Quantitative Quality Assessment Research Articles

Estimating effects of whole grain consumption on type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease: a burden of proof study

BackgroundPrevious studies on whole grain consumption had inconsistent findings and lacked quantitative assessments of evidence quality. Therefore, we aimed to summarize updated findings using the Burden of Proof analysis (BPRF) to investigate the relationship of whole grain consumption on type 2 diabetes (T2D), colorectal cancer (CRC), stroke, and ischemic heart disease (IHD).MethodsWe conducted a literature search in the Medline and Web of Science up to June 12, 2023, to identify related cohort studies and systematic reviews. The mean RR (relative risk) curve and uncertainty intervals (UIs), BPRF function, risk-outcome score (ROS), and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) were estimated to evaluate the level of four risk-outcome pairs.ResultsIn total, 27 prospective cohorts were included in our analysis. Consuming whole grain at the range of TMREL (118.5–148.1 g per day) was associated with lower risks: T2D (declined by 37.3%, 95% UI: 5.8 to 59.5), CRC (declined by 17.3%, 6.5 to 27.7), stroke (declined by 21.8%, 7.3 to 35.1), and IHD (declined by 36.9%, 7.1 to 58.0). For all outcomes except stroke, we observed a non-linear, monotonic decrease as whole grain consumption increased; For stroke, it followed a J-shaped curve (the greatest decline in the risk of stroke at consuming 100 g whole grain for a day). The relationships between whole grain consumption and four diseases are all two-star pairs (ROS: 0.087, 0.068, 0.062, 0.095 for T2D, CRC, stroke, and IHD, respectively).ConclusionConsuming 100 g of whole grains per day offers broad protective benefits. However, exceeding this threshold may diminish the protective effects against stroke. Our findings endorse replacing refined grains with whole grains as the main source of daily carbohydrates.Registry and registry number for systematic reviews or meta-analysesWe have registered our research in PROSPERO, and the identifier of our meta-analyses is CRD42023447345.

Image quality assessment of fractures of metallic objects

The problem of calculating a quantitative quality assessment of digital images of metal object fractures recorded by a camera or a digital microscope is considered. Quality assessment is performed when the reference images are absent. The paper presents an approach based on calculation of local estimates followed by analysis of their distribution. Several variants for calculation of local estimates have been studied. Those whose distribution is unimodal were selected. It is shown that the average of local estimates is an acceptable general characteristic of image quality if they have a normal (Gaussian) distribution. In this case, the average is one of its parameters. Otherwise, the parameters of the Weibull distribution can serve as more accurate quantitative characteristics of image quality in general. The proposed approach divides more objectively the set of the analyzed images into two groups those with satisfactory or unsatisfactory quality for performing expert studies using images. Examples of the quality assessment of different object images recorded at different resolutions are presented.

Abstract PO5-26-09: Digital image analysis and a novel set of cell line samples as aids in the development of a quantitative external quality assessment programme for Ki-67

