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Is an option to early terminate a swap at its market value worth zero? At first sight it is, but in presence of counterparty risk it depends on the criteria used to determine such market value. In case of a single uncollateralised swap transaction under ISDA between two defaultable counterparties, the additional unilateral option to early terminate the swap at predefined dates requires a Bermudan credit valuation adjustment. We give a general pricing formula assuming a default-free close-out amount, and apply it in a simplified setting with deterministic intensity and one single date of optional early termination, showing that the impact on the fair value of the transaction at inception might be non negligible., 8 pages, 4 figures

When considering counterparty credit risk, it has become increasingly common in recent years for institutions to consider bilateral CVA which includes debt value adjustment (DVA) linked to their own default probability. However, the use of DVA is contentious as it is not obvious that an institution can monetise this “profit” prior to actually defaulting. Furthermore, the use of DVA also seems to require an understanding of the dependence between the default probability of the institution and their counterparty and introduces ambiguity over the correct choice of “closeout” assumptions. In this article, we analyse the complex interaction between CVA, DVA and closeout assumptions and consider if the relatively simple formulas used for bilateral CVA in the industry are reasonable.

The acronym CVA stands for Credit Valuation Adjustment; DVA stands for Debit (or Debt, or Default) Valuation Adjustment; and FVA stands for Funding Valuation Adjustment. In this chapter we only consider trade pricing. In the next chapter the effects from the balance sheet to the trade level and at the balance sheet level itself are discussed. Thus the Regulatory and Accounting background is in the next chapter, whereas effects of ISDA language on closeout prices is detailed here. If a trade is perfectly collateralized then there is no credit risk

This chapter explores project evaluation and analysis requirements as well as necessary documentation for a front-end analysis review as well as necessary requisition format documents. In addition, the need for a lender's pre-construction meeting is explained including the more common issues to be discussed during this meeting. The various processes for executing the project are presented such as the Notice to Proceed, photo documentation, loan disbursements, and draw application reviews. Other issues such as stored materials funding, Change Orders, retainage, waivers of lien, general conditions, and preparing the Project Status Report (PSR) are also explained. The need for a payment and performance bond is clearly articulated as well as the issuing of building permits and other approvals. Toward the end of the chapter, final certification and project closeout are explained and the required documents typically required for this. As-built drawings, contractor's Certificate of Compliance, Certificate of Substantial Completion, final punch list, final waivers of lien, Certificate of Occupancy, quality control, and other relevant issues are also discussed and explained.

This project aimed to develop an open-access website providing adaptable resources to facilitate best practices for multisite research from initiation to closeout. methods: A web-based assessment was sent to the leadership of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Community Engagement Key Functions Committee (n= 38) and the CTSA-affiliated Primary Care Practice-based Research Networks (PBRN, n= 55). Respondents rated the benefits and barriers of multisite research, the utility of available resources, and indicated their level of interest in unavailable resources. Then, existing research resources were evaluated for relevance to multisite research, adaptability to other projects, and source credibility.Fifty-five (59%) of invited participants completed the survey. Top perceived benefits of multisite research were the ability to conduct community-relevant research through academic-community partnerships (34%) and accelerating translation of research into practice (31%). Top perceived barriers were lack of research infrastructure to support PBRNs and community partners (31%) and inadequate funding to support multisite collaborations (26%). Over 200 resources were evaluated, of which 120 unique resources were included in the website.The PRIMER Research Toolkit (http://www.researchtoolkit.org) provides an array of peer-reviewed resources to facilitate translational research for the conduct of multisite studies within PBRNs and community-based organizations.

This paper provides risky closeout amount in computing counterparty credit risk. Under this closeout, we obtain a new nonlinear PDE model describing the value of a standard interest swap with counterparty credit risk in the reduced form framework, thus get a new method to calculate counterparty credit valuation adjustment. We solve the nonlinear PDE by iterations numerically and prove the convergence of this approach. By numerical examples, we show the difference between risky closeout and conventional closeout in estimating counterparty credit risk.

