Performance-Based Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Acceptance Procedures for In-Place Soil Testing Phase 3

One of the objectives of this study was to evaluate soil testing equipment based on its capability of measuring in-place stiffness or modulus values. As design criteria transition from empirical to mechanistic-empirical, soil test methods and equipment that measure properties such as stiffness and modulus and how they relate to Florida materials are needed. Requirements for the selected equipment are that they be portable, cost effective, reliable, a ccurate, and repeatable. A second objective is that the selected equipment measures soil properties without the use of nuclear materials.The current device used to measure soil compaction is the nuclear density gauge (NDG). Equipment evaluated in this research included lightweight deflectometers (LWD) from different manufacturers, a dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP), a GeoGauge, a Clegg impact soil tester (CIST), a Briaud compaction device (BCD), and a seismic pavement analyzer (SPA). Evaluations were conducted over ranges of measured densities and moistures.Testing (Phases I and II) was conducted in a test box and test pits. Phase III testing was conducted on materials found on five construction projects located in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. Phase I analyses determined that the GeoGauge had the lowest overall coefficient of variance (COV). In ascending order of COV were the accelerometer-type LWD, the geophone-type LWD, the DCP, the BCD, and the SPA which had the highest overall COV. As a result, the BCD and the SPA were excluded from Phase II testing.In Phase II, measurements obtained from the selected equipment were compared to the modulus values obtained by the static plate load test (PLT), the resilient modulus (MR) from laboratory testing, and the NDG measurements. To minimize soil and moisture content variability, the single spot testing sequence was developed. At each location, test results obtained from the portable equipment under evaluation were compared to the values from adjacent NDG, PLT, and laboratory MR measurements. Correlations were developed through statistical analysis. Target values were developed for various soils for verification on similar soils that were field tested in Phase III. The single spot testing sequence also was employed in Phase III, field testing performed on A-3 and A-2-4 embankments, limerock-stabilized subgrade, limerock base, and graded aggregate base found on Florida Department of Transportation construction projects. The Phase II and Phase III results provided potential trend information for future research—specifically, data collection for in-depth statistical analysis for correlations with the laboratory MR for specific soil types under specific moisture conditions. With the collection of enough data, stronger relationships could be expected between measurements from the portable equipment and the MR values. Based on the statistical analyses and the experience gained from extensive use of the equipment, the combination of the DCP and the LWD was selected for in-place soil testing for compaction control acceptance. Test methods and developmental specifications were written for the DCP and the LWD. The developmental specifications include target values for the compaction control of embankment, subgrade, and base materials.

Pacific Rim treaty threatens public health: Patent law and medical procedures

Doctors, surgeons, and physicians around the Pacific Rim should be concerned by the proposals revealed by WikiLeaks in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). One of the most controversial features of the TPP is the proposal to provide for patent protection in respect of medical procedures. As Public Citizen observed, ‘Health providers, including surgeons, could be liable for the methods they use to treat patients.’ The civil society group noted: ‘Essentially, except for when a surgeon uses her bare hands, surgical methods would be patentable under the U.S. proposal.’ The TPP takes a broad approach to patents and medicine; lacks appropriate safeguards; and fails to address larger questions about equity, development, and human rights. Such a measure could result in greater litigation against medical professionals; barriers to access to medical procedures for patients; and skyrocketing health costs.

Policies and Procedures to Address Bullying at Australian Universities

While bullying is often researched in children and adolescents and in the workplace, there is limited research in the emerging adult population, especially in students at university. This is perhaps due to the fact that bullying generally declines as children and young people become older (e.g., Nansel et al., 2001; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). Although this may indeed be the case, it is apparent that bullying does not completely abate when students graduate from high school. The plethora of literature evidencing workplace bullying, clearly shows that bullying continues beyond the school years (e.g., Hoel, Cooper, & Faragher, 2001; Privitera & Campbell, 2009). With the advent of cyberbullying in the last decade it has been shown that this particular form of bullying may not decrease with age as does traditional bullying (Kowalski & Limber, 2007; Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007). In addition, we know there is a spike in prevalence rates during the transition from primary to high school Pellegrini et al., 2010), so it is possible that new university students are at an increased risk of victimisation due to this being a transition period. This has led to some interest in examining the prevalence of bullying in the emerging adult population at universities (Chapell, Casey, & de la Cruz, 2004; Pontzer, 2010; Wensley & Campbell, 2009).