Abstract Background and Aims Ki-67 is a well-established biomarker of proliferation in breast cancer (BC). However, its value in treatment decision making is hampered by a lack of analytical reproducibility. Regular participation in external quality assessment (EQA) substantially improves inter-laboratory concordance. Pre-requisites in establishing a fit-for-purpose EQA for Ki-67 are a well-validated testing substrate and a reproducible method of assessing Ki-67 scores in participants’ submitted materials. We report here on the results of work using cell line controls analysed by digital image analysis (DIA) as a first step towards providing such an EQA. Materials and Methods A formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) cell line microarray (CLMA) was designed and produced in conjunction with Array Sciences LLC (Sausalito, USA). It was comprised of cores taken from a pure population of Sf9 caterpillar cells, which have been shown to be completely unreactive with most commercial antibodies to human Ki-67, together with cores of Sf9 cells mixed with four different human BC cell lines. These were BT-20 (85% BC cells), ZR-75-1 (75%), BT-474 (65%) and BT-483 (55%). Sections from the CLMA were mounted onto glass microscope slides together with sections from a FFPE tonsil sample and two BC samples; one BC showed high (~30%, BC-high) and the second, low proliferation (~5%, BC-low). In both BC samples proliferating cancer cells were distributed homogeneously throughout the the block. Unstained sections were distributed to laboratories participating in the Scheme’s Ki-67 BC programme; after routine IHC-staining for Ki-67 returned slides were centrally visually assessed for stain quality and subjected to DIA using an in-house application developed on Visiopharm software (Visiopharm A/S, Hoersholm, Denmark). Results Slides were returned by 37 laboratories. Analysis of Ki-67 scores obtained on the Sf9 core identified two distinct groups. The first (n = 27) were negative or showed low Ki-67 scores (mean = 1.1%, 95% CIs: 0.2-1.9%), the second (n = 10) displayed a step-change in scores (mean = 49.9%, 95% CIs: 33.2-66.7%); the means of the two groups were significantly different (P< 0.0001). When Ki-67 scores for each of the tissue samples were dichotomized into similar groups, the means of those groups differed significantly for the two BC samples (P< 0.001), but not for tonsil. Quality scores generated by visual assessment did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, when slides bearing Sf9 cores demonstrating aberrant Ki-67 scores were visually examined nuclear staining was clearly visible, and non-specific nuclear staining could also be identified in the matched BC tissue samples, but not in the tonsil sections. Correlation of Ki-67 scores between the four BC cell line cores and each of the BC tissue samples was examined using Pearson’s correlation statistics. The r statistic range was 0.57-0.71 in comparisons between BC cell line cores and the BC-high sample, and 0.53-0.70 for those with BC-low; in each case BT-483 showed the highest correlation score and BT-20 the lowest. A similar analysis was undertaken between the tonsil and the two BC tissues. The r statistic for correlation between tonsil and BC-high scores was 0.72; it was 0.64 for those between tonsil and BC-low. Conclusions By using a pure population of Sf9 cells we have developed a sensitive indicator of non-specific nuclear staining in IHC preparations stained for Ki-67 which identifies the presence of the artefact quantifiably. Cores made from Sf9/BC cell line mixtures (especially BT-483) produce Ki-67 scores which correlate with those obtained in breast cancer samples at a similar level to those achieved between tonsil and BC samples; this is true for both high and the low proliferation ranges. Cell line mixtures can be adjusted to show Ki-67 scores in the clinically relevant ranges, and they do not show the inherent biological variations seen in tissue controls such as tonsil. Citation Format: Andrew Dodson, Fitim Berisha, Dawn Wilkingson, Lila Zabaglo, Suzanne Parry. Digital image analysis and a novel set of cell line samples as aids in the development of a quantitative external quality assessment programme for Ki-67 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO5-26-09.

Quantitative Soil Quality Assessment by Using Visual Soil-Field Assessment Tools (VS-FAST)

Unplanned land use reflects the changes from agricultural to urbanization and decreasing of green spaces in cities and agricultural lands surrounding cities. The Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Dry Bare - Soil Index (DBSI) and Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) indices were derived to evaluate the rate of the land use/cover changes due to uncontrolled urban sprawl for the years 2001 and 2020. Field indicators were also used to assess soil properties’ degradation by using Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) under the FAO Global Environment Facility (GEF) project. A set of 30 soil samples were randomly collected from two locations: unplanned built-up and vegetated sites in Babil Governorate, Iraq. The results showed that soil texture and salinity were the most varied indicators. The poorer areas (unplanned urban areas) were low and assessed as poor quality, while the vegetated site was assessed as moderate quality with high total score values. The findings from spectral indices show a significant rise in the built-up land use/cover category, expanding from 10.367 square kilometres in 2001 to 50.883 square kilometres in 2020. In contrast, the areas of bare-soils and vegetated decreased from 29.29 and 35.474 square kilometres in 2001 to 12.511 and 19.601 square kilometres in 2020, respectively. Various analytical techniques proved instrumental in distinguishing the different land use/cover categories in this research.

Canadian Anatomic Kidney Score: Quantitative Macroscopic Assessment of Donor Kidney Quality for Transplantation.

