Part-time wage-gap in Germany: Evidence across the wage distribution

OpenAIRE

Tõnurist, Piret; Pavlopoulos, D.

2013-01-01

This paper uses insights from labour-market segmentation theory to investigate the wage differences between part-time and full-time workers in Germany at different parts of the wage distribution. This is accomplished with the use of a quintile regression and panel data from the SOEP (1991-2008). To get more insight on the part-time wage-gap, we apply a counterfactual wage decomposition analysis. The results show that, in the lower end of the wage distribution, part-time workers receive lower ...

Contraception coverage and methods used among women in South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. Globally, family planning services are being strengthened and the range of contraceptive choices expanded. Data on contraceptive coverage and service gaps could help to shape these initiatives. Objective. To assess contraception coverage in South Africa (SA) and identify underserved populations and ...

Towards universal health coverage: the role of within-country wealth-related inequality in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Victora, Cesar G; Bergen, Nicole; Barros, Aluisio J D; Boerma, Ties

2011-12-01

To measure within-country wealth-related inequality in the health service coverage gap of maternal and child health indicators in sub-Saharan Africa and quantify its contribution to the national health service coverage gap. Coverage data for child and maternal health services in 28 sub-Saharan African countries were obtained from the 2000-2008 Demographic Health Survey. For each country, the national coverage gap was determined for an overall health service coverage index and select individual health service indicators. The data were then additively broken down into the coverage gap in the wealthiest quintile (i.e. the proportion of the quintile lacking a required health service) and the population attributable risk (an absolute measure of within-country wealth-related inequality). In 26 countries, within-country wealth-related inequality accounted for more than one quarter of the national overall coverage gap. Reducing such inequality could lower this gap by 16% to 56%, depending on the country. Regarding select individual health service indicators, wealth-related inequality was more common in services such as skilled birth attendance and antenatal care, and less so in family planning, measles immunization, receipt of a third dose of vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus and treatment of acute respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age. The contribution of wealth-related inequality to the child and maternal health service coverage gap differs by country and type of health service, warranting case-specific interventions. Targeted policies are most appropriate where high within-country wealth-related inequality exists, and whole-population approaches, where the health-service coverage gap is high in all quintiles.

Greedy Sparse Approaches for Homological Coverage in Location Unaware Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-08

problems (e.g., coverage hole detection, coverage verification , hole local- ization, and so on; see Section 2 for more details). The sparse coverage...10,17,20–25 2. detection or verification of coverage (i.e., ensuring there is no coverage gap or hole),11,12,26–29 3 Approved for public release...v))) = 0 then Broadcast self as candidate for collapse to neighbors if All neighboring nodes broadcast themselves as non-candidates then v not needed

Pension coverage among the baby boomers: initial findings from a 1993 survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, J R

1994-01-01

Using data from a series of supplements to the Current Population Survey, this article presents findings on workers' coverage under employer-sponsored retirement plans in 1993, and recent trends in coverage. The analysis focuses on workers 25-54, a group that includes the baby boom generation. Among all wage and salary workers in this age range (including government employees and part-time workers), 55 percent reported participating in a retirement plan on their current primary jobs, and an additional 3 percent were covered from other jobs. After a modest decline in the early 1980's, the coverage rate has remained essentially unchanged over the past 10 years, and limited data suggest that the baby boomers are doing about as well on pension coverage as older workers at similar points in their careers. Beneath this relative stability in overall coverage, however, at least two important changes have occurred: a significant narrowing of the gender gap in coverage and a shift in types of retirement plans. Increasing numbers of workers are being covered solely by 401(k)-type plans, a development that raises new uncertainties about the form and amount of future benefits. On the other hand, limited data in this study suggest that 401(k) plans may be serving their intended purpose for the majority of workers who have them.

Filling the gap in the European administrative space

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mastenbroek, Ellen; Martinsen, Dorte Sindbjerg

2017-01-01

European administrative networks (EANs) are a key building block of the European Administrative Space (EAS). Crucially, they are to fill the gap between the EU’s policy ambitions and its limited administrative capacities. Whereas ample research has been done on policy preparation networks, the role...... of implementing EANs has received less attention in the EAS literature. This article fills this gap by providing a systematic review of relevant insights in four adjacent literatures: EU governance; international relations; public administration; and EU compliance. Employing a systematic literature review......, it reports divergent findings on EAN establishment, functioning and impact, as well as variant normative evaluations. These variant findings partly relate to a lack of comparative research, selective policy coverage and predominant focus on North-western states. We conclude by suggesting a number of lines...

Minding the gaps: health financing, universal health coverage and gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Witter, Sophie; Govender, Veloshnee; Ravindran, T K Sundari; Yates, Robert

2017-12-01

In a webinar in 2015 on health financing and gender, the question was raised why we need to focus on gender, given that a well-functioning system moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) will automatically be equitable and gender balanced. This article provides a reflection on this question from a panel of health financing and gender experts.We trace the evidence of how health-financing reforms have impacted gender and health access through a general literature review and a more detailed case-study of India. We find that unless explicit attention is paid to gender and its intersectionality with other social stratifications, through explicit protection and careful linking of benefits to needs of target populations (e.g. poor women, unemployed men, female-headed households), movement towards UHC can fail to achieve gender balance or improve equity, and may even exacerbate gender inequity. Political trade-offs are made on the road to UHC and the needs of less powerful groups, which can include women and children, are not necessarily given priority.We identify the need for closer collaboration between health economists and gender experts, and highlight a number of research gaps in this field which should be addressed. While some aspects of cost sharing and some analysis of expenditure on maternal and child health have been analysed from a gender perspective, there is a much richer set of research questions to be explored to guide policy making. Given the political nature of UHC decisions, political economy as well as technical research should be prioritized.We conclude that countries should adopt an equitable approach towards achieving UHC and, therefore, prioritize high-need groups and those requiring additional financial protection, in particular women and children. This constitutes the 'progressive universalism' advocated for by the 2013 Lancet Commission on Investing in Health. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The

The insurance industry and unconventional gas development: Gaps and recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wetherell, Daniel; Evensen, Darrick

2016-01-01

The increasingly growing and controversial practice of natural gas development by horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) faces a severe environmental insurance deficit at the industry level. Part of this deficit is arguably inherent to the process, whereas another part is caused by current risk information shortfalls on the processes and impacts associated with development. In the short and long terms, there are several conventional and unconventional methods by which industry-level and governmental-level policy can insure against these risks. Whilst academic attention has been afforded to the potential risks associated with unconventional natural gas development, little consideration has been given to the lack of insurance opportunities against these risks or to the additional risks promulgated by the dearth of insurance options. We chronicle the ways in which insurance options are limited due to unconventional gas development, the problems caused by lack of insurance offerings, and we highlight potential policy remedies for addressing these gaps, including a range of government- and industry-specific approaches. - Highlights: •A gap exists in provision of liability insurance for ‘fracking’-related risks. •The market gap is due primarily to uncertainties about probabilistic risk. •Insurance for risks similar to ‘fracking’ highlight potential policy options. •Government regulation and/or industry agreements can effectively fill the gap. •Policies on insurance and liability coverage necessitate ethical considerations.

Incorporating shrub and snag specific LiDAR data into GAP wildlife models

Science.gov (United States)

Teresa J Lorenz; Kerri T Vierling; Jody Vogeler; Jeffrey Lonneker; Jocelyn Aycrigg

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Gap Analysis Program (hereafter, GAP) is a nationally based program that uses land cover, vertebrate distributions, and land ownership to identify locations where gaps in conservation coverage exist, and GAP products are commonly used by government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private citizens. The GAP land-cover...

Gap winds and their effects on regional oceanography Part II: Kodiak Island, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Ladd, Carol; Cheng, Wei; Salo, Sigrid

2016-10-01

Frequent gap winds, defined here as offshore-directed flow channeled through mountain gaps, have been observed near Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Gap winds from the Iliamna Lake gap were investigated using QuikSCAT wind data. The influence of these wind events on the regional ocean was examined using satellite and in situ data combined with Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model runs. Gap winds influence the entire shelf width (> 200 km) northeast of Kodiak Island and extend an additional 150 km off-shelf. Due to strong gradients in the along-shelf direction, they can result in vertical velocities in the ocean of over 20 m d-1 due to Ekman pumping. The wind events also disrupt flow of the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC), resulting in decreased flow down Shelikof Strait and increased velocities on the outer shelf. This disruption of the ACC has implications for freshwater transport into the Bering Sea. The oceanographic response to gap winds may influence the survival of larval fishes as Arrowtooth Flounder recruitment is negatively correlated with the interannual frequency of gap-wind events, and Pacific Cod recruitment is positively correlated. The frequency of offshore directed winds exhibits a strong seasonal cycle averaging 7 days per month during winter and 2 days per month during summer. Interannual variability is correlated with the Pacific North America Index and shows a linear trend, increasing by 1.35 days per year. An accompanying paper discusses part I of our study (Ladd and Cheng, 2016) focusing on gap-wind events flowing out of Cross Sound in the eastern GOA.

Myopic and Forward Looking Behavior in Branded Oral Anti-Diabetic Medication Consumption: An Example from Medicare Part D.

Science.gov (United States)

Sacks, Naomi C; Burgess, James F; Cabral, Howard J; Pizer, Steven D

2017-06-01

We evaluate consumption responses to the non-linear Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. We compare propensity-matched older patients with diabetes and Part D Standard or low-income-subsidy (LIS) coverage. We evaluate monthly adherence to branded oral anti-diabetics, with high end-of-year donut hole prices (>$200) for Standard patients and consistent, low (≤$6) prices for LIS. As an additional control, we examine adherence to generic anti-diabetics, with relatively low, consistent prices for Standard patients. If Standard patients are forward looking, they will reduce branded adherence in January, and LIS-Standard differences will be constant through the year. Contrary to this expectation, branded adherence is lower for Standard patients in January and diverges from LIS as the coverage year progresses. Standard-LIS generic adherence differences are minimal. Our findings suggest that seniors with chronic conditions respond myopically to the nonlinear Part D benefit, reducing consumption in response to high deductible, initial coverage and gap prices. Thus, when the gap is fully phased out in 2020, cost-related nonadherence will likely remain in the face of higher spot prices for more costly branded medications. These results contribute to studies of Part D plan choice and medication adherence that suggest that seniors may not make optimal healthcare decisions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Realizing Universal Health Coverage in East Africa: the relevance of human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamin, Alicia Ely; Maleche, Allan

2017-08-03

Applying a robust human rights framework would change thinking and decision-making in efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and advance efforts to promote women's, children's, and adolescents' health in East Africa, which is a priority under the Sustainable Development Agenda. Nevertheless, there is a gap between global rhetoric of human rights and ongoing health reform efforts. This debate article seeks to fill part of that gap by setting out principles of human rights-based approaches (HRBAs), and then applying those principles to questions that countries undertaking efforts toward UHC and promoting women's, children's and adolescents' health, will need to face, focusing in particular on ensuring enabling legal and policy frameworks, establishing fair financing; priority-setting processes, and meaningful oversight and accountability mechanisms. In a region where democratic institutions are notoriously weak, we argue that the explicit application of a meaningful human rights framework could enhance equity, participation and accountability, and in turn the democratic legitimacy of health reform initiatives being undertaken in the region.

The Liquidity Coverage Ratio: the need for further complementary ratios?

OpenAIRE

Ojo, Marianne

2013-01-01

This paper considers components of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio – as well as certain prevailing gaps which may necessitate the introduction of a complementary liquidity ratio. The definitions and objectives accorded to the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) highlight the focus which is accorded to time horizons for funding bank operations. A ratio which would focus on the rate of liquidity transformations and which could also serve as a complementary metric gi...

Protected area gap analysis of important bird areas in Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sritharan, Shakthi; Burgess, Neil David

2012-01-01

Analyses of gaps in protected area (PA) coverage of species distributions have been carried out extensively for the past two decades, aiming to better locate new PAs and conserve species. In this study, progress to close gaps in the protection of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Tanzania...

Discontinuity of Medicaid Coverage: Impact on Cost and Utilization Among Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries With Major Depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Xu; Wilk, Adam S; Druss, Benjamin G; Lally, Cathy; Cummings, Janet R

2017-08-01

Gaps in Medicaid coverage may disrupt access to and continuity of care. This can be detrimental for beneficiaries with chronic conditions, such as major depression, for whom disruptions in access to outpatient care may lead to increased use of acute care. However, little is known about how Medicaid coverage discontinuities impact acute care utilization among adults with depression. Examine the relationship between Medicaid discontinuities and service utilization among adults with major depression. A total of 139,164 adults (18-64) with major depression was identified using the 2003-2004 Medicaid Analytic eXtract Files. We used generalized linear and two-part models to examine the effect of Medicaid discontinuity on service utilization. To establish causality in this relationship, we used instrumental variables analysis, relying on exogenous variation in a state-level policy for identification. Emergency department (ED) visits, inpatient episodes, inpatient days, and Medicaid-reimbursed costs. Approximately 29.4% of beneficiaries experienced coverage disruptions. In instrumental variables models, those with coverage disruptions incurred an increase of $650 in acute care costs per-person per Medicaid-covered month compared with those with continuous coverage, evidenced by an increase in ED use (0.1 more ED visits per-person-month) and inpatient days (0.6 more days per-person-month). The increase in acute costs contributed to an overall increase in all-cause costs by $310 per-person-month (all P-valuesMedicaid coverage may help prevent acute episodes requiring high-cost interventions.

Contraception coverage and methods used among women in South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

its convenience for providers and women, cost effectiveness, and high acceptability ... Using data from the 2012 SA National HIV Prevalence, Incidence ... Data on contraceptive coverage and service gaps could help to shape these initiatives. ... 7 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, UK.

AUTOMATIC ROAD GAP DETECTION USING FUZZY INFERENCE SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Hashemi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Automatic feature extraction from aerial and satellite images is a high-level data processing which is still one of the most important research topics of the field. In this area, most of the researches are focused on the early step of road detection, where road tracking methods, morphological analysis, dynamic programming and snakes, multi-scale and multi-resolution methods, stereoscopic and multi-temporal analysis, hyper spectral experiments, are some of the mature methods in this field. Although most researches are focused on detection algorithms, none of them can extract road network perfectly. On the other hand, post processing algorithms accentuated on the refining of road detection results, are not developed as well. In this article, the main is to design an intelligent method to detect and compensate road gaps remained on the early result of road detection algorithms. The proposed algorithm consists of five main steps as follow: 1 Short gap coverage: In this step, a multi-scale morphological is designed that covers short gaps in a hierarchical scheme. 2 Long gap detection: In this step, the long gaps, could not be covered in the previous stage, are detected using a fuzzy inference system. for this reason, a knowledge base consisting of some expert rules are designed which are fired on some gap candidates of the road detection results. 3 Long gap coverage: In this stage, detected long gaps are compensated by two strategies of linear and polynomials for this reason, shorter gaps are filled by line fitting while longer ones are compensated by polynomials.4 Accuracy assessment: In order to evaluate the obtained results, some accuracy assessment criteria are proposed. These criteria are obtained by comparing the obtained results with truly compensated ones produced by a human expert. The complete evaluation of the obtained results whit their technical discussions are the materials of the full paper.

Automatic Road Gap Detection Using Fuzzy Inference System

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemi, S.; Valadan Zoej, M. J.; Mokhtarzadeh, M.

2011-09-01

Automatic feature extraction from aerial and satellite images is a high-level data processing which is still one of the most important research topics of the field. In this area, most of the researches are focused on the early step of road detection, where road tracking methods, morphological analysis, dynamic programming and snakes, multi-scale and multi-resolution methods, stereoscopic and multi-temporal analysis, hyper spectral experiments, are some of the mature methods in this field. Although most researches are focused on detection algorithms, none of them can extract road network perfectly. On the other hand, post processing algorithms accentuated on the refining of road detection results, are not developed as well. In this article, the main is to design an intelligent method to detect and compensate road gaps remained on the early result of road detection algorithms. The proposed algorithm consists of five main steps as follow: 1) Short gap coverage: In this step, a multi-scale morphological is designed that covers short gaps in a hierarchical scheme. 2) Long gap detection: In this step, the long gaps, could not be covered in the previous stage, are detected using a fuzzy inference system. for this reason, a knowledge base consisting of some expert rules are designed which are fired on some gap candidates of the road detection results. 3) Long gap coverage: In this stage, detected long gaps are compensated by two strategies of linear and polynomials for this reason, shorter gaps are filled by line fitting while longer ones are compensated by polynomials.4) Accuracy assessment: In order to evaluate the obtained results, some accuracy assessment criteria are proposed. These criteria are obtained by comparing the obtained results with truly compensated ones produced by a human expert. The complete evaluation of the obtained results whit their technical discussions are the materials of the full paper.

12 CFR 571.20 - Coverage and definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Affiliate Marketing § 571.20 Coverage and definitions. (a) Coverage. Subpart C of this part applies to... account numbers, names, or addresses. (4) Pre-existing business relationship. (i) In general. The term “pre-existing business relationship” means a relationship between a person, or a person's licensed...

Young Adults’ Selection and Use of Dependent Coverage under the Affordable Care Act

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Chen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The dependent coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA required health insurance policies that cover dependents to offer coverage for policyholder’ children up to age 26. It has been well documented that the provision successfully reduced the uninsured rate among the young adults. However, less is known about whether dependent coverage crowded out other insurance types and whether young adults used dependent coverage as a fill-in-the-gap short-term option. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation 2008 Panel, the paper assesses dependent coverage uptake and duration before and after the ACA provision among young adults aged 19–26 versus those aged 27–30. Regressions for additional coverage outcomes were also performed to estimate the crowd-out rate. It was found that the ACA provision had a significant positive impact on dependent coverage uptake and duration. The estimated crowd-out rate ranges from 27 to 42%, depending on the definition. Most dependent coverage enrollees used the coverage for 1 or 2 years. Differences in dependent coverage uptake and duration remained among racial groups. Less healthy individuals were also less likely to make use of dependent coverage.

12 CFR 717.20 - Coverage and definitions

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... REPORTING Affiliate Marketing § 717.20 Coverage and definitions (a) Coverage. Subpart C of this part applies...-existing business relationship. (i) In general. The term “pre-existing business relationship” means a relationship between a person, or a person's licensed agent, and a consumer based on— (A) A financial contract...

Contraception coverage and methods used among women in South Africa: A national household survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M F Chersich

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background. Globally, family planning services are being strengthened and the range of contraceptive choices expanded. Data on contraceptive coverage and service gaps could help to shape these initiatives. Objective. To assess contraception coverage in South Africa (SA and identify underserved populations and aspects of programming that require strengthening. Methods. Data from a 2012 SA household survey assessed contraception coverage among 6 296 women aged 15 - 49 years and identified underserved populations. Results. Two-thirds had an unintended pregnancy in the past 5 years, a quarter of which were contraceptive failures. Most knew of injectable (92.0% and oral contraception (89.9%, but fewer of intrauterine devices (56.1% and emergency contraception (47.3%. Contraceptive prevalence was 49.1%, and 41.8% women used modern non-barrier methods. About half had ever used injectable contraception. Contraception was lower in black Africans and younger women, who used a limited range of methods. Conclusion. Contraception coverage is higher than many previous estimates. Rates of unintended pregnancy, contraceptive failure and knowledge gaps, however, demonstrate high levels of unmet need, especially among black Africans and young women.

Science of safety topic coverage in experiential education in US and Taiwan colleges and schools of pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Derek H; Warholak, Terri L; Slack, Marion K; Malone, Daniel C; Gau, Churn-Shiouh

2011-12-15

To compare the science of safety (SoS) topic coverage and associated student competencies in the experiential education curricula of colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States and Taiwan. The experiential education director, assistant director, or coordinator at a random sample of 34 US colleges and schools of pharmacy and all 7 Taiwan schools of pharmacy were interviewed and then asked to complete an Internet-based survey instrument. Faculty members in both countries perceived that experiential curricula were focused on the postmarketing phase of the SoS, and that there is a need for the pharmacy experiential curricula to be standardized in order to fill SoS coverage gaps. Inter-country differences in experiential SoS coverage were noted in topics included for safety biomarkers that signal potential for drug-induced problems and pharmacogenomics. Experiential SoS topic coverage and student ability gaps were perceived within and between US and Taiwan colleges and schools of pharmacy.

A vorticity transport model to restore spatial gaps in velocity data

Science.gov (United States)

Ameli, Siavash; Shadden, Shawn

2017-11-01

Often measurements of velocity data do not have full spatial coverage in the probed domain or near boundaries. These gaps can be due to missing measurements or masked regions of corrupted data. These gaps confound interpretation, and are problematic when the data is used to compute Lagrangian or trajectory-based analyses. Various techniques have been proposed to overcome coverage limitations in velocity data such as unweighted least square fitting, empirical orthogonal function analysis, variational interpolation as well as boundary modal analysis. In this talk, we present a vorticity transport PDE to reconstruct regions of missing velocity vectors. The transport model involves both nonlinear anisotropic diffusion and advection. This approach is shown to preserve the main features of the flow even in cases of large gaps, and the reconstructed regions are continuous up to second order. We illustrate results for high-frequency radar (HFR) measurements of the ocean surface currents as this is a common application of limited coverage. We demonstrate that the error of the method is on the same order of the error of the original velocity data. In addition, we have developed a web-based gateway for data restoration, and we will demonstrate a practical application using available data. This work is supported by the NSF Grant No. 1520825.

Coverage of Large-Scale Food Fortification of Edible Oil, Wheat Flour, and Maize Flour Varies Greatly by Vehicle and Country but Is Consistently Lower among the Most Vulnerable: Results from Coverage Surveys in 8 Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Aaron, Grant J; Friesen, Valerie M; Jungjohann, Svenja; Garrett, Greg S; Neufeld, Lynnette M; Myatt, Mark

2017-05-01

Background: Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) of commonly consumed food vehicles is widely implemented in low- and middle-income countries. Many programs have monitoring information gaps and most countries fail to assess program coverage. Objective: The aim of this work was to present LSFF coverage survey findings (overall and in vulnerable populations) from 18 programs (7 wheat flour, 4 maize flour, and 7 edible oil programs) conducted in 8 countries between 2013 and 2015. Methods: A Fortification Assessment Coverage Toolkit (FACT) was developed to standardize the assessments. Three indicators were used to assess the relations between coverage and vulnerability: 1 ) poverty, 2 ) poor dietary diversity, and 3 ) rural residence. Three measures of coverage were assessed: 1 ) consumption of the vehicle, 2 ) consumption of a fortifiable vehicle, and 3 ) consumption of a fortified vehicle. Individual program performance was assessed based on the following: 1 ) achieving overall coverage ≥50%, 2) achieving coverage of ≥75% in ≥1 vulnerable group, and 3 ) achieving equity in coverage for ≥1 vulnerable group. Results: Coverage varied widely by food vehicle and country. Only 2 of the 18 LSFF programs assessed met all 3 program performance criteria. The 2 main program bottlenecks were a poor choice of vehicle and failure to fortify a fortifiable vehicle (i.e., absence of fortification). Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of sound program design and routine monitoring and evaluation. There is strong evidence of the impact and cost-effectiveness of LSFF; however, impact can only be achieved when the necessary activities and processes during program design and implementation are followed. The FACT approach fills an important gap in the availability of standardized tools. The LSFF programs assessed here need to be re-evaluated to determine whether to further invest in the programs, whether other vehicles are appropriate, and whether other approaches

A Case Study into Microbial Genome Assembly Gap Sequences and Finishing Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Utturkar, Sagar M; Klingeman, Dawn M; Hurt, Richard A; Brown, Steven D

2017-01-01

This study characterized regions of DNA which remained unassembled by either PacBio and Illumina sequencing technologies for seven bacterial genomes. Two genomes were manually finished using bioinformatics and PCR/Sanger sequencing approaches and regions not assembled by automated software were analyzed. Gaps present within Illumina assemblies mostly correspond to repetitive DNA regions such as multiple rRNA operon sequences. PacBio gap sequences were evaluated for several properties such as GC content, read coverage, gap length, ability to form strong secondary structures, and corresponding annotations. Our hypothesis that strong secondary DNA structures blocked DNA polymerases and contributed to gap sequences was not accepted. PacBio assemblies had few limitations overall and gaps were explained as cumulative effect of lower than average sequence coverage and repetitive sequences at contig termini. An important aspect of the present study is the compilation of biological features that interfered with assembly and included active transposons, multiple plasmid sequences, phage DNA integration, and large sequence duplication. Our targeted genome finishing approach and systematic evaluation of the unassembled DNA will be useful for others looking to close, finish, and polish microbial genome sequences.

The Gender Wage Gap: Does a Gender Gap in Reservation Wages Play a Part?

OpenAIRE

Caliendo, Marco; Lee, Wang-Sheng; Mahlstedt, Robert

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on re-examining the gender wage gap and the potential role that reservation wages play. Based on two waves of rich data from the IZA Evaluation Dataset Survey we examine the importance of gender differences in reservation wages to explain the gender gap in realized wages for a sample of newly unemployed individuals actively searching for a full-time job in Germany. The dataset includes measures for education, socio-demographics, labor market history, psychological factors a...

Coverage of Large-Scale Food Fortification of Edible Oil, Wheat Flour, and Maize Flour Varies Greatly by Vehicle and Country but Is Consistently Lower among the Most Vulnerable: Results from Coverage Surveys in 8 Countries123

Science.gov (United States)

Aaron, Grant J; Friesen, Valerie M; Jungjohann, Svenja; Garrett, Greg S; Myatt, Mark

2017-01-01

Background: Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) of commonly consumed food vehicles is widely implemented in low- and middle-income countries. Many programs have monitoring information gaps and most countries fail to assess program coverage. Objective: The aim of this work was to present LSFF coverage survey findings (overall and in vulnerable populations) from 18 programs (7 wheat flour, 4 maize flour, and 7 edible oil programs) conducted in 8 countries between 2013 and 2015. Methods: A Fortification Assessment Coverage Toolkit (FACT) was developed to standardize the assessments. Three indicators were used to assess the relations between coverage and vulnerability: 1) poverty, 2) poor dietary diversity, and 3) rural residence. Three measures of coverage were assessed: 1) consumption of the vehicle, 2) consumption of a fortifiable vehicle, and 3) consumption of a fortified vehicle. Individual program performance was assessed based on the following: 1) achieving overall coverage ≥50%, 2) achieving coverage of ≥75% in ≥1 vulnerable group, and 3) achieving equity in coverage for ≥1 vulnerable group. Results: Coverage varied widely by food vehicle and country. Only 2 of the 18 LSFF programs assessed met all 3 program performance criteria. The 2 main program bottlenecks were a poor choice of vehicle and failure to fortify a fortifiable vehicle (i.e., absence of fortification). Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of sound program design and routine monitoring and evaluation. There is strong evidence of the impact and cost-effectiveness of LSFF; however, impact can only be achieved when the necessary activities and processes during program design and implementation are followed. The FACT approach fills an important gap in the availability of standardized tools. The LSFF programs assessed here need to be re-evaluated to determine whether to further invest in the programs, whether other vehicles are appropriate, and whether other approaches are needed

Insurance Coverage Policies for Personalized Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Hresko

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Adoption of personalized medicine in practice has been slow, in part due to the lack of evidence of clinical benefit provided by these technologies. Coverage by insurers is a critical step in achieving widespread adoption of personalized medicine. Insurers consider a variety of factors when formulating medical coverage policies for personalized medicine, including the overall strength of evidence for a test, availability of clinical guidelines and health technology assessments by independent organizations. In this study, we reviewed coverage policies of the largest U.S. insurers for genomic (disease-related and pharmacogenetic (PGx tests to determine the extent that these tests were covered and the evidence basis for the coverage decisions. We identified 41 coverage policies for 49 unique testing: 22 tests for disease diagnosis, prognosis and risk and 27 PGx tests. Fifty percent (or less of the tests reviewed were covered by insurers. Lack of evidence of clinical utility appears to be a major factor in decisions of non-coverage. The inclusion of PGx information in drug package inserts appears to be a common theme of PGx tests that are covered. This analysis highlights the variability of coverage determinations and factors considered, suggesting that the adoption of personal medicine will affected by numerous factors, but will continue to be slowed due to lack of demonstrated clinical benefit.

Medicare Part D-a roundtable discussion of current issues and trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Balfour, Donald C; Evans, Steven; Januska, Jeff; Lee, Helen Y; Lewis, Sonya J; Nolan, Steve R; Noga, Mark; Stemple, Charles; Thapar, Kishan

2009-01-01

Medicare Part D was introduced with a goal of providing access to prescription drug coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries. Regulatory mandates and the changing landscape of health care require continued evaluation of the state of the Part D benefit. To review the current state of plan offerings and highlight key issues regarding the administration of the Part D benefit. The Part D drug benefit continues to evolve. The benefit value appears to be diluted compared to the benefit value of large employer plans. Regulatory restrictions mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are reported to inhibit the ability of plans to create an effective, competitive drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Management in this restrictive environment impedes competitive price negotiations and formulary coverage issues continue to create confusion especially for patients with chronic diseases. The doughnut hole coverage gap represents a significant cost-shifting issue for beneficiaries that may impact medication adherence and persistence. To address these and other challenges, CMS is working to improve the quality of care for Part D beneficiaries by designing and supporting demonstration projects. Although these projects are in different stages, all stakeholders are hopeful that they will lead to the development of best practices by plans to help manage their beneficiaries more efficiently. A significant number of Medicare beneficiaries are currently receiving prescription drug benefits through Part D. The true value of this benefit has been called into question as a result of plan design parameters that lead to cost-shifting, an increasing burden for enrollees. Concerns regarding the ability to provide a competitive plan given the stringent rules and regulations have been voiced by plan administrators. In an effort to drive toward evidence-based solutions, CMS is working to improve the overall quality of care through numerous demonstration projects.

Insurance Coverage for Rehabilitation Therapies and Association with Social Participation Outcomes among Low-Income Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirza, Mansha; Kim, Yoonsang

2016-01-01

(1) To profile children's health insurance coverage rates for specific rehabilitation therapies; (2) to determine whether coverage for rehabilitation therapies is associated with social participation outcomes after adjusting for child and household characteristics; (3) to assess whether rehabilitation insurance differentially affects social participation of children with and without disabilities. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of secondary survey data on 756 children (ages 3-17) from 370 households living in low-income neighborhoods in a Midwestern U.S. city. Multivariate mixed effects logistic regression models were estimated. Significantly higher proportions of children with disabilities had coverage for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology, yet gaps in coverage were noted. Multivariate analysis indicated that rehabilitation insurance coverage was significantly associated with social participation (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.013-2.75). This trend was sustained in subgroup analysis. Findings support the need for comprehensive coverage of all essential services under children's health insurance programs.

The generation of chromosomal deletions to provide extensive coverage and subdivision of the Drosophila melanogaster genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, R Kimberley; Christensen, Stacey J; Deal, Jennifer A; Coburn, Rachel A; Deal, Megan E; Gresens, Jill M; Kaufman, Thomas C; Cook, Kevin R

2012-01-01

Chromosomal deletions are used extensively in Drosophila melanogaster genetics research. Deletion mapping is the primary method used for fine-scale gene localization. Effective and efficient deletion mapping requires both extensive genomic coverage and a high density of molecularly defined breakpoints across the genome. A large-scale resource development project at the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center has improved the choice of deletions beyond that provided by previous projects. FLP-mediated recombination between FRT-bearing transposon insertions was used to generate deletions, because it is efficient and provides single-nucleotide resolution in planning deletion screens. The 793 deletions generated pushed coverage of the euchromatic genome to 98.4%. Gaps in coverage contain haplolethal and haplosterile genes, but the sizes of these gaps were minimized by flanking these genes as closely as possible with deletions. In improving coverage, a complete inventory of haplolethal and haplosterile genes was generated and extensive information on other haploinsufficient genes was compiled. To aid mapping experiments, a subset of deletions was organized into a Deficiency Kit to provide maximal coverage efficiently. To improve the resolution of deletion mapping, screens were planned to distribute deletion breakpoints evenly across the genome. The median chromosomal interval between breakpoints now contains only nine genes and 377 intervals contain only single genes. Drosophila melanogaster now has the most extensive genomic deletion coverage and breakpoint subdivision as well as the most comprehensive inventory of haploinsufficient genes of any multicellular organism. The improved selection of chromosomal deletion strains will be useful to nearly all Drosophila researchers.

Dental Use and Expenditures for Older Uninsured Americans: The Simulated Impact of Expanded Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Manski, Richard J; Moeller, John F; Chen, Haiyan; Schimmel, Jody; Pepper, John V; St Clair, Patricia A

2015-01-01

Objective To determine if providing dental insurance to older Americans would close the current gaps in dental use and expenditure between insured and uninsured older Americans. Data Sources/Study Setting We used data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) supplemented by data from the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Study Design We compared the simulated dental use and expenditures rates of newly insured persons against the corresponding rates for those previously insured. Data Collection/Extraction Methods The HRS is a nationally representative survey administered by the Institute for Social Research (ISR). The MEPS is a nationally representative household survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Principal Findings We found that expanding dental coverage to older uninsured Americans would close previous gaps in dental use and expense between uninsured and insured noninstitutionalized Americans 55 years and older. Conclusions Providing dental coverage to previously uninsured older adults would produce estimated monthly costs net of markups for administrative costs that comport closely to current market rates. Estimates also suggest that the total cost of providing dental coverage targeted specifically to nonusers of dental care may be less than similar costs for prior users. PMID:25040355

Global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 to 2016: an adjusted retrospective analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shearer, Freya M; Moyes, Catherine L; Pigott, David M; Brady, Oliver J; Marinho, Fatima; Deshpande, Aniruddha; Longbottom, Joshua; Browne, Annie J; Kraemer, Moritz U G; O'Reilly, Kathleen M; Hombach, Joachim; Yactayo, Sergio; de Araújo, Valdelaine E M; da Nóbrega, Aglaêr A; Mosser, Jonathan F; Stanaway, Jeffrey D; Lim, Stephen S; Hay, Simon I; Golding, Nick; Reiner, Robert C

2017-11-01

Substantial outbreaks of yellow fever in Angola and Brazil in the past 2 years, combined with global shortages in vaccine stockpiles, highlight a pressing need to assess present control strategies. The aims of this study were to estimate global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 through to 2016 at high spatial resolution and to calculate the number of individuals still requiring vaccination to reach population coverage thresholds for outbreak prevention. For this adjusted retrospective analysis, we compiled data from a range of sources (eg, WHO reports and health-service-provider registeries) reporting on yellow fever vaccination activities between May 1, 1939, and Oct 29, 2016. To account for uncertainty in how vaccine campaigns were targeted, we calculated three population coverage values to encompass alternative scenarios. We combined these data with demographic information and tracked vaccination coverage through time to estimate the proportion of the population who had ever received a yellow fever vaccine for each second level administrative division across countries at risk of yellow fever virus transmission from 1970 to 2016. Overall, substantial increases in vaccine coverage have occurred since 1970, but notable gaps still exist in contemporary coverage within yellow fever risk zones. We estimate that between 393·7 million and 472·9 million people still require vaccination in areas at risk of yellow fever virus transmission to achieve the 80% population coverage threshold recommended by WHO; this represents between 43% and 52% of the population within yellow fever risk zones, compared with between 66% and 76% of the population who would have required vaccination in 1970. Our results highlight important gaps in yellow fever vaccination coverage, can contribute to improved quantification of outbreak risk, and help to guide planning of future vaccination efforts and emergency stockpiling. The Rhodes Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the

Change of mobile network coverage in France from 29 August

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2016-01-01

The change of mobile network coverage on the French part of the CERN site will take effect on 29 August and not on 11 July as previously announced.    From 29 August, the Swisscom transmitters in France will be deactivated and Orange France will thenceforth provide coverage on the French part of the CERN site.  This switch will result in changes to billing. You should also ensure that you can still be contacted by your colleagues when you are on the French part of the CERN site. Please consult the information and instructions in this official communication.

Coverage-dependent adsorption thermodynamics of oxygen on ZnO(0001)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Ming; Seebauer, Edmund G., E-mail: eseebaue@illinois.edu

2017-03-01

Highlights: • Adsorption enthalpy and entropy of oxygen on Zn-term ZnO(0001) were measured by photoreflectance. • These parameters are large in magnitude and vary nonmonotonically with coverage. • Many kinds of sites, chemical species and reconstructions contribute to this behavior. • Entropic and enthalpic contributions to the free energy are comparable near room temperature. - Abstract: The equilibrium behavior of oxygen adsorbed on metal oxide surfaces such as ZnO(0001) often affects their behavior in applications such as gas sensing. The present work attempts to bridge this distinct gap to applications from an alternate perspective by employing the optical technique of photoreflectance (PR) to measure the enthalpy ΔH{sub ads} and entropy ΔS{sub ads} of oxygen adsorption as a function of coverage on Zn-terminated ZnO(0001). The large and strongly coverage-dependent parameters, stemming from a multiplicity of sites, chemical species and reconstructions, lead to a nonmonotonic coverage variation in both ΔH{sub ads} and ΔS{sub ads}. The entropic contribution to the free energy is comparable to the enthalpic contribution even near room temperature, so that temperature effects on oxygen adsorption may be uncommonly large.

Understanding the "Family Gap" in Pay for Women with Children

OpenAIRE

Jane Waldfogel

1998-01-01

As the gender gap in pay between women and men has been narrowing, the 'family gap' in pay between mothers and nonmothers has been widening. One reason may be the institutional structure in the United States, which has emphasized equal pay and opportunity policies but not family policies, in contrast to other countries that have implemented both. The authors now have evidence on the links between one such family policy and women's pay. Recent research suggests that maternity leave coverage, b...

Coverage of, and compliance with, mass drug administration under the programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in India: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, Bontha V; Babu, Gopalan R

2014-09-01

India's mass drug administration (MDA) programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (PELF) covers all 250 endemic districts, but compliance with treatment is not adequate for the programme to succeed in eradicating this neglected tropical disease. The objective of our study was to systematically review published studies on the coverage of and compliance with MDA under the PELF in India. We searched several databases-PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, CINAHL/EBSCO, Web of Knowledge (including Web of Science) and OVID-and by applying selection criteria identified a total of 36 papers to include in the review. Overall MDA coverage rates varied between 48.8% and 98.8%, while compliance rates ranged from 20.8% to 93.7%. The coverage-compliance gap is large in many MDA programmes. The effective level of compliance, ≥65%, was reported in only 10 of a total of 31 MDAs (5 of 20 MDAs in rural areas and 2 of 12 MDAs in urban areas). The review has identified a gap between coverage and compliance, and potentially correctable causes of this gap. These causes need to be addressed if the Indian programme is to advance towards elimination of lymphatic filariasis. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Can investments in health systems strategies lead to changes in immunization coverage?

Science.gov (United States)

Brenzel, Logan

2014-04-01

National immunization programs in developing countries have made major strides to immunize the world's children, increasing full coverage to 83% of children. However, the World Health Organization estimates that 22 million children less than five years of age are left unvaccinated, and coverage levels have been plateauing for nearly a decade. This paper describes the evidence on factors contributing to low vaccination uptake, and describes the connection between these factors and the documented strategies and interventions that can lead to changes in immunization outcomes. The author suggests that investments in these areas may contribute more effectively to immunization coverage and also have positive spill-over benefits for health systems. The paper concludes that while some good quality evidence exists of what works and may contribute to immunization outcomes, the quality of evidence needs to improve and major gaps need to be addressed.

Disparities in Private Health Insurance Coverage of Skilled Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stacey A. Tovino

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article compares and contrasts public and private health insurance coverage of skilled medical rehabilitation, including cognitive rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and skilled nursing services (collectively, skilled care. As background, prior scholars writing in this area have focused on Medicare coverage of skilled care and have challenged coverage determinations limiting Medicare coverage to beneficiaries who are able to demonstrate improvement in their conditions within a specific period of time (the Improvement Standard. By and large, these scholars have applauded the settlement agreement approved on 24 January 2013, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont in Jimmo v. Sebelius (Jimmo, as well as related motions, rulings, orders, government fact sheets, and Medicare program manual statements clarifying that Medicare covers skilled care that is necessary to prevent or slow a beneficiary’s deterioration or to maintain a beneficiary at his or her maximum practicable level of function even though no further improvement in the beneficiary’s condition is expected. Scholars who have focused on beneficiaries who have suffered severe brain injuries, in particular, have framed public insurance coverage of skilled brain rehabilitation as an important civil, disability, and educational right. Given that approximately two-thirds of Americans with health insurance are covered by private health insurance and that many private health plans continue to require their insureds to demonstrate improvement within a short period of time to obtain coverage of skilled care, scholarship assessing private health insurance coverage of skilled care is important but noticeably absent from the literature. This article responds to this gap by highlighting state benchmark plans’ and other private health plans’ continued use of the Improvement Standard in skilled care coverage decisions and

Design and methodology of the Geo-social Analysis of Physicians' settlement (GAP-Study) in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Groneberg, David A; Boll, Michael; Bauer, Jan

2016-01-01

Unequally distributed disease burdens within populations are well-known and occur worldwide. They are depending on residents' social status and/or ethnic background. Country-specific health care systems - especially the coverage and distribution of health care providers - are both a potential cause as well as an important solution for health inequalities. Registers are built of all accredited physicians and psychotherapists within the outpatient care system in German metropolises by utilizing the database of the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. The physicians' practice neighborhood will be analyzed under socioeconomic and demographic perspectives. Therefore, official city districts' statistics will be assigned to the physicians and psychotherapists according to their practice location. Averages of neighborhood indicators will be calculated for each specialty. Moreover, advanced studies will inspect differences by physicians' gender or practice type. Geo-spatial analyses of the intra-city practices distribution will complete the settlement characteristics of physicians and psychotherapists within the outpatient care system in German metropolises. The project "Geo-social Analysis of Physicians' settlement" (GAP) is designed to elucidate gaps of physician coverage within the outpatient care system, dependent on neighborhood residents' social status or ethnics in German metropolises. The methodology of the GAP-Study enables the standardized investigation of physicians' settlement behavior in German metropolises and their inter-city comparisons. The identification of potential gaps within the physicians' coverage should facilitate the delineation of approaches for solving health care inequality problems.

Federally-Assisted Healthcare Coverage among Male State Prisoners with Chronic Health Problems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David L Rosen

Full Text Available Prisoners have higher rates of chronic diseases such as substance dependence, mental health conditions and infectious disease, as compared to the general population. We projected the number of male state prisoners with a chronic health condition who at release would be eligible or ineligible for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA. We used ACA income guidelines in conjunction with reported pre-arrest social security benefits and income from a nationally representative sample of prisoners to estimate the number eligible for healthcare coverage at release. There were 643,290 US male prisoners aged 18-64 with a chronic health condition. At release, 73% in Medicaid-expansion states would qualify for Medicaid or tax credits. In non-expansion states, 54% would qualify for tax credits, but 22% (n = 69,827 had incomes of ≤ 100% the federal poverty limit and thus would be ineligible for ACA-mediated healthcare coverage. These prisoners comprise 11% of all male prisoners with a chronic condition. The ACA was projected to provide coverage to most male state prisoners with a chronic health condition; however, roughly 70,000 fall in the "coverage gap" and may require non-routine care at emergency departments. Mechanisms are needed to secure coverage for this at risk group and address barriers to routine utilization of health services.

Federally-Assisted Healthcare Coverage among Male State Prisoners with Chronic Health Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, David L; Grodensky, Catherine A; Holley, Tara K

2016-01-01

Prisoners have higher rates of chronic diseases such as substance dependence, mental health conditions and infectious disease, as compared to the general population. We projected the number of male state prisoners with a chronic health condition who at release would be eligible or ineligible for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We used ACA income guidelines in conjunction with reported pre-arrest social security benefits and income from a nationally representative sample of prisoners to estimate the number eligible for healthcare coverage at release. There were 643,290 US male prisoners aged 18-64 with a chronic health condition. At release, 73% in Medicaid-expansion states would qualify for Medicaid or tax credits. In non-expansion states, 54% would qualify for tax credits, but 22% (n = 69,827) had incomes of ≤ 100% the federal poverty limit and thus would be ineligible for ACA-mediated healthcare coverage. These prisoners comprise 11% of all male prisoners with a chronic condition. The ACA was projected to provide coverage to most male state prisoners with a chronic health condition; however, roughly 70,000 fall in the "coverage gap" and may require non-routine care at emergency departments. Mechanisms are needed to secure coverage for this at risk group and address barriers to routine utilization of health services.

THE PAL 5 STAR STREAM GAPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlberg, R. G.; Hetherington, Nathan; Grillmair, C. J.

2012-01-01

Pal 5 is a low-mass, low-velocity-dispersion, globular cluster with spectacular tidal tails. We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8 data to extend the density measurements of the trailing star stream to 23 deg distance from the cluster, at which point the stream runs off the edge of the available sky coverage. The size and the number of gaps in the stream are measured using a filter which approximates the structure of the gaps found in stream simulations. We find 5 gaps that are at least 99% confidence detections with about a dozen gaps at 90% confidence. The statistical significance of a gap is estimated using bootstrap resampling of the control regions on either side of the stream. The density minimum closest to the cluster is likely the result of the epicyclic orbits of the tidal outflow and has been discounted. To create the number of 99% confidence gaps per unit length at the mean age of the stream requires a halo population of nearly a thousand dark matter sub-halos with peak circular velocities above 1 km s –1 within 30 kpc of the galactic center. These numbers are a factor of about three below cold stream simulation at this sub-halo mass or velocity but, given the uncertainties in both measurement and more realistic warm stream modeling, are in substantial agreement with the LCDM prediction.

Women In The United States Experience High Rates Of Coverage 'Churn' In Months Before And After Childbirth.

Science.gov (United States)

Daw, Jamie R; Hatfield, Laura A; Swartz, Katherine; Sommers, Benjamin D

2017-04-01

Insurance transitions-sometimes referred to as "churn"-before and after childbirth can adversely affect the continuity and quality of care. Yet little is known about coverage patterns and changes for women giving birth in the United States. Using nationally representative survey data for the period 2005-13, we found high rates of insurance transitions before and after delivery. Half of women who were uninsured nine months before delivery had acquired Medicaid or CHIP coverage by the month of delivery, but 55 percent of women with that coverage at delivery experienced a coverage gap in the ensuing six months. Risk factors associated with insurance loss after delivery include not speaking English at home, being unmarried, having Medicaid or CHIP coverage at delivery, living in the South, and having a family income of 100-185 percent of the poverty level. To minimize the adverse effects of coverage disruptions, states should consider policies that promote the continuity of coverage for childbearing women, particularly those with pregnancy-related Medicaid eligibility. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Coverage and inequalities in maternal and child health interventions in Afghanistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia Akseer

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Afghanistan has made considerable gains in improving maternal and child health and survival since 2001. However, socioeconomic and regional inequities may pose a threat to reaching universal coverage of health interventions and further health progress. We explored coverage and socioeconomic inequalities in key life-saving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH interventions at the national level and by region in Afghanistan. We also assessed gains in child survival through scaling up effective community-based interventions across wealth groups. Methods Using data from the Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2010/11, we explored 11 interventions that spanned all stages of the continuum of care, including indicators of composite coverage. Asset-based wealth quintiles were constructed using standardised methods, and absolute inequalities were explored using wealth quintile (Q gaps (Q5-Q1 and the slope index of inequality (SII, while relative inequalities were assessed with ratios (Q5/Q1 and the concentration index (CIX. The lives saved tool (LiST modeling used to estimate neonatal and post-neonatal deaths averted from scaling up essential community-based interventions by 90 % coverage by 2025. Analyses considered the survey design characteristics and were conducted via STATA version 12.0 and SAS version 9.4. Results Our results underscore significant pro-rich socioeconomic absolute and relative inequalities, and mass population deprivation across most all RMNCH interventions studied. The most inequitable are antenatal care with a skilled attendant (ANCS, skilled birth attendance (SBA, and 4 or more antenatal care visits (ANC4 where the richest have between 3.0 and 5.6 times higher coverage relative to the poor, and Q5-Q1 gaps range from 32 % - 65 %. Treatment of sick children and breastfeeding interventions are the most equitably distributed. Across regions, inequalities were highest in the

Investigating the Equatorial Gaps in Snowball Earth Sea Glaciers

Science.gov (United States)

Spaulding-Astudillo, F.; Ashkenazy, Y.; Tziperman, E.; Abbot, D. S.

2017-12-01

The way photosynthetic life survived the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events is still a matter of debate that has deep implications for planetary habitability. One option is that gaps in thick, semi-global ice coverage (sea glaciers) could be maintained at the equator by ocean-ice-atmosphere dynamics. We investigate this idea by modifying a global ocean-thick-marine-ice model developed for modeling Neoproterozoic Snowball Events to account for gaps in thick ice and interactions with atmospheric dynamics. Our hypothesis is that in the parameter regime that allows for sea glacier flow, ice flow will make gaps in the thick ice, and therefore an open ocean solution, less likely. This would suggest that oases in thick ice are a more viable survival mechanism for photosynthetic life during a Snowball Earth event.

Proposed regulations could limit access to affordable health coverage for workers' children and family members.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Ken; Graham-Squire, Dave; Roby, Dylan H; Kominski, Gerald F; Kinane, Christina M; Needleman, Jack; Watson, Greg; Gans, Daphna

2011-12-01

Key Findings. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is designed to offer premium subsidies to help eligible individuals and their families purchase insurance coverage when affordable job-based coverage is not available. However, the law is unclear on how this affordability protection is applied in those instances where self-only coverage offered by an employer is affordable but family coverage is not. Regulations recently proposed by the Department of the Treasury would make family members ineligible for subsidized coverage in the exchange if an employee is offered affordable self-only coverage by an employer, even if family coverage is unaffordable. This could have significant financial consequences for low- and moderate-income families that fall in this gap. Using an alternative interpretation of the law could allow the entire family to enter the exchange when family coverage is unaffordable, which would broaden access to coverage. However, this option has been cited as cost prohibitive. In this brief we consider a middle ground alternative that would base eligibility for the individual worker on the cost of self-only coverage, but would use the additional cost to the employee for family coverage as the basis for determining affordability and eligibility for subsidies for the remaining family members. We find that: Under the middle ground alternative scenario an additional 144,000 Californians would qualify for and use premium subsidies in the California Health Benefit Exchange, half of whom are children. Less than 1 percent of those with employer-based coverage would move to subsidized coverage in the California Health Benefit Exchange as a result of having unaffordable coverage on the job.

Wisps in the outer edge of the Keeler Gap

Science.gov (United States)

Tiscareno, Matthew S.; Arnault, Ethan G.

