Durability and flexibility of chimpanzee grooming patterns during a period of dominance instability.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, Nicola F; Ronkainen, Kirsty; Aureli, Filippo

2017-11-01

Growing evidence from studies on primates and other taxa has shown that the maintenance of long-term affiliative patterns influences fitness. Thus, understanding how individuals regulate social interactions in response to environmental and social factors contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary basis of sociality. We investigated the durability of affiliation patterns in chimpanzees across three 3-month periods of varying social uncertainty depending on the degree of stability in the male hierarchy, with a 2-year gap between each period. Periods were unstable (no clear alpha male), recently stable (new alpha male just established) and stable (alpha male in place for 2 years). We focused on three features of social exchange shared by human and non-human primates: consistency of exchanges across periods, durability of preferred partners, and degree of reciprocity in each period. We compared male-to-male, female-to-female, male-to-female, and female-to-male grooming patterns. Overall, more grooming was exchanged in the stable period. Grooming patterns were not consistent across the three periods, but were only consistent between the recently stable and stable periods for female-to-female and male-to-female dyads. As predicted from the opportunistic nature of male relationships, male-to-male grooming was least likely to be correlated across all periods and males had relatively fewer durable (i.e., preferred partners in all periods) same-sex partners than females. Our predictions that grooming reciprocity would be less likely during the unstable period and in male-male dyads were only partially supported. We found grooming reciprocity in all periods for female-female dyads but only in the stable period for male-male and female-male dyads. Although long-term affiliative patterns are well studied in primates, this is the first study to investigate the association between social uncertainty and durability of affiliative patterns. Our findings suggest social

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-04-01

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

Mining Productive-Associated Periodic-Frequent Patterns in Body Sensor Data for Smart Home Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, Walaa N; Hassan, Mohammad Mehedi

2017-04-26

The understanding of various health-oriented vital sign data generated from body sensor networks (BSNs) and discovery of the associations between the generated parameters is an important task that may assist and promote important decision making in healthcare. For example, in a smart home scenario where occupants' health status is continuously monitored remotely, it is essential to provide the required assistance when an unusual or critical situation is detected in their vital sign data. In this paper, we present an efficient approach for mining the periodic patterns obtained from BSN data. In addition, we employ a correlation test on the generated patterns and introduce productive-associated periodic-frequent patterns as the set of correlated periodic-frequent items. The combination of these measures has the advantage of empowering healthcare providers and patients to raise the quality of diagnosis as well as improve treatment and smart care, especially for elderly people in smart homes. We develop an efficient algorithm named PPFP-growth (Productive Periodic-Frequent Pattern-growth) to discover all productive-associated periodic frequent patterns using these measures. PPFP-growth is efficient and the productiveness measure removes uncorrelated periodic items. An experimental evaluation on synthetic and real datasets shows the efficiency of the proposed PPFP-growth algorithm, which can filter a huge number of periodic patterns to reveal only the correlated ones.

Mining Productive-Associated Periodic-Frequent Patterns in Body Sensor Data for Smart Home Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walaa N. Ismail

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The understanding of various health-oriented vital sign data generated from body sensor networks (BSNs and discovery of the associations between the generated parameters is an important task that may assist and promote important decision making in healthcare. For example, in a smart home scenario where occupants’ health status is continuously monitored remotely, it is essential to provide the required assistance when an unusual or critical situation is detected in their vital sign data. In this paper, we present an efficient approach for mining the periodic patterns obtained from BSN data. In addition, we employ a correlation test on the generated patterns and introduce productive-associated periodic-frequent patterns as the set of correlated periodic-frequent items. The combination of these measures has the advantage of empowering healthcare providers and patients to raise the quality of diagnosis as well as improve treatment and smart care, especially for elderly people in smart homes. We develop an efficient algorithm named PPFP-growth (Productive Periodic-Frequent Pattern-growth to discover all productive-associated periodic frequent patterns using these measures. PPFP-growth is efficient and the productiveness measure removes uncorrelated periodic items. An experimental evaluation on synthetic and real datasets shows the efficiency of the proposed PPFP-growth algorithm, which can filter a huge number of periodic patterns to reveal only the correlated ones.

Geometric pre-patterning based tuning of the period doubling onset strain during thin film wrinkling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha, Sourabh K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-02-16

Wrinkling of supported thin films is an easy-to-implement and low-cost fabrication technique for generation of stretch-tunable periodic micro and nano-scale structures. However, the tunability of such structures is often limited by the emergence of an undesirable period doubled mode at high strains. Predictively tuning the onset strain for period doubling via existing techniques requires one to have extensive knowledge about the nonlinear pattern formation behavior. Herein, a geometric pre-patterning based technique is introduced to delay the onset of period doubling that can be implemented to predictively tune the onset strain even with limited system knowledge. The technique comprises pre-patterning the film/base bilayer with a sinusoidal pattern that has the same period as the natural wrinkle period of the system. The effectiveness of this technique has been verified via physical and computational experiments on the polydimethylsiloxane/glass bilayer system. It is observed that the period doubling onset strain can be increased from the typical value of 20% for flat films to greater than 30% with a modest pre-pattern aspect ratio (2∙amplitude/period) of 0.15. In addition, finite element simulations reveal that (i) the onset strain can be increased up to a limit by increasing the amplitude of the pre-patterns and (ii) the delaying effect can be captured entirely by the pre-pattern geometry. As a result, one can implement this technique even with limited system knowledge, such as material properties or film thickness, by simply replicating pre-existing wrinkled patterns to generate prepatterned bilayers. Thus, geometric pre-patterning is a practical scheme to suppress period doubling that can increase the operating range of stretch-tunable wrinkle-based devices by at least 50%.

Association of Periodic and Rhythmic Electroencephalographic Patterns With Seizures in Critically Ill Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez Ruiz, Andres; Vlachy, Jan; Lee, Jong Woo; Gilmore, Emily J; Ayer, Turgay; Haider, Hiba Arif; Gaspard, Nicolas; Ehrenberg, J Andrew; Tolchin, Benjamin; Fantaneanu, Tadeu A; Fernandez, Andres; Hirsch, Lawrence J; LaRoche, Suzette

2017-02-01

Periodic and rhythmic electroencephalographic patterns have been associated with risk of seizures in critically ill patients. However, specific features that confer higher seizure risk remain unclear. To analyze the association of distinct characteristics of periodic and rhythmic patterns with seizures. We reviewed electroencephalographic recordings from 4772 critically ill adults in 3 academic medical centers from February 2013 to September 2015 and performed a multivariate analysis to determine features associated with seizures. Continuous electroencephalography. Association of periodic and rhythmic patterns and specific characteristics, such as pattern frequency (hertz), Plus modifier, prevalence, and stimulation-induced patterns, and the risk for seizures. Of the 4772 patients included in our study, 2868 were men and 1904 were women. Lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs) had the highest association with seizures regardless of frequency and the association was greater when the Plus modifier was present (58%; odds ratio [OR], 2.00, P rhythmic delta activity (LRDA) were associated with seizures in a frequency-dependent manner (1.5-2 Hz: GPDs, 24%,OR, 2.31, P = .02; LRDA, 24%, OR, 1.79, P = .05; ≥ 2 Hz: GPDs, 32%, OR, 3.30, P rhythmic delta activity compared with no periodic or rhythmic pattern (13%, OR, 1.18, P = .26). Higher prevalence of LPDs and GPDs also conferred increased seizure risk (37% frequent vs 45% abundant/continuous, OR, 1.64, P = .03 for difference; 8% rare/occasional vs 15% frequent, OR, 2.71, P = .03, vs 23% abundant/continuous, OR, 1.95, P = .04). Patterns associated with stimulation did not show an additional risk for seizures from the underlying pattern risk (P > .10). In this study, LPDs, LRDA, and GPDs were associated with seizures while generalized rhythmic delta activity was not. Lateralized periodic discharges were associated with seizures at all frequencies with and without Plus modifier, but LRDA and GPDs were associated with

Multiphase patterns in periodically forced oscillatory systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elphick, C.; Hagberg, A.; Meron, E.

1999-01-01

Periodic forcing of an oscillatory system produces frequency locking bands within which the system frequency is rationally related to the forcing frequency. We study extended oscillatory systems that respond to uniform periodic forcing at one quarter of the forcing frequency (the 4:1 resonance). These systems possess four coexisting stable states, corresponding to uniform oscillations with successive phase shifts of π/2. Using an amplitude equation approach near a Hopf bifurcation to uniform oscillations, we study front solutions connecting different phase states. These solutions divide into two groups: π fronts separating states with a phase shift of π and π/2 fronts separating states with a phase shift of π/2. We find a type of front instability where a stationary π front 'decomposes' into a pair of traveling π/2 fronts as the forcing strength is decreased. The instability is degenerate for an amplitude equation with cubic nonlinearities. At the instability point a continuous family of pair solutions exists, consisting of π/2 fronts separated by distances ranging from zero to infinity. Quintic nonlinearities lift the degeneracy at the instability point but do not change the basic nature of the instability. We conjecture the existence of similar instabilities in higher 2n:1 resonances (n=3,4,hor-ellipsis) where stationary π fronts decompose into n traveling π/n fronts. The instabilities designate transitions from stationary two-phase patterns to traveling 2n-phase patterns. As an example, we demonstrate with a numerical solution the collapse of a four-phase spiral wave into a stationary two-phase pattern as the forcing strength within the 4:1 resonance is increased. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Diffusion-induced periodic transition between oscillatory modes in amplitude-modulated patterns

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Xiaodong; He, Yuxiu; Wang, Shaorong; Gao, Qingyu, E-mail: gaoqy@cumt.edu.cn [College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008 (China); Epstein, Irving R., E-mail: epstein@brandeis.edu [Department of Chemistry and Volen Center for Complex Systems, MS 015, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110 (United States); Wang, Qun [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116 (China)

2014-06-15

We study amplitude-modulated waves, e.g., wave packets in one dimension, overtarget spirals and superspirals in two dimensions, under mixed-mode oscillatory conditions in a three-variable reaction-diffusion model. New transition zones, not seen in the homogeneous system, are found, in which periodic transitions occur between local 1{sup N−1} and 1{sup N} oscillations. Amplitude-modulated complex patterns result from periodic transition between (N − 1)-armed and N-armed waves. Spatial recurrence rates provide a useful guide to the stability of these modulated patterns.

Recognition of periodic behavioral patterns from streaming mobility data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baratchi, Mitra; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J.M.; Stojmenovic, Ivan; Cheng, Zixue; Guo, Song

2014-01-01

Ubiquitous location-aware sensing devices have facilitated collection of large volumes of mobility data streams from moving entities such as people and animals, among others. Extraction of various types of periodic behavioral patterns hidden in such large volume of mobility data helps in

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...

Optimal ventilatory patterns in periodic breathing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazanshahi, S D; Khoo, M C

1993-01-01

The goal of this study was to determine whether periodic breathing (PB), which is highly prevalent during sleep at high altitudes, imposes physiological penalties on the respiratory system in the absence of any accompanying disease. Using a computer model of respiratory gas exchange, we compared the effects of a variety of PB patterns on the chemical and mechanical costs of breathing to those resulting from regular tidal breathing. Although PB produced considerable fluctuation in arterial blood gas tensions, for the same cycle-averaged ventilation, higher arterial oxygen saturation and lower arterial carbon dioxide levels were achieved. This result can be explained by the fact that the combination of large breaths and apnea in PB leads to a substantial reduction in dead space ventilation. At the same time, the savings in mechanical cost achieved by the respiratory muscles during apnea partially offset the increase during the breathing phase. Consequently, the "pressure cost," a criterion based on mean inspiratory pressure, was elevated only slightly, although the average work rate of breathing increased significantly. We found that, at extreme altitudes, PB patterns with clusters of 2 to 4 large breaths that alternate with apnea produce the highest arterial oxygenation levels and lowest pressure costs. The common occurrence of PB patterns with closely similar features has been reported in sleeping healthy sojourners at extreme altitudes. Taken together, these findings suggest that PB favors a reduction in the oxygen demands of the respiratory muscles and therefore may not be as detrimental as it is generally believed to be.

1988 Wet deposition temporal and spatial patterns in North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simpson, J.C.; Olsen, A.R.; Bittner, E.A.

1992-03-01

The focus of this report is on North American wet deposition temporal patterns from 1979 to 1988 and spatial patterns for 1988. It is the third in a series of reports that investigate the patterns of annual precipitation-weighted average concentration and annual deposition for nine ion species: hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium, chloride, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Mosaic maps, based on surface estimation using kriging, display concentration and deposition spatial patterns of pH, hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and calcium ion species for 1988 annual, winter, and summer periods. Temporal pattern analyses use a subset of 35 sites over a 10-year (1979--1988) period and an expanded subset of 137 sites, with greater spatial coverage, over a 7-year (1982--1988) period. The 10-year period represents the longest period with wet deposition monitoring data available that has a sufficient number of sites with data of known quality to allow a descriptive summary of annual temporal patterns. Sen's median trend estimate and Kendall's seasonal tau (KST) test are calculated for each ion species concentration and deposition at each site in both subsets.

1988 Wet deposition temporal and spatial patterns in North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simpson, J.C.; Olsen, A.R.; Bittner, E.A.

1992-03-01

The focus of this report is on North American wet deposition temporal patterns from 1979 to 1988 and spatial patterns for 1988. It is the third in a series of reports that investigate the patterns of annual precipitation-weighted average concentration and annual deposition for nine ion species: hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium, chloride, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Mosaic maps, based on surface estimation using kriging, display concentration and deposition spatial patterns of pH, hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and calcium ion species for 1988 annual, winter, and summer periods. Temporal pattern analyses use a subset of 35 sites over a 10-year (1979--1988) period and an expanded subset of 137 sites, with greater spatial coverage, over a 7-year (1982--1988) period. The 10-year period represents the longest period with wet deposition monitoring data available that has a sufficient number of sites with data of known quality to allow a descriptive summary of annual temporal patterns. Sen`s median trend estimate and Kendall`s seasonal tau (KST) test are calculated for each ion species concentration and deposition at each site in both subsets.

Finite element modelling of coverage effects during shot peening of IN718

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zimmermann, Marc; Hoffmeister, Juergen [Inst. fuer Werkstoffkunde I, Karlsruhe Inst. of Tech. (Germany); Schulze, Volker [Inst. fur Produktionstechnik, Karlsruhe Inst. of Tech. (Germany)

2010-08-15

Current 3D shot peening simulation models proposed in literature do not take into account coverage as a process parameter influencing the residual state after shot peening. In this study a classic approach, using an ordered dimple pattern, and a new approach, using a stochastic dimple pattern were tested to describe the correlation between coverage, the surface topography and the residual stress state. Model verification was conducted based on X-ray and confocal white light microscopy measurements on shot peened test specimens. The test material was age hardened IN718. Simulations showed that the dimple pattern and the impact order of the shots can have a strong influence on the calculated macroscopic residual stress state. The stochastic approach enabled a realistic prediction of the surface topography and the residual stress state for arbitrary values of coverage while the classic approach strongly underestimated the number of shot impacts needed to achieve a certain value of coverage. (orig.)

Quasi-periodic fractal patterns in geomagnetic reversals, geological activity, and astronomical events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puetz, Stephen J.; Borchardt, Glenn

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Spectral analysis indicates similar harmonics in astronomical and geological events. • Quasi-periodic cycles occur in tripling patterns of 30.44, 91.33, 274, 822, and 2466 myr. • Similar astro- and geo-phases suggest that the cycles develop from a common source. - Abstract: The cause of geomagnetic reversals remains a geological mystery. With the availability of improved paleomagnetic databases in the past three years, a reexamination of possible periodicity in the geomagnetic reversal rate seems warranted. Previous reports of cyclicity in the reversal rate, along with the recent discovery of harmonic cycles in a variety of natural events, sparked our interest in reevaluating possible patterns in the reversal rate. Here, we focus on geomagnetic periodicity, but also analyze paleointensity, zircon formation, star formation, quasar formation, supernova, and gamma ray burst records to determine if patterns that occur in other types of data have similar periodicity. If so, then the degree of synchronization will indicate likely causal relationships with geomagnetic reversals. To achieve that goal, newly available time-series records from these disciplines were tested for cyclicity by using spectral analysis and time-lagged cross-correlation techniques. The results showed evidence of period-tripled cycles of 30.44, 91.33, 274, 822, and 2466 million years, corresponding to the periodicity from a new Universal Cycle model. Based on the results, a fractal model of the universe is hypothesized in which sub-electron fractal matter acts as a dynamic medium for large-scale waves that cause the cycles in astronomical and geological processes. According to this hypothesis, the medium of sub-electron fractal matter periodically compresses and decompresses according to the standard laws for mechanical waves. Consequently, the compressions contribute to high-pressure environments and vice versa for the decompressions, which are hypothesized to cause the

[Utilization patterns of prevention and early diagnosis for cancer in women].

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Mejía, Gabriela; Ortega-Olvera, Carolina; Ángeles-Llerenas, Angélica; Villalobos-Hernández, Aremis Litai; Salmerón-Castro, Jorge; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Hernández-Ávila, Mauricio

2013-01-01

To estimate the utilization patterns of cancer prevention programs in women during the period 2000-2012 in Mexican women who participated in three national surveys. We analyzed data from the ENSA 2000, ENSANUT 2006 and ENSANUT 2012 that are representative of the Mexican population. Prevalences were obtained, trend tests and Poisson regression were used to determine the possibility of having more coverage. The coverage of Papanicolaou use in the last 12 months in 2012 was 45.5%, HPV testing in the last four years was 11.9% and mammography use in the past two years was 29.4% and 17.2% in women aged 50-69 years and 40-49 years, respectively. Although there was an increase in the coverage of screening programs, there should be a boost in the service quality and universal coverage.

The growth in newspaper coverage of tobacco control in China, 2000-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Junling; Chapman, Simon; Sun, Shaojing; Fu, Hua; Zheng, Pinpin

2012-03-07

Media coverage of tobacco-related issues can potentially shape individual beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about tobacco use. This study aims to describe news coverage of tobacco control related issues in Chinese newspapers from 2000 to 2010. All 1149 articles related to tobacco control were extracted from the Database of Chinese Important Newspapers and content analyzed for the period Jan 1, 2000 to Dec 31, 2010. The changing pattern of tobacco control topic, article type, viewpoint, and article origin, and their relationship were analysed. News coverage of tobacco control related issues increased significantly (p newspapers (χ2 = 24.09, p = 0.002) and article types (χ2 = 193.35, p newspapers had more coverage of the dangers of tobacco and on enforcing bans on tobacco-advertising. News stories centered around monitoring tobacco use and smoke free activity, while editorials focused on enforcing bans on tobacco-advertising, youth access and programs and campaigns. Letters to editors focused on the dangers of smoking, raising tax, and smoking cessation. More articles (50.4%) took an anti-tobacco position (compared with 10.5% which were pro-smoking), with the amount of negative coverage growing significantly across the decade. National articles tended to lean toward anti-tobacco, however, local articles tended mix of pro-tobacco and neutral/balance positions. Editorials seemed to be more anti-tobacco oriented, but letters to the editor tended to show a mix of anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco positions. Chinese newspapers are giving increasing attention to tobacco control, but coverage remains lower than in the USA and Australia. Health workers need to give higher priority to efforts to increase news coverage beyond the present concentration around World No Tobacco Day and to develop strategies for making tobacco control issues more newsworthy to both national and local news outlets.

5 CFR 880.304 - FEGLI coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... under § 880.205, FEGLI premiums and benefits will be computed using the date of death established under...) RETIREMENT AND INSURANCE BENEFITS DURING PERIODS OF UNEXPLAINED ABSENCE Continuation of Benefits § 880.304 FEGLI coverage. (a) FEGLI premiums will not be collected during periods when an annuitant is a missing...

An Enumerative Combinatorics Model for Fragmentation Patterns in RNA Sequencing Provides Insights into Nonuniformity of the Expected Fragment Starting-Point and Coverage Profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Celine; Haeseler, Arndt Von

2017-03-01

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has emerged as the method of choice for measuring the expression of RNAs in a given cell population. In most RNA-seq technologies, sequencing the full length of RNA molecules requires fragmentation into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, the issue of nonuniform sequencing coverage across a genomic feature has been a concern in RNA-seq and is attributed to biases for certain fragments in RNA-seq library preparation and sequencing. To investigate the expected coverage obtained from fragmentation, we develop a simple fragmentation model that is independent of bias from the experimental method and is not specific to the transcript sequence. Essentially, we enumerate all configurations for maximal placement of a given fragment length, F, on transcript length, T, to represent every possible fragmentation pattern, from which we compute the expected coverage profile across a transcript. We extend this model to incorporate general empirical attributes such as read length, fragment length distribution, and number of molecules of the transcript. We further introduce the fragment starting-point, fragment coverage, and read coverage profiles. We find that the expected profiles are not uniform and that factors such as fragment length to transcript length ratio, read length to fragment length ratio, fragment length distribution, and number of molecules influence the variability of coverage across a transcript. Finally, we explore a potential application of the model where, with simulations, we show that it is possible to correctly estimate the transcript copy number for any transcript in the RNA-seq experiment.

Indexing of Popular Periodicals: The State of the Art

Science.gov (United States)

Aveney, Brian; Slade, Rod

1978-01-01

Nine indexing services of popular periodicals are discussed in terms of content, coverage, and characteristics: Access, Consumers Index, Index to Free Periodicals, New York Times Information Bank, Magazine Index, Monthly Periodicals Index, New Periodicals Index, Popular Periodical Index, and Readers Guide. A table indicates coverage for each index…

Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia.

Science.gov (United States)

Segev, Elad; Sharon, Aviv J

2017-11-01

In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between "ad hoc" terms that correspond to news coverage and "cyclic" terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns. While the peak activity in Google and Wikipedia largely overlapped for ad hoc terms, it mismatched for cyclic terms. The findings indicate the importance of external cues such as news media and education, and also of the online engagement process, and particularly the crucial but different role played by Google and Wikipedia in gaining science and technology knowledge. Educators and policy makers could benefit from taking into account those different patterns.

Living with diabetes—Development of learning patterns over a 3-year period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Åsa Kneck

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Learning involves acquiring new knowledge and skills, and changing our ways of thinking, acting, and feeling. Learning in relation to living with diabetes is a lifelong process where there is limited knowledge of how it is experienced and established over time. It was considered important to explore how learning was developed over time for persons living with diabetes. Aim: The aim of the study was to identify patterns in learning when living with diabetes, from recently being diagnosed, and over a 3-year period. Materials and methods: A longitudinal qualitative descriptive design was used. Thirteen participants, with both type I and type II diabetes, were interviewed at three different occasions during a 3-year period. Qualitative content analysis was used in different steps in order to distinguish patterns. Findings: Five main patterns of learning were identified. Two of the patterns (I and II were characterized by gradually becoming comfortable living with diabetes, whereas for one pattern (IV living with diabetes became gradually more difficult. For pattern V living with diabetes was making only a limited impact on life, whereas for Pattern III there was a constant management of obstacles related to illness. The different patterns in the present study showed common and different ways of learning and using different learning strategies at different timespans. Conclusion: The present study showed that duration of illness is not of importance for how far a person has come in his own learning process. A person-centered care is needed to meet the different and changing needs of persons living with diabetes in relation to learning to live with a lifelong illness.

Stochastic demand patterns for Markov service facilities with neutral and active periods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csenki, Attila

2009-01-01

In an earlier paper, a closed form expression was obtained for the joint interval reliability of a Markov system with a partitioned state space S=U union D, i.e. for the probability that the system will reside in the set of up states U throughout the union of some specific disjoint time intervals I l =[θ l ,θ l +ζ l ],l=1,...,k. The deterministic time intervals I l formed a demand pattern specifying the desired active periods. In the present paper, we admit stochastic demand patterns by assuming that the lengths of the active periods, ζ l , as well as the lengths of the neutral periods, θ l -(θ l-1 +ζ l-1 ), are random. We explore two mechanisms for modelling random demand: (1) by alternating renewal processes; (2) by sojourn times of some continuous time Markov chain with a partitioned state space. The first construction results in an expression in terms of a revised version of the moment generating functions of the sojourns of the alternating renewal process. The second construction involves the probability that a Markov chain follows certain patterns of visits to some groups of states and yields an expression using Kronecker matrix operations. The model of a small computer system is analysed to exemplify the ideas

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

Film growth kinetics and electric field patterning during electrospray deposition of block copolymer thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Toth, Kristof; Hu, Hanqiong; Choo, Youngwoo; Loewenberg, Michael; Osuji, Chinedum

The delivery of sub-micron droplets of dilute polymer solutions to a heated substrate by electrospray deposition (ESD) enables precisely controlled and continuous growth of block copolymer (BCP) thin films. Here we explore patterned deposition of BCP films by spatially varying the electric field at the substrate using an underlying charged grid, as well as film growth kinetics. Numerical analysis was performed to examine pattern fidelity by considering the trajectories of charged droplets during flight through imposed periodic field variations in the vicinity of the substrate. Our work uncovered an unexpected modality for improving the resolution of the patterning process via stronger field focusing through the use of a second oppositely charged grid beneath a primary focusing array, with an increase in highly localized droplet deposition on the intersecting nodes of the grid. Substrate coverage kinetics are considered for homopolymer deposition in the context of simple kinetic models incorporating temperature and molecular weight dependence of diffusivity. By contrast, film coverage kinetics for block copolymer depositions are additionally convoluted with preferential wetting and thickness-periodicity commensurability effects. NSF GRFP.

Fully Exploiting The Potential Of The Periodic Table Through Pattern Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, Emeric

2005-01-01

An approach to learning chemical facts that starts with the periodic table and depends primarily on recognizing and completing patterns and following a few simple rules is described. This approach exploits the exceptions that arise and uses them as opportunities for further concept development.

Coverage Predictions and Selection Criteria for Satellite Constellations.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-12-01

of R.AI (51.50 at a Sop, of 47.9 ° , with DMi n - 00) than the pattern 10/5/2 listed here. Pattern 10/10/7 has been listed by Mozhaev I and Ballard...Mazaika 1-8,(1980) I G.V. Mozhaev The problem of continuous earth coverage and kinematically regular satellite networks. II. Kosmci . iss’ed., I, I, 59

Variability of surface ozone with cloud coverage over Kolkata, India

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Critical analysis of experimental surface ozone data and cloud coverage is reported over Kolkata during the period January 2011 to December 2011. Significant relationship between these two parameters is observed. Analysis shows that the trend of surface ozone concentration and cloud coverage follow opposite ...

1987 wet deposition temporal and spatial patterns in North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simpson, J.C.; Olsen, A.R.

1990-03-01

The focus of this report is on North American wet deposition temporal patterns from 1979 to 1987 and spatial patterns for 1987. The report investigates the patterns of annual precipitation-weighted average concentration and annual deposition for nine ion species: hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium, chloride, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Data are from the Acid Deposition System (ADS) for the statistical reporting of North American deposition data which includes the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN), the MAP3S precipitation chemistry network, the Utility Acid Precipitation Study Program (UAPSP), the Canadian Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN), and the daily and 4-weekly Acidic Precipitation in Ontario Study (APIOS-D and APIOS-C). Mosaic maps, based on surface estimation using kriging, display concentration and deposition spatial patterns of pH, hydrogen, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and calcium ion species for 1987 annual, winter, and summer periods. The temporal pattern analyses use a subset of 39 sites over a 9-year (1979--1987) period and an expanded subset of 140 sites with greater spatial coverage over a 6-year (1982--1987) period. 68 refs., 15 figs., 15 tabs.

Numerical versus analytical Ic(H) patterns in Josephson junctions with periodically alternating critical current density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazarides, N

2004-01-01

An analytical expression for the magnetic-field-dependent critical current I c (H) of Josephson junctions with periodically alternating critical current density J c (x) is derived within the uniform field approximation. Comparison with numerically calculated I c (H) patterns for junctions with identical, thick, periodically arranged defects with the corresponding analytical expression reveals fair agreement for a wide range of parameters, due to increased characteristic length. Based on qualitative arguments, we give the dependence of the new characteristic length on the geometrical parameters of the junction, which is in agreement with self-consistent calculations with the static sine-Gordon equation. The analytical expression captures the observed qualitative features of the I c (H) patterns, while it is practically exact for short junctions or high fields. It also produces the shift of the major peak from the zero-field position of the standard Fraunhofer pattern to another position related to the periodicity of the critical current density in φ-junctions

Proper joint analysis of summary association statistics requires the adjustment of heterogeneity in SNP coverage pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Han; Wheeler, William; Song, Lei; Yu, Kai

2017-07-07

As meta-analysis results published by consortia of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) become increasingly available, many association summary statistics-based multi-locus tests have been developed to jointly evaluate multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to reveal novel genetic architectures of various complex traits. The validity of these approaches relies on the accurate estimate of z-score correlations at considered SNPs, which in turn requires knowledge on the set of SNPs assessed by each study participating in the meta-analysis. However, this exact SNP coverage information is usually unavailable from the meta-analysis results published by GWAS consortia. In the absence of the coverage information, researchers typically estimate the z-score correlations by making oversimplified coverage assumptions. We show through real studies that such a practice can generate highly inflated type I errors, and we demonstrate the proper way to incorporate correct coverage information into multi-locus analyses. We advocate that consortia should make SNP coverage information available when posting their meta-analysis results, and that investigators who develop analytic tools for joint analyses based on summary data should pay attention to the variation in SNP coverage and adjust for it appropriately. Published by Oxford University Press 2017. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Periodic feedback stabilization for linear periodic evolution equations

CERN Document Server

Wang, Gengsheng

2016-01-01

This book introduces a number of recent advances regarding periodic feedback stabilization for linear and time periodic evolution equations. First, it presents selected connections between linear quadratic optimal control theory and feedback stabilization theory for linear periodic evolution equations. Secondly, it identifies several criteria for the periodic feedback stabilization from the perspective of geometry, algebra and analyses respectively. Next, it describes several ways to design periodic feedback laws. Lastly, the book introduces readers to key methods for designing the control machines. Given its coverage and scope, it offers a helpful guide for graduate students and researchers in the areas of control theory and applied mathematics.

Peakons, solitary patterns and periodic solutions for generalized Camassa-Holm equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yin; Lai Shaoyong

2008-01-01

This Letter deals with a generalized Camassa-Holm equation and a nonlinear dispersive equation by making use of a mathematical technique based on using integral factors for solving differential equations. The peakons, solitary patterns and periodic solutions are expressed analytically under various circumstances. The conditions that cause the qualitative change in the physical structures of the solutions are highlighted

The German press coverage on France after World War II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Jaeger

2004-07-01

Full Text Available How is the continuing reconciliation process between the former "hereditary enemies" Germany and France reflected in German daily newspapers between 1946 and 1970? Using quantitative content analysis, a representative sample of coverage of France and French-related topics published during this period was examined with an emphasis on a the choice of news topics and possible deviations from the predictions of Galtung’s news-factors model and on b how protagonists and events were portrayed in these articles. A further qualitative analysis was made of some promising journalistic attempts to achieve "constructive" coverage during the same period. This was intended a to determine whether and how several theoretical deductions from Kempf’s conflict model of de-escalation processes are manifest in post-conflict coverage and b to identify the stylistic "tools" journalists used – even unintentionally – to further a better understanding of the former enemy and – in the long run – to build peace and reconciliation between Germany and France. The overarching questions addressed by this study are: (What can we learn from coverage during a successful reconciliation process, and how can these lessons be transferred to contemporary coverage of post-war processes? Major findings of the two studies will be presented.

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

Formation mechanisms of periodic longitudinal microstructure and texture patterns in friction stir welded magnesium AZ80

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiscocks, J., E-mail: j.hiscocks@queensu.ca [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario (Canada); Diak, B.J. [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario (Canada); Gerlich, A.P. [Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Waterloo University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada); Daymond, M.R. [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario (Canada)

2016-12-15

Many studies of friction stir welding have shown that periodicity of metal flow around the tool pin may result in the formation of periodic differences in microstructure and texture in the weld nugget area correlated with the weld pitch. The current work investigates the periodicity of magnesium weld microtexture in the nugget region and its association with material flow using optical and electron microscopy. Two welds created in AZ80 at different processing conditions are presented in detail, one illustrating periodic longitudinal texture change, and one showing for the first time that periodic variations in texture, grain size, or composition are not defining features of periodic nugget flow. While nugget texture is dominated by shear deformation, it was found here to be affected to a lesser degree by compaction of material behind the welding tool, which led to reduction in intensity of the shear texture fiber. The decreased tendency for magnesium based alloys to form periodic patterns as compared to aluminum based alloys is explained with reference to the shear textures. - Highlights: •It is shown here that periodic material flow in the nugget does not necessitate longitudinal texture patterns. •Longitudinal texture patterns are shown to be present or absent in Mg AZ80 based on processing conditions. •Texture in the nugget is mainly dictated by shear deformation, but has measurable effects from other deformation modes. •Explanation of why longitudinal texture change is frequently reported in aluminum but not magnesium alloys is provided. •A new vector visualization of material flow based on EBSD data analysis is shown.

Risk in daily newspaper coverage of red tide blooms in Southwest Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zongchao; Garrison, Bruce; Ullmann, Steven G; Kirkpatrick, Barbara; Fleming, Lora E; Hoagland, Porter

This study investigated newspaper coverage of Florida red tide blooms in four metropolitan areas of Southwest Florida during a 25-year period, 1987-2012. We focused on how journalists framed red tide stories with respect to environmental risk, health risk, and economic risk. We determined risk to be a key factor in this news coverage, being an aspect of coverage of red tide itself in terms of environmental risk, tourism risk, and public health risk. The study found that red tide news coverage is most often framed as an environmental story.

On the move: explaining migration patterns in Estonia during the transition period.

Science.gov (United States)

Tammaru, T; Sjoberg, O

1999-01-01

This paper attempts to explore the migration patterns during the transition period in Estonia. A structuration approach was used to analyze data from the Estonian Statistical Office collected in 1997. Findings show that for migration between urban and rural areas, work-related reasons have been the most important motivating factor in urban growth during the transition period. Also considered are the family and education. In relation to sociodemographic structure of the population, men cite work, while women count family-related reasons, as the main motive for migrating. As to nonregistration, the most significant reason relates to issues of ownership. Because migrants are living in rented housing, it is not possible for them to register even if they desire to do so. Other reasons include "temporary", associated with study and work; "juridical", bureaucratic matters; and "multiple places of residence". This analysis, however, is incomplete because the attitudes and patterns of behavior have only partially or perfunctorily been related to the dramatic changes that have occurred in Estonian society. Proper statistical data are needed to help examine trends at a more disaggregated spatial level.

Superresolution imaging reveals structurally distinct periodic patterns of chromatin along pachytene chromosomes

Science.gov (United States)

Fournier, David; Redl, Stefan; Best, Gerrit; Borsos, Máté; Tiwari, Vijay K.; Tachibana-Konwalski, Kikuë; Ketting, René F.; Parekh, Sapun H.; Cremer, Christoph; Birk, Udo J.

2015-01-01

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes associate to form the synaptonemal complex (SC), a structure essential for fertility. Information about the epigenetic features of chromatin within this structure at the level of superresolution microscopy is largely lacking. We combined single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) with quantitative analytical methods to describe the epigenetic landscape of meiotic chromosomes at the pachytene stage in mouse oocytes. DNA is found to be nonrandomly distributed along the length of the SC in condensed clusters. Periodic clusters of repressive chromatin [trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine (Lys) 27 (H3K27me3)] are found at 500-nm intervals along the SC, whereas one of the ends of the SC displays a large and dense cluster of centromeric histone mark [trimethylation of histone H3 at Lys 9 (H3K9me3)]. Chromatin associated with active transcription [trimethylation of histone H3 at Lys 4 (H3K4me3)] is arranged in a radial hair-like loop pattern emerging laterally from the SC. These loops seem to be punctuated with small clusters of H3K4me3 with an average spread larger than their periodicity. Our findings indicate that the nanoscale structure of the pachytene chromosomes is constrained by periodic patterns of chromatin marks, whose function in recombination and higher order genome organization is yet to be elucidated. PMID:26561583

Television news coverage of obesity in China, 1982-2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Zhe; Xu, Rui Qing; Zhao, Kun; Li, Ke Ji

2012-06-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how obesity was covered in television news in China, including the trends over time and the characteristics of obesity-related news. The frame analysis was adopted to assess the content of obesity-related news broadcasted in China Central Television (CCTV) from 1982 to 2009. To investigate the characteristics of the news, the obesity-related news was divided into subgroups according to populations concerned, as well as the period in which the news was broadcasted. The differences between subgroups were examined. A total of 1 599 pieces of news reported obesity, in which 1 278 pieces (79.92%) aired in "wealthy" period (2006-2009). More news was concerned with adults (1 134, 70.92%). "Individual behavior" dominated most of the cause frames (389, 24.33%), solution frames (522, 32.65%), and responsibility frames (860, 53.78%). There was more news mentioning individual factors in news aired in "wealthy" period and news concerning children. The coverage of social-structure causes was higher in news concerning children, while the coverage of social-structure solutions was higher in news concerning children and news aired in "wealthy" period. Although the coverage of obesity was modest, it showed an incremental trend as the economy grew. Obesity was mostly depicted as an individual problem in terms of responsibility, causes and solutions. Copyright © 2012 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Searching for patterns among special animal deposits in the Dutch river area during the Roman period

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, M.

