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

Language and motor function thresholds during pediatric extra-operative electrical cortical stimulation brain mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Zea Vera, Alonso; Aungaroon, Gewalin; Horn, Paul S; Byars, Anna W; Greiner, Hansel M; Tenney, Jeffrey R; Arthur, Todd M; Crone, Nathan E; Holland, Katherine D; Mangano, Francesco T; Arya, Ravindra

2017-10-01

To examine current thresholds and their determinants for language and motor mapping with extra-operative electrical cortical stimulation (ECS). ECS electrocorticograph recordings were reviewed to determine functional thresholds. Predictors of functional thresholds were found with multivariable analyses. In 122 patients (age 11.9±5.4years), average minimum, frontal, and temporal language thresholds were 7.4 (± 3.0), 7.8 (± 3.0), and 7.4 (± 3.1) mA respectively. Average minimum, face, upper and lower extremity motor thresholds were 5.4 (± 2.8), 6.1 (± 2.8), 4.9 (± 2.3), and 5.3 (± 3.3) mA respectively. Functional and after-discharge (AD)/seizure thresholds were significantly related. Minimum, frontal, and temporal language thresholds were higher than AD thresholds at all ages. Minimum motor threshold was higher than minimum AD threshold up to 8.0years of age, face motor threshold was higher than frontal AD threshold up to 11.8years age, and lower subsequently. UE motor thresholds remained below frontal AD thresholds throughout the age range. Functional thresholds are frequently above AD thresholds in younger children. These findings raise concerns about safety and neurophysiologic validity of ECS mapping. Functional and AD/seizure thresholds relationships suggest individual differences in cortical excitability which cannot be explained by clinical variables. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling an Application's Theoretical Minimum and Average Transactional Response Times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paiz, Mary Rose [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-04-01

The theoretical minimum transactional response time of an application serves as a ba- sis for the expected response time. The lower threshold for the minimum response time represents the minimum amount of time that the application should take to complete a transaction. Knowing the lower threshold is beneficial in detecting anomalies that are re- sults of unsuccessful transactions. On the converse, when an application's response time falls above an upper threshold, there is likely an anomaly in the application that is causing unusual performance issues in the transaction. This report explains how the non-stationary Generalized Extreme Value distribution is used to estimate the lower threshold of an ap- plication's daily minimum transactional response time. It also explains how the seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average time series model is used to estimate the upper threshold for an application's average transactional response time.

78 FR 54986 - Information Reporting of Minimum Essential Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-09

... employees, and offer that coverage to spouses and dependents, all with no employee contribution, to forgo... health benefits provided through a contribution to a health savings account. Health savings accounts are... agenda will be available free of charge at the hearing. Drafting Information The principal authors of...

Changes in drug utilization during a gap in insurance coverage: an examination of the medicare Part D coverage gap.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer M Polinski

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Nations are struggling to expand access to essential medications while curbing rising health and drug spending. While the US government's Medicare Part D drug insurance benefit expanded elderly citizens' access to drugs, it also includes a controversial period called the "coverage gap" during which beneficiaries are fully responsible for drug costs. We examined the impact of entering the coverage gap on drug discontinuation, switching to another drug for the same indication, and drug adherence. While increased discontinuation of and adherence to essential medications is a regrettable response, increased switching to less expensive but therapeutically interchangeable medications is a positive response to minimize costs.We followed 663,850 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D or retiree drug plans with prescription and health claims in 2006 and/or 2007 to determine who reached the gap spending threshold, n = 217,131 (33%. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, we compared drug discontinuation and switching rates in selected drug classes after reaching the threshold between all 1,993 who had no financial assistance during the coverage gap (exposed versus 9,965 multivariate propensity score-matched comparators with financial assistance (unexposed. Multivariate logistic regressions compared drug adherence (≤ 80% versus >80% of days covered. Beneficiaries reached the gap spending threshold on average 222 d ±79. At the drug level, exposed beneficiaries were twice as likely to discontinue (hazard ratio [HR]  = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.64-2.43 but less likely to switch a drug (HR  = 0.60, 0.46-0.78 after reaching the threshold. Gap-exposed beneficiaries were slightly more likely to have reduced adherence (OR  = 1.07, 0.98-1.18.A lack of financial assistance after reaching the gap spending threshold was associated with a doubling in discontinuing essential medications but not switching drugs in 2006 and 2007

Precipitation Thresholds for Triggering Floods in the Corgo Basin, Portugal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Santos

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Thresholds based on critical combinations of amount/duration of precipitation and flood events were estimated for the Corgo hydrographic basin, in northern Portugal. Thirty-one flood events in the Corgo basin were identified between 1865 and 2011 from a database of hydrometeorological disasters in Portugal. The minimum, maximum, and pre-warning thresholds that define the boundaries for flood occurrence were determined. The results show that the ratio between the total number of floods and precipitation events exceeding the minimum threshold denotes a relatively low probability of successful forecasting. This result may be due to the reduced number of flooding events in the floods database, which only include floods that caused damage as reported by the media. The estimated maximum threshold is not adequate for use in floods, since the majority of true positives are below this limit. However, and more interestingly, the retrospective verification of the estimated thresholds suggests that the minimum and pre-warning thresholds are well adjusted. Therefore, the application of these precipitation thresholds may contribute to minimize possible situations of pre-crisis or immediate crisis by reducing the flood consequences and the resources involved in emergency response to flood events.

34 CFR 74.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and... Property Standards § 74.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent...

10 CFR 600.131 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... provided to property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required... Nonprofit Organizations Post-Award Requirements § 600.131 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum...

Minimum alveolar concentration threshold of sevoflurane for postoperative dream recall.

Science.gov (United States)

Aceto, P; Perilli, V; Lai, C; Sacco, T; Modesti, C; Luca, E; De Santis, P; Sollazzi, L; Antonelli, M

2015-11-01

Many factors affect postoperative dream recall, including patient characteristics, type of anesthesia, timing of postoperative interview and stress hormone secretion. Aims of the study were to determine whether Bispectral Index (BIS)-guided anesthesia might decrease sevoflurane minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) when compared with hemodynamically-guided anesthesia, and to search for a MAC threshold useful for preventing arousal, dream recall and implicit memory. One hundred thirty patients undergoing elective thyroidectomy were enrolled. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 2 mg kg(-1), fentanyl 3 mcg kg(-1) and cis-atracurium 0.15 mg kg(-1). For anesthesia maintenance, patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a BIS-guided group in which sevoflurane MAC was adjusted on the basis of BIS values, and a hemodynamic parameters (HP)-guided group in which MAC was adjusted based on HP. An auditory recording was presented to patients during anesthesia maintenance. Dream recall and explicit/implicit memory were investigated upon awakening and approximately after 24 h. Mean sevoflurane MAC during auditory presentation was similar in the two groups (0.85 ± 0.16 and 0.87 ± 0.17 [P = 0.53] in BIS-guided and HP-guided groups, respectively). Frequency of dream recall was similar in the two groups: 27% (N. = 17) in BIS-guided group, 18% (N. = 12) in HP-guided group, P = 0.37. In both groups, dream recall was less probable in patients anesthetized with MAC values ≥ 0.9 (area under ROC curve = 0.83, sensitivity = 90%, and specificity = 49%). BIS-guided anesthesia was not able to generate different MAC values compared to HP-guided anesthesia. Independent of the guide used for anesthesia, a sevoflurane MAC over 0.9 was required to prevent postoperative dream recall.

22 CFR 518.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms... Requirements Property Standards § 518.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the...

7 CFR 3019.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms and conditions of the... Standards § 3019.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the equivalent insurance...

49 CFR 19.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured unless required by the terms... Requirements Property Standards § 19.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients shall, at a minimum, provide the...

Protograph based LDPC codes with minimum distance linearly growing with block size

Science.gov (United States)

Divsalar, Dariush; Jones, Christopher; Dolinar, Sam; Thorpe, Jeremy

2005-01-01

We propose several LDPC code constructions that simultaneously achieve good threshold and error floor performance. Minimum distance is shown to grow linearly with block size (similar to regular codes of variable degree at least 3) by considering ensemble average weight enumerators. Our constructions are based on projected graph, or protograph, structures that support high-speed decoder implementations. As with irregular ensembles, our constructions are sensitive to the proportion of degree-2 variable nodes. A code with too few such nodes tends to have an iterative decoding threshold that is far from the capacity threshold. A code with too many such nodes tends to not exhibit a minimum distance that grows linearly in block length. In this paper we also show that precoding can be used to lower the threshold of regular LDPC codes. The decoding thresholds of the proposed codes, which have linearly increasing minimum distance in block size, outperform that of regular LDPC codes. Furthermore, a family of low to high rate codes, with thresholds that adhere closely to their respective channel capacity thresholds, is presented. Simulation results for a few example codes show that the proposed codes have low error floors as well as good threshold SNFt performance.

A Max-Flow Based Algorithm for Connected Target Coverage with Probabilistic Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anxing Shan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Coverage is a fundamental issue in the research field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs. Connected target coverage discusses the sensor placement to guarantee the needs of both coverage and connectivity. Existing works largely leverage on the Boolean disk model, which is only a coarse approximation to the practical sensing model. In this paper, we focus on the connected target coverage issue based on the probabilistic sensing model, which can characterize the quality of coverage more accurately. In the probabilistic sensing model, sensors are only be able to detect a target with certain probability. We study the collaborative detection probability of target under multiple sensors. Armed with the analysis of collaborative detection probability, we further formulate the minimum ϵ-connected target coverage problem, aiming to minimize the number of sensors satisfying the requirements of both coverage and connectivity. We map it into a flow graph and present an approximation algorithm called the minimum vertices maximum flow algorithm (MVMFA with provable time complex and approximation ratios. To evaluate our design, we analyze the performance of MVMFA theoretically and also conduct extensive simulation studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.

Operational feasibility of lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) as a tool in routine process monitoring of filariasis control programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanamail, P; Subramanian, S; Srividya, A; Ravi, R; Krishnamoorthy, K; Das, P K

2006-08-01

Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) with two-stage sampling plan was applied for rapid monitoring of coverage after every round of mass drug administration (MDA). A Primary Health Centre (PHC) consisting of 29 villages in Thiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu was selected as the study area. Two threshold levels of coverage were used: threshold A (maximum: 60%; minimum: 40%) and threshold B (maximum: 80%; minimum: 60%). Based on these thresholds, one sampling plan each for A and B was derived with the necessary sample size and the number of allowable defectives (i.e. defectives mean those who have not received the drug). Using data generated through simple random sampling (SRSI) of 1,750 individuals in the study area, LQAS was validated with the above two sampling plans for its diagnostic and field applicability. Simultaneously, a household survey (SRSH) was conducted for validation and cost-effectiveness analysis. Based on SRSH survey, the estimated coverage was 93.5% (CI: 91.7-95.3%). LQAS with threshold A revealed that by sampling a maximum of 14 individuals and by allowing four defectives, the coverage was >or=60% in >90% of villages at the first stage. Similarly, with threshold B by sampling a maximum of nine individuals and by allowing four defectives, the coverage was >or=80% in >90% of villages at the first stage. These analyses suggest that the sampling plan (14,4,52,25) of threshold A may be adopted in MDA to assess if a minimum coverage of 60% has been achieved. However, to achieve the goal of elimination, the sampling plan (9, 4, 42, 29) of threshold B can identify villages in which the coverage is LQAS are more cost-effective than SRSH to detect a village with a given level of coverage. The cost per village was US dollars 76.18 under SRSH. The cost of LQAS was US dollars 65.81 and 55.63 per village for thresholds A and B respectively. The total financial cost of classifying a village correctly with the given threshold level of LQAS could be reduced by

The Effect of Lexical Coverage and Dictionary Use on L2 Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Prichard, Caleb; Matsumoto, Yuko

2011-01-01

This study aims to further understand the role of lexical coverage on L2 reading comprehension. It examines test scores of learners at or near the 90-95% coverage level to determine if this coverage range allows for comprehension of authentic texts. The findings suggest that 92-93% may be a threshold mark at which understanding of a text…

Hydrometeorological threshold conditions for debris flow initiation in Norway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. K. Meyer

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Debris flows, triggered by extreme precipitation events and rapid snow melt, cause considerable damage to the Norwegian infrastructure every year. To define intensity-duration (ID thresholds for debris flow initiation critical water supply conditions arising from intensive rainfall or snow melt were assessed on the basis of daily hydro-meteorological information for 502 documented debris flow events. Two threshold types were computed: one based on absolute ID relationships and one using ID relationships normalized by the local precipitation day normal (PDN. For each threshold type, minimum, medium and maximum threshold values were defined by fitting power law curves along the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles of the data population. Depending on the duration of the event, the absolute threshold intensities needed for debris flow initiation vary between 15 and 107 mm day⁻¹. Since the PDN changes locally, the normalized thresholds show spatial variations. Depending on location, duration and threshold level, the normalized threshold intensities vary between 6 and 250 mm day⁻¹. The thresholds obtained were used for a frequency analysis of over-threshold events giving an estimation of the exceedance probability and thus potential for debris flow events in different parts of Norway. The absolute thresholds are most often exceeded along the west coast, while the normalized thresholds are most frequently exceeded on the west-facing slopes of the Norwegian mountain ranges. The minimum thresholds derived in this study are in the range of other thresholds obtained for regions with a climate comparable to Norway. Statistics reveal that the normalized threshold is more reliable than the absolute threshold as the former shows no spatial clustering of debris flows related to water supply events captured by the threshold.

Minimum Wages and the Distribution of Family Incomes

OpenAIRE

Dube, Arindrajit

2017-01-01

Using the March Current Population Survey data from 1984 to 2013, I provide a comprehensive evaluation of how minimum wage policies influence the distribution of family incomes. I find robust evidence that higher minimum wages shift down the cumulative distribution of family incomes at the bottom, reducing the share of non-elderly individuals with incomes below 50, 75, 100, and 125 percent of the federal poverty threshold. The long run (3 or more years) minimum wage elasticity of the non-elde...

Intervene before leaving: clustered lot quality assurance sampling to monitor vaccination coverage at health district level before the end of a yellow fever and measles vaccination campaign in Sierra Leone in 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Pezzoli, Lorenzo; Conteh, Ishata; Kamara, Wogba; Gacic-Dobo, Marta; Ronveaux, Olivier; Perea, William A; Lewis, Rosamund F

2012-06-07

In November 2009, Sierra Leone conducted a preventive yellow fever (YF) vaccination campaign targeting individuals aged nine months and older in six health districts. The campaign was integrated with a measles follow-up campaign throughout the country targeting children aged 9-59 months. For both campaigns, the operational objective was to reach 95% of the target population. During the campaign, we used clustered lot quality assurance sampling (C-LQAS) to identify areas of low coverage to recommend timely mop-up actions. We divided the country in 20 non-overlapping lots. Twelve lots were targeted by both vaccinations, while eight only by measles. In each lot, five clusters of ten eligible individuals were selected for each vaccine. The upper threshold (UT) was set at 90% and the lower threshold (LT) at 75%. A lot was rejected for low vaccination coverage if more than 7 unvaccinated individuals (not presenting vaccination card) were found. After the campaign, we plotted the C-LQAS results against the post-campaign coverage estimations to assess if early interventions were successful enough to increase coverage in the lots that were at the level of rejection before the end of the campaign. During the last two days of campaign, based on card-confirmed vaccination status, five lots out of 20 (25.0%) failed for having low measles vaccination coverage and three lots out of 12 (25.0%) for low YF coverage. In one district, estimated post-campaign vaccination coverage for both vaccines was still not significantly above the minimum acceptable level (LT = 75%) even after vaccination mop-up activities. C-LQAS during the vaccination campaign was informative to identify areas requiring mop-up activities to reach the coverage target prior to leaving the region. The only district where mop-up activities seemed to be unsuccessful might have had logistical difficulties that should be further investigated and resolved.

Energy-minimum sub-threshold self-timed circuits using current-sensing completion detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Akgun, O. C.; Rodrigues, J. N.; Sparsø, Jens

2011-01-01

This study addresses the design of self-timed energy-minimum circuits, operating in the sub-VT domain and a generic implementation template using bundled-data circuitry and current sensing completion detection (CSCD). Furthermore, a fully decoupled latch controller was developed, which integrates......V. Spice simulations indicate a gain of 52.58% in throughput because of asynchronous operation. By trading the throughput improvement, energy dissipation is reduced by 16.8% at the energy-minimum supply voltage....

Two-stage bargaining with coverage extension in a dual labour market

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roberts, Mark A.; Stæhr, Karsten; Tranæs, Torben

2000-01-01

in extending coverage of a minimum wage to the non-union sector. Furthermore, the union sector does not seek to increase the non-union wage to a level above the market-clearing wage. In fact, it is optimal for the union sector to impose a market-clearing wage on the non-union sector. Finally, coverage...

A comparison of performance of automatic cloud coverage assessment algorithm for Formosat-2 image using clustering-based and spatial thresholding methods

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Kuo-Hsien

2012-11-01

Formosat-2 image is a kind of high-spatial-resolution (2 meters GSD) remote sensing satellite data, which includes one panchromatic band and four multispectral bands (Blue, Green, Red, near-infrared). An essential sector in the daily processing of received Formosat-2 image is to estimate the cloud statistic of image using Automatic Cloud Coverage Assessment (ACCA) algorithm. The information of cloud statistic of image is subsequently recorded as an important metadata for image product catalog. In this paper, we propose an ACCA method with two consecutive stages: preprocessing and post-processing analysis. For pre-processing analysis, the un-supervised K-means classification, Sobel's method, thresholding method, non-cloudy pixels reexamination, and cross-band filter method are implemented in sequence for cloud statistic determination. For post-processing analysis, Box-Counting fractal method is implemented. In other words, the cloud statistic is firstly determined via pre-processing analysis, the correctness of cloud statistic of image of different spectral band is eventually cross-examined qualitatively and quantitatively via post-processing analysis. The selection of an appropriate thresholding method is very critical to the result of ACCA method. Therefore, in this work, We firstly conduct a series of experiments of the clustering-based and spatial thresholding methods that include Otsu's, Local Entropy(LE), Joint Entropy(JE), Global Entropy(GE), and Global Relative Entropy(GRE) method, for performance comparison. The result shows that Otsu's and GE methods both perform better than others for Formosat-2 image. Additionally, our proposed ACCA method by selecting Otsu's method as the threshoding method has successfully extracted the cloudy pixels of Formosat-2 image for accurate cloud statistic estimation.

78 FR 53646 - Shared Responsibility Payment for Not Maintaining Minimum Essential Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-30

... future guidance will address the application of section 5000A and the ACA's insurance market reforms to... essential coverage under government-sponsored plans by reason of employment with the United States... available. The commentator recommended that, considering the limited effect of the required adjustment, the...

Monitoring intervention coverage in the context of universal health coverage.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ties Boerma

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Monitoring universal health coverage (UHC focuses on information on health intervention coverage and financial protection. This paper addresses monitoring intervention coverage, related to the full spectrum of UHC, including health promotion and disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliation. A comprehensive core set of indicators most relevant to the country situation should be monitored on a regular basis as part of health progress and systems performance assessment for all countries. UHC monitoring should be embedded in a broad results framework for the country health system, but focus on indicators related to the coverage of interventions that most directly reflect the results of UHC investments and strategies in each country. A set of tracer coverage indicators can be selected, divided into two groups-promotion/prevention, and treatment/care-as illustrated in this paper. Disaggregation of the indicators by the main equity stratifiers is critical to monitor progress in all population groups. Targets need to be set in accordance with baselines, historical rate of progress, and measurement considerations. Critical measurement gaps also exist, especially for treatment indicators, covering issues such as mental health, injuries, chronic conditions, surgical interventions, rehabilitation, and palliation. Consequently, further research and proxy indicators need to be used in the interim. Ideally, indicators should include a quality of intervention dimension. For some interventions, use of a single indicator is feasible, such as management of hypertension; but in many areas additional indicators are needed to capture quality of service provision. The monitoring of UHC has significant implications for health information systems. Major data gaps will need to be filled. At a minimum, countries will need to administer regular household health surveys with biological and clinical data collection. Countries will also need to improve the

Threshold Characteristics of Slow-Light Photonic Crystal Lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xue, Weiqi; Yu, Yi; Ottaviano, Luisa

2016-01-01

The threshold properties of photonic crystal quantum dot lasers operating in the slow-light regime are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Measurements show that, in contrast to conventional lasers, the threshold gain attains a minimum value for a specific cavity length. The experimental...... results are explained by an analytical theory for the laser threshold that takes into account the effects of slow light and random disorder due to unavoidable fabrication imperfections. Longer lasers are found to operate deeper into the slow-light region, leading to a trade-off between slow-light induced...

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.

12 CFR 713.5 - What is the required minimum dollar amount of coverage?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... coverage required, but a federal credit union's board of directors should purchase additional or enhanced... its own internal risk assessment, its fraud trends and loss experience, and factors such as its cash...

Conceptions of nuclear threshold status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quester, G.H.

1991-01-01

This paper reviews some alternative definitions of nuclear threshold status. Each of them is important, and major analytical confusions would result if one sense of the term is mistaken for another. The motives for nations entering into such threshold status are a blend of civilian and military gains, and of national interests versus parochial or bureaucratic interests. A portion of the rationale for threshold status emerges inevitably from the pursuit of economic goals, and another portion is made more attraction by the derives of the domestic political process. Yet the impact on international security cannot be dismissed, especially where conflicts among the states remain real. Among the military or national security motives are basic deterrence, psychological warfare, war-fighting and, more generally, national prestige. In the end, as the threshold phenomenon is assayed for lessons concerning the role of nuclear weapons more generally in international relations and security, one might conclude that threshold status and outright proliferation coverage to a degree in the motives for all of the states involved and in the advantages attained. As this paper has illustrated, nuclear threshold status is more subtle and more ambiguous than outright proliferation, and it takes considerable time to sort out the complexities. Yet the world has now had a substantial amount of time to deal with this ambiguous status, and this may tempt more states to exploit it

Node Scheduling Strategies for Achieving Full-View Area Coverage in Camera Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Peng-Fei; Xiao, Fu; Sha, Chao; Huang, Hai-Ping; Wang, Ru-Chuan; Xiong, Nai-Xue

2017-01-01

Unlike conventional scalar sensors, camera sensors at different positions can capture a variety of views of an object. Based on this intrinsic property, a novel model called full-view coverage was proposed. We study the problem that how to select the minimum number of sensors to guarantee the full-view coverage for the given region of interest (ROI). To tackle this issue, we derive the constraint condition of the sensor positions for full-view neighborhood coverage with the minimum number of nodes around the point. Next, we prove that the full-view area coverage can be approximately guaranteed, as long as the regular hexagons decided by the virtual grid are seamlessly stitched. Then we present two solutions for camera sensor networks in two different deployment strategies. By computing the theoretically optimal length of the virtual grids, we put forward the deployment pattern algorithm (DPA) in the deterministic implementation. To reduce the redundancy in random deployment, we come up with a local neighboring-optimal selection algorithm (LNSA) for achieving the full-view coverage. Finally, extensive simulation results show the feasibility of our proposed solutions. PMID:28587304

Node Scheduling Strategies for Achieving Full-View Area Coverage in Camera Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng-Fei Wu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Unlike conventional scalar sensors, camera sensors at different positions can capture a variety of views of an object. Based on this intrinsic property, a novel model called full-view coverage was proposed. We study the problem that how to select the minimum number of sensors to guarantee the full-view coverage for the given region of interest (ROI. To tackle this issue, we derive the constraint condition of the sensor positions for full-view neighborhood coverage with the minimum number of nodes around the point. Next, we prove that the full-view area coverage can be approximately guaranteed, as long as the regular hexagons decided by the virtual grid are seamlessly stitched. Then we present two solutions for camera sensor networks in two different deployment strategies. By computing the theoretically optimal length of the virtual grids, we put forward the deployment pattern algorithm (DPA in the deterministic implementation. To reduce the redundancy in random deployment, we come up with a local neighboring-optimal selection algorithm (LNSA for achieving the full-view coverage. Finally, extensive simulation results show the feasibility of our proposed solutions.

Clustered lot quality assurance sampling to assess immunisation coverage: increasing rapidity and maintaining precision.

Science.gov (United States)

Pezzoli, Lorenzo; Andrews, Nick; Ronveaux, Olivier

2010-05-01

Vaccination programmes targeting disease elimination aim to achieve very high coverage levels (e.g. 95%). We calculated the precision of different clustered lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) designs in computer-simulated surveys to provide local health officers in the field with preset LQAS plans to simply and rapidly assess programmes with high coverage targets. We calculated sample size (N), decision value (d) and misclassification errors (alpha and beta) of several LQAS plans by running 10 000 simulations. We kept the upper coverage threshold (UT) at 90% or 95% and decreased the lower threshold (LT) progressively by 5%. We measured the proportion of simulations with d unvaccinated individuals if the coverage was LT% (pLT) to calculate alpha (1-pLT). We divided N in clusters (between 5 and 10) and recalculated the errors hypothesising that the coverage would vary in the clusters according to a binomial distribution with preset standard deviations of 0.05 and 0.1 from the mean lot coverage. We selected the plans fulfilling these criteria: alpha LQAS plans dividing the lot in five clusters with N = 50 (5 x 10) and d = 4 to evaluate programmes with 95% coverage target and d = 7 to evaluate programmes with 90% target. These plans will considerably increase the feasibility and the rapidity of conducting the LQAS in the field.

Intervene before leaving: clustered lot quality assurance sampling to monitor vaccination coverage at health district level before the end of a yellow fever and measles vaccination campaign in Sierra Leone in 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pezzoli Lorenzo

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In November 2009, Sierra Leone conducted a preventive yellow fever (YF vaccination campaign targeting individuals aged nine months and older in six health districts. The campaign was integrated with a measles follow-up campaign throughout the country targeting children aged 9–59 months. For both campaigns, the operational objective was to reach 95% of the target population. During the campaign, we used clustered lot quality assurance sampling (C-LQAS to identify areas of low coverage to recommend timely mop-up actions. Methods We divided the country in 20 non-overlapping lots. Twelve lots were targeted by both vaccinations, while eight only by measles. In each lot, five clusters of ten eligible individuals were selected for each vaccine. The upper threshold (UT was set at 90% and the lower threshold (LT at 75%. A lot was rejected for low vaccination coverage if more than 7 unvaccinated individuals (not presenting vaccination card were found. After the campaign, we plotted the C-LQAS results against the post-campaign coverage estimations to assess if early interventions were successful enough to increase coverage in the lots that were at the level of rejection before the end of the campaign. Results During the last two days of campaign, based on card-confirmed vaccination status, five lots out of 20 (25.0% failed for having low measles vaccination coverage and three lots out of 12 (25.0% for low YF coverage. In one district, estimated post-campaign vaccination coverage for both vaccines was still not significantly above the minimum acceptable level (LT = 75% even after vaccination mop-up activities. Conclusion C-LQAS during the vaccination campaign was informative to identify areas requiring mop-up activities to reach the coverage target prior to leaving the region. The only district where mop-up activities seemed to be unsuccessful might have had logistical difficulties that should be further investigated and resolved.

Detection thresholds of macaque otolith afferents.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiong-Jie; Dickman, J David; Angelaki, Dora E

2012-06-13

The vestibular system is our sixth sense and is important for spatial perception functions, yet the sensory detection and discrimination properties of vestibular neurons remain relatively unexplored. Here we have used signal detection theory to measure detection thresholds of otolith afferents using 1 Hz linear accelerations delivered along three cardinal axes. Direction detection thresholds were measured by comparing mean firing rates centered on response peak and trough (full-cycle thresholds) or by comparing peak/trough firing rates with spontaneous activity (half-cycle thresholds). Thresholds were similar for utricular and saccular afferents, as well as for lateral, fore/aft, and vertical motion directions. When computed along the preferred direction, full-cycle direction detection thresholds were 7.54 and 3.01 cm/s(2) for regular and irregular firing otolith afferents, respectively. Half-cycle thresholds were approximately double, with excitatory thresholds being half as large as inhibitory thresholds. The variability in threshold among afferents was directly related to neuronal gain and did not depend on spike count variance. The exact threshold values depended on both the time window used for spike count analysis and the filtering method used to calculate mean firing rate, although differences between regular and irregular afferent thresholds were independent of analysis parameters. The fact that minimum thresholds measured in macaque otolith afferents are of the same order of magnitude as human behavioral thresholds suggests that the vestibular periphery might determine the limit on our ability to detect or discriminate small differences in head movement, with little noise added during downstream processing.

On the road again: traffic fatalities and auto insurance minimums

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel A. Yakovlev

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Prior research on policy-induced moral hazard effects in the auto insurance market has focused on the impact of compulsory insurance, no-fault liability, and tort liability laws on traffic fatalities. In contrast, this paper examines the moral hazard effect of a previously overlooked policy variable: minimum auto insurance coverage. We hypothesize that state-mandated auto insurance minimums may “over-insure” some drivers, lowering their incentives to drive carefully. Using a longitudinal panel of American states from 1982 to 2006, we find that policy-induced increases in auto insurance minimums are associated with higher traffic fatality rates, ceteris paribus.

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

An Evaluation of Recent Evidence on the Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages

OpenAIRE

David Card; Lawrence F. Katz; Alan B. Krueger

1993-01-01

We re-examine recent cross-state evidence on the employment effect of the minimum wage. A re-evaluation of the data used in Neumark and Wascher's (1992) study of the minimum wage provides no support for their conclusion that the minimum wage has an adverse effect on teenage employment. Neumark and Wascher's findings are shown to be due to an inadvertent mistake in the definition of their school enrollment variable. In addition, Neumark and Wascher's coverage-weighted relative minimum wage ind...

The Minimum Core for Numeracy Audit and Test

CERN Document Server

Patmore, Mark

2008-01-01

This book supports trainee teachers in the Lifelong Learning Sector in the assessment of their numeracy knowledge. A self-audit section is included to help trainees understand their level of competence and confidence in numeracy and will help them identify any gaps in their knowledge and skills. This is followed by exercises and activities to support and enhance learning. The book covers all the content of the LLUK standards for the minimum core for numeracy. Coverage and assessment of the minimum core have to be embedded in all Certificate and Diploma courses leading to QTLS and ATLS status.

Undernutrition, poor feeding practices, and low coverage of key nutrition interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutter, Chessa K; Daelmans, Bernadette M E G; de Onis, Mercedes; Kothari, Monica T; Ruel, Marie T; Arimond, Mary; Deitchler, Megan; Dewey, Kathryn G; Blössner, Monika; Borghi, Elaine

2011-12-01

To estimate the global burden of malnutrition and highlight data on child feeding practices and coverage of key nutrition interventions. Linear mixed-effects modeling was used to estimate prevalence rates and numbers of underweight and stunted children according to United Nations region from 1990 to 2010 by using surveys from 147 countries. Indicators of infant and young child feeding practices and intervention coverage were calculated from Demographic and Health Survey data from 46 developing countries between 2002 and 2008. In 2010, globally, an estimated 27% (171 million) of children younger than 5 years were stunted and 16% (104 million) were underweight. Africa and Asia have more severe burdens of undernutrition, but the problem persists in some Latin American countries. Few children in the developing world benefit from optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. Fewer than half of infants were put to the breast within 1 hour of birth, and 36% of infants younger than 6 months were exclusively breastfed. Fewer than one-third of 6- to 23-month-old children met the minimum criteria for dietary diversity, and only ∼50% received the minimum number of meals. Although effective health-sector-based interventions for tackling childhood undernutrition are known, intervention-coverage data are available for only a small proportion of them and reveal mostly low coverage. Undernutrition continues to be high and progress toward reaching Millennium Development Goal 1 has been slow. Previously unrecognized extremely poor breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices and lack of comprehensive data on intervention coverage require urgent action to improve child nutrition.

Reliability, standard error, and minimum detectable change of clinical pressure pain threshold testing in people with and without acute neck pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, David M; Macdermid, Joy C; Nielson, Warren; Teasell, Robert W; Chiasson, Marco; Brown, Lauren

2011-09-01

Clinical measurement. To evaluate the intrarater, interrater, and test-retest reliability of an accessible digital algometer, and to determine the minimum detectable change in normal healthy individuals and a clinical population with neck pain. Pressure pain threshold testing may be a valuable assessment and prognostic indicator for people with neck pain. To date, most of this research has been completed using algometers that are too resource intensive for routine clinical use. Novice raters (physiotherapy students or clinical physiotherapists) were trained to perform algometry testing over 2 clinically relevant sites: the angle of the upper trapezius and the belly of the tibialis anterior. A convenience sample of normal healthy individuals and a clinical sample of people with neck pain were tested by 2 different raters (all participants) and on 2 different days (healthy participants only). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement, and minimum detectable change were calculated. A total of 60 healthy volunteers and 40 people with neck pain were recruited. Intrarater reliability was almost perfect (ICC = 0.94-0.97), interrater reliability was substantial to near perfect (ICC = 0.79-0.90), and test-retest reliability was substantial (ICC = 0.76-0.79). Smaller change was detectable in the trapezius compared to the tibialis anterior. This study provides evidence that novice raters can perform digital algometry with adequate reliability for research and clinical use in people with and without neck pain.

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

OpenAIRE

Shearer, FM; Moyes, CL; Pigott, DM; Marinho, F; Deshpande, A; Longbottom, J; Browne, AJ; Kraemer, MUG; O’Reilly, KM; Hombach, J; Yactayo, S; de Araújo, VEM; da Nόbrega, AA; Mosser, JF; Stanaway, JD

2017-01-01

Summary Background: 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. Methods: ...

Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

2016-04-15

The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The problem of the detection threshold in radiation measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, E.; Wueneke, C.D.

1983-01-01

In all cases encountered in practical radiation measurement, the basic problem is to differentiate between the lowest measured value and the zero value (background, natural background radiation, etc.). For this purpose, on the mathematical side, tests based on hypotheses are to be applied. These will show the probability of differentiation between two values having the same random spread. By means of these tests and the corresponding error theory, a uniform treatment of the subject, applicable to all problems relating to measuring technique alike, can be found. Two basic concepts are found in this process, which have to be defined in terms of semantics and nomenclature: Decision threshold and detection threshold, or 'minimum detectable mean value'. At the decision threshold, one has to decide (with a given statistical error probability) whether a measured value is to be attributed to the background radiation, accepting the zero hypothesis, or whether this value differs significantly from the background radiation (error of 1rst kind). The minimum detectable mean value is the value which, with a given decision threshold, can be determined with sufficient significance to be a measured value and thus cannot be mistaken as background radiation (alternative hypothesis, error of 2nd kind). Normally, the two error types are of equal importance. It may happen, however, that one type of error gains more importance, depending on the approach. (orig.) [de

Automatic Multi-Level Thresholding Segmentation Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. DJEROU,

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a new multi-level image thresholding technique, called Automatic Threshold based on Multi-objective Optimization "ATMO" that combines the flexibility of multi-objective fitness functions with the power of a Binary Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm "BPSO", for searching the "optimum" number of the thresholds and simultaneously the optimal thresholds of three criteria: the between-class variances criterion, the minimum error criterion and the entropy criterion. Some examples of test images are presented to compare our segmentation method, based on the multi-objective optimization approach with Otsu’s, Kapur’s and Kittler’s methods. Our experimental results show that the thresholding method based on multi-objective optimization is more efficient than the classical Otsu’s, Kapur’s and Kittler’s methods.

-Net Approach to Sensor -Coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fusco Giordano

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensors rely on battery power, and in many applications it is difficult or prohibitive to replace them. Hence, in order to prolongate the system's lifetime, some sensors can be kept inactive while others perform all the tasks. In this paper, we study the -coverage problem of activating the minimum number of sensors to ensure that every point in the area is covered by at least sensors. This ensures higher fault tolerance, robustness, and improves many operations, among which position detection and intrusion detection. The -coverage problem is trivially NP-complete, and hence we can only provide approximation algorithms. In this paper, we present an algorithm based on an extension of the classical -net technique. This method gives an -approximation, where is the number of sensors in an optimal solution. We do not make any particular assumption on the shape of the areas covered by each sensor, besides that they must be closed, connected, and without holes.

A Novel Deployment Scheme Based on Three-Dimensional Coverage Model for Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Fu; Yang, Yang; Wang, Ruchuan; Sun, Lijuan

2014-01-01

Coverage pattern and deployment strategy are directly related to the optimum allocation of limited resources for wireless sensor networks, such as energy of nodes, communication bandwidth, and computing power, and quality improvement is largely determined by these for wireless sensor networks. A three-dimensional coverage pattern and deployment scheme are proposed in this paper. Firstly, by analyzing the regular polyhedron models in three-dimensional scene, a coverage pattern based on cuboids is proposed, and then relationship between coverage and sensor nodes' radius is deduced; also the minimum number of sensor nodes to maintain network area's full coverage is calculated. At last, sensor nodes are deployed according to the coverage pattern after the monitor area is subdivided into finite 3D grid. Experimental results show that, compared with traditional random method, sensor nodes number is reduced effectively while coverage rate of monitor area is ensured using our coverage pattern and deterministic deployment scheme. PMID:25045747

Impact of Thresholds and Load Patterns when Executing HPC Applications with Cloud Elasticity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinicius Facco Rodrigues

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Elasticity is one of the most known capabilities related to cloud computing, being largely deployed reactively using thresholds. In this way, maximum and minimum limits are used to drive resource allocation and deallocation actions, leading to the following problem statements: How can cloud users set the threshold values to enable elasticity in their cloud applications? And what is the impact of the application’s load pattern in the elasticity? This article tries to answer these questions for iterative high performance computing applications, showing the impact of both thresholds and load patterns on application performance and resource consumption. To accomplish this, we developed a reactive and PaaS-based elasticity model called AutoElastic and employed it over a private cloud to execute a numerical integration application. Here, we are presenting an analysis of best practices and possible optimizations regarding the elasticity and HPC pair. Considering the results, we observed that the maximum threshold influences the application time more than the minimum one. We concluded that threshold values close to 100% of CPU load are directly related to a weaker reactivity, postponing resource reconfiguration when its activation in advance could be pertinent for reducing the application runtime.

Threshold Assessment of Gear Diagnostic Tools on Flight and Test Rig Data

Science.gov (United States)

Dempsey, Paula J.; Mosher, Marianne; Huff, Edward M.

2003-01-01

A method for defining thresholds for vibration-based algorithms that provides the minimum number of false alarms while maintaining sensitivity to gear damage was developed. This analysis focused on two vibration based gear damage detection algorithms, FM4 and MSA. This method was developed using vibration data collected during surface fatigue tests performed in a spur gearbox rig. The thresholds were defined based on damage progression during tests with damage. The thresholds false alarm rates were then evaluated on spur gear tests without damage. Next, the same thresholds were applied to flight data from an OH-58 helicopter transmission. Results showed that thresholds defined in test rigs can be used to define thresholds in flight to correctly classify the transmission operation as normal.

Delimitation of homogeneous regions in the UNIFESP/EPM healthcare center coverage area based on sociodemographic indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karina Yuri Harada

1999-01-01

Full Text Available CONTEXT: The drawing up of adequate Public Health action planning to address the true needs of the population would increase the chances of effectiveness and decrease unnecessary expenses. OBJECTIVE: To identify homogeneous regions in the UNIFESP/EPM healthcare center (HCC coverage area based on sociodemographic indicators and to relate them to causes of deaths in 1995. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis. SETTING: HCC coverage area; primary care. SAMPLE: Sociodemographic indicators were obtained from special tabulations of the Demographic Census of 1991. MAIN MEASURES: Proportion of children and elderly in the population; family providers’ education level (maximum: >15 years, minimum: 20 minimum wages, minimum: <1 minimum wage; proportional mortality distribution. RESULTS: The maximum income permitted the construction of four homogeneous regions, according to income ranking. Although the proportion of children and of elderly did not vary significantly among the regions, minimum income and education showed a statistically significant (p<0.05 difference between the first region (least affluent and the others. A clear trend of increasing maximum education was observed across the regions. Mortality also differed in the first region, with deaths generated by possibly preventable infections. CONCLUSION: The inequalities observed may contribute to primary health prevention.