The Australian litigation landscape - Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and general dentistry (oral surgery procedures): An analysis of litigation cases

Background: There are persistent concerns about litigation in the dental and medical professions. These concerns arise in a setting where general dentists are more frequently undertaking a wider range of oral surgery procedures, potentially increasing legal risk. Methods: Judicial cases dealing with medical negligence in the fields of general dentistry (oral surgery procedure) and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery were located using the three main legal databases. Relevant cases were analysed to determine the procedures involved, the patients’ claims of injury, findings of negligence, and damages awarded. A thematic analysis of the cases was undertaken to determine trends. Results: Fifteen cases over a twenty-year period were located across almost all Australian jurisdictions (eight cases involved general dentists; seven cases involved Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons). Eleven of the fifteen cases involved determinations of whether or not the practitioner had failed in their duty of care; negligence was found in six cases. Eleven of the fifteen cases related to molar extractions (eight specifically to third molar). Conclusions: Dental and medical practitioners wanting to manage legal risk should have regard to circumstances arising in judicial cases. Adequate warning of risks is critical, as is offering referral in appropriate cases. Pre-operative radiographs, good medical records, and processes to ensure appropriate follow-up are also important.

Evaluation framework to assess orthopaedic procedures

Introduction & aims The demand for evidence of efficacy of treatments in general and orthopaedic surgical procedures in particular is ever increasing in Australia and worldwide. The aim of this study is to share the key elements of an evaluation framework recently implemented in Australia to determine the efficacy of bone-anchored prostheses. Method The proposed evaluation framework to determine the benefit and harms of bone-anchored prostheses for individuals with limb loss was extracted from a systematic review of the literature including seminal studies focusing on clinical benefits and safety of procedures involving screw-type implant (e.g., OPRA) and press-fit fixations (e.g., EEFT, ILP, OPL). [1-64] Results The literature review highlighted that a standard and replicable evaluation framework should focus on: • The clinical benefits with a systematic recording of health-related quality of life (e.g., SF-26, Q-TFA), mobility predictor (e.g., AMPRO), ambulation abilities (e.g., TUG, 6MWT), walking abilities (e.g., characteristic spatio-temporal) and actual activity level at baseline and follow-up post Stage 2 surgery, • The potential harms with systematic recording of residuum care, infection, implant stability, implant integrity, injuries (e.g., falls) after Stage 1 surgery. There was a general consensus around the instruments to monitor most of the benefits and harms. The benefits could be assessed using a wide spectrum of complementary assessments ranging from subjective patient self-reporting to objective measurements of physical activity. However, this latter was assessed using a broad range of measurements (e.g., pedometer, load cell, energy consumption). More importantly, the lack of consistent grading of infections was sufficiently noticeable to impede cross-fixation comparisons. Clearly, a more universal grading system is needed. Conclusions Investigators are encouraged to implement an evaluation framework featuring the domains and instruments proposed above using a single database to facilitate robust prospective studies about potential benefits and harms of their procedure. This work is also a milestone in the development of national and international clinical outcome registries.

Improving SEA procedures within Italian regions: Towards a more effective evaluation of urban sustainability

Sustainable urban development, a major issue at global scale, will become more relevant according to population growth predictions in developed and developing countries. Societal and international recognition of sustainability concerns led to the development of specific tools and procedures, known as sustainability assessments/appraisals (SA). Their effectiveness however, considering that global quality life indicators have worsened since their introduction, has promoted a re-thinking of SA instruments. More precisely, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), – a tool introduced in the European context to evaluate policies, plans, and programmes (PPPs), – is being reconsidered because of several features that seem to limit its effectiveness. Over time, SEA has evolved in response to external and internal factors dealing with technical, procedural, planning and governance systems thus involving a shift of paradigm from EIA-based SEAs (first generation protocols) towards more integrated approaches (second generation ones). Changes affecting SEA are formalised through legislation in each Member State, to guide institutions at regional and local level. Defining SEA effectiveness is quite difficult. Its’ capacity-building process appears quite far from its conclusion, even if any definitive version can be conceptualized. In this paper, we consider some European nations with different planning systems and SA traditions. After the identification of some analytical criteria, a multi-dimensional cluster analysis is developed on some case studies, to outline current weaknesses.

Implicit and multigrid procedures for steady-state computations with upwind algorithms

A computational study for the convergence acceleration of Euler and Navier-Stokes computations with upwind schemes has been conducted in a unified framework. It involves the flux-vector splitting algorithms due to Steger-Warming and Van Leer, the flux-difference splitting algorithms due to Roe and Osher and the hybrid algorithms, AUSM (Advection Upstream Splitting Method) and HUS (Hybrid Upwind Splitting). Implicit time integration with line Gauss-Seidel relaxation and multigrid are among the procedures which have been systematically investigated on an individual as well as cumulative basis. The upwind schemes have been tested in various implicit-explicit operator combinations such that the optimal among them can be determined based on extensive computations for two-dimensional flows in subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flow regimes. In this study, the performance of these implicit time-integration procedures has been systematically compared with those corresponding to a multigrid accelerated explicit Runge-Kutta method. It has been demonstrated that a multigrid method employed in conjunction with an implicit time-integration scheme yields distinctly superior convergence as compared to those associated with either of the acceleration procedures provided that effective smoothers, which have been identified in this investigation, are prescribed in the implicit operator.

