...with respect to the quality, effectiveness...value of health care services and with respect to quality measurement and improvement...1) Demographic Questionnaire--The demographic...Health and Human Services (DHHS) and...

This study investigated predictors of outcome for a three-month group-exercise program among a community-dwelling Japanese population aged over 65 (n=42). The primary outcome variable was health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Candidate predictors included demographic variables, medical history of chronic diseases, and lifestyle-related factors, including self-reported home exercise at baseline examination. At follow-up, only the vitality domain of the SF-36 was significantly improved. Self-reported home exercise and younger age at baseline were significant predictors of a good outcome in the mental and physical components, respectively, of the SF-36. These results indicate that group exercise may be effective to improve the vitality component of HRQOL for Japanese seniors. However, the effects on the physical components of HRQOL are limited. Home exercise and younger age may influence the effects of group exercise on HRQOL for this population.   

Standardization of mortality for variation in sociodemographic characteristics as well as for age, sex, and race is required for improved detection of changes in mortality around point sources of pollution. Mortality by level and selected causes was studied in 191 counties within 80 km of 15 power generation sites chosen to represent the diversity of US socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic features. Mortality data for 1969 to 1971 were evaluated against selected 1970 US census, air pollution, climate, and cigarette and beer consumption data. A mortality process scheme was developed and used to rationalize the selection of independent variables. Applying this technique to regressions of mortality on air pollution and social-demographic variables, only female mortality was found to have strong independent or interactive effects with air pollution. For cause-specific mortality, the explained variance was small for diseases with major genetic components and larger for diseases with strong socioeconomic components. Testing of the regression equations indicated that standardization for socioeconomic factors may be a useful strategy on a regional basis.

The adoption of recommended management practices on privately owned rural lands in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef is central to the strategy being employed by Australian Governments to improve the health of terrestrial and aquatic environments in Queensland. The paper describes the results of surveys of rural landholders in the Wet Tropics NRM region of North Queensland. Mail and interview surveys were used to explore landholders' land and water management practices, attitudes to natural resource management issues, management objectives, use of information to support management decision making, trust of organisations and individuals and their socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Principal components analyses were used to assess the factors underlying responses to quest...

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the most distressing symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and determine how these relate to health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety/depression, patient demographics, and disease characteristics (duration, activity, organ damage). Methods: In a cross-sectional study, patients with SLE (n = 324, age 18-84 years) gave written responses regarding which SLE-related symptoms they experienced as most difficult. Their responses were categorized. Within each category, patients reporting a specific symptom were compared with non-reporters and analysed for patient demographics, disease duration, and results from the following questionnaires: the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM), the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI), and the Systemic Lupus International Collaboration Clinics/American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) damage index. Results: Twenty-three symptom categories were identified. Fatigue (51%), pain (50%), and musculoskeletal distress (46%) were most frequently reported. Compared with non-reporters, only patients reporting fatigue showed a statistically significant impact on both mental and physical components of HRQoL. Patients with no present symptoms (10%) had higher HRQoL (p improve HRQoL in patients with SLE. Our findings further indicate that this need is particularly urgent for patients with symptoms of pain or fatigue. PMID:22646821

Breastfeeding is associated with improved developmental and social outcomes for an infant. Despite these health benefits, only 54% of women breastfeed in the early postpartum period. Although an understanding of socio-demographic characteristics, breastfeeding intent, and breastfeeding attitudes can facilitate breastfeeding initiatives, these factors have not been characterized particularly for urban and immigrant mothers. The objectives of this study are to provide a descriptive analysis of the socio-demographic characteristics, breastfeeding intent, and breastfeeding attitudes of primiparas presenting to an inner city prenatal clinic and determine if breastfeeding attitudes are associated with breastfeeding intent and socio-demographic variables. Of 100 primiparas, 79 reported the intent...

This research study aims to improve personalization in MIR systems, by improving the relevance of multilingual search results with respect to the user and not just the query. The study investigates how to model different aspects of a multilingual search user. Information about users can be demograph...

The SBWR has been developed for US conditions and has many characteristics that are best suited for US conditions, regulations and practices. Because of a limited number of sites in Japan the 670 MWe power level is too low, hence a higher power level has to be considered for Japan. Additionally, several design practices, codes and standards are different in Japan. This includes the seismic requirements for equipment and structures. Consequently, additional features and technologies have to be developed and analyses have to be performed. This paper addresses the issues of power scaleup and seismic impact on possible design solutions to adapt the US SBWR design to Japan. The specific issues addressed are means to handle the need for larger decay heat removal capacity of the passive systems (IC/PCC) and the need for larger core flow using improved separator designs. The impact of different and higher seismic levels on key components and structures is also addressed. The component discussed is the passive decay heat removal isolation condenser and the structure discussed is the reactor building. The final plant design adopted in Japan will have to integrate these technologies to define the optimum combination of features to meet all the economic, design practice and regulatory requirements. This paper also addresses one of the key demographic changes in Japan in the coming years--the decrease in the working age population. This change requires that future plant designs require much less maintenance.

This study compared outcomes as assessed by 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) between patients who underwent unicompartmental (UKA) and patients who underwent total knee (TKA) arthroplasty. We prospectively collected preoperative demographic and SF-12 and WOMAC data on 128 TKAs and 70 UKAs. Postoperatively, SF-12 and WOMAC outcomes were recorded during annual follow-up visits. At baseline, patients who underwent UKA had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index than patients who underwent TKA; otherwise, preoperative characteristics were similar. At a mean follow-up of 3.0 years for UKA and 2.9 years for TKA, patients who underwent UKA reported higher SF-12 physical component and mental component scores and WOMAC pain/stiffness/physical function scores (confirmed with multivariate analysis). Furthermore, patients who underwent UKA had significantly larger improvements in both SF-12 outcomes and WOMAC pain and physical function scores from baseline than did patients who underwent TKA. PMID:22658232

The objectives of this study were to evaluate dietary quality among Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) residents using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005), determine the major food sources contributing to HEI-2005 components, and investigate demographic differences in HEI-2005 scores and major food ...

The capacity to access, integrate, and analyze demographic, financial, and clinical data within a regional health care system represents an opportunity to ensure and enhance clinical quality and to reduce costs in a carefully planned and controlled manner. Properly used, such capability should improve health care delivery for local populations and provide the institution with a level of integration of services achieved by few health care organizations. The Baptist Health System (BHS), based in Birmingham, Alabama, is currently standardizing operating procedures among its various components and implementing a comprehensive, enterprise-wide information network. Clinical quality improvement and case management are being promulgated throughout the enterprise using a continuum-of-care model developed internally. Having successfully completed a pilot project using teleconferences for core lectures in internal medicine between two large teaching hospitals, BHS is taking advantage of enterprise- wide teleconference capability using a combination of fiberoptic (T3) and standard digital telephone (T1) transmission to speed installation and reduce the cost of implementation into two office buildings and eleven hospitals. The information system will serve to prepare BHS for the advent of managed care and other anticipated changes in health care, while ensuring continued ability to deliver high quality, cost-effective medical and health-related services.

General flexibility is a key component of health, well-being, and general physical conditioning. Reduced flexibility has both physical and mental/emotional etiologies and can lead to musculoskeletal injuries and athletic underperformance. Few studies have tested the effectiveness of a mind-body therapy on general flexibility. The aim of this study was to investigate if Neuro Emotional Technique® (NET), a mind-body technique shown to be effective in reducing stress, can also improve general flexibility. The sit-and-reach test (SR) score was used as a measure of general flexibility. Forty-five healthy participants were recruited from the general population and assessed for their initial SR score before being randomly allocated to receive (a) two 20-minute sessions of NET (experimental group); (b) two 20-minute sessions of stretching instruction (active control group); or (c) no intervention or instruction (passive control group). After intervention, the participants were reassessed in a similar manner by the same blind assessor. The participants also answered questions about demographics, usual water and caffeine consumption, and activity level, and they completed an anxiety/mood psychometric preintervention and postintervention. The mean (SD) change in the SR score was +3.1 cm (2.5) in the NET group, +1.2 cm (2.3) in the active control group and +1.0 cm (2.6) in the passive control group. Although all the 3 groups showed some improvement, the improvement in the NET group was statistically significant when compared with that of either the passive controls (p = 0.015) or the active controls (p = 0.021). This study suggests that NET could provide an effective treatment in improving general flexibility. A larger study is required to confirm these findings and also to assess longer term effectiveness of this therapy on general flexibility. PMID:22814766

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Measuring the state of health is a method for quantifying the impact of an illness on the day-to-day life, health and wellbeing of a patient, providing a quantitative measure of an individual's quality of life (QoL). QoL expresses patient point of view by a subjective dimension and can express the results of medical intervention. Pulmonary rehabilitation is an essential component in the management of COPD patients, and measuring QoL has become a central focus in the study of this disease.Although nowadays several questionnaires for measuring the QoL in COPD patients are available, there are no questionnaires specifically developed for evaluating QoL in COPD patients undergoing respiratory rehabilitation.The aim of this study was to develop a novel questionnaire for the QoL quantification in COPD patients undergoing in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation program. METHODS: The questionnaire, administered to COPD patients undergoing long-term oxygen therapy into a respiratory rehabilitation ward, was developed by a simple and graphic layout to be administered to elderly patients. It included one form for admission and another for discharge. It included only tips related to the subjective components of QoL that would be relevant for patient, although likely not strictly related to the respiratory function.A descriptive analysis was performed for the socio-demographic characteristics and both the non-parametric Wilcoxon T-test and the Cronbach's alpha index were calculated for evaluating the sensitivity of the questionnaire to the effects of respiratory rehabilitation and for identifying its consistency. RESULTS: The physical and psychological condition of the 34 COPD patients improved after the rehabilitative treatment and this finding was detected by the questionnaire (overall improvement: 14.2+/-2.5%), as confirmed by the non-parametric Wilcoxon test (pinnovation compared to previous methods for evaluating the QoL, since it has been specifically designed for hospitalized COPD patients undergoing respiratory rehabilitation with serious respiratory deficiency, allowing to effectively determining the QoL in these patients. PMID:23168213

Abstract Objectives: As growing numbers of patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), improvement is needed in communication between providers of CAM and allopathic medicine. This study describes collaborative acupuncture clinics (CACs) run by providers from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) in the setting of family medicine teaching clinics. It examines patient demographics, quality of education for medical learners, referral practices of primary care physicians (PCPs), and quality of communication between acupuncturists and PCPs at these clinics. Design: Demographic data were abstracted from electronic medical records of patients treated at least three times in the CACs between 2006 and 2007. A survey on quality...

Background: This study aimed to examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the relationship between the physical health component of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of coronary heart disease patients and their socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from March 2009 to July 2010 with a total of 420 participants recruited from two hospital-based phase II cardiac rehabilitation centres. Participants' socio-demographic variables, self-reported medical history data, level of psychological distress, perceived social support, and HRQoL were collected by means of a structured questionnaire. Body weight and height, blood pressure and clinical data including fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were also collected. Exploratory univariate analyses and multivariable regressions were conducted to identify socio-demographic and clinical determinants of the physical health component of HRQoL. Path analyses were then performed to examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the relationship between the physical health component of HRQoL and the determinants.Results: Path analysis revealed that age, sex, perceived social support, history of angina, and dyslipidaemia had both direct effect and indirect effect through psychological distress on the physical health component of HRQoL. Obesity and impaired left ventricular function only affected the physical health component of HRQoL directly, whereas household income only affected it indirectly, through psychological distress.Conclusion: Psychological distress mediates the effects of some socio-demographic and clinical variables of CHD patients on the physical health component of HRQoL. Our findings have important implications for rehabilitation care for people with CHD in order to enhance their HRQoL. PMID:22679250

Despite the wish of the Japanese people to spend their final moments at home, the percentage of deaths at home among elderly is decreasing. Moreover, large variations in this rate were observed over the country. The present ecological study analyzed the relationship between the percentage of deaths at home for decedents aged 70 and over, and demographic, medical and socioeconomic characteristics. The data published in 1990 by the Japanese National Government were analyzed by correlation, principal-component, and multiple linear regression analyses. The results showed that the percentage of deaths at home for decedents aged 70 and over was positively associated with the number of persons per household, and the area of floor space per house. The divorce rate, the national tax per capita, and the mean length of hospitalization for stroke showed a negative association with the percentage of deaths at home. In the prefectures where the crude death rates of stroke and senility were high, elderly were more likely to die at home. These results suggested the importance of the number of family caregivers, and the housing conditions for terminal care at home. This research may lead to improve home medical assistance which is still underdeveloped in Japan.   

Purpose: The present study attempts to bring together and combine the "Nordic" dimensions of service quality with the overall satisfaction received from the service. A relationship satisfaction measurement instrument is introduced to investigate and deploy the significant factors that contribute to customers' overall satisfaction. Methodology/ Approach: The results are based on a questionnaire survey in 9 major Greek Public hospitals answered by 1298 respondents. Dimensions of satisfaction are derived and confirmed with CFA whereas a multinomial logistic regression model provides evidence on its predictive ability to overall satisfaction. Finally, the relationship between the derived factors and socio-demographic characteristics is also examined. Findings: On the basis of the results presented qualitative and empirical evidence is provided that customer satisfaction and service quality are multi-dimensional constructs and that those "quality" components together with convenience and cost form the overall satisfaction experienced by the customer. Practical Implications: The use of the proposed model allows the identification of important aspects of the quality and satisfaction concepts. It also enables managers to select and rank the appropriate measures for service improvement.

This study assesses the extent to which labor supply may be a constraining factor in expansion of US coal output, both in the mid-range period to 1990 and in the longer-term to 2030. Major study components include regional projections of coal industry labor requirements, labor supply, and unit labor costs to 1990, as well as illustrative projections of longer-term demand and supply factors. A combination of econometric and demographic methods are used, supplemented by reliance upon informed judgment for assessing key institutional and labor relations variables. The study concludes that labor supply should not be a significant constraint in the projected growth of coal output in the coming decade, in view of the industry's high wage structure and of a projected gradual improvement in overall productivity. Unit labor costs are expected to grow moderately, at a projected annual rate of about 1 percent, between 1977 and 1990, in constant dollars. Labor supply constraints, however, are considered to be more probable in the longer-term period to the year 2030 if coal demand grows to nearly 5 billion tons annually by the latter, year, as suggested by some recent long-term energy projections. The expected slowdown in US population growth and accompanying trends to an older and less mobile labor force are seen as leading to more rapid escalation of labor costs, unless offset by increased reliance upon more capital-intensive mining methods and technologies.

