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The history of (external) quality assurance schemes in European higher education since ca. 1980 is sketched in this article. The three pioneering countries in Western Europe are taken as models of different developments and contrasted with the rise of accreditation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Using theoretical insights, the dynamics of these developments are sketched, then contrasted with the Bologna Process. (Contains 9 footnotes and 2 tables.)

The development of accreditation agencies within the Higher Education sector in order to assess and guarantee the quality of services or product is still a growing phenomenon in Europe. Accreditations are conceived by institutional authors and by authors who directly deal with quality assurance processes as a means of legitimization or a means of differentiation and grading which reduces the uncertainty that characterizes the market of institutions and diplomas. By doing so, such authors do not put the light on the concrete, local and political consequences of the implementation of accreditation processes within the concerned institutions. They thus do not take into account a major effect of the accreditation. Indeed the main consequence of such an implementation is an internal one. By focusing on the implementation of the three main accreditation processes of Business schools and programmes (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) within three French "Grandes Ecoles" and three English Business Schools, I show that accreditations are first and foremost used by the local Deans of the Business Schools where accreditation processes are implemented. They are used as management tools of a special kind; their implementation results in the progressive consolidation of the institutional position of the Deans within their universities.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to question the appropriateness of a proposal for a new European Qualifications Framework. The framework has three perspectives: historical; analytical; and national. Design/methodology/approach: The approaches are diverse since the first insists on the institutional and decision-making processes at European level questioning the impact that could have on the recently formalised Open Method of Coordination. The second goes into more detailed analyses of the instrument itself and of its shortcomings both in conceptual terms and on its pragmatic ones. The last approach is a comparative one by which the French system is "benchmarked" against EQF guidelines. Findings: The main conclusion is that there is obviously a political will to question the role and the structure of qualifications in view of an economy and a society of knowledge and that research has much to contribute--on very different levels--like the three chosen for this article. Research limitations/implications: Choosing to mix three quite different approaches in one short text is an attempt to be valued since it shows the different aspects under which a so-called "neutral" instrument needs to be regarded. Practical implications: Practically, this speaks for the further involvement of research in the present, very institutional and organisational discussions on European qualifications. Originality/value: In terms of research, it is seldom that these various levels are considered together. The article proves that there is a case to do so. (Contains 16 notes.)

This article aims to study the design and the organization of auditing systems to develop environmental or quality assurance schemes at the farm level and the role that extension services could play in these processes. It starts by discussing the issue of combining auditing and advisory activities and developing auditing competences. Empirical data is based on a case study conducted in northern France with Chambers of Agriculture including: a) the study of the organizational design set up for the auditing system in order to guarantee its credibility and reliability; b) the analysis of audit training sessions delivered to agricultural advisers. Our results provide a formalization of what can be an audit work and the independence of the auditor. It is argued that the interpretation of independence and the management of the human resources and their competencies determine how extension services get involved in quality assurance systems at the farm level. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 1 note.)

In both Britain and France, evaluation has been seen as one element of national strategies to internationalise higher education (HE), with the spread of evaluation indicating policy convergence. However, there are dangers in describing the cross-national adoption of evaluation as an instance of policy transfer in higher education. This article compares two evaluation agencies, the French Comite National de l'Evaluation des Etablissements Publics a caractere scientifique, culturel et professionnel (CNE) and the British Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), which have both been seen as guarantors of the quality of domestic HE, and concomitantly as elements in international HE promotion. It indicates considerable differences in the evaluation reports produced by each agency, and links these to the context in which they were produced: the institutional relationships between each agency, higher education institutions, and the state; and the general context of "evaluation" in each country's public sphere. The article thus challenges analyses which have seen the proliferation of evaluation across national contexts as evidence of "policy transfer" or of "homogenisation". Instead, it shows how differences in an ostensibly similar "product", the "quality reports" produced by each agency, reflect the institutional context of evaluation and its role in public policy writ large.

At the Archives Departementales des Pyrenees-Atlantiques, the encoding of more than forty legacy finding aids written between 1863 and 2000 is part of a program of digitization of the collections. Because of the size of the project, an external consultant, ArchProteus, has been brought in and specific management procedures have been put in place within the institution. The conversion has allowed the testing and verification of the flexibility of the EAD DTD, despite the various hurdles negotiated throughout the project, such as the necessity of reengineering finding aids, and standardizing index terms, etc. It becomes clear that a conversion project--in this case, a retrospective conversion--will lead the archivist to rethink the production of finding aids and the relationship with users and patrons. (Contains 3 tables and 4 notes.)

