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Storage Facilities (storage + facility)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	33%

Selected Abstracts

CPA assessment , the regional assessors' experience

CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2007
E. Welsh
Many individuals within Laboratory Medicine will be unaware that CPA conducts assessments to two different sets of CPA Standards. There are the Standards for the Medical Laboratory and the Standards for EQA Schemes in Laboratory Medicine. The style and format of both sets of standards is very similar with each being presented in eight sections A , H. The EQA standards are almost identical to the laboratory standards with the exception of the E.F and G standards which are specific to EQA schemes. There are approximately 40 EQA Schemes registered with CPA compared with almost 2 500 laboratories. These EQA schemes vary from very large national/international schemes with numerous analytes to small interpretive schemes run by one individual with a personal interest in that specific subject. The large schemes usually come under the UKNEQAS consortia banner and due to their size and configuration do not present undue problems in the assessment process. Smaller interpretive EQA schemes present a challenge both for the scheme and CPA in gaining accreditation. These schemes are usually within the discipline of Histopathology and are regarded as educational rather than proficiency testing schemes. Very frequently, the scheme is organized by a single individual with a collection of microscope slides, storage facilities for the slides and a computer. This presents the Scheme Organizer with great difficulty in complying with the Quality Management System requirements of the CPA Standards. There are a number of models which can be applied in order to satisfy the requirement of the Quality Management System, but ultimately it must be recognized that in some circumstances it is not possible to accredit these small schemes. The NHSCSP Gynae Cytology EQA Scheme is probably the largest EQA scheme within the UK, in respect of the number of participants and the number of staff supporting the scheme. Scheme Management decided that all nine regions of England would apply for accreditation under one CPA Reference Number. This process meant that the scheme would be assessed as a Managed Pathology Network. This is unique in terms of EQA schemes and presented a number of problems not previously encountered in EQA scheme accreditation. This decision meant that all nine regions must comply with a single Quality Management System and other CPA standards whilst allowing flexibility within the system for each region to facilitate the assessment process specific to their user's requirements. The process worked in a satisfactory manner and the overall outcome was not dissimilar to that of other large EQA schemes. The assessment to the current EQA Standards only commenced in April 2006 whilst the Standards for Medical Laboratories commenced in 2003, and it is perhaps not surprising to find that the principal non-conformities are related to the Quality Management System. This parallels the findings encountered in laboratory accreditation. There is an ongoing educational process for Scheme Management and the Facilitators in each region in how to comply fully with the standards and a commitment to quality improvement which ultimately is beneficial to the participant's of the scheme and to patient safety. [source]

Acceptability, feasibility and affordability of infant feeding options for HIV-infected women: a qualitative study in south-west Nigeria

MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 3 2006
Titilayo C. Abiona
Abstract The objective of this study was to explore the acceptability, feasibility, affordability, safety and sustainability of replacement feeding options for HIV-infected mothers in Ile-Ife, in south-west Nigeria. Six focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of mothers, fathers and grandmothers. The HIV status of all participants was unknown to investigators. All text data were analysed using the Text-based Beta Software program. With regard to the acceptability of replacement feeds, respondents perceived the stigma associated with not breastfeeding to be an important consideration. In this community, breastfeeding is the norm , even though it is not necessarily exclusive. For infected mothers who choose to breastfeed exclusively and then to wean their infants before 6 months of age, respondents did not anticipate early cessation of breastfeeding to be problematic. Respondents noted that acceptable replacement foods included infant formula, soy milk and cow's milk. Barriers to replacement feeding that were mentioned included: the high costs of replacement foods and fuel for cooking; an unreliable supply of electrical power; poor access to safe water; and poor access to storage facilities. The research confirms the difficulty of replacement feeding for HIV-infected mothers in sub-Saharan Africa. The results also provide the basis for new issues and hypothesis for future research in other communities with similar socio-cultural and economic characteristics. [source]

Natural gas storage valuation and optimization: A real options application

NAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Matt Thompson
Abstract In this article, we present an algorithm for the valuation and optimal operation of natural gas storage facilities. Real options theory is used to derive nonlinear partial-integro-differential equations (PIDEs), the solution of which give both valuation and optimal operating strategies for these facilities. The equations are designed to incorporate a wide class of spot price models that can exhibit the same time-dependent, mean-reverting dynamics, and price spikes as those observed in most energy markets. Particular attention is paid to the operational characteristics of real storage units. These characteristics include working gas capacities, variable deliverability and injection rates, and cycling limitations. We illustrate the model with a numerical example of a salt cavern storage facility that clearly shows how a gas storage facility is like a financial straddle with both put and call properties. Depending on the amount of gas in storage the relative influence of the put and call components vary. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2009 [source]

An asymptotically optimal greedy heuristic for the multiperiod single-sourcing problem: The cyclic case

NAVAL RESEARCH LOGISTICS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003
H. Edwin Romeijn
The dynamics of the environment in which supply chains evolve requires that companies frequently redesign their logistics distribution networks. In this paper we address a multiperiod single-sourcing problem that can be used as a strategic tool for evaluating the costs of logistics network designs in a dynamic environment. The distribution networks that we consider consist of a set of production and storage facilities, and a set of customers who do not hold inventories. The facilities face production capacities, and each customer's demand needs to be delivered by a single facility in each period. We deal with the assignment of customers to facilities, as well as the location, timing, and size of inventories. In addition, to mitigate start and end-of-study effects, we view the planning period as a typical future one, which will repeat itself. This leads to a cyclic model, in which starting and ending inventories are equal. Based on an assignment formulation of the problem, we propose a greedy heuristic, and prove that this greedy heuristic is asymptotically feasible and optimal in a probabilistic sense. We illustrate the behavior of the greedy heuristic, as well as some improvements where the greedy heuristic is used as the starting point of a local interchange procedure, on a set of randomly generated test problems. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 50: 412,437, 2003 [source]

Natural gas storage valuation and optimization: A real options application

Establishing ignition conditions for the tank manifold fire at the Powell Duffryn tank terminal

PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2002
John L. Woodward
A fire destroyed three tanks containing crude sulfate turpentine (CST) at a storage facility in Savannah, Georgia, on April 10, 1995, prompting an evacuation, and resulting in some environmental damage. The events of this fire have been documented an a U.S. EPA report [1]. The investigators determined the most likely cause of ignition was overheating in a newly-installed activated-carbon drum as air was drawn in during evening cooling. One aspect not entirely explained in the EPA report is that the tanks were connected by a vapor manifold and were not protected by detonation arresters, yet the flames initially propagated to only one tank. This paper discusses the development of a model to quantify the likely sequence of events that is consistent with observations. Tank inflows and outflows forced by the diurnal temperature cycle were modeled to calculate hydrocarbon concentrations in the vapor space. This establishes that the combination of vapor concentrations above the lower flammable limit, and oxygen concentrations above the lower limit to support combustion, occur for only a few hours during the day. Further estimates of the ignition, flame acceleration, and run-up distance indicate that an explosion probably occurred inside the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe. The forces from such an explosion would be sufficient to open the PVC pipe, thereby slowing the flame front propagation and contributing to the failure to initially ignite more than one tank. This paper illustrates how modeling strengthens an accident investigation and helps distinguish between alternative postulated ignition sequences. [source]