2009-01-01

This paper explores recurring patterns among special animal deposits in rural settlements in the Dutch river area from the Roman period and draws a comparison with finds of other material categories. Recognising patterns is a step towards interpreting special deposits as the material remains of

Understanding Adherence and Prescription Patterns Using Large-Scale Claims Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Bjarnadóttir, Margrét V; Malik, Sana; Onukwugha, Eberechukwu; Gooden, Tanisha; Plaisant, Catherine

2016-02-01

Advanced computing capabilities and novel visual analytics tools now allow us to move beyond the traditional cross-sectional summaries to analyze longitudinal prescription patterns and the impact of study design decisions. For example, design decisions regarding gaps and overlaps in prescription fill data are necessary for measuring adherence using prescription claims data. However, little is known regarding the impact of these decisions on measures of medication possession (e.g., medication possession ratio). The goal of the study was to demonstrate the use of visualization tools for pattern discovery, hypothesis generation, and study design. We utilized EventFlow, a novel discrete event sequence visualization software, to investigate patterns of prescription fills, including gaps and overlaps, utilizing large-scale healthcare claims data. The study analyzes data of individuals who had at least two prescriptions for one of five hypertension medication classes: ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics. We focused on those members initiating therapy with diuretics (19.2%) who may have concurrently or subsequently take drugs in other classes as well. We identified longitudinal patterns in prescription fills for antihypertensive medications, investigated the implications of decisions regarding gap length and overlaps, and examined the impact on the average cost and adherence of the initial treatment episode. A total of 790,609 individuals are included in the study sample, 19.2% (N = 151,566) of whom started on diuretics first during the study period. The average age was 52.4 years and 53.1% of the population was female. When the allowable gap was zero, 34% of the population had continuous coverage and the average length of continuous coverage was 2 months. In contrast, when the allowable gap was 30 days, 69% of the population showed a single continuous prescription period with an average length of 5

Seizure phenotypes, periodicity, and sleep-wake pattern of seizures in Kcna-1 null mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Samantha; Wallace, Eli; Hwang, Youngdeok; Maganti, Rama

2016-02-01

This study was undertaken to describe seizure phenotypes, natural progression, sleep-wake patterns, as well as periodicity of seizures in Kcna-1 null mutant mice. These mice were implanted with epidural electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) electrodes, and simultaneous video-EEG recordings were obtained while animals were individually housed under either diurnal (LD) condition or constant darkness (DD) over ten days of recording. The video-EEG data were analyzed to identify electrographic and behavioral phenotypes and natural progression and to examine the periodicity of seizures. Sleep-wake patterns were analyzed to understand the distribution and onset of seizures across the sleep-wake cycle. Four electrographically and behaviorally distinct seizure types were observed. Regardless of lighting condition that animals were housed in, Kcna-1 null mice initially expressed only a few of the most severe seizure types that progressively increased in frequency and decreased in seizure severity. In addition, a circadian periodicity was noted, with seizures peaking in the first 12h of the Zeitgeber time (ZT) cycle, regardless of lighting conditions. Interestingly, seizure onset differed between lighting conditions where more seizures arose out of sleep in LD conditions, whereas under DD conditions, the majority occurred out of the wakeful state. We suggest that this model be used to understand the circadian pattern of seizures as well as the pathophysiological implications of sleep and circadian disturbances in limbic epilepsies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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...

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

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-21

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

Risk in Daily Newspaper Coverage of Red Tide Blooms in Southwest Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zongchao; Garrison, Bruce; Ullmann, Steven G.; Kirkpatrick, Barbara; Fleming, Lora E.; Hoagland, Porter

2015-01-01

This study investigated newspaper coverage of Florida red tide blooms in four metropolitan areas of Southwest Florida during a 25-year period, 1987-2012. We focused on how journalists framed red tide stories with respect to environmental risk, health risk, and economic risk. We determined risk to be a key factor in this news coverage, being an…

Theoretical consideration of the use of mode entangled states to beat the minimal period of an interference pattern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podoshvedov, Sergey A

2005-01-01

We propose to use multi-photon mode entangled states to beat the minimal period of an interference pattern. Using the multi-photon mode entangled states, we show that it is possible to observe an interference effect with a period of minimum size λ/2N in an N-photon absorbing substrate. In the framework of the method developed, we propose a simple scheme for a quantum encoder with a two-photon quantum channel for producing a desired N-photon mode entangled state on which to write an interference pattern with a smaller period, as compared with the one in the case of the use of classical light

National health expenditure projections: modest annual growth until coverage expands and economic growth accelerates.

Science.gov (United States)

Keehan, Sean P; Cuckler, Gigi A; Sisko, Andrea M; Madison, Andrew J; Smith, Sheila D; Lizonitz, Joseph M; Poisal, John A; Wolfe, Christian J

2012-07-01

For 2011-13, US health spending is projected to grow at 4.0 percent, on average--slightly above the historically low growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2009. Preliminary data suggest that growth in consumers' use of health services remained slow in 2011, and this pattern is expected to continue this year and next. In 2014, health spending growth is expected to accelerate to 7.4 percent as the major coverage expansions from the Affordable Care Act begin. For 2011 through 2021, national health spending is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.7 percent annually, which would be 0.9 percentage point faster than the expected annual increase in the gross domestic product during this period. By 2021, federal, state, and local government health care spending is projected to be nearly 50 percent of national health expenditures, up from 46 percent in 2011, with federal spending accounting for about two-thirds of the total government share. Rising government spending on health care is expected to be driven by faster growth in Medicare enrollment, expanded Medicaid coverage, and the introduction of premium and cost-sharing subsidies for health insurance exchange plans.

The Effect of Fasting Pattern on Biological Performance of Quail at Early Production Period

OpenAIRE

Tugiyanti, Efka

2005-01-01

The objective of this research was to find out the effect of fasting pattern on biological performance of quail at early production period. 50 kg commercial feed, vitamins and medicine were applied on 140 heads of seven old day quail.  Four different fasting pattern were employed as treatment, i.e. ad libitum diet (Po); every two days fasting (P1); every three days fasting (P2); every four days fasting (P3); and every five days fasting (P4).   Ad libitum amount of  corn and water were offered...

Simulation of pattern and defect detection in periodic amplitude and phase structures using photorefractive four-wave mixing

Science.gov (United States)

Nehmetallah, Georges; Banerjee, Partha; Khoury, Jed

2015-03-01

The nonlinearity inherent in four-wave mixing in photorefractive (PR) materials is used for adaptive filtering. Examples include script enhancement on a periodic pattern, scratch and defect cluster enhancement, periodic pattern dislocation enhancement, etc. through intensity filtering image manipulation. Organic PR materials have large space-bandwidth product, which makes them useful in adaptive filtering techniques in quality control systems. For instance, in the case of edge enhancement, phase conjugation via four-wave mixing suppresses the low spatial frequencies of the Fourier spectrum of an aperiodic image and consequently leads to image edge enhancement. In this work, we model, numerically verify, and simulate the performance of a four wave mixing setup used for edge, defect and pattern detection in periodic amplitude and phase structures. The results show that this technique successfully detects the slightest defects clearly even with no enhancement. This technique should facilitate improvements in applications such as image display sharpness utilizing edge enhancement, production line defect inspection of fabrics, textiles, e-beam lithography masks, surface inspection, and materials characterization.

[Potential coverage and real coverage of ambulatory health care services in the state of Mexico. The case of 3 marginal communities in Atenco and Chalco].

Science.gov (United States)

Nájera-Aguilar, P; Infante-Castañeda, C

1990-01-01

Less than a third of the non-insured population studied through a sample in the State of Mexico was covered by the Institute of Health of the State of México. This low coverage was observed in spite the fact that health services were available within 2 kilometer radius. 33 per cent of the non-insured preferred to utilize other services within their own community, and 24 per cent of them traveled to bigger localities to receive care. These results suggest that to attain adequate coverage, utilization patterns should be investigated so that health services can meet the needs of the target population.

Selecting Full-Text Undergraduate Periodicals Databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Still, Julie M.; Kassabian, Vibiana

1999-01-01

Examines how libraries and librarians can compare full-text general periodical indices, using ProQuest Direct, Periodical Abstracts (via Ovid), and EBSCOhost as examples. Explores breadth and depth of coverage; manipulation of results (email/download/print); ease of use (searching); and indexing quirks. (AEF)

Changes in health insurance coverage during the economic downturn: 2000-2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Holahan, John; Wang, Marie

2004-01-01

Using Current Population Survey data from 2000-2002, this paper documents the changes that led the uninsured population to grow by 3.8 million during that time period. All of the increase in the uninsured occurred among adults, and two-thirds was among low-income adults. The extent to which the loss of employer coverage resulted in people becoming uninsured depended on their access to public programs: Children were more likely than adults to gain public coverage; women more likely than men; and parents more likely than nonparents. Middle- and higher-income Americans were also affected because many lost income and because rates of employer coverage were lower.

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.

Topical Coverage in Introductory Textbooks from the 1980s through the 2000s

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Richard A.

2014-01-01

To determine how topical coverage in introductory textbooks may have changed from the 1980s to the present, the author examined topic coverage in full-length and brief introductory textbooks from this time period. Because 98% of the teachers use textbooks for the introductory course and the majority do not assign reading beyond the textbook, the…

Patterns and singular features of extreme fluctuational paths of a periodically driven system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zhen; Liu, Xianbin

2016-01-01

Large fluctuations of an overdamped periodically driven oscillating system are investigated theoretically and numerically in the limit of weak noise. Optimal paths fluctuating to certain point are given by statistical analysis using the concept of prehistory probability distribution. The validity of statistical results is verified by solutions of boundary value problem. Optimal paths are found to change topologically when terminating points lie at opposite side of a switching line. Patterns of extreme paths are plotted through a proper parameterization of Lagrangian manifold having complicated structures. Several extreme paths to the same point are obtained by multiple solutions of boundary value solutions. Actions along various extreme paths are calculated and associated analysis is performed in relation to the singular features of the patterns. - Highlights: • Both extreme and optimal paths are obtained by various methods. • Boundary value problems are solved to ensure the validity of statistical results. • Topological structure of Lagrangian manifold is considered. • Singularities of the pattern of extreme paths are studied.

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.

Masking Period Patterns & Forward Masking for Speech-Shaped Noise: Age-related effects

Science.gov (United States)

Grose, John H.; Menezes, Denise C.; Porter, Heather L.; Griz, Silvana

2015-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess age-related changes in temporal resolution in listeners with relatively normal audiograms. The hypothesis was that increased susceptibility to non-simultaneous masking contributes to the hearing difficulties experienced by older listeners in complex fluctuating backgrounds. Design Participants included younger (n = 11), middle-aged (n = 12), and older (n = 11) listeners with relatively normal audiograms. The first phase of the study measured masking period patterns for speech-shaped noise maskers and signals. From these data, temporal window shapes were derived. The second phase measured forward-masking functions, and assessed how well the temporal window fits accounted for these data. Results The masking period patterns demonstrated increased susceptibility to backward masking in the older listeners, compatible with a more symmetric temporal window in this group. The forward-masking functions exhibited an age-related decline in recovery to baseline thresholds, and there was also an increase in the variability of the temporal window fits to these data. Conclusions This study demonstrated an age-related increase in susceptibility to non-simultaneous masking, supporting the hypothesis that exacerbated non-simultaneous masking contributes to age-related difficulties understanding speech in fluctuating noise. Further support for this hypothesis comes from limited speech-in-noise data suggesting an association between susceptibility to forward masking and speech understanding in modulated noise. PMID:26230495

Patterns of lung cancer mortality in 23 countries: Application of the Age-Period-Cohort model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Yi-Chia

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Smoking habits do not seem to be the main explanation of the epidemiological characteristics of female lung cancer mortality in Asian countries. However, Asian countries are often excluded from studies of geographical differences in trends for lung cancer mortality. We thus examined lung cancer trends from 1971 to 1995 among men and women for 23 countries, including four in Asia. Methods International and national data were used to analyze lung cancer mortality from 1971 to 1995 in both sexes. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR were analyzed in five consecutive five-year periods and for each five-year age group in the age range 30 to 79. The age-period-cohort (APC model was used to estimate the period effect (adjusted for age and cohort effects for mortality from lung cancer. Results The sex ratio of the ASMR for lung cancer was lower in Asian countries, while the sex ratio of smoking prevalence was higher in Asian countries. The mean values of the sex ratio of the ASMR from lung cancer in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan for the five 5-year period were 2.10, 2.39, 3.07, and 3.55, respectively. These values not only remained quite constant over each five-year period, but were also lower than seen in the western countries. The period effect, for lung cancer mortality as derived for the 23 countries from the APC model, could be classified into seven patterns. Conclusion Period effects for both men and women in 23 countries, as derived using the APC model, could be classified into seven patterns. Four Asian countries have a relatively low sex ratio in lung cancer mortality and a relatively high sex ratio in smoking prevalence. Factors other than smoking might be important, especially for women in Asian countries.

Medicaid Coverage for Methadone Maintenance and Use of Opioid Agonist Therapy in Specialty Addiction Treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Saloner, Brendan; Stoller, Kenneth B; Barry, Colleen L

2016-06-01

This study examined differences in opioid agonist therapy (OAT) utilization among Medicaid-enrolled adults receiving public-sector opioid use disorder treatment in states with Medicaid coverage of methadone maintenance, states with block grant funding only, and states without public coverage of methadone. Person-level treatment admission data, which included information on reason for treatment and use of OAT from 36 states were linked to state-level Medicaid policies collected in a 50-state survey. Probabilities of OAT use among Medicaid enrollees in opioid addiction treatment were calculated, with adjustment for demographic characteristics and patterns of substance use. In adjusted analysis, 45.0% of Medicaid-enrolled individuals in opioid addiction treatment in states with Medicaid coverage for methadone maintenance used OAT, compared with 30.1% in states with block grant coverage only and 17.0% in states with no coverage. Differences were widest in nonintensive outpatient settings. Medicaid methadone maintenance coverage is critical for encouraging OAT among individuals with opioid use disorders.

Exchange pattern of gaseous elemental mercury in landfill: mercury deposition under vegetation coverage and interactive effects of multiple meteorological conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Zhengkai; Liu, Yang; Zhou, Meng; Chai, Xiaoli

2017-12-01

Landfill is known as a potential source of atmospheric Hg and an important component of the local or regional atmospheric Hg budget. This study investigated the gaseous elemental Hg surface-air fluxes under differing conditions at a typical municipal solid waste landfill site, highlighting the interactive effects of plant coverage and meteorological conditions. The results indicated that Hg fluxes exhibited a feature represented by diel variation. In particular, Hg deposition was observed under a condition of Kochia sieversiana coverage, whereas emission that occurred after K. sieversiana was removed. Hg emission was the dominant mode under conditions of Setaria viridis coverage and its removal; however, the average Hg emission flux with the S. viridis coverage was nearly four times lower than after its removal. These findings verified that the plant coverage should be a key factor influencing the Hg emission from landfills. In addition, Hg fluxes were correlated positively with solar radiation and air/soil temperature and correlated inversely with relative humidity under all conditions, except K. sieversiana coverage. This suggested that the interactive effects of meteorological conditions and plant coverage played a jointly significant role in the Hg emission from landfills. It was established that K. sieversiana can inhibit Hg emission efficiently, and therefore, it could potentially be suitable for use as a plant-based method to control Hg pollution from landfills.

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.

Test Pattern Generator for Mixed Mode BIST

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hong Sik; Lee, Hang Kyu; Kang, Sung Ho [Yonsei University (Korea, Republic of)

1998-07-01

As the increasing integrity of VLSI, the BIST (Built-In Self Test) is used as an effective method to test chips. Generally the pseudo-random test pattern generation is used for BIST. But it requires lots of test patterns when there exist random resistant faults. Therefore deterministic testing is an interesting BIST technique due to the minimal number of test patterns and to its high fault coverage. However this is not applicable since the existing deterministic test pattern generators require too much area overhead despite their efficiency. Therefore we propose a mixed test scheme which applies to the circuit under test, a deterministic test sequence followed by a pseudo-random one. This scheme allows the maximum fault coverage detection to be achieved, furthermore the silicon area overhead of the mixed hardware generator can be reduced. The deterministic test generator is made with a finite state machine and a pseudo-random test generator is made with LFSR(linear feedback shift register). The results of ISCAS circuits show that the maximum fault coverage is guaranteed with small number of test set and little hardware overhead. (author). 15 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs.

Changes in water consumption linked to heavy news media coverage of extreme climatic events.

Science.gov (United States)

Quesnel, Kimberly J; Ajami, Newsha K

2017-10-01

Public awareness of water- and drought-related issues is an important yet relatively unexplored component of water use behavior. To examine this relationship, we first quantified news media coverage of drought in California from 2005 to 2015, a period with two distinct droughts; the later drought received unprecedentedly high media coverage, whereas the earlier drought did not, as the United States was experiencing an economic downturn coinciding with a historic presidential election. Comparing this coverage to Google search frequency confirmed that public attention followed news media trends. We then modeled single-family residential water consumption in 20 service areas in the San Francisco Bay Area during the same period using geospatially explicit data and including news media coverage as a covariate. Model outputs revealed the factors affecting water use for populations of varying demographics. Importantly, the models estimated that an increase of 100 drought-related articles in a bimonthly period was associated with an 11 to 18% reduction in water use. Then, we evaluated high-resolution water consumption data from smart meters, known as advanced metering infrastructure, in one of the previously modeled service areas to evaluate breakpoints in water use trends. Results demonstrated that whereas nonresidential commercial irrigation customers responded to changes in climate, single-family residential customers decreased water use at the fastest rate following heavy drought-related news media coverage. These results highlight the need for water resource planners and decision makers to further consider the importance of effective, internally and externally driven, public awareness and education in water demand behavior and management.

Inactivity periods and postural change speed can explain atypical postural change patterns of Caenorhabditis elegans mutants.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukunaga, Tsukasa; Iwasaki, Wataru

2017-01-19

With rapid advances in genome sequencing and editing technologies, systematic and quantitative analysis of animal behavior is expected to be another key to facilitating data-driven behavioral genetics. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism in this field. Several video-tracking systems are available for automatically recording behavioral data for the nematode, but computational methods for analyzing these data are still under development. In this study, we applied the Gaussian mixture model-based binning method to time-series postural data for 322 C. elegans strains. We revealed that the occurrence patterns of the postural states and the transition patterns among these states have a relationship as expected, and such a relationship must be taken into account to identify strains with atypical behaviors that are different from those of wild type. Based on this observation, we identified several strains that exhibit atypical transition patterns that cannot be fully explained by their occurrence patterns of postural states. Surprisingly, we found that two simple factors-overall acceleration of postural movement and elimination of inactivity periods-explained the behavioral characteristics of strains with very atypical transition patterns; therefore, computational analysis of animal behavior must be accompanied by evaluation of the effects of these simple factors. Finally, we found that the npr-1 and npr-3 mutants have similar behavioral patterns that were not predictable by sequence homology, proving that our data-driven approach can reveal the functions of genes that have not yet been characterized. We propose that elimination of inactivity periods and overall acceleration of postural change speed can explain behavioral phenotypes of strains with very atypical postural transition patterns. Our methods and results constitute guidelines for effectively finding strains that show "truly" interesting behaviors and systematically uncovering novel gene

Masking Period Patterns and Forward Masking for Speech-Shaped Noise: Age-Related Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Grose, John H; Menezes, Denise C; Porter, Heather L; Griz, Silvana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess age-related changes in temporal resolution in listeners with relatively normal audiograms. The hypothesis was that increased susceptibility to nonsimultaneous masking contributes to the hearing difficulties experienced by older listeners in complex fluctuating backgrounds. Participants included younger (n = 11), middle-age (n = 12), and older (n = 11) listeners with relatively normal audiograms. The first phase of the study measured masking period patterns for speech-shaped noise maskers and signals. From these data, temporal window shapes were derived. The second phase measured forward-masking functions and assessed how well the temporal window fits accounted for these data. The masking period patterns demonstrated increased susceptibility to backward masking in the older listeners, compatible with a more symmetric temporal window in this group. The forward-masking functions exhibited an age-related decline in recovery to baseline thresholds, and there was also an increase in the variability of the temporal window fits to these data. This study demonstrated an age-related increase in susceptibility to nonsimultaneous masking, supporting the hypothesis that exacerbated nonsimultaneous masking contributes to age-related difficulties understanding speech in fluctuating noise. Further support for this hypothesis comes from limited speech-in-noise data, suggesting an association between susceptibility to forward masking and speech understanding in modulated noise.

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.

Submicron resolution X-ray diffraction from periodically patterned GaAs nanorods grown onto Ge[111

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davydok, Anton; Biermanns, Andreas; Pietsch, Ullrich [Solid State Physics, Siegen University (Germany); Grenzer, Joerg [FZ-Dresden Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany); Paetzelt, Hendrik; Gottschalch, Volker; Bauer, Jens [Solid State Chemistry, University of Leipzig (Germany)

2009-08-15

We present high-resolution X-ray diffraction pattern of periodic GaAs nanorods (NRs) ensembles and individual GaAs NRs grown catalyst-free throughout a pre-patterned amorphous SiN{sub x} mask onto Ge[111]B surfaces by selective-area MOVPE method. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report about nano-structure X-ray characterization growth on non-polar substrate. The experiment has been performed at home laboratory and using synchrotron radiation using a micro-sized beam prepared by compound refractive lenses. Due to the non-polar character of the substrate the shapes of NRs appear not uniform and vary between deformed hexagonal and trigonal in symmetry. Because the average diameter of NRs equals the experimental resolution certain cuts through slightly inclined edges or corners of individual NRs with lateral size of about 225 nm could be selected using spatially resolved reciprocal space mapping. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Selection of doublet cellular patterns in directional solidification through spatially periodic perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Losert, W.; Stillman, D.A.; Cummins, H.Z.; Kopczynski, P.; Rappel, W.; Karma, A.

1998-01-01

Pattern formation at the solid-liquid interface of a growing crystal was studied in directional solidification using a perturbation technique. We analyzed both experimentally and numerically the stability range and dynamical selection of cellular arrays of 'doublets' with asymmetric tip shapes, separated by alternate deep and shallow grooves. Applying an initial periodic perturbation of arbitrary wavelength to the unstable planar interface allowed us to force the interface to evolve into doublet states that would not otherwise be dynamically accessible from a planar interface. We determined systematically the ranges of wavelength corresponding to stable singlets, stable doublets, and transient unstable patterns. Experimentally, this was accomplished by applying a brief UV light pulse of a desired spatial periodicity to the planar interface during the planar-cellular transient using the model alloy Succinonitrile-Coumarin 152. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear evolution of the interface were performed starting from a small sinusoidal perturbation of the steady-state planar interface. These simulations were carried out using a computationally efficient phase-field symmetric model of directional solidification with recently reformulated asymptotics and vanishing kinetics [A. Karma and W.-J. Rappel, Phys. Rev. E 53 R3017 (1996); Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4050 (1996); Phys. Rev. E 57, 4323 (1998)], which allowed us to simulate spatially extended arrays that can be meaningfully compared to experiments. Simulations and experiments show remarkable qualitative agreement in the dynamic evolution, steady-state structure, and instability mechanisms of doublet cellular arrays. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

A high-coverage nanoparticle monolayer for the fabrication of a subwavelength structure on InP substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dae-Seon; Park, Min-Su; Jang, Jae-Hyung

2011-08-01

Subwavelength structures (SWSs) were fabricated on the Indium Phosphide (InP) substrate by utilizing the confined convective self-assembly (CCSA) method followed by reactive ion etching (RIE). The surface condition of the InP substrate was changed by depositing a 30-nm-thick SiO2 layer and subsequently treating the surface with O2 plasma to achieve better surface coverage. The surface coverage of nanoparticle monolayer reached 90% by using O2 plasma-treated SiO2/InP substrate among three kinds of starting substrates such as the bare InP, SiO2/InP and O2 plasma-treated SiO2/InP substrate. A nanoparticle monolayer consisting of polystyrene spheres with diameter of 300 nm was used as an etch mask for transferring a two-dimensional periodic pattern onto the InP substrate. The fabricated conical SWS with an aspect ratio of 1.25 on the O2 plasma-treated SiO2/InP substrate exhibited the lowest reflectance. The average reflectance of the conical SWS was 5.84% in a spectral range between 200 and 900 nm under the normal incident angle.

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 ...

Study of foetal heart rate patterns in pregnancy with intra-uterine growth restriction during antepartum period

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fardiazar, Z.; Abassalizade, F.

2013-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate foetal heart rate pattern during antepartum period in pregnancies suffering from intra-uterine growth restriction. Methods: The case control study was conducted at the Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran from April 2008 to April 2011. It comprised 100 pregnancies with intra-uterine growth restriction and 92 normal pregnancies. The foetal heart rate pattern including basal heart rate, beat-to-beat variation, non-stress test (NST) result and acceleration and deceleration patterns of the heart rate were determined in both groups during the antepartum period. Findings were compared between the two groups and their relation with pregnancy-foetal outcomes was specified in the case group. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the foetus mean basal heart rate in the two groups (p <0.960). Frequency of cases with non-reactive non-stress test in the Cases was significantly higher than Controls (p <0.005). The difference in heart rate acceleration was also not statistically significant (p <0.618). Frequency of cases with low birth weight and caesarian was non-significantly but borderline higher among the Cases (p <0.081 and 0.060, respectively). Conclusion: Abnormal foetal heart rate pattern is more common in pregnancies marked by intra-uterine growth restriction and is directly associated with worse pregnancy/foetal outcomes. (author)

26 CFR 1.420-1 - Significant reduction in retiree health coverage during the cost maintenance period.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... sale or other transfer in connection with which the employees of a trade or business of the employer... of the trade or business. (d) Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of this... individuals died in Year 2. During Year 3, Employer W amends its health plan to eliminate coverage for 5...

Is universal coverage via social health insurance financially feasible ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SHI would take up an increasing proportion of total health expenditure over the simulation period and become the dominant health financing mechanism. In principle, and on the basis of the assumed policy variables, universal coverage could be reached within 6 years through the implementation of an SHI scheme based ...

Impact of proof test interval and coverage on probability of failure of safety instrumented function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Jianghong; Pang, Lei; Hu, Bin; Wang, Xiaodong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Introduction of proof test coverage makes the calculation of the probability of failure for SIF more accurate. • The probability of failure undetected by proof test is independently defined as P TIF and calculated. • P TIF is quantified using reliability block diagram and simple formula of PFD avg . • Improving proof test coverage and adopting reasonable test period can reduce the probability of failure for SIF. - Abstract: Imperfection of proof test can result in the safety function failure of safety instrumented system (SIS) at any time in its life period. IEC61508 and other references ignored or only elementarily analyzed the imperfection of proof test. In order to further study the impact of the imperfection of proof test on the probability of failure for safety instrumented function (SIF), the necessity of proof test and influence of its imperfection on system performance was first analyzed theoretically. The probability of failure for safety instrumented function resulted from the imperfection of proof test was defined as probability of test independent failures (P TIF ), and P TIF was separately calculated by introducing proof test coverage and adopting reliability block diagram, with reference to the simplified calculation formula of average probability of failure on demand (PFD avg ). Research results show that: the shorter proof test period and the higher proof test coverage indicate the smaller probability of failure for safety instrumented function. The probability of failure for safety instrumented function which is calculated by introducing proof test coverage will be more accurate.

Auto warranty and driving patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anastasiadis, Simon; Anderson, Boyd; Chukova, Stefanka

2013-01-01

Automobile warranty coverage is typically limited by age as well as mileage. However, the age is known for all sold vehicles at all times, but mileage is only observed for a vehicle with a claim and only at the time of the claim. We study the relationship between the expected number/cost of warranty claims and the driving patterns. Within a nonparametric framework, we account for the rate of mileage accumulation and propose a measure for the variability of this rate over a vehicle's observable life. We illustrate the ideas with real warranty data and comment on the relationship between the expected number/cost of warranty claims and the driving patterns using results adjusted/unadjusted for withdrawals from the warranty coverage due to mileage accumulation

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Li

2017-10-01

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

Influence of Landscape Coverage on Measuring Spatial and Length Properties of Rock Fracture Networks: Insights from Numerical Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Wenzhuo; Lei, Qinghua

2018-01-01

Natural fractures are ubiquitous in the Earth's crust and often deeply buried in the subsurface. Due to the difficulty in accessing to their three-dimensional structures, the study of fracture network geometry is usually achieved by sampling two-dimensional (2D) exposures at the Earth's surface through outcrop mapping or aerial photograph techniques. However, the measurement results can be considerably affected by the coverage of forests and other plant species over the exposed fracture patterns. We quantitatively study such effects using numerical simulation. We consider the scenario of nominally isotropic natural fracture systems and represent them using 2D discrete fracture network models governed by fractal and length scaling parameters. The groundcover is modelled as random patches superimposing onto the 2D fracture patterns. The effects of localisation and total coverage of landscape patches are further investigated. The fractal dimension and length exponent of the covered fracture networks are measured and compared with those of the original non-covered patterns. The results show that the measured length exponent increases with the reduced localisation and increased coverage of landscape patches, which is more evident for networks dominated by very large fractures (i.e. small underlying length exponent). However, the landscape coverage seems to have a minor impact on the fractal dimension measurement. The research findings of this paper have important implications for field survey and statistical analysis of geological systems.

A biologically inspired controller to solve the coverage problem in robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rañó, Iñaki; Santos, José A

2017-06-05

The coverage problem consists on computing a path or trajectory for a robot to pass over all the points in some free area and has applications ranging from floor cleaning to demining. Coverage is solved as a planning problem-providing theoretical validation of the solution-or through heuristic techniques which rely on experimental validation. Through a combination of theoretical results and simulations, this paper presents a novel solution to the coverage problem that exploits the chaotic behaviour of a simple biologically inspired motion controller, the Braitenberg vehicle 2b. Although chaos has been used for coverage, our approach has much less restrictive assumptions about the environment and can be implemented using on-board sensors. First, we prove theoretically that this vehicle-a well known model of animal tropotaxis-behaves as a charge in an electro-magnetic field. The motion equations can be reduced to a Hamiltonian system, and, therefore the vehicle follows quasi-periodic or chaotic trajectories, which pass arbitrarily close to any point in the work-space, i.e. it solves the coverage problem. Secondly, through a set of extensive simulations, we show that the trajectories cover regions of bounded workspaces, and full coverage is achieved when the perceptual range of the vehicle is short. We compare the performance of this new approach with different types of random motion controllers in the same bounded environments.

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.

Analysis of periodically patterned metallic nanostructures for infrared absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Sha; Yuan, Ying; Long, Huabao; Liu, Runhan; Wei, Dong; Zhang, Xinyu; Wang, Haiwei; Xie, Changsheng

2018-02-01

With rapid advancement of infrared detecting technology in both military and civil domains, the photo-electronic performances of near-infrared detectors have been widely concerned. Currently, near-infrared detectors demonstrate some problems such as low sensitivity, low detectivity, and relatively small array scale. The current studies show that surface plasmons (SPs) stimulated over the surface of metallic nanostructures by incident light can be used to break the diffraction limit and thus concentrate light into sub-wavelength scale, so as to indicate a method to develop a new type of infrared absorber or detector with very large array. In this paper, we present the design and characterization of periodically patterned metallic nanostructures that combine nanometer thickness aluminum film with silicon wafer. Numerical computations show that there are some valleys caused by surface plasmons in the reflection spectrum in the infrared region, and both red shift and blue shift of the reflection spectrum were observed through changing the nanostructural parameters such as angle α and diameters D. Moreover, the strong E-field intensity is located at the sharp corner of the nano-structures.

Methods used for immunization coverage assessment in Canada, a Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Sarah E; Quach, Susan; MacDonald, Shannon E; Naus, Monika; Deeks, Shelley L; Crowcroft, Natasha S; Mahmud, Salaheddin M; Tran, Dat; Kwong, Jeff; Tu, Karen; Gilbert, Nicolas L; Johnson, Caitlin; Desai, Shalini

2017-08-03

Accurate and complete immunization data are necessary to assess vaccine coverage, safety and effectiveness. Across Canada, different methods and data sources are used to assess vaccine coverage, but these have not been systematically described. Our primary objective was to examine and describe the methods used to determine immunization coverage in Canada. The secondary objective was to compare routine infant and childhood coverage estimates derived from the Canadian 2013 Childhood National Immunization Coverage Survey (cNICS) with estimates collected from provinces and territories (P/Ts). We collected information from key informants regarding their provincial, territorial or federal methods for assessing immunization coverage. We also collected P/T coverage estimates for select antigens and birth cohorts to determine absolute differences between these and estimates from cNICS. Twenty-six individuals across 16 public health organizations participated between April and August 2015. Coverage surveys are conducted regularly for toddlers in Quebec and in one health authority in British Columbia. Across P/Ts, different methodologies for measuring coverage are used (e.g., valid doses, grace periods). Most P/Ts, except Ontario, measure up-to-date (UTD) coverage and 4 P/Ts also assess on-time coverage. The degree of concordance between P/T and cNICS coverage estimates varied by jurisdiction, antigen and age group. In addition to differences in the data sources and processes used for coverage assessment, there are also differences between Canadian P/Ts in the methods used for calculating immunization coverage. Comparisons between P/T and cNICS estimates leave remaining questions about the proportion of children fully vaccinated in Canada.

Violence in the prehistoric period of Japan: the spatio-temporal pattern of skeletal evidence for violence in the Jomon period.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakao, Hisashi; Tamura, Kohei; Arimatsu, Yui; Nakagawa, Tomomi; Matsumoto, Naoko; Matsugi, Takehiko

2016-03-01

Whether man is predisposed to lethal violence, ranging from homicide to warfare, and how that may have impacted human evolution, are among the most controversial topics of debate on human evolution. Although recent studies on the evolution of warfare have been based on various archaeological and ethnographic data, they have reported mixed results: it is unclear whether or not warfare among prehistoric hunter-gatherers was common enough to be a component of human nature and a selective pressure for the evolution of human behaviour. This paper reports the mortality attributable to violence, and the spatio-temporal pattern of violence thus shown among ancient hunter-gatherers using skeletal evidence in prehistoric Japan (the Jomon period: 13 000 cal BC-800 cal BC). Our results suggest that the mortality due to violence was low and spatio-temporally highly restricted in the Jomon period, which implies that violence including warfare in prehistoric Japan was not common. © 2016 The Author(s).

77 FR 70374 - Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance-Stillborn Child Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-26

... is the biological mother of a stillborn and if both the surrogate and the stillborn's biological... the coverage of the child's SGLI-insured biological mother. This final rule will provide consistency... proceeds would be paid to the child's SGLI- insured mother. We provided a 60-day public-comment period...

Turing patterns in parabolic systems of conservation laws and numerically observed stability of periodic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Blake; Jung, Soyeun; Zumbrun, Kevin

2018-03-01

Turing patterns on unbounded domains have been widely studied in systems of reaction-diffusion equations. However, up to now, they have not been studied for systems of conservation laws. Here, we (i) derive conditions for Turing instability in conservation laws and (ii) use these conditions to find families of periodic solutions bifurcating from uniform states, numerically continuing these families into the large-amplitude regime. For the examples studied, numerical stability analysis suggests that stable periodic waves can emerge either from supercritical Turing bifurcations or, via secondary bifurcation as amplitude is increased, from subcritical Turing bifurcations. This answers in the affirmative a question of Oh-Zumbrun whether stable periodic solutions of conservation laws can occur. Determination of a full small-amplitude stability diagram - specifically, determination of rigorous Eckhaus-type stability conditions - remains an interesting open problem.

A Study Of Universal Immunization Coverage During Last Five Years In Resettlement Colonies Of Delhi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salhotra V S

1999-01-01

Full Text Available Research Question: Is there any difference in immunization coverage in resettlement colonies of Delhi during past five years? Objectives: 1. To study the immunization coverage levels of children over a period of five years. 2. To observe changes in the coverage levels of different years, if any. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Khichripur, Kalyanpuri, Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri and Himmatpuri- four resettlement colonies of trans-Yamuna area of Delhi. Participants: 1500 children belonging to five age-groups i.e. birth-1 yr., 1-2 yrs., 2-3 yrs, and 4-5 yrs. Methods: Verification of child’s immunization from immunization card and interview of mother if immunization car was not available. Study period: May1997 to March1998 Results: Immunization with individual vaccines and immunization status of the children peaked in 1995-96 but started falling thereafter due to fall in ICE activities.

News media coverage of a women's health contraversy: how newspapers and TV outlets covered a recent debate over screening mammography.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Whitney Randolph; Mebane, Felicia; Viswanath, K; Solomon, Janice

2005-01-01

Over the past decade, there have been several highly visible debates about mammography that have captured professional, public and media attention. This paper looks at newspaper and television news coverage of a controversial research letter in The Lancet by Gøtzsche and Olsen (2001) that concluded that screening mammography did not prevent deaths from breast cancer. The news pieces examined for this project were published between October 2001 and March 2002 in one of eight U.S. newspapers or aired on one of six national or cable news networks. The six-month period was divided into one-week segments; the numbers of articles published or stories aired in each week were graphed to examine patterns. Each newspaper article and television transcript was then reviewed to identify its main content area and the amount of coverage for each major event was quantified. The highest number of newspaper articles appeared to result from several events during the end of January through the beginning of February. These events included the publication of another meta-analysis of mammography that disputed the original letter's conclusion and a full-page New York Times advertisement paid for by major medical organizations stating their continued support for mammography. The greatest amount of television news coverage was devoted to the announcement of the official federal guidelines by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in late February. We conclude by discussing how the flow of news coverage of medical controversies can potentially impact the actions and reactions of the public, the medical community and health policy makers.

Femtosecond self-reconfiguration of laser-induced plasma patterns in dielectrics

Science.gov (United States)

Déziel, Jean-Luc; Dubé, Louis J.; Messaddeq, Sandra H.; Messaddeq, Younès; Varin, Charles

2018-05-01

Laser-induced modification of transparent solids by intense femtosecond laser pulses allows fast integration of nanophotonic and nanofluidic devices with controlled optical properties. Experimental observations suggest that the local and dynamic nature of the interactions between light and the transient plasma plays an important role during fabrication. Current analytical models neglect these aspects and offer limited coverage of nanograting formation on dielectric surfaces. In this paper, we present a self-consistent dynamic treatment of the plasma buildup and its interaction with light within a three-dimensional electromagnetic framework. The main finding of this work is that local light-plasma interactions are responsible for the reorientation of laser-induced periodic plasma patterns with respect to the incident light polarization, when a certain energy density threshold is reached. Plasma reconfiguration occurs within a single laser pulse, on a femtosecond time scale. Moreover, we show that the reconfigured subwavelength plasma structures actually grow into the bulk of the sample, which agrees with the experimental observations of self-organized volume nanogratings. We find that mode coupling of the incident and transversely scattered light with the periodic plasma structures is sufficient to initiate the growth and self-organization of the pattern inside the medium with a characteristic half-wavelength periodicity.

State-Level Point-of-Sale Tobacco News Coverage and Policy Progression Over a 2-Year Period.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Allison E; Southwell, Brian G; Ribisl, Kurt M; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Bowling, J Michael; Lytle, Leslie A

2018-01-01

Mass media content may play an important role in policy change. However, the empirical relationship between media advocacy efforts and tobacco control policy success has rarely been studied. We examined the extent to which newspaper content characteristics (volume, slant, frame, source, use of evidence, and degree of localization) that have been identified as important in past descriptive studies were associated with policy progression over a 2-year period in the context of point-of-sale (POS) tobacco control. We used regression analyses to test the relationships between newspaper content and policy progression from 2012 to 2014. The dependent variable was the level of implementation of state-level POS tobacco control policies at Time 2. Independent variables were newspaper article characteristics (volume, slant, frame, source, use of evidence, and degree of localization) and were collected via content analysis of the articles. State-level policy environment contextual variables were examined as confounders. Positive, significant bivariate relationships exist between characteristics of news content (e.g., high overall volume, public health source present, local quote and local angle present, and pro-tobacco control slant present) and Time 2 POS score. However, in a multivariate model controlling for other factors, significant relationships did not hold. Newspaper coverage can be a marker of POS policy progression. Whether media can influence policy implementation remains an important question. Future work should continue to tease out and confirm the unique characteristics of media content that are most associated with subsequent policy progression, in order to inform media advocacy efforts.

29 CFR 2590.701-4 - Rules relating to creditable coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the category. Coverage under a reimbursement account or arrangement, such as a flexible spending... other arrangement sponsored by a State, the membership composition of which is specified by the State... hired by Employer T. T's plan has a 3-month waiting period. C works for T for 2 months and then...