2015-11-01

Superposed upon the relatively smooth outer edge of the Keeler Gap are a system of "wisps," which appear to be ring material protruding inward into the gap, usually with a sharp trailing edge and a smooth gradation back to the background edge location on the leading side (Porco et al. 2005, Science). The radial amplitude of wisps is usually 0.5 to 1 km, and their azimuthal extent is approximately a degree of longitude (~2400 km). Wisps are likely caused by an interplay between Daphnis (and perhaps other moons) and embedded moonlets within the ring, though the details remain unclear.Aside from the wisps, the Keeler Gap outer edge is the only one of the five sharp edges in the outer part of Saturn's A ring that is reasonably smooth in appearance (Tiscareno et al. 2005, DPS), with occultations indicating residuals less than 1 km upon a possibly non-zero eccentricity (R.G. French, personal communication, 2014). The other four (the inner and outer edges of the Encke Gap, the inner edge of the Keeler Gap, and the outer edge of the A ring itself) are characterized by wavy structure at moderate to high spatial frequencies, with amplitudes ranging from 2 to 30 km (Tiscareno et al. 2005, DPS).We will present a catalogue of wisp detections in Cassini images. We carry out repeated gaussian fits of the radial edge location in order to characterize edge structure and visually scan those fitted edges in order to detect wisps. With extensive coverage in longitude and in time, we will report on how wisps evolve and move, both within an orbit period and on longer timescales. We will also report on the frequency and interpretation of wisps that deviate from the standard morphology. We will discuss the implications of our results for the origin and nature of wisps, and for the larger picture of how masses interact within Saturn's rings.

Mythic gaps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Hansen

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Different kinds of omissions sometimes occur, or are perceived to occur, in traditional narratives and in tradition-inspired literature. A familiar instance is when a narrator realizes that he or she does not fully remember the story that he or she has begun to tell, and so leaves out part of it, which for listeners may possibly result in an unintelligible narrative. But many instances of narrative gap are not so obvious. From straightforward, objective gaps one can distinguish less-obvious subjective gaps: in many cases narrators do not leave out anything crucial or truly relevant from their exposition, and yet readers perceive gaps and take steps to fill them. The present paper considers four examples of subjective gaps drawn from ancient Greek literature (the Pandora myth, ancient Roman literature (the Pygmalion legend, ancient Hebrew literature (the Joseph legend, and early Christian literature (the Jesus legend. I consider the quite varied ways in which interpreters expand the inherited texts of these stories, such as by devising names, manufacturing motives, creating backstories, and in general filling in biographical ellipses. Finally, I suggest an explanation for the phenomenon of subjective gaps, arguing that, despite their variety, they have a single cause.

5 CFR 250.201 - Coverage and purpose.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

....201 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN AGENCIES Strategic Human Capital Management § 250.201 Coverage and purpose. The Chief Human... effective and efficient operation of Government. As a part of OPM's overall leadership responsibilities in...

Further observations on comparison of immunization coverage by lot quality assurance sampling and 30 cluster sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, J; Jain, D C; Sharma, R S; Verghese, T

1996-06-01

Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) and standard EPI methodology (30 cluster sampling) were used to evaluate immunization coverage in a Primary Health Center (PHC) where coverage levels were reported to be more than 85%. Of 27 sub-centers (lots) evaluated by LQAS, only 2 were accepted for child coverage, whereas none was accepted for tetanus toxoid (TT) coverage in mothers. LQAS data were combined to obtain an estimate of coverage in the entire population; 41% (95% CI 36-46) infants were immunized appropriately for their ages, while 42% (95% CI 37-47) of their mothers had received a second/ booster dose of TT. TT coverage in 149 contemporary mothers sampled in EPI survey was also 42% (95% CI 31-52). Although results by the two sampling methods were consistent with each other, a big gap was evident between reported coverage (in children as well as mothers) and survey results. LQAS was found to be operationally feasible, but it cost 40% more and required 2.5 times more time than the EPI survey. LQAS therefore, is not a good substitute for current EPI methodology to evaluate immunization coverage in a large administrative area. However, LQAS has potential as method to monitor health programs on a routine basis in small population sub-units, especially in areas with high and heterogeneously distributed immunization coverage.

AUDIT EXPECTATION GAP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gherai Dana Simona

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Theme – It is know that the large public and auditors hold different beliefs about the auditors’ duties and responsibilities. In this conditions audit expectation gap represents that level of expectation that remains uncovered. In this study paper, audit expectation gap represents the difference between the achievements of public auditors and the expectations that general public (students have beyond those responsibility. Purpose – The evolution of audit expectation gap has been examined in various countries, but the extent of the concept has not been investigated so much in public area. This study attempts to assess the perceptions of possible future auditors, students, regarding the existence of expectation gap in public area. Literature review – A review of the literature identifies many researches who define the concept since was given the first definition of audit expectation gap as the difference between the levels of expected performance and the results that auditors give, but just a few analysis the public area using students’ knowledge to understand the perception of future users of accounting information or potential bidders of accounting information. Methodology – This paper represents the beginning of a broader study that will be part of the doctoral thesis entitled “Organization and exercise of public audit in Romania”, started in 2009 at University Babes Bolyai from Cluj Napoca, coordinated by PhD Professor Matis Dumitru. The aim of this paper is to explore the findings of an empirical study, made on 352 students, were the primary data used were obtained through a questionnaire technique regarding the audit expectation gap in the public sector in Romania, looking into future to obtain responses using a larger respondent group. Findings – A reasonableness gap was uncovered, there is a gap between the expectation of students regarding the public auditors' profession and their results and there are differences

Medicare Coverage Database

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Medicare Coverage Database (MCD) contains all National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) and Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), local articles, and proposed NCD...

State of inequality in malaria intervention coverage in sub-Saharan African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Galactionova, Katya; Smith, Thomas A; de Savigny, Don; Penny, Melissa A

2017-10-18

Scale-up of malaria interventions over the last decade have yielded a significant reduction in malaria transmission and disease burden in sub-Saharan Africa. We estimated economic gradients in the distribution of these efforts and of their impacts within and across endemic countries. Using Demographic and Health Surveys we computed equity metrics to characterize the distribution of malaria interventions in 30 endemic countries proxying economic position with an asset-wealth index. Gradients were summarized in a concentration index, tabulated against level of coverage, and compared among interventions, across countries, and against respective trends over the period 2005-2015. There remain broad differences in coverage of malaria interventions and their distribution by wealth within and across countries. In most, economic gradients are lacking or favor the poorest for vector control; malaria services delivered through the formal healthcare sector are much less equitable. Scale-up of interventions in many countries improved access across the wealth continuum; in some, these efforts consistently prioritized the poorest. Expansions in control programs generally narrowed coverage gaps between economic strata; gradients persist in countries where growth was slower in the poorest quintile or where baseline inequality was large. Despite progress, malaria is consistently concentrated in the poorest, with the degree of inequality in burden far surpassing that expected given gradients in the distribution of interventions. Economic gradients in the distribution of interventions persist over time, limiting progress toward equity in malaria control. We found that, in countries with large baseline inequality in the distribution of interventions, even a small bias in expansion favoring the least poor yielded large gradients in intervention coverage while pro-poor growth failed to close the gap between the poorest and least poor. We demonstrated that dimensions of disadvantage

Band gap engineering for graphene by using Na+ ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sung, S. J.; Lee, P. R.; Kim, J. G.; Ryu, M. T.; Park, H. M.; Chung, J. W.

2014-01-01

Despite the noble electronic properties of graphene, its industrial application has been hindered mainly by the absence of a stable means of producing a band gap at the Dirac point (DP). We report a new route to open a band gap (E g ) at DP in a controlled way by depositing positively charged Na + ions on single layer graphene formed on 6H-SiC(0001) surface. The doping of low energy Na + ions is found to deplete the π* band of graphene above the DP, and simultaneously shift the DP downward away from Fermi energy indicating the opening of E g . The band gap increases with increasing Na + coverage with a maximum E g ≥0.70 eV. Our core-level data, C 1s, Na 2p, and Si 2p, consistently suggest that Na + ions do not intercalate through graphene, but produce a significant charge asymmetry among the carbon atoms of graphene to cause the opening of a band gap. We thus provide a reliable way of producing and tuning the band gap of graphene by using Na + ions, which may play a vital role in utilizing graphene in future nano-electronic devices.

Response of reptile and amphibian communities to canopy gaps created by wind disturbance in the Southern Appalachians

Science.gov (United States)

Cathryn H. Greenberg

2001-01-01

Reptile and amphibian communities were sampled in intact gaps created by wind disturbance, salvage-logged gaps, and closed canopy mature forest (controls). Sampling was conducted during June–October in 1997 and 1998 using drift fences with pitfall and funnel traps. Basal area of live trees, shade, leaf litter coverage, and litter depth was highest in controls and...

Understanding the Adolescent Gap in HIV Testing Among Clients of Antenatal Care Services in West and Central African Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Helleringer, Stephane

2017-09-01

New HIV infections among children have declined significantly more slowly in West and central African countries (WCA) than in eastern and southern African countries between 2009 and 2015. Since adolescent fertility is particularly high in WCA countries, frequent mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV may in part be due to low coverage of HIV testing among adolescents during antenatal care (ANC). We investigated this adolescent gap in HIV testing using survey data from the demographic and health surveys and multiple indicators cluster surveys collected in 21 WCA countries since 2009. We found significant adolescent gaps in HIV testing in 12 out of 21 WCA countries, with the largest gap observed in Nigeria. In countries with a significant adolescent gap in HIV testing, we used Fairlie decompositions to assess what proportion of these gaps were explained by age-related differences in the distribution of (a) marital status, (b) socioeconomic status (SES), (c) MTCT-related knowledge, and (d) patterns of ANC utilization. Differences in SES and MTCT-related knowledge were the most consistent determinants of adolescent gaps in HIV testing during ANC. Differences in ANC utilization (e.g., fewer and possibly delayed ANC visits) also contributed to the adolescent gap in 8 out of 12 countries. Interventions that improve knowledge of MTCT risks, and/or promote the sustained use of ANC services, could help engage HIV-infected adolescents who become pregnant in PMTCT services. Targeting these interventions at the most disadvantaged households will be crucial in further reducing HIV infections among children.

14 CFR 440.13 - Standard conditions of insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... against that licensee, permittee or additional insured). (5) Each exclusion from coverage must be...; or (ii) Includes in each of its policies or insurance obtained under this part a contract clause in...

Housing Instability and Children's Health Insurance Gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Anne; Corman, Hope; Curtis, Marah A; Noonan, Kelly; Reichman, Nancy E

To assess the extent to which housing instability is associated with gaps in health insurance coverage of preschool-age children. Secondary analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative study of children born in the United States in 2001, was conducted to investigate associations between unstable housing-homelessness, multiple moves, or living with others and not paying rent-and children's subsequent health insurance gaps. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potentially confounding factors. Ten percent of children were unstably housed at age 2, and 11% had a gap in health insurance between ages 2 and 4. Unstably housed children were more likely to have gaps in insurance compared to stably housed children (16% vs 10%). Controlling for potentially confounding factors, the odds of a child insurance gap were significantly higher in unstably housed families than in stably housed families (adjusted odds ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.61). The association was similar in alternative model specifications. In a US nationally representative birth cohort, children who were unstably housed at age 2 were at higher risk, compared to their stably housed counterparts, of experiencing health insurance gaps between ages 2 and 4 years. The findings from this study suggest that policy efforts to delink health insurance renewal processes from mailing addresses, and potentially routine screenings for housing instability as well as referrals to appropriate resources by pediatricians, would help unstably housed children maintain health insurance. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formulation and properties of ADN/GAP propellants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menke, Klaus; Heintz, Thomas; Schweikert, Wenka; Keicher, Thomas; Krause, Horst [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Chemische Technologie ICT, Pfinztal (Germany)

2009-06-15

In this contribution two ways are described, how it is possible to achieve perfectly cured and processible propellants with prilled ADN, low amounts of HMX 5{mu}m mps and a binder system based on GAP diole and GAP triole oligomers with and without TMETN as a nitrate ester plasticizer. It was shown how it will be possible to suppress the strongly gas forming reaction between ADN and reactive isocyanates by a mixture of stabilizers. In this way it was possible to create minimum smoke ADN/HMX/GAP/TMETN propellants cured with the triisocyanate N100. In the second part an unconventional binder system based on the 1.3 dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azido groups with acetylene compounds forming 1,2,3-triazole heterocyclic rings has been applied for ADN/GAP and AP/GAP propellants. Together with small parts of HMX formulations with ADN/HMX/GAP and the corresponding AP/HMX/GAP exhibit high thermodynamic performance, are easily processible, and cure successfully at 60 C. Their basic properties consisting of burning behavior and mechanical properties, at ambient temperature, chemical stability, and sensitivity have been investigated and are compared to each other. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Spatio-temporal gap analysis of OBIS-SEAMAP project data: assessment and way forward.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Connie Y Kot

Full Text Available The OBIS-SEAMAP project has acquired and served high-quality marine mammal, seabird, and sea turtle data to the public since its inception in 2002. As data accumulated, spatial and temporal biases resulted and a comprehensive gap analysis was needed in order to assess coverage to direct data acquisition for the OBIS-SEAMAP project and for taxa researchers should true gaps in knowledge exist. All datasets published on OBIS-SEAMAP up to February 2009 were summarized spatially and temporally. Seabirds comprised the greatest number of records, compared to the other two taxa, and most records were from shipboard surveys, compared to the other three platforms. Many of the point observations and polyline tracklines were located in northern and central Atlantic and the northeastern and central-eastern Pacific. The Southern Hemisphere generally had the lowest representation of data, with the least number of records in the southern Atlantic and western Pacific regions. Temporally, records of observations for all taxa were the lowest in fall although the number of animals sighted was lowest in the winter. Oceanographic coverage of observations varied by platform for each taxa, which showed that using two or more platforms represented habitat ranges better than using only one alone. Accessible and published datasets not already incorporated do exist within spatial and temporal gaps identified. Other related open-source data portals also contain data that fill gaps, emphasizing the importance of dedicated data exchange. Temporal and spatial gaps were mostly a result of data acquisition effort, development of regional partnerships and collaborations, and ease of field data collection. Future directions should include fostering partnerships with researchers in the Southern Hemisphere while targeting datasets containing species with limited representation. These results can facilitate prioritizing datasets needed to be represented and for planning research for

"Prince Charming Syndrome?" Gender gap in preferences for defined contribution pensions in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Satoshi P

2017-01-01

Using survey data collected by the Japan Institute of Life Insurance in 2002, this study finds that a significant gender gap existed in defined contribution (DC) pension knowledge among workers employed at small- to medium-sized private firms in Japan. Even with similar DC knowledge, however, men and women reveal different preferences for DC pensions, indicating that their perceptional responses may widely differ from actual behaviors. Apart from the knowledge gap, the result shows evidence of the Prince Charming Syndrome among female employees as a significant source of the gender gap in DC participation rates. Among corporate pension-covered employees, the gender difference in the efficacy of DC portability is a more significant gap-generating factor. DC tax advantage is particularly favored by pension-covered female employees over male counterparts, reducing the DC preference gap. No similar evidence is found for employees with no corporate pension coverage.

Footprints: A Visual Search Tool that Supports Discovery and Coverage Tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Isaacs, Ellen; Domico, Kelly; Ahern, Shane; Bart, Eugene; Singhal, Mudita

2014-12-01

Searching a large document collection to learn about a broad subject involves the iterative process of figuring out what to ask, filtering the results, identifying useful documents, and deciding when one has covered enough material to stop searching. We are calling this activity "discoverage," discovery of relevant material and tracking coverage of that material. We built a visual analytic tool called Footprints that uses multiple coordinated visualizations to help users navigate through the discoverage process. To support discovery, Footprints displays topics extracted from documents that provide an overview of the search space and are used to construct searches visuospatially. Footprints allows users to triage their search results by assigning a status to each document (To Read, Read, Useful), and those status markings are shown on interactive histograms depicting the user's coverage through the documents across dates, sources, and topics. Coverage histograms help users notice biases in their search and fill any gaps in their analytic process. To create Footprints, we used a highly iterative, user-centered approach in which we conducted many evaluations during both the design and implementation stages and continually modified the design in response to feedback.

German press coverage of former Yugoslavia after the fall of Miloševic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ute Annabring

2004-07-01

Full Text Available In the past few decades any war that received considerable attention in the Western public (like the wars in Vietnam, in the Gulf, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan or Iraq has been followed by numerous studies analyzing media coverage during the war. In marked contrast, studies examining the media’s coverage of post-war or post-conflict processes are hard to find. This paper attempts to reduce this gap by presenting the results of both a quantitative and a qualitative study of German press coverage of former Yugoslavia from the fall of Miloševic in October 2000 up to the agreement between Serbia and Montenegro in March 2002. While Germany was part of the alliance that bombed Serbia in 1999 to stop Miloševic’s policy in Kosovo, the fall of Miloševic implied a new beginning in the relationship between Germany and Yugoslavia that started a transition to democracy at that time. The aim of the quantitative study was to analyze how the German media covered this process of rapprochement, democratization and reconciliation. How flexible was the German press in covering changing political situations? Did the media contribute to the constructive transformation of the Yugoslavian conflict? A selection of 483 articles from the Frankfurter Rundschau – exemplary for the German quality press – were chosen for analysis with a modified coding scheme developed and used earlier by this peace research group (Kempf et al., 1999. Latent Class Analysis was used as the evaluation method. The results show that coverage of confrontational behavior and a critical evaluation of Serbia is still common in the postwar period, but there is also significant support for and recognition of the democratic transition. The qualitative analysis gave particular attention to the identification of constructive, de-escalation-oriented aspects that journalists used in their reporting. A selection of 23 articles was drawn from five German quality newspapers, related to four

The influence of patient positioning in breast CT on breast tissue coverage and patient comfort

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roessler, A.C.; Althoff, F.; Kalender, W. [Erlangen Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Medical Physics; Wenkel, E. [University Hospital of Erlangen (Germany). Radiological Inst.

2015-02-15

The presented study aimed at optimizing a patient table design for breast CT (BCT) systems with respect to breast tissue coverage and patient comfort. Additionally, the benefits and acceptance of an immobilization device for BCT using underpressure were evaluated. Three different study parts were carried out. In a positioning study women were investigated on an MRI tabletop with exchangeable inserts (flat and cone-shaped with different opening diameters) to evaluate their influence on breast coverage and patient comfort in various positioning alternatives. Breast length and volume were calculated to compare positioning modalities including various opening diameters and forms. In the second study part, an underpressure system was tested for its functionality and comfort on a stereotactic biopsy table mimicking a future CT scanner table. In the last study part, this system was tested regarding breast tissue coverage. Best results for breast tissue coverage were shown for cone-shaped table inserts with an opening of 180 mm. Flat inserts did not provide complete coverage of breast tissue. The underpressure system showed robust function and tended to pull more breast tissue into the field of view. Patient comfort was rated good for all table inserts, with highest ratings for cone-shaped inserts. Cone-shaped tabletops appeared to be adequate for BCT systems and to allow imaging of almost the complete breast. An underpressure system proved promising for the fixation of the breast during imaging and increased coverage. Patient comfort appears to be adequate.

Rain Sensor with Stacked Light Waveguide Having Tilted Air Gap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoo Nam Choi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Vehicle sensor to detect rain drop on and above waveguide utilizing light deflection and scattering was realized, keeping wide sensing coverage and sensitivity to detect mist accumulation. Proposed sensor structure under stacked light wave guide consisted of light blocking fixture surrounding photodetector and adjacent light source. Tilted air gap between stacked light waveguide and light blocking fixture played major role to increase sensitivity and to enhance linearity. This sensor structure eliminated complex collimating optics, while keeping wide sensing coverage using simple geometry. Detection algorithm based on time-to-intensity transformation process was used to convert raining intensity into countable raining process. Experimental result inside simulated rain chamber showed distinct different response between light rain and normal rain. Application as automobile rain sensor is expected.

Universal coverage with insecticide-treated nets - applying the revised indicators for ownership and use to the Nigeria 2010 malaria indicator survey data.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilian, Albert; Koenker, Hannah; Baba, Ebenezer; Onyefunafoa, Emmanuel O; Selby, Richmond A; Lokko, Kojo; Lynch, Matthew

2013-09-10

Until recently only two indicators were used to evaluate malaria prevention with insecticide-treated nets (ITN): "proportion of households with any ITN" and "proportion of the population using an ITN last night". This study explores the potential of the expanded set of indicators recommended by the Roll Back Malaria Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group (MERG) for comprehensive analysis of universal coverage with ITN by applying them to the Nigeria 2010 Malaria Indicator Survey data. The two additional indicators of "proportion of households with at least one ITN for every two people" and "proportion of population with access to an ITN within the household" were calculated as recommended by MERG. Based on the estimates for each of the four ITN indicators three gaps were calculated: i) households with no ITN, ii) households with any but not enough ITN, iii) population with access to ITN not using it. In addition, coverage with at least one ITN at community level was explored by applying Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) decision rules to the cluster level of the data. All outcomes were analysed by household background characteristics and whether an ITN campaign had recently been done. While the proportion of households with any ITN was only 42% overall, it was 75% in areas with a recent mass campaign and in these areas 66% of communities had coverage of 80% or better. However, the campaigns left a considerable intra-household ownership gap with 66% of households with any ITN not having enough for every family member. In contrast, the analysis comparing actual against potential use showed that ITN utilization was good overall with only 19% of people with access not using the ITN, but with a significant difference between the North, where use was excellent (use gap 11%), and the South (use gap 36%) indicating the need for enhanced behaviour change communication. The expanded ITN indicators to assess universal coverage provide strong tools for a comprehensive

Gap filling strategies for long term energy flux data sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falge, E.; Baldocchi, D.; Olson, R.

2001-01-01

At present a network of over 100 field sites are measuring carbon dioxide, water vapor and sensible heat fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere, on a nearly continuous basis. Gaps in the long term measurements of evaporation and sensible heat flux must be filled before these data can be used...... for hydrological and meteorological applications. We adapted methods of gap filling for NEE (net ecosystem exchange of carbon) to energy fluxes and applied them to data sets available from the EUROFLUX and AmeriFlux eddy covariance databases. The average data coverage for the sites selected was 69% and 75......% for latent heat (lambdaE) and sensible heat (H). The methods were based on mean diurnal variations (half-hourly binned means of fluxes based on previous and subsequent days, MDV) and look-up tables for fluxes during assorted meteorological conditions (LookUp), and the impact of different gap filling methods...

Benard convection in gaps and cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, U.

1981-04-01

The article contains two parts. In the first part a condensed review of the most striking phenomena in Benard convection in laterally confined fluid layers is given. In the second part recent experimental and theoretical work on Benard convection in gaps is presented an analysed. (orig.) [de

The relevance of the social context for media coverage of victims

OpenAIRE

Pavićević Olivera; Bulatović Aleksandra

2017-01-01

Media coverage of human suffering caused by trauma, illness, poverty and disasters worldwide takes up a significant part of media coverage and affects the identity of all actors, both active and passive. Media presentation shapes our thinking and reasoning at the group level, and has far reached impact. The social context of media reporting on victims is shaped by the capacity of the social system to recognize, acknowledge, strengthen and protect the victim...

42 CFR 410.40 - Coverage of ambulance services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

..., which are defined in § 414.605 of this chapter: (1) Basic life support (BLS) (emergency and nonemergency). (2) Advanced life support, level 1 (ALS1) (emergency and nonemergency). (3) Advanced life support... Coverage of ambulance services. (a). Basic rules. Medicare Part B covers ambulance services if the...

Realizing right to health through universal health coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANJALI Singh

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Recognition of right to health is an essential step to work towards improvement of public health and to attain highest standard of physical and mental health of the people. Right to health in India is implicit part of right to life under Article 19 mentioned in the Constitution of India but is not recognized per se. Universal Health Coverage adopts rights based approach and principles of universality, equity, empowerment and comprehensiveness of care. The Universal Coverage Report of India makes recommendations in six identified areas to revamp the health systems in order to ensure right to health of Indians. These areas are: health financing and financial protection; health service norms; human resources for health; community participation and citizen engagement; access to medicines, vaccines and techno- logy; management and institutional reforms. This paper attempts to determine the ways inwhich Universal Health Coverage can make a contribution in realizing right to health and thus human rights in developing countries.

Enhancing Political Will for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aregbeshola, Bolaji S

2017-01-01

Universal health coverage aims to increase equity in access to quality health care services and to reduce financial risk due to health care costs. It is a key component of international health agenda and has been a subject of worldwide debate. Despite differing views on its scope and pathways to reach it, there is a global consensus that all countries should work toward universal health coverage. The goal remains distant for many African countries, including Nigeria. This is mostly due to lack of political will and commitment among political actors and policymakers. Evidence from countries such as Ghana, Chile, Mexico, China, Thailand, Turkey, Rwanda, Vietnam and Indonesia, which have introduced at least some form of universal health coverage scheme, shows that political will and commitment are key to the adoption of new laws and regulations for reforming coverage. For Nigeria to improve people's health, reduce poverty and achieve prosperity, universal health coverage must be vigorously pursued at all levels. Political will and commitment to these goals must be expressed in legal mandates and be translated into policies that ensure increased public health care financing for the benefit of all Nigerians. Nigeria, as part of a global system, cannot afford to lag behind in striving for this overarching health goal.

GapMis: a tool for pairwise sequence alignment with a single gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Flouri, Tomás; Frousios, Kimon; Iliopoulos, Costas S; Park, Kunsoo; Pissis, Solon P; Tischler, German

2013-08-01

Pairwise sequence alignment has received a new motivation due to the advent of recent patents in next-generation sequencing technologies, particularly so for the application of re-sequencing---the assembly of a genome directed by a reference sequence. After the fast alignment between a factor of the reference sequence and a high-quality fragment of a short read by a short-read alignment programme, an important problem is to find the alignment between a relatively short succeeding factor of the reference sequence and the remaining low-quality part of the read allowing a number of mismatches and the insertion of a single gap in the alignment. We present GapMis, a tool for pairwise sequence alignment with a single gap. It is based on a simple algorithm, which computes a different version of the traditional dynamic programming matrix. The presented experimental results demonstrate that GapMis is more suitable and efficient than most popular tools for this task.

Uterotonic use immediately following birth: using a novel methodology to estimate population coverage in four countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Ricca, Jim; Dwivedi, Vikas; Varallo, John; Singh, Gajendra; Pallipamula, Suranjeen Prasad; Amade, Nazir; de Luz Vaz, Maria; Bishanga, Dustan; Plotkin, Marya; Al-Makaleh, Bushra; Suhowatsky, Stephanie; Smith, Jeffrey Michael

2015-01-22

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality in developing countries. While incidence of PPH can be dramatically reduced by uterotonic use immediately following birth (UUIFB) in both community and facility settings, national coverage estimates are rare. Most national health systems have no indicator to track this, and community-based measurements are even more scarce. To fill this information gap, a methodology for estimating national coverage for UUIFB was developed and piloted in four settings. The rapid estimation methodology consisted of convening a group of national technical experts and using the Delphi method to come to consensus on key data elements that were applied to a simple algorithm, generating a non-precise national estimate of coverage of UUIFB. Data elements needed for the calculation were the distribution of births by location and estimates of UUIFB in each of those settings, adjusted to take account of stockout rates and potency of uterotonics. This exercise was conducted in 2013 in Mozambique, Tanzania, the state of Jharkhand in India, and Yemen. Available data showed that deliveries in public health facilities account for approximately half of births in Mozambique and Tanzania, 16% in Jharkhand and 24% of births in Yemen. Significant proportions of births occur in private facilities in Jharkhand and faith-based facilities in Tanzania. Estimated uterotonic use for facility births ranged from 70 to 100%. Uterotonics are not used routinely for PPH prevention at home births in any of the settings. National UUIFB coverage estimates of all births were 43% in Mozambique, 40% in Tanzania, 44% in Jharkhand, and 14% in Yemen. This methodology for estimating coverage of UUIFB was found to be feasible and acceptable. While the exercise produces imprecise estimates whose validity cannot be assessed objectively in the absence of a gold standard estimate, stakeholders felt they were accurate enough to be actionable. The exercise

Oral Cholera Vaccine Coverage during an Outbreak and Humanitarian Crisis, Iraq, 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Eugene; Al-Tamimi, Wasan; Russell, Steven Paul; Butt, Muhammad Obaid-Ul Islam; Blanton, Curtis; Musani, Altaf Sadrudin; Date, Kashmira

2017-01-01

During November-December 2015, as part of the 2015 cholera outbreak response in Iraq, the Iraqi Ministry of Health targeted ≈255,000 displaced persons >1 year of age with 2 doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV). All persons who received vaccines were living in selected refugee camps, internally displaced persons camps, and collective centers. We conducted a multistage cluster survey to obtain OCV coverage estimates in 10 governorates that were targeted during the campaign. In total, 1,226 household and 5,007 individual interviews were conducted. Overall, 2-dose OCV coverage in the targeted camps was 87% (95% CI 85%-89%). Two-dose OCV coverage in the 3 northern governorates (91%; 95% CI 87%-94%) was higher than that in the 7 southern and central governorates (80%; 95% CI 77%-82%). The experience in Iraq demonstrates that OCV campaigns can be successfully implemented as part of a comprehensive response to cholera outbreaks among high-risk populations in conflict settings.

The potential of satellite-observed crop phenology to enhance yield gap assessments in smallholder landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John M A Duncan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Many of the undernourished people on the planet obtain their entitlements to food via agricultural-based livelihood strategies, often on underperforming croplands and smallholdings. In this context, expanding cropland extent is not a viable strategy for smallholders to meet their food needs. Therefore, attention must shift to increasing productivity on existing plots and ensuring yield gaps do not widen. Thus, supporting smallholder farmers to sustainably increase the productivity of their lands is one part of a complex solution to realising universal food security. However, the information (e.g. location and causes of cropland underperformance required to support measures to close yield gaps in smallholder landscapes are often not available. This paper reviews the potential of crop phenology, observed from satellites carrying remote sensing sensors, to fill this information gap. It is suggested that on a theoretical level phenological approaches can reveal greater intra-cropland thematic detail, and increase the accuracy of crop extent maps and crop yield estimates. However, on a practical level the spatial mismatch between the resolution at which crop phenology can be estimated from satellite remote sensing data and the scale of yield variability in smallholder croplands inhibits its use in this context. Similarly, the spatial coverage of remote sensing-derived phenology offers potential for integration with ancillary spatial datasets to identify causes of yield gaps. To reflect the complexity of smallholder cropping systems requires ancillary datasets at fine spatial resolutions which, often, are not available. This further precludes the use of crop phenology in attempts to unpick the causes of yield gaps. Research agendas should focus on generating fine spatial resolution crop phenology, either via data fusion or through new sensors (e.g. Sentinel-2 in smallholder croplands. This has potential to transform the applied use of remote sensing

Women's Health Insurance Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

... Women's Health Policy Women’s Health Insurance Coverage Women’s Health Insurance Coverage Published: Oct 31, 2017 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ... that many women continue to face. Sources of Health Insurance Coverage Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Approximately 57.9 million ...

Public Perceptions of the Pay Gap

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Catherine; Silva, Elena

2005-01-01

Women have made gains toward closing the gender pay gap during the past two decades. Much of the progress occurred during the 1980s, with smaller gains in the 1990s (Institute for Women's Policy Research 2004). Women's achievements in higher education are partly responsible for narrowing the pay gap in the 1980s and 1990s. As more women earned…

Variability of surface ozone with cloud coverage over Kolkata, India

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

influences the weather and climate of a place, thus acting as an ... earth by absorbing the most energetic part of the ... effect of cloud coverage on the surface ozone over. Kolkata. 2. ..... Burrows W R 1997 CART regression models for predicting.

From coverage to care: addressing the issue of churn.

Science.gov (United States)

Milligan, Charles

2015-02-01

In any given year, a significant number of individuals will move between Medicaid and qualified health plans (QHP). Known as "churn," this movement could disrupt continuity of health care services, even when no gap in insurance coverage exists. The number of people who churn in any given year is significant, and they often are significant utilizers of health care services. They could experience disruption in care in several ways: (1) changing carrier; (2) changing provider because of network differences; (3) a disruption in ongoing services, even when the benefit is covered in both programs (e.g., surgery that has been authorized but not yet performed; ongoing prescription medications for chronic illness; or some but not all therapy or counseling sessions have been completed); and (4) the loss of coverage for a service that is not a covered benefit in the new program. Many strategies are available to states to reduce the disruption caused by churn. The specific option, intervention, and set of policies in a given state will depend on its context. Policy makers would benefit from an examination and discussion of these issues. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

The relevance of the social context for media coverage of victims

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavićević Olivera

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Media coverage of human suffering caused by trauma, illness, poverty and disasters worldwide takes up a significant part of media coverage and affects the identity of all actors, both active and passive. Media presentation shapes our thinking and reasoning at the group level, and has far reached impact. The social context of media reporting on victims is shaped by the capacity of the social system to recognize, acknowledge, strengthen and protect the victim. As an aspect of this capacity, media coverage of victims is indicator of victimization visibility. This paper discusses nature of media reporting as a phenomenon appearing in various forms as per given sources of victimization, and the ethical aspects of media presentation of victims. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the critical analysis of the media coverage of victims, by reconsidering an increased visibility of victims and their suffering, which is generated by media reporting, and whose dominant characteristic is presenting victims in the interpretative and performing manner.

Gap Flows through Idealized Topography. Part I: Forcing by Large-Scale Winds in the Nonrotating Limit.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabersek, Sasa.; Durran, Dale R.

2004-12-01

Gap winds produced by a uniform airstream flowing over an isolated flat-top ridge cut by a straight narrow gap are investigated by numerical simulation. On the scale of the entire barrier, the proportion of the oncoming flow that passes through the gap is relatively independent of the nondimensional mountain height , even over that range of for which there is the previously documented transition from a “flow over the ridge” regime to a “flow around” regime.The kinematics and dynamics of the gap flow itself were investigated by examining mass and momentum budgets for control volumes at the entrance, central, and exit regions of the gap. These analyses suggest three basic behaviors: the linear regime (small ) in which there is essentially no enhancement of the gap flow; the mountain wave regime ( 1.5) in which vertical mass and momentum fluxes play a crucial role in creating very strong winds near the exit of the gap; and the upstream-blocking regime ( 5) in which lateral convergence generates the strongest winds near the entrance of the gap.Trajectory analysis of the flow in the strongest events, the mountain wave events, confirms the importance of net subsidence in creating high wind speeds. Neglect of vertical motion in applications of Bernoulli's equation to gap flows is shown to lead to unreasonable wind speed predictions whenever the temperature at the gap exit exceeds that at the gap entrance. The distribution of the Bernoulli function on an isentropic surface shows a correspondence between regions of high Bernoulli function and high wind speeds in the gap-exit jet similar to that previously documented for shallow-water flow.

InAs/InP quantum dots emitting in the 1.55 μm wavelength region by inserting submonolayer GaP interlayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Q.; Noetzel, R.; Veldhoven, P.J. van; Eijkemans, T.J.; Wolter, J.H.

2004-01-01

We report on the growth of InAs quantum dots (QDs) in GaInAsP on InP (100) substrates by chemical-beam epitaxy, with emission wavelength in the 1.55 μm region. Submonolayer coverage of GaP on the GaInAsP buffer before deposition of the InAs QDs results in most efficient suppression of As/P exchange during InAs growth and subsequent growth interruption under arsenic flux. Continuous wavelength tuning from above 1.6 to below 1.5 μm is thus achieved by varying the coverage of the GaP interlayer within the submonolayer range. Temperature dependent photoluminescence reveals distinct zero-dimensional carrier confinement and indicates that the InAs QDs are free of defects and dislocations

Bounds on the distribution of the number of gaps when circles and lines are covered by fragments: Theory and practical application to genomic and metagenomic projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marchesi Julian R

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The question of how a circle or line segment becomes covered when random arcs are marked off has arisen repeatedly in bioinformatics. The number of uncovered gaps is of particular interest. Approximate distributions for the number of gaps have been given in the literature, one motivation being ease of computation. Error bounds for these approximate distributions have not been given. Results We give bounds on the probability distribution of the number of gaps when a circle is covered by fragments of fixed size. The absolute error in the approximation is typically on the order of 0.1% at 10× coverage depth. The method can be applied to coverage problems on the interval, including edge effects, and applications are given to metagenomic libraries and shotgun sequencing.

Coverage and Compliance of Mass Drug Administration in Lymphatic Filariasis: A Comparative Analysis in a District of West Bengal, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanmay Kanti Panja

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite several rounds of Mass Drug Administration (MDA as an elimination strategy of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF from India, still the coverage is far behind the required level of 85%.Objectives: The present study was carried out with the objectives to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA and their possible determinants. Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in Paschim Midnapur district of West Bengal, India for consecutive two years following MDA. Study participants were chosen by 30-cluster sampling technique. Data was collected by using pre-tested semi-structured proforma to assess the coverage and compliance of MDA along with possible determinants for non-attaining the expected coverage. Results: In the year 2009, coverage, compliance, coverage compliance gap (CCG and effective coverage was seen to be 84.1%, 70.5%, 29.5% and 59.3% respectively. In 2010, the results further deteriorated to 78.5%, 66.9%, 33.3% and 57% respectively. The poor coverage and compliance were attributed to improper training of service providers and lack of community awareness regarding MDA.Conclusion: The study emphasized supervised consumption, retraining of service providers before MDA activities, strengthening behaviour change communication strategy for community awareness. Advocacy by the program managers and policy makers towards prioritization of MDA program will make the story of filaria elimination a success.

Exploring Characteristics and Health Care Utilization Trends Among Individuals Who Fall in the Health Insurance Assistance Gap in a Medicaid Nonexpansion State.

Science.gov (United States)

Edward, Jean; Mir, Nageen; Monti, Denise; Shacham, Enbal; Politi, Mary C

2018-01-01

States that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the United States have seen a growth in the number of individuals who fall in the assistance gap, defined as having incomes above the Medicaid eligibility limit (≥44% of the federal poverty level) but below the lower limit (marketplace. The purpose of this article is to present findings from a secondary data analysis examining the characteristics of those who fell in the assistance gap ( n = 166) in Missouri, a Medicaid nonexpansion state, by comparing them with those who did not fall in the assistance gap ( n = 157). Participants completed online demographic questionnaires and self-reported measures of health and insurance status, health literacy, numeracy, and health insurance literacy. A select group completed a 1-year follow-up survey about health insurance enrollment and health care utilization. Compared with the nonassistance gap group, individuals in the assistance gap were more likely to have lower levels of education, have at least one chronic condition, be uninsured at baseline, and be seeking health care coverage for additional dependents. Individuals in the assistance gap had significantly lower annual incomes and higher annual premiums when compared with the nonassistance gap group and were less likely to be insured through the marketplace or other private insurance at the 1-year follow-up. Findings provide several practice and policy implications for expanding health insurance coverage, reducing costs, and improving access to care for underserved populations.

77 FR 4734 - Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance-Stillborn Child Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-31

... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 38 CFR Part 9 RIN 2900-AO30 Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance--Stillborn Child Coverage AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Proposed rule. SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI...

The effect of full coverage winglets on tip leakage aerodynamics over the plane tip in a turbine cascade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Woo; Cheon, Joo Hong; Zhang, Qiang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The effect of full coverage (FC) winglets on tip leakage aerodynamics is tested. • A qualitative tip gap flow model for the FC winglet is suggested. • The FC winglet of w/p = 10.55% is considered an optimal one for the plane tip. -- Abstract: The effect of full coverage (FC) winglets on tip leakage aerodynamics over the plane tip in a turbine cascade has been investigated with the variation of winglet width (w) up to w/p = 15.83% for a tip gap-to-span (chord) ratio of h/s = 1.36% (h/c = 2.0%). A qualitative tip gap flow model for the FC winglet is suggested on the bases of the near-tip surface flow visualizations. As w/p increases, the passage vortex tends to be weakened meanwhile the tip leakage vortex becomes stronger and wall-jet-like. With an increment of w/p, the mass-averaged aerodynamic loss all over the measurement plane decreases steeply up to w/p = 10.55% and then becomes almost unchanged. Thus, the FC winglet of w/p = 10.55% is considered an optimal one for the plane tip. With respect to the baseline plane tip without winglet, the maximum mass-averaged loss reduction by installing the FC winglet on the plane tip is still somewhat smaller than that by employing the cavity squealer rim on the plane tip surface

Top IS research on quality of transaction standards: a structured literature review to identify a research gap

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Folmer, E.J.A.; Berends, W.; Oude Luttighuis, P.; Hillegersberg, J. van

2009-01-01

This paper contains the results of a systematic literature review executed to determine the coverage of transaction standards in top information systems (IS) and management journals. Specifically, it aims to identify a research gap with respect to this topic. The top 25 journals are thoroughly

Innovative nuclear fuels and applications. Part 1: limits of today's fuels and concepts for innovative fuels. Part 2: materials properties, irradiation performance and gaps in our knowledge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matzke, H.

2000-01-01

Part I of this contribution on innovative nuclear fuels gives a summary of current developments and problems of today's fuels, i.e. enriched UO 2 and UO 2 with a few % of PUO 2 (MOX fuel) or Gd 2 O 3 (as burnable neutron poison). The problems and property changes caused by high burnups (e.g. degradation of the thermal conductivity, polygonization or formation of the rim-structure) are discussed. Subsequently, the concepts for new fuels to burn excess Pu and to achieve an effective transmutation of the minor actinides Np, Am and Cm are treated. The criteria for the choice of suitable fuels and different fuel types (high Pu-content fuels, nitrides, U-free fuels, inert matrix supported fuels, cercers, cermets, etc.) are discussed. Part II of this contribution on innovative nuclear fuels deals with the properties of relevance of the different materials suggested to be used in innovative fuels which range from pure actinide fuel such as PuN and AmO 2 to spinel MgAl 2 O 4 and zircon ZrSiO 4 for inert matrix-based fuels, etc. The available knowledge on materials research aspects is summarized with emphasis on the physics of radiation damage. It is shown that significant gaps in the present knowledge exist, e.g. for the minor actinide compounds, and suggestions are made to fill these gaps in order to achieve a sufficient data base to design and operate suitable innovative fuels in a near future. (author)

Estimation of measles vaccination coverage using the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) method--Tamilnadu, India, 2002-2003.

Science.gov (United States)

Sivasankaran, Saravanan; Manickam, P; Ramakrishnan, R; Hutin, Y; Gupte, M D

2006-04-28

As part of the global strategic plan to reduce the number of measles deaths in India, the state of Tamilnadu aims at > or =95% measles vaccination coverage. A study was conducted to measure overall coverage levels for the Poondi Primary Health Center (PPHC), a rural health-care facility in Tiruvallur District, and to determine whether any of the PPHC's six health subcenters had coverage levels LQAS) method was used to identify health subcenters in the PPHC area with measles vaccination coverage levels or =95%). All data were pooled in a stratified sample to estimate overall total coverage in the PPHC area. For two (33.3%) of the six health subcenters, more than two children were unvaccinated (i.e., coverage was LQAS techniques proved useful in identifying small health areas with lower vaccination coverage, which helps to target interventions. Monthly review of vaccination coverage by subcenter and village is recommended to identify pockets of unvaccinated children and to maintain uniform high coverage in the PPHC area.

Effects of QD surface coverage in solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

KAUST Repository

Roelofs, Katherine E.; Brennan, Thomas P.; Trejo, Orlando; Xu, John; Prinz, Fritz B.; Bent, Stacey F.

2013-01-01

Lead sulfide quantum dots (QDs) were grown in situ on nanoporous TiO 2 by successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and by atomic layer deposition (ALD), to fabricate solid-state quantum-dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). With the ultimate goal of increasing QD surface coverage, this work compares the impact of these two synthetic routes on the light absorption and electrical properties of devices. A higher current density was observed in the SILAR-grown QD devices under reverse bias, as compared to ALD-grown QD devices, attributed to injection problems of the lower-band-gap QDs present in the SILAR-grown QD device. To understand the effects of QD surface coverage on device performance, particularly interfacial recombination, electron lifetimes were measured for varying QD deposition cycles. Electron lifetimes were found to decrease with increasing SILAR cycles, indicating that the expected decrease in recombination between electrons in the TiO2 and holes in the hole-transport material, due to increased QD surface coverage, is not the dominant effect of increased deposition cycles. © 2013 IEEE.

Effects of QD surface coverage in solid-state PbS quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

KAUST Repository

Roelofs, Katherine E.

2013-06-01

Lead sulfide quantum dots (QDs) were grown in situ on nanoporous TiO 2 by successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and by atomic layer deposition (ALD), to fabricate solid-state quantum-dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). With the ultimate goal of increasing QD surface coverage, this work compares the impact of these two synthetic routes on the light absorption and electrical properties of devices. A higher current density was observed in the SILAR-grown QD devices under reverse bias, as compared to ALD-grown QD devices, attributed to injection problems of the lower-band-gap QDs present in the SILAR-grown QD device. To understand the effects of QD surface coverage on device performance, particularly interfacial recombination, electron lifetimes were measured for varying QD deposition cycles. Electron lifetimes were found to decrease with increasing SILAR cycles, indicating that the expected decrease in recombination between electrons in the TiO2 and holes in the hole-transport material, due to increased QD surface coverage, is not the dominant effect of increased deposition cycles. © 2013 IEEE.

An evaluation of coverage and compliance of mass drug administration 2006 for elimination of lymphatic filariasis in endemic areas of Gujarat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar Pradeep

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Mass drug administration (MDA means once-in-a-year administration of diethyl carbamazine (DEC tablet to all people (excluding children under 2 years, pregnant women and severely ill persons in identified endemic areas. It aims at cessation of transmission of lymphatic filariasis. Objective: What has been the coverage and compliance of MDA in Gujarat during the campaign in December 2006? Study Design: Cross-sectional population based house-to-house visit. Setting: Urban and rural areas in Gujarat identified as endemic for filariasis where MDA 2006 was undertaken. Study Variables: Exploratory - Rural and urban districts; Outcome - coverage, compliance, actual coverage, side effects. Analysis: Percentage and proportions. Results: Twenty-six clusters, each comprising 32 households from six endemic districts, yielded an eligible population of 4164. The coverage rate was 85.2% with variation across different areas. The compliance with drug ingestion was 89% with a gap of 11% to be targeted by intensive IEC. The effective coverage (75.8% was much below the target (85%. Side effects of DEC were minimum, transient and drug-specific. Overall coverage was marginally better in rural areas. The causes of poor coverage and compliance have been discussed and relevant suggestions have been made.

From the Kohn-Sham band gap to the fundamental gap in solids. An integer electron approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Baerends, E J

2017-06-21

It is often stated that the Kohn-Sham occupied-unoccupied gap in both molecules and solids is "wrong". We argue that this is not a correct statement. The KS theory does not allow to interpret the exact KS HOMO-LUMO gap as the fundamental gap (difference (I - A) of electron affinity (A) and ionization energy (I), twice the chemical hardness), from which it indeed differs, strongly in molecules and moderately in solids. The exact Kohn-Sham HOMO-LUMO gap in molecules is much below the fundamental gap and very close to the much smaller optical gap (first excitation energy), and LDA/GGA yield very similar gaps. In solids the situation is different: the excitation energy to delocalized excited states and the fundamental gap (I - A) are very similar, not so disparate as in molecules. Again the Kohn-Sham and LDA/GGA band gaps do not represent (I - A) but are significantly smaller. However, the special properties of an extended system like a solid make it very easy to calculate the fundamental gap from the ground state (neutral system) band structure calculations entirely within a density functional framework. The correction Δ from the KS gap to the fundamental gap originates from the response part v resp of the exchange-correlation potential and can be calculated very simply using an approximation to v resp . This affords a calculation of the fundamental gap at the same level of accuracy as other properties of crystals at little extra cost beyond the ground state bandstructure calculation. The method is based on integer electron systems, fractional electron systems (an ensemble of N- and (N + 1)-electron systems) and the derivative discontinuity are not invoked.

Constructing and Using Broad-coverage Lexical Resource for Enhancing Morphological Analysis of Arabic

OpenAIRE

Sawalha, M.; Atwell, E.S.

2010-01-01

Broad-coverage language resources which provide prior linguistic knowledge must improve the accuracy and the performance of NLP applications. We are constructing a broad-coverage lexical resource to improve the accuracy of morphological analyzers and part-of-speech taggers of Arabic text. Over the past 1200 years, many different kinds of Arabic language lexicons were constructed; these lexicons are different in ordering, size and aim or goal of construction. We collected 23 machine-readable l...

12 CFR 230.1 - Authority, purpose, coverage, and effect on state laws.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Authority, purpose, coverage, and effect on..., and effect on state laws. (a) Authority. This part, known as Regulation DD, is issued by the Board of... advertising rules in § 230.8 of this part apply to any person who advertises an account offered by a...

Treatment gaps in Parkinson's disease care in the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamora, Roland Dominic G; Miyasaki, Janis M

2017-08-01

Neurological services and resources are scarce in low-income and developing countries, such as the Philippines. We looked into the treatment gaps in Parkinson's disease (PD) care in the Philippines in the following areas: epidemiology, healthcare, financial coverage, pharmacotherapy, surgical treatment and manpower. We collected relevant data on the above-mentioned areas. There is no available Philippine data on PD prevalence. Philippine healthcare is paid through user fees at the point of service. The average consultation fee in Manila ranges from US$10.57-31.74. The average minimum daily wage is US$9.39-10.17. Philippine healthcare is devolved to the local government units. Deep brain stimulation surgery is only available in Manila. Most PD medications are available in the Philippines. There are only nine movement disorder specialists for a population of 100.98 million. Gaps and challenges in PD care in the Philippines still exist.

Finding the gap: revealing local disparities in coverage of maternal, newborn and child health services in South Sudan using lot quality assurance sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Valadez, Joseph J; Berendes, Sima; Lako, Richard; Gould, Simon; Vargas, William; Milner, Susan

2015-12-01

We adapted a rapid monitoring method to South Sudan, a new nation with one of the world's highest maternal and child mortality rates, aiming to assess coverage of maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) services at the time of independence, and introducing a monitoring and evaluation system (M&E) for equity-sensitive tracking of progress related to Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5 at national, state and county levels to detect local variability. We conducted a national cross-sectional household survey among women from six client populations in all, but six of South Sudan's 79 counties. We used lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) to measure coverage with diverse MNCH indicators to obtain information for national-, state- and county-level health system management decision-making. National coverage of MNCH services was low for all maternal and neonatal care, child immunisation, and child care indicators. However, results varied across states and counties. Central Equatoria State (CES), where the capital is located, showed the highest coverage for most indicators (e.g. ≥4 antenatal care visits range: 4.5% in Jonglei to 40.1% in CES). Urban counties often outperformed rural ones. This adaptation of LQAS to South Sudan demonstrates how it can be used in the future as an M&E system to track progress of MDGs at national, state and county levels to detect local disparities. Overall, our data reveal a desperate need for improving MNCH service coverage in all states. © 2015 The Authors.Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Peierls instability as the insulating origin of the Na/Si(111)-(3 × 1) surface with a Na coverage of 2/3 monolayers

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Myung Ho; Kwon, Se Gab; Jung, Sung Chul

2018-03-01

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to investigate the insulating origin of the Na/Si(111)-(3 × 1) surface with a Na coverage of 2/3 monolayers. In the coverage definition, one monolayer refers to one Na atom per surface Si atom, so this surface contains an odd number of electrons (i.e., three Si dangling-bond electrons plus two Na electrons) per 3 × 1 unit cell. Interestingly, this odd-electron surface has been ascribed to a Mott-Hubbard insulator to account for the measured insulating band structure with a gap of about 0.8 eV. Here, we instead propose a Peierls instability as the origin of the experimental band gap. The concept of Peierls instability is fundamental in one-dimensional metal systems but has not been taken into account in previous studies of this surface. Our DFT calculations demonstrate that the linear chain structure of Si dangling bonds in this surface is energetically unstable with respect to a × 2 buckling modulation, and the buckling-induced band gap of 0.79 eV explains well the measured insulating nature.

