Ongoing Verification Research Articles

Risk Analysis Research on SMS Verification Code and Biometric Recognition Technology

This paper delves into the ongoing transformation in the domain of digital identity security. It specifically focuses on the paradigm shift from traditional methods of authentication, such as passwords and text message verification codes, towards the use of biometric recognition technology. By scrutinizing the inherent weaknesses linked with the utilization of text message verification codes, the paper underlines the demand for more trustworthy and secure solutions for authentication. Following this, biometric authentication is thoroughly examined, with a highlight on its unique features, the convenience it provides to users, and its capacity for ongoing verification. The discussion extends to practical applications of biometrics in a variety of sectors, including healthcare and high-security workplaces, as well as in situations where employing text message verification is unsuitable. A focal point of the discussion is multi-modal biometric authentication. While acknowledging the potential hurdles and future possibilities tied to the adoption of biometric technology, the paper offers an objective perspective. The overall intent of this research is to furnish insights that will enable informed decision-making regarding the deployment and improvement of digital identity verification methods across a wide range of industries.

ACEMAKER: A processing system for producing ACEformatted files for Monte Carlo calculations

Since 2016 the Nuclear Data Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (NDS/IAEA) has encouraged the development of new codes for processing evaluated nuclear data for applications. The main motivation has been the need for improving processing methods and avoiding a common failure mode. The NDS/IAEA has supported the development of the processing system ACEMAKER as a natural extension of the PREPRO family for nuclear data processing with the aim of producing ACE-formatted files for Monte Carlo calculations. The new ACEMAKER modules can process any energy-angle distributions and gamma-production data. The system can generate ACE- formatted files for continuous-energy neutron and photonuclear data, thermal scattering laws and dosimetry cross sections, which can be used for Monte Carlo simulations. The paper summaries the ACEMAKER key features, ongoing verification and validation process, and planned future developments

An ML-extended conceptual framework for implementing temporal big data analytics in organizations to support their agility

The main aim of this paper is to present the machine learning (ML) extension to the authors’ original conceptual framework for implementing temporal big data analytics (TBDA) in organizations. The framework has been also supplemented with a ML-supported feedback loop aimed at ongoing verification of the organization's maturity for TBDA in light of changing needs, requirements, and the company's environment. Such extension is needed to make the TBDA more flexible and adaptable to market environment, thus augmenting organizational agility. The research has been carried following the Design Science Research in Information Systems (DSRIS) methodological approach with the addition of creative thinking. As a result, the extended framework is elaborated, and further improvements and research directions are identified.

Addressing Water Age to Manage Legionella Pneumophila

<h3>Background</h3> A Minnesota Hospital established a Water Management Program (WMP) aligned with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ANSI/ASHRAE) Standard 188 with the goal to mitigate the risk of waterborne pathogen disease, namely Legionella pneumophila. Initial culture-based validation testing yielded positive Legionella results at distal locations including patient rooms in the potable water systems. Water quality monitoring confirmed low levels of free residual oxidant (FRO) disinfectant, leading to higher Legionella positives. This lower FRO was identified as a problem caused by high water age, defined by a long period of stagnation of water in the potable systems. To address the water age, the hospital's water management team (WMT) implemented a flushing program as part of ongoing verification and validation protocols. <h3>Methods</h3> Based on industry standards, the WMT focused on achieving a minimal control limit of 0.2 ppm (parts per million) of FRO to reduce water age on hot water systems. The WMT's solution included automated flushing on hot water returns, Environmental Services (EVS) personnel provided manpower for flushing at fixtures in patient areas based on low census and patient discharge. Validation testing confirmed the efficacy of the flushing program to reduce water age which in turn reduced Legionella growth. <h3>Results</h3> The flushing program was able to increase the average FRO level in the hot water systems < 0.05 ppm (2019) to >0.20 ppm (2021). The higher FRO levels contributed to the downward trend of 17% positive Legionella samples (2019) to 0% (2021) during Validation sampling. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Reducing water age by involving EVS in the WMT and implementing flushing procedures increased FRO levels system wide. Flushing was the simplest, safest, and most cost-effective solution compared to other solutions like supplemental disinfection while also reducing positive-detect Legionella samples.