Influenza vaccine coverage, influenza-associated morbidity and all-cause mortality in Catalonia (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, M Pilar; Soldevila, Núria; Martínez, Anna; Carmona, Glòria; Batalla, Joan; Acosta, Lesly M; Domínguez, Angela

2011-07-12

The objective of this work was to study the behaviour of influenza with respect to morbidity and all-cause mortality in Catalonia, and their association with influenza vaccination coverage. The study was carried out over 13 influenza seasons, from epidemiological week 40 of 1994 to week 20 of 2007, and included confirmed cases of influenza and all-cause mortality. Two generalized linear models were fitted: influenza-associated morbidity was modelled by Poisson regression and all-cause mortality by negative binomial regression. The seasonal component was modelled with the periodic function formed by the sum of the sinus and cosines. Expected influenza mortality during periods of influenza virus circulation was estimated by Poisson regression and its confidence intervals using the Bootstrap approach. Vaccination coverage was associated with a reduction in influenza-associated morbidity (pcase of influenza-associated morbidity, an increase of 5% in vaccination coverage represented a reduction of 3% in the incidence rate of influenza. There was a positive association between influenza-associated morbidity and all-cause mortality. Excess mortality attributable to influenza epidemics was estimated as 34.4 (95% CI: 28.4-40.8) weekly deaths. In conclusion, all-cause mortality is a good indicator of influenza surveillance and vaccination coverage is associated with a reduction in influenza-associated morbidity but not with all-cause mortality. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Macroeconomic impacts of Universal Health Coverage : Synthetic control evidence from Thailand

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Rieger (Matthias); N. Wagner (Natascha); A.S. Bedi (Arjun Singh)

2015-01-01

textabstractWe study the impact of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on various macroeconomic outcomes in Thailand using synthetic control methods. Thailand is compared to a weighted average of control countries in terms of aggregate health and economic performance over the period 1995 to 2012. Our

Pattern formation during electropolishing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuzhakov, V.V.; Chang, H.; Miller, A.E.

1997-01-01

Using atomic force microscopy, we find that the surface morphology of a dissolving aluminum anode in a commercial electropolishing electrolyte can exhibit both highly regular and randomly packed stripe and hexagonal patterns with amplitudes of about 5 nm and wavelengths of 100 nm. The driving instability of this pattern formation phenomenon is proposed to be the preferential adsorption of polar or polarizable organic molecules on surface ridges where the contorted double layer produces a higher electric potential gradient. The enhanced relative coverage shields the anode and induces a smaller dissolution rate at the ridges. The instability is balanced by surface diffusion of the adsorbate to yield a length scale of 4π(D s /k d ) 1/2 , where D s is the surface diffusivity and k d is the desorption coefficient of the adsorbate, which correlates well with the measured wavelength. A long-wavelength expansion of the double-layer field yields an interface evolution equation that reproduces all of the observed patterns. In particular, bifurcation analysis and numerical simulation yield a single voltage-dependent dimensionless parameter ξ that measures a balance between smoothing of adsorbate concentration by electric-field-dependent surface diffusion and fluctuation due to interfacial curvature and stretching. Randomly oriented stripes are favored at large ξ (low voltage), while random hills dominate at small ξ (high voltage) with perfectly periodic stripes and hexagonal hill patterns within a small window near ξ=1. These predictions are in qualitative and quantitative agreement with our measurements. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

A QoS-Guaranteed Coverage Precedence Routing Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiun-Chuan Lin

2011-03-01

Full Text Available For mission-critical applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs involving extensive battlefield surveillance, medical healthcare, etc., it is crucial to have low-power, new protocols, methodologies and structures for transferring data and information in a network with full sensing coverage capability for an extended working period. The upmost mission is to ensure that the network is fully functional providing reliable transmission of the sensed data without the risk of data loss. WSNs have been applied to various types of mission-critical applications. Coverage preservation is one of the most essential functions to guarantee quality of service (QoS in WSNs. However, a tradeoff exists between sensing coverage and network lifetime due to the limited energy supplies of sensor nodes. In this study, we propose a routing protocol to accommodate both energy-balance and coverage-preservation for sensor nodes in WSNs. The energy consumption for radio transmissions and the residual energy over the network are taken into account when the proposed protocol determines an energy-efficient route for a packet. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed protocol is able to increase the duration of the on-duty network and provide up to 98.3% and 85.7% of extra service time with 100% sensing coverage ratio comparing with LEACH and the LEACH-Coverage-U protocols, respectively.

Media coverage of off-label promotion: a content analysis of US newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Avani D; Patel, Dipen A; Holdford, David A

2011-09-01

Promotion of drugs for off-label use is newsworthy, because it is an illegal but all too common strategy used by pharmaceutical companies. The print media are an important source of information about coverage of off-label promotion of drugs and devices and can influence public perceptions of the practice. Print media coverage of off-label promotion during the years 1990-2008 were described and quantified. The primary themes and general tones relating to off-label promotion articles were evaluated. General concerns associated with off-label promotion and complaints about specific brand name drugs were also identified. Content analyses of the top 6 US newspapers were conducted over the period of 1990-2008 to analyze the media coverage given to off-label promotion of drugs and devices. Headlines and full text of articles were analyzed for primary themes and tones of the coverage. Intercoder reliability tests were performed on all the study variables. One hundred and one articles were identified meeting the study inclusion criteria. Coverage varied by newspaper. The Wall Street Journal had the most coverage on the topic (45%), and USA Today and Chicago Tribune had the least coverage (5%). Overall, most of the stories sampled were deemed to have a negative tone in coverage (77%), focusing mainly on lawsuits against drug companies for promoting their drugs for off-label uses. Pfizer's Neurontin(®) (Pfizer Inc., New York, NY 10017, USA) and Johnson & Johnson's Retin-A(®) (Orthoneutrogena, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA) received the most media attention. The news media helps shape public understanding of promotional practices of pharmaceutical companies and their potential benefits and harms. This study suggests that print media coverage is generally negative about off-label promotion, focusing on legal actions taken against drug companies and the negative consequences of such promotional practices. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prediction of rhythmic and periodic EEG patterns and seizures on continuous EEG with early epileptiform discharges.

Science.gov (United States)

Koren, J; Herta, J; Draschtak, S; Pötzl, G; Pirker, S; Fürbass, F; Hartmann, M; Kluge, T; Baumgartner, C

2015-08-01

Continuous EEG (cEEG) is necessary to document nonconvulsive seizures (NCS), nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE), as well as rhythmic and periodic EEG patterns of 'ictal-interictal uncertainty' (RPPIIU) including periodic discharges, rhythmic delta activity, and spike-and-wave complexes in neurological intensive care patients. However, cEEG is associated with significant recording and analysis efforts. Therefore, predictors from short-term routine EEG with a reasonably high yield are urgently needed in order to select patients for evaluation with cEEG. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic significance of early epileptiform discharges (i.e., within the first 30 min of EEG recording) on the following: (1) incidence of ictal EEG patterns and RPPIIU on subsequent cEEG, (2) occurrence of acute convulsive seizures during the ICU stay, and (3) functional outcome after 6 months of follow-up. We conducted a separate analysis of the first 30 min and the remaining segments of prospective cEEG recordings according to the ACNS Standardized Critical Care EEG Terminology as well as NCS criteria and review of clinical data of 32 neurological critical care patients. In 17 patients with epileptiform discharges within the first 30 min of EEG (group 1), electrographic seizures were observed in 23.5% (n = 4), rhythmic or periodic EEG patterns of 'ictal-interictal uncertainty' in 64.7% (n = 11), and neither electrographic seizures nor RPPIIU in 11.8% (n = 2). In 15 patients with no epileptiform discharges in the first 30 min of EEG (group 2), no electrographic seizures were recorded on subsequent cEEG, RPPIIU were seen in 26.7% (n = 4), and neither electrographic seizures nor RPPIIU in 73.3% (n = 11). The incidence of EEG patterns on cEEG was significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.008). Patients with early epileptiform discharges developed acute seizures more frequently than patients without early epileptiform discharges (p = 0.009). Finally, functional

Direct fabrication of periodic patterns with hierarchical sub-wavelength structures on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) thin films using femtosecond laser interference patterning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lasagni, Andres F.; Shao, Peng; Hendricks, Jeffrey L.; Shaw, Charles M.; Martin, David C.; Das, Suman

2010-01-01

A simple optical interference method for the fabrication of simply periodic and periodic with a substructure on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) using femtosecond laser interference patterns is demonstrated. The femtosecond laser pulse was split by a diffractive beam splitter and overlapped with two lenses. Homogeneous periodic arrays could be fabricated even using a single laser pulse. In addition, multipulse irradiation resulted in reproducible sub-wavelength ripples oriented perpendicularly to the laser polarization with spatial period from 170 to 220 nm (around one-fourth of the laser wavelength). In addition, the observed size of the spatial period was not affected by the number of incident laser pulses or accumulated energy density. Using high energy pulses it was possible to completely remove the PEDOT:PSS layer without inducing damage to the underneath substrate.

Within-Subject Comparison of Maxillary Implant-Supported Overdentures with and without Palatal Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Zembic, Anja; Tahmaseb, Ali; Wismeijer, Daniel

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to compare patient-reported outcomes for maxillary implant-supported overdentures with and without palatal coverage. Twenty-one maxillary edentulous patients (six women, 15 men) were included. In total, 42 implants were inserted in the anterior maxilla. All patients received implant-supported overdentures on two retentive anchors with palatal coverage for 2 months. Thereafter, patient satisfaction was assessed by means of questionnaires capturing the oral health impact profile (OHIP) on functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, physical, psychological and social disability, and handicap. Additionally, cleaning ability, general satisfaction, speech, comfort, esthetics, stability, and chewing ability were rated. Subsequently, palatal coverage was reduced, and the patients wore the overdentures for another 2 months. Patient satisfaction was obtained in the same way as above, and the evaluated parameters were compared for the two overdenture designs. There were no significant differences between implant-supported overdentures with and without palatal coverage for any of the OHIP domains. The evaluation of additional parameters revealed significantly higher patient satisfaction for esthetics (mean difference 8.8 mm ± 24.6) and taste (mean difference 28.4 mm ± 29.9) without palatal coverage, p overdentures supported by two implants were equally satisfactory with and without palatal coverage. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Locking of Turing patterns in the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction with one-dimensional spatial periodic forcing.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolnik, Milos; Bánsági, Tamás; Ansari, Sama; Valent, Ivan; Epstein, Irving R

2011-07-21

We use the photosensitive chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid reaction-diffusion system to study wavenumber locking of Turing patterns with spatial periodic forcing. Wavenumber-locked stripe patterns are the typical resonant structures that labyrinthine patterns exhibit in response to one-dimensional forcing by illumination when images of stripes are projected on a working medium. Our experimental results reveal that segmented oblique, hexagonal and rectangular patterns can also be obtained. However, these two-dimensional resonant structures only develop in a relatively narrow range of forcing parameters, where the unforced stripe pattern is in close proximity to the domain of hexagonal patterns. Numerical simulations based on a model that incorporates the forcing by illumination using an additive term reproduce well the experimental observations. These findings confirm that additive one-dimensional forcing can generate a two-dimensional resonant response. However, such a response is considerably less robust than the effect of multiplicative forcing. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

Megadontia, striae periodicity and patterns of enamel secretion in Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominins.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacruz, Rodrigo S; Dean, M Christopher; Ramirez-Rozzi, Fernando; Bromage, Timothy G

2008-08-01

Early hominins formed large and thick-enamelled cheek-teeth within relatively short growth periods as compared with modern humans. To understand better the developmental basis of this process, we measured daily enamel increments, or cross striations, in 17 molars of Plio-Pleistocene hominins representing seven different species, including specimens attributed to early Homo. Our results show considerable variation across species, although all specimens conformed to the known pattern characterised by greater values in outer than inner enamel, and greater cuspal than cervical values. We then compared our results with the megadontia index, which represents tooth size in relation to body mass, for each species to assess the effect of daily growth rates on tooth size. Our results indicate that larger toothed (megadont) taxa display higher rates or faster forming enamel than smaller toothed hominins. By forming enamel quickly, large tooth crowns were able to develop within the constraints of shorter growth periods. Besides daily increments, many animals express long-period markings (striae of Retzius) in their enamel. We report periodicity values (number of cross striations between adjacent striae) in 14 new specimens of Australopithecus afarensis, Paranthropus aethiopicus, Paranthropus boisei, Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis and Homo erectus, and show that long-period striae express a strong association with male and average male-female body mass. Our results for Plio-Pleistocene hominins show that the biological rhythms that give rise to long-period striae are encompassed within the range of variation known for modern humans, but show a lower mean and modal value of 7 days in australopithecines. In our sample of early Homo, mean and modal periodicity values were 8 days, and therefore similar to modern humans. These new data on daily rates of enamel formation and periodicity provide a better framework to interpret surface manifestations of internal growth markings on

Epidemics and agendas: the politics of nightly news coverage of AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Colby, D C; Cook, T E

1991-01-01

We examine why the exponential growth of AIDS cases or the wide-spread professional perception of a health crisis did not move the epidemic more quickly onto the agenda of public problems. One possible explanation focuses on how the national news media's construction of AIDS shaped the meaning of the epidemic for mass and elite audiences. An examination of nightly news coverage by the three major networks from 1982 to 1989 reveals considerable variability and volatility in their coverage. Topic-driven saturation coverage occurred only during three short periods in 1983, 1985, and 1987, when the epidemic seemed likely to affect the "general population". Only at such moments did public opinion shift and discussion and debate in government begin. Otherwise, the typical AIDS story tended less to sensationalize than to reassure, largely because journalists depended upon government officials and high-ranking doctors to present them with evidence of news. Such sources had interests either in avoiding coverage or in pointing toward breakthroughs; more critical sources, especially within the gay movement, had far less access to the news. In concluding, we considered the prospects and pitfalls of the news media's power to shape the public agenda.

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.

Extracting Vegetation Coverage in Dry-hot Valley Regions Based on Alternating Angle Minimum Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Y Yang, M.; Wang, J.; Zhang, Q.

2017-07-01

Vegetation coverage is one of the most important indicators for ecological environment change, and is also an effective index for the assessment of land degradation and desertification. The dry-hot valley regions have sparse surface vegetation, and the spectral information about the vegetation in such regions usually has a weak representation in remote sensing, so there are considerable limitations for applying the commonly-used vegetation index method to calculate the vegetation coverage in the dry-hot valley regions. Therefore, in this paper, Alternating Angle Minimum (AAM) algorithm of deterministic model is adopted for selective endmember for pixel unmixing of MODIS image in order to extract the vegetation coverage, and accuracy test is carried out by the use of the Landsat TM image over the same period. As shown by the results, in the dry-hot valley regions with sparse vegetation, AAM model has a high unmixing accuracy, and the extracted vegetation coverage is close to the actual situation, so it is promising to apply the AAM model to the extraction of vegetation coverage in the dry-hot valley regions.

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...

Impact of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act on nursing homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Laliberte, L; Mor, V; Berg, K; Intrator, O; Calore, K; Hiris, J

1997-01-01

The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (MCCA) of 1988 altered eligibility and coverage for skilled nursing facility (SNF) care and changed Medicaid eligibility rules for nursing-home residents. Detailed data on the residents of a for-profit nursing-home chain and Medicare claims for a 1 percent sample of beneficiaries were used to examine the impact of the MCCA on nursing homes. The case mix of nursing-home admissions was scrutinized, specifically for length of stay, discharge disposition, rate of hospitalization, and changes in payer source. Findings revealed that, although the proportion of Medicare-financed nursing-home care increased, as did the case-mix severity of residents during the MCCA period, there was no corollary reduction in hospital use by nursing-home residents.

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...

Government Advertising and Media Coverage of Corruption Scandals

OpenAIRE

Di Tella, Rafael M.; Franceschelli, Ignacio

2011-01-01

We construct measures of the extent to which the 4 main newspapers in Argentina report government corruption in their front page during the period 1998-2007 and correlate them with the extent to which each newspaper is a recipient of government advertising. The correlation is negative. The size is considerable: a one standard deviation increase in monthly government advertising (0.26 million pesos of 2000) is associated with a reduction in the coverage of the government's corruption scandals ...

Smoking patterns, depression, and sociodemographic variables among Flemish women during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Science.gov (United States)

De Wilde, Katrien S; Trommelmans, Leen C; Laevens, Hans H; Maes, Lea R; Temmerman, Marleen; Boudrez, Hedwig L

2013-01-01

Relationships among feelings of depression, smoking behavior, and educational level during pregnancy have been documented. Feelings of depression may contribute to persistent smoking during pregnancy. No longitudinal studies assessing feelings of depression in women with different antepartum and postpartum smoking patterns are available. The aim was to determine relationships between depressive symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics, and smoking pattern during and after pregnancy. An observational, prospective, noninterventional study was conducted. Data were collected during two stages of pregnancy (T0: postpartum (T2: >6 weeks) in 523 Flemish women. Feelings of depression (measured using the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]), smoking behavior, and sociodemographic variables were analyzed using a general linear mixed model implemented in SAS Proc MIXED. Smokers and initial smokers reported significantly more depressive symptoms at all time points compared with recent ex-smokers, nonsmokers, and initial nonsmokers (p postpartum. Smoking patterns were associated with depression and showed complex interactions with educational level. Assessment and intervention for both smoking and depression are needed throughout the perinatal period to support the health of mothers, their infants, and families.

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.

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

[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.

A genetic programming approach for Burkholderia Pseudomallei diagnostic pattern discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zheng Rong; Lertmemongkolchai, Ganjana; Tan, Gladys; Felgner, Philip L.; Titball, Richard

2009-01-01

Motivation: Finding diagnostic patterns for fighting diseases like Burkholderia pseudomallei using biomarkers involves two key issues. First, exhausting all subsets of testable biomarkers (antigens in this context) to find a best one is computationally infeasible. Therefore, a proper optimization approach like evolutionary computation should be investigated. Second, a properly selected function of the antigens as the diagnostic pattern which is commonly unknown is a key to the diagnostic accuracy and the diagnostic effectiveness in clinical use. Results: A conversion function is proposed to convert serum tests of antigens on patients to binary values based on which Boolean functions as the diagnostic patterns are developed. A genetic programming approach is designed for optimizing the diagnostic patterns in terms of their accuracy and effectiveness. During optimization, it is aimed to maximize the coverage (the rate of positive response to antigens) in the infected patients and minimize the coverage in the non-infected patients while maintaining the fewest number of testable antigens used in the Boolean functions as possible. The final coverage in the infected patients is 96.55% using 17 of 215 (7.4%) antigens with zero coverage in the non-infected patients. Among these 17 antigens, BPSL2697 is the most frequently selected one for the diagnosis of Burkholderia Pseudomallei. The approach has been evaluated using both the cross-validation and the Jack–knife simulation methods with the prediction accuracy as 93% and 92%, respectively. A novel approach is also proposed in this study to evaluate a model with binary data using ROC analysis. Contact: z.r.yang@ex.ac.uk PMID:19561021

Periodic and aperiodic flow patterns around an airfoil with leading-edge protuberances

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Chang; Zuo, Zhigang; Maeda, Takao; Kamada, Yasunari; Li, Qing'an; Shimamoto, Kensei; Liu, Shuhong

2017-11-01

Recently leading-edge protuberances have attracted great attention as a passive method for separation control. In this paper, the effect of multiple leading-edge protuberances on the performance of a two-dimensional airfoil is investigated through experimental measurement of aerodynamic forces, surface tuft visualization, and numerical simulation. In contrast to the sharp stall of the baseline airfoil with large hysteresis effect during AOA (angle of attack) increasing and decreasing, the stall process of the modified airfoil with leading-edge protuberances is gentle and stable. Flow visualization revealed that the flow past each protuberance is periodic and symmetric at small AOAs. Streamwise vortices are generated on the shoulders of the protuberance, leading to a larger separation around the valley sections and a longer attachment along the peak sections. When some critical AOA is exceeded, aperiodic and asymmetric flow patterns occur on the protuberances at different spanwise positions, with leading-edge separation on some of the valley sections and non-stalled condition elsewhere. A combined mechanism, involving both the compartmentalization effect of the slender momentum-enhanced attached flows on the protuberance peaks and the downwash effect of the local stalled region with low circulation, is proposed to explain the generation of the aperiodic flow patterns. The influence of the number of protuberances is also investigated, which shows similar aperiodic flow patterns. The distance between the neighboring local stalled valley sections is found to be in the range of 4-7 times the protuberance wavelength. According to the proposed mechanism, it is speculated that the distance between the neighboring local stalled valley sections is inclined to increase with a smaller protuberance amplitude or at a larger AOA.

Did the dependent coverage expansion increase risky substance use among young adults?

Science.gov (United States)

Breslau, Joshua; Yu, Hao; Han, Bing; Pacula, Rosalie L; Burns, Rachel M; Stein, Bradley D

2017-09-01

The dependent coverage expansion (DCE) enacted through the Affordable Care Act increased health insurance coverage among young adults. Increasing insurance coverage in this age group has the potential for unintended consequences on risky substance use. Repeated cross-sectional surveys were used to compare change in substance use during the period the DCE was implemented in the 19-25year old target age group (Pre-DCE n=15,772, Post-DCE n=22,719) with contemporaneous change in a slightly older age group that was not targeted by the policy (Pre-DCE=19,851, Post-DCE n=28,157). Outcomes include 11 measures of alcohol, illicit drug and cigarette use. Statistical controls were included for demographic and socioeconomic factors and for early initiation of substance use to adjust for historical trends in developmental trajectories. Risky substance use decreased in young adults relative to the older age group over the period that the DCE was implemented. However, statistical adjustment for initiation of substance use prior to age 18, which is prior to exposure to the DCE, accounted for the differences between the age groups. In adjusted models, associations between the DCE and substance use outcomes range from 0.96 to 1.08 with p-values ranging from 0.330 to 0.963. Historical trends in initiation of substance use prior to age 18, not the DCE, account for change in risky substance use among 19-25year olds relative to 26-34year olds. The evidence does not support the suggestion that health insurance coverage would increase risky substance use among young adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dietary Patterns After the Weaning and Lactation Period Are Associated With Celiac Disease Autoimmunity in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Barroso, Monica; Beth, Sytske A; Voortman, Trudy; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; van Zelm, Menno C; Moll, Henriette A; Kiefte-de Jong, Jessica C

2018-06-01

There have been many studies of associations between infant feeding practices and development of celiac disease during childhood, but few studies have focused on overall diets of young children after the weaning period. We aimed to examine the association between common dietary patterns in infants and the occurrence of celiac disease autoimmunity during childhood. We performed a prospective analysis of data from the Generation R Study that comprised 1997 children born from April 2002 through January 2006 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Food consumption around 1 year of age was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Dietary data were examined using a priori (based on existing guidelines) and a posteriori (principal component analysis and reduced rank regression) dietary pattern analyses. Five dietary patterns were compared. Celiac disease autoimmunity, determined on the basis of serum concentration of transglutaminase-2 autoantibody (ie, TG2A) below or above 7 U/mL, was evaluated at 6 years. Associations between dietary pattern adherence scores and celiac disease autoimmunity were examined using multivariable logistic regression models. Higher adherence to the a posteriori-derived prudent dietary pattern (high intake of vegetables, vegetable oils, pasta, and grains and low consumption of refined cereals and sweet beverages) at 1 year was significantly associated with lower odds of celiac disease autoimmunity at 6 years (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.84). No significant associations were found for the 4 remaining dietary patterns. In a prospective study of dietary patterns of young children in the Netherlands, we associated a dietary pattern characterized by high consumption of vegetables and grains and low consumption of refined cereals and sweet beverages, with lower odds of celiac disease autoimmunity. Early-life dietary patterns might therefore be involved in the development of celiac disease during childhood. Copyright �

The cigarette advertising broadcast ban and magazine coverage of smoking and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, K E; Goldenhar, L M

1989-01-01

At the time of the cigarette broadcast advertising ban, which took effect in 1971, cigarette manufacturers rapidly shifted advertising expenditures from the broadcast media to the print media. In the last year of broadcast advertising and the first year of the ban, cigarette ad expenditures in a sample of major national magazines increased by 49 and then 131 percent in constant dollars. From an 11-year period preceding the ban to an 11-year period following it, these magazines decreased their coverage of smoking and health by 65 percent, an amount that is statistically significantly greater than decreases found in magazines that did not carry cigarette ads and in two major newspapers. This finding adds to evidence that media dependent on cigarette advertising have restricted their coverage of smoking and health. This may have significant implications for public health, as well as raising obvious concerns about the integrity of the profession of journalism.

Natural quasy-periodic binary structure with focusing property in near field diffraction pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihailescu, Mona

2010-06-07

A naturally-inspired phase-only diffractive optical element with a circular symmetry given by a quasi-periodic structure of the phyllotaxis type is presented in this paper. It is generated starting with the characteristic parametric equations which are optimal for the golden angle interval. For some ideal geometrical parameters, the diffracted intensity distribution in near-field has a central closed ring with almost zero intensity inside. Its radius and intensity values depend on the geometry or non-binary phase distribution superposed onto the phyllotaxis geometry. Along propagation axis, the transverse diffraction patterns from the binary-phase diffractive structure exhibit a self-focusing behavior and a rotational motion.

Sociodemographic Disparities in Local Smoke-Free Law Coverage in 10 States.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jidong; King, Brian A; Babb, Stephen D; Xu, Xin; Hallett, Cynthia; Hopkins, Maggie

2015-09-01

We assessed sociodemographic disparities in local 100% smoke-free laws prohibiting smoking in all indoor areas of nonhospitality worksites, restaurants, and bars in 10 states. We obtained data on local 100% smoke-free laws (US Tobacco Control Laws Database) and subcounty characteristics (2006-2010 American Community Survey) for Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. Outcomes included (1) 100% smoke-free law covering restaurants, bars, and workplaces; (2) 100% smoke-free law covering restaurants, bars, or workplaces; and (3) number of venue types covered by 100% smoke-free laws (0-3). Sociodemographics included total population, urban status, percentage racial/ethnic minority, per capita income, percentage with high-school diploma, percentage with blue-collar jobs, and percentage of workers who live and work in the same locality. Across states, localities with less-educated residents, smaller proportions of workers living and working in the same locality, or both generally had lower odds of being covered by 100% smoke-free laws. Coverage varied across states for other sociodemographics. Disparities exist in local smoke-free law coverage. Identifying patterns in coverage can inform state efforts to address related disparities.

Applications of Logic Coverage Criteria and Logic Mutation to Software Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Kaminski, Garrett K.

2011-01-01

Logic is an important component of software. Thus, software logic testing has enjoyed significant research over a period of decades, with renewed interest in the last several years. One approach to detecting logic faults is to create and execute tests that satisfy logic coverage criteria. Another approach to detecting faults is to perform mutation…

Minimum Lateral Bone Coverage Required for Securing Fixation of Cementless Acetabular Components in Hip Dysplasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanori Fujii

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. To determine the minimum lateral bone coverage required for securing stable fixation of the porous-coated acetabular components (cups in hip dysplasia. Methods. In total, 215 primary total hip arthroplasties in 199 patients were reviewed. The average follow-up period was 49 months (range: 24–77 months. The lateral bone coverage of the cups was assessed by determining the cup center-edge (cup-CE angle and the bone coverage index (BCI from anteroposterior pelvic radiographs. Further, cup fixation was determined using the modified DeLee and Charnley classification system. Results. All cups were judged to show stable fixation by bone ingrowth. The cup-CE angle was less than 0° in 7 hips (3.3% and the minimum cup-CE angle was −9.2° (BCI: 48.8%. Thin radiolucent lines were observed in 5 hips (2.3%, which were not associated with decreased lateral bone coverage. Loosening, osteolysis, dislocation, or revision was not observed in any of the cases during the follow-up period. Conclusion. A cup-CE angle greater than −10° (BCI > 50% was acceptable for stable bony fixation of the cup. Considering possible errors in manual implantation, we recommend that the cup position be planned such that the cup-CE angle is greater than 0° (BCI > 60%.

Automatic detection of rhythmic and periodic patterns in critical care EEG based on American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS) standardized terminology.

Science.gov (United States)

Fürbass, F; Hartmann, M M; Halford, J J; Koren, J; Herta, J; Gruber, A; Baumgartner, C; Kluge, T

2015-09-01

Continuous EEG from critical care patients needs to be evaluated time efficiently to maximize the treatment effect. A computational method will be presented that detects rhythmic and periodic patterns according to the critical care EEG terminology (CCET) of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS). The aim is to show that these detected patterns support EEG experts in writing neurophysiological reports. First of all, three case reports exemplify the evaluation procedure using graphically presented detections. Second, 187 hours of EEG from 10 critical care patients were used in a comparative trial study. For each patient the result of a review session using the EEG and the visualized pattern detections was compared to the original neurophysiology report. In three out of five patients with reported seizures, all seizures were reported correctly. In two patients, several subtle clinical seizures with unclear EEG correlation were missed. Lateralized periodic patterns (LPD) were correctly found in 2/2 patients and EEG slowing was correctly found in 7/9 patients. In 8/10 patients, additional EEG features were found including LPDs, EEG slowing, and seizures. The use of automatic pattern detection will assist in review of EEG and increase efficiency. The implementation of bedside surveillance devices using our detection algorithm appears to be feasible and remains to be confirmed in further multicenter studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Prognostic EEG patterns in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest with particular focus on Generalized Periodic Epileptiform Discharges (GPEDs).

Science.gov (United States)

Milani, P; Malissin, I; Tran-Dinh, Y R; Deye, N; Baud, F; Lévy, B I; Kubis, N

2014-04-01

We assessed clinical and early electrophysiological characteristics, in particular Generalized Periodic Epileptiform Discharges (GPEDs) patterns, of consecutive patients during a 1-year period, hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after resuscitation following cardiac arrest (CA). Consecutive patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest (CA) with first EEG recordings within 48hours were included. Clinical data were collected from hospital records, in particular therapeutic hypothermia. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) were re-analyzed retrospectively. Sixty-two patients were included. Forty-two patients (68%) were treated with therapeutic hypothermia according to international guidelines. Global mortality was 74% but not significantly different between patients who benefited from therapeutic hypothermia compared to those who did not. All the patients who did not have an initial background activity (36/62; 58%) died. By contrast, initial background activity was present in 26/62 (42%) and among these patients, 16/26 (61%) survived. Electroencephalography demonstrated GPEDs patterns in 5 patients, all treated by therapeutic hypothermia and antiepileptic drugs. One of these survived and showed persistent background activity with responsiveness to benzodiazepine intravenous injection. Patients presenting suppressed background activity, even when treated by hypothermia, have a high probability of poor outcome. Thorough analysis of EEG patterns might help to identify patients with a better chance of survival. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Improving the signal visibility of optical-disk-drive sensors by analyte patterning and frequency-domain analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefer, S; Chau, K J

2011-01-01

One limitation of using compact disks (CDs) and optical disk drives for sensing and imaging of analytes placed on a CD is the fluctuations in the voltage signal from the disk drive generated while reading the data on the CD. In this study, we develop a simple, low-cost strategy for sensing and identification using CDs and optical disk drives that spectrally separates contributions to the voltage signal caused by an analyte intentionally placed onto the CD and that caused by the underlying data on the CD. Analytes are printed onto a CD surface with fixed spatial periodicity. As the laser beam in an optical disk drive scans over the section of the CD containing the analyte pattern, the intensity of the laser beam incident onto the photodiode integrated into the disk drive is modulated at a frequency dependent on the spatial periodicity of the analyte pattern and the speed of the optical-disk-drive motor. Fourier transformation of the voltage signal from the optical disk drive yields peaks in the frequency spectrum with amplitudes and locations that enable analyte sensing and identification, respectively. We study the influence of analyte area coverage, pattern periodicity, and CD rotational frequency on the peaks in the frequency spectrum associated with the patterned analyte. We apply this technique to discriminate differently-colored analytes, perform trigger-free detection of multiple analytes distributed on a single CD, and detect at least two different, overlapped analyte patterns on a single CD. The extension of this technique for sensing and identification of colorimetric chemical reagents is discussed

Worldwide food recall patterns over an eleven month period: A country perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petróczi Andrea

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Following the World Health Organization Forum in November 2007, the Beijing Declaration recognized the importance of food safety along with the rights of all individuals to a safe and adequate diet. The aim of this study is to retrospectively analyze the patterns in food alert and recall by countries to identify the principal hazard generators and gatekeepers of food safety in the eleven months leading up to the Declaration. Methods The food recall data set was collected by the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC, UK over the period from January to November 2007. Statistics were computed with the focus reporting patterns by the 117 countries. The complexity of the recorded interrelations was depicted as a network constructed from structural properties contained in the data. The analysed network properties included degrees, weighted degrees, modularity and k-core decomposition. Network analyses of the reports, based on 'country making report' (detector and 'country reported on' (transgressor, revealed that the network is organized around a dominant core. Results Ten countries were reported for sixty per cent of all faulty products marketed, with the top 5 countries having received between 100 to 281 reports. Further analysis of the dominant core revealed that out of the top five transgressors three made no reports (in the order China > Turkey > Iran. The top ten detectors account for three quarters of reports with three > 300 (Italy: 406, Germany: 340, United Kingdom: 322. Conclusion Of the 117 countries studied, the vast majority of food reports are made by 10 countries, with EU countries predominating. The majority of the faulty foodstuffs originate in ten countries with four major producers making no reports. This pattern is very distant from that proposed by the Beijing Declaration which urges all countries to take responsibility for the provision of safe and adequate diets for their nationals.

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...

[Strategies to improve influenza vaccination coverage in Primary Health Care].

Science.gov (United States)

Antón, F; Richart, M J; Serrano, S; Martínez, A M; Pruteanu, D F

2016-04-01

Vaccination coverage reached in adults is insufficient, and there is a real need for new strategies. To compare strategies for improving influenza vaccination coverage in persons older than 64 years. New strategies were introduced in our health care centre during 2013-2014 influenza vaccination campaign, which included vaccinating patients in homes for the aged as well as in the health care centre. A comparison was made on vaccination coverage over the last 4 years in 3 practices of our health care centre: P1, the general physician vaccinated patients older than 64 that came to the practice; P2, the general physician systematically insisted in vaccination in elderly patients, strongly advising to book appointments, and P3, the general physician did not insist. These practices looked after P1: 278; P2: 320; P3: 294 patients older than 64 years. Overall/P1/P2/P3 coverages in 2010: 51.2/51.4/55/46.9% (P=NS), in 2011: 52.4/52.9/53.8/50.3% (P=NS), in 2012: 51.9/52.5/55.3/47.6% (P=NS), and in 2013: 63.5/79.1/59.7/52.7 (P=.000, P1 versus P2 and P3; P=NS between P2 and P3). Comparing the coverages in 2012-2013 within each practice P1 (P=.000); P2 (P=.045); P3 (P=.018). In P2 and P3 all vaccinations were given by the nurses as previously scheduled. In P3, 55% of the vaccinations were given by the nurses, 24.1% by the GP, 9.7% rejected vaccination, and the remainder did not come to the practice during the vaccination period (October 2013-February 2014). The strategy of vaccinating in the homes for the aged improved the vaccination coverage by 5% in each practice. The strategy of "I've got you here, I jab you here" in P1 improved the vaccination coverage by 22%. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Coverage maximization for a poisson field of drone cells

KAUST Repository

Azari, Mohammad Mahdi

2018-02-15

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

Assessing the value of the NHIS for studying changes in state coverage policies: the case of New York.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Sharon K; Graves, John A; Zuckerman, Stephen

2007-12-01

(1) To assess the effects of New York's Health Care Reform Act of 2000 on the insurance coverage of eligible adults and (2) to explore the feasibility of using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as opposed to the Current Population Survey (CPS) to conduct evaluations of state health reform initiatives. We take advantage of the natural experiment that occurred in New York to compare health insurance coverage for adults before and after the state implemented its coverage initiative using a difference-in-differences framework. We estimate the effects of New York's initiative on insurance coverage using the NHIS, comparing the results to estimates based on the CPS, the most widely used data source for studies of state coverage policy changes. Although the sample sizes are smaller in the NHIS, the NHIS addresses a key limitation of the CPS for such evaluations by providing a better measure of health insurance status. Given the complexity of the timing of the expansion efforts in New York (which encompassed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks), we allow for difference in the effects of the state's policy changes over time. In particular, we allow for differences between the period of Disaster Relief Medicaid (DRM), which was a temporary program implemented immediately after September 11th, and the original components of the state's reform efforts-Family Health Plus (FHP), an expansion of direct Medicaid coverage, and Healthy New York (HNY), an effort to make private coverage more affordable. 2000-2004 CPS; 1999-2004 NHIS. We find evidence of a significant reduction in uninsurance for parents in New York, particularly in the period following DRM. For childless adults, for whom the coverage expansion was more circumscribed, the program effects are less promising, as we find no evidence of a significant decline in uninsurance. The success of New York at reducing uninsurance for parents through expansions of both public and private coverage offers hope for new

Characteristics of Young Adults Enrolled Through the Affordable Care Act-Dependent Coverage Expansion.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Xuesong; Zhu, Shiyun; Jemal, Ahmedin

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine sociodemographic and health care-related characteristics of young adults covered through the Affordable Care Act (ACA)-dependent coverage expansion. Our sample consisted of 36,802 young adults aged 19-25 years from 2011 to 2014 National Health Interview Survey. Sociodemographic differences among young adults with the four insurance types were described: privately insured under parents, privately insured under self/spouse, publicly insured, and uninsured. Multivariable logistic models were fitted to compare those covered under parent with those covered through other traditional insurance types, in terms of the following outcomes: health status, health behaviors, insurance history and experience, access to care, care utilization, and receipt of preventive service, controlling for sociodemographic factors. Young adults who were covered under their parents' insurance were most likely to be college students and non-Hispanic whites. These young adults also had more stable insurance, better access to care, better care utilization patterns, and reported better health status, compared to their peers. The beneficiaries of the ACA-dependent coverage expansion were more likely to be college students from families with high socioeconomic status. Coverage under parents was associated with improved access to care and health outcomes among young adults. The enrollees through the ACA represent the healthiest subgroup of young adults and those with the best care utilization patterns, suggesting that the added cost relative to premium for insurers from this population will likely be minimal. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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...