All trials use protocols to standardize practice within and between trial centres and to enable replication of an experiment across space and time. However, while 'centre effects' have been noted in the literature, the processes and mechanisms by which trial staff convert a protocol into practice, and create 'evidence', is a relatively understudied phenomenon. We undertook a qualitative investigation of a multi-centre, UK-based, insulin trial, where differences were found between participating centres in their attainment of the trial's primary clinical endpoint (HbA 1c), a measure of patients' average blood glucose control. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 research nurses and nine clinicians recruited from 11 centres in 2009, and explored their views about trial participation and experiences of trial delivery from inception to closeout. Staff accounts highlighted mixed agendas and/or ambivalent views about involvement in pharmaceutically funded trials, and discursive and temporal strategies by which they attempted to separate research from clinical practice and to convert commercially funded work into better patient care. Staff in different centres also reported divergent practices by which they recruited patients into the trial and 'enacted' the protocol to enhance trial outcomes and/or to individualise and improve patient care. By exploring, and comparing, the experiences of staff who worked on the same trial but in different centres, this study highlights the importance of understanding, and exploring, the enactment of protocols in ways which situate individual practices within both local (institutional) and global contexts. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

History has taught us that major process improvement can come about through a single paradigm change, or by a combination of smaller but important changes. The Acquisition Reengineering Project was initiated to help identify areas for improvement in the acquisition and procurement process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The project team performed a feasibility study to generate requirements and perform preliminary benchmarking. As identified in the Acquisition Reengineering Project charter, the acquisition and procurement process begins when considering making or buying something (or preparing a proposal that would do so), and ends when all acquisition closeout activities are completed.

The primary purpose of this research is to analyze the contracting processes utilized by NAVSEA. The goal of this analysis is to identify the current maturity level of each of the six phases of the contract management process, provide an evaluation of the current maturity level, and assess the contributing factors that led to the current maturity level of each contracting division. By applying the Contract Management Maturity Model (CMMM) in the form of an online survey, we were able to identify the current maturity level of each of the six phases of the contract management process: Procurement Planning, Solicitation Planning, Solicitation, Source Selection, Contract Administration, and Contract Closeout. In conjunction with the online survey, we conducted a site visit to NAVSEA headquarters to obtain background information as well as peer reviewed results for this research. The results of these background discussions provided invaluable insight into the contracting operations and allowed us to anticipate the results of the online survey based on information obtained during on-site discussions. The information gathered from the site visits, the survey results, the peer reviews, and the recommendations contained in this report provide the NAVSEA leadership with an unbiased assessment of the NAVSEA contracting process. This assessment also provides a tool to assist NAVSEA in optimizing its contracting processes so that it will use its scarce resources with the utmost efficiency.

In this paper we focus on a fundamental practical issue regarding the bilateral counterparty risk adjustment. The past literature assumes that, at the moment of the first default, a risk-free closeout amount will be used. The closeout amount is the net present value of the residual deal which is computed when one party defaults, and that is used for default settlement. A risk-free closeout amount assumes that the surviving counterparty is default-free. We argue that the legal (ISDA) documentation suggests in many points that a substitution closeout should be used. This would take into account the risk of default of the survived party. The bilateral counterparty risk adjustment changes strongly when a substitution closeout amount is considered, as we show. We believe financial practitioners should be aware of this. We also show the effects of the two different closeout conventions in terms of default contagion. If a substitution closeout will be used, as suggested in the ISDA documentation, there will be a lower recovery for creditors, an unpleasant fact that is particularly clear when the defaulted entity has high systemic relevance and therefore is highly correlated with its counterparties. On the other hand, if a risk-free closeout will be used, as suggested in the past literature, there will be at default unexpected losses that affect also the debtors of the defaulted entity, not only the creditors as usually expected. This additional contagion towards debtors is at odds with standard counterparty risk for bonds or loans, and will be stronger the higher is the credit risk of the debtors. These results should be considered carefully by the financial community. In the end, we analyze the effect of the two different closeouts for collateralized derivatives.