Comparison of Manual Setting Weight Reduction and Topology Optimization of the Wing Tips of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircraft

Urban air mobility aircraft are considered an effective solution to traffic jams. These particular aircraft come with different designs and are very different from traditional aircraft. An effective weight reduction method is required to enable ongoing design validation and verification. This paper presents the design of an aircraft with a high space utilization rate of the take-off and landing stage, which allows vertical take-off and landing and has long battery life. For the components fixed at the wing tips and used for installing ducted fans and based on the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process, this paper puts forward two methods to carry out the lightweight design according to the stress conditions of the aircraft, namely, the manual setting the internal structure and the topology optimization. The results show that when the force on the component is small, manual setting is very effective for the purpose of weight reduction, which can also improve the manufacturability of the aircraft.

Modeling R^3 Needle Steering in Uppaal

Medical cyber-physical systems are safety-critical, and as such, require ongoing verification of their correct behavior, as system failure during run time may cause severe (or even fatal) personal damage. However, creating a verifiable model often conflicts with other application requirements, most notably regarding data precision and model accuracy, as efficient model checking promotes discrete data (over continuous) and abstract models to reduce the state space. In this paper, we approach the task of medical needle steering in soft tissue around potential obstacles. We design a verifiable model of needle motion (implemented in Uppaal Stratego) and a framework embedding the model for online needle steering. We mitigate the conflict by imposing boundedness on both the data types, reducing from R^3 to Z^3 when needed, and the motion and environment models, reducing the set of allowed local actions and global paths. In experiments, we successfully apply the static model alone, as well as the dynamic framework in scenarios with varying environment complexity and both a virtual and real needle setting, where up to 100% of targets were reached depending on the scenario and needle.

Best Practices to Verify Ongoing Placement of NG or OG Tube After Initial X‐ray Confirmation

Many patients in intensive care units (ICU) require nasogastric (NG) or orogastric (OG) tubes. These patients often require a combination of sedatives that can alter level of consciousness and impair cough or gag reflexes. Such factors can lead to NG/OG tube displacement. Using a misplaced tube can lead to aspiration, lung injury, infection, and even death. To standardize ongoing verification of NG tube placement practices in our 34-bed Medical-Surgical ICU. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Model was utilized to guide this project. A literature review and critical appraisal were performed to establish NG/OG tube best practices. Best practices were implemented and assessed (via a survey and charting audits). Fifteen publications were identified and appraised as Level 4 and 5 sources. Best evidence supported that at the time of radiographic confirmation of the tube site, it should be marked with inedible ink or adhesive tape where it exits the nares; tube location should be checked at 4-hour intervals; and placement/patency should be checked in patients who complain of pain, vomiting, or coughing. Following the practice change, N=40 nurses indicated improvement in verification of NG/OG tube knowledge, "OK to use" order was verified for 89% of patients, and 63% of tubes were marked with tape at the exit site. Adherence to current, evidence-based strategies for NG/OG tube verification promotes patient safety. Monitoring practice changes is critical to determine whether a best practice is sustained. Electronic health records must be current to guide and support evidence-based nursing practice.

Monitoring and verification in the biological-weapons area

ABSTRACT This article provides a brief overview of the ongoing monitoring and verification (OMV) regime in Iraq in the biological-weapons area. As an integral part of the formal ceasefire arrangement in 1991, the United Nations Security Council established an international verification regime encompassing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and some ballistic missiles. The verification regime was built on two mutually supportive pillars. One pillar related to disarmament validation, i.e., verifying that all prohibited weapons, facilities, and related items and certain ballistic missiles in Iraq were destroyed or rendered harmless, and all past weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD) activities had ceased. The second pillar was ongoing monitoring to continuously verify that non-proscribed activities were not being diverted to reconstitute WMD programs. Biological-weapons disarmament and OMV in Iraq provide an example of an effective system that may serve as a reference point for future efforts.

Towards Future Oriented Collaborative Policy Development for Rural Areas and People

Rural areas in Europe are at risk due to depopulation, failing generation renewal, and a multitude of influences ranging from market-based, regulatory, to societal and climate changes. As a result, current rural policy is no longer keeping pace with these changes. We propose an advanced rural policy development framework in order to deliver more accurate foresight for rural regions, contributing to new and enhanced policy interventions. The proposed framework combines new quantitative and qualitative epistemological approaches, previously unused unstructured data with traditional research information, grassroot perspective with expert knowledge, current situation analysis with forward looking activities. We argue that by using the proposed methods, policy teams will be able to enhance the effectiveness of their policy making processes, while rural stakeholders will be given the opportunity to become valuable policy influencers and solution co-creators. The ability to quickly experiment and understand the impact of a variety of policy solutions will result in saved time and costs. The framework is part of an ongoing experimental verification and testing in twelve pilot regions across Europe and Israel.