Delimitation of homogeneous regions in the UNIFESP/EPM healthcare center coverage area based on sociodemographic indicators.

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, K Y; Silva, J G; Schenkman, S; Hayama, E T; Santos, F R; Prado, M C; Pontes, R H

1999-01-07

The drawing up of adequate Public Health action planning to address the true needs of the population would increase the chances of effectiveness and decrease unnecessary expenses. To identify homogeneous regions in the UNIFESP/EPM healthcare center (HCC) coverage area based on sociodemographic indicators and to relate them to causes of deaths in 1995. Secondary data analysis. HCC coverage area; primary care. Sociodemographic indicators were obtained from special tabulations of the Demographic Census of 1991. Proportion of children and elderly in the population; family providers' education level (maximum: > 15 years, minimum: 20 minimum wages, minimum: < 1 minimum wage); proportional mortality distribution The maximum income permitted the construction of four homogeneous regions, according to income ranking. Although the proportion of children and of elderly did not vary significantly among the regions, minimum income and education showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference between the first region (least affluent) and the others. A clear trend of increasing maximum education was observed across the regions. Mortality also differed in the first region, with deaths generated by possibly preventable infections. The inequalities observed may contribute to primary health prevention.

Psychophysical thresholds of face visibility during infancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gelskov, Sofie; Kouider, Sid

2010-01-01

The ability to detect and focus on faces is a fundamental prerequisite for developing social skills. But how well can infants detect faces? Here, we address this question by studying the minimum duration at which faces must appear to trigger a behavioral response in infants. We used a preferential...... looking method in conjunction with masking and brief presentations (300 ms and below) to establish the temporal thresholds of visibility at different stages of development. We found that 5 and 10 month-old infants have remarkably similar visibility thresholds about three times higher than those of adults....... By contrast, 15 month-olds not only revealed adult-like thresholds, but also improved their performance through memory-based strategies. Our results imply that the development of face visibility follows a non-linear course and is determined by a radical improvement occurring between 10 and 15 months....

Yellow fever vaccination coverage following massive emergency immunization campaigns in rural Uganda, May 2011: a community cluster survey

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

desired minimum threshold coverage of 80% according to World Health Organization. Massive emergency vaccination done following an outbreak of Yellow fever achieved high population coverage in Pader district. Active surveillance is necessary for early detection of yellow fever cases. PMID:23497254

The Minimum Core for Language and Literacy Audit and Test

CERN Document Server

Machin, Lynn

2007-01-01

This book supports trainee teachers in the Lifelong Learning Sector in the assessment of their literacy knowledge. A self-audit section is included to help trainees understand their level of competence and confidence in literacy and will help them identify any gaps in their knowledge and skills. This is followed by exercises and activities to support and enhance learning. The book covers all the content of the LLUK standards for the minimum core for literacy. Coverage and assessment of the minimum core have to be embedded in all Certificate and Diploma courses leading to QTLS and ATLS status.

Determining surface coverage of ultra-thin gold films from X-ray reflectivity measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kossoy, A.; Simakov, D.; Olafsson, S.; Leosson, K.

2013-01-01

The paper describes usage of X-ray reflectivity for characterization of surface coverage (i.e. film continuity) of ultra-thin gold films which are widely studied for optical, plasmonic and electronic applications. The demonstrated method is very sensitive and can be applied for layers below 1 nm. It has several advantages over other techniques which are often employed in characterization of ultra-thin metal films, such as optical absorption, Atomic Force Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy or Scanning Electron Microscopy. In contrast to those techniques our method does not require specialized sample preparation and measurement process is insensitive to electrostatic charge and/or presence of surface absorbed water. We validate our results with image processing of Scanning Electron Microscopy images. To ensure precise quantitative analysis of the images we developed a generic local thresholding algorithm which allowed us to treat series of images with various values of surface coverage with similar image processing parameters. - Highlights: • Surface coverage/continuity of ultra-thin Au films (up to 7 nm) was determined. • Results from X-ray reflectivity were verified by scanning electron microscopy. • We developed local thresholding algorithm to treat non-homogeneous image contrast

Effects of programming threshold and maplaw settings on acoustic thresholds and speech discrimination with the MED-EL COMBI 40+ cochlear implant.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Paul J

2006-12-01

The principal task in the programming of a cochlear implant (CI) speech processor is the setting of the electrical dynamic range (output) for each electrode, to ensure that a comfortable loudness percept is obtained for a range of input levels. This typically involves separate psychophysical measurement of electrical threshold ([theta] e) and upper tolerance levels using short current bursts generated by the fitting software. Anecdotal clinical experience and some experimental studies suggest that the measurement of [theta]e is relatively unimportant and that the setting of upper tolerance limits is more critical for processor programming. The present study aims to test this hypothesis and examines in detail how acoustic thresholds and speech recognition are affected by setting of the lower limit of the output ("Programming threshold" or "PT") to understand better the influence of this parameter and how it interacts with certain other programming parameters. Test programs (maps) were generated with PT set to artificially high and low values and tested on users of the MED-EL COMBI 40+ CI system. Acoustic thresholds and speech recognition scores (sentence tests) were measured for each of the test maps. Acoustic thresholds were also measured using maps with a range of output compression functions ("maplaws"). In addition, subjective reports were recorded regarding the presence of "background threshold stimulation" which is occasionally reported by CI users if PT is set to relatively high values when using the CIS strategy. Manipulation of PT was found to have very little effect. Setting PT to minimum produced a mean 5 dB (S.D. = 6.25) increase in acoustic thresholds, relative to thresholds with PT set normally, and had no statistically significant effect on speech recognition scores on a sentence test. On the other hand, maplaw setting was found to have a significant effect on acoustic thresholds (raised as maplaw is made more linear), which provides some theoretical

The gradual nature of threshold switching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wimmer, M; Salinga, M

2014-01-01

The recent commercialization of electronic memories based on phase change materials proved the usability of this peculiar family of materials for application purposes. More advanced data storage and computing concepts, however, demand a deeper understanding especially of the electrical properties of the amorphous phase and the switching behaviour. In this work, we investigate the temporal evolution of the current through the amorphous state of the prototypical phase change material, Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 , under constant voltage. A custom-made electrical tester allows the measurement of delay times over five orders of magnitude, as well as the transient states of electrical excitation prior to the actual threshold switching. We recognize a continuous current increase over time prior to the actual threshold-switching event to be a good measure for the electrical excitation. A clear correlation between a significant rise in pre-switching-current and the later occurrence of threshold switching can be observed. This way, we found experimental evidence for the existence of an absolute minimum for the threshold voltage (or electric field respectively) holding also for time scales far beyond the measurement range. (paper)

Threshold values characterizing iodine-induced SCC of zircaloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Une, K.

1984-01-01

Threshold values of stress, stress intensity factor, strain, strain rate and iodine concentration for SCC of unirradiated and irradiated Zircaloys are reviewed. The ratio of σsub(th)/σsub(y) adequately represents the effects of cold work and irradiation damage on the SCC susceptibility, where threshold stress σsub(th) is defined as the minimum stress to cause SCC to failure after -6 and 10 -3 min -1 . A comparison of SCC data between constant strain rate and constant stress tests is presented in order to examine the validity of a cumulative-damage concept under SCC conditions. (author)

Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi, E-mail: emmanueladdai41@yahoo.com; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Ignition sensitivity of a highly flammable dust decreases upon addition of inert dust. • Minimum ignition temperature of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • Minimum ignition energy of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. - Abstract: The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%.

Experimental investigations of the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of inert and combustible dust cloud mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Addai, Emmanuel Kwasi; Gabel, Dieter; Krause, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Ignition sensitivity of a highly flammable dust decreases upon addition of inert dust. • Minimum ignition temperature of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • Minimum ignition energy of a highly flammable dust increases when inert concentration increase. • The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%. - Abstract: The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety (moderation). This is achieved by adding an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease the ignition sensitivity of the combustible dust. The presented paper deals with the experimental investigation of the influence of adding an inert dust on the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature of the combustible/inert dust mixtures. The experimental investigation was done in two laboratory scale equipment: the Hartmann apparatus and the Godbert-Greenwald furnace for the minimum ignition energy and the minimum ignition temperature test respectively. This was achieved by mixing various amounts of three inert materials (magnesium oxide, ammonium sulphate and sand) and six combustible dusts (brown coal, lycopodium, toner, niacin, corn starch and high density polyethylene). Generally, increasing the inert materials concentration increases the minimum ignition energy as well as the minimum ignition temperatures until a threshold is reached where no ignition was obtained. The permissible range for the inert mixture to minimize the ignition risk lies between 60 to 80%.

Rainfall thresholds for the possible occurrence of landslides in Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. T. Brunetti

2010-03-01

Full Text Available In Italy, rainfall is the primary trigger of landslides that frequently cause fatalities and large economic damage. Using a variety of information sources, we have compiled a catalogue listing 753 rainfall events that have resulted in landslides in Italy. For each event in the catalogue, the exact or approximate location of the landslide and the time or period of initiation of the slope failure is known, together with information on the rainfall duration D, and the rainfall mean intensity I, that have resulted in the slope failure. The catalogue represents the single largest collection of information on rainfall-induced landslides in Italy, and was exploited to determine the minimum rainfall conditions necessary for landslide occurrence in Italy, and in the Abruzzo Region, central Italy. For the purpose, new national rainfall thresholds for Italy and new regional rainfall thresholds for the Abruzzo Region were established, using two independent statistical methods, including a Bayesian inference method and a new Frequentist approach. The two methods proved complementary, with the Bayesian method more suited to analyze small data sets, and the Frequentist method performing better when applied to large data sets. The new regional thresholds for the Abruzzo Region are lower than the new national thresholds for Italy, and lower than the regional thresholds proposed in the literature for the Piedmont and Lombardy Regions in northern Italy, and for the Campania Region in southern Italy. This is important, because it shows that landslides in Italy can be triggered by less severe rainfall conditions than previously recognized. The Frequentist method experimented in this work allows for the definition of multiple minimum rainfall thresholds, each based on a different exceedance probability level. This makes the thresholds suited for the design of probabilistic schemes for the prediction of rainfall-induced landslides. A scheme based on four

Damage Threshold of In Vivo Rabbit Cornea by 2 micron Laser Irradiation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chen, Bo; Oliver, Jeffery; Dutta, Soumak; Rylander, III, Grady H; Thomsen, Sharon L; Welch, Ashley J

2007-01-01

To support refinement of the Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) safety limits, a series of experiments were conducted in vivo on Dutch Belted rabbit corneas to determine corneal minimum visible lesion thresholds...

Eccentric muscle damage has variable effects on motor unit recruitment thresholds and discharge patterns in elbow flexor muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Dartnall, Tamara J; Rogasch, Nigel C; Nordstrom, Michael A; Semmler, John G

2009-07-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of eccentric muscle damage on recruitment threshold force and repetitive discharge properties of low-threshold motor units. Ten subjects performed four tasks involving isometric contraction of elbow flexors while electromyographic (EMG) data were recorded from human biceps brachii and brachialis muscles. Tasks were 1) maximum voluntary contraction (MVC); 2) constant-force contraction at various submaximal targets; 3) motor unit recruitment threshold task; and 4) minimum motor unit discharge rate task. These tasks were performed on three separate days before, immediately after, and 24 h after eccentric exercise of elbow flexor muscles. MVC force declined (42%) immediately after exercise and remained depressed (29%) 24 h later, indicative of muscle damage. Mean motor unit recruitment threshold for biceps brachii was 8.4+/-4.2% MVC, (n=34) before eccentric exercise, and was reduced by 41% (5.0+/-3.0% MVC, n=34) immediately after and by 39% (5.2+/-2.5% MVC, n=34) 24 h after exercise. No significant changes in motor unit recruitment threshold were observed in the brachialis muscle. However, for the minimum tonic discharge rate task, motor units in both muscles discharged 11% faster (10.8+/-2.0 vs. 9.7+/-1.7 Hz) immediately after (n=29) exercise compared with that before (n=32). The minimum discharge rate variability was greater in brachialis muscle immediately after exercise (13.8+/-3.1%) compared with that before (11.9+/-3.1%) and 24 h after exercise (11.7+/-2.4%). No significant changes in minimum discharge rate variability were observed in the biceps brachii motor units after exercise. These results indicate that muscle damage from eccentric exercise alters motor unit recruitment thresholds for >or=24 h, but the effect is not the same in the different elbow flexor muscles.

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

Precipitation thresholds for triggering floods in Corgo hydrographic basin (Northern Portugal)

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Monica; Fragoso, Marcelo

2016-04-01

The precipitation is a major cause of natural hazards and is therefore related to the flood events (Borga et al., 2011; Gaál et al., 2014; Wilhelmi & Morss, 2013). The severity of a precipitation event and their potential damage is dependent on the total amount of rain but also on the intensity and duration event (Gaál et al., 2014). In this work, it was established thresholds based on critical combinations: amount / duration of flood events with daily rainfall data for Corgo hydrographic basin, in northern Portugal. In Corgo basin are recorded 31 floods events between 1865 and 2011 (Santos et al., 2015; Zêzere et al., 2014). We determined the minimum, maximum and pre-warning thresholds that define the boundaries so that an event may occur. Additionally, we applied these thresholds to different flood events occurred in the past in the study basin. The results show that the ratio between the flood events and precipitation events that occur above the minimum threshold has relatively low probability of a flood happen. These results may be related to the reduced number of floods events (only those that caused damage reported by the media and produced some type of damage). The maximum threshold is not useful for floods forecasting, since the majority of true positives are below this limit. The retrospective analysis of the thresholds defined suggests that the minimum and pre warning thresholds are well adjusted. The application of rainfall thresholds contribute to minimize possible situations of pre-crisis or immediate crisis, reducing the consequences and the resources involved in emergency response of flood events. References Borga, M., Anagnostou, E. N., Blöschl, G., & Creutin, J. D. (2011). Flash flood forecasting, warning and risk management: the HYDRATE project. Environmental Science & Policy, 14(7), 834-844. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2011.05.017 Gaál, L., Molnar, P., & Szolgay, J. (2014). Selection of intense rainfall events based on intensity thresholds and

Application of habitat thresholds in conservation: Considerations, limitations, and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yntze van der Hoek

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Habitat thresholds are often interpreted as the minimum required area of habitat, and subsequently promoted as conservation targets in natural resource policies and planning. Unfortunately, several recent reviews and messages of caution on the application of habitat thresholds in conservation have largely fallen on deaf ears, leading to a dangerous oversimplification and generalization of the concept. We highlight the prevalence of oversimplification/over-generalization of results from habitat threshold studies in policy documentation, the consequences of such over-generalization, and directions for habitat threshold studies that have conservation applications without risking overgeneralization. We argue that in order to steer away from misapplication of habitat thresholds in conservation, we should not focus on generalized nominal habitat values (i.e., amounts or percentages of habitat, but on the use of habitat threshold modeling for comparative exercises of area-sensitivity or the identification of environmental dangers. In addition, we should remain focused on understanding the processes and mechanisms underlying species responses to habitat change. Finally, studies could that focus on deriving nominal value threshold amounts should do so only if the thresholds are detailed, species-specific, and translated to conservation targets particular to the study area only.

Modeling the state dependent impulse control for computer virus propagation under media coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Xiyin; Pei, Yongzhen; Lv, Yunfei

2018-02-01

A state dependent impulsive control model is proposed to model the spread of computer virus incorporating media coverage. By the successor function, the sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of order-1 periodic solution are presented first. Secondly, for two classes of periodic solutions, the geometric property of successor function and the analogue of the Poincaré criterion are employed to obtain the stability results. These results show that the number of the infective computers is under the threshold all the time. Finally, the theoretic and numerical analysis show that media coverage can delay the spread of computer virus.

Time-Series Evidence of the Effect of the Minimum Wage on Youth Employment and Unemployment.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Charles; And Others

1983-01-01

The study finds that a 10 percent increase in the federal minimum wage (or the coverage rate) would reduce teenage (16-19) employment by about one percent, which is at the lower end of the range of estimates from previous studies. (Author/SSH)

Minimum Transendothelial Electrical Resistance Thresholds for the Study of Small and Large Molecule Drug Transport in a Human in Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Mantle, Jennifer L; Min, Lie; Lee, Kelvin H

2016-12-05

A human cell-based in vitro model that can accurately predict drug penetration into the brain as well as metrics to assess these in vitro models are valuable for the development of new therapeutics. Here, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are differentiated into a polarized monolayer that express blood-brain barrier (BBB)-specific proteins and have transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) values greater than 2500 Ω·cm 2 . By assessing the permeabilities of several known drugs, a benchmarking system to evaluate brain permeability of drugs was established. Furthermore, relationships between TEER and permeability to both small and large molecules were established, demonstrating that different minimum TEER thresholds must be achieved to study the brain transport of these two classes of drugs. This work demonstrates that this hPSC-derived BBB model exhibits an in vivo-like phenotype, and the benchmarks established here are useful for assessing functionality of other in vitro BBB models.

Reliability and responsiveness of algometry for measuring pressure pain threshold in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutlu, Ebru Kaya; Ozdincler, Arzu Razak

2015-06-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to establish the intrarater reliability and responsiveness of a clinically available algometer in patients with knee osteoarthritis as well as to determine the minimum-detectable-change and standard error of measurement of testing to facilitate clinical interpretation of temporal changes. [Subjects] Seventy-three patients with knee osteoarthritis were included. [Methods] Pressure pain threshold measured by algometry was evaluated 3 times at 2-min intervals over 2 clinically relevant sites-mediolateral to the medial femoral tubercle (distal) and lateral to the medial malleolus (local)-on the same day. Intrarater reliability was estimated by intraclass correlation coefficients. The minimum-detectable-change and standard error of measurement were calculated. As a measure of responsiveness, the effect size was calculated for the results at baseline and after treatment. [Results] The intrarater reliability was almost perfect (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93-0.97). The standard error of measurement and minimum-detectable-change were 0.70-0.66 and 1.62-1.53, respectively. The pressure pain threshold over the distal site was inadequately responsive in knee osteoarthritis, but the local site was responsive. The effect size was 0.70. [Conclusion] Algometry is reliable and responsive to assess measures of pressure pain threshold for evaluating pain patients with knee osteoarthritis.

77 FR 8706 - Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary-Templates, Instructions, and Related...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-14

.... counties (78 of which are in Puerto Rico) meet this threshold. The overwhelming majority of these are... two coverage examples--having a baby (normal delivery) and managing type 2 diabetes (routine... (normal delivery), breast cancer, and diabetes). The Departments received many comments asserting that the...

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.

An asymptotically unbiased minimum density power divergence estimator for the Pareto-tail index

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dierckx, Goedele; Goegebeur, Yuri; Guillou, Armelle

2013-01-01

We introduce a robust and asymptotically unbiased estimator for the tail index of Pareto-type distributions. The estimator is obtained by fitting the extended Pareto distribution to the relative excesses over a high threshold with the minimum density power divergence criterion. Consistency...

Vaccination Coverage for Infants: Cross-Sectional Studies in Two Regions of Belgium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuelle Robert

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Methods and Objectives. To estimate infant vaccination coverage in the French-speaking region of Belgium (Wallonia and in the Brussels-Capital Region, two cross-sectional studies were performed in 2012. A face-to-face questionnaire was administered by trained investigators. The objective was to evaluate infant vaccination coverage retrospectively in 18- to 24-month-old children. These studies offered the opportunity to assess some factors influencing vaccine uptake in infants. Results and Discussion. Approximately 99% of the children had received the first dose of IPV-DTaP, 90% the fourth dose, 94% the MMR vaccine, 97% the first dose of pneumococcal vaccine, and 90% the third dose. In both regions, when fitting a logistic model, the most associated factor was attendance at maternal and child clinics (MCH. No association was observed between vaccination coverage and the mother’s level of education. For the last immunization session, where the mother was a Belgian native and when she worked more hours, child was better immunized, but only in Brussels. Conclusion. Coverage for the fourth dose of hexavalent vaccine (DTaP-IPV-HBV/Hib needs to be increased. Indeed, additional effort is needed to increase HIB and pertussis coverage rates because the herd immunity threshold for these two diseases has not been reached.

Handoff Rate and Coverage Analysis in Multi-tier Heterogeneous Networks

OpenAIRE

Sadr, Sanam; Adve, Raviraj S.

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes the impact of user mobility in multi-tier heterogeneous networks. We begin by obtaining the handoff rate for a mobile user in an irregular cellular network with the access point locations modeled as a homogeneous Poisson point process. The received signal-to-interference-ratio (SIR) distribution along with a chosen SIR threshold is then used to obtain the probability of coverage. To capture potential connection failures due to mobility, we assume that a fraction of handoff...

Setting a national minimum standard for health benefits: how do state benefit mandates compare with benefits in large-group plans?

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Allison; Mika, Stephanie; Nuzum, Rachel; Schoen, Cathy

2009-06-01

Many proposed health insurance reforms would establish a federal minimum benefit standard--a baseline set of benefits to ensure that people have adequate coverage and financial protection when they purchase insurance. Currently, benefit mandates are set at the state level; these vary greatly across states and generally target specific areas rather than set an overall standard for what qualifies as health insurance. This issue brief considers what a broad federal minimum standard might look like by comparing existing state benefit mandates with the services and providers covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard benefit package, an example of minimum creditable coverage that reflects current standard practice among employer-sponsored health plans. With few exceptions, benefits in the FEHBP standard option either meet or exceed those that state mandates require-indicating that a broad-based national benefit standard would include most existing state benefit mandates.

Multisatellite systems with linear structure and their application for continuous coverage of the earth

Science.gov (United States)

Saulskiy, V. K.

2005-01-01

Multisatellite systems with linear structure (SLS) are defined, and their application for a continuous global or zonal coverage of the Earth’s surface is justified. It is demonstrated that in some cases these systems turned out to be better than usually recommended kinematically regular systems by G.V. Mozhaev, delta systems of J.G. Walker, and polar systems suggested by F.W. Gobets, L. Rider, and W.S. Adams. When a comparison is made using the criterion of a minimum radius of one-satellite coverage circle, the SLS beat the other systems for the majority of satellite numbers from the range 20 63, if the global continuous single coverage of the Earth is required. In the case of a zonal continuous single coverage of the latitude belt ±65°, the SLS are preferable at almost all numbers of satellites from 38 to 100, and further at any values up to 200 excluding 144.

Photoproduction of the φ(1020) near threshold in CLAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tedeschi, D.J.

2002-01-01

The differential cross section for the photoproduction of the φ (1020) near threshold (E γ = 1.57GeV) is predicted to be sensitive to production mechanisms other than diffraction. However, the existing low energy data is of limited statistics and kinematical coverage. Complete measurements of φ meson production on the proton have been performed at The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility using a liquid hydrogen target and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). The φ was identified by missing mass using a proton and positive kaon detected by CLAS in coincidence with an electron in the photon tagger. The energy of the tagged, bremsstrahlung photons ranged from φ-threshold to 2.4 GeV. A description of the data set and the differential cross section for (E γ = 2.0 GeV) will be presented and compared with present theoretical calculations. (author)

Investigation on the minimum film boiling temperature on metallic and ceramic heaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ladisch, R.

1980-06-01

The minimum film boiling temperature on ceramic and metallic heaters has been experimentally studied. The knowledge of this temperature boundary is important in safety considerations on all liquid cooled nuclear reactors. The experiments have been carried out by quenching a hot metal cylinder with and without ceramic coating of aluminium in water. Results show that the minimum film boiling temperature Tsub(min) increases with water subcooling and is dependend upon the thermophysical properties of the heating surface. The roughness of the heater does not affect Tsub(min). At low subcoolings the vapour film is more stable and seems to break down when the specific heatflux upon liquid solid contact is lower than a threshold value above which film boiling can be reestablished. At higher subcoolings instead the vapour film is thinner and more stable. In this case the surface temperature decreases beyond the value by which the specific heatflux upon liquid solid contact would be lower than the threshold value. As soon as the vapour film becomes unstable, it collapses. (orig.) [de

Incentives Increase Participation in Mass Dog Rabies Vaccination Clinics and Methods of Coverage Estimation Are Assessed to Be Accurate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abel B Minyoo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this study we show that incentives (dog collars and owner wristbands are effective at increasing owner participation in mass dog rabies vaccination clinics and we conclude that household questionnaire surveys and the mark-re-sight (transect survey method for estimating post-vaccination coverage are accurate when all dogs, including puppies, are included. Incentives were distributed during central-point rabies vaccination clinics in northern Tanzania to quantify their effect on owner participation. In villages where incentives were handed out participation increased, with an average of 34 more dogs being vaccinated. Through economies of scale, this represents a reduction in the cost-per-dog of $0.47. This represents the price-threshold under which the cost of the incentive used must fall to be economically viable. Additionally, vaccination coverage levels were determined in ten villages through the gold-standard village-wide census technique, as well as through two cheaper and quicker methods (randomized household questionnaire and the transect survey. Cost data were also collected. Both non-gold standard methods were found to be accurate when puppies were included in the calculations, although the transect survey and the household questionnaire survey over- and under-estimated the coverage respectively. Given that additional demographic data can be collected through the household questionnaire survey, and that its estimate of coverage is more conservative, we recommend this method. Despite the use of incentives the average vaccination coverage was below the 70% threshold for eliminating rabies. We discuss the reasons and suggest solutions to improve coverage. Given recent international targets to eliminate rabies, this study provides valuable and timely data to help improve mass dog vaccination programs in Africa and elsewhere.

Incentives Increase Participation in Mass Dog Rabies Vaccination Clinics and Methods of Coverage Estimation Are Assessed to Be Accurate

Science.gov (United States)

Steinmetz, Melissa; Czupryna, Anna; Bigambo, Machunde; Mzimbiri, Imam; Powell, George; Gwakisa, Paul

2015-01-01

In this study we show that incentives (dog collars and owner wristbands) are effective at increasing owner participation in mass dog rabies vaccination clinics and we conclude that household questionnaire surveys and the mark-re-sight (transect survey) method for estimating post-vaccination coverage are accurate when all dogs, including puppies, are included. Incentives were distributed during central-point rabies vaccination clinics in northern Tanzania to quantify their effect on owner participation. In villages where incentives were handed out participation increased, with an average of 34 more dogs being vaccinated. Through economies of scale, this represents a reduction in the cost-per-dog of $0.47. This represents the price-threshold under which the cost of the incentive used must fall to be economically viable. Additionally, vaccination coverage levels were determined in ten villages through the gold-standard village-wide census technique, as well as through two cheaper and quicker methods (randomized household questionnaire and the transect survey). Cost data were also collected. Both non-gold standard methods were found to be accurate when puppies were included in the calculations, although the transect survey and the household questionnaire survey over- and under-estimated the coverage respectively. Given that additional demographic data can be collected through the household questionnaire survey, and that its estimate of coverage is more conservative, we recommend this method. Despite the use of incentives the average vaccination coverage was below the 70% threshold for eliminating rabies. We discuss the reasons and suggest solutions to improve coverage. Given recent international targets to eliminate rabies, this study provides valuable and timely data to help improve mass dog vaccination programs in Africa and elsewhere. PMID:26633821

Rainfall thresholds as a landslide indicator for engineered slopes on the Irish Rail network

Science.gov (United States)

Martinović, Karlo; Gavin, Kenneth; Reale, Cormac; Mangan, Cathal

2018-04-01

Rainfall thresholds express the minimum levels of rainfall that need to be reached or exceeded in order for landslides to occur in a particular area. They are a common tool in expressing the temporal portion of landslide hazard analysis. Numerous rainfall thresholds have been developed for different areas worldwide, however none of these are focused on landslides occurring on the engineered slopes on transport infrastructure networks. This paper uses empirical method to develop the rainfall thresholds for landslides on the Irish Rail network earthworks. For comparison, rainfall thresholds are also developed for natural terrain in Ireland. The results show that particular thresholds involving relatively low rainfall intensities are applicable for Ireland, owing to the specific climate. Furthermore, the comparison shows that rainfall thresholds for engineered slopes are lower than those for landslides occurring on the natural terrain. This has severe implications as it indicates that there is a significant risk involved when using generic weather alerts (developed largely for natural terrain) for infrastructure management, and showcases the need for developing railway and road specific rainfall thresholds for landslides.

Mortality on extreme heat days using official thresholds in Spain: a multi-city time series analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Aurelio

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The 2003 heat wave had a high impact on mortality in Europe, which made necessary to develop heat health watch warning systems. In Spain this was carried-out by the Ministry of Health in 2004, being based on exceeding of city-specific simultaneous thresholds of minimum and maximum daily temperatures. The aim of this study is to assess effectiveness of the official thresholds established by the Ministry of Health for each provincial capital city, by quantifying and comparing the short-term effects of above-threshold days on total daily mortality. Methods Total daily mortality and minimum and maximum temperatures for the 52 capitals of province in Spain were collected during summer months (June to September for the study period 1995-2004. Data was analysed using GEE for Poisson regression. Relative Risk (RR of total daily mortality was quantified for the current day of official thresholds exceeded. Results The number of days in which the thresholds were exceeded show great inconsistency, with provinces with great number of exceeded days adjacent to provinces that did not exceed or rarely exceeded. The average overall excess risk of dying during an extreme heat day was about 25% (RR = 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI = [1.19-1.30]. Relative risks showed a significant heterogeneity between cities (I2 = 54.9%. Western situation and low mean summer temperatures were associated with higher relative risks, suggesting thresholds may have been set too high in these areas. Conclusions This study confirmed that extreme heat days have a considerable impact on total daily mortality in Spain. Official thresholds gave consistent relative risk in the large capital cities. However, in some other cities thresholds

A derivation of the stable cavitation threshold accounting for bubble-bubble interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Guédra, Matthieu; Cornu, Corentin; Inserra, Claude

2017-09-01

The subharmonic emission of sound coming from the nonlinear response of a bubble population is the most used indicator for stable cavitation. When driven at twice their resonance frequency, bubbles can exhibit subharmonic spherical oscillations if the acoustic pressure amplitude exceeds a threshold value. Although various theoretical derivations exist for the subharmonic emission by free or coated bubbles, they all rest on the single bubble model. In this paper, we propose an analytical expression of the subharmonic threshold for interacting bubbles in a homogeneous, monodisperse cloud. This theory predicts a shift of the subharmonic resonance frequency and a decrease of the corresponding pressure threshold due to the interactions. For a given sonication frequency, these results show that an optimal value of the interaction strength (i.e. the number density of bubbles) can be found for which the subharmonic threshold is minimum, which is consistent with recently published experiments conducted on ultrasound contrast agents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discrimination thresholds for smiles in genuine versus blended facial expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aida Gutiérrez-García

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Genuine smiles convey enjoyment or positive affect, whereas fake smiles conceal or leak negative feelings or motives (e.g. arrogance, contempt, embarrassment, or merely show affiliation or politeness. We investigated the minimum display time (i.e. threshold; ranging from 50 to 1,000 ms that is necessary to distinguish a fake from a genuine smile. Variants of fake smiles were created by varying the type of non-happy (e.g. neutral, angry, sad, etc. eyes in blended expressions with a smiling mouth. Participants judged whether faces conveyed happiness or not. Results showed that thresholds vary as a function of type of eyes: blended expressions with angry eyes are discriminated early (100 ms, followed by those with disgusted eyes, fearful, and sad (from 250 to 500 ms, surprised (750 ms, and neutral (from 750 to 1,000 ms eyes. An important issue for further research is the extent to which such discrimination threshold differences depend on physical or affective factors.

Multi-thresholds for fault isolation in the presence of uncertainties.

Science.gov (United States)

Touati, Youcef; Mellal, Mohamed Arezki; Benazzouz, Djamel

2016-05-01

Monitoring of the faults is an important task in mechatronics. It involves the detection and isolation of faults which are performed by using the residuals. These residuals represent numerical values that define certain intervals called thresholds. In fact, the fault is detected if the residuals exceed the thresholds. In addition, each considered fault must activate a unique set of residuals to be isolated. However, in the presence of uncertainties, false decisions can occur due to the low sensitivity of certain residuals towards faults. In this paper, an efficient approach to make decision on fault isolation in the presence of uncertainties is proposed. Based on the bond graph tool, the approach is developed in order to generate systematically the relations between residuals and faults. The generated relations allow the estimation of the minimum detectable and isolable fault values. The latter is used to calculate the thresholds of isolation for each residual. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A New Technique of Removing Blind Spots to Optimize Wireless Coverage in Indoor Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. W. Reza

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Blind spots (or bad sampling points in indoor areas are the positions where no signal exists (or the signal is too weak and the existence of a receiver within the blind spot decelerates the performance of the communication system. Therefore, it is one of the fundamental requirements to eliminate the blind spots from the indoor area and obtain the maximum coverage while designing the wireless networks. In this regard, this paper combines ray-tracing (RT, genetic algorithm (GA, depth first search (DFS, and branch-and-bound method as a new technique that guarantees the removal of blind spots and subsequently determines the optimal wireless coverage using minimum number of transmitters. The proposed system outperforms the existing techniques in terms of algorithmic complexity and demonstrates that the computation time can be reduced as high as 99% and 75%, respectively, as compared to existing algorithms. Moreover, in terms of experimental analysis, the coverage prediction successfully reaches 99% and, thus, the proposed coverage model effectively guarantees the removal of blind spots.

Distribution of the minimum path on percolation clusters: A renormalization group calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hipsh, Lior.

1993-06-01

This thesis uses the renormalization group for the research of the chemical distance or the minimal path on percolation clusters on a 2 dimensional square lattice. Our aims are to calculate analytically (iterative calculation) the fractal dimension of the minimal path. d min. , and the distributions of the minimum paths, l min for different lattice sizes and for different starting densities (including the threshold value p c ). For the distributions. We seek for an analytic form which describes them. The probability to get a minimum path for each linear size L is calculated by iterating the distribution of l min for the basic cell of size 2*2 to the next scale sizes, using the H cell renormalization group. For the threshold value of p and for values near to p c . We confirm a scaling in the form: P(l,L) =f1/l(l/(L d min ). L - the linear size, l - the minimum path. The distribution can be also represented in the Fourier space, so we will try to solve the renormalization group equations in this space. A numerical fitting is produced and compared to existing numerical results. In order to improve the agreement between the renormalization group and the numerical simulations, we also present attempts to generalize the renormalization group by adding more parameters, e.g. correlations between bonds in different directions or finite densities for occupation of bonds and sites. (author) 17 refs

Injury Thresholds for Topical Cream-Coated Skin of Hairless Guinea Pigs (Cavia Procellus) in Near Infrared Region

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stolarski, David J; Zohner, Justin J; Imholte, Michelle L; Chavey, Lucas J; Pocock, Ginger M; Buchanan, Kelvin C; Jindra, Nichole M; Figueroa, Manuel A; Thomas, Robert J; Rockwell, Benjamin A

2006-01-01

.... Hairless guinea pigs (cavia porcellus) in vivo were used to evaluate how the minimum visible lesion threshold for single-pulse laser exposure is changed with a topical agent applied to the skin...

A ram-pressure threshold for star formation

Science.gov (United States)

Whitworth, A. P.

2016-05-01

In turbulent fragmentation, star formation occurs in condensations created by converging flows. The condensations must be sufficiently massive, dense and cool to be gravitationally unstable, so that they start to contract; and they must then radiate away thermal energy fast enough for self-gravity to remain dominant, so that they continue to contract. For the metallicities and temperatures in local star-forming clouds, this second requirement is only met robustly when the gas couples thermally to the dust, because this delivers the capacity to radiate across the full bandwidth of the continuum, rather than just in a few discrete spectral lines. This translates into a threshold for vigorous star formation, which can be written as a minimum ram pressure PCRIT ˜ 4 × 10-11 dyne. PCRIT is independent of temperature, and corresponds to flows with molecular hydrogen number density n_{{H_2.FLOW}} and velocity vFLOW satisfying n_{{H_2.FLOW}} v_{FLOW}^2≳ 800 cm^{-3} (km s^{-1})^2. This in turn corresponds to a minimum molecular hydrogen column density for vigorous star formation, N_{{H_2.CRIT}} ˜ 4 × 10^{21} cm^{-2} (ΣCRIT ˜ 100 M⊙ pc-2), and a minimum visual extinction AV, CRIT ˜ 9 mag. The characteristic diameter and line density for a star-forming filament when this threshold is just exceeded - a sweet spot for local star formation regions - are 2RFIL ˜ 0.1 pc and μFIL ˜ 13 M⊙ pc-2. The characteristic diameter and mass for a prestellar core condensing out of such a filament are 2RCORE ˜ 0.1 pc and MCORE ˜ 1 M⊙. We also show that fragmentation of a shock-compressed layer is likely to commence while the convergent flows creating the layer are still ongoing, and we stress that, under this circumstance, the phenomenology and characteristic scales for fragmentation of the layer are fundamentally different from those derived traditionally for pre-existing layers.

Comparison of gene coverage of mouse oligonucleotide microarray platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Medrano Juan F

2006-03-01

reveals that the commercial microarray Sentrix, which is based on the MEEBO public oligoset, showed the best mouse genome coverage currently available. We also suggest the creation of guidelines to standardize the minimum set of information that vendors should provide to allow researchers to accurately evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using a given platform.

Spatio-Temporal Change of Vegetation Coverage and its Driving Forces Based on Landsat Images: a Case Study of Changchun City

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, L.; Jiang, H.; Yang, L.

2018-04-01

Based on the Landsat images in 2006, 2011 and 2015, and the method of dimidiate pixel model, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the vegetation coverage, this paper analyzes the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation coverage in Changchun, China from 2006 to 2015, and investigates the response of vegetation coverage change to natural and artificial factors. The research results show that in nearly 10 years, the vegetation coverage in Changchun dropped remarkably, and reached the minimum in 2011. Moreover, the decrease of maximum NDVI was significant, with a decrease of about 27.43 %, from 2006 to 2015. The vegetation coverage change in different regions of the research area was significantly different. Among them, the vegetation change in Changchun showed a little drop, and it decreased firstly and then increased slowly in Yushu, Nong'an and Dehui. In addition, the temperature and precipitation change, land reclamation all affect the vegetation coverage. In short, the study of vegetation coverage change contributes scientific and technical support to government and environmental protection department, so as to promote the coordinated development of ecology and economy.

Use of basic principle of nucleation in determining temperature-threshold neutron energy relationship in superheated emulsions

CERN Document Server

Das, M; Chatterjee, B K; Roy, S C

2003-01-01

Detection of neutrons through use of superheated emulsions has been known for about two decades. The minimum neutron energy (threshold) required to nucleate drops of a given liquid has a dependence on the temperature of the liquid. The basic principle of nucleation has been utilized to find the relationship between the operating temperature and threshold neutron energy for superheated emulsions made of R-114 liquid. The threshold energy thus determined for different temperatures has been compared with accurate experimental results obtained using monoenergetic neutron sources. The agreement is found to be satisfactory and confirms the applicability of the present simple method to other liquids.

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...

Near-threshold fatigue crack behaviour in EUROFER 97 at different temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Aktaa, J.; Lerch, M.

2006-07-01

The fatigue crack behaviour in EUROFER 97 was investigated at room temperature (RT), 300, 500 and 550 °C for the assessment of cracks in first wall structures built from EUROFER 97 of future fusion reactors. For this purpose, fatigue crack growth tests were performed using CT specimens with two R-ratios, R = 0.1 and R = 0.5 ( R is the load ratio with R = Fmin/ Fmax where Fmin and Fmax are the minimum and maximum applied loads within a cycle, respectively). Hence, fatigue crack threshold, fatigue crack growth behaviour in the near-threshold range and their dependences on temperature and R-ratio were determined and described using an analytical formula. The fatigue crack threshold showed a monotonous dependence on temperature which is for R = 0.5 insignificantly small. The fatigue crack growth behaviour exhibited for R = 0.1 a non-monotonous dependence on temperature which is explained by the decrease of yield stress and the increase of creep damage with increasing temperature.

