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To optimise production planning, maintenance strategies, and quality control in imperfect manufacturing systems, most existing works set the buffer stocking time at the cycle start time. However, excess inventory holding costs will be incurred if the buffer is stocked too early. This means that while the abovementioned setting can make the optimisation model simple, it might increase costs. Taking the uncertain practical buffer stocking time of an imperfect manufacturing system into account, this study aimed to find the production cycle, maintenance frequency, quality inspection cycle, and number of inspections that will minimise the expectation unit cost of the system. To this end, we developed a new model to optimise production, maintenance, and quality control considering timely replenishment. First, excess inventory holding and shortage costs were considered and the production process was divided into five scenarios based on the buffer stocking time and inspection time for assignable causes. Second, the link between production, maintenance, and quality was addressed by capturing the dynamic and random behaviour of production systems. An x-bar control chart was integrated into the model to monitor quality. A case study and sensitivity analysis were undertaken to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed optimisation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)-type regulatory oversight and legal liability on audit quality and social surplus. We show the conditions under which regulatory oversight can improve audit quality and social surplus, as compared with the impact of legal systems. Moreover, we demonstrate that regulatory oversight is not likely to substitute effectively for a legal system. This is the first study that analyzes the possible effects of an audit regulator on auditors under different legal systems, and our results enhance understanding of the complex relationship between regulatory oversight, a legal system, and social surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An efficient multivariate single control chart to simultaneously monitor 'location or mean' and 'scale or variabilities', based on individual observations of multiple quality characteristics (MQC), is a continuous research endeavour. Compared to rational subgroups, time-ordered individual sample observations of MQC are common in manufacturing. However, few researchers proposed parametric and nonparametric multivariate control charts to monitor individual observations in this context. The proposed parametric approach has limited applicability due to the restrictive distribution assumption of MQC. In addition, most of the suggested parametric or nonparametric approaches recommend multiple charts to monitor process 'location' and 'scale' parameters simultaneously. Multiple charts can increase the control complexities and overall false-alarm-rate. MQC can also have significant nonlinear correlation structures and follow unknown or nonnormal distributions in real-life scenarios. Single parametric or nonparametric multivariate charts for individual observations can exhibit poor performance in such situations. In this study, an adaptive Mahalanobis depth and k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) rule-based r-AMD chart is proposed and verified to address the lacuna mentioned above. Monte-Carlo simulation studies are used to evaluate the performance of the r-AMD chart. Four real-life manufacturing scenarios are also considered to validate the suitability and superiority of r-AMD over the existing 'r-MD' and other competing charts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature on the engagement quality (EQ) review argues that EQ reviewers should provide more efforts into the review process when fieldwork auditors' judgments and conclusions on the financial statements are potentially biased. Little empirical study has been done, however, partly due to the confidentiality of the detailed data on EQ reviewers' audit hours. The purpose of the article is to shed light on the existing literature by conducting an empirical investigation using a unique actual data set available in Korea. The results show that the EQ review hours are positively associated with CEO turnovers, a proxy for the audit risk, which supports the prediction of the theory on the EQ review. Additional analyses show that such results are stronger under (a) the upward earnings management and (b) the forced CEO turnover. The article extends the existing literature on the EQ review process and enhances the understanding of the engagement-level quality control in the volatile audit environment by providing empirical evidence to the analytic discussions on the EQ review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies on the learning process of operators. We collected data from the training of new operators in a quality inspection workstation. Two distinct scenarios were considered: before and after the adoption of I4.0 technologies. Data from 10 operators were collected in each scenario; the quality inspection cycle was repeated by each operator 30 consecutive times. A 2-parameter hyperbolic learning curve model was used to assess the learning process in the two groups. Results indicated that operators supported by I4.0 technologies had a significantly higher learning rate than those performing the same tasks without I4.0 support. No significant difference was found in the final performance level between groups. Our study bridges a theoretical gap in the relationship between I4.0 and learning by directly comparing the effect of digital support on the training of new employees in a manufacturing environment. We also offer arguments to support managerial decisions with regards to I4.0 adopti-on at an operational level. That allows organisations to prioritise their digitalisation efforts so that the training of operators in workstations can be expedited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many industrial manufacturing processes, the quality of products can depend on the relative amount between two quality characteristics X and Y. Often, this calls for the on-line monitoring of the ratio Z = X / Y as a quality characteristic itself by means of a control chart. A large number of control charts monitoring the ratio have been investigated in the literature under the assumption of independent normal observations of the two quality characteristics. In practice, due to the high frequency in sensor data collection, both autocorrelation and cross-correlation between consecutive observations can exist for X and Y and should