Implementation of a Low-Dose, High-Frequency Cardiac Resuscitation Quality Improvement Program in a Community Hospital

In 2015 the American Heart Association launched the Resuscitation Quality ImprovementⓇ (RQIⓇ) Program to address the urgent need to improve in-hospital cardiac arrest survival through a novel competency-based model for health care provider (HCP) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. This innovation differs from the traditional Basic Life Support (BLS) training model by providing self-directed, low-dose, high-frequency CPR skill activities with the objectives of skills mastery and retention. A program implementation study was conducted at the first hospital in the state of Illinois to adopt RQI in 2016. The study was designed to evaluate implementation of the RQI program, CPR performance during RQI simulation sessions, and participant impressions at a community hospital. Quantitative data were evaluated based on psychomotor compression and ventilation performance. Quantitative and qualitative data were evaluated based on a perceptual CPR confidence and program satisfaction survey. Statistical analysis demonstrates significant improvement in HCPs' quarterly psychomotor CPR skill performance over a one-year period in first compression score, and first and highest ventilation score per quarterly session. The number of attempts to pass the ventilation skill session decreased between the first and fourth quarter. Survey results of HCPs' program perceptions 30 months post-RQI implementation indicate satisfaction with the RQI program and an increase in CPR skill confidence. Findings demonstrate that the RQI program for ongoing verification of BLS skill and knowledge provides improvements in HCPs' CPR psychomotor competence and confidence/satisfaction using an efficient and sustainable method at a community hospital.

Security Issues as a Part of University Teacher Training

The following article deals with the problem of integrating security issues into the study programme of faculties training teachers in individual fields of education. It evaluates the current status of the development of the issues at the level of interdepartmental cooperation of selected state administration institutions. Based on exploratory research by the Czech School Inspectorate, the current status of the implementation of security issues into schools and educational establishments is described. The ongoing pilot verification of the e-learning module in security issues at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague is also introduced. The article contains statistical data from the statutory research task, which was carried out in the form of a diagnostic survey involving the staff and students of the Charles University in Prague. The research was dedicated to the issues of educating the teaching staff of the Czech education system in the field of safety issues, with particular emphasis on the safety of students and educational institutions. The article also presents the level of knowledge and practical skills of primary school teachers in the field of responding to crisis situations that may occur in the school environment, e.g active shooter.

Observing the atmospheric evolution of ozone-depleting substances

The atmospheric observations of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) have been essential for following their atmospheric response to the production and use restrictions imposed by the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments and Adjustments. ODSs have been used since the first half of the 20th century in industrial and domestic applications. However, their atmospheric growth went unnoticed until the early 1970s, when they were discovered using gas chromatograph-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) instruments. Similar instrumentation formed the basis of global flask and in situ measurements commenced by NOAA and ALE/GAGE/AGAGE in the late 1970s. The combination of these networks, supported by a number of other laboratories, has been essential for following the tropospheric trends of ODSs. Additionally, ground-based remote sensing measurements within NDACC and aircraft-based observation programs have been crucial for measuring the evolution of the ODS abundances over the entire atmosphere. Maintaining these networks at least at their current state is vital for ensuring the on-going verification of the success of the Montreal Protocol.

Setup, Validation, and Quality Control of a Centralized Whole-Genome-Sequencing Laboratory: Lessons Learned.

Routine use of whole-genome analysis for infectious diseases can be used to enlighten various scenarios pertaining to public health, including identification of microbial pathogens, relating individual cases to an outbreak of infectious disease, establishing an association between an outbreak of food poisoning and a specific food vehicle, inferring drug susceptibility, source tracing of contaminants, and study of variations in the genome that affect pathogenicity/virulence. We describe the setup, validation, and ongoing verification of a centralized whole-genome-sequencing (WGS) laboratory to carry out sequencing for these public health functions for the National Infection Services, Public Health England, in the United Kingdom. The performance characteristics and quality control metrics measured during validation and verification of the entire end-to-end process (accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and repeatability) are described and include information regarding the automated pass and release of data to service users without intervention.