Dominant frames in legacy and social media coverage of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Saffron; Williams, Hywel T. P.; Kurz, Tim; Wiersma, Bouke; Boykoff, Maxwell

2015-04-01

The media are powerful agents that translate information across the science-policy interface, framing it for audiences. Yet frames are never neutral: they define an issue, identify causes, make moral judgements and shape proposed solutions. Here, we show how the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) was framed in UK and US broadcast and print coverage, and on Twitter. Coverage of IPCC Working Group I (WGI) was contested and politicized, employing the `Settled Science, Uncertain Science, Political or Ideological Struggle and Role of Science’ frames. WGII coverage commonly used Disaster or Security. More diverse frames were employed for WGII and WGIII, including Economics and Morality and Ethics. Framing also varied by media institution: for example, the BBC used Uncertain Science, whereas Channel 4 did not. Coverage varied by working group, with WGIII gaining far less coverage than WGI or WGII. We suggest that media coverage and framing of AR5 was influenced by its sequential three-part structure and by the availability of accessible narratives and visuals. We recommend that these communication lessons be applied to future climate science reports.

Method for Bubbledeck Concrete Slab with Gaps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergiu Călin

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The composite slabs are made of BubbleDeck type slab elements with spherical gaps, poured in place on transversal and longitudinal directions. By introducing the gaps leads to a 30...50\\% lighter slab which reduces the loads on the columns, walls and foundations, and of course of the entire building. BubbleDeck slab elements are plates with ribs on two directions made of reinforced concrete or precast concrete with spherical shaped bubbles. These slab elements have a bottom and an upper concrete part connected with vertical ribs that go around the gaps.

Gender Wage Gap and Segregation in Late Transition

OpenAIRE

Stepan Jurajda

2001-01-01

Transition countries hoping to join the European Union are in the process of introducing western-type anti-discrimination policies aimed at reducing the gender wage gap. The efficacy of these policies depends on the relative size of those elements of the gap they target; therefore, it is important to quantify these parts. In this Paper, large matched employer-employee data sets from the Czech Republic and Slovakia are used to provide such detailed gender wage gap decomposition. The results, b...

Coverage Metrics for Model Checking

Science.gov (United States)

Penix, John; Visser, Willem; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

When using model checking to verify programs in practice, it is not usually possible to achieve complete coverage of the system. In this position paper we describe ongoing research within the Automated Software Engineering group at NASA Ames on the use of test coverage metrics to measure partial coverage and provide heuristic guidance for program model checking. We are specifically interested in applying and developing coverage metrics for concurrent programs that might be used to support certification of next generation avionics software.

Hydrocarbon deposition in gaps of tungsten and graphite tiles in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak edge plasma parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Qian; Yang Zhongshi; Luo Guangnan

2015-01-01

The three-dimensional (3D) Monte Carlo code PIC-EDDY has been utilized to investigate the mechanism of hydrocarbon deposition in gaps of tungsten tiles in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), where the sheath potential is calculated by the 2D in space and 3D in velocity particle-in-cell method. The calculated results for graphite tiles using the same method are also presented for comparison. Calculation results show that the amount of carbon deposited in the gaps of carbon tiles is three times larger than that in the gaps of tungsten tiles when the carbon particles from re-erosion on the top surface of monoblocks are taken into account. However, the deposition amount is found to be larger in the gaps of tungsten tiles at the same CH 4 flux. When chemical sputtering becomes significant as carbon coverage on tungsten increases with exposure time, the deposition inside the gaps of tungsten tiles would be considerable. (author)

Presidential inability: Filling in the gaps.

Science.gov (United States)

Feerick, John D

2014-01-01

This article focuses on potential gaps caused by the absence from the Twenty-Fifth Amendment of provisions to deal with the disability of a Vice President and the omission from the statutory line of succession law of provisions comparable to Sections 3 and 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment for when there is an able Vice President. The analysis offers a critical review of the latent ambiguities in the succession provision to the United States Constitution, noting problems that have arisen from the time of the Constitutional Convention, to John Tyler's accession to office, to numerous disability crises that presented themselves throughout the twentieth century, to the present day. As the world becomes more complex and threats to the presidency more common, continued examination of our succession structure and its adequacy for establishing clear and effective presidential succession provisions under a broad range of circumstances is of paramount concern. This article embraces this robust discussion by offering some suggestions for improving the system in a way that does not require a constitutional amendment. The first part of the analysis traces the events that have driven the development of the nation's succession procedures. The second part examines the inadequacies, or "gaps," that remain in the area of presidential inability, and the third part sets forth recommendations for resolving these gaps.

"Mind the gap!" Evaluation of the performance gap attributable to exception reporting and target thresholds in the new GMS contract: National database analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cookson Richard

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The 2003 revision of the UK GMS contract rewards general practices for performance against clinical quality indicators. Practices can exempt patients from treatment, and can receive maximum payment for less than full coverage of eligible patients. This paper aims to estimate the gap between the percentage of maximum incentive gained and the percentage of patients receiving indicated care (the pay-performance gap, and to estimate how much of the gap is attributable respectively to thresholds and to exception reporting. Methods Analysis of Quality Outcomes Framework data in the National Primary Care Database and exception reporting data from the Information Centre from 8407 practices in England in 2005 – 6. The main outcome measures were the gap between the percentage of maximum incentive gained and the percentage of patients receiving indicated care at the practice level, both for individual indicators and a combined composite score. An additional outcome was the percentage of that gap attributable respectively to exception reporting and maximum threshold targets set at less than 100%. Results The mean pay-performance gap for the 65 aggregated clinical indicators was 13.3% (range 2.9% to 48%. 52% of this gap (6.9% of eligible patients is attributable to thresholds being set at less than 100%, and 48% to patients being exception reported. The gap was greater than 25% in 9 indicators: beta blockers and cholesterol control in heart disease; cholesterol control in stroke; influenza immunization in asthma; blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol control in diabetes; seizures in epilepsy and treatment of hypertension. Conclusion Threshold targets and exception reporting introduce an incentive ceiling, which substantially reduces the percentage of eligible patients that UK practices need to treat in order to receive maximum incentive payments for delivering that care. There are good clinical reasons for exception reporting, but after

Rising Prices of Targeted Oral Anticancer Medications and Associated Financial Burden on Medicare Beneficiaries.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Ya-Chen Tina; Xu, Ying; Liu, Lei; Smieliauskas, Fabrice

2017-08-01

Purpose The high cost of oncology drugs threatens the affordability of cancer care. Previous research identified drivers of price growth of targeted oral anticancer medications (TOAMs) in private insurance plans and projected the impact of closing the coverage gap in Medicare Part D in 2020. This study examined trends in TOAM prices and patient out-of-pocket (OOP) payments in Medicare Part D and estimated the actual effects on patient OOP payments of partial filling of the coverage gap by 2012. Methods Using SEER linked to Medicare Part D, 2007 to 2012, we identified patients who take TOAMs via National Drug Codes in Part D claims. We calculated total drug costs (prices) and OOP payments per patient per month and compared their rates of inflation with general health care prices. Results The study cohort included 42,111 patients who received TOAMs between 2007 and 2012. Although the general prescription drug consumer price index grew at 3% per year over 2007 to 2012, mean TOAM prices increased by nearly 12% per year, reaching $7,719 per patient per month in 2012. Prices increased over time for newly and previously launched TOAMs. Mean patient OOP payments dropped by 4% per year over the study period, with a 40% drop among patients with a high financial burden in 2011, when the coverage gap began to close. Conclusion Rising TOAM prices threaten the financial relief patients have begun to experience under closure of the coverage gap in Medicare Part D. Policymakers should explore methods of harnessing the surge of novel TOAMs to increase price competition for Medicare beneficiaries.

Effects of urban grass coverage on rainfall-induced runoff in Xi'an loess region in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Li

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this study, laboratory rainfall simulation experiments were conducted to investigate the regulatory effects of grass coverage on rainfall-runoff processes. A total of 80 grass blocks planted with well-grown manilagrass, together with their root systems, were sampled from an eastern suburban area of Xi'an City in the northwest arid area of China and sent to a laboratory for rainfall simulation experiments. The runoff and infiltration processes of a slope with different grass coverage ratios and vegetation patterns were analyzed. The results show that the runoff coefficient decreases with the increase of the grass coverage ratio, and the influence of grass coverage on the reduction of runoff shows a high degree of spatial variation. At a constant grass coverage ratio, as the area of grass coverage moves downward, the runoff coefficient, total runoff, and flood peak discharge gradually decrease, and the flood peak occurs later. With the increase of the grass coverage ratio, the flood peak discharge gradually decreases, and the flood peak occurs later as well. In conclusion, a high grass coverage ratio with the area of grass coverage located at the lower part of the slope will lead to satisfactory regulatory effects on rainfall-induced runoff.

5 CFR 890.1106 - Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... family member is an individual whose relationship to the enrollee meets the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 8901... EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Temporary Continuation of Coverage § 890.1106 Coverage. (a) Type of enrollment. An individual who enrolls under this subpart may elect coverage for self alone or self and family...

29 CFR 801.3 - Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coverage. 801.3 Section 801.3 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OTHER LAWS APPLICATION OF THE EMPLOYEE POLYGRAPH PROTECTION ACT OF 1988 General § 801.3 Coverage. (a) The coverage of the Act extends to “any...

Coverage-based constraints for IMRT optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Mescher, H.; Ulrich, S.; Bangert, M.

2017-09-01

Radiation therapy treatment planning requires an incorporation of uncertainties in order to guarantee an adequate irradiation of the tumor volumes. In current clinical practice, uncertainties are accounted for implicitly with an expansion of the target volume according to generic margin recipes. Alternatively, it is possible to account for uncertainties by explicit minimization of objectives that describe worst-case treatment scenarios, the expectation value of the treatment or the coverage probability of the target volumes during treatment planning. In this note we show that approaches relying on objectives to induce a specific coverage of the clinical target volumes are inevitably sensitive to variation of the relative weighting of the objectives. To address this issue, we introduce coverage-based constraints for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning. Our implementation follows the concept of coverage-optimized planning that considers explicit error scenarios to calculate and optimize patient-specific probabilities q(\\hat{d}, \\hat{v}) of covering a specific target volume fraction \\hat{v} with a certain dose \\hat{d} . Using a constraint-based reformulation of coverage-based objectives we eliminate the trade-off between coverage and competing objectives during treatment planning. In-depth convergence tests including 324 treatment plan optimizations demonstrate the reliability of coverage-based constraints for varying levels of probability, dose and volume. General clinical applicability of coverage-based constraints is demonstrated for two cases. A sensitivity analysis regarding penalty variations within this planing study based on IMRT treatment planning using (1) coverage-based constraints, (2) coverage-based objectives, (3) probabilistic optimization, (4) robust optimization and (5) conventional margins illustrates the potential benefit of coverage-based constraints that do not require tedious adjustment of target volume objectives.

The environment in the headlines. Newspaper coverage of climate change and euthropication in Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lyytimaeki, J.

2009-07-01

Media representations are an important part of the dynamics of contemporary socio-ecological systems. The media agenda influences and interacts with the public and the policy agenda and all of these are connected to the changes of the state of the environment. Partly as a result of media debate, some issues are considered serious environmental problems, some risks are amplified while others are attenuated, and some proposals for remedies are highlighted and others downplayed. Research on environmental media coverage has focused predominantly on the English-speaking industrialised countries. This thesis presents an analysis of Finnish environmental coverage, focusing on representations of climate change and eutrophication from 1990- 2010. The main source of material is Helsingin Sanomat (HS), the most widely-read newspaper in Finland. The analysis adopts the perspective of contextual constructivism and the agenda-setting function of the mass media. Selected models describing the evolution of environmental coverage are applied within an interdisciplinary emphasis. The results show that the amount of newspaper content on eutrophication and climate change has generally increased, although both debates have been characterised by intense fluctuations. The volume of the coverage on climate change has been higher than that of eutrophication, especially since 2006. Eutrophication was highlighted most during the late 1990s while the peaks of climate coverage occurred between 2007 and 2009. Two key factors have shaped the coverage of eutrophication. First, the coverage is shaped by ecological factors, especially by the algal occurrences that are largely dependent on weather conditions. Second, the national algal monitoring and communication system run by environmental authorities has provided the media with easy-to-use data on the algal situation during the summertime. The peaks of climate coverage have been caused by an accumulation of several contributing factors. The two

Attaining higher coverage: obstacles to overcome. English-speaking Caribbean and Suriname.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-12-01

In 1983, 8 (42%) of the 19 English-speaking Caribbean countries (including Suriname) achieved at least 50% coverage with 3 doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine among children under 1 year of age and 6 countries (32%) had at least 50% coverage with 3 doses of trivalent oral polio vaccine (TOPV). In addition, 10 countries (53%) achieved over 75% DPT coverage and 11 (58%) achieved over 75% TOPV coverage. Despite this record of progress, several factors continue to impede further gains in immunization coverage. Of particular concern is the high dropout rate. As many as 25% of infants receive their 1st dose of DPT and TOPV but do not return to complete their course of immunization. There is also a need for each health center to estimate its annual target population for immunization every year through analysis of the total live births from the previous year in the health center's catchment area (minus infant mortality). Monthly target figures can thus be computed and coverage monitored. A further problem has been a reluctance on the part of some health workers to administer vaccines simultaneously. This does not reduce effectiveness or increase the risk of complications, and reduces the number of visits needed to complete the immunization schedule. An unresolved question is whether to immunize ill or malnourished children. Decisions on this matter should take into account the availability and accessibility of health care services, the ability to follow-up children who are not immunized, and the likelihood that children will return for subsequent immunizations. Finally, a number of immunizations performed by private practitioners and institutions are not reported. Both public and private health care providers should agree on a standardized reporting format to allow better estimation of coverage.

Research gaps identified during systematic reviews of clinical trials: glass-ionomer cements.

Science.gov (United States)

Mickenautsch, Steffen

2012-06-29

To report the results of an audit concerning research gaps in clinical trials that were accepted for appraisal in authored and published systematic reviews regarding the application of glass-ionomer cements (GIC) in dental practice Information concerning research gaps in trial precision was extracted, following a framework that included classification of the research gap reasons: 'imprecision of information (results)', 'biased information', 'inconsistency or unknown consistency' and 'not the right information', as well as research gap characterization using PICOS elements: population (P), intervention (I), comparison (C), outcomes (O) and setting (S). Internal trial validity assessment was based on the understanding that successful control for systematic error cannot be assured on the basis of inclusion of adequate methods alone, but also requires empirical evidence about whether such attempt was successful. A comprehensive and interconnected coverage of GIC-related clinical topics was established. The most common reasons found for gaps in trial precision were lack of sufficient trials and lack of sufficient large sample size. Only a few research gaps were ascribed to 'Lack of information' caused by focus on mainly surrogate trial outcomes. According to the chosen assessment criteria, a lack of adequate randomisation, allocation concealment and blinding/masking in trials covering all reviewed GIC topics was noted (selection- and detection/performance bias risk). Trial results appear to be less affected by loss-to-follow-up (attrition bias risk). This audit represents an adjunct of the systematic review articles it has covered. Its results do not change the systematic review's conclusions but highlight existing research gaps concerning the precision and internal validity of reviewed trials in detail. These gaps should be addressed in future GIC-related clinical research.

The Moderating Effects of Ethnicity and Employment Type on Insurance Coverage: Four Asian Subgroups in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Duy; Choi, Sunha; Park, So Young

2015-10-01

Despite nearly universal insurance coverage for older Americans over the age of 65, the preretirement age cohort is susceptible to gaps in coverage. Related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), this study investigated heterogeneity in insurance status for preretirement Asian immigrants by examining the interacting effects of Asian ethnicity and employment type, which is a major factor that determines an individual's insurance status in the U.S. Data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey, which included 1,024 Asians between the ages of 50 and 64, were analyzed. Our findings indicate significant moderating effects of employment type and Asian ethnicity. However, regardless of employment type, Koreans had the highest rate of being uninsured. To effectively reach the ACA's goal of reducing the number of uninsured individuals, targeted interventions specific to Asian subgroups are essential. © The Author(s) 2013.

Needs-based gap analysis for service transformation in the Eastern Cape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiran Sukeri

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Part I of this research article presents a needs-based analysis for the management of schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder and major depression for the Eastern Cape (EC Province, South Africa. This part of the research paper focuses on quantifying human resources and bed needs for these three severe mental illnesses. Human resource expenditure is calculated for nursing staff at acute, ambulatory and medium-to-long-stay services. A further objective was to conduct a gap analysis for human resources and beds for the EC in order to assist mental health planners in the commissioning of services.  Methods. Data from previous research conducted in the province, and international and national epidemiological studies were utilised to quantify the requirements for human resources (psychiatrists, medical officers/registrars, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers and beds for acute, medium-to-long-stay and ambulatory services at provincial and regional levels, to provide mental healthcare. The authors focused on three of the eight priority conditions set by the World Health Organization. A target coverage rate of 80% was used in all calculations. A gap analysis was conducted to demonstrate deficits and excesses, utilising available data on human resources and beds available in the province. Results. The results showed that the districts of Alfred Nzo and Ukhahlamba have no human resources or beds for the provision of mental health services. The province has a deficit of 23 psychiatrists and 243 nurses trained in psychiatry, and an oversupply of 486 other nurses. The results also clearly demonstrated an inequitable distribution of resources in the province.  Conclusions. This is the first study that has provided detailed estimates of human resource and bed deficits in the EC. The study demonstrates that the areas of greatest need in terms of bed and human resource requirements are in the eastern regions of the

The Elon Gap Experience: A Transformative First-Year Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Stephen T.; Burr, Katherine H.; Waters, Rexford A.; Hall, Eric E.

2016-01-01

The Elon Gap Experience (EGE) was conceived out of Elon University's most recent strategic plan, the Elon Commitment (Elon University, 2009). One theme calls for "strategic and innovative pathways in undergraduate and graduate education," specifically "to launch a service program as part of a gap-year program" (Elon University,…

Policy Choices for Progressive Realization of Universal Health Coverage Comment on "Ethical Perspective: Five Unacceptable Trade-offs on the Path to Universal Health Coverage".

Science.gov (United States)

Tangcharoensathien, Viroj; Patcharanarumol, Walaiporn; Panichkriangkrai, Warisa; Sommanustweechai, Angkana

2016-07-31

In responses to Norheim's editorial, this commentary offers reflections from Thailand, how the five unacceptable trade-offs were applied to the universal health coverage (UHC) reforms between 1975 and 2002 when the whole 64 million people were covered by one of the three public health insurance systems. This commentary aims to generate global discussions on how best UHC can be gradually achieved. Not only the proposed five discrete trade-offs within each dimension, there are also trade-offs between the three dimensions of UHC such as population coverage, service coverage and cost coverage. Findings from Thai UHC show that equity is applied for the population coverage extension, when the low income households and the informal sector were the priority population groups for coverage extension by different prepayment schemes in 1975 and 1984, respectively. With an exception of public sector employees who were historically covered as part of fringe benefits were covered well before the poor. The private sector employees were covered last in 1990. Historically, Thailand applied a comprehensive benefit package where a few items are excluded using the negative list; until there was improved capacities on technology assessment that cost-effectiveness are used for the inclusion of new interventions into the benefit package. Not only cost-effectiveness, but long term budget impact, equity and ethical considerations are taken into account. Cost coverage is mostly determined by the fiscal capacities. Close ended budget with mix of provider payment methods are used as a tool for trade-off service coverage and financial risk protection. Introducing copayment in the context of fee-for-service can be harmful to beneficiaries due to supplier induced demands, inefficiency and unpredictable out of pocket payment by households. UHC achieves favorable outcomes as it was implemented when there was a full geographical coverage of primary healthcare coverage in all districts and sub

5 CFR 890.401 - Temporary extension of coverage and conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... exercise the right of conversion provided for by this part. The 31-day extension of coverage and the right... benefits with respect to that person while he or she is entitled to any inpatient benefits under the prior... Program contract on the day after the day all inpatient benefits have been exhausted under the prior plan...

The Coverage of the Holocaust in High School History Textbooks

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, David

2009-01-01

The Holocaust is now a regular part of high school history curricula throughout the United States and, as a result, coverage of the Holocaust has become a standard feature of high school textbooks. As with any major event, it is important for textbooks to provide a rigorously accurate and valid historical account. In dealing with the Holocaust,…

[Quantification of acetabular coverage in normal adult].

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, R M; Yang, C Y; Yu, C Y; Yang, C R; Chang, G L; Chou, Y L

1991-03-01

Quantification of acetabular coverage is important and can be expressed by superimposition of cartilage tracings on the maximum cross-sectional area of the femoral head. A practical Autolisp program on PC AutoCAD has been developed by us to quantify the acetabular coverage through numerical expression of the images of computed tomography. Thirty adults (60 hips) with normal center-edge angle and acetabular index in plain X ray were randomly selected for serial drops. These slices were prepared with a fixed coordination and in continuous sections of 5 mm in thickness. The contours of the cartilage of each section were digitized into a PC computer and processed by AutoCAD programs to quantify and characterize the acetabular coverage of normal and dysplastic adult hips. We found that a total coverage ratio of greater than 80%, an anterior coverage ratio of greater than 75% and a posterior coverage ratio of greater than 80% can be categorized in a normal group. Polar edge distance is a good indicator for the evaluation of preoperative and postoperative coverage conditions. For standardization and evaluation of acetabular coverage, the most suitable parameters are the total coverage ratio, anterior coverage ratio, posterior coverage ratio and polar edge distance. However, medial coverage and lateral coverage ratios are indispensable in cases of dysplastic hip because variations between them are so great that acetabuloplasty may be impossible. This program can also be used to classify precisely the type of dysplastic hip.

75 FR 34537 - Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-17

... 45 CFR Part 147 Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a... for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan... and Insurance Oversight, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Interim final rules with...

Cooperative Cloud Service Aware Mobile Internet Coverage Connectivity Guarantee Protocol Based on Sensor Opportunistic Coverage Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qin Qin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the Internet coverage ratio and provide connectivity guarantee, based on sensor opportunistic coverage mechanism and cooperative cloud service, we proposed the coverage connectivity guarantee protocol for mobile Internet. In this scheme, based on the opportunistic covering rules, the network coverage algorithm of high reliability and real-time security was achieved by using the opportunity of sensor nodes and the Internet mobile node. Then, the cloud service business support platform is created based on the Internet application service management capabilities and wireless sensor network communication service capabilities, which is the architecture of the cloud support layer. The cooperative cloud service aware model was proposed. Finally, we proposed the mobile Internet coverage connectivity guarantee protocol. The results of experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has excellent performance, in terms of the security of the Internet and the stability, as well as coverage connectivity ability.

Interpreting wage gaps of disabled men: the roles of productivity and discrimination

OpenAIRE

Longhi, Simonetta; Nicoletti, Cheti; Platt, Lucinda

2010-01-01

Using the UK Labour Force Survey, we study wage gaps for disabled men after the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act. We estimate wage gaps at the mean and at different quantiles of the wage distribution, and decompose them into the part explained by differences in workers' and job characteristics, the part that can be ascribed to health-related reduced productivity, and a residual part which we can more confidently interpret as discrimination. For physically disabled workers, mo...

Interaction of the Bragg gap with polaritonic gap in opal photonic crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Nayer, Eradat; Sivachenko, Andrey Yu; Li, Sergey; Raikh, Mikhail E.; Valy Vardeny, Z.

2001-03-01

Photonic crystals (PC) are a class of artificial structures with a periodic dielectric function. PCs can be a laboratory for testing fundamental processes involving interactions of radiation with matter in novel conditions. We have studied the optical properties of opal PCs that are infiltrated with highly polarizable media such as j-aggregates of cyanine dyes. Opals are self- assembled structures of silica (SiO_2) spheres. We report our studies on clarifying the relationship between a polaritonic gap and a photonic stop band (Bragg gap) when they resonantly coexist in the same structure. Infiltration of opal with polarizable molecules combines the polaritonic and Bragg diffractive effects. Both effects exist independently when the Bragg (at ω=ω_B) and polaritonic (at ω=ω_T) resonances are well separated in frequency. A completely different situation occurs when ωT =ω_B. Such a condition was achieved in opals that were infiltrated with J-aggregates of cyanine dyes that have large Rabi frequency. Our measurements show some dramatic changes in the shape of the reflectivity plateaus, which are due to the interplay between the photonic band gap and the polaritonic gap. The experimental results on reflectivity and its dependence on the light propagation angle and concentration of the cyanie dyes are in agreement with the theoretical calculations. (The work was supported in part by Army Research office DAAD19-00-1-0406.)

Study of natural convection characteristics in a narrow annular gap in (Part 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narahara, Nobuyuki; Uotani, Masaki; Kinoshita, Izumi

1986-01-01

To clarify the characteristics of natural convection in a narrow annular gap at the roof-slab penetrations in pool-type LMFBR, preliminary and visualization experiments were carried out. The results are summarized as follows. (1) In the preliminary experiment having the upper and bottom closed annular space nondimensional circumferential temperature difference increases with gap width decreasing, and decreses with Rayleigh number increasing at the range of rayleigh number 10 10 to 10 11 . (2) In the visualization experiment, which consists the upper and bottom closed annular space type apparatus and the upper-closed bottom-open type apparatus, flow pattern and its effect at temperature distribution are clarified. (author)

[Response of forest bird communities to forest gap in winter in southwestern China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dong-Dong; Wu, Ying-Huan; Lu, Zhou; Jiang, Guang-Wei; Zhou, Fang

2013-06-01

Although forest gap ecology is an important field of study, research remains limited. By plot setting and point counted observation, the response of birds to forest gaps in winter as well as bird distribution patterns in forest gaps and intact canopies were studied in a north tropical monsoon forest of southwestern China from November 2011 to February 2012 in the Fangcheng Golden Camellia National Nature Reserve, Guangxi. The regression equation of bird species diversity to habitat factor was Y1=0.611+0.002 X13+0.043 X2+0.002 X5-0.003 X8+0.006 X10+0.008 X1 and the regression equation of bird species dominance index to habitat factor was Y3=0.533+0.001 X13+0.019 X2+0.002 X3-0.017 X4+0.002 X1. There were 45 bird species (2 orders and 13 families) recorded in the forest gap, accounting for 84.9% of all birds (n=45), with an average of 9.6 species (range: 2-22). Thirty-nine bird species (5 orders and 14 families) were recorded in non-gap areas, accounting for 73.6% of all birds (n=39), with an average of 5.3 species (range: 1-12). These results suggested that gap size, arbor average height (10 m from gap margin), arbor quantity (10 m from gap margin), shrub quantity (10 m from gap margin), herbal average coverage (1 m from gap margin) and bare land ratio were the key forest gap factors that influenced bird diversities. On the whole, bird diversity in the forest gap was greater than in the intact canopy. Spatial distributions in the forest gaps were also observed in the bird community. Most birds foraged in the "middle" and "canopy" layers in the vertical stratification. In addition, "nearly from" and "close from" contained more birds in relation to horizontal stratification. Feeding niche differentiation was suggested as the main reason for these distribution patterns.

Generation Gap Management in Restructured Metallurgical Enterprises in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gajdzik Bożena

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper concerns the problem of generation gap management resulting from personnel restructuring in foundries in Poland. Structural changes to steelworks led to a sharp decline in employment caused by decreased steelworks production. New hiring was limited as a part of employment rationalisation in the steelworks sector. Such personnel policy eventually led to a generation gap. Ratios between individual age groups of employees are imbalanced at steelworks: the numbers of young personnel are low and of those aged 50+ are high. This research forecasts changes in employment levels for the 2013-2019 period, aimed at closing the generation gap. The paper consists of three parts: (1 a descriptive analysis of labor market demographics in Poland’s steel industry; (2 proposed methodology for HR management model, and (3 econometric models forecasting labor demographics in Poland’s steel industry.

Religious subgroups influencing vaccination coverage in the Dutch Bible belt: an ecological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruijs, Wilhelmina L M; Hautvast, Jeannine L A; van der Velden, Koos; de Vos, Sjoerd; Knippenberg, Hans; Hulscher, Marlies E J L

2011-02-14

two very conservative OPDs. As variance in municipal vaccination coverage in the Bible belt is largely explained by membership ratios of the various OPDs, control of vaccine preventable diseases should be focused on these specific risk groups. In current policy part of the orthodox protestant risk group is missed.

Preliminary test of 5-gap glass multi-gap resistive plate chamber for photon detection for time of flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET) imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganai, R.; Mondal, M.; Mehta, S.; Chattopadhyay, S.

2016-01-01

Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) is a type of gas detector which uses constant and uniform electric field in between several high resistive electrodes and works on the principle of gas ionisation. In MRPC a particular gas gap is divided into several parts with the help of thin high resistive electrodes. Division of the gas gap helps to improve the time resolution of the detector significantly. MRPCs with time resolution of ∼15 ps have been reported

Use of comparative effectiveness research in drug coverage and pricing decisions: a six-country comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorenson, Corinna

2010-07-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has assumed an increasing role in drug coverage and, in some cases, pricing decisions in Europe, as decision-makers seek to obtain better value for money. This issue brief comparatively examines the use of CER across six countries--Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. With CER gaining traction in the United States, these international experiences offer insights and potential lessons. Investing in CER can help address the current gap in publicly available, credible, up-to-date, and scientifically based comparative information on the effectiveness of drugs and other health interventions. This information can be used to base coverage and pricing decisions on evidence of value, thereby facilitating access to and public and private investment in the most beneficial new drugs and technologies. In turn, use of CER creates incentives for more efficient, high-quality health care and encourages development of innovative products that offer measurable value to patients.

Research gaps identified during systematic reviews of clinical trials: glass-ionomer cements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mickenautsch Steffen

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To report the results of an audit concerning research gaps in clinical trials that were accepted for appraisal in authored and published systematic reviews regarding the application of glass-ionomer cements (GIC in dental practice Methods Information concerning research gaps in trial precision was extracted, following a framework that included classification of the research gap reasons: ‘imprecision of information (results’, ‘biased information’, ‘inconsistency or unknown consistency’ and ‘not the right information’, as well as research gap characterization using PICOS elements: population (P, intervention (I, comparison (C, outcomes (O and setting (S. Internal trial validity assessment was based on the understanding that successful control for systematic error cannot be assured on the basis of inclusion of adequate methods alone, but also requires empirical evidence about whether such attempt was successful. Results A comprehensive and interconnected coverage of GIC-related clinical topics was established. The most common reasons found for gaps in trial precision were lack of sufficient trials and lack of sufficient large sample size. Only a few research gaps were ascribed to ‘Lack of information’ caused by focus on mainly surrogate trial outcomes. According to the chosen assessment criteria, a lack of adequate randomisation, allocation concealment and blinding/masking in trials covering all reviewed GIC topics was noted (selection- and detection/performance bias risk. Trial results appear to be less affected by loss-to-follow-up (attrition bias risk. Conclusion This audit represents an adjunct of the systematic review articles it has covered. Its results do not change the systematic review’s conclusions but highlight existing research gaps concerning the precision and internal validity of reviewed trials in detail. These gaps should be addressed in future GIC-related clinical research.

Gap Dynamics and Structure of Two Old-Growth Beech Forest Remnants in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Rugani, Tihomir; Diaci, Jurij; Hladnik, David

2013-01-01

Context Due to a long history of intensive forest exploitation, few European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) old-growth forests have been preserved in Europe. Material and Methods We studied two beech forest reserves in southern Slovenia. We examined the structural characteristics of the two forest reserves based on data from sample plots and complete inventory obtained from four previous forest management plans. To gain a better understanding of disturbance dynamics, we used aerial imagery to study the characteristics of canopy gaps over an 11-year period in the Kopa forest reserve and a 20-year period in the Gorjanci forest reserve. Results The results suggest that these forests are structurally heterogeneous over small spatial scales. Gap size analysis showed that gaps smaller than 500 m2 are the dominant driving force of stand development. The percentage of forest area in canopy gaps ranged from 3.2 to 4.5% in the Kopa forest reserve and from 9.1 to 10.6% in the Gorjanci forest reserve. These forests exhibit relatively high annual rates of coverage by newly established (0.15 and 0.25%) and closed (0.08 and 0.16%) canopy gaps. New gap formation is dependant on senescent trees located throughout the reserve. Conclusion We conclude that these stands are not even-sized, but rather unevenly structured. This is due to the fact that the disturbance regime is characterized by low intensity, small-scale disturbances. PMID:23308115

29 CFR 2.13 - Audiovisual coverage prohibited.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audiovisual coverage prohibited. 2.13 Section 2.13 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GENERAL REGULATIONS Audiovisual Coverage of Administrative Hearings § 2.13 Audiovisual coverage prohibited. The Department shall not permit audiovisual coverage of the...

A road map for universal coverage: finding a pass through the financial mountains.

Science.gov (United States)

Sessions, Samuel Y; Lee, Philip R

2008-04-01

Government already pays for more than half of U.S. health care costs, and nearly all universal health insurance proposals assume continued government involvement through tax subsidies and other means. The question of what specific taxes could be used to finance universal coverage is, however, seldom carefully examined, in part due to efforts by health care reform proponents to downplay tax issues. In this article we undertake such an examination. We argue that the challenges of relying on taxes for universal coverage are even greater than is generally appreciated, but that they can nevertheless be met. A proposal to fund a universal health insurance voucher system with a value-added tax illustrates issues that would arise for tax-financed plans in general and provides a broad framework for a bipartisan approach to universal coverage. We discuss significant problems that such an approach would face and suggest solutions. We outline a long-term political and legislative strategy for enacting universal coverage that draws upon precedents set by comparable legislative initiatives, including tax reform and Medicare. The results are an improved understanding of the relationship between systemic health care finance reform and taxation and a politically realistic plan for universal coverage that employs undisguised taxes.

Long Work Hours, Part-Time Work, and Trends in the Gender Gap in Pay, the Motherhood Wage Penalty, and the Fatherhood Wage Premium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim A. Weeden

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We assess how changes in the social organization and compensation of work hours over the last three decades are associated with changes in wage differentials among mothers, fathers, childless women, and childless men. We find that large differences between gender and parental status groups in long work hours (fifty or more per week, coupled with sharply rising hourly wages for long work hours, contributed to rising gender gaps in wages (especially among parents, motherhood wage penalties, and fatherhood wage premiums. Changes in the representation of these groups in part-time work, by contrast, is associated with a decline in the gender gap in wages among parents and in the motherhood wage penalty, but an increase in the fatherhood wage premium. These findings offer important clues into why gender and family wage differentials still persist.

Full-Coverage High-Resolution Daily PM(sub 2.5) Estimation using MAIAC AOD in the Yangtze River Delta of China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Qingyang; Wang, Yujie; Chang, Howard H.; Meng, Xia; Geng, Guannan; Lyapustin, Alexei Ivanovich; Liu, Yang

2017-01-01

Satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been used to assess population exposure to fine particulate matter (PM (sub 2.5)). The emerging high-resolution satellite aerosol product, Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction(MAIAC), provides a valuable opportunity to characterize local-scale PM(sub 2.5) at 1-km resolution. However, non-random missing AOD due to cloud snow cover or high surface reflectance makes this task challenging. Previous studies filled the data gap by spatially interpolating neighboring PM(sub 2.5) measurements or predictions. This strategy ignored the effect of cloud cover on aerosol loadings and has been shown to exhibit poor performance when monitoring stations are sparse or when there is seasonal large-scale missngness. Using the Yangtze River Delta of China as an example, we present a Multiple Imputation (MI) method that combines the MAIAC high-resolution satellite retrievals with chemical transport model (CTM) simulations to fill missing AOD. A two-stage statistical model driven by gap-filled AOD, meteorology and land use information was then fitted to estimate daily ground PM(sub 2.5) concentrations in 2013 and 2014 at 1 km resolution with complete coverage in space and time. The daily MI models have an average R(exp 2) of 0.77, with an inter-quartile range of 0.71 to 0.82 across days. The overall Ml model 10-fold cross-validation R(exp 2) (root mean square error) were 0.81 (25 gm(exp 3)) and 0.73 (18 gm(exp 3)) for year 2013 and 2014, respectively. Predictions with only observational AOD or only imputed AOD showed similar accuracy.Comparing with previous gap-filling methods, our MI method presented in this study performed bette rwith higher coverage, higher accuracy, and the ability to fill missing PM(sub 2.5) predictions without ground PM(sub 2.5) measurements. This method can provide reliable PM(sub 2.5)predictions with complete coverage that can reduce biasin exposure assessment in air pollution and health studies.

MIPPA: First Broad Changes to Medicare Part D Plan Operations.

Science.gov (United States)

LeMasurier, Jean D; Edgar, Babette

2009-04-01

In July 2008, as part of broad Medicare reform, Congress passed the first major legislative changes to Medicare Part D since its enactment in 2003-the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. This new legislation has significant implications for how Part D plans can market and enroll Medicare beneficiaries. The new legislation also strengthened beneficiary protections, expanded the low-income subsidy provisions originally included in Part D, and expanded Part D coverage. These changes have significant implications for the operation of Part D plans and can affect those involved in benefit design, including specialty pharmacy coverage. This article discusses the major changes that took effect on January 1, 2009, and have immediate implications for Part D plan sponsors, including Medicare Advantage plans and stand-alone prescription drug plans.

Enhancing Cellular Coverage Quality by Virtual Access Point and Wireless Power Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinsong Gui

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The ultradensification deploying for cellular networks is a direct and effective method for the improvement of network capacity. However, the benefit is achieved at the cost of network infrastructure investment and operating overheads, especially when there is big gap between peak-hour Internet traffic and average one. Therefore, we put forward the concept of virtual cellular coverage area, where wireless terminals with high-end configuration are motivated to enhance cellular coverage quality by both providing RF energy compensation and rewarding free traffic access to Internet. This problem is formulated as the Stackelberg game based on three-party circular decision, where a Macro BS (MBS acts as the leader to offer a charging power to Energy Transferring Relays (ETRs, and the ETRs and their associating Virtual Access Points (VAPs act as the followers to make their decisions, respectively. According to the feedback from the followers, the leader may readjust its strategy. The circular decision is repeated until the powers converge. Also, the better response algorithm for each game player is proposed to iteratively achieve the Stackelberg-Nash Equilibrium (SNE. Theoretical analysis proves the convergence of the proposed game scheme, and simulation results demonstrate its effectiveness.

Rising wage inequality, the decline of collective bargaining, and the gender wage gap

OpenAIRE

Antonczyk, Dirk; Fitzenberger, Bernd; Sommerfeld, Katrin

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the increase in wage inequality, the decline in collective bargaining, and the development of the gender wage gap in West Germany between 2001 and 2006. Based on detailed linked employer-employee data, we show that wage inequality is rising strongly – driven not only by real wage increases at the top of the wage distribution, but also by real wage losses below the median. Coverage by collective wage bargaining plummets by 16.5 (19.1) percentage points for male (female)...

Linking high parity and maternal and child mortality: what is the impact of lower health services coverage among higher order births?

Science.gov (United States)

Sonneveldt, Emily; DeCormier Plosky, Willyanne; Stover, John

2013-01-01

A number of data sets show that high parity births are associated with higher child mortality than low parity births. The reasons for this relationship are not clear. In this paper we investigate whether high parity is associated with lower coverage of key health interventions that might lead to increased mortality. We used DHS data from 10 high fertility countries to examine the relationship between parity and coverage for 8 child health intervention and 9 maternal health interventions. We also used the LiST model to estimate the effect on maternal and child mortality of the lower coverage associated with high parity births. Our results show a significant relationship between coverage of maternal and child health services and birth order, even when controlling for poverty. The association between coverage and parity for maternal health interventions was more consistently significant across countries all countries, while for child health interventions there were fewer overall significant relationships and more variation both between and within countries. The differences in coverage between children of parity 3 and those of parity 6 are large enough to account for a 12% difference in the under-five mortality rate and a 22% difference in maternal mortality ratio in the countries studied. This study shows that coverage of key health interventions is lower for high parity children and the pattern is consistent across countries. This could be a partial explanation for the higher mortality rates associated with high parity. Actions to address this gap could help reduce the higher mortality experienced by high parity birth.

Challenges in Estimating Vaccine Coverage in Refugee and Displaced Populations: Results From Household Surveys in Jordan and Lebanon

Science.gov (United States)

Roberton, Timothy; Weiss, William; Doocy, Shannon

2017-01-01

Ensuring the sustained immunization of displaced persons is a key objective in humanitarian emergencies. Typically, humanitarian actors measure coverage of single vaccines following an immunization campaign; few measure routine coverage of all vaccines. We undertook household surveys of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, outside of camps, using a mix of random and respondent-driven sampling, to measure coverage of all vaccinations included in the host country’s vaccine schedule. We analyzed the results with a critical eye to data limitations and implications for similar studies. Among households with a child aged 12–23 months, 55.1% of respondents in Jordan and 46.6% in Lebanon were able to produce the child’s EPI card. Only 24.5% of Syrian refugee children in Jordan and 12.5% in Lebanon were fully immunized through routine vaccination services (having received from non-campaign sources: measles, polio 1–3, and DPT 1–3 in Jordan and Lebanon, and BCG in Jordan). Respondents in Jordan (33.5%) and Lebanon (40.1%) reported difficulties obtaining child vaccinations. Our estimated immunization rates were lower than expected and raise serious concerns about gaps in vaccine coverage among Syrian refugees. Although our estimates likely under-represent true coverage, given the additional benefit of campaigns (not captured in our surveys), there is a clear need to increase awareness, accessibility, and uptake of immunization services. Current methods to measure vaccine coverage in refugee and displaced populations have limitations. To better understand health needs in such groups, we need research on: validity of recall methods, links between campaigns and routine immunization programs, and improved sampling of hard-to-reach populations. PMID:28805672

42 CFR 440.330 - Benchmark health benefits coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...) Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan Equivalent Coverage (FEHBP—Equivalent Health Insurance Coverage). A... coverage. Health benefits coverage that is offered and generally available to State employees in the State... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Benchmark health benefits coverage. 440.330 Section...

Media coverage of "wise" interventions can reduce concern for the disadvantaged.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikizer, Elif G; Blanton, Hart

2016-06-01

Recent articulation of the "wise" approach to psychological intervention has drawn attention to the way small, seemingly trivial social psychological interventions can exert powerful, long-term effects. These interventions have been used to address such wide-ranging social issues as the racial achievement gap, environmental conservation, and the promotion of safer sex. Although there certainly are good reasons to seek easier as opposed to harder solutions to social problems, we examine a potentially undesirable effect that can result from common media portrayals of wise interventions. By emphasizing the ease with which interventions help address complex social problems, media reports might decrease sympathy for the individuals assisted by such efforts. Three studies provide evidence for this, showing that media coverage of wise interventions designed to address academic and health disparities increased endorsement of the view that the disadvantaged can solve their problems on their own, and the tendency to blame such individuals for their circumstances. Effects were strongest for interventions targeted at members of a historically disadvantaged group (African Americans as opposed to college students) and when the coverage was read by conservatives as opposed to liberals. Attempts to undermine this effect by introducing cautious language had mixed success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Addressing the "Research Gap" in Special Education through Mixed Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Klingner, Janette K.; Boardman, Alison G.

2011-01-01

At least some of the challenges faced in special education, such as the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students, the gap between research and practice, and inequitable educational opportunities, can be explained in part by a research gap, or, in other words, a failure to conduct the different types of…

Universal health coverage in Rwanda: dream or reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyandekwe, Médard; Nzayirambaho, Manassé; Baptiste Kakoma, Jean

2014-01-01

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has been a global concern for a long time and even more nowadays. While a number of publications are almost unanimous that Rwanda is not far from UHC, very few have focused on its financial sustainability and on its extreme external financial dependency. The objectives of this study are: (i) To assess Rwanda UHC based mainly on Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) from 2000 to 2012; (ii) to inform policy makers about observed gaps for a better way forward. A retrospective (2000-2012) SWOT analysis was applied to six metrics as key indicators of UHC achievement related to WHO definition, i.e. (i) health insurance and access to care, (ii) equity, (iii) package of services, (iv) rights-based approach, (v) quality of health care, (vi) financial-risk protection, and (vii) CBHI self-financing capacity (SFC) was added by the authors. The first metric with 96,15% of overall health insurance coverage and 1.07 visit per capita per year versus 1 visit recommended by WHO, the second with 24,8% indigent people subsidized versus 24,1% living in extreme poverty, the third, the fourth, and the fifth metrics excellently performing, the sixth with 10.80% versus ≤40% as limit acceptable of catastrophic health spending level and lastly the CBHI SFC i.e. proper cost recovery estimated at 82.55% in 2011/2012, Rwanda UHC achievements are objectively convincing. Rwanda UHC is not a dream but a reality if we consider all convincing results issued of the seven metrics.

40 CFR 51.356 - Vehicle coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Vehicle coverage. 51.356 Section 51.356....356 Vehicle coverage. The performance standard for enhanced I/M programs assumes coverage of all 1968 and later model year light duty vehicles and light duty trucks up to 8,500 pounds GVWR, and includes...

Measuring coverage in MNCH: indicators for global tracking of newborn care.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allisyn C Moran

Full Text Available Neonatal mortality accounts for 43% of under-five mortality. Consequently, improving newborn survival is a global priority. However, although there is increasing consensus on the packages and specific interventions that need to be scaled up to reduce neonatal mortality, there is a lack of clarity on the indicators needed to measure progress. In 2008, in an effort to improve newborn survival, the Newborn Indicators Technical Working Group (TWG was convened by the Saving Newborn Lives program at Save the Children to provide a forum to develop the indicators and standard measurement tools that are needed to measure coverage of key newborn interventions. The TWG, which included evaluation and measurement experts, researchers, individuals from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, and donors, prioritized improved consistency of measurement of postnatal care for women and newborns and of immediate care behaviors and practices for newborns. In addition, the TWG promoted increased data availability through inclusion of additional questions in nationally representative surveys, such as the United States Agency for International Development-supported Demographic and Health Surveys and the United Nations Children's Fund-supported Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Several studies have been undertaken that have informed revisions of indicators and survey tools, and global postnatal care coverage indicators have been finalized. Consensus has been achieved on three additional indicators for care of the newborn after birth (drying, delayed bathing, and cutting the cord with a clean instrument, and on testing two further indicators (immediate skin-to-skin care and applications to the umbilical cord. Finally, important measurement gaps have been identified regarding coverage data for evidence-based interventions, such as Kangaroo Mother Care and care seeking for newborn infection.

Gap filling strategies for defensible annual sums of net ecosystem exchange

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falge, E.; Baldocchi, D.; Olson, R.

2001-01-01

ecosystem exchange (F-NEE) responses are being made among biome types, phenology patterns, and stress conditions. The comparisons are usually performed on annual sums of F-NEE; however, the average data coverage during a year is only 65%. Therefore, robust and consistent gap filling methods are required. We...... is investigated. The difference between annual F-NEE filled by MDV compared to F-NEE filled by Regr. ranged from -45 to +200 g C m(-2) per year (MDV-Regr.). Comparing LookUp and Regr. methods resulted in a difference (LookUp-Regr.) ranging from -30 to +150g Cm-2 per year. We also investigated the impact...... of replacing measurements at night, when turbulent mixing is insufficient. The nighttime correction for low friction velocities (u(*)) shifted annual F-NEE on average by +77 g C m(-2) per year, but in certain cases as much as +185 g C m-2 per year. Our results emphasize the need to standardize gap filling...

The prototype GAPS (pGAPS) experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mognet, S.A.I.; Aramaki, T.; Bando, N.; Boggs, S.E.; Doetinchem, P. von; Fuke, H.; Gahbauer, F.H.; Hailey, C.J.; Koglin, J.E.; Madden, N.; Mori, K.; Okazaki, S.; Ong, R.A.; Perez, K.M.; Tajiri, G.; Yoshida, T.; Zweerink, J.

2014-01-01

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is a novel approach for the detection of cosmic ray antiparticles. A prototype GAPS (pGAPS) experiment was successfully flown on a high-altitude balloon in June of 2012. The goals of the pGAPS experiment were: to test the operation of lithium drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors at balloon altitudes, to validate the thermal model and cooling concept needed for engineering of a full-size GAPS instrument, and to characterize cosmic ray and X-ray backgrounds. The instrument was launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Taiki Aerospace Research Field in Hokkaido, Japan. The flight lasted a total of 6 h, with over 3 h at float altitude (∼33km). Over one million cosmic ray triggers were recorded and all flight goals were met or exceeded

Costs in the coverage gap

Science.gov (United States)

... Glossary MyMedicare.gov Login Search Main Menu , collapsed Main Menu Sign Up / Change Plans Getting started with ... setup: setupNotifier, notify: notify }; lrNotifier.setup(); $("#menu-btn, li.toolbarmenu .toolbarmenu-a").click(function() { // var isExpanded = ' is ...

Symposia for a Meeting on Ion Channels and Gap Junctions

CERN Document Server

Sáez, Juan

1997-01-01

Ion channels allow us to see nature in all its magnificence, to hear a Bach suite, to smell the aroma of grandmother's cooking, and, in this regard, they put us in contact with the external world. These ion channels are protein molecules located in the cell membrane. In complex organisms, cells need to communicate in order to know about their metabolic status and to act in a coordinate manner. The latter is also accomplished by a class of ion channels able to pierce the lipid bilayer membranes of two adjacent cells. These intercellular channels are the functional subunits of gap junctions. Accordingly, the book is divided in two parts: the first part is dedicated to ion channels that look to the external world, and the second part is dedicated to gap junctions found at cell interfaces. This book is based on a series of symposia for a meeting on ion channels and gap junctions held in Santiago, Chile, on November 28-30, 1995. The book should be useful to graduate students taking the first steps in this field as...

