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PubMed2005

The skyshine benchmark experiment revisited.

With the coming renaissance of nuclear power, heralded by new nuclear power plant construction in Finland, the issue of qualifying modern tools for calculation becomes prominent. Among the calculations required may be the determination of radiation levels outside the plant owing to skyshine. For example, knowledge of the degree of accuracy in the calculation of gamma skyshine through the turbine hall roof of a BWR plant is important. Modern survey programs which can calculate skyshine dose rates tend to be qualified only by verification with the results of Monte Carlo calculations. However, in the past, exacting experimental work has been performed in the field for gamma skyshine, notably the benchmark work in 1981 by Shultis and co-workers, which considered not just the open source case but also the effects of placing a concrete roof above the source enclosure. The latter case is a better reflection of reality as safety considerations nearly always require the source to be shielded in some way, usually by substantial walls but by a thinner roof. One of the tools developed since that time, which can both calculate skyshine radiation and accurately model the geometrical set-up of an experiment, is the code RANKERN, which is used by Framatome ANP and other organisations for general shielding design work. The following description concerns the use of this code to re-address the experimental results from 1981. This then provides a realistic gauge to validate, but also to set limits on, the program for future gamma skyshine applications within the applicable licensing procedures for all users of the code.

Air↗
PubMed2003

Evaluation of a peer-reviewed career development and compensation program for physicians at an academic health science center.

OBJECTIVE: The Department of Pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children, which is funded by an alternative payment plan, has implemented a novel career development and compensation program (CDCP). Job activity profiles were used to more clearly define job expectations, benchmarks guided career development, and peer review was used to assess performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the departmental pediatricians' satisfaction with the CDCP. METHODS: Pediatricians, all of whom had undergone CDCP annual reviews, could participate if they had undergone the in-depth triennial CDCP review. Each received a 5-point Likert scale-based questionnaire that asked how well the CDCP had conformed to the principles identified by the department during the development of the CDCP. Anonymous, confidential responses were collated and used to guide focus groups that discussed areas of greatest concern and attempted to identify solutions. Focus groups were led by external facilitators who were experienced in qualitative research. They audiotaped the sessions, transcribed the comments, and analyzed the data with the assistance of a qualitative analysis application. RESULTS: Sixty of the eligible 88 pediatricians participated, and 74% of their responses were that the CDCP had addressed the original principles "somewhat," "to a great extent," or "extremely well." The remainder indicated that some of the principles were either "not addressed" or "only to a small extent" by the CDCP. Results from the 11 focus groups (46 participants) indicated that the CDCP was an improvement over the previous method of career development and determination of the rate of remuneration. Most were also still in agreement with the purpose and design principles. Although they did not want the CDCP to undergo a major redesign, they identified areas that need improvement. Short-, medium-, and long-term action plans to address these areas are under way. CONCLUSION: Pediatricians at the health science center of the Hospital for Sick Children remain supportive of the CDCP.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2006

Plant-wide (BSM2) evaluation of reject water treatment with a SHARON-Anammox process.

In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with sludge digestion and dewatering systems, the reject water originating from these facilities contributes significantly to the nitrogen load of the activated sludge tanks, to which it is typically recycled. In this paper, the impact of reject water streams on the performance of a WWTP is assessed in a simulation study, using the Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 (BSM2), that includes the processes describing sludge treatment and in this way allows for plant-wide evaluation. Comparison of performance of a WWTP without reject water with a WWTP where reject water is recycled to the primary clarifier, i.e. the BSM2 plant, shows that the ammonium load of the influent to the primary clarifier is 28% higher in the case of reject water recycling. This results in violation of the effluent total nitrogen limit. In order to relieve the main wastewater treatment plant, reject water treatment with a combined SHARON-Anammox process seems a promising option. The simulation results indicate that significant improvements of the effluent quality of the main wastewater treatment plant can be realized. An economic evaluation of the different scenarios is performed using an Operating Cost Index (OCI).