Mishandling of pMDI and DPI inhalers in asthma and COPD – Repetitive and non-repetitive errors

BackgroundPharmacological treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is based mainly on inhaled medications. There is a continuous need to examine and train patients in their inhalation technique. The objective of the presented study is to determine whether the errors which patients made during inhalations are repetitive, and therefore easier to eradicate, or rather accidental, hence require more attention and effort from the health care professionals. MethodsIt was a prospective, cohort study which included adults with asthma or COPD, who have used at least one inhaler daily on a regular basis. Inhalation technique was evaluated twice in a six months interval basing on a list of the most common errors in the inhalation technique. There was no training of inhalation skills between visits. ResultsThere were 92 patients (46 asthmatics, 46 with COPD; median age 66 years, median duration of the disease 10 years) included into the analysis. 92% of patients made at least one error during their inhalation. Among pMDI users the most common device mishandlings were: no or too short breath-holding after inhalation (60% of the patients during the first visit; 50% during the 2nd), too rapid and too forceful inhalation (52%; 61%) and lack of exhalation before the use of the medicine (48%; 43%). Among the DPI users, the most numerous errors were: no or too short (less than 3 s) breath-holding after inhalation (62%; 55%) and slow and not forceful enough inhalation (38%; 36%).When comparing the mishandlings in the inhalation technique conducted during the first and second visit the majority of the errors conducted by the patients were repetitive. However, some errors such as too early termination of inhalation (p = 0.016), inhalation through the nose during actuation (p = 0.002) among pMDI users and lack of expiration before inhalation (p = 0.027) among DPI users, were non-permanent. ConclusionsImproper inhalation technique is very common and the majority of errors made in inhalation technique are repetitive. This emphasizes the role of an ongoing verification and training of a proper inhalation technique in all patients that are regularly treated with inhalers.

Comparing a Multivariate Global Ocean State Estimate With High-Resolution in Situ Data: An Anticyclonic Intrathermocline Eddy Near the Canary Islands

The provision of high-resolution \textit{in situ} oceanographic data is key for the ongoing verification, validation and assessment of operational products, such as those provided by the Copernicus Marine Core Service (CMEMS). Here we analyze the ability of ARMOR3D - a multivariate global ocean state estimate that is available from CMEMS - to reconstruct a mesoscale anticyclonic intrathermocline eddy that was previously sampled with high-resolution independent \textit{in situ} observations. ARMOR3D is constructed by merging remote sensing observations with \textit{in situ} vertical profiles of temperature and salinity obtained primarily from the Argo network. \textit{In situ} data from CTDs and an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler were obtained during an oceanographic cruise near the Canary Islands (Atlantic ocean). The analysis of the ARMOR3D product using the \textit{in situ} data is done over (i) a high-resolution meridional transect crossing the eddy center and (ii) a three-dimensional grid centered on the eddy center. An evaluation of the hydrographic eddy signature and derived dynamical variables, namely geostrophic velocity, vertical vorticity and quasi-geostrophic (QG) vertical velocity, demonstrates that the ARMOR3D product is able to reproduce the vertical hydrographic structure of the independently sampled eddy below the seasonal pycnocline, with the caveat that the flow is surface intensified and the seasonal pycnocline remains flat. Maps of ARMOR3D density show the signature of the eddy, and agreement with the elliptical eddy shape seen in the \textit{in situ} data. The major eddy axes are oriented NW-SE in both data sets. The estimated radius for the \textit{in situ} eddy is $\sim$ 46 km; the ARMOR3D radius is significantly larger at $\sim$ 92 km and is considered an overestimation that is inherited from an across-track altimetry sampling issue. The ARMOR3D geostrophic flow is underestimated by a factor of 2, with maxima of 0.11 (-0.19) m s$^{-1}$ at the surface, which implies an underestimation of the local Rossby number by a factor of 3. Both the \textit{in situ} and ARMOR3D eddies have decelerating flows at their northern edges. The ARMOR3D QG vertical velocity distribution has upwelling/downwelling cells located along the eddy periphery and similar magnitudes to the \textit{in situ}-derived QG vertical velocity.

The quest for equivalence of test results: the pilgrimage of the Dutch Calibration 2.000 program for metrological traceability.