Phased arrays: A strategy to lower the energy threshold for neutrinos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wissel Stephanie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In-ice radio arrays are optimized for detecting the highest energy, cosmogenic neutrinos expected to be produced though cosmic ray interactions with background photons. However, there are two expected populations of high energy neutrinos: the astrophysical flux observed by IceCube (~1 PeV and the cosmogenic flux (~ 1017 eV or 100 PeV. Typical radio arrays employ a noise-riding trigger, which limits their minimum energy threshold based on the background noise temperature of the ice. Phased radio arrays could lower the energy threshold by combining the signals from several channels before triggering, thereby improving the signal-to-noise at the trigger level. Reducing the energy threshold would allow radio experiments to more efficiently overlap with optical Cherenkov neutrino telescopes as well as for more efficient searches for cosmogenic neutrinos. We discuss the proposed technique and prototypical phased arrays deployed in an anechoic chamber and at Greenland’s Summit Station.

Threshold values characterizing iodine-induced SCC of zircaloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Une, K.

1981-01-01

In this paper, threshold values of stress, stress intensity factor, strain, strain rate and iodine concentration for SCC of unirradiated and irradiated Zircaloys are reviewed. The ratio of σ sub(th)/σ sub(y) adequately represents the effects of cold-work and irradiation on the SCC susceptibility, where threshold stress σ sub(th) is defined as the minimum stress to cause SCC to failure after 10-20 hours and σ sub(y), the yield stress obtained in an inert atmosphere. The ratio becomes gradually smaller with larger σ sub(y) and is less than 1 for materials with yield strengths above about 350MPa. Plastic strain appears to be necessary for SCC; plastic strains to failure range from 0.1 to 1% for high strength materials, even when data for irradiated materials are included. Strain rate significantly affects the susceptibility. A comparison of SCC data between constant strain rate and constant stress tests is presented. (author)

Nonlinear threshold behavior during the loss of Arctic sea ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenman, I; Wettlaufer, J S

2009-01-06

In light of the rapid recent retreat of Arctic sea ice, a number of studies have discussed the possibility of a critical threshold (or "tipping point") beyond which the ice-albedo feedback causes the ice cover to melt away in an irreversible process. The focus has typically been centered on the annual minimum (September) ice cover, which is often seen as particularly susceptible to destabilization by the ice-albedo feedback. Here, we examine the central physical processes associated with the transition from ice-covered to ice-free Arctic Ocean conditions. We show that although the ice-albedo feedback promotes the existence of multiple ice-cover states, the stabilizing thermodynamic effects of sea ice mitigate this when the Arctic Ocean is ice covered during a sufficiently large fraction of the year. These results suggest that critical threshold behavior is unlikely during the approach from current perennial sea-ice conditions to seasonally ice-free conditions. In a further warmed climate, however, we find that a critical threshold associated with the sudden loss of the remaining wintertime-only sea ice cover may be likely.

78 FR 79285 - Home Mortgage Disclosure (Regulation C): Adjustment to Asset-Size Exemption Threshold

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-30

... for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The exemption threshold is adjusted to increase... of $1 million dollars. The definition of ``financial institution'' in Regulation C provides that the... good cause found and published with the rule. 5 U.S.C. 553(d). At a minimum, the Bureau believes the...

Cost-Utility Analysis of Extending Public Health Insurance Coverage to Include Diabetic Retinopathy Screening by Optometrists.

Science.gov (United States)

van Katwyk, Sasha; Jin, Ya-Ping; Trope, Graham E; Buys, Yvonne; Masucci, Lisa; Wedge, Richard; Flanagan, John; Brent, Michael H; El-Defrawy, Sherif; Tu, Hong Anh; Thavorn, Kednapa

2017-09-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss and blindness in Canada. Eye examinations play an important role in early detection. However, DR screening by optometrists is not always universally covered by public or private health insurance plans. This study assessed whether expanding public health coverage to include diabetic eye examinations for retinopathy by optometrists is cost-effective from the perspective of the health care system. We conducted a cost-utility analysis of extended coverage for diabetic eye examinations in Prince Edward Island to include examinations by optometrists, not currently publicly covered. We used a Markov chain to simulate disease burden based on eye examination rates and DR progression over a 30-year time horizon. Results were presented as an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. A series of one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Extending public health coverage to eye examinations by optometrists was associated with higher costs ($9,908,543.32) and improved QALYs (156,862.44), over 30 years, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $1668.43/QALY gained. Sensitivity analysis showed that the most influential determinants of the results were the cost of optometric screening and selected utility scores. At the commonly used threshold of $50,000/QALY, the probability that the new policy was cost-effective was 99.99%. Extending public health coverage to eye examinations by optometrists is cost-effective based on a commonly used threshold of $50,000/QALY. Findings from this study can inform the decision to expand public-insured optometric services for patients with diabetes. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A novel gene network inference algorithm using predictive minimum description length approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaitankar, Vijender; Ghosh, Preetam; Perkins, Edward J; Gong, Ping; Deng, Youping; Zhang, Chaoyang

2010-05-28

Reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks using information theory models has received much attention due to its simplicity, low computational cost, and capability of inferring large networks. One of the major problems with information theory models is to determine the threshold which defines the regulatory relationships between genes. The minimum description length (MDL) principle has been implemented to overcome this problem. The description length of the MDL principle is the sum of model length and data encoding length. A user-specified fine tuning parameter is used as control mechanism between model and data encoding, but it is difficult to find the optimal parameter. In this work, we proposed a new inference algorithm which incorporated mutual information (MI), conditional mutual information (CMI) and predictive minimum description length (PMDL) principle to infer gene regulatory networks from DNA microarray data. In this algorithm, the information theoretic quantities MI and CMI determine the regulatory relationships between genes and the PMDL principle method attempts to determine the best MI threshold without the need of a user-specified fine tuning parameter. The performance of the proposed algorithm was evaluated using both synthetic time series data sets and a biological time series data set for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The benchmark quantities precision and recall were used as performance measures. The results show that the proposed algorithm produced less false edges and significantly improved the precision, as compared to the existing algorithm. For further analysis the performance of the algorithms was observed over different sizes of data. We have proposed a new algorithm that implements the PMDL principle for inferring gene regulatory networks from time series DNA microarray data that eliminates the need of a fine tuning parameter. The evaluation results obtained from both synthetic and actual biological data sets show that the

Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wood, Angela M; Kaptoge, Stephen; Butterworth, Adam S

2018-01-01

previous cardiovascular disease. METHODS: We did a combined analysis of individual-participant data from three large-scale data sources in 19 high-income countries (the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, EPIC-CVD, and the UK Biobank). We characterised dose-response associations and calculated hazard......BACKGROUND: Low-risk limits recommended for alcohol consumption vary substantially across different national guidelines. To define thresholds associated with lowest risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, we studied individual-participant data from 599 912 current drinkers without......·4 million person-years of follow-up. For all-cause mortality, we recorded a positive and curvilinear association with the level of alcohol consumption, with the minimum mortality risk around or below 100 g per week. Alcohol consumption was roughly linearly associated with a higher risk of stroke (HR per 100...

Predictive minimum description length principle approach to inferring gene regulatory networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaitankar, Vijender; Zhang, Chaoyang; Ghosh, Preetam; Gong, Ping; Perkins, Edward J; Deng, Youping

2011-01-01

Reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks using information theory models has received much attention due to its simplicity, low computational cost, and capability of inferring large networks. One of the major problems with information theory models is to determine the threshold that defines the regulatory relationships between genes. The minimum description length (MDL) principle has been implemented to overcome this problem. The description length of the MDL principle is the sum of model length and data encoding length. A user-specified fine tuning parameter is used as control mechanism between model and data encoding, but it is difficult to find the optimal parameter. In this work, we propose a new inference algorithm that incorporates mutual information (MI), conditional mutual information (CMI), and predictive minimum description length (PMDL) principle to infer gene regulatory networks from DNA microarray data. In this algorithm, the information theoretic quantities MI and CMI determine the regulatory relationships between genes and the PMDL principle method attempts to determine the best MI threshold without the need of a user-specified fine tuning parameter. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using both synthetic time series data sets and a biological time series data set (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The results show that the proposed algorithm produced fewer false edges and significantly improved the precision when compared to existing MDL algorithm.

The laser second threshold: Its exact analytical dependence on detuning and relaxation rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakasov, A.A.; Abraham, N.B.

1992-11-01

An exact analysis has been carried out for general analytical expressions for the second threshold of a single-mode homogeneously broadened laser and for the initial pulsation frequency at the second threshold for arbitrary physical values of the relaxation rates, and at arbitrary detuning between the cavity frequency and the atomic resonance frequency. These expressions also give correspondingly exact forms for asymptotic cases that have previously studied with some approximations. Earlier approximate results are partly confirmed and partly improved by these more general expressions. The physical status of various expressions and approximations is re-considered and specified more clearly, including an analysis of which reasonably can be attained in lasers or masers. A general analytical proof is given that for larger detuning of the laser cavity from resonance a higher value of the laser excitation is required to destabilize the steady state solution (the second threshold). We also present results for the minimum value of the second threshold at fixed detuning as a function of the other parameters of the system and on the dependence of the ratio of the second threshold to the first threshold as a function of detuning. Minima of the second threshold and of the threshold ratio occur only if the population relaxation rate is equal to zero. The minima of the threshold ratio are shown to be bounded from above as well as from below (as functions of the relaxation rates, so long as the second threshold exists). The upper bound on the threshold ratio is equal to 17. The variation of the second threshold in the semi-infinite parameter space of the decay rates is shown at various detunings in plots with a finite domain by normalizing the material relaxation rates to the cavity decay rate. (author). 53 refs, 22 figs, 3 tabs

Near-threshold fatigue crack behaviour in EUROFER 97 at different temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aktaa, J.; Lerch, M.

2006-01-01

The fatigue crack behaviour in EUROFER 97 was investigated at room temperature (RT), 300, 500 and 550 deg. C for the assessment of cracks in first wall structures built from EUROFER 97 of future fusion reactors. For this purpose, fatigue crack growth tests were performed using CT specimens with two R-ratios, R = 0.1 and R = 0.5 (R is the load ratio with R = F min /F max where F min and F max are the minimum and maximum applied loads within a cycle, respectively). Hence, fatigue crack threshold, fatigue crack growth behaviour in the near-threshold range and their dependences on temperature and R-ratio were determined and described using an analytical formula. The fatigue crack threshold showed a monotonous dependence on temperature which is for R = 0.5 insignificantly small. The fatigue crack growth behaviour exhibited for R = 0.1 a non-monotonous dependence on temperature which is explained by the decrease of yield stress and the increase of creep damage with increasing temperature

Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Pain Thresholds and Sensory Perceptions in Chronic Pain Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Shihab U; Zhang, Yi; Chen, Lucy; St Hillary, Kristin; Cohen, Abigail; Vo, Trang; Houghton, Mary; Mao, Jianren

2015-07-01

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been in clinical use for nearly four decades. In earliest observations, researchers found a significant increase in pain threshold during SCS therapy without changes associated with touch, position, and vibration sensation. Subsequent studies yielded diverse results regarding how SCS impacts pain and other sensory thresholds. This pilot study uses quantitative sensory testing (QST) to objectively quantify the impact of SCS on warm sensation, heat pain threshold, and heat pain tolerance. Nineteen subjects with an indwelling SCS device for chronic pain were subjected to QST with heat stimuli. QST was performed on an area of pain covered with SCS-induced paresthesia and an area without pain and without paresthesia, while the SCS was turned off and on. The temperature at which the patient detected warm sensation, heat pain, and maximal tolerable heat pain was used to define the thresholds. We found that all three parameters, the detection of warm sensation, heat pain threshold, and heat pain tolerance, were increased during the period when SCS was on compared with when it was off. This increase was observed in both painful and non-painful sites. The observed pain relief during SCS therapy seems to be related to its impact on increased sensory threshold as detected in this study. The increased sensory threshold on areas without pain and without the presence of SCS coverage may indicate a central (spinal and/or supra-spinal) influence from SCS. © 2015 International Neuromodulation Society.

Analysis of nodal coverage utilizing image guided radiation therapy for primary gynecologic tumor volumes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, Faisal [University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Loma Linda University Medical Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Loma Linda, CA (United States); Sarkar, Vikren; Gaffney, David K.; Salter, Bill [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Poppe, Matthew M., E-mail: matthew.poppe@hci.utah.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

2016-10-01

Purpose: To evaluate radiation dose delivered to pelvic lymph nodes, if daily Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) was implemented with treatment shifts based on the primary site (primary clinical target volume [CTV]). Our secondary goal was to compare dosimetric coverage with patient outcomes. Materials and methods: A total of 10 female patients with gynecologic malignancies were evaluated retrospectively after completion of definitive intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to their pelvic lymph nodes and primary tumor site. IGRT consisted of daily kilovoltage computed tomography (CT)-on-rails imaging fused with initial planning scans for position verification. The initial plan was created using Varian's Eclipse treatment planning software. Patients were treated with a median radiation dose of 45 Gy (range: 37.5 to 50 Gy) to the primary volume and 45 Gy (range: 45 to 64.8 Gy) to nodal structures. One IGRT scan per week was randomly selected from each patient's treatment course and re-planned on the Eclipse treatment planning station. CTVs were recreated by fusion on the IGRT image series, and the patient's treatment plan was applied to the new image set to calculate delivered dose. We evaluated the minimum, maximum, and 95% dose coverage for primary and nodal structures. Reconstructed primary tumor volumes were recreated within 4.7% of initial planning volume (0.9% to 8.6%), and reconstructed nodal volumes were recreated to within 2.9% of initial planning volume (0.01% to 5.5%). Results: Dosimetric parameters averaged less than 10% (range: 1% to 9%) of the original planned dose (45 Gy) for primary and nodal volumes on all patients (n = 10). For all patients, ≥99.3% of the primary tumor volume received ≥ 95% the prescribed dose (V95%) and the average minimum dose was 96.1% of the prescribed dose. In evaluating nodal CTV coverage, ≥ 99.8% of the volume received ≥ 95% the prescribed dose and the average minimum dose was 93%. In

Threshold velocity for environmentally-assisted cracking in low alloy steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wire, G.L.; Kandra, J.T.

1997-01-01

Environmentally Assisted Cracking (EAC) in low alloy steels is generally believed to be activated by dissolution of MnS inclusions at the crack tip in high temperature LWR environments. EAC is the increase of fatigue crack growth rate of up to 40 to 100 times the rate in air that occurs in high temperature LWR environments. A steady state theory developed by Combrade, suggested that EAC will initiate only above a critical crack velocity and cease below this same velocity. A range of about twenty in critical crack tip velocities was invoked by Combrade, et al., to describe data available at that time. This range was attributed to exposure of additional sulfides above and below the crack plane. However, direct measurements of exposed sulfide densities on cracked specimens were performed herein and the results rule out significant additional sulfide exposure as a plausible explanation. Alternatively, it is proposed herein that localized EAC starting at large sulfide clusters reduces the calculated threshold velocity from the value predicted for a uniform distribution of sulfides. Calculations are compared with experimental results where the threshold velocity has been measured, and the predicted wide range of threshold values for steels of similar sulfur content but varying sulfide morphology is observed. The threshold velocity decreases with the increasing maximum sulfide particle size, qualitatively consistent with the theory. The calculation provides a basis for a conservative minimum velocity threshold tied directly to the steel sulfur level, in cases where no details of sulfide distribution are known

Automatic Semiconductor Wafer Image Segmentation for Defect Detection Using Multilevel Thresholding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saad N.H.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Quality control is one of important process in semiconductor manufacturing. A lot of issues trying to be solved in semiconductor manufacturing industry regarding the rate of production with respect to time. In most semiconductor assemblies, a lot of wafers from various processes in semiconductor wafer manufacturing need to be inspected manually using human experts and this process required full concentration of the operators. This human inspection procedure, however, is time consuming and highly subjective. In order to overcome this problem, implementation of machine vision will be the best solution. This paper presents automatic defect segmentation of semiconductor wafer image based on multilevel thresholding algorithm which can be further adopted in machine vision system. In this work, the defect image which is in RGB image at first is converted to the gray scale image. Median filtering then is implemented to enhance the gray scale image. Then the modified multilevel thresholding algorithm is performed to the enhanced image. The algorithm worked in three main stages which are determination of the peak location of the histogram, segmentation the histogram between the peak and determination of first global minimum of histogram that correspond to the threshold value of the image. The proposed approach is being evaluated using defected wafer images. The experimental results shown that it can be used to segment the defect correctly and outperformed other thresholding technique such as Otsu and iterative thresholding.

Identification of a threshold for biomass exposure index for chronic bronchitis in rural women of Mysore district, Karnataka, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P A Mahesh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: Exposure to air pollution due to combustion of biomass fuels remains one of the significant risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis. There is a need to identify the minimum threshold level of biomass index that is significantly associated with chronic bronchitis. This study was undertaken to identify a threshold for biomass exposure index in a rural women population in Mysore district, south India. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative population of Mysore and Nanjangud taluks. Eight villages each from Mysore and Nanjangud were randomly selected based on the list of villages from census 2001. A house-to-house survey was carried out by trained field workers using the Burden of Obstructive Diseases questionnaire, which evaluated the biomass smoke exposure and chronic bronchitis. All the women aged above 30 yr were included in the study. Results: A total of 2011 women from Mysore and 1942 women from Nanjangud participated in the study. All women were non-smoking and used biomass fuels as the primary fuel for cooking. A threshold of biomass fuel exposure of 60 was identified on multivariate analysis in Mysore district after adjusting for age, passive smoking and working in a occupational exposure to dust, as the minimum required for a significant association with chronic bronchitis. One in every 20 women in Mysore district exposed to biomass fuel exposure index of 110 or more developed chronic bronchitis. Interpretation & conclusions: The minimum threshold of biomass exposure index of 60 is necessary to have a significant risk of developing chronic bronchitis in women. The number needed to harm to develop chronic bronchitis reduces with increasing biomass exposure index and women residing in rural Nanjangud have a higher risk for developing chronic bronchitis as compared to women in Mysore.

Identification of a threshold for biomass exposure index for chronic bronchitis in rural women of Mysore district, Karnataka, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahesh, P A; Jayaraj, B S; Prabhakar, A K; Chaya, S K; Vijaysimha, R

2013-01-01

Exposure to air pollution due to combustion of biomass fuels remains one of the significant risk factors for chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis. There is a need to identify the minimum threshold level of biomass index that is significantly associated with chronic bronchitis. This study was undertaken to identify a threshold for biomass exposure index in a rural women population in Mysore district, south India. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative population of Mysore and Nanjangud taluks. Eight villages each from Mysore and Nanjangud were randomly selected based on the list of villages from census 2001. A house-to-house survey was carried out by trained field workers using the Burden of Obstructive Diseases questionnaire, which evaluated the biomass smoke exposure and chronic bronchitis. All the women aged above 30 yr were included in the study. A total of 2011 women from Mysore and 1942 women from Nanjangud participated in the study. All women were non-smoking and used biomass fuels as the primary fuel for cooking. A threshold of biomass fuel exposure of 60 was identified on multivariate analysis in Mysore district after adjusting for age, passive smoking and working in a occupational exposure to dust, as the minimum required for a significant association with chronic bronchitis. One in every 20 women in Mysore district exposed to biomass fuel exposure index of 110 or more developed chronic bronchitis. The minimum threshold of biomass exposure index of 60 is necessary to have a significant risk of developing chronic bronchitis in women. The number needed to harm to develop chronic bronchitis reduces with increasing biomass exposure index and women residing in rural Nanjangud have a higher risk for developing chronic bronchitis as compared to women in Mysore.

Preceding weak noise sharpens the frequency tuning and elevates the response threshold of the mouse inferior collicular neurons through GABAergic inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin; Jen, Philip H-S; Wu, Fei-Jian; Chen, Qi-Cai

2007-09-05

In acoustic communication, animals must extract biologically relevant signals that are embedded in noisy environment. The present study examines how weak noise may affect the auditory sensitivity of neurons in the central nucleus of the mouse inferior colliculus (IC) which receives convergent excitatory and inhibitory inputs from both lower and higher auditory centers. Specifically, we studied the frequency sensitivity and minimum threshold of IC neurons using a pure tone probe and a weak white noise masker under forward masking paradigm. For most IC neurons, probe-elicited response was decreased by a weak white noise that was presented at a specific gap (i.e. time window). When presented within this time window, weak noise masking sharpened the frequency tuning curve and increased the minimum threshold of IC neurons. The degree of weak noise masking of these two measurements increased with noise duration. Sharpening of the frequency tuning curve and increasing of the minimum threshold of IC neurons during weak noise masking were mostly mediated through GABAergic inhibition. In addition, sharpening of frequency tuning curve by the weak noise masker was more effective at the high than at low frequency limb. These data indicate that in the real world the ambient noise may improve frequency sensitivity of IC neurons through GABAergic inhibition while inevitably decrease the frequency response range and sensitivity of IC neurons.

Collaborative Event-Driven Coverage and Rate Allocation for Event Miss-Ratio Assurances in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ozgur Sanli H

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks are often required to provide event miss-ratio assurance for a given event type. To meet such assurances along with minimum energy consumption, this paper shows how a node's activation and rate assignment is dependent on its distance to event sources, and proposes a practical coverage and rate allocation (CORA protocol to exploit this dependency in realistic environments. Both uniform event distribution and nonuniform event distribution are considered and the notion of ideal correlation distance around a clusterhead is introduced for on-duty node selection. In correlation distance guided CORA, rate assignment assists coverage scheduling by determining which nodes should be activated for minimizing data redundancy in transmission. Coverage scheduling assists rate assignment by controlling the amount of overlap among sensing regions of neighboring nodes, thereby providing sufficient data correlation for rate assignment. Extensive simulation results show that CORA meets the required event miss-ratios in realistic environments. CORA's joint coverage scheduling and rate allocation reduce the total energy expenditure by 85%, average battery energy consumption by 25%, and the overhead of source coding up to 90% as compared to existing rate allocation techniques.

Gradient-driven flux-tube simulations of ion temperature gradient turbulence close to the non-linear threshold

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peeters, A. G.; Rath, F.; Buchholz, R.; Grosshauser, S. R.; Strintzi, D.; Weikl, A. [Physics Department, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, Bayreuth (Germany); Camenen, Y. [Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, PIIM, UMR 7345, Marseille (France); Candy, J. [General Atomics, PO Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States); Casson, F. J. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB, Oxon (United Kingdom); Hornsby, W. A. [Max Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstrasse 2 85748 Garching (Germany)

2016-08-15

It is shown that Ion Temperature Gradient turbulence close to the threshold exhibits a long time behaviour, with smaller heat fluxes at later times. This reduction is connected with the slow growth of long wave length zonal flows, and consequently, the numerical dissipation on these flows must be sufficiently small. Close to the nonlinear threshold for turbulence generation, a relatively small dissipation can maintain a turbulent state with a sizeable heat flux, through the damping of the zonal flow. Lowering the dissipation causes the turbulence, for temperature gradients close to the threshold, to be subdued. The heat flux then does not go smoothly to zero when the threshold is approached from above. Rather, a finite minimum heat flux is obtained below which no fully developed turbulent state exists. The threshold value of the temperature gradient length at which this finite heat flux is obtained is up to 30% larger compared with the threshold value obtained by extrapolating the heat flux to zero, and the cyclone base case is found to be nonlinearly stable. Transport is subdued when a fully developed staircase structure in the E × B shearing rate forms. Just above the threshold, an incomplete staircase develops, and transport is mediated by avalanche structures which propagate through the marginally stable regions.

Surface diffusion and coverage effect of Li atom on graphene as studied by several density functional theory methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ji, Zhi [Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, 62210 Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Contreras-Torres, Flavio F., E-mail: flavioc@nucleares.unam.mx [Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México, DF (Mexico); Jalbout, Abraham F.; Ramírez-Treviño, Alberto [Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Cajeme, Ciudad Obregon, Sonora (Mexico)

2013-11-15

The adsorption of Li atom on graphene is examined using density functional theory methods. Three different adsorption sites are considered, including the on top of a carbon atom (OT), on top of a C-C bond (Bri), and on top of a hexagon (Hol), as well as Li adsorbed at different coverage. The Hol site is found to be the most stable, followed by the Bri and OT sites. The order of stabilization is independent of coverage. The localization of Li–graphene interaction at all sites has reverse order with stabilization. The localization will cause different repulsive interaction between Li atoms which is believed to take responsibility for the difference between the charge transfer order and adsorption energy order of Li adsorption at all possible sites. Repulsive interaction also causes the decreasing of adsorption energies of Li at Hol site with increasing coverage, but the corresponding influence is bigger at low coverage range (0.020–0.056 monolayers) than that at high coverage range (0.056–0.250 monolayers). The trend of charge transfer and dipole moment with increasing coverage is also in agreement with that of adsorption energy. It is also found that the distance of Li above graphene will increase with increasing coverage, but a so-called “zigzag” curve appears, which exhibits an oscillatory behavior as a function of increasing coverage. The diffusion of Li atom on graphene is also studied. Li atom migrates from a Hol site to a neighboring Hol site through the Bri site between them is found to be the minimum energy path. Within the studied coverage range, the diffusion barrier decreases with increasing coverage which can be ascribed to the phenomenon of different repulsion interactions when Li atom adsorbs at different sites. The increasing coverage amplified the phenomenon.

Minimum Performance on Clinical Tests of Physical Function to Predict Walking 6,000 Steps/Day in Knee Osteoarthritis: An Observational Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Master, Hiral; Thoma, Louise M; Christiansen, Meredith B; Polakowski, Emily; Schmitt, Laura A; White, Daniel K

2018-07-01

Evidence of physical function difficulties, such as difficulty rising from a chair, may limit daily walking for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to identify minimum performance thresholds on clinical tests of physical function predictive to walking ≥6,000 steps/day. This benchmark is known to discriminate people with knee OA who develop functional limitation over time from those who do not. Using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, we quantified daily walking as average steps/day from an accelerometer (Actigraph GT1M) worn for ≥10 hours/day over 1 week. Physical function was quantified using 3 performance-based clinical tests: 5 times sit-to-stand test, walking speed (tested over 20 meters), and 400-meter walk test. To identify minimum performance thresholds for daily walking, we calculated physical function values corresponding to high specificity (80-95%) to predict walking ≥6,000 steps/day. Among 1,925 participants (mean ± SD age 65.1 ± 9.1 years, mean ± SD body mass index 28.4 ± 4.8 kg/m 2 , and 55% female) with valid accelerometer data, 54.9% walked ≥6,000 steps/day. High specificity thresholds of physical function for walking ≥6,000 steps/day ranged 11.4-14.0 seconds on the 5 times sit-to-stand test, 1.13-1.26 meters/second for walking speed, or 315-349 seconds on the 400-meter walk test. Not meeting these minimum performance thresholds on clinical tests of physical function may indicate inadequate physical ability to walk ≥6,000 steps/day for people with knee OA. Rehabilitation may be indicated to address underlying impairments limiting physical function. © 2017, American College of Rheumatology.

Self-Tuning Threshold Method for Real-Time Gait Phase Detection Based on Ground Contact Forces Using FSRs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Tang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel methodology for detecting the gait phase of human walking on level ground. The previous threshold method (TM sets a threshold to divide the ground contact forces (GCFs into on-ground and off-ground states. However, the previous methods for gait phase detection demonstrate no adaptability to different people and different walking speeds. Therefore, this paper presents a self-tuning triple threshold algorithm (STTTA that calculates adjustable thresholds to adapt to human walking. Two force sensitive resistors (FSRs were placed on the ball and heel to measure GCFs. Three thresholds (i.e., high-threshold, middle-threshold andlow-threshold were used to search out the maximum and minimum GCFs for the self-adjustments of thresholds. The high-threshold was the main threshold used to divide the GCFs into on-ground and off-ground statuses. Then, the gait phases were obtained through the gait phase detection algorithm (GPDA, which provides the rules that determine calculations for STTTA. Finally, the STTTA reliability is determined by comparing the results between STTTA and Mariani method referenced as the timing analysis module (TAM and Lopez–Meyer methods. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be used to detect gait phases in real time and obtain high reliability when compared with the previous methods in the literature. In addition, the proposed method exhibits strong adaptability to different wearers walking at different walking speeds.

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 ...

Framework for determining airport daily departure and arrival delay thresholds: statistical modelling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Wesonga, Ronald; Nabugoomu, Fabian

2016-01-01

The study derives a framework for assessing airport efficiency through evaluating optimal arrival and departure delay thresholds. Assumptions of airport efficiency measurements, though based upon minimum numeric values such as 15 min of turnaround time, cannot be extrapolated to determine proportions of delay-days of an airport. This study explored the concept of delay threshold to determine the proportion of delay-days as an expansion of the theory of delay and our previous work. Data-driven approach using statistical modelling was employed to a limited set of determinants of daily delay at an airport. For the purpose of testing the efficacy of the threshold levels, operational data for Entebbe International Airport were used as a case study. Findings show differences in the proportions of delay at departure (μ = 0.499; 95 % CI = 0.023) and arrival (μ = 0.363; 95 % CI = 0.022). Multivariate logistic model confirmed an optimal daily departure and arrival delay threshold of 60 % for the airport given the four probable thresholds {50, 60, 70, 80}. The decision for the threshold value was based on the number of significant determinants, the goodness of fit statistics based on the Wald test and the area under the receiver operating curves. These findings propose a modelling framework to generate relevant information for the Air Traffic Management relevant in planning and measurement of airport operational efficiency.

A National Minimum Wage in the Context of the South African Labour Market

OpenAIRE

Arden Finn

2015-01-01

Understanding the composition and wage structure of the South African labour market is crucial in the progressing national minimum wage debate in the country. This study highlights the centrality of wages in household income, and in determining inequality and poverty levels in the county. It then charts key trends in the labour market, before presenting a snapshot of the composition and earnings of the workforce in the current environment. A definition for a "working-poor" threshold is develo...

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.

Threshold quantum cryptography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokunaga, Yuuki; Okamoto, Tatsuaki; Imoto, Nobuyuki

2005-01-01

We present the concept of threshold collaborative unitary transformation or threshold quantum cryptography, which is a kind of quantum version of threshold cryptography. Threshold quantum cryptography states that classical shared secrets are distributed to several parties and a subset of them, whose number is greater than a threshold, collaborates to compute a quantum cryptographic function, while keeping each share secretly inside each party. The shared secrets are reusable if no cheating is detected. As a concrete example of this concept, we show a distributed protocol (with threshold) of conjugate coding

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.

Cost-effectiveness of increasing cervical cancer screening coverage in the Middle East: An example from Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Monisha; Seoud, Muhieddine; Kim, Jane J

2017-01-23

Most cervical cancer (CC) cases in Lebanon are detected at later stages and associated with high mortality. There is no national organized CC screening program so screening is opportunistic and limited to women who can pay out-of-pocket. Therefore, a small percentage of women receive repeated screenings while most are under-or never screened. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of increasing screening coverage and extending intervals. We used an individual-based Monte Carlo model simulating HPV and CC natural history and screening. We calibrated the model to epidemiological data from Lebanon, including CC incidence and HPV type distribution. We evaluated cytology and HPV DNA screening for women aged 25-65years, varying coverage from 20 to 70% and frequency from 1 to 5years. At 20% coverage, annual cytologic screening reduced lifetime CC risk by 14% and had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of I$80,670/year of life saved (YLS), far exceeding Lebanon's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (I$17,460), a commonly cited cost-effectiveness threshold. By comparison, increasing cytologic screening coverage to 50% and extending screening intervals to 3 and 5years provided greater CC reduction (26.1% and 21.4, respectively) at lower costs compared to 20% coverage with annual screening. Screening every 5years with HPV DNA testing at 50% coverage provided greater CC reductions than cytology at the same frequency (23.4%) and was cost-effective assuming a cost of I$18 per HPV test administered (I$12,210/YLS); HPV DNA testing every 4years at 50% coverage was also cost-effective at the same cost per test (I$16,340). Increasing coverage of annual cytology was not found to be cost-effective. Current practice of repeated cytology in a small percentage of women is inefficient. Increasing coverage to 50% with extended screening intervals provides greater health benefits at a reasonable cost and can more equitably distribute health gains. Novel HPV DNA strategies offer greater

FOXP3-stained image analysis for follicular lymphoma: optimal adaptive thresholding with maximal nucleus coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Senaras, C.; Pennell, M.; Chen, W.; Sahiner, B.; Shana'ah, A.; Louissaint, A.; Hasserjian, R. P.; Lozanski, G.; Gurcan, M. N.

2017-03-01

Immunohistochemical detection of FOXP3 antigen is a usable marker for detection of regulatory T lymphocytes (TR) in formalin fixed and paraffin embedded sections of different types of tumor tissue. TR plays a major role in homeostasis of normal immune systems where they prevent auto reactivity of the immune system towards the host. This beneficial effect of TR is frequently "hijacked" by malignant cells where tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells are recruited by the malignant nuclei to inhibit the beneficial immune response of the host against the tumor cells. In the majority of human solid tumors, an increased number of tumor-infiltrating FOXP3 positive TR is associated with worse outcome. However, in follicular lymphoma (FL) the impact of the number and distribution of TR on the outcome still remains controversial. In this study, we present a novel method to detect and enumerate nuclei from FOXP3 stained images of FL biopsies. The proposed method defines a new adaptive thresholding procedure, namely the optimal adaptive thresholding (OAT) method, which aims to minimize under-segmented and over-segmented nuclei for coarse segmentation. Next, we integrate a parameter free elliptical arc and line segment detector (ELSD) as additional information to refine segmentation results and to split most of the merged nuclei. Finally, we utilize a state-of-the-art super-pixel method, Simple Linear Iterative Clustering (SLIC) to split the rest of the merged nuclei. Our dataset consists of 13 region-ofinterest images containing 769 negative and 88 positive nuclei. Three expert pathologists evaluated the method and reported sensitivity values in detecting negative and positive nuclei ranging from 83-100% and 90-95%, and precision values of 98-100% and 99-100%, respectively. The proposed solution can be used to investigate the impact of FOXP3 positive nuclei on the outcome and prognosis in FL.

Thresholds of parametric instabilities near the lower hybrid frequency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, R.L.; Perkins, F.W.

1975-06-01

Resonant decay instabilities of a pump wave with frequency ω 0 near the lower-hybrid frequency ω/sub LH/ are analyzed with respect to the wavenumber k of the decay waves and the ratio ω 0 /ω/sub LH/ to determine the decay process with the minimum threshold. It was found that the lowest thresholds are for decay into an electron plasma (lower hybrid) wave plus either a backward ion-cyclotron wave, an ion Bernstein wave, or a low frequency sound wave. For ω 0 less than (2ω/sub LH/)/sup 1 / 2 /, it was found that these decay processes can occur and have faster growth than ion quasimodes provided the drift velocity (cE 0 /B 0 ) is much less than the sound speed. In many cases of interest, electromagnetic corrections to the lower-hybrid wave rule out decay into all but short wavelength (k rho/sub i/ greater than 1) waves. The experimental results are consistent with the linear theory of parametric instabilities in a homogeneous plasma. (U.S.)

Conformation evolution of oil contaminants onto aluminum oxide surface in aqueous solution: The effect of surface coverage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xie, Wenkun; Liu, Haitao, E-mail: xwk584523412@126.com; Sun, Yazhou; Fu, Hongya; Liang, Yingchun

2017-01-15

Highlights: • The dynamic conformational change of oil contaminations, at various surface coverages onto perfect α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) surface in aqueous solution is given. • The effect of surface coverage of oil molecules on the driving forces for the conformational change of oil contaminations is described. • The effect of interfacial water on the conformational change and even detachment of oil contaminations is considered. - Abstract: The microscopic conformational change process of oil contaminants adhered onto perfect α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (0001) surface in aqueous solution was investigated by using all-atom classic molecular dynamics simulations. The change in removal mechanism of oil contaminants induced by surface coverage (surface area per molecule) was emphatically explored. Our simulation results strongly reveal that the increase in oil surface coverage induces an evident difference in microscopic detachment processes of oil contaminants. At a low surface coverage, oil contaminants can be thoroughly detached from solid surface. The whole detachment process could be divided into multi stages, including conformational change of oil contaminants on solid surface, dynamic motion of those in bulk solution and rapid migration of those from bulk solution to air/water interface. With surface coverage increasing, water diffusion becomes the key to induce conformational change and promote the detachment of oil contaminants. When oil surface coverage exceeds a threshold value, oil contaminants also undertake an evident conformational change process exhibiting typical characteristics but an incomplete detachment process occurs. All findings of the present study are helpful for the interpretation of the removal mechanism of oil contaminants on solid surface.

[Physical medicine in hospital. Minimum standards in a physical medical department in acute inpatient areas in rheumatology].

Science.gov (United States)

Reißhauer, A; Liebl, M E

2012-07-01

Standards for what should be available in terms of equipment and services in a department of physical medicine caring for acute inpatients do not exist in Germany. The profile of a department determines the therapeutic services it focuses on and hence the technical facilities required. The German catalogue of operations and procedures defines minimum thresholds for treatment. In the opinion of the authors a department caring for inpatients with acute rheumatic diseases must, as a minimum, have the facilities and equipment necessary for offering thermotherapeutic treatment. Staff trained in physical therapeutic procedures and occupational therapy is also crucial. Moreover, it is desirable that the staff should be trained in manual therapy.

Effect of Endurance Training on The Lactate and Glucose Minimum Intensities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro B. Junior, Vitor L. de Andrade, Eduardo Z. Campos, Carlos A. Kalva-Filho, Alessandro M. Zagatto, Gustavo G. de Araújo, Marcelo Papoti

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Due to the controversy about the sensitive of lactate minimum intensity (LMI to training and the need to develop other tool for aerobic fitness evaluation, the purpose of this study was to analyze the sensitivity of glucose minimum intensity (GMI and LMI to endurance training. Eight trained male cyclists (21.4 ± 1.9 years, 67.6 ± 7.5 kg and 1.72 ± 0.10 m were evaluated twice, before and after 12 weeks of training. GMI and LMI were calculated, respectively, by the lowest blood glucose and lactate values attained during an incremental test performed after a hyperlactemia induction, and VO2max was determined during standard incremental effort. The training was prescribed in three different zones and controlled by heart rate (HR. The training distribution was equivalent to 59.7%, 25.0% and 15.3% below, at and above anaerobic threshold HR respectively. The anaerobic threshold evaluated by GMI and LMI improvement 9.89 ± 4.35% and 10.28 ± 9.89 respectively, after training, but the VO2max 2.52 ± 1.81%. No differences were found between GMI and LMI in pre (218.2 ± 22.1 vs 215.0 ± 18.6 W and post (240.6 ± 22.9 vs 237.5 ± 18.8 W training situations. LMI and GMI were sensitive to 12-week aerobic training in cyclist; thus, both protocols can be used to assess aerobic adaptation, athletes diagnostic and prescribe training.

A generalized methodology for identification of threshold for HRU delineation in SWAT model

Science.gov (United States)

M, J.; Sudheer, K.; Chaubey, I.; Raj, C.