Does Health Insurance Coverage Lead to Better Health and Educational Outcomes? Evidence from Rural China. NBER Working Paper No. 16417

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuyu; Jin, Ginger Zhe

2010-01-01

Many governments advocate nationwide health insurance coverage but the effects of such a program are less known in developing countries. We use part of the 2006 China Agricultural Census (CAC) to examine whether the recent health insurance coverage in rural China has affected children mortality, pregnancy mortality, and the school enrollment of…

Childhood Illness and the Gender Gap in Adolescent Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Alsan, Marcella; Xing, Anlu; Wise, Paul; Darmstadt, Gary L; Bendavid, Eran

2017-07-01

Achieving gender equality in education is an important development goal. We tested the hypothesis that the gender gap in adolescent education is accentuated by illnesses among young children in the household. Using Demographic and Health Surveys on 41 821 households in 38 low- and middle-income countries, we used linear regression to estimate the difference in the probability adolescent girls and boys were in school, and how this gap responded to illness episodes among children gender gap in education, we assessed the relationship between the gender gap and national immunization coverage. In our sample of 120 708 adolescent boys and girls residing in 38 countries, girls were 5.08% less likely to attend school than boys in the absence of a recent illness among young children within the same household (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.50%-4.65%). This gap increased to 7.77% (95% CI, 8.24%-7.30%) and 8.53% (95% CI, 9.32%-7.74%) if the household reported 1 and 2 or more illness episodes, respectively. The gender gap in schooling in response to illness was larger in households with a working mother. Increases in child vaccination rates were associated with a closing of the gender gap in schooling (correlation coefficient = 0.34, P = .02). Illnesses among children strongly predict a widening of the gender gap in education. Investments in early childhood health may have important effects on schooling attainment for adolescent girls. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The prototype GAPS (pGAPS) experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mognet, S.A.I., E-mail: mognet@astro.ucla.edu [University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Aramaki, T. [Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Bando, N. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Boggs, S.E.; Doetinchem, P. von [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Fuke, H. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Gahbauer, F.H.; Hailey, C.J.; Koglin, J.E.; Madden, N. [Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Mori, K.; Okazaki, S. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Ong, R.A. [University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Perez, K.M.; Tajiri, G. [Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Yoshida, T. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Zweerink, J. [University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

2014-01-21

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is a novel approach for the detection of cosmic ray antiparticles. A prototype GAPS (pGAPS) experiment was successfully flown on a high-altitude balloon in June of 2012. The goals of the pGAPS experiment were: to test the operation of lithium drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors at balloon altitudes, to validate the thermal model and cooling concept needed for engineering of a full-size GAPS instrument, and to characterize cosmic ray and X-ray backgrounds. The instrument was launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Taiki Aerospace Research Field in Hokkaido, Japan. The flight lasted a total of 6 h, with over 3 h at float altitude (∼33km). Over one million cosmic ray triggers were recorded and all flight goals were met or exceeded.

[Effects of gap size on seedling natural regeneration in artificial Pinus tabulaeformis plantation].

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Wen-Juan; Yuan, Xiao-Qing; Zhang, Wen-Hui

2012-11-01

To clarify the effects of gap size created by thinning on the seedling natural regeneration in artificial Pinus tabulaeformis plantation, a plot investigation was conducted to study the ecological factors and the age structure, height, diameter, length of needles, and dry biomass of roots, stems, and needles of 1-10 year-old seedlings in different habitats, and a path analysis was made on the environmental factors affecting the seedling regeneration. Obvious differences were observed in the ecological factors in different size gaps and slope aspects. There lacked of above 3 year-old seedlings in understory and of above 7 year-old seedlings in small gap, and the seedlings of 5 and 6 year-old were lesser in big gap. The 1-10 year-old seedlings could be divided into 3 development phases, i. e. , 1-3 year-old, 4-7 year-old, and 8-10 year-old seedlings, among which, 1-3 year-old seedlings were critical for the establishment and growth of the population. The growth situation of the seedlings in different habitats was in order of big gap in shady slope > big gap in sunny slope > small gap in sunny slope > small gap in shady slope > understory in sunny slope > understory in shady slope. Path analysis showed light intensity had decisive positive effects on the seedling number of different development phases, shrub coverage had decisive negative effects on the seedling number of 4-7 year-old and 8-10 year-old phases, whereas humus dry mass had negative effects on the seedling number of 4-7 year-old but positive effects on the seedling number of 8-10 year-old. It was suggested that in the management of artificial P. tabulaeformis plantation, relatively high intensity thinning combined with shrub clearing should be adopted to provide favorable conditions for the sustainable development of P. tabulaeformis population.

Upper Midwest Gap Analysis Program, Image Processing Protocol

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lillesand, Thomas

1998-01-01

This document presents a series of technical guidelines by which land cover information is being extracted from Landsat Thematic Mapper data as part of the Upper Midwest Gap Analysis Program (UMGAP...

Impulse breakdown of small air gap in electric field Part I: Influence ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The influence of barrier position on breakdown voltage in air dielectric has been investigated. Needle and Cone positive point electrodes were used and the effects of electrode curvature on barrier position for maximum breakdown voltage were compared, with air gap for the point to plane electrode fixed at 10 cm for all the ...

Child health security in China: a survey of child health insurance coverage in diverse areas of the country.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Juyang; Hipgrave, David; Myklebust, Karoline; Guo, Sufang; Scherpbier, Robert W; Tong, Xuetao; Yao, Lan; Moran, Andrew E

2013-11-01

China embarked on an ambitious health system reform in 2009, and pledged to achieve universal health insurance coverage by 2020. However, there are gaps in access to healthcare for some children in China. We assessed health insurance status and associated variables among children under five in twelve communities in 2010: two urban community health centers and two rural township health centers in each of three municipalities located in China's distinctly different East, Central and Western regions. Information on demographic and socio-economic variables and children's insurance status was gathered from parents or caregivers of all children enrolled in local health programs, and others recruited from the local communities. Only 62% of 1131 children assessed were insured. This figure did not vary across geographic regions, but urban children were less likely to be insured than rural children. In multivariate analysis, infants were 2.44 times more likely to be uninsured than older children and children having at least one migrant parent were 1.90 times more likely to be uninsured than those living with non-migrant parents. Low maternal education was also associated with being uninsured. Gaps in China's child health insurance coverage might be bridged if newborns are automatically covered from birth, and if insurance is extended to all urban migrant children, regardless of the family's residential registration status and size. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ASTER cloud coverage reassessment using MODIS cloud mask products

Science.gov (United States)

Tonooka, Hideyuki; Omagari, Kunjuro; Yamamoto, Hirokazu; Tachikawa, Tetsushi; Fujita, Masaru; Paitaer, Zaoreguli

2010-10-01

In the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) Project, two kinds of algorithms are used for cloud assessment in Level-1 processing. The first algorithm based on the LANDSAT-5 TM Automatic Cloud Cover Assessment (ACCA) algorithm is used for a part of daytime scenes observed with only VNIR bands and all nighttime scenes, and the second algorithm based on the LANDSAT-7 ETM+ ACCA algorithm is used for most of daytime scenes observed with all spectral bands. However, the first algorithm does not work well for lack of some spectral bands sensitive to cloud detection, and the two algorithms have been less accurate over snow/ice covered areas since April 2008 when the SWIR subsystem developed troubles. In addition, they perform less well for some combinations of surface type and sun elevation angle. We, therefore, have developed the ASTER cloud coverage reassessment system using MODIS cloud mask (MOD35) products, and have reassessed cloud coverage for all ASTER archived scenes (>1.7 million scenes). All of the new cloud coverage data are included in Image Management System (IMS) databases of the ASTER Ground Data System (GDS) and NASA's Land Process Data Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) and used for ASTER product search by users, and cloud mask images are distributed to users through Internet. Daily upcoming scenes (about 400 scenes per day) are reassessed and inserted into the IMS databases in 5 to 7 days after each scene observation date. Some validation studies for the new cloud coverage data and some mission-related analyses using those data are also demonstrated in the present paper.

Comparative Estimates of Crude and Effective Coverage of Measles Immunization in Low-Resource Settings: Findings from Salud Mesoamérica 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Colson, K Ellicott; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Conde-Glez, Carlos J; Gagnier, Marielle C; Palmisano, Erin; Ranganathan, Dharani; Usmanova, Gulnoza; Salvatierra, Benito; Nazar, Austreberta; Tristao, Ignez; Sanchez Monin, Emmanuelle; Anderson, Brent W; Haakenstad, Annie; Murphy, Tasha; Lim, Stephen; Hernandez, Bernardo; Lozano, Rafael; Iriarte, Emma; Mokdad, Ali H

2015-01-01

Timely and accurate measurement of population protection against measles is critical for decision-making and prevention of outbreaks. However, little is known about how survey-based estimates of immunization (crude coverage) compare to the seroprevalence of antibodies (effective coverage), particularly in low-resource settings. In poor areas of Mexico and Nicaragua, we used household surveys to gather information on measles immunization from child health cards and caregiver recall. We also collected dried blood spots (DBS) from children aged 12 to 23 months to compare crude and effective coverage of measles immunization. We used survey-weighted logistic regression to identify individual, maternal, household, community, and health facility characteristics that predict gaps between crude coverage and effective coverage. We found that crude coverage was significantly higher than effective coverage (83% versus 68% in Mexico; 85% versus 50% in Nicaragua). A large proportion of children (19% in Mexico; 43% in Nicaragua) had health card documentation of measles immunization but lacked antibodies. These discrepancies varied from 0% to 100% across municipalities in each country. In multivariate analyses, card-positive children in Mexico were more likely to lack antibodies if they resided in urban areas or the jurisdiction of De Los Llanos. In contrast, card-positive children in Nicaragua were more likely to lack antibodies if they resided in rural areas or the North Atlantic region, had low weight-for-age, or attended health facilities with a greater number of refrigerators. Findings highlight that reliance on child health cards to measure population protection against measles is unwise. We call for the evaluation of immunization programs using serological methods, especially in poor areas where the cold chain is likely to be compromised. Identification of within-country variation in effective coverage of measles immunization will allow researchers and public health

The implication of the shortage of health workforce specialist on universal health coverage in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Miseda, Mumbo Hazel; Were, Samuel Odhiambo; Murianki, Cirindi Anne; Mutuku, Milo Peter; Mutwiwa, Stephen N

2017-12-01

Globally, there is an acute shortage of human resources for health (HRH), and the greatest burden is borne by low-income countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia. This shortage has not only considerably constrained the achievement of health-related development goals but also impeded accelerated progress towards universal health coverage (UHC). Like any other low-income country, Kenya is experiencing health workforce shortage particularly in specialized healthcare workers to cater for the rapidly growing need for specialized health care (MOH Training Needs Assessment report (2015)). Efficient use of the existing health workforce including task shifting is under consideration as a short-term stop gap measure while deliberate efforts are being put on retention policies and increased production of HRH. The Ministry of Health (MOH) with support from the United States Agency for International Development-funded FUNZOKenya project and MOH/Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project conducted a country-wide training needs assessment (TNA) to identify skill gaps in the provision of specialized health care in private and public hospitals in 46 out of Kenya's 47 counties between April and June 2015. A total of 99 respondents participated in the TNA. Structured questionnaires were used to undertake this assessment. The assessment sought to determine the extent of skill gaps on the basis of the national guidelines and as perceived by the County Directors of Health (CDH). The questionnaires were posted to and received by all the respondents a week prior to a face-to-face interview with the respondents for familiarization. Data analysis was done using SPSS statistical package. Overall, the findings revealed average skill gaps on selected specialists (healthcare professional whose practice is limited to a particular area, such as a branch of medicine, surgery, or nursing, especially, one who by virtue of advanced training is certified by a

Kenya public weather processed by the Global Yield Gap Atlas project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de Hugo; Adimo, Ochieng; Claessens, Lieven; Wart, Van Justin; Bussel, van Lenny G.J.; Grassini, Patricio; Wolf, Joost; Guilpart, Nicolas; Boogaard, Hendrik; Oort, van Pepijn A.J.; Yang, Haishun S.; Ittersum, van Martin K.; Cassman, Kenneth G.

2017-01-01

The Global Yield Gap Atlas project (GYGA - http://yieldgap.org) has undertaken a yield gap assessment following the protocol recommended by van Ittersum et al. (2013). One part of the activities consists of collecting and processing weather data as an input for crop simulation models in sub-Saharan

The MgB2 superconducting energy gaps measured by Raman spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quilty, James William

2003-01-01

Understanding the nature of the superconducting energy gap in magnesium diboride is an essential part of understanding this unusual superconductor, and Raman scattering is a convenient and powerful technique which is able to directly measure the key physical properties of the gap. The Raman spectra of MgB 2 show clear superconductivity induced renormalisations and evidence is found for two superconducting gaps residing on the σ and π Fermi surfaces with maximum magnitudes of around 110 and 30 cm -1 . The larger gap appears as a sharp peak in the electronic Raman scattering continuum while the smaller gap manifests itself as a threshold in the low-frequency spectral intensity, indicating that the gaps form in different electronic environments. The physical properties of the gaps favour explanations of the extraordinarily high T c in MgB 2 within strong coupling theory

State of inequality in diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis immunisation coverage in low-income and middle-income countries: a multicountry study of household health surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne; Gacic-Dobo, Marta; Hansen, Peter M; Senouci, Kamel; Boerma, Ties; Barros, Aluisio J D

2016-09-01

Immunisation programmes have made substantial contributions to lowering the burden of disease in children, but there is a growing need to ensure that programmes are equity-oriented. We aimed to provide a detailed update about the state of between-country inequality and within-country economic-related inequality in the delivery of three doses of the combined diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP3), with a special focus on inequalities in high-priority countries. We used data from the latest available Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys done in 51 low-income and middle-income countries. Data for DTP3 coverage were disaggregated by wealth quintile, and inequality was calculated as difference and ratio measures based on coverage in richest (quintile 5) and poorest (quintile 1) household wealth quintiles. Excess change was calculated for 21 countries with data available at two timepoints spanning a 10 year period. Further analyses were done for six high-priority countries-ie, those with low national immunisation coverage and/or high absolute numbers of unvaccinated children. Significance was determined using 95% CIs. National DTP3 immunisation coverage across the 51 study countries ranged from 32% in Central African Republic to 98% in Jordan. Within countries, the gap in DTP3 immunisation coverage suggested pro-rich inequality, with a difference of 20 percentage points or more between quintiles 1 and 5 for 20 of 51 countries. In Nigeria, Pakistan, Laos, Cameroon, and Central African Republic, the difference between quintiles 1 and 5 exceeded 40 percentage points. In 15 of 21 study countries, an increase over time in national coverage of DTP3 immunisation was realised alongside faster improvements in the poorest quintile than the richest. For example, in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Gabon, Mali, and Nepal, the absolute increase in coverage was at least 2·0 percentage points per year, with faster improvement in the

Does the Medicare Part D Decision-Making Experience Differ by Rural/Urban Location?

Science.gov (United States)

Henning-Smith, Carrie; Casey, Michelle; Moscovice, Ira

2017-01-01

Although much has been written about Medicare Part D enrollment, much less is known about beneficiaries' personal experiences with choosing a Part D plan, especially among rural residents. This study sought to address this gap by examining geographic differences in Part D enrollees' perceptions of the plan decision-making process, including their confidence in their choice, their knowledge about the program, and their satisfaction with available information. We used data from the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and included adults ages 65 and older who were enrolled in Part D at the time of the survey (n = 3,706). We used ordered logistic regression to model 4 outcomes based on beneficiaries' perceptions of the Part D decision-making and enrollment process, first accounting only for differences by rurality, then adjusting for sociodemographic, health, and coverage characteristics. Overall, half of all beneficiaries were not very confident in their Part D knowledge. Rural beneficiaries had lower odds of being confident in the plan they chose and in being satisfied with the amount of information available to them during the decision-making process. After adjusting for all covariates, micropolitan residents continued to have lower odds of being confident in the plan that they chose. Policy-makers should pay particular attention to making information about Part D easily accessible for all beneficiaries and to addressing unique barriers that rural residents have in accessing information while making decisions, such as reduced Internet availability. Furthermore, confidence in the decision-making process may be improved by simplifying the Part D program. © 2016 National Rural Health Association.

Experimental Study on Critical Power in a Hemispherical Narrow Gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Rae-Joon; Ha, Kwang-Soon; Kim, Sang-Baik; Kim, Hee-Dong; Jeong, Ji-Hwan

2002-01-01

An experimental study of critical heat flux in gap (CHFG) has been performed to investigate the inherent cooling mechanism in a hemispherical narrow gap. The objectives of the CHFG test are to measure critical power from a critical heat removal rate through the hemispherical narrow gap using distilled water with experimental parameters of system pressure and gap width. The CHFG test results have shown that a countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL) brings about local dryout at the small edge region of the upper part and finally global dryout in a hemispherical narrow gap. Increases in the gap width and pressure lead to an increase in critical power. The measured values of critical power are lower than the predictions made by other empirical CHF correlations applicable to flat plate, annuli, and small spherical gaps. The measured data on critical power in the hemispherical narrow gaps have been correlated using nondimensional parameters with a range of approximately ±20%. The developed correlation has been expanded to apply the spherical geometry using the Siemens/KWU correlation

Gaps and opportunities for the World Heritage Convention to contribute to global wilderness conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, James R; Kormos, Cyril; Jaeger, Tilman; Venter, Oscar; Bertzky, Bastian; Shi, Yichuan; Mackey, Brendan; van Merm, Remco; Osipova, Elena; Watson, James E M

2018-02-01

Wilderness areas are ecologically intact landscapes predominantly free of human uses, especially industrial-scale activities that result in substantial biophysical disturbance. This definition does not exclude land and resource use by local communities who depend on such areas for subsistence and bio-cultural connections. Wilderness areas are important for biodiversity conservation and sustain key ecological processes and ecosystem services that underpin planetary life-support systems. Despite these widely recognized benefits and values of wilderness, they are insufficiently protected and are consequently being rapidly eroded. There are increasing calls for multilateral environmental agreements to make a greater and more systematic contribution to wilderness conservation before it is too late. We created a global map of remaining terrestrial wilderness following the established last-of-the-wild method, which identifies the 10% of areas with the lowest human pressure within each of Earth's 62 biogeographic realms and identifies the 10 largest contiguous areas and all contiguous areas >10,000 km 2 . We used our map to assess wilderness coverage by the World Heritage Convention and to identify gaps in coverage. We then identified large nationally designated protected areas with good wilderness coverage within these gaps. One-quarter of natural and mixed (i.e., sites of both natural and cultural value) World Heritage Sites (WHS) contained wilderness (total of 545,307 km 2 ), which is approximately 1.8% of the world's wilderness extent. Many WHS had excellent wilderness coverage, for example, the Okavango Delta in Botswana (11,914 km 2 ) and the Central Suriname Nature Reserve (16,029 km 2 ). However, 22 (35%) of the world's terrestrial biorealms had no wilderness representation within WHS. We identified 840 protected areas of >500 km 2 that were predominantly wilderness (>50% of their area) and represented 18 of the 22 missing biorealms. These areas offer a starting

Percent Coverage

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Percent Coverage is a spreadsheet that keeps track of and compares the number of vessels that have departed with and without observers to the numbers of vessels...

The homeownership gap

OpenAIRE

Andrew F. Haughwout; Richard Peach; Joseph Tracy

2009-01-01

After rising for a decade, the U.S. homeownership rate peaked at 69 percent in the third quarter of 2006. Over the next two and a half years, as home prices fell in many parts of the country and the unemployment rate rose sharply, the homeownership rate declined by 1.7 percentage points. An important question is, how much more will this rate decline over the current economic downturn? To address this question, we propose the concept of the 'homeownership gap' as a gauge of downward pressure o...

Enterprise Bargaining and the Gender Earnings Gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Wooden, Mark

1997-01-01

Examination of the widening gender earnings gap in Australia indicates that women's wages continue to lag behind those of men. The main factor appears to be women's concentration in part-time work in enterprises where bargaining is less likely to occur. (JOW)

Providing Universal Health Insurance Coverage in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Okebukola, Peter O; Brieger, William R

2016-07-07

Despite a stated goal of achieving universal coverage, the National Health Insurance Scheme of Nigeria had achieved only 4% coverage 12 years after it was launched. This study assessed the plans of the National Health Insurance Scheme to achieve universal health insurance coverage in Nigeria by 2015 and discusses the challenges facing the scheme in achieving insurance coverage. In-depth interviews from various levels of the health-care system in the country, including providers, were conducted. The results of the analysis suggest that challenges to extending coverage include the difficulty in convincing autonomous state governments to buy into the scheme and an inadequate health workforce that might not be able to meet increased demand. Recommendations for increasing the scheme's coverage include increasing decentralization and strengthening human resources for health in the service delivery systems. Strong political will is needed as a catalyst to achieving these goals. © The Author(s) 2016.

An indirect search for dark matter using antideuterons: the GAPS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hailey, C J

2009-01-01

The general antiparticle spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is an indirect dark matter search. GAPS detects the antideuterons produced in WIMP-WIMP annihilation, a generic feature in many theories beyond the Standard Model. Antideuterons are a nearly background free signature of exotic physics. GAPS has substantial discovery potential for dark matter within the minimal supersymmetric model and its extensions, and models with universal extra dimensions. GAPS complements underground experiments, reaching parts of supersymmetric parameter space unavailable to them, and working to better constrain the properties of dark matter where they overlap in parameter space. GAPS is designed to be launched from a balloon. GAPS is funded for a prototype flight in 2011, to be followed by a long duration balloon flight to execute its science program. We discuss recent theoretical investigations on antideuteron searches, and their implications for experiment design. We describe the GAPS experiment placing particular emphasis on recent investigations that represent technical or conceptual extensions of the original GAPS concept.

Local measles vaccination gaps in Germany and the role of vaccination providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichner, Linda; Wjst, Stephanie; Brockmann, Stefan O; Wolfers, Kerstin; Eichner, Martin

2017-08-14

Measles elimination in Europe is an urgent public health goal, yet despite the efforts of its member states, vaccination gaps and outbreaks occur. This study explores local vaccination heterogeneity in kindergartens and municipalities of a German county. Data on children from mandatory school enrolment examinations in 2014/15 in Reutlingen county were used. Children with unknown vaccination status were either removed from the analysis (best case) or assumed to be unvaccinated (worst case). Vaccination data were translated into expected outbreak probabilities. Physicians and kindergartens with statistically outstanding numbers of under-vaccinated children were identified. A total of 170 (7.1%) of 2388 children did not provide a vaccination certificate; 88.3% (worst case) or 95.1% (best case) were vaccinated at least once against measles. Based on the worst case vaccination coverage, measles introduction lies between 39.5% (best case) and 73.0% (worst case). Four paediatricians were identified who accounted for 41 of 109 unvaccinated children and for 47 of 138 incomplete vaccinations; GPs showed significantly higher rates of missing vaccination certificates and unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children than paediatricians. Missing vaccination certificates pose a severe problem regarding the interpretability of vaccination data. Although the coverage for at least one measles vaccination is higher in the studied county than in most South German counties and higher than the European average, many severe and potentially dangerous vaccination gaps occur locally. If other federal German states and EU countries show similar vaccination variability, measles elimination may not succeed in Europe.

Designing Health Information Technology Tools to Prevent Gaps in Public Health Insurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Jennifer D; Harding, Rose L; DeVoe, Jennifer E; Gold, Rachel; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Nelson, Christine A; Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Cohen, Deborah J

2017-06-23

Changes in health insurance policies have increased coverage opportunities, but enrollees are required to annually reapply for benefits which, if not managed appropriately, can lead to insurance gaps. Electronic health records (EHRs) can automate processes for assisting patients with health insurance enrollment and re-enrollment. We describe community health centers' (CHC) workflow, documentation, and tracking needs for assisting families with insurance application processes, and the health information technology (IT) tool components that were developed to meet those needs. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and observation of clinic operations and insurance application assistance processes. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. We diagramed workflows and shared information with a team of developers who built the EHR-based tools. Four steps to the insurance assistance workflow were common among CHCs: 1) Identifying patients for public health insurance application assistance; 2) Completing and submitting the public health insurance application when clinic staff met with patients to collect requisite information and helped them apply for benefits; 3) Tracking public health insurance approval to monitor for decisions; and 4) assisting with annual health insurance reapplication. We developed EHR-based tools to support clinical staff with each of these steps. CHCs are uniquely positioned to help patients and families with public health insurance applications. CHCs have invested in staff to assist patients with insurance applications and help prevent coverage gaps. To best assist patients and to foster efficiency, EHR based insurance tools need comprehensive, timely, and accurate health insurance information.

Network television news coverage of environmental risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, M.R.; Sandman, P.M.; Sachsman, D.V.; Salomone, K.L.

1989-01-01

Despite the criticisms that surround television coverage of environmental risk, there have been relatively few attempts to measure what and whom television shows. Most research has focused analysis on a few weeks of coverage of major stories like the gas leak at Bhopal, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, or the Mount St. Helen's eruption. To advance the research into television coverage of environmental risk, an analysis has been made of all environmental risk coverage by the network nightly news broadcasts for a period of more than two years. Researchers have analyzed all environmental risk coverage-564 stories in 26 months-presented on ABC, CBS, and NBC's evening news broadcasts from January 1984 through February 1986. The quantitative information from the 564 stories was balanced by a more qualitative analysis of the television coverage of two case studies-the dioxin contamination in Times Beach, Missouri, and the suspected methyl isocyanate emissions from the Union Carbide plant in Institute, West Virginia. Both qualitative and quantitative data contributed to the analysis of the role played by experts and environmental advocacy sources in coverage of environmental risk and to the suggestions for increasing that role

Leveraging Simulation Against the F-16 Flying Training Gap

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McGrath, Shaun R

2005-01-01

.... Therefore, this myriad of constraints and restraints further hamstrings the peacetime mission essential competencies training gap driven in large part by concerns for personnel, equipment, and environmental safety...

20 CFR 404.1065 - Self-employment coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Self-employment coverage. 404.1065 Section... INSURANCE (1950- ) Employment, Wages, Self-Employment, and Self-Employment Income Self-Employment § 404.1065 Self-employment coverage. For an individual to have self-employment coverage under social security, the...

Assessing Measurement Error in Medicare Coverage

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Assessing Measurement Error in Medicare Coverage From the National Health Interview Survey Using linked administrative data, to validate Medicare coverage estimates...

GapBlaster-A Graphical Gap Filler for Prokaryote Genomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo H C G de Sá

Full Text Available The advent of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing technologies has resulted in an exponential increase in the number of complete genomes available in biological databases. This advance has allowed the development of several computational tools enabling analyses of large amounts of data in each of the various steps, from processing and quality filtering to gap filling and manual curation. The tools developed for gap closure are very useful as they result in more complete genomes, which will influence downstream analyses of genomic plasticity and comparative genomics. However, the gap filling step remains a challenge for genome assembly, often requiring manual intervention. Here, we present GapBlaster, a graphical application to evaluate and close gaps. GapBlaster was developed via Java programming language. The software uses contigs obtained in the assembly of the genome to perform an alignment against a draft of the genome/scaffold, using BLAST or Mummer to close gaps. Then, all identified alignments of contigs that extend through the gaps in the draft sequence are presented to the user for further evaluation via the GapBlaster graphical interface. GapBlaster presents significant results compared to other similar software and has the advantage of offering a graphical interface for manual curation of the gaps. GapBlaster program, the user guide and the test datasets are freely available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/gapblaster2015/. It requires Sun JDK 8 and Blast or Mummer.

7 CFR 457.172 - Coverage Enhancement Option.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Coverage Enhancement Option. 457.172 Section 457.172..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMON CROP INSURANCE REGULATIONS § 457.172 Coverage Enhancement Option. The Coverage Enhancement Option for the 2009 and succeeding crop years are as follows: FCIC policies: United...

29 CFR 2.12 - Audiovisual coverage permitted.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Audiovisual coverage permitted. 2.12 Section 2.12 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GENERAL REGULATIONS Audiovisual Coverage of Administrative Hearings § 2.12 Audiovisual coverage permitted. The following are the types of hearings where the Department...

Experimental Study on CHF in a Hemispherical Narrow Gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, J.H.; Park, R.J.; Kang, K.H.; Kim, S.B.; Kim, H.D.

1999-01-01

As a part of the SONATA-IV program, KAERI is conducting an experimental investigation of critical heat flux(CHF) in hemispherical narrow gaps. A visualization experiment, VISU-II, was done as the first step to get a visual observation of the flow behaviour inside a hemispherical gap and to understand the CHF-triggering mechanism. It was observed that the counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) phenomenon prevented water from wetting the heater surface and induced CHF. The CHFG (Critical Heat Flux in Gap) test is now being performed to measure the CHF and to investigate the inherent cooling mechanism in hemispherical narrow gaps. Temperature measurements over the heater surface show that the two-phase flow behaviour inside the gaps could be quite different from the other usual CHF experiments. The measured CHF points are lower than the predictions by existing empirical correlations based on the data measured with small-scale horizontal plates and vertical annulus. (authors)

InP quantum dots embedded in GaP: Optical properties and carrier dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatami, F.; Masselink, W.T.; Schrottke, L.; Tomm, J.W.; Talalaev, V.; Kristukat, C.; Goni, A.R.

2003-01-01

The optical emission and dynamics of carriers in Stranski-Krastanow self-organized InP quantum dots embedded in a GaP matrix are studied. InP deposited on GaP (001) using gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy forms quantum dots for InP coverage greater than 1.8 monolayers. Strong photoluminescence from the quantum dots is observed up to room temperature at about 2 eV; photoluminescence from the two-dimensional InP wetting layer is measured at about 2.2 eV. Modeling based on the 'model-solid theory' indicates that the band alignment for the InP quantum dots is direct and type I. Furthermore, low-temperature time-resolved photoluminescence measurements indicate that the carrier lifetime in the quantum dots is about 2 ns, typical for type-I quantum dots. Pressure-dependent photoluminescence measurements provide further evidence for a type-I band alignment for InP/GaP quantum dots at normal pressure with the GaP X states lying about 30 meV higher than the Γ states in the InP quantum dots, but indicate that they become type II under hydrostatic pressures of about 1.2 GPa

Bottleneck analysis at district level to illustrate gaps within the district health system in Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Kiwanuka Henriksson, Dorcus; Fredriksson, Mio; Waiswa, Peter; Selling, Katarina; Swartling Peterson, Stefan

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Poor quality of care and access to effective and affordable interventions have been attributed to constraints and bottlenecks within and outside the health system. However, there is limited understanding of health system barriers to utilization and delivery of appropriate, high-impact, and cost-effective interventions at the point of service delivery in districts and sub-districts in low-income countries. In this study we illustrate the use of the bottleneck analysis approach, which could be used to identify bottlenecks in service delivery within the district health system. Methods: A modified Tanahashi model with six determinants for effective coverage was used to determine bottlenecks in service provision for maternal and newborn care. The following interventions provided during antenatal care were used as tracer interventions: use of iron and folic acid, intermittent presumptive treatment for malaria, HIV counseling and testing, and syphilis testing. Data from cross-sectional household and health facility surveys in Mayuge and Namayingo districts in Uganda were used in this study. Results: Effective coverage and human resource gaps were identified as the biggest bottlenecks in both districts, with coverage ranging from 0% to 66% for effective coverage and from 46% to 58% for availability of health facility staff. Our findings revealed a similar pattern in bottlenecks in both districts for particular interventions although the districts are functionally independent. Conclusion: The modified Tanahashi model is an analysis tool that can be used to identify bottlenecks to effective coverage within the district health system, for instance, the effective coverage for maternal and newborn care interventions. However, the analysis is highly dependent on the availability of data to populate all six determinants and could benefit from further validation analysis for the causes of bottlenecks identified. PMID:28581379

Functional coverages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Donchyts, G.; Baart, F.; Jagers, H.R.A.; Van Dam, A.

2011-01-01

A new Application Programming Interface (API) is presented which simplifies working with geospatial coverages as well as many other data structures of a multi-dimensional nature. The main idea extends the Common Data Model (CDM) developed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

EXPLAINING THE GAP IN ANTENATAL CARE SERVICE UTILIZATION BETWEEN YOUNGER AND OLDER MOTHERS IN GHANA.

Science.gov (United States)

Boamah, Sheila A; Amoyaw, Jonathan; Luginaah, Isaac

2016-05-01

Over two-thirds of pregnant women (69%) have at least one antenatal care (ANC) coverage contact in sub-Saharan Africa. However, to achieve the full life-saving potential that ANC promises for women and babies, a nuanced understanding of age-specific gaps in utilization of ANC services is required. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey of 1456 individuals, this study examined the disparities in the use of ANC services between younger and older mothers by applying four counterfactual decomposition techniques. The results show that cross-group differences in the explanatory variables largely account for the differentials in ANC service utilization between younger and older mothers. Birth order (parity) accounts for the largest share of the contribution to the overall explained gap in ANC utilization between the younger and older mothers, suggesting that ANC differentials between the two groups are probably due to biosocial factors. To a lesser extent, wealth status of the two groups also contributes to the overall explained gap in ANC service utilization. The policy implications of these findings are that in order to bridge the ANC service utilization gap between the two groups, policymakers must systematically address gaps in cross-group differences in the explanatory variables in order to increase the utilization of ANC to attain the minimum recommendation of four visits as per World Health Organization guidelines.

29 CFR 95.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and conditions of the... § 95.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance coverage...

Extending Coverage and Lifetime of K-coverage Wireless Sensor Networks Using Improved Harmony Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shohreh Ebrahimnezhad

2011-07-01

Full Text Available K-coverage wireless sensor networks try to provide facilities such that each hotspot region is covered by at least k sensors. Because, the fundamental evaluation metrics of such networks are coverage and lifetime, proposing an approach that extends both of them simultaneously has a lot of interests. In this article, it is supposed that two kinds of nodes are available: static and mobile. The proposed method, at first, tries to balance energy among sensor nodes using Improved Harmony Search (IHS algorithm in a k-coverage and connected wireless sensor network in order to achieve a sensor node deployment. Also, this method proposes a suitable place for a gateway node (Sink that collects data from all sensors. Second, in order to prolong the network lifetime, some of the high energy-consuming mobile nodes are moved to the closest positions of low energy-consuming ones and vice versa after a while. This leads increasing the lifetime of network while connectivity and k-coverage are preserved. Through computer simulations, experimental results verified that the proposed IHS-based algorithm found better solution compared to some related methods.

Trends and missing parts in the study of movement ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Holyoak, Marcel; Casagrandi, Renato; Nathan, Ran; Revilla, Eloy; Spiegel, Orr

2008-12-09

Movement is important to all organisms, and accordingly it is addressed in a huge number of papers in the literature. Of nearly 26,000 papers referring to movement, an estimated 34% focused on movement by measuring it or testing hypotheses about it. This enormous amount of information is difficult to review and highlights the need to assess the collective completeness of movement studies and identify gaps. We surveyed 1,000 randomly selected papers from 496 journals and compared the facets of movement studied with a suggested framework for movement ecology, consisting of internal state (motivation, physiology), motion and navigation capacities, and external factors (both the physical environment and living organisms), and links among these components. Most studies simply measured and described the movement of organisms without reference to ecological or internal factors, and the most frequently studied part of the framework was the link between external factors and motion capacity. Few studies looked at the effects on movement of navigation capacity, or internal state, and those were mainly from vertebrates. For invertebrates and plants most studies were at the population level, whereas more vertebrate studies were conducted at the individual level. Consideration of only population-level averages promulgates neglect of between-individual variation in movement, potentially hindering the study of factors controlling movement. Terminology was found to be inconsistent among taxa and subdisciplines. The gaps identified in coverage of movement studies highlight research areas that should be addressed to fully understand the ecology of movement.

Top IS research on quality of transaction standards: a structured literature review to identify a research gap

OpenAIRE

Folmer, E.J.A.; Berends, W.; Oude Luttighuis, P.; Hillegersberg, J. van

2009-01-01

This paper contains the results of a systematic literature review executed to determine the coverage of transaction standards in top information systems (IS) and management journals. Specifically, it aims to identify a research gap with respect to this topic. The top 25 journals are thoroughly searched and the selected publications are classified in order to make grounded statements. A moderate amount of literature found specifically aims at transaction standards. Hardly any research is found...

78 FR 17313 - Ninety-Day Waiting Period Limitation and Technical Amendments to Certain Health Coverage...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-21

... health insurance issuer conditions eligibility on any employee's (part-time or full-time) having... the contracting provisions of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). OPM has... estimate that 4.1 million new employees receive group health insurance coverage through private sector...

Social health insurance in Nepal: A health system departure toward the universal health coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Pokharel, Rajani; Silwal, Pushkar Raj

2018-04-10

The World Health Organization has identified universal health coverage (UHC) as a key approach in reducing equity gaps in a country, and the social health insurance (SHI) has been recommended as an important strategy toward it. This article aims to analyze the design, expected benefits and challenges of realizing the goals of UHC through the recently launched SHI in Nepal. On top of the earlier free health-care policy and several other vertical schemes, the SHI scheme was implemented in 2016 and has reached population coverage of 5% in the implemented districts in just within a year of implementation. However, to achieve UHC in Nepal, in addition to operationalizing the scheme, several other requirements must be dealt simultaneously such as efficient health-care delivery system, adequate human resources for health, a strong information system, improved transparency and accountability, and a balanced mix of the preventive, health promotion, curative, and rehabilitative services including actions to address the social determinants of health. The article notes that strong political commitment and persistent efforts are the key lessons learnt from countries achieving progressive UHC through SHI. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Can universal insecticide-treated net campaigns achieve equity in coverage and use? the case of northern Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Yazoume

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs are effective tools for malaria prevention and can significantly reduce severe disease and mortality due to malaria, especially among children under five in endemic areas. However, ITN coverage and use remain low and inequitable among different socio-economic groups in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Nigeria. Several strategies have been proposed to increase coverage and use and reduce inequity in Nigeria, including free distribution campaigns recently conducted by the Nigerian federal government. Using data from the first post-campaign survey, the authors investigated the effect of the mass free distribution campaigns in achieving equity in household ownership and use of ITNs. Methods A post-campaign survey was undertaken in November 2009 in northern Nigeria to assess the effect of the campaigns in addressing equity across different socio-economic groups. The survey included 987 households randomly selected from 60 clusters in Kano state. Using logistic regression and the Lorenz concentration curve and index, the authors assessed equity in ITN coverage and use. Results ITN ownership coverage increased from 10% before the campaigns to 70%-a more than fivefold increase. The campaigns reduced the ownership coverage gap by 75%, effectively reaching parity among wealth quintiles (Concentration index 0.02, 95% CI (-0.02 ; 0.05 versus 0.21 95%CI (0.08 ; 0.34 before the campaigns. ITN use (individuals reporting having slept under an ITN the night before the survey visit among individuals from households owning at least one ITN, was 53.1% with no statistically significant difference between the lowest, second, third and fourth wealth quintiles and the highest wealth quintile (lowest: odds ratio (OR 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI (0.67 ; 1.13; second: OR 0.85, 95% CI (0.66 ; 1.24; third: OR 1.10 95% CI (0.86 ; 1.4 and fourth OR 0.91 95% CI (0.72 ; 1.15. Conclusion The campaign had a significant

21 CFR 1405.100 - What does this part do?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What does this part do? 1405.100 Section 1405.100 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Purpose and Coverage § 1405.100 What does this part do? This part carries...

34 CFR 84.100 - What does this part do?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What does this part do? 84.100 Section 84.100 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Purpose and Coverage § 84.100 What does this part do? This part carries out the...

Dental Care Coverage and Use: Modeling Limitations and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Moeller, John F.; Chen, Haiyan

2014-01-01

Objectives. We examined why older US adults without dental care coverage and use would have lower use rates if offered coverage than do those who currently have coverage. Methods. We used data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study to estimate a multinomial logistic model to analyze the influence of personal characteristics in the grouping of older US adults into those with and those without dental care coverage and dental care use. Results. Compared with persons with no coverage and no dental care use, users of dental care with coverage were more likely to be younger, female, wealthier, college graduates, married, in excellent or very good health, and not missing all their permanent teeth. Conclusions. Providing dental care coverage to uninsured older US adults without use will not necessarily result in use rates similar to those with prior coverage and use. We have offered a model using modifiable factors that may help policy planners facilitate programs to increase dental care coverage uptake and use. PMID:24328635

42 CFR 423.464 - Coordination of benefits with other providers of prescription drug coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... fees. CMS may impose user fees on Part D plans for the transmittal of information necessary for benefit...) Provides supplemental drug coverage to individuals based on financial need, age, or medical condition, and... effective exchange of information and coordination between such plan and SPAPs and entities providing other...

The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act Evaluation Findings on Children's Health Insurance Coverage in an Evolving Health Care Landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Mary E

2015-01-01

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) reauthorized CHIP through federal fiscal year 2019 and, together with provisions in the Affordable Care Act, federal funding for the program was extended through federal fiscal year 2015. Congressional action is required or federal funding for the program will end in September 2015. This supplement to Academic Pediatrics is intended to inform discussions about CHIP's future. Most of the new research presented comes from a large evaluation of CHIP mandated by Congress in the CHIPRA. Since CHIP started in 1997, millions of lower-income children have secured health insurance coverage and needed care, reducing the financial burdens and stress on their families. States made substantial progress in simplifying enrollment and retention. When implemented optimally, Express Lane Eligibility has the potential to help cover more of the millions of eligible children who remain uninsured. Children move frequently between Medicaid and CHIP, and many experienced a gap in coverage with this transition. CHIP enrollees had good access to care. For nearly every health care access, use, care, and cost measure examined, CHIP enrollees fared better than uninsured children. Access in CHIP was similar to private coverage for most measures, but financial burdens were substantially lower and access to weekend and nighttime care was not as good. The Affordable Care Act coverage options have the potential to reduce uninsured rates among children, but complex transition issues must first be resolved to ensure families have access to affordable coverage, leading many stakeholders to recommend funding for CHIP be continued. Copyright © 2015 Academic Pediatric Association. All rights reserved.

Coverage maximization for a poisson field of drone cells

KAUST Repository

Azari, Mohammad Mahdi

2018-02-15

The use of drone base stations to provide wireless connectivity for ground terminals is becoming a promising part of future technologies. The design of such aerial networks is however different compared to cellular 2D networks, as antennas from the drones are looking down, and the channel model becomes height-dependent. In this paper, we study the effect of antenna patterns and height-dependent shadowing. We consider a random network topology to capture the effect of dynamic changes of the flying base stations. First we characterize the aggregate interference imposed by the co-channel neighboring drones. Then we derive the link coverage probability between a ground user and its associated drone base station. The result is used to obtain the optimum system parameters in terms of drones antenna beamwidth, density and altitude. We also derive the average LoS probability of the associated drone and show that it is a good approximation and simplification of the coverage probability in low altitudes up to 500 m according to the required signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

Analysing news media coverage of the 2015 Nepal earthquake using a community capitals lens: implications for disaster resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhakal, Subas P

2018-04-01

South Asia is one of the regions of the world most vulnerable to natural disasters. Although news media analyses of disasters have been conducted frequently in various settings globally, there is little research on populous South Asia. This paper begins to fill this gap by evaluating local and foreign news media coverage of the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015. It broadens the examination of news media coverage of disaster response beyond traditional framing theory, utilising community capitals (built, cultural, financial, human, natural, political, and social) lens to perform a thematic content analysis of 405 news items. Overall, financial and natural capital received the most and the least emphasis respectively. Statistically significant differences between local and foreign news media were detected vis-à-vis built, financial, and political capital. The paper concludes with a discussion of the social utility of news media analysis using the community capitals framework to inform disaster resilience. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Evaluation of Coverage and Barriers to Access to MAM Treatment in West Pokot County, Kenya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basquin, Cecile; Imelda, Awino; Gallagher, Maureen

2014-01-01

Full text: Despite an increased number of nutrition treatment coverage assessments conducted, they often focus on Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) treatment. In a recent experience in Kenya, Action Against Hunger| ACF International (ACF) conducted a coverage assessment to evaluate access to SAM and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) treatment. ACF supports the Ministry of Health (MoH) in delivering SAM and MAM treatment at health facility level through an Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) programme in West Pokot county since 2011. In order to evaluate the coverage of Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) and Supplementary Feeding Programme (SFP) components, the Simplified Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Evaluation of Access and Coverage (SLEAC) methodology was used. The goals of the coverage assessment were i) to estimate coverage for OTP and SFP; ii) to identify barriers to access to SAM and MAM treatment; iii) to evaluate whether any differences exist between barriers to access to SAM versus to MAM treatment as SFP coverage and uptake of MAM services were never assessed before; and iv) to build local capacities in assessing coverage and to provide recommendations for the MoH-led IMAM programme. With the support of the Coverage Monitoring Network (CMN), ACF led the SLEAC assessment as part of an on-the-job training exercise for MoH and partners in July 2013, covering all of West Pokot county. SLEAC is a rapid and low-resource survey method that uses a three-tier classification approach to evaluate and classify coverage, i.e., low coverage: < 20%; moderate: 20% -50%; and high coverage: ≤ 50%. In a first sampling stage, villages in each of the four sub-counties were randomly selected using systematic sampling. In a second sampling stage, in order to also assess MAM coverage, a house-to-house approach was applied to identify all or near all acutely malnourished children using Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape and identification of bilateral

Male-female discrimination: an analysis of gender gap and its determinants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Quintano

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the occupational dynamics have brought in significant innovations in Italy, as the increased participation of women in the labour market, that have stimulated studies about the gender wage gap, concerning the different remuneration reserved to male and female workers. In this work the Authors, following Oaxaca and Blinder approach, estimate the gap for Italian employers and proceed to its decomposition, one part due to differences in individual characteristics (endowment effect and another part due to the different returns on the same characteristics (coefficient effect, related to discrimination. Then, the gender wage gap and its decomposition is analyzed with reference to Italian macro-areas considered separately with the aim to highlight the different fundamental dynamics. The model has also been modified using the Heckmann correction to eliminate the bias due to self-selection; i.e. the different propensity to work for men and women.

Crop insurance demand in wheat production: focusing on yield gaps and asymmetric information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castañeda-Vera, A.; Saa-Requejo, A.; Mínguez, I.; Garrido, A.

2017-01-01

Analysis of yield gaps were conducted in the context of crop insurance and used to build an indicator of asymmetric information. The possible influence of asymmetric information in the decision of Spanish wheat producers to contract insurance was additionally evaluated. The analysis includes simulated yield using a validated crop model, CERES-Wheat previously selected among others, whose suitability to estimate actual risk when no historical data are available was assessed. Results suggest that the accuracy in setting the insured yield is decisive in farmers’ willingness to contract crop insurance under the wider coverage. Historical insurance data, when available, provide a more robust technical basis to evaluate and calibrate insurance parameters than simulated data, using crop models. Nevertheless, the use of crop models might be useful in designing new insurance packages when no historical data is available or to evaluate scenarios of expected changes. In that case, it is suggested that yield gaps be estimated and considered when using simulated attainable yields.

Crop insurance demand in wheat production: focusing on yield gaps and asymmetric information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castañeda-Vera, A.; Saa-Requejo, A.; Mínguez, I.; Garrido, A.

2017-07-01

Analysis of yield gaps were conducted in the context of crop insurance and used to build an indicator of asymmetric information. The possible influence of asymmetric information in the decision of Spanish wheat producers to contract insurance was additionally evaluated. The analysis includes simulated yield using a validated crop model, CERES-Wheat previously selected among others, whose suitability to estimate actual risk when no historical data are available was assessed. Results suggest that the accuracy in setting the insured yield is decisive in farmers’ willingness to contract crop insurance under the wider coverage. Historical insurance data, when available, provide a more robust technical basis to evaluate and calibrate insurance parameters than simulated data, using crop models. Nevertheless, the use of crop models might be useful in designing new insurance packages when no historical data is available or to evaluate scenarios of expected changes. In that case, it is suggested that yield gaps be estimated and considered when using simulated attainable yields.

Coverage matters: insurance and health care

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Board on Health Care Services Staff; Institute of Medicine Staff; Institute of Medicine; National Academy of Sciences

2001-01-01

...? How does the system of insurance coverage in the U.S. operate, and where does it fail? The first of six Institute of Medicine reports that will examine in detail the consequences of having a large uninsured population, Coverage Matters...

Uninsured Migrants: Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care Among Mexican Return Migrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Wassink, Joshua

2018-01-01

Despite an expansive body of research on health and access to medical care among Mexican immigrants in the United States, research on return migrants focuses primarily on their labor market mobility and contributions to local development. Motivated by recent scholarship that documents poor mental and physical health among Mexican return migrants, this study investigates return migrants' health insurance coverage and access to medical care. I use descriptive and multivariate techniques to analyze data from the 2009 and 2014 rounds of Mexico's National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID, combined n=632,678). Analyses reveal a large and persistent gap between recent return migrants and non-migrants, despite rising overall health coverage in Mexico. Multivariate analyses suggest that unemployment among recent arrivals contributes to their lack of insurance. Relative to non-migrants, recently returned migrants rely disproportionately on private clinics, pharmacies, self-medication, or have no regular source of care. Mediation analysis suggests that returnees' high rate of uninsurance contributes to their inadequate access to care. This study reveals limited access to medical care among the growing population of Mexican return migrants, highlighting the need for targeted policies to facilitate successful reintegration and ensure access to vital resources such as health care.

A novel capacitive micro-accelerometer with grid strip capacitances and sensing gap alterable capacitances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Linxi; Chen Jindan; Huo Weihong; Li Yongjie; Sun Lingling; Yan Haixia

2009-01-01

The comb capacitances fabricated by deep reactive ion etching (RIE) process have high aspect ratio which is usually smaller than 30: 1 for the complicated process factors, and the combs are usually not parallel due to the well-known micro-loading effect and other process factors, which restricts the increase of the seismic mass by increasing the thickness of comb to reduce the thermal mechanical noise and the decrease of the gap of the comb capacitances for increasing the sensitive capacitance to reduce the electrical noise. Aiming at the disadvantage of the deep RIE, a novel capacitive micro-accelerometer with grid strip capacitances and sensing gap alterable capacitances is developed. One part of sensing of inertial signal of the micro-accelerometer is by the grid strip capacitances whose overlapping area is variable and which do not have the non-parallel plate's effect caused by the deep RIE process. Another part is by the sensing gap alterable capacitances whose gap between combs can be reduced by the actuators. The designed initial gap of the alterable comb capacitances is relatively large to depress the effect of the maximum aspect ratio (30 : 1) of deep RIE process. The initial gap of the capacitance of the actuator is smaller than the one of the comb capacitances. The difference between the two gaps is the initial gap of the sensitive capacitor. The designed structure depresses greatly the requirement of deep RIE process. The effects of non-parallel combs on the accelerometer are also analyzed. The characteristics of the micro-accelerometer are discussed by field emission microscopy (FEM) tool ANSYS. The tested devices based on slide-film damping effect are fabricated, and the tested quality factor is 514, which shows that grid strip capacitance design can partly improve the resolution and also prove the feasibility of the designed silicon-glass anodically bonding process.