Intersectionality is a term used to describe the intersecting effects of race, class, gender, and other marginalizing characteristics that contribute to social identity and affect health. Adverse health effects are thought to occur via social processes including discrimination and structural inequalities (i.e., reduced opportunities for education and income). Although intersectionality has been well-described conceptually, approaches to modeling it in quantitative studies of health outcomes are still emerging. Strategies to date have focused on modeling demographic characteristics as proxies for structural inequality. Our objective was to extend these methodological efforts by modeling intersectionality across three levels: structural, contextual, and interpersonal, consistent with a social-ecological framework. We conducted a secondary analysis of a database that included two components of a widely used survey instrument, the Everyday Discrimination Scale. We operationalized a meso- or interpersonal-level of intersectionality using two variables, the frequency score of discrimination experiences and the sum of characteristics listed as reasons for these (i.e., the person's race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, disability or pregnancy status, or physical appearance). We controlled for two structural inequality factors (low education, poverty) and three contextual factors (high crime neighborhood, racial minority status, and trauma exposures). The outcome variables we modeled were posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and a quality of life index score. We used data from 619 women who completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale for a perinatal study in the U.S. state of Michigan. Statistical results indicated that the two interpersonal-level variables (i.e., number of marginalized identities, frequency of discrimination) explained 15% of variance in posttraumatic stress symptoms and 13% of variance in quality of life scores, improving the predictive value of the models over those using structural inequality and contextual factors alone. This study's results point to instrument development ideas to improve the statistical modeling of intersectionality in health and social science research. PMID:23089613

The purpose of this work is to develop a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system to differentiate malignant and benign lung nodules on CT scans. A fully automated system was designed to segment the nodule from its surrounding structured background in a local volume of interest (VOI) and to extract image features for classification. Image segmentation was performed with a 3D active contour method. The initial contour was obtained as the boundary of a binary object generated by k-means clustering within the VOI and smoothed by morphological opening. A data set of 256 lung nodules (124 malignant and 132 benign) from 152 patients was used in this study. In addition to morphological and texture features, the authors designed new nodule surface features to characterize the lung nodule surface smoothness and shape irregularity. The effects of two demographic features, age and gender, as adjunct to the image features were also investigated. A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier built with features from stepwise feature selection was trained using simplex optimization to select the most effective features. A two-loop leave-one-out resampling scheme was developed to reduce the optimistic bias in estimating the test performance of the CAD system. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, A(z), for the test cases improved significantly (p 0.05) when they were added to the feature space containing the morphological, texture, and new gradient field and radius features. To investigate if a support vector machine (SVM) classifier can achieve improved performance over the LDA classifier, we compared the performance of the LDA and SVMs with various kernels and parameters. Principal component analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of the feature space for both the LDA and the SVM classifiers. When the number of selected principal components was varied, the highest test A(z) among the SVMs of various kernels and parameters was slightly higher than that of the LDA in one-loop leave-one-case-out resampling. However, no SVM with fixed architecture consistently performed better than the LDA in the range of principal components selected. This study demonstrated that the authors' proposed segmentation and feature extraction techniques are promising for classifying lung nodules on CT images. PMID:19673208

Object Previous studies have reported on the minimum clinically important difference (MCID), a threshold of improvement that is clinically relevant for lumbar degenerative disorders. Recent studies have shown that pre- and postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures vary among patients with different diagnostic etiologies. There is also concern that a patient's previous care experience may affect his or her perception of clinical improvement. This study determined if MCID values for the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and back and leg pain are different between patients undergoing primary or revision lumbar fusion. Methods Prospectively collected preoperative and 1-year postoperative patient-reported HRQOLs, including the ODI, SF-36 physical component summary (PCS), and numeric rating scales (0-10) for back and leg pain, in patients undergoing lumbar spine fusion were analyzed. Patients were grouped into either the primary surgery or revision group. As the most widely accepted MCID values were calculated from the minimum detectable change, this method was used to determine the MCID. Results A total of 722 patients underwent primary procedures and 333 patients underwent revisions. There was no statistically significant difference in demographics between the groups. Each group had a statistically significant improvement at 1 year postoperatively compared with baseline. The minimum detectable change-derived MCID values for the primary group were 1.16 for back pain, 1.36 for leg pain, 12.40 for ODI, and 5.21 for SF-36 PCS. The MCID values for the revision group were 1.21 for back pain, 1.28 for leg pain, 11.79 for ODI, and 4.90 for SF-36 PCS. These values are very similar to those previously reported in the literature. Conclusions The MCID values were similar for the revision and primary lumbar fusion groups, even when subgroup analysis was done for different diagnostic etiologies, simplifying interpretation of clinical improvement. The results of this study further validate the use of patient-reported HRQOLs to measure clinical effectiveness, as a patient's previous experience with care does not seem to substantially alter an individual's perception of clinical improvement. PMID:23157276

Many non-linear processes link atmospheric emissions to the bioavailability of metals; consequently, the monitoring of metals in ecosystem components is required to model their ecodynamics. American mink (Neovison vison) and river otter (Lontra canadensis) have the potential to serve as an upper-level-consumer component in monitoring metals bioavailability. However, the relationship of bioaccumulated metals to various environmental factors has not been explored nor have the effects of demographic factors been resolved. To address these limitations, mink and otter, collected throughout New York State during 1998?2002, were analyzed for hepatic concentrations of total mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb). Relationships were investigated between metals concentrations and landscape-level ...

Science teacher beliefs and classroom practice related to constructivism and factors that may influence classroom practice were examined in this cross-case study. Data from four science teachers in two schools included interviews, demographic questionnaire, Classroom Learning Environment Survey (preferred/perceived), and classroom observations and documents. Using an inductive analytic approach, results suggested that the teachers embraced constructivism, but classroom observations did not confirm implementation of these beliefs for three of the four teachers. The most preferred constructivist components were personal relevance and student negotiation; the most perceived component was critical voice. Shared control was the least preferred, least perceived, and least observed constructivist...

This presents the author's point of view as DOE manager on where safeguards should be going. The field has been developing since Manhattan Project days as a system, a technology and people. Present DOE safeguards are being studied. Needs for improvement being evaluated include demographic changes in the labor force and fundamental response measures. Some help can be given to others with related needs.

Abstract in portuguese A distribuição geográfica dos agravos à saúde e sua relação com potenciais fatores de risco vêm abrindo um vasto campo para a investigação epidemiológica. O presente estudo visa a identificar padrões de distribuição espacial dos componentes neonatal (TMIN) e pós-neonatal (TMIP) da taxa de mortalidade infantil (TMI) dos municípios do Ceará, Brasil, e discute os principais fatores sócio-econômicos, demográficos e de atenção à saúde que contribuíram (more) para dependência espacial destes componentes. Trata-se de um estudo ecológico transversal, utilizando regressão linear múltipla, cuja análise espacial desses componentes foi obtida através do índice de Moran. Conclui-se que as condições de assistência à gravidez, ao parto e ao recém-nascido somadas a uma melhor distribuição de renda são decisivas para a sobrevivência no primeiro mês de vida, enquanto que a má alimentação, imunização, saneamento, educação e situação econômica são possíveis determinantes da mortalidade pós-neonatal. Reconhece-se a importância que as ações de atenção seletiva à saúde exercem para o declínio da TMI. No entanto, mudanças estruturais e intersetoriais são as que irão gerar a sustentabilidade necessária para levar esse indicador ao nível dos países desenvolvidos. Abstract in english The geographic distribution of health problems and its relationship to potential risk factors has opened a vast field for epidemiological research. The present study aims to identify spatial distribution patterns for the neonatal and post-neonatal components of the infant mortality rate (IMR) in Ceará State, Brazil, and discuss the main socioeconomic, demographic, and healthcare factors contributing to the spatial dependence of these components. This cross-sectional ecol (more) ogical study uses multiple linear regression, in which spatial analysis of the components was obtained through the Moran index. Prenatal, childbirth, and neonatal care as well as improved income distribution are decisive for survival in the first month of life, while other factors related to nutrition, immunization, sanitation, education, and economic status are possible determinants of post-neonatal mortality. Selective healthcare measures are known to play a decisive role in decreasing the IMR. However, structural and inter-sector changes generate the sustainability needed to maintain this indicator on the same level as in developed countries.

BACKGROUND: Self-care behaviour in patients with heart failure (HF) represents a series of specific actions that patients should take, as an important treatment component. AIMS: The aim of this study was to identify potential determinants of HF self-care in ambulatory patients with stable systolic HF. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 318 patients with chronic systolic HF recruited in 48 German primary care practices, we evaluated the patient-reported European HF Self-care Behaviour scale (EHFScBs) assessments (range 12-60, where lower scores indicate better self-care). Potential determinants included socio-demographic (e.g. age, living status), clinical (e.g. NYHA class, LVEF, NT-proBNP levels, co-morbidities), behavioural (e.g. smoking and alcohol intake), psychosocial (SF-36 scales and KCCQ domains, e.g. quality of life and self-efficacy) and depression status (PHQ-D), plus previous health care utilisation. Mixed regression modelling was applied. RESULTS: Patients had a mean (SD) age of 69.0 (10.4) years and were 71% male. They had a good overall EHFScBs score of 24.7 (7.8) (n=274). In the final regression model (n=271), six determinants were retained (?; descriptive p-value): self-efficacy (-0.24; <.001), age (-0.22; <.001), prosthetic heart valve (-0.14; .01), referrals to cardiologists (-0.14; .02), peripheral arterial disease (0.13; .03) and quality of life (0.16; .02). CONCLUSION: In this exploratory cross-sectional study, the potential non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors and resources involved in patients' HF self-care were at the individual and organisational level. Self-efficacy and quality of life are potentially modifiable, so these could be targeted for improvement by enhancing patient motivation, HF education and further supporting a collaborative care approach. PMID:22514139

With the mandate of "No Child Left Behind," high-stakes achievement testing is firmly in place in every state. The few studies that have explored the effectiveness of high-stakes testing using NAEP scores have yielded mixed results. This study considered state demographic characteristics for each NAEP testing period in reading, writing, mathematics, and science from 1992 through 2002, in an effort to examine the relation of high-stakes testing policies to achievement and changes in achievement between testing periods. As expected, demographic characteristics and their changes were related significantly to most achievement outcomes, but high-stakes testing policies demonstrated few relationships with achievement. The few relationships between high-stakes testing and achievement or improvement in reading, writing, or science tended to appear only when demographic data were missing; and the minimal relationships with math achievement were consistent with findings in previous research. Considering the cost and potential unintended negative consequences, high-stakes testing policies seem to provide a questionable means of improving student learning. (Contains 23 tables.)

...from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...such as demographics, attitudes towards safety, miles...demographics, safety attitudes, riding experience...injuries, and reduce healthcare and other economic...demographics, safety attitudes, riding...

AbstractBackground Underground coal mining is an expanding industry in Ukraine, yet little is known about the burden of respiratory disease among Ukrainian miners. Methods A Fogarty International Center-supported collaboration between researchers at the University of Illinois and the Institute of Occupational Health in Kyiv, Ukraine formed to improve capacity for conducting and monitoring medical surveillance among Ukrainian coal miners. A cross-sectional survey among a random sample of working and former miners was conducted; demographic, work, and health information were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Weighted prevalence rates were calculated and predictors of respiratory symptoms explored. Results Improvements in infrastructure, including spirometry and chest radiography ...

AbstractBACKGROUND: Before the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), surgical resection was the primary treatment for hepatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) metastases. Although TKIs have improved survival in the metastatic setting, outcomes after multimodal therapy comprised of hepatectomy and TKIs for GIST are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether combination therapy for hepatic GIST metastases is associated with improved overall survival compared with reported outcomes from surgery or TKI therapy alone. METHODS: Demographics, clinicopathologic tumor characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of patients who underwent hepatic resection at 3 high-volume centers from 1995 to 2010 were reviewed. RESULTS: In total, 39 patients underwent hepatectomy for me...

We have simulated demographic changes in the human population using the Penna microscopic model, based on the simple Monte Carlo method. The results of simulations have shown that during a few generations changes in the genetic pool of a population are negligible, while improving the methods of compensation of genetic defects or genetically determined proneness to many disorders drastically affects the average life span of organisms. Age distribution and mortality of the simulated populations correspond very well to real demographic data available from different countries. Basing on the comparison of structures of real human populations and the results of simulations it is possible to predict changes in the age structure of populations in the future.

Crisis intervention Centre (CIC) offers support, security and maintain of social integration in addition to a specific psychiatric-psychotherapeutic treatment based on the psychoanalytic crisis intervention model. The aim of this study was to verify, whether there are gender differences in clinical and socio-demographic characteristics at admission into a CIC. A better description of the difficulties of patients could contribute to improve the future treatment program and outcome of patients. Three hundred and fifty two middle aged patients (219 women, 133 men) were included. Gender groups were compared with socio-demographic variables (age, income, primary presenting problem, trigger event, referral, diagnosis and medication) as well as with symptomatology (SCL-90 R, BPRS 4.0), defense me...

Background The charity `Health Partnership Nepal' is committed to both improving global health care and providing medical training links between Nepal and the UK. This paper analyses data gathered at rural health camps. Aim To describe the demographics, diagnoses and treatments offered to people attending three rural health camps in Nepal during 2009. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Three free health care camps established within the Nuwakot district of Nepal during April-May 2009. Camps were staffed by doctors including GPs, nurses and medical students from London and Kathmandu. Methods Attendees had treatment sheets completed which recorded their demographics, diagnoses and dispensed medications. Results The mean age of the 1903 consecutive patients attending was 42.8 years (range ...

Abstract in portuguese NO CAMPO das religiões em nosso País, estamos diante de mudanças sociais aceleradas. Elas são principalmente culturais, mas têm importante dimensão demográfica e é justamente para salientar a significação sociológica mais ampla dessa dimensão populacional inevitável, que o artigo elege o ponto de vista do declínio demográfico de três das nossas religiões tradicionais: o catolicismo, o luteranismo e a umbanda. São mutações socioculturais de monta essas (more) que o censo demográfico de 2000 descreve com números checados e rechecados por pessoal técnico da maior competência, dotados, por isso, da vantagem comparativa de ser altamente confiáveis, diferindo nesse aspecto dos dados quantitativos que circulam normalmente na mídia, provenientes não raro de fontes religiosas de (des)informação. Abstract in english SWIFT social changes are occurring in Brazil's religious milieu. Although these changes are mainly cultural, there is an important demographic dimension as well. It is precisely to highlight the greater sociological significance of this inescapable component that we chose the viewpoint of the demographic decline of three religions: Catholicism, Lutheranism and Umbanda. These are momentous sociocultural mutations, as described by 2000 demographic Census, founded on data th (more) at was checked and double checked by highly qualified technical personnel. Thus, the figures have the comparative advantage of being highly trustworthy, unlike the quantitative data normally conveyed by the media, not rarely originating from religious sources of (dis)information.

Purpose This study examined whether demographic question placement affects demographic and non-demographic question completion rates, non-demographic item means, and blank questionnaire rates using a web-based survey of Veterans Health Administration employees. Methodology Data were taken from the 2010 Voice of the Veterans Administration Survey (VoVA), a voluntary, confidential, web-based survey offered to all VA employees. Participants were given two versions of the questionnaires. One version had demographic questions placed at the beginning and the other version had demographic questions placed at the end of the questionnaire. Findings Results indicated that placing demographic questions at the beginning of a questionnaire increased item response rate for demographic items without affe...

Purpose - This study seeks to examine the motivational and socio-demographic characteristics of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) visitors to Taiwan in order to identify salient market subgroups or segments. The aim is to establish results with relevance to Asian destinations and with some more general applicability. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the literature and expert input a questionnaire was designed and pretested. Using convenience sampling, data were collected from MICE visitors to Taipei (Taiwan). Principal components, hierarchical cluster, K-means, chi-square and ANOVA analyses of the data provide information about MICE visitors and their segments. Findings - Three motivation-based MICE segments are identified. Variable values suggest the following...

Data are compiled from existing sources on the social and economic characteristics of the southwestern coastal region of Florida, which is made up of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. Described are the components and interrelationships among complex processes that include population and demographics characteristics, mineral production, multiple-use conflicts, recreation and tourism, agricultural production, sport and commercial fishing, transportation, industrial and residential development, and environmental issues and regulations. Energetics models of socioeconomic systems are also presented. This volume contains appendices presenting data on land use, public utilities, transportation, recreation and tourism. 21 figures, 141 tables.