be modelled to protect against the false alarm rate inflation when implementing a control chart for monitoring the ratio Z = X / Y. In this paper, we tackle this problem by investigating the performance of the Phase II Shewhart-type RZ control chart monitoring the ratio of two normal variables whose relationship is captured by a bivariate time series autoregressive model VAR(1), which can also account for the cross-correlation between the two quality characteristics. With the numerical study, we discuss how the design and the statistical performance of the Shewhart-type RZ control chart change with the VAR(1) model's parameters. We also provide an example to illustrate the use of the Shewhart-type RZ control chart with bivariate time series of observations in a furnace process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the literature concerning the implementation of digital twins (DTs) for zero-defect manufacturing (ZDM) following a systematic method and, guided by a preliminary finding that a structured and standardised approach to the development of the DT applications is lacking, we provide a standardised design methodology to guide researchers and practitioners in their efforts to develop DTs regardless of the domain. After examination and interpretation of the literature, we also present the results of our state-of-the-art analysis, discuss the current state and limitations of research and practice, and provide useful insights on this important and complex topic. The design methodology proposed in our study will benefit both practitioners and academicians by covering the essential elements to be considered when developing DTs for ZDM for any applications in this domain. The study also contributes to knowledge by presenting a structured overview of the specific research area with a comprehensive, systematic, and critical analysis of the literature and by providing answers to some fundamental questions in the context of DTs for ZDM. Finally, we provide suggestions for further developments in research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface defect detection by machine vision has received increased attention concerning the quality control of universal joint bearings (UJB). The defect distribution and counting information are important for product quality optimisation. However, vision defect detection for UJB remains a challenging task due to the diversity of background textures and defect characters on multiple surfaces. In this study, a multi-surface defect detection (MSDD) method consisting of region segmentation, feature extraction and detection is proposed. First, defect regions are accurately localised by the proposed adaptive defect region segmentation algorithm, which suppresses the inference of background variety. Then, a novel defect feature named multimodal fusion shape descriptor that integrates the global information and local information of defects is constructed to generate the discriminative defect representation. Finally, a defect feature extraction ability transfer strategy based on the transfer learning mechanism is proposed to address the problem of insufficient defect samples. The experimental results show that our method achieves the best accuracy of 94.8% macro-F1 and processes 28 defect images per second. Besides, the application effect in the practical production line indicates that our method meets the accuracy and real-time requirements of MSDD for UJB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inefficient practices in the logistics industry cause huge losses in social resources. Addressing the quality control issues is challenging in multi-stage transport. Due to the structural characteristics of the serial logistics service chains, the real delivery quality of each Third Party Logistics (3PL) is invisible to the Lead Logistics Provider (LLP), and the defects of a single 3PL's delivery quality will be covered up. Thus, unobservable delivery quality triggers the moral hazard action of 3PL, and strengthens the inequities in a serial logistics service chain. Blockchain technology can be an effective tool to resolve the moral hazard problem. We employ game theory-based models to investigate the blockchain adoption issue in serial logistics service chains. Adopting blockchain technology might bring Pareto improvement in delivery quality and total profit of the service chain. However, 3PL's profit may be hurt because of blockchain adoption. Therefore, successful blockchain implementation depends on whether the initiator of a blockchain programme can properly incentivise 3PLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies vary on oft-publicized size metrics (number of employees, revenue). Do consumers prefer otherwise identical products made by larger or smaller companies? The answer hinges on whether consumers perceive the products as low-tech or high-tech. This prediction stems from a novel framework charting two lay theories regarding key resources companies utilize to provide value to consumers: employees and finances. In the intrinsic motivation lay theory, consumers believe that employees of larger (vs. smaller) companies are less intrinsically motivated. In the financial resources lay theory, consumers believe that larger (vs. smaller) companies have greater capacity to fund research and development. Critically, product type (low-tech vs. high-tech) differentially affects the accessibility of these two lay theories: For low-tech (vs. high-tech) products, the intrinsic motivation lay theory is more accessible, driving quality evaluations and choice in favor of smaller companies. For high-tech (vs. low-tech) products, the financial resources lay theory is more accessible, driving quality evaluations and choice in favor of larger companies. This research advances theory by reconciling conflicting findings regarding product quality inferences from company size metrics, with guidance for marketers to improve quality evaluations and choice shares by strategically supporting or challenging lay theories and shifting perceptions of company size or product type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved lognormal reliability test plans are proposed for lot sentencing. A mixed integer nonlinear programming problem is stated and solved in order to find the duration of the reliability test based on lognormal failure count data that minimises the inspection effort. The maximum number of failures tolerated by the decision maker and the necessary number of devices to be tested are also determined. The producer and consumer risks are limited in advanced, whereas the cost function is essentially a linear