improves acute math performance in children with ADHD. Younger children with lower math scores (as assessed by the WIAT) improved most on math scores when given psychostimulants. NCT00483106.

Partnering to develop a talent pipeline for emerging health leaders in operations research.

PubMed

Ng, Alfred; Henshaw, Carly; Carter, Michael

2017-05-01

In initiating its first central office for Quality Improvement (QI), The Scarborough Hospital (TSH) sought to accelerate momentum towards achieving its "Quality and Sustainability" strategic priority by building internal capacity in the emerging QI specialty of operations research. The Scarborough Hospital reviewed existing models of talent management in conjunction with Lean and improvement philosophies. Through simple guiding principles and in collaboration with the University of Toronto's Centre for Healthcare Engineering, TSH developed a targeted approach to talent management for Operations Research (OR) in the Office of Innovation and Performance Improvement, reduced the time from staffing need to onboarding, accelerated the development of new staff in delivering QI and OR projects, and defined new structures and processes to retain and develop this group of new emerging health leaders.

Does the engagement of clinicians and organisations in research improve healthcare performance: a three-stage review

PubMed Central

Boaz, Annette; Hanney, Stephen; Jones, Teresa; Soper, Bryony

2015-01-01

Objective There is a widely held assumption that engagement by clinicians and healthcare organisations in research improves healthcare performance at various levels, but little direct empirical evidence has previously been collated. The objective of this study was to address the question: Does research engagement (by clinicians and organisations) improve healthcare performance? Methods An hourglass-shaped review was developed, consisting of three stages: (1) a planning and mapping stage; (2) a focused review concentrating on the core question of whether or not research engagement improves healthcare performance; and (3) a wider (but less systematic) review of papers identified during the two earlier stages, focusing on mechanisms. Results Of the 33 papers included in the focused review, 28 identified improvements in health services performance. Seven out of these papers reported some improvement in health outcomes, with others reporting improved processes of care. The wider review demonstrated that mechanisms such as collaborative and action research can encourage some progress along the pathway from research engagement towards improved healthcare performance. Organisations that have deliberately integrated the research function into organisational structures demonstrate how research engagement can, among other factors, contribute to improved healthcare performance. Conclusions Current evidence suggests that there is an association between the engagement of individuals and healthcare organisations in research and improvements in healthcare performance. The mechanisms through which research engagement might improve healthcare performance overlap and rarely act in isolation, and their effectiveness often depends on the context in which they operate. PMID:26656023

Improving productivity and firm performance with enterprise resource planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beheshti, Hooshang M.; Beheshti, Cyrus M.

2010-11-01

Productivity is generally considered to be the efficient utilisation of organisational resources and is measured in terms of the efficiency of a worker, company or nation. Focusing on efficiency alone, however, can be harmful to the organisation's long-term success and competitiveness. The full benefits of productivity improvement measures are realised when productivity is examined from two perspectives: operational efficiency (output/input) of an individual worker or a business unit as well as performance (effectiveness) with regard to end user or customer satisfaction. Over the years, corporations have adopted new technology to integrate business activities in order to achieve both effectiveness and efficiency in their operations. In recent years, many firms have invested in enterprise resource planning (ERP) in order to integrate all business activities into a uniform system. The implementation of ERP enables the firm to reduce the transaction costs of the business and improve its productivity, customer satisfaction and profitability.

Engine component improvement: Performance improvement, JT9D-7 3.8 AR fan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaffin, W. O.

1980-01-01

A redesigned, fuel efficient fan for the JT9D-7 engine was tested. Tests were conducted to determine the effect of the 3.8 AR fan on performance, stability, operational characteristics, and noise of the JT9D-7 engine relative to the current 4.6 AR Bill-of-Material fan. The 3.8 AR fan provides increased fan efficiency due to a more advanced blade airfoil with increased chord, eliminating one part span shroud and reducing the number of fan blades and fan exit guide vanes. Engine testing at simulated cruise conditions demonstrated the predicted 1.3 percent improvement in specific fuel consumption with the redesigned 3.8 AR fan. Flight testing and sea level stand engine testing demonstrated exhaust gas temperature margins, fan and low pressure compressor stability, operational suitability, and noise levels comparable to the Bill-of-Material fan.

Using baldrige performance excellence program approaches in the pursuit of radiation oncology quality care, patient satisfaction, and workforce commitment.

PubMed

Sternick, Edward S

2011-01-01

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act was signed into law in 1987 to advance US business competitiveness and economic growth. Administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Act created the Baldrige National Quality Program, recently renamed the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The comprehensive analytical approaches referred to as the Baldrige Healthcare Criteria, are very well-suited for the evaluation and sustainable improvement of radiation oncology management and operations. A multidisciplinary self-assessment approach is used for radiotherapy program evaluation and development in order to generate a fact-based, knowledge-driven system for improving quality of care, increasing patient satisfaction, enhancing leadership effectiveness, building employee engagement, and boosting organizational innovation. This methodology also provides a valuable framework for benchmarking an individual radiation oncology practice's operations and results against guidelines defined by accreditation and professional organizations and regulatory agencies.

Performance seeking control (PSC) for the F-15 highly integrated digital electronic control (HIDEC) aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orme, John S.

1995-01-01

The performance seeking control algorithm optimizes total propulsion system performance. This adaptive, model-based optimization algorithm has been successfully flight demonstrated on two engines with differing levels of degradation. Models of the engine, nozzle, and inlet produce reliable, accurate estimates of engine performance. But, because of an observability problem, component levels of degradation cannot be accurately determined. Depending on engine-specific operating characteristics PSC achieves various levels performance improvement. For example, engines with more deterioration typically operate at higher turbine temperatures than less deteriorated engines. Thus when the PSC maximum thrust mode is applied, for example, there will be less temperature margin available to be traded for increasing thrust.

Performance and operational improvements made to the Waukesha AT27-GL engine

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

Reinbold, E.O.

1996-12-31

This paper presents the results of combustion and engine performance studies performed on the AT27GL lean burn engine. One study was to evaluate the effect of the pre-combustion chamber cup geometry on engine performance under several operating conditions including: Air-Fuel Ratio (AFR), ignition timing, and engine load. The study examined several combustion parameters; including IMEP, coefficient of variation of IMEP, heat release rates, and maximum combustion pressures. The study also examined engine thermal efficiency, and brake specific emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide, and Total Hydrocarbons (gaseous). Studies were also performed on different spark plug designs, comparing firing voltages,more » and electrode temperatures while operating under conditions of varying AFR, and ignition timing. In addition an Air-Fuel-Ratio controller was recently tested and released on the engine. The controller was tested under conditions of varying fuel quality, along with a detonation control system.« less

Preliminary assessment of accident-tolerant fuels on LWR performance during normal operation and under DB and BDB accident conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ott, L. J.; Robb, K. R.; Wang, D.

2014-05-01

Following the severe accidents at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the US Department of Energy initiated research and development on the enhancement of the accident tolerance of light water reactors by the development of fuels/cladding that, in comparison with the standard UO2/Zircaloy (Zr) system, can tolerate loss of active cooling in the core for a considerably longer time period while maintaining or improving the fuel performance during normal operations. Analyses are presented that illustrate the impact of these new candidate fuel/cladding materials on the fuel performance at normal operating conditions and on the reactor system under DB and BDB accident conditions.

Research on the performance evaluation of agricultural products supply chain integrated operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jiake; Wang, Xifu; Liu, Yang

2017-04-01

The agricultural product supply chain integrated operation can ensure the quality and efficiency of agricultural products, and achieve the optimal goal of low cost and high service. This paper establishes a performance evaluation index system of agricultural products supply chain integration operation based on the development status of agricultural products and SCOR, BSC and KPI model. And then, we constructing rough set theory and BP neural network comprehensive evaluation model with the aid of Rosetta and MATLAB tools and the case study is about the development of agricultural products integrated supply chain in Jing-Jin-Ji region. And finally, we obtain the corresponding performance results, and give some improvement measures and management recommendations to the managers.

Postoperative evaluation of the folded pharyngeal flap operation for cleft palate patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency

PubMed Central

Yoshimasu, Hidemi; Sato, Yutaka; Mishimagi, Takashi; Negishi, Akihide

2015-01-01

Background: Velopharyngeal function is very important for patients with cleft palate to acquire good speech. For patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency, prosthetic speech appliances and speech therapy are applied first, and then pharyngeal flap surgery to improve velopharyngeal function is performed in our hospital. The folded pharyngeal flap operation was first reported by Isshiki and Morimoto in 1975. We usually use a modification of the original method. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to introduce our method of the folded pharyngeal flap operation and report the results. Materials and Methods: The folded pharyngeal flap operation was performed for 110 patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency from 1982 to 2010. Of these, the 97 whose postoperative speech function was evaluated are reported. The cases included 61 males and 36 females, ranging in age from 7 to 50 years. The time from surgery to speech assessment ranged from 5 months to 6 years. In order to evaluate preoperative velopharyngeal function, assessment of speech by a trained speech pathologist, nasopharyngoscopy, and cephalometric radiography with contrast media were performed before surgery, and then the appropriate surgery was selected and performed. Postoperative velopharyngeal function was assessed by a trained speech pathologist. Results: Of the 97 patients who underwent the folded pharyngeal flap operation, 85 (87.6%) showed velopharyngeal competence, 8 (8.2%) showed marginal velopharyngeal incompetence, and only 2 (2.1%) showed velopharyngeal incompetence; in 2 cases (2.1%), hyponasality was present. Approximately 95% of patients showed improved velopharyngeal function. Conclusions: The folded pharyngeal flap operation based on appropriate preoperative assessment has been shown to be an effective method for the treatment of cleft palate patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency. PMID:26389036

Experience Transitioning Models and Data at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Thomas

2016-07-01

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has a long history of transitioning research data and models into operations and with the validation activities required. The first stage in this process involves demonstrating that the capability has sufficient value to customers to justify the cost needed to transition it and to run it continuously and reliably in operations. Once the overall value is demonstrated, a substantial effort is then required to develop the operational software from the research codes. The next stage is to implement and test the software and product generation on the operational computers. Finally, effort must be devoted to establishing long-term measures of performance, maintaining the software, and working with forecasters, customers, and researchers to improve over time the operational capabilities. This multi-stage process of identifying, transitioning, and improving operational space weather capabilities will be discussed using recent examples. Plans for future activities will also be described.

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

Collins, Benjamin S.; Hamilton, Steven P.; Jarrett, Michael G.