Abstract Obtaining reliable estimates of important parameters from recreational fisheries is problematic but critical for stock assessment and effective resource management. Sampling methodologies based on traditional design-based sampling theory, is inadequate in obtaining representative catch and effort data, social or demographical characterization, or fisher behaviour from small hard-to-reach components within recreational fisheries (e.g. specialized sport fisheries) that may account for the majority of the catch for some species. A model-based approach to sampling is necessary. Researchers in other disciplines including epidemiology and social sciences routinely survey rare or `hidden' populations within the general community by penetration of social networks rather than by intercepti...

Abstract Background and Purpose: Little data are available on the learning curve for laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery. We aimed to evaluate the learning curve for LESS radical nephrectomy for localized renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). Patients and Methods: Data from the first 50 consecutive patients who underwent LESS radical nephrectomy were reviewed for evaluation of the learning curve. The surgical procedure was broken down into its three essential components (medial retraction of colon, hilar dissection, and kidney mobilization) through a video review, and each operative time was separately recorded for learning curve analysis. Patient demographic data, variable surgical outcomes, and pathologic outcomes were analyzed. Overall learning curve for LESS radical nephrectomy was evalu...

Objective Multidisciplinary treatments (MTs) are usually recommended for reducing fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms and include physical exercise, drug management, education, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). However, there is no evidence that CBT adds efficacy to the other therapeutic components. This randomized controlled trial analyzed the response of FM patients to two MTs, with and without CBT, according to the presence of concurrent symptoms. Methods Eighty-three women with FM were randomly assigned to MT or combined MT and CBT. The MT included medical intervention, physical training, education, and discussion of the syndrome. The CBT focused on coping with stress, modifying lifestyles, and changing pain behaviors. Demographic and clinical data, information regarding tender points, and ...

Although drug compliance is a crucial component of treatment effectiveness in chronic diseases, it has never been evaluated in patients with systemic scleroderma. Therefore, the aim of this descriptive study was to determine the drug compliance rate in systemic scleroderma patients and to identify risk factors for noncompliance in these patients. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. All patients with systemic scleroderma (n?=?41) who visited a rheumatic center and signed an informed consent form were included. Data were obtained during structured interviews with patients and from medical records. The Compliance Questionnaire Rheumatology (CQR) was used to determine patient compliance. The relationships between compliance rate and demographic and clinical characteristics wer...

This paper introduces a method for giving recommendations of tourist activities to a group of users. This method makes recommendations based on the group tastes, their demographic classification and the places visited by the users in former trips. The group recommendation is computed from individual personal recommendations through the use of techniques such as aggregation, intersection or incremental intersection. This method is implemented as an extension of the e-Tourism tool, which is a user-adapted tourism and leisure application, whose main component is the Generalist Recommender System Kernel (GRSK), a domain-independent taxonomy-driven search engine that manages the group recommendation.

The conservation of endangered species critically depends on the understanding to which degree short-term fitness and long-term trends are affected by intrinsic local conditions and external global dynamics. However, studies combining long-term demographic data with population level analyses of site conditions, genetic variation, and reproduction as well as with climatic data are still rare. Here we studied the endangered orchid Anacamptis morio, representative for species with a sub-mediterranean distribution. For populations at the northern range edge, we combined long-term monitoring data (1977?2010) with climatic data and analyzed reproductive fitness components, genetic variation, and abiotic site conditions. Reproduction was generally low as expected from the deceptive pollination sy...

Abstract: People alive today and their immediate ancestors-modern humans-had multiple ancestors in the Middle Pleistocene. They did not originate as a new clade-the unique descendants of a recent, small African population. Therefore, the anatomical, behavioral, and genetic aspects of their modernity are not tied together in their origin. Instead, these key components of modernity have different origins and evolutionary pathways that can be understood as distinct, although interrelated, processes. Each process characterizes all living and recent human populations, and their interrelationship derives from a shared unifying factor: changes in human demographic history originating as the consequence of increased adult survivorship. Longer lifespans helped make humans modern.

We review previous studies on the genetic diversity of malaria vectors to highlight the major trends in population structure and demographic history. In doing so, we outline key information about molecular markers, sampling strategies and approaches to investigate the causes of genetic structure in Anopheles mosquitoes. Restricted gene flow due to isolation by distance and physical barriers to dispersal may explain the spatial pattern of current genetic diversity in some Anopheles species. Nonetheless, there is noteworthy disagreement among studies, perhaps due to variation in sampling methodologies, choice of molecular markers, and/or analytical approaches. More refined genealogical methods of population analysis allowing for the inclusion of the temporal component of genetic diversity fa...

An analysis of 1976 California primary voters who voted on the nuclear power proposition indicates that both nuclear power opinion and general environmental attitude have similar patterns of demographic and political correlates, as earlier environmental opinion research has reported. Nuclear power attitudes, however, are characterized by a much larger partisan and ideological component than is the general environmental attitude. In explaining the 35% of respondents with ''inconsistent'' nuclear and environmental attitudes, only education and income are significantly linked to consistency.

Abstract in portuguese Apesar dos avanços no tratamento, há pouca melhora na sobrevida dos pacientes com câncer do pulmão. Atualmente, é importante o conhecimento dos fatores que intervêm na sobrevida. Objetivos: Verificar possíveis diferenças de fatores prognósticos em duas populações de pacientes com câncer de pulmão, uma com pequena sobrevida (menos de seis meses) e outra com maior sobrevida (acima de 24 meses). Métodos: De 1997 a 1999 foram estudados 52 pacientes com diagnóst (more) ico histopatológico de carcinoma homogênico, sendo colhidos dados demográficos, clínicos, paramétricos, hábitos tabágicos, índice de Karnofsky, estadiamento da doença e dosagem laboratorial de desidrogenase lática, fosfatase alcalina, antígeno carcinoembrionário e cálcio. Resultados: 29 pacientes tiveram sobrevida menor do que seis meses e 23, superior a 24 meses. Os três fatores mais importantes que influenciaram o tempo curto de sobrevida foram baixo índice de Karnofsky inicial, redução do apetite e alto nível sérico de DHL. Conclusão: Os três componentes do prognóstico são o estado físico atual, o estado físico prévio e o estado atual da doença. Abstract in english Despite the improvements seen in the treatment of lung cancer, little has improved in the survival of these patients, and a great importance is attributed to the factors that have a role to play in such survival. Purpose: To check for possible prognostic factor differences in two populations of lung cancer patients, one of them with short survival (less than six months), and the other with longer survival (more than 24 months). Methods: From 1997 to 1999, 52 patients with (more) histopathologic diagnosis of homogenous carcinoma were studied, and demographics, clinical parameters, smoking pattern, Karnofsky's index, disease staging, and laboratory dosing of lactic dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, carcinoembryonic antigen, and calcium data were surveyed. Results: 29 patients had less than six month survival, and 23 had more than 24 month survival. The three most important factors for short survival were the low initial Karnofsky's index, loss of appetite, and high serum LDH levels. Conclusion: The three prognosis components are: current physical status, prior physical status, and current status of the disease.

Introduction. Dog bites are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly where rabies is endemic. There is also a significant financial burden attached to prophylactic treatment to diminish the risk of rabies infection. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has a high incidence of human rabies yet little is known about the demographics of dog bites in the province. Objectives. To analyse the demographics of dog bites in Northern KZN. Methods. Records of all dog bites presenting to the main referral hospital in Northern KZN between August 2007 and September 2011 were analysed. Results. We collected data for 821 instances of dog bite. Male children aged 6 - 10 years are most likely to present with dog bites, while women >40 years are more likely to present than men in the same age bracket. Whilst initial vaccine administration is high (98%) with all grades of bite, only 82% of grade 3 bites receive immunoglobulin. Conclusion. Our results correlate well with two large studies of the demographics of dog bites, but are the first to show a reverse in male preponderance of presentations above the age of 40 years. Reasons for low rates of immunoglobulin administration in grade 3 bites are discussed. Finally, methods are suggested to improve data collection and the care of patients presenting with dog bites. PMID:23116740

Access to improved water supplies and sanitation generally reduces childhood diarrhea incidence. Using a cross-sectional stratified cluster sampling design, interviews were conducted among grade 4-6 primary schoolchildren from 10 primary schools in highland and lowland districts of Pursat Province, Cambodia, in both June (rainy season) and December (dry season) 2009 to determine the demographics and water sources/sanitation used. Parents also recorded any incidents of diarrhea in their children over those months. We explored the sociodemographic factors associated with use of improved water sources/sanitation, using mixed effect modelling. Participation was 84.7% (1,101/1,300). About half exclusively used improved water sources but less than 25% had access to improved sanitation during both seasons. Adjusting for clustering within households and within individuals over time, exclusive use of improved water sources and sanitation were associated with the following: dry season, more permanent housing type, family size education. Exclusive use of improved sanitation was associated with good hygiene practices and exclusive use of improved water sources was associated with male gender. Access to improved water sources and sanitation among rural Cambodian primary schoolchildren can be improved, particularly in those with lower socio-economic status. Programs to promote use of improved water sources/sanitation need to target less educated parents. PMID:22299486

Component-based development has emerged as a system engineering approach that promises rapid software development with fewer resources. Yet, improved reuse and reduced cost benefits from software components can only be achieved in practice if the components provide reliable services, which makes com...

Globalization, greenhouse gas emissions and energy concerns, emerging vehicle technologies, and improved statistical modeling capabilities make the present moment an opportune time to revisit aggregate vehicle miles traveled (VMT), energy consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions forecasting for passenger transportation. Using panel data for the 48 continental states during the period 1998-2008, the authors develop simultaneous equation models for predicting VMT on different road functional classes and examine how different technological solutions and changes in fuel prices can affect passenger VMT. Moreover, a random coefficient panel data model is developed to estimate the influence of various factors (such as demographics, socioeconomic variables, fuel tax, and capacity) on the to...

Introduction A clearer understanding of the factors involved in improving lifting-capacity may assist professional health workers to enhance patient?s functioning and minimize chronic back pain. However, few studies have examined this association. This study is part of a trial comparing two secondary back pain prevention programs. It aims to identify anthropometric, physical, psychic and demographic baseline variables (baseline model), and over time change variables (comprehensive model), which explain the alteration of lumbar isoinertial lifting-capacity, from baseline to post-treatment. Methods The association between these variables? baseline- or change values, and the change of lifting-capacity (PILE-test) over time, were analyzed with multiple regression analyses. Potential variables ...

Background Changing demographics mean that many patients with large joint arthritis will work beyond traditional retirement age. This review considers the impact of knee osteoarthritis (OA) on work participation and the relation between work and total knee replacement (TKR). Sources Two systematic searches in Embase and Medline, supplemented by three systematic reviews. Areas of agreement Probably, although evidence is limited, knee OA considerably impairs participation in work (labour force participation, work attendance and work productivity). Areas of uncertainty/research need Little is known about effective interventions (treatments, work changes and policies) to improve vocational participation in patients with knee OA; or how type of work affects long-term clinical outcomes (e.g. pai...

Abstract Background: Antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines suggest single-dose regimens are adequate, but comparisons of multiple agents are lacking. We compared post-operative infection rates retrospectively among six common prophylactic agents given as a single dose to colorectal surgery patients. Methods: A commercial database supplied demographics, All-Patient Refined Diagnosis-Related Groups (APR DRGs), International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 codes, and drug utilization information for patients discharged from 303 hospitals from January 2007?December 2008 whose charts had been sampled for reporting Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures. The patients (n=4,634) had the same APR DRG, no baseline infection, and prophylaxis discontinued within 24?h of surgery. Development o...

SummaryIn poverty reduction programs, a significant number of beneficiaries change program status. An analysis of Oportunidades' data from urban Mexico shows that beneficiaries that drop out for behavioral and administrative reasons are those who are marginally eligible, improving targeting through minimizing errors of inclusion. Results also indicate that the very poorest recipients, particularly in large urban areas and less marginal communities, are more likely to drop out, increasing the errors of omission. Households deemed ineligible through a recertification process were those that had obtained basic durables or changed their demographic composition implying that Oportunidades' retargeting is based on limited information.

Is your business struggling to stay afloat? Are you overwhelmed by the challenge of building an organization that can be a market leader? Well, now is the time to stop going in circles--find a new direction and re-imagine your company. In this hard-hitting guide, renowned international corporate consultants and professors Leo Hopf and William Welter show how to breathe new life into your firm. Using revealing case studies from Seagate to Harley-Davidson, they offer such key strategies as: Repackaging products to widen the range of your target demographic; Revising your profit model to improve

Elder abuse presents difficult ethical considerations that the field of psychology has yet to sufficiently address. As demographics and sociocultural factors shift in the coming decade, this deficit in ethical competence may become an increasingly serious problem. Although legal definitions of elder abuse lack uniformity and clarity, there is much room for improvement in the field of psychology. Ethical considerations most relevant to professionals in psychology draw heavily on the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence and respect for people's rights and dignity. Professional standards of competence, discrimination, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, and cooperation with other professionals are also critical in these considerations. A number of recommendations are made, ...

Past behavior and socio-demographics represent traditional predictors of charitable giving. The present study examines, in a real fundraising setting, whether measures of empathy (i.e., empathic concern and personal distress) can improve these predictions. The findings confirm the relevance of traditional predictor sets and the added value of including measures of empathy. Empathic concern positively affects the donation decision. In addition, empathy negatively affects the donor's generosity toward one charity. However, for people with high empathic concern, considering only generosity toward one charity could be misleading because such people are more likely to donate to different charities. This result has implications for overall generosity. Therefore, a clear distinction between both ...

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcome of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), focusing on the prognostic factors for response to therapy and overall survival. A retrospective analysis was performed on 116 consecutive patients with SCLC diagnosed from January 1997 to December 2005. Collected data included demographic information, pretreatment clinical assessment, treatment regimen, and outcome information. Prognostic factors were analyzed by log-rank test and Cox regression model. Results showed that performance status (PS) 0?1, limited disease, normal serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level were associated with improved response rate. The univariate analysis showed that sex, disease extent, PS, serum CEA,...

Cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with a systemic inflammatory response. The authors hypothesized that avoiding cardiopulmonary bypass would lead to improved postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing the extracardiac Fontan operation, the final stage in surgical palliation of univentricular congenital heart defects. A review of the Children?s Heart Center Database showed a total of 73 patients who underwent an initial Fontan operation at Lucile Packard Children?s Hospital at Stanford between 1 November 2001 and 1 November 2006. These patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (n = 26) and those who avoided cardiopulmonary bypass (n = 47). Preoperative demographics, hemodynamics, and early postoperative outcomes were analyzed. The two groups ha...

Abstract Background and Aims: Early diagnosis of cancer in pancreatic cysts is important for timely referral to surgery. The aim of this study was to develop a predictive model for pancreatic cyst malignancy to improve patient selection for surgical resection. Methods: We performed retrospective analyses of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and pathology databases identifying pancreatic cysts with available final pathological diagnoses. Main-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) were excluded due to the clear indication for surgery. Patient demographics and symptoms, cyst morphology, and cyst fluid characteristics were studied as candidate risk factors for malignancy. Results: 270 patients with pancreatic cysts were identified and analyzed (41% men, mean age 61.8 years). Final pa...

Purpose Although optimizing endogenous testosterone production before testicular sperm extraction is commonly practiced, whether improved preoperative testosterone levels enhance sperm retrieval remains unclear. We evaluated the influence of preoperative medical therapy in men with nonobstructive azoospermia before microdissection testicular sperm extraction. Materials and Methods A total of 1,054 men underwent microdissection testicular sperm extraction from 1999 to 2010. Patients with preoperative testosterone levels less than 300 ng/dl were treated with aromatase inhibitors, clomiphene citrate or human chorionic gonadotropin before microdissection testicular sperm extraction with the goal of optimizing testosterone levels. Patient demographics, preoperative testosterone levels, sperm re...

Cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with a systemic inflammatory response. The authors hypothesized that avoiding cardiopulmonary bypass would lead to improved postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing the extracardiac Fontan operation, the final stage in surgical palliation of univentricular congenital heart defects. A review of the Children?s Heart Center Database showed a total of 73 patients who underwent an initial Fontan operation at Lucile Packard Children?s Hospital at Stanford between 1 November 2001 and 1 November 2006. These patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (n?=?26) and those who avoided cardiopulmonary bypass (n?=?47). Preoperative demographics, hemodynamics, and early postoperative outcomes were analyzed. The two groups ha...

To review the literature on medication adherence for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in Hispanics. Improving adherence to medication regimen could reduce the likelihood of further tuberculosis resistance. A literature review searched for studies of medication adherence in Hispanics in the United States. Data on study purpose, design, population description, method of measuring adherence and main findings were collected. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Methods of measuring adherence were mostly indirect. The review identified financial status, health literacy, and cultural factors as important barriers to medication adherence. The relationship between medication adherence and demographics, gender, self-reported health, and side-effects was inconclusive. A balanced relationsh...

Participant perceptions of program effectiveness and impact are undoubtedly a popular focus of Extension program evaluations. However, the effects of participants' characteristics and contextual variables on program perceptions and how the resulting data can be used for program improvement are less explored in evaluation studies. Using data from the evaluation of an electronic fieldtrip as an exemplar case, this article describes a study that employed the method of linear regression to examine the influences of demographic variables and program contextual factors on participants' perceptions of program effectiveness. The implications for Extension evaluation and programming are also discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

In this paper, we formulate and estimate a nested model structure that includes a multiple discrete-continuous extreme value (MDCEV) component to analyze the choice of vehicle type/vintage and usage in the upper level and a multinomial logit (MNL) component to analyze the choice of vehicle make/model in the lower nest. Data for the analysis are drawn from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Travel Survey. The model results indicate the important effects of household demographics, household location characteristics, built environment attributes, household head characteristics, and vehicle attributes on household vehicle holdings and use. The model developed in the paper is applied to predict the impact of land-use and fuel cost changes on vehicle holdings and usage of the households. Such predi...

Aims/hypothesis: To evaluate whether vaccination increases the risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus in active component U.S. military personnel. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among active component U.S. military personnel age 17-35 years. Individuals with first time diagnoses of type 1 diabetes between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2008 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. We used Poisson regression to estimate risk ratios between individual vaccine exposures and type 1 diabetes. Secondary analyses were performed controlling for receipt of multiple vaccines and available demographic variables. Results: Our study population consisted of 2,385,102 individuals followed for approximately 7,64...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) had a unique metabolomic profile that was different from controls and to assess the feasibility of a definitive study. Twelve women with PCOS and 10 healthy women  as controls had measurements of demographic and anthropometric data, venepunctures and assays on plasma samples for metabolomic profiles using hydrogen-1, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. There did not appear to be any clear differences between the metabolomic profiles of women with PCOS compared with controls when the NMR spectra were visually inspected and initial principal component analysis showed only a subtle differentiation between the two groups which was spread over three principal components. However, &#...

Chisholm-Burns MA, Erickson SR, Spivey CA, Kaplan B. Health-related quality of life and employment among renal transplant recipients. -Clin Transplant 2011 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0012.2011.01541.x. - 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract:- Objective:- To examine the relationship between health-related quality of life (HQoL) and employment status in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Methods:- Eighty-two RTRs met inclusion criteria: 21-65-yr of age; greater than one-yr post-transplant; and received calcineurin inhibitors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a demographics questionnaire and the following HQoL instruments: SF-12 Health Survey version 2 (Physical Component Summary [PCS-12] and Mental Component Summary [MCS-12]) and Kidney Transplant Questionnaire (KTQ). Two multivariate ...

We explore the relationship between farming practice changes made by households coping with the huge demographic, economic, and ecological changes they have seen in the last 10?years and household food security. We examine whether households that have been introducing new practices, such as improved management of crops, soil, land, water, and livestock (e.g. cover crops, micro-catchments, ridges, rotations, improved pastures, and trees) and new technologies (e.g. improved seeds, shorter-cycle and drought-tolerant varieties) are more likely to be food secure than less innovative farming households. Using data from a baseline household survey carried out in five sites and 700 households in four countries of East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia) across a range of agricultural sys...

A 3-month intervention was conducted to enhance the sequential time perception and storytelling ability of young children with hearing loss. The children were trained to arrange pictorial episodes of temporal scripts and tell the stories they created. Participants (N = 34, aged 4-7 years) were divided into 2 groups based on whether their spoken-language gap was more or less than 1 year compared to age norms. They completed A. Kaufman and N. Kaufman's (1983) picture series subtest and Guralnik's (1982) storytelling test at pretest and posttest. Measures demonstrated significant improvement in sequential time and storytelling achievement postintervention. Three of the examined demographic variables revealed correlations: Participants with genetic etiology showed greater improvement in time sequencing and storytelling than participants with unknown etiology; early onset of treatment correlated with better achievement in time sequencing; cochlear implant users showed greater storytelling improvement than hearing aid users. PMID:22256540

Abstract in portuguese A avaliação do usuário é um importante componente da qualidade dos serviços em saúde. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a satisfação do usuário quanto ao atendimento oftalmológico prestado por um serviço credenciado do SUS num centro urbano do Sul do Brasil. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, no qual se aplicou questionário sobre o perfil socioeconômico e demográfico do usuário, questões relacionadas à qualidade do atendimento e sugestões e/ou reclama? (more) ?ões referentes ao atendimento e ao serviço. Calculou-se a amostra no programa EPINFO versão 6.0, tendo como base 1.200 atendimentos mensais, totalizando 355 usuários. Os resultados mostraram que 77,1% dos usuários estavam satisfeitos com o atendimento médico. Entretanto, 75,4% apontaram deficiências relacionadas ao tempo de espera no local, à duração da consulta e à relação interpessoal com médico e atendentes. Verificou-se que 36,3% consideraram o serviço oftalmológico oferecido pelo SUS como péssimo e regular. Desta forma, é fundamental repensar as práticas profissionais e intervir sobre a forma de organização deste serviço, visando ao seu aperfeiçoamento e satisfação do usuário. Abstract in english The user's evaluation is an important component of the quality of the health services. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the user's satisfaction with the ophthalmologic service provided by an accredited service of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) in an urban center of the South of Brazil. It is a transversal study in which a questionnaire was applied about the user's socioeconomic and demographic profile, questions related to the quality of the servic (more) e and suggestions and/or complaints regarding to the attendance and the service. The sample was calculated in the program EPINFO version 6.0, it had as its base 1200 monthly services, in a total of 355 users. The results showed that 77.1% of the users were satisfied with the medical service. However, 75.4% pointed deficiencies related to the time they had to wait in the place, to the duration of the consultation and at the interpersonal relationship with doctor and other attendants. It was verified that 36.3% considered the ophthalmologic service offered by SUS as terrible and regular. This way, it is fundamental to rethink the professional practices and to intervene on the form of organization of this service, seeking its improvement and the user's satisfaction.

The first implementation year is reported of a Classical Greek magnet program at Paul Robeson Classical Studies Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri. The following program components are summarized: educational environment, community component, multi-cultural component, athletic and health components, personal value system, classics component, and student misconduct. This formative evaluation covers five areas: student demographics, program implementation, perceptions of and attitudes toward the program, achievement levels, and the extended day program. Among the findings are the following: (1) theme implementation was evident; (2) faculty perceptions were more positive in the spring than the fall; (3) teachers disagreed about parent involvement and student discipline, and they saw facilities and student behavior as hindrances; (4) students enjoyed the physical education activities, but did not think the school was safe and more than half stated they did not want to return; (5) achievement scores were generally below district and national levels; and (6) the extended day program activities were focused on tutorial, theme-related, and enrichment areas. Enrollment goals were not met for any of the grades; grade 8 came the closest with 76 percent minority. Ten tables and figures supplement the narrative. (LB)

Background Research training for public health professionals is key to the future of public health and policy in Africa. A growing number of schools of public health are connected to health and socio-demographic surveillance system field sites in developing countries, in Africa and Asia in particular. Linking training programs with these sites provides important opportunities to improve training, build local research capacity, foreground local health priorities, and increase the relevance of research to local health policy. Objective To increase research training capacity in public health programs by providing targeted training to students and increasing the accessibility of existing data. Design This report is a case study of an approach to linking public health research and training at the University of the Witwatersrand. We discuss the development of a sample training database from the Agincourt Health and Socio-demographic Surveillance System in South Africa and outline a concordant transnational intensive short course on longitudinal data analysis offered by the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Colorado-Boulder. This case study highlights ways common barriers to linking research and training can be overcome. Results and Conclusions This collaborative effort demonstrates that linking training to ongoing data collection can improve student research, accelerate student training, and connect students to an international network of scholars. Importantly, the approach can be adapted to other partnerships between schools of public health and longitudinal research sites. PMID:20439769

Abstract in portuguese OBJETIVO: Identificar áreas com maior ocorrência de casos de hanseníase e fatores socioeconômicos e demográficos associados. MÉTODOS: Casos de hanseníase ocorridos entre 1998 e 2007 em São José do Rio Preto, SP, foram geocodificados e coeficientes de incidência foram calculados por setores censitários. Por meio da técnica de análise de componentes principais, obteve-se um escore para classificação socioeconômica. O uso do método de krigagem ordinária res (more) ultou em mapas temáticos para visualização da distribuição espacial da incidência de hanseníase, do nível socioeconômico e da densidade demográfica. RESULTADOS: Enquanto a incidência para toda a cidade foi de 10,4 casos por 100.000 habitantes por ano, entre 1998 e 2007, as incidências por setores censitários foram heterogêneas, variando de zero a 26,9 casos por 100.000 habitantes por ano. Houve concordância entre áreas com valores mais altos de incidência e menores níveis socioeconômicos. Foram identificados aglomerados de casos de hanseníase. Não foi observada associação da doença com densidade demográfica. Detectou-se falta de relação entre os locais de moradia da maioria dos doentes e a localização dos serviços de saúde. CONCLUSÕES: As técnicas de análise espacial utilizadas permitiram caracterizar as áreas mais deficitárias do município como as de maior risco para hanseníase. Abstract in spanish OBJETIVO: Identificar áreas con mayor ocurrencia de casos de lepra y factores socioeconómicos y demográficos asociados. MÉTODOS: Casos de lepra ocurridos entre 1998 y 2007 en Sao José do Rio Preto, Sureste de Brasil, fueron geocodificados y se calcularon los coeficientes de incidencia por sectores censados. Por medio de la técnica de análisis de componentes principales, se obtuvo un escore para clasificación socioeconómica. El uso del método de krigage ordinaria (more) resultó en mapas temáticos para visualización de la distribución espacial de la incidencia de lepra, del nivel socioeconómico y de la densidad demográfica. RESULTADOS: Mientras la incidencia para toda la ciudad fue de 10,4 casos por 100.000 habitantes por año, entre 1998 y 2007, las incidencias por sectores censados fueron heterogéneas, variando de cero a 26,9 casos por 100.000 habitantes por año. Hubo concordancia entre áreas con valores más altos de incidencia y menores niveles socioeconómicos. Se identificaron aglomerados de casos de lepra. No fue observada asociación de la enfermedad con densidad demográfica. Se detectó falta de relación entre los lugares de vivienda de la mayoría de los enfermos y la localización de los servicios de salud. CONCLUSIONES: Las técnicas de análisis espacial utilizadas permitieron caracterizar las áreas más deficitarias del municipio como las de mayor riesgo para lepra. Abstract in english OBJECTIVE: To identify clusters of the major occurrences of leprosy and their associated socioeconomic and demographic factors. METHODS: Cases of leprosy that occurred between 1998 and 2007 in São José do Rio Preto (southeastern Brazil) were geocodified and the incidence rates were calculated by census tract. A socioeconomic classification score was obtained using principal component analysis of socioeconomic variables. Thematic maps to visualize the spatial distributio (more) n of the incidence of leprosy with respect to socioeconomic levels and demographic density were constructed using geostatistics. RESULTS: While the incidence rate for the entire city was 10.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants annually between 1998 and 2007, the incidence rates of individual census tracts were heterogeneous, with values that ranged from 0 to 26.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Areas with a high leprosy incidence were associated with lower socioeconomic levels. There were identified clusters of leprosy cases, however there was no association between disease incidence and demographic density. There was a disparity between the places where the majority of ill people lived and the location of healthcare services. CONCLUSIONS: The spatial analysis techniques utilized identified the poorer neighborhoods of the city as the areas with the highest risk for the disease. These data show that health departments must prioritize politico-administrative policies to minimize the effects of social inequality and improve the standards of living, hygiene, and education of the population in order to reduce the incidence of leprosy.

Normative information is important for appropriate interpretation of cognitive test scores as a critical component of dementia diagnosis in the elderly population. A cross-sectional evaluation of 1826 participants aged 65 years and older from four rural counties in China was conducted using six cognitive instruments including tests of global cognitive function (the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia), memory (Word List Learning and Recall tasks from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease, IU Story), language (Animal Fluency Test), and executive function (IU Token). Multiple regression models adjusting for demographic variables were used to provide standardized residuals z-scores and corresponding percentile ranking for each cognitive test. In all cognitive tests older age was associated with worse test performance while exposure to education was related to better cognitive test performance. We also detected a significant gender difference with men scoring better than women and a significant gender by education interaction on two tests. The interaction indicates that gender difference in test scores was much smaller in participants with more education than those who had less or no education. These demographically adjusted, regression-based norms can be a useful tool to clinicians involved with differential diagnosis of cognitive and memory disorders in older adults in rural China. PMID:22439633

To test whether cognitive ability predicts survival from age 79 to 89 years data were collected from 543 (230 male) participants who entered the study at a mean age of 79.1 years. Most had taken the Moray House Test of general intelligence (MHT) when aged 11 and 79 years from which, in addition to intelligence measures at these two time points, relative lifetime cognitive change was calculated. Cognitive domain measures at age 79 included: vocabulary, nonverbal reasoning, verbal declarative memory, and executive functioning. A fluid-type general intelligence component ("gf") was extracted from reasoning, memory, and executive functioning. Socio-demographic, health behaviour, and health status measures were included as covariates in Cox's proportional hazard regression models of the cognition-mortality associations. Having attained the age of 79, "gf," reasoning and memory measured in later-life, and the relative change in cognitive ability (11 to 79 years) are important in predicting mortality. Health and socio-demographic status are possible mechanisms through which cognitive ability predicts mortality in old age. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Abstract in english This report presents a set of indicators to aid in the assessment of reproductive health and its associated programs in developing countries. The indicators basically stem from the accords ratified at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which was held in 1994 for the purpose of improving the reproductive health status of women, men, and adolescents throughout the world. However, working drafts and ways of approaching the subject were develop (more) ed in 1996 at several meetings of representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), bilateral agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The indicators are not in their definitive and final form, and it is expected that comments received from users will allow them to be improved. The indicators deal with the monitoring of progress toward the goals of the ICPD, managerial policies and procedures, family planning, maternal health, infections of the reproductive system and sexually transmitted diseases, abortion and infertility, and other demographic, social, and economic factors.