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

Dynamic Assessment on the Landscape Patterns and Spatio-temporal Change in the mainstream of Tarim River

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hui; Xue, Lianqing; Yang, Changbing; Chen, Xinfang; Zhang, Luochen; Wei, Guanghui

2018-01-01

The Tarim River (TR), as the longest inland river at an arid area in China, is a typical regions of vegetation variation research and plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of regional ecological environment. In this paper, the newest dataset of MODND1M NDVI, at a resolution of 500m, were applied to calculate vegetation index in growing season during the period 2000-2015. Using a vegetation coverage index, a trend line analysis, and the local spatial autocorrelation analysis, this paper investigated the landscape patterns and spatio-temporal variation of vegetation coverage at regional and pixel scales over mainstream of the Tarim River, Xinjiang. The results showed that (1) The bare land area on both sides of Tarim River appeared to have a fluctuated downward trend and there were two obvious valley values in 2005 and 2012. (2) Spatially, the vegetation coverage improved areas is mostly distributed in upstream and the degraded areas is mainly distributed in the left bank of midstream and the end of Tarim River during 2000-2005. (3) The local spatial auto-correlation analysis revealed that vegetation coverage was spatially positive autocorrelated and spatial concentrated. The high-high self-related areas are mainly distributed in upstream, where vegetation cover are relatively good, and the low-low self-related areas are mostly with lower vegetation cover in the lower reaches of Tarim River.

[Estimation of desert vegetation coverage based on multi-source remote sensing data].

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Hong-Mei; Li, Xia; Dong, Dao-Rui

2012-12-01

Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study areaAbstract: Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study area and based on the ground investigation and the multi-source remote sensing data of different resolutions, the estimation models for desert vegetation coverage were built, with the precisions of different estimation methods and models compared. The results showed that with the increasing spatial resolution of remote sensing data, the precisions of the estimation models increased. The estimation precision of the models based on the high, middle-high, and middle-low resolution remote sensing data was 89.5%, 87.0%, and 84.56%, respectively, and the precisions of the remote sensing models were higher than that of vegetation index method. This study revealed the change patterns of the estimation precision of desert vegetation coverage based on different spatial resolution remote sensing data, and realized the quantitative conversion of the parameters and scales among the high, middle, and low spatial resolution remote sensing data of desert vegetation coverage, which would provide direct evidence for establishing and implementing comprehensive remote sensing monitoring scheme for the ecological restoration in the study area.

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...

Trends in US newspaper and television coverage of tobacco.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, David E; Pederson, Linda L; Mowery, Paul; Bailey, Sarah; Sevilimedu, Varadan; London, Joel; Babb, Stephen; Pechacek, Terry

2015-01-01

The news media plays an important role in agenda setting and framing of stories about tobacco control. The purpose of this study was to examine newspaper, newswire and television coverage of tobacco issues in the USA over a 7-year period. Analyses of 2004-2010 news media surveillance system data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health, based on content analysis and quantitative methods. Information on extent of news coverage, and types of tobacco-related themes, were examined from articles in 10 newspapers and 2 major newswires, as well as transcripts from 6 national television networks. The overall extent of newspaper, newswire and television stories about tobacco, and level of coverage by specific media outlets, varied over time, especially for newspapers. Nevertheless, there was an average of 3 newspaper stories, 4 newswire stories, and 1 television tobacco-related story each day. Television stories were more likely to contain cessation/addiction or health effects/statistics themes and less likely to contain secondhand smoke or policy/regulation themes than newspaper/newswire stories. There was more variation in the choice of tobacco theme among individual newspapers/newswires than television media outlets. News coverage of tobacco in the USA was relatively constant from 2004 to 2010. Audiences were more likely to be exposed to different tobacco themes in newspapers/newswires than on television. Tracking information about tobacco news stories can be used by advocates, programs and others for planning and evaluation, and by researchers for hypothesis generation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

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.

Social contact patterns of school-age children in Taiwan: comparison of the term time and holiday periods.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, S-C; You, Z-S

2015-04-01

School closure is one of the most common interventions in the early weeks of an influenza pandemic. Few studies have investigated social contact patterns and compared individual student contact characteristics during the school term and holiday periods in Taiwan. Here, we conducted a well-used questionnaire survey in a junior high school (grades 7-8) in June 2013. All 150 diary-based effective questionnaires covering conversation and skin-to-skin contact behaviour were surveyed. Two questionnaires for each participant were designed to investigate the individual-level difference of contact numbers per day during the two periods. The questionnaire response rate was 44%. The average number of contacts during term time (20·0 contacts per day) and holiday periods (12·6 contacts per day) were significantly different (P holiday periods, the number of contacts decreased by 40%. This study is the first research to investigate the contact numbers and contact characteristics for school-age children during the school term and a holiday period in Taiwan. With regard to public health, this study could provide the basic contact information and database for modelling influenza epidemics for minimizing the spread of influenza that depends on personal contacts for transmission.

Impact of statin related media coverage on use of statins: interrupted time series analysis with UK primary care data.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Anthony; Herrett, Emily; Gasparrini, Antonio; Van Staa, Tjeerd; Goldacre, Ben; Smeeth, Liam; Bhaskaran, Krishnan

2016-06-28

 To quantify how a period of intense media coverage of controversy over the risk:benefit balance of statins affected their use.  Interrupted time series analysis of prospectively collected electronic data from primary care.  Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) in the United Kingdom.  Patients newly eligible for or currently taking statins for primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention in each month in January 2011-March 2015.  Adjusted odds ratios for starting/stopping taking statins after the media coverage (October 2013-March 2014).  There was no evidence that the period of high media coverage was associated with changes in statin initiation among patients with a high recorded risk score for cardiovascular disease (primary prevention) or a recent cardiovascular event (secondary prevention) (odds ratio 0.99 (95% confidence interval 0.87 to 1.13; P=0.92) and 1.04 (0.92 to 1.18; P=0.54), respectively), though there was a decrease in the overall proportion of patients with a recorded risk score. Patients already taking statins were more likely to stop taking them for both primary and secondary prevention after the high media coverage period (1.11 (1.05 to 1.18; P<0.001) and 1.12 (1.04 to 1.21; P=0.003), respectively). Stratified analyses showed that older patients and those with a longer continuous prescription were more likely to stop taking statins after the media coverage. In post hoc analyses, the increased rates of cessation were no longer observed after six months.  A period of intense public discussion over the risks:benefit balance of statins, covered widely in the media, was followed by a transient rise in the proportion of people who stopped taking statins. This research highlights the potential for widely covered health stories in the lay media to impact on healthcare related behaviour. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Changing Revolutions, Changing Attention? Comparing Danish Press Coverage of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Syria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskjær, Mikkel Fugl

2012-01-01

The Arab Spring has generated unprecedented attention to the Arab world in Western news media. This paper presents a comparative study of Danish press coverage of the uprisings in Tunisia and Syria during the early months of the Arab Spring (January-March 2011). The study is based on a mixed...... quantitative and qualitative content analysis aimed at identifying patterns of news reporting of the Arab Spring. The investigation looks into whether temporal developments of the Arab revolutions, the level of journalistic presence in the region, and national differences influence Danish press coverage...... of the Arab Spring. The findings indicate that media coverage of the Arab Spring points in different directions. On the one hand there has been a remarkable increase in media attention to the Middle East in purely quantitative terms. On the other hand the study finds that a number of traditional media...

Coverage of genomic medicine: information gap between lay public and scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugawara, Yuya; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Fukao, Akira

2012-01-01

The sharing of information between the lay public and medical professionals is crucial to the conduct of personalized medicine using genomic information in the near future. Mass media, such as newspapers, can play an important role in disseminating scientific information. However, studies on the role of newspaper coverage of genome-related articles are highly limited. We investigated the coverage of genomic medicine in five major Japanese newspapers (Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Sankei, and Nikkei) using Nikkei Telecom and articles in scientific journals in PubMed from 1995 to 2009. The number of genome-related articles in all five newspapers temporarily increased in 2000, and began continuously decreasing thereafter from 2001 to 2009. Conversely, there was a continuous increasing trend in the number of genome-related articles in PubMed during this period. The numbers of genome-related articles among the five major newspapers from 1995 to 2009 were significantly different (P = 0.002). Commentaries, research articles, and articles about companies were the most frequent in 2001 and 2003, when the number of genome-related articles transiently increased in the five newspapers. This study highlights the significant gap between newspaper coverage and scientific articles in scientific journals.

Device evaluation and coverage policy in workers' compensation: examples from Washington State.

Science.gov (United States)

Franklin, G M; Lifka, J; Milstein, J

1998-09-25

Workers' compensation health benefits are broader than general health benefits and include payment for medical and rehabilitation costs, associated indemnity (lost time) costs, and vocational rehabilitation (return-to-work) costs. In addition, cost liability is for the life of the claim (injury), rather than for each plan year. We examined device evaluation and coverage policy in workers' compensation over a 10-year period in Washington State. Most requests for device coverage in workers' compensation relate to the diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of chronic musculoskeletal conditions. A number of specific problems have been recognized in making device coverage decisions within workers' compensation: (1) invasive devices with a high adverse event profile and history of poor outcomes could significantly increase both indemnity and medical costs; (2) many noninvasive devices, while having a low adverse event profile, have not proved effective for managing chronic musculoskeletal conditions relevant to injured workers; (3) some devices are marketed and billed as surrogate diagnostic tests for generally accepted, and more clearly proven, standard tests; (4) quality oversight of technology use among physicians may be inadequate; and (5) insurers' access to efficacy data adequate to make timely and appropriate coverage decisions in workers' compensation is often lacking. Emerging technology may substantially increase the costs of workers' compensation without significant evidence of health benefit for injured workers. To prevent ever-rising costs, we need to increase provider education and patient education and consent, involve the state medical society in coverage policy, and collect relevant outcomes data from healthcare providers.

SOURCING PATTERNS WITHIN BRITISH AND AMERICAN NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE 2011 EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION: THE RISE OF NON-ELITE PRIMARY DEFINERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Fitzgerald

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have noted the dominance of official sources within the news process and their unique ability to shape media narratives. This research addresses the role and implications of news sources in contributing to the overwhelmingly positive portrayal of the anti-Mubarak opposition protesters within British and American newspaper coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Furthermore, this paper will assess how the position of global political elites towards the protests in Egypt possibly opened up the editorial space within the news coverage of the revolution for the anti-Mubarak opposition movement to emerge as the dominant voice within the reporting.

Periodic Recurrence Patterns In X-Ray Solar Flare Appearances

Science.gov (United States)

Gyenge, N.; Erdélyi, R.

2018-06-01

The temporal recurrence of micro-flare events is studied for a time interval before and after of major solar flares. Our sample is based on the X-ray flare observations by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The analyzed data contain 1330/301 M-class and X-class GOES/RHESSI energetic solar flares and 4062/4119 GOES/RHESSI micro-flares covering the period elapse since 2002. The temporal analysis of recurrence, by Fast Fourier Transform, of the micro-flares, shows multiple significant periods. Based on the GOES and RHESSI data, the temporal analysis also demonstrates that multiple periods manifest simultaneously in both statistical samples without any significant shift over time. In the GOES sample, the detected significant periods are: 11.33, 5.61, 3.75, 2.80, and 2.24 minutes. The RHESSI data show similar significant periods at 8.54, 5.28, 3.66, 2.88, and 2.19 minutes. The periods are interpreted as signatures of standing oscillations, with the longest period (P 1) being the fundamental and others being higher harmonic modes. The period ratio of the fundamental and higher harmonics (P 1/P N ) is also analyzed. The standing modes may be signatures of global oscillations of the entire solar atmosphere encompassing magnetized plasma from the photosphere to the corona in active regions.

Women's Longitudinal Patterns of Smoking during the Pre-Conception, Pregnancy and Postnatal Period: Evidence from the UK Infant Feeding Survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kate E Fitzpatrick

Full Text Available An understanding of women's longitudinal patterns of smoking during the pre-conception, pregnancy and postnatal period and the factors associated with these patterns could help better inform smoking cessation services and interventions.Latent class analysis (LCA was used to empirically identify women's smoking patterns in a sample of 10,768 mothers from the 2010 UK Infant Feeding Survey. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify characteristics associated with these patterns.LCA identified five distinct smoking patterns during the pre-conception, pregnancy and postnatal period: "non-smokers" (74.1% of women; "pregnancy-inspired quitters" (10.2%; "persistent smokers" (10.1%; "temporary quitters" (4.4%; and postnatal quitters (1.1%. Smoking patterns varied markedly according to socio-demographic variables and parity. After adjusting for these variables, mothers who lived during pregnancy with a partner who smoked were more likely to be temporary quitters (aOR 2.64, 95% CI 1.74-3.99 or persistent smokers (aOR 3.32, 95% CI 2.34-4.72 than pregnancy-inspired quitters. Mothers who lived during pregnancy with someone else other than a partner who smoked were more likely to be persistent smokers (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.38-3.97 or postnatal quitters (aOR 2.97, 95% CI 1.07-8.24 than pregnancy-inspired quitters. Mothers given information on how their partner could stop smoking if they lived during pregnancy with a smoking partner were less likely to be persistent smokers (aOR 0.42, 95% CI 0.27-0.65 than pregnancy-inspired quitters.Health professionals should ask about smoking at every opportunity, and refer women who self-report as current smokers to an evidence based smoking cessation service.

Management of advanced hair loss patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Beehner, Michael L

2013-08-01

This article covers how to manage patients with extensive hair loss in whom complete, dense coverage is not possible. In addition to discussing planning a transplant pattern for already bald men, I discuss a conservative approach for recognizing and transplanting younger patients who have telltale warning signs that may evolve to extensive hair loss. For both groups, a variant of a frontal forelock-type pattern is usually the best course to follow. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Periodic Boundary Motion in Thermal Turbulence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jun; Libchaber, Albert

2000-01-01

A free-floating plate is introduced in a Benard convection cell with an open surface. It partially covers the cell and distorts the local heat flux, inducing a coherent flow that in turn moves the plate. Remarkably, the plate can be driven to a periodic motion even under the action of a turbulent fluid. The period of the oscillation depends on the coverage ratio, and on the Rayleigh number of the convective system. The plate oscillatory behavior observed in this experiment may be related to a geological model, in which continents drift in a quasiperiodic fashion. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

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...

Coverage and compliance MDA programme for lymphatic filariasis in Bidar district, Karnataka, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dharukaswami. Mallayya. Koradhanyamath

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To describe the socio demographic characteristics of beneficiaries of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA programme, to assess the coverage, compliance and causes for noncompliance towards MDA in the district, to assess the awareness regarding elephantiasis among beneficiaries and to assess the knowledge of drug distributors towards the filariasis and MDA programme. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in 3 rural and 1 urban clusters in Bidar district for the period of 1 week. 50 houses were selected in each cluster by systematic random sampling method and data was collected in a structured proforma by interview technique. Results: Majority of beneficiaries were at the age group of 15-60 years (72.3% and male (53%. The overall coverage of MDA in Bidar district was 62.3%. Compliance among those who had received the tablets was 60.4%. Coverage and compliance was more in rural areas compared to urban. The most common reason quoted for not consuming drugs was fear of adverse effects (72.2% The incidence of adverse events was 0.2%. Even though 75% of them were aware of the disease elephantiasis, only 45.4% had knowledge regarding MDA programme. The knowledge of drug distributors towards MDA and filariasis was found to be adequate. Conclusions: Coverage and compliance towards MDA in Bidar district was poor. The coverage and compliance in rural areas was higher compared to the urban areas.

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.

Redefining periodic patterns on electroencephalograms of patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Jung-Won; Yim, Byeongsoo; Oh, Seung Hun; Kim, Nam Keun; Lee, Sang Kun; Kim, Ok-Joon

2017-05-01

We aimed to redefine various periodic patterns (PPs) observed on electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) using the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society's (ACNS) Criteria. We analyzed EEG data of 23 patients with sCJD were admitted to two university hospitals between August 2005 and September 2015. We classified PPs on EEG data into three types: irregular periodic discharges (PDs) with superimposed rhythmic activities, appearing at a median of 8weeks after onset (w.a.o.); rhythmic sharp-and-wave, at a median of 11w.a.o.; and PDs with biphasic or triphasic morphology, at a median of 17w.a.o. Of 16 patients presenting with PPs, 14 had widespread lesions in both cortical and subcortical areas with clinical stage III at admission, and shorter time intervals for admission to hospital from disease onset than patients without PPs (Patients with PP, 11.6±12.2weeks; without PP, 18.2±8.3weeks; p=0.033). PPs largely presented as three types at different stages of disease progression, and patients who had PPs had more wide spread lesions and rapid disease progression. Our redefinition of PPs demonstrated on EEG using the ACNS criteria may contribute to further understanding of the pathological mechanisms of sCJD, and PPs might be a predictive factor of a rapid sCJD progression. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

20 CFR 404.1065 - Self-employment coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

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

Assessing Measurement Error in Medicare Coverage

Data.gov (United States)

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

Mass anti-malarial administration in western Cambodia: a qualitative study of factors affecting coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Pell, Christopher; Tripura, Rupam; Nguon, Chea; Cheah, Phaikyeong; Davoeung, Chan; Heng, Chhouen; Dara, Lim; Sareth, Ma; Dondorp, Arjen; von Seidlein, Lorenz; Peto, Thomas J

2017-05-19

Mass anti-malarial administration has been proposed as a key component of the Plasmodium falciparum malaria elimination strategy in the Greater Mekong sub-Region. Its effectiveness depends on high levels of coverage in the target population. This article explores the factors that influenced mass anti-malarial administration coverage within a clinical trial in Battambang Province, western Cambodia. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with villagers, in-depth interviews with study staff, trial drop-outs and refusers, and observations in the communities. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated from Khmer to English for qualitative content analysis using QSR NVivo. Malaria was an important health concern and villagers reported a demand for malaria treatment. This was in spite of a fall in incidence over the previous decade and a lack of familiarity with asymptomatic malaria. Participants generally understood the overall study aim and were familiar with study activities. Comprehension of the study rationale was however limited. After the first mass anti-malarial administration, seasonal health complaints that participants attributed to the anti-malarial as "side effects" contributed to a decrease of coverage in round two. Staff therefore adapted the community engagement approach, bringing to prominence local leaders in village meetings. This contributed to a subsequent increase in coverage. Future mass anti-malarial administration must consider seasonal disease patterns and the importance of local leaders taking prominent roles in community engagement. Further research is needed to investigate coverage in scenarios that more closely resemble implementation i.e. without participation incentives, blood sampling and free healthcare.

Bad news: The influence of news coverage and Google searches on Gardasil adverse event reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

Faasse, Kate; Porsius, Jarry T; Faasse, Jonathan; Martin, Leslie R

2017-12-14

Human papilloma virus vaccines are a safe and effective tool for reducing HPV infections that can cause cervical cancer. However, uptake of these vaccines has been suboptimal, with many people holding negative beliefs and misconceptions. Such beliefs have been linked with the experience of unpleasant side effects following medical treatment, and media coverage may heighten such concerns. The present study sought to assess the influence of news coverage (number of news articles per month) on adverse event reporting in response to Gardasil vaccination in New Zealand over a 7.5-year period, and whether the influence of news coverage was mediated by internet search activity (Google search volumes). Multiple linear regression analyses and simple mediation analyses were used, controlling for year and number of vaccinations delivered. News coverage in the previous month, and Google search volumes in the same month, were significant predictors of adverse event reporting, after accounting for vaccination rates and year. Concurrent Google search volumes partially mediated the effect of prior news coverage. The results suggest that some of the adverse events reported were not related to the vaccination itself, but to news coverage and internet search volumes, which may have contributed to public concerns about potentially unpleasant or harmful outcomes. These findings have implications for the importance of psychological and social factors in adverse event reporting, and the role of the news media in disseminating health information. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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...

The impact of the macroeconomy on health insurance coverage: evidence from the Great Recession.

Science.gov (United States)

Cawley, John; Moriya, Asako S; Simon, Kosali

2015-02-01

This paper investigates the impact of the macroeconomy on the health insurance coverage of Americans using panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation for 2004-2010, a period that includes the Great Recession of 2007-2009. We find that a one percentage point increase in the state unemployment rate is associated with a 1.67 percentage point (2.12%) reduction in the probability that men have health insurance; this effect is strongest among college-educated, white, and older (50-64 years old) men. For women and children, health insurance coverage is not significantly correlated with the unemployment rate, which may be the result of public health insurance acting as a social safety net. Compared with the previous recession, the health insurance coverage of men is more sensitive to the unemployment rate, which may be due to the nature of the Great Recession. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

29 CFR 95.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shohreh Ebrahimnezhad

2011-07-01

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

An analytic algorithm for global coverage of the revisiting orbit and its application to the CFOSAT satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ming; Huang, Li

2014-08-01

This paper addresses a new analytic algorithm for global coverage of the revisiting orbit and its application to the mission revisiting the Earth within long periods of time, such as Chinese-French Oceanic Satellite (abbr., CFOSAT). In the first, it is presented that the traditional design methodology of the revisiting orbit for some imaging satellites only on the single (ascending or descending) pass, and the repeating orbit is employed to perform the global coverage within short periods of time. However, the selection of the repeating orbit is essentially to yield the suboptimum from the rare measure of rational numbers of passes per day, which will lose lots of available revisiting orbits. Thus, an innovative design scheme is proposed to check both rational and irrational passes per day to acquire the relationship between the coverage percentage and the altitude. To improve the traditional imaging only on the single pass, the proposed algorithm is mapping every pass into its ascending and descending nodes on the specified latitude circle, and then is accumulating the projected width on the circle by the field of view of the satellite. The ergodic geometry of coverage percentage produced from the algorithm is affecting the final scheme, such as the optimal one owning the largest percentage, and the balance one possessing the less gradient in its vicinity, and is guiding to heuristic design for the station-keeping control strategies. The application of CFOSAT validates the feasibility of the algorithm.

The Role of Media Coverage in Explaining Stock Market Fluctuations: Insights for Strategic Financial Communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Strycharz, J.; Strauss, N.; Trilling, D.

2018-01-01

This study investigates the reciprocal relationships between the fluctuation of the closing prices of three companies listed on the Amsterdam exchange index, namely ING, Philips and Shell and online media coverage related to these firms for a period of two years (2014–2015). Automated content

Effects of rye grass coverage on soil loss from loess slopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuequn Dong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Vegetative coverage is commonly used to reduce urban slope soil erosion. Laboratory experimental study on soil erosion under grass covered slopes is conventionally time and space consuming. In this study, a new method is suggested to study the influences of vegetation coverage on soil erosion from a sloped loess surface under three slope gradients of 5°, 15°, and 25°; four rye grass coverages of 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%; and three rainfall intensities of 60, 90, and 120 mm/h with a silt-loamy loess soil. Rye grasses were planted in the field with the studied soil before being transplanted into a laboratory flume. Grass was allowed to resume growth for a period before the rain simulation experiment. Results showed that the grass cover reduced soil erosion by 63.90% to 92.75% and sediment transport rate by 80.59% to 96.17% under different slope gradients and rainfall intensities. The sediment concentration/sediment transport rate from bare slope was significantly higher than from a grass-covered slope. The sediment concentration/transport rate from grass-covered slopes decreased linearly with grass coverage and increased with rainfall intensity. The sediment concentration/transport rate from the bare slope increased as a power function of slope and reached the maximum value at the gradient of about 25°, whereas that from grass-covered slope increased linearly and at much lower levels. The results of this study can be used to estimate the effect of vegetation on soil erosion from loess slopes.

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

Coverage of breast cancer in the Australian print media--does advertising and editorial coverage reflect correct social marketing messages?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Sandra C

2004-01-01

Early detection of breast cancer by mammographic screening has the potential to dramatically reduce mortality rates, but many women do not comply with screening recommendations. The media are an important source of health information for many women--through both direct social marketing advertisements and indirect dissemination of information via editorial content. This study investigated the accuracy of breast cancer detection messages in the top-selling Australian women's magazines and three weekend newspapers in the six-month period from December 2000 to May 2001 that included any reference to breast cancer and found that current coverage of breast cancer in the Australian print media conveys messages that are unlikely to encourage appropriate screening.

Promoting Justices: Media Coverage of Judicial Nominations in Israel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bryna Bogoch

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper compares the framing of the coverage of judicial appointments in Israel in 2008 in two newspapers with nomination news from preceding years and to the patterns of press coverage in the U.S. A content analysis of 101 Supreme Court nomination articles indicated that unlike the political frame of American coverage, the press in Israel preserves its ostensible commitment to the professionalism of judges while linking the Supreme Court to political maneuvering in the selection of candidates. These findings are discussed within the context of the media's role in constructing judicial nominations as a debate about the role of the Supreme Court in Israeli society. Este artículo compara el marco de la cobertura de los nombramientos judiciales en Israel en 2008 en dos periódicos, con noticias de nombramientos de años anteriores y en los Estados Unidos, con los patrones de cobertura de prensa en los EE.UU. Un análisis de contenido de 101 artículos de nombramientos de la Corte Suprema indicó que, a diferencia del marco político de la cobertura de América, la prensa en Israel consierva su aparente compromiso con la profesionalidad de los jueces, a pesar de que relaciona la Corte Suprema con maniobras políticas en la selección de candidatos. Estos resultados se discuten en el contexto del papel de los medios de comunicación en la construcción de los nombramientos judiciales como un debate sobre el papel de la Corte Suprema en la sociedad israelí. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2478756

Annual changes in rotavirus hospitalization rates before and after rotavirus vaccine implementation in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Minesh P; Dahl, Rebecca M; Parashar, Umesh D; Lopman, Benjamin A

2018-01-01

Hospitalizations for rotavirus and acute gastroenteritis (AGE) have declined in the US with rotavirus vaccination, though biennial peaks in incidence in children aged less than 5 years occur. This pattern may be explained by lower rotavirus vaccination coverage in US children (59% to 73% from 2010-2015), resulting in accumulation of susceptible children over two successive birth cohorts. Retrospective cohort analysis of claims data of commercially insured US children aged rotavirus and for AGE from the 2002-2015 rotavirus seasons were examined. Median age and rotavirus vaccination coverage for biennial rotavirus seasons during pre-vaccine (2002-2005), early post-vaccine (2008-2011) and late post-vaccine (2012-2015) years. Age-stratified hospitalization rates decreased from pre-vaccine to early post-vaccine and then to late post-vaccine years. The clearest biennial pattern in hospitalization rates is the early post-vaccine period, with higher rates in 2009 and 2011 than in 2008 and 2010. The pattern diminishes in the late post-vaccine period. For rotavirus hospitalizations, the median age and the difference in age between biennial seasons was highest during the early post-vaccine period; these differences were not observed for AGE hospitalizations. There was no significant difference in vaccination coverage between biennial seasons. These observations provide conflicting evidence that incomplete vaccine coverage drove the biennial pattern in rotavirus hospitalizations that has emerged with rotavirus vaccination in the US. As this pattern is diminishing with higher vaccine coverage in recent years, further increases in vaccine coverage may reach a threshold that eliminates peak seasons in hospitalizations.

Universal coverage of IVF pays off.

Science.gov (United States)

Vélez, M P; Connolly, M P; Kadoch, I-J; Phillips, S; Bissonnette, F

2014-06-01

What was the clinical and economic impact of universal coverage of IVF in Quebec, Canada, during the first calendar year of implementation of the public IVF programme? Universal coverage of IVF increased access to IVF treatment, decreased the multiple pregnancy rate and decreased the cost per live birth, despite increased costs per cycle. Public funding of IVF assures equality of access to IVF and decreases multiple pregnancies resulting from this treatment. Public IVF programmes usually mandate a predominant SET policy, the most effective approach for reducing the incidence of multiple pregnancies. This prospective comparative cohort study involved 7364 IVF cycles performed in Quebec during 2009 and 2011 and included an economic analysis. IVF cycles performed in the five centres offering IVF treatment in Quebec during 2009, before implementation of the public IVF programme, were compared with cycles performed at the same centres during 2011, the first full calendar year following implementation of the programme. Data were obtained from the Canadian Assisted Reproductive Technologies Register (CARTR). Comparisons were made between the two periods in terms of utilization, pregnancy rates, multiple pregnancy rates and costs. The number of IVF cycles performed in Quebec increased by 192% after the new policy was implemented. Elective single-embryo transfer was performed in 1.6% of the cycles during Period I (2009), and increased to 31.6% during Period II (2011) (P IVF programme increased government costs per IVF treatment cycle from CAD$3730 to CAD$4759. Despite increased costs per cycle, the efficiency defined by the cost per live birth, which factored in downstream health costs up to 1 year post delivery, decreased from CAD$49 517 to CAD$43 362 per baby conceived by either fresh and frozen cycles. The costs described in the economic model are likely an underestimate as they do not factor in many of the long-term costs that can occur after 1 year of age. The

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-01-01

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

Detailed semantic analyses of human error incidents occurring at nuclear power plants. Extraction of periodical transition of error occurrence patterns by applying multivariate analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirotsu, Yuko; Suzuki, Kunihiko; Takano, Kenichi; Kojima, Mitsuhiro

2000-01-01

It is essential for preventing the recurrence of human error incidents to analyze and evaluate them with the emphasis on human factor. Detailed and structured analyses of all incidents at domestic nuclear power plants (NPPs) reported during last 31 years have been conducted based on J-HPES, in which total 193 human error cases are identified. Results obtained by the analyses have been stored into the J-HPES database. In the previous study, by applying multivariate analysis to above case studies, it was suggested that there were several occurrence patterns identified of how errors occur at NPPs. It was also clarified that the causes related to each human error are different depending on age of their occurrence. This paper described the obtained results in respects of periodical transition of human error occurrence patterns. By applying multivariate analysis to the above data, it was suggested there were two types of error occurrence patterns as to each human error type. First type is common occurrence patterns, not depending on the age, and second type is the one influenced by periodical characteristics. (author)

Successful Control of Winter Pyrexias Caused by Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 in Japanese Training Centers by Achieving High Vaccination Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Mae, Naomi; Ode, Hirotaka; Nemoto, Manabu; Tsujimura, Koji; Yamanaka, Takashi; Kondo, Takashi; Matsumura, Tomio

2014-01-01

Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a major cause of winter pyrexia in racehorses in two training centers (Ritto and Miho) in Japan. Until the epizootic period of 2008-2009, a vaccination program using a killed EHV-1 vaccine targeted only susceptible 3-year-old horses with low antibody levels to EHV-1 antigens. However, because the protective effect was not satisfactory, in 2009-2010 the vaccination program was altered to target all 3-year-old horses. To evaluate the vaccine's efficacy, we investigated the number of horses with pyrexia due to EHV-1 or equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) infection or both and examined the vaccination coverage in the 3-year-old population and in the whole population before and after changes in the program. The mean (± standard deviation [SD]) estimated numbers of horses infected with EHV-1 or EHV-4 or both, among pyretic horses from 1999-2000 to 2008-2009 were 105 ± 47 at Ritto and 66 ± 44 at Miho. Although the estimated number of infected horses did not change greatly in the first period of the current program, it decreased from the second period, with means (±SD) of 21 ± 12 at Ritto and 14 ± 15 at Miho from 2010-2011 to 2012-2013. Vaccination coverage in the 3-year-old population was 99.4% at Ritto and 99.8% at Miho in the first period, and similar values were maintained thereafter. Coverage in the whole population increased more gradually than that in the 3-year-old population. The results suggest that EHV-1 epizootics can be suppressed by maintaining high vaccination coverage, not only in the 3-year-old population but also in the whole population. PMID:24872513

Collateral Damage and Critical Turning Points: Public Health Implications of HPV Vaccine News Coverage for Boys and Men in 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Krakow, Melinda; Rogers, Brian

2016-09-01

In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially expanded approval of the Gardasil vaccine to include human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for boys and men, and in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a formal recommendation for routine vaccination for this population. Despite these efforts, HPV vaccination rates for boys and men continue to fall short of public health targets. While news was breaking about the benefits of the HPV vaccine for boys and men, public attention shifted as a result of political debates concerning the vaccine. This study examines a pivotal time period for public health in which the vaccine became officially recommended for boys and men and at the same time became the center of political controversies in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential campaign. The current study extends previous research and presents a content analysis of newspaper articles (N = 154) about the HPV vaccine for the year 2011. Results indicate that the lack of comprehensive coverage of HPV and the HPV vaccine found in previous studies continued in this year. Results shed light on key political events that may have functioned to overshadow the recommendation of the HPV vaccine for boys and men. The implications of this pattern of news coverage can inform public health efforts to address low rates of HPV vaccination uptake among boys and men in present day.

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...

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 ...

Long-term effects of regulatory warnings and increased media coverage on paroxetine and other SSRIs use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hernandez, Juan F.; Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K.; Van Thiel, Ghislaine; Belitser, Svetlana; Warmerdam, Jan; De Valk, Vincent; Raaijmakers, Jan; Pieters, Toine

2012-01-01

Background: In the periods 2003-2004 and 2007-2008 the regulatory banning of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pediatrics and young adults because of concerns regarding suicidality coincided with negative media coverage. Objectives: We analyzed trends in SSRI use in the Netherlands

Crossed-Slot Cavity-Backed Antenna with Improved Hemispherical Coverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Oleksiy S.; Breinbjerg, Olav; Østergaard, Allan

2005-01-01

The paper presents the results of the investigation of the crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna with the complementary crossed electric dipoles added to compensate the circularly polarized (CP) radiation pattern degradation near the horizon. Dependences of the radiation characteristics...... of the modified crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna on the length, width and height of the crossed electric dipoles are shown. Effects of a finite size ground plane are taken into account due to a full wave electromagnetic analysis software utilized in the parametrical investigations. Simulated and measured...... results for a selected antenna configuration prove that the properly adjusted crossed electric dipoles are able to improve the coverage and CP polarization characteristics of the crossed-slot cavity-backed antenna....

Vaccination coverage and timeliness in three South African areas: a prospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanders David

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Timely vaccination is important to induce adequate protective immunity. We measured vaccination timeliness and vaccination coverage in three geographical areas in South Africa. Methods This study used vaccination information from a community-based cluster-randomized trial promoting exclusive breastfeeding in three South African sites (Paarl in the Western Cape Province, and Umlazi and Rietvlei in KwaZulu-Natal between 2006 and 2008. Five interview visits were carried out between birth and up to 2 years of age (median follow-up time 18 months, and 1137 children were included in the analysis. We used Kaplan-Meier time-to-event analysis to describe vaccination coverage and timeliness in line with the Expanded Program on Immunization for the first eight vaccines. This included Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG, four oral polio vaccines and 3 doses of the pentavalent vaccine which protects against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B. Results The proportion receiving all these eight recommended vaccines were 94% in Paarl (95% confidence interval [CI] 91-96, 62% in Rietvlei (95%CI 54-68 and 88% in Umlazi (95%CI 84-91. Slightly fewer children received all vaccines within the recommended time periods. The situation was worst for the last pentavalent- and oral polio vaccines. The hazard ratio for incomplete vaccination was 7.2 (95%CI 4.7-11 for Rietvlei compared to Paarl. Conclusions There were large differences between the different South African sites in terms of vaccination coverage and timeliness, with the poorer areas of Rietvlei performing worse than the better-off areas in Paarl. The vaccination coverage was lower for the vaccines given at an older age. There is a need for continued efforts to improve vaccination coverage and timeliness, in particular in rural areas. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00397150

Information Censorship: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of the "Jyllands-Posten" Editorial Caricatures in Cross-Cultural Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Julie George

2010-01-01

The identification and examination of cultural information strategies and censorship patterns used to propagate the controversial issue of the caricatures in two separate cultural contexts was the aim of this dissertation. It explored discourse used for the coverage of this topic by one newspaper in a restrictive information context and two…

22 CFR 226.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

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

14 CFR 1260.131 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

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.

The redoubtable ecological periodic table

Science.gov (United States)

Ecological periodic tables are repositories of reliable information on quantitative, predictably recurring (periodic) habitat–community patterns and their uncertainty, scaling and transferability. Their reliability derives from their grounding in sound ecological principle...

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...

2 CFR 215.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

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

36 CFR 1210.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

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

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...

Formation of periodic and localized patterns in an oscillating granular layer.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aranson, I.; Tsimring, L. S.; Materials Science Division; Bar Ilan Univ.; Univ. of California at San Diego

1998-02-01

A simple phenomenological model for pattern formation in a vertically vibrated layer of granular particles is proposed. This model exhibits a variety of stable cellular patterns including standing rolls and squares as well as localized excitations (oscillons and worms), similar to recent experimental observations (Umbanhowar et al., 1996). The model is an order parameter equation for the parametrically excited waves coupled to the mass conservation law. The structure and dynamics of the solutions resemble closely the properties of patterns observed in the experiments.

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...

German press coverage of former Yugoslavia after the fall of Miloševic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ute Annabring

2004-07-01

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

A Poisson hierarchical modelling approach to detecting copy number variation in sequence coverage data

KAUST Repository

Sepúlveda, Nuno

2013-02-26

Background: The advent of next generation sequencing technology has accelerated efforts to map and catalogue copy number variation (CNV) in genomes of important micro-organisms for public health. A typical analysis of the sequence data involves mapping reads onto a reference genome, calculating the respective coverage, and detecting regions with too-low or too-high coverage (deletions and amplifications, respectively). Current CNV detection methods rely on statistical assumptions (e.g., a Poisson model) that may not hold in general, or require fine-tuning the underlying algorithms to detect known hits. We propose a new CNV detection methodology based on two Poisson hierarchical models, the Poisson-Gamma and Poisson-Lognormal, with the advantage of being sufficiently flexible to describe different data patterns, whilst robust against deviations from the often assumed Poisson model.Results: Using sequence coverage data of 7 Plasmodium falciparum malaria genomes (3D7 reference strain, HB3, DD2, 7G8, GB4, OX005, and OX006), we showed that empirical coverage distributions are intrinsically asymmetric and overdispersed in relation to the Poisson model. We also demonstrated a low baseline false positive rate for the proposed methodology using 3D7 resequencing data and simulation. When applied to the non-reference isolate data, our approach detected known CNV hits, including an amplification of the PfMDR1 locus in DD2 and a large deletion in the CLAG3.2 gene in GB4, and putative novel CNV regions. When compared to the recently available FREEC and cn.MOPS approaches, our findings were more concordant with putative hits from the highest quality array data for the 7G8 and GB4 isolates.Conclusions: In summary, the proposed methodology brings an increase in flexibility, robustness, accuracy and statistical rigour to CNV detection using sequence coverage data. 2013 Seplveda et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

A Poisson hierarchical modelling approach to detecting copy number variation in sequence coverage data.

Science.gov (United States)

Sepúlveda, Nuno; Campino, Susana G; Assefa, Samuel A; Sutherland, Colin J; Pain, Arnab; Clark, Taane G

2013-02-26

The advent of next generation sequencing technology has accelerated efforts to map and catalogue copy number variation (CNV) in genomes of important micro-organisms for public health. A typical analysis of the sequence data involves mapping reads onto a reference genome, calculating the respective coverage, and detecting regions with too-low or too-high coverage (deletions and amplifications, respectively). Current CNV detection methods rely on statistical assumptions (e.g., a Poisson model) that may not hold in general, or require fine-tuning the underlying algorithms to detect known hits. We propose a new CNV detection methodology based on two Poisson hierarchical models, the Poisson-Gamma and Poisson-Lognormal, with the advantage of being sufficiently flexible to describe different data patterns, whilst robust against deviations from the often assumed Poisson model. Using sequence coverage data of 7 Plasmodium falciparum malaria genomes (3D7 reference strain, HB3, DD2, 7G8, GB4, OX005, and OX006), we showed that empirical coverage distributions are intrinsically asymmetric and overdispersed in relation to the Poisson model. We also demonstrated a low baseline false positive rate for the proposed methodology using 3D7 resequencing data and simulation. When applied to the non-reference isolate data, our approach detected known CNV hits, including an amplification of the PfMDR1 locus in DD2 and a large deletion in the CLAG3.2 gene in GB4, and putative novel CNV regions. When compared to the recently available FREEC and cn.MOPS approaches, our findings were more concordant with putative hits from the highest quality array data for the 7G8 and GB4 isolates. In summary, the proposed methodology brings an increase in flexibility, robustness, accuracy and statistical rigour to CNV detection using sequence coverage data.