This article presents four projects geared towards providing the community of EAD users with methods and tools to control the quality of archival finding aids, to extract metadata from them in Dublin Core and qualified Dublin Core for use in OAI-PMH repositories, and to publish them on the Web along with the digital images produced by digitization of the material described. The first two projects were conducted in 2004 by the Centre Historique des Archives Nationales together with AJLSM and resulted in the writing of reports and programs. The other projects are PLEADE and Navimages, which consist of open source applications that allow the building of Web-based search and viewing applications. All these tools can be used by archivists to create a complete publishing suite. (Contains 3 figures and 29 notes.)

For many years, the European evaluation community did not recognize evaluation standards as a relevant tool for quality assurance. References to the developments in the United States were exceptionally rare in the European evaluation literature during the 1970s and 1980s. One of the first articles on evaluation standards to appear in the European literature was Wolfgang Beywl's discussion of the Evaluation Standards of the Evaluation Research Society and the Standards for Educational Evaluation. Another early example of the standards discussion in Europe was the translation of the ERS Standards into German. In the past decade, however, discussion about evaluation standards has accelerated in Europe. Based on the cultural diversity of the region, national evaluation organizations have taken distinct approaches to activities in the field of quality assurance in evaluation. This article examines the domain of evaluation standards since the beginning of the 1990s in Western Europe. It looks specifically at Switzerland, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom because they are the European front-runners in this domain. Although the focus of this article is on evaluation standards, it also discusses documents with other labels, specifically principles and charters. The argument underlying this decision is twofold. First, despite their names, these documents play similar roles as nominal evaluation standards. Second, in the author's view, their existence has an unavoidable relevance for the future of evaluation standards in Europe. (Contains 2 tables.)

Three different approaches to the evaluation of higher education in European and Scandinavian countries are examined: evaluation of a single discipline across institutions (Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, northern Germany); evaluation of several disciplines within certain institutions (France, Germany); and internal evaluation of courses and programs (Italy). (MSE)

The China–France oceanography satellite scatterometer (CSCAT) is a rotating fan-beam scanning observation scatterometer operating in the Ku-band, and its product quality is affected by rain contamination. The multiple azimuthal NRCS measurements provided by CSCAT L2A, the retrieved wind speed and wind direction provided by CSCAT L2B, as well as the rain data provided by GPM, are used to construct a new rain identification and rain intensity classification model for CSCAT. The EXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model, optimized by the Dung Beetle Optimizer (DBO) algorithm, is developed and evaluated. The performance of the DBO-XGBoost exceeds that of the CSCAT rain flag in terms of rain identification ability. Also, compared with XGBoost without parameter optimization, K-nearest Neighbor with K = 5 (KNN5) and K-nearest Neighbor with K = 3 (KNN3), the performance of DBO-XGBoost is better. Its rain identification achieves an accuracy of about 90% and a precision of about 80%, which enhances the quality control of rain. DBO-XGBoost has also shown good results in the classification of rain intensity. This ability is not available in traditional rain flags. In the global regional and local regional tests, most of the accuracy and precision in rain intensity classification have reached more than 80%. This technology makes full use of the rich observed information of CSCAT, realizes rain identification, and can also classify the rain intensity so as to further evaluate the degree of rain contamination of CSCAT products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is critical to perform dose assessment after internal contamination with beta-particle emitting 90Sr due to its relatively long physical and biological half-lives, along with the higher specific activities of 90Sr and its daughter 90Y. For rapid public screening after a large-scale radiological/nuclear accident, we developed a novel 90Sr bioassay for small-volume urine samples using triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). After organic matter decomposition of 10 mL urine using HNO3, stacked DGA and Sr resin cartridges were used directly for chromatographic separation and purification of Sr. Yields of Sr were measured as 94 ± 5% (n = 12) for the whole procedure, using stable 88Sr originally in the urine sample as a yield tracer. CO2 proved to be a better reaction gas than O2, to overcome isobaric/polyatomic interferences, especially those caused by Zr and Ge. With a conventional introduction system + s lens + 75% CO2 flow rate in the 4# cell gas line, the method detection limit (MDL) was estimated to be 0.978 pg L−1 (5 Bq L−1) in 10 mL urine, meeting the public screening requirement for judging ingestion/inhalation exposure beyond 1 mSv Committed Effective Dose Equivalent, with a reasonable throughput (∼6 h for 12 samples). For method validation, the standard reference materials provided by PROCORAD (Association for the PROmotion of Quality COntrol in RADiotoxicological Analysis), France, were analyzed and the results