Impact of Indian Total Sanitation Campaign on latrine coverage and use: a cross-sectional study in Orissa three years following programme implementation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharmani Barnard

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Faced with a massive shortfall in meeting sanitation targets, some governments have implemented campaigns that use subsidies focused on latrine construction to overcome income constraints and rapidly expand coverage. In settings like rural India where open defecation is common, this may result in sub-optimal compliance (use, thereby continuing to leave the population exposed to human excreta. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate latrine coverage and use among 20 villages (447 households, 1933 individuals in Orissa, India where the Government of India's Total Sanitation Campaign had been implemented at least three years previously. We defined coverage as the proportion of households that had a latrine; for use we identified the proportion of households with at least one reported user and among those, the extent of reported use by each member of the household. RESULTS: Mean latrine coverage among the villages was 72% (compared to <10% in comparable villages in the same district where the Total Sanitation Campaign had not yet been implemented, though three of the villages had less than 50% coverage. Among these households with latrines, more than a third (39% were not being used by any member of the household. Well over a third (37% of the members of households with latrines reported never defecating in their latrines. Less than half (47% of the members of such households reported using their latrines at all times for defecation. Combined with the 28% of households that did not have latrines, it appears that most defecation events in these communities are still practiced in the open. CONCLUSION: A large-scale campaign to implement sanitation has achieved substantial gains in latrine coverage in this population. Nevertheless, gaps in coverage and widespread continuation of open defecation will result in continued exposure to human excreta, reducing the potential for health gains.

To close the childhood immunization gap, we need a richer understanding of parents' decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Corben, Paul; Leask, Julie

2016-12-01

Vaccination is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful public health interventions globally and in most high-income countries childhood vaccination coverage rates are moderately high. Yet in many instances, immunisation rates remain below aspirational targets and have shown only modest progress toward those targets in recent years, despite concerted efforts to improve uptake. In part, coverage rates reflect individual parents' vaccination attitudes and decisions and, because vaccination decision-making is complex and context-specific, it remains challenging at individual and community levels to assist parents to make positive decisions. Consequently, in the search for opportunities to improve immunisation coverage, there has been a renewed research focus on parents' decision-making. This review provides an overview of the literature surrounding parents' vaccination decision-making, offering suggestions for where efforts to increase vaccination coverage should be targeted and identifying areas for further research.

The economic impact of Medicare Part D on congestive heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Dall, Timothy M; Blanchard, Tericke D; Gallo, Paul D; Semilla, April P

2013-05-01

Medicare Part D has had important implications for patient outcomes and treatment costs among beneficiaries with congestive heart failure (CHF). This study finds that improved medication adherence associated with expansion of drug coverage under Part D led to nearly $2.6 billion in reductions in medical expenditures annually among beneficiaries diagnosed with CHF and without prior comprehensive drug coverage, of which over $2.3 billion was savings to Medicare. Further improvements in adherence could potentially save Medicare another $1.9 billion annually, generating upwards of $22.4 billion in federal savings over 10 years.

Immunization Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

... room/fact-sheets/detail/immunization-coverage","@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article"}; العربية 中文 français русский español ... Plan Global Health Observatory (GHO) data - Immunization More information on vaccines and immunization News 1 in 10 ...

Overview of gap streaming experiments for ITER at JAERI/FNS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konno, Ch.; Maekawa, F.; Oyama, Y.; Uno, Y.; Kasugai, Y.; Wada, M.; Maekawa, H.; Ikeda, Y.

1998-01-01

Gap streaming experiments were performed by using a D-T neutron source, FNS, at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute as a part of an ITER/EDA R and D Task (T-218), in order to investigate the influence of neutron streaming due to gap between shielding blanket modules in ITER. The direct gap increased 14-MeV neutron flux by 20 times at the cavity center and rear surface of the experimental assembly, while the offset gap increased by 3 times. On the other hand the increase of neutrons below 1 MeV and gamma-rays was less than a few tens % even for the direct gap assemblies. This result suggests that gap streaming has a large influence on helium production and radiation damage sensitive to high energy neutrons rather than on gamma heating. Calculated values agreed within ±30 % with most of the experimental data. This result demonstrates that the MCNP code with the FENDL/E-1.1 and JENDL Fusion File cross section libraries can be used with reliance for shield designs of ITER for configuration with gap if the geometry is modeled precisely. (authors)

Kenya public weather processed by the Global Yield Gap Atlas project (old version)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de H.L.E.; Adimo, A.O.; Claessens, L.F.G.; Wart, van J.; Bussel, van L.G.J.; Grassini, P.; Wolf, J.; Guilpart, Nicolas; Boogaard, H.L.; Oort, van P.A.J.; Yang, H.; Ittersum, van M.K.; Cassman, K.G.

2015-01-01

The Global Yield Gap Atlas project (GYGA - http://yieldgap.org ) has undertaken a yield gap assessment following the protocol recommended by van Ittersum et. al. (van Ittersum et. al., 2013). One part of the activities consists of collecting and processing weather data as an input for crop

Pairing gaps from nuclear mean-field models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bender, M.; Rutz, K.; Maruhn, J.A.

2000-01-01

We discuss the pairing gap, a measure for nuclear pairing correlations, in chains of spherical, semi-magic nuclei in the framework of self-consistent nuclear mean-field models. The equations for the conventional BCS model and the approximate projection-before-variation Lipkin-Nogami method are formulated in terms of local density functionals for the effective interaction. We calculate the Lipkin-Nogami corrections of both the mean-field energy and the pairing energy. Various definitions of the pairing gap are discussed as three-point, four-point and five-point mass-difference formulae, averaged matrix elements of the pairing potential, and single-quasiparticle energies. Experimental values for the pairing gap are compared with calculations employing both a delta pairing force and a density-dependent delta interaction in the BCS and Lipkin-Nogami model. Odd-mass nuclei are calculated in the spherical blocking approximation which neglects part of the the core polarization in the odd nucleus. We find that the five-point mass difference formula gives a very robust description of the odd-even staggering, other approximations for the gap may differ from that up to 30% for certain nuclei. (orig.)

Treefall Gap Mapping Using Sentinel-2 Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iván Barton

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Proper knowledge about resources in forest management is fundamental. One of the most important parameters of forests is their size or spatial extension. By determining the area of treefall gaps inside the compartments, a more accurate yield can be calculated and the scheduling of forestry operations could be planned better. Several field- and remote sensing-based approaches are in use for mapping but they provide only static measurements at high cost. The Earth Observation satellite mission Sentinel-2 was put in orbit as part of the Copernicus programme. With the 10-m resolution bands, it is possible to observe small-scale forestry operations like treefall gaps. The spatial extension of these gaps is often less than 200 m2, thus their detection can only be done on sub-pixel level. Due to the higher temporal resolution of Sentinel-2, multiple observations are available in a year; therefore, a time series evaluation is possible. The modelling of illumination can increase the accuracy of classification in mountainous areas. The method was tested on three deciduous forest sites in the Börzsöny Mountains in Hungary. The area evaluation produced less than 10% overestimation with the best possible solutions on the sites. The presented work shows a low-cost method for mapping treefall gaps which delivers annual information about the gap area in a deciduous forest.

22 CFR 226.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Insurance coverage. 226.31 Section 226.31 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION OF ASSISTANCE AWARDS TO U.S. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Post-award Requirements Property Standards § 226.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients...

14 CFR 1260.131 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance coverage for real property and equipment acquired with Federal funds as provided for property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and conditions of the award. ...

7 CFR 1737.31 - Area Coverage Survey (ACS).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... an ACS are provided in RUS Telecommunications Engineering and Construction Manual section 205. (e... Studies-Area Coverage Survey and Loan Design § 1737.31 Area Coverage Survey (ACS). (a) The Area Coverage... the borrower's records contain sufficient information as to subscriber development to enable cost...

Status of aeromagnetic survey coverage of Yucca Mountain and vicinity to a radius of about 140 kilometers, southwestern Nevada and southeastern California, 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sikora, R.F.; Ponce, D.A.; Oliver, H.W.

1993-01-01

Fifty aeromagnetic surveys in the southwestern part of Nevada and the southeastern part of California have been evaluated to assess the quality and coverage of aeromagnetic data within 140 kilometers (km) of a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The compilation shows that all the study area is covered by aeromagnetic surveys, but in some areas, particularly in the Death Valley region, new surveys flown with closer flight line spacing and lower elevations than the existing coverage are needed. In addition, the California part of the study area needs to be analytically continued downward to 305 meters (m) above ground level to provide a consistent data set for interpretation of subsurface geologic structures

2 CFR 215.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance coverage for real property and equipment acquired with Federal funds as provided to property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and conditions of the award. ...

36 CFR 1210.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

....31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance coverage for real property and equipment acquired with NHPRC funds as provided to property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and conditions of the award. ...

Gap Resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2017-04-25

Gap Resolution is a software package that was developed to improve Newbler genome assemblies by automating the closure of sequence gaps caused by repetitive regions in the DNA. This is done by performing the follow steps:1) Identify and distribute the data for each gap in sub-projects. 2) Assemble the data associated with each sub-project using a secondary assembler, such as Newbler or PGA. 3) Determine if any gaps are closed after reassembly, and either design fakes (consensus of closed gap) for those that closed or lab experiments for those that require additional data. The software requires as input a genome assembly produce by the Newbler assembler provided by Roche and 454 data containing paired-end reads.

Wikipedia Culture Gap: Quantifying Content Imbalances Across 40 Language Editions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marc Miquel-Ribé

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The online encyclopedia Wikipedia is the largest general information repository created through collaborative efforts from all over the globe. Despite the project's goal being to achieve the sum of human knowledge, there are strong content imbalances across the language editions. In order to quantify and investigate these imbalances, we study the impact of cultural context in 40 language editions. To this purpose, we developed a computational method to identify articles that can be related to the editors' cultural context associated to each Wikipedia language edition. We employed a combination of strategies taking into account geolocated articles, specific keywords and categories, as well as links between articles. We verified the method's quality with manual assessment and found an average precision of 0.92 and an average recall of 0.95. The results show that about a quarter of each Wikipedia language edition is dedicated to represent the corresponding cultural context. Although a considerable part of this content was created during the first years of the project, its creation is sustained over time. An analysis of cross-language coverage of this content shows that most of it is unique in its original language, and reveals special links between cultural contexts; at the same time, it highlights gaps where the encyclopedia could extend its content. The approach and findings presented in this study can help to foster participation and inter-cultural enrichment of Wikipedias. The datasets produced are made available for further research.

28 CFR 55.6 - Coverage under section 203(c).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Nature of Coverage § 55.6 Coverage under section 203(c). (a) Coverage formula. There are four ways in which a political subdivision can become subject to section 203(c). 2 2 The criteria for coverage are contained in section 203(b). (1) Political...

Single-strand DNA molecule translocation through nanoelectrode gaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Xiongce; Payne, Christina M; Cummings, Peter T; Lee, James W

2007-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the translocation of single-strand DNA through nanoscale electrode gaps under the action of a constant driving force. The application behind this theoretical study is a proposal to use nanoelectrodes as a screening gap as part of a rapid genomic sequencing device. Preliminary results from a series of simulations using various gap widths and driving forces suggest that the narrowest electrode gap that a single-strand DNA can pass is ∼1.5 nm. The minimum force required to initiate the translocation within nanoseconds is ∼0.3 nN. Simulations using DNA segments of various lengths indicate that the minimum initiation force is insensitive to the length of DNA. However, the average threading velocity of DNA varies appreciably from short to long DNA segments. We attribute such variation to the different nature of drag force experienced by the short and long DNA segments in the environment. It is found that DNA molecules deform significantly to fit in the shape of the nanogap during the translocation

Value Added Tax Gap in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Stavjaňová

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with an estimation of tax evasion of value added tax in the Czech Republic during 2006–2012. For the estimation I have used the concept of tax gap which is based on a comparison of the theoretical tax liability in the economy with the actual tax receipts. According to my results the VAT gap in the Czech Republic gradually increased during the observed period and it is more than CZK 100 billion in the last three years. The most significant growth of VAT gap occurred between the years 2007 and 2008 and between 2011 and 2012 when the reduced VAT rate was increased by 4 percentage points. The second part of the paper focuses on impact of my estimates on tax policy of the Czech Republic. I discuss two different possibilities how the additional revenue gained from VAT gap reduction could be used – either to decrease the government deficit and therefore to meet the Maastricht criteria or to decrease tax burden on labour which influences particularly low income workers.

78 FR 76212 - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Maximizing January 1, 2014 Coverage Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-17

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 45 CFR Parts 147, 155 and 156 [CMS-9945-IFC] RIN 0938-AS17 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Maximizing January 1, 2014 Coverage Opportunities AGENCY... meeting the size standards of the Small Business Administration (SBA); (2) a not-for-profit organization...

Gender gap or program gap? Students' negotiations of study practice in a course in electromagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, Staffan; Johansson, Anders

2016-12-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] This study of achievement differences, as reflected by course grades, on a third-semester electromagnetism course at a Swedish research university was motivated by instructor concerns about gender inequalities. Quantitative analysis showed a gender gap in course grades between female and male students for the period of fall 2007 to spring 2013. Dynamics behind this gap were explored through interpretative discourse analysis on interviews of 21 students who had recently passed the course. A recurring pattern was identified in the interviews. Students described studying electromagnetism as either studying to pass or studying to learn. Their choice of practice was influenced by the significance recognized in the course, which primarily was discussed in relation to program affiliation. Students stressed that perceived differences, in their study context, were larger between students affiliated with different programs than between male and female students on the same program. This was supported by quantitative analysis of course grades in relation to study programs, where the grade difference between female and male students on the same program in most cases were not statistically significant. The gender gap in grades for the whole course was related to different achievements on different programs. Programs further from the discipline of physics had lower mean grades and also enrolled a larger fraction of female students. Society-wide gender differences in interest and study choice are reflected in the grades on this single course. These results displace the achievement gap from the level of individuals to that of programs, and the gender gap from a difference in achievement to a difference in study choice. We discuss the implications of this shift of perspective in relation to gender differences for both research and teaching.

Insurance premiums and insurance coverage of near-poor children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadley, Jack; Reschovsky, James D; Cunningham, Peter; Kenney, Genevieve; Dubay, Lisa

States increasingly are using premiums for near-poor children in their public insurance programs (Medicaid/SCHIP) to limit private insurance crowd-out and constrain program costs. Using national data from four rounds of the Community Tracking Study Household Surveys spanning the seven years from 1996 to 2003, this study estimates a multinomial logistic regression model examining how public and private insurance premiums affect insurance coverage outcomes (Medicaid/SCHIP coverage, private coverage, and no coverage). Higher public premiums are significantly associated with a lower probability of public coverage and higher probabilities of private coverage and uninsurance; higher private premiums are significantly related to a lower probability of private coverage and higher probabilities of public coverage and uninsurance. The results imply that uninsurance rates will rise if both public and private premiums increase, and suggest that states that impose or increase public insurance premiums for near-poor children will succeed in discouraging crowd-out of private insurance, but at the expense of higher rates of uninsurance. Sustained increases in private insurance premiums will continue to create enrollment pressures on state insurance programs for children.

Effects of Forest Gaps on Litter Lignin and Cellulose Dynamics Vary Seasonally in an Alpine Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Han Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available To understand how forest gaps and the associated canopy control litter lignin and cellulose dynamics by redistributing the winter snow coverage and hydrothermal conditions in the growing season, a field litterbag trial was conducted in the alpine Minjiang fir (Abies faxoniana Rehder and E.H. Wilson forest in a transitional area located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Over the first year of litter decomposition, the litter exhibited absolute cellulose loss and absolute lignin accumulation except for the red birch litter. The changes in litter cellulose and lignin were significantly affected by the interactions among gap position, period and species. Litter cellulose exhibited a greater loss in the winter with the highest daily loss rate observed during the snow cover period. Both cellulose and lignin exhibited greater changes under the deep snow cover at the gap center in the winter, but the opposite pattern occurred under the closed canopy in the growing season. The results suggest that decreased snowpack seasonality due to winter warming may limit litter cellulose and lignin degradation in alpine forest ecosystems, which could further inhibit litter decomposition. As a result, the ongoing winter warming and gap vanishing would slow soil carbon sequestration from foliar litter in cold biomes.

42 CFR 457.410 - Health benefits coverage options.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Health benefits coverage options. 457.410 Section 457.410 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... State Plan Requirements: Coverage and Benefits § 457.410 Health benefits coverage options. (a) Types of...

2 CFR 182.105 - Do terms in this part have special meanings?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS Reserved GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Purpose and Coverage § 182.105 Do terms in this part have special meanings? This part uses terms...

Filling the Gap between IT Governance and IT Project Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundin, Jette

2007-01-01

there is a gap between IT governance and IT project management. Theory on IT governance assumes that strategies are implemented through projects - but do not go into detail on how to do it. Theories on project management do not include interaction with governance processes. A gap between IT governance...... and IT project management can result in IT that does not support business strategy and in lack of flexibility and agility. Competitive, changing business environments combined with the uncertainty and unpredictability of IT implementation projects call for IT governance organisation and processes to sense......The goal of this paper is to explore coordination mechanisms as part of a solution to fill the gap between IT Governance and IT project management. The Gap between IT governance and IT project management has not been fully explored in IT management research. Both in theory and in practice...

Experimental study of critical heat flux in inclined rectangular gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S.J.; Kim, Y.H.; Noh, S.W.; Suh, K.Y.; Rempe, J.L.; Cheung, F.B.; Kim, S.B.

2003-01-01

In the TMI-2 accident, the lower part of the reactor pressure vessel was overheated and then rather rapidly cooled down, as was later found out in a vessel investigation project. This accounted for the possibility of gap cooling feasibility. For this reason, a great deal of investigations was performed to determine the critical heat flux (CHF) from the standpoint of in-vessel retention (IVR). As part of a joint Korean-U.S. International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (INERI) project, Tests were conducted to examine the critical heat flux (CHF) on the one-dimensional downward heating rectangular channel having a narrow gap by changing the orientation of the copper test heater assembly in a pool of saturated water under the atmospheric pressure. The test parameters include both the gap sizes of 1, 2, 5 and 10 mm, and the surface orientation angles from the downward-facing position (180deg) to the vertical position (90deg), respectively. It was observed that the CHF generally decreases as the surface inclination angle increases and as the gap size decreases. However, in downward-facing position (180deg), somewhat differing results were detected relative to previous reports. For a certain gap size having a similar dimension with vapor layer thickness, more efficient heat transfer was detected and this may be interpreted by characteristic property such as the vapor layer thickness of water. In consistency with several studies reported in the literature, it was found that there exists a transition angle above that the CHF changes with a rapid slope. (author)

5 CFR 531.402 - Employee coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Employee coverage. 531.402 Section 531... GENERAL SCHEDULE Within-Grade Increases § 531.402 Employee coverage. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this subpart applies to employees who— (1) Are classified and paid under the...

Effect of Crystallization Firing on Marginal Gap of CAD/CAM Fabricated Lithium Disilicate Crowns.

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Steven A; Ferracane, Jack L; da Costa, Juliana

2018-01-01

To evaluate the marginal gaps of CAD/CAM (CEREC 3) produced crowns made from leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic (IPS Empress CAD) blocks (LG), and lithium-disilicate (IPS e.max CAD) blocks before (LD-B), and after (LD-A) crystallization firing. A human molar tooth (#19) was mounted with adjacent teeth on a typodont and prepared for a full-coverage ceramic crown. The typodont was assembled in the mannequin head to simulate clinical conditions. After tooth preparation 15 individual optical impressions were taken by the same operator using titanium dioxide powder and a CEREC 3 camera per manufacturer's instructions. One operator designed and machined the crowns in leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic blocks (n = 5) and lithium-disilicate blocks (n = 10) using the CEREC 3 system. The crowns were rigidly seated on the prepared tooth, and marginal gaps (μm) were measured with an optical microscope (500×) at 12 points, 3 on each of the M, B, D, and L surfaces of the leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic crowns and the lithium-disilicate crowns before and after crystallization firing. Results were analyzed by two-way ANOVA followed by a Tukey's post hoc multiple comparison test (α = 0.05). The overall mean marginal gaps (μm) for the crowns evaluated were: LG = 49.2 ± 5.5, LD-B = 42.9 ± 12.2, and LD-A = 57.2 ± 16.0. The marginal gaps for LG and LD-B were not significantly different, but both were significantly less than for LD-A. The type of ceramic material did not affect the marginal gap of CAD/CAM crowns. The crystallization firing process required for lithium-disilicate crowns resulted in a significant increase in marginal gap size, likely due to shrinkage of the ceramic during the crystallization process. The marginal gap of CAD/CAM-fabricated lithium disilicate crowns increases following crystallization firing. The marginal gap still remains within clinically acceptable parameters. © 2017 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

Development of Multidimensional Gap Conductance model using Virtual Link Gap Element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyo Chan; Yang, Yong Sik; Kim, Dae Ho; Bang, Je Geon; Kim, Sun Ki; Koo, Yang Hyun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

The gap conductance that determines temperature gradient between pellet and cladding can be quite sensitive to gap thickness. For instance, once the gap size increases up to several micrometers in certain region, difference of pellet surface temperatures increases up to 100 Kelvin. Therefore, iterative thermo-mechanical coupled analysis is required to solve temperature distribution throughout pellet and cladding. Recently, multidimensional fuel performance codes have been being developed in the advanced countries to evaluate thermal behavior of fuel for off normal conditions and DBA(design based accident) conditions using the Finite Element Method (FEM). FRAPCON-FRAPTRAN code system, which is well known as the verified and reliable code, incorporates 1D thermal module and multidimensional mechanical module. In this code, multidimensional gap conductance model is not applied. ALCYONE developed by CEA introduces equivalent heat convection coefficient that represents multidimensional gap conductance as a function of gap thickness. BISON, which is multidimensional fuel performance code developed by INL, owns multidimensional gap conductance model using projected thermal contact. In general, thermal contact algorithm is nonlinear calculation which is expensive approach numerically. The gap conductance model for multi-dimension is difficult issue in terms of convergence and nonlinearity because gap conductance is function of gap thickness which depends on mechanical analysis at each iteration step. In this paper, virtual link gap (VLG) element has been proposed to resolve convergence issue and nonlinear characteristic of multidimensional gap conductance. In terms of calculation accuracy and convergence efficiency, the proposed VLG model was evaluated. LWR fuel performance codes should incorporate thermo-mechanical loop to solve gap conductance problem, iteratively. However, gap conductance in multidimensional model is difficult issue owing to its nonlinearity and

The challenges and opportunities of translating best practice immunisation strategies among low performing general practices to reduce equity gaps in childhood immunisation coverage in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Nikki M; Charania, Nadia A; Chong, Angela; Stewart, Joanna; Taylor, Lynn

2017-01-01

Immunisation coverage rates vary considerably at the local level across New Zealand and challenges remain with effectively translating best available research evidence into public health practice. This study aimed to translate best practices from high performing general practices into strategies to improve childhood immunisation coverage among low performing practices. An intervention study was undertaken of general practices with low immunisation coverage rates and a high percentage of the enrolled population being of Māori ethnicity. Intervention groups received customised action plans and support for a 12 month period while control groups received 'business as usual' support. Structured interviews were conducted with key informants from all participating practices to understand current aspects related to childhood immunisation delivery and surveys were conducted to understand how the intervention worked. Collected data were thematically analysed. Ten sites were randomised to either intervention ( n  = 6) or control group ( n  = 4). Positive aspects of childhood immunisation delivery included high prioritisation at the practice and staff being pro-immunisation and knowledgeable. Key challenges experienced included inaccurate family contact information and discrepancies with referral processes to other providers. Other challenges noted were building rapport with families and vaccine hesitancy. The action plans included various strategies aimed to improve processes at the practice, contact and engagement with parents, and partnership development with local service providers. Creating customised action plans and providing support to providers were considered as helpful approaches when attempting to improve childhood immunisation coverage rates. Our study supports the notion that one strategy will not solely by itself improve childhood immunisation rates and highlights the importance of having a toolkit of strategies from which to draw from.

Cloning, sequencing and variability analysis of the gap gene from Mycoplasma hominis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mygind, Tina; Jacobsen, Iben Søgaard; Melkova, Renata

2000-01-01

The gap gene encodes the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The gene was cloned and sequenced from the Mycoplasma hominis type strain PG21(T). The intraspecies variability was investigated by inspection of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns...... after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the gap gene from 15 strains and furthermore by sequencing of part of the gene in eight strains. The M. hominis gap gene was found to vary more than the Escherichia coli counterpart, but the variation at nucleotide level gave rise to only a few...

Critical gaps in the medical knowledge base of eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Dennis; Drabkin, Anne; Krantz, Mori J; Mascolo, Margherita; Rosen, Elissa; Sachs, Katherine; Welles, Christine; Mehler, Philip S

2018-04-21

Eating disorders are unique in that they inherently have much medical comorbidity both as a part of restricting-type eating disorders and those characterized by purging behaviors. Over the last three decades, remarkable progress has been made in the understanding and treatment of the medical complications of eating disorders. Yet, unfortunately, there is much research that is sorely needed to bridge the gap between current medical knowledge and more effective and evidence-based medical treatment knowledge. These gaps exist in many different clinical areas including cardiology, electrolytes, gastrointestinal and bone disease. In this paper, we discuss some of the knowledge gap areas, which if bridged would help develop more effective medical intervention for this population of patients.

42 CFR 435.350 - Coverage for certain aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coverage for certain aliens. 435.350 Section 435... ISLANDS, AND AMERICAN SAMOA Optional Coverage of the Medically Needy § 435.350 Coverage for certain aliens... treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in § 440.255(c) of this chapter, to those aliens...

Health financing for universal coverage and health system performance: concepts and implications for policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kutzin, Joseph

2013-08-01

Unless the concept is clearly understood, "universal coverage" (or universal health coverage, UHC) can be used to justify practically any health financing reform or scheme. This paper unpacks the definition of health financing for universal coverage as used in the World Health Organization's World health report 2010 to show how UHC embodies specific health system goals and intermediate objectives and, broadly, how health financing reforms can influence these. All countries seek to improve equity in the use of health services, service quality and financial protection for their populations. Hence, the pursuit of UHC is relevant to every country. Health financing policy is an integral part of efforts to move towards UHC, but for health financing policy to be aligned with the pursuit of UHC, health system reforms need to be aimed explicitly at improving coverage and the intermediate objectives linked to it, namely, efficiency, equity in health resource distribution and transparency and accountability. The unit of analysis for goals and objectives must be the population and health system as a whole. What matters is not how a particular financing scheme affects its individual members, but rather, how it influences progress towards UHC at the population level. Concern only with specific schemes is incompatible with a universal coverage approach and may even undermine UHC, particularly in terms of equity. Conversely, if a scheme is fully oriented towards system-level goals and objectives, it can further progress towards UHC. Policy and policy analysis need to shift from the scheme to the system level.

Terrorism and nuclear damage coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horbach, N. L. J. T.; Brown, O. F.; Vanden Borre, T.

2004-01-01

This paper deals with nuclear terrorism and the manner in which nuclear operators can insure themselves against it, based on the international nuclear liability conventions. It concludes that terrorism is currently not covered under the treaty exoneration provisions on 'war-like events' based on an analysis of the concept on 'terrorism' and travaux preparatoires. Consequently, operators remain liable for nuclear damage resulting from terrorist acts, for which mandatory insurance is applicable. Since nuclear insurance industry looks at excluding such insurance coverage from their policies in the near future, this article aims to suggest alternative means for insurance, in order to ensure adequate compensation for innocent victims. The September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC resulted in the largest loss in the history of insurance, inevitably leading to concerns about nuclear damage coverage, should future such assaults target a nuclear power plant or other nuclear installation. Since the attacks, some insurers have signalled their intentions to exclude coverage for terrorism from their nuclear liability and property insurance policies. Other insurers are maintaining coverage for terrorism, but are establishing aggregate limits or sublimits and are increasing premiums. Additional changes by insurers are likely to occur. Highlighted by the September 11th events, and most recently by those in Madrid on 11 March 2004, are questions about how to define acts of terrorism and the extent to which such are covered under the international nuclear liability conventions and various domestic nuclear liability laws. Of particular concern to insurers is the possibility of coordinated simultaneous attacks on multiple nuclear facilities. This paper provides a survey of the issues, and recommendations for future clarifications and coverage options.(author)

42 CFR 436.330 - Coverage for certain aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coverage for certain aliens. 436.330 Section 436... Coverage of the Medically Needy § 436.330 Coverage for certain aliens. If an agency provides Medicaid to... condition, as defined in § 440.255(c) of this chapter to those aliens described in § 436.406(c) of this...

The strong effect of gaps on the required shaping of the ITER first wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stangeby, Peter

2011-01-01

Divertor tokamaks such as ITER also need limiters, namely for startup, rampdown, as well as protection of the main wall from normal and off-normal loads during the diverted phase. In future fusion devices the volume within the magnetic coils will be at a premium and it will be important to make the limiters as thin as possible. A continuous, or almost continuous, wall-limiter can be made thinner than a set of well spaced discrete limiters. The need to be able to remove and replace the components of a wall-limiter requires that its individual panels in fact be discrete but the gaps between the panels should be made as small as possible relative to the panel width to maximize the wall coverage and to minimize the extent of exposed panel edges. The modularity of a wall-limiter leads inevitably to misalignments. The gaps and misalignments reduce the power-handling capability of a modular wall-limiter relative to an ideal wall-limiter, i.e. one without any gaps or misalignments. It is shown that even small gaps and radial misalignments between the individual panels of a modular wall-limiter can require so much shaping, i.e. chamfering, of the panels in order to protect the panel edges that the peak deposited power flux density on the panel face considerably exceeds that for an ideal wall-limiter, typically by an order of magnitude. Nevertheless, compared with a set of discrete limiters which are separated by gaps larger than the limiter toroidal size, a modular, small-gap wall-limiter can still be thinner and can have lower peak deposited power flux densities (MW m -2 ), for a given total power load (MW).

[Coverage by health insurance or discount cards: a household survey in the coverage area of the Family Health Strategy].

Science.gov (United States)

Fontenelle, Leonardo Ferreira; Camargo, Maria Beatriz Junqueira de; Bertoldi, Andréa Dâmaso; Gonçalves, Helen; Maciel, Ethel Leonor Noia; Barros, Aluísio J D

2017-10-26

This study was designed to assess the reasons for health insurance coverage in a population covered by the Family Health Strategy in Brazil. We describe overall health insurance coverage and according to types, and analyze its association with health-related and socio-demographic characteristics. Among the 31.3% of persons (95%CI: 23.8-39.9) who reported "health insurance" coverage, 57.0% (95%CI: 45.2-68.0) were covered only by discount cards, which do not offer any kind of coverage for medical care, but only discounts in pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. Both for health insurance and discount cards, the most frequently cited reasons for such coverage were "to be on the safe side" and "to receive better care". Both types of coverage were associated statistically with age (+65 vs. 15-24 years: adjusted odds ratios, aOR = 2.98, 95%CI: 1.28-6.90; and aOR = 3.67; 95%CI: 2.22-6.07, respectively) and socioeconomic status (additional standard deviation: aOR = 2.25, 95%CI: 1.62-3.14; and aOR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.34-2.97). In addition, health insurance coverage was associated with schooling (aOR = 7.59, 95%CI: 4.44-13.00) for complete University Education and aOR = 3.74 (95%CI: 1.61-8.68) for complete Secondary Education, compared to less than complete Primary Education. Meanwhile, neither health insurance nor discount card was associated with health status or number of diagnosed diseases. In conclusion, studies that aim to assess private health insurance should be planned to distinguish between discount cards and formal health insurance.

Mobile-robot navigation with complete coverage of unstructured environments

OpenAIRE

García Armada, Elena; González de Santos, Pablo

2004-01-01

There are some mobile-robot applications that require the complete coverage of an unstructured environment. Examples are humanitarian de-mining and floor-cleaning tasks. A complete-coverage algorithm is then used, a path-planning technique that allows the robot to pass over all points in the environment, avoiding unknown obstacles. Different coverage algorithms exist, but they fail working in unstructured environments. This paper details a complete-coverage algorithm for unstructured environm...

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT AND THE GENDER GAP IN ADOLESCENT VIOLENT CRIME.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Gregory M; Messner, Steven F

2010-12-01

Although researchers consistently demonstrate that females engage in less criminal behavior than males across the life course, research on the variability of the gender gap across contexts is sparse. To address this issue, we examine the gender gap in self-reported violent crime among adolescents across neighborhoods. Multilevel models using data from the Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) indicate that the gender gap in violent crime decreases as levels of neighborhood disadvantage increase. Further, the narrowing of the gender gap is explained by gender differences in peer influence on violent offending. Neighborhood disadvantage increases exposure to peer violence for both sexes, but peer violence has a stronger impact on violent offending for females than for males, producing the reduction in the gender gap at higher levels of disadvantage. We also find that the gender difference in the relationship between peer violence and offending is explained, in part, by (1) the tendency for females to have more intimate friendships than males, and (2) the moderating effect of peer intimacy on the relationship between peer violence and self-reported violent behavior.

76 FR 7767 - Student Health Insurance Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-11

... Student Health Insurance Coverage AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. ACTION... health insurance coverage under the Public Health Service Act and the Affordable Care Act. The proposed rule would define ``student health insurance [[Page 7768

Gap analysis of the European Earth Observation Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Closa, Guillem; Serral, Ivette; Maso, Joan

2016-04-01

Earth Observations (EO) are fundamental to enhance the scientific understanding of the current status of the Earth. Nowadays, there are a lot of EO services that provide large volume of data, and the number of datasets available for different geosciences areas is increasing by the day. Despite this coverage, a glance of the European EO networks reveals that there are still some issues that are not being met; some gaps in specific themes or some thematic overlaps between different networks. This situation requires a clarification process of the actual status of the EO European networks in order to set priorities and propose future actions that will improve the European EO networks. The aim of this work is to detect the existing gaps and overlapping problems among the European EO networks. The analytical process has been done by studying the availability and the completeness of the Essential Variables (EV) data captured by the European EO networks. The concept of EVs considers that there are a number of parameters that are essential to characterize the state and trends of a system without losing significant information. This work generated a database of the existing gaps in the European EO network based on the initial GAIA-CLIM project data structure. For each theme the missing or incomplete data about each EV was indentified. Then, if incomplete, the gap was described by adding its type (geographical extent, vertical extent, temporal extent, spatial resolution, etc), the cost, the remedy, the feasibility, the impact and the priority, among others. Gaps in EO are identified following the ConnectinGEO methodology structured in 5 threads; identification of observation requirements, incorporation of international research programs material, consultation process within the current EO actors, GEOSS Discovery and Access Broker analysis, and industry-driven challenges implementation. Concretely, the presented work focuses on the second thread, which is based on

Experimental investigation on streaming due to a gap between blanket modules in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konno, Chikara; Maekawa, Fujio; Oyama, Yukio; Uno, Yoshitomo; Kasugai, Yoshimi; Maekawa, Hiroshi; Ikeda, Yujiro; Wada, Masayuki

2000-01-01

A gap streaming experiment was performed by using a D-T neutron source at FNS/JAERI as the ITER/EDA R and D Task T-218, in order to examine the streaming effects due to gap between shield blanket modules in ITER. The experiment had three phases. The first one defined neutron source characteristics (Source Characterization Experiment), the second (Experiment-l ) aimed at shield for welding part between shield blanket and back plate and the third (Experiment-2) focused on the influence that the gap between shield blanket modules would have on superconducting magnet. The effects of gap streaming were examined in detail experimentally. (author)

Media Coverage of Nuclear Energy after Fukushima

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oltra, C.; Roman, P.; Prades, A.

2013-01-01

This report presents the main findings of a content analysis of printed media coverage of nuclear energy in Spain before and after the Fukushima accident. Our main objective is to understand the changes in the presentation of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion as a result of the accident in Japan. We specifically analyze the volume of coverage and thematic content in the media coverage for nuclear fusion from a sample of Spanish print articles in more than 20 newspapers from 2008 to 2012. We also analyze the media coverage of nuclear energy (fission) in three main Spanish newspapers one year before and one year after the accident. The results illustrate how the media contributed to the presentation of nuclear power in the months before and after the accident. This could have implications for the public understanding of nuclear power. (Author)

Media Coverage of Nuclear Energy after Fukushima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oltra, C.; Roman, P.; Prades, A.

2013-07-01

This report presents the main findings of a content analysis of printed media coverage of nuclear energy in Spain before and after the Fukushima accident. Our main objective is to understand the changes in the presentation of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion as a result of the accident in Japan. We specifically analyze the volume of coverage and thematic content in the media coverage for nuclear fusion from a sample of Spanish print articles in more than 20 newspapers from 2008 to 2012. We also analyze the media coverage of nuclear energy (fission) in three main Spanish newspapers one year before and one year after the accident. The results illustrate how the media contributed to the presentation of nuclear power in the months before and after the accident. This could have implications for the public understanding of nuclear power. (Author)

Communicating uncertainty media coverage of new and controversial science

CERN Document Server

Dunwoody, Sharon; Rogers, Carol L

1997-01-01

This work, by the editors of "Scientists and Journalists: Reporting Science as News", explores scientific uncertainty and media coverage of it in such major public issues as AISA, biotechnology, dioxin, global warming, and nature vs. nurture. It examines the interrelations of the major actors in constructing and explaining uncertainty: scientists, journalists, scholars, and the larger public. Part 1 examines participants in the scientific uncertainty arena and how the major actors react to, cope with and manage uncertain issues. It also describes how scientists and journalists vie for control over uncertain science. The panel discussion at the end of this section is a spirited discourse on how they handle scientific uncertainty. Part 2 explores instances of scientific uncertainty in the public arena, highlighting studies involving uncertainty and biotechnology, dioxin, human resources for science, and human behaviour. The panel discussion concluding this section reacts to several of these specific issues and ...

[Research progress of larger flexion gap than extension gap in total knee arthroplasty].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Weisong; Hao, Dingjun

2017-05-01

To summarize the progress of larger flexion gap than extension gap in total knee arthro-plasty (TKA). The domestic and foreign related literature about larger flexion gap than extension gap in TKA, and its impact factors, biomechanical and kinematic features, and clinical results were summarized. During TKA, to adjust the relations of flexion gap and extension gap is one of the key factors of successful operation. The biomechanical, kinematic, and clinical researches show that properly larger flexion gap than extension gap can improve both the postoperative knee range of motion and the satisfaction of patients, but does not affect the stability of the knee joint. However, there are also contrary findings. So adjustment of flexion gap and extension gap during TKA is still in dispute. Larger flexion gap than extension gap in TKA is a new joint space theory, and long-term clinical efficacy, operation skills, and related complications still need further study.

Spatial-temporal Evolution of Vegetation Coverage and Analysis of it’s Future Trends in Wujiang River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Jianyong; Bai, Xiaoyong; Zhou, Dequan; Qian, Qinghuan; Zeng, Cheng; Chen, Fei

2018-01-01

Vegetation coverage dynamics is affected by climatic, topography and human activities, which is an important indicator reflecting the regional ecological environment. Revealing the spatial-temporal characteristics of vegetation coverage is of great significance to the protection and management of ecological environment. Based on MODIS NDVI data and the Maximum Value Composites (MVC), we excluded soil spectrum interference to calculate Fractional Vegetation Coverage (FVC). Then the long-term FVC was used to calculate the spatial pattern and temporal variation of vegetation in Wujiang River Basin from 2000 to 2016 by using Trend analysis and Hurst index. The relationship between topography and spatial distribution of FVC was analyzed. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The multi-annual mean vegetation coverage reveals a spatial distribution variation characteristic of low value in midstream and high level in other parts of the basin, owing a mean value of 0.6567. (2) From 2000 to 2016, the FVC of the Wujiang River Basin fluctuated between 0.6110 and 0.7380, and the overall growth rate of FVC was 0.0074/a. (3) The area of vegetation coverage tending to improve is more than that going to degrade in the future. Grass land, Arable land and Others improved significantly; karst rocky desertification comprehensive management project lead to persistent vegetation coverage improvement of Grass land, Arable land and Others. Residential land is covered with obviously degraded vegetation, resulting of urban sprawl; (4) The spatial distribution of FVC is positively correlated with TNI. Researches of spatial-temporal evolution of vegetation coverage have significant meaning for the ecological environment protection and management of the Wujiang River Basin.

State contraceptive coverage laws: creative responses to questions of "conscience".

Science.gov (United States)

Dailard, C

1999-08-01

The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) guaranteed contraceptive coverage for employees of the federal government. However, opponents of the FEHBP contraceptive coverage questioned the viability of the conscience clause. Supporters of the contraceptive coverage pressed for the narrowest exemption, one that only permit religious plans that clearly states religious objection to contraception. There are six of the nine states that have enacted contraceptive coverage laws aimed at the private sector. The statutes included a provision of conscience clause. The private sector disagrees to the plan since almost all of the employees¿ work for employers who only offer one plan. The scope of exemption for employers was an issue in five states that have enacted the contraceptive coverage. In Hawaii and California, it was exemplified that if employers are exempted from the contraceptive coverage based on religious grounds, an employee will be entitled to purchase coverage directly from the plan. There are still questions on how an insurer, who objects based on religious grounds to a plan with contraceptive coverage, can function in a marketplace where such coverage is provided by most private sector employers.

Gap Junctions

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Morten Schak; Axelsen, Lene Nygaard; Sorgen, Paul L.; Verma, Vandana; Delmar, Mario; Holstein-Rathlou, Niels-Henrik

2013-01-01

Gap junctions are essential to the function of multicellular animals, which require a high degree of coordination between cells. In vertebrates, gap junctions comprise connexins and currently 21 connexins are known in humans. The functions of gap junctions are highly diverse and include exchange of metabolites and electrical signals between cells, as well as functions, which are apparently unrelated to intercellular communication. Given the diversity of gap junction physiology, regulation of gap junction activity is complex. The structure of the various connexins is known to some extent; and structural rearrangements and intramolecular interactions are important for regulation of channel function. Intercellular coupling is further regulated by the number and activity of channels present in gap junctional plaques. The number of connexins in cell-cell channels is regulated by controlling transcription, translation, trafficking, and degradation; and all of these processes are under strict control. Once in the membrane, channel activity is determined by the conductive properties of the connexin involved, which can be regulated by voltage and chemical gating, as well as a large number of posttranslational modifications. The aim of the present article is to review our current knowledge on the structure, regulation, function, and pharmacology of gap junctions. This will be supported by examples of how different connexins and their regulation act in concert to achieve appropriate physiological control, and how disturbances of connexin function can lead to disease. © 2012 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 2:1981-2035, 2012. PMID:23723031

The emissions gap report 2012. A UNEP synthesis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-15

One of the fundamental questions in the global climate negotiations is: what level of ''ambition'', in terms of collective emission reductions, is needed to protect global climate? To help answer this question UNEP and the scientific community have published a series of reports on the ''emissions gap1'' since 2010. Of particular interest to the ambition question is the gap in 2020 between emission levels consistent with the 2 deg. C climate target and emissions levels projected if country reduction pledges are fulfilled. If there is a gap, then there is doubt that the ambition of countries is great enough to meet the agreed-upon 2 deg. C climate target. In the 2010 Emissions Gap Report, scientists indicated that there would likely be a substantial emissions gap in 2020, although estimates of this gap ranged widely, depending on assumptions about how country pledges would be complied with. In the 2011 Bridging the Emissions Gap Report, scientists noted that enough technical potential existed to close the gap in 2020, but fast action by countries was needed. UNEP has now convened a group of 55 scientists and experts from 43 scientific groups across 22 countries to produce this third emissions gap report which covers the following: 1) An update of global greenhouse gas emission estimates, based on a number of different authoritative scientific sources; 2) An overview of national emission levels, both current (2010) and projected (2020) consistent with current pledges and other commitments; 3) An estimate of the level of global emissions consistent with the two degree target in 2020, 2030 and 2050; 4) An update of the assessment of the emissions gap for 2020; 5) A review of selected examples of the rapid progress being made in different parts of the world to implement policies already leading to substantial emission reductions. These policies could contribute significantly to narrowing the gap if they are scaled up and replicated in other countries. (Author)

20 CFR 404.1913 - Precluding dual coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... precluding dual coverage to avoid inequitable or anomalous coverage situations for certain workers. However... 404.1913 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY...) General. Employment or self-employment or services recognized as equivalent under the Act or the social...

Socio-economic inequality in oral healthcare coverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hosseinpoor, A R; Itani, L; Petersen, P E

2012-01-01

wealth quintiles in each country, a wealth-based relative index of inequality was used to measure socio-economic inequality. The index was adjusted for sex, age, marital status, education, employment, overall health status, and urban/rural residence. Pro-rich inequality in oral healthcare coverage......The objective of this study was to assess socio-economic inequality in oral healthcare coverage among adults with expressed need living in 52 countries. Data on 60,332 adults aged 18 years or older were analyzed from 52 countries participating in the 2002-2004 World Health Survey. Oral healthcare...... coverage was defined as the proportion of individuals who received any medical care from a dentist or other oral health specialist during a period of 12 months prior to the survey, among those who expressed any mouth and/or teeth problems during that period. In addition to assessment of the coverage across...

Setting priorities to address cardiovascular diseases through universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, David A; Nugent, Rachel A

2017-01-01

Over the past decade, universal health coverage (UHC) has emerged as a major policy goal for many low- and middle-income country governments. Yet, despite the high burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), relatively little is known about how to address CVD through UHC. This review covers three major topics. First, we define UHC and provide some context for its importance, and then we illustrate its relevance to CVD prevention and treatment. Second, we discuss how countries might select high-priority CVD interventions for a UHC health benefits package drawing on economic evaluation methods. Third, we explore some implementation challenges and identify research gaps that, if addressed, could improve the inclusion of CVD into UHC.

Scalable Coverage Maintenance for Dense Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Lu

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Owing to numerous potential applications, wireless sensor networks have been attracting significant research effort recently. The critical challenge that wireless sensor networks often face is to sustain long-term operation on limited battery energy. Coverage maintenance schemes can effectively prolong network lifetime by selecting and employing a subset of sensors in the network to provide sufficient sensing coverage over a target region. We envision future wireless sensor networks composed of a vast number of miniaturized sensors in exceedingly high density. Therefore, the key issue of coverage maintenance for future sensor networks is the scalability to sensor deployment density. In this paper, we propose a novel coverage maintenance scheme, scalable coverage maintenance (SCOM, which is scalable to sensor deployment density in terms of communication overhead (i.e., number of transmitted and received beacons and computational complexity (i.e., time and space complexity. In addition, SCOM achieves high energy efficiency and load balancing over different sensors. We have validated our claims through both analysis and simulations.

Inequity between male and female coverage in state infertility laws.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupree, James M; Dickey, Ryan M; Lipshultz, Larry I

2016-06-01

To analyze state insurance laws mandating coverage for male factor infertility and identify possible inequities between male and female coverage in state insurance laws. We identified states with laws or codes related to infertility insurance coverage using the National Conference of States Legislatures' and the National Infertility Association's websites. We performed a primary, systematic analysis of the laws or codes to specifically identify coverage for male factor infertility services. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. The presence or absence of language in state insurance laws mandating coverage for male factor infertility care. There are 15 states with laws mandating insurance coverage for female factor infertility. Only eight of those states (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia) have mandates for male factor infertility evaluation or treatment. Insurance coverage for male factor infertility is most specific in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, yet significant differences exist in the male factor policies in all eight states. Three states (Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York) exempt coverage for vasectomy reversal. Despite national recommendations that male and female partners begin infertility evaluations together, only 8 of 15 states with laws mandating infertility coverage include coverage for the male partner. Excluding men from infertility coverage places an undue burden on female partners and risks missing opportunities to diagnose serious male health conditions, correct reversible causes of infertility, and provide cost-effective treatments that can downgrade the intensity of intervention required to achieve a pregnancy. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Band-gap measurements of bulk and nanoscale hematite by soft x-ray spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilbert, B.; Frandsen, Cathrine; Maxey, E.R.

2009-01-01

Chemical and photochemical processes at semiconductor surfaces are highly influenced by the size of the band gap, and ability to control the band gap by particle size in nanomaterials is part of their promise. The combination of soft x-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies provides band......-gap determination in bulk and nanoscale itinerant electron semiconductors such as CdS and ZnO, but this approach has not been established for materials such as iron oxides that possess band-edge electronic structure dominated by electron correlations. We performed soft x-ray spectroscopy at the oxygen K...

Mediating Trust in Terrorism Coverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Kirsten

crisis. While the framework is presented in the context of television coverage of a terror-related crisis situation, it can equally be used in connection with all other forms of mediated trust. Key words: National crisis, risk communication, crisis management, television coverage, mediated trust.......Mass mediated risk communication can contribute to perceptions of threats and fear of “others” and/or to perceptions of trust in fellow citizens and society to overcome problems. This paper outlines a cross-disciplinary holistic framework for research in mediated trust building during an acute...

Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? : Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wages Distribution

OpenAIRE

Arulampalam, Wiji; Booth, Alison L.; Bryan, Mark L.

2004-01-01

Using harmonised data from the European Union Household Panel, we analyse gender pay gaps by sector across the wages distribution for ten countries. We find that the mean gender pay gap in the raw data typically hides large variations in the gap across the wages distribution. We use quantile regression (QR) techniques to control for the effects of individual and job characteristics at different points of the distribution, and calculate the part of the gap attributable to differing returns bet...

The unequal distribution of unequal pay - An empirical analysis of the gender wage gap in Switzerland

OpenAIRE

Dorothe Bonjour; Michael Gerfin

2001-01-01

In this paper we analyze the distribution of the gender wage gap. Using microdata for Switzerland we estimate conditional wage distribution functions and find that the total wage gap and its discrimination component are not constant over the range of wages. At low wages an overproportional part of the wage gap is due to discrimination. In a further analysis of specific individuals we examine the wage gap at different quantiles and propose a new measure to assess equal earnings opportunities. ...

28 CFR 55.5 - Coverage under section 4(f)(4).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Nature of Coverage § 55.5 Coverage under section 4(f)(4). (a) Coverage formula. Section 4(f)(4) applies to any State or political subdivision in...) Coverage may be determined with regard to section 4(f)(4) on a statewide or political subdivision basis. (1...

Target Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks with Probabilistic Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Anxing; Xu, Xianghua; Cheng, Zongmao

2016-01-01

Sensing coverage is a fundamental problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which has attracted considerable attention. Conventional research on this topic focuses on the 0/1 coverage model, which is only a coarse approximation to the practical sensing model. In this paper, we study the target coverage problem, where the objective is to find the least number of sensor nodes in randomly-deployed WSNs based on the probabilistic sensing model. We analyze the joint detection probability of target with multiple sensors. Based on the theoretical analysis of the detection probability, we formulate the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem. We prove that the minimum ϵ-detection coverage problem is NP-hard and present an approximation algorithm called the Probabilistic Sensor Coverage Algorithm (PSCA) with provable approximation ratios. To evaluate our design, we analyze the performance of PSCA theoretically and also perform extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. PMID:27618902

[Medical coverage of a road bicycle race].