This report describes the performance improvements made to the VERA Core Simulator (VERA-CS) during FY2016. The development of the VERA Core Simulator has focused on the capability needed to deplete physical reactors and help solve various problems; this capability required the accurate simulation of many operating cycles of a nuclear power plant. The first section of this report introduces two test problems used to assess the run-time performance of VERA-CS using a source dated February 2016. The next section provides a brief overview of the major modifications made to decrease the computational cost. Following the descriptions of the major improvements,more » the run-time for each improvement is shown. Conclusions on the work are presented, and further follow-on performance improvements are suggested.« less

PV System 'Availability' as a Reliability Metric -- Improving Standards, Contract Language and Performance Models

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

Klise, Geoffrey T.; Hill, Roger; Walker, Andy

The use of the term 'availability' to describe a photovoltaic (PV) system and power plant has been fraught with confusion for many years. A term that is meant to describe equipment operational status is often omitted, misapplied or inaccurately combined with PV performance metrics due to attempts to measure performance and reliability through the lens of traditional power plant language. This paper discusses three areas where current research in standards, contract language and performance modeling is improving the way availability is used with regards to photovoltaic systems and power plants.

Crew workload-management strategies - A critical factor in system performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, Sandra G.

1989-01-01

This paper reviews the philosophy and goals of the NASA/USAF Strategic Behavior/Workload Management Program. The philosophical foundation of the program is based on the assumption that an improved understanding of pilot strategies will clarify the complex and inconsistent relationships observed among objective task demands and measures of system performance and pilot workload. The goals are to: (1) develop operationally relevant figures of merit for performance, (2) quantify the effects of strategic behaviors on system performance and pilot workload, (3) identify evaluation criteria for workload measures, and (4) develop methods of improving pilots' abilities to manage workload extremes.

Optimization of bump and blowing to control the flow through a transonic compressor blade cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazaheri, K.; Khatibirad, S.

2018-03-01

Shock control bump (SCB) and blowing are two flow control methods, used here to improve the aerodynamic performance of transonic compressors. Both methods are applied to a NASA rotor 67 blade section and are optimized to minimize the total pressure loss. A continuous adjoint algorithm is used for multi-point optimization of a SCB to improve the aerodynamic performance of the rotor blade section, for a range of operational conditions around its design point. A multi-point and two single-point optimizations are performed in the design and off-design conditions. It is shown that the single-point optimized shapes have the best performance for their respective operating conditions, but the multi-point one has an overall better performance over the whole operating range. An analysis is given regarding how similarly both single- and multi-point optimized SCBs change the wave structure between blade sections resulting in a more favorable flow pattern. Interactions of the SCB with the boundary layer and the wave structure, and its effects on the separation regions are also studied. We have also introduced the concept of blowing for control of shock wave and boundary-layer interaction. A geometrical model is introduced, and the geometrical and physical parameters of blowing are optimized at the design point. The performance improvements of blowing are compared with the SCB. The physical interactions of SCB with the boundary layer and the shock wave are analyzed. The effects of SCB on the wave structure in the flow domain outside the boundary-layer region are investigated. It is shown that the effects of the blowing mechanism are very similar to the SCB.

Robotic assistance improves intracorporeal suturing performance and safety in the operating room while decreasing operator workload.

PubMed

Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Wang, Fikre; Korndorffer, James R; Dunne, J Bruce; Scott, Daniel J

2010-02-01

Intracorporeal suturing is one of the most difficult laparoscopic tasks. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of robotic assistance on novice suturing performance, safety, and workload in the operating room. Medical students (n = 34), without prior laparoscopic suturing experience, were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board-approved, randomized protocol. After viewing an instructional video, subjects were tested in intracorporeal suturing on two identical, live, porcine Nissen fundoplication models; they placed three gastro-gastric sutures using conventional laparoscopic instruments in one model and using robotic assistance (da Vinci) in the other, in random order. Each knot was objectively scored based on time, accuracy, and security. Injuries to surrounding structures were recorded. Workload was assessed using the validated National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) task load index (TLX) questionnaire, which measures the subjects' self-reported performance, effort, frustration, and mental, physical, and temporal demands of the task. Analysis was by paired t-test; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Compared with laparoscopy, robotic assistance enabled subjects to suture faster (595 +/- 22 s versus 459 +/- 137 s, respectively; p < 0.001), achieve higher overall scores (0 +/- 1 versus 95 +/- 128, respectively; p < 0.001), and commit fewer errors per knot (1.15 +/- 1.35 versus 0.05 +/- 0.26, respectively; p < 0.001). Subjects' overall score did not improve between the first and third attempt for laparoscopic suturing (0 +/- 0 versus 0 +/- 0; p = NS) but improved significantly for robotic suturing (49 +/- 100 versus 141 +/- 152; p < 0.001). Moreover, subjects indicated on the NASA-TLX scale that the task was more difficult to perform with laparoscopic instruments compared with robotic assistance (99 +/- 15 versus 57 +/- 23; p < 0.001). Compared with standard laparoscopy, robotic assistance significantly improved intracorporeal suturing performance and safety of novices in the operating room while decreasing their workload. Moreover, the robot significantly shortened the learning curve of this difficult task. Further study is needed to assess the value of robotic assistance for experienced surgeons, and validated robotic training curricula need to be developed.

A randomized controlled study to evaluate the role of video-based coaching in training laparoscopic skills.

PubMed

Singh, Pritam; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Tahir, Muaaz; Pucher, Philip H; Darzi, Ara

2015-05-01

This study evaluates whether video-based coaching can enhance laparoscopic surgical skills performance. Many professions utilize coaching to improve performance. The sports industry employs video analysis to maximize improvement from every performance. Laparoscopic novices were baseline tested and then trained on a validated virtual reality (VR) laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) curriculum. After competence, subjects were randomized on a 1:1 ratio and each performed 5 VRLCs. After each LC, intervention group subjects received video-based coaching by a surgeon, utilizing an adaptation of the GROW (Goals, Reality, Options, Wrap-up) coaching model. Control subjects viewed online surgical lectures. All subjects then performed 2 porcine LCs. Performance was assessed by blinded video review using validated global rating scales. Twenty subjects were recruited. No significant differences were observed between groups in baseline performance and in VRLC1. For each subsequent repetition, intervention subjects significantly outperformed controls on all global rating scales. Interventions outperformed controls in porcine LC1 [Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills: (20.5 vs 15.5; P = 0.011), Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills: (21.5vs 14.5; P = 0.001), and Operative Performance Rating System: (26 vs 19.5; P = 0.001)] and porcine LC2 [Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills: (28 vs 17.5; P = 0.005), Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills: (30 vs 16.5; P < 0.001), and Operative Performance Rating System: (36 vs 21; P = 0.004)]. Intervention subjects took significantly longer than controls in porcine LC1 (2920 vs 2004 seconds; P = 0.009) and LC2 (2297 vs 1683; P = 0.003). Despite equivalent exposure to practical laparoscopic skills training, video-based coaching enhanced the quality of laparoscopic surgical performance on both VR and porcine LCs, although at the expense of increased time. Video-based coaching is a feasible method of maximizing performance enhancement from every clinical exposure.

[Performance development of a university operating room after implementation of a central operating room management].

PubMed

Waeschle, R M; Sliwa, B; Jipp, M; Pütz, H; Hinz, J; Bauer, M

2016-08-01

The difficult financial situation in German hospitals requires measures for improvement in process quality. Associated increases in revenues in the high income field "operating room (OR) area" are increasingly the responsibility of OR management but it has not been shown that the introduction of an efficiency-oriented management leads to an increase in process quality and revenues in the operating theatre. Therefore the performance in the operating theatre of the University Medical Center Göttingen was analyzed for working days in the core operating time from 7.45 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. from 2009 to 2014. The achievement of process target times for the morning surgery start time and the turnover times of anesthesia and OR-nurses were calculated as indicators of process quality. The number of operations and cumulative incision-suture time were also analyzed as aggregated performance indicators. In order to assess the development of revenues in the operating theatre, the revenues from diagnosis-related groups (DRG) in all inpatient and occupational accident cases, adjusted for the regional basic case value from 2009, were calculated for each year. The development of revenues was also analyzed after deduction of revenues resulting from altered economic case weighting. It could be shown that the achievement of process target values for the morning surgery start time could be improved by 40 %, the turnover times for anesthesia reduced by 50 % and for the OR-nurses by 36 %. Together with the introduction of central planning for reallocation, an increase in operation numbers of 21 % and cumulative incision-suture times of 12% could be realized. Due to these additional operations the DRG revenues in 2014 could be increased to 132 % compared to 2009 or 127 % if the revenues caused by economic case weighting were excluded. The personnel complement in anesthesia (-1.7 %) and OR-nurses (+2.6 %) as well as anesthetists (+6.7 %) increased less compared to the revenues or were slightly reduced. This improvement in process quality and cumulative incision-suture times as well as the increase in revenues, reflect the positive impact of an efficiency-oriented central OR management. The OR management releases due to measures of process optimization the necessary personnel and time resources and therefore achieves the basic prerequisites for increased revenues of surgical disciplines. The method presented can be used by other hospitals as a guideline to analyze performance development.

Genetic algorithm based task reordering to improve the performance of batch scheduled massively parallel scientific applications

DOE PAGES

Sankaran, Ramanan; Angel, Jordan; Brown, W. Michael

2015-04-08

The growth in size of networked high performance computers along with novel accelerator-based node architectures has further emphasized the importance of communication efficiency in high performance computing. The world's largest high performance computers are usually operated as shared user facilities due to the costs of acquisition and operation. Applications are scheduled for execution in a shared environment and are placed on nodes that are not necessarily contiguous on the interconnect. Furthermore, the placement of tasks on the nodes allocated by the scheduler is sub-optimal, leading to performance loss and variability. Here, we investigate the impact of task placement on themore » performance of two massively parallel application codes on the Titan supercomputer, a turbulent combustion flow solver (S3D) and a molecular dynamics code (LAMMPS). Benchmark studies show a significant deviation from ideal weak scaling and variability in performance. The inter-task communication distance was determined to be one of the significant contributors to the performance degradation and variability. A genetic algorithm-based parallel optimization technique was used to optimize the task ordering. This technique provides an improved placement of the tasks on the nodes, taking into account the application's communication topology and the system interconnect topology. As a result, application benchmarks after task reordering through genetic algorithm show a significant improvement in performance and reduction in variability, therefore enabling the applications to achieve better time to solution and scalability on Titan during production.« less

Assessment of Various Low Temperature Electrolytes in Prototype Li-Ion Cells Developed for ESMD Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Whitcanack, L. D.

