Set Of Minimum Requirements Research Articles

Quality control of brachytherapy equipment in the Netherlands and Belgium: current practice and minimum requirements

Background and purpose: Brachytherapy is applied in 39 radiotherapy institutions in The Netherlands and Belgium. Each institution has its own quality control (QC) programme to ensure safe and accurate dose delivery to the patient. The main goal of this work is to gain insight into the current practice of QC of brachytherapy in The Netherlands and Belgium and to reduce possible variations in test frequencies and tolerances by formulating a set of minimum QC-requirements.Materials and methods: An extensive questionnaire about QC of brachytherapy was distributed to and completed by the 39 radiotherapy institutions. A separate smaller questionnaire was sent to nine institutions performing intracoronary brachytherapy. The questions were related to safety systems, physical irradiation parameters and total time spent on QC. The results of the questionnaires were compared with recommendations given in international brachytherapy QC reports.Results: The answers to the questionnaires showed large variations in test frequencies and test methods. Furthermore, large variations in time spent on QC exist, which is mainly due to differences in QC-philosophy and differences in the available resources.Conclusions: Based on the results of the questionnaires and the comparison with the international recommendations, a set of minimum requirements for QC of brachytherapy has been formulated. These guidelines will be implemented in the radiotherapy institutions in The Netherlands and Belgium.

Supporting rescheduling using CSP, RMS and POB—an example application

This paper introduces an innovative approach to the problem of rescheduling within manufacturing industry. An example of a manufacturing context that requires rescheduling capability is given (tyre production). The meaning of rescheduling, possible metrics for assessment of rescheduling and the advantages of applying the new techniques are reviewed. Of particular importance is the notion that the technology for providing rescheduling and explanation capabilities is to a large degree problem and context insensitive. The manner in which an original schedule has been created is irrelevant to the use of the technology described, allowing the advantages of the approach to be realized as an add-on facility to any existing scheduling system that fulfills a minimal set of requirements. These advantages are due to the use of a constraint based approach to new schedule creation used in tandem with dependency analysis techniques based on reason maintenance systems (de Kleer, 1986) and partial order backtracking (Ginsberg and McAllister, 1995; Spragg and Kelleher, 1996).

7.2.2 Selection of a Requirement Management Tool for a Semi‐Custom Design Company

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to define how a requirements management tool might fit into a semi‐custom design company. The paper identifies why this selection is more complex for a semi‐custom design company than either a project‐based company or a pure product‐based company. The paper finally identifies a minimum set of requirements that must be satisfied by the requirements management tool.

An international survey of long-term video/EEG services.

To determine current practices in the provision of video-EEG services, the authors conducted an international survey by post. The aim of the survey was to evaluate, by reference to other centres, how and why certain things are done, be assured that their own center is providing a quality service, identify weaknesses in their service, and from this, set improvement goals and objectives. A purposive sampling method was used by sending questionnaires to 78 hospitals where it was believed a long-term video-EEG monitoring service existed. Completed survey questionnaires were returned from 42 centers. Although the survey mechanism may have resulted in self-selection bias, evaluation of the responses provides information on patient management, staffing levels, equipment, and equipment management. Ultimately, these data may aid in identifying a minimum set of requirements for the provision of a video-EEG telemetry service.

Management of pain in production animals

The measurement and evaluation of animal welfare and pain is difficult and ultimately subjective. However, we are ethically bound to make our best assessment and reduce suffering. Evaluation can be made on the basis of chemical changes, behaviour, performance or extrapolation, and preferably a combination of these. Since pain in production animals cannot be totally eliminated, it has to be minimised by management, which must take into account the profitability and practicality of proposed actions and address all forms of pain and distress. This implies that behavioural, feeding, management and breeding aspects should also receive attention. Acts as well as omissions have to be assessed. Considerations in assessing actions or omissions include intention, alternatives, predictability, control measures, awareness, expertise, socio-economic situation and necessity. To control pain in production animals we must know the following: (a) what is meant by pain and how it arises, (b) the farming system, (c) the animal and its needs, (d) interventions, (e) alternatives available, (f) production implications of advice, (g) how to motivate farmers, (h) how to arrange proper training, (i) setting of minimum requirements, and (j) monitoring of performance. Farmer support is essential for success. This should be achieved by persuasion arising from awareness—a positive interaction between specialists, veterinarians, farmers and staff is needed. Legal requirements and prohibitions should be a backup and not the central driving force. Minimising pain arising from any farm operation or procedure requires that the following are in place: (a) it is done for the right reasons, (b) it is done by the best method, (c) the correct equipment is used, (d) it is done at the right time, (e) it is done to the right class of animal, (f) correct follow-up is carried out, and (g) the persons are properly trained. The best way to entrench these principles is to make it a legal and ethical requirement that only persons who have the required knowledge, skill and equipment should be allowed to undertake farm operations and procedures.

