78 FR 7703 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-04

... the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Proposed Rule... approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California... digesters. Rule 1127 was designed to implement the 2003 Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) control measure...

75 FR 59084 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control Technique...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-27

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control Technique Guidelines for Paper, Film, and... from paper, film, and foil coatings. Specifically, Maryland is amending its regulations by adopting the requirements of EPA's Control Technique Guidelines (CTG) for Paper, Film, and Foil Coatings. These amendments...

75 FR 15391 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revision to Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-29

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revision to Control Volatile Organic Compound... to control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from storage tanks, transport vessels and marine... parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time. For additional information, see...

Sunway Medical Laboratory Quality Control Plans Based on Six Sigma, Risk Management and Uncertainty.

PubMed

Jairaman, Jamuna; Sakiman, Zarinah; Li, Lee Suan

2017-03-01

Sunway Medical Centre (SunMed) implemented Six Sigma, measurement uncertainty, and risk management after the CLSI EP23 Individualized Quality Control Plan approach. Despite the differences in all three approaches, each implementation was beneficial to the laboratory, and none was in conflict with another approach. A synthesis of these approaches, built on a solid foundation of quality control planning, can help build a strong quality management system for the entire laboratory. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

76 FR 34021 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-10

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen Oxides Emissions From Glass... Pennsylvania. This revision pertains to the control of nitrogen oxide (NO X ) emissions from glass melting... Plan for the control of NO X from glass melting furnaces. I. Background The SIP revision consists of a...

77 FR 66388 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-05

... facilities in the state. Additionally, the state removed a section regarding an equivalent substitute control... a selective non-catalytic reducing (SNCR) control device to meet an emission limit of 0.975 lbs NO X... and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably Available Control...

76 FR 52283 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-22

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen Oxides Emissions From Glass... revisions pertain to the control of nitrogen oxide (NO X ) emissions from glass melting furnaces. EPA is approving these revisions to reduce NO X emissions from glass melting furnaces in accordance with the...

[Quality by design approaches for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing of Chinese medicine].

PubMed

Xu, Bing; Shi, Xin-Yuan; Wu, Zhi-Sheng; Zhang, Yan-Ling; Wang, Yun; Qiao, Yan-Jiang

2017-03-01

The pharmaceutical quality was built by design, formed in the manufacturing process and improved during the product's lifecycle. Based on the comprehensive literature review of pharmaceutical quality by design (QbD), the essential ideas and implementation strategies of pharmaceutical QbD were interpreted. Considering the complex nature of Chinese medicine, the "4H" model was innovated and proposed for implementing QbD in pharmaceutical development and industrial manufacture of Chinese medicine product. "4H" corresponds to the acronym of holistic design, holistic information analysis, holistic quality control, and holistic process optimization, which is consistent with the holistic concept of Chinese medicine theory. The holistic design aims at constructing both the quality problem space from the patient requirement and the quality solution space from multidisciplinary knowledge. Holistic information analysis emphasizes understanding the quality pattern of Chinese medicine by integrating and mining multisource data and information at a relatively high level. The batch-to-batch quality consistence and manufacturing system reliability can be realized by comprehensive application of inspective quality control, statistical quality control, predictive quality control and intelligent quality control strategies. Holistic process optimization is to improve the product quality and process capability during the product lifecycle management. The implementation of QbD is useful to eliminate the ecosystem contradictions lying in the pharmaceutical development and manufacturing process of Chinese medicine product, and helps guarantee the cost effectiveness. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

78 FR 8485 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Michigan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-06

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Michigan AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... control), R336.1240 (Required air quality models), R336.1241 (Air quality modeling demonstration... nonattainment air quality permitting regulations found in 40 CFR 51.165(a) and (b). EPA has found that the rules...

Developing and implementing a computerized nursing quality control system in a tertiary general medical center in Israel.

PubMed

Kagan, Ilya; Cohen, Rachel; Fish, Miri; Mezare, Henia Perry

2014-01-01

This article describes the development and implementation of the Nursing Quality Indicators Scale and a quality control system for hospital nursing care, which allows universal access to all external and internal audit results, thus ensuring complete data transparency. Standardized indicators make departments' performance comparable. Key to the new system is nurses' self-audit and responsibility for making quality improvements at the ward level.

77 FR 51619 - Source Specific Federal Implementation Plan for Implementing Best Available Retrofit Technology...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... Energy and Non-Air Quality Environmental Impacts C. Comments on Factor Three--Existing Controls at FCPP D... compliance, (2) the energy and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance, (3) any pollution control... installing and operating any of several equivalent controls on Units 1- 3, and through proper operation of...

75 FR 18142 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Control of Air Pollution...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-09

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0988; FRL-9135-5] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles AGENCY... (TAC), Chapter 114, Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles. The State submitted these revisions...

76 FR 68317 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; North Dakota; Revisions to the Air...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-04

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; North Dakota; Revisions to the Air Pollution Control Rules... letter dated April 6, 2009. The revisions affect North Dakota's air pollution control rules regarding... public hearing on October 7, 2008 to consider the revisions to the Air Pollution Control Rules. Following...

21 CFR 111.65 - What are the requirements for quality control operations?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the requirements for quality control... Process Control System § 111.65 What are the requirements for quality control operations? You must implement quality control operations in your manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and holding operations for...

75 FR 78646 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Minnesota

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-16

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Minnesota AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA...: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental..., Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

77 FR 2469 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-18

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Imperial... Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) portions... Technology (RACT),'' adopted on February 23, 2010. * * * * * (G) Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

77 FR 66780 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-07

... the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State... Control Measure for Architectural Coatings,'' CARB, October 2007. 4. ``Improving Air Quality with Economic...

78 FR 42482 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-16

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule... Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg...

77 FR 41278 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Reasonably Available...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-13

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Reasonably Available Control Technology for the... control technology (RACT) for oxides of nitrogen (NO X ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the... business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other...

Field Implementation of Handheld FTIR Spectrometer for Polymer Content Determination and for Quality Control of RAP Mixtures : Research Project Capsule

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-10-01

The purpose of this research study is to determine if the implementation of FTIRS in Louisiana for determining polymer content in asphalt mixtures and for quality control of recycled asphalt mixtures is feasible. The ultimate objective is to develop ...

76 FR 9656 - Approval and Promulgation of the Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Volatile...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-22

... Promulgation of the Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions From Industrial Solvent Cleaning Operations AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... Plan (SIP). The revision was submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to establish...

77 FR 58953 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Control Technique...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-25

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Control Technique Guidelines for Plastic Parts... categories: Plastic Parts, Metal Furniture, Large Appliances, and Miscellaneous Metal Parts. EPA is approving... Compounds, sections 2.0 ``Definitions,'' 12.0 ``Surface Coating of Plastic Parts,'' 19.0 ``Coating of Metal...

78 FR 40086 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-03

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA...) 692-2450. 4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U... Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S...

75 FR 32293 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-08

... the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... approve revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California... submit regulations that control the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS...

78 FR 25011 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-29

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, South Coast Air Quality Management District and Ventura... rule. SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

78 FR 58459 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-24

... the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, South Coast Air Quality Management District and Ventura.... SUMMARY: EPA is finalizing approval of revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District...

Design and implementation of software for automated quality control and data analysis for a complex LC/MS/MS assay for urine opiates and metabolites.

PubMed

Dickerson, Jane A; Schmeling, Michael; Hoofnagle, Andrew N; Hoffman, Noah G

2013-01-16

Mass spectrometry provides a powerful platform for performing quantitative, multiplexed assays in the clinical laboratory, but at the cost of increased complexity of analysis and quality assurance calculations compared to other methodologies. Here we describe the design and implementation of a software application that performs quality control calculations for a complex, multiplexed, mass spectrometric analysis of opioids and opioid metabolites. The development and implementation of this application improved our data analysis and quality assurance processes in several ways. First, use of the software significantly improved the procedural consistency for performing quality control calculations. Second, it reduced the amount of time technologists spent preparing and reviewing the data, saving on average over four hours per run, and in some cases improving turnaround time by a day. Third, it provides a mechanism for coupling procedural and software changes with the results of each analysis. We describe several key details of the implementation including the use of version control software and automated unit tests. These generally useful software engineering principles should be considered for any software development project in the clinical lab. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Real-time audiovisual feedback system in a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service in Finland: the quality results and barriers to implementation.

PubMed

Sainio, Marko; Kämäräinen, Antti; Huhtala, Heini; Aaltonen, Petri; Tenhunen, Jyrki; Olkkola, Klaus T; Hoppu, Sanna

2013-07-01

To evaluate the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a physician staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) using a monitor-defibrillator with a quality analysis feature. As a post hoc analysis, the potential barriers to implementation were surveyed. The quality of CPR performed by the HEMS from November 2008 to April 2010 was analysed. To evaluate the implementation rate of quality analysis, the HEMS database was screened for all cardiac arrest missions during the study period. As a consequence of the observed low implementation rate, a survey was sent to physicians working in the HEMS to evaluate the possible reasons for not utilizing the automated quality analysis feature. During the study period, the quality analysis was used for 52 out of 187 patients (28%). In these cases the mean compression depth was < 40 mm in 46% and < 50 mm in 96% of the 1-min analysis intervals, but otherwise CPR quality corresponded with the 2005 resuscitation guidelines. In particular, the no-flow fraction was remarkably low 0.10 (0.07, 0.16). The most common reasons for not using quality-controlled CPR were that the device itself was not taken to the scene, or not applied to the patient, because another EMS unit was already treating the patient with another defibrillator. When quality-controlled CPR technology was used, the indicators of good quality CPR as described in the 2005 resuscitation guidelines were mostly achieved albeit with sufficient compression depth. The use of the well-described technology in improving patient care was low. Wider implementation of the automated quality control and feedback feature in defibrillators could further improve the quality of CPR on the field. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00951704).

75 FR 44731 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, NM; Interstate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-29

... does states. Enacted in 1967, the New Mexico Air Quality Control Act allowed the establishment of the... approve a revision to the Albuquerque/ Bernalillo County, New Mexico State Implementation Plan (SIP) to... any state. The Albuquerque/ Bernalillo Air Quality Control Board (AQCB) is responsible for the portion...

76 FR 59089 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Amendments to the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-23

... in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Amendments to the Control of Volatile Organic... action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA). DATES: Written comments must be received on or...

76 FR 10295 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions To Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-24

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions To Control Volatile Organic Compound... Organic Compounds. The State submitted these revisions on March 4, 2010. These revisions remove the Texas... second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do so at this time...

QUALITY SYSTEMS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR A PILOT STUDY OF CHILDREN'S TOTAL EXPOSURE TO PERSISTENT PESTICIDES AND OTHER PERSISTENT ORGANIC PESTICIDES (CTEPP)

EPA Science Inventory

The Quality System Implementation Plan (QSIP) describes the quality assurance and quality control procedures developed for the CTEPP study. It provides the QA/QC procedures used in recruitment of subjects, sample field collection, sample extraction and analysis, data storage, and...

75 FR 76332 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-08

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... attaining the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The State's NO X RACT waiver... classification of an area. The air quality planning and control requirements for the reduction of NO X emissions...

DCASR (Defense Contract Administration Services Region) Dallas Total Quality Management Implementation Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

Competitive Success e. What is Total Quality Kaoru Ishikawa Control? The Japanese Way f. Managerial Break Through J. M. Juran g. The Deming Route to...Berger and Thomas H. Hart p. Juran’s Quality Control J. M. Juran Handbook, Fourth Edition q. Guide to Quality Control Kaoru Ishikawa r. Quality Assurance

The development of effects-based air quality management regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longhurst, J. W. S.; Irwin, J. G.; Chatterton, T. J.; Hayes, E. T.; Leksmono, N. S.; Symons, J. K.

This paper considers the evolution of attempts to control and manage air pollution, principally but not exclusively focussing upon the challenge of managing air pollution in urban environments. The development and implementation of a range of air pollution control measures are considered. Initially the measures implemented primarily addressed point sources, a small number of fuel types and a limited number of pollutants. The adequacy of such a source-control approach is assessed within the context of a changing and challenging air pollution climate. An assessment of air quality management in the United Kingdom over a 50-year timeframe exemplifies the range of issues and challenges in contemporary air quality management. The need for new approaches is explored and the development and implementation of an effects-based, risk management system for air quality regulation is evaluated.

75 FR 24406 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-05

... Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, and South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD), Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District...

76 FR 40246 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Control of Gasoline...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-08

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R05-OAR-2006-0976; FRL-9430-5] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Control of Gasoline Volatility; Correction AGENCY... a gasoline Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) limit of 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) for gasoline sold in...

42 CFR 476.73 - Notification of QIO designation and implementation of review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... of review. 476.73 Section 476.73 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS UTILIZATION AND QUALITY CONTROL REVIEW Review Responsibilities of Utilization and Quality Control Quality Improvement...

78 FR 22785 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware, State Board Requirements

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-17

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware, State Board Requirements AGENCY: Environmental... revision to the Delaware State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) on January 11, 2013. The SIP revision addresses requirements of...

77 FR 66945 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-08

... and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably Available Control... Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of New Hampshire. The revision establishes Reasonably... intended effect of this action is to approve these requirements into the New Hampshire SIP. This action is...

The Effects of an Orientation Program on Quality of Life of Patients with Thalassemia: a Quasi-Experimental Study.

PubMed

Rafii, Zahra; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Nourbakhsh, Sayed Mohamad Kazem; Hajizadeh, Ebrahim

2016-09-01

Introduction: Medical advances have improved life expectancy and survival of patients with thalassemia. However, as getting older, patients with thalassemia experience different complications which impair their quality of life. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a nurse-implemented orientation program on quality of life in patients with thalassemia. Methods: A convenience sample of 55 patients with thalassemia were recruited in this quasi-experimental study. Patients were randomly allocated to control or experimental groups. A demographic questionnaire, Thalassemia quality of life questionnaire, and 36-item short form health survey were used for data collection before and one month after the intervention. In the intervention group, 1.5-month orientation program including of the three steps of inauguration, implementation, and closure was implemented, while the control group received routine care. The Chi-square, independent t-test and paired-samples t-test were used for data analysis by using SPSS ver.13 software. Results: The intervention and control group did not differ significantly from each other regarding demographic characteristics. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the quality of life scores after the implementation of orientation program. Conclusion: Implementing a short-term orientation program was not effective in enhancing the quality of life in patients with thalassemia; hence, developing long-term multimodal strategies may result in better improvement.

Managing Air Quality - Program Implementation

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Describes elements for the set of activities to ensure that control strategies are put into effect and that air quality goals and standards are fulfilled, permitting programs, and additional resources related to implementation under the Clean Air Act.

Quality Control System using Simple Implementation of Seven Tools for Batik Textile Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ragil Suryoputro, Muhammad; Sugarindra, Muchamad; Erfaisalsyah, Hendy

2017-06-01

In order to produce better products and mitigate defect in products, every company must implement a quality control system. Company will find means to implement a quality control system that is capable and reliable. One of the methods is using the simple implementation of the seven tools in quality control defects. The case studied in this research was the level of disability xyz grey fabric on a shuttle loom 2 on the Batik manufacturing company. The seven tools that include: flowchart, check sheet, histogram, scatter diagram combined with control charts, Pareto diagrams and fishbone diagrams (causal diagram). Check sheet results obtained types of defects in the grey fabric was woven xyz is warp, double warp, the warp break, double warp, empty warp, warp tenuous, ugly edges, thick warp, and rust. Based on the analysis of control chart indicates that the process is out of control. This can be seen in the graph control where there is still a lot of outlier data. Based on a scatter diagram shows a positive correlation between the percentage of disability and the number of production. Based on Pareto diagram, repair needs priority is for the dominant type of defect is warp (44%) and based on double warp value histogram is also the highest with a value of 23635.11 m. In addition, based on the analysis of the factors causing defect by fishbone diagram double warp or other types of defects originating from the materials, methods, machines, measurements, man and environment. Thus the company can take to minimize the prevention and repair of defects and improve product quality.

78 FR 49925 - Revisions to California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-16

... California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Ventura County Air...: EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Air Management District (AVAQMD) and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) portions of the...

77 FR 65488 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Attainment Demonstration...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-29

... national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-MD-DE..., Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Attainment Demonstration for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone...

78 FR 70497 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection... VOC for purposes of preparing SIPs to attain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone [email protected] . 3. Fax: (312) 692-2450. 4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air...

[The condition of the cardiovascular prevention in Spain].

PubMed

Royo-Bordonada, Miguel Ángel; Lobos, José Maria; Brotons, Carlos; Villar, Fernando; de Pablo, Carmen; Armario, Pedro; Cortés, Olga; Gil Nuñez, Antonio; Lizcano, Angel; de Santiago, Ana; Sans, Susana

2014-01-07

In Spain, where cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, control of their risk factors is low. This study analyzes the implementation of cardiovascular risk (CVR) assessment in clinical practice and the existence of control objectives amongst quality care indicators and professional incentive systems. Between 2010 and 2011, data from each autonomous community were collected, by means of a specific questionnaire concerning prevalence and control of major CVR factors, CVR assessment, and implementation of control objectives amongst quality care indicators and primary care incentive systems. Fifteen out of 17 autonomous communities filled in the questionnaire. CVR was calculated through SCORE in 9 autonomous communities, REGICOR in 3 and Framingham in 3, covering 3.4 to 77.6% of target population. The resulting control of the main CVR factors was low and variable: hypertension (22.7-61.3%), dyslipidemia (11-45.1%), diabetes (18.5-84%) and smoking (20-50.5%). Most autonomous communities did not consider CVR assessment and control amongst quality care indicators or incentive systems, highlighting the lack of initiatives on lifestyles. Variability exists in cardiovascular prevention policies among autonomous communities. It is necessary to implement a common agreed cardiovascular prevention guide, to encourage physicians to implement CVR in electronic clinical history, and to promote CVR assessment and control inclusion amongst quality care indicators and professional incentive systems, focusing on lifestyles management. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Ride quality sensitivity to SAS control law and to handling quality variations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, P. A.; Schmidt, D. K.; Swaim, R. L.

1976-01-01

The RQ trends which large flexible aircraft exhibit under various parameterizations of control laws and handling qualities are discussed. A summary of the assumptions and solution technique, a control law parameterization review, a discussion of ride sensitivity to handling qualities, and the RQ effects generated by implementing relaxed static stability configurations are included.

Multi-Agent Architecture with Support to Quality of Service and Quality of Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poza-Luján, Jose-Luis; Posadas-Yagüe, Juan-Luis; Simó-Ten, Jose-Enrique

Multi Agent Systems (MAS) are one of the most suitable frameworks for the implementation of intelligent distributed control system. Agents provide suitable flexibility to give support to implied heterogeneity in cyber-physical systems. Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Control (QoC) parameters are commonly utilized to evaluate the efficiency of the communications and the control loop. Agents can use the quality measures to take a wide range of decisions, like suitable placement on the control node or to change the workload to save energy. This article describes the architecture of a multi agent system that provides support to QoS and QoC parameters to optimize de system. The architecture uses a Publish-Subscriber model, based on Data Distribution Service (DDS) to send the control messages. Due to the nature of the Publish-Subscribe model, the architecture is suitable to implement event-based control (EBC) systems. The architecture has been called FSACtrl.

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

PubMed

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

2015-01-01

The aim of the clinical laboratory is to provide useful information for screening, diagnosis and monitoring of disease. The laboratory should ensure the quality of extra-analytical and analytical process, based on set criteria. To do this, it develops and implements a system of internal quality control, designed to detect errors, and compare its data with other laboratories, through external quality control. In this way it has a tool to detect the fulfillment of the objectives set, and in case of errors, allowing corrective actions to be made, and ensure the reliability of the results. This article sets out to describe the design and implementation of an internal quality control protocol, as well as its periodical assessment intervals (6 months) to determine compliance with pre-determined specifications (Stockholm Consensus(1)). A total of 40 biochemical and 15 immunochemical methods were evaluated using three different control materials. Next, a standard operation procedure was planned to develop a system of internal quality control that included calculating the error of the analytical process, setting quality specifications, and verifying compliance. The quality control data were then statistically depicted as means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation, as well as systematic, random, and total errors. The quality specifications were then fixed and the operational rules to apply in the analytical process were calculated. Finally, our data were compared with those of other laboratories through an external quality assurance program. The development of an analytical quality control system is a highly structured process. This should be designed to detect errors that compromise the stability of the analytical process. The laboratory should review its quality indicators, systematic, random and total error at regular intervals, in order to ensure that they are meeting pre-determined specifications, and if not, apply the appropriate corrective actions. Copyright © 2015 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Statewide implementation of Pave-IR in the Texas Department of Transportation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-02-01

This project conducted work to complement implementation of Pave-IR into the Texas Department of : Transportations hot-mix-asphalt quality control/quality assurance specification. Pave-IR provides real-time : thermal profiling of paving operations...

Presentation of flight control design and handling quality commonality by separate surface stability augmentation for the family of commuter airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hensley, Douglas; Creighton, Thomas; Haddad, Raphael; Hendrich, Louis; Morgan, Louise; Russell, Mark; Swift, Gerald

1987-01-01

The methodology and results for a flight control design and implementation for common handling qualities by Separate Surface Stability Augmentation (SSSA) for the family of commuter airplanes are contained. The open and closed loop dynamics and the design results of augmenting for common handling qualities are presented. The physical and technology requirements are presented for implementing the SSSA system. The conclusion of this report and recommendations for changes or improvement are discussed.

Guidelines for the detection of Trichinella larvae at the slaughterhouse in a quality assurance system.

PubMed

Rossi, Patrizia; Pozio, Edoardo

2008-01-01

The European Community Regulation (EC) No. 2075/2005 lays down specific rules on official controls for the detection of Trichinella in fresh meat for human consumption, recommending the pooled-sample digestion method as the reference method. The aim of this document is to provide specific guidance to implement an appropriate Trichinella digestion method by a laboratory accredited according to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 international standard, and performing microbiological testing following the EA-04/10:2002 international guideline. Technical requirements for the correct implementation of the method, such as the personnel competence, specific equipments and reagents, validation of the method, reference materials, sampling, quality assurance of results and quality control of performance are provided, pointing out the critical control points for the correct implementation of the digestion method.

77 FR 60914 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Attainment Demonstration...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-05

... ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ- MD-DE moderate...).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Attainment Demonstration for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone...

77 FR 39456 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Section 110(a)(2...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-03

... tribal law. List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, lead... the 2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA..., necessary to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2008 lead national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS...

76 FR 5277 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-31

... the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District and Placer County Air Pollution Control District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Direct final...

76 FR 5319 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-31

... the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule...

76 FR 60405 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-29

... Municipal Air Quality Management District and South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... the Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District (SBAPCD), Sacramento Municipal Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portions of the California State...

Application of the suggestion system in the improvement of the production process and product quality control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gołaś, H.; Mazur, A.; Gruszka, J.; Szafer, P.

2016-08-01

The elaboration is a case study and the research was carried out in the company Alco-Mot Ltd., which employs 120 people. The company specializes in the production of lead poles for industrial and traction batteries using gravity casting. The elements embedded in the cast are manufactured on a machining centre, which provides the stability of the process and of the dimensions of the product as well as a very short production time. As a result of observation and analysis the authors have developed a concept for the implementation of a dynamic suggestion system in ALCO-MOT, including, among others, a standard for actions in the implementation of the suggestion system, as well as clear guidelines for the processing and presentation of the activities undertaken in the time between the establishment of the concept (suggestions) and the benefits analysis after the proposed solutions have been implemented. The authors also present how suggestions proposed by ALCO-MOT staff contributed to the improvement of the processes of production and quality control. Employees offered more than 30 suggestions, of which more than a half are being implemented now and further actions are being prepared for implementation. The authors will present the results of improvements in, for example, tool replacement time, scrap reduction. The authors will present how kaizen can improve the production and quality control processes. They will present how the production and quality control processes looked before and after the implementation of employee suggestions.

Advanced Quality Control Theory for Training and Education: A Guide to Optimizing Training and Education Efforts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heppler, Brad

2008-01-01

This is a book about quality and how to control quality through deliberate actions on the part of the professionals developing and implementing the instances of instruction available at an organization. Quality control theory favors no particular learning philosophy and is only directed towards aspects of how, what, where and when measurements are…

Development of Real Time Implementation of 5/5 Rule based Fuzzy Logic Controller Shunt Active Power Filter for Power Quality Improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puhan, Pratap Sekhar; Ray, Pravat Kumar; Panda, Gayadhar

2016-12-01

This paper presents the effectiveness of 5/5 Fuzzy rule implementation in Fuzzy Logic Controller conjunction with indirect control technique to enhance the power quality in single phase system, An indirect current controller in conjunction with Fuzzy Logic Controller is applied to the proposed shunt active power filter to estimate the peak reference current and capacitor voltage. Current Controller based pulse width modulation (CCPWM) is used to generate the switching signals of voltage source inverter. Various simulation results are presented to verify the good behaviour of the Shunt active Power Filter (SAPF) with proposed two levels Hysteresis Current Controller (HCC). For verification of Shunt Active Power Filter in real time, the proposed control algorithm has been implemented in laboratory developed setup in dSPACE platform.

The Effect of Professional Learning Activities on Implementation of California's Quality Professional Learning Standards in Alignment with the Local Control Funding Formula Priority 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinotti, Sadie

2017-01-01

The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the professional learning activities that experts perceive are necessary for local education agencies (LEAs) to effectively implement California's Quality Professional Learning Standards (QPLS) in alignment with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Priority 2. The study also examined the degree…

76 FR 16358 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-23

... Protection, State Office Building, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106- 1630; the Bureau of Air Quality Control... evaluation of the States' submittals? A. Emission Limits and Other Control Measures B. Ambient Air Quality Monitoring/Data System C. Program for Enforcement of Control Measures D. Interstate Transport E. Adequate...

Inferential control -- Part 1: Crude unit advanced controls pass accuracy and repeatability tests

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

San, Y.P.; Landells, K.C.; Mackay, D.C.

1994-11-28

An inferential model is one that provides a quality for which an analyzer is not available. This type of model uses readily available physical measurements -- such as temperatures, pressures, and flow rates -- to infer a quality such as kerosine flash point. The No. 2 crude distillation unit (CDU-2) at Singapore Refining Co. Pte. Ltd.'s Pulau Merlimau refinery has a nominal 130,000 b/d capacity. It produces naphtha, kerosine, diesel, and residue products from a wide range of crude blends. Over the past 12 months, extensive advanced control applications have been implemented on the unit. This first of two articlesmore » will describe the control system and its implementation. The second will outline the project's achievements, including reduced quality giveaway and increased profits. The paper describes background of the company and unit, the process, project implementation, the Infer model, model tuning, closed-loop control, feed rate maximization, and economic monitoring.« less

Water Quality Assessment and Management

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Overview of Clean Water Act (CWA) restoration framework including; water quality standards, monitoring/assessment, reporting water quality status, TMDL development, TMDL implementation (point & nonpoint source control)

78 FR 34177 - Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: State Implementation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-06

... evaluating control strategies. This better understanding allows for more strategic approaches in which public..., we lay out our proposed approaches, but here are a few examples: 1. Federal control measures: States...), reasonably available control technology (RACT), reasonably available control measures (RACM), new source...

Quality by control: Towards model predictive control of mammalian cell culture bioprocesses.

PubMed

Sommeregger, Wolfgang; Sissolak, Bernhard; Kandra, Kulwant; von Stosch, Moritz; Mayer, Martin; Striedner, Gerald

2017-07-01

The industrial production of complex biopharmaceuticals using recombinant mammalian cell lines is still mainly built on a quality by testing approach, which is represented by fixed process conditions and extensive testing of the end-product. In 2004 the FDA launched the process analytical technology initiative, aiming to guide the industry towards advanced process monitoring and better understanding of how critical process parameters affect the critical quality attributes. Implementation of process analytical technology into the bio-production process enables moving from the quality by testing to a more flexible quality by design approach. The application of advanced sensor systems in combination with mathematical modelling techniques offers enhanced process understanding, allows on-line prediction of critical quality attributes and subsequently real-time product quality control. In this review opportunities and unsolved issues on the road to a successful quality by design and dynamic control implementation are discussed. A major focus is directed on the preconditions for the application of model predictive control for mammalian cell culture bioprocesses. Design of experiments providing information about the process dynamics upon parameter change, dynamic process models, on-line process state predictions and powerful software environments seem to be a prerequisite for quality by control realization. © 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

PubMed

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

2015-02-25

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

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

PubMed Central

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

2015-01-01

This paper is part of a study of intelligent architectures for distributed control and communications systems. The study focuses on optimizing control systems by evaluating the performance of middleware through quality of service (QoS) parameters and the optimization of control using Quality of Control (QoC) parameters. The main aim of this work is to study, design, develop, and evaluate a distributed control architecture based on the Data-Distribution Service for Real-Time Systems (DDS) communication standard as proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG). As a result of the study, an architecture called Frame-Sensor-Adapter to Control (FSACtrl) has been developed. FSACtrl provides a model to implement an intelligent distributed Event-Based Control (EBC) system with support to measure QoS and QoC parameters. The novelty consists of using, simultaneously, the measured QoS and QoC parameters to make decisions about the control action with a new method called Event Based Quality Integral Cycle. To validate the architecture, the first five Braitenberg vehicles have been implemented using the FSACtrl architecture. The experimental outcomes, demonstrate the convenience of using jointly QoS and QoC parameters in distributed control systems. PMID:25723145

Food safety and nutritional quality for the prevention of non communicable diseases: the Nutrient, hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point process (NACCP).

PubMed

Di Renzo, Laura; Colica, Carmen; Carraro, Alberto; Cenci Goga, Beniamino; Marsella, Luigi Tonino; Botta, Roberto; Colombo, Maria Laura; Gratteri, Santo; Chang, Ting Fa Margherita; Droli, Maurizio; Sarlo, Francesca; De Lorenzo, Antonino

2015-04-23

The important role of food and nutrition in public health is being increasingly recognized as crucial for its potential impact on health-related quality of life and the economy, both at the societal and individual levels. The prevalence of non-communicable diseases calls for a reformulation of our view of food. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, first implemented in the EU with the Directive 43/93/CEE, later replaced by Regulation CE 178/2002 and Regulation CE 852/2004, is the internationally agreed approach for food safety control. Our aim is to develop a new procedure for the assessment of the Nutrient, hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (NACCP) process, for total quality management (TMQ), and optimize nutritional levels. NACCP was based on four general principles: i) guarantee of health maintenance; ii) evaluate and assure the nutritional quality of food and TMQ; iii) give correct information to the consumers; iv) ensure an ethical profit. There are three stages for the application of the NACCP process: 1) application of NACCP for quality principles; 2) application of NACCP for health principals; 3) implementation of the NACCP process. The actions are: 1) identification of nutritional markers, which must remain intact throughout the food supply chain; 2) identification of critical control points which must monitored in order to minimize the likelihood of a reduction in quality; 3) establishment of critical limits to maintain adequate levels of nutrient; 4) establishment, and implementation of effective monitoring procedures of critical control points; 5) establishment of corrective actions; 6) identification of metabolic biomarkers; 7) evaluation of the effects of food intake, through the application of specific clinical trials; 8) establishment of procedures for consumer information; 9) implementation of the Health claim Regulation EU 1924/2006; 10) starting a training program. We calculate the risk assessment as follows: Risk (R) = probability (P) × damage (D). The NACCP process considers the entire food supply chain "from farm to consumer"; in each point of the chain it is necessary implement a tight monitoring in order to guarantee optimal nutritional quality.

75 FR 24544 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-05

... Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, and South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... District (PCAPCD), Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), San Joaquin Valley...

Quality in Web-Supported Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fresen, Jill

2002-01-01

Discusses quality assurance for Web-based courses, based on experiences at the University of Pretoria. Topics include evaluation of courseware; the concept of quality, including quality control, quality assurance, and total quality management; implementing a quality management system; measurement techniques; and partnerships. (LRW)

[Introduction of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles at the flight catering food production plant].

PubMed

Popova, A Yu; Trukhina, G M; Mikailova, O M

In the article there is considered the quality control and safety system implemented in the one of the largest flight catering food production plant for airline passengers and flying squad. The system for the control was based on the Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and developed hygienic and antiepidemic measures. There is considered the identification of hazard factors at stages of the technical process. There are presented results of the analysis data of monitoring for 6 critical control points over the five-year period. The quality control and safety system permit to decline food contamination risk during acceptance, preparation and supplying of in-flight meal. There was proved the efficiency of the implemented system. There are determined further ways of harmonization and implementation for HACCP principles in the plant.

78 FR 19991 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Motor Vehicle...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-03

... Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets for the Pennsylvania Counties in the Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 1997 Fine Particulate Matter Nonattainment Area...

76 FR 24846 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-03

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 5. Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air...

Total Quality Management Guide. Volume 2. A Guide to Implementation

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-15

Kaoru . Guide to Quality Control. Asian Productivity Organization. 1984. Ishikawa , Kaoru . What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way. Englewood...of the new Systems Age. The theories of Deming, Juran, Ishikawa , and other management methods that still predominate are pioneers of Systems Age...Feigenbaum, Armand V. Total Quality Control. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1983. bnai, Masaaki. Kaizen. New York: Random House. 1986. Ishikawa

10 CFR 26.137 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... validation of analytical procedures. Quality assurance procedures must be designed, implemented, and reviewed... resolving any technical, methodological, or administrative errors in the licensee testing facility's testing...

10 CFR 26.137 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... validation of analytical procedures. Quality assurance procedures must be designed, implemented, and reviewed... resolving any technical, methodological, or administrative errors in the licensee testing facility's testing...

10 CFR 26.137 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... validation of analytical procedures. Quality assurance procedures must be designed, implemented, and reviewed... resolving any technical, methodological, or administrative errors in the licensee testing facility's testing...

10 CFR 26.137 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... validation of analytical procedures. Quality assurance procedures must be designed, implemented, and reviewed... resolving any technical, methodological, or administrative errors in the licensee testing facility's testing...

10 CFR 26.137 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... validation of analytical procedures. Quality assurance procedures must be designed, implemented, and reviewed... resolving any technical, methodological, or administrative errors in the licensee testing facility's testing...

77 FR 46960 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Wisconsin; Forest County...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-07

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Wisconsin; Forest County Potawatomi Community Reservation... approving procedures for permitting certain sources in relation to the Forest County Potawatomi Community...)(2).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon...

76 FR 6559 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; 2002 Base Year...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-07

... Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; 2002 Base Year Emissions Inventory, Reasonable... revision. EPA is approving this SIP revision because it satisfies Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for the...

78 FR 70516 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection... Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs...

78 FR 40013 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-03

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs...

78 FR 63148 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-23

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana AGENCY: Environmental Protection... Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs...

Implementation of a clinical quality control program in a mammography screening service of Brazil.

PubMed

DE Souza Sabino, Silvia Maria Prioli; Silva, Thiago Buosi; Watanabe, Anapaula Hidemi Uema; Syrjänen, Kari; Carvalho, André Lopes; Mauad, Edmundo Carvalho

2014-09-01

To evaluate the effect of a clinical quality control program on the final quality of a mammography screening service. We conducted retrospective assessment of the clinical quality of 5,000 mammograms taken in a Mammography Screening Program between November 2010 and September 2011, following the implementation of a Clinical Quality Control Program based on the European Guidelines. Among the 105,000 evaluated quality items, there were 8,588 failures (8.2%) - 1.7 failures per examination. Altogether, 89% of the failures were associated with positioning. The recall rate due to a technical error reached a maximum of 0.5% in the early phase of the observation period and subsequently stabilized (0.09%). The ongoing education and monitoring combined with personalized training increased the critical thinking of the involved professionals, reducing the technical failures and unnecessary exposure of patients to radiation, with substantial improvement in the final quality of mammography. Copyright© 2014 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

42 CFR 475.100 - Scope and applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS Utilization and Quality Control Quality Improvement Organizations § 475.100 Scope and applicability. This subpart implements...

Are you good enough for your patients? The European certification model in laparoscopic surgery

PubMed Central

Campo, R.; Molinas, C.R.; De Wilde, R.L.; Brolmann, H.; Brucker, S.; Mencaglia, L.; Odonovan, P.; Wallwiener, D.; Wattiez, A.

2012-01-01

Quality control, training and education in gynaecological surgery are challenged and urgent measures are emerging. The implementation of a structured and validated program for training and quality control seems the most urgent measurement to be taken. The European Academy of Gynaecological Surgery has made a first attempt to do so. Through a practical and theoretical tests system, the skills of an individual surgeon is measured and the conditions to enter the different level of expertise are clearly defined. This certification system based on the best possible level of scientific evidence provides a first practical tool, universally implementable for a decent quality control and structured training program in Gynaecological laparoscopic surgery. PMID:24753896

76 FR 71886 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-21

... the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control District and Sacramento... Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD... Guidelines for Miscellaneous Metal and Plastic Parts Coatings,'' EPA-453/R-08-003, September 2008. 7...

78 FR 65875 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Wisconsin; Removal of Gasoline...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-04

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Wisconsin; Removal of Gasoline Vapor... Administrative Code, Chapter NR 420 Control of Organic Compound Emissions from Petroleum and Gasoline Sources... FROM PETROLEUM AND GASOLINE SOURCES. NR 420.01 as published in the (Wisconsin) Register, February, 1990...

78 FR 9828 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Mexico; Albuquerque/Bernalillo County...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New Mexico; Albuquerque/Bernalillo County: Infrastructure and Interstate... State State citation Title/subject approval/ EPA approval date Explanation effective date New Mexico... Quality Control Board * * * * * * * Part 8 (20.11.8 NMAC) Ambient Air Quality 8/12/2009 September 19, 2012...

77 FR 66421 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-05

... and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Reasonably Available Control... the State of New Hampshire. These SIP revisions consist of a demonstration that New Hampshire meets...-RO1-OAR-2009-0451,'' Anne Arnold, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA New England Regional...

76 FR 27973 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-13

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0999; FRL-9304-9] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION..., Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5...

76 FR 20906 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-14

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... Clean Air Act. Indiana submitted revisions to the particulate matter (PM) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2...: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental...

77 FR 41914 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-17

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION..., Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West... Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard...

Assessment of long-term and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan effects on urban air quality and its implication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Suping; Yu, Ye; Qin, Dahe; Yin, Daiying; He, Jianjun

2017-12-01

To solve traffic congestion and to improve urban air quality, long-lasting and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan was implemented by local government during 20 November to 26 December 2016 in urban Lanzhou, a semi-arid valley city of northwest China. The traffic control measures provided an invaluable opportunity to evaluate its effects on urban air quality in less developed cities of northwest China. Based on measured simultaneously air pollutants and meteorological parameters, the abatement of traffic-related pollutants induced by the implemented control measures such as CO, PM2.5 and PM10 (the particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm and 10 μm) concentrations were firstly quantified by comparing the air quality data in urban areas with those in rural areas (uncontrolled zones). The concentrations of CO, NO2 from motor vehicles and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were shown to have significant decreases of 15%-23% during traffic control period from those measured before control period with hourly maximum CO, PM2.5, and NO2/SO2 reduction of 43%, 35% and 141.4%, respectively. The influence of the control measures on AQI (air quality index) and ozone was less as compared to its effect on other air pollutants. Therefore, to alleviate serious winter haze pollution in China and to protect human health, the stringent long-term and large-scale even-odd license plate controlled plan should be implemented aperiodically in urban areas, especially for the periods with poor diffusion conditions.

Embankment quality and assessment of moisture control implementation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-02-01

A specification for contractor moisture quality control (QC) in roadway embankment construction has been in use for approximately 10 : years in Iowa on about 190 projects. The use of this QC specification and the development of the soils certificatio...

77 FR 62147 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh-Beaver...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-12

... completeness requirement for one or more quarters during 2009-2011. EPA addressed the missing data of each of...-assured, quality-controlled and certified ambient air monitoring data for the 2008-2010 and 2009-2011...- assured, quality-controlled, and certified monitoring data for the 2007-2009 monitoring period, that the...

42 CFR 480.109 - Applicability of other statutes and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ACQUISITION, PROTECTION, AND DISCLOSURE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATION INFORMATION Utilization and Quality Control Quality... patients' records, and the implementing regulations at 42 CFR part 2, are applicable to QIO information...

42 CFR 480.109 - Applicability of other statutes and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ACQUISITION, PROTECTION, AND DISCLOSURE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATION INFORMATION Utilization and Quality Control Quality... patients' records, and the implementing regulations at 42 CFR part 2, are applicable to QIO information...

42 CFR 480.109 - Applicability of other statutes and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ACQUISITION, PROTECTION, AND DISCLOSURE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATION INFORMATION Utilization and Quality Control Quality... patients' records, and the implementing regulations at 42 CFR part 2, are applicable to QIO information...

76 FR 67396 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control District

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R09-OAR-2011-0382; FRL-9477-3] Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control District AGENCY... the Placer County Air Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management...

The evolution of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs): from its beginnings in case-mix and resource use theory, to its implementation for payment and now for its current utilization for quality within and outside the hospital.

PubMed

Goldfield, Norbert

2010-01-01

Policymakers are searching for ways to control health care costs and improve quality. Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are by far the most important cost control and quality improvement tool that governments and private payers have implemented. This article reviews why DRGs have had this singular success both in the hospital sector and, over the past 10 years, in ambulatory and managed care settings. Last, the author reviews current trends in the development and implementation of tools that have the key ingredients of DRG success: categorical clinical model, separation of the clinical model from payment weights, separate payment adjustments for nonclinical factors, and outlier payments. Virtually all current tools used to manage health care costs and improve quality do not have these characteristics. This failure explains a key reason for the failure, for example, of the Medicare Advantage program to control health care costs. This article concludes with a discussion of future developments for DRG-type models outside the hospital sector.

Sustaining High Quality Teaching and Evidence-based Curricula: Follow-up Assessment of Teachers in the REDI Project

PubMed Central

Bierman, Karen L; DeRousie, Rebecca M. Sanford; Heinrichs, Brenda; Domitrovich, Celene E.; Greenberg, Mark T.; Gill, Sukhdeep

2013-01-01

Recent research has validated the power of evidence-based preschool interventions to improve teaching quality and promote child school readiness when implemented in the context of research trials. However, very rarely are follow-up assessments conducted with teachers in order to evaluate the maintenance of improved teaching quality or sustained use of evidence-based curriculum components after the intervention trial. In the current study, we collected follow-up assessments of teachers one year after their involvement in the REDI research trial to evaluate the extent to which intervention teachers continued to implement the REDI curriculum components with high-quality, and to explore possible pre-intervention predictors of sustained implementation. In addition, we conducted classroom observations to determine whether general improvements in the teaching quality of intervention teachers (relative to control group teachers) were sustained. Results indicated sustained high-quality implementation of some curriculum components (the PATHS curriculum), but decreased implementation of other components (the language-literacy components). Sustained intervention effects were evident on most aspects of general teaching quality targeted by the intervention. Implications for practice and policy are discussed. PMID:24204101

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WET-WEATHER FLOW MANAGEMENT

EPA Science Inventory

The management of wet-weather flow (WWF) is necessary to maintain the quality of urban water resources. Throughout history strategies were implemented to control WWF for reasons, e.g., flood and water quality control, aesthetic improvement, waste removal and others. A comprehen...

