163 Results Found

The quality and relevance of nanosafety studies constitute major challenges to ensure their key role as a supporting tool in sustainable innovation, and subsequent competitive economic advantage. However, the number of apparently contradictory and in...

The Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida Murray, 1867) is an invasive scavenger of honeybees. Originally endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, it is regulated internationally in order to preserve the areas still free from this species. To ensure the reliabilit...

Background: One of the current problems in the field of metabolomics is the difficulty in integrating data collected using different equipment at different facilities, because many metabolomic methods have been developed independently and are unique...

We review the sampling and results of the radiocarbon dating of the archaeological cloth known as the Shroud of Turin, in the light of recent statistical analyses of both published and raw data. The statistical analyses highlight an inter-laboratory...

In mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, the differences in the analytical results from different laboratories/machines are an issue to be considered because various types of machines are used in each laboratory. Moreover, the analytical methods are...

Human biomonitoring (HBM) programs consist of several interrelated and equally important steps. Of these steps, the study design must answer a specific question: How many individuals must be recruited in order to define the spatial or temporal trends...

Continuous probabilistic genotyping (PG) systems are becoming the default method for calculating likelihood ratios (LRs) for competing propositions about DNA mixtures. Calculation of the LR relies on numerical methods and simultaneous probabilistic s...

Proper quality assessment of ready-mixed concrete, which is currently the principal material for construction, land engineering and architecture, has an impact on the optimisation and verification of correct functioning of individual stages of the pr...

The Euro 4 regulation, applicable since 2016 for L-category vehicles (i.e., two and three-wheelers, and mini cars) reduced the emission limits, but also introduced a new cycle, the WMTC (World Harmonized Motorcycle Test Cycle). The emission studies o...

Non-targeted NMR is widely accepted as a powerful and robust analytical tool for food control. Nevertheless, standardized procedures based on validated methods are still needed when a non-targeted approach is adopted. Interlaboratory comparisons carr...

As our understanding of soil biology deepens, there is a growing demand for investigations addressing microbial processes in the earth beneath the topsoil layer, called subsoil. High clay content in subsoils often hinders the recovery of sufficient q...

Dissolved oxygen concentration is a key parameter for characterizing natural and wastewaters and for assessing the global state of the environment in general. The decrease of dissolved oxygen levels in the world’s oceans, which is becoming increasing...

ACEnano is an EU-funded project which aims at developing, optimising and validating methods for the detection and characterisation of nanomaterials (NMs) in increasingly complex matrices to improve confidence in the results and support their use in r...

²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra are typically monitored for groundwater and surface water compliance at legacy U mining and milling sites. Groundwater monitoring results for combined Ra (²²⁶Ra + ²²⁸Ra) reported by the existing contract laboratory at a former U mine...

In this study, the results obtained by 19 laboratories participating in 2 editions of the interlaboratory comparison (ILC) determining 2 properties of ceramic tiles adhesives (CTAs), i.e., initial tensile adhesion strength and tensile adhesion streng...

Interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) in the food allergens field mainly rely on the use of consensus values per applied methodology or even per type of an ELISA test kit. Results suggest good reproducibility; however, possible biases may not be recogniz...

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies and bioinformatic analyses are of growing interest to be used as a routine diagnostic tool in the field of plant viruses. The reliability of HTS workflows from sample preparation to data analysis and resu...

Accurate determination of biochemical methane potential (BMP) is important for both biogas research and practice. However, access to laboratory equipment limits the capacity of small laboratories or biogas plants to conduct reliable BMP assays, espec...

A collaborative inter-laboratory study was conducted to characterise the performance of the novel 250 W External Discharge Plasma Thruster (XPT) with a channel-less Hall effect-type thruster designed to address lifetime limitations and lower-power ef...

In June 2016, with the aim of ensuring a global improvement in the performance of the Italian System of the Environmental Agencies (SNPA) and its homogeneity on the national territory, an intercomparison circuit (IC) was planned and conducted concern...

Background: A pilot inter-laboratory proficiency scheme for 5 Ontario clinical laboratories testing tumour samples for the Ontario-wide Cancer Targeted Nucleic Acid Evaluation (OCTANE) study was undertaken to assess proficiency in the identification...

Modern sensors deployed in most Industry 4.0 applications are intelligent, meaning that they present sophisticated behavior, usually due to embedded software, and network connectivity capabilities. For that reason, the task of calibrating an intellig...

An interlaboratory comparison for European radon calibration facilities was conducted to evaluate the establishment of a harmonized quality level for the activity concentration of radon in air and to demonstrate the performance of the facilities when...

Parks can aid in the regulation of microclimates and the improvement of air quality. They can be utilized in real-world systems to choose the best model for explaining the source of pollutant emissions, indicating the requirement for pollution concen...

Anti-AAV neutralizing Abs (NAbs) titer is usually measured by cell-based microneutralization (MN) assay and is crucial for patient screening in AAV-based gene therapy clinical trials. However, achieving uniform operation and comparable results among...