Few national longitudinal studies have investigated the predictors of a better depression outcome in geriatric depression. This study examined the predictors of improvement in case-level depressive symptoms in the elderly. In this prospective cohort and population-based study in Taiwan, 206 non-demented and case-level depressed subjects aged 65 and older were interviewed at baseline in 2003 and follow-up in 2007. The independent variables included demographics, chronic medical diseases, and health-related behaviors assessed at baseline. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, assessed using the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) assessed at follow-up. Multivariate analyses were used to identify the predictors of improvement in depr...

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a "single session" group, early intervention, multidisciplinary, education programme (entitled the "Fun not Fuss with Food" group programme) designed to improve children's problem eating and mealtime behaviours. Design: A quasi-experimental time-series design incorporating data collection, twice before and twice following the intervention. Setting: A health district within the southeast region of Queensland, Australia. Method: Data were collected using the Children's Eating and Mealtime Behaviour Inventory-Revised (CEBI-R) and the Family Demographic Questionnaire. Results: Parents who attended the "Fun not Fuss with Food" group programme reported significant improvements in their child's problem eating and mealtime behaviours and reported reductions in parental concerns regarding their child's eating and mealtime behaviours. Conclusion: A single session, early intervention, group education programme for families with children with problem eating and mealtime behaviours is appropriate and effective. Therefore, early intervention group education programmes should be considered as a strategy for this client group. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

The present study aims at detecting factors which may predict a decline or an improvement in self-rated health (SRH) of older adults (persons aged 50 or higher) among socio-demographic characteristics, physical and mental health indicators and risky health behaviours. In the analysis, multinomial logistic regression models are applied to data from waves 1 and 2 of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (carried out about 3?years apart); persons who report a decline or an improvement in SRH at wave 2 are compared to those who report no change while controlling for SRH at baseline and country of residence. The analysis was carried out for the whole sample and two subgroups, persons aged 50?64 and 65 or higher. The results indicate that female sex and higher educational attainme...

Many demographic studies on long-lived seabirds have focused on the estimation of adult survival, but much less is known about survival during the early years of life, especially in tropical species. We report analyses of a capture?recapture dataset of 685 roseate terns ringed as fledglings and adults between 1998 and 2005 on Aride Island, Seychelles, and recaptured/resighted at the same colony site over a 5 yr (2002 to 2006) period. A multistate model was used to estimate survival for different age classes, including juvenile (first-year) birds returning as non-breeding prospectors. The effect of infestation by parasites (ticks) on survival was also examined. Overall, the estimated return of first-year individuals to the natal colony was very variable, ranging from 2 to 22%. Conditioned on survival, the probability of returning from Age 2 yr onwards increased to 70%. Survival rates were best modeled as time-specific, with estimates varying from 0.02 to 1.00 (mean 0.69) in first-year birds with a marked negative effect of tick infestation. In older birds (minimum age of 2 yr), the annual estimates fell between 0.69 and 0.86 (mean 0.77). Using a components of variance approach for estimation of year-to-year variation, we found high temporal variability for first-year individuals (coefficient of variation [CV] = 65%) compared to much less variation in the survival rate of older birds (CV = 9%). These findings agree with the life-history prediction that demographic rates of juveniles are usually lower and more variable than those of older individuals. Our results are also consistent with the predicted negative effect of tick parasitism on juvenile survival. Compared with data from other roseate tern populations, survival over the first 2 yr (Age 0 to 2 yr) was 18 to 40% higher in this study, suggesting that a high `young? survival rate may be an important demographic trait in this tropical population to compensate for the low annual reproductive success. Our data show that estimating survival of young individuals may be crucial to elucidating the demographic tactics of seabirds.

Purpose/Objectives: To derive symptom clusters and their clinical meanings in Chinese patients with primary liver cancer (PLC), to examine the factors related to the identified symptom clusters, and to validate the impact of the identified symptom clusters on patients' quality of life (QOL).Design: Cross-sectional.Setting: Inpatient departments at a medical center for hepatobiliary disease in China.Sample: 277 patients with PLC, aged 18-77 years.Methods: Data were collected from a number of measures, including demographic and disease characteristics, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory, six additional symptom items specific to PLC, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary questionnaire. Factor analysis was used to derive symptom clusters, independent-samples t test or one-way analysis of variance was performed to identify the factors related to each symptom cluster, and multivariate regression models were applied to examine the predictive impact of the identified symptom clusters on PLC.Main Research Variables: Demographic and medical variables, symptom clusters, and QOL.Findings: Three symptom clusters were identified: gastrointestinal sickness, neuropsychological, and liver dysfunction. Patients who received liver protection treatment, received more than one kind of treatment, and had poorer physical performance, worse liver function, and more advanced cancer scored higher in severity across all three symptom clusters. All of the symptom clusters explained 48% of the QOL variance, and the liver dysfunction symptom cluster (adjusted R2 = 0.425) showed a superior influence.Conclusions: The liver dysfunction symptom cluster may be unique to Chinese patients with PLC. Patients with certain demographic and disease characteristics could be at risk for experiencing severe symptom clusters. In addition, a differential impact of the symptom clusters on QOL was noted in these patients.Implications for Nursing: The factors related to severity should be considered when managing symptom clusters. Because the predictive impacts of the three individual symptom clusters on QOL were varied and ordered in magnitude, healthcare providers should first alleviate the primary symptom cluster. This approach could be cost-effective and improve QOL. PMID:23107860

The aim of this work is to present revised and improved model parameters for group-contribution^+ (GC^+) models (combined group-contribution (GC) method and atom connectivity index (CI) method) employed for the estimation of pure component properties, together with covariance matrices to quantify uncertainties in the estimated property values. For this purpose, a systematic methodology for property modeling and uncertainty analysis of GC models and CI models using maximum-likelihood estimation theory is developed. For parameter estimation, large data-sets of experimentally measured property values of pure components of various classes (hydrocarbons, oxygenated components, nitrogenated components, poly-functional components, etc.) taken from the CAPEC database are used. In total 18 pure com...

After a review of the ocular artifact reduction literature, a high-throughput method designed to reduce the ocular artifacts in multichannel continuous EEG recordings acquired at clinical EEG laboratories worldwide is proposed. The proposed method belongs to the category of component-based methods, and does not rely on any electrooculography (EOG) signals. Based on a concept that all ocular artifact components exist in a signal component subspace, the method can uniformly handle all types of ocular artifacts, including eye-blinks, saccades, and other eye movements, by automatically identifying ocular components from decomposed signal components. This study also proposes an improved strategy to objectively and quantitatively evaluate artifact reduction methods. The evaluation strategy uses ...

Few national longitudinal studies have investigated the predictors of a better depression outcome in geriatric depression. This study examined the predictors of improvement in case-level depressive symptoms in the elderly. In this prospective cohort and population-based study in Taiwan, 206 non-demented and case-level depressed subjects aged 65 and older were interviewed at baseline in 2003 and follow-up in 2007. The independent variables included demographics, chronic medical diseases, and health-related behaviors assessed at baseline. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, assessed using the 10-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) assessed at follow-up. Multivariate analyses were used to identify the predictors of improvement in depression. The independent predictors of improvement in depression over a 4-year follow-up period are more social support and fewer mobility limitations at baseline. With regards to practical health-related behaviors, the 2 items of social support most associated with improvement in depression were willingness of significant others to talk with you and satisfaction with dependence upon significant others; the 2 items of mobility limitations most associated with non-improvement of depression were difficulty in carrying things and squatting. These findings suggested that health-related behaviors were important to the depression outcome in the elderly; moreover, interventions to improve depression should include practical health-related behaviors aimed at these modifiable risk factors. PMID:22459317

In addition, event-related potentials (ERPs) to a secondary task were derived to ... Further, the P300 component of the ERP paralleled the sensitivity to task ... Actual or potential applications of this research include improved methods for ...

There was also an urgent need for improvements in manned capsule or .... All told, there were so many electric components on board that the heat they ... The 475th Air Base Squadron, Minneapolis, provided additional helicopter support.

Improved Method of Purifying Carbon Nanotubes. 17. Patterned Growth ...... wastes, causes little or no damage to the carbon ..... MFS-31412. Thin Sheets of Plastic Are Thermoformed into eggcrate-like components, which are then bonded to- ...

improve archiving and distribution of space science ... SPICE system components are freely distributed ... The SEDR Generation program was built and operated at .... Fortran. – C. – Interactive Data Language (IDL). – MATLAB. – Coming soon: ...

method was developed to rapidly fingerprint a phenol-formaldehyde resole resin similar to ... system into components such that quality can be tracked and documented. HPLC is unchallenged ..... a simple linear gradient provided an improved ...

This program has two components: quantification and improvement of ultrasensitive techniques, and development of isotopic ratio standards in the ultrasensitive range of 10{sup {minus}10} and lower. Data sheets were developed.

Graded transition between tungsten and steel for plasma facing components. Local thermodynamic equilibrium in the multilayer sequence. Improved thermo-mechanical properties compared to a bi-material from FEM calculations. Discussion of possible processing techniques via the powder metallurgy route.

A steam foam drive process for displacing oil within a subterranean reservoir is improved by injecting into the reservoir a steam-foam-forming mixture of steam, and an olefin sulfonate-containing surfactant component.

Restoration of rivers and their associated ecosystems is a growing priority for government agencies (e.g., NOAA, USDA), as well as conservation organizations. Dam removal is a major component of many restoration projects credited with reintroducing fish species, improving water ...

Jan 1, 2012 ... near Real-Time Damage Assessment ... aircraft safety is improved through health monitoring of flight critical components ..... A small business has developed a bearing corrosion detection methodology based on joint time- ...

architectures are also considered to improve the safety and long-term .... critical information about the subsurface structure as well as the presence of .... Electrical Component Health System would monitor the state of valves and actuators. By ...

conservation programs to alleviate the effect of. Lhe energy shortage on ... of plasma sprayed ceramic thermal barrier coatings ... *Project Engineer, Engine Component Improvement. Office. ..... ZrO2 and the free MgO contribute to the exten- ...

This work presents an approach to the global reliability improve of power subtransmission systems through of reinforcements in critical components of the power substations. (author) 13 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

... difference for functional capacity. Low Greater improvement in health-related quality of life (SF-36 physical component) for leflunomide. ... disease activity scores, and better functional ability and health-related quality of life from initial combination therapy of MTX, ...

A unit designed to give students knowledge in the area of nuclear medicine as well as improve math skills. Students become familiar with nuclear medicine through diagnostic imaging and its components.

The improvement of foundry coatings to enhance performance is important. This paper investigates the effect of using sol?gel component as an additive to foundry coatings applied on chemically bonded sand cores. Three parameters at three levels each were investigated using Taguchi experimental parameter design. The effects of the sol?gel component on viscosity, density, °Baumé, core coverage and permeability are shown. Numerical simulations were used to predict defect areas. The thermal profiles of the core materials during casting were determined, and the surface quality of the castings was evaluated. The results show that the surface quality of castings obtained by adding the sol?gel component to the coatings for cold box cores has no significant difference from castings produced with coatings without sol?gel component. On the other hand, the addition of the sol?gel component in coatings for furan cores showed significant improvement on the surface quality of the castings compared to that obtained without sol?gel component.

Background:The beneficial impact of the traditional Mediterranean diet pattern on adiposity is still under debate, and this has never been assessed in a developing Mediterranean country.Objectives:To assess the relationships between adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet and adiposity indexes, that is, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), in a sample from rural Lebanon.Design:A sample of 798 adults, aged 40–60 years, was selected in continental rural areas of Lebanon for a cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included socio-demographic, anthropometric and dietary sections. The daily consumption frequencies of selected food groups, categorized as positive or negative components, were calculated based on a food frequency questionnaire. Adherence to the Mediter...

We study the structure of the social graph of active Facebook users, the largest social network ever analyzed. We compute numerous features of the graph including the number of users and friendships, the degree distribution, path lengths, clustering, and mixing patterns. Our results center around three main observations. First, we characterize the global structure of the graph, determining that the social network is nearly fully connected, with 99.91% of individuals belonging to a single large connected component, and we confirm the "six degrees of separation" phenomenon on a global scale. Second, by studying the average local clustering coefficient and degeneracy of graph neighborhoods, we show that while the Facebook graph as a whole is clearly sparse, the graph neighborhoods of users contain surprisingly dense structure. Third, we characterize the assortativity patterns present in the graph by studying the basic demographic and network properties of users. We observe clear degree assortativity and characte...

The phonological processing skills of 24 pre-lingually deaf 8- and 9-year-old experienced cochlear implant users were measured using a nonword repetition task. The children heard recordings of 20 nonwords and were asked to repeat each pattern as accurately as possible. Detailed segmental analyses of the consonants in the children's imitation responses were carried out. Overall, 39% of the consonants were imitated correctly. Coronals were produced correctly more often than labials or dorsals. There was no difference in the proportion of correctly reproduced stops, fricatives, nasals, and liquids, or voiced and voiceless consonants. Although nonword repetition performance was not correlated with the children's demographic characteristics, the nonword repetition scores were strongly correlated with other measures of the component processes required for the immediate reproduction of a novel sound pattern: spoken word recognition, language comprehension, working memory, and speech production.

Hamilton's rule provides a general description of the conditions for the evolution of altruism. But altruism can take different forms depending on which life-history trait is affected by the helping behavior (fecundity vs. survival helping). In particular, these different forms of helping may have very different demographic consequences, which may feed back on evolution. We examine the interplay between various forms of helping and demography in viscous populations with empty sites. A key component of our analysis is the local density of empty sites experienced by a focal individual, which provides a measure of habitat saturation. Habitat saturation is shown to have contrasting effects depending on (1) whether the physiological costs and benefits of helping affect fecundity, survival or bo...

RIT Online Learning courses have an overall course completion rate of 94%. For lower-division courses the rate is 92%, undergraduate 93%, and graduate 96%. In this case study we will share additional measurements we have used to monitor student success and describe strategies we have used to promote online discussion as a key component of effective online courses. We will share results from a large survey of our online students that shows the most interactive courses receive the most positive responses from students. The demographics of our online students have shifted to where almost half our online students are campus-based now. We believe our historical emphasis on interaction in our online courses is serving these new online students equally well, which suggests an important opportunity exists to expand online discussion to more campus-based courses. (Contains 6 figures.)

The paper interrogates the issue of language and social justice in South Africa's higher education using quantitative and qualitative data collected at the University of the Free State (UFS). Data were collected using questionnaires. Through purposive sampling based on South African and UFS demographics, 120 questionnaires were administered to UFS students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results show that language is a critical component in the conceptualisation and actualisation of social justice in South Africa's higher education. The results further indicate that language continues to play the role of privileging access to higher education for some, while curtailing access to higher education for others, in South Africa. The paper concludes that this reality is contrary to the principles of social justice and recommends a radical overhaul of the language dispensation in South Africa's higher education within the framework of social justice. (Contains 1 table.)

A distinctive feature analysis of custom hire systems is made in an attempt to clarify the process of technology acceptance in relation to demographic changes in mobility at the frontier in the western part of Thailand. Field surveys reveal that the mental component to agricultural mechanization varies from one community to another. There was a comprehensive settlement scheme at the study site around 40 years ago. Farmers suggested that a custom hire service would constitute a reliable tool for implementing specific farming practices and obtaining a reasonable income. To cope with the difficulties involved in securing a cheaper workforce and the necessary operating capital convinced the farmers that a professional custom hire business would be useful for achieving sustainable agriculture.   