Closeout of Award #DE-FG02-CH11320. Final Technical Report: The project was effectively executed pursuant to the terms of the award.

The above grant was active at Michigan State University from 1994 until 2007. We summarize and document the various activities and key output under the grant, including degrees awarded to graduate students at MSU and through the VUBeam program sponsored by the grant, the books, publications and reports produced, the meetings organized, and the presentations given.

Background Despite ethical imperatives, informing research participants about the results of the studies in which they take part is not often performed. This is due, in part, to the costs and burdens of communicating with each participant after publication of the results. Methods Following the closeout and publication of a randomized clinical trial of saw palmetto for treatment of symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, patients were invited back to the research center to participate in a group presentation of the study results. Results Approximately 10% of participants attended one of two presentation sessions. Reaction to the experience of the group presentation was very positive among the attendees. Conclusion A group presentation to research participants is an efficient method of communicating study results to those who desire to be informed and was highly valued by those who attended. Prospectively planning for such presentations and greater scheduling flexibility may result in higher attendance rates. Trial Registration Number Clinicaltrials.gov #NCT00037154

This report presents guidelines for Project Closeout. It is used to determine whether the Building America program is successfully facilitating improved design and practices to achieve energy savings goals in production homes. Its objective is to use energy simulations, targeted utility bill analysis, and feedback from project stakeholders to evaluate the performance of occupied BA communities.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses how recommendations from the hazard and security analyses in the process industries should be handled and resolved. A review is not actually complete until all recommendations made in the final report of the security analyses have been resolved and a closeout “addendum” report is produced. All recommendations should be decided upon in a sound, rational, technical manner when all alternatives have been identified and studied. If such documentation is not prepared, future possible accident investigations may query the effectiveness of the review and possible legal implications. The project manager should be responsible for handling and resolving recommendations. There are several possible actions for each recommendation listed in the addendum report, including implementation of the recommendation as stated in the report, implementation of a viable alternative to the recommendation, or documentation of reasons why the recommendation is not to be implemented. A strong argument for not implementing the recommendation should be made. The project manager should generally first confirm the risk ranking of the recommendations received from review report and the most important recommendations should receive the most attention. For acceptable recommendations cost estimates must be prepared. For unacceptable recommendations expert justification for rejection must be provided. Cost to implement the subject recommendation should be validated.

The US Army, like most US federal and state environmental organizations, is faced with limited resources to conduct environmental work, an increasing workload, and challenges in achieving closeout of its environmental cleanup programs. In 2001, in an effort to incorporate proven private sector tools into federal cleanup programs, the Department of Defense (DoD) Business Initiative Council (BIC), initiated the use of Performance-Based Acquisition (PBA) for environmental cleanup. Since fiscal year 2000, the US Army Environmental Command (USAEC) has successfully awarded more than 55 performance-based contracts for environmental remediation. These contracts range in size from $500,000 to $52.4 million, and include closing properties (Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)) and some of the US Army’s most complex active installations. The contracts address a range of activities including investigation through monitoring and site completion, as well as various technical challenges including dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) in ground water, karst systems, munitions and explosives of concern, and biological agents. The contracts are most often firm-fixed price, and 50 percent of the contracts required contractors to purchase environmental insurance in the form of remediation stop loss insurance (also known as cleanup cost cap insurance). The USAEC has conducted continuous process improvement since inception of the initiative. This paper presents results of two studies that were conducted in 2005–2006 to determine what lessons learned can be applied to future activities and to measure performance of contractors currently executing work under the performance based contracts.