76 FR 72626 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Amendments to the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-25

.... (See section 307(b)(2).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Amendments to the Control of Volatile Organic... accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA). DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is...

76 FR 49391 - Approval, Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Colorado; Smoke...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-10

..., Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Colorado; Smoke, Opacity and Sulfur Dioxide... opacity, particulate, sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from sources. EPA has... mean Nitrogen Dioxide and SO2 mean Sulfur Dioxide. (vii) The initials BACT mean Best Available Control...

76 FR 14805 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Adoption of the Revised...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Virginia; Adoption of the Revised Lead Standards and Related... SIP revisions add the primary and secondary lead standards of 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g... CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by reference, Ozone...

Implementing guidelines in nursing homes: a systematic review.

PubMed

Diehl, Heinz; Graverholt, Birgitte; Espehaug, Birgitte; Lund, Hans

2016-07-25

Research on guideline implementation strategies has mostly been conducted in settings which differ significantly from a nursing home setting and its transferability to the nursing home setting is therefore limited. The objective of this study was to systematically review the effects of interventions to improve the implementation of guidelines in nursing homes. A systematic literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, DARE, HTA, CENTRAL, SveMed + and ISI Web of Science from their inception until August 2015. Reference screening and a citation search were performed. Studies were eligible if they evaluated any type of guideline implementation strategy in a nursing home setting. Eligible study designs were systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted-time-series studies. The EPOC risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies. The overall quality of the evidence was rated using GRADE. Five cluster-randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria, evaluating a total of six different multifaceted implementation strategies. One study reported a small statistically significant effect on professional practice, and two studies demonstrated small to moderate statistically significant effects on patient outcome. The overall quality of the evidence for all comparisons was low or very low using GRADE. Little is known about how to improve the implementation of guidelines in nursing homes, and the evidence to support or discourage particular interventions is inconclusive. More implementation research is needed to ensure high quality of care in nursing homes. PROSPERO 2014: CRD42014007664.

Testing the Implementation of the Veder Contact Method: A Theatre-Based Communication method in Dementia Care.

PubMed

Boersma, Petra; van Weert, Julia C M; Lissenberg-Witte, Birgit I; van Meijel, Berno; Dröes, Rose-Marie

2018-01-08

There is a lack of research on implementation of person-centered care in nursing home care. The purpose of this study was to assess the implementation of the Veder contact method (VCM), a new person-centered method using theatrical, poetic and musical communication for application in 24-hr care. Caregivers (n = 136) and residents (n = 141) participated in a 1-year quasi-experimental study. Foundation Theater Veder implemented VCM on six experimental wards and rated implementation quality. Six control wards delivered care-as-usual. Before and after implementation, caregiver behavior was assessed during observations using the Veder-observation list and Quality of Caregivers' Behavior-list. Caregiver attitude was rated with the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire. Quality of life, behavior, and mood of the residents were measured with QUALIDEM, INTERACT and FACE. Residents' care plans were examined for person-centered background information. Significant improvements in caregivers' communicative behavior (i.e., the ability to apply VCM, establishing positive interactions) and some aspects of residents' behavior and quality of life (i.e., positive affect, social relations) were found on the experimental wards with a high implementation score, as compared to the experimental wards with a low implementation score, and the control wards. No significant differences were found between the groups in caregivers' attitudes, residents' care plans, or mood. The positive changes in caregivers' behavior and residents' well-being on the high implementation score wards confirm the partly successful VCM implementation. Distinguishing between wards with a high and low implementation score provided insight into factors which are crucial for successful implementation. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Using Lean Six Sigma Methodology to Improve Quality of the Anesthesia Supply Chain in a Pediatric Hospital.

PubMed

Roberts, Renée J; Wilson, Ashley E; Quezado, Zenaide

2017-03-01

Six Sigma and Lean methodologies are effective quality improvement tools in many health care settings. We applied the DMAIC methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) to address deficiencies in our pediatric anesthesia supply chain. We defined supply chain problems by mapping existing processes and soliciting comments from those involved. We used daily distance walked by anesthesia technicians and number of callouts for missing supplies as measurements that we analyzed before and after implementing improvements (anesthesia cart redesign). We showed improvement in the metrics after those interventions were implemented, and those improvements were sustained and thus controlled 1 year after implementation.

78 FR 21581 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD), Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). We are proposing to approve revisions local rules that address emission statements for AVAQMD, rule rescissions that address public records for MBUAPCD, and define terms for SBCAPCD, under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

42 CFR 480.109 - Applicability of other statutes and regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ACQUISITION, PROTECTION, AND DISCLOSURE OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATION REVIEW INFORMATION Utilization and Quality Control Quality... patients' records, and the implementing regulations at 42 CFR part 2, are applicable to QIO information...

75 FR 31709 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Reasonable Further...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-04

... Emission Inventory, Contingency Measures, Reasonably Available Control Measures, and Transportation... Implementation Plan (SIP) to meet the 2002 base year emissions inventory, the reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, RFP contingency measure, and reasonably available control measure (RACM) requirements of the...

"How to Strike the Right Balance between Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the Perceptions of Individual Lecturers": A Comparison of UK and Dutch Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teelken, Christine; Lomas, Laurie

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on the way lecturers observe, feel restrained by and cope with quality management systems that have been implemented in the higher education systems of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. As two sides of the same coin, quality enhancement and quality control are of increased significance in European Higher Education…

Real-time quality assurance testing using photonic techniques: Application to iodine water system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arendale, W. F.; Hatcher, Richard; Garlington, Yadilett; Harwell, Jack; Everett, Tracey

1990-01-01

A feasibility study of the use of inspection systems incorporating photonic sensors and multivariate analyses to provide an instrumentation system that in real-time assures quality and that the system in control has been conducted. A system is in control when the near future of the product quality is predictable. Off-line chemical analyses can be used for a chemical process when slow kinetics allows time to take a sample to the laboratory and the system provides a recovery mechanism that returns the system to statistical control without intervention of the operator. The objective for this study has been the implementation of do-it-right-the-first-time and just-in-time philosophies. The Environment Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) water reclamation system that adds iodine for biocidal control is an ideal candidate for the study and implementation of do-it-right-the-first-time technologies.

Towards Evidence-Based, Quality-Controlled Health Promotion: The Dutch Recognition System for Health Promotion Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brug, Johannes; van Dale, Djoeke; Lanting, Loes; Kremers, Stef; Veenhof, Cindy; Leurs, Mariken; van Yperen, Tom; Kok, Gerjo

2010-01-01

Registration or recognition systems for best-practice health promotion interventions may contribute to better quality assurance and control in health promotion practice. In the Netherlands, such a system has been developed and is being implemented aiming to provide policy makers and professionals with more information on the quality and…

GEOSPATIAL QUALITY COUNCIL

EPA Science Inventory

Geospatial Science is increasingly becoming an important tool in making Agency decisions. QualIty Control and Quality Assurance are required to be integrated during the planning, implementation and assessment of geospatial databases, processes and products. In order to ensure Age...

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sepehri, Mehran

1985-01-01

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

75 FR 15348 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revision To Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-29

.... What Is a SIP? Section 110 of the CAA requires states to develop air pollution regulations and control... air pollution regulations, control strategies, other means or techniques, and technical analyses... provisions of the CAA. A SIP protects air quality primarily by addressing air pollution at its point of...

Research on the Implementation of Technological Measures for Controlling Indoor Environmental Quality in Green Residential Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ruozhu; Liu, Pengda; Qian, Yongmei

2018-02-01

This paper analyzes the design technology of controlling indoor quality in engineering practice, it is proposed that, in framework system of green residential building design, how to realize the design idea of controlling the indoor environment quality, and the design technology with feasibility, including the sunshine and lighting, indoor air quality and thermal environment, sound insulation and noise reduction measures, etc.. The results of all will provide a good theoretical supportting for the design of green residential building.

77 FR 13974 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New York State Ozone Implementation Plan Revision

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-08

... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; New York State Ozone Implementation Plan Revision AGENCY: Environmental... a proposed revision to the New York State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone concerning the control... national ambient air quality standards for ozone. DATES: Effective Date: This rule will be effective April...

75 FR 2452 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Reasonable Further...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-15

... Lightering Operations. Since there will be no new VOC controls for point sources, non-point source sector... equivalent to 1.52 x 1.74 = 2.64 tpd NO X reduction shortfall. Delaware has implemented numerous controls... achieved ``as expeditious as practicable.'' Control measures under RACT constitute a major group of RACM...

CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER ACCOUNTABILITY AND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

EPA Science Inventory

Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are the basic components of a QA program, which is a fundamental quality management tool. he quality of outputs and services strongly depends on the caliber of the communications between the "customer" and the "supplier." lear under...

Objective Speech Quality Assessment Based on Payload Discrimination of Lost Packets for Cellular Phones in NGN Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uemura, Satoshi; Fukumoto, Norihiro; Yamada, Hideaki; Nakamura, Hajime

A feature of services provided in a Next Generation Network (NGN) is that the end-to-end quality is guaranteed. This is quite a challenging issue, given the considerable fluctuation in network conditions within a Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) network. Therefore, a novel approach, whereby a network node and a mobile terminal such as a cellular phone cooperate with each other to control service quality is essential. In order to achieve such cooperation, the mobile terminal needs to become more intelligent so it can estimate the service quality, including the user's perceptual quality, and notify the measurement result to the network node. Subsequently, the network node implements some kind of service control function, such as a resource and admission control function, based on the notification from the mobile terminal. In this paper, the role of the mobile terminal in such collaborative system is focused on. As a part of a QoS/QoE measurement system, we describe an objective speech quality assessment with payload discrimination of lost packets to measure the user's perceptual quality of VoIP. The proposed assessment is so simple that it can be implemented on a cellular phone. We therefore did this as part of the QoS/QoE measurement system. By using the implemented system, we can measure the user's perceptual quality of VoIP as well as the network QoS metrics, in terms of criteria such as packet loss rate, jitter and burstiness in real time.

Will the circle be unbroken: a history of the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

PubMed

Bachmann, John

2007-06-01

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Air & Waste Management Association, this review examines the history of air quality management (AQM) in the United States over the last century, with an emphasis on the ambient standards programs established by the landmark 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments. The current CAA system is a hybrid of several distinct air pollution control philosophies, including the recursive or circular system driven by ambient standards. Although this evolving system has resulted in tremendous improvements in air quality, it has been far from perfect in terms of timeliness and effectiveness. The paper looks at several periods in the history of the U.S. program, including: (1) 1900-1970, spanning the early smoke abatement and smog control programs, the first federal involvement, and the development of a hybrid AQM approach in the 1970 CAA; (2) 1971-1976, when the first National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were set and implemented; (3) 1977-1993, a period of the first revisions to the standards, new CAA Amendments, delays in implementation and decision-making, and key science/policy/legislative developments that would alter both the focus and scale of air pollution programs and how they are implemented; and (4) 1993-2006, the second and third wave of NAAQS revisions and their implementation in the context of the 1990 CAA. This discussion examines where NAAQS have helped drive implementation programs and how improvements in both effects and air quality/control sciences influenced policy and legislation to enhance the effectiveness of the system over time. The review concludes with a look toward the future of AQM, emphasizing challenges and ways to meet them. The most significant of these is the need to make more efficient progress toward air quality goals, while adjusting the system to address the growing intersections between air quality management and climate change.

76 FR 60376 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-29

... Municipal Air Quality Management District and South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portions of...,'' revised September 20, 2010. (D) Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. (1) Rule 466...

A novel Python program for implementation of quality control in the ELISA.

PubMed

Wetzel, Hanna N; Cohen, Cinder; Norman, Andrew B; Webster, Rose P

2017-09-01

The use of semi-quantitative assays such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) requires stringent quality control of the data. However, such quality control is often lacking in academic settings due to unavailability of software and knowledge. Therefore, our aim was to develop methods to easily implement Levey-Jennings quality control methods. For this purpose, we created a program written in Python (a programming language with an open-source license) and tested it using a training set of ELISA standard curves quantifying the Fab fragment of an anti-cocaine monoclonal antibody in mouse blood. A colorimetric ELISA was developed using a goat anti-human anti-Fab capture method. Mouse blood samples spiked with the Fab fragment were tested against a standard curve of known concentrations of Fab fragment in buffer over a period of 133days stored at 4°C to assess stability of the Fab fragment and to generate a test dataset to assess the program. All standard curves were analyzed using our program to batch process the data and to generate Levey-Jennings control charts and statistics regarding the datasets. The program was able to identify values outside of two standard deviations, and this identification of outliers was consistent with the results of a two-way ANOVA. This program is freely available, which will help laboratories implement quality control methods, thus improving reproducibility within and between labs. We report here successful testing of the program with our training set and development of a method for quantification of the Fab fragment in mouse blood. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Alternative View of Quality Assurance and Enhancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Viola Yuk-Yue

2012-01-01

This paper attempts to deal with the elusive nature of quality in quality management, using a case study to examine quality control measures implemented in an academic context and to show an emergent framework for quality enhancement. This paper introduces the concept of the ecology of quality assurance and examines efforts to maintain and advance…

40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

Teachers’ patterns of implementation of an evidence-based intervention and student outcomes: results from a nationwide dissemination over 24-months follow-up

PubMed Central

Stanton, Bonita; Wang, Bo; Deveaux, Lynette; Lunn, Sonja; Rolle, Glenda; Mortimer, Arvis; Li, Xiaoming; Marshall, Sharon; Poitier, Maxwell; Adderley, Richard

2015-01-01

More information is needed about factors influencing real-life implementation and program impact of interventions effective in controlled study conditions. Ongoing national implementation of an evidence-based HIV prevention program targeting grade 6 students in The Bahamas offers the opportunity to examine patterns of implementation and relate them to student outcomes. Data were collected from 208 grade 6 teachers, 75 grade 7 teachers and 4,411 grade 6 students followed over two years. Mixed-effects modeling analysis examined the association of teachers’ patterns of implementation with student outcomes. High quality program implementation in grade 6 (high implementation dosage and fidelity) was significantly related to student outcomes six and 18 months post-intervention. Quality of implementation of the booster session in grade 7 was also significantly related to student outcomes in grade 7. Quality of delivery of the brief booster session a year after initial implementation is important in maintaining or resetting the student outcome trajectory. PMID:26093781

77 FR 9529 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-17

... pollution control, Environmental protection, Incorporation by reference, Lead, Reporting and recordkeeping... Implementation Plan (SIP) and control strategy for the lead National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS... in this action is the lead NAAQS promulgated by EPA in 1978. EPA has determined that both SIP...

[Quality control in anesthesiology].

PubMed

Muñoz-Ramón, J M

1995-03-01

The process of quality control and auditing of anesthesiology allows us to evaluate care given by a service and solve problems that are detected. Quality control is a basic element of care giving and is only secondarily an area of academic research; it is therefore a meaningless effort if the information does not serve to improve departmental procedures. Quality assurance procedures assume certain infrastructural requirements and an initial period of implementation and adjustment. The main objectives of quality control are the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to anesthesia, assurance of the availability and proper management of resources and, finally, the well-being and safety of the patient.

Development of the supply chain oriented quality assurance system for aerospace manufacturing SMEs and its implementation perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussein, Abdullahi; Cheng, Kai

2016-10-01

Aerospace manufacturing SMEs are continuously facing the challenge on managing their supply chain and complying with the aerospace manufacturing quality standard requirement due to their lack of resources and the nature of business. In this paper, the ERP system based approach is presented to quality control and assurance work in light of seamless integration of in-process production data and information internally and therefore managing suppliers more effectively and efficiently. The Aerospace Manufacturing Quality Assurance Standard (BS/EN9100) is one of the most recognised and essential protocols for developing the industry-operated-and-driven quality assurance systems. The research investigates using the ERP based system as an enabler to implement BS/EN9100 quality management system at manufacturing SMEs and the associated implementation and application perspectives. An application case study on a manufacturing SME is presented by using the SAP based implementation, which helps further evaluate and validate the approach and application system development.

On the Control of Air Quality: Why the Laws Don't Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Paul; Ford, Robert

1973-01-01

Studied implementation of air quality management in two western New York counties by interviewing three enforcement agencies and 30 industrial firms. Concluded that critical problems existed in the transient nature of contaminant emissions and the control of regulatory power by industries. (CC)

40 CFR 52.2850 - Approval and promulgation of implementation plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Kansas City Intrastate Air Quality Control Region was received by the Department of Health, Education... the Philadelphia Interstate Air Quality Control Region was received by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare on June 30, 1970. Supplemental information was received October 20, 1970. The...

Design and Implementation of Total Quality Management in a Civil Engineering Squadron

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

instruct employees and seek new ways to integrate quality into all functions, such as planning, marketing , and controlling. The second strategy is for...implement a TQM plan that contributes to the overall DOD TQM process. 7 2. Managers at all levels will provide leadership and integrate TQM principles... integral part of our daily activities. 8 3. Quality improvement is the key to productivity improvement and must be pursued with the necessary resources to

TU-FG-201-12: Designing a Risk-Based Quality Assurance Program for a Newly Implemented Y-90 Microspheres Procedure

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

Vile, D; Zhang, L; Cuttino, L

2016-06-15

Purpose: To create a quality assurance program based upon a risk-based assessment of a newly implemented SirSpheres Y-90 procedure. Methods: A process map was created for a newly implemented SirSpheres procedure at a community hospital. The process map documented each step of this collaborative procedure, as well as the roles and responsibilities of each member. From the process map, different potential failure modes were determined as well as any current controls in place. From this list, a full failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was performed by grading each failure mode’s likelihood of occurrence, likelihood of detection, and potential severity.more » These numbers were then multiplied to compute the risk priority number (RPN) for each potential failure mode. Failure modes were then ranked based on their RPN. Additional controls were then added, with failure modes corresponding to the highest RPNs taking priority. Results: A process map was created that succinctly outlined each step in the SirSpheres procedure in its current implementation. From this, 72 potential failure modes were identified and ranked according to their associated RPN. Quality assurance controls and safety barriers were then added for failure modes associated with the highest risk being addressed first. Conclusion: A quality assurance program was created from a risk-based assessment of the SirSpheres process. Process mapping and FMEA were effective in identifying potential high-risk failure modes for this new procedure, which were prioritized for new quality assurance controls. TG 100 recommends the fault tree analysis methodology to design a comprehensive and effective QC/QM program, yet we found that by simply introducing additional safety barriers to address high RPN failure modes makes the whole process simpler and safer.« less

Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Baseline Control Law: Architecture and Performance Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

A model reference dynamic inversion control law has been developed to provide a baseline control law for research into adaptive elements and other advanced flight control law components. This controller has been implemented and tested in a hardware-in-the-loop simulation; the simulation results show excellent handling qualities throughout the limited flight envelope. A simple angular momentum formulation was chosen because it can be included in the stability proofs for many basic adaptive theories, such as model reference adaptive control. Many design choices and implementation details reflect the requirements placed on the system by the nonlinear flight environment and the desire to keep the system as basic as possible to simplify the addition of the adaptive elements. Those design choices are explained, along with their predicted impact on the handling qualities.

77 FR 26475 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-04

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD), Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District (EKAPCD), and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). We are proposing to approve revisions to local rules that define terms used in other air pollution regulations in these areas and a rule rescission that address Petroleum Coke Calcining Operations--Oxides of Sulfur, under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

78 FR 21545 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

...EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), we are approving local rules that address emission statements for AVAQMD, rule rescissions that addresses public records for MBUAPCD, and define terms for SBCAPCD.

Defining the best quality-control systems by design and inspection.

PubMed

Hinckley, C M

1997-05-01

Not all of the many approaches to quality control are equally effective. Nonconformities in laboratory testing are caused basically by excessive process variation and mistakes. Statistical quality control can effectively control process variation, but it cannot detect or prevent most mistakes. Because mistakes or blunders are frequently the dominant source of nonconformities, we conclude that statistical quality control by itself is not effective. I explore the 100% inspection methods essential for controlling mistakes. Unlike the inspection techniques that Deming described as ineffective, the new "source" inspection methods can detect mistakes and enable corrections before nonconformities are generated, achieving the highest degree of quality at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. Key relationships between task complexity and nonconformity rates are also described, along with cultural changes that are essential for implementing the best quality-control practices.

Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation.

PubMed

Alemnji, George; Edghill, Lisa; Guevara, Giselle; Wallace-Sankarsingh, Sacha; Albalak, Rachel; Cognat, Sebastien; Nkengasong, John; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

2017-01-01

Implementing quality management systems and accrediting laboratories in the Caribbean has been a challenge. We report the development of a stepwise process for quality systems improvement in the Caribbean Region. The Caribbean Laboratory Stakeholders met under a joint Pan American Health Organization/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative and developed a user-friendly framework called 'Laboratory Quality Management System - Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation' to support countries in strengthening laboratory services through a stepwise approach toward fulfilling the ISO 15189: 2012 requirements. This approach consists of a three-tiered framework. Tier 1 represents the minimum requirements corresponding to the mandatory criteria for obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Health of the participating country. The next two tiers are quality improvement milestones that are achieved through the implementation of specific quality management system requirements. Laboratories that meet the requirements of the three tiers will be encouraged to apply for accreditation. The Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality hosts the LQMS-SIP Secretariat and will work with countries, including the Ministry of Health and stakeholders, including laboratory staff, to coordinate and implement LQMS-SIP activities. The Caribbean Public Health Agency will coordinate and advocate for the LQMS-SIP implementation. This article presents the Caribbean LQMS-SIP framework and describes how it will be implemented among various countries in the region to achieve quality improvement.

Bel Marin Keys Unit V Expansion of the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project. Volume 3. Responses to Comments, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-04-01

include a program for implementing new development and construction site storm water quality controls. The objective of this component is to ensure...impacts (see Storm Water Quality Control, below). The Regional Board has adopted U.S. EPA’s Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) "Guidelines for...other Waters of the State. Storm Water Quality Control Storm water is the major source of fresh water to creeks and waterways. Storm water quality is

[IMPLEMENTATION OF A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN A NUTRITION UNIT ACCORDING TO ISO 9001:2008].

PubMed

Velasco Gimeno, Cristina; Cuerda Compés, Cristina; Alonso Puerta, Alba; Frías Soriano, Laura; Camblor Álvarez, Miguel; Bretón Lesmes, Irene; Plá Mestre, Rosa; Izquierdo Membrilla, Isabel; García-Peris, Pilar

2015-09-01

the implementation of quality management systems (QMS) in the health sector has made great progress in recent years, remains a key tool for the management and improvement of services provides to patients. to describe the process of implementing a quality management system (QMS) according to the standard ISO 9001:2008 in a Nutrition Unit. the implementation began in October 2012. Nutrition Unit was supported by Hospital Preventive Medicine and Quality Management Service (PMQM). Initially training sessions on QMS and ISO standards for staff were held. Quality Committee (QC) was established with representation of the medical and nursing staff. Every week, meeting took place among members of the QC and PMQM to define processes, procedures and quality indicators. We carry on a 2 months follow-up of these documents after their validation. a total of 4 processes were identified and documented (Nutritional status assessment, Nutritional treatment, Monitoring of nutritional treatment and Planning and control of oral feeding) and 13 operating procedures in which all the activity of the Unit were described. The interactions among them were defined in the processes map. Each process has associated specific quality indicators for measuring the state of the QMS, and identifying opportunities for improvement. All the documents associated with requirements of ISO 9001:2008 were developed: quality policy, quality objectives, quality manual, documents and records control, internal audit, nonconformities and corrective and preventive actions. The unit was certified by AENOR in April 2013. the implementation of a QMS causes a reorganization of the activities of the Unit in order to meet customer's expectations. Documenting these activities ensures a better understanding of the organization, defines the responsibilities of all staff and brings a better management of time and resources. QMS also improves the internal communication and is a motivational element. Explore the satisfaction and expectations of patients can include their view in the design of care processes. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

76 FR 67366 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Placer County Air Pollution Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

... Metro Air Quality Management District AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Direct... Pollution Control District (PCAPCD) and Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) portions..., this action: Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to review by the Office of Management...

33 CFR 385.21 - Quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... will be produced by a Project Delivery Team. The quality control plan shall be included in the Project Management Plan and shall describe the procedures to be used to ensure compliance with technical and policy requirements during implementation. (b) During development of the Project Management Plan for each project, the...

OZONE AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARD HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON PONDEROSA PINE IN CALIFORNIA

EPA Science Inventory

Ambient air quality standards and control strategies are implemented to protect humans and vegetation from adverse effects. However, to date there has not been a simple and objective method to determine if the standards and resultant control strategies have reduced O3 impacts on ...

A Guide for Implementing Total Quality Management in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

quality field were reviewed. The main ones studied were: Total Quality (Deming 1988); Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) (Shingo 1985); Poka - yoke (mistake...Productivity Press, 1985. Shingo, Shigeo. Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka - Yoke System. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press, 1986. Snead

Effects of a clinical pathway for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) on quality and cost of care.

PubMed

Schwarzbach, Matthias H M; Ronellenfitsch, Ulrich; Wang, Qian; Rössner, Eric D; Denz, Christof; Post, Stefan; Hohenberger, Peter

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of a clinical pathway (CP) for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) on process quality, outcome quality, and hospital costs. We implemented a CP for VATS and compared 34 patients treated with CP to 77 patients treated without CP. Indicators for process quality were duration of catheter placement, pain intensity, respiratory exercising, and mobilization. Outcome quality was measured through morbidity, mortality, reoperations, and readmissions. Cost of hospital stay was calculated using an imputed daily rate. Foley catheters were removed significantly earlier after CP implementation. All patients on CP were mobilized and received pulmonary exercising on the operation day. Pain levels were low after CP implementation. Median hospital stay significantly reduced by 5 days. Perioperative outcome quality remained unchanged. Costs significantly diminished by 1,510 Euro per stay. CP implementation had positive effects on process quality. Specifically, catheter management was improved and a good pain control achieved. Patients benefited from shortened stay and were treated at lower cost. A clear effect on outcome quality was not found. CPs are a promising tool for quality improvement and cost containment in thoracic surgery.

Clinical guidelines in the European Union: mapping the regulatory basis, development, quality control, implementation and evaluation across member states.

PubMed

Legido-Quigley, Helena; Panteli, Dimitra; Brusamento, Serena; Knai, Cécile; Saliba, Vanessa; Turk, Eva; Solé, Meritxell; Augustin, Uta; Car, Josip; McKee, Martin; Busse, Reinhard

2012-10-01

Clinical guidelines are advocated to improve the quality of care, especially for chronic diseases. However, the regulatory basis of clinical guidelines, their development, quality control, implementation and use as well as evaluation within countries across the European Union is not systematically known. Using information collected from key informants in each country by means of a structured questionnaire, this mapping exercise illustrates the varied status of guideline production in European Union countries. Most European Union countries have an established national, regional or local clinical guideline programme, and a substantial proportion have developed guidelines on the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Several countries have mechanisms in place to ensure the quality of scientific evidence used for the development of guidelines is high and that the process is consistent and transparent. Others are only now taking an interest in guideline development and are taking the first steps towards establishing ways of implementing them. The majority of countries have no legal basis for the development of guidelines and those that have well established systems mostly implement them on a voluntary basis. The process of guideline development varies in its degrees of decentralisation across countries with many different types of organisations taking on this responsibility. There is general acceptance of the value of the instrument developed by the AGREE collaboration for evaluating the methodological robustness of guidelines. However, the extent to which guidelines are implemented in Europe is unknown, as there is no systematic data collection and, in most countries, no structure to enable it. There are few examples of formal evaluations of the development, quality, implementation and use of guidelines. Our findings call for renewed efforts to respond to the severe lack of standardized guideline terminology and accessibility as well as rigorous studies to evaluate the relationship between different ways to develop guidelines and their methodological quality, between their quality and the actual implementation and usage, and finally between implementation and health outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Navy’s Quality Journey: Operational Implementation of TQL

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

training. Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa "Guide to Ouality Control" "QC begins with education and ends with education. To implement TQC, we need to carry out...York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. 20. Ishikawa , Kaoru . What is Total Qualit Control? Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1985. 21. Ishikawa , Kaoru

Framework for establishing records control in hospitals as an ISO 9001 requirement.

PubMed

Al-Qatawneh, Lina

2017-02-13

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the process followed to control records in a Jordanian private community hospital as an ISO 9001:2008 standard requirement. Design/methodology/approach Under the hospital quality council's supervision, the quality management and development office staff were responsible for designing, planning and implementing the quality management system (QMS) using the ISO 9001:2008 standard. A policy for records control was established. An action plan for establishing the records control was developed and implemented. On completion, a coding system for records was specified to be used by hospital staff. Finally, an internal audit was performed to verify conformity to the ISO 9001:2008 standard requirements. Findings Successful certification by a neutral body ascertained that the hospital's QMS conformed to the ISO 9001:2008 requirements. A framework was developed that describes the records controlling process, which can be used by staff in any healthcare organization wanting to achieve ISO 9001:2008 accreditation. Originality/value Given the increased interest among healthcare organizations to achieve the ISO 9001 certification, the proposed framework for establishing records control is developed and is expected to be a valuable management tool to improve and sustain healthcare quality.

A proposed methodology for impact assessment of air quality traffic-related measures: The case of PM2.5 in Beijing.

PubMed

Fontes, Tânia; Li, Peilin; Barros, Nelson; Zhao, Pengjun

2018-08-01

Air quality traffic-related measures have been implemented worldwide to control the pollution levels of urban areas. Although some of those measures are claiming environmental improvements, few studies have checked their real impact. In fact, quantitative estimates are often focused on reducing emissions, rather than on evaluating the actual measures' effect on air quality. Even when air quality studies are conducted, results are frequently unclear. In order to properly assess the real impact on air quality of traffic-related measures, a statistical method is proposed. The method compares the pollutant concentration levels observed after the implementation of a measure with the concentration values of the previous year. Short- and long-term impact is assessed considering not only their influence on the average pollutant concentration, but also on its maximum level. To control the effect of the main confounding factors, only the days with similar environmental conditions are analysed. The changeability of the key meteorological variables that affect the transport and dispersion of the pollutant studied are used to identify and group the days categorized as similar. Resemblance of the pollutants' concentration of the previous day is also taken into account. The impact of the road traffic measures on the air pollutants' concentration is then checked for those similar days using specific statistical functions. To evaluate the proposed method, the impact on PM 2.5 concentrations of two air quality traffic-related measures (M1 and M2) implemented in the city of Beijing are taken into consideration: M1 was implemented in 2009, restricting the circulation of yellow-labelled vehicles, while M2 was implemented in 2014, restricting the circulation of heavy-duty vehicles. To compare the results of each measure, a time-period when these measures were not applied is used as case-control. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in quality of care and costs induced by implementation of a diabetes program in a social security entity of Argentina.

PubMed

González, Lorena; Elgart, Jorge F; Calvo, Héctor; Gagliardino, Juan J

2013-01-01

To measure the impact of a diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors program implemented in a social security institution upon short- and long-term clinical/metabolic outcomes and costs of care. Observational longitudinal cohort analysis of clinical/metabolic data and resource use of 300 adult male and female program participants with diabetes before (baseline) and 1 and 3 years after implementation of the program. Data were obtained from clinical records (Qualidiab) and the administration's database. The implementation of the program in "real world" conditions resulted in an immediate and sustainable improvement of the quality of care provided to people with diabetes incorporated therein. We also recorded a more appropriate oral therapy prescription for hyperglycemia and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), as well as a decrease of events related to chronic complications. This improvement was associated with an increased use of diagnostic and therapeutic resources, particularly those related to pharmacy prescriptions, not specifically used for the control of hyperglycemia and other CVRFs. The implementation of a diabetes program in real-world conditions results in a significant short- and long-term improvement of the quality of care provided to people with diabetes and other CVRFs, but simultaneously increased the use of resources and the cost of diagnostic and therapeutic practices. Since controlled studies have shown improvement in quality of care without increasing costs, our results suggest the need to include management-control strategies in these programs for appropriate medical and administrative feedback to ensure the simultaneous improvement of clinical outcomes and optimization of the use of resources.

Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP): Is It Value-Added for Clinical Microbiology?

PubMed Central

Miller, Melissa B.; Hindler, Janet

2015-01-01

The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) recently published their Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP [https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/CLIA/Individualized_Quality_Control_Plan_IQCP.html]), which will be the only option for quality control (QC) starting in January 2016 if laboratories choose not to perform Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) [U.S. Statutes at Large 81(1967):533] default QC. Laboratories will no longer be able to use “equivalent QC” (EQC) or the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards alone for quality control of their microbiology systems. The implementation of IQCP in clinical microbiology laboratories will most certainly be an added burden, the benefits of which are currently unknown. PMID:26447112

[Study on "multi-dimensional structure and process dynamics quality control system" of Danshen infusion solution based on component structure theory].

PubMed

Feng, Liang; Zhang, Ming-Hua; Gu, Jun-Fei; Wang, Gui-You; Zhao, Zi-Yu; Jia, Xiao-Bin

2013-11-01

As traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation products feature complex compounds and multiple preparation processes, the implementation of quality control in line with the characteristics of TCM preparation products provides a firm guarantee for the clinical efficacy and safety of TCM preparation products. Danshen infusion solution is a preparation commonly used in clinic, but its quality control is restricted to indexes of finished products, which can not guarantee its inherent quality. Our study group has proposed "multi-dimensional structure and process dynamics quality control system" on the basis of "component structure theory", for the purpose of controlling the quality of Danshen infusion solution at multiple levels and in multiple links from the efficacy-related material basis, the safety-related material basis, the characteristics of dosage form to the preparation process. This article, we bring forth new ideas and models to the quality control of TCM preparation products.

Benefits of a comprehensive quality program for cryopreserved PBMC covering 28 clinical trials sites utilizing an integrated, analytical web-based portal

PubMed Central

Ducar, Constance; Smith, Donna; Pinzon, Cris; Stirewalt, Michael; Cooper, Cristine; McElrath, M. Juliana; Hural, John

2014-01-01

The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is a global network of 28 clinical trial sites dedicated to identifying an effective HIV vaccine. Cryopreservation of high-quality peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is critical for the assessment of vaccine-induced cellular immune functions. The HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program is designed to ensure viable PBMC are processed, stored and shipped for clinical trial assays from all HVTN clinical trial sites. The program has evolved by developing and incorporating best practices for laboratory and specimen quality and implementing automated, web-based tools. These tools allow the site-affiliated processing laboratories and the central Laboratory Operations Unit to rapidly collect, analyze and report PBMC quality data. The HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program includes five key components: 1) Laboratory Assessment, 2) PBMC Training and Certification, 3) Internal Quality Control, 4) External Quality Control (EQC), and 5) Assay Specimen Quality Control. Fresh PBMC processing data is uploaded from each clinical site processing laboratory to a central HVTN Statistical and Data Management Center database for access and analysis on a web portal. Samples are thawed at a central laboratory for assay or specimen quality control and sample quality data is uploaded directly to the database by the central laboratory. Four year cumulative data covering 23,477 blood draws reveals an average fresh PBMC yield of 1.45×106 ±0.48 cells per milliliter of useable whole blood. 95% of samples were within the acceptable range for fresh cell yield of 0.8–3.2×106 cells/ml of usable blood. Prior to full implementation of the HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program, the 2007 EQC evaluations from 10 international sites showed a mean day 2 thawed viability of 83.1% and recovery of 67.5%. Since then, four year cumulative data covering 3338 specimens used in immunologic assays shows that 99.88% had acceptable viabilities (>66%) for use in cellular assays (mean, 91.46% ±4.5%), and 96.2% had acceptable recoveries (50%–130%) with a mean of recovery of 85.8% ±19.12% of the originally cryopreserved cells. EQC testing revealed that since August 2009, failed recoveries dropped from 4.1% to 1.6% and failed viabilities dropped from 1.0% to 0.3%. The HVTN PBMC quality program provides for laboratory assessment, training and tools for identifying problems, implementing corrective action and monitoring for improvements. These data support the benefits of implementing a comprehensive, web-based PBMC quality program for large clinical trials networks. PMID:24709391

Revisiting sample size: are big trials the answer?

PubMed

Lurati Buse, Giovanna A L; Botto, Fernando; Devereaux, P J

2012-07-18

The superiority of the evidence generated in randomized controlled trials over observational data is not only conditional to randomization. Randomized controlled trials require proper design and implementation to provide a reliable effect estimate. Adequate random sequence generation, allocation implementation, analyses based on the intention-to-treat principle, and sufficient power are crucial to the quality of a randomized controlled trial. Power, or the probability of the trial to detect a difference when a real difference between treatments exists, strongly depends on sample size. The quality of orthopaedic randomized controlled trials is frequently threatened by a limited sample size. This paper reviews basic concepts and pitfalls in sample-size estimation and focuses on the importance of large trials in the generation of valid evidence.

Lessons Learned from the Implementation of Total Quality Management at the Naval Aviation Depot, North Island, California

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

Kaoru Ishikawa recognized the potential of statistical process control during one of Dr. Deming’s many instructional visits to Japan. He wrote the Guide...to Quality Control which has been utilized for both self-study and classroom training. In the Guide to Quality Control, Dr. Ishikawa describes...job data are essential for making a proper evaluation.( Ishikawa , p. 14) The gathering of data and its subsequent analysis are the foundation of

Napa River Salt Marsh Restoration Project. Volume 2: Environmental Impact Statement Comments Letters and Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-06-01

The SWMPs must include a program for implementing new development and construction site storm water quality controls. The objective of this...mitigate those impacts (see Storm Water Quality Control, below). The Regional Board has adopted U.S. EPA’s Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1...impacts to wetlands or other Waters of the State. Storm Water Quality Control Storm water is the major source of fresh water to creeks and waterways. Storm

Contribution au developpement d'une methode de controle des procedes dans une usine de bouletage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosselin, Claude

This thesis, a collaborative effort between Ecole de technologie superieure and ArcelorMittal Company, presents the development of a methodology for monitoring and quality control of multivariable industrial production processes. This innovation research mandate was developed at ArcelorMittal Exploitation Miniere (AMEM) pellet plant in Port-Cartier (Quebec, Canada). With this undertaking, ArcelorMittal is striving to maintain its world class level of excellence and continues to pursue initiatives that can augment its competitive advantage worldwide. The plant's gravimetric classification process was retained as a prototype and development laboratory due to its effect on the company's competitiveness and its impact on subsequent steps leading to final production of iron oxide pellets. Concretely, the development of this expertise in process control and in situ monitoring will establish a firm basic knowledge in the fields of complex system physical modeling, data reconciliation, statistical observers, multivariate command and quality control using real-time monitoring of the desirability function. The hydraulic classifier is mathematically modeled. Using planned disturbances on the production line, an identification procedure was established to provide empirical estimations of the model's structural parameters. A new sampling campaign and a previously unpublished data collection and consolidation policy were implemented plant-wide. Access to these invaluable data sources has enabled the establishment of new thresholds that govern the production process and its control. Finally, as a substitute for the traditional quality control process, we have implemented a new strategy based on the use of the desirability function. Our innovation is not in using this Finally, as a substitute for the traditional quality control process, we have implemented a new strategy based on the use of the desirability function. Our innovation is not in using this function as an indicator of overall (economic) satisfaction in the production process, but rather in proposing it as an "observer" of the system's state. The first implementation steps have already demonstrated the method's feasibility as well as other numerous industrial impacts on production processes within the company. Namely, the emergence of the economical aspect as a strategic variable that assures better governance of production processes where quality variables present strategic issues.

Adherence and delivery: Implementation quality and program outcomes for the 7th grade keepin’ it REAL program

PubMed Central

Pettigrew, Jonathan; Graham, John W.; Miller-Day, Michelle; Hecht, Michael L.; Krieger, Janice L.; Shin, Young Ju

2014-01-01

Poor implementation quality (IQ) is known to reduce program effects making it important to consider IQ for evaluation and dissemination of prevention programs. However, less is known about the ways specific implementation variables relate to outcomes. In this study, two versions of the keepin’ it REAL, 7th grade drug prevention intervention were implemented in 78 classrooms in 25 schools in rural districts in Pennsylvania and Ohio. IQ was measured through observational coding of 276 videos. IQ variables included adherence to the curriculum, teacher engagement (attentiveness, enthusiasm, seriousness, clarity, positivity), student engagement (attention, participation), and a global rating of teacher delivery quality. Factor analysis showed that teacher engagement, student engagement, and delivery quality formed one factor, which was labeled delivery. A second factor was adherence to the curriculum. Self-report student surveys measured substance use, norms (beliefs about prevalence and acceptability of use), and efficacy (beliefs about one’s ability to refuse substance offers) at two waves (pretest, immediate posttest). Mixed model regression analysis which accounted for missing data and controlled for pretest levels examined implementation quality’s effects on individual level outcomes, statistically controlling for cluster level effects. Results show that when implemented well, students show positive outcomes compared to students receiving a poorly implemented program. Delivery significantly influenced substance use and norms, but not efficacy. Adherence marginally significantly predicted use and significantly predicted norms, but not efficacy. Findings underscore the importance of comprehensively measuring and accounting for IQ, particularly delivery, when evaluating prevention interventions. PMID:24442403

Quality control troubleshooting tools for the mill floor

Treesearch

John Dramm

2000-01-01

Statistical Process Control (SPC) provides effective tools for improving process quality in the forest products industry resulting in reduced costs and improved productivity. Implementing SPC helps identify and locate problems that occur in wood products manufacturing. SPC tools achieve their real value when applied on the mill floor for monitoring and troubleshooting...

40 CFR 85.1412 - Maintenance and submittal of records for equipment certifiers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... original equipment being replaced; (4) A description of the quality control plan used to monitor production... taken in implementing the quality control plan, and any subsequent analyses of that data; and (6) All in... the equipment certifier has offered to sell its certified equipment for less than the life cycle cost...

40 CFR 85.1412 - Maintenance and submittal of records for equipment certifiers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... original equipment being replaced; (4) A description of the quality control plan used to monitor production... taken in implementing the quality control plan, and any subsequent analyses of that data; and (6) All in... the equipment certifier has offered to sell its certified equipment for less than the life cycle cost...