2008-01-01

Due to their attractive properties and proven success, Li-ion batteries have become identified as the battery chemistry of choice for a number of future NASA missions. A number of these applications would be greatly benefited by improved performance of Li-ion technology over a wider operating temperature range, especially at low temperatures, such as future ESMD missions. In many cases, these technology improvements may be mission enabling, and at the very least mission enhancing. In addition to aerospace applications, the DoE has interest in developing advanced Li-ion batteries that can operate over a wide temperature range to enable terrestrial HEV applications. Thus, our focus at JPL in recent years has been to extend the operating temperature range of Li-ion batteries, especially at low temperatures. To accomplish this, the main focus of the research has been devoted to developing improved lithium-ion conducting electrolytes. In the present paper, we would like to present some of the results we have obtained with six different ethylene carbonate-based electrolytes optimized for low temperature. In addition to investigating the behavior in experimental cells initially, the performance of these promising low temperature electrolytes was demonstrated in large capacity, aerospace quality Li-ion prototype cells, manufactured by Yardney Technical Products and Saft America, Inc. These cells were subjected to a number of performance tests, including discharge rate characterization, charge rate characterization, cycle life performance at various temperatures, and power characterization tests.

Does training novices to criteria and does rapid acquisition of skills on laparoscopic simulators have predictive validity or are we just playing video games?

PubMed

Hogle, Nancy J; Widmann, Warren D; Ude, Aku O; Hardy, Mark A; Fowler, Dennis L

2008-01-01

To determine whether LapSim training (version 3.0; Surgical Science Ltd, Göteborg, Sweden) to criteria for novice PGY1 surgical residents had predictive validity for improvement in the performance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In all, 21 PGY1 residents performed laparoscopic cholecystectomies in pigs after minimal training; their performance was evaluated by skilled laparoscopic surgeons using the validated tool GOALS (global operative assessment of laparoscopic operative skills: depth perception, bimanual dexterity, efficiency, tissue handling, and overall competence). From the group, 10 residents trained to competency on the LapSim Basic Skills Programs (camera navigation, instrument navigation, coordination, grasping, lifting and grasping, cutting, and clip applying). All 21 PGY1 residents again performed laparoscopic cholecystectomies on pigs; their performance was again evaluated by skilled laparoscopic surgeons using GOALS. Additionally, we studied the rate of learning to determine whether the slow or fast learners on the LapSim performed equivalently when performing actual cholecystectomies in pigs. Finally, 6 categorical residents were tracked, and their clinical performance on all of the laparoscopic cholecystectomies in which they were "surgeon, junior" was prospectively evaluated using the GOALS criteria. We found a statistical improvement of depth perception in the operative performance of cholecystectomies in pigs in the group trained on the LapSim. In the other 4 domains, a trend toward improvement was observed. No correlation between being a fast learner and the ultimate skill was demonstrated in the clinical performance of laparoscopic cholecystectomies. We did find that the fast learners on LapSim all were past or current video game players ("gamers"); however, that background did not translate into better clinical performance. Using current criteria, we doubt that the time and effort spent training novice PGY1 Surgical Residents on the basic LapSim training programs is justified, as such training to competence lacks predictive validity in most domains of the GOALS program. We are investigating 2 other approaches: more difficult training exercises using the LapSim system and an entirely different approach using haptic technology (ProMis; Haptica Ltd., Ireland), which uses real instruments, with training on realistic 3-dimensional models with real rather than simulated cutting, sewing, and dissection. Although experienced video gamers achieve competency faster than nongamers on LapSim programs, that skill set does not translate into improved clinical performance.

Performance of full-sib families of Douglas-fir in pure-family and mixed-family deployments

Treesearch

Peter J. Gould; J. Bradley St.Clair; Paul D. Anderson

2011-01-01

A major objective of tree improvement programs is to identify genotypes that will perform well in operational deployments. Relatively little is known, however, about how the competitive environment affects performance in different types of deployments. We tested whether the genetic composition and density of deployments affect the performance of full-sib families of...

Transient thermoelectric supercooling: Isosceles current pulses from a response surface perspective and the performance effects of pulse cooling a heat generating mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piggott, Alfred J., III

With increased public interest in protecting the environment, scientists and engineers aim to improve energy conversion efficiency. Thermoelectrics offer many advantages as thermal management technology. When compared to vapor compression refrigeration, above approximately 200 to 600 watts, cost in dollars per watt as well as COP are not advantageous for thermoelectrics. The goal of this work was to determine if optimized pulse supercooling operation could improve cooling capacity or efficiency of a thermoelectric device. The basis of this research is a thermal-electrical analogy based modeling study using SPICE. Two models were developed. The first model, a standalone thermocouple with no attached mass to be cooled. The second, a system that includes a module attached to a heat generating mass. With the thermocouple study, a new approach of generating response surfaces with characteristic parameters was applied. The current pulse height and pulse on-time was identified for maximizing Net Transient Advantage, a newly defined metric. The corresponding pulse height and pulse on-time was utilized for the system model. Along with the traditional steady state starting current of Imax, Iopt was employed. The pulse shape was an isosceles triangle. For the system model, metrics new to pulse cooling were Qc, power consumption and COP. The effects of optimized current pulses were studied by changing system variables. Further studies explored time spacing between pulses and temperature distribution in the thermoelement. It was found net Q c over an entire pulse event can be improved over Imax steady operation but not over steady I opt operation. Qc can be improved over Iopt operation but only during the early part of the pulse event. COP is reduced in transient pulse operation due to the different time constants of Qc and Pin. In some cases lower performance interface materials allow more Qc and better COP during transient operation than higher performance interface materials. Important future work might look at developing innovative ways of biasing Joule heat to Th..

Defining the Intrinsic Cardiac Risks of Operations to Improve Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessments.

PubMed

Liu, Jason B; Liu, Yaoming; Cohen, Mark E; Ko, Clifford Y; Sweitzer, Bobbie J

2018-02-01

Current preoperative cardiac risk stratification practices group operations into broad categories, which might inadequately consider the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations. We sought to define the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations and to demonstrate how grouping operations might lead to imprecise estimates of perioperative cardiac risk. Elective operations (based on Common Procedural Terminology codes) performed from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2015 at hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were studied. A composite measure of perioperative adverse cardiac events was defined as either cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation or acute myocardial infarction. Operations' intrinsic cardiac risks were derived from mixed-effects models while controlling for patient mix. Resultant risks were sorted into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories, and the most commonly performed operations within each category were identified. Intrinsic operative risks were also examined using a representative grouping of operations to portray within-group variation. Sixty-six low, 30 intermediate, and 106 high intrinsic cardiac risk operations were identified. Excisional breast biopsy had the lowest intrinsic cardiac risk (overall rate, 0.01%; odds ratio, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.25) relative to the average, whereas aorto-bifemoral bypass grafting had the highest (overall rate, 4.1%; odds ratio, 6.61; 95% CI, 5.54 to 7.90). There was wide variation in the intrinsic cardiac risks of operations within the representative grouping (median odds ratio, 1.40; interquartile range, 0.88 to 2.17). A continuum of intrinsic cardiac risk exists among operations. Grouping operations into broad categories inadequately accounts for the intrinsic cardiac risk of individual operations.

Analyzing AQP Data to Improve Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) Operations and Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seamster, Thomas L.; Kanki, Barbara

2010-01-01

Key points include: Initiate data collection and analysis early in the implementation process. Use data to identify procedural and training refinements. Use a de-identified system to analyze longitudinal data. Use longitudinal I/E data to improve their standardization. Identify above average pilots and crews and use their performance to specify best practices. Analyze below average crew performance data to isolate problems with the training, evaluator standardization and pilot proficiency.

Fabrication and Improvement of Lmsc's All-silica RSI

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beasley, R. M.; Izu, Y. D.; Nakano, H. N.; Ozolin, A. A.; Peachman, A.

1973-01-01

The LI-1500 and LI-900 all silica RSI materials have made the transition from laboratory to manufacturing operation. Improvements in both quality and reproducibility have been achieved. The LI-1500 material has displayed superior reliability in evaluations conducted at various facilities. The dependable performance of the material is attributed to the adherence to the stringent requirements of the numerous material, process, and product control evaluations and inspection points performed during manufacture.

Wintering With Solar: One School's Response to Scarce Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shore, Ron

1978-01-01

Through a course in energy conservation and domestic solar energy technology, students evaluated the thermal performance of existing campus structures and made suggestions for improvements in thermal efficiency. Besides making some of these improvements, the students also designed, built, and operated a solar greenhouse. (MA)

HEC Applications on Columbia Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taft, Jim

2004-01-01

NASA's Columbia system consists of a cluster of twenty 512 processor SGI Altix systems. Each of these systems is 3 TFLOP/s in peak performance - approximately the same as the entire compute capability at NAS just one year ago. Each 512p system is a single system image machine with one Linunx O5, one high performance file system, and one globally shared memory. The NAS Terascale Applications Group (TAG) is chartered to assist in scaling NASA's mission critical codes to at least 512p in order to significantly improve emergency response during flight operations, as well as provide significant improvements in the codes. and rate of scientific discovery across the scientifc disciplines within NASA's Missions. Recent accomplishments are 4x improvements to codes in the ocean modeling community, 10x performance improvements in a number of computational fluid dynamics codes used in aero-vehicle design, and 5x improvements in a number of space science codes dealing in extreme physics. The TAG group will continue its scaling work to 2048p and beyond (10240 cpus) as the Columbia system becomes fully operational and the upgrades to the SGI NUMAlink memory fabric are in place. The NUMlink uprades dramatically improve system scalability for a single application. These upgrades will allow a number of codes to execute faster at higher fidelity than ever before on any other system, thus increasing the rate of scientific discovery even further

Improvement in motor performance of Weaver mutant mice following lesions of the cerebellum.

PubMed

Grüsser, C; Grüsser-Cornehls, U

1998-12-01

In Weaver mutants (B6CBA wv/wv) cerebellar granule cells degenerate almost completely postnatally. A partial loss of Purkinje cells (PC) and a degeneration of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra have also been found. Weaver mice suffer from striking motor symptoms, including difficulty in walking without toppling over. In an attempt to influence the poor motor performance, the cerebellum in young animals was removed, thus eliminating the faulty output of surviving PCs, demonstrated electrophysiologically. Unoperated Weaver, lesioned wildtypes and one sham mouse were used as controls. Before and after operation, a battery of behavioural tests was performed. In Weaver mice, tumbling to the side (t) and the relation of t to the motor activity (k) while traversing an open-field matrix, (t/k), improved considerably, as did manoeuvring on a slanted wire mesh, but keeping balance on a wooden bench did not to the same degree. Locomotor activity alone improved in some animals. In wildtypes no significant changes occurred after operation, with the exception of a strong reduction in locomotor activity. The experiments demonstrate that the motor performance in Weaver mutant mice benefits from removal of their cerebellum.