2016-12-01

The distributed hydrological model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a comprehensive hydrologic model widely used for making various decisions. The simulation accuracy of the distributed hydrological model differs due to the mechanism involved in the subdivision of the watershed. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) considers sub-dividing the watershed and the sub-basins into small computing units known as 'hydrologic response units (HRU). The delineation of HRU is done based on unique combinations of land use, soil types, and slope within the sub-watersheds, which are not spatially defined. The computations in SWAT are done at HRU level and are then aggregated up to the sub-basin outlet, which is routed through the stream system. Generally, the HRUs are delineated by considering a threshold percentage of land use, soil and slope are to be given by the modeler to decrease the computation time of the model. The thresholds constrain the minimum area for constructing an HRU. In the current HRU delineation practice in SWAT, the land use, soil and slope of the watershed within a sub-basin, which is less than the predefined threshold, will be surpassed by the dominating land use, soil and slope, and introduce some level of ambiguity in the process simulations in terms of inappropriate representation of the area. But the loss of information due to variation in the threshold values depends highly on the purpose of the study. Therefore this research studies the effects of threshold values of HRU delineation on the hydrological modeling of SWAT on sediment simulations and suggests guidelines for selecting the appropriate threshold values considering the sediment simulation accuracy. The preliminary study was done on Illinois watershed by assigning different thresholds for land use and soil. A general methodology was proposed for identifying an appropriate threshold for HRU delineation in SWAT model that considered computational time and accuracy of the simulation

A brief peripheral motion contrast threshold test predicts older drivers' hazardous behaviors in simulated driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Steven; Woods-Fry, Heather; Collin, Charles A; Gagnon, Sylvain; Voloaca, Misha; Grant, John; Rosenthal, Ted; Allen, Wade

2015-05-01

Our research group has previously demonstrated that the peripheral motion contrast threshold (PMCT) test predicts older drivers' self-report accident risk, as well as simulated driving performance. However, the PMCT is too lengthy to be a part of a battery of tests to assess fitness to drive. Therefore, we have developed a new version of this test, which takes under two minutes to administer. We assessed the motion contrast thresholds of 24 younger drivers (19-32) and 25 older drivers (65-83) with both the PMCT-10min and the PMCT-2min test and investigated if thresholds were associated with measures of simulated driving performance. Younger participants had significantly lower motion contrast thresholds than older participants and there were no significant correlations between younger participants' thresholds and any measures of driving performance. The PMCT-10min and the PMCT-2min thresholds of older drivers' predicted simulated crash risk, as well as the minimum distance of approach to all hazards. This suggests that our tests of motion processing can help predict the risk of collision or near collision in older drivers. Thresholds were also correlated with the total lane deviation time, suggesting a deficiency in processing of peripheral flow and delayed detection of adjacent cars. The PMCT-2min is an improved version of a previously validated test, and it has the potential to help assess older drivers' fitness to drive. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of temperature on the plastic zone in near-threshold fatigue crack propagation in Nb-H alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C.C.; Polvanich, N.; Salama, K.

1987-01-01

The effect of temperature on the formation of plastic zone in near-threshold fatigue crack propagation is investigated in niobium-hydrogen alloys. The study was made with the ultimate goal of determining the role of hydrogen related to test temperatures on the embrittlement and fracture processes of niobium. Fatigue tests were performed at the two temperatures 220 and 350 K on a hydrogen-free specimen as well as specimens containing hydrogen in solid solution and in the form of hydride. Microhardness was measured on the fatigued specimens in order to determine the plastic zone size at positions where the crack propagation was in the near-threshold region. The results show that at both temperatures, the plastic zone size in hydrogen-free niobium decreases as the amount of hydrogen is increased until it reaches a minimum value and then increases as the amount of hydrogen is further increased. The hydrogen concentrations at the minimum plastic zone are found to be approximately equal to those where the maximum embrittlement occurs for each temperature

Detection Thresholds of Falling Snow From Satellite-Borne Active and Passive Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Skofronick-Jackson, Gail M.; Johnson, Benjamin T.; Munchak, S. Joseph

2013-01-01

There is an increased interest in detecting and estimating the amount of falling snow reaching the Earths surface in order to fully capture the global atmospheric water cycle. An initial step toward global spaceborne falling snow algorithms for current and future missions includes determining the thresholds of detection for various active and passive sensor channel configurations and falling snow events over land surfaces and lakes. In this paper, cloud resolving model simulations of lake effect and synoptic snow events were used to determine the minimum amount of snow (threshold) that could be detected by the following instruments: the W-band radar of CloudSat, Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)Ku- and Ka-bands, and the GPM Microwave Imager. Eleven different nonspherical snowflake shapes were used in the analysis. Notable results include the following: 1) The W-band radar has detection thresholds more than an order of magnitude lower than the future GPM radars; 2) the cloud structure macrophysics influences the thresholds of detection for passive channels (e.g., snow events with larger ice water paths and thicker clouds are easier to detect); 3) the snowflake microphysics (mainly shape and density)plays a large role in the detection threshold for active and passive instruments; 4) with reasonable assumptions, the passive 166-GHz channel has detection threshold values comparable to those of the GPM DPR Ku- and Ka-band radars with approximately 0.05 g *m(exp -3) detected at the surface, or an approximately 0.5-1.0-mm * h(exp -1) melted snow rate. This paper provides information on the light snowfall events missed by the sensors and not captured in global estimates.

CARA Risk Assessment Thresholds

Science.gov (United States)

Hejduk, M. D.

2016-01-01

Warning remediation threshold (Red threshold): Pc level at which warnings are issued, and active remediation considered and usually executed. Analysis threshold (Green to Yellow threshold): Pc level at which analysis of event is indicated, including seeking additional information if warranted. Post-remediation threshold: Pc level to which remediation maneuvers are sized in order to achieve event remediation and obviate any need for immediate follow-up maneuvers. Maneuver screening threshold: Pc compliance level for routine maneuver screenings (more demanding than regular Red threshold due to additional maneuver uncertainty).

An NMR log echo data de-noising method based on the wavelet packet threshold algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Xiangning; Xie, Ranhong; Li, Changxi; Hu, Falong; Li, Chaoliu; Zhou, Cancan

2015-01-01

To improve the de-noising effects of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) log echo data, this paper applies the wavelet packet threshold algorithm to the data. The principle of the algorithm is elaborated in detail. By comparing the properties of a series of wavelet packet bases and the relevance between them and the NMR log echo train signal, ‘sym7’ is found to be the optimal wavelet packet basis of the wavelet packet threshold algorithm to de-noise the NMR log echo train signal. A new method is presented to determine the optimal wavelet packet decomposition scale; this is within the scope of its maximum, using the modulus maxima and the Shannon entropy minimum standards to determine the global and local optimal wavelet packet decomposition scales, respectively. The results of applying the method to the simulated and actual NMR log echo data indicate that compared with the wavelet threshold algorithm, the wavelet packet threshold algorithm, which shows higher decomposition accuracy and better de-noising effect, is much more suitable for de-noising low SNR–NMR log echo data. (paper)

Intense cold and mortality in Castile-La Mancha (Spain): study of mortality trigger thresholds from 1975 to 2003

Science.gov (United States)

Miron, Isidro J.; Montero, Juan Carlos; Criado-Alvarez, Juan José; Linares, Cristina; Díaz, Julio

2012-01-01

Studies on temperature-mortality time trends especially address heat, so that any contribution on the subject of cold is necessarily of interest. This study describes the modification of the lagged effects of cold on mortality in Castile-La Mancha from 1975 to 2003, with the novelty of also approaching this aspect in terms of mortality trigger thresholds. Cross-correlation functions (CCFs) were thus established with 15 lags, after application of ARIMA models to the mortality data and minimum daily temperatures (from November to March), and the results for the periods 1975-1984, 1985-1994 and 1995-2003 were then compared. In addition, daily mortality residuals for the periods 1975-1989 and 1990-2003 were related to minimum temperatures grouped in 2°C intervals, with a cold threshold temperature being obtained in cases where such residuals increased significantly ( p economic conditions over the study period. Evidence was shown of the effects of cold on mortality, a finding that renders the adoption of preventive measures advisable in any case where intense cold is forecast.

Reliability and responsiveness of algometry for measuring pressure pain threshold in patients with knee osteoarthritis

OpenAIRE

Mutlu, Ebru Kaya; Ozdincler, Arzu Razak

2015-01-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to establish the intrarater reliability and responsiveness of a clinically available algometer in patients with knee osteoarthritis as well as to determine the minimum-detectable-change and standard error of measurement of testing to facilitate clinical interpretation of temporal changes. [Subjects] Seventy-three patients with knee osteoarthritis were included. [Methods] Pressure pain threshold measured by algometry was evaluated 3 times at 2-min intervals over 2 cl...

Multiple continuous coverage of the earth based on multi-satellite systems with linear structure

Science.gov (United States)

Saulskiy, V. K.

2009-04-01

A new and wider definition is given to multi-satellite systems with linear structure (SLS), and efficiency of their application to multiple continuous coverage of the Earth is substantiated. Owing to this widening, SLS have incorporated already well-recognized “polar systems” by L. Rider and W.S. Adams, “kinematically regular systems” by G.V. Mozhaev, and “delta-systems” by J.G. Walker, as well as “near-polar systems” by Yu.P. Ulybyshev, and some other satellite constellations unknown before. A universal method of SLS optimization is presented, valid for any values of coverage multiplicity and the number of satellites in a system. The method uses the criterion of minimum radius of a circle seen from a satellite on the surface of the globe. Among the best SLS found in this way there are both systems representing the well-known classes mentioned above and new orbit constellations of satellites.

Impacts of palatal coverage on bolus formation during mastication and swallowing and subsequent adaptive changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, T; Furuya, J; Tamada, Y; Kondo, H

2013-10-01

Palatal coverage is often required for elderly edentulous patients with complete dentures. The purpose of this study was to clarify impacts of palatal coverage on bolus formation and subsequent adaptive changes. Subjects were 18 healthy young dentulous adults who wore 1·5-mm-thick palatal plates. Subjects were asked to feed 12 g of bicoloured rice as usual, and the bolus formation by mastication and swallowing in the pharynx was observed using a nasal videoendoscopy. The bolus formation index (BFI), number of mastication strokes until swallowing, visual analogue scale about swallowing easiness and masticatory performance using colour-changeable gum were measured under three conditions: before placement of the palatal plate (day 0), immediately after placement (day 1) and after 7 days of wearing the plate (day 7). BFI and visual analogue scale on day 1 were significantly lower than those on day 0, but those on day 7 significantly recovered to the level of day 0. The number of mastication strokes did not change from day 0 to day 1, however, that on day 7 was significantly higher. Masticatory performance on days 1 and 7 was significantly lower than that on day 0. Although palatal coverage inhibits bolus formation during feeding, subjects increased the number of mastication strokes until swallowing threshold as they adapted to palatal coverage over time. This adaptive change was due to compensate for the lowered masticatory performance to achieve bolus formation for comfortable swallowing. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Revealed willingness-to-pay versus standard cost-effectiveness thresholds: Evidence from the South African HIV Investment Case.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer-Rath, Gesine; van Rensburg, Craig; Larson, Bruce; Jamieson, Lise; Rosen, Sydney

2017-01-01

The use of cost-effectiveness thresholds based on a country's income per capita has been criticized for not being relevant to decision making, in particular in middle-income countries such as South Africa. The recent South African HIV Investment Case produced an alternative cost-effectiveness threshold for HIV prevention and treatment interventions based on estimates of life years saved and the country's committed HIV budget. We analysed the optimal mix of HIV interventions over a baseline of the current HIV programme under the committed HIV budget for 2016-2018. We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) as cost per life-year saved (LYS) of 16 HIV prevention and treatment interventions over 20 years (2016-2035). We iteratively evaluated the most cost effective option (defined by an intervention and its coverage) over a rolling baseline to which the more cost effective options had already been added, thereby allowing for diminishing marginal returns to interventions. We constrained the list of interventions to those whose combined cost was affordable under the current HIV budget. Costs are presented from the government perspective, unadjusted for inflation and undiscounted, in 2016 USD. The current HIV budget of about $1.6 billion per year was sufficient to pay for the expansion of condom availability, medical male circumcision, universal treatment, and infant testing at 6 weeks to maximum coverage levels, while also implementing a social and behavior change mass media campaign with a message geared at increasing testing uptake and reducing the number of sexual partners. The combined ICER of this package of services was $547/ LYS. The ICER of the next intervention that was above the affordability threshold was $872/LYS. The results of the South African HIV Investment Case point to an HIV cost-effectiveness threshold based on affordability under the current budget of $547-872 per life year saved, a small fraction of the country's GDP per capita of

Revealed willingness-to-pay versus standard cost-effectiveness thresholds: Evidence from the South African HIV Investment Case.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gesine Meyer-Rath

Full Text Available The use of cost-effectiveness thresholds based on a country's income per capita has been criticized for not being relevant to decision making, in particular in middle-income countries such as South Africa. The recent South African HIV Investment Case produced an alternative cost-effectiveness threshold for HIV prevention and treatment interventions based on estimates of life years saved and the country's committed HIV budget.We analysed the optimal mix of HIV interventions over a baseline of the current HIV programme under the committed HIV budget for 2016-2018. We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER as cost per life-year saved (LYS of 16 HIV prevention and treatment interventions over 20 years (2016-2035. We iteratively evaluated the most cost effective option (defined by an intervention and its coverage over a rolling baseline to which the more cost effective options had already been added, thereby allowing for diminishing marginal returns to interventions. We constrained the list of interventions to those whose combined cost was affordable under the current HIV budget. Costs are presented from the government perspective, unadjusted for inflation and undiscounted, in 2016 USD.The current HIV budget of about $1.6 billion per year was sufficient to pay for the expansion of condom availability, medical male circumcision, universal treatment, and infant testing at 6 weeks to maximum coverage levels, while also implementing a social and behavior change mass media campaign with a message geared at increasing testing uptake and reducing the number of sexual partners. The combined ICER of this package of services was $547/ LYS. The ICER of the next intervention that was above the affordability threshold was $872/LYS.The results of the South African HIV Investment Case point to an HIV cost-effectiveness threshold based on affordability under the current budget of $547-872 per life year saved, a small fraction of the country's GDP

Theory of threshold phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hategan, Cornel

2002-01-01

Theory of Threshold Phenomena in Quantum Scattering is developed in terms of Reduced Scattering Matrix. Relationships of different types of threshold anomalies both to nuclear reaction mechanisms and to nuclear reaction models are established. Magnitude of threshold effect is related to spectroscopic factor of zero-energy neutron state. The Theory of Threshold Phenomena, based on Reduced Scattering Matrix, does establish relationships between different types of threshold effects and nuclear reaction mechanisms: the cusp and non-resonant potential scattering, s-wave threshold anomaly and compound nucleus resonant scattering, p-wave anomaly and quasi-resonant scattering. A threshold anomaly related to resonant or quasi resonant scattering is enhanced provided the neutron threshold state has large spectroscopic amplitude. The Theory contains, as limit cases, Cusp Theories and also results of different nuclear reactions models as Charge Exchange, Weak Coupling, Bohr and Hauser-Feshbach models. (author)

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.

The Value of Time in Intercity Transportation － A Study of Thresholds and Discontinuities

OpenAIRE

Wang, Rui

2013-01-01

Previous research studies have provided evidence of the non-uniformity of the value of time, which usually shows a decreasing trend as travel time increases. This work takes an in-depth look at thresholds and discontinuities in the value of time function. A theoretical framework is provided based on microeconomic theory. It is postulated that because of the multiple activities involved in an individual's activity pattern, and the minimum time requirements associated with these activities, the...

Planning the base station layout in UMTS urban scenarios: a simulation approach to coverage and capacity estimation

OpenAIRE

Zola, Enrica Valeria; Barceló Arroyo, Francisco

2004-01-01

This paper analyzes the performance of a base station layout for a UMTS network in a densely populated city. The study is carried out using snapshot simulations of an actual city (Barcelona, Spain) with specific traffic and propagation profiles. A first layout is proposed in order to guarantee good coverage with a minimum number of base stations. This layout is approached taking into account the link budget analytical calculations and the first simulation results for a single-cell environment...

Societal Implications of Health Insurance Coverage for Medically Necessary Services in the U.S. Transgender Population: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Padula, William V; Heru, Shiona; Campbell, Jonathan D

2016-04-01

Recently, the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) prioritized research on the implications of a clause expressly prohibiting the denial of health insurance coverage for transgender-related services. These medically necessary services include primary and preventive care as well as transitional therapy. To analyze the cost-effectiveness of insurance coverage for medically necessary transgender-related services. Markov model with 5- and 10-year time horizons from a U.S. societal perspective, discounted at 3% (USD 2013). Data on outcomes were abstracted from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS). U.S. transgender population starting before transitional therapy. No health benefits compared to health insurance coverage for medically necessary services. This coverage can lead to hormone replacement therapy, sex reassignment surgery, or both. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) for successful transition or negative outcomes (e.g. HIV, depression, suicidality, drug abuse, mortality) dependent on insurance coverage or no health benefit at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Budget impact interpreted as the U.S. per-member-per-month cost. Compared to no health benefits for transgender patients ($23,619; 6.49 QALYs), insurance coverage for medically necessary services came at a greater cost and effectiveness ($31,816; 7.37 QALYs), with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $9314/QALY. The budget impact of this coverage is approximately $0.016 per member per month. Although the cost for transitions is $10,000-22,000 and the cost of provider coverage is $2175/year, these additional expenses hold good value for reducing the risk of negative endpoints--HIV, depression, suicidality, and drug abuse. Results were robust to uncertainty. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that provider coverage was cost-effective in 85% of simulations. Health insurance coverage for the U.S. transgender population is affordable

Particles near threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharya, T.; Willenbrock, S.

1993-01-01

We propose returning to the definition of the width of a particle in terms of the pole in the particle's propagator. Away from thresholds, this definition of width is equivalent to the standard perturbative definition, up to next-to-leading order; however, near a threshold, the two definitions differ significantly. The width as defined by the pole position provides more information in the threshold region than the standard perturbative definition and, in contrast with the perturbative definition, does not vanish when a two-particle s-wave threshold is approached from below

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...

The Importance of Loosely Systematized Game Phases in Sports: The Case of Attack Coverage Systems in High-Level Women’s Volleyball

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Laporta

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Change is ubiquitous, but its degree and rate often affords detection of emerging patterns and establishing behavioral dynamics based on expected regularities. Match analysis capitalizes on such regularities, capturing information relevant for enhancing structure and reducing improvisation to a minimum. However, what if a game phase is only loosely regular, defying pattern systematization? Is it still possible to unfold principles of behavior capable of abstracting over-arching patterns? Our research focused on analysis of complex IV (KIV or attack coverage in volleyball. Fourteen matches from the 2013 Volleyball Women’s World Grand Champions Cup were analyzed. Results showed the occurrence of KIV corresponded to fewer than 5% of the total number of actions, and plays where a team successfully conquered a point after attack coverage was circa 1%, meaning this game complex will only make a difference in balanced matches. Overall, twenty-nine attack coverage structures emerged, denoting very high organizational variability. Attack coverage therefore provides an example of principle-based and not structured-based game phase. Associative analysis showed that quick attack tempos constrain the emergence of more complex attack coverage structures. The search for principle-based instead of structure-based game phases may provide useful insights for comprehension of game dynamics and for informing training processes.

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.

Study of H-mode threshold conditions in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groebner, R.J.; Carlstrom, T.N.; Burrell, K.H.

1996-10-01

Studies have been conducted in DIII-D to determine the dependence of the power threshold P lh for the transition to the H-mode regime and the threshold P hl for the transition from H-mode to L-mode as functions of external parameters. There is a value of the line-averaged density n e at which P lh has a minimum and P lh tends to increase for lower and higher values of n e . Experiments conducted to separate the effect of the neutral density n 0 from the plasma density n e give evidence of a strong coupling between n 0 and n e . The separate effect of neutrals on the transition has not been determined. Coordinated experiments with JET made in the ITER shape show that P lh increases approximately as S 0.5 where S is the plasma surface area. For these discharges, the power threshold in DIII-D was high by normal standards, thus suggesting that effects other than plasma size may have affected the experiment. Studies of H-L transitions have been initiated and hysteresis of order 40% has been observed. Studies have also been done of the dependence of the L-H transition on local edge parameters. Characterization of the edge within a few ms prior to the transition shows that the range of edge temperatures at which the transition has been observed is more restrictive than the range of densities at which it occurs. These results suggest that some temperature function is important for controlling the transition

Admission Control Threshold in Cellular Relay Networks with Power Adjustment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Ki-Dong

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract In the cellular network with relays, the mobile station can benefit from both coverage extension and capacity enhancement. However, the operation complexity increases as the number of relays grows up. Furthermore, in the cellular network with cooperative relays, it is even more complex because of an increased dimension of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs formed in the cooperative wireless transmission links. In this paper, we propose a new method for admission capacity planning in a cellular network using a cooperative relaying mechanism called decode-and-forward. We mathematically formulate the dropping ratio using the randomness of "channel gain." With this, we formulate an admission threshold planning problem as a simple optimization problem, where we maximize the accommodation capacity (in number of connections subject to two types of constraints. (1 A constraint that the sum of the transmit powers of the source node and relay node is upper-bounded where both nodes can jointly adjust the transmit power. (2 A constraint that the dropping ratio is upper-bounded by a certain threshold value. The simplicity of the problem formulation facilitates its solution in real-time. We believe that the proposed planning method can provide an attractive guideline for dimensioning a cellular relay network with cooperative relays.

[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.

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.

Music effect on pain threshold evaluated with current perception threshold

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

AIM: Music relieves anxiety and psychotic tension. This effect of music is applied to surgical operation in the hospital and dental office. It is still unclear whether this music effect is only limited to the psychological aspect but not to the physical aspect or whether its music effect is influenced by the mood or emotion of audience. To elucidate these issues, we evaluated the music effect on pain threshold by current perception threshold (CPT) and profile of mood states (POMC) test. METHODS: Healthy 30 subjects (12 men, 18 women, 25-49 years old, mean age 34.9) were tested. (1)After POMC test, all subjects were evaluated pain threshold with CPT by Neurometer (Radionics, USA) under 6 conditions, silence, listening to the slow tempo classic music, nursery music, hard rock music, classic paino music and relaxation music with 30 seconds interval. (2)After Stroop color word test as the stresser, pain threshold was evaluated with CPT under 2 conditions, silence and listening to the slow tempo classic music. RESULTS: Under litening to the music, CPT sores increased, especially 2 000 Hz level related with compression, warm and pain sensation. Type of music, preference of music and stress also affected CPT score. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the concentration on the music raise the pain threshold and that stress and mood influence the music effect on pain threshold.

A Novel Energy Efficient Topology Control Scheme Based on a Coverage-Preserving and Sleep Scheduling Model for Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Binbin; Wei, Wei; Wang, Yihuai; Shu, Wanneng

2016-10-14

In high-density sensor networks, scheduling some sensor nodes to be in the sleep mode while other sensor nodes remain active for monitoring or forwarding packets is an effective control scheme to conserve energy. In this paper, a Coverage-Preserving Control Scheduling Scheme (CPCSS) based on a cloud model and redundancy degree in sensor networks is proposed. Firstly, the normal cloud model is adopted for calculating the similarity degree between the sensor nodes in terms of their historical data, and then all nodes in each grid of the target area can be classified into several categories. Secondly, the redundancy degree of a node is calculated according to its sensing area being covered by the neighboring sensors. Finally, a centralized approximation algorithm based on the partition of the target area is designed to obtain the approximate minimum set of nodes, which can retain the sufficient coverage of the target region and ensure the connectivity of the network at the same time. The simulation results show that the proposed CPCSS can balance the energy consumption and optimize the coverage performance of the sensor network.

Dental age estimation: periodontal ligament visibility (PLV)-pattern recognition of a conclusive mandibular maturity marker related to the lower left third molar at the 18-year threshold.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Victoria S; McDonald, Fraser; Andiappan, Manoharan; Roberts, Graham

2017-05-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the applicability of periodontal ligament visibility (PLV) at the 18-year threshold. This mandibular maturity marker is graded into four separate age related stages, PLV-A, PLV-B, PLV-C, and PLV-D. These are discernible on a dental panoramic tomograph (DPT). The sample comprised a total of 2000 DPTs evenly divided into half yearly age bands from 16.00 to 25.99 years with 50 females and 50 males in each age band. It was found that PLV-A and PLV-B had minimum values below the 18-year threshold. PLV-C and PLV-D in females had minimum values of 18.08 and 18.58 years, respectively. In males, the minimum values for PLV-C was 18.10 years and PLV-D was 18.67 years. It was concluded that the presence of PLV-C or PLV-D indicates that a subject is over 18 years with a very high level of probability.

Introduction of a National Minimum Wage Reduced Depressive Symptoms in Low-Wage Workers: A Quasi-Natural Experiment in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Mackenbach, Johan; Whitehead, Margaret; Stuckler, David

2017-05-01

Does increasing incomes improve health? In 1999, the UK government implemented minimum wage legislation, increasing hourly wages to at least £3.60. This policy experiment created intervention and control groups that can be used to assess the effects of increasing wages on health. Longitudinal data were taken from the British Household Panel Survey. We compared the health effects of higher wages on recipients of the minimum wage with otherwise similar persons who were likely unaffected because (1) their wages were between 100 and 110% of the eligibility threshold or (2) their firms did not increase wages to meet the threshold. We assessed the probability of mental ill health using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. We also assessed changes in smoking, blood pressure, as well as hearing ability (control condition). The intervention group, whose wages rose above the minimum wage, experienced lower probability of mental ill health compared with both control group 1 and control group 2. This improvement represents 0.37 of a standard deviation, comparable with the effect of antidepressants (0.39 of a standard deviation) on depressive symptoms. The intervention group experienced no change in blood pressure, hearing ability, or smoking. Increasing wages significantly improves mental health by reducing financial strain in low-wage workers. © 2016 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Health Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Do Minimum Wages Fight Poverty?

OpenAIRE

David Neumark; William Wascher

1997-01-01

The primary goal of a national minimum wage floor is to raise the incomes of poor or near-poor families with members in the work force. However, estimates of employment effects of minimum wages tell us little about whether minimum wages are can achieve this goal; even if the disemployment effects of minimum wages are modest, minimum wage increases could result in net income losses for poor families. We present evidence on the effects of minimum wages on family incomes from matched March CPS s...

A study of cellular counting to determine minimum thresholds for adequacy for liquid-based cervical cytology using a survey and counting protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitchener, Henry C; Gittins, Matthew; Desai, Mina; Smith, John H F; Cook, Gary; Roberts, Chris; Turnbull, Lesley

2015-03-01

progressively diluted cervical samples. Laboratory practice varied in terms of threshold of cellular adequacy and of morphological markers of adequacy. While SP laboratories generally used a minimum acceptable cell count (MACC) of 15,000, the MACC employed by TP laboratories varied between 5000 and 15,000. The cell counting study showed that a standard protocol achieved moderate to strong inter-rater reproducibility. Analysis of slide reporting from laboratories revealed that a large proportion of the samples reported as inadequate had cell counts above a threshold of 15,000 for SP, and 5000 and 10,000 for TP. Inter-rater unanimity was greater among more cellular preparations. Dilution studies demonstrated greater detection of abnormalities in slides with counts above the MACC and among slides with more than 25 dyskaryotic cells. Variation in laboratory practice demonstrates a requirement for evidence-based standards for designating a MACC. This study has indicated that a MACC of 15,000 and 5000 for SP and TP, respectively, achieves a balance in terms of maintaining sensitivity and low inadequacy rates. The findings of this study should inform the development of laboratory practice guidelines. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Considering a Threshold Energy in Reactive Transport Modeling of Microbially Mediated Redox Reactions in an Arsenic-Affected Aquifer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Rotiroti

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The reductive dissolution of Fe-oxide driven by organic matter oxidation is the primary mechanism accepted for As mobilization in several alluvial aquifers. These processes are often mediated by microorganisms that require a minimum Gibbs energy available to conduct the reaction in order to sustain their life functions. Implementing this threshold energy in reactive transport modeling is rarely used in the existing literature. This work presents a 1D reactive transport modeling of As mobilization by the reductive dissolution of Fe-oxide and subsequent immobilization by co-precipitation in iron sulfides considering a threshold energy for the following terminal electron accepting processes: (a Fe-oxide reduction, (b sulfate reduction, and (c methanogenesis. The model is then extended by implementing a threshold energy on both reaction directions for the redox reaction pairs Fe(III reduction/Fe(II oxidation and methanogenesis/methane oxidation. The optimal threshold energy fitted in 4.50, 3.76, and 1.60 kJ/mol e− for sulfate reduction, Fe(III reduction/Fe(II oxidation, and methanogenesis/methane oxidation, respectively. The use of models implementing bidirectional threshold energy is needed when a redox reaction pair can be transported between domains with different redox potentials. This may often occur in 2D or 3D simulations.

Threshold of long-term survival of a coastal delphinid in anthropogenically degraded environment: Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Pearl River Delta.

Science.gov (United States)

Karczmarski, Leszek; Huang, Shiang-Lin; Chan, Stephen C Y

2017-02-23

Defining demographic and ecological threshold of population persistence can assist in informing conservation management. We undertook such analyses for the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, southeast China. We use adult survival estimates for assessments of population status and annual rate of change. Our estimates indicate that, given a stationary population structure and minimal risk scenario, ~2000 individuals (minimum viable population in carrying capacity, MVP k ) can maintain the population persistence across 40 generations. However, under the current population trend (~2.5% decline/annum), the population is fast approaching its viability threshold and may soon face effects of demographic stochasticity. The population demographic trajectory and the minimum area of critical habitat (MACH) that could prevent stochastic extinction are both highly sensitive to fluctuations in adult survival. For a hypothetical stationary population, MACH should approximate 3000-km 2 . However, this estimate increases four-fold with a 5% increase of adult mortality and exceeds the size of PRD when calculated for the current population status. On the other hand, cumulatively all current MPAs within PRD fail to secure the minimum habitat requirement to accommodate sufficiently viable population size. Our findings indicate that the PRD population is deemed to become extinct unless effective conservation measures can rapidly reverse the current population trend.

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...

Does IGRT ensure target dose coverage of head and neck IMRT patients?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graff, Pierre; Hu Weigang; Yom, Sue S.; Pouliot, Jean

2012-01-01

Purpose: To determine if image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) ensures dose coverage to the target, and to assess the dosimetric impact of anatomic changes using megavoltage cone-beam CT (MVCBCT) for patient positioning during head and neck IMRT. Methods and materials: Forty-eight MVCBCT from 10 head and neck IMRT/IGRT patients were analyzed off-line. Target volumes and organs at risk (OARs) contours delineated on CT were transferred and adjusted on MVCBCT images. Each MVCBCT was processed to allow dose recalculation, resulting in 469 dose–volume histograms (DVHs). The concept of dosimetric latitude was introduced to provide a clinical perspective. Results: MVCBCT target DVHs showed a moderate level of difference in D95 (dose to ⩾95% of volume), generally less than a 5% difference from the planned dose. Delivered-dose increases to the spinal cord and brainstem showed no apparent time trend. The 4 mm margin around OARs was a useful precaution to prevent exceeding critical dose thresholds. The parotid glands showed progressive increases in mean dose related to shrinkage of the external contours. Conclusion: IGRT repositioning ensured target volume coverage, but significant dose variations were observed for OARs. The dosimetric impact of anatomic changes during radiotherapy was of lesser importance than the effects of IGRT repositioning.

Rate-compatible protograph LDPC code families with linear minimum distance

Science.gov (United States)

Divsalar, Dariush (Inventor); Dolinar, Jr., Samuel J. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Digital communication coding methods are shown, which generate certain types of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes built from protographs. A first method creates protographs having the linear minimum distance property and comprising at least one variable node with degree less than 3. A second method creates families of protographs of different rates, all structurally identical for all rates except for a rate-dependent designation of certain variable nodes as transmitted or non-transmitted. A third method creates families of protographs of different rates, all structurally identical for all rates except for a rate-dependent designation of the status of certain variable nodes as non-transmitted or set to zero. LDPC codes built from the protographs created by these methods can simultaneously have low error floors and low iterative decoding thresholds.

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...

Rate-Compatible LDPC Codes with Linear Minimum Distance

Science.gov (United States)

Divsalar, Dariush; Jones, Christopher; Dolinar, Samuel

2009-01-01

A recently developed method of constructing protograph-based low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes provides for low iterative decoding thresholds and minimum distances proportional to block sizes, and can be used for various code rates. A code constructed by this method can have either fixed input block size or fixed output block size and, in either case, provides rate compatibility. The method comprises two submethods: one for fixed input block size and one for fixed output block size. The first mentioned submethod is useful for applications in which there are requirements for rate-compatible codes that have fixed input block sizes. These are codes in which only the numbers of parity bits are allowed to vary. The fixed-output-blocksize submethod is useful for applications in which framing constraints are imposed on the physical layers of affected communication systems. An example of such a system is one that conforms to one of many new wireless-communication standards that involve the use of orthogonal frequency-division modulation

Threshold Signature Schemes Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasiya Victorovna Beresneva

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This work is devoted to an investigation of threshold signature schemes. The systematization of the threshold signature schemes was done, cryptographic constructions based on interpolation Lagrange polynomial, elliptic curves and bilinear pairings were examined. Different methods of generation and verification of threshold signatures were explored, the availability of practical usage of threshold schemes in mobile agents, Internet banking and e-currency was shown. The topics of further investigation were given and it could reduce a level of counterfeit electronic documents signed by a group of users.

Thresholds in radiobiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, R.; Hofmann, W.

1982-01-01

Interpretations of biological radiation effects frequently use the word 'threshold'. The meaning of this word is explored together with its relationship to the fundamental character of radiation effects and to the question of perception. It is emphasised that although the existence of either a dose or an LET threshold can never be settled by experimental radiobiological investigations, it may be argued on fundamental statistical grounds that for all statistical processes, and especially where the number of observed events is small, the concept of a threshold is logically invalid. (U.K.)

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...

Rising above the Minimum Wage.

Science.gov (United States)

Even, William; Macpherson, David

An in-depth analysis was made of how quickly most people move up the wage scale from minimum wage, what factors influence their progress, and how minimum wage increases affect wage growth above the minimum. Very few workers remain at the minimum wage over the long run, according to this study of data drawn from the 1977-78 May Current Population…

Porcine skin damage thresholds for pulsed nanosecond-scale laser exposure at 1064-nm

Science.gov (United States)

DeLisi, Michael P.; Peterson, Amanda M.; Noojin, Gary D.; Shingledecker, Aurora D.; Tijerina, Amanda J.; Boretsky, Adam R.; Schmidt, Morgan S.; Kumru, Semih S.; Thomas, Robert J.

2018-02-01

Pulsed high-energy lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) band are increasingly being used in medical, industrial, and military applications, but there are little available experimental data to characterize their hazardous effects on skin tissue. The current American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers (ANSI Z136.1-2014) defines the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) on the skin as either a single-pulse or total exposure time limit. This study determined the minimum visible lesion (MVL) damage thresholds in Yucatan miniature pig skin for the single-pulse case and several multiple-pulse cases over a wide range of pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) (10, 125, 2,000, and 10,000 Hz) utilizing nanosecond-scale pulses (10 or 60 ns). The thresholds are expressed in terms of the median effective dose (ED50) based on varying individual pulse energy with other laser parameters held constant. The results confirm a decrease in MVL threshold as PRF increases for exposures with a constant number of pulses, while also noting a PRF-dependent change in the threshold as a function of the number of pulses. Furthermore, this study highlights a change in damage mechanism to the skin from melanin-mediated photomechanical events at high irradiance levels and few numbers of pulses to bulk tissue photothermal additivity at lower irradiance levels and greater numbers of pulses. The observed trends exceeded the existing exposure limits by an average factor of 9.1 in the photothermally-damaged cases and 3.6 in the photomechanicallydamaged cases.

Analysis of Arctic Sea ice coverage in 2012 using multi-source scatterometer data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, M.

2013-12-01

Arctic sea ice extent, regarded as an indicator of climate change, has been declining for the past few decades and reached the lowest ice extent in satellite record during the summer of 2012. Scatterometers can be used in sea ice identification, due to its ability to measure the backscatter characteristics of surface coverage. Thus, daily scatterometer data can be used in Arctic sea ice monitoring. In this paper, we compared the similarity and difference of three different scatterometer datasets, including ASCAT(METOP-A/B Advanced scatterometer) data, OSCAT(Oceansat-2 scatterometer)data and China's HY-2 scatterometer data, and then evaluated their performance in Artic sea ice investigation. We also constructed the sea ice coverage time series in 2012 using different scatterometer data and analyzed its temporal and spatial variation. Preliminary Results show that the maximum extent was set on 19 March, 2012. Cracks started to appear in Arctic sea ice coverage near New Siberian Islands on 18,May. Later, melt process accelerates in July and August. The northeast passage is not open until late August. On 18 September, the extent reached the minimum level and the refreezing process began. The duration of melting season is slightly shorter than the average level over the period of 1978 to 2012(ERS-1/2 scattermeter and Quickscat scatterometer data are used as supplementary records). The record low extent is likely resulted from (1)Arctic dipole pressure pattern, bringing in warm southerly winds and enhancing arctic ice discharge in Fram Strait and (2)relatively warm conditions over the Arctic areas.

A Novel Energy Efficient Topology Control Scheme Based on a Coverage-Preserving and Sleep Scheduling Model for Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Binbin; Wei, Wei; Wang, Yihuai; Shu, Wanneng

2016-01-01

In high-density sensor networks, scheduling some sensor nodes to be in the sleep mode while other sensor nodes remain active for monitoring or forwarding packets is an effective control scheme to conserve energy. In this paper, a Coverage-Preserving Control Scheduling Scheme (CPCSS) based on a cloud model and redundancy degree in sensor networks is proposed. Firstly, the normal cloud model is adopted for calculating the similarity degree between the sensor nodes in terms of their historical data, and then all nodes in each grid of the target area can be classified into several categories. Secondly, the redundancy degree of a node is calculated according to its sensing area being covered by the neighboring sensors. Finally, a centralized approximation algorithm based on the partition of the target area is designed to obtain the approximate minimum set of nodes, which can retain the sufficient coverage of the target region and ensure the connectivity of the network at the same time. The simulation results show that the proposed CPCSS can balance the energy consumption and optimize the coverage performance of the sensor network. PMID:27754405

A Novel Energy Efficient Topology Control Scheme Based on a Coverage-Preserving and Sleep Scheduling Model for Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Binbin Shi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In high-density sensor networks, scheduling some sensor nodes to be in the sleep mode while other sensor nodes remain active for monitoring or forwarding packets is an effective control scheme to conserve energy. In this paper, a Coverage-Preserving Control Scheduling Scheme (CPCSS based on a cloud model and redundancy degree in sensor networks is proposed. Firstly, the normal cloud model is adopted for calculating the similarity degree between the sensor nodes in terms of their historical data, and then all nodes in each grid of the target area can be classified into several categories. Secondly, the redundancy degree of a node is calculated according to its sensing area being covered by the neighboring sensors. Finally, a centralized approximation algorithm based on the partition of the target area is designed to obtain the approximate minimum set of nodes, which can retain the sufficient coverage of the target region and ensure the connectivity of the network at the same time. The simulation results show that the proposed CPCSS can balance the energy consumption and optimize the coverage performance of the sensor network.

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.