Toward an understanding of the spin-statistics theorem

We respond to a recent request from Neuenschwander for an elementary proof of the Spin-Statistics Theorem. First, we present a pedagogical discussion of the results for the spin-0 Klein–Gordon field quantized according to Bose–Einstein statistics; and for the spin-12 Dirac field quantized according to Fermi–Dirac statistics and the Pauli Exclusion Principle. This discussion is intended to make our paper accessible to students familiar with the matrix solution of the quantum harmonic oscillator. Next, we discuss a number of candidate intuitive proofs and conclude that none of them pass muster. The reasons for their shortcomings are fully discussed. Then we discuss an argument, originally suggested by Sudarshan, which proves the theorem with a minimal set of requirements. Although we use Lorentz invariance in a specific and limited part of the argument, we do not need the full complexity of relativistic quantum field theory. Motivated by our particular use of Lorentz invariance, if we are permitted to elevate the conclusion of flavor symmetry (which we explain in the text) to the status of a postulate, one could recast our proof without any explicit relativistic assumptions, and thus make it applicable even in the nonrelativistic context. Such an argument, presented in the text, sheds some light on why it is that the ordinary Schrödinger field, considered strictly in the nonrelativistic context, seems to be quantizable with either statistics. Finally, an argument starting with ordinary-number valued (commuting), and with Grassmann-valued (anticommuting), oscillators shows in a natural way that these must relativistically embed into Klein–Gordon spin-0 and Dirac spin-12 fields, respectively. In this way, the Spin-Statistics Theorem is understood at the expense of admitting the existence of the simplest Grassmann-valued field.

International surveillance of outer space for security purposes

Abstract The monitoring of dangerous and forbidden space activities is today carried out effectively and systematically only by the USA and USSR. This situation should be remedied by developing international means of surveillance of space activities. Different scenarios for the establishment of an International Agency for Space Surveillance (IASS) are considered and an attempt is made to assess the main political hindrances to its effective functioning. The authors then discuss a minimum set of requirements for the IASS, assuming that only current technology is used and that no attempt is made to track all low-orbiting objects systematically. The components of the agency, the required tracking systems and their performance are analysed; the achievable accuracy of orbit determination from tracking data is estimated by performing a suitable set of computer simulations.

MIL-STD-1679, weapon system software development

This article presents an overview and discussion of MIL-STD-1679 which is a Department of Defense tool to aid in contracting for the development of software. This Standard addresses the minimum set of contract requirements for the total software development process. Basically, it consolidates in one document many of the currently accepted software engineering practices and procedures. Although its use is required in the U.S. Navy, 1679 is approved for use by all other agencies within the DoD. MIL-STD-1679, which is becoming more and more an integral component of the solicitation/proposal/contract process, is appropriate for projects of most any size, including moderately small ones. Its fundamental concept of only specifying the minimum set of requirements for all projects enables this wide degree of applicability. By this same token, MIL-STD-1679 is equally applicable to all of DoD's different types of system developments, as well as for commercial and business applications. The computer program documentation scheme to be used in the project does not limit the applicability of either. Like most all of the other DoD standards, MIL-STD-1679 has its roots in and has as its primary goal improved software maintainability.

Considerations in Establishing a Standard for Neutron Displacement Energy Effects in Semiconductors

Over the past several years a number of semiempirical or theoretical curves have been generated to represent the neutron-induced displacement effects in silicon as a function of neutron energy. Since the mode of failure for most silicon semiconductor devices is a loss of gain and this is, in turn, proportional to the reduction in carrier lifetime the same curves are used to express both the neutron energy damage effectiveness for devices as well as the degradation of lifetime. A useful feature of such a curve is that the damage produced in a semiconductor by a neutron fluence of a given energy spectrum may be predicted by folding the spectral information together with the damage curve. Once this is done, the damage may be expressed as that resulting from an equivalent monoenergetic neutron source (the monoenergetic equivalent). This procedure enables the results of an exposure to a source of one spectrum to be used to predict the effects of a different one. In order for this technique to be useful as a means of communication there must be some standardization of the damage curve, the neutron energy to which the damage is referred and the description of the spectrum. Recent interest, throughout the radiation effects community, in establishing such a standard has prompted several proposals each of which contains some shortcomings. This paper compares the various deficiencies and merits and arrives at what constitutes a minimum set of requirements for standardization at this time.

THE DETERMINATION OF PHYSICAL FITNESS

Among the many problems that will be given serious consideration in the program of medical preparedness will be that of physical fitness; physical fitness of the soldier to perform military service and physical fitness of the worker to perform useful productive and continuous work. That this matter is of importance can be seen in the recent press report which expressed the concern of the Army Medical Corps about the physical condition of many applicants for army service. At least 30 per cent have been rejected in the New York area because of bad teeth, poor vision, flat feet, bad hearing and other causes. 1 Such a high percentage of rejections would seem to indicate indeed a low state of physical fitness of the general population or too rigid a set of minimum requirements for acceptance. Physical fitness has been previously studied in respect to both military and industrial activity. However,

A List of Schools of Nursing Meeting Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States

A List of Schools of Nursing Meeting Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States

1939 List of Schools of Nursing Meeting Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States

1939 List of Schools of Nursing Meeting Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States

Accredited Schools: Schools Meeting the Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States as of January 1, 1935

Accredited Schools: Schools Meeting the Minimum Requirements Set by Law in the Various States as of January 1, 1935