This chapter discusses item qualification closeout. The qualification process properly occurs at the configuration and end-item levels and is supported by lower tier component tests and analyses. These activities are accomplished within the context of the item qualification verification process. Most customers of complex systems require system-level tests and analyses to show the interaction of the end items as planned to achieve system requirements. This is primarily accomplished through the use of the system in accordance with its planned use profile. The system verification process depends on both the results of the item verifications and the unique system-level activities that cover requirements that could not be verified at the end-item level. These tests and analyses must be characterized progressively to approach conditions where the maximum risk to life and property is realized. The chapter provides an overview of the system verification process along with an audit follow-up and closeout. The chapter also explains several processes related to the system verification audit: (1) system audit planning, (2) item verification summaries and integration, (3) item audit action, (4) item closeout status, and (5) interface verification audit.

The final report describes the study aimed at exploring the variable-resolution stretched-grid (SG) approach to decadal regional climate modeling using advanced numerical techniques. The obtained results have shown that variable-resolution SG-GCMs using stretched grids with fine resolution over the area(s) of interest, is a viable established approach to regional climate modeling. The developed SG-GCMs have been extensively used for regional climate experimentation. The SG-GCM simulations are aimed at studying the U.S. regional climate variability with an emphasis on studying anomalous summer climate events, the U.S. droughts and floods.

Clinical trials are often stopped prematurely by Data and Safety Monitoring Boards, sponsors, or the investigators for reasons such as unexpected harmful effects of the intervention, clear lack of benefit, or futility due to sluggish recruitment or an unexpectedly low outcome rate in the placebo group. Planning for closeout, however, usually does not begin until after the trial is well underway. This article describes the experience of the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) investigators when data from the first year of follow-up revealed a clear but non-significant divergence in outcome rates between the treatment groups, and planning for early closure was initiated. Three advantages of beginning early to plan for closeout are described and approaches to planning closeout are suggested.

Is there a business case, for on-board wire integrity sensors for aero-spacecraft? Wire integrity management using on-board sensors seems a natural fit for future Integrated System Health Management (ISHM). Government and private enterprises are presently developing in-situ wire integrity sensors. Is there a value proposition for wire integrity management in manned aero-spacecraft? How would risk be reduced, or other benefits gained, from isolating failure to wiring, or a particular wire? In this paper we assume that in-situ wire sensors will be incorporated into ISHM systems. We focus on the business case for the inclusion of Wire Integrity Management in future vehicle design. We explore ground processing scenarios, rather than in-flight. Our expectations are that the greatest value of in-situ wire integrity management will be in savings of cost, scheduling, invasiveness, and risks. Ground processing includes: vehicle recovery, fault diagnosis, access, closeout and safing, tooling, repairs, spares provisioning, testing and validation, and preflight/postflight preparations.

Many IT projects involve the purchasing of goods and/or services, and some IT projects are mostly procurement activities, at least from a cost perspective. Between one quarter and one third of all U.S. software projects involve contractors or subcontractors (Jones, 1994). With the increase in IT outsourcing and of outsourcing offshore, there is an increasing need for very formal procurement management.

Change is a fact of life for most projects, particularly IT projects. The biggest single cause of project overruns is changes in scope (Hallows, 1998). Change can be for the good or the bad, but change is to be expected, and change has to be managed. This chapter is concerned with that management process.

Relatively little has been written about the practicalities of the closeout of large, multi-centre clinical trials, but this aspect of trial conduct and design is both important and requires careful planning in order to be accomplished in a timely and orderly fashion. Here, we document our recent experiences of closing down the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER). This five-year study with over 5800 subjects was closed down and published in 2002. We describe the methods used to ensure the speedy progression from the start of the closeout period through data lock to publication and presentation of the results. We discuss the strategic planning of all aspects of the closeout process, the training of staff for final visits, the methods used to follow-up all study participants including those used in dealing with “difficult to contact” and defaulted patients, and the strategies employed to ensure that study participants were left with positive feelings about the study. We also detail the methods employed to expedite the throughput of study paperwork and endpoints and the cleaning of data in preparation for data lock and subsequent publication and presentation of the results. Based on our experiences we summarize the most important aspects of closeout design and make recommendations for future studies, the most important of which is that a well-planned and well-managed closeout is a key feature of any large scale clinical trial and a coherent and practicable closeout strategy should be an integral part of the design.

