Project Management and Good Technical and Business Practices

Good Technical Practices or Good Business Practices by themselves are not sufficient to produce and deliver “good” products∕services quickly and at a low cost. They must be integrated. Various researchers have addressed this need, but these efforts have been inconsistent and incongruent, and, the supporting information technology elements were incompatible. This paper discusses ingredients of Good Technical Practices and Good Business Practices and presents a framework for integrating them through good project management to achieve better product/service delivery. The principles of quality, and reengineering, and information technology are important ingredients of this framework. The paper explains the components of the framework and the linkages between them, and discusses the potential opportunities offered by the framework to effect the simultaneous improvement of the three main objectives of a project, i.e., time, quality, and cost.     

Color of fresh, frozen and cooked ground beef patties manufactured with mechanically recovered neck bone lean

Mechanical systems that recover lean tissue from beef vertebrae without grinding bone material are in use in major packing plants across the country. Our objective was to determine the effects of mechanically recovered neck bone lean (MRNL) on color stability of fresh, frozen and cooked ground beef patties. Ground beef patties at two fat levels (10 and 20%) and four MRNL levels (0, 15, 30 and 45%) were analyzed for percentage surface metmyoglobin (metMb) and HunterLab L^* and a^* values over 12 days of fresh display and 18 weeks of frozen storage. Data were collected for three replications of the experiment. Mechanically recovered neck bone lean caused an increase in surface metMb up to 7 days of retail display; however, patties made with higher levels of MRNL showed a rapid decrease in surface metMb from days 8 to 12. Both the increase and decrease in surface metMb may be due to microbial effects, which were greater at increased levels of MRNL. Patties made with 30 and 45% MRNL showed greater (p < 0.05) surface metMb by 18 weeks of frozen storage than controls; however, patties with 15% MRNL were not different (p > 0.05) than controls. HunterLab L^* values for cooked patties decreased in a linear fashion (p < 0.01, R² = 0.70) as MRNL level increased.     

Evaluation of image quality using 1 : 1 pitch and 1.5 : 1 pitch helical CT in children: a comparative study

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the quality of 1 : 1 and 1.5 : 1 pitch helical contrast-enhanced thoracic and abdominal CT images in children who cannot cooperate for breath holding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 33 contrast-enhanced CT examinations in 11 children of 0-4 years of age. All children had an initial CT study using 1 : 1 pitch helical scanning followed over the next 6-36 months by one to four CT examinations with 1.5 : 1 pitch. Radiation dose with the two techniques was measured with a pencil ionization chamber. RESULTS: The two techniques provided comparable overall image quality. There was 33 % less radiation dose with 1.5 : 1 pitch helical scanning. CONCLUSION: The 1.5 : 1 pitch helical CT provides comparable quality images and a smaller radiation dose than 1 : 1 pitch in examining children aged 0-4 years.     

Spectroscopic imaging for detection of ischemic injury in rat kidneys by use of changes in intrinsic optical properties

It is currently impossible to consistently predict kidney graft viability and function before and after transplantation. We explored optical spectroscopy to assess the degree of ischemic damage in kidney tissue. Tunable UV laser excitation was used to record autofluorescence images, at different spectral ranges, of injured and contralateral control rat kidneys to reveal the excitation conditions that offered optimal contrast. Autofluorescence and near-infrared cross-polarized light-scattering imaging were both used to monitor changes in intensity and spectral characteristics, as a function of exposure time to ischemic injury. These two modalities provided different temporal behaviors, arguably arising from two different mechanisms providing direct correlation of intrinsic optical signatures to ischemic injury time.     

Optical polarization imaging

The temporal profiles of the parallel and perpendicular polarization components of a light pulse backscattered from a scattering medium are different. The depth of penetration into the tissue and depolarization of the backscattered light depend on the scattering and absorption characteristics of the tissue. Based on these facts, a novel technique is demonstrated for noninvasive surface and beneath-the-surface imaging of biological systems.     

Two-photon excitation of fluorescence from chicken tissue

We have measured UV fluorescence excited through two-photon absorption from native chicken tissue, using 600-nm, 500-fs pulses from a R6G dye laser. The observed emission signal was found to depend quadratically on the excitation intensity. The two-photon excitation-induced fluorescence spectrum is attributed to tryptophan residues in proteins.     

Imaging objects hidden in scattering media with fluorescence polarization preservation of contrast agents

A method for fluorescence polarization difference imaging is demonstrated for enhancing the image quality of a luminous object embedded in a random medium. The polarization preservation of light propagating in the scattering medium leads to partially polarized light emission by a contrast-agent dye located inside the object. Subtraction of the images of the luminous object detected at two orthogonal polarization directions improves the image resolution compared with a conventional optical imaging approach.