Evaluation of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

PubMed

Sheils, Catherine R; Dahlke, Allison R; Kreutzer, Lindsey; Bilimoria, Karl Y; Yang, Anthony D

2016-11-01

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program is well recognized in surgical quality measurement and is used widely in research. Recent calls to make it a platform for national public reporting and pay-for-performance initiatives highlight the importance of understanding which types of hospitals elect to participate in the program. Our objective was to compare characteristics of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program to characteristics of nonparticipating US hospitals. The 2013 American Hospital Association and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Healthcare Cost Report Information System datasets were used to compare characteristics and operating margins of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program to those of nonparticipating hospitals. Of 3,872 general medical and surgical hospitals performing inpatient surgery in the United States, 475 (12.3%) participated in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Participating hospitals performed 29.0% of all operations in the United States. Compared with nonparticipating hospitals, American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program hospitals had a higher mean annual inpatient surgical case volume (6,426 vs 1,874; P < .001) and a larger mean number of hospital beds (420 vs 167; P < .001); participating hospitals were more often teaching hospitals (35.2% vs 4.1%; P < .001), had more quality-related accreditations (P < .001), and had higher mean operating margins (P < .05). States with the highest proportions of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program had established surgical quality improvement collaboratives. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program hospitals are large teaching hospitals with more quality-related accreditations and financial resources. These findings should be considered when reviewing research studies using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data, and the findings reinforce that efforts are needed to facilitate participation in surgical quality improvement by all hospital types. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wide speed range turboshaft study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dangelo, Martin

1995-01-01

NASA-Lewis and NASA-Ames have sponsored a series of studies over the last few years to identify key high speed rotorcraft propulsion and airframe technologies. NASA concluded from these studies that for near term aircraft with cruise speeds up to 450 kt, tilting rotor rotorcraft concepts are the most economical and technologically viable. The propulsion issues critical to tilting rotor rotorcraft are: (1) high speed cruise propulsion system efficiency and (2) adequate power to hover safely with one engine inoperative. High speed cruise propeller efficiency can be dramatically improved by reducing rotor speed, yet high rotor speed is critical for good hover performance. With a conventional turboshaft, this wide range of power turbine operating speeds would result in poor engine performance at one or more of these critical operating conditions. This study identifies several wide speed range turboshaft concepts, and analyzes their potential to improve performance at the diverse cruise and hover operating conditions. Many unique concepts were examined, and the selected concepts are simple, low cost, relatively low risk, and entirely contained within the power turbine. These power turbine concepts contain unique, incidence tolerant airfoil designs that allow the engine to cruise efficiently at 51 percent of the hover rotor speed. Overall propulsion system efficiency in cruise is improved as much as 14 percent, with similar improvements in engine weight and cost. The study is composed of a propulsion requirement survey, a concept screening study, a preliminary definition and evaluation of selected concepts, and identification of key technologies and development needs. In addition, a civil transport tilting rotor rotorcraft mission analysis was performed to show the benefit of these concepts versus a conventional turboshaft. Other potential applications for this technology are discussed.

Preliminary Flight Tests of the N.A.C.A. Roots Type Aircraft Engine Supercharger

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardiner, Arthur W; Reid, Elliott G

1928-01-01

An investigation of the suitability of the N.A.C.A. Roots type aircraft engine supercharger to flight-operating conditions, as determined the effects of the use of the supercharger upon engine operation and airplane performance, is described in this report. Attention was concentrated on the operation of the engine-supercharger unit and on the improvement of climbing ability; some information concerning high speeds at altitude was obtained. The supercharger was found to be satisfactory under flight-operating conditions. Although two failures occurred during the tests, the causes of both were minor and have been eliminated. Careful examination of the engines revealed no detrimental effects which could be attributed to supercharging. Marked improvements in climbing ability and high speeds at altitude were effected. It was also found that the load which could be carried to a given moderate or high altitude in a fixed time was considerably augmented. A slight sacrifice of low-altitude performance was necessitated, however, by the use of a fixed-pitch propeller. From a consideration of the very satisfactory flight performance of the Roots supercharger and of its inherent advantages, it is concluded that this type is particularly attractive for use in certain classes of commercial airplanes and in a number of military types.

Crew factors in flight operations 9: Effects of planned cockpit rest on crew performance and alertness in long-haul operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosekind, Mark R.; Graeber, R. Curtis; Dinges, David F.; Connell, Linda J.; Rountree, Michael S.; Spinweber, Cheryl L.; Gillen, Kelly A.

1994-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of a planned cockpit rest period to improve alertness and performance in long-haul flight operations. The Rest Group (12 crew members) was allowed a planned 40 minute rest period during the low workload, cruise portion of the flight, while the No-Rest Group (9 crew members) had a 40 minute planned control period when they maintained usual flight activities. Measures used in the study included continuous ambulatory recordings of brain wave and eye movement activity, a reaction time/vigilance task, a wrist activity monitor, in-flight fatigue and alertness ratings, a daily log for noting sleep periods, meals, exercise, flight and duty periods, and the NASA Background Questionnaire. The Rest Group pilots slept on 93 percent of the opportunities, falling asleep in 5.6 minutes and sleeping for 25.8 minutes. This nap was associated with improved physiological alertness and performance compared to the No-Rest Group. The benefits of the nap were observed through the critical descent and landing phases of flight. The nap did not affect layover sleep or the cumulative sleep debt. The nap procedures were implemented with minimal disruption to usual flight operations and there were no reported or identified concerns regarding safety.

An Assessment of Civil Tiltrotor Concept of Operations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, William W.; Salvano, Dan; Rinehart, David; Young, Ray; Cheng, Victor; Lindsey, James

2012-01-01

Based on a previous Civil Tiltrotor (CTR) National Airspace System (NAS) performance analysis study, CTR operations were evaluated over selected routes and terminal airspace configurations assuming noninterference operations (NIO) and runway-independent operations (RIO). This assessment aims to further identify issues associated with these concepts of operations (ConOps), and their dependency on the airspace configuration and interaction with conventional fixed-wing traffic. Safety analysis following a traditional Safety Management System (SMS) methodology was applied to CTR-unique departure and arrival failures in the selected airspace to identify any operational and certification issues. Additional CTR operational cases were then developed to get a broader understanding of issues and gaps that will need to be addressed in future CTR operational studies. Finally, needed enhancements to National Airspace System performance analysis tools were reviewed, and recommendations were made on improvements in these tools that are likely to be required to support future progress toward CTR fleet operations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Carotid Artery Stenting – Strategies to Improve Procedural Performance and Reduce the Learning Curve

PubMed Central

Van Herzeele, Isabelle

2013-01-01

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) remains an appealing intervention to reduce the stroke risk because of its minimal invasive nature. Nevertheless, landmark randomised controlled trials have not been able to resolve the controversies surrounding this complex procedure as the peri-operative stroke risk in a non-selected patient population still seems to be higher after CAS in comparison to carotid endarterectomy. What is more, these trials have highlighted that patient outcome after CAS is influenced by patient- and operator-dependant factors. The CAS procedure exhibits a definitive learning curve resulting in higher complication rates if the procedure is performed by inexperienced interventionists or in low-volume centres. This article will outline strategies to improve the performance of physicians carrying out the CAS procedure by means of proficiency-based training, credentialing, virtual reality rehearsal and optimal patient selection. PMID:29588751

Comprehensive Surgical Coaching Enhances Surgical Skill in the Operating Room: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Bonrath, Esther M; Dedy, Nicolas J; Gordon, Lauren E; Grantcharov, Teodor P

2015-08-01

The aim of the study was to determine whether individualized coaching improved surgical technical skill in the operating room to a higher degree than current residency training. Clinical training in the operating room is a valuable opportunity for surgeons to acquire skill and knowledge; however, it often remains underutilized. Coaching has been successfully used in various industries to enhance performance, but its role in surgery has been insufficiently investigated. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one surgical training program. Trainees undergoing a minimally invasive surgery rotation were randomized to either conventional training (CT) or comprehensive surgical coaching (CSC). CT included ward and operating room duties, and regular departmental teaching sessions. CSC comprised performance analysis, debriefing, feedback, and behavior modeling. Primary outcome measures were technical performance as measured on global and procedure-specific rating scales, and surgical safety parameters, measured by error count. Operative performance was assessed by blinded video analysis of the first and last cases recorded by the participants during their rotation. Twenty residents were randomized and 18 completed the study. At posttraining the CSC group (n = 9) scored significantly higher on a procedure-specific skill scale compared with the CT group (n = 9) [median, 3.90 (interquartile range, 3.68-4.30) vs 3.60 (2.98-3.70), P = 0.017], and made fewer technical errors [10 (7-13) vs 18 (13-21), P = 0.003]. Significant within-group improvements for all skill metrics were only noted in the CSC group. Comprehensive surgical coaching enhances surgical training and results in skill acquisition superior to conventional training.

Research on Intelligent Interface in Double-front Work Machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamezaki, Mitsuhiro; Iwata, Hiroyasu; Sugano, Shigeki

This paper proposes a work state identification method with full independent of work environmental conditions and operator skill levels for construction machinery. Advanced operated-work machines, which have been designed for complicated tasks, require intelligent systems that can provide the quantitative work analysis needed to determine effective work procedures and that can provide operational and cognitive support for operators. Construction work environments are extremely complicated, however, and this makes state identification, which is a key technology for an intelligent system, difficult. We therefore defined primitive static states (PSS) that are determined using on-off information for the lever inputs and manipulator loads for each part of the grapple and front and that are completely independent of the various environmental conditions and variation in operator skill level that can cause an incorrect work state identification. To confirm the usefulness of PSS, we performed experiments with a demolition task by using our virtual reality simulator. We confirmed that PSS could robustly and accurately identify the work states and that untrained skills could be easily inferred from the results of PSS-based work analysis. We also confirmed in skill-training experiments that advice information based on PSS-based skill analysis greatly improved operator's work performance. We thus confirmed that PSS can adequately identify work states and are useful for work analysis and skill improvement.

Crane cabins' interior space multivariate anthropometric modeling.