In neuroimaging it is helpful and useful to obtain robust and accurate estimates of relationships between the image derived data and separately derived covariates such as clinical and demographic measures. Due to the high dimensionality of brain images, complex image analysis is typically used to extract certain image features, which may or may not relate to the covariates. These correlations which explain variance within the image data are frequently of interest. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to extract image features from a sample of 42 FDG PET brain images (19 normal controls (NCs), 23 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients). For the first three most robust PCs, the correlation of the PC scores with: i) the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) score and ii) age is examined. The key as...

Launched in May 2011, "From Earth to the Solar System" (FETTSS) is a public science program that brings planetary science, astronomy, and astrobiology images to audiences in non-traditional science outreach locations. FETTSS seeks to sustain and build upon the success of the award-winning International Year of Astronomy 2009 project "From Earth to the Universe." FETTSS utilizes a similar grass-roots-type of approach to emphasize the point that science-learning experiences can be anywhere. Exhibiting a curated collection of print-ready images of the Solar System, FETTSS aims to spark socially-based engagement and enhance exploration of astronomical content through free-choice learning outside the walls of (but also in partnership with) science centers or planetariums. The research component of FETTSS investigates casual versus intentional audiences, the possibility for participants to reshape their identity or non-identity with science through public events, and additional audience demographics.

Stress induced by disaster is experienced to varying degrees by all respondents, and is known to evoke psychophysiological reactions. In this study, we investigated the relationships between earthquake-related life events and posttraumatic stress symptoms. A total of 380 adults were surveyed one year after the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in Japan. The questionnaire included items concerning earthquake-related life events, emotional support and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. As a result, after controlling for demographic variables, earthquake-related life events were significantly related to the grade of posttraumatic stress and its three components: re-experience, avoidance and arousal, in both male and female subjects. Male subjects who currently had lower emotional support showed higher scores of posttraumatic stress and arousal. In conclusion, a higher experience of earthquake-related life events appears to be an important risk factor for development of poor mental health status following an earthquake disaster.   

Background The future demographic changes will be associated with an enhancement of the worldwide shortage of blood. The ageing of the population in developed countries is associated with a decrease in young individuals being potentially eligible to donate blood and an increase in older individuals who might be in the need of blood transfusion. Therefore, the retention of active blood donors (BD) is becoming more important. A substantial increase in blood donations could be achieved by a relatively small increase in BD return. It is the task of blood donation services (BDSs) to elaborate specific and adequate measures to increase the BD's likelihood to return. Successful BD retention programmes are viable to ensure a sufficient supply with blood and blood components at present and the upco...

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) directly influence thrombus formation and degradation, and have been identified as risk factors for thromboembolic disease. Prior studies investigated determinants of t-PA and PAI-1 expression, but mainly in Caucasian subjects. The aim of this study was to identify the contributions of genetic and other factors to inter-individual variation in plasma levels of t-PA and PAI-1 in a large-scale population-based sample from urban West Africa. t-PA, PAI-1 and several demographic, anthropometric, and metabolic parameters were measured in 992 residents of Sunyani, the capital of the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. In addition, nine gene polymorphisms associated with components of the renin-angiotensin and fibrinol...

Periodic fire, grazing, and a variable climate are considered the most important drivers of tallgrass prairie ecosystems, having large impacts on the component species and on ecosystem structure and function. We used long-term experiments at Konza Prairie Biological Station to explore the underlying demographic mechanisms responsible for tallgrass prairie responses to two key ecological drivers: fire and grazing. Our data indicate that belowground bud banks (populations of meristems associated with rhizomes or other perennating organs) mediate tallgrass prairie plant response. Fire and grazing altered rates of belowground bud natality, tiller emergence from the bud bank, and both short-term (fire cycle) and long-term (>15?year) changes in bud bank density. Annual burning increased grass bu...

Abstract in english Background and Objectives: Aggressiveness is a common component of manic symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics associated with aggressive behaviour in bipolar patients with acute manic episodes. Methods: A study was carried out with 173 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for manic or mixed bipolar disorder. Clinical and demographic variables were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), the Young Mania Rat (more) ing Scale (YMRS), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Significance and independence of relevant variables were tested with regression models. Results: Forty percent of patients displayed aggressive behaviour. Involuntary nature of admission, positive psychotic symptoms and lack of insight were predictors of aggressive behaviour in manic patients. Conclusions: Aggressive behaviour during acute manic episodes appears to be related with the severity of the psychopathology, and particularly positive psychotic symptoms, involuntary admissions and lack of insight.

Low-fat dairy products are key components of a healthy diet for all Americans. As the USDA increases its focus on nutrition and healthy eating, it is important to understand the underlying demands for dairy products, both the healthy and the less healthy ones. The consumption of fluid milk products has decreased over the last decade, whereas milk used for manufactured dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and butter, and for use as an ingredient in other food products, has risen. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of changes in demographic variables, retail prices, and total dairy expenditure on at-home consumption of dairy products, using purchase data from Nielsen 2007 Homescan (ACNielsen, New York, NY) data. To derive the demand elasticities for 16 produ...

Halcomb EJ, Davidson PM, Salamonson Y, Ollerton R &Griffiths R (2008) Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness in association with Journal of Clinical Nursing17, 5a, 6-15Nurses in Australian general practice: implications for chronic disease management Aims. The purpose of this study was to describe the demographic and employment characteristics of Australian practice nurses and explore the relationship between these characteristics and the nurses' role. Background. Nursing in general practice is an integral component of primary care and chronic disease management in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, but in Australia it is an emerging specialty and there is limited data on the workforce and role. Design. National postal survey embedded in a sequential mixed method design. Met...

doi: 10.1111/j.1741-2358.2010.00434.x Southern Nevada assisted living residents- perception of their oral health status and access to dental care Objective:- Oral health is an integral component of general health, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of oral health status and acces\\s to dental care by Southern Nevada Assisted Living Facilities Residents. Methods:- A cross-sectional questionnaire study design was used to survey residents between 34 and 99 years old residing in Assisted Living Facilities. Seventy respondents (42 males and 28 females) completed a survey that included personal oral hygiene, access to care, and demographic information. Data analyses included descriptive statistics and chi-square. Results:- Mean age was 75.78 years, and...

Moral, religious, and paranormal beliefs share some degree of overlap and play important roles in guiding peoples' behavior. Although partly cultural phenomena, they also have neurobiological components based on functional neuroimaging studies and research in clinical populations. Because all three show relationships to prefrontal system functioning, the current study examined whether they related to executive functions as measured by the Executive Function Inventory in a community sample. As in previous research, religious beliefs related positively to both moral attitudes and paranormal beliefs. Moral attitudes, however, did not relate to paranormal beliefs. Paranormal beliefs related inversely to impulse control and organization, whereas small positive correlations occurred between traditional religious beliefs, impulse control, and empathy. Moral attitudes, on the other hand, showed consistent positive correlations with all executive functions measured, independent of demographic influences. These findings concordantly support that prefrontal systems play a role in morality, religion, and paranormal beliefs. PMID:17365104

Purpose To develop and psychometrically evaluate the brief Public Health Surveillance Well-Being Scale (PHS-WB) that captures mental, physical, and social components of well-being. Methods Using data from 5,399 HealthStyles survey respondents, we conducted bi-factor, item response theory, and differential item functioning analyses to examine the psychometric properties of a pool of 34 well-being items. Based on the statistical results and content considerations, we developed a brief 10-item well-being scale and assessed its construct validity through comparisons of demographic subgroups and correlations with measures of related constructs. Results Based on the bi-factor analyses, the items grouped into both an overall factor and individual domain-specific factors. The PHS-WB scale demonstr...

The Dark UNiverse Explorer (DUNE) is a wide-field space imager whose primary goal is the study of dark energy and dark matter with unprecedented precision. For this purpose, DUNE is optimised for the measurement of weak gravitational lensing but will also provide complementary measurements of baryonic accoustic oscillations, cluster counts and the Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect. Immediate auxiliary goals concern the evolution of galaxies, to be studied with unequalled statistical power, the detailed structure of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, and the demographics of Earth-mass planets. DUNE is an Medium-class mission which makes use of readily available components, heritage from other missions, and synergy with ground based facilities to minimise cost and risks. The payload consists of ...

The paper examines the effects of demographic change on federal, state and local governments in Germany with a focus on the expenditure side to answer the question, whether demographic change will induce vertical fiscal expenditure imbalances. We present estimates of the impact of demographic change...

The # component model was proposed to improve the practice of parallel programming. This paper introduces a type system for # programming systems, aiming to lift the abstraction and safety of programming for parallel computing architectures by introducing a notion of abstract component based on universal and existential bounded quantification. Issues about the implementation of such type system in HPE, a # programming system, are also discussed.

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) research has led to improved technologies and new procedures for inspecting electric generating plant components. This review of 1988 EPRI research discusses NDE procedures for pressure vessel and containment weld examinations, assessments of the eddy-current technology for steam generators, and integrated ultrasonic techniques for examining cast austenitic stainless components.

EMC Filters are increasingly integrated into power applications. To improve their performances it is important to model the electromagnetic interference between components to optimize their positions in the filter. In this paper, a method is proposed to construct the equivalent models of the compone...

Lycium barbarum (Gouqizi, Fructus Lycii, Wolfberry) is well known for nourishing the liver, and in turn, improving the eyesight. However, many people have forgotten its anti-aging properties. Valuable components of L. barbarum are not limited to its colored components containing zeaxanthin and carot...

As the diversity of the United States (US) population continues to change, concerns about minority health and health disparities grow. Health professions must evolve to meet the needs of the population. The purpose of this editorial is to review current trends in the diversity of chiropractic students, faculty, and practitioners in the United States. This editorial was informed by a search of the literature, to include PubMed, using the terms chiropractic and diversity, minority, and cultural competency. Demographic information for the chiropractic profession was obtained from the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and The Chronicle of Higher Education. These data were compared to diversity data for medical doctors and the national and state populations from the American Association of Medical Colleges and the US Census, respectively. Surprisingly little has been published in the peer-reviewed literature on the topic of diversity in the chiropractic profession. For the variables available (sex and race), the data show that proportions in the US chiropractic profession do not match the population. State comparisons to associated chiropractic colleges show similar relationships. No reliable data were found on other diversity characteristics, such as gender identity, religion, and socioeconomic status. The chiropractic profession in the United States currently does not represent the national population with regard to sex and race. Leaders in the profession should develop a strategy to better meet the changing demographics of the US population. More attention to recruiting and retaining students, such as underrepresented minorities and women, and establishing improved cultural competency is needed. PMID:22778525

The relationship between prior antidepressant treatment and prefrontal brain functional response to subsequent treatment with antidepressant medication or placebo is unknown. Eighty-nine adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), characterized as antidepressant-experienced or antidepressant-naive, received one week of single-blind placebo treatment prior to eight weeks of randomized treatment with medication (fluoxetine or venlafaxine; n=47) or placebo (n=42) in one of three similar placebo-controlled trials. Brain function was assessed at baseline, end of placebo lead-in, and during randomized treatment using quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG). The authors assessed change in prefrontal theta-band cordance (PFC) in antidepressant-experienced vs. antidepressant-naive subjects. Treatment history groups differed significantly on PFC change during the placebo lead-in even when controlling for clinical and demographic variables (F(1,62)=4.27, p=.04). As assessed in linear mixed models that examined treatment history (antidepressant-experienced or antidepressant-naive), treatment assignment (medication or placebo), and their interaction as predictors, treatment history also predicted PFC change during the randomized phase of treatment even when controlling for pretreatment clinical and demographic and symptom improvement during treatment (F(1,5o)=5.20, p=.03). The interaction was not significant. Post hoc analyses showed that antidepressant-experienced subjects treated with placebo showed PFC changes that did not differ from PFC changes seen in the medication group. Results suggest that prefrontal brain functional changes during treatment for MDD may differ depending upon prior treatment with antidepressant medication. PMID:22445212

This document reports activities and findings of a study concerning the California State Job Training Coordinating Council's implementation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The study had the following objectives: (1) analyze the structure, role, and administrative policies of the council; (2) determine the effects and benefits of council policies on private sector involvement in JTPA, on local Private Industry Councils, on Service Delivery Areas (SDAs), on other employment and training programs, on economic development, and on overall program performance; (3) assess the organizational and functional interrelationships of the different players in JTPA and related programs; (4) determine how the JTPA impact varies from that of earlier employment and training programs; (5) define specific effects on, or needs of, the private sector as related to JTPA implementation; (6) develop strategic and tactical recommendations for improving council performance and effectiveness; and (7) analyze the implications of demographic trends in California on council policy and strategy. The document introduces the study, reviews the literature, describes state and local programs, summarizes a private sector survey, explains trends in California's JTPA program, provides an overview of demographic and economic changes predicted for California in the year 2000, reports a survey of Job Training Coordinating Councils in other states, and reports the study's findings and recommendations. The document also includes a 44-item bibliography, a glossary, and two appendices. The appendices report relationships of performance measures and SDA characteristics and the summary results of an employer survey. (CML)

Objective: To describe the dietary behaviors of black women who enrolled in the SisterTalk weight control study. Design: Baseline data collected via telephone survey and in-person screening. Setting: Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding areas. Participants: 461 black women completed the baseline assessments. Main Outcome Measures: Measured height and weight; self-reported demographics, risk factors, and dietary variables including fat-related eating behaviors, food portion size, and fruit, vegetable, and beverage intake. Analysis: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) models with food habits questionnaire (FHQ) scores as the dependent variable and demographic categories as the independent variables; ANOVA models with individual FHQ item scores as the dependent variable and ethnic identification as the independent variable. Results: More than 60% reported eating less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables/day. Self-reported portion sizes were large for most food items. Older age, being born outside the United States, living without children, and being retired were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of fat-lowering behaviors. The frequency of specific fat-lowering behaviors and portion size also differed by ethnic identification. Conclusions and Implications: The findings support the need for culturally appropriate interventions to improve the dietary intake of black Americans. Further studies should examine the dietary habits, food preparation methods, and portion sizes of diverse groups of black women. (Contains 4 tables.)

Background The charity 'Health Partnership Nepal' is committed to both improving global health care and providing medical training links between Nepal and the UK. This paper analyses data gathered at rural health camps. Aim To describe the demographics, diagnoses and treatments offered to people attending three rural health camps in Nepal during 2009. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Three free health care camps established within the Nuwakot district of Nepal during April-May 2009. Camps were staffed by doctors including GPs, nurses and medical students from London and Kathmandu. Methods Attendees had treatment sheets completed which recorded their demographics, diagnoses and dispensed medications. Results The mean age of the 1903 consecutive patients attending was 42.8 years (range one month to 98 years) of whom 68.6% were female and 13.7% were children. The majority, 82.3%, were agricultural workers. For adults (n = 1574), the most frequent complaints were stomach pain 20.1%, musculoskeletal pain 19.3% and visual acuity problems 6.1%. Stomach pain was significantly more common in women than men [21.2% (236/1064) versus 14.5% (65/449) P Nepal particularly for stomach pain, musculoskeletal pain and visual acuity problems. When planning similar rurally based health camps, we recommend recruiting GPs and ophthalmologists. PMID:22357578

OBJECTIVE: The Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) is a widely used outcome measure in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas the SF-12v2 Health Survey (SF-12) was introduced recently. We investigated how the HAQ and SF-12 were associated with socio-demographic, lifestyle, and disease- and treatment-related factors in patients with RA. METHODS: In RA patients from 11 Danish centers, clinical and patient-reported data, including the HAQ and SF-12, were collected. Three multiple linear regression models were estimated, with the HAQ, SF-12 physical component score (PCS), and SF-12 mental component score (MCS) as outcome and sociodemographic, lifestyle, and RA-related treatment and comorbidity characteristics as explanatory variables. RESULTS: In total, 3156 (85%) of 3704 invited patients participated--75% women, 76% rheumatoid factor-positive, median age 61 years (range 15-93 yrs), disease duration 7 years (range 0-68 yrs), Disease Activity Score on 28 joints (DAS28) 2.97 (range 0.96-8.61), HAQ score 0.63 (range 0-3), SF-12 PCS 56 (range 6-99), and SF-12 MCS 57 (range 16-99). Variation in HAQ was associated with 12 of 15 possible variables (R(2) 0.41), in PCS and MCS with 6 of 15 variables (R(2) 0.02 and 0.05). Patients with moderate to high DAS28 and > or = 3 comorbid conditions had consistently worse HAQ and SF-12 scores compared to the reference groups, while weekly exercise was associated with better scores compared to no exercise. CONCLUSION: The HAQ was more sensitive to differences in demographic, lifestyle, and disease- and treatment-related factors than the SF-12. The established clinical value and feasibility of the HAQ highlights its advantages over the SF-12 in describing health status in RA.