Shifts in the relationship between motor unit recruitment thresholds versus derecruitment thresholds during fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, Matt S; Mota, Jacob A

2017-12-01

Muscle fatigue is associated with diminished twitch force amplitude. We examined changes in the motor unit recruitment versus derecruitment threshold relationship during fatigue. Nine men (mean age = 26 years) performed repeated isometric contractions at 50% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) knee extensor force until exhaustion. Surface electromyographic signals were detected from the vastus lateralis, and were decomposed into their constituent motor unit action potential trains. Motor unit recruitment and derecruitment thresholds and firing rates at recruitment and derecruitment were evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end of the protocol. On average, 15 motor units were studied per contraction. For the initial contraction, three subjects showed greater recruitment thresholds than derecruitment thresholds for all motor units. Five subjects showed greater recruitment thresholds than derecruitment thresholds for only low-threshold motor units at the beginning, with a mean cross-over of 31.6% MVC. As the muscle fatigued, many motor units were derecruited at progressively higher forces. In turn, decreased slopes and increased y-intercepts were observed. These shifts were complemented by increased firing rates at derecruitment relative to recruitment. As the vastus lateralis fatigued, the central nervous system's compensatory adjustments resulted in a shift of the regression line of the recruitment versus derecruitment threshold relationship. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Confronting Regulatory Cost and Quality Expectations. An Exploration of Technical Change in Minimum Efficiency Performance Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, Margaret [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Spurlock, C. Anna [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yang, Hung-Chia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-09-21

The dual purpose of this project was to contribute to basic knowledge about the interaction between regulation and innovation and to inform the cost and benefit expectations related to technical change which are embedded in the rulemaking process of an important area of national regulation. The area of regulation focused on here is minimum efficiency performance standards (MEPS) for appliances and other energy-using products. Relevant both to U.S. climate policy and energy policy for buildings, MEPS remove certain product models from the market that do not meet specified efficiency thresholds.

New multispectral MRI data fusion technique for white matter lesion segmentation: method and comparison with thresholding in FLAIR images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del C Valdes Hernandez, Maria; Ferguson, Karen J.; Chappell, Francesca M.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.

2010-01-01

Brain tissue segmentation by conventional threshold-based techniques may have limited accuracy and repeatability in older subjects. We present a new multispectral magnetic resonance (MR) image analysis approach for segmenting normal and abnormal brain tissue, including white matter lesions (WMLs). We modulated two 1.5T MR sequences in the red/green colour space and calculated the tissue volumes using minimum variance quantisation. We tested it on 14 subjects, mean age 73.3 ± 10 years, representing the full range of WMLs and atrophy. We compared the results of WML segmentation with those using FLAIR-derived thresholds, examined the effect of sampling location, WML amount and field inhomogeneities, and tested observer reliability and accuracy. FLAIR-derived thresholds were significantly affected by the location used to derive the threshold (P = 0.0004) and by WML volume (P = 0.0003), and had higher intra-rater variability than the multispectral technique (mean difference ± SD: 759 ± 733 versus 69 ± 326 voxels respectively). The multispectral technique misclassified 16 times fewer WMLs. Initial testing suggests that the multispectral technique is highly reproducible and accurate with the potential to be applied to routinely collected clinical MRI data. (orig.)

Threshold factorization redux

Science.gov (United States)

Chay, Junegone; Kim, Chul

2018-05-01

We reanalyze the factorization theorems for the Drell-Yan process and for deep inelastic scattering near threshold, as constructed in the framework of the soft-collinear effective theory (SCET), from a new, consistent perspective. In order to formulate the factorization near threshold in SCET, we should include an additional degree of freedom with small energy, collinear to the beam direction. The corresponding collinear-soft mode is included to describe the parton distribution function (PDF) near threshold. The soft function is modified by subtracting the contribution of the collinear-soft modes in order to avoid double counting on the overlap region. As a result, the proper soft function becomes infrared finite, and all the factorized parts are free of rapidity divergence. Furthermore, the separation of the relevant scales in each factorized part becomes manifest. We apply the same idea to the dihadron production in e+e- annihilation near threshold, and show that the resultant soft function is also free of infrared and rapidity divergences.

Employment effects of minimum wages

OpenAIRE

Neumark, David

2014-01-01

The potential benefits of higher minimum wages come from the higher wages for affected workers, some of whom are in low-income families. The potential downside is that a higher minimum wage may discourage employers from using the low-wage, low-skill workers that minimum wages are intended to help. Research findings are not unanimous, but evidence from many countries suggests that minimum wages reduce the jobs available to low-skill workers.

Comparison between intensity- duration thresholds and cumulative rainfall thresholds for the forecasting of landslide

Science.gov (United States)

Lagomarsino, Daniela; Rosi, Ascanio; Rossi, Guglielmo; Segoni, Samuele; Catani, Filippo

2014-05-01

This work makes a quantitative comparison between the results of landslide forecasting obtained using two different rainfall threshold models, one using intensity-duration thresholds and the other based on cumulative rainfall thresholds in an area of northern Tuscany of 116 km2. The first methodology identifies rainfall intensity-duration thresholds by means a software called MaCumBA (Massive CUMulative Brisk Analyzer) that analyzes rain-gauge records, extracts the intensities (I) and durations (D) of the rainstorms associated with the initiation of landslides, plots these values on a diagram, and identifies thresholds that define the lower bounds of the I-D values. A back analysis using data from past events can be used to identify the threshold conditions associated with the least amount of false alarms. The second method (SIGMA) is based on the hypothesis that anomalous or extreme values of rainfall are responsible for landslide triggering: the statistical distribution of the rainfall series is analyzed, and multiples of the standard deviation (σ) are used as thresholds to discriminate between ordinary and extraordinary rainfall events. The name of the model, SIGMA, reflects the central role of the standard deviations in the proposed methodology. The definition of intensity-duration rainfall thresholds requires the combined use of rainfall measurements and an inventory of dated landslides, whereas SIGMA model can be implemented using only rainfall data. These two methodologies were applied in an area of 116 km2 where a database of 1200 landslides was available for the period 2000-2012. The results obtained are compared and discussed. Although several examples of visual comparisons between different intensity-duration rainfall thresholds are reported in the international literature, a quantitative comparison between thresholds obtained in the same area using different techniques and approaches is a relatively undebated research topic.

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...

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.

Threshold guidance update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickham, L.E.

1986-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the concept of threshold quantities for use in determining which waste materials must be handled as radioactive waste and which may be disposed of as nonradioactive waste at its sites. Waste above this concentration level would be managed as radioactive or mixed waste (if hazardous chemicals are present); waste below this level would be handled as sanitary waste. Last years' activities (1984) included the development of a threshold guidance dose, the development of threshold concentrations corresponding to the guidance dose, the development of supporting documentation, review by a technical peer review committee, and review by the DOE community. As a result of the comments, areas have been identified for more extensive analysis, including an alternative basis for selection of the guidance dose and the development of quality assurance guidelines. Development of quality assurance guidelines will provide a reasonable basis for determining that a given waste stream qualifies as a threshold waste stream and can then be the basis for a more extensive cost-benefit analysis. The threshold guidance and supporting documentation will be revised, based on the comments received. The revised documents will be provided to DOE by early November. DOE-HQ has indicated that the revised documents will be available for review by DOE field offices and their contractors

Investigating the minimum achievable variance in a Monte Carlo criticality calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christoforou, Stavros; Eduard Hoogenboom, J. [Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands)

2008-07-01

The sources of variance in a Monte Carlo criticality calculation are identified and their contributions analyzed. A zero-variance configuration is initially simulated using analytically calculated adjoint functions for biasing. From there, the various sources are analyzed. It is shown that the minimum threshold comes from the fact that the fission source is approximated. In addition, the merits of a simple variance reduction method, such as implicit capture, are shown when compared to an analog simulation. Finally, it is shown that when non-exact adjoint functions are used for biasing, the variance reduction is rather insensitive to the quality of the adjoints, suggesting that the generation of the adjoints should have as low CPU cost as possible, in order to o et the CPU cost in the implementation of the biasing of a simulation. (authors)

Minimum Wages and Poverty

OpenAIRE

Fields, Gary S.; Kanbur, Ravi

2005-01-01

Textbook analysis tells us that in a competitive labor market, the introduction of a minimum wage above the competitive equilibrium wage will cause unemployment. This paper makes two contributions to the basic theory of the minimum wage. First, we analyze the effects of a higher minimum wage in terms of poverty rather than in terms of unemployment. Second, we extend the standard textbook model to allow for incomesharing between the employed and the unemployed. We find that there are situation...

Explaining the increase in family financial pressures from medical bills between 2003 and 2007: do affordability thresholds change over time?

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Peter J

2011-06-01

This study examines whether affordability thresholds for medical care as defined by families change over time. The results from two nationally representative surveys show that while financial stress from medical bills--defined as the percent with problems paying medical bills--increased between 2003 and 2007, greater out-of-pocket spending accounted for this increase only for higher-income persons with employer-sponsored insurance coverage. Increased spending did not account for an increase in medical bill problems among lower-income persons. Moreover, the increase in medical bill problems among low-income persons occurred at relatively low levels of out-of-pocket spending rather than at higher levels. The results suggest that "affordability thresholds" for medical care as defined by individuals and families are not stable over time, especially for lower-income persons, which has implications for setting affordability standards in health reform.

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

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...

75 FR 6151 - Minimum Capital

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-08

... capital and reserve requirements to be issued by order or regulation with respect to a product or activity... minimum capital requirements. Section 1362(a) establishes a minimum capital level for the Enterprises... entities required under this section.\\6\\ \\3\\ The Bank Act's current minimum capital requirements apply to...

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...

A Pareto-Improving Minimum Wage

OpenAIRE

Eliav Danziger; Leif Danziger

2014-01-01

This paper shows that a graduated minimum wage, in contrast to a constant minimum wage, can provide a strict Pareto improvement over what can be achieved with an optimal income tax. The reason is that a graduated minimum wage requires high-productivity workers to work more to earn the same income as low-productivity workers, which makes it more difficult for the former to mimic the latter. In effect, a graduated minimum wage allows the low-productivity workers to benefit from second-degree pr...

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...

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

Minimum critical mass systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dam, H. van; Leege, P.F.A. de

1987-01-01

An analysis is presented of thermal systems with minimum critical mass, based on the use of materials with optimum neutron moderating and reflecting properties. The optimum fissile material distributions in the systems are obtained by calculations with standard computer codes, extended with a routine for flat fuel importance search. It is shown that in the minimum critical mass configuration a considerable part of the fuel is positioned in the reflector region. For 239 Pu a minimum critical mass of 87 g is found, which is the lowest value reported hitherto. (author)

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.

Intermediate structure and threshold phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hategan, Cornel

2004-01-01

The Intermediate Structure, evidenced through microstructures of the neutron strength function, is reflected in open reaction channels as fluctuations in excitation function of nuclear threshold effects. The intermediate state supporting both neutron strength function and nuclear threshold effect is a micro-giant neutron threshold state. (author)

Application of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: occupancy of Golden Eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska: Chapter 5

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Mitchell J.; Martin, Julien; Nichols, James D.; McIntyre, Carol; McCluskie, Maggie C.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Lubow, Bruce L.; Runge, Michael C.; Edited by Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

2014-01-01

In this chapter, we demonstrate the application of the various classes of thresholds, detailed in earlier chapters and elsewhere, via an actual but simplified natural resource management case study. We intend our example to provide the reader with the ability to recognize and apply the theoretical concepts of utility, ecological and decision thresholds to management problems through a formalized decision-analytic process. Our case study concerns the management of human recreational activities in Alaska’s Denali National Park, USA, and the possible impacts of such activities on nesting Golden Eagles, Aquila chrysaetos. Managers desire to allow visitors the greatest amount of access to park lands, provided that eagle nesting-site occupancy is maintained at a level determined to be acceptable by the managers themselves. As these two management objectives are potentially at odds, we treat minimum desired occupancy level as a utility threshold which, then, serves to guide the selection of annual management alternatives in the decision process. As human disturbance is not the only factor influencing eagle occupancy, we model nesting-site dynamics as a function of both disturbance and prey availability. We incorporate uncertainty in these dynamics by considering several hypotheses, including a hypothesis that site occupancy is affected only at a threshold level of prey abundance (i.e., an ecological threshold effect). By considering competing management objectives and accounting for two forms of thresholds in the decision process, we are able to determine the optimal number of annual nesting-site restrictions that will produce the greatest long-term benefits for both eagles and humans. Setting a utility threshold of 75 occupied sites, out of a total of 90 potential nesting sites, the optimization specified a decision threshold at approximately 80 occupied sites. At the point that current occupancy falls below 80 sites, the recommended decision is to begin restricting

Nuclear threshold effects and neutron strength function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hategan, Cornel; Comisel, Horia

2003-01-01

One proves that a Nuclear Threshold Effect is dependent, via Neutron Strength Function, on Spectroscopy of Ancestral Neutron Threshold State. The magnitude of the Nuclear Threshold Effect is proportional to the Neutron Strength Function. Evidence for relation of Nuclear Threshold Effects to Neutron Strength Functions is obtained from Isotopic Threshold Effect and Deuteron Stripping Threshold Anomaly. The empirical and computational analysis of the Isotopic Threshold Effect and of the Deuteron Stripping Threshold Anomaly demonstrate their close relationship to Neutron Strength Functions. It was established that the Nuclear Threshold Effects depend, in addition to genuine Nuclear Reaction Mechanisms, on Spectroscopy of (Ancestral) Neutron Threshold State. The magnitude of the effect is proportional to the Neutron Strength Function, in their dependence on mass number. This result constitutes also a proof that the origins of these threshold effects are Neutron Single Particle States at zero energy. (author)

5 CFR 551.301 - Minimum wage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum wage. 551.301 Section 551.301... FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Minimum Wage Provisions Basic Provision § 551.301 Minimum wage. (a)(1) Except... employees wages at rates not less than the minimum wage specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Act for all...

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

Evaluation of anaerobic threshold in non-pregnant and pregnant rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALINE OLIVEIRA NETTO

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Several studies present different methodologies and results about intensity exercise, and many of them are performed in male rats. However, the impact of different type, intensity, frequency and duration of exercise on female rats needs more investigation. From the analysis of blood lactate concentration during lactate minimum test (LacMin in the swimming exercise, the anaerobic threshold (AT was identified, which parameter is defined as the transition point between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. LacMin test is considered a good indicator of aerobic conditioning and has been used in prescription of training in different exercise modalities. However, there is no evidence of LacMin test in female rats. The objective was to determine AT in non-pregnant and pregnant Wistar rats. The LacMin test was performed and AT defined for mild exercise intensity was from a load equivalent to 1% of body weight (bw, moderate exercise as carrying 4% bw and severe intensity as carrying 7% bw. In pregnant rats, the AT was reached at a lower loading from 5.0% to 5.5% bw, while in non-pregnant the load was from 5.5% to 6.0% bw. Thus, this study was effective to identify exercise intensities in pregnant and non-pregnant rats using anaerobic threshold by LacMin test.

A two-dimensional analytical model for channel potential and threshold voltage of short channel dual material gate lightly doped drain MOSFET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripathi Shweta

2014-01-01

An analytical model for the channel potential and the threshold voltage of the short channel dual-material-gate lightly doped drain (DMG-LDD) metal—oxide—semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is presented using the parabolic approximation method. The proposed model takes into account the effects of the LDD region length, the LDD region doping, the lengths of the gate materials and their respective work functions, along with all the major geometrical parameters of the MOSFET. The impact of the LDD region length, the LDD region doping, and the channel length on the channel potential is studied in detail. Furthermore, the threshold voltage of the device is calculated using the minimum middle channel potential, and the result obtained is compared with the DMG MOSFET threshold voltage to show the improvement in the threshold voltage roll-off. It is shown that the DMG-LDD MOSFET structure alleviates the problem of short channel effects (SCEs) and the drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) more efficiently. The proposed model is verified by comparing the theoretical results with the simulated data obtained by using the commercially available ATLAS™ 2D device simulator. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

A two-dimensional analytical model for channel potential and threshold voltage of short channel dual material gate lightly doped drain MOSFET

Science.gov (United States)

Shweta, Tripathi

2014-11-01

An analytical model for the channel potential and the threshold voltage of the short channel dual-material-gate lightly doped drain (DMG-LDD) metal—oxide—semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is presented using the parabolic approximation method. The proposed model takes into account the effects of the LDD region length, the LDD region doping, the lengths of the gate materials and their respective work functions, along with all the major geometrical parameters of the MOSFET. The impact of the LDD region length, the LDD region doping, and the channel length on the channel potential is studied in detail. Furthermore, the threshold voltage of the device is calculated using the minimum middle channel potential, and the result obtained is compared with the DMG MOSFET threshold voltage to show the improvement in the threshold voltage roll-off. It is shown that the DMG-LDD MOSFET structure alleviates the problem of short channel effects (SCEs) and the drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) more efficiently. The proposed model is verified by comparing the theoretical results with the simulated data obtained by using the commercially available ATLAS™ 2D device simulator.

A New Wavelet Threshold Function and Denoising Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Jing-yi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the effects of denoising, this paper introduces the basic principles of wavelet threshold denoising and traditional structures threshold functions. Meanwhile, it proposes wavelet threshold function and fixed threshold formula which are both improved here. First, this paper studies the problems existing in the traditional wavelet threshold functions and introduces the adjustment factors to construct the new threshold function basis on soft threshold function. Then, it studies the fixed threshold and introduces the logarithmic function of layer number of wavelet decomposition to design the new fixed threshold formula. Finally, this paper uses hard threshold, soft threshold, Garrote threshold, and improved threshold function to denoise different signals. And the paper also calculates signal-to-noise (SNR and mean square errors (MSE of the hard threshold functions, soft thresholding functions, Garrote threshold functions, and the improved threshold function after denoising. Theoretical analysis and experimental results showed that the proposed approach could improve soft threshold functions with constant deviation and hard threshold with discontinuous function problems. The proposed approach could improve the different decomposition scales that adopt the same threshold value to deal with the noise problems, also effectively filter the noise in the signals, and improve the SNR and reduce the MSE of output signals.

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...

Health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of earlier eligibility for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage: a combined analysis of 12 mathematical models.

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Jeffrey W; Menzies, Nicolas A; Stover, John; Cambiano, Valentina; Chindelevitch, Leonid; Cori, Anne; Hontelez, Jan A C; Humair, Salal; Kerr, Cliff C; Klein, Daniel J; Mishra, Sharmistha; Mitchell, Kate M; Nichols, Brooke E; Vickerman, Peter; Bakker, Roel; Bärnighausen, Till; Bershteyn, Anna; Bloom, David E; Boily, Marie-Claude; Chang, Stewart T; Cohen, Ted; Dodd, Peter J; Fraser, Christophe; Gopalappa, Chaitra; Lundgren, Jens; Martin, Natasha K; Mikkelsen, Evelinn; Mountain, Elisa; Pham, Quang D; Pickles, Michael; Phillips, Andrew; Platt, Lucy; Pretorius, Carel; Prudden, Holly J; Salomon, Joshua A; van de Vijver, David A M C; de Vlas, Sake J; Wagner, Bradley G; White, Richard G; Wilson, David P; Zhang, Lei; Blandford, John; Meyer-Rath, Gesine; Remme, Michelle; Revill, Paul; Sangrujee, Nalinee; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Doherty, Meg; Shaffer, Nathan; Easterbrook, Philippa J; Hirnschall, Gottfried; Hallett, Timothy B

2014-01-01

New WHO guidelines recommend initiation of antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive adults with CD4 counts of 500 cells per μL or less, a higher threshold than was previously recommended. Country decision makers have to decide whether to further expand eligibility for antiretroviral therapy accordingly. We aimed to assess the potential health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of various eligibility criteria for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage. We used several independent mathematical models in four settings-South Africa (generalised epidemic, moderate antiretroviral therapy coverage), Zambia (generalised epidemic, high antiretroviral therapy coverage), India (concentrated epidemic, moderate antiretroviral therapy coverage), and Vietnam (concentrated epidemic, low antiretroviral therapy coverage)-to assess the potential health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of various eligibility criteria for adult antiretroviral therapy under scenarios of existing and expanded treatment coverage, with results projected over 20 years. Analyses assessed the extension of eligibility to include individuals with CD4 counts of 500 cells per μL or less, or all HIV-positive adults, compared with the previous (2010) recommendation of initiation with CD4 counts of 350 cells per μL or less. We assessed costs from a health-system perspective, and calculated the incremental cost (in US$) per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted to compare competing strategies. Strategies were regarded very cost effective if the cost per DALY averted was less than the country's 2012 per-head gross domestic product (GDP; South Africa: $8040; Zambia: $1425; India: $1489; Vietnam: $1407) and cost effective if the cost per DALY averted was less than three times the per-head GDP. In South Africa, the cost per DALY averted of extending eligibility for antiretroviral therapy to adult patients with CD4 counts of 500 cells per μL or less ranged from $237 to $1691 per

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 ...

Threshold behavior in electron-atom scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadeghpour, H.R.; Greene, C.H.

1996-01-01

Ever since the classic work of Wannier in 1953, the process of treating two threshold electrons in the continuum of a positively charged ion has been an active field of study. The authors have developed a treatment motivated by the physics below the double ionization threshold. By modeling the double ionization as a series of Landau-Zener transitions, they obtain an analytical formulation of the absolute threshold probability which has a leading power law behavior, akin to Wannier's law. Some of the noteworthy aspects of this derivation are that the derivation can be conveniently continued below threshold giving rise to a open-quotes cuspclose quotes at threshold, and that on both sides of the threshold, absolute values of the cross sections are obtained

Safety of American Heart Association-recommended minimum exercise for desmosomal mutation carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawant, Abhishek C; Te Riele, Anneline S J M; Tichnell, Crystal; Murray, Brittney; Bhonsale, Aditya; Tandri, Harikrishna; Judge, Daniel P; Calkins, Hugh; James, Cynthia A

2016-01-01

Endurance exercise is associated with adverse outcomes in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C). Exercise recommendations for family members remain undetermined. The purposes of this study were to determine if (1) endurance exercise (Bethesda class C) and exercise intensity (metabolic equivalent hours per year [MET-Hr/year]) increase the likelihood of fulfilling 2010 Task Force Criteria and ventricular arrhythmias/implantable cardioverter-defibrillator shock (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation [VT/VF]), and (2) exercise restriction to the American Heart Association (AHA)-recommended minimum for healthy adults is associated with favorable outcomes of at-risk family members. Twenty-eight family members of 10 probands inheriting a PKP2 mutation were interviewed about exercise from age 10. Exercise threshold to maintain overall health was based on the 2007 AHA guidelines of a minimum 390 to 650 MET-Hr/year. After adjustment for age, sex, and family membership, both participation in endurance athletics (odds ratio [OR] 7.4, P = .03) and higher-intensity exercise (OR = 4.2, P = .004) were associated with diagnosis (n = 13). Endurance athletes were also significantly more likely to develop VT/VF (n = 6, P = .02). Family members who restricted exercise at or below the upper bound of the AHA goal (≤650 MET-Hr/year) were significantly less likely to be diagnosed (OR = 0.07, P = .002) and had no VT/VF. At diagnosis and first VT/VF, family members had accumulated 2.8-fold (P = .002) and 3.5-fold (P = .03), respectively, greater MET-Hr exercise than the AHA-recommended minimum. Those who developed VT/VF had performed particularly high-intensity exercise in adolescence compared to unaffected family members (age 10-14: P = .04; age 14-19: P = .02). The results of this study suggest restricting unaffected desmosomal mutation carriers from endurance and high-intensity athletics but potentially not from AHA

Double Photoionization Near Threshold

Science.gov (United States)

Wehlitz, Ralf

2007-01-01

The threshold region of the double-photoionization cross section is of particular interest because both ejected electrons move slowly in the Coulomb field of the residual ion. Near threshold both electrons have time to interact with each other and with the residual ion. Also, different theoretical models compete to describe the double-photoionization cross section in the threshold region. We have investigated that cross section for lithium and beryllium and have analyzed our data with respect to the latest results in the Coulomb-dipole theory. We find that our data support the idea of a Coulomb-dipole interaction.

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...

Effects of coverage gap reform on adherence to diabetes medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Feng; Patel, Bimal V; Brunetti, Louis

2013-04-01

To investigate the impact of Part D coverage gap reform on diabetes medication adherence. Retrospective data analysis based on pharmacy claims data from a national pharmacy benefit manager. We used a difference-in-difference-indifference method to evaluate the impact of coverage gap reform on adherence to diabetes medications. Two cohorts (2010 and 2011) were constructed to represent the last year before Affordable Care Act (ACA) reform and the first year after reform, respectively. Each patient had 2 observations: 1 before and 1 after entering the coverage gap. Patients in each cohort were divided into groups based on type of gap coverage: no coverage, partial coverage (generics only), and full coverage. Following ACA reform, patients with no gap coverage and patients with partial gap coverage experienced substantial drops in copayments in the coverage gap in 2011. Their adherence to diabetes medications in the gap, measured by percentage of days covered, improved correspondingly (2.99 percentage points, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49-5.48, P = .019 for patients with no coverage; 6.46 percentage points, 95% CI 3.34-9.58, P gap in 2011. However, their adherence did not increase (-0.13 percentage point, P = .8011). In the first year of ACA coverage gap reform, copayments in the gap decreased substantially for all patients. Patients with no coverage and patients with partial coverage in the gap had better adherence in the gap in 2011.

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...

Minimum income protection in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Peijpe, T.

2009-01-01

This article offers an overview of the Dutch legal system of minimum income protection through collective bargaining, social security, and statutory minimum wages. In addition to collective agreements, the Dutch statutory minimum wage offers income protection to a small number of workers. Its

Optimize the Coverage Probability of Prediction Interval for Anomaly Detection of Sensor-Based Monitoring Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingyue Pang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Effective anomaly detection of sensing data is essential for identifying potential system failures. Because they require no prior knowledge or accumulated labels, and provide uncertainty presentation, the probability prediction methods (e.g., Gaussian process regression (GPR and relevance vector machine (RVM are especially adaptable to perform anomaly detection for sensing series. Generally, one key parameter of prediction models is coverage probability (CP, which controls the judging threshold of the testing sample and is generally set to a default value (e.g., 90% or 95%. There are few criteria to determine the optimal CP for anomaly detection. Therefore, this paper designs a graphic indicator of the receiver operating characteristic curve of prediction interval (ROC-PI based on the definition of the ROC curve which can depict the trade-off between the PI width and PI coverage probability across a series of cut-off points. Furthermore, the Youden index is modified to assess the performance of different CPs, by the minimization of which the optimal CP is derived by the simulated annealing (SA algorithm. Experiments conducted on two simulation datasets demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. Especially, an actual case study on sensing series from an on-orbit satellite illustrates its significant performance in practical application.

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...

Dynamic multiple thresholding breast boundary detection algorithm for mammograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Yi-Ta; Zhou Chuan; Chan, Heang-Ping; Paramagul, Chintana; Hadjiiski, Lubomir M.; Daly, Caroline Plowden; Douglas, Julie A.; Zhang Yiheng; Sahiner, Berkman; Shi Jiazheng; Wei Jun

2010-01-01

Purpose: Automated detection of breast boundary is one of the fundamental steps for computer-aided analysis of mammograms. In this study, the authors developed a new dynamic multiple thresholding based breast boundary (MTBB) detection method for digitized mammograms. Methods: A large data set of 716 screen-film mammograms (442 CC view and 274 MLO view) obtained from consecutive cases of an Institutional Review Board approved project were used. An experienced breast radiologist manually traced the breast boundary on each digitized image using a graphical interface to provide a reference standard. The initial breast boundary (MTBB-Initial) was obtained by dynamically adapting the threshold to the gray level range in local regions of the breast periphery. The initial breast boundary was then refined by using gradient information from horizontal and vertical Sobel filtering to obtain the final breast boundary (MTBB-Final). The accuracy of the breast boundary detection algorithm was evaluated by comparison with the reference standard using three performance metrics: The Hausdorff distance (HDist), the average minimum Euclidean distance (AMinDist), and the area overlap measure (AOM). Results: In comparison with the authors' previously developed gradient-based breast boundary (GBB) algorithm, it was found that 68%, 85%, and 94% of images had HDist errors less than 6 pixels (4.8 mm) for GBB, MTBB-Initial, and MTBB-Final, respectively. 89%, 90%, and 96% of images had AMinDist errors less than 1.5 pixels (1.2 mm) for GBB, MTBB-Initial, and MTBB-Final, respectively. 96%, 98%, and 99% of images had AOM values larger than 0.9 for GBB, MTBB-Initial, and MTBB-Final, respectively. The improvement by the MTBB-Final method was statistically significant for all the evaluation measures by the Wilcoxon signed rank test (p<0.0001). Conclusions: The MTBB approach that combined dynamic multiple thresholding and gradient information provided better performance than the breast boundary

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.

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...

Cluster Head Selection in a Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Network Ensuring Full Connectivity with Minimum Isolated Nodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tapan Kumar Jain

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The research work proposes a cluster head selection algorithm for a wireless sensor network. A node can be a cluster head if it is connected to at least one unique neighbor node where the unique neighbor is the one that is not connected to any other node. If there is no connected unique node then the CH is selected on the basis of residual energy and the number of neighbor nodes. With the increase in number of clusters, the processing energy of the network increases; hence, this algorithm proposes minimum number of clusters which further leads to increased network lifetime. The major novel contribution of the proposed work is an algorithm that ensures a completely connected network with minimum number of isolated nodes. An isolated node will remain only if it is not within the transmission range of any other node. With the maximum connectivity, the coverage of the network is automatically maximized. The superiority of the proposed design is verified by simulation results done in MATLAB, where it clearly depicts that the total numbers of rounds before the network dies out are maximum compared to other existing protocols.

SuperDARN observations of an unusually contracted ionospheric convection pattern during the recent deep solar minimum

Science.gov (United States)

Imber, S. M.; Milan, S. E.; Lester, M.

2012-04-01

We present a long term study, from 1995 - 2011, of the latitude of the Heppner-Maynard Boundary (HMB) determined using the northern hemisphere SuperDARN radars. The HMB represents the equatorward extent of ionospheric convection. We find that the average latitude of the HMB at midnight is 61° magnetic latitude during the solar maximum of 2003, but it moves significantly poleward during solar minimum, averaging 64° latitude during 1996, and 68° during 2010. This poleward motion is observed despite the increasing number of low latitude radars built in recent years as part of the StormDARN network, and so is not an artefact of data coverage. We believe that the recent extreme solar minimum lead to an average HMB location that was further poleward than previous solar cycles. We also calculated the open-closed field line boundary (OCB) from auroral images during the years 2000-2002 and find that on average the HMB is located equatorward of the OCB by ~6°. We suggest that the HMB may be a useful proxy for the OCB when global auroral images are not available.

Small-threshold behaviour of two-loop self-energy diagrams: two-particle thresholds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berends, F.A.; Davydychev, A.I.; Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ., Moscow; Smirnov, V.A.; Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ., Moscow

1996-01-01

The behaviour of two-loop two-point diagrams at non-zero thresholds corresponding to two-particle cuts is analyzed. The masses involved in a cut and the external momentum are assumed to be small as compared to some of the other masses of the diagram. By employing general formulae of asymptotic expansions of Feynman diagrams in momenta and masses, we construct an algorithm to derive analytic approximations to the diagrams. In such a way, we calculate several first coefficients of the expansion. Since no conditions on relative values of the small masses and the external momentum are imposed, the threshold irregularities are described analytically. Numerical examples, using diagrams occurring in the standard model, illustrate the convergence of the expansion below the first large threshold. (orig.)

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...

Threshold models of recognition and the recognition heuristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edgar Erdfelder

2011-02-01

Full Text Available According to the recognition heuristic (RH theory, decisions follow the recognition principle: Given a high validity of the recognition cue, people should prefer recognized choice options compared to unrecognized ones. Assuming that the memory strength of choice options is strongly correlated with both the choice criterion and recognition judgments, the RH is a reasonable strategy that approximates optimal decisions with a minimum of cognitive effort (Davis-Stober, Dana, and Budescu, 2010. However, theories of recognition memory are not generally compatible with this assumption. For example, some threshold models of recognition presume that recognition judgments can arise from two types of cognitive states: (1 certainty states in which judgments are almost perfectly correlated with memory strength and (2 uncertainty states in which recognition judgments reflect guessing rather than differences in memory strength. We report an experiment designed to test the prediction that the RH applies to certainty states only. Our results show that memory states rather than recognition judgments affect use of recognition information in binary decisions.

Ambient high temperature and mortality in Jinan, China: A study of heat thresholds and vulnerable populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Xu, Xin; Yang, Jun; Liu, Zhidong; Xu, Lei; Gao, Jinghong; Liu, Xiaobo; Wu, Haixia; Wang, Jun; Yu, Jieqiong; Jiang, Baofa; Liu, Qiyong

2017-07-01

Understanding the health consequences of continuously rising temperatures-as is projected for China-is important in terms of developing heat-health adaptation and intervention programs. This study aimed to examine the association between mortality and daily maximum (T max ), mean (T mean ), and minimum (T min ) temperatures in warmer months; to explore threshold temperatures; and to identify optimal heat indicators and vulnerable populations. Daily data on temperature and mortality were obtained for the period 2007-2013. Heat thresholds for condition-specific mortality were estimated using an observed/expected analysis. We used a generalised additive model with a quasi-Poisson distribution to examine the association between mortality and T max /T min /T mean values higher than the threshold values, after adjustment for covariates. T max /T mean /T min thresholds were 32/28/24°C for non-accidental deaths; 32/28/24°C for cardiovascular deaths; 35/31/26°C for respiratory deaths; and 34/31/28°C for diabetes-related deaths. For each 1°C increase in T max /T mean /T min above the threshold, the mortality risk of non-accidental-, cardiovascular-, respiratory, and diabetes-related death increased by 2.8/5.3/4.8%, 4.1/7.2/6.6%, 6.6/25.3/14.7%, and 13.3/30.5/47.6%, respectively. Thresholds for mortality differed according to health condition when stratified by sex, age, and education level. For non-accidental deaths, effects were significant in individuals aged ≥65 years (relative risk=1.038, 95% confidence interval: 1.026-1.050), but not for those ≤64 years. For most outcomes, women and people ≥65 years were more vulnerable. High temperature significantly increases the risk of mortality in the population of Jinan, China. Climate change with rising temperatures may bring about the situation worse. Public health programs should be improved and implemented to prevent and reduce health risks during hot days, especially for the identified vulnerable groups. Copyright

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.

Bi-criteria travelling salesman subtour problem with time threshold

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar Thenepalle, Jayanth; Singamsetty, Purusotham

2018-03-01

This paper deals with the bi-criteria travelling salesman subtour problem with time threshold (BTSSP-T), which comes from the family of the travelling salesman problem (TSP) and is NP-hard in the strong sense. The problem arises in several application domains, mainly in routing and scheduling contexts. Here, the model focuses on two criteria: total travel distance and gains attained. The BTSSP-T aims to determine a subtour that starts and ends at the same city and visits a subset of cities at a minimum travel distance with maximum gains, such that the time spent on the tour does not exceed the predefined time threshold. A zero-one integer-programming problem is adopted to formulate this model with all practical constraints, and it includes a finite set of feasible solutions (one for each tour). Two algorithms, namely, the Lexi-Search Algorithm (LSA) and the Tabu Search (TS) algorithm have been developed to solve the BTSSP-T problem. The proposed LSA implicitly enumerates the feasible patterns and provides an efficient solution with backtracking, whereas the TS, which is metaheuristic, will give the better approximate solution. A numerical example is demonstrated in order to understand the search mechanism of the LSA. Numerical experiments are carried out in the MATLAB environment, on the different benchmark instances available in the TSPLIB domain as well as on randomly generated test instances. The experimental results show that the proposed LSA works better than the TS algorithm in terms of solution quality and, computationally, both LSA and TS are competitive.

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...

Hyper-arousal decreases human visual thresholds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam J Woods

Full Text Available Arousal has long been known to influence behavior and serves as an underlying component of cognition and consciousness. However, the consequences of hyper-arousal for visual perception remain unclear. The present study evaluates the impact of hyper-arousal on two aspects of visual sensitivity: visual stereoacuity and contrast thresholds. Sixty-eight participants participated in two experiments. Thirty-four participants were randomly divided into two groups in each experiment: Arousal Stimulation or Sham Control. The Arousal Stimulation group underwent a 50-second cold pressor stimulation (immersing the foot in 0-2° C water, a technique known to increase arousal. In contrast, the Sham Control group immersed their foot in room temperature water. Stereoacuity thresholds (Experiment 1 and contrast thresholds (Experiment 2 were measured before and after stimulation. The Arousal Stimulation groups demonstrated significantly lower stereoacuity and contrast thresholds following cold pressor stimulation, whereas the Sham Control groups showed no difference in thresholds. These results provide the first evidence that hyper-arousal from sensory stimulation can lower visual thresholds. Hyper-arousal's ability to decrease visual thresholds has important implications for survival, sports, and everyday life.

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)

The spectral analysis and threshold limits of quasi-supercontinuum self-assembled quantum dot interband lasers

KAUST Repository

Tan, Cheeloon

2009-09-01

This paper presents a theoretical model to explain the quasi-supercontinuum interband emission from InGaAs/GaAs self-assembled semiconductor quantum dot lasers by accounting for both inhomogeneous and homogeneous optical gain broadening. The experimental and theoretical agreement of a room temperature (293 K) broadband laser emission confirms the presence of multiple-state lasing actions in highly inhomogeneous dot ensembles. The corresponding full-width half-maximum of the photoluminescence is 76 meV as opposed to those wideband lasing coverage at only low temperature (∼60 K) from typical quantum dot lasers. A newly proposed change of homogeneous broadening with injection that occurs only in highly inhomogeneous quantum dot system is critical to account for the continuous wideband lasing but not the conventional ideas of carrier dynamics in semiconductor lasers. In addition, the analysis of threshold conditions reveals that broadband lasing only occurs when the energy spacing between quantized energy states is comparable to the inhomogeneous broadening of quantum-dot nanostructures. The study is important in providing a picture of this novel device and realization of broad lasing coverage for diverse applications, especially in the research field of short-pulse generation and ultra-fast phenomena in semiconductor quantum-dot laser. © 2009 IEEE.

Understanding the Minimum Wage: Issues and Answers.

Science.gov (United States)

Employment Policies Inst. Foundation, Washington, DC.

This booklet, which is designed to clarify facts regarding the minimum wage's impact on marketplace economics, contains a total of 31 questions and answers pertaining to the following topics: relationship between minimum wages and poverty; impacts of changes in the minimum wage on welfare reform; and possible effects of changes in the minimum wage…

A numerical study of threshold states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ata, M.S.; Grama, C.; Grama, N.; Hategan, C.

1979-01-01

There are some experimental evidences of charged particle threshold states. On the statistical background of levels, some simple structures were observed in excitation spectrum. They occur near the coulombian threshold and have a large reduced width for the decay in the threshold channel. These states were identified as charged cluster threshold states. Such threshold states were observed in sup(15,16,17,18)O, sup(18,19)F, sup(19,20)Ne, sup(24)Mg, sup(32)S. The types of clusters involved were d, t, 3 He, α and even 12 C. They were observed in heavy-ions transfer reactions in the residual nucleus as strong excited levels. The charged particle threshold states occur as simple structures at high excitation energy. They could be interesting both from nuclear structure as well as nuclear reaction mechanism point of view. They could be excited as simple structures both in compound and residual nucleus. (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...

Youth minimum wages and youth employment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marimpi, Maria; Koning, Pierre

2018-01-01

This paper performs a cross-country level analysis on the impact of the level of specific youth minimum wages on the labor market performance of young individuals. We use information on the use and level of youth minimum wages, as compared to the level of adult minimum wages as well as to the median

Discretization of space and time: determining the values of minimum length and minimum time

OpenAIRE

Roatta , Luca

2017-01-01

Assuming that space and time can only have discrete values, we obtain the expression of the minimum length and the minimum time interval. These values are found to be exactly coincident with the Planck's length and the Planck's time but for the presence of h instead of ħ .

Minimum wage development in the Russian Federation

OpenAIRE

Bolsheva, Anna

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of the minimum wage policy at the national level in Russia and its impact on living standards in the country. The analysis showed that the national minimum wage in Russia does not serve its original purpose of protecting the lowest wage earners and has no substantial effect on poverty reduction. The national subsistence minimum is too low and cannot be considered an adequate criterion for the setting of the minimum wage. The minimum wage d...