PubMed

Essdai, Ahmed; Spasojević Brkić, Vesna K; Golubović, Tamara; Brkić, Aleksandar; Popović, Vladimir

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown that today's crane cabins fail to meet the needs of a large proportion of operators. Performance and financial losses and effects on safety should not be overlooked as well. The first aim of this survey is to model the crane cabin interior space using up-to-date crane operator anthropometric data and to compare the multivariate and univariate method anthropometric models. The second aim of the paper is to define the crane cabin interior space dimensions that enable anthropometric convenience. To facilitate the cabin design, the anthropometric dimensions of 64 crane operators in the first sample and 19 more in the second sample were collected in Serbia. The multivariate anthropometric models, spanning 95% of the population on the basis of a set of 8 anthropometric dimensions, have been developed. The percentile method was also used on the same set of data. The dimensions of the interior space, necessary for the accommodation of the crane operator, are 1174×1080×1865 mm. The percentiles results for the 5th and 95th model are within the obtained dimensions. The results of this study may prove useful to crane cabin designers in eliminating anthropometric inconsistencies and improving the health of operators, but can also aid in improving the safety, performance and financial results of the companies where crane cabins operate.

Technical Report: Guide Details Best Practices in Photovoltaic System

Science.gov Websites

Operations and Maintenance | Solar Research | NREL Guide Details Best Practices in Photovoltaic A best-practices report on photovoltaic (PV) operations and maintenance (O&M) released by NREL and the PV O&M Working Group provides valuable insights on improving the performance of PV systems

7 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Technical Reports for Projects With Total Eligible Project Costs of Greater Than $200,000

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... maintenance of the renewable energy system or energy efficiency improvement will operate or perform as..., and maintenance. Authoritative evidence that project team service providers have the necessary... and shakedown, warranties, insurance, financing, professional services, and operations and maintenance...

7 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Technical Reports for Projects With Total Eligible Project Costs of Greater Than $200,000

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... maintenance of the renewable energy system or energy efficiency improvement will operate or perform as..., and maintenance. Authoritative evidence that project team service providers have the necessary... and shakedown, warranties, insurance, financing, professional services, and operations and maintenance...

7 CFR Appendix B to Subpart B of... - Technical Reports for Projects With Total Eligible Project Costs of Greater Than $200,000

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... maintenance of the renewable energy system or energy efficiency improvement will operate or perform as..., and maintenance. Authoritative evidence that project team service providers have the necessary... and shakedown, warranties, insurance, financing, professional services, and operations and maintenance...

Modern strategy for operational excellence: building agile and adaptive organizations.

PubMed

Gerwitz, Raymond J

2016-10-01

Healthcare security leaders who serve in an industry built on traditional and static protection and response protocols must become more agile and adaptive in planning and responding to evolving threat and risk profiles, the author states. In this article, he tells how to use operational excellence to continuously improve performance.

Fusion of infrared polarization and intensity images based on improved toggle operator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Pan; Ding, Lei; Ma, Xiaoqing; Huang, Zhanhua

2018-01-01

Integration of infrared polarization and intensity images has been a new topic in infrared image understanding and interpretation. The abundant infrared details and target from infrared image and the salient edge and shape information from polarization image should be preserved or even enhanced in the fused result. In this paper, a new fusion method is proposed for infrared polarization and intensity images based on the improved multi-scale toggle operator with spatial scale, which can effectively extract the feature information of source images and heavily reduce redundancy among different scale. Firstly, the multi-scale image features of infrared polarization and intensity images are respectively extracted at different scale levels by the improved multi-scale toggle operator. Secondly, the redundancy of the features among different scales is reduced by using spatial scale. Thirdly, the final image features are combined by simply adding all scales of feature images together, and a base image is calculated by performing mean value weighted method on smoothed source images. Finally, the fusion image is obtained by importing the combined image features into the base image with a suitable strategy. Both objective assessment and subjective vision of the experimental results indicate that the proposed method obtains better performance in preserving the details and edge information as well as improving the image contrast.

PERVAPORATION SEPARATION IMPROVEMENTS VIA FRACTIONAL CONDENSATION (DEPHLEGMATION): IMPACT OF DEPHLEGMATOR DESIGN ON PERFORMANCE

EPA Science Inventory

Traditionally, pervaporation systems have been operated using a total condenser to deliver the final permeate liquid product. Over the past two years, we have investigated the use of a condensation process called "dephlegmation" to enhance the separation performance of pervapora...

Live animals for preclinical medical student surgical training

PubMed Central

DeMasi, Stephanie C.; Katsuta, Eriko; Takabe, Kazuake

2016-01-01

Aims The use of live animals for surgical training is a well-known, deliberated topic. However, medical students who use live animals rate the experience high not only in improving their surgical techniques, but also positively influencing their confidence levels in the operating room later in their careers. Therefore, we hypothesized that the use of live animal models is a unique and influential component of preclinical medical education. Materials and Methods Medical student performed the following surgical procedures using mice; surgical orthotopic implantation of cancer cells into fat pad and subsequently a radical mastectomy. The improvement of skill was then analyzed. Results All cancer cell inoculations were performed successfully. Improvement of surgical skills during the radical mastectomy procedure was documented in all parameters. All wounds healed without breakdown or dehiscence. The appropriate interval between interrupted sutures was ascertained after fifth wound closure. The speed of interrupted sutures was doubled by last wound closure. The time required to complete a radical mastectomy decreased by almost half. A single animal died immediately following the operation due to inappropriate anesthesia, which was attributed to the lack of understanding of the overall operative management. Conclusion Surgical training using live animals for preclinical medical students provides a unique learning experience, not only in improving surgical skills but also and arguably most importantly, to introduce the student to the complexities of the perioperative environment in a way that most closely resembles the stress and responsibility that the operating room demands. PMID:28713875

Interface evaluation for soft robotic manipulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Kristin S.; Rodes, William M.; Csencsits, Matthew A.; Kwoka, Martha J.; Gomer, Joshua A.; Pagano, Christopher C.

2006-05-01

The results of two usability experiments evaluating an interface for the operation of OctArm, a biologically inspired robotic arm modeled after an octopus tentacle, are reported. Due to the many degrees-of-freedom (DOF) for the operator to control, such 'continuum' robotic limbs provide unique challenges for human operators because they do not map intuitively. Two modes have been developed to control the arm and reduce the DOF under the explicit direction of the operator. In coupled velocity (CV) mode, a joystick controls changes in arm curvature. In end-effector (EE) mode, a joystick controls the arm by moving the position of an endpoint along a straight line. In Experiment 1, participants used the two modes to grasp objects placed at different locations in a virtual reality modeling language (VRML). Objective measures of performance and subjective preferences were recorded. Results revealed lower grasp times and a subjective preference for the CV mode. Recommendations for improving the interface included providing additional feedback and implementation of an error recovery function. In Experiment 2, only the CV mode was tested with improved training of participants and several changes to the interface. The error recovery function was implemented, allowing participants to reverse through previously attained positions. The mean time to complete the trials in the second usability test was reduced by more than 4 minutes compared with the first usability test, confirming the interface changes improved performance. The results of these tests will be incorporated into future versions of the arm and improve future usability tests.

Advanced Control Considerations for Turbofan Engine Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connolly, Joseph W.; Csank, Jeffrey T.; Chicatelli, Amy

2016-01-01

This paper covers the application of a model-based engine control (MBEC) methodology featuring a self tuning on-board model for an aircraft turbofan engine simulation. The nonlinear engine model is capable of modeling realistic engine performance, allowing for a verification of the advanced control methodology over a wide range of operating points and life cycle conditions. The on-board model is a piece-wise linear model derived from the nonlinear engine model and updated using an optimal tuner Kalman Filter estimation routine, which enables the on-board model to self-tune to account for engine performance variations. MBEC is used here to show how advanced control architectures can improve efficiency during the design phase of a turbofan engine by reducing conservative operability margins. The operability margins that can be reduced, such as stall margin, can expand the engine design space and offer potential for efficiency improvements. Application of MBEC architecture to a nonlinear engine simulation is shown to reduce the thrust specific fuel consumption by approximately 1% over the baseline design, while maintaining safe operation of the engine across the flight envelope.

Design of instructions for evacuating disabled adults.

PubMed

Boyce, Michael W; Al-Awar Smither, Janan; Fisher, Daniel O; Hancock, P A

2017-01-01

We investigated how the design of instructions can affect performance in preparing emergency stair travel devices for the evacuation of disable individuals. We had three hypotheses: 1) Design of instructions would account for a significant portion of explained performance variance, 2) Improvements in design of instructions would reduce time on task across device type and age group, and 3) There would be a performance decrement for older adults compared to younger adults based on the slowing of older adult information processing abilities. Results showed that design of instructions does indeed account for a large portion of explained variance in the operation of emergency stair travel devices, and that improvements in design of instructions can reduce time on task across device type and age group. However, encouragingly for real-world operations, results did not indicate any significant differences between older versus younger adults. We look to explore ways that individuals with disabilities can exploit these insights to enhance the performance of emergency stair travel devices for use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrolyte bi-layering strategy to improve the performance of an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shri Prakash, B.; Pavitra, R.; Senthil Kumar, S.; Aruna, S. T.

2018-03-01

Lowering of operation temperature has become one of the primary goals of solid oxide fuel (SOFC) research as reduced temperature improves the prospects for widespread commercialization of this energy system. Reduced operational temperature also mitigates the issues associated with high temperature SOFCs and paves way not only for the large scale stationary power generation but also makes SOFCs viable for portable and transport applications. However, there are issues with electrolyte and cathode materials at low temperatures, individually as well as in association with other components, which makes the performance of the SOFCs less satisfactory than expected at lowered temperatures. Bi-layering of electrolytes and impregnation of cathodes have emerged as two important strategies to overcome these issues and achieve higher performance at low temperatures. This review article provides the perspective on the strategy of bi-layering of electrolyte to achieve the desired high performance from SOFC at low to intermediate temperatures.

Altitude acclimatization improves submaximal cognitive performance in mice and involves an imbalance of the cholinergic system.

PubMed

Guerra-Narbona, R; Delgado-García, J M; López-Ramos, J C

2013-06-15

The aim of this work was to reveal a hypothetical improvement of cognitive abilities in animals acclimatized to altitude and performing under ground level conditions, when looking at submaximal performance, once seen that it was not possible when looking at maximal scores. We modified contrasted cognitive tasks (object recognition, operant conditioning, eight-arm radial maze, and classical conditioning of the eyeblink reflex), increasing their complexity in an attempt to find performance differences in acclimatized animals vs. untrained controls. In addition, we studied, through immunohistochemical quantification, the expression of choline acetyltransferase and acetyl cholinesterase, enzymes involved in the synthesis and degradation of acetylcholine, in the septal area, piriform and visual cortexes, and the hippocampal CA1 area of animals submitted to acute hypobaric hypoxia, or acclimatized to this simulated altitude, to find a relationship between the cholinergic system and a cognitive improvement due to altitude acclimatization. Results showed subtle improvements of the cognitive capabilities of acclimatized animals in all of the tasks when performed under ground-level conditions (although not before 24 h), in the three tasks used to test explicit memory (object recognition, operant conditioning in the Skinner box, and eight-arm radial maze) and (from the first conditioning session) in the classical conditioning task used to evaluate implicit memory. An imbalance of choline acetyltransferase/acetyl cholinesterase expression was found in acclimatized animals, mainly 24 h after the acclimatization period. In conclusion, altitude acclimatization improves cognitive capabilities, in a process parallel to an imbalance of the cholinergic system.