Abstract Calibration 2.000 was initiated 20 years ago for standardization and harmonization of medical tests. The program also intended to evaluate adequate implementation of the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) 98/79/EC directive, in order to ensure that medical tests are fit-for-clinical purpose. The Calibration 2.000 initiative led to ongoing verification of test standardization and harmonization in the Netherlands using commutable external quality assessment (EQA)-tools and a type 1 EQA-design, where feasible. National support was guaranteed by involving all laboratory professionals as well as laboratory technicians responsible for EQA and quality officers. A category 1 EQA-system for general chemistry analytes, harmonizers for specific analytes like hGH and IGF-1, and commutable materials for other EQA-sections have been developed and structurally introduced in the EQA-schemes. The type 1 EQA-design facilitates the dialogue between individual specialists in laboratory medicine and the IVD-industry to reduce lot-to-lot variation and to improve standardization. In such a way, Calibration 2.000 sheds light on the metrological traceability challenges that we are facing and helps the laboratory community to get the issues on the table and resolved. The need for commutable trueness verifiers and/or harmonizers for other medical tests is now seen as paramount. Much knowledge is present in the Netherlands and for general chemistry, humoral immunology and protein chemistry, a few endocrinology tests, and various therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) tests, commutable materials are available. Also the multi sample evaluation scoring system (MUSE) and the category 1 EQA-design offer many possibilities for permanent education of laboratory professionals to further improve the between and within laboratory variation and the test equivalence.

Autism Between the PhD Student and the Promotor. A Case Study

Abstract Contemporary societies struggle with the problem of education being inadequate to the reality. The crisis (and, consequently, the deficit) of authorities is present in all levels of education. It seems that the classical vertical mechanism “student-master” should experience a renaissance. Instead of theoretical argumentation, it is worth learning about the case of a particular relationship – between a doctoral student who is a non-speaking autistic person and the promotor who tries to oppose it constructively. Both lawyers (as the cooperation is currently taking place in doctoral law studies) apart from the preparation of the dissertation, are experimenting methodologically, entering the “student-master” relationship with mutual benefit. They are subject to ongoing verification in this area – both domestic and foreign.

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Probe Validation for Clinical Use.

In this chapter, we provide a systematic overview of the published guidelines and validation procedures for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes for clinical diagnostic use. FISH probes-which are classified as molecular probes or analyte-specific reagents (ASRs)-have been extensively used in vitro for both clinical diagnosis and research. Most commercially available FISH probes in the United States are strictly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Although home-brewed FISH probes-defined as probes made in-house or acquired from a source that does not supply them to other laboratories-are not regulated by these agencies, they too must undergo the same individual validation process prior to clinical use as their commercial counterparts. Validation of a FISH probe involves initial validation and ongoing verification of the test system. Initial validation includes assessment of a probe's technical specifications, establishment of its standard operational procedure (SOP), determination of its clinical sensitivity and specificity, development of its cutoff, baseline, and normal reference ranges, gathering of analytics, confirmation of its applicability to a specific research or clinical setting, testing of samples with or without the abnormalities that the probe is meant to detect, staff training, and report building. Ongoing verification of the test system involves testing additional normal and abnormal samples using the same method employed during the initial validation of the probe.

Initial and Ongoing Verification of Feeding Tube Placement in Adults (applies to blind insertions and placements with an electromagnetic device).

Initial and Ongoing Verification of Feeding Tube Placement in Adults (applies to blind insertions and placements with an electromagnetic device).

Chinmedomics: a new strategy for research of traditional Chinese medicine

Syndrome and formulae (or prescription) are two key issues in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the premise research for material basis of TCM. However, vagueness of syndromes and complexity of formulae greatly limited the evaluation to syndromes and effective substance basis of prescription. Therefore, how to solve the evaluation of syndromes, confirming the efficacy material basis in prescription are the current hot issues of international concern. To solve these problems, establishing chinmedomics by integrated serum pharmacochemistry of TCM with metabolomics technology, that is a unique method of TCM research, made outstanding contributions in solving international concerns such as the effectiveness and security aspects of TCM. On the basis of the biological characterization of syndrome, the metabolic profiling of animal models of TCM syndrome, and related metabolic fingerprints as well as metabolic biomarkers were established to evaluate the overall effects of TCM formulae and corresponding relationship of syndrome-formulae. The active constituents were screened using the plotting of correlation between (endogenous) marker metabolites and (exogenous) serum constituents (PCMS), and is ongoing verification by further biological experiments. Correlation analysis between the ingredients in the body after oral formulae and endogenous markers in vivo can be used to clarify the active ingredients and synergistic properties. This method was successfully applied for rapid discovery of potentially bioactive components and metabolites from TCM, and through a series of studies on the chinmedomics, it proved that the established method could help to explore the effective substance for further research of TCM. As a new research approach, Chinmedomics is the best method to fit the holistic concept of TCM, and it can not only interpret the essence of syndrome but also elucidate the scientific connotation of Chinese medical formulae.