78 FR 2878 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Georgia: New Source Review-Prevention of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-14

... Deterioration'' to approve changes to Georgia's SIP-approved regulations entitled ``Air Quality Control Rule 391... a separate action, the correct version of EPA's proposed rulemaking related to Georgia's Air Quality Control Rule 391-3-.1 is being provided for public comment. This course of action will promote efficiency...

77 FR 16676 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Operating Permits Program; Commonwealth of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-22

... Pollution, submitted to EPA by the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board on July 13, 2011. This action...)(2).) List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation... Control of Atmospheric Pollution submitted on July 13, 2011 by the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board...

Quality control in gastrointestinal surgery.

PubMed

Ramírez-Barba, Ector Jaime; Arenas-Moya, Diego; Vázquez-Guerrero, Arturo

2011-01-01

We analyzed the Mexican legal framework, identifying the vectors that characterize quality and control in gastrointestinal surgery. Quality is contemplated in the health protection rights determined according to the Mexican Constitution, established in the general health law and included as a specific goal in the actual National Development Plan and Health Sector Plan. Quality control implies planning, verification and application of corrective measures. Mexico has implemented several quality strategies such as certification of hospitals and regulatory agreements by the General Salubrity Council, creation of the National Health Quality Committee, generation of Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Certification of Medical Specialties, among others. Quality control in gastrointestinal surgery must begin at the time of medical education and continue during professional activities of surgeons, encouraging multidisciplinary teamwork, knowledge, abilities, attitudes, values and skills that promote homogeneous, safe and quality health services for the Mexican population.

GEOSPATIAL QA

EPA Science Inventory

Geospatial Science is increasingly becoming an important tool in making Agency decisions. Quality Control and Quality Assurance are required to be integrated during the planning, implementation and assessment of geospatial databases, processes and products. In order to ensure Age...

Implementation of basic quality control tests for malaria medicines in Amazon Basin countries: results for the 2005–2010 period

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Ensuring the quality of malaria medicines is crucial in working toward malaria control and eventual elimination. Unlike other validated tests that can assess all critical quality attributes, which is the standard for determining the quality of medicines, basic tests are significantly less expensive, faster, and require less skilled labour; yet, these tests provide reproducible data and information on several critical quality attributes, such as identity, purity, content, and disintegration. Visual and physical inspection also provides valuable information about the manufacturing and the labelling of medicines, and in many cases this inspection is sufficient to detect counterfeit medicines. The Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) programme has provided technical assistance to Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) countries to implement the use of basic tests as a key screening mechanism to assess the quality of malaria medicines available to patients in decentralized regions. Methods Trained personnel from the National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs), often in collaboration with country’s Official Medicine Control Laboratory (OMCL), developed country- specific protocols that encompassed sampling methods, sample analysis, and data reporting. Sampling sites were selected based on malaria burden, accessibility, and geographical location. Convenience sampling was performed and countries were recommended to store the sampled medicines under conditions that did not compromise their quality. Basic analytical tests, such as disintegration and thin layer chromatography (TLC), were performed utilizing a portable mini-laboratory. Results Results were originally presented at regional meetings in a non-standardized format that lacked relevant medicines information. However, since 2008 information has been submitted utilizing a template specifically developed by PQM for that purpose. From 2005 to 2010, the quality of 1,663 malaria medicines from seven AMI countries was evaluated, mostly collected from the public sector, 1,445/1,663 (86.9%). Results indicate that 193/1,663 (11.6%) were found not to meet quality specifications. Most failures were reported during visual and physical inspection, 142/1663 (8.5%), and most of these were due to expired medicines, 118/142 (83.1%). Samples failing TLC accounted for 27/1,663 (1.6%) and those failing disintegration accounted for 24/1,663 (1.4%). Medicines quality failures decreased significantly during the last two years. Conclusions Basic tests revealed that the quality of medicines in the public sector improved over the years, since the implementation of this type of quality monitoring programme in 2005. However, the lack of consistent confirmatory tests in the quality control (QC) laboratory, utilizing methods that can also evaluate additional quality attributes, could still mask quality issues. In the future, AMI countries should improve coordination with their health authorities and their QC lab consistently, to provide a more complete picture of malaria medicines quality and support the implementation of corrective actions. Facilities in the private and informal sectors also should be included when these sectors constitute an important source of medicines used by malaria patients. PMID:22704680

Implementation of basic quality control tests for malaria medicines in Amazon Basin countries: results for the 2005-2010 period.

PubMed

Pribluda, Victor S; Barojas, Adrian; Añez, Arletta; López, Cecilia G; Figueroa, Ruth; Herrera, Roxana; Nakao, Gladys; Nogueira, Fernando Ha; Pianetti, Gerson A; Povoa, Marinete M; Viana, Giselle Mr; Gomes, Margarete S Mendonça; Escobar, Jose P; Sierra, Olga L Muñoz; Norena, Susana P Rendon; Veloz, Raúl; Bravo, Marcy Silva; Aldás, Martha R; Hindssemple, Alison; Collins, Marilyn; Ceron, Nicolas; Krishnalall, Karanchand; Adhin, Malti; Bretas, Gustavo; Hernandez, Nelly; Mendoza, Marjorie; Smine, Abdelkrim; Chibwe, Kennedy; Lukulay, Patrick; Evans, Lawrence

2012-06-15

Ensuring the quality of malaria medicines is crucial in working toward malaria control and eventual elimination. Unlike other validated tests that can assess all critical quality attributes, which is the standard for determining the quality of medicines, basic tests are significantly less expensive, faster, and require less skilled labour; yet, these tests provide reproducible data and information on several critical quality attributes, such as identity, purity, content, and disintegration. Visual and physical inspection also provides valuable information about the manufacturing and the labelling of medicines, and in many cases this inspection is sufficient to detect counterfeit medicines. The Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) programme has provided technical assistance to Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) countries to implement the use of basic tests as a key screening mechanism to assess the quality of malaria medicines available to patients in decentralized regions. Trained personnel from the National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs), often in collaboration with country's Official Medicine Control Laboratory (OMCL), developed country- specific protocols that encompassed sampling methods, sample analysis, and data reporting. Sampling sites were selected based on malaria burden, accessibility, and geographical location. Convenience sampling was performed and countries were recommended to store the sampled medicines under conditions that did not compromise their quality. Basic analytical tests, such as disintegration and thin layer chromatography (TLC), were performed utilizing a portable mini-laboratory. Results were originally presented at regional meetings in a non-standardized format that lacked relevant medicines information. However, since 2008 information has been submitted utilizing a template specifically developed by PQM for that purpose. From 2005 to 2010, the quality of 1,663 malaria medicines from seven AMI countries was evaluated, mostly collected from the public sector, 1,445/1,663 (86.9%). Results indicate that 193/1,663 (11.6%) were found not to meet quality specifications. Most failures were reported during visual and physical inspection, 142/1663 (8.5%), and most of these were due to expired medicines, 118/142 (83.1%). Samples failing TLC accounted for 27/1,663 (1.6%) and those failing disintegration accounted for 24/1,663 (1.4%). Medicines quality failures decreased significantly during the last two years. Basic tests revealed that the quality of medicines in the public sector improved over the years, since the implementation of this type of quality monitoring programme in 2005. However, the lack of consistent confirmatory tests in the quality control (QC) laboratory, utilizing methods that can also evaluate additional quality attributes, could still mask quality issues. In the future, AMI countries should improve coordination with their health authorities and their QC lab consistently, to provide a more complete picture of malaria medicines quality and support the implementation of corrective actions. Facilities in the private and informal sectors also should be included when these sectors constitute an important source of medicines used by malaria patients.

Implementation of Evidence-Based Employment Services in Specialty Mental Health

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Alison B; Cohen, Amy N; Glover, Dawn L; Whelan, Fiona; Chemerinski, Eran; McNagny, Kirk P; Mullins, Deborah; Reist, Christopher; Schubert, Max; Young, Alexander S

2013-01-01

Objective. Study a quality improvement approach for implementing evidence-based employment services at specialty mental health clinics. Data Sources/Study Setting. Semistructured interviews with clinicians and administrators before, during, and after implementation. Qualitative field notes, structured baseline and follow-up interviews with patients, semistructured interviews with patients after implementation, and administrative data. Study Design. Site-level controlled trial at four implementation and four control sites. Hybrid implementation–effectiveness study with mixed methods intervention evaluation design. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Site visits, in-person and telephone interviews, patient surveys, patient self-assessment. A total of 801 patients completed baseline surveys and 53 clinicians and other clinical key stakeholders completed longitudinal qualitative interviews. Principal Findings. At baseline, sites varied in the availability, utilization, and quality of supported employment. Each site needed quality improvement for this service, though for differing reasons, with some needing development of the service itself and others needing increased service capacity. Improvements in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and referral behaviors were evident in mid- and postimplementation interviews, though some barriers persisted. Half of patients expressed an interest in working at baseline. Patients at implementation sites were 2.3 times more likely to receive employment services during the study year. Those who had a service visit were more likely to be employed at follow-up than those who did not. Conclusions. Studies of implementation and effectiveness require mixed methods to both enhance implementation in real time and provide context for interpretation of complex results. In this study, a quality improvement approach resulted in superior patient-level outcomes and improved clinician knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, in the context of substantial variation among sites. PMID:24138608

Approaches to quality management and accreditation in a genetic testing laboratory

PubMed Central

Berwouts, Sarah; Morris, Michael A; Dequeker, Elisabeth

2010-01-01

Medical laboratories, and specifically genetic testing laboratories, provide vital medical services to different clients: clinicians requesting a test, patients from whom the sample was collected, public health and medical-legal instances, referral laboratories and authoritative bodies. All expect results that are accurate and obtained in an efficient and effective manner, within a suitable time frame and at acceptable cost. There are different ways of achieving the end results, but compliance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189, the international standard for the accreditation of medical laboratories, is becoming progressively accepted as the optimal approach to assuring quality in medical testing. We present recommendations and strategies designed to aid genetic testing laboratories with the implementation of a quality management system, including key aspects such as document control, external quality assessment, internal quality control, internal audit, management review, validation, as well as managing the human side of change. The focus is on pragmatic approaches to attain the levels of quality management and quality assurance required for accreditation according to ISO 15189, within the context of genetic testing. Attention is also given to implementing efficient and effective quality improvement. PMID:20720559

Using quality control to limit bismuth in copper cathodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serrano, John R.; Berger, Dennis; Bridges, Bill

1994-10-01

This article describes quality-control work at Phelps Dodge, undertaken as part of ISO 9003 certification, to better identify and prevent the contamination of copper cathodes by bismuth. It also overviews the implementation of a production control system as well as associated training designed to minimize the possibility of bismuth-contaminated copper progressing beyond the cathode stage to other areas of manufacturing or distribution.

Development and implementation of the Caribbean Laboratory Quality Management Systems Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation

PubMed Central

Alemnji, George; Edghill, Lisa; Wallace-Sankarsingh, Sacha; Albalak, Rachel; Cognat, Sebastien; Nkengasong, John; Gabastou, Jean-Marc

2017-01-01

Background Implementing quality management systems and accrediting laboratories in the Caribbean has been a challenge. Objectives We report the development of a stepwise process for quality systems improvement in the Caribbean Region. Methods The Caribbean Laboratory Stakeholders met under a joint Pan American Health Organization/US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative and developed a user-friendly framework called ‘Laboratory Quality Management System – Stepwise Improvement Process (LQMS-SIP) Towards Accreditation’ to support countries in strengthening laboratory services through a stepwise approach toward fulfilling the ISO 15189: 2012 requirements. Results This approach consists of a three-tiered framework. Tier 1 represents the minimum requirements corresponding to the mandatory criteria for obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Health of the participating country. The next two tiers are quality improvement milestones that are achieved through the implementation of specific quality management system requirements. Laboratories that meet the requirements of the three tiers will be encouraged to apply for accreditation. The Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality hosts the LQMS-SIP Secretariat and will work with countries, including the Ministry of Health and stakeholders, including laboratory staff, to coordinate and implement LQMS-SIP activities. The Caribbean Public Health Agency will coordinate and advocate for the LQMS-SIP implementation. Conclusion This article presents the Caribbean LQMS-SIP framework and describes how it will be implemented among various countries in the region to achieve quality improvement. PMID:28879149

[Implementation of the technical requirements of the UNE-EN-ISO 15189 quality standard in a mycobacterial laboratory].

PubMed

Guna Serrano, M del Remedio; Ocete Mochón, M Dolores; Lahiguera, M José; Bresó, M Carmen; Gimeno Cardona, Concepción

2013-02-01

The UNE-EN-ISO 15189:2007 standard defines the requirements for quality and competence that must be met by medical laboratories. These laboratories should use this international standard to develop their own quality management systems and to evaluate their own competencies; in turn, this standard will be used by accreditation bodies to confirm or recognize the laboratories' competence. In clinical microbiology laboratories, application of the standard implies the implementation of the technical and specific management requirements that must be met to achieve optimal quality when carrying out microbiological tests. In Spain, accreditation is granted by the Spanish Accreditation Body (Entidad Nacional de Acreditación). This review aims to discuss the practical application of the standard's technical requirements in mycobacterial laboratory. Firstly, we define the scope of accreditation. Secondly, we specify how the items of the standard on personnel management, control of equipment, environmental facilities, method validation, internal controls and customer satisfaction surveys were developed and implemented in our laboratory. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Hospital implementation of health information technology and quality of care: are they related?

PubMed

Restuccia, Joseph D; Cohen, Alan B; Horwitt, Jedediah N; Shwartz, Michael

2012-09-27

Recently, there has been considerable effort to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) in order to improve health care quality. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which HIT implementation is associated with hospital patient care quality. We undertook this study to determine the association of various HITs with: hospital quality improvement (QI) practices and strategies; adherence to process of care measures; risk-adjusted inpatient mortality; patient satisfaction; and assessment of patient care quality by hospital quality managers and front-line clinicians. We conducted surveys of quality managers and front-line clinicians (physicians and nurses) in 470 short-term, general hospitals to obtain data on hospitals' extent of HIT implementation, QI practices and strategies, assessments of quality performance, commitment to quality, and sufficiency of resources for QI. Of the 470 hospitals, 401 submitted complete data necessary for analysis. We also developed measures of hospital performance from several publicly data available sources: Hospital Compare adherence to process of care measures; Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) file; and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems HCAHPS® survey. We used Poisson regression analysis to examine the association between HIT implementation and QI practices and strategies, and general linear models to examine the relationship between HIT implementation and hospital performance measures. Controlling for potential confounders, we found that hospitals with high levels of HIT implementation engaged in a statistically significant greater number of QI practices and strategies, and had significantly better performance on mortality rates, patient satisfaction measures, and assessments of patient care quality by hospital quality managers; there was weaker evidence of higher assessments of patient care quality by front-line clinicians. Hospital implementation of HIT was positively associated with activities intended to improve patient care quality and with higher performance on four of six performance measures.

Marketing to Develop the Premier Medical Brand in the Huaihai Economic Zone.

PubMed

Zhang, Peiying; Meng, Qingchao

2015-06-01

Based on the practices at Xuzhou Central Hospital, the authors analyzed the improvements in the healthcare quality and economic efficiency after implementing a brand marketing strategy. Using methods including questionnaires and business controlling means, we summarized that the improvements to the healthcare quality and economic efficiency after strategies were implemented in the areas of network, reputation, academic research, and public welfare. After the implementation of a brand marketing campaign, the medical service quality and brand reputation have been greatly improved. Meanwhile, a central hospital group was formed and gradually became the central healthcare provider in the Huaihai Economic Zone. The new marketing facilitated the drastic increase of medical service and brand reputation.

10 CFR 26.167 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... be designed, implemented, and reviewed to monitor the conduct of each step of the testing process. (b... sample and the error is determined to be technical or methodological, the licensee or other entity shall...

10 CFR 26.167 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... be designed, implemented, and reviewed to monitor the conduct of each step of the testing process. (b... sample and the error is determined to be technical or methodological, the licensee or other entity shall...

10 CFR 26.167 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... be designed, implemented, and reviewed to monitor the conduct of each step of the testing process. (b... sample and the error is determined to be technical or methodological, the licensee or other entity shall...

10 CFR 26.167 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... be designed, implemented, and reviewed to monitor the conduct of each step of the testing process. (b... sample and the error is determined to be technical or methodological, the licensee or other entity shall...

10 CFR 26.167 - Quality assurance and quality control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... be designed, implemented, and reviewed to monitor the conduct of each step of the testing process. (b... sample and the error is determined to be technical or methodological, the licensee or other entity shall...

The effects of dementia care mapping on nursing home residents' quality of life and staff attitudes: design of the quasi-experimental study Leben-QD II.

PubMed

Halek, Margareta; Dichter, Martin Nikolaus; Quasdorf, Tina; Riesner, Christine; Bartholomeyczik, Sabine

2013-06-01

The main objective of care for people with dementia is the maintenance and promotion of quality of life (Qol). Most of the residents in nursing homes have challenging behaviors that strongly affect their Qol. Person-centered care (PCC) is an approach that aims to achieve the best possible Qol and to reduce challenging behaviors. Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) is a method of implementing PCC that has been used in Germany for several years. However, there are no data on the effectiveness of DCM or the challenges of implementation of DCM in German nursing homes. In this quasi-experimental non-randomized cluster-controlled study, the effects of DCM will be compared to 2 comparison groups. 9 nursing homes will take part: 3 will implement DCM, 3 will implement a comparison intervention using an alternative Qol assessment, and 3 have already implemented DCM. The main effect outcomes are Qol, challenging behaviors, staff attitudes toward dementia, job satisfaction and burnout of caregivers. These outcomes will be measured on 3 data points. Different quantitative and qualitative data sources will be collected through the course of the study to investigate the degree of implementation as well as facilitators of and barriers to the implementation process. This study will provide new information about the effectiveness of DCM and the implementation process of DCM in German nursing homes. The study results will provide important information to guide the national discussion about the improvement of dementia-specific Qol, quality of care in nursing homes and allocation of resources. In addition, the study results will provide information for decision-making and implementation of complex psychosocial interventions such as DCM. The findings will also be important for the design of a subsequent randomized controlled trial (e.g. appropriateness of outcomes and measurements, inclusion criteria for participating nursing homes) and the development of a successful implementation strategy. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN43916381.

Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP): Is It Value-Added for Clinical Microbiology?

PubMed

Sharp, Susan E; Miller, Melissa B; Hindler, Janet

2015-12-01

The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) recently published their Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP [https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/CLIA/Individualized_Quality_Control_Plan_IQCP.html]), which will be the only option for quality control (QC) starting in January 2016 if laboratories choose not to perform Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) [U.S. Statutes at Large 81(1967):533] default QC. Laboratories will no longer be able to use "equivalent QC" (EQC) or the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards alone for quality control of their microbiology systems. The implementation of IQCP in clinical microbiology laboratories will most certainly be an added burden, the benefits of which are currently unknown. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A reliable low cost integrated wireless sensor network for water quality monitoring and level control system in UAE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abou-Elnour, Ali; Khaleeq, Hyder; Abou-Elnour, Ahmad

2016-04-01

In the present work, wireless sensor network and real-time controlling and monitoring system are integrated for efficient water quality monitoring for environmental and domestic applications. The proposed system has three main components (i) the sensor circuits, (ii) the wireless communication system, and (iii) the monitoring and controlling unit. LabView software has been used in the implementation of the monitoring and controlling system. On the other hand, ZigBee and myRIO wireless modules have been used to implement the wireless system. The water quality parameters are accurately measured by the present computer based monitoring system and the measurement results are instantaneously transmitted and published with minimum infrastructure costs and maximum flexibility in term of distance or location. The mobility and durability of the proposed system are further enhanced by fully powering via a photovoltaic system. The reliability and effectiveness of the system are evaluated under realistic operating conditions.

A quality improvement plan for hypertension control: the INCOTECA Project (INterventions for COntrol of hyperTEnsion in CAtalonia)

PubMed Central

Vallès-Fernandez, Roser; Rosell-Murphy, Magdalena; Correcher-Aventin, Olga; Mengual-Martínez, Lucas; Aznar-Martínez, Núria; Prieto-De Lamo, Gemma; Franzi-Sisó, Alícia; Puig-Manresa, Jordi; Ma Bonet-Simó, Josep

2009-01-01

Background Different studies have shown insufficient blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients. Multiple factors influence hypertension management, and the quality of primary care is one of them. We decided therefore to evaluate the effectiveness of a quality improvement plan directed at professionals of Primary Health Care Teams (PHCT) with the aim to achieve a better control of hypertension. The hypothesis of the study is that the implementation of a quality improvement plan will improve the control of hypertension. The primary aim of this study will be to evaluate the effectiveness of this plan. Methods and design Design: multicentric study quasi-experimental before – after with control group. The non-randomised allocation of the intervention will be done at PHCT level. Setting: 18 PHCT in the Barcelona province (Spain). Sample: all patients with a diagnosis of hypertension (population based study). Exclusion criteria: patients with a diagnosis of hypertension made later than 01/01/2006 and patients younger than 18 years. Intervention: a quality improvement plan, which targets primary health care professionals and includes educational sessions, feedback to health professionals, audit and implementation of recommended clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertensive patients. Measurements: age, sex, associated co-morbidity (diabetes mellitus type I and II, heart failure and renal failure). The following variables will be recorded: BP measurement, cardiovascular risk and antihypertensive drugs used. Results will be measured before the start of the intervention and twelve months after the start of the study. Dependent variable: prevalence of hypertensive patients with poor BP control. Analysis: Chi-square test and Student's t-test will be used to measure the association between independent qualitative and quantitative variables, respectively. Non-parametric tests will be used for the analysis of non-normally distributed variables. Significance level (α) will be set at < 0.05. Outcomes will be analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. Discussion The implementation of a quality improvement plan might benefit the coordination of different professionals of PHCTs and may also improve blood pressure control. Trial Registration This protocol has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov with the ID number MS: 1998275938244441. PMID:19321009

Interrater Reliability in Large-Scale Assessments--Can Teachers Score National Tests Reliably without External Controls?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pantzare, Anna Lind

2015-01-01

In most large-scale assessment systems a set of rather expensive external quality controls are implemented in order to guarantee the quality of interrater reliability. This study empirically examines if teachers' ratings of national tests in mathematics can be reliable without using monitoring, training, or other methods of external quality…

Implementation of the Secondary 3 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S.: observations based on the co-walker scheme.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-17

The present study was conducted to explore the implementation quality of the Secondary 3 Program of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in the third year of the Full Implementation Phase. Classroom observations of 182 units in 129 schools were conducted. Results showed that the overall level of program adherence was 73.9%. Thirteen aspects concerning program delivery were significantly correlated. Multiple regression analyses revealed that overall implementation quality was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, strategies to enhance student motivation, use of positive and supportive feedback, degree of achievement of the objectives, and lesson preparation. Success of implementation was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, classroom control, use of positive and supportive feedback, opportunity for reflection, degree of achievement of the objectives and time management. The present findings generally suggest that the implementation quality of Project P.A.T.H.S. was high.

Effects of control laws and relaxed static stability on vertical ride quality of flexible aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, P. A.; Swaim, R. L.; Schmidt, D. K.; Hinsdale, A. J.

1977-01-01

State variable techniques are utilized to generate the RMS vertical load factors for the B-52H and B-1 bombers at low level, mission critical, cruise conditions. A ride quality index is proposed to provide meaningful comparisons between different controls or conditions. Ride quality is shown to be relatively invariant under various popular control laws. Handling quality variations are shown to be major contributors to ride quality variations on both vehicles. Relaxed static stability is artificially implemented on the study vehicles to investigate its effects on ride quality. The B-52H ride quality is generally degraded when handling characteristics are automatically restored by a feedback control to the original values from relaxed stability conditions. The B-1 airplane shows little ride quality sensitivity to the same analysis due to the small rigid body contribution to load factors at the flight condition investigated.

Control Reallocation Strategies for Damage Adaptation in Transport Class Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gundy-Burlet, Karen; Krishnakumar, K.; Limes, Greg; Bryant, Don

2003-01-01

This paper examines the feasibility, potential benefits and implementation issues associated with retrofitting a neural-adaptive flight control system (NFCS) to existing transport aircraft, including both cable/hydraulic and fly-by-wire configurations. NFCS uses a neural network based direct adaptive control approach for applying alternate sources of control authority in the presence of damage or failures in order to achieve desired flight control performance. Neural networks are used to provide consistent handling qualities across flight conditions, adapt to changes in aircraft dynamics and to make the controller easy to apply when implemented on different aircraft. Full-motion piloted simulation studies were performed on two different transport models: the Boeing 747-400 and the Boeing C-17. Subjects included NASA, Air Force and commercial airline pilots. Results demonstrate the potential for improving handing qualities and significantly increased survivability rates under various simulated failure conditions.

Office of Student Financial Aid Quality Improvement Program: Design and Implementation Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Advanced Technology, Inc., Reston, VA.

The purpose and direction of the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) quality improvement program are described. The background and context for the Pell Grant quality control (QC) design study and the meaning of QC are reviewed. The general approach to quality improvement consists of the following elements: a strategic approach that enables OSFA…

Aligning Teaching Quality Indicators with University Reward Mechanisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kulski, Martijntje; Groombridge, Barbara

2004-01-01

Teaching quality emerged as a significant issue in higher education during the 90s. This led to the implementation of numerous quality control, assurance and enhancement schemes as institutions attempted to stay abreast of demands from various stakeholders in a rapidly changing educational environment. More recently, with the establishment of the…

76 FR 80933 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-27

... Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Water Quality Inventory... docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov . Title: National Water Quality Inventory Reports (Renewal). ICR... meet water quality standards (WQS) following the implementation of technology-based controls. Under...

An Annotated Reading List for Concurrent Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

The seven tools are sometimes referred to as the seven old tools.) -9- Ishikawa , Kaoru , What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way, Prentice-Hall...some solutions. * Ishikawa (1982) presents a practical guide (with easy to use tools) for implementing qual- ity control at the working level...study of, :-, ieering for the last two years. Is..ikawa, Kaoru , Guide to Quality Control, Kraus International Publications, White Plains, NY, 1982. The

Quality control and quality assurance plan for bridge channel-stability assessments in Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parker, Gene W.; Pinson, Harlow

1993-01-01

A quality control and quality assurance plan has been implemented as part of the Massachusetts bridge scour and channel-stability assessment program. This program is being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts-Rhode Island District, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Highway Department. Project personnel training, data-integrity verification, and new data-management technologies are being utilized in the channel-stability assessment process to improve current data-collection and management techniques. An automated data-collection procedure has been implemented to standardize channel-stability assessments on a regular basis within the State. An object-oriented data structure and new image management tools are used to produce a data base enabling management of multiple data object classes. Data will be reviewed by assessors and data base managers before being merged into a master bridge-scour data base, which includes automated data-verification routines.

Air quality assessment in Delhi: before and after CNG as fuel.

PubMed

Chelani, Asha B; Devotta, Sukumar

2007-02-01

A number of policy measures have been activated in India in order to control the levels of air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide (SO(2)) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). Delhi, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, is also going through the implementation phase of the control policies. Ambient air quality data monitored during 2000 to 2003, at 10 sites in Delhi, were analyzed to assess the impact of implementation of these measures, specifically fuel change in vehicles. This paper presents the impact of policy measures on ambient air quality levels and also the source apportionment. CO and NO(2) concentration levels in ambient air are found to be associated with the mobile sources. The temporal variation of air quality data shows the significant effect of shift to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in vehicles.

Quality Control of the Print with the Application of Statistical Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonenko, K. V.; Bulatova, G. S.; Antropova, L. B.; Varepo, L. G.

2018-04-01

The basis for standardizing the process of offset printing is the control of print quality indicators. The solution of this problem has various approaches, among which the most important are statistical methods. Practical implementation of them for managing the quality of the printing process is very relevant and is reflected in this paper. The possibility of using the method of constructing a Control Card to identify the reasons for the deviation of the optical density for a triad of inks in offset printing is shown.

Ensuring quality: a key consideration in scaling-up HIV-related point-of-care testing programs

PubMed Central

Fonjungo, Peter N.; Osmanov, Saladin; Kuritsky, Joel; Ndihokubwayo, Jean Bosco; Bachanas, Pam; Peeling, Rosanna W.; Timperi, Ralph; Fine, Glenn; Stevens, Wendy; Habiyambere, Vincent; Nkengasong, John N.

2016-01-01

Objective: The objective of the WHO/US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief consultation was to discuss innovative strategies, offer guidance, and develop a comprehensive policy framework for implementing quality-assured HIV-related point-of-care testing (POCT). Methods: The consultation was attended by representatives from international agencies (WHO, UNICEF, UNITAID, Clinton Health Access Initiative), United States Agency for International Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Cooperative Agreement Partners, and experts from more than 25 countries, including policy makers, clinicians, laboratory experts, and program implementers. Main outcomes: There was strong consensus among all participants that ensuring access to quality of POCT represents one of the key challenges for the success of HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs. The following four strategies were recommended: implement a newly proposed concept of a sustainable quality assurance cycle that includes careful planning; definition of goals and targets; timely implementation; continuous monitoring; improvements and adjustments, where necessary; and a detailed evaluation; the importance of supporting a cadre of workers [e.g. volunteer quality corps (Q-Corps)] with the role to ensure that the quality assurance cycle is followed and sustained; implementation of the new strategy should be seen as a step-wise process, supported by development of appropriate policies and tools; and joint partnership under the leadership of the ministries of health to ensure sustainability of implementing novel approaches. Conclusion: The outcomes of this consultation have been well received by program implementers in the field. The recommendations also laid the groundwork for developing key policy and quality documents for the implementation of HIV-related POCT. PMID:26807969

Recent National Transonic Facility Test Process Improvements (Invited)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilgore, W. A.; Balakrishna, S.; Bobbitt, C. W., Jr.; Adcock, J. B.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the results of two recent process improvements; drag feed-forward Mach number control and simultaneous force/moment and pressure testing, at the National Transonic Facility. These improvements have reduced the duration and cost of testing. The drag feed-forward Mach number control reduces the Mach number settling time by using measured model drag in the Mach number control algorithm. Simultaneous force/moment and pressure testing allows simultaneous collection of force/moment and pressure data without sacrificing data quality thereby reducing the overall testing time. Both improvements can be implemented at any wind tunnel. Additionally the NTF is working to develop and implement continuous pitch as a testing option as an additional method to reduce costs and maintain data quality.

Recent National Transonic Facility Test Process Improvements (Invited)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilgore, W. A.; Balakrishna, S.; Bobbitt, C. W., Jr.; Adcock, J. B.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the results of two recent process improvements; drag feed-forward Mach number control and simultaneous force/moment and pressure testing, at the National Transonic Facility. These improvements have reduced the duration and cost of testing. The drag feedforward Mach number control reduces the Mach number settling time by using measured model drag in the Mach number control algorithm. Simultaneous force/moment and pressure testing allows simultaneous collection of force/moment and pressure data without sacrificing data quality thereby reducing the overall testing time. Both improvements can be implemented at any wind tunnel. Additionally the NTF is working to develop and implement continuous pitch as a testing option as an additional method to reduce costs and maintain data quality.

Benefits of a comprehensive quality program for cryopreserved PBMC covering 28 clinical trials sites utilizing an integrated, analytical web-based portal.

PubMed

Ducar, Constance; Smith, Donna; Pinzon, Cris; Stirewalt, Michael; Cooper, Cristine; McElrath, M Juliana; Hural, John

2014-07-01

The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is a global network of 28 clinical trial sites dedicated to identifying an effective HIV vaccine. Cryopreservation of high-quality peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is critical for the assessment of vaccine-induced cellular immune functions. The HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program is designed to ensure that viable PBMC are processed, stored and shipped for clinical trial assays from all HVTN clinical trial sites. The program has evolved by developing and incorporating best practices for laboratory and specimen quality and implementing automated, web-based tools. These tools allow the site-affiliated processing laboratories and the central Laboratory Operations Unit to rapidly collect, analyze and report PBMC quality data. The HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program includes five key components: 1) Laboratory Assessment, 2) PBMC Training and Certification, 3) Internal Quality Control, 4) External Quality Control (EQC), and 5) Assay Specimen Quality Control. Fresh PBMC processing data is uploaded from each clinical site processing laboratory to a central HVTN Statistical and Data Management Center database for access and analysis on a web portal. Samples are thawed at a central laboratory for assay or specimen quality control and sample quality data is uploaded directly to the database by the central laboratory. Four year cumulative data covering 23,477 blood draws reveals an average fresh PBMC yield of 1.45×10(6)±0.48 cells per milliliter of useable whole blood. 95% of samples were within the acceptable range for fresh cell yield of 0.8-3.2×10(6) cells/ml of usable blood. Prior to full implementation of the HVTN PBMC Quality Management Program, the 2007 EQC evaluations from 10 international sites showed a mean day 2 thawed viability of 83.1% and a recovery of 67.5%. Since then, four year cumulative data covering 3338 specimens used in immunologic assays shows that 99.88% had acceptable viabilities (>66%) for use in cellular assays (mean, 91.46% ±4.5%), and 96.2% had acceptable recoveries (50%-130%) with a mean of recovery of 85.8% ±19.12% of the originally cryopreserved cells. EQC testing revealed that since August 2009, failed recoveries dropped from 4.1% to 1.6% and failed viabilities dropped from 1.0% to 0.3%. The HVTN PBMC quality program provides for laboratory assessment, training and tools for identifying problems, implementing corrective action and monitoring for improvements. These data support the benefits of implementing a comprehensive, web-based PBMC quality program for large clinical trials networks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Special Report. States Doubt Clean Air Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Environmental Science and Technology, 1974

1974-01-01

This special report reviews air quality control plans formulated by each state. Comparisons of these plans and discussions on the degree of implementation achieved by state governments are presented. Problems surrounding the establishment and implementation of EPA approved plans are discussed. (JP)

Implementation of high performance concrete in Louisiana bridges : interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-02-01

The report contains a research plan to assist in the implementation of high performance concrete in the Charenton Canal Bridge in Louisiana. The research involves a literature review, plan review, development of a quality control program for the conc...

Report of the international workshop on quality control of monthly climate data

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

Not Available

1993-12-31

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the US Department of Energy`s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) cosponsored an international quality control workshop for monthly climate data, October 5--6, 1993, at NCDC. About 40 scientists from around the world participated. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and compare various quality control methods and to draft recommendations concerning the most successful systems. The near-term goal to improve quality control of CLIMAT messages for the NCDC/WMO publication Monthly Climatic Data for the World was sucessfully met. An electronic bulletin board was established to post errorsmore » and corrections. Improved communications among Global Telecommunication System hubs will be implemented. Advanced quality control algorithms were discussed and improvements were suggested. Further data exchanges were arranged.« less

[Establishment and application of "multi-dimensional structure and process dynamic quality control technology system" in preparation products of traditional Chinese medicine (I)].

PubMed

Gu, Jun-Fei; Feng, Liang; Zhang, Ming-Hua; Wu, Chan; Jia, Xiao-Bin

2013-11-01

Safety is an important component of the quality control of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation products, as well as an important guarantee for clinical application. Currently, the quality control of TCMs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia mostly focuses on indicative compounds for TCM efficacy. TCM preparations are associated with multiple links, from raw materials to products, and each procedure may have impacts on the safety of preparation. We make a summary and analysis on the factors impacting safety during the preparation of TCM products, and then expound the important role of the "multi-dimensional structure and process dynamic quality control technology system" in the quality safety of TCM preparations. Because the product quality of TCM preparation is closely related to the safety, the control over safety-related material basis is an important component of the product quality control of TCM preparations. The implementation of the quality control over the dynamic process of TCM preparations from raw materials to products, and the improvement of the TCM quality safety control at the microcosmic level help lay a firm foundation for the development of the modernization process of TCM preparations.

The quest for quality blood banking program in the new millennium the American way.

PubMed

Kim, Dae Un

2002-08-01

For an industry to succeed and satisfy its customers, "QUALITY" must be a primary goal. Quality has been central to blood banking from its inception, with the evolution of a Quality Program since the opening of the first blood bank in U.S. at the Cook County Hospital in 1937. Over the ensuing decades, continuous scientific progress in blood preservation, filters, viral and blood group testing, crossmatching, automation, and computerization including bar coding, etc. has contributed to the quality and safety of the blood products and transfusion service. However, with the advent of the AIDS era, an increasingly sensitized and informed public is continuously demanding that the highest level of quality be achieved and maintained in all processes involved in providing all blood products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced the concept of a "zero risk blood supply" as the industry goal. Furthermore, the cost containment and resource-constrained environment have changed the complexity of the quality practice. Both regulatory agencies such as the FDA, the Health Care Financing Administration [HCFA, which was recently renamed as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in July, 2001], and the State Department of Health, and accrediting agencies, such as the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), require blood banks and transfusion services to establish and follow a Quality Control and Quality Assurance Program for their licensing, certification and accreditation. Every laboratory has to comply with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA '88) quality requirements being implemented by the CMS. The FDA guidelines assist facilities in compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). The AABB's Quality System Essentials (QSE) are based on these specifications and provide additional guidance in implementing practices that assure quality and compliance with cGMP. AABB and CAP are granted "deemed status" as accrediting organizations under the CLIA '88 program by CMS, as well as JCAHO and some states. The International Standards Organization (ISO) has established international standards in most fields. The U.S. is represented in ISO by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS), as a global organization headquartered in the U.S., is a member of ANSI. The FDA and the AABB had begun incorporating many ISO principles into their own regulations and standards. The AABB's 10 QSEs are rooted in the 20 clauses of ISO 9000 series and compatible with their standards. In a Maslow-type model quality hierarchy by Tsiakals, so far the bottom three of the five progressive levels, Quality Control for method control, Quality Assurance for process control, and Quality System for system control have been implemented just to meet the regulatory and accrediting requirements. The next higher level, Quality Management for financial control, and the ultimate highest level, Total Quality Management for strategic control, should be our quest in this new millennium, and with the help of the AABB, ISO, FDA and all other organizations, we will achieve it. We should change our approach to quality issues from detection to prevention. We should improve the quality in transfusion practice itself by effective utilization of blood as a therapeutic resource with clear indication, maximum surgical blood order schedule, alternative transfusion such as autologous transfusion, hemodilution, and intra/post-operative blood salvage, surgical hemostasis, pharmacological hemostasis, and synthetic erythropoietin. Most importantly, implementation of the Quality Program should be something that we want to do rather than simply a burden that we have to do. A well-managed Quality Program is an effective and cost-efficient operation for the blood banks and transfusion services, and will enable us to better serve the patients for whom we exist.

[Designing and implementation of a web-based quality monitoring system for plasma glucose measurement in multicenter population study].

PubMed

Liu, Yong; Wang, Limin; Pang, Richard; Mo, Nanxun; Hu, Yan; Deng, Qian; Hu, Zhaohui

2015-05-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the designing and implementation of a web-based plasma glucose measurement quality monitoring system to assess the analytical quality of plasma glucose measurements in multicenter population study and provide evidence for the future studies. In the chronic non-communicable disease and related factor surveillance in China, a web based quality monitoring system for plasma glucose measurement was established to conduct evaluation on plasma glucose monitoring quality and effectiveness in 302 surveillance centers, including quality control data entry, transmission and feedback. The majority of the surveillance centers met the quality requirements and passed the evaluation of reproducibility and precision of plasma glucose measurement, only a few centers required intensive training and re-assessment. In order to ensure the completeness and reliability of plasma glucose measurement in the surveillance centers, the establishment of web-based plasma glucose measurement quality control system can facilitate the identification of the qualified surveillance centers and evaluation of plasma glucose measurement quality in different regions. Communication and training are important in ensuring plasma glucose measurement quality. It is necessary to further improve this web-based plasma glucose measurement quality monitoring system in the future to reduce the method specific plasma glucose measurement bias.

[Quality of documentation of intraoperative and postoperative complications : improvement of documentation for a nationwide quality assurance program and comparison with routine data].

PubMed

Jakob, J; Marenda, D; Sold, M; Schlüter, M; Post, S; Kienle, P

2014-08-01

Complications after cholecystectomy are continuously documented in a nationwide database in Germany. Recent studies demonstrated a lack of reliability of these data. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of a control algorithm on documentation quality and the use of routine diagnosis coding as an additional validation instrument. Completeness and correctness of the documentation of complications after cholecystectomy was compared over a time interval of 12 months before and after implementation of an algorithm for faster and more accurate documentation. Furthermore, the coding of all diagnoses was screened to identify intraoperative and postoperative complications. The sensitivity of the documentation for complications improved from 46 % to 70 % (p = 0.05, specificity 98 % in both time intervals). A prolonged time interval of more than 6 weeks between patient discharge and documentation was associated with inferior data quality (incorrect documentation in 1.5 % versus 15 %, p < 0.05). The rate of case documentation within the 6 weeks after hospital discharge was clearly improved after implementation of the control algorithm. Sensitivity and specificity of screening for complications by evaluating routine diagnoses coding were 70 % and 85 %, respectively. The quality of documentation was improved by implementation of a simple memory algorithm.

Total Quality Management (TQM), an Overview

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

Quality Management (TQM). It discusses the reasons TQM is a current growth industry, what it is, and how one implements it. It describes the basic analytical tools, statistical process control, some advanced analytical tools, tools used by process improvement teams to enhance their own operations, and action plans for making improvements. The final sections discuss assessing quality efforts and measuring the quality to knowledge

78 FR 882 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware, New Jersey, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-07

...)(2).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control... 2011 ambient air quality data, the Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE fine particulate matter (PM 2.5... 2011 ambient air quality data, the Philadelphia-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE fine particulate matter (PM 2.5...

Internal quality control indicators of cervical cytopathology exams performed in laboratories monitored by the External Quality Control Laboratory.

PubMed

Ázara, Cinara Zago Silveira; Manrique, Edna Joana Cláudio; Tavares, Suelene Brito do Nascimento; de Souza, Nadja Lindany Alves; Amaral, Rita Goreti

2014-09-01

To evaluate the impact of continued education provided by an external quality control laboratory on the indicators of internal quality control of cytopathology exams. The internal quality assurance indicators for cytopathology exams from 12 laboratories monitored by the External Quality Control Laboratory were evaluated. Overall, 185,194 exams were included, 98,133 of which referred to the period preceding implementation of a continued education program, while 87,061 referred to the period following this intervention. Data were obtained from the Cervical Cancer Database of the Brazilian National Health Service. Following implementation of the continued education program, the positivity index (PI) remained within recommended limits in four laboratories. In another four laboratories, the PI progressed from below the limits to within the recommended standards. In one laboratory, the PI remained low, in two laboratories, it remained very low, and in one, it increased from very low to low. The percentage of exams compatible with a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) remained within the recommended limits in five laboratories, while in three laboratories it progressed from below the recommended levels to >0.4% of the total number of satisfactory exams, and in four laboratories it remained below the standard limit. Both the percentage of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) in relation to abnormal exams, and the ratio between ASC-US and intraepithelial lesions remained within recommended levels in all the laboratories investigated. An improvement was found in the indicators represented by the positivity index and the percentage of exams compatible with a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, showing that the role played by the external quality control laboratory in providing continued education contributed towards improving laboratory staff skills in detecting cervical cancer precursor lesions.

