REVEAL: Software Documentation and Platform Migration

The Research Environment for Vehicle Embedded Analysis on Linux (REVEAL) is reconfigurable data acquisition software designed for network-distributed test and measurement applications. In development since 2001, it has been successfully demonstrated in support of a number of actual missions within NASA s Suborbital Science Program. Improvements to software configuration control were needed to properly support both an ongoing transition to operational status and continued evolution of REVEAL capabilities. For this reason the project described in this report targets REVEAL software source documentation and deployment of the software on a small set of hardware platforms different from what is currently used in the baseline system implementation. This report specifically describes the actions taken over a ten week period by two undergraduate student interns and serves as a final report for that internship. The topics discussed include: the documentation of REVEAL source code; the migration of REVEAL to other platforms; and an end-to-end field test that successfully validates the efforts

The ALICE electromagnetic calorimeter high level triggers

The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector yields a huge sample of data from different sub-detectors. On-line data processing is applied to select and reduce the volume of the stored data. ALICE applies a multi-level hardware trigger scheme where fast detectors are used to feed a three-level (L0, L1, and L2) deep chain. The High-Level Trigger (HLT) is a fourth filtering stage sitting logically between the L2 trigger and the data acquisition event building. The EMCal detector comprises a large area electromagnetic calorimeter that extends the momentum measurement of photons and neutral mesons up to $p_T=250$ GeV/c, which improves the ALICE capability to perform jet reconstruction with measurement of the neutral energy component of jets. An online reconstruction and trigger chain has been developed within the HLT framework to sharpen the EMCal hardware triggers, by combining the central barrel tracking information with the shower reconstruction (clusters) in the calorimeter. In the present report the status and the functionality of the software components developed for the EMCal HLT online reconstruction and trigger chain will be discussed, as well as preliminary results from their commissioning performed during the 2011 LHC running period.Comment: Proceeding for the CHEP 2012 Conferenc

BSCPMS (Balanced Scorecard Perfomance Management System)

Any organisation would surely have their own set of goals and objectives that they want to achieve. However, more often than not, they would not be able to achieve the goals because activities done within the organisation is not inline with their own goal. Another reason behind this failure is there is no proper reporting technique of recording activities done within the organisation. Realising this problem, the author suggest a computer system as the solution that would make used the concept of Balanced Scorecard theory and Reports &Reporting concept. Balance Scorecard is an approach to strategic management that combines measurement and monitoring offinancial and non-financial aspects in organization. This approach is developed by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David P. Norton in early 1990s. In this project, the author has developed computer software, Balanced Scorecard Performance Management System (BSCPMS) as the final product of this project. This report is prepared to present the overall status and progress of Final Year Project (Part II). This report would be focused on me concept of Balanced Scorecard and how the implementation of the concept can be done with computer software assistant. It includes the details on activities done during the project, system architecture and further discussion about the software

REVEAL: Software Documentation and Platform Migration

The Research Environment for Vehicle Embedded Analysis on Linux (REVEAL) is reconfigurable data acquisition software designed for network-distributed test and measurement applications. In development since 2001, it has been successfully demonstrated in support of a number of actual missions within NASA's Suborbital Science Program. Improvements to software configuration control were needed to properly support both an ongoing transition to operational status and continued evolution of REVEAL capabilities. For this reason the project described in this report targets REVEAL software source documentation and deployment of the software on a small set of hardware platforms different from what is currently used in the baseline system implementation. This presentation specifically describes the actions taken over a ten week period by two undergraduate student interns and serves as an overview of the content of the final report for that internship

Patient safety culture in hospitals of Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Nowadays, for quality improvement, measuring patient safety culture (PSC) in healthcare organizations is being increasingly used. The aim of this study was to clarify PSC status in Iranian hospitals using a meta-analysis method. Methods: Six databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Magiran, SID and IranMedex using the search terms including patient safety, patient safety culture, patient safety climate and combined with hospital (such as "hospital survey on patient safety culture"), measurement, assessment, survey and Iran. A total of 11 articles which conducted using Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire initially were reviewed. To estimate overall PSC status and perform the meta-analyses, Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software v. 2 was employed. Results: The overall PSC score based on the random model was 50.1. "Teamwork within hospital units" dimension received the highest score of PSC (67.4) and "Non-punitive response to error" the lowest score (32.4). About 41 of participants in reviewed articles evaluate their hospitals' performance in PSC as 'excellent/very good'. Approximately 52.7 of participants did not report any adverse event in the past 12 months. Conclusion: The results of this study show that Iranian hospitals' performances in PSC were poor. Among the 12 dimensions of HSOPSC questionnaire, the "Non-punitive response to error" achieved the lowest score and could be a priority for future interventions. In this regard, hospitals staff should be encouraged to report adverse event without fear of punitive action

Application of Advanced Early Warning Systems with Adaptive Protection

This project developed and field-tested two methods of Adaptive Protection systems utilizing synchrophasor data. One method detects conditions of system stress that can lead to unintended relay operation, and initiates a supervisory signal to modify relay response in real time to avoid false trips. The second method detects the possibility of false trips of impedance relays as stable system swings “encroach” on the relays’ impedance zones, and produces an early warning so that relay engineers can re-evaluate relay settings. In addition, real-time synchrophasor data produced by this project was used to develop advanced visualization techniques for display of synchrophasor data to utility operators and engineers

Ambient Air Toxic Releases and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Previous studies have shown that women exposed to certain air pollutants are at an increased risk for preterm delivery and/or delivering a low birth weight newborn. Preterm delivery and low birth weight are associated with an increased risk for morbidity and mortality. In an effort to better understand the impact of local environmental factors on pregnancy health, duration and outcomes, this study investigated the relationship of hazardous air pollutant chemicals released by local industries and the adverse pregnancy outcomes of preterm delivery and term low birth weight in Allegheny County, PA.This study included 2,798 singleton birth records for deliveries that occurred in Allegheny County in January through March of 2004. The Toxic Release Inventory provided data for 2003 fugitive and stack air releases of all facilities in Allegheny County reporting air releases of lead and toluene. This data was used for determining proxy maternal exposure measurements. ArcGIS software was used to calculate the distance from each maternal residence to each TRI facility. The distances and reported total pounds of release from each facility were then used to calculate a total lead and toluene exposure value for every birth record. Binary logistic regression was used to assess maternal characteristics' effects on birth outcomes. Chi square tests were used to assess maternal characteristics and levels of exposure to lead and toluene. Chi square tests and binary logistic regression were then used to assess pregnancy outcomes in relation to quartiles of exposure.This study found that mothers with certain age, race, education, and marital characteristics were significantly associated with lower exposure levels of lead and toluene. However, exposure to higher levels of lead or toluene, as measured in this study, was not significantly associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery or term low birth weight.Adverse pregnancy outcomes negatively impact an individual's immediate and lifelong health. Decreasing the incidence of preterm delivery and low birth weight are of great importance to public health. Research that helps to identify environmental determinants of adverse pregnancy outcomes is of vital public health significance