Adaptation of the Rist Operating Diagram as a Graphical Tool for the Direct Reduction Shaft

The blast-furnace operating diagram proposed by Rist was revised to direct reduction and was specifically applied to the Midrex NGTM process. The use of this graphical tool in the study of an industrial process highlighted the staggered nature of the reduction in the shaft furnace with, in particular, the existence of a prereduction zone in the upper part where metallization is thermodynamically impossible. A sensitivity study also showed the impact of the in situ reforming rate on the ability of the gas to completely reduce iron oxides. Finally, we graphically defined the minimum quality required for the top gas to produce direct-reduced iron.

Designing Interactive Audio-Visual Instructional Media Based On Value Clarification Technique (VCT)

The minimum quality of instructional media which is completed with appropriate teaching method on Buddhist religious education subject impacts towards students’ learning achievement. This study aims to create and analyze the validity and feasibility of interactive audio-visual learning media based on VCT which focuses on material about Buddhist temples in Indonesia. The method used in this study is the research and development method by using ADDIE model. Data collection techniques were by giving questionnaires to media experts, material experts, teachers and students. Data analysis used was descriptive percentage and descriptive qualitative analysis. The results of the study indicate the instructional media is very feasible to use which can be seen from the questionnaire analysis with an average score of validation results by material experts is 82,5% which is included into very feasible, the results of media validation by media experts is 82,5% which is included into very feasible, the response of teachers towards instructional media compiled is 86,6% which is included into very feasible, and final result among 29 students response towards the media shows 25 students (86%) declare that the insructional media is very feasible meanwhile the rest 4 students (14%) argue that the media is feasible. In conclusion the learning media compiled are valid and very feasible to use in teaching Buddhist education about Buddhist temples in Indonesia.

Testing Cyclic Fatigue Resistance of Nickel Titanium Rotary Endodontic Instruments: A Validation Study for a Minimum Quality Criterion in a Standardized Environment

Introduction: Cyclic fatigue resistance of rotary endodontic instruments has been extensively studied in the last two decades, yet with no standardization. While new low-cost instruments are now manufactured, a standard is lacking to guarantee a minimum quality. This study aimed to validate a new model for CF testing through a fixture proposed for ISO Specification 3630-1 and to establish a minimum quality standard based on testing conditions and material characteristics.Materials and methods: Size 25/0.06 instruments of ProFile Vortex (PF) and Vortex Blue (VB) were run until failure in curved metallic fixtures (5 or 7.5 mm radius) built according to a proposal for an additional test for the ISO 3630-1 standard. High resolution videos were recorded, number of cycles to failure (NCF) registered and apical fragments measured with a digital caliper. Surface strain was determined from test dimensions and fragment lengths. Mean life, β and η parameters were calculated with Weibull analysis. NCF data were compared using student's t-tests and referenced to a minimum required cycles at fracture (Cmin) based on austenite finish temperatures, testing temperature and deformation.Results: VB instruments were statistically more resistant than PF in both 7.5 mm radius curve (p = 0.001) and 5 mm radius curve (p = 0.002) simulated canals. Weibull probability plots showed higher mean life for VB than PV. NCF for both instruments were higher than Cmin.Conclusions: The NCF results in this study support the findings of previous studies where VB and PF were compared. The novel test design appears a suitable addition to ISO 3630-1.

The Regulation of Biological and other Innovative Medicinal Products

This chapter discusses the phrase ‘biological medicinal product’, which is used to refer to products manufactured by biological or biotechnology means or to advanced therapy medicinal products. It examines biological medicinal products that are considered peptides or proteins and are made up of one or more linear sequences of amino acids. It also talks about the compliance of biological products with a minimum quality standard set by the British Pharmacopoeia or European Pharmacopoeia, which includes specific instructions for testing sterility, bacterial endotoxins, microbial limits, volume in container, uniformity of dosage units, and particulate matter. The chapter highlights biological products that are manufactured using recombinant cells and are extracted or made from unaltered tissues or blood that are purified in the same way as recombinant products. It explores the inherent heterogeneity of biological products as it comprises of a mixture of closely related molecules.

Assessment of Microbial Reduction by Cage Washing and Thermal Disinfection using Quantitative Biologic Indicators for Spores, Viruses and Vegetative Bacteria

Cage washing is a key process of the biosecurity program in rodent facilities. For the current study, we developed systems (i. e., magnet attachments, quantitative biologic indicators (Q-BI), and measurement of thermal disinfection at equipment level) to assess the microbial decontamination achieved by a rodent equipment washer with and without thermal disinfection. 99% of the magnets remained in position to hold Q-BI and temperature probes inside cages, water bottles or at equipment level across a cabinet washer chamber with loads dedicated to either housing or drinking devices. Various types of Q-BI for Bacillus atrophaeus, Enterococcus hirae and minute virus of mice were tested. To simulate potential interference from biologic material and animal waste during cage processing, Q-BI contained test soil: bovine serum albumin with or without feces. As a quantitative indicator of microbial decontamination, the reduction factor was calculated by comparing microbial load of processed Q-BI with unprocessed controls. We detected variation between Q-BI types and assessed the washer's ability to reduce microbial load on equipment. Reduction factor results were consistent with the Q-BI type and showed that the washing and thermal disinfection cycle could reduce loads of vegetative bacteria, virus and spore by 5 log10 CFU/TCID50 and beyond. Thermal disinfection was monitored with temperature probes linked to data loggers recording live. We measured the period of exposure to temperatures above 82.2 °C, to calculate A0, the theoretical indicator for microbial lethality by thermal disinfection, and to assess whether the cabinet washer could pass the minimum quality standard of A0 = 600. Temperature curves showed an A0 > 1000 consistently across all processed equipment during thermal disinfection. These data suggest that, when sterilization is not required, a cabinet washer with thermal disinfection could replace an autoclave and reduce environmental and financial waste.