A Poisson hierarchical modelling approach to detecting copy number variation in sequence coverage data

KAUST Repository

Sepú lveda, Nuno; Campino, Susana G; Assefa, Samuel A; Sutherland, Colin J; Pain, Arnab; Clark, Taane G

2013-01-01

Background: The advent of next generation sequencing technology has accelerated efforts to map and catalogue copy number variation (CNV) in genomes of important micro-organisms for public health. A typical analysis of the sequence data involves mapping reads onto a reference genome, calculating the respective coverage, and detecting regions with too-low or too-high coverage (deletions and amplifications, respectively). Current CNV detection methods rely on statistical assumptions (e.g., a Poisson model) that may not hold in general, or require fine-tuning the underlying algorithms to detect known hits. We propose a new CNV detection methodology based on two Poisson hierarchical models, the Poisson-Gamma and Poisson-Lognormal, with the advantage of being sufficiently flexible to describe different data patterns, whilst robust against deviations from the often assumed Poisson model.Results: Using sequence coverage data of 7 Plasmodium falciparum malaria genomes (3D7 reference strain, HB3, DD2, 7G8, GB4, OX005, and OX006), we showed that empirical coverage distributions are intrinsically asymmetric and overdispersed in relation to the Poisson model. We also demonstrated a low baseline false positive rate for the proposed methodology using 3D7 resequencing data and simulation. When applied to the non-reference isolate data, our approach detected known CNV hits, including an amplification of the PfMDR1 locus in DD2 and a large deletion in the CLAG3.2 gene in GB4, and putative novel CNV regions. When compared to the recently available FREEC and cn.MOPS approaches, our findings were more concordant with putative hits from the highest quality array data for the 7G8 and GB4 isolates.Conclusions: In summary, the proposed methodology brings an increase in flexibility, robustness, accuracy and statistical rigour to CNV detection using sequence coverage data. 2013 Seplveda et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Meningitis registry of hospitalized cases in children: epidemiological patterns of acute bacterial meningitis throughout a 32-year period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syriopoulou Vassiliki P

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Bacterial meningitis remains a source of substantial morbidity and mortality in childhood. During the last decades gradual changes have been observed in the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis, related to the introduction of new polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines. The study presents an overview of the epidemiological patterns of acute bacterial meningitis in a tertiary children 's hospital during a 32-year period, using information from a disease registry. Moreover, it discusses the contribution of communicable disease registries in the study of acute infectious diseases. Methods In the early 1970s a Meningitis Registry (MR was created for patients admitted with meningitis in Aghia Sofia Children's Hospital in Athens. The MR includes demographic, clinical and laboratory data as well as treatment, complications and outcome of the patients. In 2000 a database was created and the collected data were entered, analyzed and presented in three chronological periods: A (1974–1984, B (1985–1994 and C (1995–2005. Results Of the 2,477 cases of bacterial meningitis registered in total, 1,146 cases (46.3% were classified as "probable" and 1,331 (53.7% as "confirmed" bacterial meningitis. The estimated mean annual Incidence Rate (IR was 16.9/100,000 for bacterial meningitis, 8.9/100,000 for Neisseria meningitidis, 1.3/100,000 for Streptococcus pneumoniae, 2.5/100,000 for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib before vaccination and 0.4/100,000 for Hib after vaccination. Neisseria meningitis constituted the leading cause of childhood bacterial meningitis for all periods and in all age groups. Hib was the second most common cause of bacterial meningitis before the introduction of Hib conjugate vaccine, in periods A and B. The incidence of bacterial meningitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae was stable. The long-term epidemiological pattern of Neisseria meningitidis appears in cycles of approximately 10 years, confirmed by a significant

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...

Health Insurance In China: After Declining In The 1990s, Coverage Rates Rebounded To Near-Universal Levels By 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanping; Malik, Vasanti; Hu, Frank B

2017-08-01

We analyzed trends in rates of health insurance coverage in China in the period 1991-2011 and the association of health insurance with hypertension and diabetes based on data from eight waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey. The rate of coverage fell from 32.3 percent in 1991 to 21.9 percent in 2000, rebounding to 49.7 percent in 2006 and then rapidly climbing to 94.7 percent in 2011. Our study indicated that neither the prevalence of diabetes nor that of hypertension was significantly associated with health insurance coverage. When patients were aware of their condition or disease, those with insurance had a significantly higher likelihood of treatment for diabetes and hypertension, compared to those without insurance. We observed an association between health insurance coverage and seeking preventive care and receiving medical treatment when patients were aware of their condition or disease. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Building Coverage Ratio at the Eastern Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda Bandung

Science.gov (United States)

Megayanti, T.; Widaningsih, L.; Minggra, R.; Dewi, N. I. K.

2018-01-01

Historically in the Colonial period, the Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Juanda or better known as Jalan Dago was designed as a residential area. As the high development of commercial activity along of Bandung City, almost all of buildings in this area are turned its’ function to supported commercial activity. The change is shown in many aspects from the shape of the building and even occur in changing the old building into a new one due to a high intensity of this commercial activity. This paper investigates the use of Building Coverage Ratio regulation related to functional change in the Corridor of Jalan Ir. H. Juanda Bandung. The aim is to what extent the regulations related to Building Coverage area are implemented. This study used a descriptive qualitative method by conducting observation to identify buildings on the Corridor by dividing it into three segments. The results show quantitatively there is a lot of irrelevancies to Building Coverage Ratio regulation which is shown in the second and third segment. Most of the building in the first segment has in compliance with the regulation. However, to build a harmony in characters of City corridor is not only created by Building Coverage Ratio but also others parameters such as the land use, the shape of buildings, façade, and design concept. Thus, it is highly recommended to create a detail regulation regarding those parameters.

Coverage and inequalities in maternal and child health interventions in Afghanistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia Akseer

2016-09-01

more urbanised East, West and Central regions of the country, while they were lowest in the South and Southeast. About 7700 newborns and 26,000 post-neonates could be saved by scaling up coverage of community outreach interventions to 90 %, with the most gains in the poorest quintiles. Conclusions Afghanistan is a pervasively poor and conflict-prone nation that has only recently experienced a decade of relative stability. Though donor investments during this period have been plentiful and have contributed to rebuilding of health infrastructure in the country, glaring inequities remain. A resolution to scaling up health coverage in insecure and isolated regions, and improving accessibility for the poorest and marginalised populations, should be at the forefront of national policy and programming efforts.

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...

Newspaper coverage of human-pig chimera research: A qualitative study on select media coverage of scientific breakthrough.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagan-Brown, Abena; Favaretto, Maddalena; Borry, Pascal

2017-07-01

A recently published article in the journal Cell by scientists from the Salk Institute highlighted the successful integration of stem cells from humans in pig embryos. This marks the first step toward the goal of growing human organs in animals for transplantation. There has, to date, been no research performed on the presentation of this breakthrough in the media. We thus assessed early newspaper coverage of the chimera study, looking into the descriptions as well as the benefits and concerns raised by the study mentioned by newspaper sources. We looked at newspaper coverage of the human-pig chimera study in the two weeks after the publication of the article describing the breakthrough in Cell. This time period spanned from January 26 to February 9, 2017. We used the LexisNexis Academic database and identified articles using the search string "hybrid OR chimera AND pig OR human OR embryo." The relevant articles were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Two researchers openly coded the articles independently using themes that emerged from the raw texts. Our search yielded 31 unique articles, after extensive screening for relevance and duplicates. Through our analysis, we were able to identify several themes in a majority of the texts. Almost every article gave descriptive information about the chimera experiment with details about the study findings. All of the articles mentioned the benefits of the study, citing both immediate- and long-term goals, which included creating transplantable human organs, disease and drug development, and personalized medicine, among others. Some of the articles highlighted some ethical, social, and health concerns that the study and its future implications pose. Many of the articles also offered reassurances over the concerns brought up by the experiment. Our results appeared to align with similar research performed on the media representation of sensitive scientific news coverage. We also explored the inconsistency between

Terrorism and nuclear damage coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2004-01-01

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

42 CFR 436.330 - Coverage for certain aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Period dependence of laser induced patterns in metal films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peláez, R.J.; Afonso, C.N.; Škereň, M.; Bulíř, Jiří

2015-01-01

Roč. 26, č. 1 (2015), 1-11 ISSN 0957-4484 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : patterning * nanoparticles * thin films * silver * laser interference * dewetting Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.573, year: 2015

[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.

Status epilepticus in the elderly: Prognostic implications of rhythmic and periodic patterns in electroencephalography and hyperintensities on diffusion-weighted imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Hajime; Matsumoto, Riki; Ueda, Hiroyuki; Ariyoshi, Koichi; Kawamoto, Michi; Ishii, Junko; Ikeda, Akio; Takahashi, Ryosuke; Kohara, Nobuo

2016-11-15

To delineate the clinical characteristics and functional outcome of status epilepticus (SE) in elderly people, and elucidate prognostic implications of SE-associated rhythmic and periodic patterns (RPPs) in electroencephalography and hyperintensities on diffusion-weighted imaging. We retrospectively investigated 107 consecutive patients with SE aged≥65years in a comprehensive community hospital. RPPs were classified using the 2012 American Clinical Neurophysiology Society's Standardized Critical Care EEG Terminology. Poor outcome was defined as an increase in modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at discharge compared with that at baseline, including death. Median age of patients was 80.0years. Median mRS score at baseline was 3. Thirty-four patients (31.8%) had a previous diagnosis of epilepsy. Cerebrovascular disease and dementia were major etiologies. Poor outcome occurred in 41 (38.3%). In electroencephalography, periodic discharges (PDs) were present in 21.0% (22/105), rhythmic delta activity (RDA) in 10.5% (11/105), and conventional seizure patterns in 9.5% (10/105). Diffusion-weighted hyperintensities associated with SE were observed in 28.0% (26/93). With univariate analysis, poor outcome was significantly associated with no previous diagnosis of epilepsy, etiology, refractory SE, specific electroencephalographic patterns (PDs and conventional seizure patterns, but not RDA), and diffusion-weighted hyperintensities. With multivariate logistic regression analysis, diffusion-weighted hyperintensities (OR 6.13 [95% CI 1.72-21.9]) and refractory SE (OR 5.36 [95% CI 1.28-22.4]) were independently associated with poor outcome. SE often occurred as the first seizure in already disabled elderly people, further worsening their functional disabilities. Diffusion-weighted hyperintensities and refractory SE, but not RPPs in electroencephalography, were independent functional prognostic factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Spatial Pattern among Grasshopper and Vegetation in Heihe based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Wei; Wang, KeMing; Zhao, Chengzhang; Zhang, Qi-peng

Geostatistics was used to analyze the grasshopper and dominant plants population spatial pattern and their relationship in the upper reaches of Heihe River under GIS platform. The results showed that the plants and grasshoppers populations have strong spatial correlation in study area. The Semivariogram curve of Chorthippus brunneus huabeiensis, Filchnerella, Aneurolepidium dasystanchys and Artemisia dalailamae is spherical model, Gomphocerus licenti and Stipa krylovii's Semivariogram curve is exponential and Gaussian model respectively, and their spatial autocorrelation scope is 10.8, 11.3, 11.5, 12.4, 23.5 and 59.7 meters respectively. Stipa krylovii and Artemisia dalailamae spatial distribution was patchy, Aneurolepidium dasystanchys showed flaky distribution; Gomphocerus licenti and Chorthippus brunneus huabeiensis mainly located in southeast areas with high coverage of Stipa krylovii and Aneurolepidium dasystanchys. Filchnerella nearly located in North areas with high coverage of Artemisia dalailamae, but were rarely found in south and east areas. The effects of different plants coverage on grasshopper abundance are significantly different. Filchnerella abundance and Artemisia dalailamae coverage showed significantly positive correlation, Chorthippus brunneus huabeiensis and Gomphocerus licenti positively correlated with Aneurolepidium dasystanchys and Stipa krylovii. Grasshopper spatial patterns and occurrence numbers are both influenced by grasshopper biological characteristics and plant community composition, which reflected complex coupled relation between grasshopper and plant.

Changes in Coverage of Sun Protection in the News: Threats and Opportunities from Emerging Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Scully, Maree; Makin, Jennifer; Maloney, Sarah; Wakefield, Melanie

2014-01-01

This study aimed to determine whether there have been shifts in news coverage of sun protection issues over a 12-year period in the context of an evolving skin cancer prevention agenda. A content analysis was performed on all relevant articles (N = 552) published in the two metropolitan daily newspapers in Melbourne, Australia, from 2001 to 2012.…

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...

Impacts of Seasonal Patterns of Climate on Recurrent Fluctuations in Tourism Demand: Evidence from Aruba

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ridderstaat, J.R.; Oderber, M.; Croes, R.; Nijkamp, P.; Martens, P.

2014-01-01

This study estimates the effect of seasonal patterns of pull and push climate elements (rainfall, temperature, wind, and cloud coverage) on recurrent fluctuations in tourism demand from the United States (USA) and Venezuela to Aruba. The seasonal patterns were first isolated from the series using

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

Trends in contraceptive patterns and behaviors during a period of fertility transition in China: 1988-2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xiaoying; Tan, Lingfang; Ren, Qiang; Cui, Zhijun; Wu, Junqing; Lin, Ting; He, Jie; Chen, Hua

2012-09-01

This paper explores how contraceptive patterns and behaviors changed during the course of China's population transition and a period of low fertility from 1988 to 2006. Based on data from Chinese nationwide surveys of family planning and reproductive health undertaken in 1988, 1997, 2001 and 2006, this study uses a multinomial logit model to analyze changes in, regional differences in and determinants of contraceptive behaviors during this period. The overall prevalence of contraceptive use among married women aged 15-49 years changed little during these 20 years, holding steady at about 90%. However, there were notable changes in the method mix: the predominant methods used were the long-term methods of the intrauterine device (IUD) and female sterilization, and contraceptive use gradually shifted from sterilization to IUDs and condoms. There existed a close relationship between contraceptive methods used and sociodemographic characteristics. Hans, rural, old and less educated women are more likely to use sterilization, while minorities, urban, young and educated women are more likely to use IUDs. There are marked changes in the method mix among different demographic groups during the course of China's population transition and a period of low fertility. The findings indicate that future works aimed at promoting reproductive health should be diverse among different populations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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)

A Retrospective Study of Epidemiological and Clinical Patterns of ACDRs in Goa Medical College over a 6 Year Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakhi Ghodge

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Adverse Cutaneous Drug Reactions (ACDRs account for 3% of all hospitalizations. The spectrum of drug reactions can be varied from mild to life threatening forms. Since the diagnosis of ACDR is purely clinical, early and prompt identification and withdrawal of drug (s is life saving for the patient. Aim and Objectives: To study the epidemiological and common clinical patterns and drugs causing ACDRs in tertiary care hospital of Goa Medical College, Goa over a 6 year period. Material and Methods:This was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 6 years. The medical records were analyzed for demographic profiles, morphology of drug eruptions, common groups of drugs involved, presence of co-morbid factors, systemic and mucosal involvement, common haematological abnormalities encountered, time interval between drug intake and onset of rash and mortality. Results: Our study population had 256 patients and the age group of 21-40 years was commonly affected. Maculopapular rash followed by angioedema were the commonest morphology of drug rash patterns encountered in our study. The time interval between consumption of drugs and onset of ACDR varied with interval of 1-7 days being the commonest group in having 158 (61.7% patients. Antibiotics followed by anticonvulsants and antiretrovirals were the commonest groups of drugs causing ACDR. We found that significant proportion of our patients had haematological, renal and hepatic system involvement. Conclusion: Early identification and withdrawal of the culprit drug remains the cornerstone in prevention of mortalities in ACDRs. A prior knowledge about the reaction patterns and common offending drugs in the population by the treating physician cannot be overemphasized.

A long way to go - Estimates of combined water, sanitation and hygiene coverage for 25 sub-Saharan African countries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Roche

Full Text Available Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH are essential for a healthy and dignified life. International targets to reduce inadequate WASH coverage were set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 1990-2015 and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2016-2030. The MDGs called for halving the proportion of the population without access to adequate water and sanitation, whereas the SDGs call for universal access, require the progressive reduction of inequalities, and include hygiene in addition to water and sanitation. Estimating access to complete WASH coverage provides a baseline for monitoring during the SDG period. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA has among the lowest rates of WASH coverage globally.The most recent available Demographic Household Survey (DHS or Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS data for 25 countries in SSA were analysed to estimate national and regional coverage for combined water and sanitation (a combined MDG indicator for 'improved' access and combined water with collection time within 30 minutes plus sanitation and hygiene (a combined SDG indicator for 'basic' access. Coverage rates were estimated separately for urban and rural populations and for wealth quintiles. Frequency ratios and percentage point differences for urban and rural coverage were calculated to give both relative and absolute measures of urban-rural inequality. Wealth inequalities were assessed by visual examination of coverage across wealth quintiles in urban and rural populations and by calculating concentration indices as standard measures of relative wealth related inequality that give an indication of how unevenly a health indicator is distributed across the wealth distribution.Combined MDG coverage in SSA was 20%, and combined basic SDG coverage was 4%; an estimated 921 million people lacked basic SDG coverage. Relative measures of inequality were higher for combined basic SDG coverage than combined MDG coverage, but absolute inequality was lower

A long way to go - Estimates of combined water, sanitation and hygiene coverage for 25 sub-Saharan African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Rachel; Bain, Robert; Cumming, Oliver

2017-01-01

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are essential for a healthy and dignified life. International targets to reduce inadequate WASH coverage were set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 1990-2015) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2016-2030). The MDGs called for halving the proportion of the population without access to adequate water and sanitation, whereas the SDGs call for universal access, require the progressive reduction of inequalities, and include hygiene in addition to water and sanitation. Estimating access to complete WASH coverage provides a baseline for monitoring during the SDG period. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has among the lowest rates of WASH coverage globally. The most recent available Demographic Household Survey (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data for 25 countries in SSA were analysed to estimate national and regional coverage for combined water and sanitation (a combined MDG indicator for 'improved' access) and combined water with collection time within 30 minutes plus sanitation and hygiene (a combined SDG indicator for 'basic' access). Coverage rates were estimated separately for urban and rural populations and for wealth quintiles. Frequency ratios and percentage point differences for urban and rural coverage were calculated to give both relative and absolute measures of urban-rural inequality. Wealth inequalities were assessed by visual examination of coverage across wealth quintiles in urban and rural populations and by calculating concentration indices as standard measures of relative wealth related inequality that give an indication of how unevenly a health indicator is distributed across the wealth distribution. Combined MDG coverage in SSA was 20%, and combined basic SDG coverage was 4%; an estimated 921 million people lacked basic SDG coverage. Relative measures of inequality were higher for combined basic SDG coverage than combined MDG coverage, but absolute inequality was lower. Rural

Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica et Adriatica accepted for coverage in Thomson Reuters' Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

Science.gov (United States)

Poljak, Mario; Miljković, Jovan; Triglav, Tina

2016-09-01

Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica et Adriatica (Acta Dermatovenerol APA) is the leading journal in dermatology and sexually transmitted infections in the region. Several important steps were taken during the last 25 years to improve the journal's quality, global visibility, and international impact. After a 1-year trial period, Thomson Reuters recently informed the editorial office that they had accepted Acta Dermatovenerol APA for coverage in Thomson Reuters' new index in the Web of Science Core Collection called the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). The coverage of Acta Dermatovenerol APA begins with the journal content published online in 2016; that is, from volume 25 onwards.

5 CFR 847.211 - Death of employee during election opportunity period.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death of employee during election opportunity period. 847.211 Section 847.211 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) ELECTIONS OF RETIREMENT COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES...

Accuracy of Coverage Survey Recall following an Integrated Mass Drug Administration for Lymphatic Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Budge, Philip J; Sognikin, Edmond; Akosa, Amanda; Mathieu, Els M; Deming, Michael

2016-01-01

Achieving target coverage levels for mass drug administration (MDA) is essential to elimination and control efforts for several neglected tropical diseases (NTD). To ensure program goals are met, coverage reported by drug distributors may be validated through household coverage surveys that rely on respondent recall. This is the first study to assess accuracy in such surveys. Recall accuracy was tested in a series of coverage surveys conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months after an integrated MDA in Togo during which three drugs (albendazole, ivermectin, and praziquantel) were distributed. Drug distribution was observed during the MDA to ensure accurate recording of persons treated during the MDA. Information was obtained for 506, 1131, and 947 persons surveyed at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Coverage (defined as the percentage of persons taking at least one of the MDA medications) within these groups was respectively 88.3%, 87.4%, and 80.0%, according to the treatment registers; it was 87.9%, 91.4% and 89.4%, according to survey responses. Concordance between respondents and registers on swallowing at least one pill was >95% at 1 month and >86% at 12 months; the lower concordance at 12 months was more likely due to difficulty matching survey respondents with the year-old treatment register rather than inaccurate responses. Respondents generally distinguished between pills similar in appearance; concordance for recall of which pills were taken was over 80% in each survey. In this population, coverage surveys provided remarkably consistent coverage estimates for up to one year following an integrated MDA. It is not clear if similar consistency will be seen in other settings, however, these data suggest that in some settings coverage surveys might be conducted as much as one year following an MDA without compromising results. This might enable integration of post-MDA coverage measurement into large, multipurpose, periodic surveys, thereby conserving resources.

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.

Insights into the effect of coverage on CO adsorption and dissociation over Rh(1 0 0) surface: A theoretical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Xiaojun; Zhang, Riguang; Ling, Lixia; Wang, Baojun

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The adsorption energies gradually decrease with the increasing of CO coverage on Rh(1 0 0). • CO reaches the saturated adsorption with the coverage of 12/12 ML on Rh(1 0 0). • Both CO desorption and dissociation co-exist at the coverage less than or equal to 2/12 ML. • Only molecule CO adsorption is favored at the coverage greater than or equal to 3/12 ML. • Only molecule CO adsorption form exists in syngas conversion on Rh catalyst. - Abstract: The adsorption, dissociation and desorption of CO at different coverage over Rh(1 0 0) surface have been systematically investigated using density functional theory method together with the periodic slab model. Our results show that at the coverage less than or equal to 4/12 ML, CO favored the most stable bridge site adsorption, and the adsorption energies of CO have little difference; while at the coverage greater than or equal to 5/12 ML, the lateral repulsive interaction begins to affect the adsorption structures and the corresponding adsorption energies of adsorbed CO molecules, and the interaction will be stronger with the increasing of CO coverage, which leads to CO migration over Rh(1 0 0) surface when CO coverage is greater than or equal to 10/12 ML. The adsorption energies of these CO molecules will decrease successively until the saturated adsorption with the CO coverage of 12/12 ML. Further calculations on CO dissociation indicate that when CO coverage is greater than or equal to 3/12 ML, the dissociation of adsorbed CO molecules will be unfavorable both kinetically and thermodynamically, suggesting that only molecule CO adsorption are favored. Considering the catalytic activity of Rh(1 0 0) surface toward CO dissociation and the higher CO coverage under the continuous supply of CO in syngas conversion, it is to be expected that only molecule CO adsorption exist on Rh catalyst

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...

"Aging Out" of Dependent Coverage and the Effects on US Labor Market and Health Insurance Choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlen, Heather M

2015-11-01

I examined how labor market and health insurance outcomes were affected by the loss of dependent coverage eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). I used National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data and regression discontinuity models to measure the percentage-point change in labor market and health insurance outcomes at age 26 years. My sample was restricted to unmarried individuals aged 24 to 28 years and to a period of time before the ACA's individual mandate (2011-2013). I ran models separately for men and women to determine if there were differences based on gender. Aging out of this provision increased employment among men, employer-sponsored health insurance offers for women, and reports that health insurance coverage was worse than it was 1 year previously (overall and for young women). Uninsured rates did not increase at age 26 years, but there was an increase in the purchase of non-group health coverage, indicating interest in remaining insured after age 26 years. Many young adults will turn to state and federal health insurance marketplaces for information about health coverage. Because young adults (aged 18-29 years) regularly use social media sites, these sites could be used to advertise insurance to individuals reaching their 26th birthdays.

Yesterday's dinner, tomorrow's weather, today's news? US newspaper coverage of food system contributions to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Neff, Roni A; Chan, Iris L; Smith, Katherine Clegg

2009-07-01

There is strong evidence that what we eat and how it is produced affects climate change. The present paper examines coverage of food system contributions to climate change in top US newspapers. Using a sample of sixteen leading US newspapers from September 2005 to January 2008, two coders identified 'food and climate change' and 'climate change' articles based on specified criteria. Analyses examined variation across time and newspaper, the level of content relevant to food systems' contributions to climate change, and how such content was framed. There were 4582 'climate change' articles in these newspapers during this period. Of these, 2.4% mentioned food or agriculture contributions, with 0.4% coded as substantially focused on the issue and 0.5% mentioning food animal contributions. The level of content on food contributions to climate change increased across time. Articles initially addressed the issue primarily in individual terms, expanding to address business and government responsibility more in later articles. US newspaper coverage of food systems' effects on climate change during the study period increased, but still did not reflect the increasingly solid evidence of the importance of these effects. Increased coverage may lead to responses by individuals, industry and government. Based on co-benefits with nutritional public health messages and climate change's food security threats, the public health nutrition community has an important role to play in elaborating and disseminating information about food and climate change for the US media.

Is cannabis an illicit drug or a medicine? A quantitative framing analysis of Israeli newspaper coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Sznitman, Sharon R; Lewis, Nehama

2015-05-01

Various countries and states, including Israel, have recently legalized cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP). These changes have received mass media coverage and prompted national and international dialogue about the status of cannabis and whether or not it can be defined as a (legitimate) medicine, illicit and harmful drug, or both. News media framing may influence, and be influenced by, public opinion regarding CTP and support for CTP license provisions for patients. This study examines the framing of CTP in Israeli media coverage and the association between media coverage and trends in the provision of CTP licenses in Israel over time. All published news articles relevant to CTP and the framing of cannabis (N=214) from the three highest circulation newspapers in Israel were content analyzed. Articles were published between January 2007 and June 2013, a period in which CTP licenses granted by the Ministry of Health increased substantially. In the majority of CTP news articles (69%), cannabis was framed as a medicine, although in almost one third of articles (31%) cannabis was framed as an illicit drug. The relative proportion of news items in which cannabis was framed as an illicit drug fluctuated during the study period, but was unrelated to linear or curvilinear trends in CTP licensing. The relatively large proportion of news items framing cannabis as a medicine is consistent with growing support for the expansion of the Israel's CTP program. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Crash forecasting in the Korean stock market based on the log-periodic structure and pattern recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Bonggyun; Song, Jae Wook; Chang, Woojin

2018-02-01

The aim of this research is to propose an alarm index to forecast the crash of the Korean financial market in extension to the idea of Johansen-Ledoit-Sornette model, which uses the log-periodic functions and pattern recognition algorithm. We discover that the crashes of the Korean financial market can be classified into domestic and global crises where each category requires different window length of fitted datasets. Therefore, we add the window length as a new parameter to enhance the performance of alarm index. Distinguishing the domestic and global crises separately, our alarm index demonstrates more robust forecasting than previous model by showing the error diagram and the results of trading performance.

Plasma thyroid hormone pattern in king penguin chicks: a semi-altricial bird with an extended posthatching developmental period.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherel, Yves; Durant, Joël M; Lacroix, André

2004-05-01

Plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones (TH) were investigated during the extended posthatching developmental period (approximately 11 months) of a semi-altricial bird species, the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus). The first period of growth in summer was marked by a progressive rise in plasma T4 concentration that paralleled rapid increases in body mass and in structural and down growth. By contrast, plasma T3 concentration had already reached adult levels in newly hatched chicks and did not change thereafter. Circulating TH of king penguin chicks thus follow an original pattern when comparing to altricial and precocial species. During the austral winter, the long period of undernutrition of king penguin chicks was characterized by a decrease in circulating TH that can be related to a seasonal stop in growth and energy saving mechanisms. Plasma TH concentrations increased again during the second growth phase in spring, and they reached their highest levels at the end of the fledging period, slightly before juveniles initiated their first foraging trip at sea. As expected, plasma T4 levels were elevated when chicks moulted, developing a true-adult type waterproof plumage. The data also suggest that T4 plays a major role in skeletal development and pectoral muscle maturation in anticipation of marine life. Plasma T3 was at its highest during the period when juveniles improved resistance to cold waters by going back and forth to the sea, suggesting a role for circulating T3 in cold acclimatization occurring at that time.

Temporal trends in coverage of historical cardiac arrests using a volunteer-based network of automated external defibrillators accessible to laypersons and emergency dispatch centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Carolina Malta; Lippert, Freddy Knudsen; Wissenberg, Mads; Weeke, Peter; Zinckernagel, Line; Ruwald, Martin H; Karlsson, Lena; Gislason, Gunnar Hilmar; Nielsen, Søren Loumann; Køber, Lars; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Folke, Fredrik

2014-11-18

Although increased dissemination of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been associated with more frequent AED use, the trade-off between the number of deployed AEDs and coverage of cardiac arrests remains unclear. We investigated how volunteer-based AED dissemination affected public cardiac arrest coverage in high- and low-risk areas. All public cardiac arrests (1994-2011) and all registered AEDs (2007-2011) in Copenhagen, Denmark, were identified and geocoded. AED coverage of cardiac arrests was defined as historical arrests ≤100 m from an AED. High-risk areas were defined as those with ≥1 arrest every 2 years and accounted for 1.0% of the total city area. Of 1864 cardiac arrests, 18.0% (n=335) occurred in high-risk areas throughout the study period. From 2007 to 2011, the number of AEDs and the corresponding coverage of cardiac arrests increased from 36 to 552 and from 2.7% to 32.6%, respectively. The corresponding increase for high-risk areas was from 1 to 30 AEDs and coverage from 5.7% to 51.3%, respectively. Since the establishment of the AED network (2007-2011), few arrests (n=55) have occurred ≤100 m from an AED with only 14.5% (n=8) being defibrillated before the arrival of emergency medical services. Despite the lack of a coordinated public access defibrillation program, the number of AEDs increased 15-fold with a corresponding increase in cardiac arrest coverage from 2.7% to 32.6% over a 5-year period. The highest increase in coverage was observed in high-risk areas (from 5.7% to 51.3%). AED networks can be used as useful tools to optimize AED placement in community settings. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

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...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

Target Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks with Probabilistic Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Shan, Anxing; Xu, Xianghua; Cheng, Zongmao

2016-01-01

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

[Medical coverage of a road bicycle race].

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-07-01

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

Interpregnancy intervals: impact of postpartum contraceptive effectiveness and coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike; Chang, Richard; Howell, Mike; Darney, Philip

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the use of contraceptive methods, which was defined by effectiveness, length of coverage, and their association with short interpregnancy intervals, when controlling for provider type and client demographics. We identified a cohort of 117,644 women from the 2008 California Birth Statistical Master file with second or higher order birth and at least 1 Medicaid (Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment [Family PACT] program or Medi-Cal) claim within 18 months after index birth. We explored the effect of contraceptive method provision on the odds of having an optimal interpregnancy interval and controlled for covariates. The average length of contraceptive coverage was 3.81 months (SD = 4.84). Most women received user-dependent hormonal contraceptives as their most effective contraceptive method (55%; n = 65,103 women) and one-third (33%; n = 39,090 women) had no contraceptive claim. Women who used long-acting reversible contraceptive methods had 3.89 times the odds and women who used user-dependent hormonal methods had 1.89 times the odds of achieving an optimal birth interval compared with women who used barrier methods only; women with no method had 0.66 times the odds. When user-dependent methods are considered, the odds of having an optimal birth interval increased for each additional month of contraceptive coverage by 8% (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.09). Women who were seen by Family PACT or by both Family PACT and Medi-Cal providers had significantly higher odds of optimal birth intervals compared with women who were served by Medi-Cal only. To achieve optimal birth spacing and ultimately to improve birth outcomes, attention should be given to contraceptive counseling and access to contraceptive methods in the postpartum period. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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...

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...

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...

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.

Periodically structured Si pillars for high-performing heterojunction photodetectors

Science.gov (United States)

Melvin David Kumar, M.; Yun, Ju-Hyung; Kim, Joondong

2015-03-01

A periodical array of silicon (Si) micro pillar structures was fabricated on Si substrates using PR etching process. Indium tin oxide (ITO) layer of 80 nm thickness was deposited over patterned Si substrates so as to make ITO/n-Si heterojunction devices. The influences of width and period of pillars on the optical and electrical properties of prepared devices were investigated. The surface morphology of the Si substrates revealed the uniform array of pillar structures. The 5/10 (width/period) Si pillar pattern reduced the optical reflectance to 6.5% from 17% which is of 5/7 pillar pattern. The current rectifying ratio was found higher for the device in which the pillars are situated in optimum periods. At both visible (600 nm) and near infrared (900 nm) range of wavelengths, the 5/7 and 5/10 pillar patterned device exhibited the better photoresponses which are suitable for making advanced photodetectors. This highly transmittance and photoresponsive pillar patterned Si substrates with an ITO layer would be a promising device for various photoelectric applications.

Plug pattern optimization for gamma knife radiosurgery treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Pengpeng; Wu, Jackie; Dean, David; Xing Lei; Xue Jinyue; Maciunas, Robert; Sibata, Claudio

2003-01-01

Purpose: To develop a novel dose optimization algorithm for improving the sparing of critical structures during gamma knife radiosurgery by shaping the plug pattern of each individual shot. Method and Materials: We first use a geometric information (medial axis) aided guided evolutionary simulated annealing (GESA) optimization algorithm to determine the number of shots and isocenter location, size, and weight of each shot. Then we create a plug quality score system that checks the dose contribution to the volume of interest by each plug in the treatment plan. A positive score implies that the corresponding source could be open to improve tumor coverage, whereas a negative score means the source could be blocked for the purpose of sparing normal and critical structures. The plug pattern is then optimized via the GESA algorithm that is integrated with this score system. Weight and position of each shot are also tuned in this procedure. Results: An acoustic tumor case is used to evaluate our algorithm. Compared to the treatment plan generated without plug patterns, adding an optimized plug pattern into the treatment planning process boosts tumor coverage index from 95.1% to 97.2%, reduces RTOG conformity index from 1.279 to 1.167, lowers Paddick's index from 1.34 to 1.20, and trims the critical structure receiving more than 30% maximum dose from 16 mm 3 to 6 mm 3 . Conclusions: Automated GESA-based plug pattern optimization of gamma knife radiosurgery frees the treatment planning team from the manual forward planning procedure and provides an optimal treatment plan

Early Diet and Later Cancer Risk: Prospective Associations of Dietary Patterns During Critical Periods of Childhood with the GH-IGF Axis, Insulin Resistance and Body Fatness in Younger Adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Günther, Anke L B; Schulze, Matthias B; Kroke, Anja; Diethelm, Katharina; Joslowski, Gesa; Krupp, Danika; Wudy, Stefan; Buyken, Anette E

2015-01-01

Early life, adiposity rebound, and puberty represent critical growth periods when food choices could have long-term relevance for cancer risk. We aimed to relate dietary patterns during these periods to the growth hormone-insulin-like-growth-factor (GH-IGF) axis, insulin resistance, and body fatness in adulthood. Data from the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study participants with outcome data at 18-37 years, and ≥2 dietary records during early life (1-2 yr; n = 128), adiposity rebound (4-6 years, n = 179), or puberty (girls 9-14, boys 10-15 yr; n = 213) were used. Dietary patterns at these ages were derived by 1) reduced rank regression (RRR) to explain variation in adult IGF-I, IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), homoeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and fat-mass index; 2) principal component analysis (PCA). Regarding RRR, the patterns "cake/canned fruit/cheese & eggs" (early life), "sweets & dairy" (adiposity rebound) and "high-fat foods" (pubertal boys) were independently associated with higher adult HOMA-IR. Furthermore, the patterns "favorable carbohydrate sources" (early life), "snack & convenience foods" (adiposity rebound), and "traditional & convenience carbohydrates" (pubertal boys) were related to adult IGFBP-3 (P trend trend > 0.1). In conclusion, dietary patterns during sensitive growth periods may be of long-term relevance for adult insulin resistance and IGFBP-3.

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 ...

Investigating the Influences of Tree Coverage and Road Density on Property Crime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengming Ye

2018-03-01

Full Text Available With the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS, crime mapping has become an effective approach for investigating the spatial pattern of crime in a defined area. Understanding the relationship between crime and its surrounding environment reveals possible strategies for reducing crime in a neighborhood. The relationship between vegetation density and crime has long been under debate. The convenience of a road network is another important factor that can influence a criminal’s selection of locations. This research is conducted to investigate the correlations between tree coverage and property crime, and road density and property crime in the City of Vancouver. High spatial resolution airborne LiDAR data and road network data collected in 2013 were used to extract tree covered areas for cross-sectional analysis. The independent variables were inserted into Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS regression, Spatial Lag regression, and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR models to examine their relationships to property crime rates. The results of the cross-sectional analysis provide statistical evidence that there are negative correlations between property crime rates and both tree coverage and road density, with the stronger correlations occurring around Downtown Vancouver.

Controlling cost escalation of healthcare: making universal health coverage sustainable in China

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

An increasingly number of low- and middle-income countries have developed and implemented a national policy towards universal coverage of healthcare for their citizens over the past decade. Among them is China which has expanded its population coverage by health insurance from around 29.7% in 2003 to over 90% at the end of 2010. While both central and local governments in China have significantly increased financial inputs into the two newly established health insurance schemes: new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) for the rural population, and urban resident basic health insurance (URBMI), the cost of healthcare in China has also been rising rapidly at the annual rate of 17.0%% over the period of the past two decades years. The total health expenditure increased from 74.7 billion Chinese yuan in 1990 to 1998 billion Chinese yuan in 2010, while average health expenditure per capital reached the level of 1490.1 Chinese yuan per person in 2010, rising from 65.4 Chinese yuan per person in 1990. The repaid increased population coverage by government supported health insurance schemes has stimulated a rising use of healthcare, and thus given rise to more pressure on cost control in China. There are many effective measures of supply-side and demand-side cost control in healthcare available. Over the past three decades China had introduced many measures to control demand for health care, via a series of co-payment mechanisms. The paper introduces and discusses new initiatives and measures employed to control cost escalation of healthcare in China, including alternative provider payment methods, reforming drug procurement systems, and strengthening the application of standard clinical paths in treating patients at hospitals, and analyses the impacts of these initiatives and measures. The paper finally proposes ways forward to make universal health coverage in China more sustainable. PMID:22992484

42 CFR 436.128 - Coverage for certain qualified aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Bhandari, Neeraj; Shi, Yunfeng; Jung, Kyoungrae

2016-01-01

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

Legislating health care coverage for the unemployed.