National standards for K--12 science education address all aspects of science education, with their main emphasis on curriculum---both science subject matter and the process involved in doing science. Standards for science teacher education programs have been developing along a parallel plane, as is self-efficacy research involving classroom teachers. Generally, studies about efficacy have been dichotomous---basing the theoretical underpinnings on the work of either Rotter's Locus of Control theory or on Bandura's explanations of efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy. This study brings all three threads together---K--12 science standards, teacher education standards, and efficacy beliefs---in an instrument designed to measure science teacher efficacy with items based on identified critical attributes of standards-based science teaching and learning. Based on Bandura's explanation of efficacy being task-specific and having outcome expectancy, a developmental, systematic progression from standards-based strategies and activities to tasks to critical attributes was used to craft items for a standards-based science teacher efficacy instrument. Demographic questions related to school characteristics, teacher characteristics, preservice background, science teaching experience, and post-certification professional development were included in the instrument. The instrument was completed by 102 middle level science teachers, with complete data for 87 teachers. A principal components analysis of the science teachers' responses to the instrument resulted in two components: Standards-Based Science Teacher Efficacy: Beliefs About Teaching (BAT, reliability = .92) and Standards-Based Science Teacher Efficacy: Beliefs About Student Achievement (BASA, reliability = .82). Variables that were characteristic of professional development activities, science content preparation, and school environment were identified as members of the sets of variables predicting the BAT and BASA subscales. Correlations were computed for BAT, BASA, and demographic variables to identify relationships between teacher efficacy, teacher characteristics, and school characteristics. Further research is recommended to refine the instrument and apply its use to a larger sample of science teachers. Its further development also has significance for the enhancement of science teacher education programs.

To assess the reliability of a complex system, many different types of data may be available. Full-system tests are the most direct measure of reliability, but may be prohibitively expensive or difficult to obtain. Other less direct measures, such as component or section level tests, may be cheaper to obtain and more readily available. Using a single Bayesian analysis, multiple sources of data can be combined to give component and system reliability estimates. Resource allocation looks to develop methods to predict which new data would most improve the precision of the estimate of system reliability, in order to maximally improve understanding. In this paper, we consider a relatively simple system with different types of data from the components and system. We present a methodology for assessing the relative improvement in system reliability estimation for additional data from the various types. Various metrics for comparing improvement and a response surface approach to modeling the relationship between improvement and the additional data are presented.

We explore predictors of participation in additional treatment within one year after termination of 39 sessions of psychodynamic group therapy (n=130). The sample was biased due to a 33% dropout at the one-year follow-up of symptomatic less improved treatment completers (N=194). Outcome predictors were the Symptom Check List 90 Revised (SCL-90-R), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II (MCMI-II), non-symptomatic Psychodynamic Focus, retrospective outcome evaluations, and socio-demographic and psychiatric variables. At follow-up, 57.6% of the patients had been seeking additional treatment for psychological or psychiatric problems; the percentage was 41.6 when further treatment was defined as participating in more than 5 sessions. The majority (94.8 was treated within the public health services. Participation in additional treatment was predicted by improvement on the MCMI Antisocial personality disorder scale and a higher SCL-90-R Somatization end-state score. When additional treatment was defined as receiving more than 5 sessions, lack of paid work before treatment (odds ratio 8.0), lack of social network support (odds ratio 2.9), and the Antisocial pre-post difference score (odds ratio 1.6) were significant predictors explaining a total of 26.4% variance. Neither SCL-90-R Global Severity Index (GSI) reliable and clinically significant improvement, therapist recommendations of further therapy, nor socio-demographic, psychiatric and treatment outcome variables were significantly associated with seeking additional treatment. Even though we identified only a small number of predictors for participation in further treatment, our study nevertheless points to the importance of employing reliable and validated methods in the evaluation of treatment outcome and further treatment planning.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Neck pain is a common complaint in patients presenting for chiropractic treatment. The few studies on predictors for improvement in patients while undergoing treatment identify duration of symptoms, neck stiffness and number of previous episodes as the strong predictor variables. The purpose of this study is to continue the research for predictors of a positive outcome in neck pain patients undergoing chiropractic treatment. METHODS: Acute ( 3 months) (n = 255) neck pain patients with no chiropractic or manual therapy in the prior 3 months were included. Patients completed the numerical pain rating scale (NRS) and Bournemouth questionnaire (BQ) at baseline prior to treatment. At 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after start of treatment the NRS and BQ were completed along with the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale. Demographic information was provided by the clinician. Improvement at each of the follow up points was categorized using the PGIC. Multivariate regression analyses were done to determine significant independent predictors of improvement. RESULTS: Baseline mean neck pain and total disability scores were significantly (p cervical radiculopathy or dizziness was not predictive of a negative outcome in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: The most consistent predictor of clinically relevant improvement at both 1 and 3 months after the start of chiropractic treatment for both acute and chronic patients is if they report improvement early in the course of treatment. The co-existence of either radiculopathy or dizziness however do not imply poorer prognosis in these patients. PMID:22920497

The development of fossil-fuel power plants with increased efficiency and longer service life requires high-alloy ferritic steels with improved creep properties at 600{degree}C, appropriate for the manufacture of key components such as turbine rotors, blades and casing and boiler pipes and tubes. An EEC research program, COST, is aimed at the development of steels for both cast and forged components. The paper describes improved steels developed by ABB and others under the programme, which have been used as components in high pressure and intermediate pressure turbines. 4 refs., 11 figs.

With increasing emphasis on improving engine thrust-to-weight ratios to provide improved payload capabilities, weight reductions achievable by the use of composites have become attractive. Of primary significance is the weight reduction offered by composites, although high temperature properties and cost reduction were also considered. The potential for application of composites to components of Earth-to-orbit hydrocarbon engines and orbit-to-orbit LOX/H2 engines was assessed. The components most likely to benefit from the application of composites were identified, as were the critical technology areas where developed would be required. Recommendations were made and a program outlined for the design, fabrication, and demonstration of specific engine components.

Disruptions in metapopulation connectivity due to demographic pressure can leave genetically isolated subpopulations susceptible to genetic drift, accumulation of deleterious alleles, and inbreeding depression. Such a scenario may be playing out within Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) metapopulations as a series of synergistic extrinsic pressures have contributed to the rangewide decline of the species over the last 40?years. Our goal was to elucidate the effects of demographic collapse on metapopulation function by using 11 microsatellites markers to quantify differences in patterns of connectivity and genetic diversity between a demographically stable metapopulation and one in severe demographic decline. The demographically diminished metapopulation had lower levels of genetic divers...

Here we review how adaptive traits contribute to the emergence and maintenance of species richness gradients through their influence on demographic and diversification processes. We start by reviewing how demographic dynamics change along species richness gradients. Empirical studies show that geographical clines in population parameters and measures of demographic variability are frequent along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. Demographic variability often increases at the extremes of regional species richness gradients and contributes to shape these gradients. Available studies suggest that adaptive traits significantly influence demographic dynamics, and set the limits of species distributions. Traits related to thermal tolerance, resource use, phenology and dispersal seem to play...

Jatropha curcas is a potential plant species for biodiesel production. However, its seed yield is too low for profitable production of biodiesel. To improve the productivity, genetic improvement through breeding is essential. A linkage map is an important component in molecular breeding. We establis...

An electronic circuit component having improved mechanical properties and thermal conductivity comprises NiAl and/or Ni.sub.3 Al, upon which an alumina layer is formed prior to applying the conductive elements. Additional layers of copper-aluminum alloy or copper further improve mechanical strength and thermal conductivity.

The aim of the present project was the retroactive improvement of 80 vehicles of the zero series of Riva Junior electric vehicles. The improvements covered mechanical and electronic components, as a result of which the safety and suitability for winter could be increased. figs., tabs.

Cardanol (ginkgol) extracted from Ginkgo biloba leaves and cashew nutshell liquid enhances the growth of NSC-34 immortalized motor neuron-like cells and, when chronically administered to young rats, improves working memory-related learning ability as assessed by eight-arm radial maze tasks. These findings suggest that cardanol is one of the components in Ginkgo biloba leaves that improves cognitive learning ability. PMID:22223349

Humics, Inc. already had patented their process for separating wet peat into components and processing it when they consulted NERAC regarding possible applications. The NERAC search revealed numerous uses for humic acid extracted from peat. The product improves seed germination, stimulates root development, and improves crop yields. There are also potential applications in sewage disposal and horticultural peat, etc.

Imaging based on the synthetic aperture focussing technique (SAFT) improves the reliability of sizing and characterisation of structural discontinuities found in non-destructive testing of nuclear components. One of the main advantages of this technique is an improvement of signal-to-noise-ratio. The advantages are discussed in terms of practical applications and theory. (orig.)

This paper presents an improvement of hybrid of nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input (NARX) model and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model for long-term machine state forecasting based on vibration data. In this study, vibration data is considered as a combination of two components which are deterministic data and error. The deterministic component may describe the degradation index of machine, whilst the error component can depict the appearance of uncertain parts. An improved hybrid forecasting model, namely NARX-ARMA model, is carried out to obtain the forecasting results in which NARX network model which is suitable for nonlinear issue is used to forecast the deterministic component and ARMA model are used to predict the error component due to appropriate capability in l...

Software component reuse is the key to significant gains in productivity. However, the major problem is the lack of identifying and developing potentially reusable components. This paper concentrates on our approach to the development of reusable software components. A prototype tool has been developed, known as the Reuse Assessor and Improver System (RAIS) which can interactively identify, analyse, assess, and modify abstractions, attributes and architectures that support reuse. Practical and objective reuse guidelines are used to represent reuse knowledge and to do domain analysis. It takes existing components, provides systematic reuse assessment which is based on reuse advice and analysis, and produces components that are improved for reuse. Our work on guidelines has been extended to a large scale industrial application.

Development of the ability to automatically assemble surface mount devices on circuits is described, including the characterization of the assembly process and improvements made to the system to increase the accuracy and repeatability of this process. The accuracy and repeatability of the system were characterized by measurements of the individual system components as well as the actual placement of components on a specially designed gauge. The forces and stresses experienced by the components when handled by the system were analyzed. The ability to deliver surface mount components to the system was developed by the design and development of stick magazines, vibratory feeders, a feeder control system, and an automatic stick magazine loader.

In reliability engineering, component importance measures are used to prioritise components in a system for purposes such as reliability improvement and maintenance planning. Existing importance measures have paid little attention to the costs incurred by maintaining a system and its components within a given time period. Cost-effectiveness analysis, however, is critically important in increasingly competitive markets. This paper proposes a new cost-based importance measure which considers costs incurred by maintaining a system and its components within a finite time horizon. Possible extensions are discussed and examples are given to show the use of the new measure.

This case report describes a total knee revision necessitated by painful contact between the exposed lateral facet of the patella and the femoral component. Pain was resolved following repositioning and enlarging the patellar component. The clinical significance of this report is that the contemporary practice of medializing the patellar component to improve patellar tracking should be performed in moderation to avoid overexposure of the lateral patella. In the setting of persistent anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty, the etiology of the pain may be identified as contact between the patellar and femoral component on the sunrise radiograph. PMID:8523016

Aim: Well-being falls within a broad category of quality of life indicators and encompasses both physical and emotional factors. Identification of the most important factors affecting overall well-being may allow health care practitioners to target these symptoms and improve patients' quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine factors most predictive of well-being in advanced cancer patients. Materials and methods: Patients referred to the Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program completed the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) at consultation. ESAS scores and demographics were analysed for their predictive ability for well-being via regression analysis of the raw and categorical scores. Results: In total, 1439 ESAS assessments were analysed; the median age was 69 years ...

Identification of patients at risk of future coronary artery disease (CAD) events traditionally relies on scoring tools that take demographic and clinical characteristics into account (e.g., the Framingham risk score in the United States and the Heart Score in Europe). Although these scoring tools have been shown to have a good predictive value, they may still fail to recognize a proportion of patients with coronary atherosclerosis at risk for future CAD events. In order to improve risk stratification, direct visualization of subclinical atherosclerosis has been advocated. Electron-beam computed tomography and multislice computed tomography provide a direct estimation of coronary calcium, a marker of coronary atherosclerosis. A large amount of data is available supporting the clinical valu...

The Latino community continues to grow in the rural Midwest, and diabetes is a pertinent disease for research in this demographic. Patient self-management is an important aspect of comprehensive care for diabetes and may mitigate complications. A cross-sectional survey assessed various activities including self-monitoring of blood glucose, personal foot inspection, diet adherence, and diabetes self-management education. Less than half of the sample performed self-monitoring of blood glucose daily (40?%), adhered strictly to special diabetes diet recommendations (44?%), or attended a diabetes self-management education class (48?%). Participants advised on personal foot inspection were three times more likely to perform the self-care activity. Improvements are indicated in these self-managem...

For many years Northern Ireland has been a divided society where members of the two main religious groups, Catholics and Protestants, have limited opportunities to interact due to segregation in their social lives. Attempts have been made to encourage religious mixing through integration in schools, housing, and workplaces predicated on the theory that bringing people together can improve community relations and remove prejudices - known as the 'contact hypothesis'. However, little is known about those who enter into mixed-religion partnerships often against the wishes of their families and communities. This paper examines the characteristics and attitudes of mixed-religion couples and suggests that they differ in their socio-demographic characteristics and in their attitudes from those wh...

Within analytical customer relationship management (CRM), customer acquisition models suffer the most from a lack of data quality because the information of potential customers is mostly limited to socio-demographic and lifestyle variables obtained from external data vendors. Particularly in this situation, taking advantage of the spatial correlation between customers can improve the predictive performance of these models. This study compares an autoregressive and hierarchical technique that both are able to incorporate spatial information in a model that can be applied on large datasets, which is typical for CRM. Predictive performances of these models are compared in an application that identifies potential new customers for 25 products and brands. The results show that when a discrete s...

Study objective To improve the management quality and monitoring for common pediatric illnesses in the general emergency department (ED), we examined the effect of physician specialty training on medical resource use and patient outcomes. Methods This was a retrospective cohort review of visits by children less than 18 years to the ED of 2 university-affiliated teaching hospitals. Clinical management by 2 groups (emergency physicians [EPs] and pediatricians each working 168 h/wk) was compared with respect to demographics, ED resource use, short-term outcome, disposition, direct ED costs for each visit, and frequency of radiographic and laboratory test use. The effects of medical decision making on resource use was assessed by comparing costs of radiographic studies, laboratory studies, and...