were all in good agreement with the assigned values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: [68Ga]Ga-PentixaFor is a promising radiotracer for positron emission tomography imaging of several human tumors overexpressing the chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4). CXCR4 overexpression has been demonstrated in patients with hematologic malignancies, solid cancers, as well as cardiovascular pathologies of inflammatory origins. However, its radio synthesis is not yet fully developed in France, and existing methods do not use our type of synthesis module. Therefore, we aimed at developing a [68Ga]Ga-PentixaFor synthesis with Gaia/Luna Elysia-Raytest module to use it in clinical purpose. Results: 12 syntheses were carried out by varying the temperature conditions and radiolabeling times, and led to choose specific labelling conditions with the Gaia/Luna Elysia-Raytest module: 97 °C, 4 min. The mean synthesis time of the 3 validation runs under good manufacturing practice (GMP) was 24 min 27 s (± 8 s), and the mean radiochemical yield was 87.0% [standard deviation (SD) 6.67%]. Different quality control parameters were also evaluated in accordance with European Pharmacopeia: radiochemical and radionuclidic purity, pH, sterility, stability and endotoxins levels. The average radiochemical purity was 99.1% (SD 0.25%) assessed by instant thin layer chromatography and 99.8% (SD 0.092%) assessed by high pressure liquid chromatography. average [68Ge] breakthrough was 1.48 × 10–5%, under the recommended level of 0.001%. We assessed the stability of the radiotracer up to 4 h at room temperature (no augmentation of the [68Ga] chloride in the final product, i.e. radiochemical purity (RCP) > 98.5%). The endotoxins levels were < 5 EU/mL, and the pH was 6.5 (same for the three syntheses). Conclusion: The [68Ga]Ga-PentixaFor synthesis process developed on the Gaia/Luna Elysia-Raytest module has fulfilled all acceptance criteria for injectable radiopharmaceutical products regarding the European Pharmacopeia. The radiochemical purity, stability, efficacy, as well as the microbiological quality of the three GMP batches were found to be good. The robustness of the synthesis process may be suitable for multi-dose application in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the technical evaluation of the commercially available, clinical, bi‐planar, low dose, digital X‐ray system (EOS System, EOS imaging, France). The unit is used for upright, weight‐bearing musculoskeletal pathologies, in particular, in the spine and lower limbs. The evaluation incorporated tests on the X‐ray generator performance, radiation/imaging field alignment, dose area product accuracy and image quality. The assessment methodology was based on objective parameters and required equipment readily available for technical evaluation of other radiological equipment. Results demonstrated that the system performs well within acceptable performance criteria with regard to X‐ray generator performance, radiation/imaging field alignment and dose area product accuracy. In addition, results from the image‐quality assessment were aligned with previously published work. The work presented in this article can be used for the technical evaluation of the EOS System at other clinical sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle Paleolithic site of Mutzig-Rain, discovered in 1992, has been studied through several pits (called M1 to M15) and excavation area since 2009, evidencing several localities and delivering more than 5000 lithic artifacts and 12,000 well preserved paleontological remains. The main excavation M2 sequence corresponds to a collapsed rock shelter, containing several levels of Middle Paleolithic occupation. The faunal assemblage of the main archaeological levels (l.7a to 7c) from this sequence includes woolly mammoth, reindeer, horse, bison and woolly rhinoceros, reflecting both cold climate and a steppe context for the whole sequence, while microfauna from the lower levels (l.7d and l.10) indicate the occasional presence of forests that could correspond to a cooler climate. In 1995, U-series analyses on bones from M8 were attempted but the obtained results did not follow the sample stratigraphic order. Later, an OSL dating study has placed the M2 archaeological sequence as coeval to the onset of the Weichselian glacial stage (MIS5d-5a), between 100 and 80 ka. The good preservation of the abundant faunal remains at Mutzig-Rain has allowed their use for ESR/U-series dating studies and the results obtained on Mutzig horse teeth are given in the present paper. A first set of analyses of teeth carried out from the M2 excavation provided ages around 106-96 ka for levels M2 l.7, in agreement with the OSL data, despite quite systematic evidence of U-leaching from the dental tissues and the consequent use of the Accelerating Uptake (AU) model for the age calculation. A second set of analyses on teeth from the M2 and M8 localities confirms this uranium leaching trend, placing the deposition of these levels ca 133 -122 ka. Taking the whole set of ESR/U-series ages, which are slightly older than the OSL dates, would suggest that the stratigraphic sequence was deposited between ca 130 ka (M8 l. 6 and M2 l.10) and ca 100 ka (M2 l.7), i.e. on a time range covering the Eemian Interglacial (MIS5e) and the subsequent Early Weichselian Glacial stage (MIS5d-5a). However, as the faunal record indicates a cool climate and an open steppe-like environment for the whole archaeological sequence, the ESR/U-series dating to the Eemian Interglacial in the Mutzig-Rain sequence seems unlikely. In order to check the quality of the paleodosimetric reconstruction of the ESR/U-series analyses, an additional isochron study was performed for the two levels for which several teeth were analyzed: M2 l.7 (n = 4) and M8 l.6 (n = 3). This isochron study validates the proposed reconstruction and confirms the Early Weichselian age of these two levels. These results confirm the chronology established previously with OSL and places Mutzig-Rain as a reference site for the understanding of the Neanderthal Middle Palaeolithic occupation in Eastern France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In France, the number of hospitals involved in clinical research and committed to a quality approach is increasing. The objective of such approaches is to ensure the safety of patients involved in research projects by improving quality., Objective: The University Hospital of Amiens has chosen to certify all its clinical research activities in the same scope according to the ISO 9001: 2015 standard., Methods: Action planning has been established and a head of quality management has been appointed to oversee this process., Results: The activities in the five departments of our university hospital jointly certified in December 2019, are: activities related to internal and external sponsors, as well as methodology and monitoring of clinical research projects conducted in the Clinical Research and Innovation Department (CRID); help with clinical research investigations in the Clinical Research Center (CRC); management of the pathway of therapeutic units used in clinical research (excluding the manufacture of drugs) in the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) of the Hospital Pharmacy; the conservation and provision of biological resources (tissues and fluids) for cancer research in the Tumor bank of Picardy; the collection, reception, preparation, quality control, conservation and provision of biological resources for research purposes. These activities fall within the framework of legal and regulatory activities and the provision of secure storage in the Biological Resources Center already ISO 9001 certified since 2004 and NF S96-900: 2011 certified since 2009., Conclusions: The choice of a common quality approach has brought together more than 70 persons from 5 departments involved in clinical research projects within a single certificate with the aim of continuous improvement., (Copyright © 2022 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

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Background: The prognosis for pancreatic cancer remains poor despite diagnostic advances and treatments with new chemotherapeutic regimens. The five year survival rate remains below 3%. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new treatments to significantly improve the prognosis. In addition, there is a big gap in terms of the screening, early diagnosis and prevention of pancreatic cancer the incidence of which is increasing dramatically.Methods: Design: the BACAP cohort is a prospective multicenter pancreatic cancer cohort (pancreatic ductal carcinoma) with clinical and multiple biological samples; Participating centers: 15 French academic and private hospitals; Study Population: any cytologically and/or histologically proven pancreatic carcinoma regardless of the stage (resectable, borderline, locally advanced or metastatic) or treatment (surgery, palliative chemotherapy, best supportive care). At least 1500 patients will be included. Clinical data collected include: disease presentation, epidemiological and social factors, baseline biology, radiology, endoscopic ultrasound, staging, pathology, treatments, follow-up (including biological and radiological), and survival. All these data are collected and stored through an e-observation system at a centralized data center. Biological samples and derived products (i.e. before any treatment): blood, saliva, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration materials from the primary tumor, fine needle biopsy of metastases and surgically resected tissue. DNA and RNA are extracted from fine needle aspiration materials and are quantified and characterized for quality. Whole blood, plasma and serum are isolated from blood samples. Frozen tissues were specifically allocated to the cohort. All derived products and saliva are stored at - 80 °C. Main end-points: i) to centralize clinical data together with multiple biological samples that are harmonized in terms of sampling, the post sampling process and storage; ii) to identify new molecular markers for the diagnosis, prognosis and possibly the predictive response to pancreatic cancer surgery and or chemotherapy.Discussion: The BACAP cohort is a unique prospective biological clinical database that provides the opportunity to identify correlations between the presence/expression of a broad panel of biomarkers (DNA, RNA, miRNA, proteins, etc.), epidemiological and social data, various clinical situations, various stages and the differentiation of the tumor, treatments and survival.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02818829 . Registration date: June 30, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of observations near the surface is often cited as a limiting factor in the observation and prediction of deep convection. Recently, networks of personal weather stations (PWSs) measuring pressure, temperature and humidity in near-real time have been rapidly developing. Even if they suffer from quality issues, their high temporal resolution and their higher spatial density than standard weather station (SWS) networks have aroused interest in using them to observe deep convection. In this study, the PWS contribution to the observation of deep-convection features near the ground is evaluated. Four cases of deep convection in 2018 over France were considered using data from Netatmo, a PWS manufacturer. A fully automatic PWS processing algorithm, including PWS quality control, was developed. After processing, the mean