This document outlines the structural verification approach for the Space Shuttle External Tank Forward Bipod Foam Closeout. Due to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, debris has become a major concern. The intent of the structural verification is to ensure that any debris shed from the bipod is within acceptable limits. Since cohesive failure due to internal defects was identified as the most likely cause of the STS-107 bipod ramp foam failure, verification for this failure mode receives particular emphasis. However, all failure modes for TPS are considered and appropriate verification rationale is developed for each failure mode. Figure 1 depicts the structural verification of a production design where analysis and test are the primary methods of verification. It can be seen that the successful completion of structural verification is dependent on three main areas: 1. Production process control and quality assurance must ensure that test articles and/or analytical models are representative of (or conservatively envelope) production hardware in terms of geometry, materials and processing. Variability and defects must be considered. 2. Flight environments must be sufficiently characterized to bound driving environments for all failure modes. Applied environments, either test or analytical, must be representative of flight environments and have a load factor that satisfies design requirements. 3. Structural verification must include all failure modes. A comprehensive list of failure modes and the underlying failure mechanisms has been generated based on flight and test experience. Verification tests and / or analyses must address each failure mode. ET TPS Verification is accomplished by a combination of analysis, test, and similarity.

The following pages describe the high energy physics program at the University of Arizona which was funded by DOE grant DE-FG03-95ER40906, for the period 1 February 1995 to 31 January 2004. In this report, emphasis was placed on more recent accomplishments. This grant was divided into two tasks, a theory task (Task A) and an experimental task (Task B but called Task C early in the grant period) with separate budgets. Faculty supported by this grant, for at least part of this period, include, for the theory task, Adrian Patrascioiu (now deceased), Ina Sarcevic, and Douglas Toussaint., and, for the experimental task, Elliott Cheu, Geoffrey Forden, Kenneth Johns, John Rutherfoord, Michael Shupe, and Erich Varnes. Grant monitors from the Germantown DOE office, overseeing our grant, changed over the years. Dr. Marvin Gettner covered the first years and then he retired from the DOE. Dr. Patrick Rapp worked with us for just a few years and then left for a position at the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Kathleen Turner took his place and continues as our grant monitor. The next section of this report covers the activities of the theory task (Task A) and the last section the activities of the experimental task (Task B).

Malls and markets are part and parcel of our daily life. Imagine life without designated markets. Where would we go to purchase a quart of milk or a pint of ale? Additionally, consider life without the regulations that govern markets. How do we verify that the can of soup we purchase actually contains the stated ingredients? How do we know that the sign ‘Closeout Sale’ signifies a bargain? While most of us take the existence of markets and their regulators for granted, life would be very difficult without them.

We are conducting a collaborative research program on two tokamaks, HT-7 and EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, formerly HT-7U), with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIPP) located in Hefei, PRC. The work that we planned for this year included conducting transport experiments on HT-7, completing plans for expansion of the HT-7 diagnostic set, and reaching an agreement on how UT-FRC can best participate in experiments on HT-7U. These goals were accomplished as summarized in the next section. Note that the experimental portion of the work is still underway. The experimental campaign for HT-7 began just a few weeks before this report was compiled.