Despite the persistent belief that Asians are the "model minority" there is accumulating evidence of health concerns within Asian subgroups. In this study, we implemented a cross-sectional participatory community health assessment in an urban city in Massachusetts, to understand differences and similarities in demographics, health and healthcare access in Chinese and Vietnamese adults. We gathered qualitative data from community stakeholders to inform the development of a community health assessment tool. The tool elicited information on healthcare access, health status, behavioral health and chronic disease history and treatment. Healthcare access issues and poor health status, particularly among Chinese participants and mental health symptomotology in both groups were areas of concern. These findings revealed important health concerns in two Asian ethnic groups. Studies are needed to better understand these concerns and inform programs and policies to improve health outcomes in these Asian ethnic groups. PMID:21874359

Relocatable classrooms (RCs) are commonly utilized by school districts with changing demographics and enrollment sizes. Four energy-efficient RCs were designed and constructed for this study to demonstrate technologies that simultaneously attempt to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Two were installed at each of two school districts, and energy use and IEQ parameters were monitored during occupancy. Two (one per school) were finished with materials selected for reduced emissions of toxic and odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Each RC had two HVAC systems, alternated weekly, consisting of a standard heat-pump system and an indirect-direct evaporative cooling (IDEC) system with gas-fired hydronic heating. The hypothesized advantages of the IDEC include continuous outside air ventilation at {ge}7.5 L s{sup -1} per person, {approx}70% less cooling energy and efficient particle filtration. Measurements include: carbon dioxide, particles, VOCs, temperature, humidity, thermal comfort, noise, meteorology, and energy use. Preliminary IEQ monitoring results are reported.

Education about sexuality is one method of reducing common negative stereotypes about this aspect of the life of older people. Knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality are therefore particularly important in those who educate healthcare professionals. We surveyed schools of medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, and social work in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa using White's Aging Sexuality Knowledge and Attitudes Scale. A total of 364 usable surveys were returned, revealing no main effects for differences in generally above-average levels of knowledge and attitudes across professions and the three countries. Some country-by-profession interactions were found for both knowledge and attitudes. Age was found to be the sole demographic factor able to predict both attitude toward and knowledge of sexuality. Findings suggest that levels of knowledge about sexuality and attitudes toward it have improved over earlier studies in North America. (Contains 3 tables.)

Experienced systems engineers are adept at more than implementing systems engineering processes: they utilize systems thinking to solve complex engineering problems. Within the space industry demographics and economic pressures are reducing the number of experienced systems engineers that will be available in the future. Collaborative systems thinking within systems engineering teams is proposed as a way to integrate systems engineers of various experience levels to handle complex systems engineering challenges. This paper uses the GOES-R Program Systems Engineering team to illustrate the enablers and barriers to team level systems thinking and to identify ways in which performance could be improved. Ways NASA could expand its engineering training to promote team-level systems thinking are proposed.

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; 26; 219-227 Relapse of health related quality of life and psychological health in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 6-months after rehabilitation Aims:- This study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of 4-week inpatient rehabilitation on health-related quality of life (HRQL), anxiety and depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and investigate the influence of clinical and socio-demographical factors on unaltered or improved HRQL after discharge. Methods:- A total of 111 consecutive cases with mild-to-very severe COPD were recruited from three rehabilitation centres and measured at baseline (t1), 4-weeks (t2) and 6-month follow-up (t3). Disease severity was assessed by spirometric tests, HRQL by The ...

IntroductionEnd-stage diabetic eye disease is an important cause of severe visual impairment in the working-age group. With the increasing availability of refined surgical techniques as well as the early diagnosis of disease because of screening, one would predict that the prevalence of this condition is decreasing and the visual outcome is improving.AimTo study the prevalence and visual outcome following vitrectomy for complications of diabetic retinopathy.Materials and methodsThis study identified the patients who underwent vitrectomy from January 2007 to December 2009 because of diabetes-related complications in South East London. Data collected included baseline demographics, best-corrected visual acuity, indication for the vitrectomy, complication, outcome, and duration of follow-up.R...

Patient empowerment might be one key to reduce the pressure on health care systems challenged by the expected demographic changes. Knowledge based systems can, in combination with automated sensor measurements, improve the patients' ability to review their state of health and make informed decisions. The Arden Syntax as a standardized language to represent medical knowledge can be used to express the corresponding decision rules. In this paper we introduce Arden2ByteCode, a newly developed open source compiler for the Arden Syntax. Arden2ByteCode runs on Java Virtual Machines (JVM) and translates Arden Syntax directly to Java Bytecode (JBC) executable on JVMs. Arden2ByteCode easily integrates into service oriented architectures, like the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) platform. Ap...

Abstract Aim.- This paper is a report of a study conducted to identify the difference between mode of group exercise and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), to determine the associations between mode of group exercise chosen by participants and their demographic characteristics, and to identify themes from narrative comments for each group exercise modality. Background.- Regular exercise has been shown to improve HRQOL in the general population. However, few studies have compared mode of exercise - Pilates, step aerobics, and strength training - and their impact on HRQOL. Method.- A comparison was conducted in 2009 between three groups of participants who met regularly at a fitness facility. The English version of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) was used to collect data. One ope...

There are no detailed, representative, horse-level data about equine management practices in different parts of Canada. To help address this, the demographics, management, and welfare of 312 nonracing horses in Prince Edward Island were examined in a randomized, horse-level survey during summer 2002. Owners completed a pretested questionnaire, and a veterinarian examined each horse. Owners were experienced caregivers and the horses were generally in good condition. Areas for improvement included parasite control, dental and hoof care, and tail docking. The mean fecal egg count was 428 eggs per gram; 76% of owners never removed manure from the pasture. Sixty-two percent of horses had never had a veterinary dental examination. Many horses had hoof defects (excessively long hooves, 26.8%; hoof wall breaks, 32.0%; and white line disease, 8.5%). Many (54.9%) draft horses had docked tails. These results suggest owners might benefit their horses by receiving education in aspects of equine care. PMID:15646847

Energy drink usage is common and contains caffeine or other stimulants. We evaluated demographics, prevalence, reasons and adverse effects with consuming energy beverages. Cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of patients recruited from two San Diego Emergency Departments from January to December 2009. One-thousand-two-hundred-ninety-eight subjects participated of which 52.6% were male. Ethnicity: Caucasian 48.3%, African American 17%, Hispanic 18%, Other 16.7%. Age ranges: 18?29 years (38.4%), 30?54 years (49.6%) and greater than 55 years (12%). Reasons for use: 57% to ?increase energy?, 9.5% for studying/work projects, 2.4% while prolonged driving, improve sports performance 2%, with ethanol 6.3%, ?other? reasons 22.1%. Adverse reactions reported by 33.5% (429) patients. Two-hund...

Infective endocarditis has challenged clinicians for centuries. Despite recent advances in diagnosis and therapy, the risks of major complications and death in many clinical situations remain unacceptably high, related in part to patient demographics and the changing microbiology of the disease. Surgery in the acute phase is indicated chiefly for the treatment of heart failure, the eradication of intra-cardiac abscess or the management of antibiotic-resistant infection. Surgery for the prevention of systemic embolization in patients with large vegetations is an evolving area of clinical practice that will merit continued scrutiny as surgical repair techniques, anesthetic management and perioperative patient outcomes steadily improve in high volume centers. The strength of treatment recommendations is limited by the absence of prospective, randomized controlled trial data, a limitation that applies broadly to the field of valvular heart disease. Ongoing multi-center registry efforts will help fill several important knowledge gaps. PMID:18528502

Abstract:- Skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) is an accepted surgical option for breast cancer treatment. SSM allows for preservation of the skin envelope and improved cosmesis. Despite initial concerns, large series have not revealed higher recurrence rates. There is, however, a paucity of data regarding the rates of residual breast tissue (RBT) left behind after SSM, what factors influence this, and the oncologic implications of RBT. Retrospective review identified 288 total mastectomies. Patients who had undergone SSM with excision of additional skin for reconstructive purposes, either at the initial oncologic surgery or at subsequent revision, were included in the final study group. Pathologic analysis was performed to evaluate excised skin. Data regarding demographics, tumor type, and trea...

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this article investigates whether students who made relatively large test score gains during high school had larger earnings 7 years after high school compared to students whose scores improved little. In models that control for pre-high school test scores, family background, and demographic characteristics, employed women who gain one standard deviation more than average are predicted to earn 9 percent more than average. These effects are even larger unconditional on employment status, indicating that test score gains influence both the employment status and earnings once employed. For men, however, test score gains are not significantly related to employment status or earnings, except for those men who have low initial test scores.

BackgroundIn 1975, a national network of hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) was created to increase access to healthcare services for individuals with hemophilia. Studies demonstrate that care in HTCs improves outcomes and reduces costs. PurposeThe objective of the study was to assess the association of demographic, insurance, and clinical characteristics with self-reported barriers to HTC utilization. MethodsData were collected from six HTCs from 2005 through 2007. Adult participants and parents of children aged <18 years were interviewed. Barriers were assessed by asking whether it was difficult to obtain care in the past 12 months. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to assess factors associated with self-reported barriers to care. All analyses were performed in 20...

Introduction: The last round of the Brazilian Demographic Health Survey has revealed that 37% of all women at reproductive age have declared they were unable to conceive, for being either sterilized or infertile. The percentage rises to 57% in the group of women at the age of 35 to 49. Considering the increasing postponement of maternity related to women's working commitment, the population of Brazilian women who are potential users of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is considerably high. The Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) was developed to try and improve pregnancy rates in certain groups of patients undergoing IVF procedures owing to infertility. Reported indications for PGS include patients with advanced maternal age, repeated miscarriage, repeated implantation failure,...

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate donor pain and pain management beginning immediately postoperatively until hospital discharge. MethodsAll kidney donors were included from 2008 and 2009. Demographic data, operative data, pain scores in the postanesthesia care unit, and visual analog pain scale (VAS) scores were collected for each patient. Standardization for comparison was made by converting doses to intravenous morphine equivalents (ME). ResultsEighty-five patients were identified as donors, all of which underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy. Daily analgesic requirement was significantly reduced from postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 2 (42.2 mg ME versus 19.7 mg ME, P < .0001). The use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) did not demonstrate improved pain manag...

Purpose: The identification of variables associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy related to hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) would improve surgical decision-making and post-operatory follow-up in this group of patients. Methods: We analyzed the independent association between the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 (QOLIE-31) of 81 consecutive patients with refractory MTLE-HS. The clinical, demographic, radiological and electrophysiological variables were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Key findings: Approximately 36% (adjusted R^2=0.36; R coefficient=0.66) of the QOLIE-31 overall score variance was explained by the history of initial precipitant injury, family history of epilepsy, disease duration, age of e...

Domestic sector energy use is increasing in the UK and currently accounts for 30% of total use. Policies of liberalised energy markets have allowed greater consumer choice but have not sought to reduce carbon emissions. Overall sales of energy efficiency products are rising, but UK housing stock standards are poor and do not facilitate improved efficiency and further, the sales of such products are influenced by their price, thus the higher capital costs of products such as boilers and solar systems make them initially unattractive to consumers. Previous market-based research into the adoption of energy efficiency products has often focused on single factors, for example demographics. This has limited the ability of policy makers to make informed decisions that address a broader range of f...

Background: Comparisons between animal and human neurotoxicology studies are a foundation of risk assessment, but are hindered by differences in measured behaviors. The radial arm maze (RAM), a rodent visuospatial learning and memory task, has a computerized version for use in children, which may help improve comparisons between animal and human studies. Objective: To describe the characteristics and correlates of the virtual radial arm maze (VRAM) in 255 children age 10-15 years from Italy. Methods: We administered the VRAM using a laptop computer and measured children's performance using the latency, distance, and working/reference memory errors during eight trials. Using generalized linear mixed models, we described VRAM performance in relation to demographic factors, child activities, ...

Objective: To determine whether the presence of a previously implanted suburethral sling for post-prostatic surgery incontinence influences the outcomes of subsequent AUS implantation. Patients and methods: A retrospective study comparing 15 patients who underwent AUS placement after suburethral sling failure between November 2004 and December 2009 to 15 patients who underwent AUS placement as first-line treatment during the same period. Demographic characteristics, preoperative assessment of urinary incontinence and technique of implantation of the AUS were similar in the both arms. A USP continence questionnaire was sent to patients by mail. Success was defined as a subjective improvement of the incontinence in patients using less than one pad per day. Results: No perioperative incidents...

ObjectiveTo examine health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after total knee replacement (TKR) or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). MethodsAsian adult patients undergoing either TKR or UKA in a hospital in Singapore between 2001 and 2006 were interviewed before surgery and 6 and 24 months postoperatively to obtain demographic information and HRQoL scores using the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the Oxford Knee Score (OKS). ResultsData were collected from 2243, 1715, and 1113 patients at baseline and at 6 and 24 months, respectively. TKR patients had a lower preoperative OKS than UKA patients and lower preoperative scores on four subscales of the SF-36 (P < 0.01). Both TKR and UKA patients' OKS and SF-36 subscale scores improved 6 months postoperatively except in the ...

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize associate training director (ATD) positions in psychiatry. Method: An on-line survey was e-mailed in 2009 to all ATDs identified through the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). Survey questions elicited information regarding demographics, professional activities, job satisfaction, and goals. Results: Of 170 ATDs surveyed, 73 (42.9%) completed the survey. Most respondents (71.3%) had been in their positions for 3 years or less. Many ATDs indicated that they were involved in virtually all aspects of residency training; 75% of respondents agreed that they were happy with their experience. However, specific concerns included inadequate time and compensation for the ATD role in addition to a lack of mentorship and unclear job expectations. Conclusions: Thoughtful attention to the construction of the ATD role may improve job satisfaction. (Contains 1 table.)

With improved survival in burn patients, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a significant potential complication. The incidence of, risk factors for, and outcomes of CDI in severely burned patients are poorly studied and remain unclear. This study involves retrospective case control and cohort studies using electronic medical records from February 1, 2002 to January 31, 2009 at the US Department of Defense's only burn unit. Demographic, risk factor, and outcome data were collected for all C. difficile toxin positive patients in the burn, medical, and surgical intensive care units and the hospital's step down unit along with an additional analysis of a 2:1 matched control of C. difficile toxin negative to positive burn patients. In the burn intensive care unit (BICU) population t...

Genetic factors have been shown to influence occurrence and severity of several psychiatric disorders and also to modulate outcome to drug treatment. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe psychiatric condition with clear genetic roots; there is also some evidence to suggest that genetic factors may impact on response to drug treatment. Typically between 40 and 60% of patients are deemed nonresponders to antidepressant medication and clinical factors have only been modestly correlated with treatment response. Thus, identification of biological factors which may relate to treatment response could be extremely valuable in improving clinical outcome. In this article, we briefly review previous work regarding clinical and demographical factors associated with drug response in OCD, the...

How important are friendships in determining success by individuals and teams in complex competitive environments? By combining a novel data set on the dynamics of millions of ad hoc team-based competitions from the massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) Halo: Reach with ground-truth data on player demographics, play style, psychometrics and friendships derived from an anonymous online survey, we investigate the impact of friendship on performance in such competitive environments. We find that friendships play a fundamental role, leading to both improved individual and team performance---even after controlling for the overall expertise of the team---and increased pro-social behavior. Furthermore, because players structure their in-game activities around opportunities to play with friends, we show that friendships can largely be inferred directly from behavioral time series using common-sense heuristics. Algorithms that leverage the utility of friendships, without needing explicitly labeled...