Develop a Methodology to Evaluate the Effectiveness of QC/QA Specifications (Phase II)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-08-01

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been implementing statistically based quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) specifications for hot mix asphalt concrete pavements since the early 1990s. These specifications have been continuousl...

UrQt: an efficient software for the Unsupervised Quality trimming of NGS data.

PubMed

Modolo, Laurent; Lerat, Emmanuelle

2015-04-29

Quality control is a necessary step of any Next Generation Sequencing analysis. Although customary, this step still requires manual interventions to empirically choose tuning parameters according to various quality statistics. Moreover, current quality control procedures that provide a "good quality" data set, are not optimal and discard many informative nucleotides. To address these drawbacks, we present a new quality control method, implemented in UrQt software, for Unsupervised Quality trimming of Next Generation Sequencing reads. Our trimming procedure relies on a well-defined probabilistic framework to detect the best segmentation between two segments of unreliable nucleotides, framing a segment of informative nucleotides. Our software only requires one user-friendly parameter to define the minimal quality threshold (phred score) to consider a nucleotide to be informative, which is independent of both the experiment and the quality of the data. This procedure is implemented in C++ in an efficient and parallelized software with a low memory footprint. We tested the performances of UrQt compared to the best-known trimming programs, on seven RNA and DNA sequencing experiments and demonstrated its optimality in the resulting tradeoff between the number of trimmed nucleotides and the quality objective. By finding the best segmentation to delimit a segment of good quality nucleotides, UrQt greatly increases the number of reads and of nucleotides that can be retained for a given quality objective. UrQt source files, binary executables for different operating systems and documentation are freely available (under the GPLv3) at the following address: https://lbbe.univ-lyon1.fr/-UrQt-.html .

77 FR 47581 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Mojave Desert, Northern Sierra, Sacramento...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-09

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD), Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD), Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDCAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from automotive parts and component, automobile refinishing, metal parts and products, and miscellaneous coating and refinishing operations. We are proposing to approve local rules to regulate these emission sources under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

77 FR 12527 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, Antelope Valley Air Quality Management...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District (AVAQMD) and San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVUAPCD) portions of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern negative declarations for volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of sulfur source categories. We are proposing to approve these negative declarations under the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act).

A cluster-randomised quality improvement study to improve two inpatient stroke quality indicators.

PubMed

Williams, Linda; Daggett, Virginia; Slaven, James E; Yu, Zhangsheng; Sager, Danielle; Myers, Jennifer; Plue, Laurie; Woodward-Hagg, Heather; Damush, Teresa M

2016-04-01

Quality indicator collection and feedback improves stroke care. We sought to determine whether quality improvement training plus indicator feedback was more effective than indicator feedback alone in improving inpatient stroke indicators. We conducted a cluster-randomised quality improvement trial, randomising hospitals to quality improvement training plus indicator feedback versus indicator feedback alone to improve deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis and dysphagia screening. Intervention sites received collaborative-based quality improvement training, external facilitation and indicator feedback. Control sites received only indicator feedback. We compared indicators pre-implementation (pre-I) to active implementation (active-I) and post-implementation (post-I) periods. We constructed mixed-effect logistic models of the two indicators with a random intercept for hospital effect, adjusting for patient, time, intervention and hospital variables. Patients at intervention sites (1147 admissions), had similar race, gender and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores to control sites (1017 admissions). DVT prophylaxis improved more in intervention sites during active-I period (ratio of ORs 4.90, p<0.001), but did not differ in post-I period. Dysphagia screening improved similarly in both groups during active-I, but control sites improved more in post-I period (ratio of ORs 0.67, p=0.04). In logistic models, the intervention was independently positively associated with DVT performance during active-I period, and negatively associated with dysphagia performance post-I period. Quality improvement training was associated with early DVT improvement, but the effect was not sustained over time and was not seen with dysphagia screening. External quality improvement programmes may quickly boost performance but their effect may vary by indicator and may not sustain over time. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

A Total Quality-Control Plan with Right-Sized Statistical Quality-Control.

PubMed

Westgard, James O

2017-03-01

A new Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments option for risk-based quality-control (QC) plans became effective in January, 2016. Called an Individualized QC Plan, this option requires the laboratory to perform a risk assessment, develop a QC plan, and implement a QC program to monitor ongoing performance of the QC plan. Difficulties in performing a risk assessment may limit validity of an Individualized QC Plan. A better alternative is to develop a Total QC Plan including a right-sized statistical QC procedure to detect medically important errors. Westgard Sigma Rules provides a simple way to select the right control rules and the right number of control measurements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying STOPP Guidelines in Primary Care Through Electronic Medical Record Decision Support: Randomized Control Trial Highlighting the Importance of Data Quality.

PubMed

Price, Morgan; Davies, Iryna; Rusk, Raymond; Lesperance, Mary; Weber, Jens

2017-06-15

Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (PIPs) are a common cause of morbidity, particularly in the elderly. We sought to understand how the Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions (STOPP) prescribing criteria, implemented in a routinely used primary care Electronic Medical Record (EMR), could impact PIP rates in community (non-academic) primary care practices. We conducted a mixed-method, pragmatic, cluster, randomized control trial in research naïve primary care practices. Phase 1: In the randomized controlled trial, 40 fully automated STOPP rules were implemented as EMR alerts during a 16-week intervention period. The control group did not receive the 40 STOPP rules (but received other alerts). Participants were recruited through the OSCAR EMR user group mailing list and in person at user group meetings. Results were assessed by querying EMR data PIPs. EMR data quality probes were included. Phase 2: physicians were invited to participate in 1-hour semi-structured interviews to discuss the results. In the EMR, 40 STOPP rules were successfully implemented. Phase 1: A total of 28 physicians from 8 practices were recruited (16 in intervention and 12 in control groups). The calculated PIP rate was 2.6% (138/5308) (control) and 4.11% (768/18,668) (intervention) at baseline. No change in PIPs was observed through the intervention (P=.80). Data quality probes generally showed low use of problem list and medication list. Phase 2: A total of 5 physicians participated. All the participants felt that they were aware of the alerts but commented on workflow and presentation challenges. The calculated PIP rate was markedly less than the expected rate found in literature (2.6% and 4.0% vs 20% in literature). Data quality probes highlighted issues related to completeness of data in areas of the EMR used for PIP reporting and by the decision support such as problem and medication lists. Users also highlighted areas for better integration of STOPP guidelines with prescribing workflows. Many of the STOPP criteria can be implemented in EMRs using simple logic. However, data quality in EMRs continues to be a challenge and was a limiting step in the effectiveness of the decision support in this study. This is important as decision makers continue to fund implementation and adoption of EMRs with the expectation of the use of advanced tools (such as decision support) without ongoing review of data quality and improvement. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02130895; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02130895 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6qyFigSYT). ©Morgan Price, Iryna Davies, Raymond Rusk, Mary Lesperance, Jens Weber. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 15.06.2017.

Integrated Aerodynamic and Control System Design of Oblique Wing Aircraft. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Stephen James

1990-01-01

An efficient high speed aircraft design must achieve a high lift to drag ratio at transonic and supersonic speeds. In 1952 Dr. R. T. Jones proved that for any flight Mach number minimum drag at a fixed lift is achieved by an elliptic wing planform with an appropriate oblique sweep angle. Since then, wind tunnel tests and numerical flow models have confirmed that the compressibility drag of oblique wing aircraft is lower than similar symmetrical sweep designs. At oblique sweep angles above thirty degrees the highly asymmetric planform gives rise to aerodynamic and inertia couplings which affect stability and degrade the aircraft's handling qualities. In the case of the NASA-Rockwell Oblique Wing Research Aircraft, attempts to improve the handling qualities by implementing a stability augmentation system have produced unsatisfactory results because of an inherent lack of controllability in the proposed design. The present work focuses on improving the handling qualities of oblique wing aircraft by including aerodynamic configuration parameters as variables in the control system synthesis to provide additional degrees of freedom with which to further decouple the aircraft's response. Handling qualities are measured using a quadratic cost function identical to that considered in optimal control problems, but the controller architecture is not restricted to full state feedback. An optimization procedure is used to simultaneously solve for the aircraft configuration and control gains which maximize a handling qualities measure, while meeting imposed constraints on trim. In some designs wing flexibility is also modeled and reduced order controllers are implemented. Oblique wing aircraft synthesized by this integrated design method show significant improvement in handling qualities when compared to the originally proposed closed loop aircraft. The integrated design synthesis method is then extended to show how handling qualities may be traded for other types of mission performance (drag, weight, etc.). Examples are presented which show how performance can be maximized while maintaining a desired level of handling quality.

Pharmaceutical quality by design: product and process development, understanding, and control.

PubMed

Yu, Lawrence X

2008-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the pharmaceutical Quality by Design (QbD) and describe how it can be used to ensure pharmaceutical quality. The QbD was described and some of its elements identified. Process parameters and quality attributes were identified for each unit operation during manufacture of solid oral dosage forms. The use of QbD was contrasted with the evaluation of product quality by testing alone. The QbD is a systemic approach to pharmaceutical development. It means designing and developing formulations and manufacturing processes to ensure predefined product quality. Some of the QbD elements include: Defining target product quality profile; Designing product and manufacturing processes; Identifying critical quality attributes, process parameters, and sources of variability; Controlling manufacturing processes to produce consistent quality over time. Using QbD, pharmaceutical quality is assured by understanding and controlling formulation and manufacturing variables. Product testing confirms the product quality. Implementation of QbD will enable transformation of the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) review of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) into a science-based pharmaceutical quality assessment.

75 FR 17863 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Reasonable Further...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-08

... Inventory, Reasonably Available Control Measures, Contingency Measures, and Transportation Conformity... emissions inventory, contingency measures, and the reasonably available control measure (RACM) analysis... Resources & Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 19903. FOR FURTHER...

Implementing Pay-for-Performance in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

PubMed Central

Profit, Jochen; Zupancic, John A. F.; Gould, Jeffrey B.; Petersen, Laura A.

2011-01-01

Pay-for-performance initiatives in medicine are proliferating rapidly. Neonatal intensive care is a likely target for these efforts because of the high cost, available databases, and relative strength of evidence for at least some measures of quality. Pay-for-performance may improve patient care but requires valid measurements of quality to ensure that financial incentives truly support superior performance. Given the existing uncertainty with respect to both the effectiveness of pay-for-performance and the state of quality measurement science, experimentation with pay-for-performance initiatives should proceed with caution and in controlled settings. In this article, we describe approaches to measuring quality and implementing pay-for-performance in the NICU setting. PMID:17473099

76 FR 24372 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Update to Materials...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

... Emissions From Industrial Process Operations New Castle County.'' 12. Regulation 1112 ``Control of Nitrogen... the State Implementation Plans.'' 25. Regulation 1139 ``Nitrogen Oxides (NO X ) Budget Trading Program... by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter...

WATERSHED MANIPULATION PROJECT: QUALITY ASSURANCE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR 1986-1989

EPA Science Inventory

The Watershed Manipulation Project (WMP) was implemented by EPA to: identify and quantify the relative importance of various processes in controlling surface water acidification with particular emphasis on the role of sulfate adsorption and base cation supply in the long-term wat...

Implementation and evaluation of PM2.5 source contribution analysis in a photochemical model

EPA Science Inventory

Source culpability assessments are useful for developing effective emissions control programs. The Integrated Source Apportionment Method (ISAM) has been implemented in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to track contributions from source groups and regions to ambi...

Impact of dose calibrators quality control programme in Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furnari, J. C.; de Cabrejas, M. L.; del C. Rotta, M.; Iglicki, F. A.; Milá, M. I.; Magnavacca, C.; Dima, J. C.; Rodríguez Pasqués, R. H.

1992-02-01

The national Quality Control (QC) programme for radionuclide calibrators started 12 years ago. Accuracy and the implementation of a QC programme were evaluated over all these years at 95 nuclear medicine laboratories where dose calibrators were in use. During all that time, the Metrology Group of CNEA has distributed 137Cs sealed sources to check stability and has been performing periodic "checking rounds" and postal surveys using unknown samples (external quality control). An account of the results of both methods is presented. At present, more of 65% of the dose calibrators measure activities with an error less than 10%.

The consistency approach for quality control of vaccines - a strategy to improve quality control and implement 3Rs.

PubMed

De Mattia, Fabrizio; Chapsal, Jean-Michel; Descamps, Johan; Halder, Marlies; Jarrett, Nicholas; Kross, Imke; Mortiaux, Frederic; Ponsar, Cecile; Redhead, Keith; McKelvie, Jo; Hendriksen, Coenraad

2011-01-01

Current batch release testing of established vaccines emphasizes quality control of the final product and is often characterized by extensive use of animals. This report summarises the discussions of a joint ECVAM/EPAA workshop on the applicability of the consistency approach for routine release of human and veterinary vaccines and its potential to reduce animal use. The consistency approach is based upon thorough characterization of the vaccine during development and the principle that the quality of subsequent batches is the consequence of the strict application of a quality system and of a consistent production of batches. The concept of consistency of production is state-of-the-art for new-generation vaccines, where batch release is mainly based on non-animal methods. There is now the opportunity to introduce the approach into established vaccine production, where it has the potential to replace in vivo tests with non-animal tests designed to demonstrate batch quality while maintaining the highest quality standards. The report indicates how this approach may be further developed for application to established human and veterinary vaccines and emphasizes the continuing need for co-ordination and harmonization. It also gives recommendations for work to be undertaken in order to encourage acceptance and implementation of the consistency approach. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Implementation Science in Cancer Prevention and Control: A framework for research and programs in low and middle-income countries

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Michael A.; Rimer, Barbara K.; Samet, Jonathan M.; Glasgow, Russell E.

2014-01-01

Implementation Science is a set of tools, principles and methodologies that can be used to bring scientific evidence into action, improve health care quality and delivery and improve public health. As the burden of cancer increases in low- and middle-income countries, it is important to plan cancer control programs that are both evidence-based and delivered in ways that are feasible, cost-effective, contextually appropriate and sustainable. This review presents a framework for using implementation science for cancer control planning and implementation and discusses potential areas of focus for research and programs in low and middle-income countries interested in integrating research into practice and policy. PMID:25178984

[Internal audit--the foundation of healthcare quality management in health care].

PubMed

Smiianov, V A

2014-01-01

The paper proved the need for internal audit as the basis for quality control of medical care in a health facility, developed the project milestones and explains what needs to be taken into account at every stage during its implementation.

Case study for implementing RECIPPE as a quality control in construction projects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-04-01

The quality of construction is a very important factor in the life-cycle performance of flexible pavements. This is particularly true of the individual characteristics of construction and their relative effect on life-cycle performance of the pavemen...

[Research advances in secondary development of Chinese patent medicines based on quality by design concept].

PubMed

Gong, Xing-Chu; Chen, Teng; Qu, Hai-Bin

2017-03-01

Quality by design (QbD) concept is an advanced pharmaceutical quality control concept. The application of QbD concept in the research and development of pharmaceutical processes of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) mainly contains five parts, including the definition of critical processes and their evaluation criteria, the determination of critical process parameters and critical material attributes, the establishment of quantitative models, the development of design space, as well as the application and continuous improvement of control strategy. In this work, recent research advances in QbD concept implementation methods in the secondary development of Chinese patent medicines were reviewed, and five promising fields of the implementation of QbD concept were pointed out, including the research and development of TCM new drugs and Chinese medicine granules for formulation, modeling of pharmaceutical processes, development of control strategy based on industrial big data, strengthening the research of process amplification rules, and the development of new pharmaceutical equipment.. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Assurance of Medical Device Quality with Quality Management System: An Analysis of Good Manufacturing Practice Implementation in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Tu, Pei-Weng; Wu, Shiow-Ing

2015-01-01

The implementation of an effective quality management system has always been considered a principal method for a manufacturer to maintain and improve its product and service quality. Globally many regulatory authorities incorporate quality management system as one of the mandatory requirements for the regulatory control of high-risk medical devices. The present study aims to analyze the GMP enforcement experience in Taiwan between 1998 and 2013. It describes the regulatory implementation of medical device GMP requirement and initiatives taken to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in compliance with the regulatory requirement. Based on statistical data collected by the competent authority and industry research institutes, the present paper reports the growth of Taiwan local medical device industry after the enforcement of GMP regulation. Transition in the production, technologies, and number of employees of Taiwan medical device industry between 1998 and 2013 provides the competent authorities around the world with an empirical foundation for further policy development. PMID:26075255

Assurance of medical device quality with quality management system: an analysis of good manufacturing practice implementation in Taiwan.

PubMed

Li, Tzu-Wei; Tu, Pei-Weng; Liu, Li-Ling; Wu, Shiow-Ing

2015-01-01

The implementation of an effective quality management system has always been considered a principal method for a manufacturer to maintain and improve its product and service quality. Globally many regulatory authorities incorporate quality management system as one of the mandatory requirements for the regulatory control of high-risk medical devices. The present study aims to analyze the GMP enforcement experience in Taiwan between 1998 and 2013. It describes the regulatory implementation of medical device GMP requirement and initiatives taken to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in compliance with the regulatory requirement. Based on statistical data collected by the competent authority and industry research institutes, the present paper reports the growth of Taiwan local medical device industry after the enforcement of GMP regulation. Transition in the production, technologies, and number of employees of Taiwan medical device industry between 1998 and 2013 provides the competent authorities around the world with an empirical foundation for further policy development.

Implementation and Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of Universal Postnatal Nurse Home Visiting

PubMed Central

Goodman, W. Benjamin; Murphy, Robert A.; O’Donnell, Karen; Sato, Jeannine; Guptill, Susan

2014-01-01

Objectives. We evaluated whether a brief, universal, postnatal nurse home-visiting intervention can be implemented with high penetration and fidelity, prevent emergency health care services, and promote positive parenting by infant age 6 months. Methods. Durham Connects is a manualized 4- to 7-session program to assess family needs and connect parents with community resources to improve infant health and well-being. All 4777 resident births in Durham, North Carolina, between July 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010, were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. A random, representative subset of 549 families received blinded interviews for impact evaluation. Results. Of all families, 80% initiated participation; adherence was 84%. Hospital records indicated that Durham Connects infants had 59% fewer infant emergency medical care episodes than did control infants. Durham Connects mothers reported fewer infant emergency care episodes and more community connections, more positive parenting behaviors, participation in higher quality out-of-home child care, and lower rates of anxiety than control mothers. Blinded observers reported higher quality home environments for Durham Connects than for control families. Conclusions. A brief universal home-visiting program implemented with high penetration and fidelity can lower costly emergency medical care and improve family outcomes. PMID:24354833

77 FR 38239 - Partial Approval and Disapproval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-27

... anonymous access system, and EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in... control measures. Section 110(a)(2)(B): Ambient air quality monitoring/data system. Section 110(a)(2)(C... significant deterioration (PSD) and visibility protection. Section 110(a)(2)(K): Air quality modeling and...

Trade transport and environment linkages at the U.S.-Mexico border: which policies matter?

PubMed

Fernandez, Linda; Das, Monica

2011-03-01

We apply a fixed-effects model to examine the impact of trade and environmental policies on air quality at ports along the U.S.-Mexico border. We control for other factors influencing air quality, such as air quality of cities near the border, volume of traffic flows and congestion. Results show the air quality improved after 2004, when the diesel engine policy was applied. We see mixed results for the trade policy, whose implementation time varies across ports along the international border. Controlling for air quality in cities near the border is essential for assessing the policy contributions to air quality. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Implementation of quality by design toward processing of food products.

PubMed

Rathore, Anurag S; Kapoor, Gautam

2017-05-28

Quality by design (QbD) is a systematic approach that begins with predefined objectives and emphasizes product and process understanding and process control. It is an approach based on principles of sound science and quality risk management. As the food processing industry continues to embrace the idea of in-line, online, and/or at-line sensors and real-time characterization for process monitoring and control, the existing gaps with regard to our ability to monitor multiple parameters/variables associated with the manufacturing process will be alleviated over time. Investments made for development of tools and approaches that facilitate high-throughput analytical and process development, process analytical technology, design of experiments, risk analysis, knowledge management, and enhancement of process/product understanding would pave way for operational and economic benefits later in the commercialization process and across other product pipelines. This article aims to achieve two major objectives. First, to review the progress that has been made in the recent years on the topic of QbD implementation in processing of food products and second, present a case study that illustrates benefits of such QbD implementation.

Implementation of Treat-to-Target in Rheumatoid Arthritis Through a Learning Collaborative: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Solomon, Daniel H; Losina, Elena; Lu, Bing; Zak, Agnes; Corrigan, Cassandra; Lee, Sara B; Agosti, Jenifer; Bitton, Asaf; Harrold, Leslie R; Pincus, Theodore; Radner, Helga; Yu, Zhi; Smolen, Josef S; Fraenkel, Liana; Katz, Jeffrey N

2017-07-01

Treat-to-target (TTT) is an accepted paradigm for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but some evidence suggests poor adherence. The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a group-based multisite improvement learning collaborative on adherence to TTT. We conducted a cluster-randomized quality-improvement trial with waitlist control across 11 rheumatology sites in the US. The intervention entailed a 9-month group-based learning collaborative that incorporated rapid-cycle improvement methods. A composite TTT implementation score was calculated as the percentage of 4 required items documented in the visit notes for each patient at 2 time points, as evaluated by trained staff. The mean change in the implementation score for TTT across all patients for the intervention sites was compared with that for the control sites after accounting for intracluster correlation using linear mixed models. Five sites with a total of 23 participating rheumatology providers were randomized to intervention and 6 sites with 23 participating rheumatology providers were randomized to the waitlist control. The intervention included 320 patients, and the control included 321 patients. At baseline, the mean TTT implementation score was 11% in both arms; after the 9-month intervention, the mean TTT implementation score was 57% in the intervention group and 25% in the control group (change in score of 46% for intervention and 14% for control; P = 0.004). We did not observe excessive use of resources or excessive occurrence of adverse events in the intervention arm. A learning collaborative resulted in substantial improvements in adherence to TTT for the management of RA. This study supports the use of an educational collaborative to improve quality. © 2017, American College of Rheumatology.

75 FR 48566 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Administrative and Non...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

...''; Regulation 12 ``Control of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions''; Regulation 1113* ``Open Burning''; Regulation 14... of General Federal Actions to the State Implementation Plans''; Regulation 39 ``Nitrogen Oxides (NO X..., Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements...

Implementation of Cyber-Physical Production Systems for Quality Prediction and Operation Control in Metal Casting.

PubMed

Lee, JuneHyuck; Noh, Sang Do; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Kang, Yong-Shin

2018-05-04

The prediction of internal defects of metal casting immediately after the casting process saves unnecessary time and money by reducing the amount of inputs into the next stage, such as the machining process, and enables flexible scheduling. Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) perfectly fulfill the aforementioned requirements. This study deals with the implementation of CPPS in a real factory to predict the quality of metal casting and operation control. First, a CPPS architecture framework for quality prediction and operation control in metal-casting production was designed. The framework describes collaboration among internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, simulations, manufacturing execution systems, and advanced planning and scheduling systems. Subsequently, the implementation of the CPPS in actual plants is described. Temperature is a major factor that affects casting quality, and thus, temperature sensors and IoT communication devices were attached to casting machines. The well-known NoSQL database, HBase and the high-speed processing/analysis tool, Spark, are used for IoT repository and data pre-processing, respectively. Many machine learning algorithms such as decision tree, random forest, artificial neural network, and support vector machine were used for quality prediction and compared with R software. Finally, the operation of the entire system is demonstrated through a CPPS dashboard. In an era in which most CPPS-related studies are conducted on high-level abstract models, this study describes more specific architectural frameworks, use cases, usable software, and analytical methodologies. In addition, this study verifies the usefulness of CPPS by estimating quantitative effects. This is expected to contribute to the proliferation of CPPS in the industry.

75 FR 32858 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-10

... Boilers and Process Heaters at Petroleum Refineries Correction In rule document 2010-13377 beginning on... limitations for Control [Insert page number any industrial boiler or Requirements. where the document process...

Oregon Department of Transportation research leader : fall 2008.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The newsletter includes: : 1) To ensure safe travel through construction work zones, Traffic Control Plans (TCPs) are developed to communicate required traffic control measures to the construction team. The quality of the design and implementation of...

Quality transitivity and traceability system of herbal medicine products based on quality markers.

PubMed

Liu, Changxiao; Guo, De-An; Liu, Liang

2018-05-15

Due to a variety of factors to affect the herb quality, the existing quality management model is unable to evaluate the process control. The development of the concept of "quality marker" (Q-marker) lays basis for establishing an independent process quality control system for herbal products. To ensure the highest degree of safety, effectiveness and quality process control of herbal products, it is aimed to establish a quality transitivity and traceability system of quality and process control from raw materials to finished herbal products. Based on the key issues and challenges of quality assessment, the current status of quality and process controls from raw materials to herbal medicinal products listed in Pharmacopoeia were analyzed and the research models including discovery and identification of Q-markers, analysis and quality management of risk evaluation were designed. Authors introduced a few new technologies and methodologies, such as DNA barcoding, chromatographic technologies, fingerprint analysis, chemical markers, bio-responses, risk management and solution for quality process control. The quality and process control models for herbal medicinal products were proposed and the transitivity and traceability system from raw materials to the finished products was constructed to improve the herbal quality from the entire supply and production chain. The transitivity and traceability system has been established based on quality markers, especially on how to control the production process under Good Engineering Practices, as well as to implement the risk management for quality and process control in herbal medicine production. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Implementation of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) in dried anchovy production process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Citraresmi, A. D. P.; Wahyuni, E. E.

2018-03-01

The aim of this study was to inspect the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for identification and prevention of potential hazards in the production process of dried anchovy at PT. Kelola Mina Laut (KML), Lobuk unit, Sumenep. Cold storage process is needed in each anchovy processing step in order to maintain its physical and chemical condition. In addition, the implementation of quality assurance system should be undertaken to maintain product quality. The research was conducted using a survey method, by following the whole process of making anchovy from the receiving raw materials to the packaging of final product. The method of data analysis used was descriptive analysis method. Implementation of HACCP at PT. KML, Lobuk unit, Sumenep was conducted by applying Pre Requisite Programs (PRP) and preparation stage consisting of 5 initial stages and 7 principles of HACCP. The results showed that CCP was found in boiling process flow with significant hazard of Listeria monocytogenesis bacteria and final sorting process with significant hazard of foreign material contamination in the product. Actions taken were controlling boiling temperature of 100 – 105°C for 3 - 5 minutes and training for sorting process employees.

Safe drinking water in regional NSW, Australia.

PubMed

Byleveld, Paul M; Leask, Sandy D; Jarvis, Leslie A; Wall, Katrina J; Henderson, Wendy N; Tickell, Joshua E

2016-04-15

The New South Wales (NSW) Public Health Act 2010 requires water suppliers to implement a drinking water quality assurance program that addresses the 'Framework for management of drinking water quality' in the Australian drinking water guidelines. NSW Health has recognised the importance of a staged implementation of this requirement and the need to support regional water utilities. To date, NSW Health has assisted 74 regional utilities to develop and implement their management systems. The Public Health Act 2010 has increased awareness of drinking water risk management, and offers a systematic process to identify and control risks. This has benefited large utilities, smaller suppliers, and remote and Aboriginal communities. Work is continuing to ensure implementation of the process by private suppliers and water carters.

78 FR 69296 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Montana; Revisions to the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-19

....8.1603, 17.8.1604, 17.8.1605, and 17.8.1606, pertaining to the regulation of oil and gas well... Coordination with Montana Air Quality Permit Rules; 17.8.1603, Emission Control Requirements; 17.8.1604...

75 FR 33562 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designations of Areas for Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-14

...EPA is proposing to determine that the Birmingham, Alabama, nonattainment area for the 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) has attained the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. This proposed determination is based upon complete, quality assured, quality controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data for the years 2007-2009 showing that this area has monitored attainment of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. If this proposed determination is made final, the requirement for the State of Alabama to submit an attainment demonstration and associated reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, contingency measures, and other planning State Implementation Plans (SIPs) related to attainment of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 standard for the Birmingham, Alabama, PM2.5 nonattainment area, shall be suspended for as long as this area continues to meet the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.

Infection prevention and control self-audit: just a tick box exercise?

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The National Health Service (NHS) in England continues to experience ongoing change in order to complete the transition to the new delivery system outlined in Liberating the NHS (Department of Health, 2010a). Treating and caring for patients in a safe environment and protecting them from acquiring avoidable infections remains a high priority and a central quality improvement component within the outcome Indicator set for 2013/14 (NHS Commissioning Board, 2012a). Infection prevention and control practitioners will be required to use a range of innovative quality improvement strategies to facilitate engagement with clinicians and meet the challenges that lie ahead for the NHS. The purpose of this paper is to report on the implementation of an infection prevention and control self-audit (IPCSA) project within general practice. The aim of the project was to empower practice staff to become actively involved with an infection prevention and control (IPC) audit in order to support the development of an IPC quality improvement culture within general practice teams. The paper outlines the methodology used to implement self-audit. The findings suggest that IPCSA can be used as an effective alternative to an IPC nurse-led infection prevention and control audit. PMID:28989357

Infection prevention and control self-audit: just a tick box exercise?

PubMed

Gorrell, Michelle

2014-03-01

The National Health Service (NHS) in England continues to experience ongoing change in order to complete the transition to the new delivery system outlined in Liberating the NHS (Department of Health, 2010a). Treating and caring for patients in a safe environment and protecting them from acquiring avoidable infections remains a high priority and a central quality improvement component within the outcome Indicator set for 2013/14 (NHS Commissioning Board, 2012a). Infection prevention and control practitioners will be required to use a range of innovative quality improvement strategies to facilitate engagement with clinicians and meet the challenges that lie ahead for the NHS. The purpose of this paper is to report on the implementation of an infection prevention and control self-audit (IPCSA) project within general practice. The aim of the project was to empower practice staff to become actively involved with an infection prevention and control (IPC) audit in order to support the development of an IPC quality improvement culture within general practice teams. The paper outlines the methodology used to implement self-audit. The findings suggest that IPCSA can be used as an effective alternative to an IPC nurse-led infection prevention and control audit.

[Effect analysis on the two total load control methods for poisonous heavy metals].

PubMed

Fu, Guo-Wei

2012-12-01

Firstly it should be made clear that implementation of source total load control for the first type of pollutants is necessary for environmental pollution control legislation and economic structure regulation. This kind of surveillance method has been more practical to be implemented since the Manual of the Industry Discharge Coefficient of First National Pollution Sources Investigation was published. The source total load control and water environment total load control are independent of each other and none of them is redundant, on the other side they can be complementary to each other. In the present, some local planning managers are blurring and confusing the contents and styles of the two surveillance methods. They just use the water total load control to manage all the pollutants, and source total load control is discarded, which results in the loss of control for the first type of pollutants especially for the drinking water source surveillance. There is a big difference between the water quality standards and the water environmental background concentration values for the first type of pollutants in the Environmental quality standard for surface water (GB 3838-88), which means that there are problems such as "relaxing the pollutant discharge permit" and "risk induced by valence state change". Taking an enterprise with 10t electrolytic lead production capacity as an example, there is a big difference between the allowable lead discharged loads by the two total load surveillance methods. In summary, it will bring a lot of harmful effects if the water total load control is implemented for the two types of pollutants, so the source total load control and water environmental total load control should be implemented strictly at the same time.

Implementation of Patient-Centered Medical Homes in Adult Primary Care Practices.

PubMed

Alexander, Jeffrey A; Markovitz, Amanda R; Paustian, Michael L; Wise, Christopher G; El Reda, Darline K; Green, Lee A; Fetters, Michael D

2015-08-01

There has been relatively little empirical evidence about the effects of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) implementation on patient-related outcomes and costs. Using a longitudinal design and a large study group of 2,218 Michigan adult primary care practices, our study examined the following research questions: Is the level of, and change in, implementation of PCMH associated with medical surgical cost, preventive services utilization, and quality of care in the following year? Results indicated that both level and amount of change in practice implementation of PCMH are independently and positively associated with measures of quality of care and use of preventive services, after controlling for a variety of practice, patient cohort, and practice environmental characteristics. Results also indicate that lower overall medical and surgical costs are associated with higher levels of PCMH implementation, although change in PCMH implementation did not achieve statistical significance. © The Author(s) 2015.

[Analysis of the results of the SEIMC External Quality Control Program. Year 2013].

PubMed

de Gopegui Bordes, Enrique Ruiz; Orta Mira, Nieves; Del Remedio Guna Serrano, M; Medina González, Rafael; Rosario Ovies, María; Poveda, Marta; Gimeno Cardona, Concepción

2015-07-01

The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) include controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology, molecular microbiology and HIV-1, HCV and HBV viral loads. This manuscript presents the analysis of results obtained of the participants from the 2013 SEIMC External Quality Control Programme, except viral loads controls, that they are summarized in a manuscript abroad. As a whole, the results obtained in 2013 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous editions. However, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. Once again, the results of this program highlighted the need to implement both internal and external controls in order to assure the maximal quality of the microbiological tests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Accreditation of Individualized Quality Control Plans by the College of American Pathologists.

PubMed

Hoeltge, Gerald A

2017-03-01

The Laboratory Accreditation Program of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) began in 2015 to allow accredited laboratories to devise their own strategies for quality control of laboratory testing. Participants now have the option to implement individualized quality control plans (IQCPs). Only nonwaived testing that features an internal control (built-in, electronic, or procedural) is eligible for IQCP accreditation. The accreditation checklists that detail the requirements have been peer-reviewed by content experts on CAP's scientific resource committees and by a panel of accreditation participants. Training and communication have been key to the successful introduction of the new IQCP requirements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

76 FR 72885 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: South Carolina; Negative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-28

... Carolina; Negative Declarations for Groups I, II, III and IV Control Techniques Guidelines; and Reasonably Available Control Technology AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY... Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). These revisions establish reasonably...

29 CFR 1910.7 - Definition and requirements for a nationally recognized testing laboratory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., written testing procedures, and calibration and quality control programs) to perform: (i) Testing and... test standards; or (ii) Experimental testing and examining of equipment and materials for workplace..., labeled, or accepted, the following controls or services: (i) Implements control procedures for...

Design Research as a Mechanism for Consultants to Facilitate and Evaluate Educational Innovations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Jose M.; Dorman, Clark; Gaunt, Brian; Hardcastle, Beth; Justice, Kelly; March, Amanda L.

2016-01-01

Schools across the nation are implementing innovative practices; however, questions remain regarding how to facilitate quality implementation. Research designs that emphasize high degrees of control over independent variables result in findings with internal validity, but that may not generalize to complex, dynamic educational systems. The purpose…

The development, implementation and evaluation of clinical pathways for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Saskatchewan: protocol for an interrupted times series evaluation.

PubMed

Rotter, Thomas; Plishka, Christopher; Hansia, Mohammed Rashaad; Goodridge, Donna; Penz, Erika; Kinsman, Leigh; Lawal, Adegboyega; O'Quinn, Sheryl; Buchan, Nancy; Comfort, Patricia; Patel, Prakesh; Anderson, Sheila; Winkel, Tanya; Lang, Rae Lynn; Marciniuk, Darcy D

2017-11-28

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has substantial economic and human costs; it is expected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. To minimize these costs high quality guidelines have been developed. However, guidelines alone rarely result in meaningful change. One method of integrating guidelines into practice is the use of clinical pathways (CPWs). CPWs bring available evidence to a range of healthcare professionals by detailing the essential steps in care and adapting guidelines to the local context. We are working with local stakeholders to develop CPWs for COPD with the aims of improving care while reducing utilization. The CPWs will employ several steps including: standardizing diagnostic training, unifying components of chronic disease care, coordinating education and reconditioning programs, and ensuring care uses best practices. Further, we have worked to identify evidence-informed implementation strategies which will be tailored to the local context. We will conduct a three-year research project using an interrupted time series (ITS) design in the form of a multiple baseline approach with control groups. The CPW will be implemented in two health regions (experimental groups) and two health regions will act as controls (control groups). The experimental and control groups will each contain an urban and rural health region. Primary outcomes for the study will be quality of care operationalized using hospital readmission rates and emergency department (ED) presentation rates. Secondary outcomes will be healthcare utilization and guideline adherence, operationalized using hospital admission rates, hospital length of stay and general practitioner (GP) visits. Results will be analyzed using segmented regression analysis. Funding has been procured from multiple stakeholders. The project has been deemed exempt from ethics review as it is a quality improvement project. Intervention implementation is expected to begin in summer of 2017. This project is expected to improve quality of care and reduce healthcare utilization. In addition it will provide evidence on the effects of CPWs in both urban and rural settings. If the CPWs are found effective we will work with all stakeholders to implement similar CPWs in surrounding health regions. Clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT03075709 ). Registered 8 March 2017.

What is the quality of reporting on guideline, protocol or algorithm implementation in adult trauma centres? Protocol for a systematic review.

PubMed

Gotlib Conn, Lesley; Nathens, Avery B; Perrier, Laure; Haas, Barbara; Watamaniuk, Aaron; Daniel Pereira, Diego; Zwaiman, Ashley; da Luz, Luis Teodoro

2018-05-09

Quality improvement (QI) is mandatory in trauma centres but there is no prescription for doing successful QI. Considerable variation in implementation strategies and inconsistent use of evidence-based protocols therefore exist across centres. The quality of reporting on these strategies may limit the transferability of successful initiatives across centres. This systematic review will assess the quality of reporting on guideline, protocol or algorithm implementation within a trauma centre in terms of the Revised Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE 2.0). We will search for English language articles published after 2010 in EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL electronic databases and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The database search will be supplemented by searching trial registries and grey literature online. Included studies will evaluate the effectiveness of guideline implementation in terms of change in clinical practice or improvement in patient outcomes. The primary outcome will be a global score reporting the proportion of studies respecting at least 80% of the SQUIRE 2.0 criteria and will be obtained based on the 18-items identified in the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines. Secondary outcome will be the risk of bias assessed with the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies- of Interventions tool for observational cohort studies and with the Cochrane Collaboration tool for randomised controlled trials. Meta-analyses will be conducted in randomised controlled trials to estimate the effectiveness of guideline implementation if studies are not heterogeneous. If meta-analyses are conducted, we will combine studies according to the risk of bias (low, moderate or high/unclear) in subgroup analyses. All study titles, abstracts and full-text screening will be completed independently and in duplicate by the review team members. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment will also be done independently and in duplicate. Results will be disseminated through scientific publication and conferences. CRD42018084273. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

[Analysis of the results of the SEIMC External Quality Control Program. Year 2012].

PubMed

de Gopegui Bordes, Enrique Ruiz; Guna Serrano, M del Remedio; Orta Mira, Nieves; Ovies, María Rosario; Poveda, Marta; Gimeno Cardona, Concepción

2014-02-01

The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) include controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology and molecular microbiology. This article presents the most relevant conclusions and lessons from the 2012 controls. As a whole, the results obtained in 2012 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous editions. However, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. Once again, the results of this program highlighted the need to implement both internal and external controls in order to assure the maximal quality of the microbiological tests. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

[Analysis of the results of the 2010 External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology].

PubMed

Ruiz de Gopegui Bordes, Enrique; Serrano, M del Remedio Guna; Orta Mira, Nieves; Ovies, María Rosario; Poveda, Marta; Cardona, Concepción Gimeno

2011-12-01

The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology includes controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology and molecular microbiology. This article presents the most important conclusions and lessons of the 2010 controls. As a whole, the results obtained in 2010 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous years. However, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. The results of this program highlight the need to implement both internal and external controls to ensure maximal quality of microbiological tests(1). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España S.L. All rights reserved.

[Analysis of the results of the SEIMC External Quality Control Program. Year 2014].

PubMed

Gopegui Bordes, Enrique Ruiz de; Guna Serrano, M Del Remedio; Orta Mira, Nieves; Medina González, Rafael; Rosario Ovies, María; Poveda, Marta; Gimeno Cardona, Concepción

2016-07-01

The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) include controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology and molecular microbiology. This article presents the most relevant conclusions and lessons from the 2014 controls. As a whole, the results obtained in 2014 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous editions. However, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. Once again, the results of the SEIMC program highlighted the need to implement both internal and external controls in order to assure the maximal quality of the microbiological tests. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

76 FR 51901 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Control of Emissions of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-19

... was part of Ohio's SIP, was rescinded by Ohio EPA. The most significant problem with the prior version...-21-25 ``Control of VOC emissions from reinforced plastic composites production operations,'' which...

Embankment quality and assessment of moisture control implementation : tech transfer summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-02-01

The motivation for this project was based on work by : Iowa State University (ISU) researchers at a few recent : grading projects that demonstrated embankments were : being constructed outside moisture control limits, even : though the contractor QC ...

Population-Level Cost-Effectiveness of Implementing Evidence-Based Practices into Routine Care

PubMed Central

Fortney, John C; Pyne, Jeffrey M; Burgess, James F

2014-01-01

Objective The objective of this research was to apply a new methodology (population-level cost-effectiveness analysis) to determine the value of implementing an evidence-based practice in routine care. Data Sources/Study Setting Data are from sequentially conducted studies: a randomized controlled trial and an implementation trial of collaborative care for depression. Both trials were conducted in the same practice setting and population (primary care patients prescribed antidepressants). Study Design The study combined results from a randomized controlled trial and a pre-post-quasi-experimental implementation trial. Data Collection/Extraction Methods The randomized controlled trial collected quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) from survey and medication possession ratios (MPRs) from administrative data. The implementation trial collected MPRs and intervention costs from administrative data and implementation costs from survey. Principal Findings In the randomized controlled trial, MPRs were significantly correlated with QALYs (p = .03). In the implementation trial, patients at implementation sites had significantly higher MPRs (p = .01) than patients at control sites, and by extrapolation higher QALYs (0.00188). Total costs (implementation, intervention) were nonsignificantly higher ($63.76) at implementation sites. The incremental population-level cost-effectiveness ratio was $33,905.92/QALY (bootstrap interquartile range −$45,343.10/QALY to $99,260.90/QALY). Conclusions The methodology was feasible to operationalize and gave reasonable estimates of implementation value. PMID:25328029

76 FR 6331 - Approval and Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Colorado; Revision...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-04

... innovative control technology as an alternative to BACT requirements and make other changes as described in... Reasonably Available Control Technology, the initials BACT mean or refer to Best Available Control Technology... definitions also included the definition of Pollution Control Projects at existing electric utility steam...