combination of the required sample size and test time. The minimum-cost test for device reliability demonstration provides the best criterion to decide the acceptability of manufacturing processes and submitted lots. A quick and effective iterative algorithm is suggested to obtain the optimal reliability demonstration test plan. The developed methodology is applied to the production of microelectronic chips, semiconductor lasers and ball bearings for illustrative purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rocker arm plays a crucial role in an internal combustion engine's valve train system. Issues often arise when there are errors in the production of the rocker arm, such as the following: (1) misalignment of the rocker arm spindle hole and thread hole; and (2) bevel errors in the rocker arm spindle hole. This paper focuses on the development of a rocker arm chamfering and coaxial defect inspection system, which utilizes the RANSAC algorithm. The algorithm consists of five steps: (i) representing a 2D point cloud as a matrix with X and Y coordinates; (ii) detecting the number of circles present in the input point cloud; (iii) setting a tolerance threshold for the distance between the selected circle and other points, crucial for achieving high accuracy; (iv) specifying the maximum number of iterations to find the best model from the input points; (v) defining the maximum number of points that can belong to the same circle, considering point density and the anticipated circle's surface. The real-time inspection system is designed with a camera mounted on top of the box, and two LED arrays positioned around the box at suitable distances. Test results using a collected data set demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method in detecting each type of error. In the experiments, the proposed method successfully detected all coaxial defect samples and achieved a detection rate of 95.1% for chamfer defect samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality control of protein supplements intended for a large audience of consumers such as sportspeople is particularly important. A case study on quality control of dietary supplements containing protein and protein components is presented. The objective of the study was to evaluate the conformity of the quantities of amino acids, essential and branched-chain amino acids, declared on the label through measurements with chromatographic analytical tools. 16 sportspeople supplements from different European countries were tested. Analysis of concentrated whey protein highlighted some differences between the label and what was experimentally determined; in these samples some amino acids (6 amino acids out of 19) exceeded the maximum tolerance (>20%) regulated by the European Commission. To a lesser extent, analysis of the other classes revealed amino acid concentrations that exceeded the maximum analytical tolerance percentage. As regards the essential and branched amino acid supplements, it was seen that the declared quantity conforms with that determined experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a control method for transferring power generated by a solar photovoltaic system. The control algorithm, called MVF-DSOGI-PLL or Multi-Variable Filter Dual Second-Order Generalized Integrator Phase-Locked Loop), accurately estimates symmetrical components, phase angle, and positive sequence voltages of the Common Point of Interface (CPI) in distorted grid conditions. The approach creates a compensatory current to reduce PQ difficulties by extracting the size of the basic current load undergoing operation employing the SOGI method. These systems can operate in either modes of PV-DSTATCOM or DSTATCOM, depending on solar insolation's availability. The simulation models of the grid-interfaced SPV systems are developed in Matlab/Simulink to evaluate the performances of the suggested control method. The results of simulation demonstrate that the suggested control systems efficiently transfers the power generated by PV arrays to a grid while performing tasks like load balancing, power factor correction (PFC), and harmonics reduction. Furthermore, the MVF-DSOGI-PLL-based control algorithm successfully mitigates PQ issues in distribution networks with weak grids, ensuring that PQ levels remain between a limited set by the IEEE-519 standard. A laboratory prototype of the proposed system is implemented to assess its steady states and dynamic efficient under fluctuating solar insolation, and load imbalance distortions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, it was found that limiting the number of explanatory distillation curves input variables in a multivariate regression method to the most significant ones (10%, 50%, 90%, and 100% of recovered condensate volumes) provides a reliable model that can be used as a quick and inexpensive method for determining the octane rating of commercial gasoline. Octane numbers were predicted using a combination of distillation curves and multivariate calibration techniques of partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component regression (PCR). The root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) evaluation for calibration and prediction sets for PLSR technique varies between 0.545 and 0.902 for MON and RON, respectively, which is relatively acceptable when compared to earlier studies. Comparing PLSR and PCR results revealed that PCR has slightly lower RMSEP values for MON and RON, 0.527 and 0.899, respectively. The fact that measurements of studied key temperatures are a routine part of gasoline quality control makes the current technique a promising alternative to the suggested PLS distillation curves models in the literature, which require a larger number of explanatory variables. This method can also replace the costly and time-consuming spectral analysis now used to determine the octane rating of gasoline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the development of new therapeutic devices, comprehensive experimental investigations are necessary in all phases of the process. This requires the provision of device prototypes with reproducible and comparable operating parameters. In the current study, such miniature neon plasma jet prototypes designated for medical applications have been manufactured, characterized, and compared. The multi-parametric characterization included measurements of energy, power, temperature, leakage current, effluent length, and relative as well as absolute radiation. The dissipated electrical power and the optical emission in the UV range were identified as parameters indicating definable tolerances