number of observations available increased by a factor of 134 in mean sea level pressure (MSLP), of 11 in temperature and of 14 in relative humidity over the areas of study. Near-surface SWS analyses and analyses comprising standard and personal weather stations (SPWSs) were built. The usefulness of crowdsourced data was proven both objectively and subjectively for deep-convection observation. Objective validations of SWS and SPWS analyses by leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) were performed using SWSs as the validation dataset. Over the four cases, LOOCV root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) decreased for all parameters in SPWS analyses compared to SWS analyses. RMSEs decreased by 73 % to 77 % in MSLP, 12 % to 23 % in temperature and 17 % to 21 % in relative humidity. Subjectively, fine-scale structures showed up in SPWS analyses, while being partly, or not at all, visible in SWS observations only. MSLP jumps accompanying squall lines or individual cells were observed as well as wake lows at the rear of these lines. Temperature drops and humidity rises accompanying most of the storms were observed sooner and at a finer resolution in SPWS analyses than in SWS analyses. The virtual potential temperature was spatialized at an unprecedented spatial resolution. This provided the opportunity for observing cold-pool propagation and secondary convective initiation over areas with high virtual potential temperatures, i.e. favourable locations for near-surface parcel lifting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HER2 status is essential for breast cancer subtyping and for systemic treatment decisions as patients with HER2-positive tumours can benefit from anti- HER2 targeted therapies. However, few data are available on the current HER2-positive breast cancers rate and its evolution across years. Using data from the Côte d'Or breast cancer registry, we identified, between 1998 and 2011, 3220 women with invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the same laboratory which carries out regular internal quality controls and participates in multiannual international quality control programmes. Throughout the studied period of time, despite an increase of annual breast cancer cases, HER2 positivity rate remained stable (13.1%; P = 0.495), as did the proportion of tumours with positive hormone receptor status ( P = 0.467) and the proportion of SBR grade II/ III tumours ( P = 0.747). Other characteristics, less strongly associated with HER2-positive status, showed either no annual variation (nodal and metastatic status, tumour size) or an annual positive trend (mean age, lobular carcinomas) or an annual negative trend (ductal carcinomas). These data reveal that in a population with stable clinical and pathological characteristics, and with the use of standardised assays, HER2 positivity rate remains stable over time. These results also emphasise that current HER2 positivity rate is lower than initially reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the causality effects between quality control assurance certification and corporate performance. The study uses the matching method that Donald B. Rubin first introduced in 1974. By matching the 2006 COI survey and the DIANE database, the available data show that: while quality control assurance certification has given a major boost to French companies' financial capital productivity, it has no effect on their added value, turnover and the labor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main reservoir quality controls in Triassic Buntsandstein deposits in the Upper Rhine Graben and surrounding outcrops in Germany and France are discussed to be authigenic mineral precipitates and the vicinity to structural elements (faults and fractures). To better understand reservoir quality controls in this lithology, a detailed diagenetic study based on petrographic methods (optical and SEM) in combination with petrophysical measurements (porosity and permeability) on core material (1133–1591 m TVD) was initiated. This case study highlights that large detrital grain sizes and low compactional porosity loss in association with blocky authigenic cements such as quartz and dolomite are beneficial to reservoir quality, whereas variable illite textures have a dual, but opposite effect on reservoir qualities. Grain coating illite (tangential and radial) may preserve intergranular porosity by inhibition of syntaxial quartz precipitation, while at the same time, if present at grain contacts, tangential illite enhances chemical compaction and reduces the available intergranular volume. The presence of early diagenetic carbonate cemented nodules is also beneficial for reservoir quality in stabilizing the grain framework against compactive porosity loss. Overall, detrital grain size and the intergranular volume, as a result of compaction and cementation, are derived as the main reservoir quality controls. The formation of hydrothermally mineralized veins prior to hydrocarbon charging does not show a distinct impact on porosity and permeability in the sandstone matrix. Fractures and interstices between vein minerals such as barite, galena, tetrahedrite, and siderite are equally covered in hydrocarbon residue, as are all present detrital and authigenic minerals in the sandstones indicating that vein precipitates, if not pervasive, do not alter the overall reservoir quality. This study may indicate additional potential to identify high reservoir quality intervals in the studied succession. • Compaction and detrital grain size control RQ in studied Buntsandstein samples. • Quartz and dolomite cements counteract compaction. • Blocky cements (syntaxial quartz, dolomite nodules) preserve RQ. • Tangential illitic grain coatings enhance chemical compaction, reducing RQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this review is to present the specificities of clinical research in radiation oncology. Objectives are similar to all research in oncology: to improve the efficacy and to decrease toxic effects. Phase III trials remain the main methodology to demonstrate an improvement in efficiency, but phase I-II and registers are also important tools to validate an improvement in the therapeutic index with new technologies. In this article we discuss the special features of end-points, selection of population, and design for radiation oncology clinical trials. Quality control of delivered treatments is an important component of these protocols. Financial issues are also discussed, in the particular context of France., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Introduction An umbilical cord blood bank was recently opened in our institution as an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells. Before inclusion of a cord blood in an international register, a WBC with differential is requested, among others. Currently, the reference method is the microscopic manual count, and we sought to evaluate the routine flow cytometric method ( Cyto Diff™) as an alternative. Methods A total of 161 cord bloods were analyzed between November 2010 and February 2011. WBC differentials were determined for each sample, by (i) the cell counter (DxH800), (ii) a manual review, and (iii) the flow cytometry using the Cyto Diff™ antibody cocktail. Results Correlation coefficients between flow cytometry and microscopic count were satisfying for neutrophils, lymphocytes, and immature granulocytes and acceptable for eosinophils. On the other hand, we found lower correlation coefficient for basophils and monocytes. Monocytes' correlation was better when comparing flow cytometry with cell counter. Conclusion The flow cytometric approach is suitable to realize cord blood WBC differential and allows for the identification of additional cell subsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To extend the physics reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), upgrades to the accelerator are planned which will increase the peak luminosity by a factor 5–10. To cope with the increased occupancy and radiation damage, the ATLAS experiment plans to introduce an all-silicon inner tracker with the high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC). To investigate the suitability of pixel sensors using the proven planar technology for the upgraded tracker, the ATLAS Upgrade Planar Pixel Sensor (PPS) R&D Project was established. Main areas of research are the performance of planar pixel sensors at highest fluences, the exploration of possibilities for cost reduction to enable the instrumentation of large areas, the achievement of slim or active edges to provide low geometric inefficiencies without the need for shingling of modules and the investigation of the operation of highly irradiated sensors at low thresholds to increase the efficiency. The Insertable b-layer (IBL) is the first upgrade project within the ATLAS experiment and will employ a new detector layer consisting of silicon pixel sensors, which were improved and prototyped in the framework of the planar pixel sensor R&D project. A special focus of this paper is the status of the development and testing of planar n-in-n pixel sensors including the quality control of the on-going series production and postprocessing of sensor wafers. A high yield of produced planar sensor wafers and FE-I4 double chip sensors after first steps of post-processing including under bump metallization and dicing is observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The new training reference guide related to state registered degree has been applied since 31 July 2009. Training and valuation projects developed by nurse training institutes have been amended to comply with learning concept: understanding-action-transfer. Validation of grade 4.4 S4 is part of competence 4 validation “implementation of actions related to diagnostic and therapy”. The requirement for all students to ratify simulated transfusion lead teachers to update their knowledge and to be more committed to knowledge acquisition. To complete its work, the research and quality control department of the French Transfusion Company regarding the result of the national 2011 inquiry, proposes in relation with the National Transfusion Institute to provide the professional network with tools and supports making knowledge exchanges and experience sharing easier. The reference transfusional teaching guide updating intended to training institutes is being carried out and considered as a priority. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Initiatives of clinical practices improvement have been gradually developing in France for 20 years. Nevertheless, effective implementation of change is still difficult for numerous reasons. The use of clinical practices guidelines is one of the different ways of improvement. It is however necessary to adapt these national guidelines to the specificities of the hospital and the team, to ensure implementation and appropriation by the professionals. These recommendations are thus translated into applicable and concrete standard operating procedures. These documents have to be built by and for the concerned professionals. They are also communication and training tools, precise, directive, uniform in terms of presentation and attractive visually. Once drafted, they have to be distributed widely to the professionals to facilitate implementation. The simple distribution of the recommendations is insufficient to modify the clinical practices and require association of several methods of promotion for an optimal appropriation. How then to make sure of their effective use? Practices evaluation