Science.gov (United States)

Reifferscheid, Florian; Stuhr, Markus; Harding, Ulf; Schüler, Christine; Thoms, Jürgen; Püschel, Klaus; Kappus, Stefan

2010-07-01

Major sport events require adequate expertise and experience concerning medical coverage and support. Medical and ambulance services need to cover both participants and spectators. Likewise, residents at the venue need to be provided for. Concepts have to include the possibility of major incidents related to the event. Using the example of the Hamburg Cyclassics, a road bicycle race and major event for professional and amateur cyclists, this article describes the medical coverage, number of patients, types of injuries and emergencies. Objectives regarding the planning of future events and essential medical coverage are consequently discussed. (c) Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart-New York.

Closing yield gaps: perils and possibilities for biodiversity conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Phalan, Ben; Green, Rhys; Balmford, Andrew

2014-04-05

Increasing agricultural productivity to 'close yield gaps' creates both perils and possibilities for biodiversity conservation. Yield increases often have negative impacts on species within farmland, but at the same time could potentially make it more feasible to minimize further cropland expansion into natural habitats. We combine global data on yield gaps, projected future production of maize, rice and wheat, the distributions of birds and their estimated sensitivity to changes in crop yields to map where it might be most beneficial for bird conservation to close yield gaps as part of a land-sparing strategy, and where doing so might be most damaging. Closing yield gaps to attainable levels to meet projected demand in 2050 could potentially help spare an area equivalent to that of the Indian subcontinent. Increasing yields this much on existing farmland would inevitably reduce its biodiversity, and therefore we advocate efforts both to constrain further increases in global food demand, and to identify the least harmful ways of increasing yields. The land-sparing potential of closing yield gaps will not be realized without specific mechanisms to link yield increases to habitat protection (and restoration), and therefore we suggest that conservationists, farmers, crop scientists and policy-makers collaborate to explore promising mechanisms.

Constant-gap spectrometer design for the electron/ion collider ELISe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adachi, T.; Harakeh, M.N.; Kalantar-Nayestanaki, N.; Wörtche, H.J.; Berg, G.P.A.; Simon, H.; Koop, I.A.; Couder, M.; Fujiwara, M.

2011-01-01

For the study of electron-scattering off radioactive nuclei, the ELISe spectrometer will be constructed as a part of the Facility of Antiprotons and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt. A conceptional design of a spectrometer with a “clam-shell” gap was presented before. Here, we will present an improved design with a pre-deflector with a constant gap. Such a pre-deflector is not only simpler to construct but also provides larger angle acceptances in the forward-angle range compared to those with the “clam-shell” design.

The ecological impact of city lighting scenarios: exploring gap crossing thresholds for urban bats.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, James D; Fairbrass, Alison J; Matthews, Thomas J; Davies, Gemma; Sadler, Jon P

2015-02-02

As the global population urbanizes, dramatic changes are expected in city lighting and the urban form, which may threaten the functioning of urban ecosystems and the services they deliver. However, little is known about the ecological impact of lighting in different urban contexts. Movement is an important ecological process that can be disrupted by artificial lighting. We explored the impact of lighting on gap crossing for Pipistrellus pipistrellus, a species of bat (Chiroptera) common within UK cities. We aimed to determine whether the probability of crossing gaps in tree cover varied with crossing distance and lighting level, through stratified field surveys. We then used the resulting data on barrier thresholds to model the landscape resistance due to lighting across an entire city and explored the potential impact of scenarios for future changes to street lighting. The level of illumination required to create a barrier effect reduced as crossing distance increased. For those gaps where crossing was recorded, bats selected the darker parts of gaps. Heavily built parts of the case study city were associated with large and brightly lit gaps, and spatial models indicate movement would be highly restricted in these areas. Under a scenario for brighter street lighting, the area of accessible land cover was further reduced in heavily built parts of the city. We believe that this is the first study to demonstrate how lighting may create resistance to species movement throughout an entire city. That connectivity in urban areas is being disrupted for a relatively common species raises questions about the impacts on less tolerant groups and the resilience of bat communities in urban centres. However, this mechanistic approach raises the possibility that some ecological function could be restored in these areas through the strategic dimming of lighting and narrowing of gaps. © 2015 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

12 CFR 334.20 - Coverage and definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... FAIR CREDIT REPORTING Affiliate Marketing § 334.20 Coverage and definitions. (a) Coverage. Subpart C of... account numbers, names, or addresses. (4) Pre-existing business relationship. (i) In general. The term “pre-existing business relationship” means a relationship between a person, or a person's licensed...

ScanIndel: a hybrid framework for indel detection via gapped alignment, split reads and de novo assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Rendong; Nelson, Andrew C; Henzler, Christine; Thyagarajan, Bharat; Silverstein, Kevin A T

2015-12-07

Comprehensive identification of insertions/deletions (indels) across the full size spectrum from second generation sequencing is challenging due to the relatively short read length inherent in the technology. Different indel calling methods exist but are limited in detection to specific sizes with varying accuracy and resolution. We present ScanIndel, an integrated framework for detecting indels with multiple heuristics including gapped alignment, split reads and de novo assembly. Using simulation data, we demonstrate ScanIndel's superior sensitivity and specificity relative to several state-of-the-art indel callers across various coverage levels and indel sizes. ScanIndel yields higher predictive accuracy with lower computational cost compared with existing tools for both targeted resequencing data from tumor specimens and high coverage whole-genome sequencing data from the human NIST standard NA12878. Thus, we anticipate ScanIndel will improve indel analysis in both clinical and research settings. ScanIndel is implemented in Python, and is freely available for academic use at https://github.com/cauyrd/ScanIndel.

Strategic environmental assessment and monitoring: Arctic key gaps and bridging pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azcárate, Juan; Balfors, Berit; Bring, Arvid; Destouni, Georgia

2013-01-01

The Arctic region undergoes rapid and unprecedented environmental change. Environmental assessment and monitoring is needed to understand and decide how to mitigate and/or adapt to the changes and their impacts on society and ecosystems. This letter analyzes the application of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and the monitoring, based on environmental observations, that should be part of SEA, elucidates main gaps in both, and proposes an overarching SEA framework to systematically link and improve both with focus on the rapidly changing Arctic region. Shortcomings in the monitoring of environmental change are concretized by examples of main gaps in the observations of Arctic hydroclimatic changes. For relevant identification and efficient reduction of such gaps and remaining uncertainties under typical conditions of limited monitoring resources, the proposed overarching framework for SEA application includes components for explicit gap/uncertainty handling and monitoring, systematically integrated within all steps of the SEA process. The framework further links to adaptive governance, which should explicitly consider key knowledge and information gaps that are identified through and must be handled in the SEA process, and accordingly (re)formulate and promote necessary new or modified monitoring objectives for bridging these gaps. (letter)

20 CFR 701.401 - Coverage under state compensation programs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Coverage under state compensation programs...; DEFINITIONS AND USE OF TERMS Coverage Under State Compensation Programs § 701.401 Coverage under state compensation programs. (a) Exclusions from the definition of “employee” under § 701.301(a)(12), and the...

12 CFR Appendix to Part 745 - Examples of Insurance Coverage Afforded Accounts in Credit Unions Insured by the National Credit...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... in his name alone. What is the insurance coverage? Answer: The two accounts are added together and... Question: Member C College maintains three separate accounts with the same credit union under the titles...: Since all of the funds are the property of the college, the three accounts are added together and...

The Knowledge Gap Versus the Belief Gap and Abstinence-Only Sex Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Hindman, Douglas Blanks; Yan, Changmin

2015-08-01

The knowledge gap hypothesis predicts widening disparities in knowledge of heavily publicized public affairs issues among socioeconomic status groups. The belief gap hypothesis extends the knowledge gap hypothesis to account for knowledge and beliefs about politically contested issues based on empirically verifiable information. This analysis of 3 national surveys shows belief gaps developed between liberals and conservatives regarding abstinence-only sex education; socioeconomic status-based knowledge gaps did not widen. The findings partially support both belief gap and knowledge gap hypotheses. In addition, the unique contributions of exposure to Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC in this process were investigated. Only exposure to Fox News was linked to beliefs about abstinence-only sex education directly and indirectly through the cultivation of conservative ideology.

Saturn's Misbegotten Moonlets

Science.gov (United States)

Spitale, Joseph N.

2017-06-01

Saturn's rings are interspersed with numerous narrow (tens of km wide) gaps. Two of the largest of these gaps -- Encke and Keeler -- contain satellites -- Pan and Daphnis -- that maintain their respective gaps via the classical Goldreich/Tremaine-style shepherding mechanism wherein angular momentum is transferred across the essentially empty gap via torques acting between the satellites and the ring. Other prominent gaps are shepherded by resonances with external satellites or planetary modes: Mimas shepherds the outer edge of the B ring, clearing the inner part of the Cassini Division, Titan shepherds the Columbo ringlet / gap, and the Maxwell ringlet / gap is likely maintained by a resonance with a planetary mode. Prior to Cassini, it was expected that all of the gaps would be shepherded in a similar manner.However, many small gaps do not correspond with known resonances, and no satellites were spotted within those gaps during Cassini's prime and extended mission. To address this issue, a series of Cassini imaging observations were planned to examine 11 gaps in the C ring and Cassini division at a resolution and longitudinal coverage sufficient to either discover the shepherds or rule out their presence. The survey discovered no embedded satellites. Longitudinal coverage was incomplete, but within longitudes covered by the survey, satellites are ruled out to sizes in the 100-m range, far too small keep the observed gaps open. It is possible (about even odds) that there could be a larger satellite residing at a longitude not covered in the survey, but the probability that the survey was unfortunate enough to miss significant satellites in all 11 gaps is exceedingly small (~0.002%). Moreover, these gaps appear in earlier imaging sequences, with some high-resolution coverage, so the true probability is smaller yet. Therefore, a new theory is likely needed to explain the presence of the gaps.

Regression analysis for bivariate gap time with missing first gap time data.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chia-Hui; Chen, Yi-Hau

2017-01-01

We consider ordered bivariate gap time while data on the first gap time are unobservable. This study is motivated by the HIV infection and AIDS study, where the initial HIV contracting time is unavailable, but the diagnosis times for HIV and AIDS are available. We are interested in studying the risk factors for the gap time between initial HIV contraction and HIV diagnosis, and gap time between HIV and AIDS diagnoses. Besides, the association between the two gap times is also of interest. Accordingly, in the data analysis we are faced with two-fold complexity, namely data on the first gap time is completely missing, and the second gap time is subject to induced informative censoring due to dependence between the two gap times. We propose a modeling framework for regression analysis of bivariate gap time under the complexity of the data. The estimating equations for the covariate effects on, as well as the association between, the two gap times are derived through maximum likelihood and suitable counting processes. Large sample properties of the resulting estimators are developed by martingale theory. Simulations are performed to examine the performance of the proposed analysis procedure. An application of data from the HIV and AIDS study mentioned above is reported for illustration.

28 CFR 55.7 - Termination of coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Nature of Coverage § 55.7 Termination of coverage. (a) Section 4(f)(4). A covered State, a political subdivision of a covered State, or a separately covered political subdivision may terminate the application of section 4(f)(4) by obtaining the...

Proceedings of wide band gap semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moustakas, T.D.; Pankove, J.I.; Hamakawa, Y.

1992-01-01

This book contains the proceedings of wide band gap semiconductors. Wide band gap semiconductors are under intense study because of their potential applications in photonic devices in the visible and ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and devices for high temperature, high frequency and high power electronics. Additionally, due to their unique mechanical, thermal, optical, chemical, and electronic properties many wide band gap semiconductors are anticipated to find applications in thermoelectric, electrooptic, piezoelectric and acoustooptic devices as well as protective coatings, hard coatings and heat sinks. Material systems covered in this symposium include diamond, II-VI compounds, III-V nitrides, silicon carbide, boron compounds, amorphous and microcrystalline semiconductors, chalcopyrites, oxides and halides. The various papers addressed recent experimental and theoretical developments. They covered issues related to crystal growth (bulk and thin films), structure and microstructure, defects, doping, optoelectronic properties and device applications. A theoretical session was dedicated to identifying common themes in the heteroepitaxy and the role of defects in doping, compensation and phase stability of this unique class of materials. Important experimental milestones included the demonstrations of bright blue injection luminescence at room temperatures from junctions based on III-V nitrides and a similar result from multiple quantum wells in a ZnSe double heterojunction at liquid nitrogen temperatures

A federal tax credit to encourage employers to offer health coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, J A; Wicks, E K

2001-01-01

Many firms that employ low-wage workers cannot afford to offer an employee health plan, and many of the uninsured work for such firms. This article makes the case for an employer tax credit, administered by the Internal Revenue Service, as a way to extend health coverage to uninsured workers and their families. The permanent, fixed-dollar, refundable credit would be available to all low-wage employers (those with average wages of $10 per hour and less), including those already offering coverage. The credit would be graduated depending on average wage: the maximum credit would equal 50% of the cost of a standard benefit package; the minimum would equal 30% of the package. It also would vary by family size and could be used to cover part-time and temporary workers. Participating employers would be required to pay at least 50% of the health insurance premium, proof of which would be shown on firms' tax returns. The paper provides justification for this approach. It closes with a discussion of strengths and weaknesses of this approach and alternative design features.

On Connected Target k-Coverage in Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jiguo; Chen, Ying; Ma, Liran; Huang, Baogui; Cheng, Xiuzhen

2016-01-15

Coverage and connectivity are two important performance evaluation indices for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we focus on the connected target k-coverage (CTC k) problem in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs). A centralized connected target k-coverage algorithm (CCTC k) and a distributed connected target k-coverage algorithm (DCTC k) are proposed so as to generate connected cover sets for energy-efficient connectivity and coverage maintenance. To be specific, our proposed algorithms aim at achieving minimum connected target k-coverage, where each target in the monitored region is covered by at least k active sensor nodes. In addition, these two algorithms strive to minimize the total number of active sensor nodes and guarantee that each sensor node is connected to a sink, such that the sensed data can be forwarded to the sink. Our theoretical analysis and simulation results show that our proposed algorithms outperform a state-of-art connected k-coverage protocol for HWSNs.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT AND THE GENDER GAP IN ADOLESCENT VIOLENT CRIME*

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Gregory M.; Messner, Steven F.

2011-01-01

Although researchers consistently demonstrate that females engage in less criminal behavior than males across the life course, research on the variability of the gender gap across contexts is sparse. To address this issue, we examine the gender gap in self-reported violent crime among adolescents across neighborhoods. Multilevel models using data from the Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) indicate that the gender gap in violent crime decreases as levels of neighborhood disadvantage increase. Further, the narrowing of the gender gap is explained by gender differences in peer influence on violent offending. Neighborhood disadvantage increases exposure to peer violence for both sexes, but peer violence has a stronger impact on violent offending for females than for males, producing the reduction in the gender gap at higher levels of disadvantage. We also find that the gender difference in the relationship between peer violence and offending is explained, in part, by (1) the tendency for females to have more intimate friendships than males, and (2) the moderating effect of peer intimacy on the relationship between peer violence and self-reported violent behavior. PMID:21709751

Measuring coverage in MNCH: a validation study linking population survey derived coverage to maternal, newborn, and child health care records in rural China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Liu

Full Text Available Accurate data on coverage of key maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH interventions are crucial for monitoring progress toward the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. Coverage estimates are primarily obtained from routine population surveys through self-reporting, the validity of which is not well understood. We aimed to examine the validity of the coverage of selected MNCH interventions in Gongcheng County, China.We conducted a validation study by comparing women's self-reported coverage of MNCH interventions relating to antenatal and postnatal care, mode of delivery, and child vaccinations in a community survey with their paper- and electronic-based health care records, treating the health care records as the reference standard. Of 936 women recruited, 914 (97.6% completed the survey. Results show that self-reported coverage of these interventions had moderate to high sensitivity (0.57 [95% confidence interval (CI: 0.50-0.63] to 0.99 [95% CI: 0.98-1.00] and low to high specificity (0 to 0.83 [95% CI: 0.80-0.86]. Despite varying overall validity, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ranging between 0.49 [95% CI: 0.39-0.57] and 0.90 [95% CI: 0.88-0.92], bias in the coverage estimates at the population level was small to moderate, with the test to actual positive (TAP ratio ranging between 0.8 and 1.5 for 24 of the 28 indicators examined. Our ability to accurately estimate validity was affected by several caveats associated with the reference standard. Caution should be exercised when generalizing the results to other settings.The overall validity of self-reported coverage was moderate across selected MNCH indicators. However, at the population level, self-reported coverage appears to have small to moderate degree of bias. Accuracy of the coverage was particularly high for indicators with high recorded coverage or low recorded coverage but high specificity. The study provides insights into the accuracy of

Variation in adult vaccination policies across Europe: an overview from VENICE network on vaccine recommendations, funding and coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanitz, Elisabeth E; Wu, Lauren A; Giambi, Cristina; Strikas, Raymond A; Levy-Bruhl, Daniel; Stefanoff, Pawel; Mereckiene, Jolita; Appelgren, Eva; D'Ancona, Fortunato

2012-07-27

In 2010-2011, in the framework of the VENICE project, we surveyed European Union (EU) and Economic Area (EEA) countries to fill the gap of information regarding vaccination policies in adults. This project was carried out in collaboration with the United States National Vaccine Program Office, who conducted a similar survey in all developed countries. VENICE representatives of all 29 EU/EEA-countries received an online questionnaire including vaccination schedule, recommendations, funding and coverage in adults for 17 vaccine-preventable diseases. The response rate was 100%. The definition of age threshold for adulthood for the purpose of vaccination ranged from 15 to 19 years (median=18 years). EU/EEA-countries recommend between 4 and 16 vaccines for adults (median=11 vaccines). Tetanus and diphtheria vaccines are recommended to all adults in 22 and 21 countries respectively. The other vaccines are mostly recommended to specific risk groups; recommendations for seasonal influenza and hepatitis B exist in all surveyed countries. Six countries have a comprehensive summary document or schedule describing all vaccines which are recommended for adults. None of the surveyed countries was able to provide coverage estimates for all the recommended adult vaccines. Vaccination policies for adults are not consistent across Europe, including the meaning of "recommended vaccine" which is not comparable among countries. Coverage data for adults should be collected routinely like for children vaccination. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling the implications of moving towards universal coverage in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Borghi, Josephine; Mtei, Gemini; Ally, Mariam

2012-03-01

A model was developed to assess the impact of possible moves towards universal coverage in Tanzania over a 15-year time frame. Three scenarios were considered: maintaining the current situation ('the status quo'); expanded health insurance coverage (the estimated maximum achievable coverage in the absence of premium subsidies, coverage restricted to those who can pay); universal coverage to all (government revenues used to pay the premiums for the poor). The model estimated the costs of delivering public health services and all health services to the population as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and forecast revenue from user fees and insurance premiums. Under the status quo, financial protection is provided to 10% of the population through health insurance schemes, with the remaining population benefiting from subsidized user charges in public facilities. Seventy-six per cent of the population would benefit from financial protection through health insurance under the expanded coverage scenario, and 100% of the population would receive such protection through a mix of insurance cover and government funding under the universal coverage scenario. The expanded and universal coverage scenarios have a significant effect on utilization levels, especially for public outpatient care. Universal coverage would require an initial doubling in the proportion of GDP going to the public health system. Government health expenditure would increase to 18% of total government expenditure. The results are sensitive to the cost of health system strengthening, the level of real GDP growth, provider reimbursement rates and administrative costs. Promoting greater cross-subsidization between insurance schemes would provide sufficient resources to finance universal coverage. Alternately, greater tax funding for health could be generated through an increase in the rate of Value-Added Tax (VAT) or expanding the income tax base. The feasibility and sustainability of efforts to

Determinants of vaccination coverage among pastoralists in north ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Determinants of vaccination coverage among pastoralists in north eastern Kenya. ... Attitudes, and Practices (KAPs) on vaccination coverage among settled and ... We used a structured instrument to survey pastoralist mothers with children ...

Part-time wage-gap in Germany: Evidence across the wage distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tõnurist, Piret; Pavlopoulos, D.

2013-01-01

This paper uses insights from labour-market segmentation theory to investigate the wage differences between part-time and full-time workers in Germany at different parts of the wage distribution. This is accomplished with the use of a quintile regression and panel data from the SOEP (1991-2008). To

Universal health insurance coverage for 1.3 billion people: What accounts for China's success?

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Hao

2015-09-01

China successfully achieved universal health insurance coverage in 2011, representing the largest expansion of insurance coverage in human history. While the achievement is widely recognized, it is still largely unexplored why China was able to attain it within a short period. This study aims to fill the gap. Through a systematic political and socio-economic analysis, it identifies seven major drivers for China's success, including (1) the SARS outbreak as a wake-up call, (2) strong public support for government intervention in health care, (3) renewed political commitment from top leaders, (4) heavy government subsidies, (5) fiscal capacity backed by China's economic power, (6) financial and political responsibilities delegated to local governments and (7) programmatic implementation strategy. Three of the factors seem to be unique to China (i.e., the SARS outbreak, the delegation, and the programmatic strategy.) while the other factors are commonly found in other countries' insurance expansion experiences. This study also discusses challenges and recommendations for China's health financing, such as reducing financial risk as an immediate task, equalizing benefit across insurance programs as a long-term goal, improving quality by tying provider payment to performance, and controlling costs through coordinated reform initiatives. Finally, it draws lessons for other developing countries. Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 436.128 - Coverage for certain qualified aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coverage for certain qualified aliens. 436.128... Mandatory Coverage of the Categorically Needy § 436.128 Coverage for certain qualified aliens. The agency... § 440.255(c) of this chapter to those aliens described in § 436.406(c) of this subpart. [55 FR 36820...

Patient Experience Of Provider Refusal Of Medicaid Coverage And Its Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhandari, Neeraj; Shi, Yunfeng; Jung, Kyoungrae

2016-01-01

Previous studies show that many physicians do not accept new patients with Medicaid coverage, but no study has examined Medicaid enrollees' actual experience of provider refusal of their coverage and its implications. Using the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, we estimate provider refusal of health insurance coverage reported by 23,992 adults with continuous coverage for the past 12 months. We find that among Medicaid enrollees, 6.73% reported their coverage being refused by a provider in 2012, a rate higher than that in Medicare and private insurance by 4.07 (p<.01) and 3.68 (p<.001) percentage points, respectively. Refusal of Medicaid coverage is associated with delaying needed care, using emergency room (ER) as a usual source of care, and perceiving current coverage as worse than last year. In view of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) Medicaid expansion, future studies should continue monitoring enrollees' experience of coverage refusal.

Legislating health care coverage for the unemployed.

Science.gov (United States)

Palley, H A; Feldman, G; Gallner, I; Tysor, M

1985-01-01

Because the unemployed and their families are often likely to develop stress-related health problems, ensuring them access to health care is a public health issue. Congressional efforts thus far to legislate health coverage for the unemployed have proposed a system that recognizes people's basic need for coverage but has several limitations.

Assessment of Effective Coverage of Voluntary Counseling and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessment of Effective Coverage of Voluntary Counseling and Testing ... The objective of this study was to assess effective coverage level for Voluntary Counseling and testing services in major health facilities ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) coverage in Swaziland: Toward achieving millennium development goals

Science.gov (United States)

Mwendera, E. J.

An assessment of rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) coverage in Swaziland was conducted in 2004/2005 as part of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI). The initiative was developed by the African Development Bank with the aim of implementing it in the Regional Member Countries (RMCs), including Swaziland. Information on the RWSS sector programmes, costs, financial requirements and other related activities was obtained from a wide range of national documents, including sector papers and project files and progress reports. Interviews were held with staff from the central offices and field stations of Government of Swaziland (GOS) ministries and departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), bilateral and multilateral external support agencies, and private sector individuals and firms with some connection to the sector and/or its programmes. The assessment also involved field visits to various regions in order to obtain first hand information about the various technologies and institutional structures used in the provision of water supplies and sanitation services in the rural areas of the country. The results showed that the RWSS sector has made significant progress towards meeting the national targets of providing water and sanitation to the entire rural population by the year 2022. The assessment indicated that rural water supply coverage was 56% in 2004 while sanitation coverage was 63% in the same year. The results showed that there is some decline in the incidence of water-related diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases, probably due to improved water supply and sanitation coverage. The study also showed that, with adequate financial resources, Swaziland is likely to achieve 100% coverage of both water supply and sanitation by the year 2022. It was concluded that in achieving its own national goals Swaziland will exceed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, such achievement is subject to adequate financial resources being

Drug Coverage (Part D)

Science.gov (United States)

... Glossary MyMedicare.gov Login Search Main Menu , collapsed Main Menu Sign Up / Change Plans Getting started with ... setup: setupNotifier, notify: notify }; lrNotifier.setup(); $("#menu-btn, li.toolbarmenu .toolbarmenu-a").click(function() { // var isExpanded = ' is ...

GAP Analysis Program (GAP)

Data.gov (United States)

Kansas Data Access and Support Center — The Kansas GAP Analysis Land Cover database depicts 43 land cover classes for the state of Kansas. The database was generated using a two-stage hybrid classification...

US Media Coverage of Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, Patricia A; Lown, E Anne; Malone, Ruth E

2018-02-01

Media coverage of tobacco industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives represents a competitive field where tobacco control advocates and the tobacco industry vie to shape public and policymaker understandings about tobacco control and the industry. Through a content analysis of 649 US news items, we examined US media coverage of tobacco industry CSR and identified characteristics of media items associated with positive coverage. Most coverage appeared in local newspapers, and CSR initiatives unrelated to tobacco, with non-controversial beneficiaries, were most commonly mentioned. Coverage was largely positive. Tobacco control advocates were infrequently cited as sources and rarely authored opinion pieces; however, when their voices were included, coverage was less likely to have a positive slant. Media items published in the South, home to several tobacco company headquarters, were more likely than those published in the West to have a positive slant. The absence of tobacco control advocates from media coverage represents a missed opportunity to influence opinion regarding the negative public health implications of tobacco industry CSR. Countering the media narrative of virtuous companies doing good deeds could be particularly beneficial in the South, where the burdens of tobacco-caused disease are greatest, and coverage of tobacco companies more positive.

Aspects of coverage in medical DNA sequencing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilson Richard K

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background DNA sequencing is now emerging as an important component in biomedical studies of diseases like cancer. Short-read, highly parallel sequencing instruments are expected to be used heavily for such projects, but many design specifications have yet to be conclusively established. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is the redundancy required to detect sequence variations, which bears directly upon genomic coverage and the consequent resolving power for discerning somatic mutations. Results We address the medical sequencing coverage problem via an extension of the standard mathematical theory of haploid coverage. The expected diploid multi-fold coverage, as well as its generalization for aneuploidy are derived and these expressions can be readily evaluated for any project. The resulting theory is used as a scaling law to calibrate performance to that of standard BAC sequencing at 8× to 10× redundancy, i.e. for expected coverages that exceed 99% of the unique sequence. A differential strategy is formalized for tumor/normal studies wherein tumor samples are sequenced more deeply than normal ones. In particular, both tumor alleles should be detected at least twice, while both normal alleles are detected at least once. Our theory predicts these requirements can be met for tumor and normal redundancies of approximately 26× and 21×, respectively. We explain why these values do not differ by a factor of 2, as might intuitively be expected. Future technology developments should prompt even deeper sequencing of tumors, but the 21× value for normal samples is essentially a constant. Conclusion Given the assumptions of standard coverage theory, our model gives pragmatic estimates for required redundancy. The differential strategy should be an efficient means of identifying potential somatic mutations for further study.

29 CFR 1620.7 - “Enterprise” coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false âEnterpriseâ coverage. 1620.7 Section 1620.7 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THE EQUAL PAY ACT § 1620.7 “Enterprise” coverage. (a) The terms “enterprise” and “enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of...

MC/DC and Toggle Coverage Measurement Tool for FBD Program Simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Eui Sub; Jung, Se Jin; Kim, Jae Yeob; Yoo, Jun Beom [Konkuk University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The functional verification of FBD program can be implemented with various techniques such as testing and simulation. Simulation is preferable to verify FBD program, because it replicates operation of the PLC as well. The PLC is executed repeatedly as long as the controlled system is running based on scan time. Likewise, the simulation technique operates continuously and sequentially. Although engineers try to verify the functionality wholly, it is difficult to find residual errors in the design. Even if 100% functional coverage is accomplished, code coverage have 50%, which might indicate that the scenario is missing some key features of the design. Unfortunately, errors and bugs are often found in the missing points. To assure a high quality of functional verification, code coverage is important as well as functional coverage. We developed a pair tool 'FBDSim' and 'FBDCover' for FBD simulation and coverage measurement. The 'FBDSim' automatically simulates a set of FBD simulation scenarios. While the 'FBDSim' simulates the FBD program, it calculates the MC/DC and Toggle coverage and identifies unstimulated points. After FBD simulation is done, the 'FBDCover' reads the coverage results and shows the coverage with graphical feature and uncovered points with tree feature. The coverages and uncovered points can help engineers to improve the quality of simulation. We slightly dealt with the both coverages, but the coverage is dealt with more concrete and rigorous manner.

Expanding Kenya's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maximize coverage of plant diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Laura; Curran, Michael; Alvarez, Miguel

2017-04-01

Biodiversity is highly valuable and critically threatened by anthropogenic degradation of the natural environment. In response, governments have pledged enhanced protected-area coverage, which requires scarce biological data to identify conservation priorities. To assist this effort, we mapped conservation priorities in Kenya based on maximizing alpha (species richness) and beta diversity (species turnover) of plant communities while minimizing economic costs. We used plant-cover percentages from vegetation surveys of over 2000 plots to build separate models for each type of diversity. Opportunity and management costs were based on literature data and interviews with conservation organizations. Species richness was predicted to be highest in a belt from Lake Turkana through Mount Kenya and in a belt parallel to the coast, and species turnover was predicted to be highest in western Kenya and along the coast. Our results suggest the expanding reserve network should focus on the coast and northeastern provinces of Kenya, where new biological surveys would also fill biological data gaps. Meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% terrestrial coverage by 2020 would increase representation of Kenya's plant communities by 75%. However, this would require about 50 times more funds than Kenya has received thus far from the Global Environment Facility. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Targeted functional imaging of estrogen receptors with 99mTc-GAP-EDL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Nobukazu; Yang, David J.; Kohanim, Saady; Oh, Chang-Sok; Yu, Dong-Fang; Azhdarinia, Ali; Kurihara, Hiroaki; Kim, E.E.; Zhang, Xiaochun; Chang, Joe Y.

2007-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility of using 99m Tc-glutamate peptide-estradiol in functional imaging of estrogen receptor-positive [ER(+)] diseases. 3-Aminoethyl estradiol (EDL) was conjugated to glutamate peptide (GAP) to yield GAP-EDL. Cellular uptake studies of 99m Tc-GAP-EDL were conducted in ER(+) cell lines (MCF-7, 13762 and T47D). To demonstrate whether GAP-EDL increases MAP kinase activation, Western blot analysis of GAP-EDL was performed in 13762 cells. Biodistribution was conducted in nine rats with 13762 breast tumors at 0.5-4 h. Each rat was administered 99m Tc-GAP-EDL. Two animal models (rats and rabbits) were created to ascertain whether tumor uptake of 99m Tc-GAP-EDL was via an ER-mediated process. In the tumor model, breast tumor-bearing rats were pretreated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) 1 h prior to receiving 99m Tc-GAP-EDL. In the endometriosis model, part of the rabbit uterine tissue was dissected and grafted to the peritoneal wall. The rabbit was administered with 99m Tc-GAP-EDL. There was a 10-40% reduction in uptake of 99m Tc-GAP-EDL in cells treated with DES or tamoxifen compared with untreated cells. Western blot analysis showed an ERK1/2 phosphorylation process with GAP-EDL. Biodistribution studies showed that tumor uptake and tumor-to-muscle count density ratio in 99m Tc-GAP-EDL groups were significantly higher than those in 99m Tc-GAP groups at 4 h. Among 99m Tc-GAP-EDL groups, region of interest analysis of images showed that tumor-to muscle ratios were decreased in blocking groups. In the endometriosis model, the grafted uterine tissue could be visualized by 99m Tc-GAP-EDL. Cellular or tumor uptake of 99m Tc-GAP-EDL occurs via an ER-mediated process. 99m Tc-GAP-EDL is a useful agent for imaging functional ER(+) disease. (orig.)

Bridging the Gap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kramer Overgaard, Majken; Broeng, Jes; Jensen, Monika Luniewska

Bridging the Gap (BtG) is a 2-year project funded by The Danish Industry Foundation. The goal of Bridging the Gap has been to create a new innovation model which will increase the rate at which Danish universities can spinout new technology ventures.......Bridging the Gap (BtG) is a 2-year project funded by The Danish Industry Foundation. The goal of Bridging the Gap has been to create a new innovation model which will increase the rate at which Danish universities can spinout new technology ventures....

Changes in the Male/Female Wage Gap, 1976-85.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellington, Alison J.

1993-01-01

Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics showed a 4% decrease in the gender wage gap for whites between 1976 and 1985. White men tend to have higher earnings because of more tenure in areas with greater rewards; women tend to have more part-time experience, which has fewer such rewards. (SK)

Technique for estimating relocated gap width for gap conductance calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klink, P.H.

1978-01-01

Thermally induced fuel fragmentation and relocation has been demonstrated to influence the thermal behavior of a fuel rod in two ways. The effective fuel pellet conductivity is decreased and pellet-to-cladding heat transfer is improved. This paper presents a correlation between as-built and relocated gap width which, used with the Ross and Stoute Gap Conductance Correlation and an appropriate fuel thermal expansion model, closely predicts the measured gap conductances

Public health news frames in North Carolina newspaper coverage of the 100% Tobacco-Free Schools campaign? Sometimes.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Suzanne DePalma; Sutton, Sonya F; Mebane, Felicia E

2006-01-01

News organizations are an important and influential part of the social environment. They identify certain issues by the extent and nature of their coverage. To help explain what public health policy messages may have influenced school policy decisions, this content analysis provides an examination of newspaper coverage of North Carolinas 100% tobacco-free schools campaign. Researchers searched LexisNexis for articles published in North Carolina newspapers between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2004 that included variations of "North Carolina tobacco-free schools." Researchers then conducted a descriptive analysis of 138 stories from nine North Carolina newspapers (approximately 4% of all the states newspapers) and used page placement and story type to examine the level of importance placed on the issue. Finally, frames for and against tobacco-free school policies were tracked, along with the presence of key messages presented by 100% TFS advocates. The volume of news coverage changed throughout the study period, with peaks and valleys closely associated with external "trigger" events. In addition, a majority of the newspaper articles did not include key public health messages. The results suggest an opportunity for public health experts and officials to work more effectively with local journalists to increase the use (and impact) of public health messages in news coverage of tobacco policies affecting youth.

Coverage or Cover-up: A Comparison of Newspaper Coverage of the 19th Amendment and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Linda Lazier

A study compared newspaper coverage of the women's suffrage movement in the 1920s with coverage of efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and early 1980s, to see if the similar movements with different outcomes were treated similarly or differently by the press. A content analysis of relevant articles in the "New York…

Media Coverage, Journal Press Releases and Editorials Associated with Randomized and Observational Studies in High-Impact Medical Journals: A Cohort Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael T M Wang

Full Text Available Publication of clinical research findings in prominent journals influences health beliefs and medical practice, in part by engendering news coverage. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs should be most influential in guiding clinical practice. We determined whether study design of clinical research published in high-impact journals influences media coverage.We compared the incidence and amount of media coverage of RCTs with that of observational studies published in the top 7 medical journals between 1 January 2013 and 31 March 2013. We specifically assessed media coverage of the most rigorous RCTs, those with >1000 participants that reported 'hard' outcomes. There was no difference between RCTs and observational studies in coverage by major newspapers or news agencies, or in total number of news stories generated (all P>0.63. Large RCTs reporting 'hard' outcomes did not generate more news coverage than small RCTs that reported surrogate outcomes and observational studies (all P>0.32. RCTs were more likely than observational studies to attract a journal editorial (70% vs 46%, P = 0.003, but less likely to be the subject of a journal press release (17% vs 50%, P0.99, nor were they more likely to be the subject of a journal press release (14% vs 38%, P = 0.14.The design of clinical studies whose results are published in high-impact medical journals is not associated with the likelihood or amount of ensuing news coverage.

Closing the value gap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snyder, A.V.

1992-01-01

It's a predicament. For the most part, investor-owned electric utilities trade at a deep discount to the actual (that is, replacement-cost) value to their assets. That's because most utilities fail to earn real returns large enough to justify raising and investing capital. The result is a value gap, where overall market value is significantly lower than the replacement costs of the assets. This gap is wider for utilities than for virtually any other industry in our economy. In addition to providing education and awareness, senior management must determine which businesses and activities create value and which diminish it. Then, management must allocate capital and human resources appropriately, holding down investments in value-diminishing areas until they can improve their profitability, and aggressively investing in value-enhancing businesses while preserving their profitability. But value management must not stop with resource-allocation decisions. To create a lasting transition to a value management philosophy, the utility's compensation system must also change: executives will have motivation to create value when compensation stems from this goal, not from such misleading accounting measures as earnings-per-share growth or ROE. That requires clear value-creation goals, and the organization must continuously evaluate top management's performance in light of the progress made toward those goals

Detection and Evaluation of Pre-Preg Gaps and Overlaps in Glare Laminates

Science.gov (United States)

Nardi, Davide; Abouhamzeh, Morteza; Leonard, Rob; Sinke, Jos

2018-03-01

Gaps and overlaps between pre-preg plies represent common flaws in composite materials that can be introduced easily in an automated fibre placement manufacturing process and are potentially detrimental for the mechanical performances of the final laminates. Whereas gaps and overlaps have been addressed for full composite material, the topic has not been extended to a hybrid composite material such as Glare, a member of the family of Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs). In this paper/research, the manufacturing, the detection, and the optical evaluation of intraply gaps and overlaps in Glare laminates are investigated. As part of an initial assessment study on the effect of gaps and overlaps on Glare, only the most critical lay-up has been considered. The experimental investigation started with the manufacturing of specimens having gaps and overlaps with different widths, followed by a non-destructive ultrasonic-inspection. An optical evaluation of the gaps and overlaps was performed by means of microscope image analysis of the cross sections of the specimens. The results from the non-destructive evaluations show the effectiveness of the ultrasonic detection of gaps and overlaps both in position, shape, width, and severity. The optical inspections confirm the accuracy of the non-destructive evaluation also adding useful insights about the geometrical features due to the presence of gaps and overlaps in the final Glare laminates. All the results justify the need for a further investigation on the effect of gaps and overlaps on the mechanical properties.

Expanding the universe of universal coverage: the population health argument for increasing coverage for immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Nandi, Arijit; Loue, Sana; Galea, Sandro

2009-12-01

As the US recession deepens, furthering the debate about healthcare reform is now even more important than ever. Few plans aimed at facilitating universal coverage make any mention of increasing access for uninsured non-citizens living in the US, many of whom are legally restricted from certain types of coverage. We conducted a critical review of the public health literature concerning the health status and access to health services among immigrant populations in the US. Using examples from infectious and chronic disease epidemiology, we argue that access to health services is at the intersection of the health of uninsured immigrants and the general population and that extending access to healthcare to all residents of the US, including undocumented immigrants, is beneficial from a population health perspective. Furthermore, from a health economics perspective, increasing access to care for immigrant populations may actually reduce net costs by increasing primary prevention and reducing the emphasis on emergency care for preventable conditions. It is unlikely that proposals for universal coverage will accomplish their objectives of improving population health and reducing social disparities in health if they do not address the substantial proportion of uninsured non-citizens living in the US.

Detecting Boundary Nodes and Coverage Holes in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Hui Zhao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The emergence of coverage holes in wireless sensor networks (WSNs means that some special events have broken out and the function of WSNs will be seriously influenced. Therefore, the issues of coverage holes have attracted considerable attention. In this paper, we focus on the identification of boundary nodes and coverage holes, which is crucially important to preventing the enlargement of coverage holes and ensuring the transmission of data. We define the problem of coverage holes and propose two novel algorithms to identify the coverage holes in WSNs. The first algorithm, Distributed Sector Cover Scanning (DSCS, can be used to identify the nodes on hole borders and the outer boundary of WSNs. The second scheme, Directional Walk (DW, can locate the coverage holes based on the boundary nodes identified with DSCS. We implement the algorithms in various scenarios and fully evaluate their performance. The simulation results show that the boundary nodes can be accurately detected by DSCS and the holes enclosed by the detected boundary nodes can be identified by DW. The comparisons confirm that the proposed algorithms outperform the existing ones.

29 CFR Appendix A to Part 4022 - Lump Sum Mortality Rates

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lump Sum Mortality Rates A Appendix A to Part 4022 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION COVERAGE AND BENEFITS BENEFITS PAYABLE IN TERMINATED SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLANS Pt. 4022, App. A Appendix A to Part 4022—Lump Sum Mortality...

Length and coverage of inhibitory decision rules

KAUST Repository

Alsolami, Fawaz

2012-01-01

Authors present algorithms for optimization of inhibitory rules relative to the length and coverage. Inhibitory rules have a relation "attribute ≠ value" on the right-hand side. The considered algorithms are based on extensions of dynamic programming. Paper contains also comparison of length and coverage of inhibitory rules constructed by a greedy algorithm and by the dynamic programming algorithm. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Canopy gap edge determination and the importance of gap edges for plant diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Salvador-Van Eysenrode

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Canopy gaps, i.e. openings in the forest cover caused by the fall of structural elements, are considered to be important for the maintenance of diversity and for the forest cycle. A gap can be considered as a young forest patch in the forest matrix, composed of interior surrounded by an edge, both enclosed by a perimeter. Much of the attention has been focused on the gap interior. However, at gap edges the spectrum of regeneration opportunities for plants may be larger than in the interior. Although definitions of gap are still discussed, any definition can describe it in an acceptable way, if justified, but defining edges is complicated and appropriate descriptors should be used. A method to determine gap interior and edge, using light as a descriptor, is presented with an example of gaps from a beech forest (Fagus sylvatica in Belgium. Also, the relevance and implications of gap edges for plant diversity and calculation of forest turnover is discussed.

Resolution, coverage, and geometry beyond traditional limits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronen, Shuki; Ferber, Ralf

1998-12-31

The presentation relates to the optimization of the image of seismic data and improved resolution and coverage of acquired data. Non traditional processing methods such as inversion to zero offset (IZO) are used. To realize the potential of saving acquisition cost by reducing in-fill and to plan resolution improvement by processing, geometry QC methods such as DMO Dip Coverage Spectrum (DDCS) and Bull`s Eyes Analysis are used. The DDCS is a 2-D spectrum whose entries consist of the DMO (Dip Move Out) coverage for a particular reflector specified by it`s true time dip and reflector normal strike. The Bull`s Eyes Analysis relies on real time processing of synthetic data generated with the real geometry. 4 refs., 6 figs.

SynGAP regulates protein synthesis and homeostatic synaptic plasticity in developing cortical networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Chieh Wang

Full Text Available Disrupting the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the developing brain has been causally linked with intellectual disability (ID and autism spectrum disorders (ASD. Excitatory synapse strength is regulated in the central nervous system by controlling the number of postsynaptic α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs. De novo genetic mutations of the synaptic GTPase-activating protein (SynGAP are associated with ID and ASD. SynGAP is enriched at excitatory synapses and genetic suppression of SynGAP increases excitatory synaptic strength. However, exactly how SynGAP acts to maintain synaptic AMPAR content is unclear. We show here that SynGAP limits excitatory synaptic strength, in part, by suppressing protein synthesis in cortical neurons. The data presented here from in vitro, rat and mouse cortical networks, demonstrate that regulation of translation by SynGAP involves ERK, mTOR, and the small GTP-binding protein Rheb. Furthermore, these data show that GluN2B-containing NMDARs and the cognitive kinase CaMKII act upstream of SynGAP and that this signaling cascade is required for proper translation-dependent homeostatic synaptic plasticity of excitatory synapses in developing cortical networks.

Delaunay Triangulation as a New Coverage Measurement Method in Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

Chizari, Hassan; Hosseini, Majid; Poston, Timothy; Razak, Shukor Abd; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan

2011-01-01

Sensing and communication coverage are among the most important trade-offs in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) design. A minimum bound of sensing coverage is vital in scheduling, target tracking and redeployment phases, as well as providing communication coverage. Some methods measure the coverage as a percentage value, but detailed information has been missing. Two scenarios with equal coverage percentage may not have the same Quality of Coverage (QoC). In this paper, we propose a new coverage measurement method using Delaunay Triangulation (DT). This can provide the value for all coverage measurement tools. Moreover, it categorizes sensors as ‘fat’, ‘healthy’ or ‘thin’ to show the dense, optimal and scattered areas. It can also yield the largest empty area of sensors in the field. Simulation results show that the proposed DT method can achieve accurate coverage information, and provides many tools to compare QoC between different scenarios. PMID:22163792

Maternal and child health care in an underprivileged area of Bangalore city: Identifying the gaps in the continuum of care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avita R Johnson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background With over 100 million Indians living in urban slums and high child mortality among low-income groups, focusing on maternal and child health (MCH among urban underprivileged is vital, if India is to achieve the fourth and fifth Millennium Development goals. Objectives To identify the gaps in the MCH Continuum of care, by assessing coverage and quality of Maternal and Child Health Services in an urban underprivileged area of Bangalore City. Methods A survey was conducted in an urban slum of Bangalore City, using systematic random sampling. A total of 178 subjects were interviewed with a pre-tested questionnaire. 88 were mothers who delivered in the last one year (to assess maternal care services, and 90 were mothers of a child aged 12-23 months (to assess immunization coverage. Breastfeeding practices and care during childhood illness were documented in both groups. Results Though institutional delivery rate was 97.7%, only 34.1% mothers had received full antenatal care. The quality of antenatal and postnatal services was poor, practices like prelacteal feeds and delayed initiation of breastfeeding were common. Less than 40 % of children were exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months. Only 53% of children aged 12-23 months were fully immunised. Primary immunisation drop-out rates were high. Mothers’ knowledge regarding vaccines was poor. Children with diarrhea received less fluids and food and only 61% received ORS. Conclusion This study identified the following gaps in the MCH Continuum of Care- lack of IFA consumption, poor quality of antenatal and postnatal care, high immunisation dropout rates, erroneous breastfeeding practices and inadequate care during diarrhoea. Further research may identify potential solutions to bridging these gaps in MCH care.

Maternal and child health care in an underprivileged area of Bangalore city: Identifying the gaps in the continuum of care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avita R Johnson

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background With over 100 million Indians living in urban slums and high child mortality among low-­‐income groups, focusing on maternal and child health (MCH among urban underprivileged is vital, if India is to achieve the fourth and fifth Millennium Development goals. Objectives To identify the gaps in the MCH Continuum of care, by assessing coverage and quality of Maternal and Child Health Services in an urban underprivileged area of Bangalore City. Methods A survey was conducted in an urban slum of Bangalore City, using systematic random sampling. A total of 178 subjects were interviewed with a pre-­‐tested questionnaire. 88 were mothers who delivered in the last one year (to assess maternal care services, and 90 were mothers of a child aged 12-­‐23 months (to assess immunization coverage. Breastfeeding practices and care during childhood illness were documented in both groups. Results Though institutional delivery rate was 97.7%, only 34.1% mothers had received full antenatal care. The quality of antenatal and postnatal services was poor, practices like prelacteal feeds and delayed initiation of breastfeeding were common. Less than 40 % of children were exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months. Only 53% of children aged 12-­‐23 months were fully immunised. Primary immunisation drop-­‐out rates were high. Mothers’ knowledge regarding vaccines was poor. Children with diarrhea received less fluids and food and only 61% received ORS. Conclusion This study identified the following gaps in the MCH Continuum of Care-­‐ lack of IFA consumption, poor quality of antenatal and postnatal care, high immunisation dropout rates, erroneous breastfeeding practices and inadequate care during diarrhoea. Further research may identify potential solutions to bridging these gaps in MCH care.

Swimming with the tide: solidarity wage policy and the gender earnings gap

OpenAIRE

Edin, Per-Anders; Richardson, Katarina

1999-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of wage compression for the gender wage gap in Sweden during the period 1968-1991. We find that the effects of changes in the wage structure on women’s wages have varied over time and have had partly counteracting effects. Changes in industry wage differentials have systematically worked against women, while the changes in the returns to human capital and unobserved characteristics have contributed to reductions in the gender wage gap. Changes ...

Importing equality? The effects of increased competition on the gender wage gap

OpenAIRE

Sandra E. Black; Elizabeth Brainerd

1999-01-01

It is now well documented that the gender wage gap declined substantially in the 1980s, despite rising overall wage inequality. While Blau and Kahn (JoLE 1997) attribute much of this improvement to gains in women's relative labor market experience and other observable characteristics, a substantial part of the decline in the gender wage gap remains unexplained, and may be due to reduced discrimination against women in the labor market. This paper tests the hypothesis (based on Becker 1957) th...

Filling gaps and expanding spaces – voices of student teachers on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Filling gaps and expanding spaces – voices of student teachers on their ... as part of a broader project – FIRE (Fourth-year Initiative for Research in Education), ... We wanted to determine how we could complement a community of practice ...

Building that Bridge over the Skills Gap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janani Ramanathan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Employers worldwide are seeking and failing to find in new recruits many skills that are critical for success. Skills that enable employees to work as part of a team, communicate effectively, take decisions, lead, adapt to change and solve problems creatively are not often found in fresh graduates. Education does not impart these skills as efficiently as it does academic knowledge and subject-specific skills. A change in the pedagogy and content of education is required to bridge the increasing skills gap we face today. The World University Consortium has identified themes that must be part of our future education, and this article highlights methods and strategies that can implement these ideas.

Controlling coverage of solution cast materials with unfavourable surface interactions

KAUST Repository

Burlakov, V. M.; Eperon, G. E.; Snaith, H. J.; Chapman, S. J.; Goriely, A.

2014-01-01

Creating uniform coatings of a solution-cast material is of central importance to a broad range of applications. Here, a robust and generic theoretical framework for calculating surface coverage by a solid film of material de-wetting a substrate is presented. Using experimental data from semiconductor thin films as an example, we calculate surface coverage for a wide range of annealing temperatures and film thicknesses. The model generally predicts that for each value of the annealing temperature there is a range of film thicknesses leading to poor surface coverage. The model accurately reproduces solution-cast thin film coverage for organometal halide perovskites, key modern photovoltaic materials, and identifies processing windows for both high and low levels of surface coverage. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Controlling coverage of solution cast materials with unfavourable surface interactions

KAUST Repository

Burlakov, V. M.