Implementing self sustained quality control procedures in a clinical laboratory.

PubMed

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

2013-01-01

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

Evaluating an integrated approach to clinical quality improvement: clinical guidelines, quality measurement, and supportive system design.

PubMed

Cretin, S; Farley, D O; Dolter, K J; Nicholas, W

2001-08-01

Implementing clinical practice guidelines to change patient outcomes presents a challenge. Studies of single interventions focused on changing provider behavior demonstrate modest effects, suggesting that effective guideline implementation requires a multifaceted approach. Traditional biomedical research designs are not well suited to evaluating systems interventions. RAND and the Army Medical Department collaborated to develop and evaluate a system for implementing guidelines and documenting their effects on patient care. The evaluation design blended quality improvement, case study, and epidemiologic methods. A formative evaluation of implementation process and an outcome evaluation of patient impact were combined. Guidelines were implemented in 3 successive demonstrations targeting low back pain, asthma, and diabetes. This paper reports on the first wave of 4 facilities implementing a low back pain guideline. Organizational climate and culture, motivation, leadership commitment, and resources were assessed. Selected indicators of processes and outcomes of care were compared before, during, and after guideline implementation at the demonstration facilities and at comparison facilities. Logistic regression analysis was used to test for guideline effects on patient care. Process evaluation documented varied approaches to quality improvement across sites. Outcome evaluation revealed a significant downward trend in the percentage of acute low back pain patients referred to physical therapy or chiropractic care (10.7% to 7.2%) at demonstration sites and no such trend at control sites. Preliminary results suggest the power of this design to stimulate improvements in guideline implementation while retaining the power to evaluate rigorously effects on patient care.

Improving Service Delivery in a County Health Department WIC Clinic: An Application of Statistical Process Control Techniques

PubMed Central

Boe, Debra Thingstad; Parsons, Helen

2009-01-01

Local public health agencies are challenged to continually improve service delivery, yet they frequently operate with constrained resources. Quality improvement methods and techniques such as statistical process control are commonly used in other industries, and they have recently been proposed as a means of improving service delivery and performance in public health settings. We analyzed a quality improvement project undertaken at a local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic to reduce waiting times and improve client satisfaction with a walk-in nutrition education service. We used statistical process control techniques to evaluate initial process performance, implement an intervention, and assess process improvements. We found that implementation of these techniques significantly reduced waiting time and improved clients' satisfaction with the WIC service. PMID:19608964

A Study of University Efforts to Provide Students with the Ability to Comprehend and Apply Total Quality Principles in Their Fields of Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-01

Geber , 1990:30-31). These steps are a formula to implement and measure quality in a service organization. While guidelines such as these apply to...1991. Evans, James R. and William M. Lindsay. The Management and Control of Quality. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1993. Geber

Implementation of Quality Management in Core Service Laboratories

PubMed Central

Creavalle, T.; Haque, K.; Raley, C.; Subleski, M.; Smith, M.W.; Hicks, B.

2010-01-01

CF-28 The Genetics and Genomics group of the Advanced Technology Program of SAIC-Frederick exists to bring innovative genomic expertise, tools and analysis to NCI and the scientific community. The Sequencing Facility (SF) provides next generation short read (Illumina) sequencing capacity to investigators using a streamlined production approach. The Laboratory of Molecular Technology (LMT) offers a wide range of genomics core services including microarray expression analysis, miRNA analysis, array comparative genome hybridization, long read (Roche) next generation sequencing, quantitative real time PCR, transgenic genotyping, Sanger sequencing, and clinical mutation detection services to investigators from across the NIH. As the technology supporting this genomic research becomes more complex, the need for basic quality processes within all aspects of the core service groups becomes critical. The Quality Management group works alongside members of these labs to establish or improve processes supporting operations control (equipment, reagent and materials management), process improvement (reengineering/optimization, automation, acceptance criteria for new technologies and tech transfer), and quality assurance and customer support (controlled documentation/SOPs, training, service deficiencies and continual improvement efforts). Implementation and expansion of quality programs within unregulated environments demonstrates SAIC-Frederick's dedication to providing the highest quality products and services to the NIH community.

Soil erosion and sediment control laws. A review of state laws and their natural resource data requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klein, S. B.

1980-01-01

Twenty states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands enacted erosion and sediment control legislation during the past decade to provide for the implementation or the strengthening of statewide erosion and sediment control plans for rural and/or urban lands. That legislation and the state programs developed to implement these laws are quoted and reviewed. The natural resource data requirements of each program are also extracted. The legislation includes amendments to conservation district laws, water quality laws, and erosion and sediment control laws. Laws which provides for legislative review of administrative regulations and LANDSAT applications and/or information systems that were involved in implementing or gathering data for a specific soil erosion and sediment control program are summarized as well as principal concerns affecting erosion and sediment control laws.

The Individualized Quality Control Plan - Coming Soon to Clinical Microbiology Laboratories Everywhere!

PubMed

Anderson, Nancy

2015-11-15

As of January 1, 2016, microbiology laboratories can choose to adopt a new quality control option, the Individualized Quality Control Plan (IQCP), under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). This voluntary approach increases flexibility for meeting regulatory requirements and provides laboratories the opportunity to customize QC for their testing in their unique environments and by their testing personnel. IQCP is an all-inclusive approach to quality based on risk management to address potential errors in the total testing process. It includes three main steps, (1) performing a risk assessment, (2) developing a QC plan, and (3) monitoring the plan through quality assessment. Resources are available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Society for Microbiology, Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and accrediting organizations, such as the College of American Pathologists and Joint Commission, to assist microbiology laboratories implementing IQCP.

Evaluating the impact of AMDAR data quality control in China on the short-range convection forecasts using the WRF model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaofeng; Jiang, Qin; Zhang, Lei

2016-04-01

A quality control system for the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) data has been implemented in China. This system is an extension to the AMDAR quality control system used at the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction. We present a study in which the characteristics of each AMDAR data quality type were examined and the impact of the AMDAR data quality system on short-range convective weather forecasts using the WRF model was investigated. The main results obtained from this study are as follows. (1) The hourly rejection rate of AMDAR data during 2014 was 5.79%, and most of the rejections happened in Near Duplicate Check. (2) There was a significant diurnal variation for both quantity and quality of AMDAR data. Duplicated reports increased with the increase of data quantity, while suspicious and disorderly reports decreased with the increase of data quantity. (3) The characteristics of the data quality were different in each model layer, with the quality problems occurring mainly at the surface as well as at the height where the power or the flight mode of the aircraft underwent adjustment. (4) Assimilating the AMDAR data improved the forecast accuracy, particularly over the region where strong convection occurred. (5) Significant improvements made by assimilating AMDAR data were found after six hours into the model forecast. The conclusion from this study is that the newly implemented AMDAR data quality system can help improve the accuracy of short-range convection forecasts using the WRF model.

Implementation of three dimensional conformal radiation therapy: prospects, opportunities, and challenges.

PubMed

Vijayakumar, S; Chen, G T

1995-12-01

To briefly review scientific rationale of 3D conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and discuss the prospects, opportunities, and challenges in the implementation of 3DCRT. Some of these ideas were discussed during a workshop on "Implementation of Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy" in April 1994 at Bethesda, MD, and others have been discussed elsewhere in the literature. Local-regional control of cancer is an important component in the overall treatment strategy in any patient with cancer. It has been shown that failure to achieve local-regional control can lead to (a) an increase in chances of distant metastases, and (b) a decrease in the survival. In many disease sites, the doses delivered currently are inadequate to achieve satisfactory local tumor control rates; this is because in many sites, only limited doses of radiotherapy can be delivered due to the proximity of cancer to radiosensitive normal tissues. By conforming the radiotherapy beams to the tumor, doses to the tumors can be enhanced and doses to the normal tissues can be reduced. With the advances in 3DCRT, such conformation is possible now and is the rationale for using 3DCRT. However, a number of questions do remain that are not limited to the following: (a) What are the implications in terms of target volume definitions when implementing 3DCRT? (b) Are there some sites where research efforts can be focused to document the efficacy and cost effectiveness of 3DCRT? (c) How do we implement day-to-day 3DCRT treatment efficiently? (d) How do we transfer the technology from the university centers to the community without compromising quality? (e) What are all the quality assurance/quality improvement questions that need to be addressed and how do we ascertain quality assurance of 3DCRT? (f) Have we looked at cost-benefit ratios and quality of life (QOL) issues closely? There is a need for defining multiple target volumes: gross tumor volume, clinical target volume(s), and planning target volume(s). Such definitions should make implementation of 3DCRT more complex, yet will make high-dose delivery a possibility. There are many sites in which single and multiinstitutional studies are ongoing that include prostate, lung, head and neck, and brain. In other areas, cooperative group trials are required because of the inability of single institutions to accrue enough patients to answer clinically relevant questions with statistical validity. Although implementation of 3DCRT will require multiple steps, these multiple steps can be brought into clinical practice gradually and one does not have to wait until all steps required for implementation of 3DCRT are available. In this respect, "3DCRT" should be used in a very broad sense, from beam's eye view blocking, use of multibeam dose distribution, use of dose-volume histograms in choosing alternative plans, noncoplanar beam arrangements, intensity modulation, inverse planning, to totally automated implementation of 3DCRT. To transfer the 3DCRT capabilities to the community from the University Centers, there is a necessity to develop quality assurance programs. RTOG and the Three-Dimensional Oncology Group are spearheading these efforts. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy has potential not only to improve local control and decrease toxicity, but also to improve the cost benefit ratio in the use of radiotherapy as well as in improving quality of life in patients with cancer. Achieving many potential benefits of 3DCRT (improvement in local control, decreasing toxicity, organs-function preservation, improvement in cost effectiveness) will require further physics-related and clinical research in carefully conceived and successfully completed future clinical trials.

Building capacity for implementation of the framework convention for tobacco control in Vietnam: lessons for developing countries.

PubMed

Stillman, Frances A; David, Annette M; Kibria, Naseeb; Phan, Hai Thi

2014-09-01

Effective implementation of the WHO international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the key to controlling the tobacco epidemic. Within countries, strong national tobacco control capacity is the primary determinant for successful implementation of the FCTC. This case study of tobacco control policy describes the experience of building national tobacco control capacity in Vietnam under the Reduce Smoking in Vietnam Partnership project within a national capacity-building framework. In the Vietnam experience, four components of tobacco control capacity emerged as especially important to achieve 'quality' outputs and measurable outcomes at the implementation level: (i) organizational structure/infrastructure; (ii) leadership and expertise; (iii) partnerships and networks and (iv) data and evidence from research. The experience gained in this project helps in adapting our tobacco control capacity-building model, and the lessons that emerged from this country case study can provide guidance to global funders, tobacco control technical assistance providers and nations as governments endeavor to meet their commitment to the FCTC. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press.

40 CFR 52.1960 - Original Identification of plan section.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., 1972. (Non-regulatory) (7) Sections 16.1, 16.3, and 16.5 of Regulation No. 16, “Control of Emissions of... plan revision designed to achieve the ozone standard in Tulsa County, including control strategy... Quality Control Implementation Plan” and all revisions submitted by Oklahoma that were federally approved...

40 CFR 52.1960 - Original Identification of plan section.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., 1972. (Non-regulatory) (7) Sections 16.1, 16.3, and 16.5 of Regulation No. 16, “Control of Emissions of... plan revision designed to achieve the ozone standard in Tulsa County, including control strategy... Quality Control Implementation Plan” and all revisions submitted by Oklahoma that were federally approved...

40 CFR 52.1960 - Original Identification of plan section.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., 1972. (Non-regulatory) (7) Sections 16.1, 16.3, and 16.5 of Regulation No. 16, “Control of Emissions of... plan revision designed to achieve the ozone standard in Tulsa County, including control strategy... Quality Control Implementation Plan” and all revisions submitted by Oklahoma that were federally approved...

40 CFR 52.1960 - Original Identification of plan section.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., 1972. (Non-regulatory) (7) Sections 16.1, 16.3, and 16.5 of Regulation No. 16, “Control of Emissions of... plan revision designed to achieve the ozone standard in Tulsa County, including control strategy... Quality Control Implementation Plan” and all revisions submitted by Oklahoma that were federally approved...

78 FR 38587 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Connecticut; Reasonably Available...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-27

... reasonably available control technology (RACT) for oxides of nitrogen (NO X ) and volatile organic compounds.... I. Background and Purpose II. Connecticut's Reasonably Available Control Technology Certification... controlling volatile organic compound emissions that Connecticut submitted to EPA on July 20, 2007. \\1\\ The...

75 FR 31711 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-04

... Boilers and Process Heaters at Petroleum Refineries AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... controlling nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from industrial boilers. This action is being taken under the Clean...--Control of Nitrogen Oxide Emissions from Industrial Boilers and Process Heaters at Petroleum Refineries in...

76 FR 75467 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Louisiana; Revisions To Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-02

... Guidelines in Lieu of Regulations for Miscellaneous Metal Products Coatings, Plastic Parts Coatings, Auto and... Pleasure Craft portion of the Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for Miscellaneous Metal and Plastic Parts... and Plastic Parts Coatings regulations based on EPA's 2008 guidance titled ``Control Techniques...

75 FR 8246 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Volatile Organic Compound...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-24

...)(2).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control...) Incorporation by reference. (A) Indiana Administrative Code Title 326: Air Pollution Control Board, Article 8..., 2009 (DIN: 20091202-IR-326090220FRA). (B) Indiana Administrative Code Title 326: Air Pollution Control...

76 FR 11983 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-04

... state and local air pollution control authorities information that should assist them in determining...; plastic asceptic packaging; and carbon paper and inked ribbons. VOC emissions from paper, film, or foil... of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by...

78 FR 28773 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-16

... Miscellaneous Metal and Plastic Parts Which Includes Pleasure Craft Coating Operations AGENCY: Environmental... recommended by EPA's control technique guidelines (CTG) for Miscellaneous Metal Parts and Plastic Coating... air pollution control authorities information that should assist them in determining RACT for VOC from...

78 FR 13493 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Revision to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-28

... Pennsylvania. This revision pertains to the Air Pollution Control portion of the Allegheny County Health... pertaining to the Air Pollution Control portion of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) Rules and... of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide...

Radiation protection program for early detection of breast cancer in a mammography facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villagomez Casimiro, Mariana; Ruiz Trejo, Cesar; Espejo Fonseca, Ruby

2014-11-01

Mammography is the best tool for early detection of Breast Cancer. In this diagnostic radiology modality it is necessary to establish the criteria to ensure the proper use and operation of the equipment used to obtain mammographic images in order to contribute to the safe use of ionizing radiation. The aim of the work was to implement at FUCAM-AC the radiation protection program which must be established for patients and radiation workers according to Mexican standards [1-4]. To achieve this goal, radiation protection and quality control manuals were elaborated [5]. Furthermore, a quality control program (QCP) in the mammography systems (analog/digital), darkroom included, has been implemented. Daily sensitometry, non-variability of the image quality, visualizing artifacts, revision of the equipment mechanical stability, compression force and analysis of repetition studies are some of the QCP routine tests that must be performed by radiological technicians of this institution as a set of actions to ensure the protection of patients. Image quality and patients dose assessment were performed on 4 analog equipment installed in 2 mobile units. In relation to dose assessment, all equipment passed the acceptance criteria (<3 mGy per projection). The image quality test showed that most images (70%)- presented artifacts. A brief summary of the results of quality control tests applied to the equipment and film processor are presented. To maintain an adequate level of quality and safety at FUCAM-AC is necessary that the proposed radiation protection program in this work is applied.

Handling Qualities of Model Reference Adaptive Controllers with Varying Complexity for Pitch-Roll Coupled Failures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, Jacob; Hanson, Curt; Johnson, Marcus A.; Nguyen, Nhan

2011-01-01

Three model reference adaptive controllers (MRAC) with varying levels of complexity were evaluated on a high performance jet aircraft and compared along with a baseline nonlinear dynamic inversion controller. The handling qualities and performance of the controllers were examined during failure conditions that induce coupling between the pitch and roll axes. Results from flight tests showed with a roll to pitch input coupling failure, the handling qualities went from Level 2 with the baseline controller to Level 1 with the most complex MRAC tested. A failure scenario with the left stabilator frozen also showed improvement with the MRAC. Improvement in performance and handling qualities was generally seen as complexity was incrementally added; however, added complexity usually corresponds to increased verification and validation effort required for certification. The tradeoff between complexity and performance is thus important to a controls system designer when implementing an adaptive controller on an aircraft. This paper investigates this relation through flight testing of several controllers of vary complexity.

Comparison of Quality Engineering Practices in Malaysian and Indonesian Automotive Related Companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, Nilda Tri; Sha'ri Mohd, Yusof; Irianto, Dradjad

2016-02-01

The main motivating factor driving this research is to find differences between the automotive related companies in Malaysia and Indonesia with regard to quality engineering (QE) implementation. A comparative study between Malaysia and Indonesia provides the opportunity to gain perspective and thorough understanding of the similarities and differences on the critical factors for successful QE practices in the context of both these countries. Face to face interviews are used to compare the QE practices in two automotive companies in Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively. The findings of study showed that both countries have clear quality objectives to achieving zero defects in processes and products and total customer satisfaction. Top and middle management in both countries were found to be directly involved in quality improvement on the shop floor to provide On-The-Job training and actively encourage team members to perform quality problem solving through the formation of quality control circles (QCC) particularly in Indonesia automotive industry. In Malaysia automotive industry, the implementation was not fully effective, but they have started to cultivate those values in the daily execution. Based on the case study results and analysis, the researcher has provided suggestions for both countries as an improvement plan for successful QE implementation. These recommendations will allow management to implement appropriate strategies for better QE implementation which hopefully can improve company's performance and ultimately the making the automotive industry in both countries to reach world class quality. It is strongly believed that the findings of this study can help Malaysia and Indonesia automotive industries in their efforts to become more effective and competitive.

A quality improvement project using statistical process control methods for type 2 diabetes control in a resource-limited setting.

PubMed

Flood, David; Douglas, Kate; Goldberg, Vera; Martinez, Boris; Garcia, Pablo; Arbour, MaryCatherine; Rohloff, Peter

2017-08-01

Quality improvement (QI) is a key strategy for improving diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study reports on a diabetes QI project in rural Guatemala whose primary aim was to improve glycemic control of a panel of adult diabetes patients. Formative research suggested multiple areas for programmatic improvement in ambulatory diabetes care. This project utilized the Model for Improvement and Agile Global Health, our organization's complementary healthcare implementation framework. A bundle of improvement activities were implemented at the home, clinic and institutional level. Control charts of mean hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and proportion of patients meeting target HbA1C showed improvement as special cause variation was identified 3 months after the intervention began. Control charts for secondary process measures offered insights into the value of different components of the intervention. Intensity of home-based diabetes education emerged as an important driver of panel glycemic control. Diabetes QI work is feasible in resource-limited settings in LMICs and can improve glycemic control. Statistical process control charts are a promising methodology for use with panels or registries of diabetes patients. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

75 FR 47218 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-05

... Kentucky, through the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality (DAQ), to... (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxides (NO X ) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) for Northern Kentucky. This... control, Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Intergovernmental relations, and Volatile...

Proceedings of the Acquisition Research Symposium: Imagnination, Innovation, and Implementation, 1991. Volume 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

Construction Industry Institute, Austin, Texas, April 1990. 6. Ishikawa , Kaoru , What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way, Prentice-Hall, N.J., 1985. 7...customer. Ishikawa , a leading Japanese management and line personnel, and where authority on quality management, claims that appropriate, the customer

75 FR 59973 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Volatile...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-29

...; Cleaning of high precision optics; Stripping; Janitorial cleaning; cleaning of resin, coating, ink, and... laboratories; Cleaning operations in medical device or pharmaceutical manufacturing; and Cleaning operations related to performance or quality assurance testing of coatings, inks, or adhesives. COMAR 26.11.19.09-1...

Care provider order entry (CPOE): a perspective on factors leading to success or to failure.

PubMed

Ozdas, A; Miller, R A

2007-01-01

Authors provide a perspective on factors leading to successful care provider order entry (CPOE) implementations. Viewpoint of authors supported by background literature review. Authors review both benefits and challenges related to CPOE implementation using three guiding principles: (1) a clinical approach to clinical systems, which claims that CPOE implementation is analogous to a "good" clinician delivering care to a patient; (2) a commitment to quality, which advocates that no compromises should be made in implementing system functionality and clinical system content - the highest objective for CPOE implementation is to provide better quality of care and increased safety for patients; (3) a commitment to fairness, as evidenced by respect for individuals and support of local autonomy, which advocates for minimizing disruptions to clinician-users' workflows, and adequate local control over CPOE system design and evolution, including clinical content management. Past experiences with CPOE implementation can inform future installation attempts. Sociocultural factors dominate in determining the success of implementation, and should govern technical factors.

Process evaluation of the project P.A.T.H.S. (secondary 2 program): findings based on the co-walker scheme.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Tam, Suet-yan

2009-01-01

To understand the implementation quality of the Tier 1 Program (Secondary 2 Curriculum) of the P.A.T.H.S. Project, process evaluation was carried out by co-walkers through classroom observation of 195 units in 131 schools. Results showed that the overall level of program adherence was generally high with an average of 84.55%, and different factors of the implementation process were evaluated as positive. Quality of program implementation and achievement of program objectives were predicted by students' participation and involvement, strategies to enhance students' motivation, opportunity for reflection, time management, and class preparation. Success in program implementation was predicted by students' participation and involvement, classroom control, interactive delivery method, strategies to enhance students' motivation, opportunity for reflection, and lesson preparation.

Medicaid/CHIP Program; Medicaid Program and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); Changes to the Medicaid Eligibility Quality Control and Payment Error Rate Measurement Programs in Response to the Affordable Care Act. Final rule.

PubMed

2017-07-05

This final rule updates the Medicaid Eligibility Quality Control (MEQC) and Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) programs based on the changes to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This rule also implements various other improvements to the PERM program.

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

PubMed

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

2017-12-01

The aim of the study was to analyse the influence of prevention measures on pressure injuries for high-risk patients and to establish the most appropriate methods of implementation. Nurses assessed patients using a checklist and factors influencing the prevention of a pressure injury determined by brain storming. A specific series of measures was drawn up and an estimate of risk of pressure injury determined using the Braden Scale, analysis of nursing documents, implementation of prevention measures for pressure sores and awareness of the system both before and after carrying out a quality control circle (QCC) process. The overall scores of implementation of prevention measures ranged from 74.86 ± 14.24 to 87.06 ± 17.04, a result that was statistically significant (P < 0.0025). The Braden Scale scores ranged from 8.53 ± 3.21 to 13.48 ± 3.57. The nursing document scores ranged from 7.67 ± 3.98 to 10.12 ± 1.63; prevention measure scores ranged from 11.48 ± 4.18 to 13.96 ± 3.92. Differences in all of the above results are statistically significant (P < 0.05). Implementation of a QCC can standardise and improve the prevention measures for patients who are vulnerable to pressure sores and is of practical importance to their prevention and control. © 2017 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Linking Air Quality and Human Health Effects Models: An Application to the Los Angeles Air Basin

PubMed Central

Stewart, Devoun R; Saunders, Emily; Perea, Roberto A; Fitzgerald, Rosa; Campbell, David E; Stockwell, William R

2017-01-01

Proposed emission control strategies for reducing ozone and particulate matter are evaluated better when air quality and health effects models are used together. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is the US Environmental Protection Agency’s model for determining public policy and forecasting air quality. CMAQ was used to forecast air quality changes due to several emission control strategies that could be implemented between 2008 and 2030 for the South Coast Air Basin that includes Los Angeles. The Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program—Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) was used to estimate health and economic impacts of the different emission control strategies based on CMAQ simulations. BenMAP-CE is a computer program based on epidemiologic studies that link human health and air quality. This modeling approach is better for determining optimum public policy than approaches that only examine concentration changes. PMID:29162976

Linking Air Quality and Human Health Effects Models: An Application to the Los Angeles Air Basin.

PubMed

Stewart, Devoun R; Saunders, Emily; Perea, Roberto A; Fitzgerald, Rosa; Campbell, David E; Stockwell, William R

2017-01-01

Proposed emission control strategies for reducing ozone and particulate matter are evaluated better when air quality and health effects models are used together. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is the US Environmental Protection Agency's model for determining public policy and forecasting air quality. CMAQ was used to forecast air quality changes due to several emission control strategies that could be implemented between 2008 and 2030 for the South Coast Air Basin that includes Los Angeles. The Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) was used to estimate health and economic impacts of the different emission control strategies based on CMAQ simulations. BenMAP-CE is a computer program based on epidemiologic studies that link human health and air quality. This modeling approach is better for determining optimum public policy than approaches that only examine concentration changes.

Spatially-controlled illumination with rescan confocal microscopy enhances image quality, resolution and reduces photodamage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnaswami, Venkataraman; De Luca, Giulia M. R.; Breedijk, Ronald M. P.; Van Noorden, Cornelis J. F.; Manders, Erik M. M.; Hoebe, Ron A.

2017-02-01

Fluorescence microscopy is an important tool in biomedical imaging. An inherent trade-off lies between image quality and photodamage. Recently, we have introduced rescan confocal microscopy (RCM) that improves the lateral resolution of a confocal microscope down to 170 nm. Previously, we have demonstrated that with controlled-light exposure microscopy, spatial control of illumination reduces photodamage without compromising image quality. Here, we show that the combination of these two techniques leads to high resolution imaging with reduced photodamage without compromising image quality. Implementation of spatially-controlled illumination was carried out in RCM using a line scanning-based approach. Illumination is spatially-controlled for every line during imaging with the help of a prediction algorithm that estimates the spatial profile of the fluorescent specimen. The estimation is based on the information available from previously acquired line images. As a proof-of-principle, we show images of N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells, obtained by this new setup with reduced illumination dose, improved resolution and without compromising image quality.

75 FR 74517 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of California; 2008 San Joaquin Valley...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-30

...EPA is proposing to approve in part and disapprove in part state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by California to provide for attainment of the 1997 annual and 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) nonattainment area. The SIP revisions are the SJV 2008 PM2.5 Plan (revised 2010) and portions of the 2007 State Strategy (revised 2009). Specifically, EPA is proposing to approve the emissions inventories as meeting the requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA's fine particle implementing rule and to approve commitments to implement specific measures and meet specific aggregate emissions reductions by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the California Air Resource Board. In addition, we are proposing to find that volatile organic compounds are a PM2.5 attainment plan precursor in the SJV for which controls should be evaluated. EPA is proposing to disapprove the attainment demonstration. EPA is also proposing to disapprove the reasonably available control measures/reasonably available control technology demonstration, the air quality modeling, the reasonable further progress (RFP) demonstration, the contingency measures, and the attainment and RFP conformity motor vehicle emissions budgets. EPA is also proposing to not grant California's request to extend to April 5, 2015 the deadline for the SJV nonattainment area to attain the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.

Bridging the Gap Between Validation and Implementation of Non-Animal Veterinary Vaccine Potency Testing Methods

PubMed Central

Dozier, Samantha; Brown, Jeffrey; Currie, Alistair

2011-01-01

Simple Summary Many vaccines are tested for quality in experiments that require the use of large numbers of animals in procedures that often cause significant pain and distress. Newer technologies have fostered the development of vaccine quality control tests that reduce or eliminate the use of animals, but the availability of these newer methods has not guaranteed their acceptance by regulators or use by manufacturers. We discuss a strategic approach that has been used to assess and ultimately increase the use of non-animal vaccine quality tests in the U.S. and U.K. Abstract In recent years, technologically advanced high-throughput techniques have been developed that replace, reduce or refine animal use in vaccine quality control tests. Following validation, these tests are slowly being accepted for use by international regulatory authorities. Because regulatory acceptance itself has not guaranteed that approved humane methods are adopted by manufacturers, various organizations have sought to foster the preferential use of validated non-animal methods by interfacing with industry and regulatory authorities. After noticing this gap between regulation and uptake by industry, we began developing a paradigm that seeks to narrow the gap and quicken implementation of new replacement, refinement or reduction guidance. A systematic analysis of our experience in promoting the transparent implementation of validated non-animal vaccine potency assays has led to the refinement of our paradigmatic process, presented here, by which interested parties can assess the local regulatory acceptance of methods that reduce animal use and integrate them into quality control testing protocols, or ensure the elimination of peripheral barriers to their use, particularly for potency and other tests carried out on production batches. PMID:26486625

Implementation of Cyber-Physical Production Systems for Quality Prediction and Operation Control in Metal Casting

PubMed Central

Lee, JuneHyuck; Noh, Sang Do; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Kang, Yong-Shin

2018-01-01

The prediction of internal defects of metal casting immediately after the casting process saves unnecessary time and money by reducing the amount of inputs into the next stage, such as the machining process, and enables flexible scheduling. Cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) perfectly fulfill the aforementioned requirements. This study deals with the implementation of CPPS in a real factory to predict the quality of metal casting and operation control. First, a CPPS architecture framework for quality prediction and operation control in metal-casting production was designed. The framework describes collaboration among internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, simulations, manufacturing execution systems, and advanced planning and scheduling systems. Subsequently, the implementation of the CPPS in actual plants is described. Temperature is a major factor that affects casting quality, and thus, temperature sensors and IoT communication devices were attached to casting machines. The well-known NoSQL database, HBase and the high-speed processing/analysis tool, Spark, are used for IoT repository and data pre-processing, respectively. Many machine learning algorithms such as decision tree, random forest, artificial neural network, and support vector machine were used for quality prediction and compared with R software. Finally, the operation of the entire system is demonstrated through a CPPS dashboard. In an era in which most CPPS-related studies are conducted on high-level abstract models, this study describes more specific architectural frameworks, use cases, usable software, and analytical methodologies. In addition, this study verifies the usefulness of CPPS by estimating quantitative effects. This is expected to contribute to the proliferation of CPPS in the industry. PMID:29734699

77 FR 31499 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Operating Permits Program; Commonwealth of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-29

..., published on March 22, 2012, that approved revisions to the Puerto Rico Regulations for the Control of Atmospheric Pollution. Those revisions were submitted to EPA by the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board on...] Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Operating Permits Program; Commonwealth of Puerto...

NHEXAS PHASE I ARIZONA STUDY--STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR PREPARATION OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) (UA-G-1.0)

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this SOP is to establish a uniform format for the preparation of SOPs. Use of these protocols ensures consistent implementation of project tasks, documents the preparation and implementation of the procedures used, describes quality control measures and the limits...

77 FR 44204 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Iron and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-27

... to approve revisions to the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Maryland... (Sparrows Point) is the only sintering plant located in the State of Maryland, and therefore the only source... compliance with specified pressure drop and flow rate operating parameters. EPA is approving these revisions...

77 FR 44146 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Control of Iron and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-27

... taking direct final action to approve revisions to the Maryland State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted... steelmaking facility (Sparrows Point) is the only sintering plant located in the State of Maryland. The... emissions of particulate matter, continuously monitoring compliance with specified pressure drop and flow...

Implementation of quality assurance in diagnostic radiology in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republic of Srpska).

PubMed

Bosnjak, J; Ciraj-Bjelac, O; Strbac, B

2008-01-01

Application of a quality control (QC) programme is very important when optimisation of image quality and reduction of patient exposure is desired. QC surveys of diagnostics imaging equipment in Republic of Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina) has been systematically performed since 2001. The presented results are mostly related to the QC test results of X-ray tubes and generators for diagnostic radiology units in 92 radiology departments. In addition, results include workplace monitoring and usage of personal protective devices for staff and patients. Presented results showed the improvements in the implementation of the QC programme within the period 2001--2005. Also, more attention is given to appropriate maintenance of imaging equipment, which was one of the main problems in the past. Implementation of a QC programme is a continuous and complex process. To achieve good performance of imaging equipment, additional tests are to be introduced, along with image quality assessment and patient dosimetry. Training is very important in order to achieve these goals.

Measuring, managing and maximizing refinery performance

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

Bascur, O.A.; Kennedy, J.P.

1996-01-01

Implementing continuous quality improvement is a confluence of total quality management, people empowerment, performance indicators and information engineering. Supporting information technologies allow a refiner to narrow the gap between management objectives and the process control level. Dynamic performance monitoring benefits come from production cost savings, improved communications and enhanced decision making. A refinery workgroup information flow model helps automate continuous improvement of processes, performance and the organization. The paper discusses the rethinking of refinery operations, dynamic performance monitoring, continuous process improvement, the knowledge coordinator and repository manager, an integrated plant operations workflow, and successful implementation.

What characterizes the work culture at a hospital unit that successfully implements change - a correlation study.

PubMed

André, Beate; Sjøvold, Endre

2017-07-14

To successfully achieve change in healthcare, a balance between technology and "people ware", the human recourses, is necessary. However, the human aspect of the change implementation process has received less attention than the technological issues. The aim was to explore the factors that characterize the work culture in a hospital unit that successfully implemented change compared with the factors that characterize the work culture of a hospital unit with unsuccessful implementation. The Systematizing Person-Group Relations method was used for gathering and analyzing data to explore what dominate the behavior in a particular work environment identifying challenges, limitations and opportunities. This method applied six different dimensions, each representing different behavior in a work culture: Synergy, Withdrawal, Opposition, Dependence, Control and Nurture. We compared two different units at the same hospital, one that successfully implemented change and one that was unsuccessful. There were significant statistical differences between healthcare personnel working at a unit that successfully implemented change contrasted with the unit with unsuccessful implementation. These significant differences were found in both the synergy and control dimensions, which are important positive qualities in a work culture. The results of this study show that healthcare personnel at a unit with a successful implementation of change have a working environment with many positive qualities. This indicates that a work environment with a high focus on goal achievement and task orientation can handle the challenges of implementing changes.

Quality by design for herbal drugs: a feedforward control strategy and an approach to define the acceptable ranges of critical quality attributes.

PubMed

Yan, Binjun; Li, Yao; Guo, Zhengtai; Qu, Haibin

2014-01-01

The concept of quality by design (QbD) has been widely accepted and applied in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. There are still two key issues to be addressed in the implementation of QbD for herbal drugs. The first issue is the quality variation of herbal raw materials and the second issue is the difficulty in defining the acceptable ranges of critical quality attributes (CQAs). To propose a feedforward control strategy and a method for defining the acceptable ranges of CQAs for the two issues. In the case study of the ethanol precipitation process of Danshen (Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza) injection, regression models linking input material attributes and process parameters to CQAs were built first and an optimisation model for calculating the best process parameters according to the input materials was established. Then, the feasible material space was defined and the acceptable ranges of CQAs for the previous process were determined. In the case study, satisfactory regression models were built with cross-validated regression coefficients (Q(2) ) all above 91 %. The feedforward control strategy was applied successfully to compensate the quality variation of the input materials, which was able to control the CQAs in the 90-110 % ranges of the desired values. In addition, the feasible material space for the ethanol precipitation process was built successfully, which showed the acceptable ranges of the CQAs for the concentration process. The proposed methodology can help to promote the implementation of QbD for herbal drugs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bridging the gap between PAT concepts and implementation: An integrated software platform for fermentation.

PubMed

Chopda, Viki R; Gomes, James; Rathore, Anurag S

2016-01-01

Bioreactor control significantly impacts both the amount and quality of the product being manufactured. The complexity of the control strategy that is implemented increases with reactor size, which may vary from thousands to tens of thousands of litres in commercial manufacturing. The Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative has highlighted the need for having robust monitoring tools and effective control schemes that are capable of taking real time information about the critical quality attributes (CQA) and the critical process parameters (CPP) and executing immediate response as soon as a deviation occurs. However, the limited flexibility that present commercial software packages offer creates a hurdle. Visual programming environments have gradually emerged as potential alternatives to the available text based languages. This paper showcases development of an integrated programme using a visual programming environment for a Sartorius BIOSTAT® B Plus 5L bioreactor through which various peripheral devices are interfaced. The proposed programme facilitates real-time access to data and allows for execution of control actions to follow the desired trajectory. Major benefits of such integrated software system include: (i) improved real time monitoring and control; (ii) reduced variability; (iii) improved performance; (iv) reduced operator-training time; (v) enhanced knowledge management; and (vi) easier PAT implementation. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

77 FR 45307 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: Georgia; Control Techniques...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-31

... October 7, 2008 (73 FR 58481), EPA updated the 1977 CTG, as part of Group IV CTG, addressing the control... Group III CTG, addressing control of VOC emissions from metal furniture coating operations. On January 3..., as part of Group III CTG, addressing the control of VOC emissions from large appliance surface...

77 FR 38501 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Georgia; Regional Haze State...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-28

... no additional emissions controls for some pollutants but does not specify an appropriately stringent... controls from examination based on economic factors alone. Response 4: The Commenter overstates the scope... beyond the control of the user (see, e.g., 40 CFR 60.7575; Georgia Air Quality Control Rules 391-3-1-.02...

Improved statistical method for temperature and salinity quality control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourrion, Jérôme; Szekely, Tanguy

2017-04-01

Climate research and Ocean monitoring benefit from the continuous development of global in-situ hydrographic networks in the last decades. Apart from the increasing volume of observations available on a large range of temporal and spatial scales, a critical aspect concerns the ability to constantly improve the quality of the datasets. In the context of the Coriolis Dataset for ReAnalysis (CORA) version 4.2, a new quality control method based on a local comparison to historical extreme values ever observed is developed, implemented and validated. Temperature, salinity and potential density validity intervals are directly estimated from minimum and maximum values from an historical reference dataset, rather than from traditional mean and standard deviation estimates. Such an approach avoids strong statistical assumptions on the data distributions such as unimodality, absence of skewness and spatially homogeneous kurtosis. As a new feature, it also allows addressing simultaneously the two main objectives of an automatic quality control strategy, i.e. maximizing the number of good detections while minimizing the number of false alarms. The reference dataset is presently built from the fusion of 1) all ARGO profiles up to late 2015, 2) 3 historical CTD datasets and 3) the Sea Mammals CTD profiles from the MEOP database. All datasets are extensively and manually quality controlled. In this communication, the latest method validation results are also presented. The method has already been implemented in the latest version of the delayed-time CMEMS in-situ dataset and will be deployed soon in the equivalent near-real time products.

Improved Statistical Method For Hydrographic Climatic Records Quality Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourrion, J.; Szekely, T.

2016-02-01

Climate research benefits from the continuous development of global in-situ hydrographic networks in the last decades. Apart from the increasing volume of observations available on a large range of temporal and spatial scales, a critical aspect concerns the ability to constantly improve the quality of the datasets. In the context of the Coriolis Dataset for ReAnalysis (CORA) version 4.2, a new quality control method based on a local comparison to historical extreme values ever observed is developed, implemented and validated. Temperature, salinity and potential density validity intervals are directly estimated from minimum and maximum values from an historical reference dataset, rather than from traditional mean and standard deviation estimates. Such an approach avoids strong statistical assumptions on the data distributions such as unimodality, absence of skewness and spatially homogeneous kurtosis. As a new feature, it also allows addressing simultaneously the two main objectives of a quality control strategy, i.e. maximizing the number of good detections while minimizing the number of false alarms. The reference dataset is presently built from the fusion of 1) all ARGO profiles up to early 2014, 2) 3 historical CTD datasets and 3) the Sea Mammals CTD profiles from the MEOP database. All datasets are extensively and manually quality controlled. In this communication, the latest method validation results are also presented. The method has been implemented in the latest version of the CORA dataset and will benefit to the next version of the Copernicus CMEMS dataset.

Quantification of BMPs Selection and Spatial Placement Impact on Water Quality Controlling Plans in Lower Bear River Watershed, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salha, A. A.; Stevens, D. K.

2016-12-01

The aim of the watershed-management program in Box Elder County, Utah set by Utah Division of Water Quality (UDEQ) is to evaluate the effectiveness and spatial placement of the implemented best-management practices (BMP) for controlling nonpoint-source contamination at watershed scale. The need to evaluate the performance of BMPs would help future policy and program decisions making as desired end results. The environmental and costs benefits of BMPs in Lower Bear River watershed have seldom been measured beyond field experiments. Yet, implemented practices have rarely been evaluated at the watershed scale where the combined effects of variable soils, climatic conditions, topography and land use/covers and management conditions may significantly change anticipated results and reductions loads. Such evaluation requires distributed watershed models that are necessary for quantifying and reproducing the movement of water, sediments and nutrients. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is selected as a watershed level tool to identify contaminant nonpoint sources (critical zones) and areas of high pollution risks. Water quality concerns have been documented and are primarily attributed to high phosphorus and total suspended sediment concentrations caused by agricultural and farming practices (required load is 460 kg/day of total phosphorus based on 0.075 mg/l and an average of total suspended solids of 90 mg/l). Input data such as digital elevation model (DEM), land use/Land cover (LULC), soils, and climate data for 10 years (2000-2010) is utilized along with observed water quality at the watershed outlet (USGS) and some discrete monitoring points within the watershed. Statistical and spatial analysis of scenarios of management practices (BMP's) are not implemented (before implementation), during implementation, and after BMP's have been studied to determine whether water quality of the two main water bodies has improved as required by the LBMR watershed's TMDL and if the BMPs are cost-effectively targeting the critical zones.

Automated Data Quality Assurance using OGC Sensor Web Enablement Frameworks for Marine Observatories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toma, Daniel; Bghiel, Ikram; del Rio, Joaquin; Hidalgo, Alberto; Carreras, Normandino; Manuel, Antoni

2014-05-01

Over the past years, environmental sensors have continuously improved by becoming smaller, cheaper, and more intelligent. Therefore, many sensor networks are increasingly deployed to monitor our environment. But due to the large number of sensor manufacturers, accompanying protocols and data encoding, automated integration and data quality assurance of diverse sensors in an observing systems is not straightforward, requiring development of data management code and manual tedious configuration. However, over the past few years it has been demonstrated that Open-Geospatial Consortium (OGC) frameworks can enable web services with fully-described sensor systems, including data processing, sensor characteristics and quality control tests and results. So far, the SWE framework does not describe how to integrate sensors on-the-fly with minimal human intervention. The data management software which enables access to sensors, data processing and quality control tests has to be implemented and the results have to be manually mapped to the SWE models. In this contribution, we describe a Sensor Plug & Play infrastructure for the Sensor Web by combining (1) OGC PUCK protocol - a simple standard embedded instrument protocol to store and retrieve directly from the devices the declarative description of sensor characteristics and quality control tests, (2) an automatic mechanism for data processing and quality control tests underlying the Sensor Web - the Sensor Interface Descriptor (SID) concept, as well as (3) a model for the declarative description of sensor which serves as a generic data management mechanism - designed as a profile and extension of OGC SWE's SensorML standard. We implement and evaluate our approach by applying it to the OBSEA Observatory, and can be used to demonstrate the ability to assess data quality for temperature, salinity, air pressure and wind speed and direction observations off the coast of Garraf, in the north-eastern Spain.