[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...

Minimum emittance of three-bend achromats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xiaoyu; Xu Gang

2012-01-01

The calculation of the minimum emittance of three-bend achromats (TBAs) made by Mathematical software can ignore the actual magnets lattice in the matching condition of dispersion function in phase space. The minimum scaling factors of two kinds of widely used TBA lattices are obtained. Then the relationship between the lengths and the radii of the three dipoles in TBA is obtained and so is the minimum scaling factor, when the TBA lattice achieves its minimum emittance. The procedure of analysis and the results can be widely used in achromats lattices, because the calculation is not restricted by the actual lattice. (authors)

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

Threshold Concepts in Finance: Student Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Hoadley, Susan; Kyng, Tim; Tickle, Leonie; Wood, Leigh N.

2015-01-01

Finance threshold concepts are the essential conceptual knowledge that underpin well-developed financial capabilities and are central to the mastery of finance. In this paper we investigate threshold concepts in finance from the point of view of students, by establishing the extent to which students are aware of threshold concepts identified by…

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)

Thresholding magnetic resonance images of human brain

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Qing-mao HU; Wieslaw L NOWINSKI

2005-01-01

In this paper, methods are proposed and validated to determine low and high thresholds to segment out gray matter and white matter for MR images of different pulse sequences of human brain. First, a two-dimensional reference image is determined to represent the intensity characteristics of the original three-dimensional data. Then a region of interest of the reference image is determined where brain tissues are present. The non-supervised fuzzy c-means clustering is employed to determine: the threshold for obtaining head mask, the low threshold for T2-weighted and PD-weighted images, and the high threshold for T1-weighted, SPGR and FLAIR images. Supervised range-constrained thresholding is employed to determine the low threshold for T1-weighted, SPGR and FLAIR images. Thresholding based on pairs of boundary pixels is proposed to determine the high threshold for T2- and PD-weighted images. Quantification against public data sets with various noise and inhomogeneity levels shows that the proposed methods can yield segmentation robust to noise and intensity inhomogeneity. Qualitatively the proposed methods work well with real clinical data.

Near threshold fatigue testing

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, D. C.; Strum, M. J.

1993-01-01

Measurement of the near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) behavior provides a basis for the design and evaluation of components subjected to high cycle fatigue. Typically, the near-threshold fatigue regime describes crack growth rates below approximately 10(exp -5) mm/cycle (4 x 10(exp -7) inch/cycle). One such evaluation was recently performed for the binary alloy U-6Nb. The procedures developed for this evaluation are described in detail to provide a general test method for near-threshold FCGR testing. In particular, techniques for high-resolution measurements of crack length performed in-situ through a direct current, potential drop (DCPD) apparatus, and a method which eliminates crack closure effects through the use of loading cycles with constant maximum stress intensity are described.

30 CFR 57.19021 - Minimum rope strength.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0. (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0. (c) Tail...

30 CFR 56.19021 - Minimum rope strength.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0-0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0-0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0 (c) Tail ropes...

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.

At-Risk-of-Poverty Threshold

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Táňa Dvornáková

2012-06-01

Full Text Available European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC is a survey on households’ living conditions. The main aim of the survey is to get long-term comparable data on social and economic situation of households. Data collected in the survey are used mainly in connection with the evaluation of income poverty and determinationof at-risk-of-poverty rate. This article deals with the calculation of the at risk-of-poverty threshold based on data from EU-SILC 2009. The main task is to compare two approaches to the computation of at riskof-poverty threshold. The first approach is based on the calculation of the threshold for each country separately,while the second one is based on the calculation of the threshold for all states together. The introduction summarizes common attributes in the calculation of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, such as disposable household income, equivalised household income. Further, different approaches to both calculations are introduced andadvantages and disadvantages of these approaches are stated. Finally, the at-risk-of-poverty rate calculation is described and comparison of the at-risk-of-poverty rates based on these two different approaches is made.

Genome-wide dissection of hybrid sterility in Drosophila confirms a polygenic threshold architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Morán, Tomás; Fontdevila, Antonio

2014-01-01

To date, different studies about the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility (HMS), a postzygotic reproductive barrier thoroughly investigated using Drosophila species, have demonstrated that no single major gene can produce hybrid sterility without the cooperation of several genetic factors. Early work using hybrids between Drosophila koepferae (Dk) and Drosophila buzzatii (Db) was consistent with the idea that HMS requires the cooperation of several genetic factors, supporting a polygenic threshold (PT) model. Here we present a genome-wide mapping strategy to test the PT model, analyzing serially backcrossed fertile and sterile males in which the Dk genome was introgressed into the Db background. We identified 32 Dk-specific markers significantly associated with hybrid sterility. Our results demonstrate 1) a strong correlation between the number of segregated sterility markers and males' degree of sterility, 2) the exchangeability among markers, 3) their tendency to cluster into low-recombining chromosomal regions, and 4) the requirement for a minimum number (threshold) of markers to elicit sterility. Although our findings do not contradict a role for occasional major hybrid-sterility genes, they conform more to the view that HMS primarily evolves by the cumulative action of many interacting genes of minor effect in a complex PT architecture.

30 CFR 77.1431 - Minimum rope strength.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×5.0 (c) Tail ropes...

Porcine skin visible lesion thresholds for near-infrared lasers including modeling at two pulse durations and spot sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, C P; Polhamus, G D; Roach, W P; Stolarski, D J; Schuster, K J; Stockton, K L; Rockwell, B A; Chen, Bo; Welch, A J

2006-01-01

With the advent of such systems as the airborne laser and advanced tactical laser, high-energy lasers that use 1315-nm wavelengths in the near-infrared band will soon present a new laser safety challenge to armed forces and civilian populations. Experiments in nonhuman primates using this wavelength have demonstrated a range of ocular injuries, including corneal, lenticular, and retinal lesions as a function of pulse duration. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) laser safety standards have traditionally been based on experimental data, and there is scant data for this wavelength. We are reporting minimum visible lesion (MVL) threshold measurements using a porcine skin model for two different pulse durations and spot sizes for this wavelength. We also compare our measurements to results from our model based on the heat transfer equation and rate process equation, together with actual temperature measurements on the skin surface using a high-speed infrared camera. Our MVL-ED50 thresholds for long pulses (350 micros) at 24-h postexposure are measured to be 99 and 83 J cm(-2) for spot sizes of 0.7 and 1.3 mm diam, respectively. Q-switched laser pulses of 50 ns have a lower threshold of 11 J cm(-2) for a 5-mm-diam top-hat laser pulse.

CDMA coverage under mobile heterogeneous network load

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saban, D.; van den Berg, Hans Leo; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Endrayanto, A.I.

2002-01-01

We analytically investigate coverage (determined by the uplink) under non-homogeneous and moving traffic load of third generation UMTS mobile networks. In particular, for different call assignment policies, we investigate cell breathing and the movement of the coverage gap occurring between cells

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...

Kinetics of the early adaptive response and adaptation threshold dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendiola C, M.T.; Morales R, P.

2003-01-01

The expression kinetics of the adaptive response (RA) in mouse leukocytes in vivo and the minimum dose of gamma radiation that induces it was determined. The mice were exposed 0.005 or 0.02 Gy of 137 Cs like adaptation and 1h later to the challenge dose (1.0 Gy), another group was only exposed at 1.0 Gy and the damage is evaluated in the DNA with the rehearsal it makes. The treatment with 0. 005 Gy didn't induce RA and 0. 02 Gy causes a similar effect to the one obtained with 0.01 Gy. The RA was show from an interval of 0.5 h being obtained the maximum expression with 5.0 h. The threshold dose to induce the RA is 0.01 Gy and in 5.0 h the biggest quantity in molecules is presented presumably that are related with the protection of the DNA. (Author)

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...

Summary of DOE threshold limits efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickham, L.E.; Smith, C.F.; Cohen, J.J.

1987-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been developing the concept of threshold quantities for use in determining which waste materials may be disposed of as nonradioactive waste in DOE sanitary landfills. Waste above a threshold level could be managed as radioactive or mixed waste (if hazardous chemicals are present); waste below this level would be handled as sanitary waste. After extensive review of a draft threshold guidance document in 1985, a second draft threshold background document was produced in March 1986. The second draft included a preliminary cost-benefit analysis and quality assurance considerations. The review of the second draft has been completed. Final changes to be incorporated include an in-depth cost-benefit analysis of two example sites and recommendations of how to further pursue (i.e. employ) the concept of threshold quantities within the DOE. 3 references

A Phosphate Minimum in the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Paulmier, A.; Giraud, M.; Sudre, J.; Jonca, J.; Leon, V.; Moron, O.; Dewitte, B.; Lavik, G.; Grasse, P.; Frank, M.; Stramma, L.; Garcon, V.

2016-02-01

The Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) off Peru is known to be associated with the advection of Equatorial SubSurface Waters (ESSW), rich in nutrients and poor in oxygen, through the Peru-Chile UnderCurrent (PCUC), but this circulation remains to be refined within the OMZ. During the Pelágico cruise in November-December 2010, measurements of phosphate revealed the presence of a phosphate minimum (Pmin) in various hydrographic stations, which could not be explained so far and could be associated with a specific water mass. This Pmin, localized at a relatively constant layer ( 20minimum with a mean vertical phosphate decrease of 0.6 µM but highly variable between 0.1 and 2.2 µM. In average, these Pmin are associated with a predominant mixing of SubTropical Under- and Surface Waters (STUW and STSW: 20 and 40%, respectively) within ESSW ( 25%), complemented evenly by overlying (ESW, TSW: 8%) and underlying waters (AAIW, SPDW: 7%). The hypotheses and mechanisms leading to the Pmin formation in the OMZ are further explored and discussed, considering the physical regional contribution associated with various circulation pathways ventilating the OMZ and the local biogeochemical contribution including the potential diazotrophic activity.

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.

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...

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...

[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.

EXTREME MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AIR TEMPERATURE IN MEDİTERRANEAN COASTS IN TURKEY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbaros Gönençgil

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, we determined extreme maximum and minimum temperatures in both summer and winter seasons at the stations in the Mediterranean coastal areas of Turkey.In the study, the data of 24 meteorological stations for the daily maximum and minimumtemperatures of the period from 1970–2010 were used. From this database, a set of four extreme temperature indices applied warm (TX90 and cold (TN10 days and warm spells (WSDI and cold spell duration (CSDI. The threshold values were calculated for each station to determine the temperatures that were above and below the seasonal norms in winter and summer. The TX90 index displays a positive statistically significant trend, while TN10 display negative nonsignificant trend. The occurrence of warm spells shows statistically significant increasing trend while the cold spells shows significantly decreasing trend over the Mediterranean coastline in Turkey.

Comparison of two next-generation sequencing kits for diagnosis of epileptic disorders with a user-friendly tool for displaying gene coverage, DeCovA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarra Dimassi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, molecular genetics has been playing an increasing role in the diagnostic process of monogenic epilepsies. Knowing the genetic basis of one patient's epilepsy provides accurate genetic counseling and may guide therapeutic options. Genetic diagnosis of epilepsy syndromes has long been based on Sanger sequencing and search for large rearrangements using MLPA or DNA arrays (array-CGH or SNP-array. Recently, next-generation sequencing (NGS was demonstrated to be a powerful approach to overcome the wide clinical and genetic heterogeneity of epileptic disorders. Coverage is critical for assessing the quality and accuracy of results from NGS. However, it is often a difficult parameter to display in practice. The aim of the study was to compare two library-building methods (Haloplex, Agilent and SeqCap EZ, Roche for a targeted panel of 41 genes causing monogenic epileptic disorders. We included 24 patients, 20 of whom had known disease-causing mutations. For each patient both libraries were built in parallel and sequenced on an Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine (PGM. To compare coverage and depth, we developed a simple homemade tool, named DeCovA (Depth and Coverage Analysis. DeCovA displays the sequencing depth of each base and the coverage of target genes for each genomic position. The fraction of each gene covered at different thresholds could be easily estimated. None of the two methods used, namely NextGene and Ion Reporter, were able to identify all the known mutations/CNVs displayed by the 20 patients. Variant detection rate was globally similar for the two techniques and DeCovA showed that failure to detect a mutation was mainly related to insufficient coverage.

Parton distributions with threshold resummation

CERN Document Server

Bonvini, Marco; Rojo, Juan; Rottoli, Luca; Ubiali, Maria; Ball, Richard D.; Bertone, Valerio; Carrazza, Stefano; Hartland, Nathan P.

2015-01-01

We construct a set of parton distribution functions (PDFs) in which fixed-order NLO and NNLO calculations are supplemented with soft-gluon (threshold) resummation up to NLL and NNLL accuracy respectively, suitable for use in conjunction with any QCD calculation in which threshold resummation is included at the level of partonic cross sections. These resummed PDF sets, based on the NNPDF3.0 analysis, are extracted from deep-inelastic scattering, Drell-Yan, and top quark pair production data, for which resummed calculations can be consistently used. We find that, close to threshold, the inclusion of resummed PDFs can partially compensate the enhancement in resummed matrix elements, leading to resummed hadronic cross-sections closer to the fixed-order calculation. On the other hand, far from threshold, resummed PDFs reduce to their fixed-order counterparts. Our results demonstrate the need for a consistent use of resummed PDFs in resummed calculations.

Effect of threshold quantization in opportunistic splitting algorithm

KAUST Repository

Nam, Haewoon

2011-12-01

This paper discusses algorithms to find the optimal threshold and also investigates the impact of threshold quantization on the scheduling outage performance of the opportunistic splitting scheduling algorithm. Since this algorithm aims at finding the user with the highest channel quality within the minimal number of mini-slots by adjusting the threshold every mini-slot, optimizing the threshold is of paramount importance. Hence, in this paper we first discuss how to compute the optimal threshold along with two tight approximations for the optimal threshold. Closed-form expressions are provided for those approximations for simple calculations. Then, we consider linear quantization of the threshold to take the limited number of bits for signaling messages in practical systems into consideration. Due to the limited granularity for the quantized threshold value, an irreducible scheduling outage floor is observed. The numerical results show that the two approximations offer lower scheduling outage probability floors compared to the conventional algorithm when the threshold is quantized. © 2006 IEEE.

Impact of inhomogeneity corrections on dose coverage in the treatment of lung cancer using stereotactic body radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, George X.; Duggan, Dennis M.; Lu Bo; Hallahan, Dennis E.; Cmelak, Anthony; Malcolm, Arnold; Newton, Jared; Deeley, Matthew; Coffey, Charles W.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to assess the real target dose coverage when radiation treatments were delivered to lung cancer patients based on treatment planning according to the RTOG-0236 Protocol. We compare calculated dosimetric results between the more accurate anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) and the pencil beam algorithm for stereotactic body radiation therapy treatment planning in lung cancer. Ten patients with non-small cell lung cancer were given 60 Gy in three fractions using 6 and 10 MV beams with 8-10 fields. The patients were chosen in accordance with the lung RTOG-0236 protocol. The dose calculations were performed using the pencil beam algorithm with no heterogeneity corrections (PB-NC) and then recalculated with the pencil beam with modified Batho heterogeneity corrections (PB-MB) and the AAA using an identical beam setup and monitor units. The differences in calculated dose to 95% or 99% of the PTV, between using the PB-NC and the AAA, were within 10% of prescribed dose (60 Gy). However, the minimum dose to 95% and 99% of PTV calculated using the PB-MB were consistently overestimated by up to 40% and 36% of the prescribed dose, respectively, compared to that calculated by the AAA. Using the AAA as reference, the calculated maximum doses were underestimated by up to 27% using the PB-NC and overestimated by 19% using the PB-MB. The calculations of dose to lung from PB-NC generally agree with that of AAA except in the small high-dose region where PB-NC underestimates. The calculated dose distributions near the interface using the AAA agree with those from Monte Carlo calculations as well as measured values. This study indicates that the real minimum PTV dose coverage cannot be guaranteed when the PB-NC is used to calculate the monitor unit settings in dose prescriptions

Defining a Hospital Volume Threshold for Minimally Invasive Pancreaticoduodenectomy in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Mohamed Abdelgadir; Thomas, Samantha; Youngwirth, Linda; Pappas, Theodore; Roman, Sanziana A.

2016-01-01

-volume hospitals. Protocols outlining minimum procedural volume thresholds should be considered to facilitate safer dissemination of MIPD. PMID:28030713

A modeling approach to establish environmental flow threshold in ungauged semidiurnal tidal river

Science.gov (United States)

Akter, A.; Tanim, A. H.

2018-03-01

Due to shortage of flow monitoring data in ungauged semidiurnal river, 'environmental flow' (EF) determination based on its key component 'minimum low flow' is always difficult. For EF assessment this study selected a reach immediately after the Halda-Karnafuli confluence, a unique breeding ground for Indian Carp fishes of Bangladesh. As part of an ungauged tidal river, EF threshold establishment faces challenges in changing ecological paradigms with periodic change of tides and hydrologic alterations. This study describes a novel approach through modeling framework comprising hydrological, hydrodynamic and habitat simulation model. The EF establishment was conceptualized according to the hydrologic process of an ungauged semi-diurnal tidal regime in four steps. Initially, a hydrologic model coupled with a hydrodynamic model to simulate flow considering land use changes effect on streamflow, seepage loss of channel, friction dominated tidal decay as well as lack of long term flow characteristics. Secondly, to define hydraulic habitat feature, a statistical analysis on derived flow data was performed to identify 'habitat suitability'. Thirdly, to observe the ecological habitat behavior based on the identified hydrologic alteration, hydraulic habitat features were investigated. Finally, based on the combined habitat suitability index flow alteration and ecological response relationship was established. Then, the obtained EF provides a set of low flow indices of desired regime and thus the obtained discharge against maximum Weighted Usable Area (WUA) was defined as EF threshold for the selected reach. A suitable EF regime condition was obtained within flow range 25-30.1 m3/s i.e., around 10-12% of the mean annual runoff of 245 m3/s and these findings are within researchers' recommendation of minimum flow requirement. Additionally it was observed that tidal characteristics are dominant process in semi-diurnal regime. However, during the study period (2010-2015) the

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...

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...

Exploring the Margin Recipe for Online Adaptive Radiation Therapy for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer: An Intrafractional Seminal Vesicles Motion Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheng, Yang, E-mail: Yang.Sheng@duke.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Li, Taoran [Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Lee, W. Robert [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Yin, Fang-Fang; Wu, Q. Jackie [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (United States)

2017-06-01

Purpose: To provide a benchmark for seminal vesicle (SV) margin selection to account for intrafractional motion and to investigate the effectiveness of 2 motion surrogates in predicting intrafractional SV coverage. Methods and Materials: Fifteen prostate patients were studied. Each patient had 5 pairs (1 patient had 4 pairs) of pretreatment and posttreatment cone beam CTs (CBCTs). Each pair of CBCTs was registered on the basis of prostate fiducial markers. All pretreatment SVs were expanded with 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 8-mm isotropic margins to form a series of planning target volumes, and their intrafractional coverage to the posttreatment SV determined the “ground truth” for exact coverage. Two motion surrogates, the center of mass (COM) and the border of contour, were evaluated by the use of Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and exponential fitting for predicting SV underdosage. Action threshold of each surrogate was calculated. The margin for each surrogate was calculated according to a traditional margin recipe. Results: Ninety-five percent posttreatment SV coverage was achieved in 9%, 53%, 73%, 86%, 95%, and 97% of fractions with 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 8-mm margins, respectively. The 5-mm margins provided 95% intrafractional SV coverage in over 90% of fractions. The correlation between the COM and border was weak, moderate, and strong in the left-right (L-R), anterior-posterior (A-P), and superior-inferior (S-I) directions, respectively. Exponential fitting gave the underdosage threshold of 4.5 and 7.0 mm for the COM and border. The Van Herk margin recipe recommended 0-, 0.5-, and 0.8-mm margins in the L-R, A-P, and S-I directions based on the COM, and 1.2-, 3.9-, and 2.5-mm margins based on the border. Conclusions: Five-millimeter isotropic margins for the SV constitute the minimum required to mitigate the intrafractional motion. Both the COM and the border are acceptable predictors for SV underdosage with 4.5- and 7.0-mm action threshold

Detecting fragmentation extinction thresholds for forest understory plant species in peninsular Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Rueda, Marta; Moreno Saiz, Juan Carlos; Morales-Castilla, Ignacio; Albuquerque, Fabio S; Ferrero, Mila; Rodríguez, Miguel Á

2015-01-01

Ecological theory predicts that fragmentation aggravates the effects of habitat loss, yet empirical results show mixed evidences, which fail to support the theory instead reinforcing the primary importance of habitat loss. Fragmentation hypotheses have received much attention due to their potential implications for biodiversity conservation, however, animal studies have traditionally been their main focus. Here we assess variation in species sensitivity to forest amount and fragmentation and evaluate if fragmentation is related to extinction thresholds in forest understory herbs and ferns. Our expectation was that forest herbs would be more sensitive to fragmentation than ferns due to their lower dispersal capabilities. Using forest cover percentage and the proportion of this percentage occurring in the largest patch within UTM cells of 10-km resolution covering Peninsular Spain, we partitioned the effects of forest amount versus fragmentation and applied logistic regression to model occurrences of 16 species. For nine models showing robustness according to a set of quality criteria we subsequently defined two empirical fragmentation scenarios, minimum and maximum, and quantified species' sensitivity to forest contraction with no fragmentation, and to fragmentation under constant forest cover. We finally assessed how the extinction threshold of each species (the habitat amount below which it cannot persist) varies under no and maximum fragmentation. Consistent with their preference for forest habitats probability occurrences of all species decreased as forest cover contracted. On average, herbs did not show significant sensitivity to fragmentation whereas ferns were favored. In line with theory, fragmentation yielded higher extinction thresholds for two species. For the remaining species, fragmentation had either positive or non-significant effects. We interpret these differences as reflecting species-specific traits and conclude that although forest amount is of

Detecting fragmentation extinction thresholds for forest understory plant species in peninsular Spain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Rueda

Full Text Available Ecological theory predicts that fragmentation aggravates the effects of habitat loss, yet empirical results show mixed evidences, which fail to support the theory instead reinforcing the primary importance of habitat loss. Fragmentation hypotheses have received much attention due to their potential implications for biodiversity conservation, however, animal studies have traditionally been their main focus. Here we assess variation in species sensitivity to forest amount and fragmentation and evaluate if fragmentation is related to extinction thresholds in forest understory herbs and ferns. Our expectation was that forest herbs would be more sensitive to fragmentation than ferns due to their lower dispersal capabilities. Using forest cover percentage and the proportion of this percentage occurring in the largest patch within UTM cells of 10-km resolution covering Peninsular Spain, we partitioned the effects of forest amount versus fragmentation and applied logistic regression to model occurrences of 16 species. For nine models showing robustness according to a set of quality criteria we subsequently defined two empirical fragmentation scenarios, minimum and maximum, and quantified species' sensitivity to forest contraction with no fragmentation, and to fragmentation under constant forest cover. We finally assessed how the extinction threshold of each species (the habitat amount below which it cannot persist varies under no and maximum fragmentation. Consistent with their preference for forest habitats probability occurrences of all species decreased as forest cover contracted. On average, herbs did not show significant sensitivity to fragmentation whereas ferns were favored. In line with theory, fragmentation yielded higher extinction thresholds for two species. For the remaining species, fragmentation had either positive or non-significant effects. We interpret these differences as reflecting species-specific traits and conclude that although

Estimation of daily minimum land surface air temperature using MODIS data in southern Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Didari, Shohreh; Norouzi, Hamidreza; Zand-Parsa, Shahrokh; Khanbilvardi, Reza

2017-11-01

Land surface air temperature (LSAT) is a key variable in agricultural, climatological, hydrological, and environmental studies. Many of their processes are affected by LSAT at about 5 cm from the ground surface (LSAT5cm). Most of the previous studies tried to find statistical models to estimate LSAT at 2 m height (LSAT2m) which is considered as a standardized height, and there is not enough study for LSAT5cm estimation models. Accurate measurements of LSAT5cm are generally acquired from meteorological stations, which are sparse in remote areas. Nonetheless, remote sensing data by providing rather extensive spatial coverage can complement the spatiotemporal shortcomings of meteorological stations. The main objective of this study was to find a statistical model from the previous day to accurately estimate spatial daily minimum LSAT5cm, which is very important in agricultural frost, in Fars province in southern Iran. Land surface temperature (LST) data were obtained using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Aqua and Terra satellites at daytime and nighttime periods with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. These data along with geometric temperature and elevation information were used in a stepwise linear model to estimate minimum LSAT5cm during 2003-2011. The results revealed that utilization of MODIS Aqua nighttime data of previous day provides the most applicable and accurate model. According to the validation results, the accuracy of the proposed model was suitable during 2012 (root mean square difference ( RMSD) = 3.07 °C, {R}_{adj}^2 = 87 %). The model underestimated (overestimated) high (low) minimum LSAT5cm. The accuracy of estimation in the winter time was found to be lower than the other seasons ( RMSD = 3.55 °C), and in summer and winter, the errors were larger than in the remaining seasons.

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...

Log canonical thresholds of smooth Fano threefolds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheltsov, Ivan A; Shramov, Konstantin A

2008-01-01

The complex singularity exponent is a local invariant of a holomorphic function determined by the integrability of fractional powers of the function. The log canonical thresholds of effective Q-divisors on normal algebraic varieties are algebraic counterparts of complex singularity exponents. For a Fano variety, these invariants have global analogues. In the former case, it is the so-called α-invariant of Tian; in the latter case, it is the global log canonical threshold of the Fano variety, which is the infimum of log canonical thresholds of all effective Q-divisors numerically equivalent to the anticanonical divisor. An appendix to this paper contains a proof that the global log canonical threshold of a smooth Fano variety coincides with its α-invariant of Tian. The purpose of the paper is to compute the global log canonical thresholds of smooth Fano threefolds (altogether, there are 105 deformation families of such threefolds). The global log canonical thresholds are computed for every smooth threefold in 64 deformation families, and the global log canonical thresholds are computed for a general threefold in 20 deformation families. Some bounds for the global log canonical thresholds are computed for 14 deformation families. Appendix A is due to J.-P. Demailly.

Overview of L-H power threshold studies in NSTX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maingi, R.; Biewer, T.M.; Kaye, S.M.; Bell, R.E.; Gates, D.A.; Gerhardt, S.P.; Hosea, J.; LeBlanc, B.P.; Mueller, D.; Stevenson, T.A.; Wilson, J.R.; Chang, C.S.; Park, G-Y.; Meyer, H.; Raman, R.; Sabbagh, S.A.

2010-01-01

A summary of results from recent L-H power threshold (P LH ) experiments in the National Spherical Torus Experiment is presented. First P LH (normalized linearly by plasma density) was found to be a minimum in double-null configuration, tending to increase as the plasma was shifted more strongly towards lower- or upper-single null configuration with either neutral beam or rf heating. The measured P LH /n e was comparable with neutral beam or rf heating, suggesting that rotation was not playing a dominant role in setting the value of P LH . The role of triangularity (δ bot ) in setting P LH /n e is less clear: while 50% less auxiliary heating power was required to access H-mode at low δ bot than at high δ bot , the high δ bot discharges had lower ohmic heating and higher dW/dt, leading to comparable loss of power over a range of δ bot . In addition, the dependences of P LH on the density, species (helium versus deuterium), plasma current, applied non-axisymmetric error fields and lithium wall conditioning are summarized.

Implications of private sector Hib vaccine coverage for the introduction of public sector Hib-containing pentavalent vaccine in India: evidence from retrospective time series data.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Abhishek; Kaplan, Warren A; Chokshi, Maulik; Hasan Farooqui, Habib; Zodpey, Sanjay P

2015-02-23

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine has been available in India's private sector market since 1997. It was not until 14 December 2011 that the Government of India initiated the phased public sector introduction of a Hib (and DPT, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus)-containing pentavalent vaccine. Our objective was to investigate the state-specific coverage and behaviour of Hib vaccine in India when it was available only in the private sector market but not in the public sector. This baseline information can act as a guide to determine how much coverage the public sector rollout of pentavalent vaccine (scheduled April 2015) will need to bear in order to achieve complete coverage. 16 of 29 states in India, 2009-2012. Retrospective descriptive secondary data analysis. (1) Annual sales of Hib vaccines, by volume, from private sector hospitals and retail pharmacies collected by IMS Health and (2) national household surveys. State-specific Hib vaccine coverage (%) and its associations with state-specific socioeconomic status. The overall private sector Hib vaccine coverage among the 2009-2012 birth cohort was low (4%) and varied widely among the studied Indian states (minimum 0.3%; maximum 4.6%). We found that private sector Hib vaccine coverage depends on urban areas with good access to the private sector, parent's purchasing capacity and private paediatricians' prescribing practices. Per capita gross domestic product is a key explanatory variable. The annual Hib vaccine uptake and the 2009-2012 coverage levels were several times higher in the capital/metropolitan cities than the rest of the state, suggesting inequity in access to Hib vaccine delivered by the private sector. If India has to achieve high and equitable Hib vaccine coverage levels, nationwide public sector introduction of the pentavalent vaccine is needed. However, the role of private sector in universal Hib vaccine coverage is undefined as yet but it should not be neglected as a useful complement to

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...

FLO1K, global maps of mean, maximum and minimum annual streamflow at 1 km resolution from 1960 through 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarossa, Valerio; Huijbregts, Mark A. J.; Beusen, Arthur H. W.; Beck, Hylke E.; King, Henry; Schipper, Aafke M.

2018-03-01

Streamflow data is highly relevant for a variety of socio-economic as well as ecological analyses or applications, but a high-resolution global streamflow dataset is yet lacking. We created FLO1K, a consistent streamflow dataset at a resolution of 30 arc seconds (~1 km) and global coverage. FLO1K comprises mean, maximum and minimum annual flow for each year in the period 1960-2015, provided as spatially continuous gridded layers. We mapped streamflow by means of artificial neural networks (ANNs) regression. An ensemble of ANNs were fitted on monthly streamflow observations from 6600 monitoring stations worldwide, i.e., minimum and maximum annual flows represent the lowest and highest mean monthly flows for a given year. As covariates we used the upstream-catchment physiography (area, surface slope, elevation) and year-specific climatic variables (precipitation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration, aridity index and seasonality indices). Confronting the maps with independent data indicated good agreement (R2 values up to 91%). FLO1K delivers essential data for freshwater ecology and water resources analyses at a global scale and yet high spatial resolution.

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

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

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...

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 ...

Threshold Concepts and Information Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Lori; Brunetti, Korey; Hofer, Amy R.

2011-01-01

What do we teach when we teach information literacy in higher education? This paper describes a pedagogical approach to information literacy that helps instructors focus content around transformative learning thresholds. The threshold concept framework holds promise for librarians because it grounds the instructor in the big ideas and underlying…

12 CFR 564.4 - Minimum appraisal standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Minimum appraisal standards. 564.4 Section 564.4 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY APPRAISALS § 564.4 Minimum appraisal standards. For federally related transactions, all appraisals shall, at a minimum: (a...

The minimum wage in the Czech enterprises

OpenAIRE

Eva Lajtkepová

2010-01-01

Although the statutory minimum wage is not a new category, in the Czech Republic we encounter the definition and regulation of a minimum wage for the first time in the 1990 amendment to Act No. 65/1965 Coll., the Labour Code. The specific amount of the minimum wage and the conditions of its operation were then subsequently determined by government regulation in February 1991. Since that time, the value of minimum wage has been adjusted fifteenth times (the last increase was in January 2007). ...

Health status and health systems financing in the MENA region: roadmap to universal health coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Asbu, Eyob Zere; Masri, Maysoun Dimachkie; Kaissi, Amer

2017-01-01

Since the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 1990, many countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region made some improvements in maternal and child health and in tackling communicable diseases. The transition to the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals brings new opportunities for countries to move forward toward achieving progress for better health, well-being, and universal health coverage. This study provides a profile of health status and health financing approaches in the MENA region and their implications on universal health coverage. Time-series data on socioeconomics, health expenditures, and health outcomes were extracted from databases and reports of the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program and analyzed using Stata 12 statistical software. Countries were grouped according to the World Bank income categories. Descriptive statistics, tables and charts were used to analyze temporal changes and compare the key variables with global averages. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries account for more than three quarters of the disability-adjusted life years in all but two lower middle-income countries (Sudan and Yemen). Prevalence of risk factors (raised blood glucose, raised blood pressure, obesity and smoking) is higher than global averages and counterparts by income group. Total health expenditure (THE) per capita in most of the countries falls short of global averages for countries under similar income category. Furthermore, growth rate of THE per capita has not kept pace with the growth rate of GDP per capita. Out-of-pocket spending (OOPS) in all but the high-income countries in the group exceeds the threshold for catastrophic spending implying that there is a high risk of households getting poorer as a result of paying for health care. The alarmingly high prevalence of NCDs and injuries and associated risk factors, health spending falling short of the GDP

Minimum Wages and Regional Disparity: An analysis on the evolution of price-adjusted minimum wages and their effects on firm profitability (Japanese)

OpenAIRE

MORIKAWA Masayuki

2013-01-01

This paper, using prefecture level panel data, empirically analyzes 1) the recent evolution of price-adjusted regional minimum wages and 2) the effects of minimum wages on firm profitability. As a result of rapid increases in minimum wages in the metropolitan areas since 2007, the regional disparity of nominal minimum wages has been widening. However, the disparity of price-adjusted minimum wages has been shrinking. According to the analysis of the effects of minimum wages on profitability us...

A Threshold Continuum for Aeolian Sand Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Swann, C.; Ewing, R. C.; Sherman, D. J.

2015-12-01

The threshold of motion for aeolian sand transport marks the initial entrainment of sand particles by the force of the wind. This is typically defined and modeled as a singular wind speed for a given grain size and is based on field and laboratory experimental data. However, the definition of threshold varies significantly between these empirical models, largely because the definition is based on visual-observations of initial grain movement. For example, in his seminal experiments, Bagnold defined threshold of motion when he observed that 100% of the bed was in motion. Others have used 50% and lesser values. Differences in threshold models, in turn, result is large errors in predicting the fluxes associated with sand and dust transport. Here we use a wind tunnel and novel sediment trap to capture the fractions of sand in creep, reptation and saltation at Earth and Mars pressures and show that the threshold of motion for aeolian sand transport is best defined as a continuum in which grains progress through stages defined by the proportion of grains in creep and saltation. We propose the use of scale dependent thresholds modeled by distinct probability distribution functions that differentiate the threshold based on micro to macro scale applications. For example, a geologic timescale application corresponds to a threshold when 100% of the bed in motion whereas a sub-second application corresponds to a threshold when a single particle is set in motion. We provide quantitative measurements (number and mode of particle movement) corresponding to visual observations, percent of bed in motion and degrees of transport intermittency for Earth and Mars. Understanding transport as a continuum provides a basis for revaluating sand transport thresholds on Earth, Mars and Titan.

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.

41 CFR 50-201.1101 - Minimum wages.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Minimum wages. 50-201... Contracts PUBLIC CONTRACTS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 201-GENERAL REGULATIONS § 50-201.1101 Minimum wages. Determinations of prevailing minimum wages or changes therein will be published in the Federal Register by the...

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.

Iran: the next nuclear threshold state?

OpenAIRE

Maurer, Christopher L.

2014-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A nuclear threshold state is one that could quickly operationalize its peaceful nuclear program into one capable of producing a nuclear weapon. This thesis compares two known threshold states, Japan and Brazil, with Iran to determine if the Islamic Republic could also be labeled a threshold state. Furthermore, it highlights the implications such a status could have on U.S. nonproliferation policy. Although Iran's nuclear program is mir...

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.

Minimum Wage Laws and the Distribution of Employment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Kevin

The desirability of raising the minimum wage long revolved around just one question: the effect of higher minimum wages on the overall level of employment. An even more critical effect of the minimum wage rests on the composition of employment--who gets the minimum wage job. An examination of employment in eating and drinking establishments…

29 CFR 505.3 - Prevailing minimum compensation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevailing minimum compensation. 505.3 Section 505.3 Labor... HUMANITIES § 505.3 Prevailing minimum compensation. (a)(1) In the absence of an alternative determination...)(2) of this section, the prevailing minimum compensation required to be paid under the Act to the...

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.

11 CFR 9036.1 - Threshold submission.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... credit or debit card, including one made over the Internet, the candidate shall provide sufficient... section shall not count toward the threshold amount. (c) Threshold certification by Commission. (1) After...

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.

Determination of the threshold-energy surface for copper using in-situ electrical-resistivity measurements in the high-voltage electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, W.E.; Merkle, K.L.; Meshii, M.