Algorithms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Manage your human sigma.

If sales and service organizations are to improve, they must learn to measure and manage the quality of the employee-customer encounter. Quality improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma are extremely useful in manufacturing contexts, but they're less useful when it comes to human interactions. To address this problem, the authors have developed a quality improvement approach they refer to as Human Sigma. It weaves together a consistent method for assessing the employee-customer encounter and a disciplined process for managing and improving it. There are several core principles for measuring and managing the employee-customer encounter: It's important not to think like an economist or an engineer when assessing interactions because emotions inform both sides' judgments and behavior. The employee-customer encounter must be measured and managed locally, because there are enormous variations in quality at the work-group and individual levels. And to improve the quality of the employee-customer interaction, organizations must conduct both short-term, transactional interventions and long-term, transformational ones. Employee engagement and customer engagement are intimately connected--and, taken together, they have an outsized effect on financial performance. They therefore need to be managed holistically. That is, the responsibility for measuring and monitoring the health of employee-customer relationships must reside within a single organizational structure, with an executive champion who has the authority to initiate and manage change. Nevertheless, the local manager remains the single most important factor in local group performance. A local manager whose work group shows suboptimal performance should be encouraged to conduct interventions, such as targeted training, performance reviews, action learning, and individual coaching.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMed2005

Performance is reality: how is your revenue cycle holding up?

Expanding your organization's revenue cycle performance indicators beyond receivables, cash, and A/R days can help you: Keep a record and tell a story. Benchmark against your goals and industry best practices. Identify and manage trends, not single-period results. Illustrate relationships between key performance indicators.

Accounts Payable and Receivable↗
PubMed2002

Fuzzy predictive control for nitrogen removal in biological wastewater treatment.

Whenever the carbon/nitrogen ratio of a domestic wastewater is too low, full denitrification is difficult to obtain and an additional source of organic carbon has to be provided. Since loading conditions may vary appreciably over the diurnal cycle, depending on the weather and sewage conditions, dosing should be controlled by an adaptive regulator to keep into account the time-varying process dynamics. A fuzzy predictive controller is proposed in this paper and its performance is tested through numerical simulations. The new aspects brought forward are the use of an improved model for denitrification, the use of benchmark (i.e. thoroughly tested and standardised) input files and the conclusion about regulator performance in overall plant performance, in terms of carbon saving and discharge compliance.

Automation↗
PubMed2005

Comparing outcomes of carotid endarterectomy with international benchmarks: audit from an Italian vascular surgery department.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in the current practice of our department of vascular surgery with international benchmarks. METHODS: In-patient data from 488 CEA performed in both symptomatic 145 (29.7%) and asymptomatic 343 (70.3%) patients with a > or = 60% stenosis at the level of the internal carotid artery. Comprehensive retrospective review of the records for all the CEAs performed during a 2-year period. The main outcome measures were death rate, and fatal and non-fatal stroke rates perioperatively, and at 30 and 180 days. RESULTS: The fatal and non-fatal stroke rates of symptomatic patients were: 0.7% perioperatively, 0.7% at 30 days, and 0.7% at 180 days. The fatal and non-fatal stroke rates of asymptomatic patients were: 0.6% perioperatively, 0.6% at 30 days, and 0.3% at 180 days. The death rates of symptomatic patients were 0% for all time periods. The death rates of asymptomatic patients were: 0% perioperatively, 0% at 30 days, and 0.3% at 180 days. CONCLUSIONS: The present comprehensive audit shows that our surgeons achieve CEA outcomes comparable with international benchmarks.

Aged↗
PubMed2026

Comprehensive evaluation of new sequencer T20 and well-established T7 with 507 human samples.