Science.gov (United States)

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

1985-01-01

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

Assessment of Effective Coverage of Voluntary Counseling and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2006-01-01

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

Selective appearance of several laser-induced periodic surface structure patterns on a metal surface using structural colors produced by femtosecond laser pulses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao Jianwu; Zhang Chengyun; Liu Haiying; Dai Qiaofeng; Wu Lijun [Laboratory of Photonic Information Technology, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Lan, Sheng, E-mail: slan@scnu.edu.cn [Laboratory of Photonic Information Technology, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Gopal, Achanta Venu [Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005 (India); Trofimov, Vyacheslav A.; Lysak, Tatiana M. [Department of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119992 (Russian Federation)

2012-07-15

Ripples with a subwavelength period were induced on the surface of a stainless steel (301 L) foil by femtosecond laser pulses. By optimizing the irradiation fluence of the laser pulses and the scanning speed of the laser beam, ripples with large amplitude ({approx}150 nm) and uniform period could be obtained, rendering vivid structural colors when illuminating the surface with white light. It indicates that these ripples act as a surface grating that diffracts light efficiently. The strong dependence of the ripple orientation on the polarization of laser light offers us the opportunity of decorating different regions of the surface with different types of ripples. As a result, different patterns can be selectively displayed with structural color when white light is irradiated on the surface from different directions. More interestingly, we demonstrated the possibility of decorating the same region with two or more types of ripples with different orientations. In this way, different patterns with spatial overlapping can be selectively displayed with structural color. This technique may find applications in the fields of anti-counterfeiting, color display, decoration, encryption and optical data storage.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

US Media Coverage of Tobacco Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-02-01

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

Aspects of coverage in medical DNA sequencing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilson Richard K

2008-05-01

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

29 CFR 1620.7 - “Enterprise” coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

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

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2016-05-15

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

A High-Efficiency Uneven Cluster Deployment Algorithm Based on Network Layered for Event Coverage in UWSNs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanen Yu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Most existing deployment algorithms for event coverage in underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs usually do not consider that network communication has non-uniform characteristics on three-dimensional underwater environments. Such deployment algorithms ignore that the nodes are distributed at different depths and have different probabilities for data acquisition, thereby leading to imbalances in the overall network energy consumption, decreasing the network performance, and resulting in poor and unreliable late network operation. Therefore, in this study, we proposed an uneven cluster deployment algorithm based network layered for event coverage. First, according to the energy consumption requirement of the communication load at different depths of the underwater network, we obtained the expected value of deployment nodes and the distribution density of each layer network after theoretical analysis and deduction. Afterward, the network is divided into multilayers based on uneven clusters, and the heterogeneous communication radius of nodes can improve the network connectivity rate. The recovery strategy is used to balance the energy consumption of nodes in the cluster and can efficiently reconstruct the network topology, which ensures that the network has a high network coverage and connectivity rate in a long period of data acquisition. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm improves network reliability and prolongs network lifetime by significantly reducing the blind movement of overall network nodes while maintaining a high network coverage and connectivity rate.

Heteroepitaxial Patterned Growth of Vertically Aligned and Periodically Distributed ZnO Nanowires on GaN Using Laser Interference Ablation

KAUST Repository

Yuan, Dajun

2010-08-23

A simple two-step method of fabricating vertically aligned and periodically distributed ZnO nanowires on gallium nitride (GaN) substrates is described. The method combines laser interference ablation (LIA) and low temperature hydrothermal decomposition. The ZnO nanowires grow heteroepitaxially on unablated regions of GaN over areas spanning 1 cm2, with a high degree of control over size, orientation, uniformity, and periodicity. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy are utilized to study the structural characteristics of the LIA-patterned GaN substrate in detail. These studies reveal the possible mechanism for the preferential, site-selective growth of the ZnO nanowires. The method demonstrates high application potential for wafer-scale integration into sensor arrays, piezoelectric devices, and optoelectronic devices. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

Accuracy of Coverage Survey Recall following an Integrated Mass Drug Administration for Lymphatic Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis

Science.gov (United States)

Budge, Philip J.; Sognikin, Edmond; Akosa, Amanda; Mathieu, Els M.; Deming, Michael

2016-01-01

Background Achieving target coverage levels for mass drug administration (MDA) is essential to elimination and control efforts for several neglected tropical diseases (NTD). To ensure program goals are met, coverage reported by drug distributors may be validated through household coverage surveys that rely on respondent recall. This is the first study to assess accuracy in such surveys. Methodology/Principal Findings Recall accuracy was tested in a series of coverage surveys conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months after an integrated MDA in Togo during which three drugs (albendazole, ivermectin, and praziquantel) were distributed. Drug distribution was observed during the MDA to ensure accurate recording of persons treated during the MDA. Information was obtained for 506, 1131, and 947 persons surveyed at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Coverage (defined as the percentage of persons taking at least one of the MDA medications) within these groups was respectively 88.3%, 87.4%, and 80.0%, according to the treatment registers; it was 87.9%, 91.4% and 89.4%, according to survey responses. Concordance between respondents and registers on swallowing at least one pill was >95% at 1 month and >86% at 12 months; the lower concordance at 12 months was more likely due to difficulty matching survey respondents with the year-old treatment register rather than inaccurate responses. Respondents generally distinguished between pills similar in appearance; concordance for recall of which pills were taken was over 80% in each survey. Significance In this population, coverage surveys provided remarkably consistent coverage estimates for up to one year following an integrated MDA. It is not clear if similar consistency will be seen in other settings, however, these data suggest that in some settings coverage surveys might be conducted as much as one year following an MDA without compromising results. This might enable integration of post-MDA coverage measurement into large, multipurpose

Accuracy of Coverage Survey Recall following an Integrated Mass Drug Administration for Lymphatic Filariasis, Schistosomiasis, and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip J Budge

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Achieving target coverage levels for mass drug administration (MDA is essential to elimination and control efforts for several neglected tropical diseases (NTD. To ensure program goals are met, coverage reported by drug distributors may be validated through household coverage surveys that rely on respondent recall. This is the first study to assess accuracy in such surveys.Recall accuracy was tested in a series of coverage surveys conducted at 1, 6, and 12 months after an integrated MDA in Togo during which three drugs (albendazole, ivermectin, and praziquantel were distributed. Drug distribution was observed during the MDA to ensure accurate recording of persons treated during the MDA. Information was obtained for 506, 1131, and 947 persons surveyed at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Coverage (defined as the percentage of persons taking at least one of the MDA medications within these groups was respectively 88.3%, 87.4%, and 80.0%, according to the treatment registers; it was 87.9%, 91.4% and 89.4%, according to survey responses. Concordance between respondents and registers on swallowing at least one pill was >95% at 1 month and >86% at 12 months; the lower concordance at 12 months was more likely due to difficulty matching survey respondents with the year-old treatment register rather than inaccurate responses. Respondents generally distinguished between pills similar in appearance; concordance for recall of which pills were taken was over 80% in each survey.In this population, coverage surveys provided remarkably consistent coverage estimates for up to one year following an integrated MDA. It is not clear if similar consistency will be seen in other settings, however, these data suggest that in some settings coverage surveys might be conducted as much as one year following an MDA without compromising results. This might enable integration of post-MDA coverage measurement into large, multipurpose, periodic surveys, thereby conserving

A High-Coverage Yersinia pestis Genome from a Sixth-Century Justinianic Plague Victim.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, Michal; Harbeck, Michaela; Keller, Marcel; Spyrou, Maria A; Rott, Andreas; Trautmann, Bernd; Scholz, Holger C; Päffgen, Bernd; Peters, Joris; McCormick, Michael; Bos, Kirsten; Herbig, Alexander; Krause, Johannes

2016-11-01

The Justinianic Plague, which started in the sixth century and lasted to the mid eighth century, is thought to be the first of three historically documented plague pandemics causing massive casualties. Historical accounts and molecular data suggest the bacterium Yersinia pestis as its etiological agent. Here we present a new high-coverage (17.9-fold) Y. pestis genome obtained from a sixth-century skeleton recovered from a southern German burial site close to Munich. The reconstructed genome enabled the detection of 30 unique substitutions as well as structural differences that have not been previously described. We report indels affecting a lacl family transcription regulator gene as well as nonsynonymous substitutions in the nrdE, fadJ, and pcp genes, that have been suggested as plague virulence determinants or have been shown to be upregulated in different models of plague infection. In addition, we identify 19 false positive substitutions in a previously published lower-coverage Y. pestis genome from another archaeological site of the same time period and geographical region that is otherwise genetically identical to the high-coverage genome sequence reported here, suggesting low-genetic diversity of the plague during the sixth century in rural southern Germany. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-10-18

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

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…

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.

Three-dimensional recurring patterns in excitable media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biton, Y.; Rabinovitch, A.; Braunstein, D.; Friedman, M.; Aviram, I.

2011-01-01

A new method to create three-dimensional periodic patterns in excitable media is presented. The method is demonstrated and the patterns are obtained with the help of two types of 3D 'spiral pairs' generators, which are respectively based on a 'corner effect' and a 'unidirectional propagation' processes. The results portray time-repeating patterns resembling fruits or potteries. The method is easy to implement and can be used to form other types of 3D patterns in excitable media. The question of periodicity of the patterns thus obtained is resolved by calculating the singular lines (filaments) around which they evolve and showing their unique reattachment property. Actual realizations could be conceived e.g. in chemical reactions such as Belousov-Zhabotinsky. Possible severe cardiac arrhythmias following the appearance of such patterns in the action potential of the heart are considered. -- Highlights: → New method to create three-dimensional periodic patterns in excitable media. → Singular lines (filaments) for the corner effect are presented. → Filaments are shown to exhibit periodic behavior.

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.

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.

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration as a Response to Climate and Vegetation Coverage Changes in Northwest Yunnan, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hao; Luo, Peng; Wang, Jun; Mou, Chengxiang; Mo, Li; Wang, Zhiyuan; Fu, Yao; Lin, Honghui; Yang, Yongping; Bhatta, Laxmi Dutt

2015-01-01

Climate and human-driven changes play an important role in regional droughts. Northwest Yunnan Province is a key region for biodiversity conservation in China, and it has experienced severe droughts since the beginning of this century; however, the extent of the contributions from climate and human-driven changes remains unclear. We calculated the ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield (WY) of northwest Yunnan Province, China from 2001 to 2013 using meteorological and remote sensing observation data and a Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) model. Multivariate regression analyses were used to differentiate the contribution of climate and vegetation coverage to ET. The results showed that the annual average vegetation coverage significantly increased over time with a mean of 0.69 in spite of the precipitation fluctuation. Afforestation/reforestation and other management efforts attributed to vegetation coverage increase in NW Yunnan. Both ET and WY considerably fluctuated with the climate factors, which ranged from 623.29 mm to 893.8 mm and -51.88 mm to 384.40 mm over the time period. Spatially, ET in the southeast of NW Yunnan (mainly in Lijiang) increased significantly, which was in line with the spatial trend of vegetation coverage. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that climatic factors accounted for 85.18% of the ET variation, while vegetation coverage explained 14.82%. On the other hand, precipitation accounted for 67.5% of the WY. We conclude that the continuous droughts in northwest Yunnan were primarily climatically driven; however, man-made land cover and vegetation changes also increased the vulnerability of local populations to drought. Because of the high proportion of the water yield consumed for subsistence and poor infrastructure for water management, local populations have been highly vulnerable to climate drought conditions. We suggest that conservation of native vegetation and development of water

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.

Media coverage of violence against women in the family and in an intimate partner relationship in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Resimić Miloš

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article examines the media coverage of violence against women in the family and in an intimate partner relationship in Serbia. The goal of this article is to point to the potential that implementing the relevant state policies might have on the quality of the media coverage, by analysing the effects of state policies on the media coverage of violence against women in the family and in an intimate partner relationship. This study utilizes quantitative content analysis and qualitative framing analysis on a sample of 330 articles of Serbian daily newspapers Blic, Kurir and Politika in two time periods (three months in 2006 and three months in 2013. The results of the quantitative content analysis show a significant increase in the number of articles containing information on statistics, services for victims and expert sources. Qualitative framing analysis points to the conclusion that the nature of the media frame has not meaningfully changed. Namely, under the pressure of editors, journalists continue with framing violence against women in a stereotyped fashion which reflects the suppressed position of women in the Serbian society.

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

The monaural temporal window based on masking period pattern data in school-aged children and adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Buss, Emily; He, Shuman; Grose, John H; Hall, Joseph W

2013-03-01

Several lines of evidence indicate that auditory temporal resolution improves over childhood, whereas other data implicate the development of processing efficiency. The present study used the masking period pattern paradigm to examine the maturation of temporal processing in normal-hearing children (4.8 to 10.7 yrs) compared to adults. Thresholds for a brief tone were measured at 6 temporal positions relative to the period of a 5-Hz quasi-square-wave masker envelope, with a 20-dB modulation depth, as well as in 2 steady maskers. The signal was a pure tone at either 1000 or 6500 Hz, and the masker was a band of noise, either spectrally wide or narrow (21.3 and 1.4 equivalent rectangular bandwidths, respectively). Masker modulation improved thresholds more for wide than narrow bandwidths, and adults tended to receive more benefit from modulation than young children. Fits to data for the wide maskers indicated a change in window symmetry with development, reflecting relatively greater backward masking for the youngest listeners. Data for children >6.5 yrs of age appeared more adult-like for the 6500- than the 1000-Hz signal. Differences in temporal window asymmetry with listener age cannot be entirely explained as a consequence of a higher criterion for detection in children, a form of inefficiency.

Discontinuous Spirals of Stable Periodic Oscillations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sack, Achim; Freire, Joana G.; Lindberg, Erik

2013-01-01

We report the experimental discovery of a remarkable organization of the set of self-generated periodic oscillations in the parameter space of a nonlinear electronic circuit. When control parameters are suitably tuned, the wave pattern complexity of the periodic oscillations is found to increase...

Comparison of administrative and survey data for estimating vitamin A supplementation and deworming coverage of children under five years of age in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Janmohamed, Amynah; Doledec, David

2017-07-01

To compare administrative coverage data with results from household coverage surveys for vitamin A supplementation (VAS) and deworming campaigns conducted during 2010-2015 in 12 African countries. Paired t-tests examined differences between administrative and survey coverage for 52 VAS and 34 deworming dyads. Independent t-tests measured VAS and deworming coverage differences between data sources for door-to-door and fixed-site delivery strategies and VAS coverage differences between 6- to 11-month and 12- to 59-month age group. For VAS, administrative coverage was higher than survey estimates in 47 of 52 (90%) campaign rounds, with a mean difference of 16.1% (95% CI: 9.5-22.7; P < 0.001). For deworming, administrative coverage exceeded survey estimates in 31 of 34 (91%) comparisons, with a mean difference of 29.8% (95% CI: 16.9-42.6; P < 0.001). Mean ± SD differences in coverage between administrative and survey data were 12.2% ± 22.5% for the door-to-door delivery strategy and 25.9% ± 24.7% for the fixed-site model (P = 0.06). For deworming, mean ± SD differences in coverage between data sources were 28.1% ± 43.5% and 33.1% ± 17.9% for door-to-door and fixed-site distribution, respectively (P = 0.64). VAS administrative coverage was higher than survey estimates in 37 of 49 (76%) comparisons for the 6- to 11-month age group and 45 of 48 (94%) comparisons for the 12- to 59-month age group. Reliance on health facility data alone for calculating VAS and deworming coverage may mask low coverage and prevent measures to improve programmes. Countries should periodically validate administrative coverage estimates with population-based methods. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

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.

Dual-component model of respiratory motion based on the periodic autoregressive moving average (periodic ARMA) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCall, K C; Jeraj, R

2007-01-01

A new approach to the problem of modelling and predicting respiration motion has been implemented. This is a dual-component model, which describes the respiration motion as a non-periodic time series superimposed onto a periodic waveform. A periodic autoregressive moving average algorithm has been used to define a mathematical model of the periodic and non-periodic components of the respiration motion. The periodic components of the motion were found by projecting multiple inhale-exhale cycles onto a common subspace. The component of the respiration signal that is left after removing this periodicity is a partially autocorrelated time series and was modelled as an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) process. The accuracy of the periodic ARMA model with respect to fluctuation in amplitude and variation in length of cycles has been assessed. A respiration phantom was developed to simulate the inter-cycle variations seen in free-breathing and coached respiration patterns. At ±14% variability in cycle length and maximum amplitude of motion, the prediction errors were 4.8% of the total motion extent for a 0.5 s ahead prediction, and 9.4% at 1.0 s lag. The prediction errors increased to 11.6% at 0.5 s and 21.6% at 1.0 s when the respiration pattern had ±34% variations in both these parameters. Our results have shown that the accuracy of the periodic ARMA model is more strongly dependent on the variations in cycle length than the amplitude of the respiration cycles

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.)

Engaging communities with a simple tool to help increase immunization coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Manish; Taneja, Gunjan; Amin, Ruhul; Steinglass, Robert; Favin, Michael

2015-03-01

The level of vaccination coverage in a given community depends on both service factors and the degree to which the public understands and trusts the immunization process. This article describes an approach that aims to raise awareness and boost demand. Developed in India, the "My Village Is My Home" (MVMH) tool, known as Uma Imunizasaun (UI) in Timor-Leste, is a poster-sized material used by volunteers and health workers to record the births and vaccination dates of every infant in a community. Introduction of the tool in 5 districts of India (April 2012 to March 2013) and in 7 initial villages in Timor-Leste (beginning in January 2012) allowed community leaders, volunteers, and health workers to monitor the vaccination status of every young child and guided reminder and motivational visits. In 3 districts of India, we analyzed data on vaccination coverage and timeliness before and during use of the tool; in 2 other districts, analysis was based only on data for new births during use of the tool. In Timor-Leste, we compared UI data from the 3 villages with the most complete data with data for the same villages from the vaccination registers from the previous year. In both countries, we also obtained qualitative data about perceptions of the tool through interviews with health workers and community members. Assessments in both countries found evidence suggesting improved vaccination timeliness and coverage. In India, pilot communities had 80% or higher coverage of identified and eligible children for all vaccines. In comparison, overall coverage in the respective districts during the same time period was much lower, at 49% to 69%. In Timor-Leste, both the number of infants identified and immunized rose substantially with use of the tool compared with the previous year (236 vs. 155, respectively, identified as targets; 185 vs. 147, respectively, received Penta 3). Although data challenges limit firm conclusions, the experiences in both countries suggest that "My

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.

“Aging Out” of Dependent Coverage and the Effects on US Labor Market and Health Insurance Choices

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Objectives. I examined how labor market and health insurance outcomes were affected by the loss of dependent coverage eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Methods. I used National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data and regression discontinuity models to measure the percentage-point change in labor market and health insurance outcomes at age 26 years. My sample was restricted to unmarried individuals aged 24 to 28 years and to a period of time before the ACA’s individual mandate (2011–2013). I ran models separately for men and women to determine if there were differences based on gender. Results. Aging out of this provision increased employment among men, employer-sponsored health insurance offers for women, and reports that health insurance coverage was worse than it was 1 year previously (overall and for young women). Uninsured rates did not increase at age 26 years, but there was an increase in the purchase of non–group health coverage, indicating interest in remaining insured after age 26 years. Conclusions. Many young adults will turn to state and federal health insurance marketplaces for information about health coverage. Because young adults (aged 18–29 years) regularly use social media sites, these sites could be used to advertise insurance to individuals reaching their 26th birthdays. PMID:26447916

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

Temporal integration of sequential auditory events: silent period in sound pattern activates human planum temporale.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustovic, Henrietta; Scheffler, Klaus; Di Salle, Francesco; Esposito, Fabrizio; Neuhoff, John G; Hennig, Jürgen; Seifritz, Erich

2003-09-01

Temporal integration is a fundamental process that the brain carries out to construct coherent percepts from serial sensory events. This process critically depends on the formation of memory traces reconciling past with present events and is particularly important in the auditory domain where sensory information is received both serially and in parallel. It has been suggested that buffers for transient auditory memory traces reside in the auditory cortex. However, previous studies investigating "echoic memory" did not distinguish between brain response to novel auditory stimulus characteristics on the level of basic sound processing and a higher level involving matching of present with stored information. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in combination with a regular pattern of sounds repeated every 100 ms and deviant interspersed stimuli of 100-ms duration, which were either brief presentations of louder sounds or brief periods of silence, to probe the formation of auditory memory traces. To avoid interaction with scanner noise, the auditory stimulation sequence was implemented into the image acquisition scheme. Compared to increased loudness events, silent periods produced specific neural activation in the right planum temporale and temporoparietal junction. Our findings suggest that this area posterior to the auditory cortex plays a critical role in integrating sequential auditory events and is involved in the formation of short-term auditory memory traces. This function of the planum temporale appears to be fundamental in the segregation of simultaneous sound sources.

Nanopatterning of Si(001) for bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yanfang; Kalachahi, Hedieh Hosseinzadeh; Das, Amal K; Koch, Reinhold

2012-04-27

The epitaxial growth of Si on Si(001) under conditions at which the (2 × n) superstructure is forming has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. Our experiments reveal a periodic change of the surface morphology with the surface coverage of Si. A regular (2 × n) stripe pattern is observed at coverages of 0.7-0.9 monolayers that periodically alternates with less dense surface structures at lower Si surface coverages. The MC simulations show that the growth of Si is affected by step-edge barriers, which favors the formation of a rather uniform two-dimensional framework-like configuration. Subsequent deposition of Ge onto the (2 × n) stripe pattern yields a dense array of small Ge nanostructures.

Grazing angle X-ray fluorescence from periodic structures on silicon and silica surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowak, S.H.; Banaś, D.; Błchucki, W.; Cao, W.; Dousse, J.-Cl.; Hönicke, P.; Hoszowska, J.; Jabłoński, Ł.; Kayser, Y.; Kubala-Kukuś, A.; Pajek, M.; Reinhardt, F.; Savu, A.V.; Szlachetko, J.

2014-01-01

Various 3-dimensional nano-scaled periodic structures with different configurations and periods deposited on the surface of silicon and silica substrates were investigated by means of the grazing incidence and grazing emission X-ray fluorescence techniques. Apart from the characteristics which are typical for particle- and layer-like samples, the measured angular intensity profiles show additional periodicity-related features. The latter could be explained by a novel theoretical approach based on simple geometrical optics (GO) considerations. The new GO-based calculations were found to yield results in good agreement with experiment, also in cases where other theoretical approaches are not valid, e.g., periodic particle distributions with an increased surface coverage

42 CFR 436.321 - Medically needy coverage of the blind.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Assessing Requirements Quality through Requirements Coverage

Science.gov (United States)

Rajan, Ajitha; Heimdahl, Mats; Woodham, Kurt

2008-01-01

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

Similarity-based pattern analysis and recognition

CERN Document Server

Pelillo, Marcello

2013-01-01

This accessible text/reference presents a coherent overview of the emerging field of non-Euclidean similarity learning. The book presents a broad range of perspectives on similarity-based pattern analysis and recognition methods, from purely theoretical challenges to practical, real-world applications. The coverage includes both supervised and unsupervised learning paradigms, as well as generative and discriminative models. Topics and features: explores the origination and causes of non-Euclidean (dis)similarity measures, and how they influence the performance of traditional classification alg

Physics-Aware Informative Coverage Planning for Autonomous Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-04-25

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacqueline Ramke

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

Boundary-induced pattern formation from uniform temporal oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Kohsokabe, Takahiro; Kaneko, Kunihiko

2018-04-01

Pattern dynamics triggered by fixing a boundary is investigated. By considering a reaction-diffusion equation that has a unique spatially uniform and limit cycle attractor under a periodic or Neumann boundary condition, and then by choosing a fixed boundary condition, we found three novel phases depending on the ratio of diffusion constants of activator to inhibitor: transformation of temporally periodic oscillation into a spatially periodic fixed pattern, travelling wave emitted from the boundary, and aperiodic spatiotemporal dynamics. The transformation into a fixed, periodic pattern is analyzed by crossing of local nullclines at each spatial point, shifted by diffusion terms, as is analyzed by using recursive equations, to obtain the spatial pattern as an attractor. The generality of the boundary-induced pattern formation as well as its relevance to biological morphogenesis is discussed.

Long-term Spot-Coverage Variations of 13 BY Dra G-K Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Alekseev, I. Yu.; Kozhevnikova, A. V.

2018-06-01

The results of spot-coverage modeling for 13 active G-K dwarf stars based on many-year photometric observations are presented. The results of UBV RI observations of eight stars performed at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory were used together with data from the literature in this analysis. The spot-coverage parameters for 13 selected BY Dra active red dwarfs have been redetermined to improve the zonal spot-coverage model for the stellar photospheres, which currently allows for the presence of two active longitudes. Time variations of the spot-activity characteristics of these systems were analyzed with the aim of searching for possible cyclic variations. All the stars, with the exception of OU Gem and BE Cet, show fairly strong correlations between variations in the spot latitudes and spot areas, with absolute values of the correlation coefficients, R(, S), ranging from 0.38 to 0.92. For five stars, an anti-correlation between the mean latitude and area of the spots was found ( R(, S) from-0.24 to-0.73). This behavior may reflect the drift of spots toward the equator in the course of their development. Eight stars feature positive correlations, i.e. the spots drift towards the pole as their areas increase. Nine stars demonstrate activity cycles, which are reflected in photometric variations as well as variations of the spot areas and mean latitudes. The periods of the latitude drift of the spots are found for five stars; the magnitudes of the spot-latitude drift rates are lower than the corresponding value for sunspots by a factor of 1.5-3.

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.

Effects of chronic iTBS-rTMS and enriched environment on visual cortex early critical period and visual pattern discrimination in dark-reared rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Padilla, Diana V; Funke, Klaus

2016-01-01

Early cortical critical period resembles a state of enhanced neuronal plasticity enabling the establishment of specific neuronal connections during first sensory experience. Visual performance with regard to pattern discrimination is impaired if the cortex is deprived from visual input during the critical period. We wondered how unspecific activation of the visual cortex before closure of the critical period using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could affect the critical period and the visual performance of the experimental animals. Would it cause premature closure of the plastic state and thus worsen experience-dependent visual performance, or would it be able to preserve plasticity? Effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) were compared with those of an enriched environment (EE) during dark-rearing (DR) from birth. Rats dark-reared in a standard cage showed poor improvement in a visual pattern discrimination task, while rats housed in EE or treated with iTBS showed a performance indistinguishable from rats reared in normal light/dark cycle. The behavioral effects were accompanied by correlated changes in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and atypical PKC (PKCζ/PKMζ), two factors controlling stabilization of synaptic potentiation. It appears that not only nonvisual sensory activity and exercise but also cortical activation induced by rTMS has the potential to alleviate the effects of DR on cortical development, most likely due to stimulation of BDNF synthesis and release. As we showed previously, iTBS reduced the expression of parvalbumin in inhibitory cortical interneurons, indicating that modulation of the activity of fast-spiking interneurons contributes to the observed effects of iTBS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assuring Access to Affordable Coverage

Data.gov (United States)

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

Solving k-Barrier Coverage Problem Using Modified Gravitational Search Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhua Zhang

2017-01-01

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

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination policies and coverage in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mereckiene, J; Cotter, S; Weber, J T; Nicoll, A; D'Ancona, F; Lopalco, P L; Johansen, K; Wasley, A M; Jorgensen, P; Lévy-Bruhl, D; Giambi, C; Stefanoff, P; Dematte, L; O'Flanagan, D

2012-01-26

In August 2010 the Vaccine European New Integrated Collaboration Effort (VENICE) project conducted a survey to collect information on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination policies and vaccination coverage in the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland. Of 29 responding countries, 26 organised national pandemic influenza vaccination and one country had recommendations for vaccination but did not have a specific programme. Of the 27 countries with vaccine recommendations, all recommended it for healthcare workers and pregnant women. Twelve countries recommended vaccine for all ages. Six and three countries had recommendations for specific age groups in children and in adults, countries for specific adult age groups. Most countries recommended vaccine for those in new risk groups identified early in the pandemic such as morbid obese and people with neurologic diseases. Two thirds of countries started their vaccination campaigns within a four week period after week 40/2009. The reported vaccination coverage varied between countries from 0.4% to 59% for the entire population (22 countries); 3% to 68% for healthcare workers (13 countries); 0% to 58% for pregnant women (12 countries); 0.2% to 74% for children (12 countries). Most countries identified similar target groups for pandemic vaccine, but substantial variability in vaccination coverage was seen. The recommendations were in accordance with policy advice from the EU Health Security Committee and the World Health Organization.

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination policies and coverage in Europe.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mereckiene, J

2012-06-01

In August 2010 the Vaccine European New Integrated Collaboration Effort (VENICE) project conducted a survey to collect information on influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination policies and vaccination coverage in the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland. Of 29 responding countries, 26 organised national pandemic influenza vaccination and one country had recommendations for vaccination but did not have a specific programme. Of the 27 countries with vaccine recommendations, all recommended it for healthcare workers and pregnant women. Twelve countries recommended vaccine for all ages. Six and three countries had recommendations for specific age groups in children and in adults, countries for specific adult age groups. Most countries recommended vaccine for those in new risk groups identified early in the pandemic such as morbid obese and people with neurologic diseases. Two thirds of countries started their vaccination campaigns within a four week period after week 40\\/2009. The reported vaccination coverage varied between countries from 0.4% to 59% for the entire population (22 countries); 3% to 68% for healthcare workers (13 countries); 0% to 58% for pregnant women (12 countries); 0.2% to 74% for children (12 countries). Most countries identified similar target groups for pandemic vaccine, but substantial variability in vaccination coverage was seen. The recommendations were in accordance with policy advice from the EU Health Security Committee and the World Health Organization.

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.

Treatment patterns in multiple sclerosis: administrative claims analysis over 10 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Oleen-Burkey, MerriKay; Cyhaniuk, Anissa; Swallow, Eric

2013-01-01

Treatment patterns for the MS disease-modifying therapies (DMT) have changed over time. The objective of this study was to examine and describe treatment patterns in MS over a 10-year period. MS patients who filled a DMT prescription between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2010 were identified from Clinformatics for DataMart affiliated with OptumInsight. Two cohorts were identified: those with a DMT prescription in 2003 and those with a DMT prescription in 2008. Treatment patterns were examined 2 years before and after the anchor prescriptions for each cohort. Comparing treatment patterns prior to the two anchor prescriptions, interferon-beta (IFNβ)-1a IM (Avonex) and IFNβ-1b (Betaseron) gained the most users in 2001-2003, while IFNβ-1a IM and IFNβ-1a SC (Rebif) gained the most users from 2006-2008. In the 2 years following the two anchor prescriptions, treatment patterns changed. From 2003-2005, 21.2% of IFNβ-1a SC users and more than 15.0% of IFNβ-1a IM and IFNβ-1b users changed to another interferon or glatiramer acetate (GA; Copaxone), while 12.5% of GA users changed to an interferon, most often IFNβ-1a SC. From 2008-2010 the largest proportion of changes from each of the interferons and natalizumab (NZ; Tysabri) were to GA, while those switching from GA were most often changed to IFNβ-1a SC. Those with a 2008 anchor prescription for NZ were most often changed (57%) to GA. In retrospective database analyses the presence of a claim for a filled prescription does not indicate that the drug was consumed, and reasons for changes in therapy are not available. The study design looking forward and backward from the anchor prescriptions may have contributed to differences in the proportion of patients seen with no observable change in DMT. Claims-based data are also constrained by coverage limitations that determine the data available and limit the generalizability of results to managed care patients. Changes in treatment patterns in the first half of the

The Role of Hospital Information Systems in Universal Health Coverage Monitoring in Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Karara, Gustave; Verbeke, Frank; Nyssen, Marc

2015-01-01

In this retrospective study, the authors monitored the patient health coverage in 6 Rwandan hospitals in the period between 2011 and 2014. Among the 6 hospitals, 2 are third level hospitals, 2 district hospitals and 2 private hospitals. Patient insurance and financial data were extracted and analyzed from OpenClinic GA, an open source hospital information system (HIS) used in those 6 hospitals. The percentage of patients who had no health insurer globally decreased from 35% in 2011 to 15% in 2014. The rate of health insurance coverage in hospitals varied between 75% in private hospitals and 84% in public hospitals. The amounts paid by the patients for health services decreased in private hospitals to 25% of the total costs in 2014 (-7.4%) and vary between 14% and 19% in public hospitals. Although the number of insured patients has increased and the patient share decreased over the four years of study, the patients' out-of-pocket payments increased especially for in-patients. This study emphasizes the value of integrated hospital information systems for this kind of health economics research in developing countries.

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.…

Produção e qualidade de melão amarelo influenciado por coberturas do solo e lâminas de irrigação no período chuvoso Yield and quality of yellow melon influenced by soil coverages and irrigation depth during rainfall period

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Maria José Tôrres Câmara

2007-02-01

Full Text Available O plantio de melão no período chuvoso tem sido um dos grandes desafios para os produtores da região do Nordeste brasileiro devido a problemas fitossanitários. Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar os efeitos de cobertura do solo e de lâminas de irrigação na produção e na qualidade do melão amarelo híbrido "Goldex", no período chuvoso. O experimento foi desenvolvido na Fazenda Santa Júlia Agrocomercial Exportadora de Frutos Tropicais Ltda, no município de Mossoró-RN, no período de abril a julho de 2003. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos resultaram da combinação de cinco tipos de coberturas do solo (solo descoberto e coberturas do solo com plástico preto, prateado, amarelo e marrom com três lâminas de irrigação (100%, 86% e 72% da lâmina padrão, esta equivalente a 238,4mm por ciclo. As características avaliadas foram número, massa média e produtividade de frutos comercializáveis (mercados interno e externo, refugos e totais, firmeza e espessura de polpa, relação de formato e teor de sólidos solúveis totais. Houve interação significativa entre os tipos de coberturas do solo e as lâminas de irrigação para a produtividade total. A maior produtividade de frutos comercializáveis e de conteúdo de sólidos solúveis totais foi registrada nas coberturas do solo com plástico. Os números de frutos comercializáveis, refugos e totais, bem como a produtividade de frutos comercializáveis e refugos, não foram afetados significativamente pelas lâminas de irrigação.Growing a melon crop during the rainfall period has been a great challenge for producers from the north eastern Brazil due to crop sanitary problems. This work was aimed at evaluating the effects of soil coverages and irrigation depth on yield and quality of yellow melon (hybrid Goldex during the rainfall period. The experiment was carried out at Fazenda Santa Júlia Agro

Measuring coverage in MNCH: tracking progress in health for women and children using DHS and MICS household surveys.

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Attila Hancioglu

Full Text Available Household surveys are the primary data source of coverage indicators for children and women for most developing countries. Most of this information is generated by two global household survey programmes-the USAID-supported Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS and the UNICEF-supported Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS. In this review, we provide an overview of these two programmes, which cover a wide range of child and maternal health topics and provide estimates of many Millennium Development Goal indicators, as well as estimates of the indicators for the Countdown to 2015 initiative and the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health. MICS and DHS collaborate closely and work through interagency processes to ensure that survey tools are harmonized and comparable as far as possible, but we highlight differences between DHS and MICS in the population covered and the reference periods used to measure coverage. These differences need to be considered when comparing estimates of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health indicators across countries and over time and we discuss the implications of these differences for coverage measurement. Finally, we discuss the need for survey planners and consumers of survey results to understand the strengths, limitations, and constraints of coverage measurements generated through household surveys, and address some technical issues surrounding sampling and quality control. We conclude that, although much effort has been made to improve coverage measurement in household surveys, continuing efforts are needed, including further research to improve and refine survey methods and analytical techniques.

Estimation of Pap-test coverage in an area with an organised screening program: challenges for survey methods

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Raggi Patrizio

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The cytological screening programme of Viterbo has completed the second round of invitations to the entire target population (age 25–64. From a public health perspective, it is important to know the Pap-test coverage rate and the use of opportunistic screening. The most commonly used study design is the survey, but the validity of self-reports and the assumptions made about non respondents are often questioned. Methods From the target population, 940 women were sampled, and responded to a telephone interview about Pap-test utilisation. The answers were compared with the screening program registry; comparing the dates of Pap-tests reported by both sources. Sensitivity analyses were performed for coverage over a 36-month period, according to various assumptions regarding non respondents. Results The response rate was 68%. The coverage over 36 months was 86.4% if we assume that non respondents had the same coverage as respondents, 66% if we assume they were not covered at all, and 74.6% if we adjust for screening compliance in the non respondents. The sensitivity and specificity of the question, "have you ever had a Pap test with the screening programme" were 84.5% and 82.2% respectively. The test dates reported in the interview tended to be more recent than those reported in the registry, but 68% were within 12 months of each other. Conclusion Surveys are useful tools to understand the effectiveness of a screening programme and women's self-report was sufficiently reliable in our setting, but the coverage estimates were strongly influenced by the assumptions we made regarding non respondents.

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).

Camera Coverage Estimation Based on Multistage Grid Subdivision

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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.

42 CFR 435.139 - Coverage for certain aliens.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Towards Semantic Web Services on Large, Multi-Dimensional Coverages

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, P.

2009-04-01

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

Opciones de cobertura para defectos en codo Coverage options for elbow defects

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R. Graciano

2012-12-01

Full Text Available La región del codo es un área anatómica de atención frecuente para el cirujano plástico, tanto en situaciones en las que una cicatriz limita la movilidad del miembro superior, como cuando un defecto de cobertura supone la exposición de elementos nobles. Los procedimientos a considerar para la cobertura de defectos de tejidos blandos en esta zona son los injertos, colgajos locales, regionales, libres y a distancia. Presentamos una serie de 9 casos clínicos intervenidos quirúrgicamente en el periodo comprendido entre enero del 2004 y mayo del 2006, con un seguimiento promedio de 2 años.The elbow region is an anatomical area of frequent attention to the plastic surgeon, in situations where a scar may limits upper limb mobility, as when a defect of coverage involves exposing of noble elements. The procedures to be considered for coverage of soft tissue defects in this area are: grafts, local, regional, distant and free flaps. We present a series of 9 clinical cases operated on in the period between January 2004 and May 2006, with a mean follow up of 2 years.

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

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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.

Differential movement patterns of juvenile Tengmalms owls (Aegolius funereus during the post-fledging dependence period in two years with contrasting prey abundance.