1981-01-01

A detailed study of the anisotropy of the threshold energy for Frenkel-pair production in copper was carried out experimentally, using in-situ electrical-resistivity measurements in the high-voltage electron microscope. These electrical-resistivity measurements, which are sensitive to small changes in point-defect concentration, were used to determine the damage or defect production rate. Damage-rate measurements in copper single crystals were carried out for approx.40 incident electron-beam directions and six electron energies from 0.4 to 1.1 MeV. The total cross section for Frenkel-pair production is proportional to the measured damage rate and can be theoretically calculated if the form of the threshold-energy surface is known. Trial threshold-energy surfaces were systematically altered until a ''best fit'' of the calculated to the measured total cross sections for Frenkel-pair production was obtained. The average threshold energy of this surface is 28.5 eV. The minimum threshold energy is 18 +- 2 eV and is located near . A ring of very high threshold energy (>50 eV) surrounds the direction. A damage function for single-defect production was derived from this surface and was applied to defect-production calculations at higher recoil energies. This function rises rather sharply from a value of zero at 17 eV to 0.8 at 42 eV. It has the value of 0.5 at 24.5 eV. Above 30 eV the slope of the curve begins to decrease, reflecting the presence of the high-energy regions of the threshold-energy surface. Both topographical and quantitative comparisons of the present surface with those in the literature were presented. Based on a chi 2 goodness-of-fit test, the present surface was found to predict the experimentally observed total cross sections for Frenkel-pair production significantly better than the other available surfaces. Also, the goodness of fit varied substantially less with energy and direction for the present surface

A Cooperative Search and Coverage Algorithm with Controllable Revisit and Connectivity Maintenance for Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong Liu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we mainly study a cooperative search and coverage algorithm for a given bounded rectangle region, which contains several unknown stationary targets, by a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs with non-ideal sensors and limited communication ranges. Our goal is to minimize the search time, while gathering more information about the environment and finding more targets. For this purpose, a novel cooperative search and coverage algorithm with controllable revisit mechanism is presented. Firstly, as the representation of the environment, the cognitive maps that included the target probability map (TPM, the uncertain map (UM, and the digital pheromone map (DPM are constituted. We also design a distributed update and fusion scheme for the cognitive map. This update and fusion scheme can guarantee that each one of the cognitive maps converges to the same one, which reflects the targets’ true existence or absence in each cell of the search region. Secondly, we develop a controllable revisit mechanism based on the DPM. This mechanism can concentrate the UAVs to revisit sub-areas that have a large target probability or high uncertainty. Thirdly, in the frame of distributed receding horizon optimizing, a path planning algorithm for the multi-UAVs cooperative search and coverage is designed. In the path planning algorithm, the movement of the UAVs is restricted by the potential fields to meet the requirements of avoiding collision and maintaining connectivity constraints. Moreover, using the minimum spanning tree (MST topology optimization strategy, we can obtain a tradeoff between the search coverage enhancement and the connectivity maintenance. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by comparison simulations by way of analyzing the effects of the controllable revisit mechanism and the connectivity maintenance scheme. The Monte Carlo method is employed to validate the influence of the number of UAVs, the sensing radius

High-frequency (8 to 16 kHz) reference thresholds and intrasubject threshold variability relative to ototoxicity criteria using a Sennheiser HDA 200 earphone.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, T

2001-04-01

The first purpose of this study was to determine high-frequency (8 to 16 kHz) thresholds for standardizing reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels (RETSPLs) for a Sennheiser HDA 200 earphone. The second and perhaps more important purpose of this study was to determine whether repeated high-frequency thresholds using a Sennheiser HDA 200 earphone had a lower intrasubject threshold variability than the ASHA 1994 significant threshold shift criteria for ototoxicity. High-frequency thresholds (8 to 16 kHz) were obtained for 100 (50 male, 50 female) normally hearing (0.25 to 8 kHz) young adults (mean age of 21.2 yr) in four separate test sessions using a Sennheiser HDA 200 earphone. The mean and median high-frequency thresholds were similar for each test session and increased as frequency increased. At each frequency, the high-frequency thresholds were not significantly (p > 0.05) different for gender, test ear, or test session. The median thresholds at each frequency were similar to the 1998 interim ISO RETSPLs; however, large standard deviations and wide threshold distributions indicated very high intersubject threshold variability, especially at 14 and 16 kHz. Threshold repeatability was determined by finding the threshold differences between each possible test session comparison (N = 6). About 98% of all of the threshold differences were within a clinically acceptable range of +/-10 dB from 8 to 14 kHz. The threshold differences between each subject's second, third, and fourth minus their first test session were also found to determine whether intrasubject threshold variability was less than the ASHA 1994 criteria for determining a significant threshold shift due to ototoxicity. The results indicated a false-positive rate of 0% for a threshold shift > or = 20 dB at any frequency and a false-positive rate of 2% for a threshold shift >10 dB at two consecutive frequencies. This study verified that the output of high-frequency audiometers at 0 dB HL using

Media Coverage of Alcohol Issues: A Critical Political Economy Framework-A Case Study from Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercille, Julien

2017-06-16

There is a growing literature on news media representations of alcohol-related issues. However, current scholarship has neglected critical political economic frameworks to interpret media coverage of alcohol. This paper presents such a framework that conceives of news organisations as corporations that share the values and interests of political and economic elites. The media are thus expected to present viewpoints that are more aligned with the alcohol industry than the scientific consensus on public health policy would warrant. The media are also expected, but to a lesser extent, to present a certain amount of support for public health perspectives because these are supported by a few socioeconomic elite groups (the medical professions, progressive politicians). The case of Ireland from 2012 to 2017 illustrates the framework empirically. Four main newspapers' coverage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill and related policies is examined. Results show that, overall, 44.0% of articles support public health measures and 56.0% are opposed or remain neutral. It is argued that the media are not strong proponents of public health for multiple reasons: there are more articles opposed to or neutral toward public health measures than supporting them; the number of supportive articles remains relatively small and there are still many pieces presenting drinks industry views; there are virtually no calls in the media for stronger measures; supportive coverage is partially explained by the pub owners lobby's support for minimum unit pricing; the media often downplay or ignore the negative consequences of alcohol, such as its role in accidents; many news articles normalise drinking and promote events sponsored by the industry; there is not a single Irish journalist covering alcohol issues systematically; and other policy issues that are prioritised by elites receive multiple times more media coverage than public health measures. In short, the media reflect the views of the

Thermotactile perception thresholds measurement conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, Setsuo; Sakakibara, Hisataka

2002-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of posture, push force and rate of temperature change on thermotactile thresholds and to clarify suitable measuring conditions for Japanese people. Thermotactile (warm and cold) thresholds on the right middle finger were measured with an HVLab thermal aesthesiometer. Subjects were eight healthy male Japanese students. The effects of posture in measurement were examined in the posture of a straight hand and forearm placed on a support, the same posture without a support, and the fingers and hand flexed at the wrist with the elbow placed on a desk. The finger push force applied to the applicator of the thermal aesthesiometer was controlled at a 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 N. The applicator temperature was changed to 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 degrees C/s. After each measurement, subjects were asked about comfort under the measuring conditions. Three series of experiments were conducted on different days to evaluate repeatability. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that warm thresholds were affected by the push force and the rate of temperature change and that cold thresholds were influenced by posture and push force. The comfort assessment indicated that the measurement posture of a straight hand and forearm laid on a support was the most comfortable for the subjects. Relatively high repeatability was obtained under measurement conditions of a 1 degrees C/s temperature change rate and a 0.5 N push force. Measurement posture, push force and rate of temperature change can affect the thermal threshold. Judging from the repeatability, a push force of 0.5 N and a temperature change of 1.0 degrees C/s in the posture with the straight hand and forearm laid on a support are recommended for warm and cold threshold measurements.

DOE approach to threshold quantities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickham, L.E.; Kluk, A.F.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC)

1985-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the concept of threshold quantities for use in determining which waste materials must be handled as radioactive waste and which may be disposed of as nonradioactive waste at its sites. Waste above this concentration level would be managed as radioactive or mixed waste (if hazardous chemicals are present); waste below this level would be handled as sanitary waste. Ideally, the threshold must be set high enough to significantly reduce the amount of waste requiring special handling. It must also be low enough so that waste at the threshold quantity poses a very small health risk and multiple exposures to such waste would still constitute a small health risk. It should also be practical to segregate waste above or below the threshold quantity using available instrumentation. Guidance is being prepared to aid DOE sites in establishing threshold quantity values based on pathways analysis using site-specific parameters (waste stream characteristics, maximum exposed individual, population considerations, and site specific parameters such as rainfall, etc.). A guidance dose of between 0.001 to 1.0 mSv/y (0.1 to 100 mrem/y) was recommended with 0.3 mSv/y (30 mrem/y) selected as the guidance dose upon which to base calculations. Several tasks were identified, beginning with the selection of a suitable pathway model for relating dose to the concentration of radioactivity in the waste. Threshold concentrations corresponding to the guidance dose were determined for waste disposal sites at a selected humid and arid site. Finally, cost-benefit considerations at the example sites were addressed. The results of the various tasks are summarized and the relationship of this effort with related developments at other agencies discussed

The presence of the sexual partner and nutritional condition alter the Anastrepha obliqua MacQuart (Diptera: Tephritidae) protein discrimination threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cresoni-Pereira, Carla; Zucoloto, Fernando S.

2005-01-01

The minimum protein amount that Anastrepha obliqua MacQuart can detect in its alimentary source is variable, though the causes of such variation are not very well known. In this study, the authors tested whether the sexual partners nutritional condition and presence devoid of direct contact alter the A. obliqua protein discrimination threshold. Male and female insects were assigned to groups as follows: (1) newly emerged, (2) deprived of protein source (yeast) during 18 days, (3) non-yeast-deprived during 18 days, (4) yeast-deprived in the presence of equally yeast-deprived sexual partners, (5) yeast-deprived in the presence of non-yeast-deprived partners, (6) non-yeast-deprived with yeast-deprived partners and (7) non-yeast-deprived with non-yeast-deprived partners. The sexual partners were maintained apart by a transparent plastic screen with small holes. Not only the males presence but also their nutritional condition have altered the females discrimination threshold, particularly when the females were deprived and when non- deprived females cohabited with deprived males. Therefore, the females threshold was determined by their own nutritional condition in addition to recognition of the males nutritional condition. The males discrimination threshold was higher for non-deprived subjects than for the deprived ones. The occurrence of responses in the absence of direct contact between males and females has shown that they may use a chemical mechanism for mutual recognition of the sexual partner nutritional condition. (author)

The presence of the sexual partner and nutritional condition alter the Anastrepha obliqua MacQuart (Diptera: Tephritidae) protein discrimination threshold

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cresoni-Pereira, Carla; Zucoloto, Fernando S. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras. Dept. de Biologia

2005-11-15

The minimum protein amount that Anastrepha obliqua MacQuart can detect in its alimentary source is variable, though the causes of such variation are not very well known. In this study, the authors tested whether the sexual partners nutritional condition and presence devoid of direct contact alter the A. obliqua protein discrimination threshold. Male and female insects were assigned to groups as follows: (1) newly emerged, (2) deprived of protein source (yeast) during 18 days, (3) non-yeast-deprived during 18 days, (4) yeast-deprived in the presence of equally yeast-deprived sexual partners, (5) yeast-deprived in the presence of non-yeast-deprived partners, (6) non-yeast-deprived with yeast-deprived partners and (7) non-yeast-deprived with non-yeast-deprived partners. The sexual partners were maintained apart by a transparent plastic screen with small holes. Not only the males presence but also their nutritional condition have altered the females discrimination threshold, particularly when the females were deprived and when non- deprived females cohabited with deprived males. Therefore, the females threshold was determined by their own nutritional condition in addition to recognition of the males nutritional condition. The males discrimination threshold was higher for non-deprived subjects than for the deprived ones. The occurrence of responses in the absence of direct contact between males and females has shown that they may use a chemical mechanism for mutual recognition of the sexual partner nutritional condition. (author)

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

Do Some Workers Have Minimum Wage Careers?

Science.gov (United States)

Carrington, William J.; Fallick, Bruce C.

2001-01-01

Most workers who begin their careers in minimum-wage jobs eventually gain more experience and move on to higher paying jobs. However, more than 8% of workers spend at least half of their first 10 working years in minimum wage jobs. Those more likely to have minimum wage careers are less educated, minorities, women with young children, and those…

Does the Minimum Wage Affect Welfare Caseloads?

Science.gov (United States)

Page, Marianne E.; Spetz, Joanne; Millar, Jane

2005-01-01

Although minimum wages are advocated as a policy that will help the poor, few studies have examined their effect on poor families. This paper uses variation in minimum wages across states and over time to estimate the impact of minimum wage legislation on welfare caseloads. We find that the elasticity of the welfare caseload with respect to the…

29 CFR 4.159 - General minimum wage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true General minimum wage. 4.159 Section 4.159 Labor Office of... General minimum wage. The Act, in section 2(b)(1), provides generally that no contractor or subcontractor... a contract less than the minimum wage specified under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards...

MOA-2010-BLG-311: A PLANETARY CANDIDATE BELOW THE THRESHOLD OF RELIABLE DETECTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yee, J. C.; Hung, L.-W.; Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S.; Bond, I. A.; Allen, W.; Monard, L. A. G.; Albrow, M. D.; Fouqué, P.; Dominik, M.; Tsapras, Y.; Udalski, A.; Zellem, R.; Bos, M.; Christie, G. W.; DePoy, D. L.; Dong, Subo; Drummond, J.; Gorbikov, E.; Han, C.

2013-01-01

We analyze MOA-2010-BLG-311, a high magnification (A max > 600) microlensing event with complete data coverage over the peak, making it very sensitive to planetary signals. We fit this event with both a point lens and a two-body lens model and find that the two-body lens model is a better fit but with only Δχ 2 ∼ 80. The preferred mass ratio between the lens star and its companion is q = 10 –3.7±0.1 , placing the candidate companion in the planetary regime. Despite the formal significance of the planet, we show that because of systematics in the data the evidence for a planetary companion to the lens is too tenuous to claim a secure detection. When combined with analyses of other high-magnification events, this event helps empirically define the threshold for reliable planet detection in high-magnification events, which remains an open question.

MOA-2010-BLG-311: A PLANETARY CANDIDATE BELOW THE THRESHOLD OF RELIABLE DETECTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yee, J. C.; Hung, L.-W.; Gould, A.; Gaudi, B. S. [Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Bond, I. A. [Institute for Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, Auckland 1330 (New Zealand); Allen, W. [Vintage Lane Observatory, Blenheim (New Zealand); Monard, L. A. G. [Bronberg Observatory, Centre for Backyard Astrophysics, Pretoria (South Africa); Albrow, M. D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8020 (New Zealand); Fouque, P. [IRAP, CNRS, Universite de Toulouse, 14 avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse (France); Dominik, M. [SUPA, University of St. Andrews, School of Physics and Astronomy, North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Tsapras, Y. [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740B Cortona Drive, Goleta, CA 93117 (United States); Udalski, A. [Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa (Poland); Zellem, R. [Department of Planetary Sciences/LPL, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Bos, M. [Molehill Astronomical Observatory, North Shore City, Auckland (New Zealand); Christie, G. W. [Auckland Observatory, P.O. Box 24-180, Auckland (New Zealand); DePoy, D. L. [Department of Physics, Texas A and M University, 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States); Dong, Subo [Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Drummond, J. [Possum Observatory, Patutahi (New Zealand); Gorbikov, E. [School of Physics and Astronomy, Raymond and Beverley Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Han, C., E-mail: liweih@astro.ucla.edu, E-mail: rzellem@lpl.arizona.edu, E-mail: tim.natusch@aut.ac.nz [Department of Physics, Chungbuk National University, 410 Seongbong-Rho, Hungduk-Gu, Chongju 371-763 (Korea, Republic of); Collaboration: muFUN Collaboration; MOA Collaboration; OGLE Collaboration; PLANET Collaboration; RoboNet Collaboration; MiNDSTEp Consortium; and others

2013-05-20

We analyze MOA-2010-BLG-311, a high magnification (A{sub max} > 600) microlensing event with complete data coverage over the peak, making it very sensitive to planetary signals. We fit this event with both a point lens and a two-body lens model and find that the two-body lens model is a better fit but with only {Delta}{chi}{sup 2} {approx} 80. The preferred mass ratio between the lens star and its companion is q = 10{sup -3.7{+-}0.1}, placing the candidate companion in the planetary regime. Despite the formal significance of the planet, we show that because of systematics in the data the evidence for a planetary companion to the lens is too tenuous to claim a secure detection. When combined with analyses of other high-magnification events, this event helps empirically define the threshold for reliable planet detection in high-magnification events, which remains an open question.

The optimal trackability threshold of fractional anisotropy for diffusion tensor tractography of the corticospinal tract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunimatsu, Akira; Aoki, Shigeki; Masutani, Yoshitaka; Abe, Osamu; Hayashi, Naoto; Mori, Harushi; Masumoto, Tomohiko; Ohtomo, Kuni

2004-01-01

In order to ensure that three-dimensional diffusion tensor tractography (3D-DTT) of the corticospinal tract (CST), is performed accurately and efficiently, we set out to find the optimal lower threshold of fractional anisotropy (FA) below which tract elongation is terminated (trackability threshold). Thirteen patients with acute or early subacute ischemic stroke causing motor deficits were enrolled in this study. We performed 3D-DTT of the CST with diffusion tensor MR (magnetic resonance) imaging. We segmented the CST and established a cross-section of the CST in a transaxial plane as a region of interest. Thus, we selectively measured the FA values of the right and left corticospinal tracts at the level of the cerebral peduncle, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and the centrum semiovale. The FA values of the CST were also measured on the affected side at the level where the clinically relevant infarction was present in isotropic diffusion-weighted imaging. 3D-DTT allowed us to selectively measure the FA values of the CST. Among the 267 regions of interest we measured, the minimum FA value was 0.22. The FA values of the CST were smaller and more variable in the centrum semiovale than in the other regions. The mean minus twice the standard deviation of the FA values of the CST in the centrum semiovale was calculated at 0.22 on the normal unaffected side and 0.16 on the affected side. An FA value of about 0.20 was found to be the optimal trackability threshold. (author)

Doubler system quench detection threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuepke, K.; Kuchnir, M.; Martin, P.

1983-01-01

The experimental study leading to the determination of the sensitivity needed for protecting the Fermilab Doubler from damage during quenches is presented. The quench voltage thresholds involved were obtained from measurements made on Doubler cable of resistance x temperature and voltage x time during quenches under several currents and from data collected during operation of the Doubler Quench Protection System as implemented in the B-12 string of 20 magnets. At 4kA, a quench voltage threshold in excess of 5.OV will limit the peak Doubler cable temperature to 452K for quenches originating in the magnet coils whereas a threshold of 0.5V is required for quenches originating outside of coils

Reaction thresholds in doubly special relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heyman, Daniel; Major, Seth; Hinteleitner, Franz

2004-01-01

Two theories of special relativity with an additional invariant scale, 'doubly special relativity', are tested with calculations of particle process kinematics. Using the Judes-Visser modified conservation laws, thresholds are studied in both theories. In contrast with some linear approximations, which allow for particle processes forbidden in special relativity, both the Amelino-Camelia and Magueijo-Smolin frameworks allow no additional processes. To first order, the Amelino-Camelia framework thresholds are lowered and the Magueijo-Smolin framework thresholds may be raised or lowered

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…

Thresholds in chemical respiratory sensitisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Stella A; Arts, Josje H E; Ehnes, Colin; Hindle, Stuart; Hollnagel, Heli M; Poole, Alan; Suto, Hidenori; Kimber, Ian

2015-07-03

There is a continuing interest in determining whether it is possible to identify thresholds for chemical allergy. Here allergic sensitisation of the respiratory tract by chemicals is considered in this context. This is an important occupational health problem, being associated with rhinitis and asthma, and in addition provides toxicologists and risk assessors with a number of challenges. In common with all forms of allergic disease chemical respiratory allergy develops in two phases. In the first (induction) phase exposure to a chemical allergen (by an appropriate route of exposure) causes immunological priming and sensitisation of the respiratory tract. The second (elicitation) phase is triggered if a sensitised subject is exposed subsequently to the same chemical allergen via inhalation. A secondary immune response will be provoked in the respiratory tract resulting in inflammation and the signs and symptoms of a respiratory hypersensitivity reaction. In this article attention has focused on the identification of threshold values during the acquisition of sensitisation. Current mechanistic understanding of allergy is such that it can be assumed that the development of sensitisation (and also the elicitation of an allergic reaction) is a threshold phenomenon; there will be levels of exposure below which sensitisation will not be acquired. That is, all immune responses, including allergic sensitisation, have threshold requirement for the availability of antigen/allergen, below which a response will fail to develop. The issue addressed here is whether there are methods available or clinical/epidemiological data that permit the identification of such thresholds. This document reviews briefly relevant human studies of occupational asthma, and experimental models that have been developed (or are being developed) for the identification and characterisation of chemical respiratory allergens. The main conclusion drawn is that although there is evidence that the

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.

New Minimum Wage Research: A Symposium.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrenberg, Ronald G.; And Others

1992-01-01

Includes "Introduction" (Ehrenberg); "Effect of the Minimum Wage [MW] on the Fast-Food Industry" (Katz, Krueger); "Using Regional Variation in Wages to Measure Effects of the Federal MW" (Card); "Do MWs Reduce Employment?" (Card); "Employment Effects of Minimum and Subminimum Wages" (Neumark,…

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.

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.

Compositional threshold for Nuclear Waste Glass Durability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruger, Albert A.; Farooqi, Rahmatullah; Hrma, Pavel R.

2013-01-01

Within the composition space of glasses, a distinct threshold appears to exist that separates 'good' glasses, i.e., those which are sufficiently durable, from 'bad' glasses of a low durability. The objective of our research is to clarify the origin of this threshold by exploring the relationship between glass composition, glass structure and chemical durability around the threshold region

Optimizing Systems of Threshold Detection Sensors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Banschbach, David C

2008-01-01

.... Below the threshold all signals are ignored. We develop a mathematical model for setting individual sensor thresholds to obtain optimal probability of detecting a significant event, given a limit on the total number of false positives allowed...

30 CFR 75.1431 - Minimum rope strength.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., including rotation resistant). For rope lengths less than 3,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.001L) For rope lengths 3,000 feet or greater: Minimum Value=Static Load×4.0 (b) Friction drum ropes. For rope lengths less than 4,000 feet: Minimum Value=Static Load×(7.0−0.0005L) For rope lengths 4,000 feet...

Identifying Threshold Concepts for Information Literacy: A Delphi Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lori Townsend

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study used the Delphi method to engage expert practitioners on the topic of threshold concepts for information literacy. A panel of experts considered two questions. First, is the threshold concept approach useful for information literacy instruction? The panel unanimously agreed that the threshold concept approach holds potential for information literacy instruction. Second, what are the threshold concepts for information literacy instruction? The panel proposed and discussed over fifty potential threshold concepts, finally settling on six information literacy threshold concepts.

Multiuser switched diversity scheduling systems with per-user threshold

KAUST Repository

Nam, Haewoon

2010-05-01

A multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme with per-user feedback threshold is proposed and analyzed in this paper. The conventional multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme uses a single feedback threshold for every user, where the threshold is a function of the average signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the users as well as the number of users involved in the scheduling process. The proposed scheme, however, constructs a sequence of feedback thresholds instead of a single feedback threshold such that each user compares its channel quality with the corresponding feedback threshold in the sequence. Numerical and simulation results show that thanks to the flexibility of threshold selection, where a potentially different threshold can be used for each user, the proposed scheme provides a higher system capacity than that for the conventional scheme. © 2006 IEEE.

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.

Biocrust spatial distribution at landscape scale is strongly controlled by terrain attributes: Topographic thresholds for colonization

Science.gov (United States)

Raúl Román Fernández, José; Rodríguez-Caballero, Emilio; Chamizo de la Piedra, Sonia; Roncero Ramos, Bea; Cantón Castilla, Yolanda

2017-04-01

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are spatially variable components of soil. Whereas biogeographic, climatic or soil properties drive biocrust distribution from regional to global scales, biocrust spatial distribution within the landscape is controlled by topographic forces that create specific microhabitats that promote or difficult biocrust growth. By knowing which are the variables that control biocrust distribution and their individual effect we can establish the abiotic thresholds that limit natural biocrust colonization on different environments, which may be very useful for designing soil restoration programmes. The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of topographic-related variables in the distribution of different types of biocrust within a semiarid catchment where cyanobacteria and lichen dominated biocrust represent the most important surface components, El Cautivo experimental area (SE Spain). To do this, natural coverage of i) bare soil, ii) vegetation, iii) cyanobacteria-dominated soil crust and iv) lichen-dominated soil crust were measured on 70 experimental plots distributed across 23 transect (three 4.5 x 4.5 m plots per transect). Following that, we used a 1m x 1m DEM (Digital Elevation Model) of the study site obtained from a LiDAR point cloud to calculate different topographic variables such as slope gradient, length slope (LS) factor (potential sediment transport index), potential incoming solar radiation, topographic wetness index (WI) and maximum flow accumulation. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was performed to infer the influence of each variable in the coverage of each class and thresholds of biocrust colonization were identified mathematically by means of linear regression analysis describing the relationship between each factor and biocrust cover. Our results show that the spatial distribution of cyanobacteria-dominated biocrust, which showed physiological and morphological adaptation to cope with drought and UVA

Terrestrial Microgravity Model and Threshold Gravity Simulation sing Magnetic Levitation

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, N.

2005-01-01

What is the threshold gravity (minimum gravity level) required for the nominal functioning of the human system? What dosage is required? Do human cell lines behave differently in microgravity in response to an external stimulus? The critical need for such a gravity simulator is emphasized by recent experiments on human epithelial cells and lymphocytes on the Space Shuttle clearly showing that cell growth and function are markedly different from those observed terrestrially. Those differences are also dramatic between cells grown in space and those in Rotating Wall Vessels (RWV), or NASA bioreactor often used to simulate microgravity, indicating that although morphological growth patterns (three dimensional growth) can be successiblly simulated using RWVs, cell function performance is not reproduced - a critical difference. If cell function is dramatically affected by gravity off-loading, then cell response to stimuli such as radiation, stress, etc. can be very different from terrestrial cell lines. Yet, we have no good gravity simulator for use in study of these phenomena. This represents a profound shortcoming for countermeasures research. We postulate that we can use magnetic levitation of cells and tissue, through the use of strong magnetic fields and field gradients, as a terrestrial microgravity model to study human cells. Specific objectives of the research are: 1. To develop a tried, tested and benchmarked terrestrial microgravity model for cell culture studies; 2. Gravity threshold determination; 3. Dosage (magnitude and duration) of g-level required for nominal functioning of cells; 4. Comparisons of magnetic levitation model to other models such as RWV, hind limb suspension, etc. and 5. Cellular response to reduced gravity levels of Moon and Mars.

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...

[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.

Pain thresholds, supra-threshold pain and lidocaine sensitivity in patients with erythromelalgia, including the I848Tmutation in NaV 1.7.

Science.gov (United States)

Helås, T; Sagafos, D; Kleggetveit, I P; Quiding, H; Jönsson, B; Segerdahl, M; Zhang, Z; Salter, H; Schmelz, M; Jørum, E

2017-09-01

Nociceptive thresholds and supra-threshold pain ratings as well as their reduction upon local injection with lidocaine were compared between healthy subjects and patients with erythromelalgia (EM). Lidocaine (0.25, 0.50, 1.0 or 10 mg/mL) or placebo (saline) was injected intradermally in non-painful areas of the lower arm, in a randomized, double-blind manner, to test the effect on dynamic and static mechanical sensitivity, mechanical pain sensitivity, thermal thresholds and supra-threshold heat pain sensitivity. Heat pain thresholds and pain ratings to supra-threshold heat stimulation did not differ between EM-patients (n = 27) and controls (n = 25), neither did the dose-response curves for lidocaine. Only the subgroup of EM-patients with mutations in sodium channel subunits Na V 1.7, 1.8 or 1.9 (n = 8) had increased lidocaine sensitivity for supra-threshold heat stimuli, contrasting lower sensitivity to strong mechanical stimuli. This pattern was particularly clear in the two patients carrying the Na V 1.7 I848T mutations in whom lidocaine's hyperalgesic effect on mechanical pain sensitivity contrasted more effective heat analgesia. Heat pain thresholds are not sensitized in EM patients, even in those with gain-of-function mutations in Na V 1.7. Differential lidocaine sensitivity was overt only for noxious stimuli in the supra-threshold range suggesting that sensitized supra-threshold encoding is important for the clinical pain phenotype in EM in addition to lower activation threshold. Intracutaneous lidocaine dose-dependently blocked nociceptive sensations, but we did not identify EM patients with particular high lidocaine sensitivity that could have provided valuable therapeutic guidance. Acute pain thresholds and supra-threshold heat pain in controls and patients with erythromelalgia do not differ and have the same lidocaine sensitivity. Acute heat pain thresholds even in EM patients with the Na V 1.7 I848T mutation are normal and only nociceptor

When do price thresholds matter in retail categories?

OpenAIRE

Pauwels, Koen; Srinivasan, Shuba; Franses, Philip Hans

2007-01-01

textabstractMarketing literature has long recognized that brand price elasticity need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on threshold-based price elasticity, asymmetric thresholds, and the sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. This paper introduces smooth transition regression models to study threshold-based price elasticity of the top 4 brands across 20 fast-moving consumer good categories. Threshold-based price elasticity is fo...

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.)

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.

High-order above-threshold dissociation of molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Peifen; Wang, Junping; Li, Hui; Lin, Kang; Gong, Xiaochun; Song, Qiying; Ji, Qinying; Zhang, Wenbin; Ma, Junyang; Li, Hanxiao; Zeng, Heping; He, Feng; Wu, Jian

2018-03-01

Electrons bound to atoms or molecules can simultaneously absorb multiple photons via the above-threshold ionization featured with discrete peaks in the photoelectron spectrum on account of the quantized nature of the light energy. Analogously, the above-threshold dissociation of molecules has been proposed to address the multiple-photon energy deposition in the nuclei of molecules. In this case, nuclear energy spectra consisting of photon-energy spaced peaks exceeding the binding energy of the molecular bond are predicted. Although the observation of such phenomena is difficult, this scenario is nevertheless logical and is based on the fundamental laws. Here, we report conclusive experimental observation of high-order above-threshold dissociation of H2 in strong laser fields where the tunneling-ionized electron transfers the absorbed multiphoton energy, which is above the ionization threshold to the nuclei via the field-driven inelastic rescattering. Our results provide an unambiguous evidence that the electron and nuclei of a molecule as a whole absorb multiple photons, and thus above-threshold ionization and above-threshold dissociation must appear simultaneously, which is the cornerstone of the nowadays strong-field molecular physics.

30 CFR 281.30 - Minimum royalty.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Minimum royalty. 281.30 Section 281.30 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE LEASING OF MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Financial Considerations § 281.30 Minimum royalty...

Thresholds in Xeric Hydrology and Biogeochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Meixner, T.; Brooks, P. D.; Simpson, S. C.; Soto, C. D.; Yuan, F.; Turner, D.; Richter, H.

2011-12-01

Due to water limitation, thresholds in hydrologic and biogeochemical processes are common in arid and semi-arid systems. Some of these thresholds such as those focused on rainfall runoff relationships have been well studied. However to gain a full picture of the role that thresholds play in driving the hydrology and biogeochemistry of xeric systems a full view of the entire array of processes at work is needed. Here a walk through the landscape of xeric systems will be conducted illustrating the powerful role of hydrologic thresholds on xeric system biogeochemistry. To understand xeric hydro-biogeochemistry two key ideas need to be focused on. First, it is important to start from a framework of reaction and transport. Second an understanding of the temporal and spatial components of thresholds that have a large impact on hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes needs to be offered. In the uplands themselves episodic rewetting and drying of soils permits accelerated biogeochemical processing but also more gradual drainage of water through the subsurface than expected in simple conceptions of biogeochemical processes. Hydrologic thresholds (water content above hygroscopic) results in a stop start nutrient spiral of material across the landscape since runoff connecting uplands to xeric perennial riparian is episodic and often only transports materials a short distance (100's of m). This episodic movement results in important and counter-intuitive nutrient inputs to riparian zones but also significant processing and uptake of nutrients. The floods that transport these biogeochemicals also result in significant input to riparian groundwater and may be key to sustaining these critical ecosystems. Importantly the flood driven recharge process itself is a threshold process dependent on flood characteristics (floods greater than 100 cubic meters per second) and antecedent conditions (losing to near neutral gradients). Floods also appear to influence where arid and semi

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

Determinants of Change in the Cost-effectiveness Threshold.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulden, Mike; O'Mahony, James; McCabe, Christopher

2017-02-01

The cost-effectiveness threshold in health care systems with a constrained budget should be determined by the cost-effectiveness of displacing health care services to fund new interventions. Using comparative statics, we review some potential determinants of the threshold, including the budget for health care, the demand for existing health care interventions, the technical efficiency of existing interventions, and the development of new health technologies. We consider the anticipated direction of impact that would affect the threshold following a change in each of these determinants. Where the health care system is technically efficient, an increase in the health care budget unambiguously raises the threshold, whereas an increase in the demand for existing, non-marginal health interventions unambiguously lowers the threshold. Improvements in the technical efficiency of existing interventions may raise or lower the threshold, depending on the cause of the improvement in efficiency, whether the intervention is already funded, and, if so, whether it is marginal. New technologies may also raise or lower the threshold, depending on whether the new technology is a substitute for an existing technology and, again, whether the existing technology is marginal. Our analysis permits health economists and decision makers to assess if and in what direction the threshold may change over time. This matters, as threshold changes impact the cost-effectiveness of interventions that require decisions now but have costs and effects that fall in future periods.

Low heat pain thresholds in migraineurs between attacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwedt, Todd J; Zuniga, Leslie; Chong, Catherine D

2015-06-01

Between attacks, migraine is associated with hypersensitivities to sensory stimuli. The objective of this study was to investigate hypersensitivity to pain in migraineurs between attacks. Cutaneous heat pain thresholds were measured in 112 migraineurs, migraine free for ≥ 48 hours, and 75 healthy controls. Pain thresholds at the head and at the arm were compared between migraineurs and controls using two-tailed t-tests. Among migraineurs, correlations between heat pain thresholds and headache frequency, allodynia symptom severity, and time interval until next headache were calculated. Migraineurs had lower pain thresholds than controls at the head (43.9 ℃ ± 3.2 ℃ vs. 45.1 ℃ ± 3.0 ℃, p = 0.015) and arm (43.2 ℃ ± 3.4 ℃ vs. 44.8 ℃ ± 3.3 ℃, p pain thresholds and headache frequency or allodynia symptom severity. For the 41 migraineurs for whom time to next headache was known, there were positive correlations between time to next headache and pain thresholds at the head (r = 0.352, p = 0.024) and arm (r = 0.312, p = 0.047). This study provides evidence that migraineurs have low heat pain thresholds between migraine attacks. Mechanisms underlying these lower pain thresholds could also predispose migraineurs to their next migraine attack, a hypothesis supported by finding positive correlations between pain thresholds and time to next migraine attack. © International Headache Society 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

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...

State cigarette minimum price laws - United States, 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-09

Cigarette price increases reduce the demand for cigarettes and thereby reduce smoking prevalence, cigarette consumption, and youth initiation of smoking. Excise tax increases are the most effective government intervention to increase the price of cigarettes, but cigarette manufacturers use trade discounts, coupons, and other promotions to counteract the effects of these tax increases and appeal to price-sensitive smokers. State cigarette minimum price laws, initiated by states in the 1940s and 1950s to protect tobacco retailers from predatory business practices, typically require a minimum percentage markup to be added to the wholesale and/or retail price. If a statute prohibits trade discounts from the minimum price calculation, these laws have the potential to counteract discounting by cigarette manufacturers. To assess the status of cigarette minimum price laws in the United States, CDC surveyed state statutes and identified those states with minimum price laws in effect as of December 31, 2009. This report summarizes the results of that survey, which determined that 25 states had minimum price laws for cigarettes (median wholesale markup: 4.00%; median retail markup: 8.00%), and seven of those states also expressly prohibited the use of trade discounts in the minimum retail price calculation. Minimum price laws can help prevent trade discounting from eroding the positive effects of state excise tax increases and higher cigarette prices on public health.

Some considerations regarding the creep crack growth threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thouless, M.D.; Evans, A.G.

1984-01-01

The preceding analysis reveals that the existence of a threshold determined by the sintering stress does not influence the post threshold crack velocity. Considerations of the sintering stress can thus be conveniently excluded from analysis of the post threshold crack velocity. The presence of a crack growth threshold has been predicted, based on the existence of cavity nucleation controlled crack growth. A preliminary analysis of cavity nucleation rates within the damage zone reveals that this threshold is relatively abrupt, in accord with experimental observations. Consequently, at stress intensities below K /SUB th/ growth becomes nucleation limited and crack blunting occurs in preference to crack growth

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

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

When Do Price Thresholds Matter in Retail Categories?

OpenAIRE

Koen Pauwels; Shuba Srinivasan; Philip Hans Franses

2007-01-01

Marketing literature has long recognized that brand price elasticity need not be monotonic and symmetric, but has yet to provide generalizable market-level insights on threshold-based price elasticity, asymmetric thresholds, and the sign and magnitude of elasticity transitions. This paper introduces smooth transition regression models to study threshold-based price elasticity of the top 4 brands across 20 fast-moving consumer good categories. Threshold-based price elasticity is found for 76% ...

Estimating the Threshold Level of Inflation for Thailand

OpenAIRE

Jiranyakul, Komain

2017-01-01

Abstract. This paper analyzes the relationship between inflation and economic growth in Thailand using annual dataset during 1990 and 2015. The threshold model is estimated for different levels of threshold inflation rate. The results suggest that the threshold level of inflation above which inflation significantly slow growth is estimated at 3 percent. The negative relationship between inflation and growth is apparent above this threshold level of inflation. In other words, the inflation rat...

Effects of epidemic threshold definition on disease spread statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Lagorio, C.; Migueles, M. V.; Braunstein, L. A.; López, E.; Macri, P. A.

2009-03-01

We study the statistical properties of SIR epidemics in random networks, when an epidemic is defined as only those SIR propagations that reach or exceed a minimum size sc. Using percolation theory to calculate the average fractional size of an epidemic, we find that the strength of the spanning link percolation cluster P∞ is an upper bound to . For small values of sc, P∞ is no longer a good approximation, and the average fractional size has to be computed directly. We find that the choice of sc is generally (but not always) guided by the network structure and the value of T of the disease in question. If the goal is to always obtain P∞ as the average epidemic size, one should choose sc to be the typical size of the largest percolation cluster at the critical percolation threshold for the transmissibility. We also study Q, the probability that an SIR propagation reaches the epidemic mass sc, and find that it is well characterized by percolation theory. We apply our results to real networks (DIMES and Tracerouter) to measure the consequences of the choice sc on predictions of average outcome sizes of computer failure epidemics.

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

Time-efficient multidimensional threshold tracking method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fereczkowski, Michal; Kowalewski, Borys; Dau, Torsten

2015-01-01

Traditionally, adaptive methods have been used to reduce the time it takes to estimate psychoacoustic thresholds. However, even with adaptive methods, there are many cases where the testing time is too long to be clinically feasible, particularly when estimating thresholds as a function of anothe...

9 CFR 147.51 - Authorized laboratory minimum requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Authorized laboratory minimum requirements. 147.51 Section 147.51 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE... Authorized Laboratories and Approved Tests § 147.51 Authorized laboratory minimum requirements. These minimum...

A light-powered sub-threshold microprocessor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Ming; Chen Hong; Zhang Chun; Li Changmeng; Wang Zhihua, E-mail: lium02@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2010-11-15

This paper presents an 8-bit sub-threshold microprocessor which can be powered by an integrated photosensitive diode. With a custom designed sub-threshold standard cell library and 1 kbit sub-threshold SRAM design, the leakage power of 58 nW, dynamic power of 385 nW - 165 kHz, EDP 13 pJ/inst and the operating voltage of 350 mV are achieved. Under a light of about 150 kLux, the microprocessor can run at a rate of up to 500 kHz. The microprocessor can be used for wireless-sensor-network nodes.

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.

Threshold concepts in finance: student perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Hoadley, Susan; Kyng, Tim; Tickle, Leonie; Wood, Leigh N.

2015-10-01

Finance threshold concepts are the essential conceptual knowledge that underpin well-developed financial capabilities and are central to the mastery of finance. In this paper we investigate threshold concepts in finance from the point of view of students, by establishing the extent to which students are aware of threshold concepts identified by finance academics. In addition, we investigate the potential of a framework of different types of knowledge to differentiate the delivery of the finance curriculum and the role of modelling in finance. Our purpose is to identify ways to improve curriculum design and delivery, leading to better student outcomes. Whilst we find that there is significant overlap between what students identify as important in finance and the threshold concepts identified by academics, much of this overlap is expressed by indirect reference to the concepts. Further, whilst different types of knowledge are apparent in the student data, there is evidence that students do not necessarily distinguish conceptual from other types of knowledge. As well as investigating the finance curriculum, the research demonstrates the use of threshold concepts to compare and contrast student and academic perceptions of a discipline and, as such, is of interest to researchers in education and other disciplines.

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.

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...

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

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.

Bedding material affects mechanical thresholds, heat thresholds and texture preference

Science.gov (United States)

Moehring, Francie; O’Hara, Crystal L.; Stucky, Cheryl L.

2015-01-01

It has long been known that the bedding type animals are housed on can affect breeding behavior and cage environment. Yet little is known about its effects on evoked behavior responses or non-reflexive behaviors. C57BL/6 mice were housed for two weeks on one of five bedding types: Aspen Sani Chips® (standard bedding for our institute), ALPHA-Dri®, Cellu-Dri™, Pure-o’Cel™ or TEK-Fresh. Mice housed on Aspen exhibited the lowest (most sensitive) mechanical thresholds while those on TEK-Fresh exhibited 3-fold higher thresholds. While bedding type had no effect on responses to punctate or dynamic light touch stimuli, TEK-Fresh housed animals exhibited greater responsiveness in a noxious needle assay, than those housed on the other bedding types. Heat sensitivity was also affected by bedding as animals housed on Aspen exhibited the shortest (most sensitive) latencies to withdrawal whereas those housed on TEK-Fresh had the longest (least sensitive) latencies to response. Slight differences between bedding types were also seen in a moderate cold temperature preference assay. A modified tactile conditioned place preference chamber assay revealed that animals preferred TEK-Fresh to Aspen bedding. Bedding type had no effect in a non-reflexive wheel running assay. In both acute (two day) and chronic (5 week) inflammation induced by injection of Complete Freund’s Adjuvant in the hindpaw, mechanical thresholds were reduced in all groups regardless of bedding type, but TEK-Fresh and Pure-o’Cel™ groups exhibited a greater dynamic range between controls and inflamed cohorts than Aspen housed mice. PMID:26456764

40 CFR 68.115 - Threshold determination.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Regulated Substances for Accidental Release Prevention... process exceeds the threshold. (b) For the purposes of determining whether more than a threshold quantity... portion of the process is less than 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), the amount of the substance in the...