The Canadian Anatomic Kidney Score (CAKS) is a novel 6-point grading system that standardizes the gross description of a donor kidney across 3 components-vessels, anatomy, and sticky fat. We hypothesized that the CAKS predicts allograft functional outcomes and provides additional information to the Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) and histologic assessment of the donor kidney. Single-center cohort of 145 patients who underwent renal transplantation with CAKS analysis between 2018 and 2021. CAKS was prospectively determined before transplantation. Preimplantation core biopsies were assessed according to the Remuzzi score (RS). The primary outcome was 1-y allograft function represented by an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Linear regression without adjustment for KDPI or RS showed a significant association between the CAKS and 1-y eGFR (-8.7 mL/min/1.73 m2 per point increase in CAKS; 95% CI, -13.0 to -4.4; P < 0.001). Most of that association was attributed to the vessel component (-12.1; -19.4 to -4.8; P = 0.002). Adjustment for KDPI and RS attenuated the relationship between 1-y function and CAKS (-4.6; -9.5 to 0.3; P = 0.065) and vessel component (-7.4; -15.2 to 0.5; P = 0.068). Anatomic assessment of donor kidneys at the time of transplantation associates with allograft function at 1 y. Vascular assessment appears to make the dominant contribution.

The Effect of PBL Model and Learning Motivation on the Mathematical Connection Ability of Class VIII MTs Darussalam Batumarta Students

Students in the eighth grade during the second half of the 2022–2023 school year were the focus of this research, which examines how the project-based learning (PBL) model and students' intrinsic motivation to learn affected their capacity to make mathematical connections. There was a quantitative approach to this research. Methods such as observation, interviews, documentation, surveys, and testing are used to gather data. This study used a quasi-experimental design. Because the individuals already existed before to the research, subject selection was not random. Using the total sampling approach, 66 students, representing the whole eighth grade, were selected as the population. Both tests and non-tests are used in the data collecting technique. Research consists of many stages, such as planning, execution, and data processing. Data analysis approaches involve quantitative data analysis and data quality assessment. Based on the results of research and discussion, it is known that 1) there are differences in the mathematical connection ability of students who obtain PBL model learning with students who obtain conventional model learning; 2) there is a difference in the increase in the mathematical connection ability of students who obtain PBL model learning with students who obtain conventional model learning; 3) there are differences in the mathematical connection ability of students who obtain PBL model learning with students who obtain conventional model learning on strong learning motivation; 4) there are differences in the mathematical connection ability of students who obtain PBL model learning with students who obtain conventional model learning on weak learning motivation; 5) there is an interaction between the use of learning methods and student learning motivation on the ability to solve thematic connection problems; and 6) there is a significant influence or interaction between the use of PBL models and the level of learning motivation on mathematical connection ability.

Wavelet-based information theory in quantitative assessment of AFM images’ quality

The quantitative assessment of the image quality produced by atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an ongoing and challenging task. In our study, we demonstrate Shannon’s application of information theory for measuring image quality. Specifically, we propose quantifying the loss of image information due to the various distortion processes by exploring the relationship between image information based on the information channel capacity (ICC), spectral image representation, and visual quality. Since the ideal image is unavailable, the power and noise spectrum, the critical input information for the image quality evaluation, must be robustly estimated in the proposed method. The classical, most popular Welch method for spectral estimation uses an average of several windowed periodograms and can produce biased spectrum estimates. Therefore, in our work, we discuss an alternative technique based on the wavelet transform that can be applied to solve this challenging problem, specifically in the case of noisy, uncertain AFM measurements. Finally, we validate the performance of the enhanced ICC-wavelet-based algorithm with noisy measurement AFM data.

Microbiological hazard identification in river waters used for recreational activities

Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause waterborne disease outbreaks. The study of coastal water quality contributes to identifying potential risks to human health and to improving water management practices. The Río de la Plata River, a wide estuary in South America, is used for recreational activities, as a water source for consumption and as a site for sewage discharges. In the present study, as the first step of a quantitative microbial risk assessment of the coastal water quality of this river, a descriptive study was performed to identify the microbial pathogens prevalent in its waters and in the sewage discharged into the river. Two sites, representing two different potential risk scenarios, were chosen: a heavily polluted beach and an apparently safe beach. Conductivity and fecal contamination indicators including enterococci, Escherichia coli, F + RNA bacteriophages, and human polyomaviruses showed high levels. Regarding enterococci, differences between sites were significant (p-values <0.001). 93.3% and 56.5% of the apparently safe beach exceeded the recreational water limits for E. coli and enterococci. Regarding pathogens, diarrheagenic E. coli, Salmonella, and noroviruses were detected with different frequencies between sites. The parasites Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis were frequently detected in both sites. The results regarding viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens, even without correlation with conventional indicators, showed the importance of monitoring a variety of microorganisms to determine water quality more reliably and accurately, and to facilitate further studies of health risk assessment. The taxonomic description of microbial pathogens in river waters allow identifying the microorganisms that infect the population living on its shores but also pathogens not previously reported by the clinical surveillance system.

Construction and Application of English teaching in vocational colleges Model under Output Orientation

Abstract The basic idea of teaching reform and practice is the teaching mode. This research, which is based on POA, examines how higher vocational English is taught under the direction of a new teaching model and assesses the viability and application of using POA to teach English in vocational institutions. This paper establishes an English teaching in vocational colleges model under POA, which consists of three parts: “driving,” “facilitating,” and “evaluating.”Through the improvement of the BP neural network, this research develops the English teaching in vocational colleges quality assessment model under POA, thereby verifying the efficacy of the model. The changes in students’ English achievement are explored through teaching experiments and the two-sided sigmoid curve. A value of 0.007&lt;0.05 in the paired-sample t-test of the experimental class proves that compared with the traditional English teaching in vocational colleges model, the English teaching in vocational colleges model under POA has a more obvious promotion effect on English achievement. The improved BP neural network model produced quantitative assessments of teaching quality that are mostly in line with actual findings. The model is used to evaluate the quality of English instruction in vocational colleges under POA.

Quantitative Assessment of Translation Quality in Education, Certification, and Industry: An Overview

Quantitative Assessment of Translation Quality in Education, Certification, and Industry: An Overview

Multi-scale non-local attention network for image super-resolution

Natural images tend to recur similar patterns within the same scale and across different scales. Some recent progress on Single Image Super-Resolution (SISR) have elaborated on applying non-local attention mechanism to explore intrinsic feature correlation on multi-scale similarity to improve SR performance. However, recent advanced non-local attention-based methods typically utilize fixed-scale image patches to mine the correlations between local and global features, which is unreliable to judge the similarity between the non-local image patches across various scales. In this paper, we develop a novel Multi-Scale Non-Local Attention Network (MSNLAN) for SISR. The MSNLAN consists of a serial of Residual Groups (RGs) and an embedded Multi-Scale Non-Local Attention Block (MSNLAB) located at the middle of those RGs. Each RG is comprised of several Residual Multi-scale Attention Blocks (RMABs) which learns multi-scale features extracted from different receptive fields to fully capture diverse and complementary feature representations. MSNLAB is applied to establish more long-range dependencies by exploring multi-scale patches within the same feature map to seek more faithful and relevant non-local features. Moreover, we utilize Dense Skip Connections (DSC) between each RG and the MSNLAB to enhance the interaction of different context features, which is propitious for generating more impressive image details. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed MSNLAN outperforms other state-of-the-art competitors in terms of both quantitative and qualitative quality assessment results. The code will be available at https://github.com/kbzhang0505/MSNLAN.

LHYMO: A new Water Framework Directive‐compliant multimetric index to assess lake hydromorphology and its application to French lakes