Interlaboratory comparisons are a basic part of the regular quality controls of laboratories to warranty the adequate performance of test and measurements. The exercise presented in this article is the comparison of indoor radon gas measurements unde...

In 2020, a test performance study (TPS) for the specific detection of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) was organized in the frame of the H2020 Valitest project. Since no validated tests were available, all the protocols reported in the litera...

This article presents the results of the interlaboratory comparison (ILC) study of the following four characteristics of ceramic tile adhesives (CTAs): initial tensile adhesion strength, tensile adhesion strength after heat ageing, tensile adhesion s...

The common duckweed (Lemna minor), a freshwater monocot that floats on the surfaces of slow-moving streams and ponds, is commonly used in toxicity testing. The novel Lemna root- regrowth test is a toxicity test performed in replicate test vessels (24...

Coordinate measuring machines are widely used in the industrial field due to their ease of automation. However, estimating the measurement uncertainty is a delicate task, especially when controlling for deviation, given the large number of factors th...

Acoustic materials are widely used for improving interior acoustics based on their sound absorptive or sound diffusive properties. However, common acoustic materials only offer limited options for customizable geometrical features, performance, and a...

We provide a narrative review on the published peer-reviewed scientific literature reporting sampler efficiency, performance and comparison studies (where two or more samplers have been assessed) in laboratory settings published between 1994 and 2021...

Minimal residual disease (MRD) status is now considered as one of the most relevant prognostic factors in multiple myeloma (MM) while MRD negativity became an important endpoint in clinical trials. Here, we report the results of the first study evalu...

The aim of this paper is to compare the power measurement capabilities in millimetre- and sub-millimetre-wave frequency bands of several national metrology institutes and one research institute. The first comparison, in WR-6.5 waveguide (110 GHz to 1...

Portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) are used onboard vehicles to determine the on-road real driving emissions of the vehicles for research or regulatory purposes. The assessment of a PEMS is carried out in a laboratory comparing it with labo...

Correct specification of a target’s longwave infrared (LWIR) surface emissivity has been identified as one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in the remote sensing of land surface temperature (LST). Field and laboratory emissivity measureme...

Deuterium (²H) and oxygen 18 (¹⁸O) stable isotopes in water are the key indicators of hydrological and ecological patterns and processes. The water isotopes δ²H and δ¹⁸O have been employed widely as tracers in hydrological and ecological research, as...

Wastewater-based environmental surveillance enables the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics within populations, offering critical epidemiological insights. Numerous workflows for tracking SARS-CoV-2 have been developed globally, underscoring the need f...

It has been widely recognized that nanosafety studies are limited in reproducibility, caused by missing or inadequate information and data gaps. Reliable and comprehensive studies should be performed supported by standards or guidelines, which need t...

This study investigates the effectiveness of robust estimators of location and dispersion, used in proficiency testing and listed in ISO 13528:2015, in outlier detection. The models utilize (a) kernel density plots, (b) Z-factors, (c) Monte Carlo sim...

The embryonic zebrafish is a useful vertebrate model for assessing the effects of substances on growth and development. However, cross-laboratory developmental toxicity outcomes can vary and reported developmental defects in zebrafish may not be dire...

A quality assurance/quality control program was implemented in the framework of the EU project HBM4EU to assess and improve the comparability of biomarker analysis and to build a network of competent laboratories. Four rounds of proficiency tests wer...

An international comparison of continuous monitors measuring radon activity concentration was performed to validate the traceability of the European radon calibration facilities. It was carried out by comparing the secondary standards used by these p...

Interlaboratory exercises are a good tool to compare the response of different systems to the same quantity and to identify possible inconsistencies between them. One of the main goals of the EMPIR 19ENV01 traceRadon project is to harmonize radon flu...

International comparisons play a critical role in ensuring precision, accuracy, consistency, and trust in the global metrology system. The Comité International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM) established the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in...

Five institutional partners participated in an interlaboratory comparison of nucleic acid extraction, RNA preservation and quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR) based assays for biogas biocenoses derived from different grass silage digesting laboratory a...

Accredited laboratories participating in Proficiency Testing (PT) and Interlaboratory Comparison (ILC) typically submit measurement results (and associated uncertainties) to an organizer for performance evaluation using statistics such as the z-score...

Whole-genome sequencing of viral isolates is critical for informing transmission patterns and for the ongoing evolution of pathogens, especially during a pandemic. However, when genomes have low variability in the early stages of a pandemic, the impa...

The present interlaboratory comparison study involved nine laboratories located throughout the world that tested for 24 regulated and non-regulated mycotoxins by applying their in-house LC-MS/MS multi-toxin method to 10 individual lots of 4 matrix co...

The development of quality requirements for the analyses of chemical contaminants is reviewed from the formation of the first association of analytical chemists in 1884. Without attempting to give complete coverage, it is shown that the elaboration o...