Increased electrical nerve stimulation threshold of the sciatic nerve in patients with diabetic foot gangrene: a prospective parallel cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Keyl, Cornelius; Held, Tanja; Albiez, Georg; Schmack, Astrid; Wiesenack, Christoph

2013-07-01

Peripheral neuropathy may affect nerve conduction in patients with diabetes mellitus. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the electrical stimulation threshold for a motor response of the sciatic nerve is increased in patients suffering from diabetic foot gangrene compared to non-diabetic patients. Prospective non-randomised trial with two parallel groups. Two university-affiliated hospitals. Patients scheduled for surgical treatment of diabetic foot gangrene (n = 30) and non-diabetic patients (n = 30) displaying no risk factors for neuropathy undergoing orthopaedic foot or ankle surgery. The minimum current intensity required to elicit a typical motor response (dorsiflexion or eversion of the foot) at a pulse width of 0.1 ms and a stimulation frequency of 1 Hz when the needle tip was positioned under ultrasound control directly adjacent to the peroneal component of the sciatic nerve. The non-diabetic patients were younger [64 (SD 12) vs. 74 (SD 7) years] and predominantly female (23 vs. 8). The geometric mean of the motor stimulation threshold was 0.26 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.24 to 0.28] mA in non-diabetic and 1.9 (95% CI 1.6 to 2.2) mA in diabetic patients. The geometric mean of the electrical stimulation threshold was significantly (P diabetic compared to non-diabetic patients. The electrical stimulation threshold for a motor response of the sciatic nerve is increased by a factor of 7.2 in patients with diabetic foot gangrene, which might hamper nerve identification.

Approach to DOE threshold guidance limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuman, R.D.; Wickham, L.E.

1984-01-01

The need for less restrictive criteria governing disposal of extremely low-level radioactive waste has long been recognized. The Low-Level Waste Management Program has been directed by the Department of Energy (DOE) to aid in the development of a threshold guidance limit for DOE low-level waste facilities. Project objectives are concernd with the definition of a threshold limit dose and pathway analysis of radionuclide transport within selected exposure scenarios at DOE sites. Results of the pathway analysis will be used to determine waste radionuclide concentration guidelines that meet the defined threshold limit dose. Methods of measurement and verification of concentration limits round out the project's goals. Work on defining a threshold limit dose is nearing completion. Pathway analysis of sanitary landfill operations at the Savannah River Plant and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is in progress using the DOSTOMAN computer code. Concentration limit calculations and determination of implementation procedures shall follow completion of the pathways work. 4 references

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.

Towards a unifying basis of auditory thresholds: binaural summation.

Science.gov (United States)

Heil, Peter

2014-04-01

Absolute auditory threshold decreases with increasing sound duration, a phenomenon explainable by the assumptions that the sound evokes neural events whose probabilities of occurrence are proportional to the sound's amplitude raised to an exponent of about 3 and that a constant number of events are required for threshold (Heil and Neubauer, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:6151-6156, 2003). Based on this probabilistic model and on the assumption of perfect binaural summation, an equation is derived here that provides an explicit expression of the binaural threshold as a function of the two monaural thresholds, irrespective of whether they are equal or unequal, and of the exponent in the model. For exponents >0, the predicted binaural advantage is largest when the two monaural thresholds are equal and decreases towards zero as the monaural threshold difference increases. This equation is tested and the exponent derived by comparing binaural thresholds with those predicted on the basis of the two monaural thresholds for different values of the exponent. The thresholds, measured in a large sample of human subjects with equal and unequal monaural thresholds and for stimuli with different temporal envelopes, are compatible only with an exponent close to 3. An exponent of 3 predicts a binaural advantage of 2 dB when the two ears are equally sensitive. Thus, listening with two (equally sensitive) ears rather than one has the same effect on absolute threshold as doubling duration. The data suggest that perfect binaural summation occurs at threshold and that peripheral neural signals are governed by an exponent close to 3. They might also shed new light on mechanisms underlying binaural summation of loudness.

Minimum Price Guarantees In a Consumer Search Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.C.W. Janssen (Maarten); A. Parakhonyak (Alexei)

2009-01-01

textabstractThis paper is the first to examine the effect of minimum price guarantees in a sequential search model. Minimum price guarantees are not advertised and only known to consumers when they come to the shop. We show that in such an environment, minimum price guarantees increase the value of

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, ...

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.

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.…

Spike-threshold adaptation predicted by membrane potential dynamics in vivo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertrand Fontaine

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Neurons encode information in sequences of spikes, which are triggered when their membrane potential crosses a threshold. In vivo, the spiking threshold displays large variability suggesting that threshold dynamics have a profound influence on how the combined input of a neuron is encoded in the spiking. Threshold variability could be explained by adaptation to the membrane potential. However, it could also be the case that most threshold variability reflects noise and processes other than threshold adaptation. Here, we investigated threshold variation in auditory neurons responses recorded in vivo in barn owls. We found that spike threshold is quantitatively predicted by a model in which the threshold adapts, tracking the membrane potential at a short timescale. As a result, in these neurons, slow voltage fluctuations do not contribute to spiking because they are filtered by threshold adaptation. More importantly, these neurons can only respond to input spikes arriving together on a millisecond timescale. These results demonstrate that fast adaptation to the membrane potential captures spike threshold variability in vivo.

Statistical Algorithm for the Adaptation of Detection Thresholds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stotsky, Alexander A.

2008-01-01

Many event detection mechanisms in spark ignition automotive engines are based on the comparison of the engine signals to the detection threshold values. Different signal qualities for new and aged engines necessitate the development of an adaptation algorithm for the detection thresholds...... remains constant regardless of engine age and changing detection threshold values. This, in turn, guarantees the same event detection performance for new and aged engines/sensors. Adaptation of the engine knock detection threshold is given as an example. Udgivelsesdato: 2008...

Perspective: Uses and misuses of thresholds in diagnostic decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Jeremy L; Najarian, Robert M; Tierney, Lawrence M

2010-03-01

The concept of thresholds plays a vital role in decisions involving the initiation, continuation, and completion of diagnostic testing. Much research has focused on the development of explicit thresholds, in the form of practice guidelines and decision analyses. However, these tools are used infrequently; most medical decisions are made at the bedside, using implicit thresholds. Study of these thresholds can lead to a deeper understanding of clinical decision making. The authors examine some factors constituting individual clinicians' implicit thresholds. They propose a model for static thresholds using the concept of situational gravity to explain why some thresholds are high, and some low. Next, they consider the hypothetical effects of incorrect placement of thresholds (miscalibration) and changes to thresholds during diagnosis (manipulation). They demonstrate these concepts using common clinical scenarios. Through analysis of miscalibration of thresholds, the authors demonstrate some common maladaptive clinical behaviors, which are nevertheless internally consistent. They then explain how manipulation of thresholds gives rise to common cognitive heuristics including premature closure and anchoring. They also discuss the case where no threshold has been exceeded despite exhaustive collection of data, which commonly leads to application of the availability or representativeness heuristics. Awareness of implicit thresholds allows for a more effective understanding of the processes of medical decision making and, possibly, to the avoidance of detrimental heuristics and their associated medical errors. Research toward accurately defining these thresholds for individual physicians and toward determining their dynamic properties during the diagnostic process may yield valuable insights.

Is action potential threshold lowest in the axon?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kole, Maarten H. P.; Stuart, Greg J.

2008-01-01

Action potential threshold is thought to be lowest in the axon, but when measured using conventional techniques, we found that action potential voltage threshold of rat cortical pyramidal neurons was higher in the axon than at other neuronal locations. In contrast, both current threshold and voltage

Wage inequality, minimum wage effects and spillovers

OpenAIRE

Stewart, Mark B.

2011-01-01

This paper investigates possible spillover effects of the UK minimum wage. The halt in the growth in inequality in the lower half of the wage distribution (as measured by the 50:10 percentile ratio) since the mid-1990s, in contrast to the continued inequality growth in the upper half of the distribution, suggests the possibility of a minimum wage effect and spillover effects on wages above the minimum. This paper analyses individual wage changes, using both a difference-in-differences estimat...

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...

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).

Threshold-Based Multiple Optical Signal Selection Scheme for Free-Space Optical Wavelength Division Multiplexing Systems

KAUST Repository

Nam, Sung Sik

2017-11-13

We propose a threshold-based multiple optical signal selection scheme (TMOS) for free-space optical wavelength division multiplexing systems. With this scheme, we can obtain higher spectral efficiency while reducing the possible complexity of implementation caused by the beam-selection scheme and without a considerable performance loss. To characterize the performance of our scheme, we statistically analyze the operation characteristics under conventional detection conditions (i.e., heterodyne detection and intensity modulation/direct detection techniques) with log-normal turbulence while taking into consideration the impact of pointing error. More specifically, we derive exact closed-form expressions for the outage probability, the average bit error rate, and the average spectral efficiency while adopting an adaptive modulation. Some selected results show that TMOS increases the average spectral efficiency while maintaining a minimum average bit error rate requirement.

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...

Minimum Variance Portfolios in the Brazilian Equity Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Rubesam

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We investigate minimum variance portfolios in the Brazilian equity market using different methods to estimate the covariance matrix, from the simple model of using the sample covariance to multivariate GARCH models. We compare the performance of the minimum variance portfolios to those of the following benchmarks: (i the IBOVESPA equity index, (ii an equally-weighted portfolio, (iii the maximum Sharpe ratio portfolio and (iv the maximum growth portfolio. Our results show that the minimum variance portfolio has higher returns with lower risk compared to the benchmarks. We also consider long-short 130/30 minimum variance portfolios and obtain similar results. The minimum variance portfolio invests in relatively few stocks with low βs measured with respect to the IBOVESPA index, being easily replicable by individual and institutional investors alike.

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

Applying Threshold Concepts to Finance Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hoadley, Susan; Wood, Leigh N.; Tickle, Leonie; Kyng, Tim

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify threshold concepts that are the essential conceptual content of finance programmes. Design/Methodology/Approach: Conducted in three stages with finance academics and students, the study uses threshold concepts as both a theoretical framework and a research methodology. Findings: The…

Minimum Covers of Fixed Cardinality in Weighted Graphs.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Lee J.

Reported is the result of research on combinatorial and algorithmic techniques for information processing. A method is discussed for obtaining minimum covers of specified cardinality from a given weighted graph. By the indicated method, it is shown that the family of minimum covers of varying cardinality is related to the minimum spanning tree of…

State Medicaid Coverage, ESRD Incidence, and Access to Care

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Benjamin A.; Hall, Yoshio N.; Mitani, Aya A.; Winkelmayer, Wolfgang C.

2014-01-01

The proportion of low-income nonelderly adults covered by Medicaid varies widely by state. We sought to determine whether broader state Medicaid coverage, defined as the proportion of each state’s low-income nonelderly adult population covered by Medicaid, associates with lower state-level incidence of ESRD and greater access to care. The main outcomes were incidence of ESRD and five indicators of access to care. We identified 408,535 adults aged 20–64 years, who developed ESRD between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2008. Medicaid coverage among low-income nonelderly adults ranged from 12.2% to 66.0% (median 32.5%). For each additional 10% of the low-income nonelderly population covered by Medicaid, there was a 1.8% (95% confidence interval, 1.0% to 2.6%) decrease in ESRD incidence. Among nonelderly adults with ESRD, gaps in access to care between those with private insurance and those with Medicaid were narrower in states with broader coverage. For a 50-year-old white woman, the access gap to the kidney transplant waiting list between Medicaid and private insurance decreased by 7.7 percentage points in high (>45%) versus low (Medicaid coverage states. Similarly, the access gap to transplantation decreased by 4.0 percentage points and the access gap to peritoneal dialysis decreased by 3.8 percentage points in high Medicaid coverage states. In conclusion, states with broader Medicaid coverage had a lower incidence of ESRD and smaller insurance-related access gaps. PMID:24652791

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.

Recent results on prototype aerogel threshold counters for particle identification in the region: 0.5 6 4.3 GeV / c

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arisaka, K.; Borsato, E.; DalCorso, F.; Iacovella, F.; Morandin, M.; Posocco, M.; Stroili, R.; Torassa, DE.; Voci, C.; Boutigny, D.; Bonis, I. de; Favier, J.; Karyotakis, Y.; Lafaye, R.; Ferroni, F.; Mazzoni, M.A.; Morganti, S.; Piredda, G.; Santacesaria, R.; Oyang, J.

1996-01-01

The recent development of new processes has lead to the fabrication of small density silica aerogel with high optical quality. The BaBar experiment, in order to achieve its physics program, requires a good pion kaon identification capability up to 4.3 GeV/c able to work inside a 1.5 Tesla magnetic field. An aerogel threshold counter using thee combination of 2 refractive indices (1.055 and 1.007) can be used to complete the angular coverage of the particle identification system in the forward region. Different detector geometries read out by two photo-detectors types (fine mesh phototubes and Hybrid Photo-Diodes) have been considered and tested in CERN beam test. (author)

Improving occupational injury surveillance by using a severity threshold: development of a new occupational health indicator.

Science.gov (United States)

Sears, Jeanne M; Bowman, Stephen M; Rotert, Mary; Blanar, Laura; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah

2016-06-01

Hospital discharge data are used for occupational injury surveillance, but observed hospitalisation trends are affected by trends in healthcare practices and workers' compensation coverage that may increasingly impair ascertainment of minor injuries relative to severe injuries. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the development of a severe injury definition for surveillance purposes and (2) assess the impact of imposing a severity threshold on estimated occupational and non-occupational injury trends. Three independent methods were used to estimate injury severity for the severe injury definition. 10 population-based hospital discharge databases were used to estimate trends (1998-2009), including the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) and State Inpatient Databases (SID) from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Negative binomial regression was used to model injury trends with and without severity restriction and to test trend divergence by severity. Trend estimates for occupational injuries were biased downwards in the absence of severity restriction, more so than for non-occupational injuries. Imposing a severity threshold resulted in a markedly different historical picture. Severity restriction can be used as an injury surveillance methodology to increase the accuracy of trend estimates, which can then be used by occupational health researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to identify prevention opportunities and to support state and national investments in occupational injury prevention efforts. The newly adopted state-based occupational health indicator, 'Work-Related Severe Traumatic Injury Hospitalizations', incorporates a severity threshold that will reduce temporal ascertainment threats to accurate trend estimates. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

The asymmetry of U.S. monetary policy: Evidence from a threshold Taylor rule with time-varying threshold values

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yanli; Chen, Haiqiang

2017-05-01

In this paper, we revisit the issue whether U.S. monetary policy is asymmetric by estimating a forward-looking threshold Taylor rule with quarterly data from 1955 to 2015. In order to capture the potential heterogeneity for regime shift mechanism under different economic conditions, we modify the threshold model by assuming the threshold value as a latent variable following an autoregressive (AR) dynamic process. We use the unemployment rate as the threshold variable and separate the sample into two periods: expansion periods and recession periods. Our findings support that the U.S. monetary policy operations are asymmetric in these two regimes. More precisely, the monetary authority tends to implement an active Taylor rule with a weaker response to the inflation gap (the deviation of inflation from its target) and a stronger response to the output gap (the deviation of output from its potential level) in recession periods. The threshold value, interpreted as the targeted unemployment rate of monetary authorities, exhibits significant time-varying properties, confirming the conjecture that policy makers may adjust their reference point for the unemployment rate accordingly to reflect their attitude on the health of general economy.

Who Benefits from a Minimum Wage Increase?

OpenAIRE

John W. Lopresti; Kevin J. Mumford

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the question of how a minimum wage increase affects the wages of low-wage workers. Most studies assume that there is a simple mechanical increase in the wage for workers earning a wage between the old and the new minimum wage, with some studies allowing for spillovers to workers with wages just above this range. Rather than assume that the wages of these workers would have remained constant, this paper estimates how a minimum wage increase impacts a low-wage worker's wage...

Model Threshold untuk Pembelajaran Memproduksi Pantun Kelas XI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fitri Nura Murti

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The learning pantun method in schools provided less opportunity to develop the students’ creativity in producing pantun. This situation was supported by the result of the observation conducted on eleventh graders at SMAN 2 Bondowoso. It showed that the students tend to plagiarize their pantun. The general objective of this research and development is to develop Threshold Pantun model for learning to produce pantun for elevent graders. The product was presented in guidance book for teachers entitled “Pembelajaran Memproduksi Pantun Menggunakan Model Threshold Pantun untuk Kelas XI”. This study adapted design method of Borg-Gall’s R&D procedure. The result of this study showed that Threshold Pantun model was appropriate to be implemented for learning to produce pantun. Key Words: Threshold Pantun model, produce pantun Abstrak: Pembelajaran pantun di sekolah selama ini kurang mengembangkan kreativitas siswa dalam memproduksi pantun. Hal tersebut dikuatkan oleh hasil observasi siswa kelas XI SMAN 2 Bondowoso yang menunjukkan adanya kecenderungan produk siswa bersifat plagiat. Tujuan penelitian dan pengembangan ini secara umum adalah mengembangkan model Threshold Pantun untuk pembelajaran memproduksi pantun kelas XI..Produk disajikan dalam bentuk buku panduan bagi guru dengan judul “Pembelajaran Memproduksi Pantun Menggunakan Model Threshold Pantun untuk Kelas XI”. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan penelitian yang diadaptasi dari prosedur penelitian dan pengembangan Borg dan Gall. Berdasarkan hasil validasi model Threshold Pantun untuk pembelajaran memproduksi pantun layak diimplementasikan. Kata kunci: model Threshold Pantun, memproduksi pantun

"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

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

The H-mode power threshold in JET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Start, D F.H.; Bhatnagar, V P; Campbell, D J; Cordey, J G; Esch, H P.L. de; Gormezano, C; Hawkes, N; Horton, L; Jones, T T.C.; Lomas, P J; Lowry, C; Righi, E; Rimini, F G; Saibene, G; Sartori, R; Sips, G; Stork, D; Thomas, P; Thomsen, K; Tubbing, B J.D.; Von Hellermann, M; Ward, D J [Commission of the European Communities, Abingdon (United Kingdom). JET Joint Undertaking

1994-07-01

New H-mode threshold data over a range of toroidal field and density values have been obtained from the present campaign. The scaling with n{sub e} B{sub t} is almost identical with that of the 91/92 period for the same discharge conditions. The scaling with toroidal field alone gives somewhat higher thresholds than the older data. The 1991/2 database shows a scaling of P{sub th} (power threshold) with n{sub e} B{sub t} which is approximately linear and agrees well with that observed on other tokamaks. For NBI and carbon target tiles the threshold power is a factor of two higher with the ion {Nu}B drift away from the target compared with the value found with the drift towards the target. The combination of ICRH and beryllium tiles appears to be beneficial for reducing P{sub th}. The power threshold is largely insensitive to plasma current, X-point height and distance between the last closed flux surface and the limiter, at least for values greater than 2 cm. (authors). 3 refs., 6 figs.

QRS Detection Based on Improved Adaptive Threshold

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuanyu Lu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of death around the world. In accomplishing quick and accurate diagnosis, automatic electrocardiogram (ECG analysis algorithm plays an important role, whose first step is QRS detection. The threshold algorithm of QRS complex detection is known for its high-speed computation and minimized memory storage. In this mobile era, threshold algorithm can be easily transported into portable, wearable, and wireless ECG systems. However, the detection rate of the threshold algorithm still calls for improvement. An improved adaptive threshold algorithm for QRS detection is reported in this paper. The main steps of this algorithm are preprocessing, peak finding, and adaptive threshold QRS detecting. The detection rate is 99.41%, the sensitivity (Se is 99.72%, and the specificity (Sp is 99.69% on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database. A comparison is also made with two other algorithms, to prove our superiority. The suspicious abnormal area is shown at the end of the algorithm and RR-Lorenz plot drawn for doctors and cardiologists to use as aid for diagnosis.

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.

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.

The minimum wage in the Czech enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Lajtkepová

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Although the statutory minimum wage is not a new category, in the Czech Republic we encounter the definition and regulation of a minimum wage for the first time in the 1990 amendment to Act No. 65/1965 Coll., the Labour Code. The specific amount of the minimum wage and the conditions of its operation were then subsequently determined by government regulation in February 1991. Since that time, the value of minimum wage has been adjusted fifteenth times (the last increase was in January 2007. The aim of this article is to present selected results of two researches of acceptance of the statutory minimum wage by Czech enterprises. The first research makes use of the data collected by questionnaire research in 83 small and medium-sized enterprises in the South Moravia Region in 2005, the second one the data of 116 enterprises in the entire Czech Republic (in 2007. The data have been processed by means of the standard methods of descriptive statistics and of the appropriate methods of the statistical analyses (Spearman correlation coefficient of sequential correlation, Kendall coefficient, χ2 - independence test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and others.

Media Coverage of Alcohol Issues: A Critical Political Economy Framework—A Case Study from Ireland

Science.gov (United States)

Mercille, Julien

2017-01-01

There is a growing literature on news media representations of alcohol-related issues. However, current scholarship has neglected critical political economic frameworks to interpret media coverage of alcohol. This paper presents such a framework that conceives of news organisations as corporations that share the values and interests of political and economic elites. The media are thus expected to present viewpoints that are more aligned with the alcohol industry than the scientific consensus on public health policy would warrant. The media are also expected, but to a lesser extent, to present a certain amount of support for public health perspectives because these are supported by a few socioeconomic elite groups (the medical professions, progressive politicians). The case of Ireland from 2012 to 2017 illustrates the framework empirically. Four main newspapers’ coverage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill and related policies is examined. Results show that, overall, 44.0% of articles support public health measures and 56.0% are opposed or remain neutral. It is argued that the media are not strong proponents of public health for multiple reasons: there are more articles opposed to or neutral toward public health measures than supporting them; the number of supportive articles remains relatively small and there are still many pieces presenting drinks industry views; there are virtually no calls in the media for stronger measures; supportive coverage is partially explained by the pub owners lobby’s support for minimum unit pricing; the media often downplay or ignore the negative consequences of alcohol, such as its role in accidents; many news articles normalise drinking and promote events sponsored by the industry; there is not a single Irish journalist covering alcohol issues systematically; and other policy issues that are prioritised by elites receive multiple times more media coverage than public health measures. In short, the media reflect the views of the

Terrestrial Microgravity Model and Threshold Gravity Simulation using Magnetic Levitation

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, N.

2005-01-01

What is the threshold gravity (minimum gravity level) required for the nominal functioning of the human system? What dosage is required? Do human cell lines behave differently in microgravity in response to an external stimulus? The critical need for such a gravity simulator is emphasized by recent experiments on human epithelial cells and lymphocytes on the Space Shuttle clearly showing that cell growth and function are markedly different from those observed terrestrially. Those differences are also dramatic between cells grown in space and those in Rotating Wall Vessels (RWV), or NASA bioreactor often used to simulate microgravity, indicating that although morphological growth patterns (three dimensional growth) can be successfully simulated using RWVs, cell function performance is not reproduced - a critical difference. If cell function is dramatically affected by gravity off-loading, then cell response to stimuli such as radiation, stress, etc. can be very different from terrestrial cell lines. Yet, we have no good gravity simulator for use in study of these phenomena. This represents a profound shortcoming for countermeasures research. We postulate that we can use magnetic levitation of cells and tissue, through the use of strong magnetic fields and field gradients, as a terrestrial microgravity model to study human cells. Specific objectives of the research are: 1. To develop a tried, tested and benchmarked terrestrial microgravity model for cell culture studies; 2. Gravity threshold determination; 3. Dosage (magnitude and duration) of g-level required for nominal functioning of cells; 4. Comparisons of magnetic levitation model to other models such as RWV, hind limb suspension, etc. and 5. Cellular response to reduced gravity levels of Moon and Mars. The paper will discuss experiments md modeling work to date in support of this project.

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

How unprecedented a solar minimum was it?

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, C T; Jian, L K; Luhmann, J G

2013-05-01

The end of the last solar cycle was at least 3 years late, and to date, the new solar cycle has seen mainly weaker activity since the onset of the rising phase toward the new solar maximum. The newspapers now even report when auroras are seen in Norway. This paper is an update of our review paper written during the deepest part of the last solar minimum [1]. We update the records of solar activity and its consequent effects on the interplanetary fields and solar wind density. The arrival of solar minimum allows us to use two techniques that predict sunspot maximum from readings obtained at solar minimum. It is clear that the Sun is still behaving strangely compared to the last few solar minima even though we are well beyond the minimum phase of the cycle 23-24 transition.

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…

Minimum-Cost Reachability for Priced Timed Automata

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Behrmann, Gerd; Fehnker, Ansgar; Hune, Thomas Seidelin

2001-01-01

This paper introduces the model of linearly priced timed automata as an extension of timed automata, with prices on both transitions and locations. For this model we consider the minimum-cost reachability problem: i.e. given a linearly priced timed automaton and a target state, determine...... the minimum cost of executions from the initial state to the target state. This problem generalizes the minimum-time reachability problem for ordinary timed automata. We prove decidability of this problem by offering an algorithmic solution, which is based on a combination of branch-and-bound techniques...

Threshold enhancement of diphoton resonances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aoife Bharucha

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We revisit a mechanism to enhance the decay width of (pseudo-scalar resonances to photon pairs when the process is mediated by loops of charged fermions produced near threshold. Motivated by the recent LHC data, indicating the presence of an excess in the diphoton spectrum at approximately 750 GeV, we illustrate this threshold enhancement mechanism in the case of a 750 GeV pseudoscalar boson A with a two-photon decay mediated by a charged and uncolored fermion having a mass at the 12MA threshold and a small decay width, <1 MeV. The implications of such a threshold enhancement are discussed in two explicit scenarios: i the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model in which the A state is produced via the top quark mediated gluon fusion process and decays into photons predominantly through loops of charginos with masses close to 12MA and ii a two Higgs doublet model in which A is again produced by gluon fusion but decays into photons through loops of vector-like charged heavy leptons. In both these scenarios, while the mass of the charged fermion has to be adjusted to be extremely close to half of the A resonance mass, the small total widths are naturally obtained if only suppressed three-body decay channels occur. Finally, the implications of some of these scenarios for dark matter are discussed.

Minimum Q Electrically Small Antennas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, O. S.

2012-01-01

Theoretically, the minimum radiation quality factor Q of an isolated resonance can be achieved in a spherical electrically small antenna by combining TM1m and TE1m spherical modes, provided that the stored energy in the antenna spherical volume is totally suppressed. Using closed-form expressions...... for a multiarm spherical helix antenna confirm the theoretical predictions. For example, a 4-arm spherical helix antenna with a magnetic-coated perfectly electrically conducting core (ka=0.254) exhibits the Q of 0.66 times the Chu lower bound, or 1.25 times the minimum Q....

ENTRIA workshop. Determine threshold values in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diener, Lisa

2015-01-01

Threshold values affect our daily lives. Whether it concerns traffic or noise regulations, we all experience thresholds on a regular basis. But how are such values generated? The conference ''Determine Thres-hold Values in Radiation Protection'', taking place on January 27th 2015 in Braunschweig, focused on this question. The conference was undertaken in the context of the BMBF-funded interdisciplinary research project ''ENTRIA - Disposal Options for Radioactive Residues''. It aimed to stimulate a cross-disciplinary discussion. Spea-kers from different disciplinary backgrounds talked about topics like procedures of setting threshold values, standards for evaluating dosages, and public participation in the standardization of threshold values. Two major theses emerged: First, setting threshold values always requires considering contexts and protection targets. Second, existing uncertainties must be communicated in and with the public. Altogether, the conference offered lots of input and issues for discussion. In addition, it raised interesting and important questions for further and ongoing work in the research project ENTRIA.

The effect of adsorbed liquid and material density on saltation threshold: Insight from laboratory and wind tunnel experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xinting; Hörst, Sarah M.; He, Chao; Bridges, Nathan T.; Burr, Devon M.; Sebree, Joshua A.; Smith, James K.

2017-11-01

Saltation threshold, the minimum wind speed for sediment transport, is a fundamental parameter in aeolian processes. Measuring this threshold using boundary layer wind tunnels, in which particles are mobilized by flowing air, for a subset of different planetary conditions can inform our understanding of physical processes of sediment transport. The presence of liquid, such as water on Earth or methane on Titan, may affect the threshold values to a great extent. Sediment density is also crucial for determining threshold values. Here we provide quantitative data on density and water content of common wind tunnel materials (including chromite, basalt, quartz sand, beach sand, glass beads, gas chromatograph packing materials, walnut shells, iced tea powder, activated charcoal, instant coffee, and glass bubbles) that have been used to study conditions on Earth, Titan, Mars, and Venus. The measured density values for low density materials are higher compared to literature values (e.g., ∼30% for walnut shells), whereas for the high density materials, there is no such discrepancy. We also find that low density materials have much higher water content and longer atmospheric equilibration timescales compared to high density sediments. We used thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to quantify surface and internal water and found that over 80% of the total water content is surface water for low density materials. In the Titan Wind Tunnel (TWT), where Reynolds number conditions similar to those on Titan can be achieved, we performed threshold experiments with the standard walnut shells (125-150 μm, 7.2% water by mass) and dried walnut shells, in which the water content was reduced to 1.7%. The threshold results for the two scenarios are almost the same, which indicates that humidity had a negligible effect on threshold for walnut shells in this experimental regime. When the water content is lower than 11.0%, the interparticle forces are dominated by adsorption forces, whereas at

Thresholds of ion turbulence in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbet, X.; Laurent, L.; Mourgues, F.; Roubin, J.P.; Samain, A.; Zou, X.L.

1991-01-01

The linear thresholds of ionic turbulence are numerically calculated for the Tokamaks JET and TORE SUPRA. It is proved that the stability domain at η i >0 is determined by trapped ion modes and is characterized by η i ≥1 and a threshold L Ti /R of order (0.2/0.3)/(1+T i /T e ). The latter value is significantly smaller than what has been previously predicted. Experimental temperature profiles in heated discharges are usually marginal with respect to this criterium. It is also shown that the eigenmodes are low frequency, low wavenumber ballooned modes, which may produce a very large transport once the threshold ion temperature gradient is reached

Effect of dissipation on dynamical fusion thresholds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sierk, A.J.

1986-01-01

The existence of dynamical thresholds to fusion in heavy nuclei (A greater than or equal to 200) due to the nature of the potential-energy surface is shown. These thresholds exist even in the absence of dissipative forces, due to the coupling between the various collective deformation degrees of freedom. Using a macroscopic model of nuclear shape dynamics, It is shown how three different suggested dissipation mechanisms increase by varying amounts the excitation energy over the one-dimensional barrier required to cause compound-nucleus formation. The recently introduced surface-plus-window dissipation may give a reasonable representation of experimental data on fusion thresholds, in addition to properly describing fission-fragment kinetic energies and isoscalar giant multipole widths. Scaling of threshold results to asymmetric systems is discussed. 48 refs., 10 figs

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 ...

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...

Stochastic variational approach to minimum uncertainty states

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Illuminati, F.; Viola, L. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Padova Univ. (Italy)

1995-05-21

We introduce a new variational characterization of Gaussian diffusion processes as minimum uncertainty states. We then define a variational method constrained by kinematics of diffusions and Schroedinger dynamics to seek states of local minimum uncertainty for general non-harmonic potentials. (author)

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.

Smartphone threshold audiometry in underserved primary health-care contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandström, Josefin; Swanepoel, De Wet; Carel Myburgh, Hermanus; Laurent, Claude

2016-01-01

To validate a calibrated smartphone-based hearing test in a sound booth environment and in primary health-care clinics. A repeated-measure within-subject study design was employed whereby air-conduction hearing thresholds determined by smartphone-based audiometry was compared to conventional audiometry in a sound booth and a primary health-care clinic environment. A total of 94 subjects (mean age 41 years ± 17.6 SD and range 18-88; 64% female) were assessed of whom 64 were tested in the sound booth and 30 within primary health-care clinics without a booth. In the sound booth 63.4% of conventional and smartphone thresholds indicated normal hearing (≤15 dBHL). Conventional thresholds exceeding 15 dB HL corresponded to smartphone thresholds within ≤10 dB in 80.6% of cases with an average threshold difference of -1.6 dB ± 9.9 SD. In primary health-care clinics 13.7% of conventional and smartphone thresholds indicated normal hearing (≤15 dBHL). Conventional thresholds exceeding 15 dBHL corresponded to smartphone thresholds within ≤10 dB in 92.9% of cases with an average threshold difference of -1.0 dB ± 7.1 SD. Accurate air-conduction audiometry can be conducted in a sound booth and without a sound booth in an underserved community health-care clinic using a smartphone.

Is the diagnostic threshold for bulimia nervosa clinically meaningful?

Science.gov (United States)

Chapa, Danielle A N; Bohrer, Brittany K; Forbush, Kelsie T

2018-01-01

The DSM-5 differentiates full- and sub-threshold bulimia nervosa (BN) according to average weekly frequencies of binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors. This study was the first to evaluate the modified frequency criterion for BN published in the DSM-5. The purpose of this study was to test whether community-recruited adults (N=125; 83.2% women) with current full-threshold (n=77) or sub-threshold BN (n=48) differed in comorbid psychopathology and eating disorder (ED) illness duration, symptom severity, and clinical impairment. Participants completed the Clinical Impairment Assessment and participated in semi-structured clinical interviews of ED- and non-ED psychopathology. Differences between the sub- and full-threshold BN groups were assessed using MANOVA and Chi-square analyses. ED illness duration, age-of-onset, body mass index (BMI), alcohol and drug misuse, and the presence of current and lifetime mood or anxiety disorders did not differ between participants with sub- and full-threshold BN. Participants with full-threshold BN had higher levels of clinical impairment and weight concern than those with sub-threshold BN. However, minimal clinically important difference analyses suggested that statistically significant differences between participants with sub- and full-threshold BN on clinical impairment and weight concern were not clinically significant. In conclusion, sub-threshold BN did not differ from full-threshold BN in clinically meaningful ways. Future studies are needed to identify an improved frequency criterion for BN that better distinguishes individuals in ways that will more validly inform prognosis and effective treatment planning for BN. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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.

Minimum entropy production principle

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Maes, C.; Netočný, Karel

2013-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 7 (2013), s. 9664-9677 ISSN 1941-6016 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : MINEP Subject RIV: BE - Theoretical Physics http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Minimum_entropy_production_principle

NEUTRON SPECTRUM MEASUREMENTS USING MULTIPLE THRESHOLD DETECTORS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerken, William W.; Duffey, Dick

1963-11-15

From American Nuclear Society Meeting, New York, Nov. 1963. The use of threshold detectors, which simultaneously undergo reactions with thermal neutrons and two or more fast neutron threshold reactions, was applied to measurements of the neutron spectrum in a reactor. A number of different materials were irradiated to determine the most practical ones for use as multiple threshold detectors. These results, as well as counting techniques and corrections, are presented. Some materials used include aluminum, alloys of Al -Ni, aluminum-- nickel oxides, and magesium orthophosphates. (auth)

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.

Cost-effectiveness thresholds: pros and cons.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertram, Melanie Y; Lauer, Jeremy A; De Joncheere, Kees; Edejer, Tessa; Hutubessy, Raymond; Kieny, Marie-Paule; Hill, Suzanne R

2016-12-01

Cost-effectiveness analysis is used to compare the costs and outcomes of alternative policy options. Each resulting cost-effectiveness ratio represents the magnitude of additional health gained per additional unit of resources spent. Cost-effectiveness thresholds allow cost-effectiveness ratios that represent good or very good value for money to be identified. In 2001, the World Health Organization's Commission on Macroeconomics in Health suggested cost-effectiveness thresholds based on multiples of a country's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP). In some contexts, in choosing which health interventions to fund and which not to fund, these thresholds have been used as decision rules. However, experience with the use of such GDP-based thresholds in decision-making processes at country level shows them to lack country specificity and this - in addition to uncertainty in the modelled cost-effectiveness ratios - can lead to the wrong decision on how to spend health-care resources. Cost-effectiveness information should be used alongside other considerations - e.g. budget impact and feasibility considerations - in a transparent decision-making process, rather than in isolation based on a single threshold value. Although cost-effectiveness ratios are undoubtedly informative in assessing value for money, countries should be encouraged to develop a context-specific process for decision-making that is supported by legislation, has stakeholder buy-in, for example the involvement of civil society organizations and patient groups, and is transparent, consistent and fair.

Cost–effectiveness thresholds: pros and cons

Science.gov (United States)

Lauer, Jeremy A; De Joncheere, Kees; Edejer, Tessa; Hutubessy, Raymond; Kieny, Marie-Paule; Hill, Suzanne R

2016-01-01

Abstract Cost–effectiveness analysis is used to compare the costs and outcomes of alternative policy options. Each resulting cost–effectiveness ratio represents the magnitude of additional health gained per additional unit of resources spent. Cost–effectiveness thresholds allow cost–effectiveness ratios that represent good or very good value for money to be identified. In 2001, the World Health Organization’s Commission on Macroeconomics in Health suggested cost–effectiveness thresholds based on multiples of a country’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP). In some contexts, in choosing which health interventions to fund and which not to fund, these thresholds have been used as decision rules. However, experience with the use of such GDP-based thresholds in decision-making processes at country level shows them to lack country specificity and this – in addition to uncertainty in the modelled cost–effectiveness ratios – can lead to the wrong decision on how to spend health-care resources. Cost–effectiveness information should be used alongside other considerations – e.g. budget impact and feasibility considerations – in a transparent decision-making process, rather than in isolation based on a single threshold value. Although cost–effectiveness ratios are undoubtedly informative in assessing value for money, countries should be encouraged to develop a context-specific process for decision-making that is supported by legislation, has stakeholder buy-in, for example the involvement of civil society organizations and patient groups, and is transparent, consistent and fair. PMID:27994285

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...

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

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.)

Assessment of Heart Rate Variability Thresholds from Incremental Treadmill Tests in Five Cross-Country Skiing Techniques.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibai Mendia-Iztueta

Full Text Available The assessment of heart rate variability (HRV thresholds (HRVTs as an alternative of Ventilatory thresholds (VTs is a relatively new approach with increasing popularity which has not been conducted in cross-country (XC skiing yet. The main purpose of the present study was to assess HRVTs in the five main XC skiing-related techniques, double poling (DP, diagonal striding (DS, Nordic walking (NW, V1 skating (V1, and V2 skating (V2.Ten competitive skiers completed these incremental treadmill tests until exhaustion with a minimum of one to two recovery days in between each test. Ventilatory gases, HRV and poling frequencies were measured. The first HRV threshold (HRVT1 was assessed using two time-domain analysis methods, and the second HRV threshold (HRVT2 was assessed using two non-time varying frequency-domain analysis methods. HRVT1 was assessed by plotting the mean successive difference (MSD and standard deviation (SD of normalized R-R intervals to workload. HRVT1 was assessed by plotting high frequency power (HFP and the HFP relative to respiratory sinus arrhythmia (HFPRSA with workload. HRVTs were named after their methods (HRVT1-SD; HRVT1-MSD; HRVT2-HFP; HRVT2-HFP-RSA. The results showed that the only cases where the proposed HRVTs were good assessors of VTs were the HRVT1-SD of the DS test, the HRVT1-MSD of the DS and V2 tests, and the HRVT2-HFP-RSA of the NW test. The lack of a wider success of the assessment of HRVTs was reasoned to be mostly due to the high entrainment between the breathing and poling frequencies. As secondary finding, a novel Cardiolocomotor coupling mode was observed in the NW test. This new Cardiolocoomtor coupling mode corresponded to the whole bilateral poling cycle instead of corresponding to each poling action as it was reported to the date by the existing literature.