Therapeutic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in children : An audit of 443 procedures and literature review

The safety, effectiveness and capabilities of therapeutic upper fibreoptic endoscopy in children undergoing therapeutic endoscopic procedures (n = 443) was studied. Therapy for gastrointestinal bleeding formed the major group (injection sclerotherapy for varices, n = 197 procedures; thermocoagulation for haemorrhagic gastritis, n = 1; and photocoaulation for Dieulafoy's disease, n = 1). Sclerotherapy was 97% effective in controlling acute bleeding and 84% effective in obliterating varices with no serious complications or deaths. Oesophageal dilatations for surgical, caustic, congenital and peptic strictures and achalasia (n = 193) were performed with no oesophageal perforations or deaths. Foreign bodies were retrieved (n = 34) with no failures or complications. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was performed (n = 11) with one failure, proceeding to an unsuccessful surgical gastrostomy. Miscellaneous procedures included endoscopic transpyloric tube placement (n = 5) and endoscopic diathermy of pyloric web (n = 1). Therapeutic fibreoptic endoscopy is therefore concluded to be safe and effective in children, replacing rigid oesophagoscopy and some traditional surgical approaches.

Comparison of Radiation Doses for Catheter Ablation Procedures for Atrial Fibrillation with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Cases

Background: Catheter ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation (AF) may frequently require long fluoroscopic times. We sought to undertake a review of radiation safety practice in our Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory and implement changes to minimize fluoroscopic doses. We also sought to compare the results with radiation doses for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) cases performed in our hospital. Methods: Fluoroscopic times and doses for AF ablation procedures performed by a single operator on a Philips Integris H3000 image-intensifier were analysed for 11-month period. Results were compared with all PCI procedures performed over a similar period by multiple operators on a Philips Integris Allura FD system. Comprehensive review of radiation practice in the Electrophysiology laboratory identified the potential to reduce pulse frame rates and doses, and to narrow the field of interest without impacting the performance of the procedure. These changes were implemented and results analysed after a further 11 months. Results: In the pre-intervention period 50 AF catheter ablations had a mean fluoroscopic time of 86.4 min and mean fluoroscopic dose 68.4 Gy/cm2. Post-intervention 75 procedures had a mean fluorosocopic time of 68.9 min (p < 0.0001) and mean dose of 14.3 Gy/cm2 (p < 0.0001) 128 PCI procedures had a mean combined fluoroscopic and image acquisition time of 10.0 min and mean total dose 38.8 Gy/cm2. Conclusions: Catheter ablation procedures for AF may require lengthy use of fluoroscopy but simple modifications to radiation practice can result in marked reductions in radiation dose that compare favourably with PCI case doses

Extrapolation and series acceleration procedures: Hard spheres and discs as illustrations

Three new procedures - in the context of estimation of virial coefficients and summation of the partial virial series for hard discs and hard spheres - are proposed. They are based on the parametrised Euler transformation, a novel resummation, identity and the ε-convergence methods respectively. A comparison with other estimates (molecular dynamics, graph theory and empirical methods) reveals satisfactory agreement.

Observations on the influence of repeated sampling procedures on temperament changes of weaner cattle

Experimental cattle are often restrained for repeated blood collection and faecal sampling and may baulk at entering the crush, possibly from learning that crush entry is followed by an unpleasant experience. We asked whether repeated sampling affects temperament. One measure of temperament is flight speed, which is the time, measured electronically, for an animal to cover a set distance on release from a weighing crate (Burrow et al. 1988). 22nd Biennial Conference.

Assessing the effects of line capture and barotrauma relief procedures on post-release survival of key tropical reef fish species in Australia using recreational tagging clubs.

Common coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus Lacepede, crimson snapper, Lutjanus erythropterus Bloch, saddletail snapper, Lutjanus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider), red emperor, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier), redthroat emperor, Lethrinus miniatus (Schneider) and grass emperor, Lethrinus laticaudis Alleyne & Macleay, were tagged to determine the effects of barotrauma relief procedures (weighted shot-line release and venting using a hollow needle) and other factors on survival. Release condition was the most significant factor affecting the subsequent recapture rate of all species. Capture depth was significant in all species apart from L. malabaricus and L. miniatus, the general trend being reduced recapture probability with increasing capture depth. Recapture rates of fish hooked in either the lip or mouth were generally significantly higher than for those hooked in the throat or gut. Statistically significant benefit from treating fish for barotrauma was found in only L. malabaricus, but the lack of any negative effects of treating fish indicated that the practices of venting and shot-lining should not be discouraged by fisheries managers for these species.

Perturbation expansions and series acceleration procedures: Part-II. Extrapolation techniques

Three new procedures for the extrapolation of series coefficients from a given power series expansion are proposed. They are based on (i) a novel resummation identity, (ii) parametrised Euler transformation (pet) and (iii) a modifiedpet. Several examples taken from the Ising model series expansions, ferrimagnetic systems, etc., are illustrated. Apart from these applications, the higher order virial coefficients for hard spheres and hard discs have also been evaluated using the new techniques and these are compared with the estimates obtained by other methods. A satisfactory agreement is revealed between the two.