Abstract Hydromorphology provides a physical framework for aquatic biocenoses. Its condition directly affects the quality of habitats available for fauna and flora, and its assessment is therefore useful for biodiversity and water quality conservation, as well as for restoration programmes required by European and national directives. In this study, a site‐specific index of Lake HYdroMOrphology, LHYMO, was developed to provide a quantitative assessment of the hydromorphological status of natural and non‐natural lakes that is consistent with European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standards and that can be used for different purposes, including the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and of the Habitats Directive. This new LHYMO index includes nine metrics related to the morphological WFD quality elements (QEs) and six metrics related to the hydrological WFD QEs, all of which are considered to support biological elements. The reference conditions were defined for each metric using an original approach: the degree of alteration is measured in relation to the natural characteristics of each lake, relative to a state that ‘would be expected in the absence of disturbances’. Besides its use for regulatory purposes, this index is also a suitable tool for monitoring the efficacy of hydromorphological restoration projects or to help target effective conservation measures on lakes. Application of this index to 72 French lakes provides the first quantitative and homogeneous assessment of the hydromorphological quality of lakes over a whole territory and gives the first overview of the hydromorphological status of lakes in France, with classification into five classes ranging from ‘high’ to ‘bad’. LHYMO is already operational for large French lakes as it relies mostly on reference datasets available at a national scale, and it may also be used in a wider scope through gathering or completing data from other sources.

Maintaining quality of life after major lung resection for carcinoid tumor

BackgroundPulmonary carcinoid is a rare diagnosis with surgery remaining the standard treatment of choice. However, resection may impact patients’ daily activities due to decreased lung volume reserve and postoperative pain. Our study aims to compare the impact of different types of surgical resection on the post-operative quality of life with the application of a strict peri-operative pulmonary care program.MethodsPatients who underwent surgery for bronchopulmonary carcinoid tumors in a tertiary cancer center between August, 2017 and March, 2020 were identified and demographic data was collected. Patients were contacted via phone for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of pain and quality of life, utilizing the Arabic version of Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) instrument respectively. Lung reserve was assessed before and after surgery. Statistical analysis used Chi-Square for categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables.ResultsA total of 16 patients underwent different type of resection. The majority were male (n = 10; 63%) with a mean age of 44 years (19–81). Most common clinical stage was stage I (n = 12, 75%) with typical carcinoid features recorded in more than half of the cases (n = 11, 69%). Almost all patients underwent surgical excision (n = 15, 94%) with negative resection margin and no major post-operative complications. Bilobectomy was the most frequent procedure (n = 6, 40%) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was utilized in 8 patients (50%). Expected changes were recorded in pre- and postoperative pulmonary function test with an average drop of 10 in FEV1 and 14 mL/min/mmHg in DLCO. The majority of patients (n = 15, 94%) were totally independent doing daily activities. Mild intermittent pain was found in 7 patients (44%) who scored an average intensity of 1.6 out of 10.ConclusionsExcellent long-term outcomes can be achieved following surgical resection of pulmonary carcinoid tumors with little to no effect on patients’ lung function and quality of life in regard to performance status and post-operative pain when a good peri-operative pulmonary, physical rehabilitation, and pain management programs are adopted and strictly implemented.

Quantitative Assessment of Calf Muscle Volume, Strength, and Quality After Achilles Tendon Rupture Repair: A 1-Year Prospective Follow-up Study

Background: A number of studies have reported that calf muscle atrophy is a common long-term problem after Achilles tendon repair; however, there is still a lack of data concerning early postoperative morphological changes in the calf muscle after surgery. Purpose: To investigate changes over time in calf muscle volume and fatty degeneration during 1 year after Achilles tendon repair. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A prospective 1-year serial magnetic resonance imaging study was carried out with 20 patients who underwent tendon repair for unilateral acute Achilles tendon rupture. The magnetic resonance imaging assessment in addition to clinical and functional evaluations was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The muscle volume of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius, soleus, and flexor hallucis longus (FHL) and fatty degeneration of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and soleus were measured for the calf muscles, and the relative volume and fatty degeneration changes in the affected leg compared with the healthy contralateral leg were calculated as a percentage ([injured/healthy control] × 100) to assess structural changes over time. Results: Muscle volumes of the medial gastrocnemius, lateral gastrocnemius, soleus, and FHL were 92.3%, 92.8%, 84.6%, and 95.9% at 12 months after surgery, respectively. Medial and lateral gastrocnemius and FHL muscle volumes improved over time and recovered to almost equal to that of the healthy side at 12 months after surgery. The soleus muscle volume did not recover significantly over time and was statistically significantly smaller than that of the healthy side at 12 months (P = .029). Fatty degeneration rates of the medial gastrocnemius, lateral gastrocnemius, and soleus were 118.2%, 113.9% and 121.1% at 12 months after surgery, respectively. Fatty degeneration of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius did not change significantly, but there was a statistically significant increase in fatty degeneration of the soleus over time (P < .001). Conclusion: Within the triceps surae muscle, the soleus was the most negatively affected by injury and repair for both muscle volume and fatty degeneration. Postoperative management to recover the soleus muscle function before a return to sporting activities should be considered in the future.