is one of the steps of continuous professional development, including continuous training and analysis of clinical practices by using methods promoted by the “Haute Autorité de santé”. One of them is the clinical audit; use of method assessing non-pertinent treatment is interesting too. Analysis of the non-conformities and gaps between theory and practice allows identifying various possible causes (professional, institutional, organizational or personal) in order to implement corrective action plans, in a logic of continuous improvement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rationale In nephrology, the NEOERICA project assessed the feasibility of the diagnosis scheme based on a general practice database. This approach opened a new area where routinely collected data could be used for purposes other than patient management, such as epidemiological analysis and professional practice evaluation. In Lyon, the TIRCEL network is made up of a coordination team and an online database. In 2008, a total of 468 professionals participated and 983 patients were in the database corresponding to 4114 consultations and 9250 biological assessments. Objective To investigate the impact of a quality control process on the data from operational databases. Methods We set up a quality control process and we described the impact of this process on data. We also specifically investigated the role of measurement scales in error frequency and we studied the impact of data quality on variables which could be used for professional practice evaluation. Results Quality control allowed us to detect as inconsistent data 7.5% of tested data. This rate is linked to the parameters and varied from less than 1% (weight, diastolic blood pressure and urinary sodium) to more than 30% (serum iron and ferritin). Quality control led mainly to the validation of the identified data for 80.4%, a direct correction was realized for 12.9%, 5.6% by the lab and only 1.2% were set to missing. Average proteinuria was modified with the quality control process (2.09 g per 24 hours vs. 0.82 g per 24 hours); however, the median remained stable (0.21 g per 24 hours). Conclusion Specialty databases such as TIRCEL could not be used for epidemiological research or for the extraction of indicators for professional practice evaluation without strict quality control or the set-up of data-entering limits and alarms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Call centers represent one of the fastest growing industries. However, there are health and safety hazards unique to this new industry. One of these potential hazards is hearing impairment caused by headsets. In this study, noise exposure assessment was performed at 21 call centers and for 117 operators. Although call center background noise does not contribute to noise exposure, it impacts working conditions and influences the headset volume setting. It was therefore measured at the same time as exposure to noise. Results revealed that although the risk of hearing impairment was generally low, exposure could exceed the European Union regulation upper and lower exposure action values. Besides exposure to noise, background noise levels are often high with regard to recommendations for office workers. Results are discussed and some recommendations are given, issued from on-site observations. Their application is intended to ensure the absence of excessive exposure to noise and improve acoustic comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In France, hot water quality control inside buildings is occasionally assured by disinfection treatments using sodium hypochlorite (between 0.5 and 1ppm residual free chlorine). This disinfectant is a strong oxidizer and it could interact with metallic and polymer pipes used in hot water systems. To assess the long-term performance of these pipes, it is then necessary to study the impact of these treatments on the material behaviour, in particular for polymeric materials, even at relatively low disinfectant concentrations as used in potable water treatments. The objective of this work was to study the influence of sodium hypochlorite concentration on PERT/Al/PERT (PolyEthylene Raised Temperature) pipe degradation. Pipe samples were filled with chlorinated water solutions (concentrations ranging between 0 and 100ppm) and maintained in static conditions during 270 days at 70°C. The antioxidant depletion profile through a PERT wall was monitored using the oxidation induction time (OIT) method, which is a conventional technique of Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Chemical changes on the aged polymer were checked by Infrared Spectrometry. OIT change showed that the PERT stabilizing system was rapidly chemically consumed by the action of chlorinated water at 25 and 100ppm concentrations. However, PERT degradation was strictly confined to the immediate inner wall. Only a 0.3mm thick layer (inner part of the pipe) showed significant antioxidant depletion. An increase of the OH and C–O–C infrared bands was also observed on inner part of any samples during ageing which characterize the oxidation of the PERT on the inner wall. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Centralized Chemotherapy Reconstitution Unit (CCRU) of Paul Brousse Hospital Pharmacy Department assessed the reliability of its Cytotoxics Compounded Sterile Products (CCSP) preparation method in order to improve its CCSP quality assurance system. Five cytotoxic drugs — gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil, docetaxel, paclitaxel, and oxaliplatin — were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine CCSP concentration. During the observation period, 23,892 CCSP were prepared. Overall, 12,964 preparations contained one of the five analyzed drugs; 7382 (56.9%) out of 12,964 CCSP were analyzed by HPLC; 646 (8.8%) out of 7382 concentrations were outside ± 20% of the prescribed dose; 544 (84.2%) out of 646 were post-administration results and could not be verified. Out of 102 (15.8%) pre-administration results that were re-tested after re-shaking, 94 (92.2%) were found to be acceptable upon re-testing, and 8 (7.8%) were confirmed to be unacceptable and needed to be re-compounded. The 8.8% of tested CCSP were outside ± 20% of the prescribed dose, but extrapolating the results on re-tested CCSP, we can say that our CCSP preparation is reliable with an estimation of only 0.7% of 7382 CCSP analyzed, confirmed as being ± 20% outside the prescribed dose. Nevertheless, this ± 20% magnitude of error should be reduced. Based on pre-administration results, the primary cause of concentration errors appeared to be insufficient mixing of the finished product. Most CCSP dosages occurred after it had been administered, the organization should, therefore, be improved to include testing all CCSP prior to administration. Pharmaceutical companies should endeavor to manufacture compounded injectible drugs in a ‘ready to use’ form and provide vehicles in accurate volumes in order to improve compounding precision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Quality control and monitoring of perishable goods during transportation and delivery services is an increasing concern for producers, suppliers, transport decision makers and consumers. The major challenge is to ensure a continuous ,,cold chain? from producer to consumer in order to guaranty prime condition of goods. In this framework, the suitability of ZigBee protocol for monitoring refrigerated transportation has been proposed by several authors. However, up to date there was not any experimental work performed under real conditions. Thus, the main objective of our experiment was to test wireless sensor motes based in the ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 protocol during a real shipment. The experiment was conducted in a refrigerated truck traveling through two countries (Spain and France) which means a journey of 1,051 kilometers. The paper illustrates the great potential of this type of motes, providing information about several parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, door openings and truck stops. Psychrometric charts have also been developed for improving the knowledge about water loss and condensation on the product during shipments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing for germline BRCA1/2 mutations has an established predictive role in breast and ovarian cancer risk assessment and EQA on germline mutation testing have been performed for a long time. With the European extension of indication for the PARP inhibitors, the screening of tumors first is increasingly important. However, tumoral BRCA1/2 testing is a different analytical process on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) material and with some challenging variants as large rearrangements. Validation of the test method and participation in external quality assessment programs are therefore required. In the French national quality control programs (Gen&tiss) of 2017 and 2018, laboratories received 5 samples from ovarian cancer patients and 1 educational artificial sample with mutations present at different variant allelic frequencies in BRCA1/2 and a large rearrangement in BRCA1. The number of participants was 21 in 2017 and 26 in 2018. The number of labs with severe error was 3 in 2017 (14%) and 4 in 2018 (15%). For BRCA1, the average score remained stable between 2017 [9.6/10 (N = 21)] and 2018 [9.6/10 (N = 26)]. In both years, 2 laboratories made severe errors (false positive/false negative). In 2017 only 11 laboratories (N = 20) identified the educational variant present at 7% VAF. For BRCA2 the score slightly decreased from 9.8/10 (N = 22) to 9.4/10 (N = 26) and the number of laboratories with severe errors increased from 1 to 3. Half of the laboratories (N = 20) detected all three mutations present in the educational sample (VAF 10% to 30%) in the 2017 scheme. In 2018 a large deletion in BRCA1 present in the educational sample was only detected by 4 out of 20 laboratories. Three out of 26 laboratories detected the additional RAD51C variant and none the RAD51D variant. The main methods applied in France focus on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and amplification-based enrichment. The genotype results were very similar between 2017 and 2018: acceptable but there are still more than 14% with severe errors. The limit of detection is a critical point. Few labs are ready to extend testing beyond BRCA1/2 genes. The question of large rearrangements is not yet solved for tumoral screening. EQA on tumoral BRCA1/2 testing is therefore essential to improve laboratory performance. Gen&tiss - GFCO and AFAQAP. AstraZeneca. All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A prospective multicenter study (PDR) was leaded on pulsed dose rate brachytherapy over 2 years (2005/2006) in 20 French centres, as part of a programme entitled Stic-PDR and supported by the French ministry of health. Eight hundred and fifty patients were treated for cervix carcinoma with 2D classic or 3D innovative brachytherapy (425 in each arm). The main objectives of this study were to assess the cost of PDR brachytherapy with dose optimization compared to traditional treatments, and to evaluate the complications and local control. A joint programme of quality control was established by the physicists of the different centres, concerning the software treatment planning, the source replacement, the projector and the technical parameters of the course of patient treatment. This technical note lists these controls, and their frequency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]