2014-03-03

Creating uniform coatings of a solution-cast material is of central importance to a broad range of applications. Here, a robust and generic theoretical framework for calculating surface coverage by a solid film of material de-wetting a substrate is presented. Using experimental data from semiconductor thin films as an example, we calculate surface coverage for a wide range of annealing temperatures and film thicknesses. The model generally predicts that for each value of the annealing temperature there is a range of film thicknesses leading to poor surface coverage. The model accurately reproduces solution-cast thin film coverage for organometal halide perovskites, key modern photovoltaic materials, and identifies processing windows for both high and low levels of surface coverage. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

A quantitative analysis of the mass media coverage of genomics medicine in China: a call for science journalism in the developing world.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Feifei; Chen, Yan; Ge, Siqi; Yu, Xinwei; Shao, Shuang; Black, Michael; Wang, Youxin; Zhang, Jie; Song, Manshu; Wang, Wei

2014-04-01

Science journalism is a previously neglected but rapidly growing area of scholarship in postgenomics medicine and socio-technical studies of knowledge-based innovations. Science journalism can help evaluate the quantity and quality of information flux between traditional scientific expert communities and the broader public, for example, in personalized medicine education. Newspapers can play a crucial role in science and health communication, and more importantly, in framing public engagement. However, research on the role of newspaper coverage of genomics-related articles has not been readily available in resource-limited settings. As genomics is rapidly expanding worldwide, this gap in newspaper reportage in China is therefore an important issue. In order to bridge this gap, we investigated the coverage of genomics medicine in eight major Chinese national newspapers, using the China Core Newspapers Full-text Database (CCND) and articles in scientific journals in PubMed from 2000 to 2011. Coverage of genomics medicine in these eight official government Chinese newspapers has remained low, with only 12 articles published per newspaper per year between 2000 and 2011. Between 2000 and 2011, over a 40-fold difference was observed in the number of genomics medicine-related articles in PubMed, as compared to that in newspapers. The numbers of genomics-related articles among the eight major newspapers from 2000 to 2011 were significantly different (p=0.001). Commentary/mini reviews and articles about gene therapy for specific diseases were most frequently published in 2006 and 2011. In parallel, we observed that "cancer gene therapy," "new susceptibility gene locus," and "gene technology revolution" were the top three thematic strands addressed in the newspapers, even though their volume remained low. This study reports on the under-representation of newspaper coverage of genomics medicine in China, despite the vast growth of scientific articles in journals in this

A comparison of the wide gap and narrow gap resistive plate chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cerron Zeballos, E.; Crotty, I.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Valverde, J.L.; Neupane, S.; Peskov, V.; Singh, S.; Williams, M.C.S.; Zichichi, A.

1996-01-01

In this paper we study the performance of a wide gap RPC and compare it with that of a narrow gap RPC, both operated in avalanche mode. We have studied the total charge produced in the avalanche. We have measured the dependence of the performance with rate. In addition we have considered the effect of the tolerance of gas gap and calculated the power dissipated in these two types of RPC. We find that the narrow gap RPC has better timing ability; however the wide gap has superior rate capability, lower power dissipation in the gas volume and can be constructed with less stringent mechanical tolerances. (orig.)

A comparison of the wide gap and narrow gap resistive plate chamber

CERN Document Server

Cerron-Zeballos, E; Hatzifotiadou, D; Lamas-Valverde, J; Neupane, S; Peskov, Vladimir; Singh, S; Williams, M C S; Zichichi, Antonino

1996-01-01

In this paper we study the performance of a wide gap RPC and compare it with that of a narrow gap RPC, both operated in avalanche mode. We have studied the total charge produced in the avalanche. We have measured the dependence of the performance with rate. In addition we have considered the effect of the tolerance of gas gap and calculated the power dissipated in these two types of RPC. We find that the narrow gap RPC has better timing ability; however the wide gap has superior rate capability, lower power dissipation in the gas volume and can be constructed with less stringent mechanical tolerances.

Massachusetts health reform: employer coverage from employees' perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Sharon K; Stockley, Karen

2009-01-01

The national health reform debate continues to draw on Massachusetts' 2006 reform initiative, with a focus on sustaining employer-sponsored insurance. This study provides an update on employers' responses under health reform in fall 2008, using data from surveys of working-age adults. Results show that concerns about employers' dropping coverage or scaling back benefits under health reform have not been realized. Access to employer coverage has increased, as has the scope and quality of their coverage as assessed by workers. However, premiums and out-of-pocket costs have become more of an issue for employees in small firms.

45 CFR 148.124 - Certification and disclosure of coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... method of counting creditable coverage, and the requesting entity may identify specific information that... a payroll deduction for health coverage, a health insurance identification card, a certificate of...

Demographic characteristics in patients with short-gap and long-gap ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Further analysis of this topic is warranted ... Keywords: demographic characteristics, long-gap esophageal atresia, short-gap ... Thus, we conducted the present study to analyze the character- ..... this issue, providing fundamental information.

Investigation and microstructural analyses of massive LSP impacts with coverage area on crack initiation location and tensile properties of AM50 magnesium alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, K.Y.; Wang, C.Y. [School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China); Sun, G.F. [School of Mechanical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Cui, C.Y.; Sheng, J. [School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China); Lu, J.Z., E-mail: blueesky2005@163.com [School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013 (China)

2016-01-05

The influence of massive laser shock peening (LSP) impacts with coverage area on tensile properties of AM50 magnesium alloy was investigated using MTS880-10 servo-hydraulic material testing machine system. Microstructure in the surface layer and fracture morphologies of as-machined and LSPed tensile specimens were also characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cross-sectional optical microscopy (OM). Special attention is paid to the crack initiation location as a function of LSPed coverage area in the gauge part of tensile specimen. Experimental results and analysis indicate that coverage area significantly influenced tensile properties of the tensile specimen. In addition, the grain refinement process in the top surface layer of AM50 magnesium alloy caused by massive LSP impacts is presented. Furthermore, the underlying influence mechanism of LSPed coverage area on tensile properties and crack initiation location of tensile specimen was clearly revealed.

Investigation and microstructural analyses of massive LSP impacts with coverage area on crack initiation location and tensile properties of AM50 magnesium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, K.Y.; Wang, C.Y.; Sun, G.F.; Cui, C.Y.; Sheng, J.; Lu, J.Z.

2016-01-01

The influence of massive laser shock peening (LSP) impacts with coverage area on tensile properties of AM50 magnesium alloy was investigated using MTS880-10 servo-hydraulic material testing machine system. Microstructure in the surface layer and fracture morphologies of as-machined and LSPed tensile specimens were also characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cross-sectional optical microscopy (OM). Special attention is paid to the crack initiation location as a function of LSPed coverage area in the gauge part of tensile specimen. Experimental results and analysis indicate that coverage area significantly influenced tensile properties of the tensile specimen. In addition, the grain refinement process in the top surface layer of AM50 magnesium alloy caused by massive LSP impacts is presented. Furthermore, the underlying influence mechanism of LSPed coverage area on tensile properties and crack initiation location of tensile specimen was clearly revealed.

[Vaccination coverage in young, middle age and elderly adults in Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz-Hervert, Luis Pablo; Ferreira-Guerrero, Elizabeth; Díaz-Ortega, José Luis; Trejo-Valdivia, Belem; Téllez-Rojo, Martha María; Mongua-Rodríguez, Norma; Hernández-Serrato, María I; Montoya-Rodríguez, Airain Alejandra; García-García, Lourdes

2013-01-01

To estimate vaccination coverage in adults 20 years of age and older. Analysis of data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012. Among adults 20-59 years old coverage with complete scheme, measles and rubella (MR) and tetanus toxoid and diphtheria toxoid (Td) was 44.7,49. and 67.3%, respectively. Coverage and percentage of vaccination were significantly higher among women than men. Among women 20-49 years coverages with complete scheme, MR and Td were 48.3, 53.2 and 69.8%, respectively. Among adults 60-64 years old, coverage with complete scheme, Td and influenza vaccine were 46.5, 66.2 and 56.0%, respectively. Among adults >65 years coverages for complete scheme, Td, influenza vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine were 44.0, 69.0, 63.3 and 62.0%, respectively. Vaccination coverage among adult population as obtained from vaccination card or self-report is below optimal values although data may be underestimated. Recommendations for improvements are proposed.

Missing heritability : Is the gap closing? An analysis of 32 complex traits in the Lifelines Cohort Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nolte, Ilja M.; van der Most, Peter J.; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; de Bakker, Paul I. W.; Boezen, H. Marike; Bruinenberg, Marcel; Franke, Lude; van der Harst, Pim; Navis, Gerjan; Postma, Dirkje S.; Rots, Marianne G.; Stolk, Ronald P.; Swertz, Morris A.; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Wijmenga, Cisca; Snieder, Harold

Despite the recent explosive rise in number of genetic markers for complex disease traits identified in genome-wide association studies, there is still a large gap between the known heritability of these traits and the part explained by these markers. To gauge whether this 'heritability gap' is

2 CFR 182.125 - Does this part affect the Federal contracts that I receive?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... GOVERNMENTWIDE GUIDANCE FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS Reserved GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Purpose and Coverage § 182.125 Does this part affect the Federal contracts that I... violation of the requirements of this part, as described in § 182.510(c). However, this part does not apply...

Development and formative evaluation of an innovative mHealth intervention for improving coverage of community-based maternal, newborn and child health services in rural areas of India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dhiren Modi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background: A new cadre of village-based frontline health workers, called Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs, was created in India. However, coverage of selected community-based maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH services remains low. Objective: This article describes the process of development and formative evaluation of a complex mHealth intervention (ImTeCHO to increase the coverage of proven MNCH services in rural India by improving the performance of ASHAs. Design: The Medical Research Council (MRC framework for developing complex interventions was used. Gaps were identified in the usual care provided by ASHAs, based on a literature search, and SEWA Rural's1 three decades of grassroots experience. The components of the intervention (mHealth strategies were designed to overcome the gaps in care. The intervention, in the form of the ImTeCHO mobile phone and web application, along with the delivery model, was developed to incorporate these mHealth strategies. The intervention was piloted through 45 ASHAs among 45 villages in Gujarat (population: 45,000 over 7 months in 2013 to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and usefulness of the intervention and to identify barriers to its delivery. Results: Inadequate supervision and support to ASHAs were noted as a gap in usual care, resulting in low coverage of selected MNCH services and care received by complicated cases. Therefore, the ImTeCHO application was developed to integrate mHealth strategies in the form of job aid to ASHAs to assist with scheduling, behavior change communication, diagnosis, and patient management, along with supervision and support of ASHAs. During the pilot, the intervention and its delivery were found to be largely acceptable, feasible, and useful. A few changes were made to the intervention and its delivery, including 1 a new helpline for ASHAs, 2 further simplification of processes within the ImTeCHO incentive management system and 3 additional web

Revisiting the ichthyodiversity of Java and Bali through DNA barcodes: taxonomic coverage, identification accuracy, cryptic diversity and identification of exotic species.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahruddin, Hadi; Hutama, Aditya; Busson, Frédéric; Sauri, Sopian; Hanner, Robert; Keith, Philippe; Hadiaty, Renny; Hubert, Nicolas

2017-03-01

Among the 899 species of freshwater fishes reported from Sundaland biodiversity hotspot, nearly 50% are endemics. The functional integrity of aquatic ecosystems is currently jeopardized by human activities, and landscape conversion led to the decline of fish populations in several part of Sundaland, particularly in Java. The inventory of the Javanese ichthyofauna has been discontinuous, and the taxonomic knowledge is scattered in the literature. This study provides a DNA barcode reference library for the inland fishes of Java and Bali with the aim to streamline the inventory of fishes in this part of Sundaland. Owing to the lack of available checklist for estimating the taxonomic coverage of this study, a checklist was compiled based on online catalogues. A total of 95 sites were visited, and a library including 1046 DNA barcodes for 159 species was assembled. Nearest neighbour distance was 28-fold higher than maximum intraspecific distance on average, and a DNA barcoding gap was observed. The list of species with DNA barcodes displayed large discrepancies with the checklist compiled here as only 36% (i.e. 77 species) and 60% (i.e. 24 species) of the known species were sampled in Java and Bali, respectively. This result was contrasted by a high number of new occurrences and the ceiling of the accumulation curves for both species and genera. These results highlight the poor taxonomic knowledge of this ichthyofauna, and the apparent discrepancy between present and historical occurrence data is to be attributed to species extirpations, synonymy and misidentifications in previous studies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Whole brain CT perfusion in acute anterior circulation ischemia: coverage size matters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emmer, B.J.; Rijkee, M.; Walderveen, M.A.A. van; Niesten, J.M.; Velthuis, B.K.; Wermer, M.J.H.

2014-01-01

Our aim was to compare infarct core volume on whole brain CT perfusion (CTP) with several limited coverage sizes (i.e., 3, 4, 6, and 8 cm), as currently used in routine clinical practice. In total, 40 acute ischemic stroke patients with non-contrast CT (NCCT) and CTP imaging of anterior circulation ischemia were included. Imaging was performed using a 320-multislice CT. Average volumes of infarct core of all simulated partial coverage sizes were calculated. Infarct core volume of each partial brain coverage was compared with infarct core volume of whole brain coverage and expressed using a percentage. To determine the optimal starting position for each simulated CTP coverage, the percentage of infarct coverage was calculated for every possible starting position of the simulated partial coverage in relation to Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score in Acute Stroke Triage (ASPECTS 1) level. Whole brain CTP coverage further increased the percentage of infarct core volume depicted by 10 % as compared to the 8-cm coverage when the bottom slice was positioned at the ASPECTS 1 level. Optimization of the position of the region of interest (ROI) in 3 cm, 4 cm, and 8 cm improved the percentage of infarct depicted by 4 % for the 8-cm, 7 % for the 4-cm, and 13 % for the 3-cm coverage size. This study shows that whole brain CTP is the optimal coverage for CTP with a substantial improvement in accuracy in quantifying infarct core size. In addition, our results suggest that the optimal position of the ROI in limited coverage depends on the size of the coverage. (orig.)

Whole brain CT perfusion in acute anterior circulation ischemia: coverage size matters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emmer, B.J. [Erasmus Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, Postbus 2040, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Rijkee, M.; Walderveen, M.A.A. van [Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, Leiden (Netherlands); Niesten, J.M.; Velthuis, B.K. [University Medical Centre Utrecht, Department of Radiology, Utrecht (Netherlands); Wermer, M.J.H. [Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Neurology, Leiden (Netherlands)

2014-12-15

Our aim was to compare infarct core volume on whole brain CT perfusion (CTP) with several limited coverage sizes (i.e., 3, 4, 6, and 8 cm), as currently used in routine clinical practice. In total, 40 acute ischemic stroke patients with non-contrast CT (NCCT) and CTP imaging of anterior circulation ischemia were included. Imaging was performed using a 320-multislice CT. Average volumes of infarct core of all simulated partial coverage sizes were calculated. Infarct core volume of each partial brain coverage was compared with infarct core volume of whole brain coverage and expressed using a percentage. To determine the optimal starting position for each simulated CTP coverage, the percentage of infarct coverage was calculated for every possible starting position of the simulated partial coverage in relation to Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score in Acute Stroke Triage (ASPECTS 1) level. Whole brain CTP coverage further increased the percentage of infarct core volume depicted by 10 % as compared to the 8-cm coverage when the bottom slice was positioned at the ASPECTS 1 level. Optimization of the position of the region of interest (ROI) in 3 cm, 4 cm, and 8 cm improved the percentage of infarct depicted by 4 % for the 8-cm, 7 % for the 4-cm, and 13 % for the 3-cm coverage size. This study shows that whole brain CTP is the optimal coverage for CTP with a substantial improvement in accuracy in quantifying infarct core size. In addition, our results suggest that the optimal position of the ROI in limited coverage depends on the size of the coverage. (orig.)

Spin Orbit Coupling Gap and Indirect Gap in Strain-Tuned Topological Insulator-Antimonene

OpenAIRE

Cheung, Chi-Ho; Fuh, Huei-Ru; Hsu, Ming-Chien; Lin, Yeu-Chung; Chang, Ching-Ray

2016-01-01

Recently, searching large-bulk band gap topological insulator (TI) is under intensive study. Through k?P theory and first-principles calculations analysis on antimonene, we find that ?-phase antimonene can be tuned to a 2D TI under an in-plane anisotropic strain and the magnitude of direct bulk band gap (SOC gap) depends on the strength of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) which is strain-dependent. As the band inversion of this TI accompanies with an indirect band gap, the TI bulk band gap is the in...

Coverage-maximization in networks under resource constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Nandi, Subrata; Brusch, Lutz; Deutsch, Andreas; Ganguly, Niloy

2010-06-01

Efficient coverage algorithms are essential for information search or dispersal in all kinds of networks. We define an extended coverage problem which accounts for constrained resources of consumed bandwidth B and time T . Our solution to the network challenge is here studied for regular grids only. Using methods from statistical mechanics, we develop a coverage algorithm with proliferating message packets and temporally modulated proliferation rate. The algorithm performs as efficiently as a single random walker but O(B(d-2)/d) times faster, resulting in significant service speed-up on a regular grid of dimension d . The algorithm is numerically compared to a class of generalized proliferating random walk strategies and on regular grids shown to perform best in terms of the product metric of speed and efficiency.

Bridging the climate-induced water gap in the twenty-first century: adaptation support based on water supply, demand, adaptation and financing.

Science.gov (United States)

Straatsma, Menno; Droogers, Peter; Brandsma, Jaïrus; Buytaert, Wouter; Karssenberg, Derek; Van Beek, Rens; Wada, Yoshihide; Sutanudjaja, Edwin; Vitolo, Claudia; Schmitz, Oliver; Meijer, Karen; Van Aalst, Maaike; Bierkens, Marc

2014-05-01

Water scarcity affects large parts of the world. Over the course of the twenty-first century, water demand is likely to increase due to population growth and associated food production, and increased economic activity, while water supply is projected to decrease in many regions due to climate change. Despite recent studies that analyze the effect of climate change on water scarcity, e.g. using climate projections under representative concentration pathways (RCP) of the fifth assessment report of the IPCC (AR5), decision support for closing the water gap between now and 2100 does not exist at a meaningful scale and with a global coverage. In this study, we aimed (i) to assess the joint impact of climatic and socio-economic change on water scarcity, (ii) to integrate impact and potential adaptation in one workflow, (iii) to prioritize adaptation options to counteract water scarcity based on their financial, regional socio-economic and environmental implications, and (iv) to deliver all this information in an integrated user-friendly web-based service. To enable the combination of global coverage with local relevance, we aggregated all results for 1604 water provinces (food producing units) delineated in this study, which is five times smaller than previous food producing units. Water supply was computed using the PCR-GLOBWB hydrological and water resources model, parameterized at 5 arcminutes for the whole globe, excluding Antarctica and Greenland. We ran PCR-GLOBWB with a daily forcing derived from five different GCM models from the CMIP5 (GFDL-ESM2M, Hadgem2-ES, IPSL-CMA5-LR, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, NorESM1-M) that were bias corrected using observation-based WATCH data between 1960-1999. For each of the models all four RCPs (RCP 2.6, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) were run, producing the ensemble of 20 future projections. The blue water supply was aggregated per month and per water province. Industrial, domestic and irrigation water demands were computed for a limited number of

Universal health coverage in Turkey: enhancement of equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat; Aydın, Sabahattin; Chakraborty, Sarbani; Sümer, Safir; Aran, Meltem; Gürol, Ipek; Nazlıoğlu, Serpil; Ozgülcü, Senay; Aydoğan, Ulger; Ayar, Banu; Dilmen, Uğur; Akdağ, Recep

2013-07-06

Turkey has successfully introduced health system changes and provided its citizens with the right to health to achieve universal health coverage, which helped to address inequities in financing, health service access, and health outcomes. We trace the trajectory of health system reforms in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on 2003-13, which coincides with the Health Transformation Program (HTP). The HTP rapidly expanded health insurance coverage and access to health-care services for all citizens, especially the poorest population groups, to achieve universal health coverage. We analyse the contextual drivers that shaped the transformations in the health system, explore the design and implementation of the HTP, identify the factors that enabled its success, and investigate its effects. Our findings suggest that the HTP was instrumental in achieving universal health coverage to enhance equity substantially, and led to quantifiable and beneficial effects on all health system goals, with an improved level and distribution of health, greater fairness in financing with better financial protection, and notably increased user satisfaction. After the HTP, five health insurance schemes were consolidated to create a unified General Health Insurance scheme with harmonised and expanded benefits. Insurance coverage for the poorest population groups in Turkey increased from 2·4 million people in 2003, to 10·2 million in 2011. Health service access increased across the country-in particular, access and use of key maternal and child health services improved to help to greatly reduce the maternal mortality ratio, and under-5, infant, and neonatal mortality, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Several factors helped to achieve universal health coverage and improve outcomes. These factors include economic growth, political stability, a comprehensive transformation strategy led by a transformation team, rapid policy translation, flexible implementation with

Mechanics of Fluid-Filled Interstitial Gaps. II. Gap Characteristics in Xenopus Embryonic Ectoderm.

Science.gov (United States)

Barua, Debanjan; Parent, Serge E; Winklbauer, Rudolf

2017-08-22

The ectoderm of the Xenopus embryo is permeated by a network of channels that appear in histological sections as interstitial gaps. We characterized this interstitial space by measuring gap sizes, angles formed between adjacent cells, and curvatures of cell surfaces at gaps. From these parameters, and from surface-tension values measured previously, we estimated the values of critical mechanical variables that determine gap sizes and shapes in the ectoderm, using a general model of interstitial gap mechanics. We concluded that gaps of 1-4 μm side length can be formed by the insertion of extracellular matrix fluid at three-cell junctions such that cell adhesion is locally disrupted and a tension difference between cell-cell contacts and the free cell surface at gaps of 0.003 mJ/m 2 is generated. Furthermore, a cell hydrostatic pressure of 16.8 ± 1.7 Pa and an interstitial pressure of 3.9 ± 3.6 Pa, relative to the central blastocoel cavity of the embryo, was found to be consistent with the observed gap size and shape distribution. Reduction of cell adhesion by the knockdown of C-cadherin increased gap volume while leaving intracellular and interstitial pressures essentially unchanged. In both normal and adhesion-reduced ectoderm, cortical tension of the free cell surfaces at gaps does not return to the high values characteristic of the free surface of the whole tissue. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A GIS-Based Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Spatial Coverage of Public Transport Networks in Tourist Destinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoni Domènech

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article develops a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness and spatial coverage of public transport in tourist cities. The proposed methodology is applied and validated in Cambrils municipality, in the central part of the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, a coastal destination characterised by the concentration of tourism flows during summer. The application of GIS spatial analysis tools allows for the development of a system of territorial indicators that spatially correlate the public transport network and the distribution of the population. The main novelty of our work is that this analysis not only includes the registered resident population, but also incorporates the population that temporarily inhabits the municipality (tourists. The results of the study firstly permit the detection of unequal spatial accessibility and coverage in terms of public transport in the municipality, with significant differences between central neighbourhoods and peripheral urban areas of lower population density. Secondly, they allow observation of how the degree of public transport coverage differs significantly in areas with a higher concentration of tourist accommodation establishments.

A diagnostic study of the global coverage by contrails. Pt. 1. Present day climate. Revised version

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sausen, R.; Gierens, K.; Ponater, M.; Schumann, U.

1998-03-01

The global distribution of the contrail formation potential and the contrail cloud coverage are estimated using meteorological analysis data for temperature and humidity (ECMWF re-analyses) and a data base on aircraft fuel consumption. Regions with humidity between ice and liquid saturation and with temperature low enough to let aircraft trigger contrail formation are identified as regions in which persistent contrails may be formed. The frequency with which a region is conditioned for such persistent contrail formation measures the contrail formation potential. The mean contrail cloud coverage is computed by multiplying this frequency with a suitable function of fuel consumption (linear or non-linear). The product is normalized such that the contrail coverage equals the observed value of 0.5% in a domain between 30 W to 30 E, 35 N to 75 N. The results show a large potential for contrail formation in the upper troposphere, in particular in the tropics but also at mid-latitudes. At northern mid-latitudes about 20% of the upper tropospheric air is conditioned to form persistent contrails. Part of this region may be covered by otherwise forming cirrus clouds. When multiplied with fuel consumption of 1992 aviation, large cover by persistent contrail clouds is computed over Europe, the North Atlantic, the continental USA, and south-east Asia. The computed contrail coverage reaches 2% over the USA, and is larger in winter than in summer. The global mean contrail coverage is about 0.11% for linear fuel dependence and the given normalization. The result is only weakly sensitive to the propulsion efficiency of aircraft, but strongly sensitive to aircraft flight altitude. (orig.)

Anomalous electromagnetically induced transparency in photonic-band-gap materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Mahi R.

2004-01-01

The phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency has been studied when a four-level atom is located in a photonic band gap material. Quantum interference is introduced by driving the two upper levels of the atom with a strong pump laser field. The top level and one of the ground levels are coupled by a weak probe laser field and absorption takes place between these two states. The susceptibility due to the absorption for this transition has been calculated by using the master equation method in linear response theory. Numerical simulations are performed for the real and imaginary parts of the susceptibility for a photonic band gap material whose gap-midgap ratio is 21%. It is found that when resonance frequencies lie within the band, the medium becomes transparent under the action of the strong pump laser field. More interesting results are found when one of the resonance frequencies lies at the band edge and within the band gap. When the resonance frequency lies at the band edge, the medium becomes nontransparent even under a strong pump laser field. On the other hand, when the resonance frequency lies within the band gap, the medium becomes transparent even under a weak pump laser field. In summary, we found that the medium can be transformed from the transparent state to the nontransparent state just by changing the location of the resonance frequency. We call these two effects anomalous electromagnetically induced transparency

Distinct roles of the RasGAP family proteins in C. elegans associative learning and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Gyurkó, M Dávid; Csermely, Péter; Sőti, Csaba; Steták, Attila

2015-10-15

The Ras GTPase activating proteins (RasGAPs) are regulators of the conserved Ras/MAPK pathway. Various roles of some of the RasGAPs in learning and memory have been reported in different model systems, yet, there is no comprehensive study to characterize all gap genes in any organism. Here, using reverse genetics and neurobehavioural tests, we studied the role of all known genes of the rasgap family in C. elegans in associative learning and memory. We demonstrated that their proteins are implicated in different parts of the learning and memory processes. We show that gap-1 contribute redundantly with gap-3 to the chemosensation of volatile compounds, gap-1 plays a major role in associative learning, while gap-2 and gap-3 are predominantly required for short- and long-term associative memory. Our results also suggest that the C. elegans Ras orthologue let-60 is involved in multiple processes during learning and memory. Thus, we show that the different classes of RasGAP proteins are all involved in cognitive function and their complex interplay ensures the proper formation and storage of novel information in C. elegans.

42 CFR 436.321 - Medically needy coverage of the blind.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Medically needy coverage of the blind. 436.321... Optional Coverage of the Medically Needy § 436.321 Medically needy coverage of the blind. If the agency provides Medicaid to the medically needy, it may provide Medicaid to blind individuals who meet— (a) The...

Assessing Requirements Quality through Requirements Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Rajan, Ajitha; Heimdahl, Mats; Woodham, Kurt

2008-01-01

In model-based development, the development effort is centered around a formal description of the proposed software system the model. This model is derived from some high-level requirements describing the expected behavior of the software. For validation and verification purposes, this model can then be subjected to various types of analysis, for example, completeness and consistency analysis [6], model checking [3], theorem proving [1], and test-case generation [4, 7]. This development paradigm is making rapid inroads in certain industries, e.g., automotive, avionics, space applications, and medical technology. This shift towards model-based development naturally leads to changes in the verification and validation (V&V) process. The model validation problem determining that the model accurately captures the customer's high-level requirements has received little attention and the sufficiency of the validation activities has been largely determined through ad-hoc methods. Since the model serves as the central artifact, its correctness with respect to the users needs is absolutely crucial. In our investigation, we attempt to answer the following two questions with respect to validation (1) Are the requirements sufficiently defined for the system? and (2) How well does the model implement the behaviors specified by the requirements? The second question can be addressed using formal verification. Nevertheless, the size and complexity of many industrial systems make formal verification infeasible even if we have a formal model and formalized requirements. Thus, presently, there is no objective way of answering these two questions. To this end, we propose an approach based on testing that, when given a set of formal requirements, explores the relationship between requirements-based structural test-adequacy coverage and model-based structural test-adequacy coverage. The proposed technique uses requirements coverage metrics defined in [9] on formal high-level software

Investigation the effect of lattice angle on the band gap width in 3D phononic crystals with rhombohedral(I) lattice

Science.gov (United States)

Salehi, H.; Aryadoust, M.; Shoushtari, M. Zargar

2014-07-01

In this paper, the propagation of acoustic waves in the phononic crystal of 3D with rhombohedral(I) lattice is studied theoretically. The crystal composite constituted of nickel spheres embedded in epoxy. The calculations of the band structure and density of states are performed with the plane wave expansion method in the irreducible part of Brillouin zone. In the present work, we have investigated the effect of lattice angle on the band structure and width of the band gap rhombohedral(I) lattice in the irreducible part of the first Brillouin zone and its planes separately. The results show that more than one complete band gape are formed in the four planes of the irreducible part. The most complete band gaps are formed in the (111) plane and the widest complete band gap in (443) with an angle greater than 80. So, if the sound passes through the (111) and (443) planes for the lattice angle close to 90, the crystal phononic displays the excellent insulation behavior. Moreover, in the other planes, the lattice angle does not affect on the width and the number of band gaps. Also, for the filling fraction 5 %, the widest complete band gap is formed. These results are consistent with the effect of symmetry on the band gap width, because the (111) plane has the most symmetry.

Physics-Aware Informative Coverage Planning for Autonomous Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

Physics-Aware Informative Coverage Planning for Autonomous Vehicles Michael J. Kuhlman1, Student Member, IEEE, Petr Švec2, Member, IEEE, Krishnanand...Physics-Aware Informative Coverage Planning for Autonomous Vehicles 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d

Country-level predictors of vaccination coverage and inequalities in Gavi-supported countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Arsenault, Catherine; Johri, Mira; Nandi, Arijit; Mendoza Rodríguez, José M; Hansen, Peter M; Harper, Sam

2017-04-25

Important inequalities in childhood vaccination coverage persist between countries and population groups. Understanding why some countries achieve higher and more equitable levels of coverage is crucial to redress these inequalities. In this study, we explored the country-level determinants of (1) coverage of the third dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis- (DTP3) containing vaccine and (2) within-country inequalities in DTP3 coverage in 45 countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We used data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2005 and 2014. We measured national DTP3 coverage and the slope index of inequality in DTP3 coverage with respect to household wealth, maternal education, and multidimensional poverty. We collated data on country health systems, health financing, governance and geographic and sociocultural contexts from published sources. We used meta-regressions to assess the relationship between these country-level factors and variations in DTP3 coverage and inequalities. To validate our findings, we repeated these analyses for coverage with measles-containing vaccine (MCV). We found considerable heterogeneity in DTP3 coverage and in the magnitude of inequalities across countries. Results for MCV were consistent with those from DTP3. Political stability, gender equality and smaller land surface were important predictors of higher and more equitable levels of DTP3 coverage. Inequalities in DTP3 coverage were also lower in countries receiving more external resources for health, with lower rates of out-of-pocket spending and with higher national coverage. Greater government spending on heath and lower linguistic fractionalization were also consistent with better vaccination outcomes. Improving vaccination coverage and reducing inequalities requires that policies and programs address critical social determinants of health including geographic and social exclusion, gender inequality and the availability of

Effective cataract surgical coverage: An indicator for measuring quality-of-care in the context of Universal Health Coverage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacqueline Ramke

Full Text Available To define and demonstrate effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC, a candidate UHC indicator that combines a coverage measure (cataract surgical coverage, CSC with quality (post-operative visual outcome.All Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB surveys with datasets on the online RAAB Repository on April 1 2016 were downloaded. The most recent study from each country was included. By country, cataract surgical outcome (CSOGood, 6/18 or better; CSOPoor, worse than 6/60, CSC (operated cataract as a proportion of operable plus operated cataract and eCSC (operated cataract and a good outcome as a proportion of operable plus operated cataract were calculated. The association between CSC and CSO was assessed by linear regression. Gender inequality in CSC and eCSC was calculated.Datasets from 20 countries were included (2005-2013; 67,337 participants; 5,474 cataract surgeries. Median CSC was 53.7% (inter-quartile range[IQR] 46.1-66.6%, CSOGood was 58.9% (IQR 53.7-67.6% and CSOPoor was 17.7% (IQR 11.3-21.1%. Coverage and quality of cataract surgery were moderately associated-every 1% CSC increase was associated with a 0.46% CSOGood increase and 0.28% CSOPoor decrease. Median eCSC was 36.7% (IQR 30.2-50.6%, approximately one-third lower than the median CSC. Women tended to fare worse than men, and gender inequality was slightly higher for eCSC (4.6% IQR 0.5-7.1% than for CSC (median 2.3% IQR -1.5-11.6%.eCSC allows monitoring of quality in conjunction with coverage of cataract surgery. In the surveys analysed, on average 36.7% of people who could benefit from cataract surgery had undergone surgery and obtained a good visual outcome.

Rotating electric machine with fluid supported parts

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jr., Joseph L.; Kirtley, Jr., James L.

1981-01-01

A rotating electric machine in which the armature winding thereof and other parts are supported by a liquid to withstand the mechanical stresses applied during transient overloads and the like. In particular, a narrow gap is provided between the armature winding and the stator which supports it and this gap is filled with an externally pressurized viscous liquid. The liquid is externally pressurized sufficiently to balance the static loads on the armature winding. Transient mechanical loads which deform the armature winding alter the gap dimensions and thereby additionally pressurize the viscous liquid to oppose the armature winding deformation and more nearly uniformly to distribute the resulting mechanical stresses.

Cobertura efectiva de las intervenciones en salud de América Latina y el Caribe: métrica para evaluar los sistemas de salud Effective coverage of health interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean: metrics for the assessment of health systems performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Martínez

2011-01-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Medir la cobertura efectiva para once intervenciones de salud en nueve países de América Latina utilizando las encuestas de demografía y salud o registros administrativos que abarcan la salud infantil, de la mujer y el adulto. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se seleccionaron las intervenciones y se armonizaron definiciones y métodos de cálculo de acuerdo con la información disponible para lograr la comparabilidad entre países. RESULTADOS: Chile es el país con mejores indicadores de coberturas crudas y efectivas, seguido por México y Colombia, y existen brechas importantes entre regiones, departamentos o estados. CONCLUSIONES: La métrica de cobertura efectiva es un indicador sensible que relaciona la necesidad de las intervenciones en salud, su utilización y calidad, lo que permite valorar los programas de salud al aportar datos precisos de dónde y a quién deben dirigirse los recursos y esfuerzos nacionales para que los países alcancen los propósitos y metas planteados.OBJECTIVE: To measure effective coverage for ll health interventions in Latin America including the children's, women's and adult health, as part of program evaluation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Interventions were selected; the definitions and calculation methods were harmonized according to the information available to ensure comparability between countries. RESULTS: Chile has better indicators of crude and effective coverage followed by Mexico and Colombia.There are significant gaps between regions, counties or states. CONCLUSIONS: The health metric on effective coverage is a sensitive indicator that links three important aspects: Coverage of health interventions, use of health services, and access to such services. Effective coverage is a good tool to evaluate health programs performance, and also provides data of where and to whom the system should address national efforts and resources to achieve the purposes and goals set.

Targeted functional imaging of estrogen receptors with {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Nobukazu; Yang, David J.; Kohanim, Saady; Oh, Chang-Sok; Yu, Dong-Fang; Azhdarinia, Ali; Kurihara, Hiroaki; Kim, E.E. [The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, Houston, TX (United States); Zhang, Xiaochun; Chang, Joe Y. [The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Division of Radiation Oncology, Houston, TX (United States)

2007-03-15

To evaluate the feasibility of using {sup 99m}Tc-glutamate peptide-estradiol in functional imaging of estrogen receptor-positive [ER(+)] diseases. 3-Aminoethyl estradiol (EDL) was conjugated to glutamate peptide (GAP) to yield GAP-EDL. Cellular uptake studies of {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL were conducted in ER(+) cell lines (MCF-7, 13762 and T47D). To demonstrate whether GAP-EDL increases MAP kinase activation, Western blot analysis of GAP-EDL was performed in 13762 cells. Biodistribution was conducted in nine rats with 13762 breast tumors at 0.5-4 h. Each rat was administered {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL. Two animal models (rats and rabbits) were created to ascertain whether tumor uptake of {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL was via an ER-mediated process. In the tumor model, breast tumor-bearing rats were pretreated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) 1 h prior to receiving {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL. In the endometriosis model, part of the rabbit uterine tissue was dissected and grafted to the peritoneal wall. The rabbit was administered with {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL. There was a 10-40% reduction in uptake of {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL in cells treated with DES or tamoxifen compared with untreated cells. Western blot analysis showed an ERK1/2 phosphorylation process with GAP-EDL. Biodistribution studies showed that tumor uptake and tumor-to-muscle count density ratio in {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL groups were significantly higher than those in {sup 99m}Tc-GAP groups at 4 h. Among {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL groups, region of interest analysis of images showed that tumor-to muscle ratios were decreased in blocking groups. In the endometriosis model, the grafted uterine tissue could be visualized by {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL. Cellular or tumor uptake of {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL occurs via an ER-mediated process. {sup 99m}Tc-GAP-EDL is a useful agent for imaging functional ER(+) disease. (orig.)

Building high-coverage monolayers of covalently bound magnetic nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Mackenzie G.; Teplyakov, Andrew V., E-mail: andrewt@udel.edu

2016-12-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A method for forming a layer of covalently bound nanoparticles is offered. • A nearly perfect monolayer of covalently bound magnetic nanoparticles was formed on gold. • Spectroscopic techniques confirmed covalent binding by the “click” reaction. • The influence of the functionalization scheme on surface coverage was investigated. - Abstract: This work presents an approach for producing a high-coverage single monolayer of magnetic nanoparticles using “click chemistry” between complementarily functionalized nanoparticles and a flat substrate. This method highlights essential aspects of the functionalization scheme for substrate surface and nanoparticles to produce exceptionally high surface coverage without sacrificing selectivity or control over the layer produced. The deposition of one single layer of magnetic particles without agglomeration, over a large area, with a nearly 100% coverage is confirmed by electron microscopy. Spectroscopic techniques, supplemented by computational predictions, are used to interrogate the chemistry of the attachment and to confirm covalent binding, rather than attachment through self-assembly or weak van der Waals bonding. Density functional theory calculations for the surface intermediate of this copper-catalyzed process provide mechanistic insight into the effects of the functionalization scheme on surface coverage. Based on this analysis, it appears that steric limitations of the intermediate structure affect nanoparticle coverage on a flat solid substrate; however, this can be overcome by designing a functionalization scheme in such a way that the copper-based intermediate is formed on the spherical nanoparticles instead. This observation can be carried over to other approaches for creating highly controlled single- or multilayered nanostructures of a wide range of materials to result in high coverage and possibly, conformal filling.

Immunization coverage among Hispanic ancestry, 2003 National Immunization Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Darling, Natalie J; Barker, Lawrence E; Shefer, Abigail M; Chu, Susan Y

2005-12-01

The Hispanic population is increasing and heterogeneous (Hispanic refers to persons of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino descent). The objective was to examine immunization rates among Hispanic ancestry for the 4:3:1:3:3 series (> or = 4 doses diphtheria, tetanus toxoids, and pertussis vaccine; > or = 3 doses poliovirus vaccine; > or = 1 doses measles-containing vaccine; > or = 3 doses Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; and > or = 3 doses hepatitis B vaccine). The National Immunization Survey measures immunization coverage among 19- to 35-month-old U.S. children. Coverage was compared from combined 2001-2003 data among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites using t-tests, and among Hispanic ancestry using a chi-square test. Hispanics were categorized as Mexican, Mexican American, Central American, South American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Spanish Caribbean (primarily Dominican Republic), other, and multiple ancestry. Children of Hispanic ancestry increased from 21% in 1999 to 25% in 2003. These Hispanic children were less well immunized than non-Hispanic whites (77.0%, +/-2.1% [95% confidence interval] compared to 82.5%, +/-1.1% (95% CI) > in 2003). Immunization coverage did not vary significantly among Hispanics of varying ancestries (p=0.26); however, there was substantial geographic variability. In some areas, immunization coverage among Hispanics was significantly higher than non-Hispanic whites. Hispanic children were less well immunized than non-Hispanic whites; however, coverage varied notably by geographic area. Although a chi-square test found no significant differences in coverage among Hispanic ancestries, the range of coverage, 79.2%, +/-5.1% for Cuban Americans to 72.1%, +/-2.4% for Mexican descent, may suggest a need for improved and more localized monitoring among Hispanic communities.

Dorsal hand coverage with free serratus fascia flap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fotopoulos, Peter; Holmer, Per; Leicht, Pernille

2003-01-01

in the flap, leaving the long thoracic nerve intact on the serratus muscle. Coverage of the flap with split-thickness skin graft is done immediately. The free serratus fascia flap is an ideal flap for dorsal hand coverage when the extensor tendons are exposed, especially because of low donor-site morbidity....

ESTIMATION OF SEAGRASS COVERAGE BY DEPTH INVARIANT INDICES ON QUICKBIRD IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Anshar Amran

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Management of seagrass ecosystem requires availability of information on the actual condition of seagrass coverage. Remote sensing technology for seagrass mapping has been used to detect the presence of seagrass coverage, but so far no information on the condition of seagrass could be obtained. Therefore, a research is required using remote sensing imagery to obtain information on the condition of seagrass coverage.The aim of this research is to formulate mathematical relationship between seagrass coverage and depth invariant indices on Quickbird imagery. Transformation was done on multispectral bands which could detect sea floor objects that are in the region of blue, green and red bands.The study areas covered are the seas around Barranglompo Island and Barrangcaddi Island, westward of Makassar city, Indonesia. Various seagrass coverages were detected within the region under study.Mathematical relationship between seagrass coverage and depth invariant indices was obtained by multiple linear regression method. Percentage of seagrass coverage (C was obtained by transformation of depth invariant indices (Xij on Quickbird imagery, with transformation equation as follows:C = 19.934 – 63.347 X12 + 23.239 X23.A good accuracy of 75% for the seagrass coverage was obtained by transformation of depth invariant indices (Xij on Quickbird imagery.

Basic numerical study on gap influence of residual stress and distortion during high-brightness laser butt welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serizawa, Hisashi; Mori, Daiki; Murakawa, Hidekazu

2013-01-01

High-brightness laser such as fiber laser or disk laser is expected to minimize the total heat input energy in welding due to its high beam quality, and the welding residual stress and distortion also seem to be reduced as a result. However, the diameter of high-brightness laser beam is less than 0.6 mm and it is difficult to set the beam position to contact face between two parts because in general there would be a gap due to quality of parts. In this study, in order to reveal the effect of gap on the residual stress and the welding distortion during fiber laser welding, the butt welding of two plates were examined through the thermal elastic-plastic analysis with a new gap element. From the result of thermal analyses, it was found that the homogeneous ellipsoid body could be applicable to model the shape of heat source for the fiber laser and the gap width would not influence the penetration shape when the gap width was changed from 0.1 to 0.25 mm. In addition, the elastic-plastic analyses indicated that the transverse shrinkage slightly increased with increasing the gap width, while this shrinkage without gap was much smaller than that with gap. Also, it was revealed that the welding speed largely affects both the welding residual stress and distortion. Moreover, it was found that the residual stress was almost independent of the jig position, while the position of fixtures slightly affected the transverse shrinkage. (author)

Assuring Access to Affordable Coverage

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of uninsured Americans will gain access to affordable coverage through Affordable Insurance Exchanges and improvements in...

Solving k-Barrier Coverage Problem Using Modified Gravitational Search Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhua Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Coverage problem is a critical issue in wireless sensor networks for security applications. The k-barrier coverage is an effective measure to ensure robustness. In this paper, we formulate the k-barrier coverage problem as a constrained optimization problem and introduce the energy constraint of sensor node to prolong the lifetime of the k-barrier coverage. A novel hybrid particle swarm optimization and gravitational search algorithm (PGSA is proposed to solve this problem. The proposed PGSA adopts a k-barrier coverage generation strategy based on probability and integrates the exploitation ability in particle swarm optimization to update the velocity and enhance the global search capability and introduce the boundary mutation strategy of an agent to increase the population diversity and search accuracy. Extensive simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.

Is there a gap in the gap? Regional differences in the gender pay gap

OpenAIRE

Hirsch, Boris; König, Marion; Möller, Joachim

2009-01-01

In this paper, we investigate regional differences in the gender pay gap both theoretically and empirically. Within a spatial oligopsony model, we show that more densely populated labour markets are more competitive and constrain employers' ability to discriminate against women. Utilising a large administrative data set for western Germany and a flexible semi-parametric propensity score matching approach, we find that the unexplained gender pay gap for young workers is substantially lower in ...

Sources of information influencing the state-of-the-science gap in hormone replacement therapy usage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiona Chew

Full Text Available Medical reviews and research comprise a key information source for news media stories on medical therapies and innovations as well as for physicians in updating their practice. The present study examined medical review journal articles, physician surveys and news media coverage of hormone replacement therapy (HT to assess the relationship between the three information sources and whether/if they contributed to a state-of-the-science gap (a condition when the evaluation of a medical condition or therapy ascertained by the highest standards of investigation is incongruent with the science-in-practice such as physician recommendations and patient actions.We content-analyzed 177 randomly sampled HT medical reviews between 2002 and 2014, and HT news valence in three major TV networks, newspapers and magazines/internet sites in 2002-2003, 2008-2009 and 2012-14. The focus in both analyses was whether HT benefits outweighed risks, risks outweighed benefits or both risks and benefits were presented. We also qualitatively content-analyzed all 19 surveys of US physicians' HT recommendations from 2002 to 2009, and 2012 to 2014.Medical reviews yielded a mixed picture about HT (40.1% benefits, 26.0% risks, and 33.9% both benefits and risks. While a majority of physician surveys were pro-HT 10/19, eight showed varied attitudes and one was negative. Newspaper and television coverage reflected a pro and con balance while magazine stories were more positive in the later reporting period.Medical journal review articles, physicians, and media reports all provide varying view points towards hormone therapy use thus leading to limited knowledge about the actual risks and benefits of HT among peri- and menopausal women and a state-of-the-science gap.

Deep coverage of the beer proteome.

Science.gov (United States)

Grochalová, Martina; Konečná, Hana; Stejskal, Karel; Potěšil, David; Fridrichová, Danuše; Srbová, Eva; Ornerová, Kateřina; Zdráhal, Zbyněk

2017-06-06

We adopted an approach based on peptide immobilized pH gradient-isoelectric focusing (IPG-IEF) separation, coupled with LC-MS/MS, in order to maximize coverage of the beer proteome. A lager beer brewed using traditional Czech technology was degassed, desalted and digested. Tryptic peptides were separated by isoelectric focusing on an immobilized pH gradient strip and, after separation, the gel strip was divided into seven equally sized parts. Peptides extracted from gel fractions were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. This approach resulted in a three-fold increase in the number of proteins identified (over 1700) when compared to analysis of unfractionated beer processed by a filter-aided sample preparation (FASP). Over 1900 protein groups (PGs) in total were identified by both approaches. The study significantly extends knowledge about the beer proteome and demonstrates its complexity. Detailed knowledge of the protein content, especially gluten proteins, will enhance the evaluation of potential health risks related to beer consumption (coeliac disease) and will contribute to improving beer quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conceptualising the lack of health insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, J B

2000-01-01

This paper examines the lack of health insurance coverage in the US as a public policy issue. It first compares the problem of health insurance coverage to the problem of unemployment to show that in terms of the numbers of individuals affected lack of health insurance is a problem comparable in importance to the problem of unemployment. Secondly, the paper discusses the methodology involved in measuring health insurance coverage, and argues that the current method of estimation of the uninsured underestimates the extent that individuals go without health insurance. Third, the paper briefly introduces Amartya Sen's functioning and capabilities framework to suggest a way of representing the extent to which individuals are uninsured. Fourth, the paper sketches a means of operationalizing the Sen representation of the uninsured in terms of the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) measure.

Multi-flexural band gaps in an Euler–Bernoulli beam with lateral local resonators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ting, E-mail: WT323@mail.nwpu.edu.cn [School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, 710072 (China); College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, ACT, 2600 (Australia); Sheng, Mei-Ping [School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an, Shaanxi, 710072 (China); Qin, Qing-Hua [College of Engineering and Computer Science, The Australian National University, ACT, 2600 (Australia)

2016-02-05

Flexural vibration suppression in an Euler–Bernoulli beam with attached lateral local resonators (LLR) is studied theoretically and numerically. Hamilton's principle and Bloch's theorem are employed to derive the dispersion relation which reveals that two band gaps are generated. Within both band gaps, the flexural waves are partially transformed into longitudinal waves through a four-link-mechanism and totally blocked. The band gaps can be flexibly tuned by changing the geometry parameter of the four-link-mechanism and the spring constants of the resonators. Frequency response function (FRF) from finite element analysis via commercial software of ANSYS shows large flexural wave attenuation within the band gaps and the effect of damping from the LLR substructures which helps smooth and lower the response peaks at the sacrifice of the band gap effect. The existence of the multi-flexural band gaps can be exploited for the design of flexural vibration control of beams. - Highlights: • A metamaterial beam with lateral local resonance is proposed. • The metamaterial beam can generate multi-band gaps for flexural wave suppression. • The substructure can transform the flexural wave into longitudinal wave and absorb the waves. • Damping from different part has different influence on the band gaps. • The design of the metamaterial beam can be used for multi-flexural vibration control.

Perfect GMR effect in gapped graphene-based ferromagnetic normal ferromagnetic junctions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Hossein Karbaschi; Gholam Reza Rashedi

2015-01-01

We investigate the quantum transport property in gapped graphene-based ferromagnetic/normal/ferromagnetic (FG/NG/FG) junctions by using the Dirac–Bogoliubov–de Gennes equation. The graphene is fabricated on SiC and BN substrates separately, so carriers in FG/NG/FG structures are considered as massive relativistic particles. Transmission prob-ability, charge, and spin conductances are studied as a function of exchange energy of ferromagnets (h), size of graphene gap, and thickness of normal graphene region (L) respectively. Using the experimental values of Fermi energy in the normal graphene part (EFN∼400 meV) and energy gap in graphene (260 meV for SiC and 50 meV for BN substrate), it is shown that this structure can be used for both spin-up and spin-down polarized current. The latter case has different behavior of gapped FG/NG/FG from that of gapless FG/NG/FG structures. Also perfect charge giant magnetoresistance is observed in a range of EFN−mv2F

An analysis of the policy coverage and examination of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... topics in subjects such as Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Life Orientation, ... The aim of the research reported here was to investigate the coverage and ... In analysing the coverage and examination of environmental-impact topics, ...