The Phoenix Model of Disengagement and Deradicalisation from Terrorism and Violent Extremism

Improving our understanding of how disengagement and deradicalisation from terrorism and violent extremism occurs has critical real-world implications. A systematic review of the recent literature in this area was conducted in order to develop a more refined and empirically-derived model of the processes involved. After screening more than 83,000 documents, we found 29 research reports which met the minimum quality thresholds. Thematic analysis identified key factors associated with disengagement and deradicalisation processes. Assessing the interactions of these factors produced the Phoenix Model of Disengagement and Deradicalisation which is described in this paper. Also examined are some of the potential policy and practice implications of the Phoenix Model, as are avenues for future research in this area.

Research & Development Practices Across Pakistan: An Evaluation Study on Affiliated Institutions

Higher education plays a vital role in developing the knowledge economy and producing skilled workers to empower human resources for the country. Like many other developing countries, Pakistan is struggling hard to improve the quality of higher education for sustainable development and participation in global progress. Since the last decade, Higher Education Commission Pakistan is committed to upgrading the quality of education, and for this purpose, HEC has designed Minimum Quality Standards (MQS) to assure quality for affiliated institutions. The main objective of the study was to evaluate R&D practices in affiliated institutions of Pakistan. The study was descriptive in nature, and a questionnaire based on Minimum Quality Standards was used to collect data from faculty members (n-168) of 28 affiliated institutions by using multistage sampling. The results indicated that affiliated colleges of two provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pohutukawa, were better in research and development practices than the institutions of Sindh and Baluchistan.

Inteligencia artificial aplicada a programas informativos de radio. Estudio de caso de segmentación automática de noticias en RNE

The results of a project on news segmentation at Radio Nacional de España (RNE) carried out by the RTVE Technological Innovation and Media Management areas is presented. The aim of this project is to apply artificial intelligence to automatically transcribe and cut the news items that make up a radio news program. The main goals of this project are to increase the accessibility of the content and to allow its reusability on various platforms and social media. The project was planned in two phases, covering system configuration and service delivery. The minimum quality criteria required were defined in advance, both for automatic voice transcription and for news segmentation. For the speech-to-text process, the highest word error rate (WER) allowed was 10%, while the precision rate for the news segmentation was 85%. System performance in both transcription and segmentation was considered to be sufficient, although a higher degree of accuracy in news cutting is expected in the coming months. The results show that, despite using these quite mature technologies, adjustment and learning processes and human intervention are still necessary. Resumen Se presentan los resultados del proyecto para la segmentación en noticias de los informativos de Radio Nacional de España (RNE) llevado a cabo por el Área de Innovación Tecnológica de Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) en colaboración con la Dirección de Medios de RNE. El objetivo de este proyecto es aplicar la inteligencia artificial para el cortado automático de las noticias que componen un informativo radiofónico, para su posterior difusión en la web de RTVE y en medios de comunicación social. El proyecto se planificó en dos fases: una primera de configuración y ajuste del sistema, y una segunda de prestación del servicio propiamente dicho. Los criterios de calidad mínimos exigibles se definieron previamente, tanto para la transcripción automática del habla a texto, para la que se estableció una tasa de error por palabra máxima (WER) del 10%, como para la segmentación de noticias, para la que se definió una tasa de precisión superior al 85%. El rendimiento del sistema tanto en la transcripción como en la segmentación se considera suficiente, si bien se espera alcanzar un mayor grado de precisión en el cortado de noticias en los próximos meses. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto que, a pesar de ser tecnologías bastante maduras, son necesarios procesos de ajuste y aprendizaje con la intervención humana.

An Ensemble Clusterer Framework based on Valid and Diverse Basic Small Clusters

Clustering ensemble is a new problem where it is aimed to extract a clustering out of a pool of base clusterings. The pool of base clusterings is sometimes referred to as ensemble. An ensemble is to be considered to be a suitable one, if its members are diverse and any of them has a minimum quality. The method that maps an ensemble into an output partition (called also as consensus partition) is named consensus function. The consensus function should find a consensus partition that all of the ensemble members agree on it as much as possible. In this paper, a novel clustering ensemble framework that guarantees generation of a pool of the base clusterings with the both conditions (diversity among ensemble members and high-quality members) is introduced. According to its limitations, a novel consensus function is also introduced. We experimentally show that the proposed clustering ensemble framework is scalable, efficient and general. Using different base clustering algorithms, we show that our improved base clustering algorithm is better. Also, among different consensus functions, we show the effectiveness of our consensus function. Finally, comparing with the state of the art, we find that the clustering ensemble framework is comparable or even better in terms of scalability and efficacy.