to sort out a device with inadequate species output. A liquid phase model was used to investigate reactive species deposition into simple matrices. Based on these investigations, a quality control procedure for manufacturing new device series is proposed. In conclusion, our findings suggest a test concept of achieving reproducible and comparable plasma device characterization as a putative quality control measure for lab-scale plasma source production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated assessment of noise level in clinical computed tomography (CT) images is a crucial technique for evaluating and ensuring the quality of these images. There are various factors that can impact CT image noise, such as statistical noise, electronic noise, structure noise, texture noise, artifact noise, etc. In this study, a method was developed to measure the global noise index (GNI) in clinical CT scans due to the fluctuation of x-ray quanta. Initially, a noise map is generated by sliding a 10 × 10 pixel for calculating Hounsfield unit (HU) standard deviation and the noise map is further combined with the gradient magnitude map. By employing Boolean operation, pixels with high gradients are excluded from the noise histogram generated with the noise map. By comparing the shape of the noise histogram from this method with Christianson's tissue-type global noise measurement algorithm, it was observed that the noise histogram computed in anthropomorphic phantoms had a similar shape with a close GNI value. In patient CT images, excluding the HU deviation due the structure change demonstrated to have consistent GNI values across the entire CT scan range with high heterogeneous tissue compared to the GNI values using Christianson's tissue-type method. The proposed GNI was evaluated in phantom scans and was found to be capable of comparing scan protocols between different scanners. The variation of GNI when using different reconstruction kernels in clinical CT images demonstrated a similar relationship between noise level and kernel sharpness as observed in uniform phantom: sharper kernel resulted in noisier images. This indicated that GNI was a suitable index for estimating the noise level in clinical CT images with either a smooth or grainy appearance. The study's results suggested that the algorithm can be effectively utilized to screen the noise level for a better CT image quality control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research discusses the effects of large round‐off errors on the performance of control charts for means when a process is normally distributed with a known variance and a fixed sample size. Quality control in practice uses control charts for means as a process monitoring tool, even when the data is significantly rounded. The objective of this research is to demonstrate how ignoring the round‐off errors and using a standard Shewhart chart affects the quality control of a measured process. The first part of the research includes theoretical calculations for estimating the values of alpha and beta, relating to the unrounded data and the large‐rounded data. For the rounded data, normality can no longer be assumed because the data is discrete; therefore, the multinomial distribution is used. The results show that given an in‐control process, alpha indicates that false alarms are more frequent, whereas given an out‐of‐control process, the influence on beta is minor and inconsistent. For some rounding levels, there is a decline in the control chart performances, and in others, there is an improvement. In the second part, a simulation study is used to evaluate the performances of the control chart based on a single sample, checking whether the conclusion (reject or fail to reject) for a sample is consistent for rounded and unrounded data. The results of the simulation match the theoretical calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the quality of air traffic control operations is crucial for enhancing airspace management. Thus, this paper proposes a data mining approach for conducting a comprehensive assessment of control operation quality (COQ) in increasingly complex operation environments. First, the authors establish a COQ evaluation index system that combines both subjective and objective measures. Key index parameters are determined using wavelet filtering and interval estimation techniques on the basis of data mining results. Second, the authors apply an entropy‐weighted cloud model to label data samples and classify COQ into 'excellent', 'good', and 'fair' levels. Finally, the authors establish an support vector machine‐based COQ assessment model using XGBoost feature combinations to verify the practical feasibility and scientific validity of their approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background When performing therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for flucloxacillin, it is advised to measure the unbound, not the total, flucloxacillin concentration. To be able to accurately quantify unbound flucloxacillin concentrations, a reliable analytical method is indispensable. Objective To determine the influence of temperature and pH of the sample during ultrafiltration on the measured unbound fraction of flucloxacillin. Materials and methods We performed three different experiments. In a single laboratory experiment, we investigated the influence of ultrafiltration temperature (10°C, room temperature and 37°C) on the measured unbound fraction of flucloxacillin for three concentration levels. In a multiple laboratory experiment, the results of eight laboratories participating in an international quality control programme measuring unbound flucloxacillin concentrations were analysed. In the third experiment, patient samples were ultrafiltrated using four different conditions: (i) physiological pH and room temperature; (ii) unadjusted pH (pH 9 after freezing) and room temperature; (iii) physiological pH and 37°C and (iv) unadjusted pH and 37°C. Results For all experiments, measurement of samples that were ultrafiltrated at room temperature resulted in a substantially lower unbound fraction compared to samples that were ultrafiltrated at 37°C. Adjusting the pH to physiological pH only had a minimal impact on the measured unbound fraction. Conclusions On the basis of these findings and considering the need for fast, simple and reproducible sample pretreatment for TDM purposes, we conclude that ultrafiltration of flucloxacillin should be performed at physiological temperature (37°C), but adjustment of pH does not seem to be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ozonation process of