Quantitative assessment of anterior talofibular ligament quality in chronic lateral ankle instability using magnetic resonance imaging T2* value.

To determine T2* normal reference values for anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) and to investigate the feasibility of the quantitative ATFL quality evaluation in chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) using T2* values. This study enrolled 15 patients with CLAI and 30 healthy volunteers. The entire ATFL T2* values from the MRI T2* mapping were measured. The prediction equation (variables: age, height, and weight) in a multiple linear regression model was used to calculate the T2* normal reference value in the healthy group. T2* ratio was defined as the ratio of the actual T2* value of the patient's ATFL to the normal reference value for each patient. A Telos device was used to measure the talar tilt angle (TTA) from the stress radiograph. T2* values of ATFL in the healthy and CLAI groups were 10.82 ± 1.84 ms and 14.36 ± 4.30 ms, respectively, which are significantly higher in the CLAI group (P < 0.05). The prediction equation of the normal reference T2* value was [14.9 + 0.14 × age (years) - 4.7 × height (m) - 0.03 × weight (kg)] (R2 = 0.65, P < 0.0001). A significant positive correlation was found between the T2* ratio and TTA (r = 0.66, P = 0.007). MRI T2* values in patients with CLAI were higher than those in healthy participants, and the T2* ratio correlated with TTA, suggesting that T2* values are promising for quantitative assessment of ATFL quality preoperatively.

Quantitative assessment of water quality in the Vidsichne reservoir (Zhytomyr, Ukraine)

The modern approach to the implementation of water management activities is based on a quantitative assessment of the quality of water resources, which includes a certain set of indicators to reflect the needs of users in the composition and properties of water, to assess their condition, etc. Ecological assessment is a preliminary stage and a condition for ecological standardization of surface water quality. To analyze the compliance of water quality with ecological standards, the obtained results are compared with the values of ecological standards for the corresponding water body. The study carried out a quantitative assessment of water quality in the Vidsichne reservoir, near Zhytomyr (Ukraine). This assessment is based on the introduction of risk weighting factors from certain types of pollutants to the calculation formula of the integral indicator. Monitoring studies on hydrochemical indicators in the reservoir showed an increase in manganese content to 0.40 mg/dm3. To calculate the integral indicator of water quality, manganese and the related level of oxygen dissolved in water, biological oxygen consumption (BOC) were selected. It was established that the water in the reservoir belongs to the fourth quality class, that is, it is polluted. A model map of manganese concentration was built and the ecological coefficient of water quality was calculated, which indicates a 5-fold excess of ecological standards. The use of a graphic method of comprehensive assessment of the state of water in any reservoir is substantiated. The increase in manganese content is due to the seasonal increase in air temperature. The constructed mathematical model of the dependence of manganese content on temperature makes it possible to predict the state of the water body depending on climatic conditions and indicates an increase in the value of this indicator from 12°C and above. Quantitative assessment of water quality in the reservoir based on the sum of ecological indicators reflects the needs of users in the composition and properties of water and makes it possible to assess their condition.