Clinical Research faces perhaps a certain grain of confusion. Often, it is mistakenly reduced to case report. Caveats of even greater risks may be hidden in the secrets of patents and interests of manufacturers covertly promoting their products. Thus, a book clearly stating what a clinical trial is, well located within the scientific frame, appears as a significant contribution enhancing the importance and complexity of XXIst Century human health. The book is preceded by two editions (1981 and 1985) and well backed by the experience and prestige of its authors. Clinical Research, a branch of Applied Research, finds in clinical trials the most definitive tool for evaluation of its actual applicability. The book is divided in 19 chapters, each setting up unequivocally the Fundamental Point to be treated, as for example the introductory Chapter 1: A properly planned and executed clinical trial is a powerful experimental technique for assessing the effectiveness of an intervention. A clinical trial compares the effect and value of intervention(s) against a control in human beings. Intervention refers either to a drug, a procedure or a technological device, thus implying that biomedical engineering scientists and professionals might be involved in it. Clinical Research always presents early stages where the laboratory work is mandatory. This book emphasizes the concept all along, so placing the clinical trial in its proper hierarchical perspective. There is laboratory work during drug, device and/or procedure development, animal studies and early tests in small number of human beings. Case reports, typical of the hospital, find their place as a warning of adverse effects or as a flag of an unexpected beneficial effect. In Chapter 2 the authors emphasize that a clinical trial must have a primary question. It should be carefully selected, as any subsidiary question must be, too. Otherwise, the investigators may lose the track. Chapter 3 deals with the study population, underlying the importance of unambiguous eligibility criteria, the latter having a direct influence on the recruitment of participants and, thus, on the final number involved in the project (which may end up with not enough data). Chapter 4 outlines the basic study design; it stresses the demand of a control group and the need of randomization for assigning participants to control and intervention groups. An extremely important subject is the randomization process, essential to avoid any possible bias (Chapter 5). Several forms are presented: simple, blocked and stratified. More elaborate procedures make use of adaptive methods. There are examples and an appendix with an algorithm of general applicability. Bias (a systematic error) is one of the main concerns; thus, a double-blind design is essential (Chapter 6). Chapter 7, Sample Size, addresses the question of how many subjects is enough. The trial must have sufficient statistical power to detect differences between groups. Therefore, calculation of sample size with provision for adequate levels of significance is essential. Several situations with their respective examples are presented making of this pages an invaluable tool. Unfortunately, several equations have been printed in such a way that there is confusion on whether some parameters are factors or exponents. Baseline refers to the status of participants before the start of the intervention (Chapter 8), while Chapter 9 deals with the recruitment of participants. The latter depends on developing a careful plan with multiple strategies. Chapter 10 enters into data collection and quality control, wisely underlining that no study can be better than the quality of its data. Monitoring and even auditing are thus necessary. The history of new medical interventions abounds in sad experiences. Hence, adverse effects, if any at all, must be searched and assessed. Chapter 11 clearly probes into this complex aspect. Sadly, perhaps due to sheer enthusiasm (and I do no want to hint possible commercial interests because the idea alone crosses a risky line), often it has played a secondary role in clinical trials, as stated by the authors. Chapter 12, by Michelle J. Naughton and Sally A. Shumaker, catches the assessment of health-related quality of life, that is, trying to elucidate if the intervention improved, say, physical, psychological and social functioning, perception of well-being and health status, personal productivity, sexual life, sleep disturbances and other parameters. Not an easy task, indeed, although in certain extreme situations (as when life is supported by mechanical means and conscience is no longer present) may lead into deep controversies. The remaining seven chapters deal, respectively, with participant adherence to the program, survival analysis, monitoring response variables (37 pages), issues in data analysis (38 pages full of statistical considerations), closeout (that is, how to properly terminate the study), reporting and interpreting of results (one of the most difficult steps because recommendations will be produced that may end up in massive use of the intervention), and finally a chapter devoted to multicenter trials. The book provides an exceedingly good collection of references so that the interested reader can deepen in a particular subject. All in all, I would highly recommend it, to the physician, basic investigator and biomedical engineer. For the beginner, instead, it may be a little hard for some parts require good knowledge of statistics. It is no doubt excellent material for a course.

The report covers the 2003-04 contract period, with a retrospective of the 11 years for the contract, from 1993 to 2004. This includes personnel, technical publications and reports, plus research laboratories employed. Specific information is given in eight research areas, reporting on all technology developed and/or deployed by the University of Florida.