vegetable oils is commonly monitored by peroxide value (PV). However, PV methodology has been adapted from vegetable oils, with protocol divergences. In addition, few studies are based on the minimum level of ozonation to ensure biological activity. This study aimed to optimize the PV methodology for sunflower oil with different ozone dosage aiming to discriminate these samples. Also, to establish the relationship between its physicochemical properties with the biological activity. The optimized PV method was also applied to ozonated olive oil, as well as the other analytical techniques of iodine value (IV), acidity value (AV), density, viscosity, gas chromatography, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry (DSC and TG). The PV method discriminated the ozonation level of the samples. Both ozonated sunflower and olive oils need to reach an intermediary ozone dosage to perform the in vitro bactericidal and fungicidal activity (MIC ≤2.5%), and anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of nitric oxide release in Raw cells). These results point to the importance of standardizing the ozone dosage for each oil and the analytical methodologies used in its characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria are essential eukaryotic organelles that produce ATP as well as synthesize various macromolecules. They also participate in signalling pathways such as the innate immune response and apoptosis. These diverse functions are performed by >1,000 different mitochondrial proteins. Although mitochondria are continuously exposed to potentially damaging conditions such as reactive oxygen species, proteases/peptidases localized in different mitochondrial subcompartments, termed mitoproteases, maintain mitochondrial quality and integrity. In addition to processing incoming precursors and degrading damaged proteins, mitoproteases also regulate metabolic reactions, mitochondrial protein half-lives and gene transcription. Impaired mitoprotease function is associated with various pathologies. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of mitochondrial quality control regulated by autophagy, ubiquitin–proteasomes and mitoproteases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Die Pathologie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Multiple‐choice questions (MCQs) are the most popular type of items used in knowledge‐based assessments in undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare education. MCQs allow assessment of candidates' knowledge on a broad range of knowledge‐based learning outcomes in a single assessment. Single‐best‐answer (SBA) MCQs are the most versatile and commonly used format. Although writing MCQs may seem straight‐forward, producing decent‐quality MCQs is challenging and warrants a range of quality checks before an item is deemed suitable for inclusion in an assessment. Like all assessments, MCQ‐based examinations must be aligned with the learning outcomes and learning opportunities provided to the students. This paper provides evidence‐based guidance on the effective use of MCQs in student assessments, not only to make decisions regarding student progression but also to build an academic environment that promotes assessment as a driver for learning. Practical tips are provided to the readers to produce authentic MCQ items, along with appropriate pre‐ and post‐assessment reviews, the use of standard setting and psychometric evaluation of assessments based on MCQs. Institutions need to develop an academic culture that fosters transparency, openness, equality and inclusivity. In line with contemporary educational principles, teamwork amongst teaching faculty, administrators and students is essential to establish effective learning and assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiny coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.) is a traditional food flavouring herb of tropics with coriander‐like odour. This study evaluated six different drying conditions (sun, shade, oven at 40°C and 60°C, microwave, freeze‐drying) for spiny coriander leaves, emphasizing on the drying time, essential oil yield and composition. Fatty aldehydes, especially trans‐2‐dodecenal, majorly abundant key aromatic flavour of spiny coriander underwent probable enzymatic reduction to alcohols upon long‐term oven‐drying, affecting the oil quality. Non‐conventional techniques like microwave and freeze‐drying, despite their certain advantages significantly reduced the oil yield (0.030%–0.031%) in comparison to fresh leaves (0.045%). Sun drying was found to be superior among the tested conditions, considering a reasonable drying time (4 h) and ability to retain the oil yield (0.043%), composition (quality) and chlorophyll content. It can be a sustainable drying technique for spiny coriander in the tropical region with abundant sunlight, especially for its value addition and commercialization in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of mass spectrometry (MS) has become more important in most application domains in recent years. Pharmaceutical analysis is specific due to its stringent regulation procedures, the need for good laboratory/manufacturing practices, and a large number of routine quality control analyses to be carried out. The role of MS is, therefore, very different throughout the whole drug development cycle. While it dominates within the drug discovery and development phase, in routine quality control, the role of MS is minor and indispensable only for selected applications. Moreover, its role is very different in the case of analysis of small molecule pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Our review explains the role of current MS in the analysis of both small‐molecule chemical drugs and biopharmaceuticals. Important features of MS‐based technologies being implemented, method requirements, and related challenges are discussed. The differences in analytical procedures for small molecule pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals are pointed out. While a single method or a small set of methods is usually sufficient for quality control in the case of small molecule pharmaceuticals and MS is often not indispensable, a large panel of methods including extensive use of MS must be used for quality control of biopharmaceuticals. Finally, expected development and future trends are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsatellite markers (MS) have been widely used for parentage verification in most of the livestock species over the past decades mainly due to their high polymorphic information content. In the genomic era, the spread of genotype information as