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Marek Kouba

Full Text Available Fledgling behaviour and movement patterns throughout the post-fledging dependence period (PFDP, especially in relation to changing environmental conditions, have been rarely studied, despite the fact that this period is recognized as of crucial significance in terms of high mortality of juveniles. The PFDP can extend over quite a protracted period, particularly in birds of prey, and a knowledge of the movement patterns of individuals is fundamental for understanding mechanisms underlying survival, habitat use and dispersion. We radiotracked 39 fledglings of the Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus in two years with different availability of prey: 2010 (n = 29 and 2011 (n = 10 and obtained 1455 daily locations. Fledglings reached independence on average in 45 days after fledging in 2010 (n = 22 and 57 days in 2011 (n = 6. Within years, the most important measures influencing the distance moved from the nest box were age of fledglings and number of surviving siblings present. Individual home range size and duration of PFDP in particular were dependent on maximal number of siblings seen outside the nest box. In the season with low prey availability fledglings were observed at greater distances from the nest box than in the year with higher prey availability (mean distance: 350 m in 2010 and 650 m in 2011 and occupied larger home ranges (mean: 30.3 ha in 2010 and 57.7 ha in 2011. The main factor causing these differences between years was probably the different availability of prey in these two years, affecting breeding success and post-fledging survivorship of the Tengmalm's owls.

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

Improving the Methods for Accounting the Coverages of Payments to Employees

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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.

Variation in Private Payer Coverage of Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, James D; Wilkinson, Colby L; Anderson, Jordan E; Chenoweth, Matthew D

2016-10-01

Payers in the United States issue coverage determinations to guide how their enrolled beneficiaries use prescription drugs. Because payers create their own coverage policies, how they cover drugs can vary, which in turn can affect access to care by beneficiaries. To examine how the largest private payers based on membership cover drugs indicated for rheumatoid arthritis and to determine what evidence the payers reported reviewing when formulating their coverage policies. Coverage policies issued by the 10 largest private payers that make their policies publicly available were identified for rheumatoid arthritis drugs. Each coverage determination was compared with the drug's corresponding FDA label and categorized according to the following: (a) consistent with the label, (b) more restrictive than the label, (c) less restrictive than the label, or (d) mixed (i.e., more restrictive than the label in one way but less restrictive in another). Each coverage determination was also compared with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2012 treatment recommendations and categorized using the same relative restrictiveness criteria. The policies were then reviewed to identify the evidence that the payers reported reviewing. The identified evidence was divided into the following 6 categories: randomized controlled trials; other clinical studies (e.g., observational studies); health technology assessments; clinical reviews; cost-effectiveness analyses; and clinical guidelines. Sixty-nine percent of coverage determinations were more restrictive than the corresponding FDA label; 15% were consistent; 3% were less restrictive; and 13% were mixed. Thirty-four percent of coverage determinations were consistent with the ACR recommendations, 33% were more restrictive; 17% were less restrictive; and 17% were mixed. Payers most often reported reviewing randomized controlled trials for their coverage policies (an average of 2.3 per policy). The payers reported reviewing an average of

The Coverage of Campaign Advertising by the Prestige Press in 1972.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowers, Thomas A.

The nature and extent of the news media coverage of political advertising in the presidential campaign of 1972 was shallow and spotty at best. The candidates' political advertising strategies received limited coverage by reporters and commentators. Even the "prestige" press--16 major newspapers--provided limited coverage to the nature…

Medicaid Disenrollment Patterns Among Children Coming into Contact with Child Welfare Agencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Raghavan, Ramesh; Allaire, Benjamin T; Brown, Derek S; Ross, Raven E

2016-06-01

Objectives To examine retention of Medicaid coverage over time for children in the child welfare system. Methods We linked a national survey of children with histories of abuse and neglect to their Medicaid claims files from 36 states, and followed these children over a 4 year period. We estimated a Cox proportional hazards model on time to first disenrollment from Medicaid. Results Half of our sample (50 %) retained Medicaid coverage across 4 years of follow up. Most disenrollments occurred in year 4. Being 3-5 years of age and rural residence were associated with increased hazard of insurance loss. Fee-for-service Medicaid and other non-managed insurance arrangements were associated with a lower hazard of insurance loss. Conclusions for Practice A considerable number of children entering child environments seem to retain Medicaid coverage over multiple years. Finding ways to promote entry of child welfare-involved children into health insurance coverage will be critical to assure services for this highly vulnerable population.

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...

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.

Linking household and health facility surveys to assess obstetric service availability, readiness and coverage: evidence from 17 low- and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanyangarara, Mufaro; Chou, Victoria B; Creanga, Andreea A; Walker, Neff

2018-06-01

Improving access and quality of obstetric service has the potential to avert preventable maternal, neonatal and stillborn deaths, yet little is known about the quality of care received. This study sought to assess obstetric service availability, readiness and coverage within and between 17 low- and middle-income countries. We linked health facility data from the Service Provision Assessments and Service Availability and Readiness Assessments, with corresponding household survey data obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Based on performance of obstetric signal functions, we defined four levels of facility emergency obstetric care (EmOC) functionality: comprehensive (CEmOC), basic (BEmOC), BEmOC-2, and low/substandard. Facility readiness was evaluated based on the direct observation of 23 essential items; facilities "ready to provide obstetric services" had ≥20 of 23 items available. Across countries, we used medians to characterize service availability and readiness, overall and by urban-rural location; analyses also adjusted for care-seeking patterns to estimate population-level coverage of obstetric services. Of the 111 500 health facilities surveyed, 7545 offered obstetric services and were included in the analysis. The median percentages of facilities offering EmOC and "ready to provide obstetric services" were 19% and 10%, respectively. There were considerable urban-rural differences, with absolute differences of 19% and 29% in the availability of facilities offering EmOC and "ready to provide obstetric services", respectively. Adjusting for care-seeking patterns, results from the linking approach indicated that among women delivering in a facility, a median of 40% delivered in facilities offering EmOC, and 28% delivered in facilities "ready to provide obstetric services". Relatively higher coverage of facility deliveries (≥65%) and coverage of deliveries in facilities "ready to provide obstetric

Spatio-temporal variation of vegetation coverage and its response to climate change in North China plain in the last 33 years

Science.gov (United States)

A, Duo; Zhao, Wenji; Qu, Xinyuan; Jing, Ran; Xiong, Kai

2016-12-01

Global climate change has led to significant vegetation changes in the past half century. North China Plain, the most important grain production base of china, is undergoing a process of prominent warming and drying. The vegetation coverage, which is used to monitor vegetation change, can respond to climate change (temperature and precipitation). In this study, GIMMS (Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies)-NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) data, MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) - NDVI data and climate data, during 1981-2013, were used to investigate the spatial distribution and changes of vegetation. The relationship between climate and vegetation on different spatial (agriculture, forest and grassland) and temporal (yearly, decadal and monthly) scales were also analyzed in North China Plain. (1) It was found that temperature exhibiting a slight increase trend (0.20 °C/10a, P 0.05). The climate mutation period was during 1991-1994. (2) Vegetation coverage slight increase was observed in the 55% of total study area, with a change rate of 0.00039/10a. Human activities may not only accelerate the changes of the vegetation coverage, but also c effect to the rate of these changes. (3) Overall, the correlation between the vegetation coverage and climatic factor is higher in monthly scale than yearly scale. The correlation analysis between vegetation coverage and climate changes showed that annual vegetation coverage was better correlatend with precipitation in grassland biome; but it showed a better correlated with temperature i the agriculture biome and forest biome. In addition, the vegetation coverage had sensitive time-effect respond to precipitation. (4) The vegetation coverage showed the same increasing trend before and after the climatic variations, but the rate of increase slowed down. From the vegetation coverage point of view, the grassland ecological zone had an obvious response to the climatic variations, but the

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration as a Response to Climate and Vegetation Coverage Changes in Northwest Yunnan, China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Yang

Full Text Available Climate and human-driven changes play an important role in regional droughts. Northwest Yunnan Province is a key region for biodiversity conservation in China, and it has experienced severe droughts since the beginning of this century; however, the extent of the contributions from climate and human-driven changes remains unclear. We calculated the ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET and water yield (WY of northwest Yunnan Province, China from 2001 to 2013 using meteorological and remote sensing observation data and a Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS model. Multivariate regression analyses were used to differentiate the contribution of climate and vegetation coverage to ET. The results showed that the annual average vegetation coverage significantly increased over time with a mean of 0.69 in spite of the precipitation fluctuation. Afforestation/reforestation and other management efforts attributed to vegetation coverage increase in NW Yunnan. Both ET and WY considerably fluctuated with the climate factors, which ranged from 623.29 mm to 893.8 mm and -51.88 mm to 384.40 mm over the time period. Spatially, ET in the southeast of NW Yunnan (mainly in Lijiang increased significantly, which was in line with the spatial trend of vegetation coverage. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that climatic factors accounted for 85.18% of the ET variation, while vegetation coverage explained 14.82%. On the other hand, precipitation accounted for 67.5% of the WY. We conclude that the continuous droughts in northwest Yunnan were primarily climatically driven; however, man-made land cover and vegetation changes also increased the vulnerability of local populations to drought. Because of the high proportion of the water yield consumed for subsistence and poor infrastructure for water management, local populations have been highly vulnerable to climate drought conditions. We suggest that conservation of native vegetation and development of water

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.

28 CFR 55.9 - Coverage of political units within a county.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coverage of political units within a... PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUPS Nature of Coverage § 55.9 Coverage of political units within a county. Where a political subdivision (e.g., a county) is determined to be subject...

Single-Isocenter Multiple-Target Stereotactic Radiosurgery: Risk of Compromised Coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roper, Justin; Chanyavanich, Vorakarn; Betzel, Gregory; Switchenko, Jeffrey; Dhabaan, Anees

2015-01-01

Purpose: To determine the dosimetric effects of rotational errors on target coverage using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for multitarget stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods and Materials: This retrospective study included 50 SRS cases, each with 2 intracranial planning target volumes (PTVs). Both PTVs were planned for simultaneous treatment to 21 Gy using a single-isocenter, noncoplanar VMAT SRS technique. Rotational errors of 0.5°, 1.0°, and 2.0° were simulated about all axes. The dose to 95% of the PTV (D95) and the volume covered by 95% of the prescribed dose (V95) were evaluated using multivariate analysis to determine how PTV coverage was related to PTV volume, PTV separation, and rotational error. Results: At 0.5° rotational error, D95 values and V95 coverage rates were ≥95% in all cases. For rotational errors of 1.0°, 7% of targets had D95 and V95 values 95% for only 63% of the targets. Multivariate analysis showed that PTV volume and distance to isocenter were strong predictors of target coverage. Conclusions: The effects of rotational errors on target coverage were studied across a broad range of SRS cases. In general, the risk of compromised coverage increased with decreasing target volume, increasing rotational error and increasing distance between targets. Multivariate regression models from this study may be used to quantify the dosimetric effects of rotational errors on target coverage given patient-specific input parameters of PTV volume and distance to isocenter.

42 CFR 416.48 - Condition for coverage-Pharmaceutical services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition for coverage-Pharmaceutical services. 416... Coverage § 416.48 Condition for coverage—Pharmaceutical services. The ASC must provide drugs and... direction of an individual designated responsible for pharmaceutical services. (a) Standard: Administration...

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.)

The shortest-known-period star orbiting our Galaxy's supermassive black hole.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, L; Ghez, A M; Schödel, R; Yelda, S; Boehle, A; Lu, J R; Do, T; Morris, M R; Becklin, E E; Matthews, K

2012-10-05

Stars with short orbital periods at the center of our Galaxy offer a powerful probe of a supermassive black hole. Over the past 17 years, the W. M. Keck Observatory has been used to image the galactic center at the highest angular resolution possible today. By adding to this data set and advancing methodologies, we have detected S0-102, a star orbiting our Galaxy's supermassive black hole with a period of just 11.5 years. S0-102 doubles the number of known stars with full phase coverage and periods of less than 20 years. It thereby provides the opportunity, with future measurements, to resolve degeneracies in the parameters describing the central gravitational potential and to test Einstein's theory of general relativity in an unexplored regime.

Enhancing Political Will for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aregbeshola, Bolaji S

2017-01-01

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

Modeling photovoltaic performance in periodic patterned colloidal quantum dot solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Yulan; Dinku, Abay G; Hara, Yukihiro; Miller, Christopher W; Vrouwenvelder, Kristina T; Lopez, Rene

2015-07-27

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) solar cells have attracted tremendous attention mostly due to their wide absorption spectrum window and potentially low processability cost. The ultimate efficiency of CQD solar cells is highly limited by their high trap state density. Here we show that the overall device power conversion efficiency could be improved by employing photonic structures that enhance both charge generation and collection efficiencies. By employing a two-dimensional numerical model, we have calculated the characteristics of patterned CQD solar cells based of a simple grating structure. Our calculation predicts a power conversion efficiency as high as 11.2%, with a short circuit current density of 35.2 mA/cm2, a value nearly 1.5 times larger than the conventional flat design, showing the great potential value of patterned quantum dot solar cells.

Trends and patterns in inter-firm R&D networks in the global computer industry: a historical analysis of major developments during the period 1970-1999.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cloodt, M.M.A.H.; Hagedoorn, J.; Roijakkers, A.H.W.M.

2006-01-01

We present a historical analysis of major trends in inter-firm R&D partnering in the international computer industry during the period 1970-1999. We first discuss different modes of R&D cooperation in the context of the overall growth patterns in R&D partnerships. We also examine major changes in

Health workers and vaccination coverage in developing countries: an econometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Sudhir; Bärnighausen, Till

2007-04-14

Vaccine-preventable diseases cause more than 1 million deaths among children in developing countries every year. Although health workers are needed to do vaccinations, the role of human resources for health as a determinant of vaccination coverage at the population level has not been investigated. Our aim was to test whether health worker density was positively associated with childhood vaccination coverage in developing countries. We did cross-country multiple regression analyses with coverage of three vaccinations--measles-containing vaccine (MCV); diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3); and poliomyelitis (polio3)--as dependent variables. Aggregate health worker density was an independent variable in one set of regressions; doctor and nurse densities were used separately in another set. We controlled for national income per person, female adult literacy, and land area. Health worker density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0024; DTP3 p=0.0004; polio3 p=0.0008). However, when the effects of doctors and nurses were assessed separately, we found that nurse density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0097; DTP3 p=0.0083; polio3 p=0.0089), but doctor density was not (MCV p=0.7953; DTP3 p=0.7971; polio3 p=0.7885). Female adult literacy was positively associated, and land area negatively associated, with vaccination coverage. National income per person had no effect on coverage. A higher density of health workers (nurses) increases the availability of vaccination services over time and space, making it more likely that children will be vaccinated. After controlling for other determinants, the level of income does not contribute to improved immunisation coverage. Health workers can be a major constraining factor on vaccination coverage in developing countries.

Examining levels, distribution and correlates of health insurance coverage in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazungu, Jacob S; Barasa, Edwine W

2017-09-01

To examine the levels, inequalities and factors associated with health insurance coverage in Kenya. We analysed secondary data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) conducted in 2009 and 2014. We examined the level of health insurance coverage overall, and by type, using an asset index to categorise households into five socio-economic quintiles with quintile 5 (Q5) being the richest and quintile 1 (Q1) being the poorest. The high-low ratio (Q5/Q1 ratio), concentration curve and concentration index (CIX) were employed to assess inequalities in health insurance coverage, and logistic regression to examine correlates of health insurance coverage. Overall health insurance coverage increased from 8.17% to 19.59% between 2009 and 2014. There was high inequality in overall health insurance coverage, even though this inequality decreased between 2009 (Q5/Q1 ratio of 31.21, CIX = 0.61, 95% CI 0.52-0.0.71) and 2014 (Q5/Q1 ratio 12.34, CIX = 0.49, 95% CI 0.45-0.52). Individuals that were older, employed in the formal sector; married, exposed to media; and male, belonged to a small household, had a chronic disease and belonged to rich households, had increased odds of health insurance coverage. Health insurance coverage in Kenya remains low and is characterised by significant inequality. In a context where over 80% of the population is in the informal sector, and close to 50% live below the national poverty line, achieving high and equitable coverage levels with contributory and voluntary health insurance mechanism is problematic. Kenya should consider a universal, tax-funded mechanism that ensures revenues are equitably and efficiently collected, and everyone (including the poor and those in the informal sector) is covered. © 2017 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Root coverage with bridge flap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pushpendra Kumar Verma

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Gingival recession in anterior teeth is a common concern due to esthetic reasons or root sensitivity. Gingival recession, especially in multiple anterior teeth, is of huge concern due to esthetic reasons. Various mucogingival surgeries are available for root coverage. This case report presents a new bridge flap technique, which allows the dentist not only to cover the previously denuded root surfaces but also to increase the zone of attached gingiva at a single step. In this case, a coronally advanced flap along with vestibular deepening technique was used as root coverage procedure for the treatment of multiple recession-type defect. Here, vestibular deepening technique is used to increase the width of the attached gingiva. The predictability of this procedure results in an esthetically healthy periodontium, along with gain in keratinized tissue and good patient′s acceptance.

Tetanus toxoid immunization coverage among mothers of below one ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Poverty and lack of health facilities also contributed to the low level of immunization coverage. For TT immunization to improve in the area studied, factors impeding immunization must be addressed. Keywords: tetanus, immunization, coverage. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 233- ...

Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Network Coverage Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Xu

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In order to serve for the ecological monitoring efficiency of Poyang Lake, an improved hybrid algorithm, mixed with differential evolution and particle swarm optimization, is proposed and applied to optimize the coverage problem of wireless sensor network. And then, the affect of the population size and the number of iterations on the coverage performance are both discussed and analyzed. The four kinds of statistical results about the coverage rate are obtained through lots of simulation experiments.

The need for consumer behavior analysis in health care coverage decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, A M; Rao, C P

1990-01-01

Demographic analysis has been the primary form of analysis connected with health care coverage decisions. This paper reviews past demographic research and shows the need to use behavioral analyses for health care coverage policy decisions. A behavioral model based research study is presented and a case is made for integrated study into why consumers make health care coverage decisions.

Coverage Dependent Assembly of Anthraquinone on Au(111)

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, Brad; Deloach, Andrew; Einstein, Theodore; Dougherty, Daniel

A study of adsorbate-adsorbate and surface state mediated interactions of anthraquinone (AnQ) on Au(111) is presented. We utilize scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to characterize the coverage dependence of AnQ structure formation. Ordered structures are observed up to a single monolayer (ML) and are found to be strongly dependent on molecular surface density. While the complete ML forms a well-ordered close-packed layer, for a narrow range of sub-ML coverages irregular close-packed islands are observed to coexist with a disordered pore network linking neighboring islands. This network displays a characteristic pore size and at lower coverages, the soliton walls of the herringbone reconstruction are shown to promote formation of distinct pore nanostructures. We will discuss these nanostructure formations in the context of surface mediated and more direct adsorbate interactions.

Technical support for universal health coverage pilots in Karnataka ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Technical support for universal health coverage pilots in Karnataka and Kerala. This project will provide evidence-based support to implement universal health coverage (UHC) pilot activities in two Indian states: Kerala and Karnataka. The project team will provide technical assistance to these early adopter states to assist ...

Comparison Of Irms Delhi Methodology With Who Methodology On Immunization Coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Singh Padam

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Research question: What are the merits of IRMS Model over WHO Model for Coverage Evaluation Survey? Which method is superior and appropriate for coverage evolution survey of immunization in our setting? Objective: To compare IRMS Delhi methodology with WHO methodology on Immunization Coverage. Study Design: Cross-Sectional Setting: Urban and Rural both. Participants: Mothers& Children Sample Size: 300 children between 1-2 years and 300 mothers in rural areas and 75 children and 75 mothers in urban areas. Study Variables: Rural, Urban, Cast-Group, Size of the stratum, Literacy, Sex and Cost effectiveness. Outcome Variables: Coverage level of immunization. Analysis: Routine Statistical Analysis. Results: IRMS developed methodology scores better rating over WHO methodology, especially when coverage evolution is attempted in medium size villages with existence of socio-economic seggregation-which remains the main characteristic of the Indian villages.

Stable reconstruction of Arctic sea level for the 1950-2010 period

OpenAIRE

Svendsen, Peter Limkilde; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

2016-01-01

Reconstruction of historical Arctic sea level is generally difficult due to the limited coverage and quality of both tide gauge and altimetry data in the area. Here a strategy to achieve a stable and plausible reconstruction of Arctic sea level from 1950 to today is presented. This work is based on the combination of tide gauge records and a new 20-year reprocessed satellite altimetry derived sea level pattern. Hence the study is limited to the area covered by satellite altimetry (68ºN and 82...

Cataract surgical coverage rate among adults aged 40 years and older

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lusianawaty Tana

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Cataract is a leading cause of curable blindness. Hence, in its global declaration of ‘Vision 2020 Right to Sight’, the World Health Organization (WHO encouraged its member countries to address the problem of incident cataract. Many factors are related to the cataract surgical coverage rate, such as gender and diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to determine the cataract surgical coverage rate and investigate the determinants factors of cataract surgical coverage rate among adults 40 years old and above with cataract. A cross sectional study was conducted using National Basic Health Research (Riskesdas 2007 data. Cataract surgery was defined as surgery conducted within the last 12 months before the survey was performed. There were 6939 subjects (3105 male, 3834 female who fulfilled the study criteria. The cataract surgical coverage rate was 19.3%. The cataract surgical coverage rate was lower in subjects with low education, in the group of farmers/fishermen/laborers, in the 40-49 years age group, in rural areas, and in subjects of low socioeconomic status (p0.05. Determinants that were related to cataract surgical coverage rate were age, type of area of residence, socioeconomic status, and region of residence (p<0.001. The implementation of educational programs and reforms to local ophthalmic health services may improve the cataract surgical coverage rate.

Complex temporal and spatial patterns in nonequilibrium processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Dynamical systems methods have been used to study bifurcations and pattern formation in nonequilibrium systems. Accomplishments during this period include: information-theoretic methods for analyzing chaos, chemical reactors for studying sustained reaction-diffusion patterns, a reactor exploiting pattern formation to extract short- lived intermediate species, observation of bifurcation from periodic to quasiperiodic rotating chemical spiral patterns, observation of a Turing bifurcation (transition from uniform state to a stationary chemical pattern), method for extracting noise strength in ramped convection, self-similar fractal structure of Zn clusters in electrodeposition, and dynamical instability in crack propagation

Pertussis: herd immunity and vaccination coverage in St Lucia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, E; Fitch, L

1983-11-12

In a single complete epidemic in St Lucia, an island too small to support constant clinical pertussis, the pertussis case rates in small communities (villages and small towns) with differing levels of vaccination coverage of young children were compared. The association between greater vaccination coverage and greater herd immunity was clear, despite the imperfect protection given to individuals. An analysis in terms of population dynamics is evidence against the theory that endemic subclinical pertussis maintains transmission in a highly vaccinated population. We suggest that with a homogeneous vaccination coverage of 80% of 2-year-old children pertussis might be eradicated from the island, and that this is a practicable experiment.

An Evaluation of Voluntary Varicella Vaccination Coverage in Zhejiang Province, East China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Chen, Yaping; Zhang, Bing; Li, Qian

2016-06-03

In 2014 a 2-doses varicella vaccine (VarV) schedule was recommended by the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We aimed to assess the coverage of the 1st dose of VarV (VarV₁) and the 2nd dose of VarV (VarV₂) among children aged 2-6 years through the Zhejiang Provincial Immunization Information System (ZJIIS) and to explore the determinants associated with the VarV coverage. Children aged 2-6 years (born from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2013) registered in ZJIIS were enrolled. Anonymized individual records of target children were extracted from the ZJIIS database on 1 January 2016, including their VarV and (measles-containing vaccine) MCV vaccination information. The VarV₁ and VarV₂ coverage rates were evaluated for each birth cohorts. The coverage of VarV also was estimated among strata defined by cities, gender and immigration status. We also evaluated the difference in coverage between VarV and MCV. A total of 3,028,222 children aged 2-6 years were enrolled. The coverage of VarV₁ ranged from 84.8% to 87.9% in the 2009-2013 birth cohorts, while the coverage of VarV₂ increased from 31.8% for the 2009 birth cohort to 48.7% for the 2011 birth cohort. Higher coverage rates for both VarV₁ and VarV₂ were observed among resident children in relevant birth cohorts. The coverage rates of VarV₁ and VarV₂ were lower than those for the 1st and 2nd dose of MCV, which were above 95%. The proportion of children who were vaccinated with VarV₁ at the recommended age increased from 34.6% for the 2009 birth cohort to 75.2% for the 2013 birth cohort, while the proportion of children who were vaccinated with VarV₂ at the recommended age increased from 19.7% for the 2009 birth cohort to 48.7% for the 2011 birth cohort. Our study showed a rapid increasing VarV₂ coverage of children, indicating a growing acceptance of the 2-doses VarV schedule among children's caregivers and physicians after the new recommendation released. We

Anterior palatal island advancement flap for bone graft coverage ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Palatal Island Advancement Flap was effective in bone graft coverage in premaxillary edentulous area. Conclusion: It can be used as an aid for bone graft coverage of premaxillary edentulous ridge, where the need for mucosa is small in width but long in length. Keywords: Anterior maxilla, bone graft, dental implant, ...

[Gaps in effective coverage by socioeconomic status and poverty condition].

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez, Juan Pablo

2013-01-01

To analyze, in the context of increased health protection in Mexico, the gaps by socioeconomic status and poverty condition on effective coverage of selected preventive interventions. Data from the National Health & Nutrition Survey 2012 and 2006, using previously defined indicators of effective coverage and stratifying them by socioeconomic (SE) status and multidimensional poverty condition. For vaccination interventions, immunological equity has been maintained in Mexico. For indicators related to preventive interventions provided at the clinical setting, effective coverage is lower among those in the lowest SE quintile and among people living in multidimensional poverty. Comparing 2006 and 2012, there is no evidence on gap reduction. While health protection has significantly increased in Mexico, thus reducing SE gaps, those gaps are still important in magnitude for effective coverage of preventive interventions.

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

Background Following an outbreak of yellow fever in northern Uganda in December 2010, Ministry of Health conducted a massive emergency vaccination campaign in January 2011. The reported vaccination coverage in Pader District was 75.9%. Administrative coverage though timely, is affected by incorrect population estimates and over or under reporting of vaccination doses administered. This paper presents the validated yellow fever vaccination coverage following massive emergency immunization campaigns in Pader district. Methods A cross sectional cluster survey was carried out in May 2011 among communities in Pader district and 680 respondents were indentified using the modified World Health Organization (WHO) 40 × 17 cluster survey sampling methodology. Respondents were aged nine months and above. Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect data on demographic characteristics, vaccination status and reasons for none vaccination. Vaccination status was assessed using self reports and vaccination card evidence. Our main outcomes were measures of yellow fever vaccination coverage in each age-specific stratum, overall, and disaggregated by age and sex, adjusting for the clustered design and the size of the population in each stratum. Results Of the 680 survey respondents, 654 (96.1%, 95% CI 94.9 – 97.8) reported being vaccinated during the last campaign but only 353 (51.6%, 95% CI 47.2 – 56.1) had valid yellow fever vaccination cards. Of the 280 children below 5 years, 269 (96.1%, 95% CI 93.7 – 98.7) were vaccinated and nearly all males 299 (96.9%, 95% CI 94.3 – 99.5) were vaccinated. The main reasons for none vaccination were; having travelled out of Pader district during the campaign period (40.0%), lack of transport to immunization posts (28.0%) and, sickness at the time of vaccination (16.0%). Conclusions Our results show that actual yellow fever vaccination coverage was high and satisfactory in Pader district since it was above the

Medicaid Coverage Expansions and Cigarette Smoking Cessation Among Low-income Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Koma, Jonathan W; Donohue, Julie M; Barry, Colleen L; Huskamp, Haiden A; Jarlenski, Marian

2017-12-01

Expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income adults may have increased smoking cessation through improved access to evidence-based treatments. Our study sought to determine if states' decisions to expand Medicaid increased recent smoking cessation. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey for the years 2011-2015, we examined the association between state Medicaid coverage and the probability of recent smoking cessation among low-income adults without dependent children who were current or former smokers (n=36,083). We used difference-in-differences estimation to examine the effects of Medicaid coverage on smoking cessation, comparing low-income adult smokers in states with Medicaid coverage to comparable adults in states without Medicaid coverage, with ages 18-64 years to those ages 65 years and above. Analyses were conducted for the full sample and stratified by sex. Residence in a state with Medicaid coverage among low-income adult smokers ages 18-64 years was associated with an increase in recent smoking cessation of 2.1 percentage points (95% confidence interval, 0.25-3.9). In the comparison group of individuals ages 65 years and above, residence in a state with Medicaid coverage expansion was not associated with a change in recent smoking cessation (-0.1 percentage point, 95% confidence interval, -2.1 to 1.8). Similar increases in smoking cessation among those ages 18-64 years were estimated for females and males (1.9 and 2.2 percentage point, respectively). Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that Medicaid coverage expansions may have increased smoking cessation among low-income adults without dependent children via greater access to preventive health care services, including evidence-based smoking cessation services.

Coral Reef Coverage Percentage on Binor Paiton-Probolinggo Seashore

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Budi Wiyanto

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The coral reef damage in Probolinggo region was expected to be caused by several factors. The first one comes from its society that exploits fishery by using cyanide toxin and bomb. The second one goes to the extraction of coral reef, which is used as decoration or construction materials. The other factor is likely caused by the existence of large industry on the seashore, such as Electric Steam Power Plant (PLTU Paiton and others alike. Related to the development of coral reef ecosystem, availability of an accurate data is crucially needed to support the manner of future policy, so the research of coral reef coverage percentage needs to be conducted continuously. The aim of this research is to collect biological data of coral reef and to identify coral reef coverage percentage in the effort of constructing coral reef condition basic data on Binor, Paiton, and Probolinggo regency seashore. The method used in this research is Line Intercept Transect (LIT method. LIT method is a method that used to decide benthic community on coral reef based on percentage growth, and to take note of benthic quantity along transect line. Percentage of living coral coverage in 3 meters depth on this Binor Paiton seashore that may be categorized in a good condition is 57,65%. While the rest are dead coral that is only 1,45%, other life form in 23,2%, and non-life form in 17,7%. A good condition of coral reef is caused by coral reef transplantation on the seashore, so this coral reef is dominated by Acropora Branching. On the other hand, Mortality Index (IM of coral reef resulted in 24,5%. The result from observation and calculation of coral reef is dominated by Hard Coral in Acropora Branching (ACB with coral reef coverage percentage of 39%, Coral Massive (CM with coral reef coverage percentage of 2,85%, Coral Foliose (CF with coral reef coverage percentage of 1,6%, and Coral Mushroom (CRM with coral reef coverage percentage of 8,5%. Observation in 10 meters depth

Coral Reef Coverage Percentage on Binor Paiton-Probolinggo Seashore

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Budi Wiyanto

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The coral reef damage in Probolinggo region was expected to be caused by several factors. The first one comes from its society that exploits fishery by using cyanide toxin and bomb. The second one goes to the extraction of coral reef, which is used as decoration or construction materials. The other factor is likely caused by the existence of large industry on the seashore, such as Electric Steam Power Plant (PLTU Paiton and others alike. Related to the development of coral reef ecosystem, availability of an accurate data is crucially needed to support the manner of future policy, so the research of coral reef coverage percentage needs to be conducted continuously. The aim of this research is to collect biological data of coral reef and to identify coral reef coverage percentage in the effort of constructing coral reef condition basic data on Binor, Paiton, and Probolinggo regency seashore. The method used in this research is Line Intercept Transect (LIT method. LIT method is a method that used to decide benthic community on coral reef based on percentage growth, and to take note of benthic quantity along transect line. Percentage of living coral coverage in 3 meters depth on this Binor Paiton seashore that may be categorized in a good condition is 57,65%. While the rest are dead coral that is only 1,45%, other life form in 23,2%, and non-life form in 17,7%. A good condition of coral reef is caused by coral reef transplantation on the seashore, so this coral reef is dominated by Acropora Branching. On the other hand, Mortality Index (IM of coral reef resulted in 24,5%. The result from observation and calculation of coral reef is dominated by Hard Coral in Acropora Branching (ACB with coral reef coverage percentage of 39%, Coral Massive (CM with coral reef coverage percentage of 2,85%, Coral Foliose (CF with coral reef coverage percentage of 1,6%, and Coral Mushroom (CRM with coral reef coverage percentage of 8,5%. Observation in 10 meters depth

Computing Convex Coverage Sets for Faster Multi-Objective Coordination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roijers, D.M.; Whiteson, S.; Oliehoek, F.A.

2015-01-01

In this article, we propose new algorithms for multi-objective coordination graphs (MO-CoGs). Key to the efficiency of these algorithms is that they compute a convex coverage set (CCS) instead of a Pareto coverage set (PCS). Not only is a CCS a sufficient solution set for a large class of problems,

Energy-efficient area coverage for intruder detection in sensor networks

CERN Document Server

He, Shibo; Li, Junkun

2014-01-01

This Springer Brief presents recent research results on area coverage for intruder detection from an energy-efficient perspective. These results cover a variety of topics, including environmental surveillance and security monitoring. The authors also provide the background and range of applications for area coverage and elaborate on system models such as the formal definition of area coverage and sensing models. Several chapters focus on energy-efficient intruder detection and intruder trapping under the well-known binary sensing model, along with intruder trapping under the probabilistic sens

Did the Affordable Care Act's Dependent Coverage Mandate Increase Premiums?

OpenAIRE

Briggs Depew; James Bailey

2014-01-01

We investigate the impact of the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage mandate on insurance premiums. The expansion of dependent coverage under the ACA allows young adults to remain on their parent's private health insurance plans until the age of 26. We find that the mandate has led to a 2.5-2.8 percent increase in premiums for health insurance plans that cover children, relative to single-coverage plans. We find no evidence that the mandate caused an increase in the amount of the employe...

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Garcell, Erik M.; Lam, Billy; Guo, Chunlei

2018-06-01

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns are formed on copper (Cu). These novel periodic structures are created following s-polarized, large incident angle, femtosecond laser pulses. Forming as slanted and axially symmetric laser-induced periodic surface structures along the side walls of ablated channels, the result is a series of v-shaped structures that resemble a herringbone pattern. Fluence mapping, incident angle studies, as well as polarization studies have been conducted and provide a clear understanding of this new structure.

A Comparative Study of Frequent and Maximal Periodic Pattern Mining Algorithms in Spatiotemporal Databases

Science.gov (United States)

Obulesu, O.; Rama Mohan Reddy, A., Dr; Mahendra, M.

2017-08-01

Detecting regular and efficient cyclic models is the demanding activity for data analysts due to unstructured, vigorous and enormous raw information produced from web. Many existing approaches generate large candidate patterns in the occurrence of huge and complex databases. In this work, two novel algorithms are proposed and a comparative examination is performed by considering scalability and performance parameters. The first algorithm is, EFPMA (Extended Regular Model Detection Algorithm) used to find frequent sequential patterns from the spatiotemporal dataset and the second one is, ETMA (Enhanced Tree-based Mining Algorithm) for detecting effective cyclic models with symbolic database representation. EFPMA is an algorithm grows models from both ends (prefixes and suffixes) of detected patterns, which results in faster pattern growth because of less levels of database projection compared to existing approaches such as Prefixspan and SPADE. ETMA uses distinct notions to store and manage transactions data horizontally such as segment, sequence and individual symbols. ETMA exploits a partition-and-conquer method to find maximal patterns by using symbolic notations. Using this algorithm, we can mine cyclic models in full-series sequential patterns including subsection series also. ETMA reduces the memory consumption and makes use of the efficient symbolic operation. Furthermore, ETMA only records time-series instances dynamically, in terms of character, series and section approaches respectively. The extent of the pattern and proving efficiency of the reducing and retrieval techniques from synthetic and actual datasets is a really open & challenging mining problem. These techniques are useful in data streams, traffic risk analysis, medical diagnosis, DNA sequence Mining, Earthquake prediction applications. Extensive investigational outcomes illustrates that the algorithms outperforms well towards efficiency and scalability than ECLAT, STNR and MAFIA approaches.

Protection coverage parameters indentification for uranium tailing dumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khakimov, N.; Nazarov, Kh.M.; Mirsaidov, I.U.; Akhmedov, M.Z.

2012-01-01

This article is devoted to protection coverage parameters indentification for uranium tailing dumps. Authors noticed that many tailing dumps In Tajikistan do not correspond to modern requirements of territories remediation published by IAEA and current norms of the Republic of Tajikistan. The most dangerous is radionuclide migration i.e., distribution of radioactive substances beyond the uranium tailing dumps territories. One of the basic distribution ways is atmospheric migration. At the same time potentially dangerous factors are: dust rising from open surfaces is the source for contamination distribution to neighboring territories; direct external exposure of public located in close distance to the sites; radioactive gas radon exhalation originating a threat if radionuclides penetration to the human body through breathing passages. Different methods of tailing's negative impact minimization, including coverage with neutral soil layer, coverage with fine-ground worked-out bentonite clay were proposed.

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.

Trends in newspaper coverage of mental illness in Canada: 2005-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitley, Rob; Berry, Sarah

2013-02-01

Much research suggests that the general public relies on the popular media as a primary source of information about mental illness. We assessed the broad content of articles relating to mental illness in major Canadian newspapers over a 6-year period. We also sought to assess if such content has changed over time. We conducted a retrospective analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage from 2005 to 2010. Research assistants used a standardized guide to code 11 263 newspaper articles that mention the terms mental health, mental illness, schizophrenia, or schizophrenic. Once the articles were coded, descriptive statistics were produced for overarching themes and time trend analyses from 2005 to 2010. Danger, violence, and criminality were direct themes in 40% of newspaper articles. Treatment for a mental illness was discussed in only 19% of newspaper articles, and in only 18% was recovery or rehabilitation a significant theme. Eighty-three per cent of articles coded lacked a quotation from someone with a mental illness. We did not observe any significant changes over time from 2005 to 2010 in any domain measured. There is scope for more balanced, accurate, and informative coverage of mental health issues in Canada. Newspaper articles infrequently reflect the common realities of mental illness phenomenology, course, and outcome. Currently, clinicians may direct patients and family members to other resources for more comprehensive and accurate information about mental illness.

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Navigation and Coverage Hole Patching in Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guyu

2013-01-01

This dissertation presents a study of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) navigation and coverage hole patching in coordinate-free and localization-free Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Navigation and coverage maintenance are related problems since coverage hole patching requires effective navigation in the sensor network environment. A…

Coverage Improvement for Wireless Sensor Networks using Grid Quorum based Node Mobility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathur, Prateek; Nielsen, Rasmus Hjorth; Prasad, Neeli R.

2012-01-01

Coverage of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is an important quality of service (QoS) metric and often the desired coverage is not attainable at the initial deployment, but node mobility can be used to improve the coverage by relocating sensor nodes. Unconstrained node mobility is considered infea...

5 CFR 610.402 - Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS HOURS OF DUTY Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules § 610.402 Coverage. The regulations contained in this subpart apply only to flexible work schedules and compressed work schedules established under subchapter 11 of chapter 61 of...