This chapter focuses on the Project Closeout Phase that includes the process to properly bring a project life cycle to an end. It discusses the material that should be saved, the reasons for saving it, the methodology to archive such material, and the lessons from the past history of the product. Project Closeout is the final step in drawing the project to a close. The system in this phase is declared surplus and/or obsolete and is or will be scheduled for shutdown. The chief emphasis of this phase is to ensure that data, procedures, and documentation are packaged and archived in an orderly fashion, making it possible to reinstall and bring the system back to an operational status, if necessary, and to retain all data records in accordance with corporate policies regarding retention of electronic records. In the Completion phase, all actions necessary to end project work and review project management performance are performed. This phase is used to improve on the overall process for future projects. This phase involves Close-out Paperwork (COP) that consists of all pertinent paperwork needed to verify that closure activities have been performed. Essentially, everything associated with the project should be assembled here and prepared for archive processing. The Closeout Letter formally announces the closure of a project, so that all groups and people know that the project has been completed and the product has been phased out.

The chapter discusses the closeout meeting and the remaining timeline. This meeting is important because no company wants to leave its client with any surprises. Before start preparing for the closeout meeting, it is important to determine who may be attending the meeting and what type of information may be important to them. After completing all of the work that needs to be done on-site, one needs to head back to the office to review the information and documentation, and prepare a final report. One needs to set up the closeout meeting to ensure that all the needed information is acquired, questions from the client are addressed, and the customer is informed of any critical vulnerabilities before leaving the client site. One of the more important aspects of the closeout meeting is making sure that the appropriate people attend and participate in the meeting. The purpose of the closeout meeting is leaving the client site without leaving behind any surprises.

The Digitalis Investigation Group (DIG) trial was a large simple trial (LST) begun in 1990 as a collaboration between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program (CSP). Its primary objective was to determine whether digitalis had beneficial, harmful, or no effect on total mortality in patients with congestive heart failure and an ejection fractionor =0.45. The Perry Point VA CSP Coordinating Center served as the trial's data coordinating center (DCC). The DCC was involved in all phases of the study from planning and design, organization and start-up, and patient recruitment and follow-up through closeout, final analyses, and manuscript preparation. While DCC responsibilities for an LST are basically the same as for other multicenter randomized clinical trials, their size and the inclusion of many inexperienced research sites can add a complexity that the DCC must be prepared to handle from the beginning. This paper describes the role of the DCC in the DIG trial.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has tens of thousands of contracts physically completed but not formally closed-out. At issue are potentially millions of dollars that are obligated on those contracts which could be deobligated, thus making them available for use by DoD. At the request of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RD&A) Acquisition Management)), our team was forced to chart the current contract closeout process and to recommend ways to improve and transform the process while reducing the current backlog of physically completed contracts. This report identifies the steps necessary to affect contract closeout once a contract becomes physically complete Utilizing data from available DoD and non-DoD sources and interviews from personnel managing and working within the contract closeout process, our team (1) identifies the major causes preventing contracts from closing in a timely manner, (2) provides recommended actions to reduce the size of the overaged inventory of physically completed contracts, and (3) recommends modification to the existing closeout process to include pre-award and administration period actions in order to reduce the number of contracts that become overaged.

This chapter gives a striking account of the hacking of a company's network. The people who ran this site had ticked the hacker off. He bought some computer hardware from them, and they took forever to ship it to him. When the item finally arrived, it was damaged. Furthermore, when contacted, the company refused to return or exchange the item as it was a closeout. However, the site had never mentioned that the card was a closeout item. The support drones paid no heed to the client's complain. The company criticized the client for not paying attention to the details and had stated, “Policy is policy,” along with “didn't you read the fine print?”Having hacked a few Web sites here and there —no defacements— the client decided to teach the company a lesson by hacking the company's network, stealing all the credit card numbers, customer names, addresses, social security numbers, and so on in the database, and distributed them among his friends. The chapter discusses the tools used by the hacker and briefly explains the process of hacking..