European Psychiatric Association (EPA) guidance on quality assurance in mental healthcare.

PubMed

Gaebel, W; Großimlinghaus, I; Heun, R; Janssen, B; Johnson, B; Kurimay, T; Montellano, P; Muijen, M; Munk-Jorgensen, P; Rössler, W; Ruggeri, M; Thornicroft, G; Zielasek, J

2015-03-01

To advance the quality of mental healthcare in Europe by developing guidance on implementing quality assurance. We performed a systematic literature search on quality assurance in mental healthcare and the 522 retrieved documents were evaluated by two independent reviewers (B.J. and J.Z.). Based on these evaluations, evidence tables were generated. As it was found that these did not cover all areas of mental healthcare, supplementary hand searches were performed for selected additional areas. Based on these findings, fifteen graded recommendations were developed and consented by the authors. Review by the EPA Guidance Committee and EPA Board led to two additional recommendations (on immigrant mental healthcare and parity of mental and physical healthcare funding). Although quality assurance (measures to keep a certain degree of quality), quality control and monitoring (applying quality indicators to the current degree of quality), and quality management (coordinated measures and activities with regard to quality) are conceptually distinct, in practice they are frequently used as if identical and hardly separable. There is a dearth of controlled trials addressing ways to optimize quality assurance in mental healthcare. Altogether, seventeen recommendations were developed addressing a range of aspects of quality assurance in mental healthcare, which appear usable across Europe. These were divided into recommendations about structures, processes and outcomes. Each recommendation was assigned to a hierarchical level of analysis (macro-, meso- and micro-level). There was a lack of evidence retrievable by a systematic literature search about quality assurance of mental healthcare. Therefore, only after further topics and search had been added it was possible to develop recommendations with mostly medium evidence levels. Evidence-based graded recommendations for quality assurance in mental healthcare were developed which should next be implemented and evaluated for feasibility and validity in some European countries. Due to the small evidence base identified corresponding to the practical obscurity of the concept and methods, a European research initiative is called for by the stakeholders represented in this Guidance to improve the educational, methodological and empirical basis for a future broad implementation of measures for quality assurance in European mental healthcare. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Linking Six Sigma to simulation: a new roadmap to improve the quality of patient care.

PubMed

Celano, Giovanni; Costa, Antonio; Fichera, Sergio; Tringali, Giuseppe

2012-01-01

Improving the quality of patient care is a challenge that calls for a multidisciplinary approach, embedding a broad spectrum of knowledge and involving healthcare professionals from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to present an innovative approach that implements discrete-event simulation (DES) as a decision-supporting tool in the management of Six Sigma quality improvement projects. A roadmap is designed to assist quality practitioners and health care professionals in the design and successful implementation of simulation models within the define-measure-analyse-design-verify (DMADV) or define-measure-analyse-improve-control (DMAIC) Six Sigma procedures. A case regarding the reorganisation of the flow of emergency patients affected by vertigo symptoms was developed in a large town hospital as a preliminary test of the roadmap. The positive feedback from professionals carrying out the project looks promising and encourages further roadmap testing in other clinical settings. The roadmap is a structured procedure that people involved in quality improvement can implement to manage projects based on the analysis and comparison of alternative scenarios. The role of Six Sigma philosophy in improvement of the quality of healthcare services is recognised both by researchers and by quality practitioners; discrete-event simulation models are commonly used to improve the key performance measures of patient care delivery. The two approaches are seldom referenced and implemented together; however, they could be successfully integrated to carry out quality improvement programs. This paper proposes an innovative approach to bridge the gap and enrich the Six Sigma toolbox of quality improvement procedures with DES.

Information system equality for food security--implementation of the food safety control system in Taiwan.

PubMed

Chen, Shaun C; Hsu, Guoo-Shyng Wang; Chiu, Chihwei P

2009-01-01

Food security plays a central role in governing agricultural policies in Taiwan. In addition to overuse or the illegal use of pesticide, meat leanness promoters, animal drugs and melamine in the food supply; as well as foodborne illness draws the greatest public concern due to incidents that occur every year in Taiwan. The present report demonstrates the implementation of a food safety control system in Taiwan. In order to control foodborne outbreaks effectively, the central government of the Department of Health of Taiwan launched the food safety control system which includes both the good hygienic practice (GHP) and the HACCP plan, in the last decade. From 1998 to the present, 302 food affiliations that implemented the system have been validated and accredited by a well-established audit system. The implementation of a food safety control system in compliance with international standards is of crucial importance to ensure complete safety and the high quality of foods, not only for domestic markets, but also for international trade.

Assessment of an intervention to train teaching hospital care providers in quality management

PubMed Central

Francois, P; Vinck, D; Labarere, J; Reverdy, T; Peyrin, J

2005-01-01

Background: Successful implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs in hospitals remains rare in all countries, making it necessary to experiment with implementation methods while considering the cultural factors of resistance to change. Objective: To assess the impact of an educational intervention on involvement of clinical department staff in the quality process. Setting: Twelve voluntary clinical departments (six experimental and six controls) in a French 2000-bed university hospital comprising 40 clinical departments. Intervention: Three day training seminar to a group of 12–20 staff members from each department. Design: Quasi-experimental post-test only design study with control group conducted 12 months after the intervention with a questionnaire completed in a face-to-face interview. Subjects: 98 trained staff and 100 untrained staff from the six experimental departments and 100 staff from the six control departments. Principal measurements: Declared knowledge of the CQI methods and participation in quality management activities. Results: 286 people (96%) were involved in the study. More of the trained staff knew the CQI methods (62.4%) than staff in the control departments (16.5%) (adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 10.6 (95% CI 4.97 to 22.62)). More trained staff also participated in quality improvement work groups than control department staff (76.3% v 14.0%; ORa = 27.4 (95% CI 11.6 to 64.4)). In the experimental departments the untrained staff's knowledge of CQI methods and their participation in work groups did not differ from that of control department staff. Conclusions: A continuing education intervention can involve care providers in CQI. Dissemination of knowledge from trained personnel to other staff members remains limited. PMID:16076785

Effectiveness of guideline dissemination and implementation strategies on health care professionals' behaviour and patient outcomes in the cancer care context: a systematic review protocol.

PubMed

Tomasone, Jennifer R; Chaudhary, Rushil; Brouwers, Melissa C

2015-08-25

Health care professionals (HCPs) are able to make effective decisions regarding patient care through the use of systematically developed clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). These recommendations are especially important in a cancer health care context as patients are exposed to a multitude of interdisciplinary HCPs offering high-quality care throughout diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and palliative care. Although a large number of CPGs targeted towards cancer are widely disseminated, it is unknown whether implementation strategies targeting the use of these guidelines are effective in effecting HCP behaviour and patient outcomes in the cancer care context. The purpose of this systematic review will be to determine the effectiveness of different CPG dissemination and implementation interventions on HCPs' behaviour and patient outcomes in the cancer health care context. Five electronic databases (CINAHL, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, MEDLINE via Ovid, EMBASE via Ovid and PsycINFO via Ovid) will be searched to include all studies examining the dissemination and/or implementation of CPGs in a cancer care setting targeting all HCPs. CPG implementation strategies will be included if the CPGs were systematically developed (e.g. literature review/evidence-informed, expert panel, evidence appraisal). The studies will be limited to randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials and quasi-experimental (interrupted time series, controlled before-and-after designs) studies. Two independent reviewers will assess articles for eligibility, data extraction and quality appraisal. The aim of this review is to inform cancer care health care professionals and policymakers about evidence-based implementation strategies that will allow for effective use of CPGs. PROSPERO CRD42015019331.

Flight test results for a separate surface stability augmented Beech model 99

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenks, G. E.; Henry, H. F.; Roskam, J.

1977-01-01

A flight evaluation of a Beech model 99 equipped with an attitude command control system incorporating separate surface stability augmentation (SSSA) was conducted to determine whether an attitude command control system could be implemented using separate surface controls, and to determine whether the handling and ride qualities of the aircraft were improved by the SSSA attitude command system. The results of the program revealed that SSSA is a viable approach to implementing attitude command and also that SSSA has the capability of performing less demanding augmentation tasks such as yaw damping, wing leveling, and pitch damping. The program also revealed that attitude command did improve the pilot rating and ride qualities of the airplane while flying an IFR mission in turbulence. Some disadvantages of the system included the necessity of holding aileron force in a banked turn and excessive stiffness in the pitch axis.

78 FR 9648 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; District of Columbia; Volatile...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-11

... Regulations (DCMR) for the Control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) to meet the requirement to adopt reasonably available control technology (RACT) for sources as recommended by the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) model rules and EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) standards. On January 26, 2010 and...

76 FR 59600 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Redesignation of Lake and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-27

...? A. Fine Particulate Standards and Regional Emission Controls B. Background for Indiana's PM 2.5... CAA. The maintenance plan, as revised in the May 26, 2011, submittal, assumes that control of power... replace existing power plant emission control requirements that would have resulted from EPA's Clean Air...

78 FR 48103 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Redesignation of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-07

... Redesignation Request ii. Subpart 4 Requirements and Illinois' Redesignation Request iii. Subpart 4 and Control... due to permanent and enforceable emission reductions? 1. Permanent and Enforceable Controls a. Federal Emission Control Measures i. Tier 2 Emission Standards for Vehicles and Gasoline Sulfur Standards ii. Heavy...

77 FR 71117 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-29

... Pennsylvania's Control of NO X Emissions From Glass Melting Furnaces AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... Environmental Protection (PADEP). The SIP revision adds a regulation to control nitrogen oxides (NO X... controlling NO X emissions from glass melting furnaces. The SIP revision is a regulation that will reduce...

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

PubMed

Parreira, José Gustavo; de Campos, Tércio; Perlingeiro, Jacqueline A Gianinni; Soldá, Silvia C; Assef, José Cesar; Gonçalves, Augusto Canton; Zuffo, Bruno Malteze; Floriano, Caio Gomes; de Oliveira, Erik Haruk; de Oliveira, Renato Vieira Rodrigues; Oliveira, Amanda Lima; de Melo, Caio Gullo; Below, Cristiano; Miranda, Dino R Pérez; Santos, Gabriella Colasuonno; de Almeida, Gabriele Madeira; Brianti, Isabela Campos; Votto, Karina Baruel de Camargo; Schues, Patrick Alexander Sauer; dos Santos, Rafael Gomes; de Figueredo, Sérgio Mazzola Poli; de Araujo, Tatiani Gonçalves; Santos, Bruna do Nascimento; Ferreira, Laura Cardoso Manduca; Tanaka, Giuliana Olivi; Matos, Thiara; da Sousa, Maria Daiana; Augusto, Samara de Souza

2015-01-01

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

A novel non-uniform control vector parameterization approach with time grid refinement for flight level tracking optimal control problems.

PubMed

Liu, Ping; Li, Guodong; Liu, Xinggao; Xiao, Long; Wang, Yalin; Yang, Chunhua; Gui, Weihua

2018-02-01

High quality control method is essential for the implementation of aircraft autopilot system. An optimal control problem model considering the safe aerodynamic envelop is therefore established to improve the control quality of aircraft flight level tracking. A novel non-uniform control vector parameterization (CVP) method with time grid refinement is then proposed for solving the optimal control problem. By introducing the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) analysis, an efficient time grid refinement approach is presented and an adaptive time grid is automatically obtained. With this refinement, the proposed method needs fewer optimization parameters to achieve better control quality when compared with uniform refinement CVP method, whereas the computational cost is lower. Two well-known flight level altitude tracking problems and one minimum time cost problem are tested as illustrations and the uniform refinement control vector parameterization method is adopted as the comparative base. Numerical results show that the proposed method achieves better performances in terms of optimization accuracy and computation cost; meanwhile, the control quality is efficiently improved. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of staff infection control training on infection-related quality measures in US nursing homes.

PubMed

Kaur, Jasjit; Stone, Patricia W; Travers, Jasmine L; Cohen, Catherine C; Herzig, Carolyn T A

2017-09-01

Health care-associated infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in US nursing home residents. Ongoing training of nursing home staff is vital to the implementation of infection prevention and control processes. Our aim was to describe associations between methods, frequency, and timing of staff infection prevention and control training and infection-related quality measures. In this national survey of nursing homes, timing of staff infection prevention and control training was associated with reduced indwelling urinary catheter use. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of surface water before implementation of a flood-control project in Chaska, Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tornes, L.H.

1981-01-01

Samples were collected for 1 year from East Creek, Chaska Creek, and Courthouse Lake in Chaska, Minnesota, to determine the water quality before implementation of a flood-control project proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The creeks had similar water-quality characteristics. Data indicate that ground water may be the primary source of dissolved solids, sulfate, chloride, and chromium in the creeks. The pesticides alachlor, atrazine, simazine, and 2,4-D were found in water samples from both creeks but were well below the lethal concentrations for fish. Courthouse Lake, a 57-foot-deep stream-trout lake, had a mean summer trophic-state index of 35. Phytoplankton populations varied seasonally, and blue-green algae were predominant only in late summer. The algal-pollution index was highest in late summer, but did not provide evidence of high organic pollution. The apparently successful recovery of Courthouse Lake from past inundations by Minnesota River floodwaters having total phosphorus concentrations as high as 0.66 milligram per liter suggests that the lake, in time, will also recover from the added runoff expected as a result of implementing the flood-control project. The runoff could temporarily raise the total phosphorus concentration in the lake from 0.03 to 0.12 milligram per liter and raise the spring trophic-state index from 49 to 69.

Measuring management's perspective of data quality in Pakistan's Tuberculosis control programme: a test-based approach to identify data quality dimensions.

PubMed

Ali, Syed Mustafa; Anjum, Naveed; Kamel Boulos, Maged N; Ishaq, Muhammad; Aamir, Javariya; Haider, Ghulam Rasool

2018-01-16

Data quality is core theme of programme's performance assessment and many organizations do not have any data quality improvement strategy, wherein data quality dimensions and data quality assessment framework are important constituents. As there is limited published research about the data quality specifics that are relevant to the context of Pakistan's Tuberculosis control programme, this study aims at identifying the applicable data quality dimensions by using the 'fitness-for-purpose' perspective. Forty-two respondents pooled a total of 473 years of professional experience, out of which 223 years (47%) were in TB control related programmes. Based on the responses against 11 practical cases, adopted from the routine recording and reporting system of Pakistan's TB control programme (real identities of patient were masked), completeness, accuracy, consistency, vagueness, uniqueness and timeliness are the applicable data quality dimensions relevant to the programme's context, i.e. work settings and field of practice. Based on a 'fitness-for-purpose' approach to data quality, this study used a test-based approach to measure management's perspective and identified data quality dimensions pertinent to the programme and country specific requirements. Implementation of a data quality improvement strategy and achieving enhanced data quality would greatly help organizations in promoting data use for informed decision making.

AstroCloud, a Cyber-Infrastructure for Astronomy Research: Data Archiving and Quality Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, B.; Cui, C.; Fan, D.; Li, C.; Xiao, J.; Yu, C.; Wang, C.; Cao, Z.; Chen, J.; Yi, W.; Li, S.; Mi, L.; Yang, S.

2015-09-01

AstroCloud is a cyber-Infrastructure for Astronomy Research initiated by Chinese Virtual Observatory (China-VO) under funding support from NDRC (National Development and Reform commission) and CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences)1(Cui et al. 2014). To archive the astronomical data in China, we present the implementation of the astronomical data archiving system (ADAS). Data archiving and quality control are the infrastructure for the AstroCloud. Throughout the data of the entire life cycle, data archiving system standardized data, transferring data, logging observational data, archiving ambient data, And storing these data and metadata in database. Quality control covers the whole process and all aspects of data archiving.

Development and implementation of an automated quantitative film digitizer quality control program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fetterly, Kenneth A.; Avula, Ramesh T. V.; Hangiandreou, Nicholas J.

1999-05-01

A semi-automated, quantitative film digitizer quality control program that is based on the computer analysis of the image data from a single digitized test film was developed. This program includes measurements of the geometric accuracy, optical density performance, signal to noise ratio, and presampled modulation transfer function. The variability of the measurements was less than plus or minus 5%. Measurements were made on a group of two clinical and two laboratory laser film digitizers during a trial period of approximately four months. Quality control limits were established based on clinical necessity, vendor specifications and digitizer performance. During the trial period, one of the digitizers failed the performance requirements and was corrected by calibration.

Total Quality Management Implementation: Selected Readings

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-04-01

October 1986; Kaoru Ishikawa , Watj is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way (Englewood Cliffs, NJ.r Prentice Hall, Inc. 1985), pp. 59-71 and chapter 7...and teachings of Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa and Prcfess:- Yoshikazu Tsuda. In their presentations I find ideas which conflict with current belie’s in t- s cou...responsible for S. Kaoru Ishikawa . 147iat is Total Quahn Control’ Th, Japar,,I the safety of all passengers and their belongings. w. (Englewood Hills. NJ

Impact of a quality improvement project on deceased organ donor management

PubMed Central

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

2017-01-01

Context Donors showed poor glucose control in the period between declaration of brain death and organ recovery. The level of hyperglycemia in the donors was associated with a decline in terminal renal function. Objective To determine whether implementation of a quality improvement project improved glucose control and preserved renal function in deceased organ donors. Methods Data collected retrospectively included demographics, medical history, mechanism of death, laboratory values, and data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. Results After implementation of the quality improvement project, deceased donors had significantly lower mean glucose concentrations (mean [SD], 162 [44] vs 212 [42] mg/dL; P < .001) and prerecovery glucose concentration (143 [66] vs 241 [69] mg/dL; P < .001). When the donor cohorts from before and after the quality improvement project were analyzed together, mean glucose concentration remained a significant predictor of terminal creatinine level (P < .001). Multivariate analysis of delayed graft function in kidney recipients matched to donors indicated that higher terminal creatinine level was associated with delayed graft function in recipients (P < .001). Conclusion The quality improvement project improved donor glucose homeostasis, and the data confirm that poor glucose homeostasis is associated with worsening terminal renal function. PMID:26645930

76 FR 69927 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast; Attainment Plan for 1997...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

...EPA is approving in part and disapproving in part state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by California to provide for attainment of the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) national ambient air quality standards in the Los Angeles-South Coast area (South Coast). These SIP revisions are the South Coast 2007 Air Quality Management Plan (South Coast 2007 AQMP) (revised 2011) and South Coast-related provisions of the 2007 State Strategy (revised 2009 and 2011). EPA is approving the emissions inventory; reasonably available control measures/reasonably available control technology demonstration; the reasonable further progress and attainment demonstrations and associated air quality modeling; and the transportation conformity motor vehicle emissions budgets. EPA is also granting California's request to extend the attainment deadline for the South Coast to April 5, 2015 and approving commitments to measures and reductions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board. Finally, we are disapproving the SIP's contingency measures and issuing a protective finding under 40 CFR 93.120(a)(3), and we are rejecting the assignment of 10 tons per day (tpd) of nitrogen oxide (NOX) reductions to the federal government.

78 FR 67327 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; State of Colorado; Revised...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-12

... shall include procedures for interagency consultation, conflict resolution, and public consultation... Determinations by the public, Air Quality Control Commission, and resolution of conflicts''. (2) 40 CFR 93.122(a... of 93.105(d) require specific procedures for resolving conflicts, and the provisions of 93.105(e...

77 FR 48062 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-13

... emission controls rather than to changes in meteorology, economic conditions, temporary, or voluntary (not... observed improvement in air quality is due to an economic recession, changes in meteorology, or temporary... improvement is due to the economic downturn, temporary changes in meteorology, or voluntary emission...

40 CFR 141.521 - What updated watershed control requirements must my unfiltered system implement to continue to...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) Identify watershed characteristics and activities which may have an adverse effect on source water quality; and (b) Monitor the occurrence of activities which may have an adverse effect on source water quality. ... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL...

78 FR 34584 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-10

... National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because application of those... Technology Under the 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard AGENCY: Environmental Protection... reasonably available control technology (RACT) for nitrogen oxides (NO X ) and volatile organic compounds...

Tiered on-the-ground implementation projects for Gulf of Mexico water quality improvements

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Both the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin (USEPA 2008) and the GOMA Governors’ Action Plan II for Healthy and Resilient Coasts (GOMA 2009) call for the development and ...

75 FR 62470 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designations of Areas for Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-12

... Purposes; Tennessee: Knoxville; Determination of Attaining Data for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone Standards AGENCY... make a determination that the Knoxville, Tennessee nonattainment area for the 1997 8-hour ozone..., quality controlled monitoring data from 2007 through 2009. The Knoxville 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment...

Radiation Safety and Quality Assurance in North American Dental Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farman, Allan G.; Hines, Vickie G.

1986-01-01

A survey of dental schools that revealed processing quality control and routine maintenance checks on x-ray generators are being carried out in a timely manner is discussed. However, methods for reducing patient exposure to radiation are not being fully implemented, and some dental students are being exposed to x-rays. (Author/MLW)

78 FR 63937 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Approval and Promulgation of State Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

... Quality Plans for Designated Facilities and Pollutants, State of Iowa; Control of Emissions From Existing Hospital/ Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerator Units, Negative Declaration and 111(d) Plan Rescission... declaration and withdrawal of its section 111(d)/129 plan for Hospital Medical Infectious Waste Incinerators...

78 FR 44144 - Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-23

... the sand dune habitat of the Coachella Valley. Access onto the Refuge is limited to a designated...), the Service would expand current habitat management activities to enhance habitat quality... support actions, implement an IPM plan to control invasive plants; enhance the habitat quality of an old...

75 FR 33172 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Reasonable Further...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-11

... Emission Inventory, Contingency Measures, Reasonably Available Control Measures, and Transportation... inventory, RFP contingency measure, and reasonably available control measure (RACM) requirements of the...) associated with this revision. EPA is approving the SIP revision because it satisfies the emission inventory...

75 FR 43973 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-27

... Quality Standard Implementation Rule (Renewal), EPA ICR No. 2236.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0594 AGENCY...: EPA ICR No. 2236.03, OMB Control No. 2060-0594. ICR status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 31...

The Effect of the MassHealth Hospital Pay-for-Performance Program on Quality

PubMed Central

Ryan, Andrew M; Blustein, Jan

2011-01-01

Objective To test the effect of Massachusetts Medicaid's (MassHealth) hospital-based pay-for-performance (P4P) program, implemented in 2008, on quality of care for pneumonia and surgical infection prevention (SIP). Data Hospital Compare process of care quality data from 2004 to 2009 for acute care hospitals in Massachusetts (N = 62) and other states (N = 3,676) and American Hospital Association data on hospital characteristics from 2005. Study Design Panel data models with hospital fixed effects and hospital-specific trends are estimated to test the effect of P4P on composite quality for pneumonia and SIP. This base model is extended to control for the completeness of measure reporting. Further sensitivity checks include estimation with propensity-score matched control hospitals, excluding hospitals in other P4P programs, varying the time period during which the program was assumed to have an effect, and testing the program effect across hospital characteristics. Principal Findings Estimates from our preferred specification, including hospital fixed effects, trends, and the control for measure completeness, indicate small and nonsignificant program effects for pneumonia (−0.67 percentage points, p>.10) and SIP (−0.12 percentage points, p>.10). Sensitivity checks indicate a similar pattern of findings across specifications. Conclusions Despite offering substantial financial incentives, the MassHealth P4P program did not improve quality in the first years of implementation. PMID:21210796

Environmental Impact Analysis Process. Preliminary Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Construction and Operation of Space Launch Complex 7. Volume 2. Appendices.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-15

non -point source pollution managementprograms, and implement controls to improve water quality. Controls should be implemented for any project...Businesses or other for- Vandenberg AFB, and the launching of on the proposed information collection profit, non -profit institutions Ithe Titan Centaur. In...communications. The Titan Centaur launch vehicle is a modified Titan 34D designed to deliver a payload of up to U 32,000 pounds directly into polar orbit from VAFB

Quality Management Framework for Total Diet Study centres in Europe.

PubMed

Pité, Marina; Pinchen, Hannah; Castanheira, Isabel; Oliveira, Luisa; Roe, Mark; Ruprich, Jiri; Rehurkova, Irena; Sirot, Veronique; Papadopoulos, Alexandra; Gunnlaugsdóttir, Helga; Reykdal, Ólafur; Lindtner, Oliver; Ritvanen, Tiina; Finglas, Paul

2018-02-01

A Quality Management Framework to improve quality and harmonization of Total Diet Study practices in Europe was developed within the TDS-Exposure Project. Seventeen processes were identified and hazards, Critical Control Points and associated preventive and corrective measures described. The Total Diet Study process was summarized in a flowchart divided into planning and practical (sample collection, preparation and analysis; risk assessment analysis and publication) phases. Standard Operating Procedures were developed and implemented in pilot studies in five organizations. The flowchart was used to develop a quality framework for Total Diet Studies that could be included in formal quality management systems. Pilot studies operated by four project partners were visited by project assessors who reviewed implementation of the proposed framework and identified areas that could be improved. The quality framework developed can be the starting point for any Total Diet Study centre and can be used within existing formal quality management approaches. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of Autonomous Smart Inverter Volt-VAR Function for Voltage Reduction Energy Savings and Power Quality in Electric Distribution Systems: Preprint

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

Ding, Fei; Nagarajan, Adarsh; Baggu, Murali

This paper evaluated the impact of smart inverter Volt-VAR function on voltage reduction energy saving and power quality in electric power distribution systems. A methodology to implement the voltage reduction optimization was developed by controlling the substation LTC and capacitor banks, and having smart inverters participate through their autonomous Volt-VAR control. In addition, a power quality scoring methodology was proposed and utilized to quantify the effect on power distribution system power quality. All of these methodologies were applied to a utility distribution system model to evaluate the voltage reduction energy saving and power quality under various PV penetrations and smartmore » inverter densities.« less

Hospital adoption of automated surveillance technology and the implementation of infection prevention and control programs.

PubMed

Halpin, Helen; Shortell, Stephen M; Milstein, Arnold; Vanneman, Megan

2011-05-01

This research analyzes the relationship between hospital use of automated surveillance technology (AST) for identification and control of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and implementation of evidence-based infection control practices. Our hypothesis is that hospitals that use AST have made more progress implementing infection control practices than hospitals that rely on manual surveillance. A survey of all acute general care hospitals in California was conducted from October 2008 through January 2009. A structured computer-assisted telephone interview was conducted with the quality director of each hospital. The final sample includes 241 general acute care hospitals (response rate, 83%). Approximately one third (32.4%) of California's hospitals use AST for monitoring HAI. Adoption of AST is statistically significant and positively associated with the depth of implementation of evidence-based practices for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and ventilator-associated pneumonia and adoption of contact precautions and surgical care infection practices. Use of AST is also statistically significantly associated with the breadth of hospital implementation of evidence-based practices across all 5 targeted HAI. Our findings suggest that hospitals using AST can achieve greater depth and breadth in implementing evidenced-based infection control practices. Copyright © 2011 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of air quality in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Kasim, Oluwasinaayomi Faith; Woldetisadik Abshare, Muluneh; Agbola, Samuel Babatunde

2017-12-07

Ambient air quality was monitored and analyzed to develop air quality index and its implications for livability and climate change in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Using survey research design, 16 georeferenced locations, representing different land uses, were randomly selected and assessed for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO),volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity). The study found mean concentrations across all land uses for SO 2 of 0.37 ± 0.08 ppm, NO 2 of 0.13 ± 0.17 ppm, CO 2 of 465.65 ± 28.63 ppm, CO of 3.35 ± 2.04 ppm, and VOCs of 1850.67 ± 402 ppm. An air quality index indicated that ambient air quality for SO 2 was very poor, NO 2 ranged from moderate to very poor, whereas CO rating was moderate. Significant positive correlations existed between temperature and NO 2 , CO 2 , and CO and between humidity and VOCs. Significant relationships were also recorded between CO 2 and NO 2 and between CO and CO 2 . Poor urban planning, inadequate pollution control measure, and weak capacity to monitor air quality have implications for energy usage, air quality, and local meteorological parameters, with subsequent feedback into global climate change. Implementation of programs to monitor and control emissions in order to reduce air pollution will provide health, economic, and environmental benefits to the city. The need to develop and implement emission control programs to reduce air pollution in Dire Dawa City is urgent. This will provide enormous economic, health, and environmental benefits. It is expected that economic effects of air quality improvement will offset the expenditures for pollution control. Also, strategies that focus on air quality and climate change present a unique opportunity to engage different stakeholders in providing inclusive and sustainable development agenda for Dire Dawa.

Medical Image Processing Server applied to Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergara, C.; Graffigna, J. P.; Marino, E.; Omati, S.; Holleywell, P.

2016-04-01

This paper is framed within the area of medical image processing and aims to present the process of installation, configuration and implementation of a processing server of medical images (MIPS) in the Fundación Escuela de Medicina Nuclear located in Mendoza, Argentina (FUESMEN). It has been developed in the Gabinete de Tecnologia Médica (GA.TE.ME), Facultad de Ingeniería-Universidad Nacional de San Juan. MIPS is a software that using the DICOM standard, can receive medical imaging studies of different modalities or viewing stations, then it executes algorithms and finally returns the results to other devices. To achieve the objectives previously mentioned, preliminary tests were conducted in the laboratory. More over, tools were remotely installed in clinical enviroment. The appropiate protocols for setting up and using them in different services were established once defined those suitable algorithms. Finally, it’s important to focus on the implementation and training that is provided in FUESMEN, using nuclear medicine quality control processes. Results on implementation are exposed in this work.

U.S.-MEXICO BORDER PROGRAM ARIZONA BORDER STUDY--STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR PREPARATION OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) (UA-G-1.0)

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this SOP is to establish a uniform format for the preparation of SOPs. Use of these protocols ensures consistent implementation of project tasks, documents the preparation and implementation of the procedures used, describes quality control measures and the limits...

77 FR 42833 - Approval, Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Regional...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-20

... the problem of visibility impairment in Class I areas, states, or the EPA when implementing a FIP... explanation and rationale for its determinations. While we find these problems in all of ADEQ's BART analyses... problems resulted in control determinations that are inconsistent with the RHR and the BART Guidelines. We...

Does Fidelity of Implementation Account for Changes in Teacher-Child Interactions in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Banking Time?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LoCasale-Crouch, Jennifer; Williford, Amanda; Whittaker, Jessica; DeCoster, Jamie; Alamos, Pilar

2018-01-01

This study examined fidelity of implementation in a randomized trial of Banking Time, a classroom-based intervention intended to improve children's behavior, specifically for those at risk for developing externalizing behavior problems, through improving the quality of teacher-child interactions. The study sample comes from a randomized controlled…

76 FR 2293 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Minnesota; Gopher Resource, LLC

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-13

... the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on July 29, 2010, to revise the Minnesota State Implementation Plan (SIP) for lead (Pb) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The State has submitted a joint Title I... that the conditions laid out with the citation ``Title I Condition: SIP for Lead NAAQS'' replace an...

43 CFR 45.73 - How will the bureau analyze a proposed alternative and formulate its modified condition or...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., distribution, cost, and use; (2) Flood control; (3) Navigation; (4) Water supply; (5) Air quality; and (6..., including: (1) Any evidence on the implementation costs or operational impacts for electricity production of...) Cost significantly less to implement; or (ii) Result in improved operation of the project works for...

10 CFR 51.10 - Purpose and scope of subpart; application of regulations of Council on Environmental Quality.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Responsibilities and Policy Statement on Implementation of Section 511 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act... National Environmental Policy Act-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) § 51.10 Purpose and scope of... Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) directs that, to the fullest extent possible: (1) The policies...

The effect of real-time CPR feedback and post event debriefing on patient and processes focused outcomes: a cohort study: trial protocol.

PubMed

Perkins, Gavin D; Davies, Robin P; Quinton, Sarah; Woolley, Sarah; Gao, Fang; Abella, Ben; Stallard, Nigel; Cooke, Matthew W

2011-10-18

Cardiac arrest affects 30-35, 000 hospitalised patients in the UK every year. For these patients to be given the best chance of survival, high quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) must be delivered, however the quality of CPR in real-life is often suboptimal. CPR feedback devices have been shown to improve CPR quality in the pre-hospital setting and post-event debriefing can improve adherence to guidelines and CPR quality. However, the evidence for use of these improvement methods in hospital remains unclear. The CPR quality improvement initiative is a prospective cohort study of the Q-CPR real-time feedback device combined with post-event debriefing in hospitalised adult patients who sustain a cardiac arrest. The primary objective of this trial is to assess whether a CPR quality improvement initiative will improve rate of return of sustained spontaneous circulation in in-hospital-cardiac-arrest patients. The study is set in one NHS trust operating three hospital sites. Secondary objectives will evaluate: any return of spontaneous circulation; survival to hospital discharge and patient cerebral performance category at discharge; quality of CPR variables and cardiac arrest team factors. All three sites will have an initial control phase before any improvements are implemented; site 1 will implement audiovisual feedback combined with post event debriefing, site 2 will implement audiovisual feedback only and site 3 will remain as a control site to measure any changes in outcome due to any other trust-wide changes in resuscitation practice. All adult patients sustaining a cardiac arrest and receiving resuscitation from the hospital cardiac arrest team will be included. Patients will be excluded if; they have a Do-not-attempt resuscitation order written and documented in their medical records, the cardiac arrest is not attended by a resuscitation team, the arrest occurs out-of-hospital or the patient has previously participated in this study. The trial will recruit a total of 912 patients from the three hospital sites. This trial will evaluate patient and process focussed outcomes following the implementation of a CPR quality improvement initiative using real-time audiovisual feedback and post event debriefing. ISRCTN56583860.

A design procedure for the handling qualities optimization of the X-29A aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosworth, John T.; Cox, Timothy H.

1989-01-01

A design technique for handling qualities improvement was developed for the X-29A aircraft. As with any new aircraft, the X-29A control law designers were presented with a relatively high degree of uncertainty in their mathematical models. The presence of uncertainties, and the high level of static instability of the X-29A caused the control law designers to stress stability and robustness over handling qualities. During flight test, the mathematical models of the vehicle were validated or corrected to match the vehicle dynamic behavior. The updated models were then used to fine tune the control system to provide fighter-like handling characteristics. A design methodology was developed which works within the existing control system architecture to provide improved handling qualities and acceptable stability with a minimum of cost in both implementation as well as software verification and validation.

Role of technology in supporting quality control and treatment fidelity in a family caregiver clinical trial.

PubMed

Farran, Carol J; Etkin, Caryn D; McCann, Judith J; Paun, Olimpia; Eisenstein, Amy R; Wilbur, Joellen

2011-11-01

This article describes how a family caregiver lifestyle physical activity clinical trial uses research technology to enhance quality control and treatment fidelity. This trial uses a range of Internet, Blaise(®) Windows-based software and Echo Server technologies to support quality control issues, such as data collection, data entry, and study management advocated by the clinical trials literature, and to ensure treatment fidelity concerning intervention implementation (i.e., design, training, delivery, receipt, and enactment) as proposed by the National Institutes of Health Behavior Change Consortium. All research staff are trained to use these technologies. Strengths of this technological approach to support quality control and treatment fidelity include the comprehensive plan, involvement of all staff, and ability to maintain accurate and timely data. Limitations include the upfront time and costs for developing and testing these technological methods, and having support staff readily available to address technological issues if they occur.

Radiation protection program for early detection of breast cancer in a mammography facility

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

Mariana, Villagomez Casimiro, E-mail: marjim10-66@ciencias.unam.mx, E-mail: cesar@fisica.unam.mx; Cesar, Ruiz Trejo, E-mail: marjim10-66@ciencias.unam.mx, E-mail: cesar@fisica.unam.mx; Ruby, Espejo Fonseca

Mammography is the best tool for early detection of Breast Cancer. In this diagnostic radiology modality it is necessary to establish the criteria to ensure the proper use and operation of the equipment used to obtain mammographic images in order to contribute to the safe use of ionizing radiation. The aim of the work was to implement at FUCAM-AC the radiation protection program which must be established for patients and radiation workers according to Mexican standards [1–4]. To achieve this goal, radiation protection and quality control manuals were elaborated [5]. Furthermore, a quality control program (QCP) in the mammography systemsmore » (analog/digital), darkroom included, has been implemented. Daily sensitometry, non-variability of the image quality, visualizing artifacts, revision of the equipment mechanical stability, compression force and analysis of repetition studies are some of the QCP routine tests that must be performed by radiological technicians of this institution as a set of actions to ensure the protection of patients. Image quality and patients dose assessment were performed on 4 analog equipment installed in 2 mobile units. In relation to dose assessment, all equipment passed the acceptance criteria (<3 mGy per projection). The image quality test showed that most images (70%)– presented artifacts. A brief summary of the results of quality control tests applied to the equipment and film processor are presented. To maintain an adequate level of quality and safety at FUCAM-AC is necessary that the proposed radiation protection program in this work is applied.« less

[Internal quality control on HER2 status determination in breast cancers: Experience of a cancer center].

PubMed

Ngo, Carine; Laé, Marick; Ratour, Julia; Hamel, Frédérique; Taris, Corinne; Caly, Martial; Le Cunff, Annie; Reyal, Fabien; Kirova, Youlia; Pierga, Jean-Yves; Vincent-Salomon, Anne

The implementation of an internal quality control is mandatory to guarantee the accuracy of HER2 status in invasive breast cancers. To evaluate the impact of our quality control assurance on HER2 status results in invasive breast carcinomas from 2008 to 2014. HER2 status was determined by immunohistochemistry as the first-line indication, completed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for scores 2+ by immunohistochemistry. Internal quality control of HER2 status relied on the standardization of pre-analytical phases, the use of external controls with a known number of HER2 gene copies determined by FISH and continued monitoring of concordance between immunohistochemistry and FISH. The proportion of HER2-positive cases corresponding to scores 3+ by immunohistochemistry and 2+ amplified by FISH varied from 10.6% to 13.8% (median of 11.3%). The proportion of scores 2+ amplified by FISH varied from 13.3% to 32.7% during period of study. The rate of concordance between FISH and immunohistochemistry for score 0/1+ and 3+ cases were≥97%. Eight among 12 discordant cases were false positive resulting from errors in interpretation of immunohistochemistry (score 2+ instead of 3+). Calibration of immunohistochemistry on FISH for HER2 status contributes to limit variability of immunohistochemistry results due to technical issues or interpretation. The implementation of an external control of score 3+ on each slide enables accurate interpretation of score 2+ and 3+ by immunohistochemistry. Copyright © 2017 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

76 FR 52917 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-24

... Large Appliance and Metal Furniture Coatings AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... Techniques Guidelines (CTG) standards for large appliance and metal furniture coatings. In the Final Rules...; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Control Techniques Guidelines for Large Appliance and Metal Furniture Coatings...

76 FR 64237 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Adhesives and Sealants Rule

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

... chemical production and polytetrafluoroethylene operations; from paint, resin, and adhesive manufacturing... miscellaneous industrial adhesives control techniques guideline (CTG) category in accordance with the... to COMAR 26.11.19.30 ``Control of VOC from Chemical Production and Polytetrafluoroethylene Operations...

Organizational readiness in specialty mental health care.

PubMed

Hamilton, Alison B; Cohen, Amy N; Young, Alexander S

2010-01-01

Implementing quality improvement efforts in clinics is challenging. Assessment of organizational "readiness" for change can set the stage for implementation by providing information regarding existing strengths and deficiencies, thereby increasing the chance of a successful improvement effort. This paper discusses organizational assessment in specialty mental health, in preparation for improving care for individuals with schizophrenia. To assess organizational readiness for change in specialty mental health in order to facilitate locally tailored implementation strategies. EQUIP-2 is a site-level controlled trial at nine VA medical centers (four intervention, five control). Providers at all sites completed an organizational readiness for change (ORC) measure, and key stakeholders at the intervention sites completed a semi-structured interview at baseline. At the four intervention sites, 16 administrators and 43 clinical staff completed the ORC, and 38 key stakeholders were interviewed. The readiness domains of training needs, communication, and change were the domains with lower mean scores (i.e., potential deficiencies) ranging from a low of 23.8 to a high of 36.2 on a scale of 10-50, while staff attributes of growth and adaptability had higher mean scores (i.e., potential strengths) ranging from a low of 35.4 to a high of 41.1. Semi-structured interviews revealed that staff perceptions and experiences of change and decision-making are affected by larger structural factors such as change mandates from VA headquarters. Motivation for change, organizational climate, staff perceptions and beliefs, and prior experience with change efforts contribute to readiness for change in specialty mental health. Sites with less readiness for change may require more flexibility in the implementation of a quality improvement intervention. We suggest that uptake of evidence-based practices can be enhanced by tailoring implementation efforts to the strengths and deficiencies of the organizations that are implementing quality improvement changes.

[Analysis of the results of the SEIMC External Quality Control Program. Year 2011].

PubMed

Ruiz de Gopegui Bordes, Enrique; Guna Serrano, M del Remedio; Orta Mira, Nieves; Ovies, María Rosario; Poveda, Marta; Gimeno Cardona, Concepción

2013-02-01

The External Quality Control Program of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica [SEIMC]) includes controls for bacteriology, serology, mycology, parasitology, mycobacteria, virology, and molecular microbiology. This article presents the most relevant conclusions and lessons from the 2011 controls. Overall, the results obtained in 2011 confirm the excellent skill and good technical standards found in previous years. Nevertheless, erroneous results can be obtained in any laboratory and in clinically relevant determinations. The results of this program highlight the need to implement both internal and external controls, such as those offered by the SEIMC program, in order to ensure maximal quality of microbiological tests. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed

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

2017-11-01

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

ChronQC: a quality control monitoring system for clinical next generation sequencing.