Using new aggregation operators in rule-based intelligent control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berenji, Hamid R.; Chen, Yung-Yaw; Yager, Ronald R.

1990-01-01

A new aggregation operator is applied in the design of an approximate reasoning-based controller. The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator has the property of lying between the And function and the Or function used in previous fuzzy set reasoning systems. It is shown here that, by applying OWA operators, more generalized types of control rules, which may include linguistic quantifiers such as Many and Most, can be developed. The new aggregation operators, as tested in a cart-pole balancing control problem, illustrate improved performance when compared with existing fuzzy control aggregation schemes.

Science-based HRA: experimental comparison of operator performance to IDAC (Information-Decision-Action Crew) simulations

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

Shirley, Rachel; Smidts, Carol; Boring, Ronald

Information-Decision-Action Crew (IDAC) operator model simulations of a Steam Generator Tube Rupture are compared to student operator performance in studies conducted in the Ohio State University’s Nuclear Power Plant Simulator Facility. This study is presented as a prototype for conducting simulator studies to validate key aspects of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods. Seven student operator crews are compared to simulation results for crews designed to demonstrate three different decision-making strategies. The IDAC model used in the simulations is modified slightly to capture novice behavior rather that expert operators. Operator actions and scenario pacing are compared. A preliminary review of availablemore » performance shaping factors (PSFs) is presented. After the scenario in the NPP Simulator Facility, student operators review a video of the scenario and evaluate six PSFs at pre-determined points in the scenario. This provides a dynamic record of the PSFs experienced by the OSU student operators. In this preliminary analysis, Time Constraint Load (TCL) calculated in the IDAC simulations is compared to TCL reported by student operators. We identify potential modifications to the IDAC model to develop an “IDAC Student Operator Model.” This analysis provides insights into how similar experiments could be conducted using expert operators to improve the fidelity of IDAC simulations.« less

Evaluating the operations capability of Freedom's Data Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sowizral, Henry A.

1990-01-01

Three areas of Data Management System (DMS) performance are examined: raw processor speed, the subjective speed of the Lynx OS X-Window system, and the operational capacity of the Runtime Object Database (RODB). It is concluded that the proposed processor will operate at its specified rate of speed and that the X-Window system operates within users' subjective needs. It is also concluded that the RODB cannot provide the required level of service, even with a two-order of magnitude (100 fold) improvement in speed.

What factors influence attending surgeon decisions about resident autonomy in the operating room?

PubMed

Williams, Reed G; George, Brian C; Meyerson, Shari L; Bohnen, Jordan D; Dunnington, Gary L; Schuller, Mary C; Torbeck, Laura; Mullen, John T; Auyang, Edward; Chipman, Jeffrey G; Choi, Jennifer; Choti, Michael; Endean, Eric; Foley, Eugene F; Mandell, Samuel; Meier, Andreas; Smink, Douglas S; Terhune, Kyla P; Wise, Paul; DaRosa, Debra; Soper, Nathaniel; Zwischenberger, Joseph B; Lillemoe, Keith D; Fryer, Jonathan P

2017-12-01

Educating residents in the operating room requires balancing patient safety, operating room efficiency demands, and resident learning needs. This study explores 4 factors that influence the amount of autonomy supervising surgeons afford to residents. We evaluated 7,297 operations performed by 487 general surgery residents and evaluated by 424 supervising surgeons from 14 training programs. The primary outcome measure was supervising surgeon autonomy granted to the resident during the operative procedure. Predictor variables included resident performance on that case, supervising surgeon history with granting autonomy, resident training level, and case difficulty. Resident performance was the strongest predictor of autonomy granted. Typical autonomy by supervising surgeon was the second most important predictor. Each additional factor led to a smaller but still significant improvement in ability to predict the supervising surgeon's autonomy decision. The 4 factors together accounted for 54% of decision variance (r = 0.74). Residents' operative performance in each case was the strongest predictor of how much autonomy was allowed in that case. Typical autonomy granted by the supervising surgeon, the second most important predictor, is unrelated to resident proficiency and warrants efforts to ensure that residents perform each procedure with many different supervisors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Robotic Assisted Microsurgery - RAMS FY'97

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

JPL and Microdexterity Systems collaborated to develop new surgical capabilities. They developed a Robot Assisted Microsurgery (RAM) tool for surgeons to use for operating on the eye, ear, brain, and blood vessels with unprecedented dexterity. A surgeon can hold the surgical instrument with motions of 6 degrees of freedom with an accuracy of 25 microns in a 70 cu cm workspace. In 1996 a demonstration was performed to remove a microscopic particle from a simulated eyeball. In 1997, tests were performed at UCLA to compare telerobotics with mechanical operations. In 5 out of 7 tests, the RAM tool performed with a significant improvement of preciseness over mechanical operation. New design features include: (1) amplified forced feedback; (2) simultaneous slave robot instrumentation; (3) index control switch on master handle; and (4) tool control switches. Upgrades include: (1) increase in computational power; and (2) installation of hard disk memory storage device for independent operation and independent operation of forceps. In 1997 a final demonstration was performed using 2 telerobotics simultaneously in a microsurgery suture procedure to close a slit in a thin sheet of latex rubber which extended the capabilities of microsurgery procedures. After completing trials and demonstrations for the FDA the potential benefits for thousands of operations will be exposed.

Performance characteristics of LOX-H2, tangential-entry, swirl-coaxial, rocket injectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Doug; Petersen, Eric; Clark, Jim

1993-01-01

Development of a high performing swirl-coaxial injector requires an understanding of fundamental performance characteristics. This paper addresses the findings of studies on cold flow atomic characterizations which provided information on the influence of fluid properties and element operating conditions on the produced droplet sprays. These findings are applied to actual rocket conditions. The performance characteristics of swirl-coaxial injection elements under multi-element hot-fire conditions were obtained by analysis of combustion performance data from three separate test series. The injection elements are described and test results are analyzed using multi-variable linear regression. A direct comparison of test results indicated that reduced fuel injection velocity improved injection element performance through improved propellant mixing.

Feed-pump hydraulic performance and design improvement, Phase I: research program design. Final report

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

Brown, W.H.; Gopalakrishnan, S.; Fehlau, R.

1982-03-01

As a result of prior EPRI-sponsored studies, it was concluded that a research program should be designed and implemented to provide an improved basis for the design, procurement, testing, and operation of large feed pumps with increased reliability and stability over the full range of operating conditions. This two-volume report contains a research plan which is based on a review of the present state of the art and which defines the necessary R and D program and estimates the benefits and costs of the program. The recommended research program consists of 30 interrelated tasks. It is designed to perform themore » needed research; to verify the results; to develop improved components; and to publish computer-aided design methods, pump specification guidelines, and a troubleshooting manual. Most of the technology proposed in the research plan is applicable to nuclear power plants as well as to fossil-fired plants. This volume contains appendixes on pump design, cavitation damage, performance testing, hydraulics, two-phase flow in pumps, flow stability, and rotor dynamics.« less

Improving operating room efficiency via an interprofessional approach.

PubMed

Bender, Jeffrey S; Nicolescu, Teodora O; Hollingsworth, Susan B; Murer, Krystal; Wallace, Kristina R; Ertl, William J

2015-03-01

Third-party payer reimbursements will likely continue to decrease. Therefore, it is imperative for operating rooms (ORs), often a hospital's largest revenue source, to improve efficiency. We report the outcome after 3 years of a lean, Six Sigma program to improve OR utilization. In January 2011, our hospital system instituted a facility-wide approach to address the problem of OR efficiency. Interprofessional teams were formed to examine all aspects of OR use. An OR Governance Committee consisting of Department Chairs, nursing and senior administration oversaw the project. Outpatients' readiness on time for surgery increased from 59% to 95%, while first case on-time starts improved from 32% to 73%. Block utilization went from 68% to 74% and actual room utilization improved from 56% to 68%. The number of cases increased by 9%. Overtime went from 7% of total to 4%, so personnel costs decreased 14% despite 26% more employees. There was a reduction in annual voluntary OR staff turnover from 28% to 11%. Revenues increased more than 10% annually. A concerted effort to optimize OR performance resulted in marked improvements in access, overall case efficiency, staff satisfaction, and financial performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High temperature process steam application at the Southern Union Refining Company, Hobbs, New Mexico. Solar energy in the oil patch. Final report, Phase III: operation, maintenance, and performance

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

Wilson, L.E.; McGuire, D.R.

1984-05-01

This final report summarizes the technical reports for Phase III of this project. The third phase included the operation, maintenance, upgrade and performance reporting of a 10,080 square foot Solar Industrial Process Heat System installed at the Famariss Energy Refinery of Southern Union Refining Company near Hobbs, New Mexico. This report contains a description of the upgraded system, and a summary of the overall operation, maintenance and performance of the installed system. The results of the upgrade activities can be seen in the last two months of operational data. Steam production was significantly greater in peak flow and monthly totalmore » than at any previous time. Also monthly total cost savings was greatly improved even though natural gas costs remain much lower than originally anticipated.« less

Apollo Medical Operations Project: Recommendations for EVA and Lunar Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheuring, R. A.; Davis, J. R.; Duncan, J. M.; Polk, J. D.; Jones, J. A.; Gillis, D. B.; Novak, J.

2013-01-01

The potential risk of injury to crewmembers is inherent in aggressive surface activities, whether they be Moon-, Mars-, or asteroid-based. In December 2005, the Space Medicine Division at JSC requested a study to identify Apollo mission issues that had an impact to crew health or performance or both. This talk focused on the Apollo EVA suit and lunar surface operations concerning crew health and performance. There were roughly 20 recommendations from this study of Apollo for improving these two areas for future exploration missions, a few of which were incorporated into the Human Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR). Dr. Richard Scheuring covered these topics along with some of the analog work that has been done regarding surface operations and medical contingencies.

Operating manual for coaxial injection combustion model. [for the space shuttle main engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutton, R. D.; Schuman, M. D.; Chadwick, W. D.