Coverage and Connectivity Issue in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachit Trivedi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks (WSNs are an emerging area of interest in research and development. It finds use in military surveillance, health care, environmental monitoring, forest fire detection and smart environments. An important research issue in WSNs is the coverage since cost, area and lifetime are directly validated to it.In this paper we present an overview of WSNs and try to refine the coverage and connectivity issues in wireless sensor networks.

Assessing Measurement Error in Medicare Coverage From the National Health Interview Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Gindi, Renee; Cohen, Robin A.

2012-01-01

Objectives Using linked administrative data, to validate Medicare coverage estimates among adults aged 65 or older from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and to assess the impact of a recently added Medicare probe question on the validity of these estimates. Data sources Linked 2005 NHIS and Master Beneficiary Record and Payment History Update System files from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Study design We compared Medicare coverage reported on NHIS with “benchmark” benefit records from SSA. Principal findings With the addition of the probe question, more reports of coverage were captured, and the agreement between the NHIS-reported coverage and SSA records increased from 88% to 95%. Few additional overreports were observed. Conclusions Increased accuracy of the Medicare coverage status of NHIS participants was achieved with the Medicare probe question. Though some misclassification remains, data users interested in Medicare coverage as an outcome or correlate can use this survey measure with confidence. PMID:24800138

Hospital emergency on-call coverage: is there a doctor in the house?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Malley, Ann S; Draper, Debra A; Felland, Laurie E

2007-11-01

The nation's community hospitals face increasing problems obtaining emergency on-call coverage from specialist physicians, according to findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2007 site visits to 12 nationally representative metropolitan communities. The diminished willingness of specialist physicians to provide on-call coverage is occurring as hospital emergency departments confront an ever-increasing demand for services. Factors influencing physician reluctance to provide on-call coverage include decreased dependence on hospital admitting privileges as more services shift to non-hospital settings; payment for emergency care, especially for uninsured patients; and medical liability concerns. Hospital strategies to secure on-call coverage include enforcing hospital medical staff bylaws that require physicians to take call, contracting with physicians to provide coverage, paying physicians stipends, and employing physicians. Nonetheless, many hospitals continue to struggle with inadequate on-call coverage, which threatens patients' timely access to high-quality emergency care and may raise health care costs.

Exploring the relationship between population density and maternal health coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanlon Michael

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Delivering health services to dense populations is more practical than to dispersed populations, other factors constant. This engenders the hypothesis that population density positively affects coverage rates of health services. This hypothesis has been tested indirectly for some services at a local level, but not at a national level. Methods We use cross-sectional data to conduct cross-country, OLS regressions at the national level to estimate the relationship between population density and maternal health coverage. We separately estimate the effect of two measures of density on three population-level coverage rates (6 tests in total. Our coverage indicators are the fraction of the maternal population completing four antenatal care visits and the utilization rates of both skilled birth attendants and in-facility delivery. The first density metric we use is the percentage of a population living in an urban area. The second metric, which we denote as a density score, is a relative ranking of countries by population density. The score’s calculation discounts a nation’s uninhabited territory under the assumption those areas are irrelevant to service delivery. Results We find significantly positive relationships between our maternal health indicators and density measures. On average, a one-unit increase in our density score is equivalent to a 0.2% increase in coverage rates. Conclusions Countries with dispersed populations face higher burdens to achieve multinational coverage targets such as the United Nations’ Millennial Development Goals.

State Medicaid Expansion Tobacco Cessation Coverage and Number of Adult Smokers Enrolled in Expansion Coverage - United States, 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

DiGiulio, Anne; Haddix, Meredith; Jump, Zach; Babb, Stephen; Schecter, Anna; Williams, Kisha-Ann S; Asman, Kat; Armour, Brian S

2016-12-09

In 2015, 27.8% of adult Medicaid enrollees were current cigarette smokers, compared with 11.1% of adults with private health insurance, placing Medicaid enrollees at increased risk for smoking-related disease and death (1). In addition, smoking-related diseases are a major contributor to Medicaid costs, accounting for about 15% (>$39 billion) of annual Medicaid spending during 2006-2010 (2). Individual, group, and telephone counseling and seven Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications are effective treatments for helping tobacco users quit (3). Insurance coverage for tobacco cessation treatments is associated with increased quit attempts, use of cessation treatments, and successful smoking cessation (3); this coverage has the potential to reduce Medicaid costs (4). However, barriers such as requiring copayments and prior authorization for treatment can impede access to cessation treatments (3,5). As of July 1, 2016, 32 states (including the District of Columbia) have expanded Medicaid eligibility through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA),* ,† which has increased access to health care services, including cessation treatments (5). CDC used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicaid Budget and Expenditure System (MBES) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to estimate the number of adult smokers enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. To assess cessation coverage among Medicaid expansion enrollees, the American Lung Association collected data on coverage of, and barriers to accessing, evidence-based cessation treatments. As of December 2015, approximately 2.3 million adult smokers were newly enrolled in Medicaid because of Medicaid expansion. As of July 1, 2016, all 32 states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility under ACA covered some cessation treatments for all Medicaid expansion enrollees, with nine states covering all nine cessation treatments for all Medicaid expansion

Health-system reform and universal health coverage in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat; de Andrade, Luiz Odorico Monteiro; Almeida, Gisele; Cotlear, Daniel; Dmytraczenko, T; Frenz, Patricia; Garcia, Patrícia; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio; Knaul, Felicia M; Muntaner, Carles; de Paula, Juliana Braga; Rígoli, Felix; Serrate, Pastor Castell-Florit; Wagstaff, Adam

2015-03-28

Starting in the late 1980s, many Latin American countries began social sector reforms to alleviate poverty, reduce socioeconomic inequalities, improve health outcomes, and provide financial risk protection. In particular, starting in the 1990s, reforms aimed at strengthening health systems to reduce inequalities in health access and outcomes focused on expansion of universal health coverage, especially for poor citizens. In Latin America, health-system reforms have produced a distinct approach to universal health coverage, underpinned by the principles of equity, solidarity, and collective action to overcome social inequalities. In most of the countries studied, government financing enabled the introduction of supply-side interventions to expand insurance coverage for uninsured citizens--with defined and enlarged benefits packages--and to scale up delivery of health services. Countries such as Brazil and Cuba introduced tax-financed universal health systems. These changes were combined with demand-side interventions aimed at alleviating poverty (targeting many social determinants of health) and improving access of the most disadvantaged populations. Hence, the distinguishing features of health-system strengthening for universal health coverage and lessons from the Latin American experience are relevant for countries advancing universal health coverage. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of 24/7 In-house Attending Coverage on Fellow Education and Autonomy in a Pediatric Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Sonal T; Owens, Gabe E; Rajput, Shaili H; Charpie, John R; Kidwell, Kelley M; Mullan, Patricia B

2015-01-01

The 24/7 in-house attending coverage is emerging as the standard of care in intensive care units. Implementation costs, workforce feasibility, and patient outcomes resulting from changes in physician staffing are widely debated topics. Understanding the impact of staffing models on the learning environment for medical trainees and faculty is equally warranted, particularly with respect to trainee education and autonomy. This study aims to elicit the perceptions of pediatric cardiology fellows and attendings toward 24/7 in-house attending coverage and its effect on fellow education and autonomy. We surveyed pediatric cardiology fellows and attendings practicing in the pediatric cardiothoracic intensive care unit (PCTU) of a large, university-affiliated medical center, using structured Likert response items and open-ended questions, prior to and following the transition to 24/7 in-house attending coverage. All (100%) trainees and faculty completed all surveys. Both prior to and following transition to 24/7 in-house attending coverage, all fellows, and the majority of attendings agreed that the overnight call experience benefited fellow education. At baseline, trainees identified limited circumstances in which on-site attending coverage would be critical. Preimplementation concerns that 24/7 in-house attending coverage would negatively affect the education of fellows were not reflected following actual implementation of the new staffing policy. However, based upon open-ended questions, fellow autonomy was affected by the new paradigm, with fellows and attendings reporting decreased "appropriateness" of autonomy after implementation. Our prospective study, showing initial concerns about limiting the learning environment in transitioning to 24/7 in-house attending coverage did not result in diminished perceptions of the educational experience for our fellows but revealed an expected decrease in fellow autonomy. The study indirectly facilitated open discussions about

Coverage dependent molecular assembly of anthraquinone on Au(111)

Science.gov (United States)

DeLoach, Andrew S.; Conrad, Brad R.; Einstein, T. L.; Dougherty, Daniel B.

2017-11-01

A scanning tunneling microscopy study of anthraquinone (AQ) on the Au(111) surface shows that the molecules self-assemble into several structures depending on the local surface coverage. At high coverages, a close-packed saturated monolayer is observed, while at low coverages, mobile surface molecules coexist with stable chiral hexamer clusters. At intermediate coverages, a disordered 2D porous network interlinking close-packed islands is observed in contrast to the giant honeycomb networks observed for the same molecule on Cu(111). This difference verifies the predicted extreme sensitivity [J. Wyrick et al., Nano Lett. 11, 2944 (2011)] of the pore network to small changes in the surface electronic structure. Quantitative analysis of the 2D pore network reveals that the areas of the vacancy islands are distributed log-normally. Log-normal distributions are typically associated with the product of random variables (multiplicative noise), and we propose that the distribution of pore sizes for AQ on Au(111) originates from random linear rate constants for molecules to either desorb from the surface or detach from the region of a nucleated pore.

28 CFR 70.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... with Federal funds as provided to property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be...-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 70.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients...

Is a 'convenience' sample useful for estimating immunization coverage in a small population?

Science.gov (United States)

Weir, Jean E; Jones, Carrie

2008-01-01

Rapid survey methodologies are widely used for assessing immunization coverage in developing countries, approximating true stratified random sampling. Non-random ('convenience') sampling is not considered appropriate for estimating immunization coverage rates but has the advantages of low cost and expediency. We assessed the validity of a convenience sample of children presenting to a travelling clinic by comparing the coverage rate in the convenience sample to the true coverage established by surveying each child in three villages in rural Papua New Guinea. The rate of DTF immunization coverage as estimated by the convenience sample was within 10% of the true coverage when the proportion of children in the sample was two-thirds or when only children over the age of one year were counted, but differed by 11% when the sample included only 53% of the children and when all eligible children were included. The convenience sample may be sufficiently accurate for reporting purposes and is useful for identifying areas of low coverage.

Periodic Poisson Solver for Particle Tracking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dohlus, M.; Henning, C.

2015-05-01

A method is described to solve the Poisson problem for a three dimensional source distribution that is periodic into one direction. Perpendicular to the direction of periodicity a free space (or open) boundary is realized. In beam physics, this approach allows to calculate the space charge field of a continualized charged particle distribution with periodic pattern. The method is based on a particle mesh approach with equidistant grid and fast convolution with a Green's function. The periodic approach uses only one period of the source distribution, but a periodic extension of the Green's function. The approach is numerically efficient and allows the investigation of periodic- and pseudo-periodic structures with period lengths that are small compared to the source dimensions, for instance of laser modulated beams or of the evolution of micro bunch structures. Applications for laser modulated beams are given.

Income-related inequality in health insurance coverage: analysis of China Health and Nutrition Survey of 2006 and 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Jinan

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction China introduced the urban resident basic medical insurance (URBMI in 2007 to cover children and urban unemployed adults, in addition to the new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS for rural residents in 2003 and the basic health insurance scheme (BHIS for urban employees in 1998. This study examined whether the overall income-related inequality in health insurance coverage improved during 2006 and 2009 in China. Methods The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS data of 2006 and 2009 were used to create the concentration curve and the concentration index. GEE logistic regression was used to model the health insurance coverage as dependent variable and household income per capita as independent variable, controlling for individuals' age, gender, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, year 2009 (Y2009, household size, retirement status, and geographic variations. The change in the income-related inequality in 2009 was estimated using the interaction term of income*Y2009. Results In 2006, 49.7% (4,712/9,476 respondents had health insurance: 13.4% with BHIS and 28.4% with NCMS. In 2009, 90.8% (8,964/9,863 had health insurance: 10.1% with URBMI, 18.3% with BHIS, and 57.6% with NCMS. The BHIS, URBMI, and NCMS programs had different patterns of population coverage over 10 income deciles. The concentration index was 0.15 in 2006 and 0.04 in 2009. The dominance test showed that the concentration curves were significantly different between 2006 and 2009 (p  Discussions Comparing 2009 to 2006, the income inequality in health insurance coverage was largely corrected in China through rapid expansion of CHNS in rural areas and initiation of URBMI in urban areas.

Periodic patterning of silicon by direct nanosecond laser interference ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavera, T.; Pérez, N.; Rodríguez, A.; Yurrita, P.; Olaizola, S.M.; Castaño, E.

2011-01-01

The production of periodic structures in silicon wafers by four-beam is presented. Because laser interference ablation is a single-step and cost-effective process, there is a great technological interest in the fabrication of these structures for their use as antireflection surfaces. Three different laser fluences are used to modify the silicon surface (0.8 J cm -2 , 1.3 J cm -2 , 2.0 J cm -2 ) creating bumps in the rim of the irradiated area. Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), in particular micro and nano-ripples, are also observed. Measurements of the reflectivity show a decrease in the reflectance for the samples processed with a laser fluence of 2.0 J cm -2 , probably caused by the appearance of the nano-ripples in the structured area, while bumps start to deteriorate.

Sensor-driven area coverage for an autonomous fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle.

Science.gov (United States)

Paull, Liam; Thibault, Carl; Nagaty, Amr; Seto, Mae; Li, Howard

2014-09-01

Area coverage with an onboard sensor is an important task for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with many applications. Autonomous fixed-wing UAVs are more appropriate for larger scale area surveying since they can cover ground more quickly. However, their non-holonomic dynamics and susceptibility to disturbances make sensor coverage a challenging task. Most previous approaches to area coverage planning are offline and assume that the UAV can follow the planned trajectory exactly. In this paper, this restriction is removed as the aircraft maintains a coverage map based on its actual pose trajectory and makes control decisions based on that map. The aircraft is able to plan paths in situ based on sensor data and an accurate model of the on-board camera used for coverage. An information theoretic approach is used that selects desired headings that maximize the expected information gain over the coverage map. In addition, the branch entropy concept previously developed for autonomous underwater vehicles is extended to UAVs and ensures that the vehicle is able to achieve its global coverage mission. The coverage map over the workspace uses the projective camera model and compares the expected area of the target on the ground and the actual area covered on the ground by each pixel in the image. The camera is mounted on a two-axis gimbal and can either be stabilized or optimized for maximal coverage. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation results and real hardware implementation on a fixed-wing UAV show the effectiveness of the approach. By including the already developed automatic takeoff and landing capabilities, we now have a fully automated and robust platform for performing aerial imagery surveys.

An Evaluation of Voluntary Varicella Vaccination Coverage in Zhejiang Province, East China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Hu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background: In 2014 a 2-doses varicella vaccine (VarV schedule was recommended by the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We aimed to assess the coverage of the 1st dose of VarV (VarV1 and the 2nd dose of VarV (VarV2 among children aged 2–6 years through the Zhejiang Provincial Immunization Information System (ZJIIS and to explore the determinants associated with the VarV coverage. Methods: Children aged 2–6 years (born from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2013 registered in ZJIIS were enrolled. Anonymized individual records of target children were extracted from the ZJIIS database on 1 January 2016, including their VarV and (measles-containing vaccine MCV vaccination information. The VarV1 and VarV2 coverage rates were evaluated for each birth cohorts. The coverage of VarV also was estimated among strata defined by cities, gender and immigration status. We also evaluated the difference in coverage between VarV and MCV. Results: A total of 3,028,222 children aged 2–6 years were enrolled. The coverage of VarV1 ranged from 84.8% to 87.9% in the 2009–2013 birth cohorts, while the coverage of VarV2 increased from 31.8% for the 2009 birth cohort to 48.7% for the 2011 birth cohort. Higher coverage rates for both VarV1 and VarV2 were observed among resident children in relevant birth cohorts. The coverage rates of VarV1 and VarV2 were lower than those for the 1st and 2nd dose of MCV, which were above 95%. The proportion of children who were vaccinated with VarV1 at the recommended age increased from 34.6% for the 2009 birth cohort to 75.2% for the 2013 birth cohort, while the proportion of children who were vaccinated with VarV2 at the recommended age increased from 19.7% for the 2009 birth cohort to 48.7% for the 2011 birth cohort. Conclusions: Our study showed a rapid increasing VarV2 coverage of children, indicating a growing acceptance of the 2-doses VarV schedule among children’s caregivers and physicians after

Pengaruh Pola MACD Histogram IHSG Terhadap Pola MACD Histogram Perusahaan Dari Daftar Indeks LQ45 (Periode Februari s.d Juli 2015 Bursa Efek Jakarta [Effect of MACD Histogram IHSG Patterns to Patterns of Companies Listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange LQ-45 (Period February till July 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heri Fatkhurrokhim

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of MACDIHSG pattern to the MACD Company pattern in the L045 index on the period of February until July 2015 at the Indonesia Stock Exchange. This study also aims to facilitate investors to make investment decisions in the stock market. This study provides benefits to capital market investors, especially for stock investors in the Indonesia Stock Exchange as a mean of enhancing their insights in the development of technical analysis on investing. For the general public as well in order to know that investing in the stock market differs from gambling since there are analyzes that easy and can be applied very simply. In addition, this research aims to enhance the reader's desire to invest in the stock market. The samples were the closing data price of IHSG and shares ofLQ45 in the period of February until July 2015 in the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Based on the hypothesis testing, it can be explained that the MACD Histogram IHSG has a significant effect on 38 issuers listed in LQ45. As for the difference between the MACD Histogram effect against one company with another company that is very small. From the 38 stocks that rank on the top 3 company, the Summarecon Agung Tbk is on the top 1, that amounted to 98.3348%, then Alam Sutera Reality Lestari Tbk amounted to 98.2376%, and Adhi Katya (Persero Tbk amounted to 98.1320%. The third of these shares have MACD Histogram movement that approaching the MACD Histogram IHSG.

Local Coverage of Three Mile Island during 1981-82.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Sharon M.

Local newspaper coverage of the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant accident was examined in a study to determine what changes, if any, were made by local media and what lessons they had learned from it. Data were collected through interviews with 21 media representatives. TMI coverage in the six newspapers was examined using each…

Awareness and Coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sub- national levels possess a high degree of autonomy in a number of sectors including health. It is important to assess the level of coverage of the scheme among the formal sector workers in Nigeria as a proxy to gauge the extent of coverage of the scheme and derive suitable lessons that could be used in its expansion.

Comparison of gene coverage of mouse oligonucleotide microarray platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Medrano Juan F

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The increasing use of DNA microarrays for genetical genomics studies generates a need for platforms with complete coverage of the genome. We have compared the effective gene coverage in the mouse genome of different commercial and noncommercial oligonucleotide microarray platforms by performing an in-house gene annotation of probes. We only used information about probes that is available from vendors and followed a process that any researcher may take to find the gene targeted by a given probe. In order to make consistent comparisons between platforms, probes in each microarray were annotated with an Entrez Gene id and the chromosomal position for each gene was obtained from the UCSC Genome Browser Database. Gene coverage was estimated as the percentage of Entrez Genes with a unique position in the UCSC Genome database that is tested by a given microarray platform. Results A MySQL relational database was created to store the mapping information for 25,416 mouse genes and for the probes in five microarray platforms (gene coverage level in parenthesis: Affymetrix430 2.0 (75.6%, ABI Genome Survey (81.24%, Agilent (79.33%, Codelink (78.09%, Sentrix (90.47%; and four array-ready oligosets: Sigma (47.95%, Operon v.3 (69.89%, Operon v.4 (84.03%, and MEEBO (84.03%. The differences in coverage between platforms were highly conserved across chromosomes. Differences in the number of redundant and unspecific probes were also found among arrays. The database can be queried to compare specific genomic regions using a web interface. The software used to create, update and query the database is freely available as a toolbox named ArrayGene. Conclusion The software developed here allows researchers to create updated custom databases by using public or proprietary information on genes for any organisms. ArrayGene allows easy comparisons of gene coverage between microarray platforms for any region of the genome. The comparison presented here

Monitoring soil coverage and yield of cowpea furrow irrigated with saline water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonia Leila Rocha Neves

Full Text Available Abstract Cowpea crop is of great importance for northeast Brazil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the application of saline water in different developing stages on plant growth and changes in soil characteristics, measured by soil coverage, and on yield of cowpea plants. The experiment was conducted under field conditions, during the dry season in a completely randomized block design with five treatments and five replications. Each experimental unit consisted of 4 lines of plants with 5.0 m long. The treatments evaluated were: 1. irrigation with groundwater with electrical conductivity (ECw of 0.8 dS m-1 during the whole crop cycle; 2. saline water (5.0 dS m-1 during the whole crop cycle; 3, 4 and 5. saline water (5.0 dS m-1 up to 22nd, during 23rd to 42nd and from the 43rd to 62nd days after sowing, respectively, and groundwater in the remaining period. Soil coverage was evaluated by digital images using the software ENVI for image processing and classification. It was found that the continuous use of saline water inhibits plant growth, while irrigation with saline water during germination and initial growth stages caused retardation in plant development, but in this last case a recovery was observed in the final part of the experimental period. For treatments 2 and 3, a reduction was verified in the number of pods and in seed production, as compared to other treatments. Irrigation with saline water during 23 to 42 and 43 to 62 days after sowing did not affect reproductive and vegetative growth, but the saline water application in the pre-flowering (treatment 4 caused anticipation of the reproductive cycle.

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...

20 CFR 435.31 - Insurance coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... funds as provided to property owned by the recipient. Federally-owned property need not be insured... ORGANIZATIONS Post-Award Requirements Property Standards § 435.31 Insurance coverage. Recipients must, at a...

44 CFR 17.610 - Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... SECURITY GENERAL GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (GRANTS) § 17.610 Coverage. (a) This... covered by this subpart, except where specifically modified by this subpart. In the event of any conflict... are deemed to control with respect to the implementation of drug-free workplace requirements...

5 CFR 734.401 - Coverage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES Employees in Certain Agencies and Positions § 734.401 Coverage. (a... Criminal Investigation of the Internal Revenue Service. (11) The Office of Investigative Programs of the... Firearms; (13) The Criminal Division of the Department of Justice; (14) The Central Imagery Office; (15...

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Perception of Nursery Antibiotic Stewardship Coverage in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantey, Joseph B; Vora, Niraj; Sunkara, Mridula

2017-09-01

Prolonged or unnecessary antibiotic use is associated with adverse outcomes in infants. Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) aim to prevent these adverse outcomes and optimize antibiotic prescribing. However, data evaluating ASP coverage of nurseries are limited. The objectives of this study were to describe the characteristics of nurseries with and without ASP coverage and to determine perceptions of and barriers to nursery ASP coverage. The 2014 American Hospital Association annual survey was used to randomly select a level III neonatal intensive care unit from all 50 states. A level I and level II nursery from the same city as the level III nursery were then randomly selected. Hospital, nursery, and ASP characteristics were collected. Nursery and ASP providers (pharmacists or infectious disease providers) were interviewed using a semistructured template. Transcribed interviews were analyzed for themes. One hundred forty-six centers responded; 104 (71%) provided nursery ASP coverage. In multivariate analysis, level of nursery, university affiliation, and number of full-time equivalent ASP staff were the main predictors of nursery ASP coverage. Several themes were identified from interviews: unwanted coverage, unnecessary coverage, jurisdiction issues, need for communication, and a focus on outcomes. Most providers had a favorable view of nursery ASP coverage. Larger, higher-acuity nurseries in university-affiliated hospitals are more likely to have ASP coverage. Low ASP staffing and a perceived lack of importance were frequently cited as barriers to nursery coverage. Most nursery ASP coverage is viewed favorably by providers, but nursery providers regard it as less important than ASP providers. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Refractive-index determination of solids from first- and second-order critical diffraction angles of periodic surface patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meichner, Christoph; Kador, Lothar; Schedl, Andreas E.; Neuber, Christian; Kreger, Klaus; Schmidt, Hans-Werner

2015-01-01

We present two approaches for measuring the refractive index of transparent solids in the visible spectral range based on diffraction gratings. Both require a small spot with a periodic pattern on the surface of the solid, collimated monochromatic light, and a rotation stage. We demonstrate the methods on a polydimethylsiloxane film (Sylgard ® 184) and compare our data to those obtained with a standard Abbe refractometer at several wavelengths between 489 and 688 nm. The results of our approaches show good agreement with the refractometer data. Possible error sources are analyzed and discussed in detail; they include mainly the linewidth of the laser and/or the angular resolution of the rotation stage. With narrow-band light sources, an angular accuracy of ±0.025 ∘ results in an error of the refractive index of typically ±5 ⋅ 10 −4 . Information on the sample thickness is not required

-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.

Fringe periods of color moirés in contact-type 3-D displays.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyoung; Kim, Sung-Kyu; Sohn, Kwanghoon; Son, Jung-Young; Chernyshov, Oleksii O

2016-06-27

A mathematical formula of calculating the fringe periods of the color moirés appearing at the contact-type 3-D displays is derived. It is typical that the color moirés are chirped and the period of the line pattern in viewing zone forming optics is more than two times of that of the pixel pattern in the display panel. These make impossible to calculate the fringe periods of the color moirés with the conventional beat frequency formula. The derived formula work very well for any combination of two line patterns having either a same line period or different line periods. This is experimentally proved. Furthermore, it is also shown that the fringe period can be expressed in terms of the viewing distance and focal length of the viewing zone forming optics.

Functional Patterns in International Organizations for University Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Daniel A.; Lopez, Daniel C.; Andrade, Lorenzo I.; Lopez, Boris A.

2011-01-01

This study analyzes the coverage, organizational patterns, problems and trends of international organizations for university cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 30 international organizations for cooperation currently operating in Latin America and the Caribbean were identified. Two groups of institutions with more than 60%…

The genesis of period-adding bursting without bursting-chaos in the Chay model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhuoqin; Lu Qishao; Li Li

2006-01-01

According to the period-adding firing patterns without chaos observed in neuronal experiments, the genesis of the period-adding 'fold/homoclinic' bursting sequence without bursting-chaos is explored by numerical simulation, fast/slow dynamics and bifurcation analysis of limit cycle in the neuronal Chay model. It is found that each periodic bursting, from period-1 to 7, is separately generated by the corresponding periodic spiking pattern through two period-doubling bifurcations, except for the period-1 bursting occurring via a Hopf bifurcation. Consequently, it can be revealed that this period-adding bursting bifurcation without chaos has a compound bifurcation structure with transitions from spiking to bursting, which is closely related to period-doubling bifurcations of periodic spiking in essence

Rates of coverage and determinants of complete vaccination of children in rural areas of Burkina Faso (1998-2003).

Science.gov (United States)

Sia, Drissa; Fournier, Pierre; Kobiané, Jean-François; Sondo, Blaise K

2009-11-17

Burkina Faso's immunization program has benefited regularly from national and international support. However, national immunization coverage has been irregular, decreasing from 34.7% in 1993 to 29.3% in 1998, and then increasing to 43.9% in 2003. Undoubtedly, a variety of factors contributed to this pattern. This study aims to identify both individual and systemic factors associated with complete vaccination in 1998 and 2003 and relate them to variations in national and international policies and strategies on vaccination of rural Burkinabé children aged 12-23 months. Data from the 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys and the Ministry of Health's 1997 and 2002 Statistical Yearbooks, as well as individual interviews with central and regional decision-makers and with field workers in Burkina's healthcare system, were used to carry out a multilevel study that included 805 children in 1998 and 1,360 children in 2003, aged 12-23 months, spread over 44 and 48 rural health districts respectively. In rural areas, complete vaccination coverage went from 25.9% in 1998 to 41.2% in 2003. District resources had no significant effect on coverage and the impact of education declined over time. The factors that continued to have the greatest impact on coverage rates were poverty, with its various dimensions, and the utilization of other healthcare services. However, these factors do not explain the persistent differences in complete vaccination between districts. In 2003, despite a trend toward district homogenization, differences between health districts still accounted for a 7.4% variance in complete vaccination. Complete vaccination coverage of children is improving in a context of worsening poverty. Education no longer represents an advantage in relation to vaccination. Continuity from prenatal care to institutional delivery creates a loyalty to healthcare services and is the most significant and stable explanatory factor associated with complete vaccination of

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...

Surface Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Delaunay Tetrahedralization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, M G; Neves, L A; Zafalon, G F D; Valêncio, C; Pinto, A R; Nascimento, M Z

2015-01-01

In this work is presented a new method for sensor deployment on 3D surfaces. The method was structured on different steps. The first one aimed discretizes the relief of interest with Delaunay algorithm. The tetrahedra and relative values (spatial coordinates of each vertex and faces) were input to construction of 3D Voronoi diagram. Each circumcenter was calculated as a candidate position for a sensor node: the corresponding circular coverage area was calculated based on a radius r. The r value can be adjusted to simulate different kinds of sensors. The Dijkstra algorithm and a selection method were applied to eliminate candidate positions with overlapped coverage areas or beyond of surface of interest. Performance evaluations measures were defined using coverage area and communication as criteria. The results were relevant, once the mean coverage rate achieved on three different surfaces were among 91% and 100%

Individual health insurance within the family : can subsidies promote family coverage?

OpenAIRE

Kanika Kapur; M. Susan Marquis; José J. Escarce

2007-01-01

This paper examines the role of price in health insurance coverage decisions within the family to guide policy in promoting whole family coverage. We analyze the factors that affect individual health insurance coverage among families, and explore family decisions about whom to cover and whom to leave uninsured. The analysis uses household data from California combined with abstracted individual health plan benefit and premium data. We find that premium subsidies for individual insurance would...

The Evolving Treatment Patterns of NCAA Division I Football Players by Orthopaedic Team Physicians Over the Past Decade, 2008-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Carver, Trevor J; Schrock, John B; Kraeutler, Matthew J; McCarty, Eric C

Previous studies have analyzed the treatment patterns used to manage injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I football players. Treatment patterns used to manage injuries in NCAA Division I football players will have changed over the study period. Descriptive epidemiology study. Level 5. The head orthopaedic team physicians for all 128 NCAA Division I football teams were asked to complete a survey containing questions regarding experience as team physician, medical coverage of the team, reimbursement issues, and treatment preferences for some of the most common injuries occurring in football players. Responses from the current survey were compared with responses from the same survey sent to NCAA Division I team physicians in 2008. Responses were received from 111 (111/119, 93%) NCAA Division I orthopaedic team physicians in 2008 and 115 (115/128, 90%) orthopaedic team physicians between April 2016 and April 2017. The proportion of team physicians who prefer a patellar tendon autograft for primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) increased from 67% in 2008 to 83% in 2016 ( P football players over the study period. In particular, physicians have changed their preferred techniques for ACLR, anterior shoulder stabilization, and PCL reconstruction. Physicians have also become more conservative with pregame Toradol injections. These opinions may help guide treatment decisions and lead to better care of all athletes.

Spatial heterogeneity study of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lijuan; Zhong, Bo; Guo, Liyu; Zhao, Xiangwei

2014-11-01

Spatial heterogeneity of the animal-landscape system has three major components: heterogeneity of resource distributions in the physical environment, heterogeneity of plant tissue chemistry, heterogeneity of movement modes by the animal. Furthermore, all three different types of heterogeneity interact each other and can either reinforce or offset one another, thereby affecting system stability and dynamics. In previous studies, the study areas are investigated by field sampling, which costs a large amount of manpower. In addition, uncertain in sampling affects the quality of field data, which leads to unsatisfactory results during the entire study. In this study, remote sensing data is used to guide the sampling for research on heterogeneity of vegetation coverage to avoid errors caused by randomness of field sampling. Semi-variance and fractal dimension analysis are used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin. The spherical model with nugget is used to fit the semivariogram of vegetation coverage. Based on the experiment above, it is found, (1)there is a strong correlation between vegetation coverage and distance of vegetation populations within the range of 0-28051.3188m at Heihe River Basin, but the correlation loses suddenly when the distance greater than 28051.3188m. (2)The degree of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium. (3)Spatial distribution variability of vegetation occurs mainly on small scales. (4)The degree of spatial autocorrelation is 72.29% between 25% and 75%, which means that spatial correlation of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium high.

CT following US for possible appendicitis: anatomic coverage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Malley, Martin E. [University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Hospital, 3-920, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Alharbi, Fawaz [University of Toronto, Toronto General Hospital, NCSB 1C572, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Qassim University, Department of Medical Imaging, Buraydah, Qassim (Saudi Arabia); Chawla, Tanya P. [University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital, Room 567, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Moshonov, Hadas [University of Toronto, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

2016-02-15

To determine superior-inferior anatomic borders for CT following inconclusive/nondiagnostic US for possible appendicitis. Ninety-nine patients with possible appendicitis and inconclusive/nondiagnostic US followed by CT were included in this retrospective study. Two radiologists reviewed CT images and determined superior-inferior anatomic borders required to diagnose or exclude appendicitis and diagnose alternative causes. This ''targeted'' coverage was used to estimate potential reduction in anatomic coverage compared to standard abdominal/pelvic CT. The study group included 83 women and 16 men; mean age 32 (median, 29; range 18-73) years. Final diagnoses were: nonspecific abdominal pain 50/99 (51 %), appendicitis 26/99 (26 %), gynaecological 12/99 (12 %), gastrointestinal 9/99 (10 %), and musculoskeletal 2/99 (2 %). Median dose-length product for standard CT was 890.0 (range, 306.3 - 2493.9) mGy.cm. To confidently diagnose/exclude appendicitis or identify alternative diagnoses, maximum superior-inferior anatomic CT coverage was the superior border of L2-superior border of pubic symphysis, for both reviewers. Targeted CT would reduce anatomic coverage by 30-55 % (mean 39 %, median 40 %) compared to standard CT. When CT is performed for appendicitis following inconclusive/nondiagnostic US, targeted CT from the superior border of L2-superior border of pubic symphysis can be used resulting in significant reduction in exposure to ionizing radiation compared to standard CT. (orig.)

CT following US for possible appendicitis: anatomic coverage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Malley, Martin E.; Alharbi, Fawaz; Chawla, Tanya P.; Moshonov, Hadas

2016-01-01

To determine superior-inferior anatomic borders for CT following inconclusive/nondiagnostic US for possible appendicitis. Ninety-nine patients with possible appendicitis and inconclusive/nondiagnostic US followed by CT were included in this retrospective study. Two radiologists reviewed CT images and determined superior-inferior anatomic borders required to diagnose or exclude appendicitis and diagnose alternative causes. This ''targeted'' coverage was used to estimate potential reduction in anatomic coverage compared to standard abdominal/pelvic CT. The study group included 83 women and 16 men; mean age 32 (median, 29; range 18-73) years. Final diagnoses were: nonspecific abdominal pain 50/99 (51 %), appendicitis 26/99 (26 %), gynaecological 12/99 (12 %), gastrointestinal 9/99 (10 %), and musculoskeletal 2/99 (2 %). Median dose-length product for standard CT was 890.0 (range, 306.3 - 2493.9) mGy.cm. To confidently diagnose/exclude appendicitis or identify alternative diagnoses, maximum superior-inferior anatomic CT coverage was the superior border of L2-superior border of pubic symphysis, for both reviewers. Targeted CT would reduce anatomic coverage by 30-55 % (mean 39 %, median 40 %) compared to standard CT. When CT is performed for appendicitis following inconclusive/nondiagnostic US, targeted CT from the superior border of L2-superior border of pubic symphysis can be used resulting in significant reduction in exposure to ionizing radiation compared to standard CT. (orig.)

29 CFR 784.21 - Guiding principles for applying coverage and exemption provisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Guiding principles for applying coverage and exemption... Application of Coverage and Exemptions Provisions of the Act § 784.21 Guiding principles for applying coverage... (Walling v. General Industries Co., 330 U.S. 545; Mitchell v. Kentucky Finance Co., 359 U.S. 290: Tobin v...

Spatial pattern of ASG-EUPOS sites

Science.gov (United States)

Calka, Beata; Bielecka, Elzbieta; Figurski, Mariusz

2017-12-01

The article presents the spatial pattern analysis of the ASG-EUPOS permanent GNSS stations in Poland. Using different methods and tools (nearest neighbour, Riplay's K-function, morphology of Thiessen polygons) we proved that the station distribution model changes within scales. At short distances up to 65 km, which are typical lengths in the network, stations are irregularly dispersed. Increasing this distance to 130 km and over could result in a clustered pattern. The Thiessen polygon area in 72% depends on the level of urbanization, especially coverage of forested and built-up areas as well as the density of the transportation network. The smallest density of the ASG-EUPOS sites is one station over 10,000 sq. km, which is two times more than is stated in the national regulations. The mean distance from ASG-EUPOS location to the nearest station is about 41.5 km.

The genesis of period-adding bursting without bursting-chaos in the Chay model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Zhuoqin; Lu Qishao; Li Li

2006-01-01

According to the period-adding firing patterns without chaos observed in neuronal experiments, the genesis of the period-adding 'fold/homoclinic' bursting sequence without bursting-chaos is explored by numerical simulation, fast/slow dynamics and bifurcation analysis of limit cycle in the neuronal Chay model. It is found that each periodic bursting, from period-1 to period-7, is separately generated by the corresponding periodic spiking pattern through two period-doubling bifurcations, except for the period-1 bursting occurring via a Hopf bifurcation. Consequently, it can be revealed that this period-adding bursting bifurcation without chaos has a compound bifurcation structure with transitions from spiking to bursting, which is closely related to period-doubling bifurcations of periodic spiking in essence

Service contract of Renault Kerax 440 truck with deductible and policy limit coverage modification

Science.gov (United States)

Bustami, Pasaribu, Udjianna. S.; Husniah, Hennie

2016-02-01

In this paper we discuss a service contracts with coverage modification that only offer preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance for Renault Kerax 440 Truck by service contract provider. Corrective maintenance costs is modified with deductible and policy limit during the period of the service contract. Demand for a service contract is only influenced by the price of the service contract, deductible, and policy limit offered by producer to consumer. The main problem in this thesis is determining the price of a service contract, deductible, and policy limit to get maximum profit for producer for each of service contract.

original article assessment of effective coverage of hiv prevention of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abrham

BACKGROUND: Coverage assessment of prevention of Pregnant Mother to Child Transmission. (PMTCT) of HIV service is useful to measure the health system effort or performance of health service delivery function and ... anti retroviral drugs, breast-feeding counseling and ... care service coverage to develop appropriate.

CHIP premiums, health status, and the insurance coverage of children.

Science.gov (United States)

Marton, James; Talbert, Jeffery C

2010-01-01

This study uses the introduction of premiums into Kentucky's Children's Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) to examine whether the enrollment impact of new premiums varies by child health type. We also examine the extent to which children find alternative coverage after premium nonpayment. Public insurance claims data suggest that those with chronic health conditions are less likely to leave public coverage. We find little evidence of a differential impact of premiums on enrollment among the chronically ill. Our survey of nonpayers shows that 56% of responding families found alternative private or public health coverage for their children after losing CHIP.

Insurance coverage for male infertility care in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupree, James M