PubMed

Tawari, Nilesh R; Seow, Justine Jia Wen; Perumal, Dharuman; Ow, Jack L; Ang, Shimin; Devasia, Arun George; Ng, Pauline C

2018-05-15

ChronQC is a quality control (QC) tracking system for clinical implementation of next-generation sequencing (NGS). ChronQC generates time series plots for various QC metrics to allow comparison of current runs to historical runs. ChronQC has multiple features for tracking QC data including Westgard rules for clinical validity, laboratory-defined thresholds and historical observations within a specified time period. Users can record their notes and corrective actions directly onto the plots for long-term recordkeeping. ChronQC facilitates regular monitoring of clinical NGS to enable adherence to high quality clinical standards. ChronQC is freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/nilesh-tawari/ChronQC), Docker (https://hub.docker.com/r/nileshtawari/chronqc/) and the Python Package Index. ChronQC is implemented in Python and runs on all common operating systems (Windows, Linux and Mac OS X). tawari.nilesh@gmail.com or pauline.c.ng@gmail.com. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Flight-Test Validation and Flying Qualities Evaluation of a Rotorcraft UAV Flight Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mettler, Bernard; Tuschler, Mark B.; Kanade, Takeo

2000-01-01

This paper presents a process of design and flight-test validation and flying qualities evaluation of a flight control system for a rotorcraft-based unmanned aerial vehicle (RUAV). The keystone of this process is an accurate flight-dynamic model of the aircraft, derived by using system identification modeling. The model captures the most relevant dynamic features of our unmanned rotorcraft, and explicitly accounts for the presence of a stabilizer bar. Using the identified model we were able to determine the performance margins of our original control system and identify limiting factors. The performance limitations were addressed and the attitude control system was 0ptimize.d for different three performance levels: slow, medium, fast. The optimized control laws will be implemented in our RUAV. We will first determine the validity of our control design approach by flight test validating our optimized controllers. Subsequently, we will fly a series of maneuvers with the three optimized controllers to determine the level of flying qualities that can be attained. The outcome enable us to draw important conclusions on the flying qualities requirements for small-scale RUAVs.

Quality assurance, an administrative means to a managerial end: Part I. A historical overview.

PubMed

Clark, G B

1990-01-01

Quality has become the hallmark of industrial excellence. Many diverse factors have heightened national concern about managing quality control throughout the health-care industry, including laboratory services. Industry-wide focus on quality control has created a need for an administrative program to evaluate its effectiveness. That program is medical quality assurance. Because of national and industry-wide concern, development of quality assurance theory has gained increasing importance in medical accreditation and management circles. Scrutiny of the application of quality assurance has become particularly prominent during accreditation inspections. Implementing quality assurance programs now demands more of already finite resources. The professional laboratory manager should understand how quality assurance has developed in the United States during the past 150 years. The well-informed manager should recognize why the health-care industry only recently began to develop its own expertise in quality assurance. It is also worthwhile to understand how heavily health care has relied on the lessons learned in the non-health-care sector. This three-part series will present information that will help in applying quality assurance more effectively as a management tool in the medical laboratory. This first part outlines the early industrial, socioeconomic, and medicolegal background of quality assurance. Terminology is defined with some distinction made between the terms management and administration. The second part will address current accreditation requirements. Special emphasis will be placed on the practical application of accreditation guidelines, providing a template for quality assurance methods in the medical laboratory. The third part will provide an overview of quality assurance as a total management tool with some suggestions for developing and implementing a quality assurance program.

Teachers' Perceptions of School Organizational Climate as Predictors of Dosage and Quality of Implementation of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program.

PubMed

Malloy, Margaret; Acock, Alan; DuBois, David L; Vuchinich, Samuel; Silverthorn, Naida; Ji, Peter; Flay, Brian R

2015-11-01

Organizational climate has been proposed as a factor that might influence a school's readiness to successfully implement school-wide prevention programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of teachers' perceptions of three dimensions of school organizational climate on the dosage and quality of teacher implementation of Positive Action, a social-emotional and character development (SECD) program. The dimensions measured were teachers' perceptions of (a) the school's openness to innovation, (b) the extent to which schools utilize participatory decision-making practices, and (c) the existence of supportive relationships among teachers (teacher-teacher affiliation). Data from 46 teachers in seven schools enrolled in the treatment arm of a longitudinal, cluster-randomized, controlled trial were analyzed. Teacher perceptions of a school's tendency to be innovative was associated with a greater number of lessons taught and self-reported quality of delivery, and teacher-teacher affiliation was associated with a higher use of supplementary activities. The findings suggest that perceptions of a school's organizational climate impact teachers' implementation of SECD programs and have implications for school administrators and technical assistance providers as they work to implement and sustain prevention programs in schools.

Challenges and Ideas from a Research Program on High Quality, Evidence-Based Practice in School Mental Health

PubMed Central

Weist, Mark D.; Youngstrom, Eric A.; Stephan, Sharon; Lever, Nancy; Fowler, Johnathan; Taylor, Leslie; McDaniel, Heather; Chappelle, Lori; Paggeot, Samantha; Hoagwood, Kimberly

2013-01-01

Objective Reviews the progression of a research program designed to develop, implement and study the implementation of “achievable” evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools. Reviews challenges encountered and ideas to overcome them to enhance this avenue of research. Method Presents two federally funded randomized controlled trials involving comparison of a four-component targeted intervention (Quality Assessment and Improvement, Family Engagement and Empowerment, Modular Evidence-Based Practice, Implementation Support) versus a comparison intervention focused on Personal Wellness. In both studies primary aims focused on changes in clinician attitudes and behavior, including the delivery of high quality, evidence-based practices and secondary aims focused on student level impacts. Results A number of challenges, many not reported in the literature are reviewed, and ideas for overcoming them are presented. Conclusions Given the reality that the majority of youth mental health services are delivered in schools and the potential of school mental health (SMH) services to provide a continuum of mental health care from promotion to intervention, it is critical that the field consider and address the logistical and methodological challenges associated with implementing and studying EBP implementation by clinicians. PMID:24063310

Challenges and ideas from a research program on high-quality, evidence-based practice in school mental health.

PubMed

Weist, Mark D; Youngstrom, Eric A; Stephan, Sharon; Lever, Nancy; Fowler, Johnathan; Taylor, Leslie; McDaniel, Heather; Chappelle, Lori; Paggeot, Samantha; Hoagwood, Kimberly

2014-01-01

This article reviews the progression of a research program designed to develop, implement, and study the implementation of "achievable" evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools. We review challenges encountered and ideas to overcome them to enhance this avenue of research. The article presents two federally funded randomized controlled trials involving comparison of a four-component targeted intervention (Quality Assessment and Improvement, Family Engagement and Empowerment, Modular Evidence-Based Practice, Implementation Support) versus a comparison intervention focused on personal wellness. In both studies, primary aims focused on changes in clinician attitudes and behavior, including the delivery of high-quality EBPs and secondary aims focused on student-level impacts. A number of challenges, many not reported in the literature, are reviewed, and ideas for overcoming them are presented. Given the reality that the majority of youth mental health services are delivered in schools and the potential of school mental health services to provide a continuum of mental health care from promotion to intervention, it is critical that the field consider and address the logistical and methodological challenges associated with implementing and studying EBP implementation by clinicians.

78 FR 54835 - Air Quality Implementation Plan; Alabama; Attainment Plan for the Troy Area 2008 Lead...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-06

... input options commensurate with the Regulatory Modeling Guidance. Perform current and post control.... Table 2--Post-Control Modeling Results \\4\\ Sanders lead facility Max 3-mth Background Total Year maximum...\\ (Facility MET data). The post-control analysis resulted in a predicted impact of 0.15 [mu]g/m\\3\\ (NWS MET...

76 FR 10249 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions To Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-24

... Container rule as an ozone control strategy from the Texas SIP for the Control of Ozone Air Pollution. In the submittal, Texas demonstrates that Federal portable fuel container standards promulgated by EPA in... Portable Fuel Container Regulations IV. What is the effect of this action? V. Final Action VI. Statutory...

75 FR 57221 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Connecticut, Massachusetts, and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-20

... emissions properly accounted for within these RFP plans? F. What are the pollution control programs that... combined with, VOC control in order to maximize the reduction in ozone pollution. The most current such... these revised estimates are reflected in Table 3e above. F. What are the pollution control programs that...

High reduction of ozone and particulate matter during the 2016 G-20 summit in Hangzhou by forced emission controls of industry and traffic

EPA Science Inventory

Many regions in China experience air pollution episodes because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past decades. Here we analyzed the effect of emission controls implemented during the G-20 2016 Hangzhou summit on air quality. Emission controls included a fo...

An Overview of Controls and Flying Qualities Technology on the F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pahle, Joseph W.; Wichman, Keith D.; Foster, John V.; Bundick, W. Thomas

1996-01-01

The NASA F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) has been the flight test bed of a focused technology effort to significantly increase maneuvering capability at high angles of attack. Development and flight test of control law design methodologies, handling qualities metrics, performance guidelines, and flight evaluation maneuvers are described. The HARV has been modified to include two research control effectors, thrust vectoring, and actuated forebody strakes in order to provide increased control power at high angles of attack. A research flight control system has been used to provide a flexible, easily modified capability for high-angle-of-attack research controls. Different control law design techniques have been implemented and flight-tested, including eigenstructure assignment, variable gain output feedback, pseudo controls, and model-following. Extensive piloted simulation has been used to develop nonlinear performance guide-lines and handling qualities criteria for high angles of attack. This paper reviews the development and evaluation of technologies useful for high-angle-of-attack control. Design, development, and flight test of the research flight control system, control laws, flying qualities specifications, and flight test maneuvers are described. Flight test results are used to illustrate some of the lessons learned during flight test and handling qualities evaluations.

Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Baseline Control Law: Flight-Test Results for the Full-scale Advanced Systems Testbed F/A-18 Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

A model reference nonlinear dynamic inversion control law has been developed to provide a baseline controller for research into simple adaptive elements for advanced flight control laws. This controller has been implemented and tested in a hardware-in-the-loop simulation and in flight. The flight results agree well with the simulation predictions and show good handling qualities throughout the tested flight envelope with some noteworthy deficiencies highlighted both by handling qualities metrics and pilot comments. Many design choices and implementation details reflect the requirements placed on the system by the nonlinear flight environment and the desire to keep the system as simple as possible to easily allow the addition of the adaptive elements. The flight-test results and how they compare to the simulation predictions are discussed, along with a discussion about how each element affected pilot opinions. Additionally, aspects of the design that performed better than expected are presented, as well as some simple improvements that will be suggested for follow-on work.

APC implementation in Chandra Asri - ethylene plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidiq, Mochamad; Mustofa, Ali

2017-05-01

Nowadays, the modern process plants are continuously improved for maximizing production, Optimization of the energy and raw material and reducing the risk. Due to many disturbances appearance between the process units, hence, the failure of one unit might have a bad effect on the overall productivity. Ethylene Plant have significant opportunities for using Advanced Process Control (APC) technologies to improve operation stability, push closer to quality or equipment limit, and improve the capability of process units to handle disturbances. APC implementation had considered a best answer for solving multivariable control problem. PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical, Tbk (CAP) operates a large naphtha cracker complex at Cilegon, Indonesia. To optimize the plant operation and to enhance the benefit, Chandra Asri has been decided to implement Advance Process Control (APC) for ethylene plant. The APC implementation technology scopes at CAP are as follows: 1. Hot Section : Furnaces, Quench Tower 2. Cold Section : Demethanizer, Deethanizer, Acetylene Converter, Ethylene Fractionator, Depropanizer, Propylene Fractionator, Debutanizer

A Machine Vision Quality Control System for Industrial Acrylic Fibre Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heleno, Paulo; Davies, Roger; Correia, Bento A. Brázio; Dinis, João

2002-12-01

This paper describes the implementation of INFIBRA, a machine vision system used in the quality control of acrylic fibre production. The system was developed by INETI under a contract with a leading industrial manufacturer of acrylic fibres. It monitors several parameters of the acrylic production process. This paper presents, after a brief overview of the system, a detailed description of the machine vision algorithms developed to perform the inspection tasks unique to this system. Some of the results of online operation are also presented.

Implementation workshop of WHO guidelines on evaluation of malaria vaccines: Current regulatory concepts and issues related to vaccine quality, Pretoria, South Africa 07 Nov 2014.

PubMed

Ho, Mei Mei; Baca-Estrada, Maria; Conrad, Christoph; Karikari-Boateng, Eric; Kang, Hye-Na

2015-08-26

The current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the quality, safety and efficacy of recombinant malaria vaccines targeting the pre-erythrocytic and blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum were adopted by the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization in 2012 to provide guidance on the quality, nonclinical and clinical aspects of recombinant malaria vaccines. A WHO workshop was organised to facilitate implementation into African (national/regional) regulatory practices, of the regulatory evaluation principles outlined in the guidelines regarding quality aspects. The workshop was used also to share knowledge and experience on regulatory topics of chemistry, manufacturing and control with a focus on vaccines through presentations and an interactive discussion using a case study approach. The basic principles and concepts of vaccine quality including consistency of production, quality control and manufacturing process were presented and discussed in the meeting. By reviewing and practicing a case study, better understanding on the relationship between consistency of production and batch release tests of an adjuvanted pre-erythrocytic recombinant malaria vaccine was reached. The case study exercise was considered very useful to understand regulatory evaluation principles of vaccines and a suggestion was made to WHO to provide such practices also through its Global Learning Opportunities for Vaccine Quality programme. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-tuning multivariable pole placement control of a multizone crystal growth furnace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batur, C.; Sharpless, R. B.; Duval, W. M. B.; Rosenthal, B. N.

1992-01-01

This paper presents the design and implementation of a multivariable self-tuning temperature controller for the control of lead bromide crystal growth. The crystal grows inside a multizone transparent furnace. There are eight interacting heating zones shaping the axial temperature distribution inside the furnace. A multi-input, multi-output furnace model is identified on-line by a recursive least squares estimation algorithm. A multivariable pole placement controller based on this model is derived and implemented. Comparison between single-input, single-output and multi-input, multi-output self-tuning controllers demonstrates that the zone-to-zone interactions can be minimized better by a multi-input, multi-output controller design. This directly affects the quality of crystal grown.

[The Results of Self-Assessment by Medical Organizations Their Correspondence to Proposals (Practical Recommendations) of the Roszdravnadzor Concerning Organization of Internal Control of Quality and Safety of Medical Activity].

PubMed

Ivanov, I V; Shvabsky, O R; Minulin, I B

2017-11-01

The article presents the analysis of the results of internal audits (self-rating) in medical organizations implemented on the basis of Proposals (practical guidelines) of the Roszdravnadzor concerning organization of inner control of quality and safety of medical activities in medical organization (hospital). The self-rating was implemented by the medical organizations themselves according the common criteria of the Proposals as provided the following plan: planning of self-rating, collection and processing of data, application of self-rating, analysis of obtained results, preparation of report. The article uses the results of self-rating of medical organizations corresponding to following criteria: profile of activity-multi-field hospital-number of beds more than 350-state property. The self-rating was implemented according to 11 basic parts of the Proposals. The criteria were developed for every part. The evaluation lists developed on the basis of the given Proposals permitted to medical organizations to independently establish problems in their activities. Within the framework of implemented self-rating medical organizations mentioned the directions of activity related to personnel management, identification of personality of patient, support of epidemiological and surgical safety as having significant discrepancies with the Proposals and requiring implementation of improvement measures.

Active feedforward noise control and signal tracking of headsets: Electroacoustic analysis and system implementation.

PubMed

Bai, Mingsian R; Pan, Weichi; Chen, Hungyu

2018-03-01

Active noise control (ANC) of headsets is revisited in this paper. An in-depth electroacoustic analysis of the combined loudspeaker-cavity headset system is conducted on the basis of electro-mechano-acoustical analogous circuits. Model matching of the primary path and the secondary path leads to a feedforward control architecture. The ideal controller sheds some light on the key parameters that affect the noise reduction performance. Filtered-X least-mean-squares algorithm is employed to implement the feedforward controller on a digital signal processor. Since the relative delay of the primary path and the secondary path is crucial to the noise reduction performance, multirate signal processing with polyphase implementation is utilized to minimize the effective analog-digital conversion delay in the secondary path. Ad hoc decimation and interpolation filters are designed in order not to introduce excessive phase delays at the cutoff. Real-time experiments are undertaken to validate the implemented ANC system. Listening tests are also conducted to compare the fixed controller and the adaptive controller in terms of noise reduction and signal tracking performance for three noise types. The results have demonstrated that the fixed feedforward controller achieved satisfactory noise reduction performance and signal tracking quality.

California State Implementation Plan; Final Approval of Revision; Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District; Reasonably Available Control Technology Requirements for 1997 8-hour Ozone NAAQS

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is taking final action to approve a revision to the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District (YSAQMD) portion of the California SIP concerning YSAQMD regarding RACT)requirements the 1997 8-hour ozone NAAQS and approve negative declarations into SIP.

Evolving an empowering approach to continuous quality improvement in home care.

PubMed

McWilliam, C L; Desai, K L; Sweetland, D

1995-01-01

Theory suggests that in an "empowering" organization all individuals assume genuine decision-making roles and control over their work. Unfortunately, many organizations actually stifle empowerment through creating new bureaucratic barriers as they implement structures to deploy quality management principles. The Oxford County Home Care Program describes how it redesigned its organizational structure to facilitate empowerment.

A bird’s-eye view: Land-use planning and assessments in Oregon and Washington

Treesearch

Marie Oliver; Andrew Gray

2015-01-01

Developing forest lands and agricultural lands for other uses has wide-ranging implications. Land development can affect production from forest and agricultural lands, wildlife habitat quality, the spread of invasive species, water quality, wildfire control, and infrastructure costs. In its attempts to mitigate these effects, Oregon implemented statewide land-use...

New Controls and Accountability for South African Teachers and Schools: The Integrated Quality Management System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Everard

2005-01-01

This article analyses the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS), an agreement reached in 2003 between the South African Education Department and the major teacher organisations in the country by using discourse analysis. The IQMS was scheduled to be implemented in public schools in 2004. Three discursive tensions are identified and…

76 FR 9655 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-22

... exempt sources of Oxides of Nitrogen (NO X ) in the Illinois portions of the Chicago-Gary-Lake County...) requirements for NO X Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for purposes of attaining the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard). This NO X RACT waiver is based on the...

The influence of fidelity of implementation on teacher-student interaction quality in the context of a randomized controlled trial of the Responsive Classroom approach.

PubMed

Abry, Tashia; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E; Larsen, Ross A; Brewer, Alexis J

2013-08-01

This study examined the direct and indirect effects between training in the Responsive Classroom® (RC) approach, teachers' uptake of RC practices, and teacher-student interaction quality, using a structural equation modeling framework. A total of 24 schools were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. Third- and fourth-grade teachers in treatment schools (n=132) received training in the RC approach, whereas teachers in control schools (n=107) continued "business as usual." Observers rated teachers' fidelity of implementation (FOI) of RC practices 5 times throughout the year using the Classroom Practices Observation Measure. In addition, teachers completed self-report measures of FOI, the Classroom Practices Teacher Survey and Classroom Practices Frequency Survey, at the end of the school year. Teacher-student interactions were rated during classroom observations using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Controlling for teachers' grade level and teacher-student interaction quality at pretest, RC training was expected to predict posttest teacher-student interaction quality directly and indirectly through FOI. Results supported only a significant indirect effect, β=0.85, p=.002. Specifically, RC teachers had higher levels of FOI of RC practices, β=1.62, p<.001, R2=.69. In turn, FOI related to greater improvement in teacher-student interaction quality, β=0.52, p=.001, R2=.32. Discussion highlights factors contributing to variability in FOI and school administrators roles in supporting FOI. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving cancer care in Europe: Which institutional health structures might be beneficial and why? 1. European Roundtable Meeting (ERTM), 16th May 2014, Berlin, Germany.

PubMed

Ortmann, Olaf; Helbig, U; Torode, J

2016-01-01

Bringing the knowledge and expertise of different European countries and the European Commission together for an analysis of the different factors being beneficent or rather opposing for high quality in cancer care. A specific focus is set on the structures and views in European nations on implementation processes. Due to the variation of National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) the preferences for implementation strategies differ. For quality achievement the involvement of the different stakeholders is beneficial. Common sense was the importance of NCCPs. However, it was consensus between participants that a bottom-up approach that considers the needs of different professional groups involved in cancer care and also the views of patients is of critical importance for successful implementation. Functioning cancer registries and evidence-based guidelines with standard of care are fundamental for quality measurement. There is consensus between participants of the meeting that NCCPs are essential for improvement of cancer care. However, national preferences and the views of patients and caregivers have to be included to guarantee successful implementation.

75 FR 68570 - Approval and Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Colorado; Revision...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-08

... and with current Federal NSR regulations. These definitions include clean coal technology, electric... restrictions on increment consumption, add innovative control technology as an alternative to BACT requirements... initials RACT mean or refer to Reasonably Available Control Technology, and the initials NAAQS mean or...

77 FR 1417 - Partial Approval and Partial Disapproval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; San...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-10

... following three rules identified under group 4: 1. Rule 4566--Organic Material Composting Operations... Volatile Organic Compound Regulations--California Department of Pesticide Regulation--submitted August 2... from VOC control requirements, while the CTG for this source category (``Control of Volatile Organic...

78 FR 63929 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions to Rules and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

... for Control of Air Pollution; Permitting of Grandfathered Facilities AGENCY: Environmental Protection... grandfathered facilities obtain specific permits which include emission control methods to achieve mandated... or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email...

76 FR 31856 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-02

... Flat Wood Paneling Surface Coating Processes AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... by EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) standards for flat wood paneling surface coating processes. EPA is approving this revision concerning the adoption of the EPA CTG requirements for flat wood...

76 FR 4578 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-26

... Wood Paneling Coatings AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY... (RACT) for sources covered by EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) for flat wood paneling coatings. These amendments will reduce emissions of volatile organic compound (VOC) from flat wood coating...

76 FR 13567 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-14

... Flat Wood Paneling Surface Coating Processes AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION... sources covered by EPA's Control Techniques Guidelines (CTG) standards for flat wood paneling surface... Protection (PADEP) submitted to EPA a SIP revision concerning the adoption of the CTG for flat wood paneling...

78 FR 41901 - Determination of Attainment for the West Central Pinal Nonattainment Area for the 2006 Fine...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-12

... reasonably available control measures (RACM), a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, and contingency... for implementation of reasonably available control measures (RACM), reasonable further progress (RFP..., Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, requested that EPA determine whether the West Central Pinal...

Photovoltaic Impact Assessment of Smart Inverter Volt-VAR Control on Distribution System Conservation Voltage Reduction and Power Quality

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

Ding, Fei; Nagarajan, Adarsh; Chakraborty, Sudipta

This report presents an impact assessment study of distributed photovoltaic (PV) with smart inverter Volt-VAR control on conservation voltage reduction (CVR) energy savings and distribution system power quality. CVR is a methodology of flattening and lowering a distribution system voltage profile in order to conserve energy. Traditional CVR relies on operating utility voltage regulators and switched capacitors. However, with the increased penetration of distributed PV systems, smart inverters provide the new opportunity to control local voltage and power factor by regulating the reactive power output, leading to a potential increase in CVR energy savings. This report proposes a methodology tomore » implement CVR scheme by operating voltage regulators, capacitors, and autonomous smart inverter Volt-VAR control in order to achieve increased CVR benefit. Power quality is an important consideration when operating a distribution system, especially when implementing CVR. It is easy to measure the individual components that make up power quality, but a comprehensive method to incorporate all of these values into a single score has yet to be undertaken. As a result, this report proposes a power quality scoring mechanism to measure the relative power quality of distribution systems using a single number, which is aptly named the 'power quality score' (PQS). Both the CVR and PQS methodologies were applied to two distribution system models, one obtained from the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and another obtained from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). These two models were converted to the OpenDSS platform using previous model conversion tools that were developed by NREL. Multiple scenarios including various PV penetration levels and smart inverter densities were simulated to analyze the impact of smart inverter Volt-VAR support on CVR energy savings and feeder power quality. In order to analyze the CVR benefit and PQS, an annual simulation was conducted for each scenario.« less

Endovascular aneurysm repair delivery redesign leads to quality improvement and cost reduction.

PubMed

Warner, Courtney J; Horvath, Alexander J; Powell, Richard J; Columbo, Jesse A; Walsh, Teri R; Goodney, Philip P; Walsh, Daniel B; Stone, David H

2015-08-01

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is now a mainstay of therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm, although it remains associated with significant expense. We performed a comprehensive analysis of EVAR delivery at an academic medical center to identify targets for quality improvement and cost reduction in light of impending health care reform. All infrarenal EVARs performed from April 2011 to March 2012 were identified (N = 127). Procedures were included if they met standard commercial instructions for use guidelines, used a single manufacturer, and were billed to Medicare diagnosis-related group 238 (n = 49). By use of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) quality improvement methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, control), targets for EVAR quality improvement were identified and high-yield changes were implemented. Procedure technical costs were calculated before and after process redesign. Perioperative services and clinic visits were identified as targets for quality improvement efforts and cost reduction. Mean technical costs before the intervention were $31,672, with endograft implants accounting for 52%. Pricing redesign in collaboration with hospital purchasing reduced mean EVAR technical costs to $28,607, a 10% reduction in overall cost, with endograft implants now accounting for 46%. Perioperative implementation of instrument tray redesign reduced instrument use by 32% (184 vs 132 instruments), saving $50,000 annually. Unnecessary clinic visits were reduced by 39% (1.6 vs 1.1 clinic visits per patient) through implementation of a preclinic imaging protocol. There was no difference in mean length of stay after the intervention. Comprehensive EVAR delivery redesign leads to cost reduction and waste elimination while preserving quality. Future efforts to achieve more competitive and transparent device pricing will make EVAR more cost neutral and enhance its financial sustainability for health care systems. Copyright © 2015 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Endovascular aneurysm repair delivery redesign leads to quality improvement and cost reduction

PubMed Central

Warner, Courtney J.; Horvath, Alexander J.; Powell, Richard J.; Columbo, Jesse A.; Walsh, Teri R.; Goodney, Philip P.; Walsh, Daniel B.; Stone, David H.

2017-01-01

Objective Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is now a mainstay of therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm, although it remains associated with significant expense. We performed a comprehensive analysis of EVAR delivery at an academic medical center to identify targets for quality improvement and cost reduction in light of impending health care reform. Methods All infrarenal EVARs performed from April 2011 to March 2012 were identified (N = 127). Procedures were included if they met standard commercial instructions for use guidelines, used a single manufacturer, and were billed to Medicare diagnosis-related group 238 (n = 49). By use of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) quality improvement methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, control), targets for EVAR quality improvement were identified and high-yield changes were implemented. Procedure technical costs were calculated before and after process redesign. Results Perioperative services and clinic visits were identified as targets for quality improvement efforts and cost reduction. Mean technical costs before the intervention were $31,672, with endograft implants accounting for 52%. Pricing redesign in collaboration with hospital purchasing reduced mean EVAR technical costs to $28,607, a 10% reduction in overall cost, with endograft implants now accounting for 46%. Perioperative implementation of instrument tray redesign reduced instrument use by 32% (184 vs 132 instruments), saving $50,000 annually. Unnecessary clinic visits were reduced by 39% (1.6 vs 1.1 clinic visits per patient) through implementation of a preclinic imaging protocol. There was no difference in mean length of stay after the intervention. Conclusions Comprehensive EVAR delivery redesign leads to cost reduction and waste elimination while preserving quality. Future efforts to achieve more competitive and transparent device pricing will make EVAR more cost neutral and enhance its financial sustainability for health care systems. PMID:25935271

A Novel Approach for Enhancement of Automobile Clutch Engagement Quality Using Mechatronics Based Automated Clutch System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, K.

2013-01-01

In automated manual clutch (AMC) a mechatronic system controls clutch force trajectory through an actuator governed by a control system. The present study identifies relevant characteristics of this trajectory and their effects on driveline dynamics and engagement quality. A new type of force trajectory is identified which gives the good engagement quality. However this trajectory is not achievable through conventional clutch control mechanism. But in AMC a mechatronic system based on electro-hydraulic or electro-mechanical elements can make it feasible. A mechatronic system is presented in which a mechatronic add-on system can be used to implement the novel force trajectory, without the requirement of replacing the traditional diaphragm spring based clutch in a vehicle with manual transmission.

A roadmap for improving healthcare service quality.

PubMed

Kennedy, Denise M; Caselli, Richard J; Berry, Leonard L

2011-01-01

A data-driven, comprehensive model for improving service and creating long-term value was developed and implemented at Mayo Clinic Arizona (MCA). Healthcare organizations can use this model to prepare for value-based purchasing, a payment system in which quality and patient experience measures will influence reimbursement. Surviving and thriving in such a system will require a comprehensive approach to sustaining excellent service performance from physicians and allied health staff (e.g., nurses, technicians, nonclinical staff). The seven prongs in MCA's service quality improvement model are (1) multiple data sources to drive improvement, (2) accountability for service quality, (3) service consultation and improvement tools, (4) service values and behaviors, (5) education and training, (6) ongoing monitoring and control, and (7) recognition and reward. The model was fully implemented and tested in five departments in which patient perception of provider-specific service attributes and/or overall quality of care were below the 90th percentile for patient satisfaction in the vendor's database. Extent of the implementation was at the discretion of department leadership. Perception data rating various service attributes were collected from randomly selected patients and monitored over a 24-month period. The largest increases in patient perception of excellence over the pilot period were realized when all seven prongs of the model were implemented as a comprehensive improvement approach. The results of this pilot may help other healthcare organizations prepare for value-based purchasing.

Fidelity of Implementation in Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND): A Comparison of Classroom Teachers and Program Specialists

PubMed Central

Dent, Clyde W.; Skara, Silvana; Sun, Ping; Sussman, Steve

2011-01-01

This paper presents the results of an effectiveness trial of Project Towards No Drug Abuse [TND], in which we compared program delivery by regular classroom teachers and program specialists within the same high schools. Within 18 schools that were randomly assigned to the program or control conditions, health classrooms were assigned to program delivery by teachers or (outside) specialists. Classroom sessions were observed by pairs of observers to assess three domains of implementation fidelity: adherence, classroom process, and perceived student acceptance of the program. Pre- and immediate posttest survey data were collected from 2331 students. Of the four composite indexes of implementation fidelity that were examined, only one (quality of delivery) showed a difference between specialists and teachers, with marginally higher ratings of specialists (p < .10). Both teachers and program specialists achieved effects on three of the five immediate outcome measures, including program-specific knowledge, addiction concern, and social self-control. Students’ posttest ratings of the program overall and the quality of program delivery failed to reveal differences between the teacher- and specialist-led classrooms. These results suggest that motivated, trained classroom teachers can implement evidence-based prevention programs with fidelity and achieve immediate effects. PMID:17180722

An in-depth analysis of pharmaceutical regulation in the Republic of Moldova

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Objective Regulation of the pharmaceutical system is a crucial, yet often neglected, component in ensuring access to safe and effective medicines. The aim of this study was to provide an in-depth analysis of the existing pharmaceutical regulation, including recent changes, in the Republic of Moldova. Methods Data from field work conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with a review of policy documents and quantitative secondary data analysis was used to achieve this aim. Results This analysis identified several ways in which pharmaceutical regulation affects availability of quality medicines in the Republic of Moldova. These include lack of full implementation bioequivalence requirements for generics registration, incomplete implementation of good manufacturing practices and no implementation of good distribution practices, use of quality control instead of quality assurance as a method to ensure quality of medicines, frequent change of power within the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (MMDA) leading to lack of long-term strategy and plans, conflict of interest between the different functions of the MMDA, the lack of sufficient funding for the MMDA to conduct its activities and to invest in continuous training of its staff (particularly inspectors) and very weak post-marketing control. Notably, several improvements have been recently introduced, including a roadmap for change for the MMDA, the introduction of good manufacturing practices and the drafting of a quality manual for the Agency. Conclusion Based on these findings the authors propose a set of priority actions to address existing gaps and draw lessons learned from other countries. PMID:25848544

Characterizing SWCNT Dispersion in Polymer Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lillehei, Peter T.; Kim, Jae-Woo; Gibbons, Luke; Park, Cheol

2007-01-01

The new wave of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) infused composites will yield structurally sound multifunctional nanomaterials. The SWCNT network requires thorough dispersion within the polymer matrix in order to maximize the benefits of the nanomaterial. However, before any nanomaterials can be used in aerospace applications a means of quality assurance and quality control must be certified. Quality control certification requires a means of quantification, however, the measurement protocol mandates a method of seeing the dispersion first. We describe here the new tools that we have developed and implemented to first be able to see carbon nanotubes in polymers and second to measure or quantify the dispersion of the nanotubes.

Operational Processing of Ground Validation Data for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulie, Mark S.; Robinson, Mike; Marks, David A.; Ferrier, Brad S.; Rosenfeld, Danny; Wolff, David B.

1999-01-01

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was successfully launched in November 1997. A primary goal of TRMM is to sample tropical rainfall using the first active spaceborne precipitation radar. To validate TRMM satellite observations, a comprehensive Ground Validation (GV) Program has been implemented for this mission. A key component of GV is the analysis and quality control of meteorological ground-based radar data from four primary sites: Melbourne, FL; Houston, TX; Darwin, Australia; and Kwajalein Atoll, RMI. As part of the TRMM GV effort, the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has been tasked with developing and implementing an operational system to quality control (QC), archive, and provide data for subsequent rainfall product generation from the four primary GV sites. This paper provides an overview of the JCET operational environment. A description of the QC algorithm and performance, in addition to the data flow procedure between JCET and the TRNM science and Data Information System (TSDIS), are presented. The impact of quality-controlled data on higher level rainfall and reflectivity products will also be addressed, Finally, a brief description of JCET's expanded role into producing reference rainfall products will be discussed.

A quality improvement project to improve the Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sepsis bundle compliance rate in a large healthcare system.

PubMed

Raschke, Robert A; Groves, Robert H; Khurana, Hargobind S; Nikhanj, Nidhi; Utter, Ethel; Hartling, Didi; Stoffer, Brenda; Nunn, Kristina; Tryon, Shona; Bruner, Michelle; Calleja, Maria; Curry, Steven C

2017-01-01

Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in hospitalised patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated that US hospitals report sepsis bundle compliance rate as a quality process measure in October 2015. The specific aim of our study was to improve the CMS sepsis bundle compliance rate from 30% to 40% across 20 acute care hospitals in our healthcare system within 1 year. The study included all adult inpatients with sepsis sampled according to CMS specifications from October 2015 to September 2016. The CMS sepsis bundle compliance rate was tracked monthly using statistical process control charting. A baseline rate of 28.5% with 99% control limits was established. We implemented multiple interventions including computerised decision support systems (CDSSs) to increase compliance with the most commonly missing bundle elements. Compliance reached 42% (99% statistical process control limits 18.4%-38.6%) as CDSS was implemented system-wide, but this improvement was not sustained after CMS changed specifications of the outcome measure. Difficulties encountered elucidate shortcomings of our study methodology and of the CMS sepsis bundle compliance rate as a quality process measure.

Quality management in in vivo proton MRS.

PubMed

Pedrosa de Barros, Nuno; Slotboom, Johannes

2017-07-15

The quality of MR-Spectroscopy data can easily be affected in in vivo applications. Several factors may produce signal artefacts, and often these are not easily detected, not even by experienced spectroscopists. Reliable and reproducible in vivo MRS-data requires the definition of quality requirements and goals, implementation of measures to guarantee quality standards, regular control of data quality, and a continuous search for quality improvement. The first part of this review includes a general introduction to different aspects of quality management in MRS. It is followed by the description of a series of tests and phantoms that can be used to assure the quality of the MR system. In the third part, several methods and strategies used for quality control of the spectroscopy data are presented. This review concludes with a reference to a few interesting techniques and aspects that may help to further improve the quality of in vivo MR-spectra. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Real-time head movement system and embedded Linux implementation for the control of power wheelchairs.

PubMed

Nguyen, H T; King, L M; Knight, G

2004-01-01

Mobility has become very important for our quality of life. A loss of mobility due to an injury is usually accompanied by a loss of self-confidence. For many individuals, independent mobility is an important aspect of self-esteem. Head movement is a natural form of pointing and can be used to directly replace the joystick whilst still allowing for similar control. Through the use of embedded LINUX and artificial intelligence, a hands-free head movement wheelchair controller has been designed and implemented successfully. This system provides for severely disabled users an effective power wheelchair control method with improved posture, ease of use and attractiveness.

System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

SUSTAIN is a decision support system that assists stormwater management professionals with developing and implementing plans for flow and pollution control measures to protect source waters and meet water quality goals.

Two decades of reforms. Appraisal of the financial reforms in the Russian public healthcare sector.

PubMed

Gordeev, Vladimir S; Pavlova, Milena; Groot, Wim

2011-10-01

This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the outcomes of the financial reforms in the Russian public healthcare sector. A systematic literature review identified 37 relevant publications that presented empirical evidence on changes in quality, equity, efficiency and sustainability in public healthcare provision due to the Russian public healthcare financial reforms. Evidence suggests that there are substantial inter-regional inequalities across income groups both in terms of financing and access to public healthcare services. There are large efficiency differences between regions, along with inter-regional variations in payment and reimbursement mechanisms. Informal and quasi-formal payments deteriorate access to public healthcare services and undermine the overall financing sustainability. The public healthcare sector is still underfinanced, although the implementation of health insurance gave some premises for future increases of efficiency. Overall, the available empirical data are not sufficient for an evidence-based evaluation of the reforms. More studies on the quality, equity, efficiency and sustainability impact of the reforms are needed. Future reforms should focus on the implementation of cost-efficiency and cost-control mechanisms; provide incentives for better allocation and distribution of resources; tackle problems in equity in access and financing; implement a system of quality controls; and stimulate healthy competition between insurance companies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quality of life of coronary artery disease patients after the implementation of planning strategies for medication adherence 1

PubMed Central

Lourenço, Laura Bacelar de Araujo; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; São-João, Thaís Moreira; Gallani, Maria Cecilia; Cornélio, Marilia Estevam

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: to compare the general and specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between the Intervention (IG) and Control (CG) groups of coronary artery disease patients after the implementation of Action Planning and Coping Planning strategies for medication adherence and to verify the relationship between adherence and HRQoL. METHOD: this was a controlled and randomized study. RESULTS: the sample (n=115) was randomized into two groups, IG (n=59) and CG (n=56). Measures of medication adherence and general and specific HRQoL were obtained in the baseline and after two months of monitoring. CONCLUSION: the findings showed that the combination of intervention strategies - Action Planning and Coping Planning for medication adherence did not affect the HRQoL of coronary artery disease patients in outpatient monitoring. PMID:25806626

PDA survey of quality risk management practices in the pharmaceutical, devices, & biotechnology industries.

PubMed

Ahmed, Ruhi; Baseman, Harold; Ferreira, Jorge; Genova, Thomas; Harclerode, William; Hartman, Jeffery; Kim, Samuel; Londeree, Nanette; Long, Michael; Miele, William; Ramjit, Timothy; Raschiatore, Marlene; Tomonto, Charles

2008-01-01

In July 2006 the Parenteral Drug Association's Risk Management Task Force for Aseptic Processes, conducted an electronic survey of PDA members to determine current industry practices regarding implementation of Quality Risk Management in their organizations. This electronic survey was open and publicly available via the PDA website and targeted professionals in our industry who are involved in initiating, implementing, or reviewing risk management programs or decisions in their organizations. One hundred twenty-nine members participated and their demographics are presented in the sidebar "Correspondents Profile". Among the major findings are: *The "Aseptic Processing/Filling" operation is the functional area identified as having the greatest need for risk assessment and quality risk management. *The most widely used methodology in industry to identify risk is Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This tool was most widely applied in assessing change control and for adverse event, complaint, or failure investigations. *Despite the fact that personnel training was identified as the strategy most used for controlling/minimizing risk, the largest contributors to sterility failure in operations are still "Personnel". *Most companies still rely on "Manufacturing Controls" to mitigate risk and deemed the utilization of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) least important in this aspect. *A majority of correspondents verified that they did not periodically assess their risk management programs. *A majority of the correspondents desired to see case studies or examples of risk analysis implementation (as applicable to aseptic processing) in future PDA technical reports on risk management.

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Closure of the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and Land Application Area

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

Lewis, Michael G.

This quality assurance project plan describes the technical requirements and quality assurance activities of the environmental data collection/analyses operations to close Central Facilities Area Sewage treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and the land application area. It describes the organization and persons involved, the data quality objectives, the analytical procedures, and the specific quality control measures to be employed. All quality assurance project plan activities are implemented to determine whether the results of the sampling and monitoring performed are of the right type, quantity, and quality to satisfy the requirements for closing Lagoon 3 and the land application area.

Providing activity for people with dementia in care homes: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Wenborn, Jennifer; Challis, David; Head, Jenny; Miranda-Castillo, Claudia; Popham, Carolyn; Thakur, Ruchi; Illes, Jacqueline; Orrell, Martin

2013-12-01

Activity levels remain low in care homes, but activity engagement can enhance residents' quality of life. This study aimed to assess an occupational therapy programme designed to enable care home staff to increase activity provision. A cluster randomised controlled trial with blinded assessment of outcome was conducted. A total of 210 residents with dementia in 16 care homes were recruited. Intervention homes received the programme, and control homes were provided usual care. Primary outcome is quality of life; secondary measures are dependency, challenging behaviour, depression, anxiety, severity of dementia and number and type of medication. Quality of life decreased overall with statistically significant change in staff ratings (p < 0.001). At follow-up, staff-rated quality of life was slightly lower in the intervention group (mean difference in staff ratings = -1.91, 95% CI -3.39 to -0.43, p = 0.01). There were no significant differences between the two groups for self-rated quality of life or secondary outcomes. The results may be related to the following: wide variability in how the intervention was implemented, such as low staff attendance at the education and coaching sessions, and patchy provision of additional activities to residents; or the residents' severity of dementia or the choice of outcome measures. Future studies need to pay more attention to process measures such as implementation and fidelity strategies, and outcome measures that better capture the focus of the intervention such as level of engagement and activity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of Pay-for-Performance in Nursing Homes: Evidence from State Medicaid Programs

PubMed Central

Werner, Rachel M; Konetzka, R Tamara; Polsky, Daniel

2013-01-01

Objective Pay-for-performance (P4P) is commonly used to improve health care quality in the United States and is expected to be frequently implemented under the Affordable Care Act. However, evidence supporting its use is mixed with few large-scale, rigorous evaluations of P4P. This study tests the effect of P4P on quality of care in a large-scale setting—the implementation of P4P for nursing homes by state Medicaid agencies. Data Sources/Study Setting 2001–2009 nursing home Minimum Data Set and Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) datasets. Study Design Between 2001 and 2009, eight state Medicaid agencies adopted P4P programs in nursing homes. We use a difference-in-differences approach to test for changes in nursing home quality under P4P, taking advantage of the variation in timing of implementation across these eight states and using nursing homes in the 42 non-P4P states plus Washington, DC as contemporaneous controls. Principal Findings Quality improvement under P4P was inconsistent. While three clinical quality measures (the percent of residents being physically restrained, in moderate to severe pain, and developed pressure sores) improved with the implementation of P4P in states with P4P compared with states without P4P, other targeted quality measures either did not change or worsened. Of the two structural measures of quality that were tied to payment (total number of deficiencies and nurse staffing) deficiency rates worsened slightly under P4P while staffing levels did not change. Conclusions Medicaid-based P4P in nursing homes did not result in consistent improvements in nursing home quality. Expectations for improvement in nursing home care under P4P should be tempered. PMID:23398330

The effect of pay-for-performance in nursing homes: evidence from state Medicaid programs.