The DNBSEQ-T20×2 (T20) sequencer, developed by MGI Tech, enables cost-effective human whole-genome sequencing (WGS) at 30× coverage for less than $100 per genome. Here, we evaluate the sequencing performance and data quality of the T20 platform by benchmarking it against the established DNBSEQ-T7 (T7) sequencer using 507 samples derived from blood (N = 75), stool (N = 242), and saliva (N = 190). The T20 exhibited lower sequencing quality metrics compared with the T7, with Q20 scores of 95.76%-95.83% and Q30 scores of 87.25%-87.40%, compared with 97.81%-97.93% and 93.26%-93.60%, respectively, for T7 data. Quality differences were more evident toward the end of reads, and PCR-free libraries sequenced on the T20 showed similar reductions in quality scores. The median empirical base error rate estimated from 102 ZymoBIOMICS samples was 0.33%. The T20 demonstrated comparable coverage uniformity to the T7 and showed high concordance in microbiome composition analysis, with a median Bray-Curtis dissimilarity of 0.02. Variant calling performance was highly consistent between the two platforms. Among variants with non-missing genotype calls on both platforms, 94.92% of SNPs and 87.20% of InDels showed concordant genotypes between T20 and T7. Overall, the T20 delivers reliable sequencing accuracy and reproducibility for large-scale genomic and microbiome studies, providing a cost-effective alternative for high-throughput sequencing applications.

Metagenomics↗
PubMed2006

Real-time learning capability of neural networks.

In some practical applications of neural networks, fast response to external events within an extremely short time is highly demanded and expected. However, the extensively used gradient-descent-based learning algorithms obviously cannot satisfy the real-time learning needs in many applications, especially for large-scale applications and/or when higher generalization performance is required. Based on Huang's constructive network model, this paper proposes a simple learning algorithm capable of real-time learning which can automatically select appropriate values of neural quantizers and analytically determine the parameters (weights and bias) of the network at one time only. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been systematically investigated on a large batch of benchmark real-world regression and classification problems. The experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can not only produce good generalization performance but also have real-time learning and prediction capability. Thus, it may provide an alternative approach for the practical applications of neural networks where real-time learning and prediction implementation is required.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed1996

Quantalization of continuous data for benchmark dose estimation.

Benchmark doses corresponding to low levels of noncancer disease risk have been proposed to replace the no-observed-adverse-effect level for establishing allowable daily intakes or reference doses. For quantal data each animal is classified with or without a disease. The proportion of animals with an adverse effect (risk) is observed as a function of dose of a toxic substance. The calculation of a benchmark dose is relatively straightforward. For continuous data a somewhat more complicated designation of risk is required. Because of the more direct procedures with quantal data, consideration could be given to converting continuous data to quantal data before estimating benchmark doses. The purpose of this paper is to compare the precision of the two approaches (use of continuous or quantalized data) for a number of sublinear dose-response curves ranging from low to high probabilities of risk at the highest dose. In these studies, five animals per dose were generally satisfactory to estimate the benchmark dose for continuous data, whereas the corresponding quantalized data generally do not perform as well even with 10 to 20 animals per dose. For quantalized data, the lower 95% confidence limits on the estimates of the benchmark dose were generally a factor of 3 to 4 below the true benchmark dose, whereas the confidence limits using the continuous data were generally within a factor of 2 of the true benchmark dose. Although the use of quantalized data for the estimation of risk is more direct, estimates of benchmark doses using the continuous data were more precise. Based on this study, converting continuous data to quantal data is not recommended.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Linking analytic performance goals to medical outcome.

As laboratorians relate analytic performance to medical goals, they face complex choices among competing subjective and objective criteria for the assessment of acceptable analytic error. Defining desirable performance as some fraction of physiologic variability provides potentially excessive benchmarks for quality. More important than the recognition of health are the clinical decisions which deal with diseases, particularly the latters' degrees of severity and the different medical actions these prompt. It is equally essential to take into account the reasoning by which physicians arrive at these decisions, since their mental processes condition desirable performance goals. Considering these modalities, a universal model of analytic performance requirements uniformly applicable to all measured parameters clearly cannot be devised. Rather, tolerance limits for analytic error must be tailored to specific medical problems. To facilitate this seemingly Herculean task, this paper develops concepts and principles derived from operation research, and illustrates their application by three examples. The generic conclusion evidenced by the latter is that the linkage between analytic performance goals and medical strategies is reciprocal, namely that outcome can just as well be optimized by tailoring medical strategy to existing analytic performance as by adapting analytic performance to medical strategy.