Information technology for prediction of software quality level

Today, there is a contradiction between the rapid increase in the complexity and size of modern software while increasing responsibility for the performance of their functions, the increasing requirements of customers and users to the quality and efficiency of software use and the imperfection of models, methods, tools of predicting software quality at the early stages of the life cycle.Therefore, the task of predicting the software quality level based on requirements is relevant. The aim of this study is to solve this task by developing information technology for prediction software quality levels based on requirements. The proposed information technology for prediction software quality level based on requirements provides analysis of quality attributes in requirements, reflects the dependence (equations) of quality characteristics on attributes, forms a quantitative assessment of quality characteristics, reflects the dependence (equation) of quality on its characteristics, forms a quantitative assessment of quality, performs quality level prediction, provides all the listed services simultaneously and the model, methods, and tools underlying the IT belong to common methodological approaches and are integrated. The developed system of predicting the software quality level based on requirements provides the user with predicted estimates of eight software quality characteristics, geometric interpretation of the software quality characteristics’ values, a comprehensive indicator of the predicted software quality, and a conclusion about the future software quality level. On the basis of this, it is possible to compare sets of requirements for software and make a reasonable choice of a set of requirements for further implementation. The information technology and the system of predicting the software quality level based on requirements, developed in this paper, provide the possibility of comparing sets of requirements for software, justified selection of requirements for further implementation of quality software (as experiments have shown, this is only one of the four proposed sets), and rejection or revision of unsuccessful sets of requirements that cannot be used to develop quality software.

Satellite remote sensing to improve source water quality monitoring: A water utility's perspective

Polyphytos Reservoir provides the city of Thessaloniki with efficient and safe drinking water after appropriate treatment at the Thessaloniki Drinking Water Treatment Plant (TDWTP). This study evaluates the feasibility of utilizing open access satellite imagery and analysis tools to continuously, rapidly, at a low cost and precisely evaluate the water quality of large reservoirs like Polyphytos Reservoir. Thereby, more than 300 satellite images were analyzed, spanning a 9-year period from 2013 to 2022, using specific algorithms designed for determining surface water quality, such as Se2WaQ, NDWI and Oil Spill Index (OSI). These algorithms were used to estimate chlorophyll concentration (Chl-a), turbidity values (Tur) and hydrocarbon (OSI) presence. The generated results are compared with data records regarding the reservoir’s water level and chlorophyll and turbidity measurements in the reservoir and at the inlet of the TDWTP. This study shows that the examined satellite survey tools can effectively identify unanticipated formations on the surface of the reservoir and provide a quantitative assessment of the surface water quality using in-situ sampling for algorithms validation. The findings of the study were used to create a workflow that can serve as a guide for end-users interested in a low-cost, quick, continuous, and accurate surface water quality assessment of large reservoirs, using satellite remote sensing tools. It is anticipated that the information provided in this study would be useful to end-users community.

Research on the Quality Evaluation Method of Mobile Emergency Big Data Based on the Measure of Medium Truth Degree

Mobile emergency services are better able to meet the needs of frequent public emergencies; however, their data quality problems seriously affect decision-making. In order to reduce the interference of low-quality data and solve the problem of data quality ambiguity, this paper first summarizes the five characteristics of mobile emergency big data. Second, based on the characteristics of mobile emergency big data, four data quality dimensions are defined with reference to existing research and national standards and combined with the measure of medium truth degree to give single-dimension and multi-dimension data quality truth degree measure models. Finally, a subjective-objective, qualitative-quantitative mobile emergency big data quality evaluation method based on the measure of medium truth degree is formed. The validity and practicality of the method are also verified by examples of algorithmic analysis of fire text datasets from Australian mountain fire data and the Chinese Emergency Incident Corpus. The experiments show that the method can realize quantitative mobile emergency big data quality assessment, solve the problem of data quality ambiguity, and reduce the interference of low-quality data, so as to save resources and improve the analysis and decision-making ability.

Quantitative Assessment of Destination Service Quality of the Buddhist Circuit Using Relative Importance Index

This paper aims to quantitatively assess the destination service quality of the Buddhist Circuit, a network of sacred Buddhist sites located in India. The quality of destination services is critical to visitor satisfaction, which, in turn, affects the sustainability of the tourism industry. Despite the popularity of the Buddhist Circuit as an iconic tourism circuit, little is known about the quality of services offered at the site, which could impact the overall visitor experience. A quantitative research design is followed based on a structured questionnaire survey. The empirical data for the study was collected at five prominent destinations along the Buddhist Circuit: Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali, and Sarnath. The data gathered from the survey was analyzed using the relative importance index (RII) method. The study identified key service attributes that shape the destination service quality of the Buddhist Circuit and highlighted areas for improvement. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers, destination management organizations (DMOs), and service providers to enhance service quality and improve the visitor experience at the Buddhist Circuit.