single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has raised the question to effectively use SNPs also for parentage testing. Despite the clear advantages of SNP panels in terms of cost, accuracy, and automation, the transition from MS to SNP markers for parentage verification is still very slow and, so far, only routinely applied in cattle. A major difficulty during this transition period is the need of SNP data for parents and offspring, which in most cases is not yet feasible due to the genotyping cost. To overcome the unavailability of same genotyping platform during the transition period, in this study we aimed to assess the feasibility of a MS imputation pipeline from SNPs in four native sheep dairy breeds: Comisana (N = 331), Massese (N = 210), Delle Langhe (N = 59) and Sarda (N = 1003). Those sheep were genotyped for 11 MS and with the Ovine SNP50 Bead Chip. Prior to imputation, a quality control (QC) was performed, and SNPs located within a window of 2 Mb from each MS were selected. The core of the developed pipeline was made up of three steps: (a) storing of both MS and SNP data in a Variant Call Format file, (b) masking MS information in a random sample of individuals (10%), (c) imputing masked MS based on non‐missing individuals (90%) using an imputation program. The feasability of the proposed methodology was assessed also among different training − testing split ratio, population size, number of flanking SNPs as well as within and among breeds. The accuracy of the MS imputation was assessed based on the genotype concordance as well as at parentage verification level in a subset of animals in which assigned parents' MS were available. A total of 8 MS passed the QC, and 505 SNPs were located within the ±2 Mb window from each MS, with an average of 63 SNPs per MS. The results were encouraging since when excluding the worst imputed MS (OARAE129), and regardless on the analyses performed (within and across breeds) for all breeds, we achieved an overall concordance rate over 94%. In addition, on average, the imputed offspring MS resulted in equivalent parentage outcome in 94% of the cases when compared to verification using original MS, highlighting both the feasibility and the eventual practical advantage of using this imputation pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global market era, food product control is very challenging. It is impossible to track and control all production and delivery chains not only for regular customers but also for the State Sanitary Inspections. Certified laboratories currently use accurate food safety and quality inspection methods. However, these methods are very laborious and costly. The present review highlights the need to develop fast, robust, and cost-effective analytical assays to determine food contamination. Application of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as selective recognition units for chemosensors' fabrication was herein explored. MIPs enable fast and inexpensive electrochemical and optical transduction, significantly improving detectability, sensitivity, and selectivity. MIPs compromise durability of synthetic materials with a high affinity to target analytes and selectivity of molecular recognition. Imprinted molecular cavities, present in MIPs structure, are complementary to the target analyte molecules in terms of size, shape, and location of recognizing sites. They perfectly mimic natural molecular recognition. The present review article critically covers MIPs' applications in selective assays for a wide range of food products. Moreover, numerous potential applications of MIPs in the food industry, including sample pretreatment before analysis, removal of contaminants, or extraction of high-value ingredients, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the research status on mechanism of the skid-resistance for asphalt pavement, the related achievements of the rubber friction, the tire–road contact, and the influence factors were reviewed. The rubber friction was reviewed from the mechanism and rubber friction model. The tire-road contact was studied from the modeling methods, the evaluation methods, and the skid-resistance mechanisms at different conditions. The influence factors of skid-resistance were summarized from different designing processes. This review showed that the appropriate contact or evaluation model should be selected according to the required parameters. Although the finite element method is widely used, the accuracy of the model, the boundary conditions, and the load cases need to be further improved. The optimized aggregates and asphalt binders, reasonable gradation, reasonable geometric design, and strict construction quality control are necessary for good initial skid-resistance. Pavement texture as an important factor affecting skid-resistance should be considered in pavement gradation design, especially for wearing layer technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a practical technique in mainstream video coding applications, rate control dominates important to ensure compression quality with limited bitrates constraints. However, most rate control methods mainly focus on objective quality while ignoring the perceptual quality improvement for human eyes. In this paper, we propose a two-stage rate control algorithm to optimize the perceptual quality at the frame encoding stage and the coding tree unit (CTU) encoding stage for high efficiency video coding (HEVC), respectively. Firstly, for the frame encoding stage, with inter-frame distortion dependency consideration, a frame-level rate control method is presented by adjusting the frame-level Lagrange multiplier adaptively with a preprocessing method. Secondly, for the CTU encoding stage, we propose a saliency-based CTU-level perceptual quality rate control algorithm, which employs CTU-level saliency weight to adjust the perceptual rate-distortion (R-D) model. We conduct the CTU-level rate control by an optimized Lagrange multiplier and quantization parameter (QP) to achieve perceptual quality optimization. Extensive experimental results reveal that, compared with state-of-the-art rate control methods on HEVC, our algorithm achieves significant perceptual coding performance with improved subjective visual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a general, integrated production, quality, and condition-based maintenance model for imperfect processes with multiple out-of-control operating states. The production system is subject to multiple quality disruptions, which affect both the process mean and variance, and failures. The quality of the production process output is