Clinical Medicine↗
PubMed2001

Developing performance indicators for cardiac surgery: a demonstration project in Victoria.

Six Victorian cardiac surgical units pooled data in order to undertake a demonstration project aimed at developing performance indicators to assess outcomes following cardiac surgery. The outcome of the project was an indicative report for the purpose of monitoring surgical performance indicators in a format suitable for: (i) the general public; (ii) the Victorian State Government; and (iii) the participating units and surgeons. Each participating cardiac surgical unit had an existing database used for recording information from each procedure. A request was made to each unit to extract a subset of data from all cases entered over the past 5 years. The proposed list of performance indicators included surgical mortality (within the period of admission for surgery), complication rates (including sternal infection, postoperative myocardial infarction, postoperative stroke, haemorrhage requiring return to theatre), and length of hospital stay. A model was developed from the data and used to provide risk-adjusted measures of hospital performance. Cases from five cardiac surgical units (n = 10 715) were included in the final analysis. A risk-adjusted model (including age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, procedure type, urgency of procedure) was developed for surgical mortality. Performance indicators for coronary artery bypass graft surgery, including mortality, sternal infection rate and length of hospital stay are presented. From the available data, performance indicators for cardiac surgery in Victorian hospitals compared favourably with international benchmarks. This project has demonstrated that prospective data collection using a standardised system could readily produce local risk-adjustment models for cardiac surgery to aid in developing appropriate performance indicators.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Prediction of protein subcellular localization.

Because the protein's function is usually related to its subcellular localization, the ability to predict subcellular localization directly from protein sequences will be useful for inferring protein functions. Recent years have seen a surging interest in the development of novel computational tools to predict subcellular localization. At present, these approaches, based on a wide range of algorithms, have achieved varying degrees of success for specific organisms and for certain localization categories. A number of authors have noticed that sequence similarity is useful in predicting subcellular localization. For example, Nair and Rost (Protein Sci 2002;11:2836-2847) have carried out extensive analysis of the relation between sequence similarity and identity in subcellular localization, and have found a close relationship between them above a certain similarity threshold. However, many existing benchmark data sets used for the prediction accuracy assessment contain highly homologous sequences-some data sets comprising sequences up to 80-90% sequence identity. Using these benchmark test data will surely lead to overestimation of the performance of the methods considered. Here, we develop an approach based on a two-level support vector machine (SVM) system: the first level comprises a number of SVM classifiers, each based on a specific type of feature vectors derived from sequences; the second level SVM classifier functions as the jury machine to generate the probability distribution of decisions for possible localizations. We compare our approach with a global sequence alignment approach and other existing approaches for two benchmark data sets-one comprising prokaryotic sequences and the other eukaryotic sequences. Furthermore, we carried out all-against-all sequence alignment for several data sets to investigate the relationship between sequence homology and subcellular localization. Our results, which are consistent with previous studies, indicate that the homology search approach performs well down to 30% sequence identity, although its performance deteriorates considerably for sequences sharing lower sequence identity. A data set of high homology levels will undoubtedly lead to biased assessment of the performances of the predictive approaches-especially those relying on homology search or sequence annotations. Our two-level classification system based on SVM does not rely on homology search; therefore, its performance remains relatively unaffected by sequence homology. When compared with other approaches, our approach performed significantly better. Furthermore, we also develop a practical hybrid method, which combines the two-level SVM classifier and the homology search method, as a general tool for the sequence annotation of subcellular localization.

Algorithms↗