1974-01-01

An operating manual for the coaxial injection combustion model (CICM) is presented as the final report for an eleven month effort designed to provide improvement, to verify, and to document the comprehensive computer program for analyzing the performance of thrust chamber operation with gas/liquid coaxial jet injection. The effort culminated in delivery of an operation FORTRAN IV computer program and associated documentation pertaining to the combustion conditions in the space shuttle main engine. The computer program is structured for compatibility with the standardized Joint Army-Navy-NASA-Air Force (JANNAF) performance evaluation procedure. Use of the CICM in conjunction with the JANNAF procedure allows the analysis of engine systems using coaxial gas/liquid injection.

The ArF laser for the next-generation multiple-patterning immersion lithography supporting green operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishida, Keisuke; Ohta, Takeshi; Miyamoto, Hirotaka; Kumazaki, Takahito; Tsushima, Hiroaki; Kurosu, Akihiko; Matsunaga, Takashi; Mizoguchi, Hakaru

2016-03-01

Multiple patterning ArF immersion lithography has been expected as the promising technology to satisfy tighter leading edge device requirements. One of the most important features of the next generation lasers will be the ability to support green operations while further improving cost of ownership and performance. Especially, the dependence on rare gases, such as Neon and Helium, is becoming a critical issue for high volume manufacturing process. The new ArF excimer laser, GT64A has been developed to cope with the reduction of operational costs, the prevention against rare resource shortage and the improvement of device yield in multiple-patterning lithography. GT64A has advantages in efficiency and stability based on the field-proven injection-lock twin-chamber platform (GigaTwin platform). By the combination of GigaTwin platform and the advanced gas control algorithm, the consumption of rare gases such as Neon is reduced to a half. And newly designed Line Narrowing Module can realize completely Helium free operation. For the device yield improvement, spectral bandwidth stability is important to increase image contrast and contribute to the further reduction of CD variation. The new spectral bandwidth control algorithm and high response actuator has been developed to compensate the offset due to thermal change during the interval such as the period of wafer exchange operation. And REDeeM Cloud™, new monitoring system for managing light source performance and operations, is on-board and provides detailed light source information such as wavelength, energy, E95, etc.

Integration of Behind-the-Meter PV Fleet Forecasts into Utility Grid System Operations

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

Hoff, Thomas Hoff; Kankiewicz, Adam

Four major research objectives were completed over the course of this study. Three of the objectives were to evaluate three, new, state-of-the-art solar irradiance forecasting models. The fourth objective was to improve the California Independent System Operator’s (ISO) load forecasts by integrating behind-the-meter (BTM) PV forecasts. The three, new, state-of-the-art solar irradiance forecasting models included: the infrared (IR) satellite-based cloud motion vector (CMV) model; the WRF-SolarCA model and variants; and the Optimized Deep Machine Learning (ODML)-training model. The first two forecasting models targeted known weaknesses in current operational solar forecasts. They were benchmarked against existing operational numerical weather prediction (NWP)more » forecasts, visible satellite CMV forecasts, and measured PV plant power production. IR CMV, WRF-SolarCA, and ODML-training forecasting models all improved the forecast to a significant degree. Improvements varied depending on time of day, cloudiness index, and geographic location. The fourth objective was to demonstrate that the California ISO’s load forecasts could be improved by integrating BTM PV forecasts. This objective represented the project’s most exciting and applicable gains. Operational BTM forecasts consisting of 200,000+ individual rooftop PV forecasts were delivered into the California ISO’s real-time automated load forecasting (ALFS) environment. They were then evaluated side-by-side with operational load forecasts with no BTM-treatment. Overall, ALFS-BTM day-ahead (DA) forecasts performed better than baseline ALFS forecasts when compared to actual load data. Specifically, ALFS-BTM DA forecasts were observed to have the largest reduction of error during the afternoon on cloudy days. Shorter term 30 minute-ahead ALFS-BTM forecasts were shown to have less error under all sky conditions, especially during the morning time periods when traditional load forecasts often experience their largest uncertainties. This work culminated in a GO decision being made by the California ISO to include zonal BTM forecasts into its operational load forecasting system. The California ISO’s Manager of Short Term Forecasting, Jim Blatchford, summarized the research performed in this project with the following quote: “The behind-the-meter (BTM) California ISO region forecasting research performed by Clean Power Research and sponsored by the Department of Energy’s SUNRISE program was an opportunity to verify value and demonstrate improved load forecast capability. In 2016, the California ISO will be incorporating the BTM forecast into the Hour Ahead and Day Ahead load models to look for improvements in the overall load forecast accuracy as BTM PV capacity continues to grow.”« less

Mission Concepts and Operations for Asteroid Mitigation Involving Multiple Gravity Tractors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, Cyrus; Bellerose, Julie; Jaroux, Belgacem; Mauro, David

2012-01-01

The gravity tractor concept is a proposed method to deflect an imminent asteroid impact through gravitational tugging over a time scale of years. In this study, we present mission scenarios and operational considerations for asteroid mitigation efforts involving multiple gravity tractors. We quantify the deflection performance improvement provided by a multiple gravity tractor campaign and assess its sensitivity to staggered launches. We next explore several proximity operation strategies to accommodate multiple gravity tractors at a single asteroid including formation-flying and mechanically-docked configurations. Finally, we utilize 99942 Apophis as an illustrative example to assess the performance of a multiple gravity tractor campaign.

Damage-mitigating control of space propulsion systems for high performance and extended life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Asok; Wu, Min-Kuang; Dai, Xiaowen; Carpino, Marc; Lorenzo, Carl F.

1993-01-01

Calculations are presented showing that a substantial improvement in service life of a reusable rocket engine can be achieved by an insignificant reduction in the system dynamic performance. The paper introduces the concept of damage mitigation and formulates a continuous-time model of fatigue damage dynamics. For control of complex mechanical systems, damage prediction and damage mitigation are carried out based on the available sensory and operational information such that the plant can be inexpensively maintained and safely and efficiently steered under diverse operating conditions. The results of simulation experiments are presented for transient operations of a reusable rocket engine.

Using Cryptography to Improve Conjunction Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemenway, B.; Welser, B.; Baiocchi, D.

2012-09-01

Coordination of operations between satellite operators is becoming increasingly important to prevent collisions. Unfortunately, this coordination is often handicapped by a lack of trust. Coordination and cooperation between satellite operators can take many forms, however, one specific area where cooperation between operators would yield significant benefits is in the computation of conjunction analyses. Passively collected orbital are of generally of too low fidelity to be of use in conjunction analyses. Each operator, however, maintains high fidelity data about their own satellites. These high fidelity data are significantly more valuable in calculating conjunction analyses than the lower-fidelity data. If operators were to share their high fidelity data overall space situational awareness could be improved. At present, many operators do not share data and as a consequence space situational awareness suffers. Restrictive data sharing policies are primarily motivated by privacy concerns on the part of the satellite operators, as each operator is reluctant or unwilling to share data that might compromise its political or commercial interests. In order to perform the necessary conjunction analyses while still maintaining the privacy of their own data, a few operators have entered data sharing agreements. These operators provide their private data to a trusted outside party, who then performs the conjunction analyses and reports the results to the operators. These types of agreements are not an ideal solution as they require a degree of trust between the parties, and the cost of employing the trusted party can be large. In this work, we present and analyze cryptographic tools that would allow satellite operators to securely calculate conjunction analyses without the help of a trusted outside party, while provably maintaining the privacy of their own orbital information. For example, recent advances in cryptographic protocols, specifically in the area of secure Multiparty Computation (MPC) have the potential to allow satellite operators to perform the necessary conjunction analyses without the need to reveal their orbital information to anyone. This talk will describe how MPC works, and how we propose to use it to facilitate secure information sharing between satellite operators.

Concurrent bariatric operations and association with perioperative outcomes: registry based cohort study.

PubMed

Liu, Jason B; Ban, Kristen A; Berian, Julia R; Hutter, Matthew M; Huffman, Kristopher M; Liu, Yaoming; Hoyt, David B; Hall, Bruce L; Ko, Clifford Y

2017-09-26

Objective  To determine whether perioperative outcomes differ between patients undergoing concurrent compared with non-concurrent bariatric operations in the USA. Design  Retrospective, propensity score matched cohort study. Setting  Hospitals in the US accredited by the American College of Surgeons' metabolic and bariatric surgery accreditation and quality improvement program. Participants  513 167 patients undergoing bariatric operations between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016. Main outcome measures  The primary outcome measure was a composite of 30 day death, morbidity, readmission, reoperation, anastomotic or staple line leak, and bleeding events. Operative duration and lengths of stay were also assessed. Operations were defined as concurrent if they overlapped by 60 or more minutes or in their entirety. Results  In this study of 513 167 operations, 739 (29.5%) surgeons at 483 (57.8%) hospitals performed 6087 (1.2%) concurrent operations. The most frequently performed concurrent bariatric operations were sleeve gastrectomy (n=3250, 53.4%) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (n=1601, 26.3%). Concurrent operations were more often performed at large academic medical centers with higher operative volumes and numbers of trainees and by higher volume surgeons. Compared with non-concurrent operations, concurrent operations lasted a median of 34 minutes longer (P<0.001) and resulted in 0.3 days longer average length of stay (P<0.001). Perioperative adverse events were not observed to more likely occur in concurrent compared with non-concurrent operations (7.5% v 7.4%; relative risk 1.02, 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 1.15; P=0.84). Conclusions  Concurrent bariatric operations occurred infrequently, but when they did, there was no observable increased risk for adverse perioperative outcomes compared with non-concurrent operations. These results, however, do not argue against improved and more meaningful disclosure of concurrent surgery practices. 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.

Simulator training and non-technical factors improve laparoscopic performance among OBGYN trainees.

PubMed

Ahlborg, Liv; Hedman, Leif; Nisell, Henry; Felländer-Tsai, Li; Enochsson, Lars

2013-10-01

To investigate how simulator training and non-technical factors affect laparoscopic performance among residents in obstetrics and gynecology. In this prospective study, trainees were randomized into three groups. The first group was allocated to proficiency-based training in the LapSimGyn(®) virtual reality simulator. The second group received additional structured mentorship during subsequent laparoscopies. The third group served as control group. At baseline an operation was performed and visuospatial ability, flow and self-efficacy were assessed. All groups subsequently performed three tubal occlusions. Self-efficacy and flow were assessed before and/or after each operation. Simulator training was conducted at the Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training, Karolinska University Hospital. Sterilizations were performed at each trainee's home clinic. Twenty-eight trainees/residents from 21 hospitals in Sweden were included. Visuospatial ability was tested by the Mental Rotation Test-A. Flow and self-efficacy were assessed by validated scales and questionnaires. Laparoscopic performance was measured as the duration of surgery. Visuospatial ability, self-efficacy and flow were correlated to the laparoscopic performance using Spearman's correlations. Differences between groups were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U-test. No differences across groups were detected at baseline. Self-efficacy scores before and flow scores after the third operation were significantly higher in the trained groups. Duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the trained groups. Flow and self-efficacy correlate positively with laparoscopic performance. Simulator training and non-technical factors appear to improve the laparoscopic performance among trainees/residents in obstetrics and gynecology. © 2013 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Commonality in Military Equipment. A Framework to Improve Acquisition Decisions

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

Improving Acquisition Decisions Chopra, Sunil , and Peter Meindl, Supply Chain Management : Strategy, Planning, Operation, Upper Saddle River, N.J...Personnel Costs in Managing Suppliers and Ordering Parts. The effort to perform these activities may be reduced and simplified through a smaller supply ...a Combined MOS on Mechanic Supply Variability

An improved scheme for Flip-OFDM based on Hartley transform in short-range IM/DD systems.