monitored by a fully adaptive control scheme, and the state of deterioration is estimated through periodic sampling inspection. The proposed control scheme's operation is modeled through a Markov chain, and the optimal quality control, maintenance, and inventory policy are defined based on an expected total cost minimization criterion. Finally, an illustrative example is employed to demonstrate the operation of the proposed model, sensitivity analysis is conducted to generate insights into how the process parameters misspecification affects the economic performance, and a comparative study is performed to evaluate the model's superiority against the respective single quality shift model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality control (QC) is an essential component of quality assurance (QA) programs used to monitor and ensure the highway construction projects' quality. After receiving the contractor's QC plan, state departments of transportation (DOTs) conduct review and acceptance, monitor the QC process, and ensure construction quality by performing inspection activities. Given that state DOTs are increasingly implementing alternative contracting methods (ACMs), including construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC), design-build (D-B), and public–private partnerships (P3), it is essential to consider the impact of shifting more responsibility to the contractor on quality management activities, including developing and monitoring QC plans throughout the project development. The objective of this paper was to investigate the implementation of QC plans for administering QA specifications in highway infrastructure projects delivered using ACMs. The data collected from a national survey questionnaire of 43 DOTs in the US and structured interviews with seven DOT representatives were employed to investigate this research's objective. As a result, eight typical requirements of QC plans in ACM projects were identified in terms of certification and qualification of QC personnel and process control. Additionally, the standard of care of QC staff in ACMs was not found to be higher than that in design-bid-build. Nine risk factors related to the oversight of QC plans in D-B, CM/GC, and P3 highway projects were identified. There was no statistical difference in the nine risk scores among D-B, CM/GC, and P3 projects. The findings from seven case studies provide insights regarding the implementation of QC plans for ACM highway projects. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by advancing the understanding of how state agencies execute and oversee QC activities in ACM projects. The outcomes of this study may help state DOTs identify optimal QC practices to administer the QA process in ACM projects. This study investigates the current state of practice in implementing QC plans to manage and improve QA processes for highway projects delivered using ACMs such as CM/GC, D-B, and P3. This study synthesized and documented typical QC requirements used by state DOTs in reviewing, accepting, and monitoring contractor compliance with their QC plans. Additionally, the descriptive and inferential testing results of nine risk factors in implementing QC plans in highway projects found in this study enable highway agencies to effectively justify their monitoring process of the QC plan implementation. Further, the results from seven case studies provide insights and key lessons learned regarding (1) the guidance and templates for developing a QC plan; and (2) risk perceptions in managing the QC plan implementation in ACM highway projects that can benefit both the contractors and state DOTs. The outcomes of this study also shed light on exploring the optimal allocation of responsibilities between state DOTs and contractors in implementing QC activities to administer QA programs in ACM highway projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical chemistry tests are most widely used in clinical laboratories, and diverse measurement systems for these analyses are available in China. We evaluated the imprecision of clinical chemistry measurement systems based on internal QC (IQC) data. Methods: IQC data for 27 general chemistry analytes were collected in February each year from 2013 to 2022. Four performance specifications were used to calculate pass rates for CVs of IQC data in 2022. Boxplots were drawn to analyze trends of CVs, and differences in CVs among different groups were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U-test or Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The number of participating laboratories increased significantly from 1,777 in 2013 to 5,425 in 2022. CVs significantly decreased for all 27 analytes, except creatine kinase and lipase. Triglycerides, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, iron, and γ-glutamyl transferase achieved pass rates >80% for all goals. Nine analytes with pass rates <80% based on 1/3 allowable total error were further analyzed; the results indicated that closed systems exhibited lower CVs than open systems for all analytes, except total protein. For all nine analytes, differences were significant between tertiary hospitals and non-tertiary hospitals and between accredited and non-accredited laboratories. Conclusions: The CVs of IQC data for clinical chemistry have seen a continuous overall improvement in China. However, there is ample room for imprecision improvement for several analytes, with stricter performance specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bottom-up method is described to grow patterned polycrystalline diamond on silicon substrates using polymer assisted seeding and photolithography. Diamond seeding densities were > 1011 cm−2. The pattern consists of well-defined features ranging from microns to millimeters in size. A systematic study was carried out to investigate the effects of CH4 concentration (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0% in H2) on diamond grown using hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. The study is focused on the early growth regime following 30 min, 45 min, and 2 h process times. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy measurements are used to study thickness, growth rate, grain size, grain morphology, and surface roughness of the polycrystalline diamond. SEM cross section images confirm the growth of high seeding diamond films without voids at the substrate interface. An increasing trend of lateral particles sizes, with increasing CH4, is observed reaching ~ 365 nm at the highest CH4 concentration. Material quality is checked using UV micro-Raman spectroscopy including line scans to investigate uniformity of patterned features. The results show that higher CH4 concentration leads to narrow linewidths and higher relative integrated intensities of diamond. These characteristics are consistent with improvements in the diamond quality in the early growth stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 18S rRNA sequence is highly conserved, particularly at its 3′-end, which is formed by the endonuclease Nob1. How Nob1 identifies its target sequence is not known, and in vitro experiments have shown Nob1 to be error-prone. Moreover, the sequence around the 3′-end is degenerate with similar sites nearby. Here, we used yeast genetics, biochemistry, and next-generation sequencing to investigate a role for the ATPase Rio1 in monitoring the accuracy of the 18S rRNA 3′-end. We demonstrate that Nob1 can miscleave its rRNA substrate and that miscleaved rRNA accumulates upon bypassing the Rio1-mediated quality control (QC) step, but not in healthy cells with intact QC mechanisms. Mechanistically, we show that Rio1 binding to miscleaved rRNA is weaker than its binding to accurately processed 18S rRNA. Accordingly, excess Rio1 results in accumulation of miscleaved rRNA. Ribosomes containing miscleaved rRNA can translate, albeit more slowly, thereby inviting collisions with trailing ribosomes. These collisions result in degradation of the defective ribosomes utilizing parts of the machinery for mRNA QC. Altogether, the data support a model in which Rio1 inspects the 3′-end of the nascent 18S rRNA to prevent miscleaved 18S rRNA-containing ribosomes from erroneously engaging in translation, where they induce ribosome collisions. The data also demonstrate how ribosome collisions purify cells of altered ribosomes with different functionalities, with important implications for the concept of ribosome heterogeneity. A previous study in PLOS Biology found that the kinases Rio1, Nob1 and Pno1 cooperate to establish a checkpoint that prevents the escape of immature ribosomes into polysomes. This Update Article shows that Rio1 only releases accurately processed rRNAs into the translating pool and that misprocessed rRNAs are removed via a ribosome collision-dependent mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambulatory surgery mode is a surgical diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation system based on the concept of rapid recovery. Ambulatory surgery in our country is in a state of rapid development, and the medical quality management of ambulatory surgery is also receiving increasing attention. This article elaborates on the perioperative management of ambulatory surgery, exploring the management details of daytime surgery from various aspects such as patient selection, surgical anesthesia selection, intraoperative management, postoperative pain relief, nausea and vomiting management, and discharge follow-up. Intended to establish a unified quality management model for ambulatory surgical anesthesia and conduct comprehensive quality improvement. We hope it could provide more appropriate methods for clinical ambulatory surgery management, promote the healthy, rapid, and efficient development of ambulatory surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, titled "RETRACTED: Opa1 Reduces Hypoxia-Induced Cardiomyocyte Death by Improving Mitochondrial Quality Control," discusses the role of Opa1, a protein involved in mitochondrial quality control, in protecting cardiomyocytes from damage caused by hypoxic stress. The study found that Opa1 overexpression improved mitochondrial function and reduced cardiomyocyte death in response to hypoxia. However, it is important to note that this article has been retracted. Additionally, there are lists of references to other scientific articles related to cardioprotection and mitochondrial quality control in cardiac cells, providing valuable insights into cardiac cell biology and potential therapeutic strategies for cardiac diseases. [Extracted from the article]

RNA extraction from formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissues (FFPE) presents a notable challenge. Extracting RNA from FFPE tissues has been challenging due to RNA degradation and chemical bonding between RNA and proteins during the fixation process. This results in reduced concentration and quality of the extracted RNA from FFPE tissues, impacting subsequent downstream analyses. In this study, we present an optimized approach involves replacing the tissue temperature‐digestion step with tissue crushing and homogenization. RNA extraction was performed on 100 FFPE tissue blocks obtained from the archive of Pathology Department of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. After deparafinization of the tissues, RNA was extracted using this modified method, and the results compared to those of a standard extraction procedure and commercial kits used for FFPE tissue. Then gel electrophoresis and Real time PCR were done to check the quality and integrity of the extracted RNA. The results show that the concentration of RNA obtained from this method was significantly (P value <0.0001) higher than the other methods. In conclusion, we have successfully introduced a modified method that enables the extraction of high‐quality and intact RNA from FFPE tissue. This method stands as a reliable option for molecular biology studies necessitating precise RNA extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subnanometer pores/channels (SNPCs) play crucial roles in regulating electrochemical redox reactions for rechargeable batteries. The delicately designed and tailored porous structure of SNPCs not only provides ample space for ion storage but also facilitates efficient ion diffusion within the electrodes in batteries, which can greatly improve the electrochemical performance. However, due to current technological limitations, it is challenging to synthesize and control the quality, storage, and transport of nanopores at the subnanometer scale, as well as to understand the relationship between SNPCs and performances. In this review, we systematically classify and summarize materials with SNPCs from a structural perspective, dividing them into one-dimensional (1D) SNPCs, two-dimensional (2D) SNPCs, and three-dimensional (3D) SNPCs. We also unveil the unique physicochemical properties of SNPCs and analyse electrochemical couplings in SNPCs for rechargeable batteries, including cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and functional materials. Finally, we discuss the challenges that SNPCs may face in electrochemical reactions in batteries and propose future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]