PubMed

Werner, Rachel M; Konetzka, R Tamara; Polsky, Daniel

2013-08-01

Pay-for-performance (P4P) is commonly used to improve health care quality in the United States and is expected to be frequently implemented under the Affordable Care Act. However, evidence supporting its use is mixed with few large-scale, rigorous evaluations of P4P. This study tests the effect of P4P on quality of care in a large-scale setting-the implementation of P4P for nursing homes by state Medicaid agencies. 2001-2009 nursing home Minimum Data Set and Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) datasets. Between 2001 and 2009, eight state Medicaid agencies adopted P4P programs in nursing homes. We use a difference-in-differences approach to test for changes in nursing home quality under P4P, taking advantage of the variation in timing of implementation across these eight states and using nursing homes in the 42 non-P4P states plus Washington, DC as contemporaneous controls. Quality improvement under P4P was inconsistent. While three clinical quality measures (the percent of residents being physically restrained, in moderate to severe pain, and developed pressure sores) improved with the implementation of P4P in states with P4P compared with states without P4P, other targeted quality measures either did not change or worsened. Of the two structural measures of quality that were tied to payment (total number of deficiencies and nurse staffing) deficiency rates worsened slightly under P4P while staffing levels did not change. Medicaid-based P4P in nursing homes did not result in consistent improvements in nursing home quality. Expectations for improvement in nursing home care under P4P should be tempered. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

The Utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 in Air Quality Decision-Making Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, Bryan

2010-01-01

I will discuss a novel and practical application of the OMI HCHU and NO2 data products to the "weight of evidence" in the air quality decision-making process (e.g., State Implementation Plan (SIP)) for a city, region, or state to demonstrate that it is making progress toward attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. Any trend, or lack thereof, in the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may support that an emission control strategy implemented to reduce ozone is or is not occurring for a metropolitan area. In addition, the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may be used to define new emission control strategies as the photochemical environments of urban areas evolve over time. I will demonstrate the utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 over the U.S. for air quality applications with support from simulations with both a regional model and a photochemical box model. These results support mission planning of an OMI-like instrument for the proposed GEO-CAPE satellite that has as one of its objectives to study air quality from space. However, I'm attending the meeting as the Aura Deputy Project Scientist, so I don't technically need to present anything to justify the travel.

The Value of Electronic Medical Record Implementation in Mental Health Care: A Case Study

PubMed Central

Fischler, Ilan; Stuckey, Melanie I; Klassen, Philip E; Chen, John

2017-01-01

Background Electronic medical records (EMR) have been implemented in many organizations to improve the quality of care. Evidence supporting the value added to a recovery-oriented mental health facility is lacking. Objective The goal of this project was to implement and customize a fully integrated EMR system in a specialized, recovery-oriented mental health care facility. This evaluation examined the outcomes of quality improvement initiatives driven by the EMR to determine the value that the EMR brought to the organization. Methods The setting was a tertiary-level mental health facility in Ontario, Canada. Clinical informatics and decision support worked closely with point-of-care staff to develop workflows and documentation tools in the EMR. The primary initiatives were implementation of modules for closed loop medication administration, collaborative plan of care, clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia, restraint minimization, the infection prevention and control surveillance status board, drug of abuse screening, and business intelligence. Results Medication and patient scan rates have been greater than 95% since April 2014, mitigating the adverse effects of medication errors. Specifically, between April 2014 and March 2015, only 1 moderately severe and 0 severe adverse drug events occurred. The number of restraint incidents decreased 19.7%, which resulted in cost savings of more than Can $1.4 million (US $1.0 million) over 2 years. Implementation of clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia increased adherence to evidence-based practices, standardizing care across the facility. Improved infection prevention and control surveillance reduced the number of outbreak days from 47 in the year preceding implementation of the status board to 7 days in the year following. Decision support to encourage preferential use of the cost-effective drug of abuse screen when clinically indicated resulted in organizational cost savings. Conclusions EMR implementation allowed Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences to use data analytics to identify and select appropriate quality improvement initiatives, supporting patient-centered, recovery-oriented practices and providing value at the clinical, organizational, and societal levels. PMID:28057607

Advancing infection control in dental care settings: factors associated with dentists' implementation of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

PubMed

Cleveland, Jennifer L; Bonito, Arthur J; Corley, Tammy J; Foster, Misty; Barker, Laurie; Gordon Brown, G; Lenfestey, Nancy; Lux, Linda

2012-10-01

The authors set out to identify factors associated with implementation by U.S. dentists of four practices first recommended in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings-2003. In 2008, the authors surveyed a stratified random sample of 6,825 U.S. dentists. The response rate was 49 percent. The authors gathered data regarding dentists' demographic and practice characteristics, attitudes toward infection control, sources of instruction regarding the guidelines and knowledge about the need to use sterile water for surgical procedures. Then they assessed the impact of those factors on the implementation of four recommendations: having an infection control coordinator, maintaining dental unit water quality, documenting percutaneous injuries and using safer medical devices, such as safer syringes and scalpels. The authors conducted bivariate analyses and proportional odds modeling. Responding dentists in 34 percent of practices had implemented none or one of the four recommendations, 40 percent had implemented two of the recommendations and 26 percent had implemented three or four of the recommendations. The likelihood of implementation was higher among dentists who acknowledged the importance of infection control, had practiced dentistry for less than 30 years, had received more continuing dental education credits in infection control, correctly identified more surgical procedures that require the use of sterile water, worked in larger practices and had at least three sources of instruction regarding the guidelines. Dentists with practices in the South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic or East South Central U.S. Census divisions were less likely to have complied. Implementation of the four recommendations varied among U.S. dentists. Strategies targeted at raising awareness of the importance of infection control, increasing continuing education requirements and developing multiple modes of instruction may increase implementation of current and future Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

76 FR 25652 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; North Dakota; Revisions to the Air...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

...EPA is proposing to approve revisions to the North Dakota State Implementation Plan that the Governor of North Dakota submitted with a letter dated April 6, 2009. The revisions affect North Dakota's air pollution control rules regarding general provisions (including rules regarding shutdowns and malfunctions), ambient air quality standards, emissions of particulate matter, permitting, and fees. In addition, EPA is proposing administrative corrections to the regulatory text for North Dakota that will be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations; we made errors in the identification of plan table when we approved the North Dakota State Implementation Plan revisions for Interstate Transport of pollution, which the Governor also submitted on April 6, 2009. This action is being taken under section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

Application of advanced data collection and quality assurance methods in open prospective study - a case study of PONS project.

PubMed

Wawrzyniak, Zbigniew M; Paczesny, Daniel; Mańczuk, Marta; Zatoński, Witold A

2011-01-01

Large-scale epidemiologic studies can assess health indicators differentiating social groups and important health outcomes of the incidence and mortality of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and others, to establish a solid knowledgebase for the prevention management of premature morbidity and mortality causes. This study presents new advanced methods of data collection and data management systems with current data quality control and security to ensure high quality data assessment of health indicators in the large epidemiologic PONS study (The Polish-Norwegian Study). The material for experiment is the data management design of the large-scale population study in Poland (PONS) and the managed processes are applied into establishing a high quality and solid knowledge. The functional requirements of the PONS study data collection, supported by the advanced IT web-based methods, resulted in medical data of a high quality, data security, with quality data assessment, control process and evolution monitoring are fulfilled and shared by the IT system. Data from disparate and deployed sources of information are integrated into databases via software interfaces, and archived by a multi task secure server. The practical and implemented solution of modern advanced database technologies and remote software/hardware structure successfully supports the research of the big PONS study project. Development and implementation of follow-up control of the consistency and quality of data analysis and the processes of the PONS sub-databases have excellent measurement properties of data consistency of more than 99%. The project itself, by tailored hardware/software application, shows the positive impact of Quality Assurance (QA) on the quality of outcomes analysis results, effective data management within a shorter time. This efficiency ensures the quality of the epidemiological data and indicators of health by the elimination of common errors of research questionnaires and medical measurements.

76 FR 70656 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designations of Areas for Air Quality...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-15

... taking? II. What is the effect of this action? III. What is EPA's response to comments? IV. What is EPA's... comments. In this action, EPA is responding to those adverse comments. II. What is the effect of this... no effect on control measures, or air quality, in the area. For example, contrary to Commenter's...

The Effect of Regulation on the Quality of Early Childhood Services in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Kane, Mary

2005-01-01

The first legislative control over early education services in Ireland came into place in 1996, in the form of the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations (Department of Health, 1996). The research hypothesis of this study was that the implementation of the Regulations would have had an impact on quality of early childhood care and education…

Chemometrics-based process analytical technology (PAT) tools: applications and adaptation in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries.

PubMed

Challa, Shruthi; Potumarthi, Ravichandra

2013-01-01

Process analytical technology (PAT) is used to monitor and control critical process parameters in raw materials and in-process products to maintain the critical quality attributes and build quality into the product. Process analytical technology can be successfully implemented in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries not only to impart quality into the products but also to prevent out-of-specifications and improve the productivity. PAT implementation eliminates the drawbacks of traditional methods which involves excessive sampling and facilitates rapid testing through direct sampling without any destruction of sample. However, to successfully adapt PAT tools into pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical environment, thorough understanding of the process is needed along with mathematical and statistical tools to analyze large multidimensional spectral data generated by PAT tools. Chemometrics is a chemical discipline which incorporates both statistical and mathematical methods to obtain and analyze relevant information from PAT spectral tools. Applications of commonly used PAT tools in combination with appropriate chemometric method along with their advantages and working principle are discussed. Finally, systematic application of PAT tools in biopharmaceutical environment to control critical process parameters for achieving product quality is diagrammatically represented.

Control of Suspect/Counterfeit and Defective Items

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

Sheriff, Marnelle L.

2013-09-03

This procedure implements portions of the requirements of MSC-MP-599, Quality Assurance Program Description. It establishes the Mission Support Alliance (MSA) practices for minimizing the introduction of and identifying, documenting, dispositioning, reporting, controlling, and disposing of suspect/counterfeit and defective items (S/CIs). employees whose work scope relates to Safety Systems (i.e., Safety Class [SC] or Safety Significant [SS] items), non-safety systems and other applications (i.e., General Service [GS]) where engineering has determined that their use could result in a potential safety hazard. MSA implements an effective Quality Assurance (QA) Program providing a comprehensive network of controls and verification providing defense-in-depth by preventingmore » the introduction of S/CIs through the design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and modification of processes. This procedure focuses on those safety systems, and other systems, including critical load paths of lifting equipment, where the introduction of S/CIs would have the greatest potential for creating unsafe conditions.« less

Assessment of quality guidelines implementation using a continuous quality improvement programme.

PubMed

Richards, Nick; Ayala, Juan Antonio; Cesare, Salvatore; Chazot, Charles; Di Benedetto, Attilio; Gassia, Jean-Paul; Merello, Jose-Ignacio; Rentero, Ramon; Scatizzi, Laura; Marcelli, Daniele

2007-01-01

Data from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) study suggest that the level of implementation of the European Best Practice Guidelines (EBPG) is at best partial. The main aim of this study is to describe the level of implementation of the EBPG in the European Fresenius Medical Care (FME) clinic network. Data presented in this investigation were gained through the FME database EuCliD (European Clinical Database). Patient data from 4 countries (Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain) were selected from the EuCliD database. The parameters chosen were haemodialysis adequacy, biocompatibility, anaemia control and serum phosphate control, which are surrogate indicators for quality of care. They were compared, by country, between the first quarter (Q1) 2002 and the fourth quarter (Q4) 2005. During Q1 2002 and Q4 2005, respectively, a total of 7,067 and 9,232 patients were treated in FME clinics located in France, Italy, Spain and the UK. This study confirms variations in haemodialysis practices between countries as already described by the DOPPS study. A large proportion of patients in each country achieved the targets recommended by the EBPG in Q4 2005 and this represented a significant improvement over the results achieved in Q1 2002. Differences in practices between countries still exist. The FME CQI programme allows some of these differences to be overcome leading to an improvement in the quality of the treatment delivered. Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Data quality through a web-based QA/QC system: implementation for atmospheric mercury data from the global mercury observation system.

PubMed

D'Amore, Francesco; Bencardino, Mariantonia; Cinnirella, Sergio; Sprovieri, Francesca; Pirrone, Nicola

2015-08-01

The overall goal of the on-going Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project is to develop a coordinated global monitoring network for mercury, including ground-based, high altitude and sea level stations. In order to ensure data reliability and comparability, a significant effort has been made to implement a centralized system, which is designed to quality assure and quality control atmospheric mercury datasets. This system, GMOS-Data Quality Management (G-DQM), uses a web-based approach with real-time adaptive monitoring procedures aimed at preventing the production of poor-quality data. G-DQM is plugged on a cyberinfrastructure and deployed as a service. Atmospheric mercury datasets, produced during the first-three years of the GMOS project, are used as the input to demonstrate the application of the G-DQM and how it identifies a number of key issues concerning data quality. The major issues influencing data quality are presented and discussed for the GMOS stations under study. Atmospheric mercury data collected at the Longobucco (Italy) station is used as a detailed case study.

Potential of integrated continuous surveys and quality management to support monitoring, evaluation, and the scale-up of health interventions in developing countries.

PubMed

Rowe, Alexander K

2009-06-01

Well-funded initiatives are challenging developing countries to increase health intervention coverage and show impact. Despite substantial resources, however, major obstacles include weak health systems, a lack of reasonably accurate monitoring data, and inadequate use of data for managing programs. This report discusses how integrated continuous surveys and quality management (I-Q), which are well-recognized approaches in wealthy countries, could support intervention scale-up, monitoring and evaluation, quality control for commodities, capacity building, and implementation research in low-resource settings. Integrated continuous surveys are similar to existing national cross-sectional surveys of households and health facilities, except data are collected over several years by permanent teams, and most results are reported monthly at the national, province, and district levels. Quality management involves conceptualizing work as processes, involving all workers in quality improvement, monitoring quality, and teams that improve quality with "plan-do-study-act" cycles. Implementing and evaluating I-Q in a low-income country would provide critical information on the value of this approach.

[Establishment of Quality Control System of Nucleic Acid Detection for Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory].

PubMed

Wang, Qin; Zhang, Yong; Nie, Kai; Wang, Huanyu; Du, Haijun; Song, Jingdong; Xiao, Kang; Lei, Wenwen; Guo, Jianqiang; Wei, Hejiang; Cai, Kun; Wang, Yanhai; Wu, Jiang; Gerald, Bangura; Kamara, Idrissa Laybohr; Liang, Mifang; Wu, Guizhen; Dong, Xiaoping

2016-03-01

The quality control process throughout the Ebola virus nucleic acid detection in Sierra Leone-China Friendship Biological Safety Laboratory (SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab) was described in detail, in order to comprehensively display the scientific, rigorous, accurate and efficient practice in detection of Ebola virus of first batch detection team in SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab. Firstly, the key points of laboratory quality control system was described, including the managements and organizing, quality control documents and information management, instrument, reagents and supplies, assessment, facilities design and space allocation, laboratory maintenance and biosecurity. Secondly, the application of quality control methods in the whole process of the Ebola virus detection, including before the test, during the test and after the test, was analyzed. The excellent and professional laboratory staffs, the implementation of humanized management are the cornerstone of the success; High-level biological safety protection is the premise for effective quality control and completion of Ebola virus detection tasks. And professional logistics is prerequisite for launching the laboratory diagnosis of Ebola virus. The establishment and running of SLE-CHN Biosafety Lab has landmark significance for the friendship between Sierra Leone and China, and the lab becomes the most important base for Ebola virus laboratory testing in Sierra Leone.

[Implementation and (cost-)effectiveness of case management for people with dementia and their informal caregivers: results of the COMPAS study].

PubMed

van Mierlo, Lisa D; MacNeil-Vroomen, Janet; Meiland, Franka J M; Joling, Karlijn J; Bosmans, Judith E; Dröes, Rose Marie; Moll van Charante, Eric P; de Rooij, Sophia E J A; van Hout, Hein P J

2016-12-01

Different forms of case management for dementia have emerged over the past few years. In the COMPAS study (Collaborative dementia care for patients and caregivers study), two prominent Dutch case management forms were studied: the linkage and the integrated care form. Evaluation of the (cost)effectiveness of two dementia case management forms compared to usual care as well as factors that facilitated or impeded their implementation. A mixed methods design with a) a prospective, observational controlled cohort study with 2 years follow-up among 521 dyads of people with dementia and their primary informal caregiver with and without case management; b) interviews with 22 stakeholders on facilitating and impeding factors of the implementation and continuity of the two case management models. Outcome measures were severity and frequency of behavioural problems (NPI) for the person with dementia and mental health complaints (GHQ-12) for the informal caregiver, total met and unmet care needs (CANE) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Outcomes showed a better quality of life of informal caregivers in the integrated model compared to the linkage model. Caregivers in the control group reported more care needs than those in both case management groups. The independence of the case management provider in the integrated model facilitated the implementation, while the rivalry between multiple providers in the linkage model impeded the implementation. The costs of care were lower in the linkage model (minus 22 %) and integrated care model (minus 33 %) compared to the control group. The integrated care form was (very) cost-effective in comparison with the linkage form or no case management. The integrated care form is easy to implement.

77 FR 39177 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Regional Haze

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-02

... of SO 2 from each of 167 stacks in 19 states, 28 percent control of non-EGU SO 2 emissions, and... INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch... Directors Consortium (LADCO), Ohio identified one non-electric generating unit (non-EGU) source, P.H...

78 FR 15895 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans: North Carolina; Control Techniques...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-13

... wood paneling coating facilities. Sixth, Rule 15A NCAC 02D .0961, ``Offset Lithographic Printing and Letterpress Printing'' was adopted to control VOC emissions from heatset inks, fountain solution and cleaning materials used in offset lithographic printing operations, as well as VOC emissions from heatset inks used...

Implementing Total Quality Management in the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

America and the DOD. So far, the business schools of American colleges and universities are lagging behind industry in teaching TQM philosophy and...methods. We in DOD have no control over that, but we do have control over our schoolhouses! If the business schools will not teach TQM, then we can. DOD

77 FR 39943 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Regional Haze

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-06

... contingent on the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and thus is not affected by the stay of that rule...)(2).) List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution control..., Subtitle B: Air Pollution, Chapter 1: Pollution Control Board, Subchapter c: Emission Standards and...

76 FR 20598 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Control of Emissions of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-13

... methods and definitions. The most significant problem with the prior version is the definition of... submitted to EPA a new Rule 3745-21-25 ``Control of VOC emissions from reinforced plastic composites... acceptable because Ohio has adopted OAC 3745-21- 25 for Reinforced Plastics Composites Production Operations...

77 FR 39938 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Regional Haze State...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-06

... responses are provided below. Comment 1: The Commenter recommended that emission controls for a coal... Dakota. The Commenter stated that initially the coal cleaning facility was identified as BART-eligible... further evaluate controls at the coal cleaning facility and the three EGUs under the reasonable progress...

76 FR 42558 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-19

... from Cement Manufacturing), for Portland cement kilns during the ozone season, from May 1 through... C (Emissions of NO X from Cement Manufacturing), for the control of NO X emissions from Portland... 145--Interstate Pollution Transport Reduction Subchapter C--Emissions of NOX From Cement Manufacturing...

76 FR 29180 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Control of Nitrogen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-20

... regulation to control NO X emissions from Portland cement kilns. Portland cement manufacturing is an energy... Pa. Code) Chapter 145, Subchapter C (Emissions of NO X from Cement Manufacturing), for Portland... Portland Cement Kilns AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: EPA is...

What is actually measured in process evaluations for worksite health promotion programs: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Numerous worksite health promotion program (WHPPs) have been implemented the past years to improve employees’ health and lifestyle (i.e., physical activity, nutrition, smoking, alcohol use and relaxation). Research primarily focused on the effectiveness of these WHPPs. Whereas process evaluations provide essential information necessary to improve large scale implementation across other settings. Therefore, this review aims to: (1) further our understanding of the quality of process evaluations alongside effect evaluations for WHPPs, (2) identify barriers/facilitators affecting implementation, and (3) explore the relationship between effectiveness and the implementation process. Methods Pubmed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane (controlled trials) were searched from 2000 to July 2012 for peer-reviewed (randomized) controlled trials published in English reporting on both the effectiveness and the implementation process of a WHPP focusing on physical activity, smoking cessation, alcohol use, healthy diet and/or relaxation at work, targeting employees aged 18-65 years. Results Of the 307 effect evaluations identified, twenty-two (7.2%) published an additional process evaluation and were included in this review. The results showed that eight of those studies based their process evaluation on a theoretical framework. The methodological quality of nine process evaluations was good. The most frequently reported process components were dose delivered and dose received. Over 50 different implementation barriers/facilitators were identified. The most frequently reported facilitator was strong management support. Lack of resources was the most frequently reported barrier. Seven studies examined the link between implementation and effectiveness. In general a positive association was found between fidelity, dose and the primary outcome of the program. Conclusions Process evaluations are not systematically performed alongside effectiveness studies for WHPPs. The quality of the process evaluations is mostly poor to average, resulting in a lack of systematically measured barriers/facilitators. The narrow focus on implementation makes it difficult to explore the relationship between effectiveness and implementation. Furthermore, the operationalisation of process components varied between studies, indicating a need for consensus about defining and operationalising process components. PMID:24341605

[Discussion on research thinking of traditional Chinese medicine standardization system based on whole process quality control].

PubMed

Dong, Ling; Sun, Yu; Pei, Wen-Xuan; Dai, Jun-Dong; Wang, Zi-Yu; Pan, Meng; Chen, Jiang-Peng; Wang, Yun

2017-12-01

The concept of "Quality by design" indicates that good design for the whole life cycle of pharmaceutical production enables the drug to meet the expected quality requirements. Aiming at the existing problems of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, the TCM standardization system was put forward in this paper from the national strategic level, under the guidance by the idea of quality control in international manufacturing industry and with considerations of TCM industry's own characteristics and development status. The connotation of this strategy was to establish five interrelated systems: multi-indicators system based on tri-indicators system, quality standard and specification system of TCM herbal materials and decoction pieces, quality traceability system, data monitoring system based on whole-process quality control, and whole-process quality management system of TCM, and achieve the whole process systematic and scientific study in TCM industry through "top-level design-implement in steps-system integration" workflow. This article analyzed the correlation between the quality standards of all links, established standard operating procedures of each link and whole process, and constructed a high standard overall quality management system for TCM industry chains, in order to provide a demonstration for the establishment of TCM whole-process quality control system and provide systematic reference and basis for standardization strategy in TCM industry. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Exposing the Science in Citizen Science: Fitness to Purpose and Intentional Design.

PubMed

Parrish, Julia K; Burgess, Hillary; Weltzin, Jake F; Fortson, Lucy; Wiggins, Andrea; Simmons, Brooke

2018-05-21

Citizen science is a growing phenomenon. With millions of people involved and billions of in-kind dollars contributed annually, this broad extent, fine grain approach to data collection should be garnering enthusiastic support in the mainstream science and higher education communities. However, many academic researchers demonstrate distinct biases against the use of citizen science as a source of rigorous information. To engage the public in scientific research, and the research community in the practice of citizen science, a mutual understanding is needed of accepted quality standards in science, and the corresponding specifics of project design and implementation when working with a broad public base. We define a science-based typology focused on the degree to which projects deliver the type(s) and quality of data/work needed to produce valid scientific outcomes directly useful in science and natural resource management. Where project intent includes direct contribution to science and the public is actively involved either virtually or hands-on, we examine the measures of quality assurance (methods to increase data quality during the design and implementation phases of a project) and quality control (post hoc methods to increase the quality of scientific outcomes). We suggest that high quality science can be produced with massive, largely one-off, participation if data collection is simple and quality control includes algorithm voting, statistical pruning and/or computational modeling. Small to mid-scale projects engaging participants in repeated, often complex, sampling can advance quality through expert-led training and well-designed materials, and through independent verification. Both approaches - simplification at scale and complexity with care - generate more robust science outcomes.

Control by quality: proposition of a typology.

PubMed

Pujo, P; Pillet, M

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

Numerical Implementation of Indicators and Statistical Control Tools in Monitoring and Evaluating CACEI-ISO Indicators of Study Program in Industrial Process by Systematization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ayala, Gabriela Cota; Real, Francia Angélica Karlos; Ivan, Ramirez Alvarado Edqar

2016-01-01

The research was conducted to determine if the study program of the career of industrial processes Technological University of Chihuahua, 1 year after that it was certified by CACEI, continues achieving the established indicators and ISO 9001: 2008, implementing quality tools, monitoring of essential indicators are determined, flow charts are…

Ozone: Stage Two Vapor Recovery Rule and Guidance

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page includes the guidance document, fact sheet, memorandum, and final rule on removing Stage II Gasoline Vapor Control Programs from State Implementation Plans (SIP) for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

77 FR 71533 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Michigan; Regional Haze State...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-03

... place more modern technology than its competitors, such as Lafarge's Alpena plant.'' Elsewhere, SMC... in control requirements. Lafarge's Alpena facility has long wet kilns, a different design with...

40 CFR 49.10495 - Classification of regions for episode plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Implementation Plan for the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation, Washington § 49.10495 Classification of regions for episode plans. The air quality control region which encompasses the Port Gamble...

77 FR 46361 - Partial Approval and Disapproval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Nevada; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-03

... as explicit or implicit reapproval of any existing provisions that relate to these four substantive... information concerning funding and personnel supporting the functions of the three air pollution control...

40 CFR 49.10255 - Classification of regions for episode plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Implementation Plan for the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho § 49.10255 Classification of regions for episode plans. The air quality control region which encompasses the Reservation of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho is...

40 CFR 49.11075 - Classification of regions for episode plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Implementation Plan for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon § 49.11075 Classification of regions for episode plans. The air quality control region which encompasses the Warm Springs...

78 FR 66320 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio: Bellefontaine; Determination...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-05

... available control measures, a reasonable further progress (RFP) plan, and contingency measures for failure... proposal because the Agency views this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse comments...

78 FR 59240 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Adoption of Control...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-26

... Guidelines for Miscellaneous Metal and Plastic Parts Which Includes Pleasure Craft Coating Operations AGENCY... Miscellaneous Metal Parts and Plastic Coating (MMPPC) operations and as recommended by trade associations...

[THE VIRTUAL CYTOLOGIC SLIDES FOR EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CYTOLOGIC ANALYSES IN CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES: POSSIBILITIES AND PERSPECTIVES].

PubMed

Djangirova, T V; Shabalova, I P; Pronichev, A N; Polyakov, E V

2015-08-01

The article considers application of technology of analysis of cytological slides in external quality control of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The advantages of virtual slides are demonstrated against other applied technologies of external evaluation of quality i.e. slide plate and digital micro-photography. The conditions of formation of virtual slides for external evaluation of quality of clinical diagnostic laboratories. The technology of their application is described. The success of practical application of considered technology in the Federal system of external evaluation of quality is emphasized.

78 FR 30770 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-23

... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards Revision AGENCY... Illinois state implementation plan (SIP) to reflect current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS... Implementation Plan at 35 Illinois Administrative Code part 243, which updates National Ambient Air Quality...

Data Quality Screening Service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strub, Richard; Lynnes, Christopher; Hearty, Thomas; Won, Young-In; Fox, Peter; Zednik, Stephan

2013-01-01

A report describes the Data Quality Screening Service (DQSS), which is designed to help automate the filtering of remote sensing data on behalf of science users. Whereas this process often involves much research through quality documents followed by laborious coding, the DQSS is a Web Service that provides data users with data pre-filtered to their particular criteria, while at the same time guiding the user with filtering recommendations of the cognizant data experts. The DQSS design is based on a formal semantic Web ontology that describes data fields and the quality fields for applying quality control within a data product. The accompanying code base handles several remote sensing datasets and quality control schemes for data products stored in Hierarchical Data Format (HDF), a common format for NASA remote sensing data. Together, the ontology and code support a variety of quality control schemes through the implementation of the Boolean expression with simple, reusable conditional expressions as operands. Additional datasets are added to the DQSS simply by registering instances in the ontology if they follow a quality scheme that is already modeled in the ontology. New quality schemes are added by extending the ontology and adding code for each new scheme.

[Implementation of a web based software for documentation and control of quality of an acute pain service].

PubMed

Pawlik, Michael T; Abel, Reinhard; Abt, Gregor; Kieninger, Martin; Graf, Bernhard Martin; Taeger, Kai; Ittner, Karl Peter

2009-07-01

Providing an acute pain service means accumulation of a large amount of data. The alleviation of data collection, improvement of data quality and data analysis plays a pivotal role. The electronic medical record (EMR) is gaining more and more importance in this context and is continuously spreading in clinical practice. Up to now only a few commercial softwares are available that specifically fit to the needs of an acute pain service. Here we report the development and implementation of such a program (Schmerzvisite, Medlinq, Hamburg, Germany) in the acute pain service of a University Hospital.

Bridging the Gap Between Validation and Implementation of Non-Animal Veterinary Vaccine Potency Testing Methods.

PubMed

Dozier, Samantha; Brown, Jeffrey; Currie, Alistair

2011-11-29

In recent years, technologically advanced high-throughput techniques have been developed that replace, reduce or refine animal use in vaccine quality control tests. Following validation, these tests are slowly being accepted for use by international regulatory authorities. Because regulatory acceptance itself has not guaranteed that approved humane methods are adopted by manufacturers, various organizations have sought to foster the preferential use of validated non-animal methods by interfacing with industry and regulatory authorities. After noticing this gap between regulation and uptake by industry, we began developing a paradigm that seeks to narrow the gap and quicken implementation of new replacement, refinement or reduction guidance. A systematic analysis of our experience in promoting the transparent implementation of validated non-animal vaccine potency assays has led to the refinement of our paradigmatic process, presented here, by which interested parties can assess the local regulatory acceptance of methods that reduce animal use and integrate them into quality control testing protocols, or ensure the elimination of peripheral barriers to their use, particularly for potency and other tests carried out on production batches.

Virtual environment assessment for laser-based vision surface profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ElSoussi, Adnane; Al Alami, Abed ElRahman; Abu-Nabah, Bassam A.

2015-03-01

Oil and gas businesses have been raising the demand from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to implement a reliable metrology method in assessing surface profiles of welds before and after grinding. This certainly mandates the deviation from the commonly used surface measurement gauges, which are not only operator dependent, but also limited to discrete measurements along the weld. Due to its potential accuracy and speed, the use of laser-based vision surface profiling systems have been progressively rising as part of manufacturing quality control. This effort presents a virtual environment that lends itself for developing and evaluating existing laser vision sensor (LVS) calibration and measurement techniques. A combination of two known calibration techniques is implemented to deliver a calibrated LVS system. System calibration is implemented virtually and experimentally to scan simulated and 3D printed features of known profiles, respectively. Scanned data is inverted and compared with the input profiles to validate the virtual environment capability for LVS surface profiling and preliminary assess the measurement technique for weld profiling applications. Moreover, this effort brings 3D scanning capability a step closer towards robust quality control applications in a manufacturing environment.

Information Management System for the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heald, T. C.; Redmann, G. H.

1973-01-01

A study was made to establish the requirements for an integrated state-wide information management system for water quality control and water quality rights for the State of California. The data sources and end requirements were analyzed for the data collected and used by the numerous agencies, both State and Federal, as well as the nine Regional Boards under the jurisdiction of the State Board. The report details the data interfaces and outlines the system design. A program plan and statement of work for implementation of the project is included.

Are All Program Elements Created Equal? Relations Between Specific Social and Emotional Learning Components and Teacher-Student Classroom Interaction Quality.

PubMed

Abry, Tashia; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E; Curby, Timothy W

2017-02-01

School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are presented to educators with little understanding of the program components that have the greatest leverage for improving targeted outcomes. Conducted in the context of a randomized controlled trial, the present study used variation in treatment teachers' (N = 143) implementation of four core components of the Responsive Classroom approach to examine relations between each component and the quality of teachers' emotional, organizational, and instructional interactions in third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms (controlling for pre-intervention interaction quality and other covariates). We also examined the extent to which these relations varied as a function of teachers' baseline levels of interaction quality. Indices of teachers' implementation of Morning Meeting, Rule Creation, Interactive Modeling, and Academic Choice were derived from a combination of teacher-reported surveys and classroom observations. Ratings of teacher-student classroom interactions were aggregated across five observations conducted throughout the school year. Structural path models indicated that teachers' use of Morning Meeting and Academic Choice related to higher levels of emotionally supportive interactions; Academic Choice also related to higher levels of instructional interactions. In addition, teachers' baseline interaction quality moderated several associations such that the strongest relations between RC component use and interaction quality emerged for teachers with the lowest baseline interaction quality. Results highlight the value of examining individual program components toward the identification of program active ingredients that can inform intervention optimization and teacher professional development.

COSMOS--improving the quality of life in nursing home patients: protocol for an effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized clinical hybrid trial.

PubMed

Husebo, Bettina S; Flo, Elisabeth; Aarsland, Dag; Selbaek, Geir; Testad, Ingelin; Gulla, Christine; Aasmul, Irene; Ballard, Clive

2015-09-15

Nursing home patients have complex mental and physical health problems, disabilities and social needs, combined with widespread prescription of psychotropic drugs. Preservation of their quality of life is an important goal. This can only be achieved within nursing homes that offer competent clinical conditions of treatment and care. COmmunication, Systematic assessment and treatment of pain, Medication review, Occupational therapy, Safety (COSMOS) is an effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial that combines and implements organization of activities evidence-based interventions to improve staff competence and thereby the patients' quality of life, mental health and safety. The aim of this paper is to describe the development, content and implementation process of the COSMOS trial. COSMOS includes a 2-month pilot study with 128 participants distributed among nine Norwegian nursing homes, and a 4-month multicenter, cluster randomized effectiveness-implementation clinical hybrid trial with follow-up at month 9, including 571 patients from 67 nursing home units (one unit defined as one cluster). Clusters are randomized to COSMOS intervention or current best practice (control group). The intervention group will receive a 2-day education program including written guidelines, repeated theoretical and practical training (credited education of caregivers, physicians and nursing home managers), case discussions and role play. The 1-day midway evaluation, information and interviews of nursing staff and a telephone hotline all support the implementation process. Outcome measures include quality of life in late-stage dementia, neuropsychiatric symptoms, activities of daily living, pain, depression, sleep, medication, cost-utility analysis, hospital admission and mortality. Despite complex medical and psychosocial challenges, nursing home patients are often treated by staff possessing low level skills, lacking education and in facilities with a high staff turnover. Implementation of a research-based multicomponent intervention may improve staff's knowledge and competence and consequently the quality of life of nursing home patients in general and people with dementia in particular. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02238652.

[Quality management in emergency departments: Lack of uniform standards for fact-based controlling].

PubMed

Ries, M; Christ, M

2015-11-01

The general high occupancy of emergency departments during the winter months of 2014/2015 outlined deficits in health politics. Whether on the regional, province, or federal level, verifiable and accepted figures to enable in depth analysis and fact-based controlling of emergency care systems are lacking. As the first step, reasons for the current situation are outlined in order to developed concrete recommendations for individual hospitals. This work is based on a selective literature search with focus on quality management, ratio driven management, and process management within emergency departments as well as personal experience with implementation of a key ratio system in a German maximum care hospital. The insufficient integration of emergencies into the DRG systematic, the role as gatekeeper between inpatient and outpatient care sector, the decentralized organization of emergency departments in many hospitals, and the inconsistent representation within the medical societies can be mentioned as reasons for the lack of key ratio systems. In addition to the important role within treatment procedures, emergency departments also have an immense economic importance. Consequently, the management of individual hospitals should promote implementation of key ratio systems to enable controlling of emergency care processes. Thereby the perspectives finance, employees, processes as well as partners and patients should be equally considered. Within the process perspective, milestones could be used to enable detailed controlling of treatment procedures. An implementation of key ratio systems without IT support is not feasible; thus, existing digital data should be used and future data analysis should already be considered during implementation of new IT systems.

Web Information Systems for Monitoring and Control of Indoor Air Quality at Subway Stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Gi Heung; Choi, Gi Sang; Jang, Joo Hyoung

In crowded subway stations indoor air quality (IAQ) is a key factor for ensuring the safety, health and comfort of passengers. In this study, a framework for web-based information system in VDN environment for monitoring and control of IAQ in subway stations is suggested. Since physical variables that describing IAQ need to be closely monitored and controlled in multiple locations in subway stations, concept of distributed monitoring and control network using wireless media needs to be implemented. Connecting remote wireless sensor network and device (LonWorks) networks to the IP network based on the concept of VDN can provide a powerful, integrated, distributed monitoring and control performance, making a web-based information system possible.

High assurance SPIRAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franchetti, Franz; Sandryhaila, Aliaksei; Johnson, Jeremy R.

2014-06-01

In this paper we introduce High Assurance SPIRAL to solve the last mile problem for the synthesis of high assurance implementations of controllers for vehicular systems that are executed in today's and future embedded and high performance embedded system processors. High Assurance SPIRAL is a scalable methodology to translate a high level specification of a high assurance controller into a highly resource-efficient, platform-adapted, verified control software implementation for a given platform in a language like C or C++. High Assurance SPIRAL proves that the implementation is equivalent to the specification written in the control engineer's domain language. Our approach scales to problems involving floating-point calculations and provides highly optimized synthesized code. It is possible to estimate the available headroom to enable assurance/performance trade-offs under real-time constraints, and enables the synthesis of multiple implementation variants to make attacks harder. At the core of High Assurance SPIRAL is the Hybrid Control Operator Language (HCOL) that leverages advanced mathematical constructs expressing the controller specification to provide high quality translation capabilities. Combined with a verified/certified compiler, High Assurance SPIRAL provides a comprehensive complete solution to the efficient synthesis of verifiable high assurance controllers. We demonstrate High Assurance SPIRALs capability by co-synthesizing proofs and implementations for attack detection and sensor spoofing algorithms and deploy the code as ROS nodes on the Landshark unmanned ground vehicle and on a Synthetic Car in a real-time simulator.

Antenatal care strengthening for improved quality of care in Jimma, Ethiopia: an effectiveness study.

PubMed

Villadsen, Sarah Fredsted; Negussie, Dereje; GebreMariam, Abebe; Tilahun, Abebech; Friis, Henrik; Rasch, Vibeke

2015-04-11

Interventions for curing most diseases and save lives of pregnant and delivering women exist, yet the power of health systems to deliver them to those in most need is not sufficient. The aims of this study were to design a participatory antenatal care (ANC) strengthening intervention and assess the implementation process and effectiveness on quality of ANC in Jimma, Ethiopia. The intervention comprised trainings, supervisions, equipment, development of health education material, and adaption of guidelines. It was implemented at public facilities and control sites were included in the evaluation. Improved content of care (physical examinations, laboratory testing, tetanus toxoid (TT)-immunization, health education, conduct of health professionals, and waiting time) were defined as proximal project outcomes and increased quality of care (better identification of health problems and increased overall user satisfaction with ANC) were distal project outcomes. The process of implementation was documented in monthly supervision reports. Household surveys, before (2008) and after (2010) intervention, were conducted amongst all women who had given birth within the previous 12 months. The effect of the intervention was assessed by comparing the change in quality of care from before to after the intervention period at intervention sites, relative to control sites, using logistic mixed effect regression. The continued attention to the ANC provision during implementation stimulated increased priority of ANC among health care providers. The organizational structure of the facilities and lack of continuity in care provision turned out to be a major challenge for implementation. There was a positive effect of the intervention on health education on danger signs during pregnancy (OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 2.6;5.7), laboratory testing (OR for blood tests other than HIV 2.9, 95% CI: 1.9;4.5), health problem identification (OR 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1;3.1), and satisfaction with the service (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2;0.9). There was no effect of intervention on conduct of health professionals. The effect of intervention on various outcomes was significantly modified by maternal education. The quality of care can be improved in some important aspects with limited resources. Moreover, the study provides strategic perspectives on how to facilitate improved quality of ANC.

A mixed methods multiple case study of implementation as usual in children’s social service organizations: study protocol

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Improving quality in children’s mental health and social service settings will require implementation strategies capable of moving effective treatments and other innovations (e.g., assessment tools) into routine care. It is likely that efforts to identify, develop, and refine implementation strategies will be more successful if they are informed by relevant stakeholders and are responsive to the strengths and limitations of the contexts and implementation processes identified in usual care settings. This study will describe: the types of implementation strategies used; how organizational leaders make decisions about what to implement and how to approach the implementation process; organizational stakeholders’ perceptions of different implementation strategies; and the potential influence of organizational culture and climate on implementation strategy selection, implementation decision-making, and stakeholders’ perceptions of implementation strategies. Methods/design This study is a mixed methods multiple case study of seven children’s social service organizations in one Midwestern city in the United States that compose the control group of a larger randomized controlled trial. Qualitative data will include semi-structured interviews with organizational leaders (e.g., CEOs/directors, clinical directors, program managers) and a review of documents (e.g., implementation and quality improvement plans, program manuals, etc.) that will shed light on implementation decision-making and specific implementation strategies that are used to implement new programs and practices. Additionally, focus groups with clinicians will explore their perceptions of a range of implementation strategies. This qualitative work will inform the development of a Web-based survey that will assess the perceived effectiveness, relative importance, acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of implementation strategies from the perspective of both clinicians and organizational leaders. Finally, the Organizational Social Context measure will be used to assess organizational culture and climate. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods data will be analyzed and interpreted at the case level as well as across cases in order to highlight meaningful similarities, differences, and site-specific experiences. Discussion This study is designed to inform efforts to develop more effective implementation strategies by fully describing the implementation experiences of a sample of community-based organizations that provide mental health services to youth in one Midwestern city. PMID:23961701