PubMed

Zhou, Ji; Qiao, Yaojun; Cai, Zhuo; Ji, Yuefeng

2014-08-25

In this paper, an improved Flip-OFDM scheme is proposed for IM/DD optical systems, where the modulation/demodulation processing takes advantage of the fast Hartley transform (FHT) algorithm. We realize the improved scheme in one symbol period while conventional Flip-OFDM scheme based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) in two consecutive symbol periods. So the complexity of many operations in improved scheme is half of that in conventional scheme, such as CP operation, polarity inversion and symbol delay. Compared to FFT with complex input constellation, the complexity of FHT with real input constellation is halved. The transmission experiment over 50-km SSMF has been realized to verify the feasibility of improved scheme. In conclusion, the improved scheme has the same BER performance with conventional scheme, but great superiority on complexity.

Supplement Analysis for the Watershed Management Program Final EIS (DOE EIS /SA-156) - Upper Salmon River Anadromous Fish Passage Improvement Projects

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

Keller, Carl J.

2004-07-13

BPA proposes to fund IDFG to plan and complete construction of fish passage improvements and water conservation activities that are contained within IDFG’s Statement of Work (SOW) for the period 7/1/04 to 6/30/05. The funding request contained in their SOW is part of an ongoing IDFG effort to fund anadromous fish passage projects that fall outside the scope of the Mitchell Act. The proposed SOW activities fall within the following four categories: Phase I-Planning and Design (gather data, perform investigations, and exchange information; perform surveys and assessments to be compliant; survey project sites and perform engineering designs; perform contract andmore » project management); Phase II-Construction and Implementation (procure materials and supplies, prepare contracts and solicit bids, plant native seedlings, complete capital improvements); Phase III-Operation and Maintenance (maintain office operations); and Phase IV- Monitoring and Evaluation (monitor and evaluate post-project effects, reporting). The SOW culminates with proposed construction of 18 capital improvement projects (Table 1 attached). The types of capital improvements include: screening gravity water diversions; consolidating and/or eliminating ditches; evaluating and screening pump diversions; evaluating and implementing water conservation activities; constructing screens along migration routes and rearing areas for hatchery and wild salmon; improving upstream and downstream passage for anadromous fish; and maximize benefits to aquatic habitat. Because each of the proposed projects in the SOW is still in the planning stages, the specifics of each still need to be completed.« less

Improving the work function of the niobium surface of SRF cavities by plasma processing

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

Tyagi, P. V.; Doleans, M.; Hannah, B.

2016-01-01

An in situ plasma processing technique using chemically reactive oxygen plasma to remove hydrocarbons from superconducting radio frequency cavity surfaces at room temperature was developed at the spallation neutron source, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. To understand better the interaction between the plasma and niobium surface, surface studies on small samples were performed. In this article, we report the results from those surface studies. The results show that plasma processing removes hydrocarbons from top surface and improves the surface work function by 0.5₋1.0 eV. Improving the work function of RF surface of cavities can help to improve their operational performance.

Individual Characteristics and Unit Performance: A Review of Research and Methods

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-01

behavioral segments, improves performance. Simu- lation exercises , especially those employing new high-technology devices, provide surrogate...high-technology training simulation exercise MOB Military Occupational Specialty ORTT Operational Readiness Training Test-a field test REALTRAIN A...REAListic TRAINing simulation exercise SAM Surface-to-Air Missile SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test SQT Skill Qualification Test-an Army performance meas

Improvements on the stability and operation of a magnetron H - ion source

DOE PAGES

Sosa, A.; Bollinger, D. S.; Karns, P. R.; ...

2017-05-31

The magnetron H - ion sources developed in the 1970s currently in operation at Fermilab provide beam to the rest of the accelerator complex. A series of modifications to these sources have been tested in a dedicated offline test stand with the aim of improving different operational issues. The solenoid type gas valve was tested as an alternative to the piezoelectric gas valve in order to avoid its temperature dependence. A new cesium oven was designed and tested in order to avoid glass pieces that were present with the previous oven, improve thermal insulation and fine tune its temperature. Amore » current-regulated arc modulator was developed to run the ion source at a constant arc current, providing very stable beam outputs during operations. In order to reduce beam noise, the addition of small amounts of N 2 gas was explored, as well as testing different cathode shapes with increasing plasma volume. This study summarizes the studies and modifications done in the source over the last three years with the aim of improving its stability, reliability and overall performance.« less

Improvements on the stability and operation of a magnetron H- ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sosa, A.; Bollinger, D. S.; Karns, P. R.; Tan, C. Y.

2017-05-01

The magnetron H- ion sources developed in the 1970s currently in operation at Fermilab provide beam to the rest of the accelerator complex. A series of modifications to these sources have been tested in a dedicated off-line test stand with the aim of improving different operational issues. The solenoid type gas valve was tested as an alternative to the piezoelectric gas valve in order to avoid its temperature dependence. A new cesium oven was designed and tested in order to avoid glass pieces that were present with the previous oven, improve thermal insulation and fine-tune its temperature. A current-regulated arc modulator was developed to run the ion source at a constant arc current, providing very stable beam outputs during operations. In order to reduce beam noise, the addition of small amounts of N2 gas was explored, as well as testing different cathode shapes with increasing plasma volume. This paper summarizes the studies and modifications done in the source over the past three years with the aim of improving its stability, reliability and overall performance.

Improvements on the stability and operation of a magnetron H - ion source

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

Sosa, A.; Bollinger, D. S.; Karns, P. R.

The magnetron H - ion sources developed in the 1970s currently in operation at Fermilab provide beam to the rest of the accelerator complex. A series of modifications to these sources have been tested in a dedicated offline test stand with the aim of improving different operational issues. The solenoid type gas valve was tested as an alternative to the piezoelectric gas valve in order to avoid its temperature dependence. A new cesium oven was designed and tested in order to avoid glass pieces that were present with the previous oven, improve thermal insulation and fine tune its temperature. Amore » current-regulated arc modulator was developed to run the ion source at a constant arc current, providing very stable beam outputs during operations. In order to reduce beam noise, the addition of small amounts of N 2 gas was explored, as well as testing different cathode shapes with increasing plasma volume. This study summarizes the studies and modifications done in the source over the last three years with the aim of improving its stability, reliability and overall performance.« less

Expanding the base for teaching of percutaneous coronary interventions: the explicit approach.

PubMed

Lanzer, Peter; Prechelt, Lutz

2011-02-15

Accelerate and improve the training and learning process of operators performing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Operator cognitive, in particular decision-making skills and technical skills are a major factor for the success of coronary interventions. Currently, cognitive skills are commonly developed by three methods: (1) Cognitive learning of rules for which statistical evidence is available. This is very incomprehensive and isolates cognitive learning from skill acquisition. (2) Informal tutoring received from experienced operators, and (3) personal experience by trial-and-error are both very slow. We propose in this concept article a conceptual framework to elicit, capture, and transfer expert PCI skills to complement the current approach. This includes the development of an in-depth understanding of the nature of PCI skills, terminology, and nomenclature needed to streamline communication, propensity of reproducible performance assessment, and in particular an explication of intervention planning and intra-intervention decision-making. We illustrate the impact of improved decision-making by simulation results based on a stochastic model of intervention risk. We identify several key concepts that form the basis of this conceptual framework, in particular different risk types and the notions of strategy, interventional module, and tactic. The increasing complexity of cases have brought PCI to the point where the decision-making skills of master operators need to be made explicit to make them systematically learnable such that the skills of beginner and intermediate operators can be improved much faster than is currently possible. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Deep Space Network (DSN), Network Operations Control Center (NOCC) computer-human interfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellman, Alvin; Carlton, Magdi

1993-01-01

The Network Operations Control Center (NOCC) of the DSN is responsible for scheduling the resources of DSN, and monitoring all multi-mission spacecraft tracking activities in real-time. Operations performs this job with computer systems at JPL connected to over 100 computers at Goldstone, Australia and Spain. The old computer system became obsolete, and the first version of the new system was installed in 1991. Significant improvements for the computer-human interfaces became the dominant theme for the replacement project. Major issues required innovating problem solving. Among these issues were: How to present several thousand data elements on displays without overloading the operator? What is the best graphical representation of DSN end-to-end data flow? How to operate the system without memorizing mnemonics of hundreds of operator directives? Which computing environment will meet the competing performance requirements? This paper presents the technical challenges, engineering solutions, and results of the NOCC computer-human interface design.

Integrating clinical performance improvement across physician organizations: the PhyCor experience.

PubMed

Loeppke, R; Howell, J W

1999-02-01

There is a paucity of literature describing the implementation of clinical performance improvement (CPI) efforts across geographically dispersed multispecialty group practices and independent practice associations. PhyCor, a physician management company based in Nashville, Tennessee, has integrated CPI initiatives into its operating infrastructure. PhyCor CPI INITIATIVES: The strategic framework guiding PhyCor's CPI initiatives is built around a physician-driven, patient-centered model. Physician/administrator leadership teams develop and implement a clinical and financial strategic plan for performance improvement; adopt local clinical and operational performance indicators; and agree on and gain consensus with local physician champions to engage in CPI initiatives. The area/regional leadership councils integrate and coordinate regional medical management and CPI initiatives among local groups and independent practice associations. In addition to these councils and a national leadership council, condition-specific care management councils have also been established. These councils develop condition-specific protocols and outcome measures and lead the implementation of CPI initiatives at their own clinics. Key resources supporting CPI initiatives include information/knowledge management, education and training, and patient education and consumer decision support. Localized efforts in both the asthma care and diabetes management initiatives have led to some preliminary improvements in quality of care indicators. Physician leadership and strategic vision, CPI-oriented organizational infrastructure, broad-based physician involvement in CPI, providing access to performance data, parallel incentives, and creating a sense of urgency for accelerated change are all critical success factors to the implementation of CPI strategies at the local, regional, and national levels.