News Coverage of Child Sexual Abuse and Prevention, 2007-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Mejia, Pamela; Cheyne, Andrew; Dorfman, Lori

2012-01-01

News media coverage of child sexual abuse can help policymakers and the public understand what must be done to prevent future abuse, but coverage tends to focus on extreme cases. This article presents an analysis of newspaper coverage from 2007 to 2009 to describe how the daily news presents and frames day-to-day stories about child sexual abuse.…

Wide-Gap Chalcopyrites

CERN Document Server

Siebentritt, Susanne

2006-01-01

Chalcopyrites, in particular those with a wide band gap, are fascinating materials in terms of their technological potential in the next generation of thin-film solar cells and in terms of their basic material properties. They exhibit uniquely low defect formation energies, leading to unusual doping and phase behavior and to extremely benign grain boundaries. This book collects articles on a number of those basic material properties of wide-gap chalcopyrites, comparing them to their low-gap cousins. They explore the doping of the materials, the electronic structure and the transport through interfaces and grain boundaries, the formation of the electric field in a solar cell, the mechanisms and suppression of recombination, the role of inhomogeneities, and the technological role of wide-gap chalcopyrites.

The magnitude of and health system responses to the mental health treatment gap in adults in India and China.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Vikram; Xiao, Shuiyuan; Chen, Hanhui; Hanna, Fahmy; Jotheeswaran, A T; Luo, Dan; Parikh, Rachana; Sharma, Eesha; Usmani, Shamaila; Yu, Yu; Druss, Benjamin G; Saxena, Shekhar

2016-12-17

This Series paper describes the first systematic effort to review the unmet mental health needs of adults in China and India. The evidence shows that contact coverage for the most common mental and substance use disorders is very low. Effective coverage is even lower, even for severe disorders such as psychotic disorders and epilepsy. There are vast variations across the regions of both countries, with the highest treatment gaps in rural regions because of inequities in the distribution of mental health resources, and variable implementation of mental health policies across states and provinces. Human and financial resources for mental health are grossly inadequate with less than 1% of the national health-care budget allocated to mental health in either country. Although China and India have both shown renewed commitment through national programmes for community-oriented mental health care, progress in achieving coverage is far more substantial in China. Improvement of coverage will need to address both supply-side barriers and demand-side barriers related to stigma and varying explanatory models of mental disorders. Sharing tasks with community-based workers in a collaborative stepped-care framework is an approach that is ripe to be scaled up, in particular through integration within national priority health programmes. India and China need to invest in increasing demand for services through active engagement with the community, to strengthen service user leadership and ensure that the content and delivery of mental health programmes are culturally and contextually appropriate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unequal pay or unequal employment?: a cross-country analysis of gender gaps

OpenAIRE

Claudia Olivetti; Barbara Petrongolo

2005-01-01

There is substantial international variation in gender pay gaps, from 25-30% in the US and the UK, to 10-20% in a number of central and northern EU countries, down to an average of 10% in southern EU. We argue that non-random selection of women into work across countries may explain part of such variation. This ides is supported by the observed variation in employment gaps, from 10% in the US, UK and Scandinavian countries, to 15-25% in northern and central EU, up to 30-40% in southern EU and...

Determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage: a population-based study of the Danish labour force.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Ann; Søgaard, Rikke

2013-08-01

In 2002, the Danish tax law was changed, giving employees a tax exemption on supplemental, employer-paid health insurance. This might have conflicted with one of the key foundations of the healthcare system, namely equal access for equal needs. The aim of this study was to investigate determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage. Because the policy change affected only people who were part of the labour force and because the public sector at that time had no tradition of providing fringe benefits, the analysis was restricted to the private labour force. The analysis was based on data from a range of Danish person-level and company-level registers (explanatory variables). These data were combined with information on insurance status obtained from the trade organisation for insurance (dependent variable). A logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of having employer-paid health insurance coverage. The individuals who were most likely to be insured were those employed in foreign companies as mid-level managers within the field of building and construction. Other important variables were the number of persons employed in a company, gender, ethnicity, region of residence, years of education, and annual income. Both company and individual characteristics were found to be important and significant predictors for employer-paid health insurance coverage. The Danish tax exemption on private health insurance in the years 2002-12 thus seems to have led to inequality in employer-paid health insurance coverage.

45 CFR 148.122 - Guaranteed renewability of individual health insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... insurance coverage. 148.122 Section 148.122 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET... health insurance coverage. (a) Applicability. This section applies to all health insurance coverage in...

Effect of the barrier properties on the surface part of the barrier discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolova, M.V.; Zhukov, S.V.

1998-01-01

The effect of barrier characteristics on the discharge processes in a barrier discharge was investigated, main attention being paid to the amount and distribution of the charge left on the barrier surface by the volume discharge in the main air gap. The measurements show that the main part of the gap charge is due to the volume part of the discharge. The measured values of the surface charge significantly increase with the voltage applied and with the length of the gas gap, while the dimensions of the charge spot and the distribution of charge density are determined by the barrier properties. (J.U.)

Primary care practice and health professional determinants of immunisation coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Cameron C; Petousis-Harris, Helen; Turner, Nikki; Goodyear-Smith, Felicity; Kerse, Ngaire; Jones, Rhys; York, Deon; Desmond, Natalie; Stewart, Joanna

2011-08-01

To identify primary care factors associated with immunisation coverage. A survey during 2005-2006 of a random sample of New Zealand primary care practices, with over-sampling of practices serving indigenous children. An immunisation audit was conducted for children registered at each practice. Practice characteristics and the knowledge and attitudes of doctors, nurses and caregivers were measured. Practice immunisation coverage was defined as the percentage of registered children from 6 weeks to 23 months old at each practice who were fully immunised for age. Associations of practice, doctor, nurse and caregiver factors with practice immunisation coverage were determined using multiple regression analyses. One hundred and twenty-four (61%) of 205 eligible practices were recruited. A median (25th-75th centile) of 71% (57-77%) of registered children at each practice was fully immunised. In multivariate analyses, immunisation coverage was higher at practices with no staff shortages (median practice coverage 76% vs 67%, P = 0.004) and where doctors were confident in their immunisation knowledge (72% vs 67%, P= 0.005). Coverage was lower if the children's parents had received information antenatally, which discouraged immunisation (67% vs 73%, P = 0.008). Coverage decreased as socio-economic deprivation of the registered population increased (P < 0.001) and as the children's age (P = 0.001) and registration age (P = 0.02) increased. CONCLUSIONS Higher immunisation coverage is achieved by practices that establish an early relationship with the family and that are adequately resourced with stable and confident staff. Immunisation promotion should begin antenatally. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Camera Coverage Estimation Based on Multistage Grid Subdivision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meizhen Wang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Visual coverage is one of the most important quality indexes for depicting the usability of an individual camera or camera network. It is the basis for camera network deployment, placement, coverage-enhancement, planning, etc. Precision and efficiency are critical influences on applications, especially those involving several cameras. This paper proposes a new method to efficiently estimate superior camera coverage. First, the geographic area that is covered by the camera and its minimum bounding rectangle (MBR without considering obstacles is computed using the camera parameters. Second, the MBR is divided into grids using the initial grid size. The status of the four corners of each grid is estimated by a line of sight (LOS algorithm. If the camera, considering obstacles, covers a corner, the status is represented by 1, otherwise by 0. Consequently, the status of a grid can be represented by a code that is a combination of 0s or 1s. If the code is not homogeneous (not four 0s or four 1s, the grid will be divided into four sub-grids until the sub-grids are divided into a specific maximum level or their codes are homogeneous. Finally, after performing the process above, total camera coverage is estimated according to the size and status of all grids. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed method’s accuracy is determined by the method that divided the coverage area into the smallest grids at the maximum level, while its efficacy is closer to the method that divided the coverage area into the initial grids. It considers both efficiency and accuracy. The initial grid size and maximum level are two critical influences on the proposed method, which can be determined by weighing efficiency and accuracy.

Capping the tax exclusion for employment-based health coverage: implications for employers and workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fronstin, Paul

2009-01-01

. For self-insured employers, calculating insurance premium costs under a tax cap could be done fairly easily using the COBRA premium. However, whether self-insured employers would be able to use the least costly method to determine the value of coverage would have to be determined by law and/or regulations. THE SEC. 89 EXPERIENCE: Sec. 89 of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which attempted to make employee benefits more standard and fair, became so controversial that it was repealed by Congress in 1989--in part because the regulations created regulatory burdens that were so complicated and costly as to be unworkable. Similarly, valuation calculations under a health coverage tax cap could become overly burdensome if the lessons from Sec. 89 are not heeded.

42 CFR 435.139 - Coverage for certain aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Coverage for certain aliens. 435.139 Section 435... Aliens § 435.139 Coverage for certain aliens. The agency must provide services necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in § 440.255(c) of this chapter, to those aliens...

Towards Semantic Web Services on Large, Multi-Dimensional Coverages

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, P.

2009-04-01

Observed and simulated data in the Earth Sciences often come as coverages, the general term for space-time varying phenomena as set forth by standardization bodies like the Open GeoSpatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO. Among such data are 1-d time series, 2-D surface data, 3-D surface data time series as well as x/y/z geophysical and oceanographic data, and 4-D metocean simulation results. With increasing dimensionality the data sizes grow exponentially, up to Petabyte object sizes. Open standards for exploiting coverage archives over the Web are available to a varying extent. The OGC Web Coverage Service (WCS) standard defines basic extraction operations: spatio-temporal and band subsetting, scaling, reprojection, and data format encoding of the result - a simple interoperable interface for coverage access. More processing functionality is available with products like Matlab, Grid-type interfaces, and the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS). However, these often lack properties known as advantageous from databases: declarativeness (describe results rather than the algorithms), safe in evaluation (no request can keep a server busy infinitely), and optimizable (enable the server to rearrange the request so as to produce the same result faster). WPS defines a geo-enabled SOAP interface for remote procedure calls. This allows to webify any program, but does not allow for semantic interoperability: a function is identified only by its function name and parameters while the semantics is encoded in the (only human readable) title and abstract. Hence, another desirable property is missing, namely an explicit semantics which allows for machine-machine communication and reasoning a la Semantic Web. The OGC Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) language, which has been adopted as an international standard by OGC in December 2008, defines a flexible interface for the navigation, extraction, and ad-hoc analysis of large, multi-dimensional raster coverages. It is abstract in that it

Advanced Practice Nursing: A Strategy for Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Universal Access to Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Bryant-Lukosius

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to examine advanced practice nursing (APN roles internationally to inform role development in Latin America and the Caribbean to support universal health coverage and universal access to health. Method: we examined literature related to APN roles, their global deployment, and APN effectiveness in relation to universal health coverage and access to health. Results: given evidence of their effectiveness in many countries, APN roles are ideally suited as part of a primary health care workforce strategy in Latin America to enhance universal health coverage and access to health. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico are well positioned to build this workforce. Role implementation barriers include lack of role clarity, legislation/regulation, education, funding, and physician resistance. Strong nursing leadership to align APN roles with policy priorities, and to work in partnership with primary care providers and policy makers is needed for successful role implementation. Conclusions: given the diversity of contexts across nations, it is important to systematically assess country and population health needs to introduce the most appropriate complement and mix of APN roles and inform implementation. Successful APN role introduction in Latin America and the Caribbean could provide a roadmap for similar roles in other low/middle income countries.

Medicaid and CHIP Provide Coverage to More than Half of All Children in D.C. Policy Snapshot

Science.gov (United States)

DC Action for Children, 2011

2011-01-01

Medicaid and CHIP are crucial parts of the social safety net, providing health insurance coverage to more than half of all children ages 0-21 in D.C. and a third of children nationally. Without these two programs, more than 97,000 children in the District would have been uninsured in 2010. New research indicates that compared with the uninsured,…

Stability of children's insurance coverage and implications for access to care: evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchmueller, Thomas; Orzol, Sean M; Shore-Sheppard, Lara

2014-06-01

Even as the number of children with health insurance has increased, coverage transitions--movement into and out of coverage and between public and private insurance--have become more common. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we examine whether insurance instability has implications for access to primary care. Because unobserved factors related to parental behavior and child health may affect both the stability of coverage and utilization, we estimate the relationship between insurance and the probability that a child has at least one physician visit per year using a model that includes child fixed effects to account for unobserved heterogeneity. Although we find that unobserved heterogeneity is an important factor influencing cross-sectional correlations, conditioning on child fixed effects we find a statistically and economically significant relationship between insurance coverage stability and access to care. Children who have part-year public or private insurance are more likely to have at least one doctor's visit than children who are uninsured for a full year, but less likely than children with full-year coverage. We find comparable effects for public and private insurance. Although cross-sectional analyses suggest that transitions directly between public and private insurance are associated with lower rates of utilization, the evidence of such an effect is much weaker when we condition on child fixed effects.

A Two-Phase Coverage-Enhancing Algorithm for Hybrid Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingguo Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Providing field coverage is a key task in many sensor network applications. In certain scenarios, the sensor field may have coverage holes due to random initial deployment of sensors; thus, the desired level of coverage cannot be achieved. A hybrid wireless sensor network is a cost-effective solution to this problem, which is achieved by repositioning a portion of the mobile sensors in the network to meet the network coverage requirement. This paper investigates how to redeploy mobile sensor nodes to improve network coverage in hybrid wireless sensor networks. We propose a two-phase coverage-enhancing algorithm for hybrid wireless sensor networks. In phase one, we use a differential evolution algorithm to compute the candidate’s target positions in the mobile sensor nodes that could potentially improve coverage. In the second phase, we use an optimization scheme on the candidate’s target positions calculated from phase one to reduce the accumulated potential moving distance of mobile sensors, such that the exact mobile sensor nodes that need to be moved as well as their final target positions can be determined. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provided significant improvement in terms of area coverage rate, average moving distance, area coverage–distance rate and the number of moved mobile sensors, when compare with other approaches.

A Global Synthesis Reveals Gaps in Coastal Habitat Restoration Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Stacy Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Coastal ecosystems have drastically declined in coverage and condition across the globe. To combat these losses, marine conservation has recently employed habitat restoration as a strategy to enhance depleted coastal ecosystems. For restoration to be a successful enterprise, however, it is necessary to identify and address potential knowledge gaps and review whether the field has tracked scientific advances regarding best practices. This enables managers, researchers, and practitioners alike to more readily establish restoration priorities and goals. We synthesized the peer-reviewed, published literature on habitat restoration research in salt marshes, oyster reefs, and seagrasses to address three questions related to restoration efforts: (i How frequent is cross-sector authorship in coastal restoration research? (ii What is the geographic distribution of coastal restoration research? and (iii Are abiotic and biotic factors equally emphasized in the literature, and how does this vary with time? Our vote-count survey indicated that one-third of the journal-published studies listed authors from at least two sectors, and 6% listed authors from all three sectors. Across all habitat types, there was a dearth of studies from Africa, Asia, and South America. Finally, despite many experimental studies demonstrating that species interactions can greatly affect the recovery and persistence of coastal foundation species, only one-fourth of the studies we examined discussed their effects on restoration. Combined, our results reveal gaps and discrepancies in restoration research that should be addressed in order to further propel coastal restoration science.

RECOVER evidence and knowledge gap analysis on veterinary CPR. Part 1: Evidence analysis and consensus process: collaborative path toward small animal CPR guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Boller, Manuel; Fletcher, Daniel J

2012-06-01

To describe the methodology used by the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) to evaluate the scientific evidence relevant to small animal CPR and to compose consensus-based clinical CPR guidelines for dogs and cats. This report is part of a series of 7 articles on the RECOVER evidence and knowledge gap analysis and consensus-based small animal CPR guidelines. It describes the organizational structure of RECOVER, the evaluation process employed, consisting of standardized literature searches, the analysis of relevant articles according to study design, species and predefined quality markers, and the drafting of clinical CPR guidelines based on these data. Therefore, this article serves as the methodology section for the subsequent 6 RECOVER articles. Academia, referral practice. RECOVER is a collaborative initiative that systematically evaluated the evidence on 74 topics relevant to small animal CPR and generated 101 clinical CPR guidelines from this analysis. All primary contributors were veterinary specialists, approximately evenly split between academic institutions and private referral practices. The evidence evaluation and guideline drafting processes were conducted according to a predefined sequence of steps designed to reduce bias and increase the repeatability of the findings, including multiple levels of review, culminating in a consensus process. Many knowledge gaps were identified that will allow prioritization of research efforts in veterinary CPR. Collaborative systematic evidence review is organizationally challenging but feasible and effective in veterinary medicine. More experience is needed to refine the process. © Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2012.

Gaps in vaccine financing for underinsured children in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Grace M; Santoli, Jeanne M; Hannan, Claire; Messonnier, Mark L; Sabin, James E; Rusinak, Donna; Gay, Charlene; Lett, Susan M; Lieu, Tracy A

2007-08-08

The number of new vaccines recommended for children and adolescents has nearly doubled during the past 5 years, and the cost of fully vaccinating a child has increased dramatically in the past decade. Anecdotal reports from state policy makers and clinicians suggest that new gaps have arisen in financial coverage of vaccines for children who are underinsured (ie, have private insurance that does not cover all recommended vaccines). In 2000, approximately 14% of children were underinsured for vaccines in the United States. To describe variation among states in the provision of new vaccines to underinsured children and to identify barriers to state purchase and distribution of new vaccines. A 2-phase mixed-methods study of state immunization program managers in the United States. The first phase included 1-hour qualitative telephone interviews conducted from November to December 2005 with 9 program managers chosen to represent different state vaccine financing policies. The second phase incorporated findings from phase 1 to develop a national telephone and paper-based survey of state immunization program managers that was conducted from January to June 2006. Percentage of states in which underinsured children are unable to receive publicly purchased vaccines in the private or public sectors. Immunization program managers from 48 states (96%) participated in the study. Underinsured children were not eligible to receive publicly purchased meningococcal conjugate or pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in the private sector in 70% and 50% of states, respectively, or in the public sector in 40% and 17% of states, respectively. Due to limited financing for new vaccines, 10 states changed their policies for provision of publicly purchased vaccines between 2004 and early 2006 to restrict access to selected new vaccines for underinsured children. The most commonly cited barriers to implementation in underinsured children were lack of sufficient federal and state funding to

A Systematic Assessment of Employer Equal Employment Opportunity Efforts as a Means of Reducing the Gender Earnings Gap

OpenAIRE

Graham, Mary E.; Hotchkiss, Julie L.

2002-01-01

A gender earnings gap has persisted for many years in the United States. This gap is somewhat remarkable in light of reductions in gender-related occupational segregation, the narrowing of human capital differences between women and men, and government and employer-initiated efforts to enhance opportunities for women. In this article we argue that federal employment laws and current oversight mechanisms help maintain the gender earnings gap by encouraging small, separate, parts: pay discrim...

Estimated Budget Impact of Adopting the Affordable Care Act's Required Smoking Cessation Coverage on United States Healthcare Payers.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Christine L; Ferrufino, Cheryl P; Bruno, Marianna; Kowal, Stacey

2017-01-01

Despite abundant information on the negative impacts of smoking, more than 40 million adult Americans continue to smoke. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires tobacco cessation as a preventive service with no patient cost share for all FDA-approved cessation medications. Health plans have a vital role in supporting smoking cessation by managing medication access, but uncertainty remains on the gaps between smoking cessation requirements and what is actually occurring in practice. This study presents current cessation patterns, real-world drug costs and plan benefit design data, and estimates the 1- to 5-year pharmacy budget impact of providing ACA-required coverage for smoking cessation products to understand the fiscal impact to a US healthcare plan. A closed cohort budget impact model was developed in Microsoft Excel ® to estimate current and projected costs for US payers (commercial, Medicare, Medicaid) covering smoking cessation medicines, with assumptions for coverage and smoking cessation product utilization based on current, real-world national and state-level trends for hypothetical commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans with 1 million covered lives. A Markov methodology with five health states captures quit attempt and relapse patterns. Results include the number of smokers attempting to quit, number of successful quitters, annual costs, and cost per-member per-month (PMPM). The projected PMPM cost of providing coverage for smoking cessation medications is $0.10 for commercial, $0.06 for Medicare, and $0.07 for Medicaid plans, reflecting a low incremental PMPM impact of covering two attempts ranging from $0.01 for Medicaid to $0.02 for commercial and Medicare payers. The projected PMPM impact of covering two quit attempts with access to all seven cessation medications at no patient cost share remains low. Results of this study reinforce that the impact of adopting the ACA requirements for smoking cessation coverage will have a limited near-term impact

Proton Therapy Coverage for Prostate Cancer Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, Carlos; Wagner, Marcus; Mahajan, Chaitali; Indelicato, Daniel; Fryer, Amber; Falchook, Aaron; Horne, David C.; Chellini, Angela; McKenzie, Craig C.; Lawlor, Paula C.; Li Zuofeng; Lin Liyong; Keole, Sameer

2008-01-01

Purpose: To determine the impact of prostate motion on dose coverage in proton therapy. Methods and Materials: A total of 120 prostate positions were analyzed on 10 treatment plans for 10 prostate patients treated using our low-risk proton therapy prostate protocol (University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute 001). Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging T 2 -weighted turbo spin-echo scans were registered for all cases. The planning target volume included the prostate with a 5-mm axial and 8-mm superoinferior expansion. The prostate was repositioned using 5- and 10-mm one-dimensional vectors and 10-mm multidimensional vectors (Points A-D). The beam was realigned for the 5- and 10-mm displacements. The prescription dose was 78 Gy equivalent (GE). Results: The mean percentage of rectum receiving 70 Gy (V 70 ) was 7.9%, the bladder V 70 was 14.0%, and the femoral head/neck V 50 was 0.1%, and the mean pelvic dose was 4.6 GE. The percentage of prostate receiving 78 Gy (V 78 ) with the 5-mm movements changed by -0.2% (range, 0.006-0.5%, p > 0.7). However, the prostate V 78 after a 10-mm displacement changed significantly (p 78 coverage had a large and significant reduction of 17.4% (range, 13.5-17.4%, p 78 coverage of the clinical target volume. The minimal prostate dose was reduced 33% (25.8 GE), on average, for Points A-D. The prostate minimal dose improved from 69.3 GE to 78.2 GE (p < 0.001) with realignment for 10-mm movements. Conclusion: The good dose coverage and low normal doses achieved for the initial plan was maintained with movements of ≤5 mm. Beam realignment improved coverage for 10-mm displacements

Multi-cavity locally resonant structure with the low frequency and broad band-gaps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiulong Jiang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A multi-cavity periodic structure with the characteristic of local resonance was proposed in the paper. The low frequency band-gap structure was comparatively analyzed by the finite element method (FEM and electric circuit analogy (ECA. Low frequency band-gap can be opened through the dual influence of the coupling’s resonance in the cavity and the interaction among the couplings between structures. Finally, the influence of the structural factors on the band-gap was analyzed. The results show that the structure, which is divided into three parts equally, has a broader effective band-gap below the frequency of 200 Hz. It is also proved that reducing the interval between unit structures can increase the intensity of the couplings among the structures. And in this way, the width of band-gap would be expanded significantly. Through the parameters adjustment, the structure enjoys a satisfied sound insulation effect below the frequency of 500Hz. In the area of low frequency noise reduction, the structure has a lot of potential applications.

Improving the Methods for Accounting the Coverages of Payments to Employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhurakovska Iryna V.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at exploring the theoretical and practical problems of accounting the coverages of payments to employees and developing on this basis ways of addressing them. An analysis of both the international and the national accounting standards, practices of domestic enterprises, as well as scientific works of scientists, has helped to identify the problematic issues of accounting the coverages of payments to employees, including: ignoring the disclosure in accounting and reporting, absence of an adequate documentary support, complexity of the calculation methods, etc. The authors have suggested ways to improve accounting of payments to employees: documentation of coverages through the development of a Statement of the accrued coverages, simplification of calculation of payments to employees together with the related reflecting in the analytical accounting, disclosure in the accounting policy, and so forth. Such decisions would improve accounting the coverages of payments to employees, increase the frequency of applying such coverages in enterprises and their disclosure in the financial statements.

Vaccination coverage against pertussis in pregnant women of Catalonia in the first year of implementation of the immunisation program.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Cano, María Isabel; Espada-Trespalacios, Xavier; Reyes-Lacalle, Azahara; Manresa Domínguez, Josep Maria; Armadans-Gil, Lluís; Campins-Martí, Magda; Falguera-Puig, Gemma; Toran Monserrat, Pere

2017-11-01

The re-emergence of pertussis and the severity of its complications in infants younger than 3 months, were determining factors for starting a vaccination program for pregnant women in the third trimester of gestation in Catalonia in February 2014. This was the first autonomous community to introduce it in Spain. The aim of the study was to estimate the coverage of the program in its first year of implementation. A retrospective analysis was performed on the data from the Primary Care Centre computerised medical records of pregnant women attending Sexual and Reproductive Health Care centres of the Metropolitan Nord area of the province of Barcelona, part of the Catalan Institute of Health. The overall coverage was estimated, as well as the sociodemographic variables of Tdap vaccination of women who had registered a delivery of a live birth between August 2014 and August 2015. A total of 6,697 deliveries of live births were recorded, and 1,713 pregnant women were vaccinated, which represented an overall coverage of 25.6% (95% CI; 24.1-26.1). Vaccination coverage was higher in pregnant women under 18 years and Spanish women (P=.018 and P=.036, respectively). The estimation of vaccine coverage against pertussis in pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy, after the first year of implementation of the program in a health area of Catalonia was lower than the objective set. Strategies need to be designed in order to improve program coverage. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

Measles seroprevalence, outbreaks, and vaccine coverage in Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Seruyange, Eric; Gahutu, Jean-Bosco; Mambo Muvunyi, Claude; Uwimana, Zena G; Gatera, Maurice; Twagirumugabe, Theogene; Katare, Swaibu; Karenzi, Ben; Bergström, Tomas

2016-01-01

Measles outbreaks are reported after insufficient vaccine coverage, especially in countries recovering from natural disaster or conflict. We compared seroprevalence to measles in blood donors in Rwanda and Sweden and explored distribution of active cases of measles and vaccine coverage in Rwanda. 516 Rwandan and 215 Swedish blood donors were assayed for measles-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data on vaccine coverage and acute cases in Rwanda from 1980 to 2014 were collected, and IgM on serum samples and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on nasopharyngeal (NPH) swabs from suspected measles cases during 2010-2011 were analysed. The seroprevalence of measles IgG was significantly higher in Swedish blood donors (92.6%; 95% CI: 89.1-96.1%) compared to Rwandan subjects (71.5%; 95% CI: 67.6-75.4%) and more pronounced Rwanda, with the exception of an outbreak in 1995 following the 1994 genocide. 76/544 serum samples were IgM positive and 21/31 NPH swabs were PCR positive for measles, determined by sequencing to be of genotype B3. Measles seroprevalence was lower in Rwandan blood donors compared to Swedish subjects. Despite this, the number of reported measles cases in Rwanda rapidly decreased during the study period, concomitant with increased vaccine coverage. Taken together, the circulation of measles was limited in Rwanda and vaccine coverage was favourable, but seroprevalence and IgG levels were low especially in younger age groups.

Intracellular trafficking pathways of Cx43 gap junction channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Epifantseva, Irina; Shaw, Robin M

2018-01-01

Gap Junction (GJ) channels, including the most common Connexin 43 (Cx43), have fundamental roles in excitable tissues by facilitating rapid transmission of action potentials between adjacent cells. For instance, synchronization during each heartbeat is regulated by these ion channels at the cardiomyocyte cell-cell border. Cx43 protein has a short half-life, and rapid synthesis and timely delivery of those proteins to particular subdomains are crucial for the cellular organization of gap junctions and maintenance of intracellular coupling. Impairment in gap junction trafficking contributes to dangerous complications in diseased hearts such as the arrhythmias of sudden cardiac death. Of recent interest are the protein-protein interactions with the Cx43 carboxy-terminus. These interactions have significant impact on the full length Cx43 lifecycle and also contribute to trafficking of Cx43 as well as possibly other functions. We are learning that many of the known non-canonical roles of Cx43 can be attributed to the recently identified six endogenous Cx43 truncated isoforms which are produced by internal translation. In general, alternative translation is a new leading edge for proteome expansion and therapeutic drug development. This review highlights recent mechanisms identified in the trafficking of gap junction channels, involvement of other proteins contributing to the delivery of channels to the cell-cell border, and understanding of possible roles of the newly discovered alternatively translated isoforms in Cx43 biology. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Gap Junction Proteins edited by Jean Claude Herve. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determining the ’Gap’

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-01

Army training doctrine, and by adjusting the curriculum of the officer core in order to close the knowledge gap . The author closes by concluding...fight. The research to find these gaps begins with a process trace of doctrine from 1976 to the present, starting with the advent of Active Defense...discovering the one gap , three were found. Upon further examination below, even these initially perceived gaps dissipate under close scrutiny. Gap

Mechanics of Fluid-Filled Interstitial Gaps. I. Modeling Gaps in a Compact Tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Parent, Serge E; Barua, Debanjan; Winklbauer, Rudolf

2017-08-22

Fluid-filled interstitial gaps are a common feature of compact tissues held together by cell-cell adhesion. Although such gaps can in principle be the result of weak, incomplete cell attachment, adhesion is usually too strong for this to occur. Using a mechanical model of tissue cohesion, we show that, instead, a combination of local prevention of cell adhesion at three-cell junctions by fluidlike extracellular material and a reduction of cortical tension at the gap surface are sufficient to generate stable gaps. The size and shape of these interstitial gaps depends on the mechanical tensions between cells and at gap surfaces, and on the difference between intracellular and interstitial pressures that is related to the volume of the interstitial fluid. As a consequence of the dependence on tension/tension ratios, the presence of gaps does not depend on the absolute strength of cell adhesion, and similar gaps are predicted to occur in tissues of widely differing cohesion. Tissue mechanical parameters can also vary within and between cells of a given tissue, generating asymmetrical gaps. Within limits, these can be approximated by symmetrical gaps. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage: a population-based study of the Danish labour force

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ann Demant; Søgaard, Rikke

2013-01-01

AIM: In 2002, the Danish tax law was changed, giving employees a tax exemption on supplemental, employer-paid health insurance. This might have conflicted with one of the key foundations of the healthcare system, namely equal access for equal needs. The aim of this study was to investigate...... determinants for employer-paid health insurance coverage. Because the policy change affected only people who were part of the labour force and because the public sector at that time had no tradition of providing fringe benefits, the analysis was restricted to the private labour force. METHOD: The analysis...... employer-paid health insurance coverage. RESULTS: The individuals who were most likely to be insured were those employed in foreign companies as mid-level managers within the field of building and construction. Other important variables were the number of persons employed in a company, gender, ethnicity...

Variation in Private Payer Coverage of Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, James D; Wilkinson, Colby L; Anderson, Jordan E; Chenoweth, Matthew D

2016-10-01

Payers in the United States issue coverage determinations to guide how their enrolled beneficiaries use prescription drugs. Because payers create their own coverage policies, how they cover drugs can vary, which in turn can affect access to care by beneficiaries. To examine how the largest private payers based on membership cover drugs indicated for rheumatoid arthritis and to determine what evidence the payers reported reviewing when formulating their coverage policies. Coverage policies issued by the 10 largest private payers that make their policies publicly available were identified for rheumatoid arthritis drugs. Each coverage determination was compared with the drug's corresponding FDA label and categorized according to the following: (a) consistent with the label, (b) more restrictive than the label, (c) less restrictive than the label, or (d) mixed (i.e., more restrictive than the label in one way but less restrictive in another). Each coverage determination was also compared with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2012 treatment recommendations and categorized using the same relative restrictiveness criteria. The policies were then reviewed to identify the evidence that the payers reported reviewing. The identified evidence was divided into the following 6 categories: randomized controlled trials; other clinical studies (e.g., observational studies); health technology assessments; clinical reviews; cost-effectiveness analyses; and clinical guidelines. Sixty-nine percent of coverage determinations were more restrictive than the corresponding FDA label; 15% were consistent; 3% were less restrictive; and 13% were mixed. Thirty-four percent of coverage determinations were consistent with the ACR recommendations, 33% were more restrictive; 17% were less restrictive; and 17% were mixed. Payers most often reported reviewing randomized controlled trials for their coverage policies (an average of 2.3 per policy). The payers reported reviewing an average of

The Coverage of Campaign Advertising by the Prestige Press in 1972.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowers, Thomas A.

The nature and extent of the news media coverage of political advertising in the presidential campaign of 1972 was shallow and spotty at best. The candidates' political advertising strategies received limited coverage by reporters and commentators. Even the "prestige" press--16 major newspapers--provided limited coverage to the nature…

Gender Pay Gap, Productivity Gap and Discrimination in Canadian Clothing Manufacturing in 1870

OpenAIRE

Catherine L McDevitt; James R Irwin; Kris Inwood

2009-01-01

Women's earnings were less than men's in Canadian clothing factories in 1870. Orthodox neoclassical theory would explain that gender pay gap as a reflection of a gender productivity gap. Using classical hypothesis testing we reject that view, based on a large cross-section of 1870 census data. We find the gender pay gap was significantly larger than the gender productivity gap, much as Hellerstein et al. [1999] found for US manufacturing circa 1990. Our results are clear and compell...

Improved HIV testing coverage after scale-up of ... - Lusaka

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improved HIV testing coverage after scale-up of antiretroviral therapy programs in urban Zambia: Evidence from serial hospital surveillance. ... Background: We evaluated changing HIV testing coverage and prevalence rates before and after expanding city-wide antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in Lusaka, Zambia.

42 CFR 440.335 - Benchmark-equivalent health benefits coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...) Aggregate actuarial value. Benchmark-equivalent coverage is health benefits coverage that has an aggregate... planning services and supplies and other appropriate preventive services, as designated by the Secretary... State for purposes of comparison in establishing the aggregate actuarial value of the benchmark...

Effect of hydrogen coverage on hydrogenation of o-cresol on Pt(111)

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaping; Liu, Zhimin; Crossley, Steven P.; Jentoft, Friederike C.; Wang, Sanwu

2018-06-01

The conversion of phenolics over metal catalysts is an important process for upgrading biofuels. With density functional calculations, hydrogenation of o-cresol on the hydrogen-covered Pt(111) surface was investigated. The results show that the coverage of hydrogen plays a significant role in the reaction rate while it does not affect the reaction selectivity. The reaction barriers of the hydrogenation process leading to the formation of both 2-methyl-cyclohexanone (the intermediate product) and 2-methyl-cyclohexanol (the final product) at high H coverages (∼1 ML) are found to be smaller by 0.14-0.69 eV than those at lower H coverages (∼1/25 ML). After both hydrogen and cresol are adsorbed on Pt(111) from their initial gas phase state, the reaction energy of each hydrogenation step on the surface is also dependent on the hydrogen coverage. On the H-covered Pt(111) surface, most steps of hydrogenation involve exothermic reactions when the hydrogen coverage is high while they are endothermic reactions at low hydrogen coverages. The differences in reaction rate and reaction energy between high and low H coverages can be understood with the coverage-dependent bonding strength and configurations.

Land and federal mineral ownership coverage for northwestern Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Biewick, L.H.; Mercier, T.J.; Levitt, Pam; Deikman, Doug; Vlahos, Bob

1999-01-01

This Arc/Info coverage contains land status and Federal mineral ownership for approximately 26,800 square miles in northwestern Colorado. The polygon coverage (which is also provided here as a shapefile) contains two attributes of ownership information for each polygon. One attribute indicates where the surface is State owned, privately owned, or, if Federally owned, which Federal agency manages the land surface. The other attribute indicates which minerals, if any, are owned by the Federal govenment. This coverage is based on land status and Federal mineral ownership data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and three Colorado State Bureau of Land Management (BLM) former district offices at a scale of 1:24,000. This coverage was compiled primarily to serve the USGS National Oil and Gas Resource Assessment Project in the Uinta-Piceance Basin Province and the USGS National Coal Resource Assessment Project in the Colorado Plateau.

Newspaper coverage of mental illness in England 2008-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Thornicroft, Amalia; Goulden, Robert; Shefer, Guy; Rhydderch, Danielle; Rose, Diana; Williams, Paul; Thornicroft, Graham; Henderson, Claire

2013-04-01

Better newspaper coverage of mental health-related issues is a target for the Time to Change (TTC) anti-stigma programme in England, whose population impact may be influenced by how far concurrent media coverage perpetuates stigma and discrimination. To compare English newspaper coverage of mental health-related topics each year of the TTC social marketing campaign (2009-2011) with baseline coverage in 2008. Content analysis was performed on articles in 27 local and national newspapers on two randomly chosen days each month. There was a significant increase in the proportion of anti-stigmatising articles between 2008 and 2011. There was no concomitant proportional decrease in stigmatising articles, and the contribution of mixed or neutral elements decreased. These findings provide promising results on improvements in press reporting of mental illness during the TTC programme in 2009-2011, and a basis for guidance to newspaper journalists and editors on reporting mental illness.

[Neonatal screening - the challenge of an universal and effective coverage].

Science.gov (United States)

Botler, Judy; Camacho, Luiz Antônio Bastos; da Cruz, Marly Marques; George, Pâmela

2010-03-01

Newborn screening programs (NSP) aim to detect carriers of several congenital diseases among asymptomatic infants in order to warrant effective intervention. Specimen collection is the first step of a process that should be done in an universal and timely manner. A review of coverage and time of collection was done in NSP of several countries. The search was made in various sources, from 1998 to 2008, with "neonatal screening" and "coverage" as key words. The lack of a typical study design did not allow to the rigor required for a systematic review. Data were grouped in macro-regions. Canada had coverage of 71% in 2006 while the European coverage was of 69% in 2004, with data of 38 countries. In Asia and Pacific region, there were data of 19 countries. In Middle East and North Africa, there were data of 4 countries. In Latin America, the coverage was 49% in 2005, with data of 14 countries. In Brazil, coverage was 80%. Twelve reports had information about timeliness. The conclusion is that epidemiological transition has contributed to NSP success. Developed regions had more universal and timelier collection. In Brazil, government initiative increased access to the NSP, but late collections lead to the need of educational actions and participation of professional organizations in developing specific guidelines definition.

Financial considerations insurance and coverage issues in intestinal transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaney, Michael

2004-12-01

To increase healthcare workers' knowledge of reimbursement concerns. Chronological survey of transplants reimbursed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center from December 1997 to October 2003, which include accounts of 30 patients who received intestine transplants. Gross billed hospital charges for the past 30 transplantations ranged from dollars 112094 to dollars 667597. Length of stay ranged from 18 to 119 days. Charges include organ procurement fees. All 30 intestine transplants were reimbursed by third-party healthcare coverage; combination of coverage; and/or patient and family payments, which resulted in adherence to financial guidelines prearranged by the hospital. Financial guidelines are usually cost plus a percentage. Thirteen transplantations occurred after April 2001, when Medicare made a national coverage decision to reimburse this form of transplantation. Since then, obtaining surgical authorization and reimbursement is easier. Most insurance companies and state public health agencies accept intestinal transplantations as a form of treatment. Researching transplant coverage before evaluation is essential to be compensated adequately. Financial guidelines will secure the fiscal success of the program. Educating patients to insurance and entitlements may reduce the out-of-pocket cost to patients. Transplant financial coordinators coordinate these efforts for the facility. The best coverage option for the patient and transplant programs is a combination of commercial healthcare coverage, secondary entitlement program, and fund-raising. With length of stay ranging up to 119 days and a lifetime of posttransplant outpatient follow-up care, it is beneficial for the facility to also have a fundraising program to assist patients.

Enrollment in Distance Education Classes Is Associated with Fewer Enrollment Gaps among Nontraditional Undergraduate Students in the US

Science.gov (United States)

Pontes, Manuel C. F.; Pontes, Nancy M. H.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is to determine whether nontraditional undergraduate students in the US who enroll in distance education classes are less likely to have an enrollment gap (enrollment gap=part year enrollment). Previous research has shown that preference for distance education classes is significantly greater among nontraditional than…

28 CFR 55.9 - Coverage of political units within a county.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coverage of political units within a... PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Nature of Coverage § 55.9 Coverage of political units within a county. Where a political subdivision (e.g., a county) is determined to be subject...

Single-Isocenter Multiple-Target Stereotactic Radiosurgery: Risk of Compromised Coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roper, Justin; Chanyavanich, Vorakarn; Betzel, Gregory; Switchenko, Jeffrey; Dhabaan, Anees

2015-01-01

Purpose: To determine the dosimetric effects of rotational errors on target coverage using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for multitarget stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods and Materials: This retrospective study included 50 SRS cases, each with 2 intracranial planning target volumes (PTVs). Both PTVs were planned for simultaneous treatment to 21 Gy using a single-isocenter, noncoplanar VMAT SRS technique. Rotational errors of 0.5°, 1.0°, and 2.0° were simulated about all axes. The dose to 95% of the PTV (D95) and the volume covered by 95% of the prescribed dose (V95) were evaluated using multivariate analysis to determine how PTV coverage was related to PTV volume, PTV separation, and rotational error. Results: At 0.5° rotational error, D95 values and V95 coverage rates were ≥95% in all cases. For rotational errors of 1.0°, 7% of targets had D95 and V95 values 95% for only 63% of the targets. Multivariate analysis showed that PTV volume and distance to isocenter were strong predictors of target coverage. Conclusions: The effects of rotational errors on target coverage were studied across a broad range of SRS cases. In general, the risk of compromised coverage increased with decreasing target volume, increasing rotational error and increasing distance between targets. Multivariate regression models from this study may be used to quantify the dosimetric effects of rotational errors on target coverage given patient-specific input parameters of PTV volume and distance to isocenter.

42 CFR 416.48 - Condition for coverage-Pharmaceutical services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition for coverage-Pharmaceutical services. 416... Coverage § 416.48 Condition for coverage—Pharmaceutical services. The ASC must provide drugs and... direction of an individual designated responsible for pharmaceutical services. (a) Standard: Administration...

Skill gap analysis and training needs in Indian aerospace industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Premkumar Balaraman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The main objective of the paper is on assessing the global aerospace industry as well as Indian scenario, and attempts to assess the skill gaps and training needs of Indian aerospace industry.  Design/methodology/approach: The study is qualitative in nature, and employs wide array of qualitative tools which includes desktop study, focus group interviews and secondary sources of information. Around 10 focus groups were used in the study, with each focus group having a minimum of 6 members of experts in the aerospace and allied industries. The study evolved into a 2 staged one, with the first study elucidating the growing importance and potential of aerospace industry, justifying the significance to take forward the second part of the study. And the second study specifically focuses on skill gaps and training needs. Findings and Originality/value: The Study yields varied results on existing generic expectations of aerospace industry, specific needs of aerospace industry, identification of aerospace job categories unique to aerospace industry, key issues of training in Indian scenario and recommendations. The paper in summary reflects the current scenario of aerospace industry potentials for India and its likely impact on skills gap and training needs. Practical implications: Skills gap is a significant gap between an organization’s current capabilities and the skills it needs to achieve its goals. As a number of Global forecasts project, India as an emerging aviation market, the skill gaps in this sector is predicted to be huge and necessitates the study on assessing the skill gaps and its allied training needs. Originality/value: The Study is highly original and first one of its kind in reflecting the current situation of the skills gap and training needs in Indian Aerospace industry. The focus group interviews were conducted with the experts at various levels in the industyr without any bias yielding valid and realtime data for the

24/7 pediatric radiology attending coverage: times are changing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donaldson, James S. [Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Department of Medical Imaging, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children' s Hospital of Chicago, IL (United States); Thakrar, Kiran H. [University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Body Imaging, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Chicago, IL (United States)

2017-06-15

The job of the pediatric radiologist long ago ceased to be an 8-to-5 role. Many practices have adopted evening shifts of in-house attending radiologists to cover the busy evening activity. With the ever-increasing role of imaging in clinical decisions and patient management, there is a need - if not a demand - to further extend attending pediatric radiology coverage. In this article, we discuss the needs and justification for extending pediatric radiology coverage at a tertiary-care children's hospital. We also describe the approach we took toward implementing 24/7 attending in-house coverage of pediatric radiology. (orig.)

Health workers and vaccination coverage in developing countries: an econometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Sudhir; Bärnighausen, Till

2007-04-14

Vaccine-preventable diseases cause more than 1 million deaths among children in developing countries every year. Although health workers are needed to do vaccinations, the role of human resources for health as a determinant of vaccination coverage at the population level has not been investigated. Our aim was to test whether health worker density was positively associated with childhood vaccination coverage in developing countries. We did cross-country multiple regression analyses with coverage of three vaccinations--measles-containing vaccine (MCV); diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3); and poliomyelitis (polio3)--as dependent variables. Aggregate health worker density was an independent variable in one set of regressions; doctor and nurse densities were used separately in another set. We controlled for national income per person, female adult literacy, and land area. Health worker density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0024; DTP3 p=0.0004; polio3 p=0.0008). However, when the effects of doctors and nurses were assessed separately, we found that nurse density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0097; DTP3 p=0.0083; polio3 p=0.0089), but doctor density was not (MCV p=0.7953; DTP3 p=0.7971; polio3 p=0.7885). Female adult literacy was positively associated, and land area negatively associated, with vaccination coverage. National income per person had no effect on coverage. A higher density of health workers (nurses) increases the availability of vaccination services over time and space, making it more likely that children will be vaccinated. After controlling for other determinants, the level of income does not contribute to improved immunisation coverage. Health workers can be a major constraining factor on vaccination coverage in developing countries.

Examining levels, distribution and correlates of health insurance coverage in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazungu, Jacob S; Barasa, Edwine W

2017-09-01

To examine the levels, inequalities and factors associated with health insurance coverage in Kenya. We analysed secondary data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) conducted in 2009 and 2014. We examined the level of health insurance coverage overall, and by type, using an asset index to categorise households into five socio-economic quintiles with quintile 5 (Q5) being the richest and quintile 1 (Q1) being the poorest. The high-low ratio (Q5/Q1 ratio), concentration curve and concentration index (CIX) were employed to assess inequalities in health insurance coverage, and logistic regression to examine correlates of health insurance coverage. Overall health insurance coverage increased from 8.17% to 19.59% between 2009 and 2014. There was high inequality in overall health insurance coverage, even though this inequality decreased between 2009 (Q5/Q1 ratio of 31.21, CIX = 0.61, 95% CI 0.52-0.0.71) and 2014 (Q5/Q1 ratio 12.34, CIX = 0.49, 95% CI 0.45-0.52). Individuals that were older, employed in the formal sector; married, exposed to media; and male, belonged to a small household, had a chronic disease and belonged to rich households, had increased odds of health insurance coverage. Health insurance coverage in Kenya remains low and is characterised by significant inequality. In a context where over 80% of the population is in the informal sector, and close to 50% live below the national poverty line, achieving high and equitable coverage levels with contributory and voluntary health insurance mechanism is problematic. Kenya should consider a universal, tax-funded mechanism that ensures revenues are equitably and efficiently collected, and everyone (including the poor and those in the informal sector) is covered. © 2017 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Root coverage with bridge flap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pushpendra Kumar Verma

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Gingival recession in anterior teeth is a common concern due to esthetic reasons or root sensitivity. Gingival recession, especially in multiple anterior teeth, is of huge concern due to esthetic reasons. Various mucogingival surgeries are available for root coverage. This case report presents a new bridge flap technique, which allows the dentist not only to cover the previously denuded root surfaces but also to increase the zone of attached gingiva at a single step. In this case, a coronally advanced flap along with vestibular deepening technique was used as root coverage procedure for the treatment of multiple recession-type defect. Here, vestibular deepening technique is used to increase the width of the attached gingiva. The predictability of this procedure results in an esthetically healthy periodontium, along with gain in keratinized tissue and good patient′s acceptance.

Tetanus toxoid immunization coverage among mothers of below one ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Poverty and lack of health facilities also contributed to the low level of immunization coverage. For TT immunization to improve in the area studied, factors impeding immunization must be addressed. Keywords: tetanus, immunization, coverage. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 233- ...

Lot quality assurance sampling for monitoring coverage and quality of a targeted condom social marketing programme in traditional and non-traditional outlets in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Piot, Bram; Mukherjee, Amajit; Navin, Deepa; Krishnan, Nattu; Bhardwaj, Ashish; Sharma, Vivek; Marjara, Pritpal

2010-02-01

This study reports on the results of a large-scale targeted condom social marketing campaign in and around areas where female sex workers are present. The paper also describes the method that was used for the routine monitoring of condom availability in these sites. The lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method was used for the assessment of the geographical coverage and quality of coverage of condoms in target areas in four states and along selected national highways in India, as part of Avahan, the India AIDS initiative. A significant general increase in condom availability was observed in the intervention area between 2005 and 2008. High coverage rates were gradually achieved through an extensive network of pharmacies and particularly of non-traditional outlets, whereas traditional outlets were instrumental in providing large volumes of condoms. LQAS is seen as a valuable tool for the routine monitoring of the geographical coverage and of the quality of delivery systems of condoms and of health products and services in general. With a relatively small sample size, easy data collection procedures and simple analytical methods, it was possible to inform decision-makers regularly on progress towards coverage targets.

Observations and Predictability of Gap Winds in the Salmon River Canyon of Central Idaho, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie S. Wagenbrenner

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This work investigates gap winds in a steep, deep river canyon prone to wildland fire. The driving mechanisms and the potential for forecasting the gap winds are investigated. The onset and strength of the gap winds are found to be correlated to the formation of an along-gap pressure gradient linked to periodic development of a thermal trough in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Numerical simulations are performed using a reanalysis dataset to investigate the ability of numerical weather prediction (NWP to simulate the observed gap wind events, including the timing and flow characteristics within the canyon. The effects of model horizontal grid spacing and terrain representation are considered. The reanalysis simulations suggest that horizontal grid spacings used in operational NWP could be sufficient for simulating the gap flow events given the regional-scale depression in which the Salmon River Canyon is situated. The strength of the events, however, is under-predicted due, at least in part, to terrain smoothing in the model. Routine NWP, however, is found to have mixed results in terms of forecasting the gap wind events, primarily due to problems in simulating the regional sea level pressure system correctly.

Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Network Coverage Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Xu

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In order to serve for the ecological monitoring efficiency of Poyang Lake, an improved hybrid algorithm, mixed with differential evolution and particle swarm optimization, is proposed and applied to optimize the coverage problem of wireless sensor network. And then, the affect of the population size and the number of iterations on the coverage performance are both discussed and analyzed. The four kinds of statistical results about the coverage rate are obtained through lots of simulation experiments.

The need for consumer behavior analysis in health care coverage decisions.

Science.gov (United States)