For NAWTEC10, Messrs. Schwartz and White published and presented a paper on the retrofit of City of Tampa’s 1000-TPD, four-unit McKay Bay Facility. The original facility was constructed in 1967, as an incinerator. The first retrofit of the plant to a waste-to-energy facility occurred in 1985, and the 1999–2002 retrofit (chute to stack) enhanced the facility to current day technologies and environmental standards. This paper reviews both administrative and technical issues for the final project closeout, and describes several construction and operational improvements made in order to improve safety and optimize performance at the plant. Technical items include a remedy for excessive vibrations, addition of an ash conveyor ventilation system, successful use of boiler on-line concussion blasting, and addition of lower boiler furnace cameras.Copyright © 2003 by ASME

Recent evidence suggests that bank regulators in the US appear to be able to resolve insolvent large banks efficiently without either protecting uninsured deposits through invoking ‘too-big-to-fail’ or causing serious harm to other banks or financial markets. But resolving swap positions at insolvent banks, particularly a bank's out-of-the-money positions, has received less attention. The FDIC can now either repudiate these contracts and treat the in-the-money counterparties as at-risk general creditors or transfer the contracts to a solvent bank. Both options have major drawbacks. Terminating contracts abruptly may result in large fire-sale losses and ignite defaults in other swap contracts. Transferring both the contracts is costly to the FDIC and thus may be inconsistent with least-cost resolution and protects the counterparties, who would otherwise be at-risk and monitor their banks. This paper proposes a third option that keeps the benefits of both options but eliminates the undesirable costs. The proposed simulated closeout permits the contracts to be transferred, thus avoiding the potential for fire-sale losses and adverse spillover, but keeps the insolvent bank's in-the-money counterparties at-risk by charging them the same prorata losses as other general creditors and thus maintaining discipline on banks by large and sophisticated creditors and satisfying least-cost resolution.

Fundamentals of Clinical Trials covers all the steps of a clinical trial, from the planning, to the data collection, data analysis, study closeout, and the reporting of results. It is written for “...

During the closeout session, members of the technical assistance team conveyed to the site how impressed they were at the thoroughness of the site's investigation and attempts at remediation. Team members were uniformly pleased at the skilled detection work to identify sources, make quick remediation decisions, and change course when a strategy did not work well. The technical assistance team also noted that, to their knowledge, this is the only DOE site at which a world-class scientist has had primary responsibility for the environmental restoration activities. This has undoubtedly contributed to the successes observed and DOE should take careful note. The following overall recommendations were agreed upon: (1) The site has done a phenomenal job of characterization and identifying and removing source terms. (2) Technologies selected to date are appropriate and high impact, e.g. collection trenches are an effective remedial strategy for this complicated geology. The site should continue using technology that is adapted to the site's unique geology, such as the collection trenches. (3) The site should develop a better way to determine the basis of cleanup for all sites. (4) The sentinel well system should be evaluated and modified, if needed, to assure that the sentinel wells provide coverage to the current site boundary. Potential modifications could include installation, abandonment or relocation of wells based on the large amount of data collected since the original sentinel well system was designed. (5) Modeling to assist in remedial design and communication should continue. (6) The site should develop a plan to ensure institutional memory. (7) The most likely possibility for improving closure to 2006 is by removing the residual source of the Old Town plume and establishing the efficacy of remediation for the 51/64 plume.

The Cast Metal Coalition, composed of more than 22 research providers and universities and 149 industrial partners, has completed a four-year research and development partnership with the Department of Energy. This report provides brief summaries of the 29 projects performed by the Coalition. These projects generated valuable information in such aspects of the metals industry as process prediction technologies, quality control, improved alloys, product machinability, and casting process improvements.